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GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
A PALGRAVE AND IAMCR SERIES

The Independence of
the News Media
Francophone Research on Media,
Economics and Politics
Edited by Loïc Ballarini

IAMCR
AIECS
AIERI
 Global Transformations in Media
and Communication Research - A Palgrave
and IAMCR Series

Series Editors
Marjan de Bruin
Chair Technical Working Group Equity,
Diversity and Inclusion
The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
Kingston, Jamaica

Claudia Padovani
SPGI
University of Padova
Padova, Italy
The International Association for Media and Communications Research
(IAMCR) has been, for over 50 years, a focal point and unique platform
for academic debate and discussion on a variety of topics and issues gener-
ated by its many thematic Sections and Working groups (see http://iamcr.
org/) This new series specifically links to the intellectual capital of the
IAMCR and offers more systematic and comprehensive opportunities for
the publication of key research and debates. It will provide a forum for
collective knowledge production and exchange through trans-disciplinary
contributions. In the current phase of globalizing processes and increasing
interactions, the series will provide a space to rethink those very categories
of space and place, time and geography through which communication
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More information about this series at

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 Loïc Ballarini
Editor

The Independence
of the News Media
Francophone Research on Media, Economics
and Politics
Editor
Loïc Ballarini
Crem (Centre de recherche sur les médiations)
University of Lorraine
Metz, France

Translated into English by Coup De Puce Expansion (SARL), whose team included
the following people: Xanthë Bordes-Ryle, Translator; Jackie Godfrey, Rereader;
Teri Jones-Villeneuve, Translator; Ian Margo, Project Manager, Translator; Daniel
Mckinnon, Translator; Bianca Ng, Translator; Niamh O’brien, Translator; Beth
Varley, Translator, Rereader; Stephen Ward Butler, Translator.

ISSN 2634-5978         ISSN 2634-5986 (electronic)

Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and
IAMCR Series
ISBN 978-3-030-34053-7    ISBN 978-3-030-34054-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4

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 Acknowledgements

The research that led to Chap. 3 (French Media: Can Crowdfunding

Serve Pluralism?) and the translation of this book received support from
the French National Research Agency (ANR), as part of the research pro-
gramme Collab (ANR-14-CE24-0001).

v
 Contents

1 Introduction  1
Loïc Ballarini

Part I Political Economy of the Media in the Age of

Crowdfunding   5

2 Funding Print and Online News Media in France:

Developments and Challenges  7
Franck Rebillard

3 French Media: Can Crowdfunding Serve Pluralism? 19

Loïc Ballarini, Emmanuel Marty, and Nikos Smyrnaios

4 Crowdfunding: Does It Make a Significant Contribution

to Community and Independent Media in Quebec? 45
Anne-Marie Brunelle and Michel Sénécal

vii
viii Contents

Part II Journalism and the Public Sphere  65

5 Audiences and Readership of Revolutionary Leftist

Media: The “Media Leader” Hypothesis 67
Vincent Goulet

6 Occupation: “Net Cleaner”—The Socio-­economic Issues

of Comment Moderation on French News Websites103
Nikos Smyrnaios and Emmanuel Marty

7 The Local Press as a Medium to Create Diversion133

Loïc Ballarini

8 Media Coverage of the Coalbed Methane (CBM)

Controversy in Lorraine, Northeast France: How the
Regional Daily Press Boosted the Social Acceptability of
an Unpopular Project155
Marieke Stein

Part III Before and After the Revolution: Media in the

MENA Region 177

9 The Transnationalisation of Information and Journalism:

The Case of Arab Media179
Tourya Guaaybess

10 A Conditional Offer: The Strategies Employed in the

Field of Power in Morocco to Control the Press Space199
Abdelfettah Benchenna and Dominique Marchetti

