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Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario. |
Honourable James Young, MP
1835 - 1913 (77 years)
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Photos Hall of Fame James Young
https://www.city.cambridge.on.ca/cs_pubaccess/hall_of_fame.php?aid=62&cpid=33&scpid=0&did=0&sid=34&ssid=0&tp=0&grid=0
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Name James Young Prefix Honourable Suffix MP Residence 1834 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Born 24 May 1835 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] Gender Male Business Gore Fire Insurance, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Gore Fire Insurance Co. - THE GORE FIRE INSURANCE CO.
Among the many institutions of which Galt boasts, none are more conspicuous than the Gore Ins. Co's pal-atial and imposing structure situated on the corner of Main and Ainslie streets. The style is of a Romanesque char-acter, and is built with Connecticut brown-stone, rock-faced base up to the first storey window sills ; above this it is faced with brown pressed brick, tooled portage entry stone trimmings and Terra Cotta carvings. The corner of Main and Ainslie streets is round, having over the main entrance a heavily moulded arch, supported on two Doric columns, and over the arch the Company's name carved in mediaeval letters. This round corner is continued up above the roof, forming a round tower, roofed with Span-ish tiles and terminating in a columned and octagon lantern, with ogee top and flag staff. Total height from the side-walk about eighty-two feet. The Gore has about 125 active agents through Ontario.1a
1a1897 Jubilee Souvenir of Galt
Gore Fire Insurance Co. in 1897
From 1897 Jubilee Souvenir of GaltOccupation 1853 The Reformer Newspaper, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada newspaper publisher The Reformer 
The Reformer Newpaper office in 1897
From 1897 Jubilee Souvenir of GaltResidence 1857 117 Wellington St. S., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence 1858 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [7] Occupation 1861 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [5] Printer Residence 1861 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [5] United Presbterian Church Occupation 1871 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [3] Manufacturer Residence 1871 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [3] U. Presbyterian Retired 1881 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [2] Occupation 1891 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [6] Gentleman Residence 1891 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [6] Presbyterian Business 1897 Victoria Wheel Works, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Victoria Wheel Works - The hub and spoke manufacturing business first started by Thomas Todd and John Davidson in 1861 and later operated by Young and Smith. Mr. Scott purchased the business in 1873 and operated it for many years as R. Scott and Son Ltd., later the Victoria Wheel Works. The buildings were damaged by fire in 1882 but were rebuilt and enlarged. Mr. Scott continued to manage the business until 1906 when he sold it to his son-in-law George A. Dobbie. The business was located at the foot of Main St. for many years before moving to new facilities on Middleton St. in 1913.
Victoria Wheel Works
From 1897 Jubilee Souvenir of GaltRecipes 1898 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [8] Mushrooms Broiled - MUSHROOMS BROILED.
MRS. JAMES YOUNG.
Gather them fresh, pare and cut off the stems, dip them in melted butter, season with salt and pepper, broil them on both sides over a clear fire. Serve on toast.1a
1aMargaret Taylor and Frances McNaught, The New Galt Cook Book (Revised Edition (Toronto, Ontario: McLeod & Allen, 1898).
Retired 1901 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [1] Occupation 1911 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [4] Income Residence 1911 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [4] Presbyterian Died 29 Jan 1913 Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Website 2007 wikipedia Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region Bef 2012 , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [9] Eby ID Number Waterloo-12426 Person ID I12426 Generations Last Modified 12 May 2024
Father John Young, b. CALC 31 Jul 1810, , Roxburghshire, Scotland , d. 21 Feb 1859, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (Age ~ 48 years) Mother Janet "Jeanie" "Jane Bell, b. 1811, , Roxburghshire, Scotland , d. 16 Jul 1842, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (Age 31 years) Married 19 May 1834 Hobkirk, , Roxburgh, Scotland [10] Family ID F9624 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Margaret "Maggie" McNaught, b. 18 Dec 1837, Penpont, , Dumfries, Scotland , d. 29 Nov 1927, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (Age 89 years) Married 11 Feb 1858 Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada [7] Children 1. Amelia Young, b. 1855, , Ontario, Canada , d. Yes, date unknown2. John Young, b. 1863, , Ontario, Canada , d. Yes, date unknownLast Modified 13 May 2024 Family ID F16674 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- THE GORE FIRE INSURANCE CO.
