1883 - March - 5

“Each succeeding year gives evidence of the dying out of the display which formerly characterized the celebration of the anniversary of St. Patrick. Not only in Hamilton, but all over America, the day is now celebrated like a religious than a national holiday.  In Hamilton, the flags, bands and banners which have attended the celebration have entirely disappeared.”
“Ireland’s Patron Saint : A Quiet Celebration of the Anniversary in Hamilton”¹
          Hamilton Spectator.  March 17, 1883
          Early in the morning of St. Patrick’s day, 1883, members of the Emerald Beneficial association, Sarsfield Branch No. 1, of Hamilton, gathered at their hall on James street and marched in procession to St. Patrick’s church to attend high mass.
          Upon returning to the hall, prominent members of the Emerald Association addressed their fellow members. In his speech, Mr. James Henigan, president of the association, talked of the conversion of Ireland to Christianity by St. Patrick. He also referred to the old-time displays on St. Patrick’s day, which had thankfully been done away with, to the benefit of the proper observance of the day.
          Mr. George Nelson echoed the president’s thoughts:
          “He was opposed to parading in the streets on St. Patrick’s day as it created an ill-feeling and did no good to those who took part in it.”¹
                Later in the day, the Emerald Beneficial association sponsored a concert and lecture at the Academy of Music. The musical portion of the evening was opened by a selection of Irish airs played by the 13^th band. Also featured was Miss. M. E. Graham who sang “Take Me Home, Jaime Dear” and “O Bay of Dublin.”
          Following the concert , Hamilton alderman Cornelius Donovan came on the stage to introduce the featured speaker of the evening. In his introduction, the aldermen boldly stated that he was pleased to be an honorary member of the Emerald Beneficial association :

“That they aimed at religious improvement was evident from the fact of their assiduous attention to the duties of the Church, and to intellectual improvement as they had already laid the foundation of a first-class library and a reading room in connection therewith.” ²

² “Ireland’s Patron Saint : Concert and Lecture” Hamilton Spectator. March 19, 1883.

A lecture was then delivered by Mr. Edward Furlong on St. Patrick and his Sons.

On Saturday, March 17, 1883, the Salvation Army held its weekly knee drill and exhortation in front of the city hall, provoking the usual reaction:

“They were surrounded and following by a howling mob, and the words and air of the hymns were indistinguishable in the din that was raised by the camp followers.”³

³ “Death and Glory Boys : Fierce Battles With the Enemy in This City” Hamilton Spectator. March 19, 1883.

The success of the Salvation Army since its arrival in Hamilton had been mixed. Captain Wm. Freer, “the Hallelujah Sledgehammer,” in his weekly letter to the Army’s newsletter wrote :

“Engagement after engagement with the enemy has taken place in this station; he has been fighting hard here.. We have a live, subtle and deceitful devil in Hamilton. I do hate the devil with a more and more perfect hatred, especially the underneath, subtle devil. There has been too much of that slip-shod soft, weak, ungodly teaching in this city, which has resulted in rocking this fighting in the arm of the wicked one.”¹

Captain Freer was transferred to St. Thomas and on March 18, 1883, his replacement, Captain Mary Pilgrim was presented to the Hamilton troops for the first time as captain at a public meeting of the Army held at the Academy of Music:

“The recruits told their stories, and exhorted others to be saved, as they were. In the back seats, young men were flirting with young girls. Boys were reading dime novels of the “Daring Detective and Steel Eye the Scout” style and spitting tobacco on the floor. Salvation soldiers patrolling the aisles managed to keep pretty good order. There was considerable excitement and a brisk trade was done in selling songbooks and the War Cry.”³

On March 22, 1883, an article appeared in the Spectator describing the preparations that had been made by the Hamilton Choral Society for the performance of the oratorio, The Messiah, at Centenary Church:

“The chorus numbers two hundred, and with the band of over forty performers and the large organ of the Centenary church, the choral work should be grandly done.” ⁴

⁴ “Music and Drama : The Messiah” Hamilton Spectator. March 22, 1883.

