From the front page of the Huron Expositor
Friday, 27 November 1931

Reprinted with the permission of the Huron Expositor
Copyright: the Huron Expositor
“Your Community Newspaper Since 1860”
Copyright: the Huron Expositor
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Chapter 10 The First Election in Huron

If, as we have surmised, Van Egmond returned to Huron in February, 1835, as a recognized officer of the Reform party, he had not long to delay in putting principles into practice. The proposal had early been mooted that the Tract should have a representative in the Legislature of Upper Canada; and as the population increased, this suggestion seems to have been looked on with favour by the authorities. In consequence the inhabitants of the Tract commenced to make preparations for an election early in 1834.

As we have seen, the dissatisfaction with the Company might have been expected to create an atmosphere favourable to the Reform cause. But that such was not the case seems due primarily to the men of Colborne. As the Misses Lizars inform us, with the exception of the Edinburgh radical Lizars himself, the Colbornites were solidly Tory; and whether Tory or not, they were first of all good Scotsman and British subjects, full of pride in their nationality and the imperial tradition, determined to maintain the connection with the empire at any cost to themselves. They had witnessed with alarm the flirtation of some extreme Reformers with republicanism and separation, and they responded to the cry of the Family Compact that the British connection was at stake. Accordingly, when they saw Van Egmond adopting the Reform cause, they turned to a man against him, ignoring their grievances against the Company in their hostility to the disloyalty of which they suspected the Reform Party. In the existing electoral connections they were likely to have their way; for the franchise was restricted to freeholders, persons who held full title to their lands. In Huron, this class comprised not many beside the well-to-do Colborne men, who acting as a unit could control the election while the majority of settlers, struggling with their payments to the Company, had no voice in political affairs.

In these circumstances, the Colborne men held at nomination meeting in Goderich on February 4, 1834, and designated the man of their choice, Robert Dunlop, ex-commander of his Majesty's Navy, brother of the doctor and recent arrival from Scotland, whose late profession would afford a guarantee of patriotic political opinions. It does not appear that the Colbornites selected Captain Dunlop because of his connection with the Company through his brother, rather in spite of that connection, for at this time, 1834, they were least enamoured of the Company. Captain Dunlop was in no sense a Canada Company man, but the man of the comparatively wealthy settlers of Colborne. He accepted the nomination, doubtless gratified at this prompt recognition of his merits in the community to which he was a newcomer. There was no doubt that if elected he would find congenial company in the ranks of the Family Compact Party.

For the Reformers of Huron, only one name was possible, that of the Dutch Colonel who had led the opposition to the Company and had gained the confidence of the leaders of their party. Sometime during the spring of 1835, Van Egmond circulated among the electors an address concerning the issues at stake; probably he also held meetings and canvassed voters, though of these activities we have no record. His opponent, Captain Dunlop, held his principal meeting on June 12 at Reid's Hotel in Goderich “for the purpose of explaining his political sentiments.” According to the Toronto “Patriot”, at 1 pm on the date mentioned, a large and respectable assembly met at Reid’s. T W Luard, Esq, the chairman, stated to the meeting the reason which moved Captain Dunlop to explain himself publicly, to wit that attempts had been made to lead the freeholders into error concerning the captain's political sentiments; and called on the gallant ex-officer to explain himself. What the doubt was about Dunlop's political faith we can only conjecture, perhaps concerning a leaning to Whiggery such as that of another brother, Sandy, in Scotland. At any rate, according to the Patriot, Captain Dunlop explained his sentiments “even to the satisfaction of his political opponents,” and left no doubt in the minds of the people that his principles were strictly Constitutional -- a conclusion, eminently satisfactory to the respectable freeholders there assembled. Having thus inaugurated an active campaign, Captain Dunlop accompanied by the aforementioned T W Luard Esq., left town next day to canvass the county. At Hick’s Tavern he addressed a meeting well attended, according to our account, under the chairmanship of C Mountcastle, Esq. The worthy captain “again explained his political sentiments” to an audience no doubt well satisfied; then proceeded to Stratford on Avon. In this village, the result of his canvass was “highly satisfactory” and left “but little doubt that the Captain would be returned for the new county.” Such was, according to the only account which seems to have survived, the first electoral campaign in Huron County.

The date of the actual election had been set as from Monday, June 29th, to Wednesday, July 1st, the polling to take place in Goderich. Of this election, there seems to exist only one account, that of the Toronto Patriot of July 14th, a description obviously biased in favour of Dunlop and distorted by clumsy attempts at humour, but from which it is possible to extract an outline of the chief occurrences in this the first election in Huron.