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Notes - YOUNG, JAMES, newspaperman, politician, and author; b. 24 May 1835 in Galt (Cambridge), Upper Canada, son of John Young and Janet Bell; m. 11 Feb. 1858 Margaret McNaught in Brantford, Upper Canada; they had no children; d. 29 Jan. 1913 in Galt.
In 1834 John and Janet Young emigrated from Scotland to Galt, where they found work with William Dickson* - James Young was born in his house - and later kept a hotel. Educated privately and at local schools, James in his youth had two main ambitions: to be an accomplished orator and a good writer. After a short time with a local newspaper, in 1853, at the age of 18, he purchased the Dumfries Reformer and Western Counties Weekly Mercantile and Agricultural Advertiser, which he would publish, under various titles, for the next ten years; about 1854 he assumed editorial control.
Young's views on public affairs, including the turmoil surrounding the union of the Canadas, were noticed by the political leaders of the day. In 1863 George Brown*, Clear Grit figurehead and editor of the Toronto Globe, asked him to organize meetings on behalf of his electoral candidacy in Oxford South. Young later recalled that "it seemed a golden opportunity to win my political spurs, and I was speedily in the midst of the contest." In June 1867 he attended the Reform Convention in Toronto and a few months later, in the new dominion's first election, he was returned for Waterloo South over the strong opposition of Tories and Reform coalitionists. Carefully balancing politics with business - for five years around 1871 he was principal partner in the Victoria wheel-works in Galt - he was re-elected by acclamation in 1872 and 1874.
An outspoken backbencher in the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie*, Young recommended in 1874 the introduction of a Hansard-style record of debates and chaired the house when in committee on supply and the important standing committee on public accounts, but he did not always ease Mackenzie's attempts to fashion a national party. For instance, in the intraparty clash of 1876 over tariff revisions, Young, writing of the event in 1892, identified himself as an Ontario protectionist who wanted to increase tariffs in opposition to the efforts of Maritime mps, who, he believed, "ruined the party." In 1878 he chaired the Liberal convention in Toronto and became president of the Ontario Reform Association, but in the election that year he was defeated by Samuel Merner*. The following year Young entered the Ontario legislature for Brant North, and his talents were soon put to good use by Premier Oliver Mowat*; in 1880 he chaired a select committee on railway safety. Appointed treasurer and commissioner of agriculture on 2 June 1883, he was forced by ill health to resign on 1 November. He remained in the legislature but did not run for re-election in 1886.
Throughout his careers in journalism and politics, Young had pursued literary, associational, business, and civic interests with equal energy. His essays on Canada's agricultural resources (1857) and the Reciprocity Treaty (1865) won prizes, he contributed to the Canadian Monthly and National Review (Toronto) between 1872 and 1878 and to commercial journals, and he drew on his local knowledge to produce Reminiscences of the early history of Galt and the settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario (Toronto, 1880). From 1870 to 1881 he was president of the Association of Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario. In business he held the presidency for 37 years of Gore Fire Insurance (whose history he wrote up in 1895) and at various times he was a director of Confederation Life, Canada Landed Credit, Ayr American Plough, and the Toronto branch of Crédit Foncier Franco-Canadien. In Galt he was a member of town council and a deputy reeve, served on the public school board and as chairman of the collegiate institute, and aided in the erection of the South Waterloo Hospital. A member and manager of Central Presbyterian Church, he was a president of the Sabbath School Association of Ontario and its vice-president in the mid 1870s. Young enjoyed gardening, hunting, and both curling and cricket: he had captained the Galt Cricket Club in the 1850s and 1860s, and in Ottawa led the Commons Cricketers to numerous victories.
Despite his retirement from parliament in 1886, Young continued to live close to his Reform principles. When the federal Liberals in 1887-88 were considering commercial union with the United States, Young, despite his friendship with party leader Wilfrid Laurier, threw himself into the debate with letters, speeches, and pamphlets against any program, including imperial federation, that countered the "idea of an independent national future." Young and James David Edgar*, Laurier wrote to Sir Richard John Cartwright on 9 Sept. 1887, "are the only two men who have written me in absolutely uncompromising antagonism to commercial union." By 1889, in his opposition to unrestricted reciprocity as Liberal policoung was virtually alone, close to the rejected sentiments of former leader Edward Blake but far to the right of Ontario Liberalism as represented by Cartwright.
