LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Alexander Mackenzie: Ponds House
built 657 days ago
Mackenzie espoused provincial rights in a way that might ... be interpreted as self-serving in the case of Luc Letellier de Saint-Just, lieutenant governor of Quebec in 1876. Saint-Just dismissed the provincial Conservative government of Charles-Eugène Boucher* de Boucherville in 1878 on the grounds that it had not given the office of lieutenant governor its constitutional due, by issuing edicts and signing documents under his name without consultation. His actions were constitutional, but they transcended the commonly accepted notions of the lieutenant governor’s powers, and so brought on the wrath of the federal Conservative party and demands for an inquiry and his dismissal. Mackenzie properly claimed that the electorate of the province was fully able to judge the case and that it was a matter of provincial concern. Even before they achieved power, the Liberals under Mackenzie had protested the giving of better terms of union to Nova Scotia on the assumption that this grant infringed on the financial arrangements other provinces had obtained at confederation. When Macdonald gave larger representation to British Columbia and Manitoba in the House of Commons than their populations warranted, the Liberals protested on the grounds that such action violated provincial rights and the sacred principle of representation by population.
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Apart from his ensigncy, Mackenzie had obtained all his promotions without purchase, making him the most exclusively non-purchase of all the officers who served with the 78th in Halifax. On coming to Halifax in 1869, he was 48 years of age. He was of a tall, slim physique, with (rare for the time) a clean-shaven face, and a full head of dark hair. He was a bachelor and was probably one of those individuals whose life was devoted entirely to the army. Thus, in a guide to the titled and official classes published in 1877, most of the officers who were included listed as their address either a property in the country, or a house in the city. Mackenzie's, on the other hand, is listed solely as the United Services Club. His most distinctive characteristic was probably his voice which, according to the noted highland piper Robert Meldrum, who served with the 78th in Halifax as a private (and probably an apprentice piper), was so high pitched that some thought he was a woman in disguise, and resulted in his being known by the nickname "Squeaker".
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Alexander shows up in the 1841 census at Reiff 41-8 aged 25 to 29 years of age. He was living then in the home of his parents along with seven other relatives, all the males in the Household, down to 10 year old Roderick, were listed as "Fisher and Crofter".
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Ponds House