In accordance with arrangements, the election commenced on June 29th at Goderich. The blue ribbons of Captain Dunlop were “in every bonnet” and the Union Jack floated from various quarters of the village, a fact from which we may deduce that Dunlop's supporters were endeavouring to identify their opponents with disloyalty and to make political capital out of the flag. The captain himself arrived presently from his home, Gairbraid House in Colborne, and went to the Steamboat Hotel, where he was received with cheers by a contingent of bluejackets and by “all respectable people,” or in other words, his friends. These then drew him in a car to the place where the hustings had been erected in Market Square for the business of the day of days.

In charge of the election was Henry Hyndman of “Lundaston” Township of Colborne, now appointed Returning Officer for Huron. On Dunlop's arrival he commanded silence and read the government's writ authorizing the election. Preliminaries thus finished, Daniel Lizars of “Meadowland”, Colborne, took the platform and proposed the name of Robert Graham Dunlop, Commander in his Majesty's Navy, on account of “the deep interest” he had shown in the welfare of the settlement since his arrival. Mr Lizars and then proceeded to an attack on the Reformers in their sentiments as represented by the Colonel and the Colonel's address to the freeholders, in what he conceived to be humorous fashion. His first essay in this part was a repetition of Van Egmond’s formidable series of names with a pause after each for the expected laugh: Mr Anthony! Jacob! William! Gysbert! Lamoral! Van Egmond! Having thus tickled the ears of his audience, Mr Lizars went on to expose the “inconsistencies, assumptions and malicious fabrications” in the Colonel's address, of which he made a reputation that was very satisfactory at least to the correspondent of the Toronto Patriot; and achieved some applause, which from the standpoint of the quality of the wit, seems distinctly undeserved. From Van Egmond, Mr. Lizars turned to a new topic. He had heard it reported that a certain William Bennett Rich was to be a candidate, but he had seen no written document to that effect; accordingly he would leave it to Mr Rich, whom he saw on the hustings, to explain to the freeholders his pretensions if he had any, meanwhile (Lizars) confining himself to observing that he understood Mr Rich had declared himself an Ultra-Tory and an anti-Reformer. It seems that Mr Lizars, had his suspicions of the third candidate, but was not certain enough to take a definite stand.

Thomas William Luard of Langford in Colborne, followed Lizars and seconded the motion with rather excessive complements to the proposer, after which he turned his attention to the Goderich Harbour Bill, the petition in favour of which had been entrusted to his care, so that he had a personal interest in the matter. This bill, sponsored by the Company, as we have seen, was intended to permit that organization to charge toll on all vessels entering the harbour, the proceeds to be used for improving the harbour; but it had been rejected in the last session of the Assembly, an outcome which Mr Luard charged to “the unfounded assertions and wilful misrepresentations” of Van Egmond's communication to several members of the Assembly. Continuing, Mr Luard accused the Colonel first of ignorance of the English language, and second, of antipathy to British institutions, proof of which was his adherence to the anti-British and anti-Constitutional party in the present House of Assembly, ie, the Reform Party. Mr Luard declared his opinion that Van Egmond was no more fit for a seat in the Legislature of the province than an Englishman would be qualified to fill the chair of the first Burgomaster of Amsterdam, and sat down, amid cheers. It will be seen that both Mr Lizars and Mr Luard felt themselves much more at home in delivering personal remarks than considering political arguments; that both made at the same principal point that Van Egmond was a Dutchman and a Reformer, a fact which might freely have been conceded before the election began in order to clear the ground for rational discussion. A third speaker followed, Joseph Wilson, “oldest proprietor of the township of Goderich,” who supported Dunlop with entire approbation, from which brief account one might guess that his speech contained no personal illusions and was therefore the most worthy of respect of the three.

The Dunlop party had not delivered themselves of their sentiments; the captain himself did not speak, perhaps from distrust of his ability. Van Egmond was expected to appear next, to be nominated by his supporters; but for unexplained reasons, he delayed. Not until noon, two hours after the election had commenced, did his proposer appear, Michael Fisher, whose speech seems to have been confined to the bare nomination of Van Egmond. Fisher's nephew, Joseph, seconded the nomination “amid the laughter and derision of the assembled electors” or at least of Dunlop's party. Another delay ensued. Finally, between one and two o'clock, the Colonel himself appeared and ascended the hustings, accompanied by two of his sons but by not a single freeholder.