11 The Algerian Press: Deregulation Under Pressure—The

New Forms of Control or the “Invisible Hand”
of the State227
Cherif Dris

12 Tunisian Post-2011 Private Presses: Economic and

Political Mutations257
Enrique Klaus and Olivier Koch
 Contents  ix

13 Fortune and Misfortune of the Egyptian Private Press:

Sociohistorical Study of a Place of Production of
Information281
Bachir Benaziz

Author Index309

Subject Index315
 Notes on Contributors

Loïc Ballarini is Associate Professor of Information and Communication

Sciences at the University of Lorraine, France. He has co-edited three
French language books. His research focuses on the place and the role of
journalism in the public spheres. He is also a former journalist.
Bachir Benaziz holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Paris 1
Panthéon Sorbonne, France. His works focus on contemporary transfor-
mations of journalism in Egypt. Benaziz is now an associate researcher at
the Institute for Economic and Social Development Studies (IEDES).
Abdelfettah Benchenna is an associate professor at the University of
Paris 13, France. He works on the challenges of information and commu-
nication technologies (ICTs) in the education, culture and administration
sectors in French-speaking countries of the South, on North-South rela-
tions in the digital age and on cultural industries in the MENA countries.
Anne-Marie Brunelle is a PhD candidate at the University of Québec,
Montréal, Canada, where she works on the political economy of the
media, on the sociology of journalism, on the convergence and concentra-
tion of media ownership and on the relations between media, democracy
and citizenship.
Cherif Dris is Professor of Political Science at the Higher National
Education of Journalism and Information Sciences, Algiers, Algeria. His
research areas include domestic politics of Algeria, Algerian media and
regional policy. He has written several book chapters.

xi
xii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Vincent Goulet is a former video editor and associate professor at the

University of Lorraine, France, who holds a PhD in Sociology (for which
he was awarded the Institut national de l’audiovisuel [INA] research
prize). He is now an associate researcher at SAGE (CNRS/the University
of Strasbourg). He works on the cross-­border labour market in the Upper
Rhine and is the author of two books.
Tourya Guaaybess is Associate Professor of Media Studies at the
University of Lorraine, France. She works on international communica-
tion, the Euro-Mediterranean journalistic space and Arab media. She is
the author of The Media in Arab Countries: From Development Theories to
Cooperation Policies (2019) and the editor of National Broadcasting and
State Policy in Arab Countries (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
Enrique Klaus has specialised in Media Studies in the Arab world. He
holds a PhD in Political Sciences and has dedicated his thesis to Egyptian
media under the rule of Hosni Mubarak. He authored many articles on
news agencies, audiovisual regulation and written press. He is teach-
ing journalism studies at Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Turkey
Olivier Koch is Associate Professor of Information and Communication
Sciences at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France, in the
Department of Journalism. His early work focused on international com-
munication issues since the end of the Cold War. His latest publications
focus on media reforms in Tunisia.
Dominique Marchetti is a senior researcher at the National Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS in French), France, associated to the European
Center of Sociology and Political Science (École des Hautes Études en
Sciences Sociales and the University of Paris 1-Sorbonne). His current
work focuses on the processes of cultural transnationalisation based on the
study of the production and circulation of international news.
Emmanuel Marty is Associate Professor of Information and
Communication Sciences at the University of Grenoble Alpes, France. His
research focuses on new journalistic practices as well as media discourse
and its analysis through textual and lexical statistics, especially media
frames and their interactions with public opinion and political issues.
Franck Rebillard is Professor of Media Studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle
University, Paris. He is the author of books dedicated to the Web 2.0
(2007), media diversity (2013) and digital culture (2016), and of many
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xiii

articles published in journals such as Media, Culture & Society or New

Media & Society.
Michel Sénécal is a professor and head of a media studies research pro-
gramme at the TÉLUQ University, Canada. Member of the board of the
Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur l’information, la communica-
tion et la société (CRICIS) Research Center, he works on the hybridisa-
tion of audiovisual sectors in the digital era in the light of long-term
developments. He has been a visiting professor at several universities
(Autonomous University of Baja California, Paris 8, Sciences Po Toulouse,
the University of the Basque Country).
Nikos Smyrnaios is Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University
of Toulouse, France. His research includes the political economy of online
media, digital journalism and the political use of social media. He has writ-
ten the book Internet Oligopoly: The Corporate Takeover of Our Digital
World, 2018.
Marieke Stein is an associate professor at the University of Lorraine,
France, member of the Centre de Recherches sur les Médiations (Crem).
She works on environmental controversies and has just written, with
Vincent Carlino, Les Paroles militantes dans les controverses environnemen-
tales (Questions de communication, Série “Actes”, 2019).
 List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Press revenues in France. (Source: Ministère de la Culture et de