Young's political musings of the late 1880s and 1890s kept his name before the public. As well, he began work on an account of Canada before and after confederation, a project that necessitated a wide correspondence and help from such authorities as antiquarian Henry James Morgan and Ontario legislative librarian Avern Pardoe. In 1902 his Public men and public life in Canada, being recollections of parliament and the press appeared in Toronto. Dedicated to Blake, this mildly partisan work bridges the union era, including Young's early experiences as a Reformer, and the beginning of the new century, where his treatment is marked by unqualified enthusiasm for Canada and the Laurier government. More revealing of his views on current affairs, and of his apparent reputation as a venerable but inconsequential commentator, are his speeches and his letters in newspapers from about 1902. His resistance to greater imperial integration, his anti-militaristic sentiments, and his support for an elective Senate, among other positions, gave some substance to the review of the two-volume re-edition of Public men (1912) that stretched to cast Young as "a natural Radical."
Young died at his Galt home, Thornhill, in 1913 at the age of 77. A talented man of defined principles and gracious dignity, he was considered to be not only "thoroughly Canadian" but also Galt's "most distinguished son." This one-time disciple of Brown and Blake was eulogized by the Toronto Globe: "He was all his life a perfect type of the robust, self-contained, and energetic Liberal Crusader. Unswayed by political and economic currents that sometimes carried his friends away from the old moorings, he held strongly to the anchorage deliberately and intelligently selected by himself and for himself in his early adult life."
Lynn E. Richardson
In addition to the works detailed in the text, James Young's publications include Address of James Young, esq., m.p.p., president of the Association of Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario, read at the annual meeting at Hamilton, on 22nd September, 1880 (Toronto, 1880); Our national future, being five letters by Hon. James Young, in opposition to commercial union (as proposed) and imperial federation . . . (Toronto, [1888]); History of the Gore Fire Insurance Co., from 1839 to 1895; being an address delivered by the Hon. James Young, president of the company . . . (Galt [Cambridge], Ont., [1895?]); and "The growth of Canadian commerce" and "The situation: commercial and financial," in the Canadian Monthly and National Rev. (Toronto), 1 (January-June 1872): 387-91 and 3 (January-June 1873): 123-31, respectively.
AO, F 24, MU 510, Laurier to Cartwright, 9 Sept. 1887; F 334; RG 22-214, no.5911; RG 80-27-2, 1: 3. NA, MG 29, D61: 8645-48; RG 31, C1, 1871, Galt, div.2: 42 (mfm. at AO). Daily Telegraph (Berlin [Kitchener], Ont.), 30 Jan. 1913. Dumfries Reformer (Galt), 1853-63, esp. 17 Feb. 1858, 23 Feb. 1859, 5 Aug. 1863. Globe, 30 Jan. 1913. Ernie Ronnenberg, "James Young: Canada Firster," Kitchener-Waterloo Record (Kitchener), 14 Nov. 1974 (copy in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record Library, Arch. file no.63; this file also includes a black and white portrait of Young). Canadian annual rev. (Hopkins), 1902-12. Canadian men and women of the time (Morgan; 1912). CPG, 1877. Cyclopædia of Canadian biog. (Rose and Charlesworth), vol.2. Directory, Ont., 1871. Ben Forster, A conjunction of interests: business, politics, and tariffs, 1825-1879 (Toronto, 1986). Kenneth McLaughlin, Cambridge: the making of a Canadian city (Windsor, Ont., 1987). Carlton McNaught, "Hon. James Young: Canadian patriot," Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report (Kitchener), 6 (1918): 37-43. Select committees of the assemblies of the provinces of Upper Canada, Canada and Ontario, 1792 to 1991: a checklist of reports, comp. Richard Sage and Aileen Weir (Toronto, 1992), no.24. O. D. Skelton, Life and letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier (2v., Toronto, 1921). Theo[bald] Spetz, "Address by Rev. Theo. Spetz, c.r., Berlin: 'The importance of local history,'" Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report (Berlin), 1 (1913): 16-18. A. W. Taylor, Our todays and yesterdays: a history of the township of North Dumfries and the village of Ayr, Ontario, Canada ([Galt], 1970). Types of Canadian women . . . , ed. H. J. Morgan (Toronto, 1903), 354.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval
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Hall of Fame Members
Hon. James Young
Inducted 1995
The Honourable James Young was born in Galt on 24 May 1835, the son of John Young, innkeeper and first landlord of the King's Arms, later the Queen's Arms Hotel on Queen's Square. Mr Young was educated at Galt's public schools and through what his biographers have called "private tuition".
