CARTWRIGHT 



1209 



CARTWRIGHT 



of the Church of England. When past forty 

 years of age he began to take an interest in 

 machinery, an interest which made him one 

 of the chief promoters of the prosperity of the 

 English people. Misguided workmen, who 

 thought that machinery would take away 

 their only means of earning a living, burned 

 down the mill in which four hundred of his 

 looms were set up, but Cartwright was not dis- 

 couraged. He invented a wool-carding ma- 

 chine, a device for making ropes, and a steam 

 engine in which alcohol was used as fuel, be- 

 sides helping Robert Fulton in his experiments 

 on steamboats. Having spent his own income 

 in bringing out his inventions, which yielded 

 him little in return, Cartwright was granted 

 $50,000 by Parliament in 1809. See LOOM; 

 WEAVING. 



CARTWRIGHT, PETER (1785-1872), a Meth- 

 odist circuit-rider, or itinerant preacher, one of 

 the most influential and most picturesque fig- 

 ures of the pioneer days of Illinois. He was 

 born in Amherst County, Virginia, and when 

 five years old was taken by his family to Logan 

 County, Kentucky. Peter grew up a wild and 

 reckless boy, given to gambling and other dis- 

 sipations, but he was converted at about the 

 age of sixteen and shortly afterwards became 

 a local preacher. In 1803 he was accepted into 

 the regular ministry, and three years later 

 Bishop Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in 

 America, ordained him an elder. 



In 1824 Cartwright settled in Sangamon 

 County, Illinois, then a struggling pioneer re- 

 gion inhabited by a few resolute and enter- 

 prising settlers. The spirit of the man made 

 itself felt in the life and development of that 

 community for half a century, and it has been 

 truthfully said of him that he had as much to 

 do with the upbuilding of Central Illinois as 

 any other man of his time. Not only was he 

 a powerful and tireless preacher, but he inter- 

 ested himself in the spread of education and 

 in the political affairs of the state. When the 

 capital was at Vandalia, Cartwright was a 

 Democratic member of the state legislature, 

 and at one time was Abraham Lincoln's unsuc- 

 cessful opponent in a campaign for election 

 to Congress. 



Many tales have come down about his eccen- 

 tric habits, his gifts for story-telling and his 

 fearlessness in dealing with the unruly mem- 

 bers of the community. In some cases, it is 

 said, he found the "arm of the flesh" a better 

 weapon than moral suasion. His life was a 

 powerful influence for righteousness, and his 



memory is still revered. He lies buried in the 

 village of Pleasant Plains, Sangamon County, 

 the scene of some of his most active labors. 

 Among several well-known writings are his 

 pamphlet entitled Controversy with the Devil 

 and The Autobiography of the Rev. Peter 

 Cartwright. 



CARTWRIGHT, SIR RICHARD JOHN (1835- 

 1912), a Canadian statesman and financier, rec- 

 ognized as one of the foremost authorities on 

 tariff and financial problems, and for many 

 years second only to Sir Wilfrid Laurier among 

 the leaders of the Liberal party. He was for 

 forty years a prominent figure in the Legisla- 

 tive Assembly of Canada, and its successor, 

 the Dominion House of Commons, and then 

 for nearly a decade more was the leading Lib- 

 eral in the Senate. 



Sir Richard was born on December 4, 1835, 

 at Kingston, Ont., where his family was promi- 

 nent. Young Richard was sent to Trinity Col- 

 lege, Dublin, Ireland, and on his return began 

 the study of law. He never practiced, for the 

 call of politics was stronger than the law. 

 Unlike some boys of well-to-do parents, he was 

 trained to business habits, and later in life was 

 director and president of one of the largest 

 banks in Canada. After 1863, however, when 

 he first entered the Legislative Assembly for 

 Canada, he gave most of his time to public 

 affairs. 



At the beginning of his public career Cart- 

 wright was a Conservative, and during the first 

 years of Sir John A. Macdonald's Ministry was 

 one of that statesman's supporters. About 

 1870, however, there were some sharp differ- 

 ences of opinion between them, especially on 

 banking reform, and the Pacific railways scan- 

 dal of 1873 put an end to their relations. It 

 is no small tribute to his popularity that he 

 was reflected to Parliament as a Liberal by 

 the same district which had previously chosen 

 him as a Conservative. From 1873 to 1878 he 

 was Minister of Finance in the Mackenzie 

 Ministry, and then for sixteen years, while the 

 Liberals were in opposition, he was the chief 

 spokesman against the financial and trade pol- 

 icy of the Conservatives. 



In 1896, when Laurier became Premier, he 

 made Cartwright Minister of Trade and Com- 

 merce. Laurier advocated a mild protective 

 tariff, while Cartwright was an outspoken free- 

 trader, but the latter's Parliamentary experi- 

 ence, his quickness in debate and his knowledge 

 of economic questions made him a great asset 

 to the Liberals. In 1897 he represented the 