la Communication 2016 [French Ministry for Culture and
Communication 2016]) 11
Fig. 2.2 Advertising revenue for Internet and print media (2015–2017).
(Sources: IREP 2016 and 2017) 12
Fig. 2.3 Direct public assistance to the press in 2017. (Source: Cour des
Comptes 2018; Direction du Budget 2018 [French Court of
Auditors, 2018; French National Budget Office, 2018]) 13
Fig. 2.4 Direct public assistance to the online press (2009–2016).
(Sources: Cour des Comptes 2018; Ministère de la Culture et
de la Communication 2016 [French Court of Auditors, 2018;
French Ministry for Culture and Communication, 2016]; SPIIL
2017)14
Fig. 3.1 Analysed crowdfunding campaigns (authors’ work) 31
Fig. 6.1 Table showing the people interviewed (authors’ work) 110
Fig. 7.1 Distribution of articles by type (author’s work) 141
Fig. 7.2 Distribution of articles by author (author’s work) 142
Fig. 7.3 The 11 themes and 3 functions of a local newspaper (author’s
work)144
Fig. 7.4 Distribution of articles by tone (author’s work) 147
Fig. 7.5 Sources cited in articles and shown in photos (author’s work) 148
Fig. 8.1 Media coverage of CBM in Le Républicain Lorrain (author’s
work)160
Fig. 8.2 Press genres used (author’s work) 167
Fig. 9.1 Events in the MENA region 181
Fig. 9.2 News media in the MENA region 181

xv
 List of Tables

Table 11.1 The main pure players in Algeria in 2017 240

Table 11.2 Audience of pure players compared to online editions of
newspapers, April 2016–January 2017 240
Table 11.3 Audience of online sites in number of visitors in 2016 241

xvii
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Loïc Ballarini

Do you trust the news media? Since 1987, the French daily newspaper La
Croix has asked that question each year by means of a survey undertaken
by Kantar. And each year the results are similar, even though they vary
slightly. Less than half of the people polled consider that “things really
happened or almost happened” as reported by the media. The fault lies
with the media themselves, since most of the respondents believe that
journalists are subject to pressure from the rich and powerful. It therefore
comes as no surprise to find that many new media, to counter this belief,
emphasise, in addition to their unique editorial line, their commitment to
journalistic ethics, their decision to rely on subscriptions rather than on
advertising and a closer relationship with their readers.
This context shows that, even though the issue has been with us for
more than a century, the question of media independence is still wor-
thy of attention today. Recent upheavals in the information ecosystem,
marked in particular by new waves of economic concentration and the
unavoidable power of large digital platforms and their algorithms, have

L. Ballarini (*)
Crem (Centre de recherche sur les médiations), University of Lorraine,
Metz, France
e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s) 2020 1

L. Ballarini (ed.), The Independence of the News Media, Global
Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A
Palgrave and IAMCR Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4_1
2 L. BALLARINI