At this point, the correspondent takes a hand in the game of supposed humour at Van Egmond's expense. The Colonel was “an old, crusty, crabbed, sour-looking Dutchman,” distinguished by “a stoop and a squint like Wall in Bottom's tragedy” -- an allusion to the interlude of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, or like a distinctly different character, “the knight of the rueful countenance,” Don Quixote.” The Colonel, says our authority, declares that he has a Latin certificate to show that he is the eldest son of the late Count Van Egmont, consequently, that he is now Count himself and the lineal descendent of the famous Count Egmont, leader in the Dutch revolt against Spain, but our correspondent assures us, some lately arrived Dutchmen state that the title is extinct, that Van Egmond was merely as suttler to Napoleon's army in Italy, that at the peace be became a barber in Dort, that thence he emigrated to Five Points, New York, where he engaged once more in barbering with such lack of success that he was obliged to pack his all in a wagon and come to Canada. These disparaging details are so obviously the product of partisan imagination heated by election fervour that they may be entirely disregarded, but from the date of the Colonel's arrival in Upper Canada, the supposed biography becomes somewhat less distorted. At Waterloo, says our authority, the Colonel's party were obliged to submit to quarantine in a barn, to ablutions and purifications lest they carry disease; a requirement which is by no means improbable, indicating nothing more than Van Egmond's compliance with immigration regulations. Thereafter, continues our authority, the Count descended to driving a team for the Canada Company. Presently, by “low cunning”, he crept into the good graces of Mr Galt, by which means he entered on a prosperous career and became the wealthiest man in the Tract at the expense of the Company, “or, more properly, of their settlers.” Yet, such is his ingratitude, “he has been abusing the company and its officers with all his might ever since.” All of which is merely our correspondent’s way of expressing his opinion of Van Egmond's opposition to the Company and its system of settlement.

Having finished his account of the Colonel's career, our authority explains that the Reform candidate appeared on the hustings decorated with three foreign orders of knighthood, which he said he had obtained “for de honourable service,” but which he had probably bought from real soldiers at a pint of Holland's per order, a sneer which was another touch of the correspondent’s imagination. Van Egmond's sons, he adds, wore similar decorations, but as they were either not yet born in the wartime or were at most too young for military exploits, they must owe their blushing honours to their papa’s prudence rather than to their own progress -- a hit which seems another allusion to suspicion of purchase. We may conjecture that our correspondent was in error concerning the nature of the decorations worn by the boys, and that Van Egmond earned his orders of Knighthood we have little room to doubt. Returning to the subject, however, our authority states that the Colonel requested a short time to compose himself, then came to the front with a written paper and addressed the electors in imperfectly spoken English, which affords another target of elephantine humour.

“Freeholders of the County of Huron: I have come to inform dat I offer mineself to your notish as de fit and proper person to represent you vid de Parliamente at de particular request of de principal part of de free and independent electors of dis countie. Gentlemans!” There follows an account clumsily burlesqued by our correspondent, the first point of which seems to be that if he were elected, Van Egmond would desire a committee appointed in Huron to correspond with him on matters to be taken before the House. Apparently because of his age some such arrangement would be a necessity, presumably to save him from obligation to travel frequently between Huron and Toronto. “Don't I keep de best Tavern on de Huron Road?” He asked, in a good-natured jest, which his opponents at once seized on as evidence of exaggerated self-esteem. As second point, he proclaimed his detestation of bribes, perjury and the barter of principles for places and pensions by which perhaps he referred to the actions of certain members of the Legislature who, elected as Reformers, had succumbed to the temptation to modify their beliefs in return for a well-paid government positions. “If you want a man who does (these things), don't elect me.” To which one of the audience, wittier than others of Dunlop's party, replied: “Don't alarm yourself, old boy; we have no idea of it.” The Colonel continued, “If you want a man dat will betray de liberties, lives and properrish of yourself, children and generations yet unporn, don't elect me!” At this a worthy Scot took up of the tale of the previous heckler, “Dinna fash yoursel’, mon, de’il a fear of your being elected!” Apparently ignoring these interruptions, Van Egmond went on to explain his opposition to the Harbour Bill, seemingly on the ground of the constitutional provision that no toll was allowed on lakes or navigable rivers such as the Maitland was supposed to be. In conclusion, he stated: “If you dink proper to elect me, I pledge myself to become your humble sarvint and de sarvint of the peoplish! and shall always to obey deir commands an’ oder dink!” -- language which may not inadequately represent the Colonel's struggle with the English tongue. He had perhaps exaggerated the importance of this Huron bye-election in assuming that on it depended the lives, liberties and properties of generations yet unborn; but he had refrained from personal remarks and had attempted an intelligible political discussion, in consequence of which we may rank his speech as probably the best delivered that day in Goderich, though this is but faint praise.

