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: PAGE SIX THE OSHAWA DAILY TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1931 Late James Haverson Was An Unique Figure In Legal Circles of The Dominion An interesting sidelight on + the life and character of the late James Haverson, K.€., re- cently appeared in the "Satur- day Night." The article came from the pen of that well known 'writer, Hector Charlesworth, and as it refers to the hrother of David Haverson and Charles Haverson, both well known resi- dents of this city, The Times takes pleasure in publishing it. ON MAY 10th there suddenly passed away in Toronto one of the most unique, and it may be added one of the ablest figures at the Canadian bar in the person ' of James Haverson, K.C. He hed practiced in Toronto for over fifty years. and was known throughout Canada as the lead- ing, authority on all laws relat- ing to the liquor trafic. Indeed his fame in that field extended * beyond this country and he was frequently consulted by inter- rests in Great Britain and the United States. To those who knew him, however, this phase of his professional life was un- important compared with the wealth of his knowledge - ob many subjects, the penetration of his mind, and the racy huawor of his discourse. His was a hu- mor based on a profound sense of the ironies of existence, and an innate kindliness which per- meated every act of his life. In no man was individuality more pronounced. The motto "Be Yourself' seemed to have f:éen a standard of conduct with him from youth, and few were his equal in the fine flavor of his conversation. Whether it was the most ephemeral topic of the day, or some subject of vast anc undying importance, he always developed new and fascinating angles of thought that stimu- lated the minds of thos: who listened to him. Judges wearied by listening to the prosy daGis- sertations of other counsel, in- variably brightened up when a case in which he had been briefed was called, and Mr. Hav~ erson shook out the silk gown that he regarded as a good deal of a nuisance and started his argument. They knew that they could expect something at once lucid, learned, and free from verbosity. Even opposing coun- sel seemed to enjoy having their arguments riddled by his anal- yses, for his ridicule never left a wound. Despite his undying sense of the humorons, and his sceffing attitude toward con- vention and platitude, no man had a keener pride in his own profession or more respcct for egsential pi nciples of law. Mr. Haverson was the product of the Norse-Scottish intermixture not infrequently encountered hotk in Norway and on the East coast of Scotland. It is mot generally known that the two most widely known Noregian men of genius. Ibsen and Grieg, were of this min- gled strain. Seemingly it produces originality of outlook and 2 desire to probe beneath the surface qf things, qualities richly manifested in Mr. Haverson and valuable at- tributes to lawyers, who must per- to his ancesters as 'pirates. force take nothing for ' granted. His grandfather was a sea captain originally known as Captain Hal- versen who had married a Scottish girl, and his name was colloquial- ly changed to Haversom. In ac- knowledging the Viking strain in him Mr. Haverson used to aitude C] was born in 1852 at Macduff, Banffshire, on the northern elbow of Scotland, not very far {rom Moray Firth, and close to the ad- joining borders of Aberdeenshire, But propinquity had produced no Aberdonian characteristics in him except an ability to see things clearly. The people of Macduff live by its herring fisheries and here the future lawyer was reared amid sights, sounds and smell of the sea. As a little boy he learned ta sail a boat and a passion for sail- ing remained with him throughout his life. He had long been the old- est man sailing his own skiff on Toronto Bay. Last year for five months despite the fact that he was 78 he sailed daily to and from Toronto Island, where his sum- mers had been spent for many vears. On the day before his death he 'had made all prepara- tions 16 start sailing again next day, and it is possible that his sudden death was due to over exertion in so doing. In Scotland he was reared ac- cording to the strictest tenets of the kirk, and its oppressiveness to- ward young people imbued him with a lifelong distaste for dog- matic religion. When he was still a youth his father immigrated to Manitoba but Western farming of- fered no temptations to the Banff- shire youth. He came to Ontario and put himself through law by teaching school in various towns. After he was called to the bar in the mid seventies, he practiced for a short while at Guelph in the office of Donald Guthrie, K.C., father of the present Minister of Justice, then tried his fortunes in Toronto, where he formed a part- nership with Senator John O'Don. oghue, then the leading Irish Cath- olic lawyer of the city. This