PARKER 





PARKIN 



PARKER, SIR GILBERT (1862- Cana- 



dian novel i.-' and >tatesman. born ai Camden 



(Ontario. He was educated in Trinity 



University, Toronto, and in 1880 \\vnt to Aus- 



tralia, where he became associate-editor of the 



. y MOD, 



During 



the next year he 

 made an 



ip among 



- ' 

 Mauds and fol- 



this cruise 



with a visit to 



'rthern 



la. India ainl j^*W/. s^" ' \ ? 

 other lands mi. ' f 

 British control. 



As early as 1888 



he attempted lit- 



erary work in an adaptation of 



modern stage. The next year he 



SIR GILBERT PARKER 



for the 

 wTote two 



plays entitled Tin \\nthtta and No D 



and in 1892 described his travels in Round the 



Compass in Australia. 



His first genuine success in literature began 

 in 1892 with his stories of French Canadian life 

 and adventures in the northern wilds of America. 

 The first of these, P/,rre and His People, ap- 

 peared in 1892. Then came such highly popu- 

 lar novels as Mrs. Falchion, The Trespaxxtr, 

 The Trail of the Xu-ord, An Adventurer of the 

 \urth, and in 1896, The Seats of the Mighty 

 and The Right of Way. The two last named 

 books marked the height of Parker's power in 

 fiction and are probably among the permanent 

 novels in Knglish literature. 



His later works, such as The Battle of the 

 Strtttiy and Tin- \\'ni /*. have not equaled the 

 stories previously written, probably because of 

 the time and energy devoted by Parker to the 

 field of politics. His novels deal mainly with 

 the struggle of bold and rough characters in the 

 \vilderne.-s of Northern Canada, and frequently 

 rise to inten>e dramatic power in then- pic- 

 tures of strife and suffering in those va>t, un- 

 M tiled regions. 



Hi- wide travels among British pOflBemODfl 

 made him an ardent imperialist, or believer in 

 the closer union of the English colonies, and 

 when he removed to London in 1896 he imme- 

 diately became active in political affairs that 

 lie might aid such a policy. He was elected to 

 Parliament in 1900 and reflected in 1906 and 

 1910, and showed much zeal in bringing about 

 tariff reforms of such a nature that the colonies 



might supply the greater number of dreat Brit- 

 ain's needs. In 1902 he was knighted by Kiim 

 Kdward VII. in 1JU.~> wa> created a baronet, and 

 in 1916 a privy councillor by King (leoi<_ 



PARK'ERSBURG, W. V.v, the county seat 

 of Wood County. i> located on the east side of 

 the Ohio River, the western state boundary 

 line, thirteen miles southwol of Marietta. 0., 

 and ninety-four miles southwest of Wheeling. 

 The Little Kanawha River flows through the 

 city and empties into the Ohio. Both stream- 

 are crossed by fine bridges, and are navigable, 

 affording passage to boats, which make regular 

 sailings to other river ports. Parkersburg is on 

 the Baltimore & Ohio and the Baltimoi 

 Ohio Southwestern railroads, and has electric 

 interurbaii service to Marietta. In 1910 the 

 population was 17,842; in 1916 it wa< 20.r>rj 

 (Federal estimate). The area of the city ex- 

 ceeds four square miles. 



ParkfrTsburg has Teripin Park, a Federal build- 

 ing, city and county buildings, a, Y. M. C. A 

 building, a Carnegie Library, a convent, hospi- 

 tals and the Logan Children's Home. Blenner- 

 hasset Island and Fort Boreman are points of 

 historic interest near the city. In the vicinity 

 are medicinal springs, petroleum and gas wells 

 and coal and clay deposits, and the city is lo- 

 cated in a fertile farming region. It is a pros- 

 perous manufacturing center, the value of manu- 

 factured products being about $2,398,000 a year. 

 Among the industrial establishments are steel 

 plants, an oil refinery, oil-w r ell supply works, 

 machinery plants, vitrolite-glass, porcelain and 

 concrete plants and furniture and shoe factories 

 The city has important wholesale interests. 



Parkersburg was settled in 1773, was incor- 

 porated in 1820, chartered as a city in 1863 and 

 in 1911 adopted the commission form of gov- 

 ernment. The water system is owned and op- 

 erated by the city.' 



PARKIN, GKOIMJE ROBERT (1810- ), a 

 Canadian author and educator, since 1902 ad- 

 ministrator or organizing representative of the 

 Rhodes Scholarship Fund (see Rimnr.s. CKCIL 

 J.). Dr. Parkin was born at Salisbury. N. IV. 

 and was educated at the universities of New 

 Brunswick and Oxford. Shortly after leaving 

 Oxford he became principal of the College 

 School, at Fredericton, where he remained un- 

 til 1895. In that year he became principal of 

 Upper Canada College, at Toronto. From this 

 position he went to England to direct the en- 

 terprise which the will of Cecil Rhodes estab- 

 lished. Beginning as a young man, Dr. Parkin 

 has always been greatly interested in imperial 



