THE CANADA TIMES

Vol. 13, Issue 4

Celebrating little known or forgotten stories of our history

Newsletter from The Jeanie Johnston Educational FoundationHospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem

155, du Buisson, Pierrefonds, P.Q. H8Y 2Z5Tel.: 514-341-7777

Email: jeaniejohnstonfdn@videotron.ca

October 2017

What’s inside Note from the Chair The Generosity of the Ottoman Sultan An Inconvenient Truth Montreal’s new flag New Honorary Patron

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Note from the Chair

The Papineau Cup was created by a bequest made by the Papineau family in memory of Talbot Mercer Papineau MC who was killed at the Battle of Paschendael 1917. He was a respected lawyer in Montreal, one of the first Rhodes scholars in Canada. At the declaration of the First World War, he joined the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry as lieutenant. He received one of the first Military Crosses in 1915. His cousin, Henri Bourassa, owner of “Le Devoir” newspaper published articles against the participation of French Canadians in the war because he was against imperialism. Papineau challenged him in an open letter in the Montreal “Gazette”, under the heading “The Soul of Canada”. The eloquence of the debate about the character of the country could be reprinted today virtually unchanged. His letters, along with Bourassa’s are preserved in the War Museum of Ottawa.

“His remarkable letters from the front are the Canadian voice of World War 1, a reminder of all was lost there.” Sandra Gwyn, “PAPINEAU, TALBOT MERCER,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval.

The Cup which had been seldom awarded was resurrected by the Jeanie Johnston Foundation. Together with the McGill Debating Society, we intend to promote a public debate based on the discussions between Papineau and Bourassa, having two prominent public figures as the proponents. Many of the arguments are current today.

Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh!

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through

temporary periods of joy. “

William Butler Yeats

Leo Delaney

www.jeaniejohnstoneducation.com

By Leo Delaney

The Generosity of the Ottoman Sultan

The Ottoman Sultan, Khaleefah Abdul-Majid on hearing of the Great Hunger in Ireland during the potato blight when one million Irish died, declared that he wished to help the starving people. He was aware that England ruled Ireland at that time and that the Irish people were not getting support from the British Government. In fact, English landlords in Ireland were taking the crops of corn and wheat from the tenants and selling it in England and Spain. Cattle were also driven through the streets full of dying people to docks for shipment to England in payment of gambling debts incurred by the land owners. The Sultan declared that he would send 10,000 pounds, an approximate value of $20 million in today’s currency, to help the Irish farmers. Queen Victoria, upon hearing this, demanded that as she had only sent 2,000 pounds herself, this would not be appropriate. So, the Sultan sent 1,000 pounds, but secretly sent five ships of food to Dublin to aid the people. The English tried to block the ships of food but the Ottoman sailors sailed on to Drogheda Harbour where they unloaded the food and saved hundreds of lives.

Irish noblemen signed and sent a letter of gratitude to Sultan Abdülmecid to thank the Ottoman ruler for his generosity. The actual letter, which is now located in Topkapı Palace, says: “We, the undersigned Irish noblemen, gentlemen and residents present our gratitude respectfully for the generosity, benevolence and concern and [monetary] donation that is endowed by your majesty to the suffering Irish public to meet the needs of them and appease their sorrows.”

To think that a Muslim leader of a Muslim country would make such a charitable act to a Christian country, some 4,000 miles away, during a time when the Ottoman Empire was under a great deal of internal strife itself, shows the difference between the British concern and the understanding of the Sultan and his people of the plight of the Irish people. A strong bond of friendship was developed between the two cultures.

Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, thanked the people of Turkey for their generosity to the Irish during her visit to Turkey in 2010.

This commemorative plaque was unveiled on 2 May, 1995 by the mayor of Drogheda and the Ambassador of Turkey, in recognition of the

Sultan’s aid to the Irish Famine relief.

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In 1849, Queen Victoria went to Ireland for an eleven-day visit to Cork, Dublin and Belfast. In her diary she wrote that the citizens “gave the royal party a rapturous welcome.” She continued: “We drove through the principle streets; they were densely crowded decorated with flowers and triumphal arches.... Our reception was most enthusiastic and everything went off to perfection and was well arranged. In Dublin “an immense multitude had assembled, who cheered most enthusiastically the ships saluting and the bands playing.”