In Mr Young's day, journalism was seen as a stepping stone to public life. It is not surprising, then, that the first job for the politically ambitious young man was with the Galt Reporter, which he joined in 1849 at the age of fourteen.
Mr Young took his next step into public life when, in 1853 at the age of 18, he purchased the rival weekly the Dumfries Reformer, a newspaper he operated for 10 years. Mr Young enjoyed his first taste of public office when he was elected to the Galt Town Council and served as a councillor from 1858 to 1861, in 1863 and again in 1884. In 1860 he also served as Deputy Reeve of the town.
In 1863 Mr Young began his move into federal politics. He had become an effective speaker for the Reform cause in Upper Canada and had come to the attention of George Brown, leader of the Reform Party and publisher of the Toronto Globe. Mr Brown asked Mr Young to conduct a series of public meetings in support of the Reform candidate in the South Oxford by-election being contested that year. This was the beginning of a life in federal and provincial politics "marked by a firm adherence to the Liberal Party and to Reform principles generally".
It was also a life dominated by ideas and ideals that ranged from the theoretical to the eminently practical. He believed "with a passionate fervour" that Canada's destiny was that of a fully autonomous nation bound to England by "ties of affection and common origin but without any unwieldy political machinery". Just as he favoured autonomous nationhood for Canada, he opposed both commercial union with the United States and any form of Imperial Federation that might conflict with his view of a free and fully independent Canada.
Yet, while he strongly opposed commercial union with the United States, he was a firm advocate of closer trade relations with that country. In 1866, to fully explain his position, he wrote, "The Reciprocity Treaty, Its Advantages to the United States and Canada" an essay that was such a coherent statement in support of reciprocity that it was especially printed for circulation at a large and important Trade Convention held in Detroit that year.
After 1863, when Mr Young sold the Dumfries Reformer, he was absorbed with his new business at the Victoria Wheel Works. He still found time, however, to act as a regular contributor on commercial and statistical subjects to the Montreal Trade Review and to the Toronto Globe and other publications.
His obvious concern with Canada's position in the world and his advocacy of Liberal doctrine made him at logical candidate for a seat in the first parliament of the new Canadian Confederation. Mr Young won the 1867 election over Conservative James Cowan by 366 votes, reversing a tend that had seen Mr Cowan elected to the Legislature for Upper Canada in 1861 and 1864. Mr Young was re-elected by acclamation in 1872 and 1874 before finally being defeated by a small majority in the great Liberal defeat of 1878.
As a federal member of parliament, Mr Young took an active part in the conduct of business, particularly during the administration of Liberal Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie between 1874 and 1878. Mr Young served as Chairman of both the Committee of Public Works and the Committee of the Whole House in Supply. He was instrumental in the adoption of the legislation that established the federal Government Bureau of Statistics, the predecessor of the present Statistics Canada.
Mr Young's electoral defeat in 1878 by no means marked the end of his public life. Although he had been involved in politics for 25 years and had been in the federal parliament for 12 years, he was only 43 years of age and still had much to contribute. It was at this time that Mr Young wrote his history of early Galt, titled "Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries" and published in 1880. The book remains one of the major sources of information about the early development of our community.
Mr Young's interest in elected office remained although his focus changed somewhat when he was elected to the Ontario legislature as the member for Brant North in 1879. As in the federal parliament, Mr Young earned a reputation as an effective and influential speaker and it was on his motion that the provincial government agreed to establish the Ontario Statistical Bureau. In June 1883 Mr Young joined Oliver Mowat's cabinet as provincial treasurer. Ill health cut short his cabinet career and he was forced to resign in October of the same year. He retained his seat until the next election in 1886 when he decided not to accept his party's nomination as representative for Brant North.