In connection with the upcoming performance of the Hamilton Choral Society, a writer for the Spectator described how the society came to be organized :

“At first, the idea was simply to organize a chorus and perform the Messiah, and then if all was well to organize a choral society. The chorus came together late in January in Wesley church school room, and a provisional committee was appointed and rehearsals went on. It soon became evident that now was the time to organize the society. A meeting of business and  men was thereupon called, and resulted in the establishment of the Hamilton Choral Society, with a business committee composed of some of the leading professional men of Hamilton. Rehearsals were carried on regularly, the services of many of the best amateurs and professional players of the city being enlisted for the good of the cause.”⁴

In criticizing the performance of the Messiah on Good Friday, 1883 at the Centenary church, the Spectator was reluctant to be too hard on the performers as the chorus and orchestra were newly organized :

“Taken as a whole the performance was creditable to all concerned, and promises well for the future success of the society. We sincerely hope that from this good beginning our choral society will work on and up until they reach the standard that they should reach, and have shown themselves capable of reaching by the excellence of the work they have done already in proportion to the time they have been in preparation. Unduly flattering and promiscuous praise will do them more harm than good.”⁵

⁵ “The Messiah : Hamilton Choral Society” Hamilton Spectator. March 24, 1883.

Tuesday evening, March 27, 1883 at the Grand Opera House was the time set for an athletic exhibition on the stage usually for used by dramatic or musical players, rather than athletes. The exhibition was held under the combined patronage of the Nautilus and Leander rowing clubs, plus the Hamilton Football and Cricket clubs:

“But although the patronage of such splendid organizations as these was a good deal in favor of the entertainment, it was the hard work of Chief Stewart and the other members of the Hamilton police force and the laudable object that made the finest affair of the kind that ever took place a brilliant success.”⁶

⁶ “Assault at Arms : A Large Audience, a Successful Show and Worthy Object” Hamilton Spectator. March 28, 1883.

After the opening overture performed by the Thirteenth band, Chief Stewart appeared on stage and was greeted with great applause:

“He said that he felt immensely gratified at meeting so large and fashionable an audience. Hitherto these entertainments have been in bad hands, and many who would have liked to be present at them remained away because the managers of them did not care for anything but that the curtain should ring down on a well-filled treasury. The performances hitherto had been simply hippodromes. He wanted it distinctly understood that this entertainment was not a hippodrome.” ⁶

The program began with an exhibition by five members of the Queen’s Own Rifle gymnastic team.

The most notable feature of program was the tug-of-war between four Hamilton policemen and four of their brother officers from Toronto:

“The teams grasped their respective ends of the cable and planted their rubbered feet on the resined floor. The struggle was short, but exciting, and in the space of five seconds, the Hamilton men were pulled over the mark. A tremendous cheer followed and the curtain went down.

“But the audience was not satisfied with one trial, and the curtain rolled up discovering the teams in position, each on the end of the line opposite the one previously taken. Another pull, and again the Hamilton men went over the line.⁶

Sergeant-Major Morgans of the Kingston Military College performed a series of feats of swordsmanship including the following:

“Cutting an unresisting sheet of paper, cutting a heavy bar of lead standing on end on a stool, cutting ribbons and handkerchiefs by laying them across the sword and dexterously swinging the weapon, cutting potatoes placed on the head and back of Chief Stewart without injury.”⁶

Chief Stewart also boxed a few rounds with a professional fighter by the name of Progg. As recorded by the Spectator man in attendance, the chief got in “some good taps, while dexterously defending himself.”⁶

There was also a fencing contest between Professor McGregor and Chief Stewart :

“The Professor succeeded in scoring more hits than the chief but the latter showed himself an adept with the foil.”⁶

The entertainment was a financial success, according to the Spectator:

“The police library is a very worthy object for the large proceeds.”⁶,