der generation of our politicians. During
the twelve years succeeding his entry into public life he was one of the
most conspicuous Reformers in the Province. Though not possessed of a
liberal education, and though his demeanour and address were marred by a
sort of impetuous coarseness, he was master of a rude, vigorous
eloquence which under certain conditions was far more effective than the
most polished oratory would have been. He was certainly the ablest stump
orator of his time in this country, and there was no man in the Reform
ranks who could so effectively conduct a difficult election campaign.
No man was more dreaded by his opponents, more especially by those who
had to encounter him while a contest was pending. It may here be added
that he continued to take an active part in politics down to a short
time before his death in 1851, and that he rendered great services to
the cause of Reform, but in the years following the Union of the
Provinces he was overshadowed by Robert Baldwin, whose social position,
spotless reputation and disinterestedness of purpose combined to place
him on a pedestal beyond the reach of ordinary politicians. Peter Perry,
however, while yielding a loyal support to Mr. Baldwin, continued to the
end of his life to fight his political battles in his own way. The
sincerity of his convictions was beyond any sort of question, and his
shrewdness, experience and hard common sense caused his opinions to be
regarded with respect, even by such men as Rolph, Baldwin and the
Bidwells.

Mr. Perry was a native Upper Canadian, having been born at Ernestown in
1793, during the early part of Governor Simcoe's administration of
affairs. He was the son of a U. E. Loyalist, and was brought up on a
farm, at a time when public schools were few and far between in the
rural districts. He grew to manhood without having acquired much in the
way of education, but the quickness of his parts and the soundness of
his judgment did much to atone for his want of regular school training.
He began to take an active interest in public affairs at an early age,
and before he was thirty he had acquired wide notoriety as a
strongly-pronounced Reformer. Living in the same part of the country as
the Bidwells, he took a warm interest in their candidature. As his
political ideas coincided with theirs, and as his rough eloquence had
already made him well known throughout the constituency, he espoused
their side in the successive elect