Sir William Mulock | |
|---|---|
 Mulock at age 53 (1896) | |
| ActingLieutenant Governor of Ontario | |
| In office 25 October 1931 – 1 November 1932 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governor General | The Earl of Bessborough |
| Premier | George Stewart Henry |
| Preceded by | William Donald Ross |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Alexander Bruce |
| Chief Justice of Ontario | |
| In office 1923–1936 | |
| Preceded by | Sir William Ralph Meredith |
| Succeeded by | Newton Rowell |
| Member of theCanadian Parliament forYork North | |
| In office 20 June 1882 – 15 October 1905 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick William Strange |
| Succeeded by | Allen Bristol Aylesworth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1843-01-19)19 January 1843 Bond Head,Canada West |
| Died | 1 October 1944(1944-10-01) (aged 101) Toronto,Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse | Sarah Ellen Crowther |
| Children | 6 |
| Occupation | Lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist |
| Known for | Federation of University of Toronto, Imperial Penny Post, Canadian Department of Labour, bringing Mackenzie King into public life |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch/service | Canadian militia |
| Years of service | 1862–1866 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Queen's Own Rifles of Canada |
| Battles/wars | Fenian Raids |
Sir William Mulock (19 January 1843[1][2] – 1 October 1944) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist. He served as vice-chancellor of theUniversity of Toronto from 1881 to 1900, negotiating the federation of denominational colleges and professional schools into a modern university.
He was elected to theHouse of Commons of Canada as aLiberal Member of Parliament and served from 1882 to 1905. SirWilfrid Laurier appointed him to theCanadian Cabinet asPostmaster General from 1896 to 1905. In 1900, Mulock established theDepartment of Labour, bringingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King into public life as his Deputy Minister.
He initiated the final agreement for a transpacific cable linking Canada toAustralia andNew Zealand, and he fundedMarconi to establish the first transatlantic radio link from North America to Europe. In 1905, he chaired the parliamentary inquiry into telephones that led to regulation of Canadian telecommunications, and he participated in the negotiations that led to the creation of the provinces ofAlberta andSaskatchewan.
He was Chief Justice of the Exchequer Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario from 1905 until appointed by King in 1923 asChief Justice of theSupreme Court of Ontario, a position he held until 1936. From 1931 to 1932, he served as the actingLieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Mulock was extremely active in both business and the community, being involved in the foundation of organizations as diverse as the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Toronto Star, Toronto Wellesley Hospital, and Canada's first national peace organization. In later life, he was known as the "Grand Old Man" of Canada.
Mulock was born inBond Head,Canada West, the son of Irish immigrant Thomas Homan Mulock and Mary, the daughter ofJohn Cawthra.[3] His father, a physician educated inDublin at theRoyal College of Surgeons and theMedical School of Trinity College, died when Mulock was 4 years old. His mother then moved the family toNewmarket, Ontario, where he was educated at theNewmarket Grammar School.[3]
Mulock's older brother, John, died in 1852; he had two sisters, Marian and Rosamund (later married toGeorge W. Monk). The family endured genteel poverty after the father's death, so Mulock spent much time chopping wood, milking the family cow, growing vegetables in the family garden, and on outside work such as repairing the localcorduroy roads.[3][4]
Mulock entered the newUniversity College in Toronto in 1859; his classmates includedJ.M. Gibson,W.D. Lesueur, andW.B. McMurrich. On 9 November 1861, Mulock captained one of the teams in the firstgridiron football game ever recorded.[5]During theTrent Affair of 1862, Mulock asked the head of the college,John McCaul, to call a student meeting that led to the formation of the University Company of volunteers, later K Company of theQueen's Own Rifles. At the time of theFenian Raids in 1866, Mulock received training at the Royal Military School and served in the regiment for three weeks, but he never saw action.[6]
Starting at the same time that Mulock arrived,Egerton Ryerson led a sustained attack on the University over money and the proper purpose of a university education. Ryerson did not think that modern languages or history, practical courses, nor even law or medicine belonged in a university, and a Royal Commission was struck which recommended that the endowment of the University be distributed among all Ontario colleges. The defence of the university culminated in a large meeting at theSt. Lawrence Hall on 5 March 1863, where Mulock moved the concluding motion.[7] These efforts allowed the University to "escape extinction", according toSir Daniel Wilson.[8]