Mr Young's decision not to seek re-election marked a shift in emphasis in his public life. He remained closely connected with the Liberal Party serving as president of the Reform Association and as Chairman of the large Liberal conventions held in Toronto in 1887 and 1895. He also remained a friend of the great Liberals of the age including Alexander Mackenzie, Oliver Mowat, Edward Blake and Wilfrid Laurier.
While no longer a member of parliament, Mr Young retained his belief in the power of the written and spoken word to persuade and influence. In 1887 he wrote the pamphlet "Our Commercial Future" and followed it with one of his most influential addresses, "Canadian Nationality: a Glance at the Present and Future", which was delivered to the National Club in Toronto and published during the winter of 1890-91. The speech was described at the time as a "vigorous and eloquent argument setting forth the progress and success of the Canadian Confederation, strongly opposing any form of annexation and advocating Canadian nationality as the ultimate destiny of the Dominion and the best antidote to Americanizing tendencies".
While maintaining a strong interest in national and provincial politics, Mr Young increased an involvement in more local matters that had never entirely lapsed. For 11 years beginning in 1881, Mr Young served as President of the Associated Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario. He was among the first presidents of the Sabbath School Association of Ontario and remained one of its vice-presidents until his death. For several years he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of G.C.I. and President of the Galt Hospital Fund. He was also instrumental in promoting and erecting Galt's first hospital.
Mr Young was also closely associated with the Gore Fire Insurance Company, serving as a director beginning in 1868 and then as President from 1877 until his death. In addition, he served on numerous boards including the Boards of Confederation Life Assurance Co. and Canada Landed Credit Company
As if all this wasn't enough to keep him busy, Mr Young was also the author of a history of the Gore Fire Insurance Company published on the opening of the company's new offices at Ainslie and Main Street in 1895. In addition he wrote "Public Men and Public Life in Canada", a work originally published in 1902. Mr Young was working on the 2nd edition of the book when he died on 19 Jan 1913 in his 77th year.
https://www.city.cambridge.on.ca/cs_pubaccess/hall_of_fame.php?aid=62&cpid=33&scpid=0&did=0&sid=34&ssid=0&tp=0&grid=0
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The Gore Fire Insurance Co.
Among the many institutions of which Galt boasts, none are more conspicuous than the Gore Ins. Co.'s palatial and imposing structure situated on the corner of Main and Ainslie Streets. The style is of the Romanesque character, and is build with Connecticut brown-stone rock-faced base up to the first storey window sills; above this it is faced with brown pressed brick, tooled portage entry stone trimmings and Terra Cotta carvings. The corner of Main and Ainslie Streets is round, having over the main entrance a heavily moulded arch, supported on two Doric columns, and over the arch the Company's name carved in mediaeval letters. This round corner is continued up above the roof, forming a round tower, roofed with Spanish tiles and terminating in a columned and octagon lantern, with ogee top and flag staff. Total height from the side-walk about eighty-two feet. The Gore has about 125 active agents through Ontario.
Officers of Management:
Hon. Jas. Young, President
Adam Warnock, Esq., Vice-President
Hugh McCulloch
Hugh Cant
Robt. Scott
Chas. McGill
Jno. Watson
James Goldie
R.S. Strong, Man. Director3a
3aJubilee Souvenir of Galt 1897
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Young, Hon. James Galt, Ontario, is of Scotch descent, being the eldest son of the late John Young and Jeanie Bell, natives of Roxboroughshire, Scotland, who came to Canada, in 1834, and at first took up their residence in the village of Dundas in the then Gore District. Almost immediately afterwards the family were induced by the Hon. Wm. Dickson to remove to Galt, and here Mr. Young engaged in business and resided until his death in 1859.
James Young, the subject of this sketch, was born in Galt, on the 24th of May, 1835, and has ever since resided there. He received his education in the public schools of his native place ; and at an early age displayed great fondness for books, which he has kept up since. In his youth he had a predilection for the study of the law, but finding he could not carry out this idea, he chose printing as a profession, which he began to learn when he had reached his sixteenth year. When only eighteen years of age, he purchased the Dumfries Reformer, which he afterwards conducted for about ten years. Under his management this paper attained a great local influence, and in addition was the means of making Mr. Young well known beyond the narrow limits of Waterloo county. During the earlier part of the proprietorship, the political articles in the paper were written by one of his friends, he himself taking the general supervision and contributing the local news. Upon the completion of his twentieth year, he took the editorial control, which he retained until 1863, when finding his health not very robust, he sold out the Reformer, and retired from the press for a while. He afterwards went into the manufacturing business, and became the principal partner in the Victoria Steam Bending Works at Galt, which he carried on successfully for about five years.
