James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Lord Elgin, or should I say, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, was born in London on July 20, 1811 and died in Dhurmsala in the Himalayas on November 20, 1863. He was a well-educated man having attended Eton and Christ Church (Oxford).
He received his B.A. in 1833 and M.A. in 1835. In 1840 he became heir to the Earldom of Elgin and in 1841 succeeded to the peerage. In 1841 he was elected to the British House of Commons for the Borough of Southampton (Tory). However, his succession to the peerage cut short his parliamentary career. In 1842 he was made Governor of Jamaica and in 1846 he was offered the position of Governor-General in British North America (Canada). Being that most decisions regarding British North America were made by the Colonial Office and/or Foreign Office in London it was necessary to find the right man for the job. Lord Elgin was given the task by Earl Grey, the British Colonial Secretary, of introducing the concept of responsible government as recommended by Lord Durham in his two volume report.
James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin, arrived in Canada on January 30, 1847 at an age of 35 and 1/2 years. With him he brought his second wife, Lady Mary Louisa Lambton, one of two daughters born to Lord Durham's first wife. One can only imagine the climate and cultural changes that the vice-regal pair had to face. Canada as we know it did not exist. There was Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. In the aftermath of 1837 Rebellions there were many political and social issues that had to be faced. In 1846 Great Britain repealed the Corn Laws and where Canadian grain once enjoyed the privilege of protected British markets, now had to survive in a new era of free trade. There was discontent between the merchant and governing classes and, as always. there was the problem of French-speaking Lower Canada. Nevertheless, during Lord Elgin's tenure in office had four ministries with which to deal. He did so successfully, although there was a time when unruly mobs burned the newly-constructed parliamentary buildings in Montreal and stoned the Governor-General's coach for consenting to the Rebellion Losses Bill for Lower Canada.
It was Lord Elgin's diplomacy in Washington in May and June, 1854 that led to the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. Here in the company Sir Francis Hincks and Edward Barron Chandler a long-lasting deal with the United States of America was struck. The current Lord Bruce, Charles Edward, writes (July 21, 2006) You should be interested to know that the very treaty you studied IS included - the copy of the Treaty of Reciprocity actually signed by Queen Victoria and including my ancestor's seal of office giving him full powers to negotiate with the US on Her behalf! He considered this the most satisfying achievement of his time by far, of his time in Canada!
It was noted by W. Stewart Wallace in The Macmillan Dictionary of Canadian Biography (p. 215) "In general he laid down the lines of conduct which all governors-general of Canada have followed since his time."