After graduating in 1863 with the Gold Medal for Modern Languages, Mulock became a law student, first articled toAlfred Boultbee in Newmarket, and then in Toronto, eventually in the firm ofSenator John Ross. To support himself, Mulock became a house-master atUpper Canada College. Mulock was called to the bar in 1868.[9]
After graduating, Mulock,Edward Blake,Thomas Moss, andJames Loudon led the struggle to broaden the University of Toronto Senate to include elected members. As a result, Ontario Minister of EducationAdam Crooks passed legislation in 1873 that added 15 new senators elected by the alumni. Mulock was elected and remained a member for 71 years. Mulock moved and passed the first requirement that University finances be reported to the senate and made public. Largely due to the efforts of Mulock and Loudon, in 1876 a School of Science was established and in 1878 an independent School of Practical Science (which joined the university in 1889 as theFaculty of Applied Science and Engineering).[10]
In 1873, theLaw Society of Upper Canada established a law school, and Mulock soon became Lecturer and Examiner inEquity. After the school closed in 1878, the Osgoode Literary and Legal Society attempted to provide replacement instruction, with Mulock lecturing on partnership.[11] When Mulock became Vice-Chancellor, one of his goals was to establish the best law faculty on the continent.[12]
Mulock was elected Vice-Chancellor in 1881. The University of Toronto then consisted of two small buildings, and the rest of higher education in Ontario was distributed among a variety ofdenominational colleges and small independent professional schools. Mulock believed that a single federated university would be more efficient, less expensive, and provide better educational opportunities to students, especially in sciences and the professions. He negotiated around resistance from many quarters, leading to the Federation Act in 1887 and affiliation (and later federation) withSt. Michael's College in 1881,Wycliffe College andKnox College in 1885, theOntario College of Agriculture and theRoyal College of Dental Surgeons in 1888,Victoria College, theOntario Medical College for Women and theToronto College of Music in 1890, theCollege of Pharmacy in 1891, theToronto Conservatory of Music in 1896, and theOntario Veterinary College in 1897. In opposition to followers ofJohn Rolph who believed medical education should be paid for by students since they would soon have a good income treating patients, Mulock thought it better to reduce disease by spending public money to train doctors.[13] The Federation Act established new faculties ofmedicine andlaw. Mulock efforts were not popular with everyone, but he survived several attempts to remove him from office, resigning in 1900 because of his increased political responsibilities.[14] As part of his internecine battles, Mulock secretly aidedWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King and other student leaders of the February 1895 student strike.[15]
In June 1893, Mulock provided the articling position needed by pioneering student-at-lawClara Brett Martin. Martin was so badly treated by her fellow male students that she eventually switched to another firm, but in 1897 she became the first female lawyer in the British Empire.[16]
In 1897, Mulock hired surgeonHerbert Bruce into the Faculty of Medicine without consultation.[17] Mulock later helped finance Bruce's newWellesley Hospital and was the first chair of its board of directors.[18]
The University awarded Mulock anHonorary Doctorate of Laws in 1894.[19]While Vice-Chancellor, Mulock accepted no salary, and the money accumulated was donated to the university.[20]
In 1906, the elected office of Vice-Chancellor was abolished; the unelected President of the University took over as Chair of the Senate. Mulock later spoke out against this "reactionary step", especially since the act also "put the elected members of the senate in a hopeless minority" and reduced the senate's responsibilities to academic matters only.[21]
AfterSir William Meredith's death in 1923, Mulock was nominated for the primarily ceremonial role of Chancellor. Mulock was supported by most elected representatives, but opposed by most professors. The senate electedSir Edmund Walker, but Walker died shortly thereafter. Mulock was subsequently elected unanimously as Chancellor on 28 April 1924[21] and served until his death.
Mulock's proudest achievements were his contributions to the University of Toronto.[22] His memorials at the university include theMulock Cup, Canada's oldest continuously awarded sporting trophy,[23] the William Mulock Prize in Mathematics and Physics,[24] the William Mulock Prize in Classics,[25] and Mulock House in Whitney Hall residence.