During his connection with the Reformer, Mr. Young had necessarily taken a conspicuous part in the discussion of political questions, and his paper was an important factor in determining the results of several local contests. He frequently took the platform on behalf of the Reform candidate, and was known throughout the county as a ready and graceful speaker. He took a conspicuous part in municipal affairs, and for six years sat in the town council ; he was an active member of the school board, and devoted a good deal of his time to educational matters ; and also took a special interest in commercial and trade questions, on which he came to be regarded as a high authority.
In 1857, the Hamilton Mercantile Library Association, having offered a prize of fifty dollars for the best essay on the agricultural resources of the country, Mr. Young carried off the prize. This essay was shortly afterwards published, under the title of "The Agricultural Resources of Canada, and the inducements they offer to British laborers intending to emigrate to this continent," and was most favorably received by the public, and highly praised by the press. Eight years later (in 1865), the proprietors of the Montreal Trade Review offered two prizes for essays on the Reciprocity Treaty, which was then about to expire, and Mr. Young sent in a paper which carried off the second prize. His success on this occasion led to his receiving an invitation to attend the commercial convention held next year in Detroit, Michigan, and he had the satisfaction of hearing on that occasion the great speech on commerce delivered by the late Hon. Joseph Howe.
He first entered parliament in 1867, when he was elected by the Reform party of South Waterloo, as their candidate for the House of Commons. This was the first election under Confederation, and he was opposed by James Cowan, a Reform Coalitionist, who was also a local candidate of great influence; and in addition to this Mr. Young had to encounter a fierce opposition, the late Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald, the Hon. William McDougali, and Sir William Rowland taking the field on one occasion on behalf of Mr. Cowan. These formidable opponents were courageously encountered by him single handed, or with such local assistance as could be procured, and he was returned by a majority of 366 votes. When parliament met in the following November, he made his maiden speech in the House on the Address He also took a conspicuous part in the debates of the session, and materially strengthened his position among his constituents
He was twice re-elected by acclamation, first at the general election in 1872, and again in 1874. Of the Mackenzie government he was, loyal and earnest supporter throughout. He was chairman of the committee on pubic accounts for five consecutive sessions, and after the death of Mr. Scatcherd, became chairman of the house when in committee of supply. Among his principal speeches in parliament, were those on the Intercolonial Railway, the Ballot, the admission of British Columbia, with special reference to the construction of the Pacific Railway in ten years, the Treaty of Washngton (which was unsparingly condemned), The Pacific Scandal, the Budget of 1874, the Naturalization of Germans and other aliens, and the Tariff question. Soon after entering parliament he proposed the abolition of the office of Queen's printer, and the letting; of the departmental printing by tender. This was ultimately carried, and effected a large saving in the annual expenditure.
In 1871 he submitted a bill to confirm the naturalization of all aliens who had taken the oaths of allegiance and residence prior to Confederation, which became law. In 1873 he brought in a measure to provide for votes being taking by ballot, and the government subsequently took up the question and carried it. On two occasions the House of Commons unanimously concurred in addresses to Her Majesty, prepared by him, praying that the Imperial government would take steps to confer on Germans and other naturalized citizens the same rights as subjects of British birth enjoy in all parts of the world, the law then and still being that they have no claim on British protection whenever they pass beyond British territory. In 1874 he proposed a committee and report, which resulted in the publication of the debates of the House of Commons, contending that the people have as much right to know how their representatives speak in parliament as how they vote.
At the election of 1878, chiefly through a cry for a German representative, he was for the first time defeated. In the following spring the general election for the Ontario legislature came on, and Mr. Young was requested by the Reformers of the North Riding of Brant to become their candidate in the local house. He at first declined, but on the nomination being preferred a second time, he accepted it, and was returned by a majority of 344. For many years Mr. Young's services have been in request as a writer and public speaker. He contributed occasionally to the late "Canadian Monthly," and has been a regular contributor for many years to some of our leading commercial journals, the articles being chiefly upon the trade and development of the country.
