While looking at various books, I found an old Canadian almanac and noticed its very thorough description of Queen Victoria and her family. By chance, the almanac also documents those in the two houses of Parliament during the Pacific Scandal tribulations and provides other interesting contemporary details.
Consequently, various Queen Victoria depictions and Canada's Government in 1873 are the themes of this short post.
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| from: 100 Years in Pictures; DC Somervell; 1951; Odhams Press. |
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| from: Vanishing Canada; Rick Butler; 1980; Clark Irwin & Co. |
Above, the original Canadian House of Commons on May 20, 1897.
The old Centre Block was destroyed by fire on February 3, 1916.
The Canadian Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge; 1873; Copp Clark ... measures 6 x 9 inches. The pages on Queen Victoria and the Canadian Government are reproduced below.
Many readers will be interested in finding their representatives in Ottawa back then. You may notice that the ministries are described as being located in the East Block or the West Block on Parliament Hill.
JW Bengough (1851-1923) was an early Canadian political cartoonist who published the Canadian satirical magazine Grip. It was influenced by the British satirical magazine Punch to some extent (sample below). Grip's first edition appeared on May 24, 1873 - quite a year in Canadian politics.
Two of Bengough's cartoons showing Macdonald appear below.
A nice, concise description of the Pacific Scandal is included.
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| from: A Caricature History of Canadian Politics; JW Bengough; 1886 (1974 reprint); The Grip (Peter Martin Assoc). |
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| from: 100 Years in Pictures; DC Somervell; 1951; Odhams Press. |
Of course, that's British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
(in office as Prime Minister: 1868, 1874-1880)
pictured with Queen Victoria.
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| from: A Caricature History of Canadian Politics; JW Bengough; 1886 (1974 reprint); The Grip (Peter Martin Assoc). |
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| from: 100 Years in Pictures; DC Somervell; 1951; Odhams Press. |