Mulock entered politics in 1881, unsuccessfully seeking theLiberal nomination in the then stronglyConservative federal riding ofYork North. The winning nominee,Dr. John Widderfield, later withdrew and was replaced by Mulock, who then unexpectedly defeated the Conservative incumbent in the1882 election. Mulock remained inOpposition through two subsequent elections until 1896 when the Liberals underWilfrid Laurier took power.[26] In order to provide "clean government", Mulock raised sufficient funds that year to provide Laurier with financial independence.[27]
Laurier appointed Mulock as Postmaster General.[28]He inherited an inefficient bureaucracy that was losing almost a million dollars a year, but he believed that improved service and lower prices would increase revenue and better connect Canada and theBritish Empire.[29] He campaigned for lower rates throughout the Empire, and when met by resistance decided to go it alone, announcing that at the end of 1897 Canada would unilaterally lower the letter rate to Britain from five to three cents. In response, a conference of all British Empire postal authorities was called for the summer of 1898. Over the objections of the Australian colonies and New Zealand, Mulock succeeded in implementing anImperial Penny Post. Mulock also took advantage of this meeting to negotiate the final financial agreement for the transpacific cable first proposed by SirSandford Fleming to link Canada to Australia and New Zealand. The cable was completed on 31 October 1902, finishing theAll Red Line.[30] By 1903, the Post Office was generating a surplus of almost a million dollars a year.[29]
To mark the start of the Imperial Penny Post, Mulock personally designed and issued a new stamp with a map of the world showing the extent of the British Empire. Partly by accident, this became the world's firstChristmas stamp.[31]
On 1 April 1898, Mulock introduced an amendment to the Post Office Act that made Canada the first country in the world to givefranking privileges, i.e. free postage, forBraille materials and books for the blind.[32] He also initiated a program to provide Post Office employment for the deaf.[33]
After the first successful transatlantic radio communication in 1901 to his station atSignal Hill, Newfoundland,Guglielmo Marconi learned that the Anglo-American Cable Company had a monopoly on transatlantic telegraphy from Newfoundland, so he planned to move to a new location in the United States. When Mulock learned this, he immediately negotiated an agreement with Marconi for him to set up his North American radio station inGlace Bay, Nova Scotia, where the first transatlantic message from North America was sent on 17 December 1902.[29]
Mulock was Canada's representative at the opening ofAustralia's first Parliament in 1901, and was one of Canadian representatives at the coronation ofKing Edward VII.[34] Mulock was knighted in 1902 for his services, in particular for the Penny Post, Transpacific Cable, and wireless telegraphy between Canada and Great Britain.[29]
In order to protect the public againstquackery Mulock amended the Post Office Act in 1904 to curtail advertising of "marvellous, extravagant or grossly improbable cures".[35] Mulock was also active in the negotiations that led to the formation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905.[36]
In 1905, Mulock chaired the select parliamentary inquiry into telephone systems, especially the unregulatedBell Telephone monopoly.[37]The committee shed much light on the operations and finances of Bell, but Mulock was replaced when it became apparent that he was likely to recommend the telephone service be a government owned utility. The committee's work nevertheless led in 1906 to the first federal regulation of telephone and telegram service by the Board of Railway Commissioners, the ancestor of the currentCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Despite being a wealthy businessman and fervent anticommunist, Mulock believed that government operation of public franchises provided better service at lower cost, with greater protection of personal privacy and public interest.[38]
Mulock was probably the best administrator in the Laurier Cabinet, but he did not always consider the political consequences of his actions. Without consulting Laurier, he fired the influential journalistArthur Dansereau as Montreal's Postmaster. Mulock had ample cause, but Laurier immediately ordered Dansereau reinstated, straining Laurier's relationship with Mulock.[39]
Mulock once let politics try to overrulephysics. He proposed theNewmarket Canal to the centre of hisriding to help local industry, despite engineering reports that that natural water flow would leave the canal dry for much of the year. "Mulock's Madness" was cancelled whenRobert Borden became Prime Minister in 1911, but its partially completed remains are still prominent.[40]
While Postmaster-General, Mulock learned from Mackenzie King that Post Office uniforms were being produced insweatshops.[41] He immediately revised Post Office contracting policy so that all uniforms would be produced under Government approved conditions. In 1900, Mulock introduced "The Fair Wages Resolution" governing all Canadian government contracting, and an act that created the Department of Labour and theLabour Gazette (one of the ancestors ofStatistics Canada). Mulock became Canada's first Minister of Labour in addition to his Post Office responsibilities. In response to an urgent telegram from Mulock, Mackenzie King turned down a better paid academic position atHarvard to become Editor of theLabour Gazette and subsequently the first Deputy Minister of Labour. King eventually became Canada's longest serving Prime Minister, and remained friends with Mulock for the rest of his life. In 1903 Mulock introducedcompulsory arbitration to Canada through the Railway Disputes Act.
