Listers, I recently attended a lecture that was an overview of what is known as the "Lismore Affair" by retired professor Rev. R B MacDonald. He has given a number of lectures on this subject and it is hoped by many that he will write this up in a book at some point before long. The controversy was over the site for a church and lasted for more than 15 years and was not resolved until after the death of Bishop Cameron. I am particularly interested in this controversy because my Bailey's Brook MacDonald's were involved (as his informants) on the side of Bishop Cameron. A hundred years later this long-lasting controversy still leaves many bitter memories amongst the families of those involved. I recently read this long tribute to Bishop Cameron and decided to share it with those who may have an interest. Enjoy, Marleen A Tribute to the Memory of His Lordship, the Late Lamented Bishop Cameron The Casket, April 14, 1910 The demise of His Lordship, Bishop Cameron, has caused, throughout the Diocese of Antigonish a feeling, deep and depressing, of great loss and bereavement. The void that he has left cannot be well filled, for taking him all in all there may be many a day before we shall look upon his like again; and as the years go by he will loom large in the history of the Church in the Province of Nova Scotia. The present generation have known him only in the evening of his life, when in the course of nature the infirmities of old age were upon him; but look at him twenty years ago, the time when he crossed swords in the arena of polemics, with a foeman worthy of his steel, the late distinguished scholar, Dr. Burns, and there you have the Bishop Cameron of other days - strong and fearless, eloquent and intellectual, full of wisdom and the soul of honour. Why were men of superior mould, the soldier and the statesman as well as the churchman, always so profoundly impressed by Bishop Cameron's personality, culture, and attainments? Why was it that, even early in life, he was regarded, wherever he was known, with respect and admiration? A reason of a psychological character is the only adequate one; he was a "kindred nature" with the noblest and the best, so much so that we may fittingly apply to him the language of our master poet: "H's life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up, And say to all the world, This was a man!" One phase of his character was not perhaps widely understood though it hardly ever escaped the eye of keen observers. The best illustration of it that we know, we heard some years ago from the lips of the late Canon Donlevy of Edinburgh. While Bishop Cameron was visiting him - they were fast friends - they one day strolled to the Castle, where the Black Watch happened to be stationed at the time. The Bishop expressed a wish to see the Colonel, and so was conducted to his presence, while the Canon remained outside waiting. But he waited and waited, and his Lordship did not show up. At length he entered the Armory, and found him, in the midst of a knot of officers, absorbed in conversation. Having related the anecdote, the Canon naively remarked that "Bishop Cameron would have made a great soldier." And so he would have, for he was a hero-worshiper and was brimful of martial spirit. Approach him as a friend, and you invariably found in him kindness and loyalty; approach him in the spirit of reasonable conciliation and you met with gentleness and consideration, no matter what had happened to mar your friendship; but assail him as a foeman, with tongue or pen, and, no matter what your dignity may be, you at once encountered , though held in dignified reserve as became his office, the spirit that swept King William's regulars, in wild dismay, through the pass of Killiecrankie. But his innate courage only rounded off his manhood, for it was tempered with prudence and guided by charity and reason. His character, however, was of the Scottish type; and when he espoused a cause, he did so with firmness and calm determination. At times, it is true, he may have seemed to possess, in high degree, the "narrow intensity" that Hume Brown declares to be a trait of the Scottish character, but in Bishop Cameron that trait was more apparent than real; his ideals were lofty, his disposition frank and open, and his motives always in keeping with the Episcopal office and dignity. His sympathies, too, were broad, his intellect vigorous, and penetrating, accordingly, his outlook upon life was wide and comprehensive. Above all, he had an unfailing trust and confidence in the providence of God; and his deep-rooted faith not only was for himself a mainstay and a solace when the onersome duties of his office weighed heavily upon him, but it was also to others who beheld in it powers of strength and inspiration. And these observations, we may add, are confirmed by the bereavements that have poured in since his death from the episcopate of Canada. The Bishop of Sherbrooke, Quebec, "laments the death of the great and saintly Bishop Cameron." The Bishop of Rimouski says that "Mgr. Cameron died full of years, of spirit and of merit." The Bishop of Joliette declares that "by the death of its dean the Canadian episcopate loses one of its most distinguished members." The Archbishop of Montreal