James Lesslie (November 22, 1802 – April 19, 1885) was an

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

bookseller, reform politician and newspaper publisher. His career was closely associated with - and somewhat overshadowed by -

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...

, the Reform agitator, mayor of Toronto, and

Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

leader. However, as a leader himself, Lesslie took a prominent role in founding the Mechanics Institute (for adult education), the House of Refuge & Industry (a shelter for the unemployed), the Bank of the People, as well as the political parties known as the Canadian Alliance Society and

Clear Grits Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by George Brown, who said that only those were wanted in the p ...

. In many way, he defined the Reform movement in Upper Canada without having reverted to the violent methods of Mackenzie. His legacy may thus have lasted longer.

Early life

James Lesslie was born in

Dundee, Scotland Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in 1802, the son of Edward Lesslie, a bookseller. James emigrated to

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

in 1822 as part of a plan to relocate the family business to Canada. He was joined by brothers John, George, Charles, William and Joseph between 1820 and 1823. Lesslie and Sons operated stores in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

(later

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and Dundas. James took over the Toronto store with his brother Joseph, from brother John, in 1832. The stores expanded from books and stationery to include pharmaceutical products.

Reform activity

In many respects, Lesslie's life ran in parallel to Mackenzie's, from their birth in Dundee, their immigration to Upper Canada, their albeit brief business partnership, to their lifelong commitment to Reform politics. Lesslie was an astute politician, and helped found many of the city's working-class institutions, from the

Mechanics Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

to the House of Refuge and Industry. He was also a city Alderman when Mackenzie was mayor, and the president of the Political Union that supported Mackenzie's legislative battles.

Mechanics Institute

In 1830, Lesslie worked with an English immigrant tenant, Joseph Bates, to found the York (Toronto) Mechanics Institute based on Bates' experience in London. Lesslie had experience with a similar "Rational Institution" in Dundee that he attended with Mackenzie in his youth. The London Mechanics Institute had been founded by a number of English trade unionists, such as William Thompson and

Thomas Hodgskin Thomas Hodgskin (12 December 1787 – 21 August 1869) was an English socialist writer on political economy, critic of capitalism and defender of free trade and early trade unions. His views differ from some of the views later assigned to the ...

, to provide adult education for the city's "mechanics" (artisans and

journeymen A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

). The Institute became the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2023 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system internationally, making i ...

in 1883. The Mechanics' Institute had a difficult start due to opposition from the local elite, the

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today's Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in L ...

. Lesslie recorded in his diary that it was "viewed with suspicion by some of our Gentry & some of its professed & warmest friends seem to be influenced by them. - The intelligence of the lower Classes they and their system would if possible keep under. - their Lord and Slave system is not to be grafted upon the people of U.C.".

City Alderman

"Muddy York" was municipally governed by the

Court of Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

, composed of appointed magistrates; these men were part of the

. But the town's growth made the sheer volume of work impractical for a part-time body. In 1833, several prominent reformers petitioned the House to have the town incorporated (Upper Canada's first), which would also have made the position of magistrate elective. The Reformers' goal was a democratically accountable municipal government. The Tory-controlled House struggled to find a means of creating a legitimate electoral system which might, nonetheless, minimize the chances of Reformers being elected. The bill passed on March 6, 1834, and proposed two different property qualifications for voting; a higher one for the election of aldermen (who would also serve as magistrates), and a lower one for common councillors. Lesslie was elected an Alderman to the first city council. This council, in turn, elected William Lyon Mackenzie mayor, and made the Second Market Building their home.

Canadian Alliance Society

Reformers in Upper Canada organized a "Grand Convention of Delegates" to nominate reform candidates for the election in 1834. They were very successful and all five reform candidates won, including Mackenzie. In January 1835, shortly after the elections, the reformers organized the Canadian Alliance Society. It was a Political Union designed to organize petition campaigns, not a political party. Lesslie was elected its president, and Timothy Parsons its secretary. These two were also leaders in the Toronto Mechanics Institute. The Canadian Alliance Society adopted much of the platform (such as secret ballot & universal suffrage) of the

Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperativ ...

