Eulogy of James Hogg

At his residence in Fredericton, on the 12th June inst., James Hogg, Editor and Proprietor of the New Brunswick Reporter.

The above announcement will account for the present changed appearance of the Reporter, as well as for its non-publication on Friday last, an omission which our friends will certainly overlook. It is not our present intention to pronounce any lengthened eulogium on our lamented father; we cannot expect the world to feel as we feel, and his memory is forever enshrined in the hearts and affections of his family and friends, a more fitting casket for its sacred trust. It will not be deemed simply eulogistic however, to refer briefly to the history of one who for over twenty years was so deeply interested in all that concerned the prosperity of his adopted country.

Referring to his political life, we may state that the late Editor of the Reporter was among the first in this Province to conceive the idea of Responsible Government as best adapted to the wishes and requirements of the people of New Brunswick, and previous to the establishment of his own journal his mind and talents were actively employed in advancing this his favorite theory; and when at length he had procured an establishment of his own, we all remember his steadfast zeal, his unswerving adherence, his admired consistency, until at length political battle consummated in the permanent establishment of Liberal and Responsible government. It is not for us to say how far the Province may or may not be indebted to the editor of the Reporter for that achievement; with him were associated the master minds of New Brunswick,—Hon. Judge Wilmot, Hon. Chas. Fisher and others, and with them he shared the common honor which attaches to an honorable victory, his sole reward the consciousness of faithfully performed duty. Again, with the majority, Confederation is a new and recent conception; not so with the Editor of the Reporter. Referring to his first annual volume, he laments the separate and disjointed relationship of the British Provinces, and until the period of the Quebec Conference, labored from time to time to bring this grand idea of a united British America before the consideration of the Provinces; and it is a little singular that just as the last ballots were being counted in Charlotte and Kings, which gave the crowning issue to the contest, his spirit passed peacefully and happily away. As a Poet, it may not be deemed out of place even from a son to say, that he stood in the front rank of British American writers, and if compliment should be esteemed, then even Royalty itself has complimented him, and, what he esteemed even more highly than these, he has received the approbation and recognition of his illustrious namesake and correspondent, the Ettrick Shepherd. As regards his general qualities it is unnecessary to enlarge; with the world he was a public man, a journalist, a politician; with his family and friends he was all love, kindness and affection, and suffice it to say those who knew him best loved him most. We tender our many friends, including the entire respectable Press of the Province, our grateful acknowledgment for the kindly sympathy extended in our recent bereavement.

In assuming the management of the Reporter it shall be our constant aim to follow our father’s example worthily. We shall endeavor to convince our opponents, to retain our friends,—to convince by arguments rational and independent, to retain by truthfulness and consistency, remembering that in various ways we have important trusts to discharge, and determined to use our best exertions to maintain the character and standing of the Reporter.