Daily globe., 1879-11-05
SIR FRANCIS HINCKS.
fnO1orioets Termination Of a Brilliant
Career.

Career.
detroit News.l
The Canadians have shown once again
that in dealing with financial offenders their
courts are no respecters of persons. The
dispatches have announced that no less
parsonage than Sir Francis Kinks, Presi
dent Of the consolidated bank of Montreal
has been convicted in the court of queens
bench of making false returns TO the gov
ernment of the condition of the bank. Up-
on this criminal conviction Sir Francis is
certain to 60 to prison, and for long term.
The name of Hincks is ono which covers
long period of Canada's political history.
and will be known and read about SO long as
attention is paid to The annals of the strue-
giles for constitutional and responsible gov
ernment and the advancement of the coun.
try. Sir Francis Hincks is now a very old
man, having nearly reached the allotted span.
but he is yet full of vigor and energy. Or
Irish birth, he came to Canada while very
young, and began life as journalist, estab-
Ilshipg the Examiner in Toronto, and sub
sequently the Pilot, in Montreal. He
early went into politics, and in
the stormy period of Canada's history
he was one of the foremost men. He was
diplomat enough to dupe Lord John Russell
into the concession of responsible govern
ment; and gained for himself the title of
"the Walpole of Canada" A statisticiap
and an able fnancier, it was not long before
he made his mark in public life. and soon
entered ministry of which he subsequently
became head. He was for several years
finance minister, and made many voyages to
England to strengthen the credit of the
province. In the interminable series of
cabinet changes between 1874 and 1857,
the year Of the union, he was always
in the front rank. He had large share
in bringing about the confederation of
the provinces, and when the union was ef
.fected he took his seat in the cabinet. He
is knight commander of the order of st.
Michael and St. George, and companion of
| the order of the bath aud LID. He is the
father of the Grand Trunk railroad, having
initiated that enterprise and engineered
loan after loan to raise millions by the score
to carry it to successful conclusion. He was
the author, in large measure, of the bank
ing laws of Canada, and framed the very
provisions which he now stands
criminallly convicted of violating.
man of large wealth, he is in-
terested in most prominent Canadian
enterprises, and at a time when most old
men are thinking about taking u little rest
he was busy, as in bis most active days. Not
content with his labors as president of the
Consolidated bank-quite large concern
and as director of half dozen Joint stock
companies, he was editor of the Journal of
| Commerce, heavy financial and commercial
pap:r. Not long ago, he answered, in the
| F0rtnghtly Reoieao,the article upon Canada,
| in which Goodwin Smith demonstrated that
| the Dominion must sooner or later be ab
| sorbed into the American union.
| Sir Francis has been a voluminous writer
upon financial and politico economical sub
| jects. He has contributed much to the daily
press of Montreal and Toronto, keeping
fully abreast of all questions of the day. He
has been, though Protestant, the bitter and
unreenting zoe OF the Orange order in
Canada. Only recently be was witness for
the defense in the case of David Grant, the
county master of Montreal, vs.. ex- Mayor
Beaudry for damages for arrest and false
Imprisonment. Sir Francis swore that the
order was an illegal oath bound one, and as
such coming within the scope of the obso-
| lete act which had been resurrected from
ante rebellion times.
1t goes without saying that his conviction
will create q genuine shock throughout Cana
| da, where his name and his fame have al
ways been before the public. He has always
been looked up to as man of honor and in
| tegrity, whose opinions were sound, and
! whose counsels we're unbiased. .
| Sir FRncis has fallen victim to vicious
| system of banking which has brought many
| head low in Montreal. The banks there
are, to great extent, the tools of the stock
exchange and a ring of brokers' on St. Fran.
c's Xavier street. Even the bank of Mon
treal, with it's paid-up capital of $12,000,O00,
and it's enormous reserve, and Sir Hugh Al
lan's bank, the Merchants, with paid. up
capital of $900O,000, are subjected to the
| dangerous stock broking and real estate
speculating influences which have ru ned the
| Mechanics, the Jacqnes Cartier, and the
Consolidated banks, and brought the Stada-
coma bank of Quebec into insolvency. Sir
Francis had terrible warning of the dan
ger into which he was rushing in the per-
son of Mr.. Cote, of the jacques Cartier bank,
whe was sent to prison for two years
for just the same offense, but he chose to 60
on making false oaths for the purpose of
staving off the evil day he hoped to avoid
altogether, and now behold him after all his
honers, all his great public services, all his
years of toll and turmoil, all his triumphs
and rewards at the hand of royalty-a con-
victed felon, awaiting sentence at the hands
of a judge whom he had helped to elevate