Abbott's Guide to Ottawa and Vicinity/Monuments
MONUMENTS.
The city is old enough to have a personal history; its monuments bear witness to this. Of these, two are erected to commemorate miltary events and others are intimately connected with the city's history, beginning with the late beloved Queen Victoria, who chose this place as the site of the Capital. One statue of her late Majesty will be found in the library of Parliament, the other is described below.
Queen Victoria, Parliament Hill. An heroic statue of Queen Victoria is outlined against the sky, north-west of Parliament square. The work is by Louis Philippe Hebert, a Canadian sculptor, who has skillfully delineated the British lion in an attitude of protection of the Sovereign. The motto is "Constitutional Liberty." The statue was unveiled by King George V. (then Duke of Cornwall), when he visited the city in 1899.
Sir John A. Macdonald, Parliament Hill. This statue, by Hebert, which stands at the east end of the Parliament Buildings, is a life-like figure of the first premier of the Dominion of Canada. Sir John Macdonald may be called the founder of the Confederation of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. He was Prime Minister from 1867 to 1873, and from 1878 to his death, in 1891.
QUEEN VICTORIA MONUMENT
Sir George Etienne Cartier, Parliament Hill. A co-worker with Sir John Macdonald in bringing about Confederation, his statue, by Hebert, is properly placed at the opposite (west) end of the buildings, a fitting spot for the leader of the French-Canadians.
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Parliament Hill. In a less pretentious position, between the last named statue and the library, we find the statue (by Hebert and Hamilton MacCarthy) of the Scotch stone-mason who became Premier of Canada. Leader of the Liberal Party, he was Prime Minister from 1873 to 1878.
Mgr. Joseph Guigues, (First (R.C.) Bishop of Ottawa, in the grounds of the Basilica, north-east corner of Sussex and St. Patrick streets.
Sharp-Shooters' Monument, Major's Hill Park. A bronze figure of a private of the Governor General's Foot Guards is erected to the memory of two members of that regiment who fell at "Cut Knife Hill" in the North West Rebellion, 1885.
South African Monument, City Hall Square. In memory of Ottawa soldiers who served and died in the Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1901.
Henry Harper, Wellington street. An heroic sacrifice is recorded by the statue of "Sir Galahad." This monument, at the head of Metcalfe street, commemorates the death of a young Ottawan who, in an attempt to save the life of a companion, plunged into the icy waters of the Ottawa.