early connection brought him in contact with many Irish Liberals, among them the late Peter Ryan, and the late Peter Small, who were his in. timate friends so long as they lived. He also became the fast friend of prominent local Scot§ men for whom he had a natural affinity, like James Robertson, Ro- bert Jaffray and William Christie. When he was over 60 he went back to Scotland with Mr. Robert- gon,, and re-visited Macduff, and lie used to whimsically relate how gmall everything was in compari- son with his childhood recollec- tions. The hills that had seemed to his 'mind so high were insigni- ficant, the streets that had seem- ed long were short, the kirk that had seemed so ample was no long- er so, but the sea was unchanged. From the time he started to think for himself Mr. Haverson was a free-thinker, in part at least, as a reaction from the reli- gious severity of his upbringing. In his young manhood the late Robert G. Ingersoll was startling America by his skeptical discours- es and his summaries of the "Mis- takes of Moses" and Mr, Haver- son, who had acquired a profound knowledge of scripture, could out- do even Ingersoll in the pungency tf his criticisms. Yet few men have been -so profoundly Christian in sentiment and practice. While he never claimed to love his neighbor as himself, thousands throughout his long life experi- enced his unfailing kindness. In his later years seldom a day pass- ed but someone came to him with his or her troubles and none went away unconsoled. He once told me of his deep reverence for a fellow lawyer who had taken into his of- fice a young man who had made a misstep after his release from pen- itentiary. When an opportunity came to Mr. Haverson to do the same thing he welcomed it. His desire to serve the unfortunate was a trait almost beyond his own control. But'when one praised him for it he responded with a depre- catory laugh, Mr. Haverson's laughter indeed was the most gen- tle and infectious that one could imagine. A good part of his time throughout his life was spent in dissuading persons of litigious temperament from going to law. He often lost clients thereby. Many people, and especially poor people, would come to him intent on "having the law" on somebody and when he told them they would be wasting their money, they would decide that he had no "fight" in him, and go to some lawyer less scrupulous, so long as he got his own costs. Similarly he was something of a failure in politics. As a young man he allied himself with the Liberal party and was sometimes sent out on the stump. Audiences were delighted with him, but he had such a gift for getting fun out of everything, even out of his own party, that candidates took alarm. He was not the raw ma- terial of which a partizan could be made. On an historic occasion he went down into Hastings to speak against the once famous Conservative leader, Mackenzie Bowell. The Conservatives were then waving the "Old Flag" for all it was worth. The lawyer pro- ceeded to make fun of flag-wav- ing. He said the flag was a poor covering for a man who was freez- ing to death and that a starving trapper would find a moccasin more useful to make soup from. He had the audience in roars but Bowell always claimed that Hav- erson's speech elected him in that historic stamping ground of the U.E. Loyalists. He would discon- cert politicians of his own party by saying: "What did you tell them that for, you know it's a damn lie." Yet while he could not help laughing at hypocrisies and shams, and would. unloose the riches of his whimsical mind in exposing them, he once argued be- fore the courts that 'hypocrites had rights as well as other peo- ple." This was in a test case in a city when the local authorities had passed a by-law compelling saloon keepers to do away with window blinds in order that pass- ers by might see who were drink- ing inside. Haverson admitted that a man afraid to take a drink except in private might be a hypo- crite, but could not see why he should not be permitted to follow hig own ideas. Comparatively early in life his talents became diverted for the most part into a single groove when he became solicitor for var- ious branches of the liquor traffic. This was at a time when the long battle which led to an experiment with prohibition and ultimately to 5 i £ { 2 : 5 : : § : ; : i 1 4 aD, : : i i 4 O(a z RLY : EXT to mother's milk Eagle Brand is one of the most satisfactory foods for infants. It is uniformly pure, of unvarying strength, and closely approximates the pro- perties of mother's milk. Eagle Brand has been the leading baby food since 1857. And thousands of grateful mothers gladly testify to its value. If possible nurse your own baby, but if you cannot, start him today on Eagle Brand and watch him thrive. Send us your name and address and we will gladly mail you free authoritative literature on child welfare. | wz od Government control