not improved the economic situation of most media, nor the working
conditions of journalists or the public’s perception of the information thus
produced. On the contrary, since the criticism, often justified, which has
been levelled at the media in recent decades by social science researchers
and civil society, has recently been compounded by increasingly virulent
attacks from angry citizens, industrialists and elected officials alike, even
to the highest levels of government. Yet democracy cannot exist with-
out free media. How then can we solve this equation? How do the news
media view the issue of independence at the beginning of the twenty-first
century?
The ambition of this book is to present recent research on media inde-
pendence by French-speaking researchers. All the contributions are from
the information and communication sciences and have already been pub-
lished in well-known journals or collective works, except one which is an
unpublished chapter of work to obtain a habilitation thesis. They thus bear
witness to a dynamic field of research, which over the past twenty years or
so, has profoundly renewed media studies in the French-speaking world.
It would have been impossible to bring together in a single book all the
fields covered by this research, which also includes, without limitation, the
socio-economics of media organisations (stakeholder strategies, profes-
sional practices and information diversity), the morphology of journalism
professions (changes in professions, conditions of work for journalists),
media representations of events and social identities (changes in media
content and forms linked to gender, class and race issues) and the media as
arenas for public debate (construction of public issues, relationship with
sources and the public, the democratic role of media). An overview of this
research can be found in Fleury and Walter (2014) and Walter et al. (2018).
The choice of the media independence theme was both a necessity and
an opportunity. A vital necessity for the media, because the deep economic
crisis they are facing cannot be resolved without a thorough reflection on
the importance of media independence and the forces that jeopardise it. It
is an opportunity for research, because independence is less a concept as
such than the result of various intersecting issues. This is why this book
approaches it from three interrelated and complementary perspectives: the
economy, the relationship to media readers and the political context.
In the first part, devoted to the media economy, Franck Rebillard
begins by recalling the multiple ways in which media are financed in
France. In the light of declining advertising revenues, fluctuations in gov-
ernment subsidies, declining printed press readership and uncertainties in
 1 INTRODUCTION 3

online media financing, how can sustainable business models be devel-

oped? Above all, how can we ensure the viability of the media while making
secure that the origin of funds will not influence editorial choices and
information quality? Crowdfunding often appears to be an obvious solu-
tion, and it has now become commonplace in France. However, Loïc
Ballarini, Emmanuel Marty and Nikos Smyrnaios show that, while it is
useful for launching or saving media that are financially independent of
powerful industry, it seems to be reserved for niche media for which it is
unable to provide all the financing. Although the context is similar in
Quebec, the analysis of Anne-Marie Brunelle and Michel Sénécal shows
that crowdfunding is less used there, being integrated into community
practices that have long been based on the search for alternative financing.
However, achieving financial profitability is not an objective in itself.
Information is certainly a commodity, which can be bought and sold in a
very competitive market, but its importance in the democratic game makes
it a unique product. It cannot exist without the trust of the public to
whom it is addressed. This trust can be built in different ways. In the case
of revolutionary left-wing media, which Vincent Goulet examines from an
historical and anthropological perspective, it is possible for media to gather
considerable audiences when they succeed in embodying the latent desires
of their respective audiences. More than a century ago, French regional
dailies and weeklies chose another path. Loïc Ballarini points out that by
defining their editorial lines around a consensus these newspapers were
able to develop flourishing local monopolies, which are now being chal-
lenged. The French regional press has indeed moved so far away from the
daily reality of its readers that it can no longer convince them to read it. By
examining the media coverage of a local environmental controversy in
eastern France, Marieke Stein also shows that the role of the local press in
public debate can vary according to political, economic and ideological
constraints. In the case of online media, relations with the public are con-
structed via comments, which raise the question of how to moderate
them. In a pioneering chapter on the subject, Emmanuel Marty and Nikos
Smyrnaios analyse the links between the economic, technical and editorial
aspects of commentary moderation on the one hand, and the quality and
diversity of the information thus produced on the other.
Ultimately, the independence of the news media depends, of course, on
the political context in which they operate. Recent research has shed new
light on Arabic-speaking countries and a chapter offers a unique overview
of these issues. Tourya Guaaybess shows how, since the 1980s, the
4 L. BALLARINI

