Дени Бенжамен Виже: Саяхатшы, заңгер және саяси қайраткер

Lower Canada lawyer, journalist and politician

Denis Benjamin Viger (dəni bɛ̃ʒamɛ̃ viʒe; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th century politician, lawyer, and newspaper publisher in Lower Canada, who served as joint premier of the Province of Canada for over two years. A leader in the Patriote movement, he was a strong French Canadian nationalist, but a social conservative in terms of the seigneurial system and the position of the Catholic church in Lower Canada. Viger came from a well connected middle class family. Trained as a lawyer, he invested in land and gradually became one of Montreal’s largest landowners. He held public office for most of his adult life, often working alongside his cousin, Louis Joseph Papineau, a fiery nationalist. From 1808 to 1829, he was a member of the elected Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, then from 1829 to 1838 he was a member of the appointed Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Lower Canada. Imprisoned during the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1838, he was subsequently elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1841. From 1843 to 1846, he served as a joint premier of the province, which triggered criticism from his former party colleagues. He was later appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada, serving from 1848 to 1858. In his later years, Viger lived quietly in Montreal, surrounded by his well stocked library. He remained fond of entertaining, and his wine cellar was said to be one of the best in Montreal. He died in 1861, at the age of 86.

Viger was born in Montreal to Denis Viger and Périne Charles Cherrier, daughter of François Pierre Cherrier, a merchant and notary. The Viger family was part of a rising middle class. Denis Benjamin's grandfather, Jacques Viger, had been a shoemaker. Denis Benjamin’s father, Denis Viger, began as a carpenter, branched out into small construction projects, and then developed a business selling potash to English markets. Denis Viger represented the electoral constituency of Montreal East in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1796 to 1800. Denis Viger's two brothers, Jacques Viger and Joseph Viger, were also members of the Assembly. Jacques' son Jacques Viger fils (cousin to Denis Benjamin), became the first mayor of Montreal. Another cousin, Louis Michel Viger, became one of the founding partners of the Banque du Peuple. Through his mother, Denis Benjamin was related to the Cherrier and Papineau families: Louis Joseph Papineau, the future leader of the Parti patriote, was his cousin, as was Jean Jacques Lartigue, future Bishop of Montreal. In 1801, Denis Benjamin's parents took in one of his cousins, Côme Séraphin Cherrier, aged three when his mother died, and raised him in their family. Côme Séraphin was later elected to the Assembly as well.]] In 1808, Viger married Marie Amable Foretier. They had one child who died in infancy in 1814. Marie Amable was the daughter of Pierre Foretier, a seigneur who had a well established business in connection with the fur trade. By their marriage, Viger entered the established, aristocratic class. When her father died in 1815, Marie Amable became an heir to his estate, but the estate was tied up in litigation for twenty five years. It was not until 1842 that Marie Amable finally obtained her father's seigneurie on Île Bizard, one of the Montreal islands. Throughout her life, Marie Amable was involved in charitable activities, focussing on the underprivileged. She was a founder of the Institution pour les Filles Repenties, and was president of the Orphelinat Catholique de Montréal.

Viger entered the legal profession in 1799. Although skilled in the law and idealistic, he lacked charisma or personal presence. As time went on, he became very comfortable financially, but it is not clear how much of that came from his legal practice, and how much from land investments. He bought land and houses himself, and in 1823 inherited substantial land holdings from his parents, becoming one of the most important landowners in Montreal. At one point he donated a plot of land to his cousin, Jean Jacques Lartigue, Bishop of Montreal, for a new building. There was some malicious gossip that the donated land was close to many of his other landholdings, which would likely increase their value as a result. When Viger was an established lawyer, he took in law students. One of his students was Augustin Norbert Morin, who was also a future joint premier. During his time with Viger, Morin taught Latin and mathematics in order to earn additional money. Viger did not have a reputation of generosity towards his law clerks.

In 1804, at age 30, Viger entered electoral politics, unsuccessfully contesting a seat in Montreal. Four years later, in 1808, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from Montreal West, and was re elected in 1809. He was elected in Leinster county in 1810 and 1814, and then regularly elected in Kent county from 1816 until 1827, until appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada in 1829. The Parti canadien was focussed on obtaining greater control of the government for the elected Legislative Assembly, and weakening the authority of the appointed Legislative Council and ultimately, the governors, appointed by the British government. They tried different tactics at different times. Under Bédard, the party challenged the Assembly's lack of control over public finances. Stuart brought impeachment hearings against some of the judges who also held positions in the Legislative Council and the Executive Council. When Papineau became Speaker in 1815, he continued the financial tactics, along with a trend towards developing nationalist arguments for French Canadian control. He also worked on outreach to English speaking politicians who shared concerns over popular control over public finances, such as John Neilson, who worked closely with Papineau.