was assuming large proportions. It was not ad- miration for the trafic but the claims of a young family that compelled him to make this deci- sion. As a young man he had used liquor but from his 35th year on- ward was practically a total ab- stainer. His first partnership with Senator O'Donoghue had brought him many friends among Irish Catholics; his second with J. W St. John, a leading Methodist law- yer gave him a very wide ac- quaintance inwthat denomination. His acceptgnce of the business of the liquor traffic at a time when times were hard for everybody in this country, including lawyers, entailed the dissolution of the lat- ter partnership but many Metho- dist ministers remained his friends. These friendships were not diminished even when they met him on the platform; and he would ner impassioned tir- ades against liquor with satire and argument, pointing out that "sinners" had rights which they refused to relinquish. Nevertheless the essential qual- ities of his character attacted the friendship of clergymen of many shades of thought. Two or three years ago when he was lying ill for weeks in St. Michael's Hos- pital he was visited by clergymen of all denominations, who enjoy- ed sitting by his bedside and hear- ing him chatf them. He had some- times advanced money to divinity students and one noted clergyman who had been assailed by doubts, had on placing his problems be- fore the lawyer found him the wisest of counsellors. He was told that he could do a great deal of good by preaching Christian prin- ciples and forgetting all questions of dogma, and that the lot of the clergyman who left his pulpit was always hard. In fact Mr. Haver- son could talk like a very wise and gentle bishop when need be and as an adviser revealed depths of seriousness and sincereity un- suspected by those who knew him only as a man Who took a very satirical view of many matters which other people deemed seri- ous. When King Edward died he drew a striking contrast between the quietude and sweetness of the monarch's end and that of King David, which it must be admitted was far from edifying in its cir- cumstances, especially when Da- vid urged Solomon to take ven- geance on a man whom he had ing to the tormentor, said "If the gentleman who persists in his re- marks will be good enough to tell us his name, instead of merely shouting out his profession, I am sure we will be glad to make his acquaintance." The collection of the little village church had just been opened by the deacon in the presence of the min- ister. In it was a penny, a hali- penny, a farthing and three trouser buttons. "Lect us give thanks," said the minister. "For what?" asked the deacon. "Because we got the box back." X.: "Hardup can't meet his cred- itors." WOMEN USE THEIR FRANCHISE WELL Montreal, June 3--Worthy ter of her father, Miss Grace Woodsworth, Ma, dean of the small group of Labor members in the House of Commons has decided views as to the important part that women can play in the politics of Canada. Although not a "rabid" feminist, as she confessed in an in- terview, she nevertheless teels that women are as prominent as men and using their franchise to better advantage, As homemakers, women have a clear perception of cxisting condi- tions, and have many valuable sug- daugh- Labor women understand the sig- nificance of politics through person- al cxperience better than do their sisters engaged in distinctively dif- ferent occupations, Miss Woods- worth said. She was pleased to note, however, that an ever-increas- ing number of women were inter- esting themselves in the fundament- als of 'politics, adding that she did not see any vague clash between what womer and men could do in the public arena, Acting as secretary to her father, Miss Woodsworth is gaining a vai- uable knowledge of parliamentary procedure and politics. in general that should serve her in good stead in the near future. She finds the work of' a recreation and intensely endeavoring to strengthen its posi= tion in the Dominion. During the past few months more than 3,000 members were added to the enrol- ment and greater numbers are ex- pected shortly. It is in the organ- ization work in thc West that Miss Woodsworth is expected to be 7 bulwark of strength to the women campaigners. Graduate of the University ol Manitoba, Miss Woodsworth won the French Government scholarship which entitled her to a post-grauate course on the continent, principally in France. Of medium height and decidedly attractive in appearance, with black hair and expressive eyes, she has the gift of holding the at« Y.: "Can't he just! He can mect so many of them he's got to stay at home to keep out of their way." |ion, gestions to offer as remedial meas- ures, in Miss Woodsworth's opin- stimulating. With greater concentration than ever the Labor Party of Canada is tention of her audience through the medium of a well-modulated voic¢ and effective gestures. SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS ON SUBSTANTIAL FOODS Sacrificing qualify to save money is false economy at any time . . particularly in buying foods. you never sacrifice quality. prices because A & P cash-and-carry husiness cutis out every waste and every useless expense in selling. Every A & P purchase means substantial savings on substantial foods. At A & P Stores you do save money, but 'A & P foods are good foods sold at lower AT THE LOWEST PRICE IN YEARS--FULL GRASS BUTTER:== SUNNYFIELD 2% PASTUERIZED Cheanny. 