National Union of the Working Classes in London, England, that were to be integrated into the Chartist movement in England. The Canadian Alliance Society shared the same space in the Second Market Building as the Mechanics Institute and the Children of Peace, an active reform religious group from the village of Sharon, Ontario. The first petition campaign of the Canadian Alliance Society originated with the Children of Peace, and asked for a "Provincial Loan Office."

Bank of the People

The petitioning campaign for a "Provincial Loan Office" that would lend farmers small amounts was ultimately unsuccessful. However, Dr Charles Duncombe did establish the legality of unchartered joint-stock banks, which would allow the Reformers to establish their own bank over the opposition of the Family Compact. James Lesslie spearheaded the founding of the Bank of the People, serving as general manager and later president after John Rolph. The Bank of the People was the only bank in Upper Canada not to suspend payments during the financial panic of 1837–8. Many of the shareholders, however, took part in the Rebellion of 1837 and the Family Compact plotted to have it taken over by the Bank of Montreal in 1840.

Toronto House of Industry

In 1834, the United Kingdom passed a new

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

which created the system of Victorian

workhouses In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses. The earliest ...

(or "Houses of Industry") that Charles Dickens described in ''Oliver Twist''. Sir

Francis Bond Head Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (7 December 1793 – 20 July 1875) was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837. Biography Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army from 181 ...

, the new Lt. Governor of Upper Canada in 1836, had been a Poor Law administrator before his appointment. Fearing that Head wanted to introduce these workhouses in Toronto, a small group of reformers and dissenting ministers led by James Lesslie and Dr William W. Baldwin founded the Toronto House of Industry on alternate, humane principles. The Toronto House of Industry was started by the reformers in the ‘unused’ courthouse on Richmond Street in January 1837 where they had previously met as the "Canadian Alliance Society" of which Lesslie had been president. The Toronto House of Refuge and Industry appears to have been founded on the model of the

Socialist "Home Colonies". A constant struggle between the ruling elite, the "Family Compact," and the Reformers to gain control of the institution prevented this plan from ever fully being implemented.

Rebellion & Mississippi Emigration Society

Although Lesslie appears to have taken no part in the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

, he was arrested in December 1837; he was released two weeks later. He and other disappointed Reformers then formed the Mississippi Emigration Society which proposed to purchase a large block of land at

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

for the erection of a mill, other property to be held in common, and redistribution among shareholders. The organizers included Lesslie, Peter Perry,

Francis Hincks Sir Francis Hincks, (December 14, 1807 – August 18, 1885) was a Canadian businessman, politician, and British colonial administrator. An immigrant from Ireland, he was the Co-Premier of the Province of Canada (1851–1854), Governor of Ba ...

, J. Hervey Price and Thomas Parke. Lesslie, Hincks and Price were all involved in the management of the Bank of the People, and were the designated agents for the company. They approached President van Buren in Washington to obtain a large grant in the Iowa territory. The committee had found significant obstacles to purchasing a large contiguous block of land; squatters’ had pre-emptive rights to the land they had settled, and competition from land sharks and speculators added to the problem. Interest in the Mississippi Land Company slowly eroded throughout 1839, and those interested in emigration did so with their own resources. After hearing of possible changes following Lord Durham's assignment as governor general, Lesslie decided to remain in Upper Canada.

Clear Grits

In 1842, Lesslie took over the operation of the Toronto ''Examiner'' from

, with whom he had worked in the Bank of the People. After

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

established '' The Globe'' in 1844, the ''Examiner'' began to take a more radical stance, later aligning itself with the

. The paper lobbied for the abolition of the clergy reserves and the separation of church and state. In 1855, after a number of competing newspapers had been established, Lesslie sold the ''Examiner'' to George Brown. Lesslie sold off his business interests around the same time. He served several terms as school trustee and also served as a justice of the peace. He died in the village of Eglinton, now part of Toronto, in 1885.

External links

Rebuilding Hope: Celebrating our social-democratic heritageBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesslie, James 1802 births 1885 deaths Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian newspaper publishers (people) People from Dundee Immigrants to Upper Canada People from Kingston, Ontario