1883-09-29oo

 

On Saturday, September 29, 1883, the Spectator reprinted a section of a recently published titled Our American Cousins, written by W. E. Adams, a British visitor  to  various North American during his travels in1882.

The section which the Spectator reprinted contained an account of the author’s personal experiences in the city of Hamilton:

“Speaking of Hamilton, Mr. Adams says – ‘Several gentlemen belonging to Hamilton made the few days I spent in that part of the American continent alike pleasant and instructive.

“ ‘Mr. H. B. Witton, who showed me all the points of interest, both in that city and Toronto, was, I believe, the first workingman who ever entered a British, his election for Hamilton preceding by a short time the election of Mr. Burt for Morpeth. The popular party in Ontario is, it appears, strongly imbued with protectionist notions. It was this party which elected Mr. Witton, who, by reason of his ability and accomplishments, was in every respect, worthy of the confidence reposed in him.

“ ‘But there was another party concerned in a recent election about which a gentleman, formerly connected with the Hamilton press, told me an amusing story. The candidate selected by it declared of himself and his friends, ‘We are the people.’ When he was defeated – rather badly too, I believe – he was railed on the subject of his previous declaration. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said, ‘We are the people; but there are too few of us.’

“ ‘Mr. Witton assured me that Hamilton, and indeed all Canadian cities, were not only remarkable for the absence of crime, but for the absence of municipal corruption of any kind.

“ ‘Hamilton has still another claim to honorable respect. It was the residence of  ‘old man Freeman’ – to use a phrase current in that part of the world – who fought, at his own expense, the case of John Anderson, the fugitive slave.

“ ‘The situation and surroundings are remarkably pleasant and attractive. Like almost all other cities on the American continent, Hamilton is entirely free from the peculiar exclusiveness which distinguishes our towns. No man who owns a beautiful garden thinks it necessary to his own enjoyment of it that he should exclude it from the gaze of the public.

“ ‘The view of the city from Hamilton mountain, with the broad waters of Lake Ontario close at hand, is charming in the extreme.’ ”¹

¹“A Traveler’s Ideas : What W. E. Adams Says of Hamilton”

Hamilton Spectator.  September  29, 1883.

In the same issue of the Spectator, a description was carried of a new manufacturing establishment which commenced operations. The F. W. Hore and Son company was engaged in the production of carriage wheels.

Situated at the foot of Elgin street, the company’s yard had a frontage of 1000 feet on both the Grand Trunk Railway line and the line of the Northern and Northwestern railway:

“The immense yards surrounding the factory are filled in almost every available space with all sorts of wood from all parts of the Dominion and the United States, including the famous second growth Ohio hickory, which is reckoned to be about the best wood in the world for carriage purposes. There are thousands of logs cut into various lengths used in the manufacture of hubs, and the way that these rough-looking logs are converted into finished and polished logs in the space of a few minutes is simply astonishing.”²

² “Something New : Carriage Wheels, Etc., Made By Machinery at Hore and Sons.”

Hamilton Spectator.  September 29, 1883