William Lyon Mackenzie as Mayor of Toronto

PAUL ROMNEY William Lyon Mackenzie as Mayor ofToronto IT ISHARD TOGETCLOSE to a manofsuch emphatic personality anddecided politicalviewsasWilliam Lyon Mackenzieand stillbe indifferentto him attractionor repulsion(perhapsboth) must ensue.Mackenzie's life and works,therefore,form a subjectloadedwith emotionalobstacles to itsobjectivetreatment ,and a definitiveestimate of hischaracterand achievement isstilllacking? Modemscholars haveconcentrated onthequestion of how seriously Mackenzie isto betakenasa political leaderandideologue. Lillian F. Gates andJ.E.Reahavepublished thoughtful andsympathetic discussions of hispolitical opinions, 2 whileF.H. Armstrong hasscrutinized hisactions andfoundhimapparently tobea bungling administrator, acorrupt andarbitrarywielder of power, anda thinker impossible tolocate in anyrespectable stream of ideas? Asa reaction, perhaps, to pastglorification of Mackenzie, Dr Armstrong's assessment at present seems to holdthefield.It istherefore The writer thanksMr ScottJamesand Mrs GlennaTisshawof the City of Toronto Archivesfor their valuablehelpin the preparation of thisarticle,andMr RonaldStagg for his useful criticism. • An illuminatingandenjoyableapproach isprovidedby William Kilbournin The Firebrand:William LyonMackenzieandtheRebellionin Upper Canada(Toronto and Vancouver•964). • Lillian F. Gates,'The DecidedPolicyof William LyonMackenzie,'CanadianHistoricalReview , xI, •959; J.E. Rea, "William Lyon Mackenzie- Jacksonian?' Mid-America, L, x968 3 F.H. Armstrong,'The York Riotsof March 23, I83• ,' OntarioHistory,Lv, 1963; 'The ReformerasCapitalist:William LyonMackenzie andthePrinters' Strikeof x836 ,' OntarioHistory,zxx,x967;'Willia•nLyonMackenzie, FirstMayorofToronto: A Studyof a Critic in Power,'CanadianHistoricalReview, xI•viii, i967; 'William LyonMackenzie, thePersistent Hero,'Journalo[Canadian Studies, vI, 1971 Vol. zvI No 4 Decemberx975 WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE 417 important to noticethat in onerespect at leastit isbased onratherdubious foundations. His studyof Mackenzie's mayoralty, the onetimein hislife whenhewielded executive authority, isessential to hisappreciation o.fthe man.Uponclose scrutiny it turns outto bevague in conception, faultyin understanding, andalltooheavily reliant onbiased sources. Theobject ofthe present article istocorrect themistaken impression ofToronto's firstmayor to bederived fromArmstrong's interpretation. Localgovernment in UpperCanadain •834 belonged chieflyto thedistrict magistrates. The magistrates, generally appointed fromamongtheleading families andtheirconnectio.ns, maintained thepeace, keptuptheroads, licensed taverns, enacted regulations forthegoodgovernment o.ftheirdistrict, andconstituted a courtof firstinstance for theadministration of justice. To obtainthefundsneeded for theperformance of these duties, theywereempowered to impose a smalltax of onepennyin the poundon the assessed valueof property. Thissystem of localgovernment wasadequate for a thinly-populated rural area,but provedquitedeficient whenappliedto a fast-growing urbancommunitysuchasthe townof York hadbecome by •834. In •827 thetown's inhabitants had numbered fewerthantwo thousand; by •833 theyhad increased to 6o94 .4York'smuch-trodden streets needed draining andpaving, itspiled-uphabitations required strictsanitary regulation, andthequantity of judicialbusiness it generated demanded the dailyattention of a paidofficial .All thiscalledfor muchmoremoneythan the magistrates of the Home Districtcouldraise.The districtpennyjustaboutstretched to the repairof roadsandbridges, buttheerection of a jail andcourthouse in •827 hadleft themagistrates deepin debt,andthebuilding ofa markethouse (completed in •833 at a costof overœ9ooo)wasthelaststraw.Sewers andsidewalks pressing necessities for Yorkby •834 - couldbeprovided onlyat thecostof greatlyincreased taxationuponthe townspeople, taxationwhichhad no chance of winningtheirapprovalunless leviedby a bodywhichtheythemselves hadelected. Out of thisneedcamethetown'sincorporation in March •834astheCityofToronto. The Reformers won a majorityat the pollson 28 March and elected Mackenzieasmayor.The City Councilhelditsfirstbusiness meetingon 8 April.Sittingdaily(except Sundays), it actedquickly tomakethecorporation into an effective instrument of government. Officesweresetup in the marketbuilding, officers appointed, a codeof •andingorders drawnup for theconduct of business, anda committee appointed to prepare necessary by4 EdithG. Firth,The Towno[York,•8•5-•834 (Torontox966),lxxxii.A further year'sincrease, combined with thewiderboundaries assigned to thecity,meantthat in its firstyear Torontohad a populationof nearlyten thousand. 418 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW laws. Standing committees ofcouncil wereelected tosupervise thechieffunc- ß committees tions ofthecitygovernment andto. report onwhatneeded doing ' ' onfinance andassessment, fireandwater,roads andstreets, police andprisons ,publicmarkets,publicbuildings, applications for office,and wharves, harbours andferrieswerechosen on •4 April, andtwomoreweresoonestablished tooversee thecorporation's printing andadvertising andtoissue liquor licences. In quicksuccession by-lawswerepassed. Sevendealtwith major functions of localgovernment: fire prevention, licensing, the eliminationof nuisances, regulation of the streets and sewers, establishment of a Boardof Health,andregulation ofthemarket- including a separate Actgoverning the saleof hay; an eighthby-lawimposed a dogtax, and a ninth setdownthe duties of thechamberlain (asthecitytreasurer wascalled).The year'staxes werelegislated, œxoooborrowed for roadrepairs,andthe council's major project ofimprovement - planking the. sidewalks - setinmotion. All thiswas accomplished before theendofJune. Nogoverning body, ofcourse, candomorethanitsfinances willallo.w, and unfortunately the x834council wasbeset bymoney problems froman early pointin itstenure. Bythetimeit leftoffice, thecitywastoo.re thanœx5oo in debt.Butthiswasonlypartlythecouncil's fault,andstillless theReformers '. The Act of Incorporation empowered theCityCouncil to levya fourpenny rateforitsownpurpo.ses...