When Van Egmond had finished, Mr Lizars took the platform again and denounced “the extraordinary and unconnected rhapsody” which they had just heard, declared he could not comprehend what it really meant and whether the electors understood Van Egmond to have declared himself a candidate or not. On this, the first specimen of his appearance in public, was not Van Egmond the most unfit man to represent the electors in Parliament? Wasn't he unsupported by anyone except the proposer and seconder? In these circumstances, Mr Lizars declared his astonishment at the presumption of that individual having the effrontery to thrust himself on the public. All of which indicates only strong partisanship in the mind of Mr Lizars and an inability to raise the discussion above the level of cheap personal sneers.

The third candidate now appeared, Mr Rich, an Englishman, recently a J P and appointed Commissioner of the Court of Requests in Upper Canada. He stated that he had been solicited by the almost unanimous wish of the people of Goderich to stand for election, a unanimous wish nevertheless decidedly qualified in action since no one but himself proposed or seconded his nomination. According to our account, he spoke in great excitement and he also misrepresented certain expressions dropped by Dunlop's seconder, a modification which if accurate might almost have been a kindness to Mr Luard. Here our correspondent closes his brief notice of Mr Rich's speech and interposes an item of his own information, that Mr Rich sent to Van Egmond's tavern at Ross at 11pm June 30th, for a letter which had nothing to do with the election business and read it to the people, presumably next day. What the contents of the letter were, we do not know; probably, however, they were in some degree damaging to Dunlop and an example of a “roorbach” already in this first Huron election. At any rate, the correspondent concludes that Rich must have been secretly at least in allegiance with Van Egmond's party, to have conceived this “nefarious attempt,” a connection which from the Colborne point of view put him out of court immediately. Nevertheless, it is difficult to see how any slander the letter contained could be more highly coloured than those which Messrs Lizars and Luard had heaped on Van Egmond.

Meanwhile, the campaign was conducted among the electors. According to our account, Van Egmond “prowled and sneaked” or at least canvassed among the people, exciting them against Dunlop's proposer and seconder (an action not without its provocation, as we have seen) and declared that the (?)ers that were all guards whom it was no honour to represent in Parliament, thus committing a serious indiscretion, if our authority is correct. Hearing of this, Mr Lizars challenged him and brought three charges: (1) That Van Egmond had solicited a gentleman of high degree to perjure himself in a case involving Van Egmond's interests; (2) That in a letter to the Directors of the Company the Colonel had slandered the inhabitants of Goderich as paupers in the country from which they came and persons accustomed to oppression; (3) That he had tried to plunder the Company by a monstrous claim of 2000 pounds on the plea that he had stopped the cholera from coming into the Tract. All three of these are probably fevered misrepresentations of innocent and necessary actions on the Colonel's part. In conclusion, Mr Lizars denounced Van Egmond as a recreant to the principles he had avowed and a renegade to the country of his birth, accusations which reveal only too plainly Mr Lizars’ poverty of intellect and oratorical ability.

It will be seen that the manner of the contest was not of high order. Captain Dunlop's self effacement is extraordinary, to say the least, and his principal supporters had no inkling of the ethics, the methods or the content of political controversy. Van Egmond appears in better light than Lizars or Luard, and Mr Rich appears the perfect example of the new arrival with an exaggerated estimate of the impression he is creating among the people he meets. Persons with a preference for reason in politics must have been pleased when the election came to a close at 1 pm on July 1st. According to our authority, Dunlop received 59 votes; Van Egmond, 2, and Rich, none at all. Had not freeholders alone enjoyed the franchise, had persons still struggling with their instalments to the company had been allowed to vote, Van Egmond's poll might have been considerably larger.

When the result was announced the captain, his proposer and his seconder were borne in triumph through the town proceeded by the Union Jack and a band as parade leaders to a celebration dinner at Fisher's Steamboat Hotel. The Reformers, or as our correspondent would have it, “Van Egmond's armed ruffians” with Michael Fisher, the soul voter of the lot as standard-bearer, held a parade of some 20 or 30 “deluded simpletons” waving in the Dutch flag or an imitation thereof, or, we may guess, a harmless Reform banner. The Colborne men countered by displaying and burning an effigy in the Market Square with the inscription “Van Humbug's Last Trip to Goderich”, the wit of which, to say the least, was not of high order. As finale, the hustings were destroyed. Huron had had its first election and its first representative, Captain Dunlop, supporter of the Family Compact and man of the Colborne clique.