HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1959-02-25, Page 12PAGE TWELVE
HURON MEMBER
Chas. MacNaughton's Initial Speech
o Legislature Promotes County
Mr. Speaker,
After introductory remarks as
he rose for the first time in the
house, Charles S. MacNaughton
Went on:
"While I recognize in the fullest
sense, the honor that the people of
Huron have conferred upon me, in
electing me as the representative
of this historic riding, nevertheless
the circumstances which resulted
in my election were and will con-
tinue to be, a matter of profound
regret. The late Tom Pryde was
my neighbour and true friend.
Truly, he was a. dedicated servant
of the adopted country he loved
so well. To have known him and
called him friend was an honour
and privilege I will not in my life-
time forget and the many kindly
references I have heard from all
members of this house are a mat-
ter of personal satisfaction to me
as I am sure they are to his family
and all those whom he served so
faithfully and well.
*
Mr. Speaker, I propose, in the
most concise terms possible, to
deal with the interests of the rid-
ing of Huron, its history, its peo-
ple and their aims and aspirations
as well as the general economy of
this wonderful part of our great
province, relating, all in a general
way, to similar situations, which
undoubtedly prevail in many other
rural sections of Ontario.
It is not possible to discuss in
abbreviated form the complete
history of this famous section of
Ontario. Rather, I propose to touch
on certain of the highlights.
The first white man to visit this
area is acknowledged to be a
young associate of Champlain
known as Etienne Brule. He be-
came singularly adept at master-
ing various Indian dialects and,
in due course, he became the fore-
most linguist and interpreter of his
time. In 1610, by agreement with
Champlain, he was permitted to
take up residence with the Huron
tribe and he shared their customs
and existence until 1633 when he
became a victim of the same cus-
toms and was killed, quartered,
boiled and eaten by those who had
been his blood brothers.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot refrain
from observing at this point that
history fregtlently repeats itself
and that a similar fate may soon
be in store for an hon. member of
this house, the leader of a very
small group, who has sojourned
over -long in an atmosphere in
which he seems -to be as incompat-
ible as was this young Frenchman
of earlier days.
For most practical purposes, the
history of the Huron District of
Huron Tract commences in about
1824 or 1825 with the formation
of the Canada Company. On Nov-
ember 26th, 1824, some 1,384,413
acres was sold from Crown res-
erves in Upper Canada, to the
Canada Company, at a price of
three shillings and sixpence per
acre. A grant of land of about
800,000 acres of clergy reserves
was eventually converted to a
money grant. I might say, Mr.
Speaker, that there are still pro-
perties in Huron held on deeds or-
iginally granted by the Canada
Company.
This was a lusty period in the
history of Canada. It was no less
lusty in Huron and its vigour
stemmed from the men and women
who made the history of the tim-
es. But it was the first warden
who emerged as the most colorful,
aggressive and now almost leg-
endary personality of his day. I
refer to the famous or infamous
Dr. William Dunlop, or better
known and remembered as "Tiger
Dunlop". His contribution to the
development of the entire district
was that of vigorous growth and
Bingo Jackpot
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jackpot will beraised to $40
in 53 calls.
Winners this past Friday
night were: Jake Haberer,
Carole Johnston, Jack Yung-
blut, Janice Meidinger, Lloyd
Klopp, Ruth Fleischauer, Mrs.
Dick, Albert Hoffman, Mrs.
Wes Hugill, Mary Ellen Thiel,
Mrs. Ravelle, Mrs. Ernie Laid-
law, Mrs. Bill Forrester,
Douglas Meidinger, Mrs. Leo
Meidinger, Mrs. Norman Flei-
schauer, Mrs. Pask, Gerald
Reiger, Mrs. Lorne Rader,
Mrs. Leonard Erb.
he represented the district which
then comprised Huron, Perth and
parts of Lambeth and Middlesex,
in the first parliament of Upper
Canada at Kingston in 1841. In
this role, he succeeded his brother,
who was the first MPP, and who
died after a short term in office.
Captain Robert Dunlop, R.N., con-
tested the first election against
another colourful figure of the day,
Lieutenant Colonel Anthony W.
VanEgmond winning by a comfort-
able margin. VanEgmond was an
ardent reformer and I can only
conclude that even as today—he
ran on the wrong ticket.
Mr Speaker, this was the start
of an era in Huron, which launch-
ed the development of what is now
recognized to be the best farm
land in all of Canada. The grave
of Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop
marks the location of much of its
beginning and as such may I sug-
gest—that the Historical Societies
of the province would do well to
consider its more appropriate rec-
ognition, improvement and maint-
enance.