expressed his "deepest sympathy," and states that "we are losing a great Bishop and a faithful friend." Archbishop Langevin expresses his "heartfelt sympathy for the loss of a great Bishop who was always anxious for the integrity of truth." "I am deeply pained, "says the Apostolic Delegate, "to hear of the death of the venerable and worthy Bishop Cameron and I sympathize most heartily with the clergy and people of Antigonish in the great loss which they as well as the whole Church of Canada have sustained." Bishop Cameron came of a sturdy race. His father, who was also named John, was one of the most note-worthy men from the Scottish Highlands that ever settled in the "forest primeval" of this country. He emigrated from Achintore, near Fort William, in 1801, and some time after settled at Middle South River, where he soon greatly prospered. Here our late Bishop was born on April 14, 1827; that, at any rate, was the date given in the certificate of Baptism, which he presented when he entered the College of the Propaganda. His school days began at the age of seven years, and his first teacher was also named John Cameron; his second was the late Donald McGillivray, of Glen Road. In 1838 the Grammar School of St. Andrews was opened by Dr. McKinnon, afterward a Bishop, who had taken charge of the parish the year previous, and John Cameron was one of its first pupils. Six years afterwards, on the 11th of September, 1844, he left home for the Urban College. The mode of travel employed in those days shows how much the world has moved ahead since. He took passage to Newfoundland in Captain Graham's vessel, and thence he crossed the stormy Atlantic in a vessel laden with fish, of which one Captain Chambers was master, and landed in Leghorn, Italy. The fourteenth of November found him at the Propaganda, where he was cordially received by the Rector of the College, Father Khyllo, S. J., who had been a Polish nobleman who had lost his all in the struggle maintained by his country against Russia. The impression John Cameron made at the Propaganda stamped him as a very unusual student. Even at this very early period of his life he deeply impressed great men. We find a striking instance of this during the stirring times that followed the revolution of 1848 and the flight of Pius IX., when the Roman rabble, with amazing valour, defended the "city of the Caesars" against the fiery chivalry of France. The Jesuits fled for their lives, and to save the Urban College from assault and massacre a British subject, Dr. Cullen, was placed in charge of it; the stars and stripes, too, waved over its portals, which perhaps saved the situation, for the American warships lying in the Bay of Naples at the time inspired some fear. For seventy-two days the students did not dare show themselves in the streets; and it was during this tedious period that Dr. Cullen honoured young Cameron with his friendship - a friendship that grew with years. The great Irish scholar and churchman influenced his student friend most profoundly and left an indelible impression upon his memory. "I owe more to Cardinal Cullen," Bishop Cameron used to say in later life, "than I do to any other man, living or dead." But there is still more striking evidence that John Cameron was regarded by his superiors as the most worthy student at the Urban College in his day. In the summer of 1859 he was appointed prefect of the first ramerata, that is, the first of the nine prefects in the College. At about the same time it was found advisable that the Rector, Mgr. Tancioni, should take a rest on account of failing health, and the vice-rector was very much needed in the secretariate by Mgr. Barnabo. But what was to be done with the students during the villeaiatura, or vacation, at the summer residence of the College amid the Alan Hills. The difficulty was solved thus: John Cameron was ordained on July 26, and ordered to take complete charge of the students for over three months. Thus he performed the duties of rector and vice-rector during that period - a mark of confidence and distinction that is perhaps unique in the annals of the College of Propaganda. After a sojourn of ten years in the Eternal City, years that to his dying day he looked back upon with delight, Dr. Cameron set out for his native country. On his journey homewards he narrowly escaped death on two occasions; and the incidents are important, for they had much to do with his strong and abiding faith in Providence. The boat on which he had secured his return passage from Genoa to Marseilles was wrecked and nearly all hands were lost. He had decided at the last moment to await the next boat, on which a brother propagandist was to sail. At Dublin, again, he fell in with a Roman classmate, a brother of the Rev. Dr. McGlynn, of New York, who earnestly pressed him to bide for a fortnight, when they should take passage together. He had almost made up his mind to wait for his friend, but upon further consideration he decided to set out alone; and if he had not done so, he would have been swallowed up in the angry waves of the Atlantic Ocean. He reached home in September, 1854, and was warmly welcomed, as was natural, by an apostolic man, Rt. Rev. C. F. MacKinnon, who for years had been striving