Mulock retired from politics in 1905 due torheumatism andneuritis exacerbated by overwork,[42] but the movement of his political views to the left may also have contributed to his decision.[40]
Mulock was appointed Chief Justice of the Exchequer (1905–1923) and subsequently Chief Justice of Ontario (1923–1936). He served until age 93, probably a record for a Canadian court; lawyers referred to Mulock and his elderly colleagues as "murderers' row".[43] As Chief Justice of Ontario, Mulock participated in many widely publicized cases, such as quashing the rape conviction fromLouis-Mathias Auger's first trial in 1929.[44]
On 28 February 1930, aKu Klux Klan mob invaded the home of a mixed race couple inOakville, Ontario. Several men were eventually convicted, but given only a small fine. On appeal, Mulock described the fine as a "travesty of justice", and replaced it with a three-month prison term. Mulock reported himself as an ardent abolitionist in his youth, and as a politician he actively campaigned in black communities,[4] but in his ruling Mulock denounced only mob law, not the underlying racial issues. This ruling marked the start of a significant decline in Klan activity in Canada.[45]
In 1931,Tim Buck and seven other members of theCommunist Party of Canada were convicted of seditious conspiracy and membership in an unlawful organization. The strongly anticommunist Mulock[46] presided over the appeal of the convictions in 1932, and despite dismissing the conspiracy charge, upheld the other convictions and his lengthy written decision established the Communist Party as an unlawful organization, effectively banning it.[47]
By modern standards, Mulock's judgements were not always free of apparent bias or conflicts of interest. In the long and very public case ofCampbell v Hogg, he was close to all participants, and Elizabeth Campbell was so unhappy with his court's judgement that to overturn it she became the first woman to argue a case before thePrivy Council.[48]
In 1880, Mulock purchased a large property on what is now the northwest corner of Mulock Drive andYonge Street in Newmarket. On almost 400 acres Mulock established a manorial estate and model farm, known for its flowers,black walnut grove, apple orchard, and prizeshorthorn cattle andShetland ponies.[49] In political life, Mulock was often referred to as "Farmer Bill". The farm was used to try out new methods and crops, and provided agricultural and leadership training for many students from theOntario College of Agriculture.[50] In 1926, Mulock purchased a second farm inMarkdale, Ontario for trout fishing[51] and reforestation.[52]
Mulock's (and later his son's) firm represented many commercial interests, including Consumers Gas (Enbridge), theAmerican Bank Note Company, andSun Life.[53] He was President of the Victoria Rolling Stock Company and the Farmers' Loan and Savings Co.,[54] and had real estate interests.[55] In 1911, Mulock,Sir Henry Pellatt, andCharles Millar took control ofO'Keefe Brewing, a brand now owned byMolson Coors Brewing Company.
Mulock was one of the founders ofThe Dominion Bank,[56]which opened for business in 1871 and in 1955 merged with theBank of Toronto to form theToronto-Dominion Bank, currently Canada's second largest bank. He was also one of the founders (1882) and Directors ofToronto General Trusts,[57] Canada's first trust company and an ancestor ofTD Canada Trust.
