and pursued his studies in the office, first of S. W. Foster, of Knowlton, and afterwards of John Monk, of Montreal. He took his degree of B.C.L. at McGill in May, 1868, and secured the Elizabeth Torrance gold medal, and was admitted to practice in June. The following year he commenced the practice of his profession at Knowlton, and subsequently removed to Sweetsburg, the chef lieu of Bedford District. In the fall of 1870 he assumed the editorial control of the “Observer,” which was started at Cowansville, an adjoining village, and which became an influential organ of public opinion in the district. In June, 1871, during the provincial elections, which were then in progress, he went to Knowlton to report for his paper the proceedings of nomination day. There were then two candidates in the field, and to the surprise of Mr. Lynch, and without his interference, both candidates withdrew, and he was declared member elect for the County of Brome. During the Fenian troubles of 1866 Mr. Lynch took an active part in the formation of a company of volunteers at Brome, of which he became lieutenant, and remained such until his resignation in 1871. During the Fenian raid of 1870 he was at the front with his battalion. In keeping with the promise made to his electors, he became a resident of the County of Brome, returning to Knowlton in the fall of 1871. He has held successively the offices of school commissioner and chairman of that body for a number of years; and was also the Mayor of the Township of Brome, and Warden of the County. In May, 1874, he married Ellen Florence, eldest daughter of J. C. Pettes, a successful merchant of Knowlton, by whom he has two children. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was some years since, deputy grand master for the District of Bedford. Mr. Lynch early in life identified himself with the Conservative party, to which he has ever borne faithful allegiance. He took an active part in the political discussions in the Legislature of Quebec on the subject of the dismissal of the De Boucherville Government, by M. Letellier, and it was upon a motion made by him that the Joly Government were defeated on October 30, 1879. He was made a Q.C. by the Joly Government in 1879, which was subsequently ratified by a similar title conferred upon him by the Federal authorities in 1881. When M. Chapleau assumed office as premier of the province, he invited Mr. Lynch to the council as Solicitor-General, which appointment was subsequently ratified by the electorate of Brome. On the abolition of the office of Solicitor-General, Mr. Lynch was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands, on July 31, 1882. In September, 1887, his constituents tendered him a reception in the shape of a picnic, which was attended by a large number of public men, and at which a presentation of a handsome sum of money was made to him by his political admirers and friends. He then went to Montreal to resume the practice of his profession, in partnership with the present Mr. Justice Archibald and Mr. Geo. G. Foster, K.C. Shortly after, he was appointed by the Dominion Government a Commissioner, in conjunction with the late Mr. Justice Burridge, then Deputy Minister of Justice, and Mr. Dingman, of the Department of the Interior, to settle the Indian title to certain lands in the Township of Dundee, County of Huntington, and continued to hold that office during the successive administrations of Messrs. Mousseau, Ross and Taillon, and until the defeat of the last-named administration in January, 1887. During the session of 1887 he was named by the House of Assembly one of the Commissioners to perfect the revision of the provincial statutes. He was one of the leaders of the Opposition to the Government of the late Honore Mercier until his appointment to the bench in July, 1889, as Judge of the Superior Court for the District of Bedford, his native district. He has always taken a warm interest in educational matters, was twice President of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers, was for some years a member of the Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction, and was the first President of the District of Bedford McGill Graduates’ Society. In June, 1883, the University of Bishops’ College offered him the degree of D.C.L., but owing to absence it was not conferred. In 1904, McGill University gave him the degree of LL.D. He is a devoted member of the Church of England and has often been a delegate to its synods. Since he became judge he has devoted his leisure to the promotion of various matters of local concern, such as good roads, historical societies and the Knowlton Conference.
Parmelee, William George, LL.D., D.C.L. (Quebec City), English Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction, and Joint Secretary of the Council of Public Instruction of the Province of Quebec, was born at Waterloo, in the Eastern Townships, in 1860. He is a son of Rufus E. Parmelee, whose father had come originally from the United States. On the mother’s side, the subject of this sketch is of Scottish descent. He received his early education at Waterloo Academy, finally graduating as a teacher from the McGill Normal School of Montreal. He afterward became head master of the Model School Department and, later, a Professor of the Normal School. Previous to his holding these positions, he had been a member of the staff of St. Francis College, Richmond, P.Q., from 1881 to 1885. From McGill Normal School he was selected for his present position in 1891; and for more than a quarter of a century he has been in touch with the educational affairs of Quebec. He has proved himself a departmental administrator of widely recognized professional acumen. The academic honors that have been bestowed upon him from the time of his extra-mural course at Queen’s University, from which he graduated in 1889, stand as an endorsation of his scholarship, these including a D.C.L. from Bishop’s College in 1902, and an LL.D. from McGill University in 1911. He has likewise been honored by being chosen more than once, President of the Teachers’ Association of his native province; President of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec for three several terms; President of the Young Men’s Association; a delegate to the Federal Council of the United Empire Educational League in London, England, and later on as a delegate to the Imperial Conference on Education in the same centre. Taking an interest in local military affairs he was awarded a Captaincy in the 8th Royal Rifles Company, and later on received the honorary rank of Colonel. Nor has he neglected literary pursuits in his spare moments, having had published two of his papers read before the Literary and Historical Society, and entitled, “Wolfe as a Man and a Soldier,” and “The Fraser Highlanders.” He has also won high literary credit as joint-collaborateur with Dr. Arthur Doughty, the Dominion Archivist, in six volumes dealing with the “Siege of Quebec.” In 1886 he married Miss Louise Foss, of Waterloo. Their family consists of four daughters.
HON. P. E. BLONDIN
Ottawa
McCorkill, The Hon. Justice John Charles (Quebec City), was born in the town of Farnham, P.Q., on August 31, 1854. His father was Mr. Robert McCorkill, of Farnham and the Eastern Townships. His mother’s maiden name was Miss Margaret Meighen. His wife is a daughter of the Hon. Senator Leonard of London, Ontario, their marriage having taken place in 1884. From the district elementary school, he entered the classes of the McGill Model School, and in time obtained a certificate to teach from the McGill Normal School. For a period he acted as Principal of the Montreal British and Canadian School, thereafter taking his degree of B.C.L. as a preliminary step to his becoming a lawyer. At first he became a partner in the Greenshields legal firm, but subsequently removed to the Bedford District and finally opened a central office at Cowansville. While rising to a high rank as an advocate, he was encouraged to enter the political field, and after suffering defeat twice in succession, was at length elected to the Legislative Assembly as the representative of Missisquoi. In time he was appointed Legislative Councillor for the District of Bedford, where he was so appreciatively known as a public-spirited citizen and an able lawyer, who had held the position of Batonnier of the Bar and other offices of rank. In 1903, he resigned his seat in the upper chamber of the Provincial Parliament, to become Provincial Treasurer in the Parent Administration, and was elected to the Legislature by the Constituency of Brome. This office he held for three years, up to the time of his appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court for the District of Quebec. While Treasurer, his term was marked by important legislation, such as the revision of the taxation laws relating to banking institutions and succession duties, which resulted in a surplus for the province of half-a-million dollars. After the date of his appointment to the Bench, he was made a Joint Commissioner with the Hon. Mr. Mathieu and Mr. L. J. Gauthier, to revise the Municipal Code of the Province of Quebec. His record as a legal practitioner and advocate, as well as a financier and public-spirited citizen, has been a full one, wherever he has resided, in Montreal, in the Eastern Townships, or in the city of Quebec. For several