In 1822, an issue arose which united most Lower Canada political groups. The British government proposed to unite Lower Canada with Upper Canada into a single province. Papineau and Viger organised opposition to the proposal, with local committees meeting to pass petitions against union. Viger was so heavily involved that opposition to union became known as "Vigerism". Papineau and Neilson were then chosen to be envoys to London, to make the opposition to union known to the British government. They were successful, and the union proposal was shelved.

The next year, 1829, Viger was appointed to the Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Lower Canada, but did not take his seat until 1831. He did not play a major role in the Council, because that same year the members of the Legislative Assembly appointed him as the Assembly's representative in Britain, over the objections of the Legislative Council. He stayed there from 1831 to 1834, but did not have as successful a time as in the previous delegation. There were also suspicions that the Banque du Peuple, in which his cousin Louis Michel Viger was a major investor, was funnelling money to the Patriotes for the purchase of arms. It is not clear what connection Denis Benjamin Viger had with the Banque, although two historians, Fernand Ouellet and André Lefort, assume that Viger had close links with the directors of the Banque; he was featured on the ten dollar notes issued by the Banque. The Banque eventually felt it necessary to issue a public denial that they had been providing money for the rebellion. It is clear that Viger and his newspaper, La Minerve, were strong supporters of the Patriotes. For example, in the summer of 1837, his cousin, Bishop Lartigue of Montreal, issued an episcopal letter, condemning the drift of the Parti patriote towards radicalism. Viger in turn published an editorial in La Minerve, strongly critical of the bishop, and equating the bishop's letter to a second edition of the Governor General's critique of the Patriote movement. After La Minerve temporarily ceased publication in November 1837, two other newspapers sprang up to take its place as supporters of the Patriotes and the possibility of independence: La Quotidienne (1837 to 1838) and Le Temps (1838). Although François Lemaitre (later one of the Frères chasseurs) was the editor of both papers, Viger was suspected to own both of them. Viger also assured Papineau that they could expect help from the Americans to overthrow the British, and possibly also from the Indian population.

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The Union Act, 1840, passed by the British Parliament, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The Governor General initially retained a strong position in the government. Upon his release from prison in 1840, Viger threw himself into opposition to the proposed union, which he had opposed when it had first been suggested nearly twenty years earlier. Now in his mid 60s, a political veteran and nicknamed Le Vénérable, Viger was worried that the union proposal was designed to assimilate French Canadians and undercut their culture. He was specifically critical of the provision that barred the use of French in the new Parliament. He also critiqued the provision that would make the new Province of Canada liable for all debts of Upper Canada and Lower Canada: Upper Canada's public debt was larger than Lower Canada's debt, but the payment of the combined debt would fall jointly on all residents of the new Province. In the first general elections in 1841, Viger stood for election to the new Legislative Assembly. He campaigned against the union and won the riding of Richelieu, defeating a unionist candidate. He realigned with Neilson, who had broken with Papineau in the increasing radicalism leading to the Rebellion, but who shared Viger's opposition to the union. Neilson was also elected to the Assembly. The two became the leaders of the French Canadian Group of twenty members from Lower Canada, opposed to the union. In the first session of the new Parliament, the French Canadian Group voted against the union.

Throughout the term of the first Parliament, there were running disputes over the balance of powers between the elected Legislative Assembly and the appointed Governor General. During the first session of the Parliament, the members of the French Canadian Group, led by Viger and Neilson, were consistent opponents of Governor General Lord Sydenham, who was hostile to the concept of responsible government and took the position that as governor of a colony, he was the head of the government, simply assisted by the elected officials. Viger cooperated with Robert Baldwin, leader of the Reformers from Canada West, in introducing a series of resolutions affirming the role of the Legislative Assembly in reviewing the actions of the executive. Although the final version was watered down by Sydenham's supporters, the resolutions were the first statement by the Assembly of the concept of responsible government. A year later, when Baldwin lost his seat in the Assembly in a ministerial by election, Viger offered to resign his seat to allow Baldwin an opportunity to re enter the Assembly. Ultimately, a backbench member in another seat in Canada East resigned and Baldwin was elected to represent Rimouski. Sydenham died suddenly in 1841 and was replaced as governor general by Sir Charles Bagot, who was more conciliatory. He appointed Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine from the French Canadian Group, and Robert Baldwin from Canada West, to lead the Executive Council. They had substantial support in the Legislative Assembly. However, when Governor General Sir Charles Metcalfe succeeded Bagot in 1843, he asserted that while he would consult with the Executive Council, he could act independently, particularly in the appointments to government positions.