In 1899, as chief Liberal Party organizer in Ontario, Mulock wanted a Liberal paper to counterbalance the ConservativeToronto Telegram. He led a group that purchased the ailingToronto Star and offeredJoseph Atkinson the position as editor. Atkinson accepted on the condition that he have editorial independence and that part of his pay would be in shares. Mulock unhappily agreed, and Mulock and Atkinson clashed for the rest of their lives. It gave Atkinson great pleasure at the 1913 annual shareholders' meeting to interrupt Mulock in mid-tirade to announce that he was now the majority shareholder and would do what he chose.[58]
Throughout his life, Mulock's strong interest in "plain people (and) public practical problems"[59] involved him in leadership in innumerable community organizations. These included theCNIB,[32] the Federation for Community Service[60] (an ancestor of theUnited Way),St. John Ambulance, the Working Boys Home,[34] and the Soldiers Rehabilitation Fund.[61]CardinalMcQuigan credited Mulock with helping Catholics fully participate in the civic life of Ontario.[62]In 1925, Mulock was the leading organizer of theBanting Research Foundation, Canada's first medical research foundation.[63]
Despite playing a key role in forcing Laurier to commit Canadian forces in theBoer War,[64] after his retirement from politics, Mulock spoke out against militarism.[65] Mulock became the first president of Canada's first national, secular peace organization, the Canadian Peace and Arbitration Society, founded in 1905 byCharles Ambrose Zavitz.[66] When Britain enteredWorld War I, Mulock immediately started organizing the Toronto and York County Patriotic Fund (later part of theCanadian Patriotic Fund) to assist soldier's families. Mulock was President of the Toronto and York Fund for its entire existence (and chair of the Canadian executive[67]); the Toronto fund raised $8,939,143, with only about 2% spent on expenses.[68] At age 99 duringWorld War II, he served as Chair of the Canadian Committee of the InternationalYMCA, responsible for supervising enemy prisoners in Canada. He considered information from Canadian prison camp officials to behearsay that could not replace direct inspection.[69]
William Mulock married in May 1870 Sarah Ellen Crowther, daughter of James Crowther. She was born and educated in Toronto. The couple lived at 518 Jarvis Street in Toronto.[70] The couple had six children (William, Edith, Sarah, Ethel, James,Cawthra[71]).Mulock's grandsonWilliam Pate Mulock was also an MP forYork North.
Mulock's use of profanity was said to be the most picturesque in parliament,[72] and he was known for his consumption of Cuban cigars andrye whisky. Just beforeProhibition came into force in Ontario in 1916, he had special concrete compartments built in his house into which he stored a lifetime supply of whisky.[17]
Mulock was described as "The man who did",[34] his work ethic recognized even by those who sometimes disagreed with what he did.Sir Daniel Wilson referred to him as "the mule".[73] At a luncheon in his honour shortly after his 87th birthday, Mulock described his attitude on growing old:[74]
I'm still at work with my hand to the plough and my face to the future. The shadows of evening … lengthen about me but morning is in my heart. … the testimony I bear is this: that the castle of enchantment is not yet behind me, it is before me still and daily I catch glimpses of its battlements and towers. The best of life is always further on. The real lure is hidden from our eyes, somewhere behind the hills of time.
Mulock is buried in Newmarket Cemetery.[75] Named is his honour in Ontario are:
| 1882 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 1,830 | ||||||
| Independent | Jas. Anderson | 1,721 | ||||||
| 1887 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 2,526 | ||||||
| Conservative | Richard Tyrwhitt | 2,231 | ||||||
| 1891 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 2,331 | ||||||
| Conservative | W. W. Pegg | 1,968 | ||||||
| 1896 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 2,712 | ||||||
| Conservative | P. W. Strange | 2,036 | ||||||
| By-election on 30 July 1896 On Mr. Mulock being appointed Postmaster General | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Mulock | acclaimed | |||
| 1900 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 2,007 | ||||||
| Conservative | John Currey | 1,710 | ||||||
| 1904 Canadian federal election:York North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | William Mulock | 2,650 | ||||||
| Conservative | Francis J. Roach | 1,688 | ||||||
mulock.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (acting) 1931–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Toronto 1924–1944 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
