Hon. Honore Mercier

Among contemporary Canadian statesmen a foremost place must be assigned to the late Hon. Honore Mercier, premier of the province of Quebec. He was not only distinguished by reason of his position at the head of the government of one of the foremost provinces of the Canadian federation but attained distinction along various other lines having to do with the progress and upbuilding of the country and the upholding of its political, legal and moral status. A native of the province of Quebec, he was born at Iberville, October 15, 1840. He came of a family of unpretentious farmers, or habitants, as they are styled in Lower Canada, the ancestors originally from Old France, although several generations have been represented in the county of Montmagny below the city of Quebec. His father had to provide for the needs of a large household, but he was a man of energy and foresight and counted no personal sacrifice too great if he could thereby equip his children for the later responsibilities and duties that fall to the lot of every individual. The maiden name of the mother was Marie Catherine Laflamme.

When fourteen years of age Honore Mercier became a student in the Jesuit College in Montreal, where he completed his education, making an excellent record. Some time afterward he determined upon the practice of law as his life work and became a student in the office of Laflamboise & Papineau, who directed his reading until he was admitted to practice in 1865. While a law student he turned his attention to journalism and in 1862 became editor in chief of the Courier de St. Hyacinthe, winning distinction because of his able political editorials, his support being given to the Macdonald-Sicotte liberal administration.

Following his admission to the bar Mr. Mercier retired from the profession of journalism to concentrate his energies upon his law practice. His thorough training, his natural powers and his ambition soon brought him a prominent position at the bar and from that time forward his advancement was continuous as a factor in those affairs and events which have shaped the history of province and Dominion.

In 1871 he appeared in the political arena at Bagot as a supporter of M. Langelier, the liberal candidate. The following year, upon the earnest solicitation of his friends, he became a candidate for Rouville in the house of commons and was elected. Following the downfall of the conservative government in 1873, he yielded his seat to Mr. Cheval in 1874, to avoid dividing the vote of the liberal party in the case of the redoubtable conservative candidate, Mr. Gigault. Following his retirement to private life he entered upon a partnership with Mr. Bourgeois of St. Hyacinthe. He was made the candidate of the liberal party in 1878, standing for St. Hyacinthe, but lost the election by six votes. The following year a majority of three hundred and seven votes elected him to the legislative assembly to represent St. Hyacinthe and he became solicitor-general of the Joly administration, filling out the unexpired term of Hon. P. Bachand, deceased. Mr. Mercier continued in the office until the administration went out in the same year.

In 1881, following his removal from St. Hyacinthe to Montreal, Mr. Mercier became a law partner of Messrs. Beausoleil & Martineau and was again called into the field of political activity when in December, 1881, at the general provincial election he was chosen by acclamation for his old constituency, St. Hyacinthe. In the beginning of the session of 1883 Hon. Mr. Joly resigned the direction of the provincial liberal party and Mr. Mercier was unanimously chosen his successor, on motion of Mr. Joly, as the leader of the opposition. Here his dominant qualities found fitting scope, his ability and qualities of leadership placing him within a brief period among the foremost French-Canadian statesmen. Within the short space of three years he demonstrated what could be accomplished by an able and intrepid leader with the support of a small but disciplined and trusty band of parliamentary followers to retrieve the fallen fortunes of his party and to defend and lead to victory a popular cause the moment circumstances placed it in his hands.

As the accepted leader of the new national party formed by a combination of liberals and conservative bolters, Mr. Mercier not only directed the whole movement but personally traversed the province of Quebec almost from end to end, addressing as many as one hundred and sixty meetings and leaving the impress of his influence as a factor in the promotion of his cause. The election of October, 1886, resulted in a victory for the nationals. After the struggle, which ensued in the final overthrow of the Ross administration, Mr. Mercier was called upon by the lieutenant governor to form a new cabinet and in less than twenty-four hours, as a result of his quick decisions and promptness in action, he had made choice of his colleagues, announcing the result to the legislature and the country, both receiving it with marked satisfaction.

The close of the first session found him more popular and more firmly established in the good graces of the people than ever, a position that was augmented later by the marvelous success of his administration as evidenced in the settlement of the long pending dispute with Ontario respecting the division of the common school fund and the unusually advantageous negotiation of the new provincial loan of three and a half millions. His adversaries attributed these and other valuable results to good luck, but a real student of politics knows that good management and thorough understanding of the situation lay back of them. Mr. Mercier remained in power until December, 1891, when he was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Angers as a result of an investigation held by a royal commission on what then became known as the Baie des Chaleurs Scandal.

On March 8, 1892, at the general elections, though Mr. Mercier was returned for Bonaventure, which he had represented since the general elections of 1890, his party was annihilated and he ceased to be a factor in provincial politics.

Following his retirement to private life he joined his son-in-law, Sir Lomer Gouin, and Mr. R. Lemieux in a law partnership, but he rarely appeared in court. However, he won the highest professional honors. He was actually the attorney-general as well as the premier of Quebec. He was twice batonnier of the bar of the Montreal district, and the respect entertained for him by his legal colleagues was so great that they unanimously elevated him to the still more distinguished eminence of batonnier-general of the bar of the province. Of him it has been written: “Heralded to the world as the apostle of an advanced radicalism which in reality had no representative in this country, he not only preached but practiced a different gospel and in office proved himself unusually moderate and conciliatory as well as a man of broad and generous views, free from sectionalism and exceedingly anxious to do justice to all races, classes and creeds, yet fully determined to work out the regeneration of his native province on the great lines of reform which he ever regarded as essential to that desirable end.”

