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Was the son of Mr. Angus Cameron, formerly
of Argyleshire, Scotland, and who came to Canada in 1806, as the hospital
sergeant of a Highland regiment. The subject of this sketch was born at
Three Rivers, on the 25th of April, 1808. His father, whose regiment was
disbanded in 1816, kept a tavern at Perth, in the Ottawa district. Until
1822, the family resided here, after which young Malcolm's mother, anxious
for the welfare of her child, now in his twelfth year, procured a
situation for him with a farmer on the banks of the Mississippi river. Her
great dread was that the child should become fond of drink, or that his
character should become stamped by any of the recollections of his
father's bar-room. Stamped his character was, but in the right way. The
lad had at an early age, and the feeling was with him as man, a horror of
bar-rooms, and a deep dislike for the liquor traffic. He remained a
farmer's lad for about three years, when he obtained a position in a store
at Laprairie. Here he disagreed with his employer, threw up his situation,
and set out on foot for Montreal, in which city he took the position at
first of a stable-boy. In the old country, where so many of the
distinguished men are born midway to their position, we suppose they could
hardly believe that in such a way as this some of the greatest ornaments
of Canada have set out in life. The lad's mother now opened a
boarding-house in Montreal, and her son lived with her during the
following winter, and attended the district school. From all that can be
gathered, his mother was a noble-souled woman, with a clear sound head, a
great heart, and high aims for the future of her son. Young Malcolm
subsequently obtained the position of clerk in a brewery, and this
situation he held for about four years, giving great satisfaction to his
employer. He saved some money, with which he purchased Hume's and
Smollet's histories of England, which he read and re-read with enthusiasm.
This was an evidence in a way of what the man was yet to be. He now became
a wide reader, amassing large stores of information. He was never
scholarly or cultured, but he was well-read, intelligently read, and his
range of knowledge was wide and useful. He soon opened a general store on
his own account, and during a visit to Scotland, in 1833, married his
cousin, Miss Christina McGregor, daughter of a Glasgow cotton spinner.
Three years later he was elected for the county of Lanark in the old Upper
Canada assembly. Sir Francis Bond Head was now strutting abroad through
the Province, and exasperating the people by the manner in which he
treated their requests for redress from political grievances. Against this
mock tragedian, Mr. Cameron brought the force of his strong individuality.
He who had fought for everything that he had possessed was not likely to
defer to the unearned powers and positions of the dominant family compact.
He opposed that combination with might and main, and though at the first
his exertions seemed not unlike the sea flinging itself against the base
of an invincible cliff, after a while the great fabric was seen to shiver,
and then to begin rocking. In the parliament and upon the hustings he
opposed oligarchy, favouritism, and corruption, advocated responsible
government, and declared loudly for separation of church and state. Under
Lord Bagot's administration he was Inspector of Revenue without a seat in
the Cabinet; he had already refused the Inspector-Generalship under
Sydenham. Under the Baldwin-La-fontaine administration he held a seat in
the Cabinet. He was once President of the Council, again Commissioner of
Public Works; was also Minister of Agriculture as well as
Postmaster-General. Upon the Hincks reconstruction, in 1851, he became
President of the Council. With Dr. John Rolph, somewhat after this time,
he was the leader of the advanced radical element. In 1854 he was not sent
to parliament, but in 1858 he was returned for Lambton again. In 1863 he
withdrew from parliamentary life, and became, conjointly with Mr. George
Desbarats, Queen's printer. In 1869 he was unsuccessful in contesting
South Renfrew, and two years later he was defeated for South Lanark, in
his contest for the local legislature. In 1874 he was successful again,
being sent to the Commons for South Ontario. This seat he held till his
death, which occurred at Ottawa, on the 1st of June, 1876. He was
instrumental in the passage of much useful legislation, and strenuously
advocated the abolition of imprisonment for debt. In public life he always
kept his hands pure. His mercantile career was a chequered one, and he
died a poor man, leaving little behind him save an irreproachable name. |