I should like now, Mr. Speaker,
to relate the lusty and vigorous
industry and development of earl-
ier times, to the accomplishments
and opportunities of today. Assur-
edly, sir, the vision of our pion-
eers has been to a very consider-
able extent fulfilled and the char-
acteristics of the founders of Hur-
on are manifest in the boundless
opportunities which exist at this
challenging period of the history of
our province and our nation, Of
recent years our population has
been swelled by people of other
lands to all of whom we extend
a traditional Huron welcome. The
customs and traditions of their
native countries have already en-
riched us and a new, typically Ca-
nadian culture, emerges.
Mr. Speaker, I should say that
the economy and industry of pre-
sent day Huron, is in a large mea-
sure associated with, agriculture.
Those who are not directly engag-
ed in farming are dependent to a
very considerable extent on the ag-
ricultural industry for their own
prosperity, and indeed their live-
lihood, Huron ranks first in the
production of barley, second in
dry beans, and third in mixed gr-
ains. Huron combines with its
neighbour Perth to lead by a wide
margin in hog production. Huron
ranks first in the production of
cattle for 'beef. The town of Exeter
and the surrounding area lead in
the production of rutabagas, The
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ZURICH Citizens NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1959',
PYJAMA PARADE. This entry was one of the many prize winners cit the annual
Skating Carnival held in Zurich last Saturday night. Playing the part of father in
the act was Miss Donna Merner, London, whit the mother is Mrs. Hubert Schilbe. The
children are Donna, Richard and Wayne Schilbe, and the dog is the family pet.
(Citizens News Photo)
area has long been among the top
producers of poultry in Ontario.
In short, Mr. Speaker, Huron by
virtue of the volume and variety
of production of farm products
might well be considered a pattern
for agriculture for all of Ontario,
which attests to the industry and
efficiency of its farmers.
We in Huron are proud of the
accomplishments of our farmers
and particularly proud that, in
1958, Robert Allen, Brucefield,
captured two World Champion-
ships at the Royal Winter Fair.
In fairness, I must express appre-
ciation to the Hon. Minister of
Agriculture and in particular to
the calibre of Agricultural Repre-
sentatives who have served Huron
over the years.
Under the able direction of Mr.
Gordon Bennett, now Chief Agri-
cultural Officer, Mr. Gerald Mont-
gomery, now industrial agent with
the Canadian National Railways
and our present representative,
Mr. Douglas Miles, his associate,
Mr. Arthur Bolton, and his staff,
our 4-H membership and their act-
ivities and accomplishments stand
out as top ranking in, this most
important field of agricultural en-
deavour in the province.
May I point out, Mr. Speaker, to
you and the hon. members of this
house that, in my opinion, a un-
ique opportunity exists in Huron,
for industry to avail itself of the
enterprise and ability of our far-
mers, for the expansion of agri-
cultural production in a very im-
portant field. I believe, sir, that
the southern or the Exeter area of
Huron has an acreage and produc-
tion potential for sugar beets, suf-
ficient to maintain complete pro-
cessing and sugar refining facil-
ities, particularly when it is rec-
ognized that Canada produces only
from 20 percent to 25 percent of
its sugar requirements. I would
point out that the Town of Ex-
eter seems to offer the complete
services required for this type of
industry. The Morrison Dam en-
sures an adequate supply of wat-
er, both rail and truck transporta-
tion facilities are available, as well
as new modern public and second-
ary schools, new hospital, and more
importantly a stable labour mar-
ket. I suggest to the Hon. Minister
of Agriculture and the Hon. Min-
ister of Planning and Development
that this potential opportunity is
worthy of exhaustive investiga-
tion by their respective depart-
ments.
While industry has been some-
what slow to recognize the many
advantages offered by Huron,
there has been considerable evi-
dence in recent years that this
trend is changing. The historic
town of Goderich, seat of our coun-
ty government, has long been rec-
ognized, as one of the principal
lake ports in Ontario, with ex-
tensive terminal grain storage and
shipping facilities. Annually, many
millions of bushels of grain clear
through these terminals for dis-
tribution over a widespread area
of Western Ontario. Of recent
years these facilities have been en-
larged and improved and with the,
advent of the St. Lawrence Sea-
way, Goderich will undoubtedly
attain greater prominence in the
important sphere of lake shipping
and inland distribution.
At, present, a shaft is being con-
structed in Goderich for what will
very likely become the most im-
portant source of raw salt in Can-
ada. When completed and added
to the existing salt industry, Gode-
rich may well lay claim to being
Canada's salt capital. Those and
other important projects, which I
will refer to later, may well com-
bine to be the forerunner of a
trend which, in the comparative
near future, will result in Goderich
becoming the first community in
Huron to attain city status.
(Mr. MacNaughton's maiden
speech will be continued in next
week's issue of the Citizens News).
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