Christine Kinealy, director of Quinnipiac University, says that “There is no evidence that she had any real compassion for the Irish people in any way. In her long reign, she only visited Ireland four times and one of those times was in 1849 when the famine was still raging but coming to an end. At that point she did nothing.

After her final visit in 1900, the Irish revolutionary, Maud Gonne wrote a scathing article about her, accusing “The Famine Queen” of failing to help the starving Irish. The British authorities banned the nickname but it stuck.

“The reality is more complex as Victoria did intervene in a number of ways to assist Ireland between 1846 and 1852, mostly though, at the prompting of the Prime Minister, Lord John Russell.” wrote Professor Kinealy in an article entitled “The Famine Queen at Carton House”.

An Inconvenient TruthQueen Victoria welcomed to Ireland during the Famine

By Leo Delaney

The image on the left is a scan of the “Queen's Letter” printed in “The Irish Famine” by Colm Toibin and Diarmaid Ferriter.

This was the first of the “Queen's Letters” sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury in which she calls for a collection of aid for the Irish (and Scots) who were suffering from the famine.

This letter was published in “The Times” on the 22 January 1847 and was to be read aloud in all Anglican churches. The Queen’s first letter was very successful, raising £170,571 for Irish relief. Victoria's second letter did not even raise half that amount. This is significant because it showed public attitudes had shifted from being somewhat willing to contribute financially to unwilling to give financially for the purpose of aid to the Irish.

A copy of the original letter which was printed in “The Times” is available from Newspapers.com

By Martina McLean

History in the raising of the flagMontreal recognizes its indigenous roots

Montreal has changed its coat of arms and flag to better reflect the city’s origins, establish a “nation-to-nation” relationship with Indigenous Peoples and recognize their importance and fundamental historical contribution. Mayor Denis Coderre said the decision to update the flag and coat of arms is timely as Canadians come to grips with the nation’s historical treatment of Indigenous people. “If we want to move on we need to recognize what happened in the past. We’re not all proud of what happened in the past but the only way to have that healing process and to move on is to recognize it,” said Coderre.

On the 13th September 2017, the tenth anniversary of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Montreal’s Mayor, Denis Coderre, in an early morning ceremony at Place Vauquelin in Old Montreal, unveiled and hoisted the new Montreal flag in the presence of Ghislain Picard, Regional Assembly of First Nations Chief of Quebec Labrador, and Chief Christine Zachary-Deom. This fulfills the plan the Mayor announced in February 2017 to modify the city’s flag in order to recognize the city’s indigenous roots and contribution to the city’s history. “The fact that we’re always talking about the founders, we have to remember that we’re on Mohawk territory and the First Nations were there,” said Coderre.

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Hoisting the new flag: Charles Contant/CBC

Montreal’s new flag and Coat of Arms“MONTREAL PROUD OF ITS INDIGENOUS ROOTS”

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History in the raising of the flagMontreal recognizes its indigenous roots cont.

By Martina McLean

Originally designed in 1939, the flag of Montreal was based on the city’s coat of arms, which was created in 1833. The goal at the time was to represent the city’s “founding nations” but it omitted the fact that indigenous people occupied the land long before their arrival, some 4,000 years before. Now, in addition to the fleur-de-lys of the Royal House of Bourbon, the rose of House of Lancaster, the thistle, and the shamrock representing the French, English, Scottish, and Irish respectively, there is now a white pine tree in a red circle in the centre of the existing red cross (Ville-Marie’s founders were Catholic) to underpin the city’s indigenous roots.

The City consulted with an Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador to establish a committee of experts from different nations to select a new city symbol. “The white pine was chosen by an advisory committee consisting of a Kahnawake chief representing the three Mohawk communities, a representative of Montréal’s urban Indigenous community, an Anishinaabe elder and the director of the Centre d’histoire de Montréal,” reported the City. The white pine, described as the Great Tree of Peace, is a symbol of the unity of the five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy — also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or the League of Five Nations — which includes the Mohawks.