Following the resignation of the LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry, Governor General Metcalfe was left with only one member in the Executive Council, the Provincial Secretary, Dominick Daly. Metcalfe tried to put together a broad based ministry to exclude LaFontaine and Baldwin and reject the idea of responsible government. Although he canvassed several leading politicians opposed to Baldwin and LaFontaine, they could not agree on forming a ministry together. In December, Metcalfe persuaded Viger to accept office as joint premier, along with a moderate conservative Tory from Canada West, William Draper. For the next nine months, the Executive Council only had the three members. In light of the Assembly's strong political opposition to his policies, Governor General Metcalfe prorogued Parliament indefinitely. The first Parliament was never called back into session. Viger was heavily criticised by his former party companions for taking office under a Governor General who was hostile to responsible government and French Canadians. He was accused by some former Parti patriote colleagues of treason. He was also criticised by William Lyon Mackenzie, who had led the Upper Canada Rebellion. Political commentators at the time, and historians since, have found it difficult to understand Viger's decision to take office under Governor General Metcalfe, along with Draper, a Tory who had opposed the rebellions and strongly supported the ties with the United Kingdom. One theory is that Viger believed that ultimately the united Province of Canada would fall apart, leaving the path open for Lower Canada to become fully independent. He opposed LaFontaine's efforts to build a fully functioning alliance with Baldwin and the Reformers, because in his view that would delay the ultimate break up. He was prepared to work with Metcalfe and Draper in the meantime. At around this time he proposed the concept of the "double majority": that the Executive Council should be composed of members who represented a majority in each section, and that bills in the Assembly would need majority support from both section to pass. Viger and Draper appear to have envisaged building a moderate conservative ministry, but they found it difficult to attract support. LaFontaine had developed a firm grip on the leadership of the French Canadian Group, and few considered joining the Draper–Viger ministry. Viger's only success was to attract his cousin, Denis Benjamin Papineau (younger brother of Louis Joseph Papineau, still in exile) to accept a position as Commissioner of Crown Lands. The appointment triggered even more Patriote criticism, this time accusing the Papineau family of betraying the French Canadian cause. In October, 1844, nearly a year since the last sitting of Parliament, Metcalfe called a general election. The Draper–Viger ministry, already with little support in Canada East, lost even that support. Viger was defeated in his riding of Richelieu by Wolfred Nelson, the former leader in the Rebellion, now returned from exile and supporting LaFontaine. As was permitted at that time, Viger stood for election in a second riding, Montreal County. He was also defeated there, by André Jobin. Viger remained without a seat in the Assembly until 1845, when he won a by election in the Three Rivers riding after the death of the incumbent member. Neilson, who was not a member of the ministry but supported it, was also defeated, as were other supporters, such as Austin Cuvillier. Viger's cousin Denis Benjamin Papineau was the only member of the ministry re elected in Canada East. The Draper–Viger ministry stayed in power for another year, but with narrow majorities. It was sustained by the support of the Governor General, and by Draper's majority from Canada West in the Assembly. Finally, on June 17, 1846, Viger resigned his position in the Executive Council. He was succeeded as joint premier from Canada East by his cousin, Denis Benjamin Papineau. However, Viger's interest in politics was waning. His last speech in the Council was in 1849, when he opposed the controversial Rebellion Losses Bill, put forward by the new LaFontaine–Baldwin ministry. Although the purpose of the bill was to compensate individuals in Canada East who had suffered property damage during the Rebellion, he argued that it was too costly for the provincial government. In articles written for the newspapers, Viger opposed the abolition of seigneurial tenure, a major land reform brought in by Lafontaine. Viger critiqued it as pillaging the property rights of the seigneurial class. He also wrote articles opposing the Montreal Annexation Manifesto, which proposed that the Province of Canada should be annexed by the United States. The Montreal Gazette commented shortly after Viger's death that his life could be summed up by "a desire to secure the blessings of free government for his fellow countrymen." The Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre operates the Centre d'hébergement Denis Benjamin Viger, providing psychosocial, nursing, pharmaceutical, medical and rehabilitation services. It is located on Cherrier Street, L'Île Bizard, Montreal, the same street as the Manoir Denis Benjamin Viger. There is a long term care and housing centre for retired individuals, the CHSLD Denis Benjamin Viger, also on Cherrier Street, Île Bizard, Montreal.