transnationalisation of information production and dissemination has led

to a transformation of the Arab media landscape, to the benefit of the Gulf
countries and at Egypt’s expense. The result is new geopolitics of informa-
tion, combined with new professional practices and profiles of journalists.
The specificities of four countries are then analysed. For Morocco,
Abdelfettah Benchenna and Dominique Marchetti have investigated the
way in which the field of power has tried, since the 1990s, to dominate the
media while using methods that are less openly repressive than before and
therefore less likely to be criticised by international organisations. For
Algeria, Cherif Dris has observed similar changes in which the govern-
ment practices deregulation while remaining the “invisible hand” that
keeps the media under control, thanks in particular to the lack of profes-
sionalism of journalists. Enrique Klaus and Olivier Koch describe how in
Tunisia after the Arab Spring, the political domination of private media
was weakened both by the transition from print media to digital media and
by an economic context experienced as a crisis by its main actors. Finally,
for Egypt, Bachir Benaziz takes a socio-historical approach to trace the
emergence of a new place of information production since the 1990s.
After decades of state press dominance, the emergence of private media
must be closely linked to the political and social changes experienced by
the country, as well as to the careers and ambitions of the businessmen
who are increasingly taking over the information sector.

References
Fleury, B., & Walter, J. (Eds.). (2014). État des recherches en SIC sur l’information
médiatique. Revue française des Sciences de l’information et de la communica-
tion, 5, https://journals.openedition.org/rfsic/992.
Walter, J., Douyère, D., Bouillon, J.-L., & Ollivier-Yaniv, C. (Eds.). (2018).
Dynamiques des recherches en sciences de l’information et de la communication,
CPDirSIC, http://cpdirsic.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/dynamiques-
des-recherches-sic-web-180919.pdf.
 PART I

Political Economy of the Media in the

Age of Crowdfunding
 CHAPTER 2

Funding Print and Online News Media

in France: Developments and Challenges

Franck Rebillard

To begin this section, which looks at how the recent growth of

crowdfunding underscores concerns about the way news media is
financed, Franck Rebillard studies the major changes and socio-
political issues affecting the financial resources available to print and
online media in France. As in many countries, the press in France is
usually seen as being financed through two complementary chan-
nels: on the one hand, publications are sold to readers, while, on the
other hand, advertising space is sold to advertisers. Massive growth
in Internet access has of course created online news platforms that
draw advertisers. At the same time, however, advertising spending in
the media has strongly declined while Internet users remain gener-
ally disinclined to pay to access information. As a result, crowdsourc-
ing platforms—which began to appear at the end of the 2000s, first
in the United States and later in Europe—were often seen as an
alternative source of financing. With the help of crowdsourcing, the
media might be able to overcome its funding crisis. Such an approach,

© The Author(s) 2020 7

L. Ballarini (ed.), The Independence of the News Media, Global
Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A
Palgrave and IAMCR Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4_2
8 F. REBILLARD

however, meant that a number of important aspects have been over-

looked. First, the scale of crowdfundingremains quite small for both
print and online media. In France, traditional prior-subscription
models, for example, bring in two to four times more financing than
crowdsourcing. Second, the importance of State assistance, which
currently accounts for 15% of media revenues in France, is too often
discounted. Lastly, the appearance of new sources of media financing
calls into question the role of the State in supporting media plural-
ism. Google—a major beneficiary of the transfer of advertising bud-
gets to oligopolistic Internet platforms—has invested millions of
euros in supporting online media, while during the same time sup-
port from the French government has decreased accordingly.
First Publication
Rebillard, F, 2018. “Le financement de la presse et de l’information en
ligne en France. Evolution et enjeux”, in: Ballarini L., Costantini S., Kaiser
M., Matthews J., Rouzé V. (eds.), Financement participatif: les nouveaux
territoires du capitalisme, Questions de communication série Actes 38,
pp. 97–106
Translated by Daniel McKinnon (Coup de Puce Expansion)

In a text focused on crowdfunding in cultural and media industries, this

chapter may seem somewhat tangential. While the focus here is narrower,
looking at media industries only, and more specifically the production of
news in the written and online press, it also considers crowdfunding as one
of a larger range of press financing methods.
By looking more broadly at financing for the written press and its move
online, it is possible to see that the major driver—beyond the transition to
digital itself—is less the recourse to the private, decentralised microfinanc-
ing of crowdfunding and more the arrival of new players in this space:

F. Rebillard (*)
IRMÉCCEN—Institut de Recherches Médias, Cultures, Communication et
Numérique, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France
e-mail: [email protected]
 2 FUNDING PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS MEDIA IN FRANCE: DEVELOPMENTS… 9

platform operators known as “infomediaries” (Guibert et al. 2016). Since

the fact is not widely known, it is important to highlight that while info-
mediaries have been receiving advertising revenues for a number of years
(Rebillard and Smyrnaios 2010), they have also recently become a source
of financial assistance as well, taking over, to varying degrees, the role of
the State in directly supporting the press.
To explore this issue, the chapter is divided into three parts, drawing on
economic data produced by a wide range of stakeholders, including
researchers, public institutions and professional organisations, to illustrate
the situation in France. The importance of crowdfunding in news media
will be assessed through a review of existing literature. Given the weakness
of crowdfunding, a broader analysis will look at the changes in financing
for the print and online news industries, noting the increasing share of
State assistance, in the form of subsidies especially. Then, the chapter will
consider how the private sector is assuming the role of funding source and
distributor of assistance. While this remains in early stages and is not yet
stable, the private sector’s new role has proven to be larger than crowd-
funding and illustrates the growing importance of infomediaries in the
evolution of print and online news media financing.

The Weakness of Crowdfunding for News

and Information

Two scientific articles on crowdfunding for news were recently published.

One looked at the importance of the reputation of the organisation initiat-
ing a crowdfunding campaign (Goasdoué 2016). The other considered
the possible link between crowdfunding and the quality of journalism
(Cariou et al. 2017). Although neither work was focused on assessing the
financing of individual projects, they do provide useful details and figures
in this regard.
Data collected by Goasdoué (2016) cover the period from 2010 to
2015 and look at the two main crowdfunding platforms in France. During
this time, KissKissBankBank collected €1.3 million under its “Journalism”
category, and Ulule collected €3 million under its “Publishing and
Journalism” category, which also covers projects not specifically related to
news and information. On this basis, it is possible to estimate crowdfund-
ing’s financial contribution at around €700,000 per year.
10 F. REBILLARD

This amount is relatively small in regard to the total amount of financial

resources available in the print and online news media (see below).
Moreover, the figure also conceals the wide disparities that exist in terms
of funding. While crowdfunding “successes” are often cited, with funding
amounts reaching tens of thousands of euros—€20,000 collected for the
Brief.me digital newsletter in November 2014, €50,199 for Society maga-
zine in March 2015, €36,395 for the online local news site Rue89
Strasbourg in June 2015—this overshadows a much larger number of proj-
ects that garner only modest donations. By way of example, of the 40
projects on KissKissBankBank and Ulule studied by Cariou, Lyubareva
and Rochelandet (2017), the median amount collected was €8000.
Even the projects that receive the most crowdfunding support often
draw on other sources of funding as well. A representative case is Nice
Matin, a regional daily newspaper which collected a record €376,275—
but this was a mere 2% of the €16 million it took to keep the presses roll-
ing. This led Goasdoué to observe that “from an economic point of view,
crowdfunding has a variable, but often (very) small share in financing. …
Consequently, in most cases economic considerations are of secondary
importance to the publicity and profile-raising efforts that underlie fund-
raising drives” (Goasdoué 2016, p. 292).
Thus, crowdfunding does not constitute a major source of financing for
the print and online news media. More surprising still—or at the very least
at odds with the prominence it is given as a high-tech saviour—is that
crowdfunding actually collects less than traditional prior subscription
models. The daily newspaper L’Humanité, which has been organising
subscription drives since 1907, was able to collect €1.8 million in this way
in June 2015; the monthly Le Monde Diplomatique—equally seasoned in
the practice—collected €296,000 in 2014 (Goasdoué 2016). The intro-
duction in recent years of tax-rebate schemes for donations to political and
general news media organisations through associations such as J’aime
l’info and Presse et pluralisme has made it possible to determine the total
amount of such donations. Data from the Union for Independent Online
Journalism [Syndicat de la presse indépendante d’information en ligne]
(SPIIL 2017) revealed that donations made under tax-rebate schemes
totalled €1.8 million in 2012, €2.6 million in 2013 and 2014, €3.4 mil-
lion in 2015, and €2.6 million in 2016. When compared against crowd-
funding’s annual €700,000, revenue from subscription drives is regularly
three to four times higher.
 2 FUNDING PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS MEDIA IN FRANCE: DEVELOPMENTS… 11