furnish means of education for his people and who with that end in view opened the Grammar School at St. Andrews in 1838 and the Seminary at Arichat in 1852. A few weeks after his arrival, Dr. Cameron took charge of the latter school, and at once became its guiding spirit. In 1856, the school was transferred to Antigonish, and established there as the College of St. Francis Xavier with Dr. Cameron as its rector and chief professor. Until his removal to Arichat, in 1866, he taught for two hours each day various branches of philosophy and theology as the need arose. His extraordinary capacity for work may be gained from the fact that at the same time he attended the parish of St. Ninians which until 1867? included the West River and also Morristown until a much later date. His scholarship and ability were soon acknowledged and his prudence and tact as well, for his name was one of three sent to Rome in 1860 - just half a century ago - with the view to have a successor appointed to Bishop Bernard MacDonald, of Prince Edward Island. Writing, about that time, to the Cardinal Prefect of the Propaganda, Bishop MacKinnon says: "I have much pleasure to inform Your Eminence that Mgr. Connolly and myself are in accord concerning the candidates, the names of whom have been sent to the Holy See. One of them is already known at the Propaganda, namely Rev. Dr. Cameron. He is a very clever man. At present he is engaged in my seminary and as pastor of the parish of Antigonish. I will not say other than this of him: Dr. Cameron is on the mission what he is in the College grace, pious, learned, zealous, and extremely prudent. Dr. Cameron, however, was destined for his native diocese. As the years went by the saintly Bishop MacKinnon began to feel the effects of his long and unremitting toil in the vineyard of the Master - a toil so fruitful that, in 1879, his successor described him to the Propaganda "as one of the most successful Bishops in all America." Accordingly, the need of help to perform his Episcopal duties was becoming more and more apparent; and, so, when he finally decided to have a successor appointed, his choice fell, almost as a matter of course, upon Dr. Cameron. The latter was then summoned to Rome, and was consecrated, on May 22, 1870, in the chapel of the Urban College, by his old friend, Cardinal Cullen, and assumed the title of Bishop of Titopolis and coadjutor to the Bishop of Arichat. Bishop MacKinnon was in Rome at the time, attending the Vatican Council, which was holding its sessions that year; but after some weeks he set out for home owing to ill health, leaving the newly consecrated Bishop behind to represent him. The Council, however, soon closed on account of the Franco-Prussian war; but before Bishop Cameron left the Eternal City he witnessed its capture by the hordes of Victor Emanuel. After his return home he continued to reside at Arichat. A few years yet Bishop MacKinnon held sway though his old-time energy had very much relaxed and the burden of the years had begun to weigh heavily upon him, enfeebling his once vigorous and native mind. Finally, however, in 1877, he handed over the pastor's staff to his worthy successor to hold, in his charitable grasp, until his heroic soul broke its earthly bonds and passed to its eternal home. The progress of the diocese since 1877 may be viewed, broadly speaking, from two standpoints - the educational and the religious. At that date the Catholic population of the Diocese was 65,000, the priests numbered 49, and the churches having resident pastors 44. The Diocese had already passed through its period of formation under the guidance of that prince of pastors, Bishop MacKinnon; and after him the developments took place mainly in our industrial centers. These developments Bishop Cameron prudently and amply provided for, so that the Diocese now, in spite of the exodus from our rural districts, shows a gradual and steady growth, the Catholic population at present being about 80,000, the "diocesan priests" 83, and the churches with resident pastors 64. The conditions that prevailed at the start, especially the heavy debt upon the Cathedral, and the manner in which Bishop Cameron improved them, show him to have been a skillful financier and a wise administrator, so much so that he justly merits, even from the standpoint of parochial development, the tribute paid by the Halifax Herald (Protestant): "His life story is one long list of successes in educational and ecclesiastical work; and to his unbounded courage, his foresight, his unwavering resolution is due the commanding position to which his church in the eastern diocese has attained." Above all, however, posterity will remember Bishop Cameron's efforts to promote education. He realized, as did his predecessor, the backward condition of his people in this respect. Causes of an historic character had made them all Irish, French, and Scotch - poor and illiterate. Not half a century ago they had few if any fit to represent in the halls of legislation. The posture of affairs is far different today, and the change, in large measure, is due to Bishop Cameron. He not only used his personal income to promote popular education and introduce culture among the masses, but higher education especially