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ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



atel}' is htirdly now heard in our loû^islative halls at Ottawa and elsewhere, 

 except when my vei-satile friend Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin now and then 

 airs his Hibernian tempérament. It was in 18UU that I tiret made the 

 acquaintance of the present chief justice of Nova Scotia who. in later 

 times, became a minister of Justice of the Dominion. Many of my readers 

 will remember how forcibly and even passionately he gave \itterance to 

 his opinions, and I can well imagine that before he accepted his present 

 dignitied ])Osition he must have been a most aggressive opponent to meet 

 on the political platform. I can see before me the stately proportions of 

 AVilliam A. llenrv, afterwards a judge of the supreme court at Ottawa, 

 also a ])romincnt man in those days. He was an acute politician, gifted 

 with a great flow of language, but it lacked clearness of expression and 

 logical arrangement. He possessed many amiable qualities which made 

 him very popular in a constituency, and I have heard it said that when 

 there was a vote or two in question he would spend much time in his 



SIR ADAMS G. ARCHIBALD, K.C.M.G. 



district, and smoke many a pipe on the fences with the doubtful elector. 

 On the supreme court he was a success, for he possessed an excellent 

 judgment, and understood perfectly well that it was often a mistake for 

 a judge to enter into a lengthy disquisition on the merits of a case. 

 Another public man who won much distinction in the larger field of Domin- 

 ion statesmanship, was Sir Adams Archibald, to give him his later title 

 His suavity of demeanour was allied to .sound legal attainments and a 

 great fund of discretion, which wim for him much confidence as a minis- 

 tor of the Crown and a lieutenant-governor, at a most critical period of 

 the affairs of Manitoba. He was never a man of words, but rather one 

 of thought and argument at opportune moments. 



A. \V. McLelan, who died in government house at Halifax, took a 

 conspicuous part in the polities of his native province as a representative 