He has also appeared upon the platform as a lecturer upon literary and scientific subjects. As a political speaker, he has been heard in many different parts of the province, throughout which he now enjoys a very wide circle of acquaintance. He has held and still holds many positions of honor and trust. He is a director of the Confederation Life Association, and of the Canada Landed Credit Company; has been president and is now vice-president of the Sabbath School Association of Canada; is president of the Gore District Mutual Fire Insurance Company ; was for eleven years president of the Associated Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario ; and a member of the Council of the Agricultural and Arts Association. A few years ago Mr. Young wrote and published a little volume of 272 pages, entitled "Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt, and the Settlement of Dumfries." Apart from the fact that works of this class deserve encouragement in Canada, Mr. Young's book has special merits which are not always found in connection with Canadian local annals. It written in a pleasant and interesting style, which makes it readable even to persons who know nothing of the district whereof it treats.
On June 2nd, 1883, Mr. Young was appointed by the Mowat Government, and sworn in as treasurer of the province of Ontario, and on appealing to the electors of North Brant, his acceptance of office was approved by a majority of 551. On the 29th October of the same year he was compelled to resign his portfolio on account of his health, which, impaired by political and literary overwork, particularly during the preceding twelve months, was found unable for the time being to stand the close confinement of office work. At the next election for the Ontario Legislature in December, 1886, he wrote a letter, declining to accept renomination to the local house.
We are glad to say Mr. Young's health may now be said to be fully restored, evidence of which was furnished during 1887 by the publication of a pamphlet from his pen on the subject of the national future of Canada, and discussing the question of commercial union and imperial federation. This brochure opposes both these schemes, and takes strong ground in favour of Canadian nationality, and has been widely read throughout the Dominion, having gone to a second edition. In religion Hon. Mr. Young is a Presbyterian, and in politics a Liberal. On the 11th February, 1858, he married Margaret, second daughter of John McNaught, of Brantford. Hamilton.
Geo. MacLean Rose, A Cyclopaepdia of Canadian Biography being chiefly men of the time. Rose Publishing Co., Toronto 1888
- YOUNG, JAMES, newspaperman, politician, and author; b. 24 May 1835 in Galt (Cambridge), Upper Canada, son of John Young and Janet Bell; m. 11 Feb. 1858 Margaret McNaught in Brantford, Upper Canada; they had no children; d. 29 Jan. 1913 in Galt.
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Sources - [S259] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1901, Galt (Town/Ville) C-7 Page 14.
- [S336] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1881, Galt Division 2 Page 36.
- [S570] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1871, Div. 2, Pg. 42.
- [S572] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1911, Div. 17 Page 20.
- [S1838] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1861, Galt 1861 Div. 3 Page 38.
- [S1800] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1891, Sec. 1 Page 43.
- [S14] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berlin Chronicle (1856-1860), 17 Feb 1858.
In Brantford, at the residence of the bride's father, on the 11th inst., by the Rev. John Dunbar, Glenmorris, James Young, Esq., of the Galt "Reformer," to Miss Margaret McNaught, Brantford. - [S1721] The New Galt Cook (Revised Edition).
- [S220] Waterloo Region Hall of Fame Waterloo Region Hall of Fame.
- [S1788] Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910, Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M11790-4 , System Origin: Scotland-ODM , GS Film number: 1067936, 0102289.
John Young married Jane Bell 19 May 1834 Hobkirk, Roxburgh, Scotland
- [S259] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1901, Galt (Town/Ville) C-7 Page 14.
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Event Map 
Residence - 1834 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Born - 24 May 1835 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Business - Gore Fire Insurance Co. - - Gore Fire Insurance, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Residence - 1857 - 117 Wellington St. S., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1858 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Married - 11 Feb 1858 - Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada Occupation - Printer - 1861 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - United Presbterian Church - 1861 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Manufacturer - 1871 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - U. Presbyterian - 1871 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Retired - 1881 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Gentleman - 1891 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Presbyterian - 1891 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Business - Victoria Wheel Works - 1897 - Victoria Wheel Works, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Recipes - Mushrooms Broiled - 1898 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Retired - 1901 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Income - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Presbyterian - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 29 Jan 1913 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada 
Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region - Bef 2012 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada = Link to Google Earth
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