The Increasing Importance of Subsidies in Financing

Print and Online News Media
News media crowdfunding struggles to cross the threshold of €1 million
per year. Private donations, whether in the modern form of crowdfunding
or in the older form of subscriptions, never total more than €5 million. Yet
the total resources associated with the print and online news media indus-
try run in the billions. These resources can be divided into two main cat-
egories: earnings from commercial activity and financial resources in the
strict sense of the term.
Earnings from news media’s commercial activity come in two streams: sell-
ing the news and information itself, and selling the accompanying advertising
space. The sale of information to readers and advertising space to advertisers
continues to be the largest source of revenue, even if total amounts have been
on a downward trend over the past decade. Revenues for the press industry
shrank from €10.8 billion in 2007 to €7 billion in 2016, following a period of
growth from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s (Fig. 2.1).
The decline is largely due to a decrease in advertising revenues, which
were more than halved from €4.8 billion in 2007 to €2.2 billion in 2016.
Over this period, sales revenue also fell although less sharply, from €6 bil-
lion in 2007 to €4.8 billion in 2016.
The downward trend for advertising revenue in printed press is almost
inversely proportional to the rise in advertising revenue online (Fig. 2.2).
Seemingly more pronounced in 2017, this asymmetrical trend chiefly ben-
efits oligopolistic Internet companies, such as Google and Facebook in the

12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
Turnover
€K

6,000,000
Sales revenue
4,000,000
Advertising revenue
2,000,000
0
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015

Fig. 2.1 Press revenues in France. (Source: Ministère de la Culture et de la

Communication 2016 [French Ministry for Culture and Communication 2016])
12 F. REBILLARD

Advertising revenue (€ M)

4094
3453
3216

2450 2286
2116

2015 2016 2017

Internet Print

Fig. 2.2 Advertising revenue for Internet and print media (2015–2017).
(Sources: IREP 2016 and 2017)

case of the sale and distribution of search and display advertisements

(Smyrnaios 2018). These companies are capturing advertising revenue
that previously went to print media, which must also deal with readers and
web users who are disinclined to pay for information online.
The reduction in commercial revenue makes news media companies
increasingly dependent on financial investments. While reliable data on
corporate investments and equity, and aggregate data in particular, can be
hard to come by, data on donations (via crowdfunding and subscription,
see above) and public support to the industry is readily available.
Public assistance can be identified across several reporting lines in
France’s national budget. A number of direct aids are specifically dedi-
cated to supporting print and online news media. Budget programme cat-
egory No. 180 “Press and Media”, dedicated to developing media
pluralism, represents nearly €130 million spent on direct public assistance
in 2017 (Fig. 2.3).
There are also a number of indirect aids, which may not be specific to
print and online media. These include a special, highly reduced VAT rate
of 2.1% that applies to certain products such as newspapers, and tax reduc-
tions for certain professions such as journalist. The nature of this type of
assistance makes it difficult to quantify with precision, leading the Court
 2 FUNDING PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS MEDIA IN FRANCE: DEVELOPMENTS… 13

Direct public assistance to the press in 2017 (in € million) 130

Distribution assistance
Support for press delivery 36
Exemptions from employer contributions for delivery companies 15
Exemptions from territorial economic contribution (CET) for wholesale companies 7

Assistance for media pluralism

Support to national political and general information publications with limited advertising 13
revenues 1
Support to local political and general information daily newspapers with limited
advertising revenues
1
Support to regional weekly publications

Modernisation assistance
Support for social development 1
Support for press distribution 18
Support for modernising distribution 6
Strategic fund for press development 27
Fund to support creativity and innovation in the press 5

Fig. 2.3 Direct public assistance to the press in 2017. (Source: Cour des
Comptes 2018; Direction du Budget 2018 [French Court of Auditors, 2018;
French National Budget Office, 2018])

of Auditors to assess the 2017 amount as ranging between €580 million

and €1.8 billion (2018).
Indirect assistance thus accounts for around €1 billion. When this fig-
ure is added to the €130 million the industry receives in direct assistance,
the total amount is in the order of €1.1 billion. This is the figure used by
SPIIL (2015) to demonstrate that the share of public assistance in press
financing continues to increase and now accounts for about 15% of the
industry’s revenues.

