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, A a ES 7. = S-- A ------ PE ---- Dm, Sen eh RE ti STC rst ann LEV BORED (RR _ ro RL RON I ey SNC PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 13, 1994 - B3 Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. [ ] ® [ ] Any astute reader of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" will real- ize that when it was written in 1843, it clearly reflected the customs of the day. When Ebenezer Scrooge insisted that Bob Cratchit work on Christmas Day, he was not being the stereotype of his name, he was merely depicting the work habit of that time. It was not until 1871, at the height of Victorian beneficence that the Bank Holiday Act was passed which made Christmas Day an official day of rest. In Upper Canada, as 1833 drew to a close, the legislature met from Wednesday, Dec. 25 to Tuesday, Dec. 31 but was adjourned for want of a Quorum. On each of those days only a handful of members showed up. Peter Perry was the only member in atten- dance every day except Christmas Day! Peter Perry's energy seemed endless in the quest for reform. Time and time again, he led the debate on the topic of Clergy Reserves. These were the lands set aside by the government for the use of the Anglican Church. This amounted to one seventh of all the land grants! Perry demanded that the unused clergy lands be used for schools or sold and the money used for education. He also proposed bills to remove all ecclesias- tics from the Assembly and Council. With the Legislative Council being composed of many members of the Anglican Church, it was no wonder that his proposals were rejected even though he had forced a bill through the Assembly. One Bill where Perry did finally achieve his goal was in the battle to permit clergymen of every legally rec- ognized denomination to perform mar- riages. Until Perry's Bill was passed in 1831, only marriage ceremonies per- formed by Anglican ministers were leg- ally recognized. Perry introduced the bill in 1826 and continued to either move or second that bill at every session of the Assembly. The bill passed through the Assembly at each session but was turned down by the upper house, the Legislative Council. In 1829 the bill was passed by ISTORICAL Sketches o by Paul Arculus both houses but was held back by the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne. He finally gave in to the will of both houses and it became law in 1831. This bill typifies the problems faced by Perry and the Reformers during that period. Hundreds of bills, mainly moved by Perry, were passed by the Assembly but were rejected by the Legislative Council or held back by the Lieutenant Governor. Charles Dickens would have been extremely pleased if he had known that Peter Perry led the movement to abol- ish imprisonment for debt in Upper Canada. Peter Perry strove to separate politics from the judicial system by proposing that the Chief Justice be removed from the Legislative Council. He was one of the few who opposed the use of public funds to be used in the construction of the Welland Canal. Ironically, after losing his seat in the '1836 election Perry carried on an extensive correspondence with Robert Baldwin and in literally every letter which has been preserved, Perry appealed to Baldwin for support in spending public money on the develop- ment and improvement of the Scugog Road (linking his settlements at Whitby and Lake Scugog) and the Windsor Harbour (Whitby). A political crisis arose in 1836. Robert Baldwin and other reformers had been appointed to the upper house by the lieutenant governor, Sir Francis Bond Head. Head refused to support bills which had gone through both houses. The upper house, in a sense of utter frustration, resigned in a body. William Lyon Mackenzie was already roaming the countryside talking of an armed uprising. In the Legislature Peter Perry was chosen to chair a select committee on the Legislative and Executive councils. He recommended that the upper coun- cil be composed of "only such men as enjoy the confidence of the people, expressed through their representa- tives." By this he did not mean an elected upper house but one appointed by the Lieutenant Governor after con- sulting the lower house and that all upper house members have the appro- val of the lower house. He also denounced Sir Francis Bond Head as a liar. Perry challenged Head to call an elec- tion. But the Lieutenant Governor became involved in the ensuing elec- tion, actively campaigning for those whom he felt he could manipulate. Many influential newspapers consid- ered Perry's comments as an insult to the crown. Such an insult to Perry's intense loyalty must have hurt him deeply. Within months of losing the election, he took his family and moved to what is now Whitby and poured himself into his business ventures there. In 1844 he purchased the waterfront on the southwest corner of Lake Scugog and began a settlement which he called Scugog Village. After Baldwin was successful in getting the government to invest large sums of money into the develop- ment of the harbour at Whitby and the Scugog Road, Perry organized a company which in 1850, purchased both for less than half the money which had been invested. He continued to take an interest in politics particularly at the local level and carried on an extensive regular correspondence with Robert Baldwin. Perry's letters reveal that he kept him- self well informed about the politics of Upper Canada, giving Baldwin advice and indicating where he could get sup- port on issues related to reform. Perry also campaigned on behalf of politi- cians such as James Small and William Hume Blake. In 1849, Blake resigned in order to accept another position. Perry reluc- tantly decided to enter the political are- na again. He was eminently victorious but was not in the best of health. He took his seat again in the Assembly. Recognizing the need for stronger local government, Perry proposed a bill which would split up the Home District (the area between Toronto and Bowmanville) into smaller districts including Ontario County with Whitby as its municipal centre. The bill failed. Perry's efforts in politics and busi- ness had sapped all his energies. He fScu PART ONE OF TWO PARTS PETER PERRY _ 5U8 was in poor health and so in the sum- mer of 1851 went to Saratoga Springs in New York to "take the waters." On the same journey he paid a visit to his old friend Marshall Spring Bidwell, now a highly successful lawyer in New York City. Peter Perry died at Saratoga Springs on Aug. 24, 1851. His body was brought to Whitby where his funeral was the largest ever seen east of Toronto. Eulogies came from every walk of life and from every political spectrum. A few months after his death, the bill which he last proposed passed through both houses and' became law. The Old country of York was divided into three counties, York, Peel and Ontario. On January the first 1854. Ontario coun- ty (now essentially Durham Region) began to govern itself with Peter Perry's town, Whitby as the municipal centre. Charles Dickens visited Toronto in 1842 shortly after the publication of two of his most popular works, "Oliver Twist" and "Pickwick Papers." He gave talks and public readings of his works. We have no way of knowing whether Peter Perry saw Charles Dickens dur- ing that visit. But then it was not until much later that the social and political significances of either of these men was recognized. In fact Perry's work and contributions to the social and political fabric of Upper Canada have never been fully recognized even today. Let's hope that this article will in some small way help to set the record straight. Dickens died after collapsing from a cerebral hemorrhage in June 1870. He was 58 years old. Peter Perry had died in 1851. By coincidence Peter Perry was also 58! Next month. On Lake Scugog, the closest we can get to a ghost town is PORT HOOVER. We will take a look at the history of this once thriving port. and ship building centre. oho h. 20-3 COLE FILING CABINET #306-125 2 Drawer with Lock 26.5" deep - Putty $189.95 | [ HORIZONS OPERATORS CHAIR HZ 128 Pneumatic height Backrest Adjustment Black, Grey opal Arms) e AUTOMATIC FUEL OIL DELIVERY e 24 HOUR EMERGENCY BURNER SERVICE e EQUALIZED PAYMENT PLAN e PARTS & SERVICE PLANS e HIGH EFFICIENCY OIL FURNACES OIL FIRED WATER HEATERS WE HAVE THE SOLUTION TO EXPENSIVE ELECTRIC HEAT. P-- I Cr Wm