CARTIER, SIR George Etienne, Canadian statesman: b. Saint Antoine, Ver cheres County, Quebec, 6 Sept. 1814; d. London, 21 May 1873. 'He claimed descent from the family to which Jacques Cartier belonged: was among the followers of Papineau in the rebel lion of 1837, distinguishing himself for his courage, but ultimately was obliged to take refuge in the United States. Returning when amnesty was decreed; he resumed the practice of law and attained to some eminence in his profession. He entered the Canadian Parlia ment as a Conservative in 1848, became a Cabinet Minister in 1855, and from that time till his death was closely associated with the Eng lish-speaking Conservative leader, Sir John A. Macdonald (q.v.). Cartier was Prime Minister 1858-62. When Canadian Federation was set on foot he took a prominent part in the negotia tions, and it was under his leadership, aided by the Church, that French-speaking Canada was reconciled to the Federal system. He carried on the negotiations with the Hudson Bay Com pany which resulted in the surrender to Canada of the company's rights in the Northwest, and it was he who carried through the Canadian Parliament the bill creating the province of Manitoba. This bill embodied elaborate safe
guards for Roman Catholic separate schools, but its provisions were swept away in the well known later agitation for a uniform school sys tem in Manitoba. Perhaps Cartier's principal domestic achievement was the enactment in 1864 of the Civil Code for what is now the province of Quebec. In 1868 he was created a baronet to reward his services in establishing the new Dominion. He carried through the Canadian House of Commons in 1872 the first charter of the Canadian Pacific Railway. When Sir John Macdonald's government fell in 1873, Cartier was involved in the discredit to his chief, springing from what is known in Canadian history as the Pacific Scandal. Sir John Macdonald relied greatly upon Cartier's Influence with the French Canadians, which, however, had declined before his death. See De Celles' 'Cartier' in the 'Makers of Canada' series.