The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion, Volume 1Dent, John Charles
History
The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion, Volume 1
Dent, John Charles
Canada -- History -- Rebellion, 1837-1838; Ontario -- Politics and government
In closing this hasty review of the nature and effects of Family Compact
domination in Upper Canada, I would not be understood as pronouncing a
sweeping condemnation upon all the individual members of that body. John
Beverley Robinson, for instance, though he lent himself to many
high-handed acts of oppression, was a man of undoubted ability, and of a
character which inspired respect. His descendants are to-day among the
most respected and influential members of society in our Provincial
capital. Several others were men of high personal character, and of
abilities above the average. They acted in accordance with time and
circumstance, and must be supposed to have done so conscientiously. But
such persons as these composed but a very slender proportion of the
Compact's entire membership. The rank and file were of a totally
different complexion. The characteristics of the more poverty-stricken
among them have already been hinted at; but, independently of these,
there were many who were well-to-do, and who held their heads high in
the air, who were nevertheless very ill qualified to win admiration for
the caste to which they belonged. To state the simple truth, most of
them were very ordinary commonplace personages, respectable, sapless,
idealess--what Dr. Johnson would have characterized as exceedingly
barren rascals. Some were of obscure origin, and would have been hard
put to it if required to trace their ancestry beyond a single
generation. Of these latter, a few, as has already been seen, had
amassed wealth by trade or speculation, and had made their way into the
exclusive circle by a fortunate combination of circumstances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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