1b. 240 Eata-Oat Cake A new Christie, ib. 23e Soap Flakes low price. 1IVORY--FOR pledged himself to God not to molest, Mr. Haverson was a man who practiced the mandate "For- | give your enemies," and the ven- gefulness of nld testament theol- ogy of which he got so much as a boy, not only apealed to his qual- ity of laughter but was repugnant to his nature. when this country was reluged with all kinds of liquor legisla- tion, local and general, was not- able, and was due to his unique mastery of legal technicalities, It was said of him at one time that | he could drive a coach and four | through any of these encrusta- tions on the common law in which he was so deeply versed. On this point it may be said that he was | much better acquainted than are most lawyers with the basic rela- tion of English law to the Book | of Common Prayer. He had been a | pupil of Chief Justice Sir William | Mulock, that renowned master of | equity when the latter was a law lecturer at Osgoode Hall in the seventies. Two or three years ago there were three survivors of that class. "They: were P. H. Drayton, K.C. (father of Sir Henry), Mr. Justice Hodgins of the Ontario Supreme Court, and Mr. Haver- son. When Mr. Drayton died he was deeply distressed because only two were left. Another preceptor for whom he had the most pro- found respect was the late Sir Thomas Taylor, afterward Chief Justice of Manitoba, whom he rev- ered as a"truly great exponent pf the principles of law. He once told me that for the "term" lawyer--- that is to say the man whose prac- tise lies in argument before the higher courts rather than before juries--judges are roughly speak- ing divided into two classes; thoze who love technicality and those who like to thrust it aside. Since most of his cases were based in -technicality he always tried to get a hearing before a judge of the former class. But he said that there were other reasons for his popularity with the judiciary. "I never bore the Court," he said. "The tedious lawyer is the un- conscious enemy of his client." On another occasion he said 'I never attempt to deceive a judge. Any judge knows that when I cite a precedent, it is exactly as I state it. They do not need to check up my references. Some brilliant men I have known have made the fatal mistake of trying to misrepresent precedents and mislead the Court. The lawyer who gets that reputa- tion becomes distrusted by the bench and had better stick to jury practice." His office of late years filled with the accumulations of de- cades, could only be paralled in the pages of Dickens, but he shrunk from the very thought of ah -cleanjng. It was a delight 'The Borden Co;, Limited, 115 George St., Toronto: :) rand Milk FARE ON to talk about law with him; to hear him explain the origin of cry- ptic phrases like "Nisi Prius' and matters like Tudor statutes, It Is generally admitted in the legal profession that he would have been an ornament to the bench, but his almost exclusive attraction to the special field in which he was 80 long retained precluded his elevation. About 12 years ago his appointment to the Supreme Court of Ontario was seriously contemplated; but enquiry as to his age showed that he was al- ! ready beyond the age limit for judicial appointments though not for retirements other than volun- tary. With his vast legal learning, his sense of personal honor and his profound knowledge of human nature he would undoubtedly have made a admirable adminis- trator of justice; and would pro- bably have won the some reputa- tion as a judicial wit as that en- joyed by Lord Darling in Eng- lana." The speaker was a brilliant orator, and the audience gave him proper attention, except for one man in the crowd who made things bad both for the speaker and the listeners by shouting out, "Liar! Liar!" | "After gpout a dozen repetitions of | | Number at a special Pkg. Qe SAFE WASHING | Marmalade | CROSSE & 16.07. 21 VITONE | BLACKWELL ORANGE | The Health Drink 14d. Tin Je ib. Tin 5% FINEST CUBAN CUCUMBERS POTATOES FANCY YELLOW RIPE TOMATOES FRESH FRUITS anda VEGETABLES PINEAPPL LARGE SIZE, 2 FOR 25c Hothouse SOUTH CAROLINA _. BANANAS Texas-Grown FANCY CALIFORNIA LARGE, RIPE CANTALOUPES 223. PALMOLIVE::- GOOD FOR THE BABIES E AGLE Condensed Mitk LIBBY'S--PREPARED FROM WHITE, CRISP CABBAGE Tin 17. 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