Guelph Raid

Guelph Raid

Ignatius Jesuit Centre built in 1949, on the site of the original novitiate building which burnt down in 1954.
Date June 7, 1918 (1918-06-07)
Location St. Stanislaus Novitiate, Guelph, Ontario
Also known as Guelph Novitiate Raid
Theme Conscription Crisis of 1917
Participants Society of Jesus
Charles Doherty
Department of Militia and Defence
Inquiries Royal Commission in April 1919
Verdict No foundation for charges
Exemption of Jesuit novices from the Military Service Act

The Guelph Raid was an incident that occurred at the St. Stanislaus Novitiate in Guelph, Ontario in 1918. While the novitiate was attended by the son of the Justice Minister of Canada, Charles Doherty, Canadian military officers surrounded it attempting to enforce the Military Service Act, causing a Royal Commission to be appointed by the Parliament of Canada in April 1919.

Background

Main article: Conscription Crisis of 1917

The Military Service Act was passed in 1917 to increase the men enlisted to replace the casualties in World War One. When it was enforced in on 1 January 1918, riots broke out in Quebec in protest at the act.[1] By April 1918, the government had amended the act so that most of the exemptions had been removed, such as those working on farms,[2] except "clergy, including members of any recognised order of an exclusively religious character, and ministers of all religious denominations existing in Canada at the date of the passing of this Act."[3] However, the question on when a clerical student becomes clergy was an issue. Catholic seminarians became members of the clergy at the start of their training. Protestant students for the priesthood became clergy or ministers at the end of their training. Charles Doherty the Minister of Justice felt that the act exempted Catholic students for the priesthood. However, in late May 1918, enforcement of the act no longer became the responsibility of the police under the Ministry of Justice, but the Military Police who came under the Department of Militia and Defence. Many, such as General S. C. Mewburn, Minister of the Militia and Defence, Henry Westoby, the military representative in Guelph, and Colonel Godson-Godson, Provost Marshall for Canada, were either not aware of the Minister of Justice's previous interpretation, or did not agree with it.[4]

Timeline

See also

References

  1. Auger, Martin F. "On the Brink of Civil War: The Canadian Government and the Suppression of the 1918 Quebec Easter Riots" from Canadian Historical Review 89/4 (2008), pp 9, 15-17, 83
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Stephen Thorning, "Raid on Guelph novitiate drew national attention in 1918" from Wellington Advertiser, 18 June 2014, retrieved 9 July 2014
  3. "The Military Service Act," Ottawa: The King's Printer, 1917.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hogan, The Guelph Novitiate Raid.
  5. 1 2 Stephen Thorning, "1918 raid on novitiate remained a hot issue for months" from Wellington Advertiser, Volume 45, Issue 39, retrieved 15 November 2014
  6. "Royal Commission will prode Guelph novitiate affair" from Montreal Gazette, 8 April 1919, retrieved 10 November 2014.
  7. Hear the counsel sum up argument in novitiate case from The Toronto World, September 13, 1919.
  8. "Both ministers acted properly in raid affair" from Montreal Gazette, 4 November 1919, retrieved 10 November 2014.

Further Reading

External links

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