The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
Last week’s column described the early days of the Wellington North riding following its creation just before the 1854 general election. This week the story continues with events in the fall of 1857.
The much-awaited general election call came late in 1857, with voting scheduled for Dec. 23 and 24. By November, Elora’s Charles Allan had spoken to most of the prominent liberals in the riding, of whatever stripe, as he lined up support for his nomination.
Wellington North’s liberals met on Nov. 27 at the Commercial Hotel in Elora. Charles Clarke and his radical Clear Grit cronies dominated the meeting, but all shades of liberal opinion had their representatives.
Charles Allan had no worries. No other candidate appeared, and he received the unanimous support of the meeting. Allan demonstrated his mastery of false modesty. Although he had campaigned hard for months, he would prefer not to run. However, he was aware that his name had been mentioned frequently, and therefore he considered it his duty to accept.
Dr. William Clarke of Guelph, the sitting conservative member, had decided not to run, and to seek the Wellington South seat instead. The conservatives put forward James Webster, the co-founder of Fergus, and a man immensely popular in the riding. He had previously served two terms in the legislature.
In 1854, Charles Clarke and the Elora Clear Grits had pushed a radical platform, and had suffered a crushing defeat. This time they fully supported the more moderate Charles Allan, and devoted their energies to attacking Webster. On the other side, the conservatives tried to paint Allan as a radical Clear Grit.
In truth, little separated the two when it came down to specifics. Webster had been the major figure in establishing Fergus, and Allan had played the same role in Elora. Both were flexible in their ideas, and readily changed their ideas to suit changing circumstances. And both were old hands at politics: they had first tangled in an election for the district council in 1842.
The major event of the campaign was the nomination meeting, set for Dec. 16 in Fergus. In the weeks before the meeting the campaign produced little in the way of fireworks. Supporters of both candidates vied with one another in listing the projects and improvements their candidates had supported and promoted: roads, railways, business enterprises. One rumour circulated that Allan and Charles Clarke were seeking a second conservative to enter the contest to split the vote. If this were the case, they had no success.
The gloves came off with the Dec. 8 edition of the British Colonist, a conservative paper published in Toronto. The editor wrote that Allan “may poll a fair vote at Elora, where he resides, and where his chiselling propensities in favour of that pretty locality are duly appreciated; but beyond this limited field his prospects are far below zero. A notorious dealer in bogus village lots, he is better known than liked; a man always intent upon serving some purpose of his own, he is everywhere mistrusted.”
Allan encountered more bad press a few days later, with the Fergus Constitution of Dec. 12. Dr. William Clarke had released a letter from John A. Macdonald, in which the future father of Confederation recalled being introduced to Allan in the fall of 1856, and Allan’s comments at that time that he was in full support of Macdonald and the conservative cabinet.
“A more unblushing and bare-faced political decoyer never pawned himself off on a constituency,” commented the Fergus editor. “Mr. Allan is capable of committing the lowest act to gain his ambitious point.” These comments, and others by the Elora Backwoodsman against James Webster, stirred up a frenzy.
Nomination day saw the almost complete suspension of work in Fergus and Elora. Allan’s supporters trickled into Elora from the north and west on the morning of the big day. At noon, a parade of 112 wagons and carriages set off for Fergus.
Webster’s forces had been assembling in Fergus. When the nomination meeting opened, about 1,500 people had gathered around the outdoor platform in the frosty December air. First there were lengthy nomination speeches for both candidates. Webster was the first candidate to speak. He described his role in settling the area, his terms in the legislature, and his support of every improvement in the area over the previous 25 years. The crowd had become restive, and the returning officer had difficulty keeping order. Even an interruption by Charles Allan, urging his own supporters to be quiet and orderly, had little effect. When Webster ended he could see fist fights in progress on the fringe of the crowd.
Then Charles Allan stepped forward. He appeared unwell, and asked for a glass of water. After a few minutes he recovered, and was soon in his finest form. He showed no shyness or nervousness, and proved he was a master at the self-effacing style, complete with foot shuffling and ear scratching, that has always been the hallmark of country politicians. The grey hair around his temples gave him a dignified presence, and he used his eyes and eyebrows effectively to convey his emotions.
Allan began by describing himself as an ordinary man, a carpenter by trade. He pointed to the steeple of St. Andrew’s Church, stating that he had built it with his own hands. Virtually every carpenter in the area, he noted, had either worked for or apprenticed with him. His witty manner and informal style of delivery contrasted with Webster, who tended to be formal and pompous in his speaking style. Allan soon had the crowd tamed, as both supporters and opponents strained to hear his words.
For much of his speech, Allan avoided political remarks completely. Like Webster, he was trying to appeal to as wide a spectrum as possible, and sought to focus the campaign on who would do the most for the riding. His only deviation was a vehement statement of support for the Orange Order, and his insistence that Canada was a protestant country and should ever be so.
At the end of the meeting, both candidates and their supporters spent the rest of the afternoon parading around Fergus. Political partisans, inflamed by the speeches, filled the bar rooms in both Fergus and Elora that night. In several cases, fisticuffs followed impromptu speeches delivered from a chair.
The campaign intensified during its last week. The mixture of rhetoric and alcohol at meetings and rallies, invariably held in bar rooms, led to frequent violence, and a stabbing in Garafraxa. There was still a property qualification to vote. Much of the violence came from the newer disenfranchised settlers, who had yet to receive title to their farms, and from transient labourers in the towns.
The ugliest incident began in the hotel in Creekbank, in Peel Township, on election night. A group of Webster’s supporters gathered there heard a rumour that Allan’s supporters were meeting at McCrae’s Tavern in Alma. They decided to do something about it. The motley group assembled on the road, considering themselves some kind of militia. Armed with clubs and axes, they marched all the way to Alma.
Minutes after they arrived, a full riot erupted in the dimly-lit and smoke-filled tavern. William Miller, one of Allan’s supporters, had a rifle. Webster’s supporters tried to take it from him. In the resulting scuffle, Miller pulled the trigger, and shot John Farrell to death. Miller fled, but a short time later, fearing for his own life, he turned himself in. During the night a mob kept up a constant vigil, with the intent of lynching Miller.
While those events unfolded, the returning officer tallied the results. It was a clear victory for Charles Allan, who took the riding by a vote of 1,230 to 1,032.
But the story was far from over. The conservatives were launching an official protest, and politics would be front and centre for another eight months.
To be continued next week..
*This column was originally published in the Advertiser on Oct. 5, 2001.