Mr. Mercier held to the religious faith of the French-Canadians—that of the Roman Catholic church and his loyal adherence thereto increased with the passing years. There was a time, however, when, on account of his political liberalism and alliances, his orthodoxy was more than once seriously questioned by his political foes to his personal and party detriment. This, however, passed by and the Papal authority conceded that a man may be a liberal in politics and yet a good Catholic, while the clergy of Lower Canada came to know that he was not only a devoted churchman in theory and practice, but also that the interests of Catholicism were as safe in his hands as in those of its self-constituted champions who proclaimed their zeal for the faith from the housetops. There was in him nothing of narrow-minded bigotry and perhaps no prominent statesman or political leader of his day has shown himself so free from religious or sectional bias in the conduct of affairs relating to the entire community. A French-Canadian in heart and soul and a thorough son of the soil, still, “strict and impartial justice to all classes, races and creeds and undue favor to none,” seems to have been the motto upon which Honore Mercier always acted. In 1893 he undertook a campaign in favor of the independence of Canada and advocated this both here and in the United States, but with no tangible results. Though received enthusiastically in the eastern states, he met with a rebuff in Chicago, and abandoned the campaign to resume his practice in Montreal.

Two notable features in his life history were the torchlight procession in his honor in Montreal following his return from Europe, and the reception he tendered the ex-Papal zouaves at his country seat at Ste. Anne de la Perade, when he distributed the medals awarded them by the pope. On that occasion Mr. Mercier appeared in the gorgeous uniform of commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great—the first time it had been seen in Canada. The wide recognition given his ability is attested by a partial list of the honors conferred upon him. Not only did he receive the grand cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great from the pope but His Holiness also raised him to the rank of count. He was in addition to these honors officer of the Legion of Honor; commander of the Order of Leopold I, King of the Belgians; and chevalier of the Order of St. Sepulcher. He was made queen’s counsel and received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Laval University, the University of Fordham, New York, and the University of Georgetown.

A man of his ability and eminence could not fail to have enemies, but he had also hosts of friends. He possessed that quality which, for want of a better term, has been called magnetism. He was most generous and ever had a helping hand out-reaching to those who needed assistance. His residence both in Montreal and in Quebec was always filled with his admirers. It has been said repeatedly that his so-called friends were largely responsible for any errors that he may have committed. He was particularly helpful to young men, many of whom have reason to remember him with gratitude. It was his delight to assist a struggling youth in his law studies or in other ways.

Mr. Mercier was twice married. On the 29th of May, 1866, he wedded Leopoldine Boivin of St. Hyacinthe, who died leaving a daughter who subsequently married Sir Lomer Gouin and who is now deceased. On the 9th of May, 1871, Honore Mercier married Virginie St. Denis, also of St. Hyacinthe, and they had two sons and one daughter to reach adult age, Honore, Paul-Emile and Héva. The elder son is a member of the Gouin cabinet and a sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this work. The younger son is a civil and consulting engineer and is mentioned elsewhere in this history. Héva married Dr. Homère Fauteux and resides in Beauceville.

The death of Hon. Honore Mercier occurred October 30, 1894, on which occasion the Montreal Daily Star said editorially: “The career of the late Hon. Honore Mercier is one that will long live on the lips of those who delight in political reminiscences of this historic province. He played a conspicuous role in the political drama; and, while he was on the stage, pretty well absorbed the attention of the multitude. That he was a man of rare ability in many ways, his swift attainment of the highest positions in Quebec amply attests.

“It is too late in the day for those who contributed to his overthrow in ’92 to make mawkish pretension of blindness to his faults, but it may truly be said that he gained striking success in spite of his faults, and, further, that it was his own hand that turned the current of destiny against him. Like all strong characters, he made many warm personal friends, and there will be more sincere mourning at his bier than falls to the lot of most mortals.”

Senator L. O. David, an intimate and lifelong friend of Mr. Mercier, in making a parallel between the three most popular men of our time, Laurier, Chapleau and Mercier, has written of the latter: “Mercier is the heaviest of the three, the strongest built and the most muscular; he is tall, with black eyes and hair and a heavy mustache—a veritable type of musketeer—the personification of strength and energy. He walks heavily with the assurance of a man who believes that the earth belongs to him. Mercier is the most solid, the most vigorous and the most penetrating. Penetrating is, indeed, the word which best describes his eloquence. See his movements; they resemble those of the axeman who strikes the tree at the root and at each blow removes a chip. Mercier is a parliamentary orator, a lawyer, a tribune. He is the strongest, cleverest, and most indefatigable speaker whom I have heard in the house or on the hustings. While I write these words I learn that he is dead. Is it possible that so much of life and intellect are gone forever? What a loss! How little we mortals are! Alas; had he struggled to preserve his health as he fought to regain it, he would not have died so young. Yes, so young, because he was built to live thirty or forty years more. Death has seldom met a more valiant fighter; it has vanquished him, but he died almost standing, as he often said he would.

“Before the grave, which opens to receive his mortal remains, criticism will disarm, no doubt, to render homage to the splendor and power of his intelligence, his political genius, to the energy of his character and the sincerity of his patriotism. Through all the vicissitudes of a stormy life, in spite of his faults and weaknesses, he preserved until the last moment all the fervor of the religious and patriotic sentiments of his youth. Of all the political men I have known, he is the one who, in all things and under all circumstances, was most given to consider questions from a national standpoint. He was frankly, sincerely, profoundly patriotic and without fanaticism. Few men have had more devoted friends, enthusiastic admirers, and secured more brilliant triumphs and undergone such crushing defeats. He was stronger in defeat than in victory. Much will be forgiven him because he suffered much.”