At first sight, the changes appear minimal but the symbolism is immense. Central to the new flag is the white pine, the symbol of peace. It is centered in a red circle representing the Circle of Life and the great fire around which the First Nations’ councils used to meet, as described by the French explorer, Jacques Cartier. The red circle also evokes Mount Royal which used to be a meeting point for the chiefs and today embodies the heart of the metropolis. Christine Zachary-Deom explained that the red circle at the centre of the flag represents how Montreal was originally a meeting

place for multiple tribes. “Hochelaga means when the big conferences are held, where the big council fire is, so that circle, the red circle, means the great council fire at Montreal.”

Mayor Coderre said that the flag should be a solid step forward in having better relationships with indigenous people. “It means to reconcile, it means to recognize, it means to really build on solid ground,” said Coderre. Chief Zachary-Deom explained that that was why she was overcome with emotion when the flag was raised. “You don’t really see that many symbols of reconciliation for Canada. You don’t. This has been one that has really dug to the roots of the people who inhabit this area, who inhabited this area, and their principles… The principles of the Great Law of Peace are embodied in that great white pine because it suggests that people can dig to the roots to find the way under the tree of peace.” Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, said that “To have a flag over the city of Montreal that has the recognition that is due to our peoples makes me feel very proud.” The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) congratulated Ietsénhaienhs Christine Zachary-Deom who was made an Honorary Citizen of Montreal on the same day that the new flag was flown and received the “Key to the City” from Mayor Denis Coderre at a reception at City Hall. “On behalf of Chief & Council, I’d like to offer congratulations to Christine on the honor bestowed upon her by Mayor Coderre,” said Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton. “She has worked tirelessly and with great dedication in creating a better relationship with the city, especially in being part of the group who designed the new City of Montreal flag. She has brought honor and pride to the community, all in the spirit of reconciliation.”

Montreal’s new flag: City of Montreal

www.irishfamine.ca (Under construction)Effects of the Irish famine victims’ arrival into Canada and the USA

www.canadarailwaytimes.com Building of the Victoria Bridge, the founding of the Grand Trunk railway

and the effect of this on sports, entertainment, politics and education

www.jeaniejohnstoneducation.comPromotes the study of Canadian history and immigration

www.hospitaller.ca History and aims of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem

RESOURCES

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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The Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundationwelcomes new Honorary Patron

www.jeaniejohnstoneducation.comOctober 2017

Honorary PatronsHis Excellency, Jim Kelly

Ambassador of Ireland to CanadaM. Jean Charest

Former Premier of QuebecM. Daniel Johnson

Former Premier of QuebecM. Pierre Marc Johnson

Former Premier of QuebecRichard Pound, CC. OQ. QC. LLD.

Former Chancellor, McGill University

Peter Trent, CDFormer Mayor Westmount, Quebec

Christine Zachary-Deom LLB, ChiefMohawk Council of Kahnawá:ke, Quebec

Directors Leo Delaney, KH

Chairman Noel Burke, M.Ed.

Vice ChairmanPatrick Buckland, Ph.D.

British Ministry of EducationTino Bordonaro, MA

Montreal School BoardGlen P. Carlin, Eng, F. CAE, F.EIC

CEO Jacques Cartier & Champlain Bridges Incorporated

Chris Culpin, M.A. Oxon Trinity & All Saints College, Leeds

Alan Hustak Author

Rob Lutes Musician

Scott MacLeodEducational Films

Elaine Marcil, Ph.D. Timber trade, QCBen Walsh, B.A. Author, Educator

British Educational Technology AgencyBrian Young

McGill Professor Emeritus

Legal AdvisorFrancois Morin, LLB

Partner, Borden, Ladner, GervaisHistory Advisor

Sam Allison, B. Sec. (LSE), M.A.

PETER F. TRENT, CD

Peter served as Mayor of Westmont for 5 terms, for over 26 years: twice as long as any other mayor in the city’s history. He was responsible for building the Westmount Recreation Centre; it was his idea to put the rinks underground – a world’s first. He leaves the city of Westmount in excellent financial shape with no debt.

His fight against mergers and how he masterminded demergers are illustrated in his book “The Merger Delusion” (La Folie des grandeurs), which serves as a warning of the negative results of the false promises of municipal mergers.

CONTRIBUTIONS

The Editorial Board is seeking articles pertaining to Confederation, the Dieppe Raid, the National Hockey League, the Stanley Cup, the Canada Games and Canada’s first Historic Park, Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. If you are aware of little known historical facts, we want to hear from you. Contact jeaniejohnstonfdn@videotron.ca