has flourished under his fostering guidance. In 1877, there were only two convent schools in the Diocese, but at the present time the Sisters of Charity are conducting nine and the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame nine also; and as for the College of St. Francis Xavier, "he was one of the first teachers [to quote the Herald again], when that institution was established in a very humble way upwards of half a century ago, and "he lived long enough to see it expand and develop, under his judicious guidance, into one of the best universities in Canada." The Herald says further [and we are quoting its editorial utterance], "The Catholic Church in Canada is robbed of its ablest and most distinguished prelate, and the country at large loses one of its most high-minded and patriotic citizens." We are well aware, of course, that Bishop Cameron's attitude towards public questions gave rise to controversy and some bitterness; but we do not believe that anyone can honestly, or at least truthfully, affirm that his attitude was not founded upon honorable and disinterested motives and his resolves executed with the best and noblest intentions. His broad outlook upon the world, his knowledge of human nature, and of public affairs enable him to realize fully how much the Catholic body is raised in the estimation of their fellow citizens by the political career of such great and public-hearted statements as was Sir John Thompson. To quote our Halifax contemporary: "Bishop Cameron was more than a great churchman, he was an outstanding Canadian. He took the deepest interest in public affairs, and no man was better qualified than he to form a correct judgment on the great public questions of his time. In his early days his sympathies were on the side of the Liberals, and he was known to be an opponent of Confederation, but later he became a supporter of Sir John Thompson and Sir Charles Tupper, and a supporter of the policies for which they stood. It was Bishop Cameron's interest in, and friendship for, the late Sir John Thompson that opened the way for noble stand which that lamented statesman made in Canadian affairs, and however bitter were the criticisms and however hostile was the opposition which Bishop Cameron's attitude provoked there are few who will now dispute the soundness of his judgment in the matter. Bishop Cameron supported Sir Charles Tupper, because he believed that this "grand old master" deserved religious prejudice for the principle and stood by the constitution to obtain justice for the minority in the land. We pronounce no judgment on the case, but we feel at the end of our time, that history will not corrupt his record of it with a condemnation of our deceased Bishop; and we feel further that generations yet unborn will read with admiration how Bishop Cameron brought Sir John Thompson from comparative obscurity to serve his country in our highest halls of legislation and to leave a name that posterity will revere for ages. It is mainly for this part that Bishop Cameron played that a Protestant gentleman has paid him already this striking tribute: "Loved by his friends, respected by those who differed from him in belief, acknowledged by all to be a singularly able, unselfish and patriotic citizen, the passing away of the venerable Bishop leaves a void, not alone in his own denomination, but also in the public and intellectual life of the whole Dominion." Whatever may be said of this phase of his career, no one whose opinion is worthy of consideration will deny that Bishop Cameron was a great churchman. As we said in our last issue, no Bishop in Canada enjoyed more fully than he the respect and confidence of the Holy See. Of that we have ample evidence during the long and glorious reign of his episcopacy. On two occasions he was sent beyond the limits of his native province to adjust quarrels that arose in Church administration. The first charge of this nature was imposed upon him the next year after his consecration when he was entrusted, by the Holy See, with an important mission to Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and the second, in 1885, when he was sent sina mara, to the province of Quebec, as Delegate Apostolic, to settle a long standing dispute concerning a division of the diocese of Three Rivers. On each occasion complete success crowned his mediation, and on the second he received the repeated thanks and congratulations of Leo XIII. In fact, Bishop Cameron has always been known on all sides, as a man of superior mould; and indeed he was one of nature's masterpieces. Physically, he was erect, sprightly, well-proportioned and dignified - altogether distinguished personage whose bearing and general appearance would attract attention and admiration among thousands; and mentally he was a man of rare acumen, a powerful controversialist, a great theologian, a profound philosopher; and hand in hand with scholarship went a sterling character, a strong personality, lofty ideals, a frank and generous disposition, coupled with piety, humility and charity, worthy of his exalted position - qualities of heart and mind which, taken together, made him a figure, in many respects, unique in this country. May God be merciful to our great and noble Bishop!