Henry J. Morgan 4 related letters collection

1896. 1st Edition. No binding. Henry J. Morgan was a Canadian civil servant, lawyer, and author, best known for publishing collections of biographical sketches of notable Canadians such as Sketches of Celebrated Canadians, Bibliotheca Canadensis, and The Canadian Men and Women of the Time. He was a founding member of the Canada First movement, a Canadian nationalist movement that promoted the British Protestant component as central to Canadian identity. One of his most significant achievements was the accumulation and description of state records, an effort that helped lay the foundation for the later development of a national archives. He retired from the government in 1895 and devoted the remainder of his life to writing.

The collection contains 4 documents dating from 1875 to 1896.

4 Letters:

• ALS (1 pp.) Letter size 4-7/8 x 4-7/8 inches flat, was folded. Hand-written 1879 letter from Samuel Dawson of Dawson Brothers, Montreal booksellers on their letterhead to Henry J. Morgan, Ottawa. Dated May 1, 1879. Included is a FREE frank envelope which contained the letter. Letter contents refers to a couple of books Dawson thought had been sent to Morgan but were not and he was stating they would now be. Interesting that 2 copies of one of the books was Bibliotheca canadensis (1867) written by Morgan. Also interesting that Dawson is sending the letter with a FREE frank. Of further interest is this event regarding Dawson... the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie prepared a new bill, for the framing of which the minister of agriculture, Luc Letellier* de Saint-Just, relied on the advice of booksellers such as Dawson. The Act respecting copyrights (1875) protected the rights of authors and publishers and it received the approval of the British book trade and the Colonial Office, which was the only way copyright legislation in Canada could be successful in the 19th century.

1 Printed biographical form and publication order for The Canadian Legal Directory and Law Guide (1878):

• 4 pages. Dated Ottawa, 12 December, 1876. Quarto, Small tears, fold marks, otherwise in good condition. "The Canadian Legal Directory and Law Guide" publication order and biographical form to be a subject in the publication. Sent and signed by Henry J. Morgan to John C. Allen. The 3 page form is filled in and signed by John C. Allen, first New Brunswick Supreme Court judge. To be published by Henry J. Morgan. The publication was published in Toronto, in 1878 by R. Carswell and called, "Canadian Legal Directory ; Guide to the Bench and the Bar of The Dominion of Canada." In this p.199 & 200, a biographical write-up on John Campbell Allen, Chief Justice of New Brunswick is printed of which some of the information Allen provided Morgan in this form was used.

Sir John Campbell Allen, was a lawyer, author, office holder, politician, militia officer, and judge. He was a tory, an anti-confederate, and a gentleman. John Campbell Allen was on October 8, 1875 appointed the New Brunswick Supreme Court judge, the highest office within the Province's judicial system. Allen sat on the Supreme Court for 31 years. He was knighted in 1889.

• ALS (3 pp.) from the Hon. William Miller (lawyer, Senator and speaker of the Senate of Canada) on Senate of Canada stationery, 20 July 1896, regretting that he cannot access the list of Senators Morgan requires, expressing frustration at Mr. Young, and noting that he is traveling to the Thousand Islands for two to three weeks.

• Autograph Manuscript Signed (AMS), of W.B. Richards, the first Chief Justice of Ontario. To the Honorable the Justices of the Superior Court for Lower Canada, in and for the district of Montreal. / The petition of Henry James Morgan of the City of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, advocate. Toronto, 1st of July, 1875. Folio, 2 pages. Fold marks. Written in William Buell Richards hand.