Private-sector Support Replacing Government Aid

The growing share of assistance in print and online media financing, as
previously described, is an important phenomenon not only in quantita-
tive terms but in qualitative terms as well. Although the trend is more
14 F. REBILLARD

recent and therefore less evident, the private sector is beginning to replace
public authorities as a source of funding and distributor of assistance.
The change occurred in 2013. Or, more precisely, on 1 February 2013,
when Eric Schmidt, then executive chairman at Google, was received by
French President François Hollande at the Élysée Palace to sign a commit-
ment of financial support to online political and general news media, fol-
lowing a months-long period of disagreement (Smyrnaios 2013). A €60
million fund was established, running for three years, funded entirely by
Google and managed by an association known as Fonds Google-AIPG
pour l’innovation numérique dans la presse (FINP) [Google–AIPG Fund
for Digital Innovation in the Press]. The only members of FINP were
Google Ireland Limited and the Political and General News Media
Association (AIPG).
FINP managed €20 million per year. A careful analysis of direct State
assistance to the press over this period shows that support to online media
decreased by roughly the same amount (Fig. 2.4). Direct State aid to
online media had increased suddenly in 2009, following France’s National
Press Forum (Etats généraux de la presse). The Forum called for the
establishment of a fund for online press services (SPEL), which was allo-
cated €20 million per year. When this €20 million per year was added to
the €25 million from the budget item “Support for modernising the daily
political and general information press”, a total of €45 million of potential

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Strategic fund for press

development 0 0 0 0 21 22 23 10 11

Fund for online press

services (SPEL) 1 20 20 18 0 0 0 0 0

Support for modernising the

daily political and general
information press 20 25 25 18 0 0 0 0 0

Total (€ million) 21 45 45 36 21 22 23 10 11

Fig. 2.4 Direct public assistance to the online press (2009–2016). (Sources:
Cour des Comptes 2018; Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication 2016
[French Court of Auditors, 2018; French Ministry for Culture and Communication,
2016]; SPIIL 2017)
 2 FUNDING PRINT AND ONLINE NEWS MEDIA IN FRANCE: DEVELOPMENTS… 15

financial support was available to online media outlets in 2009. The same
amount was available in 2010, before decreasing to €36 million in 2011.
Funding continued to decline before stabilising around €20 million from
2012 to 2014, and then around €10 million from 2015 to 2016.
The 2012–2016 period thus began with the French government’s
mediation efforts with Google, led by Marc Schwartz, and concluded with
the dissolution of FINP and the cessation of its activities. The period also
saw the elimination of budget lines for SPEL and for modernising the
daily political and general information press in 2012—cuts that were only
very partially offset by the concurrent creation of the Strategic fund for
press development.
The State winding-down its support for the online press coincided with
the introduction of a private fund to that end. Given that the amount of
private assistance roughly equals that previously provided by the State, the
change in the source of funding could be seen as a matter of little conse-
quence. The move from State to private distribution of aid did, however,
have certain repercussions, given the vested interest of both members of
FINP in the development of the online press industry. AIPG leadership
decided to limit FINP assistance to political and general news media only,
rather than to the media industry as a whole. Google provided sales sup-
port through its own advertising networks while at the same time offering
financial support to selected projects (Smyrnaios 2015).

Final Comments
The digital transition has brought new funding opportunities to the press
industry. Crowdfunding—the digital version of the prior subscriptions of
the past—is one such source of funding. It is, however, less fruitful than
other sources. While growth in digital channels did bring newfound
streams of advertising revenue, these new revenue streams have certainly
not offset the decline in consumer-generated revenues. At the same time,
the industry also finds itself hemmed in by other outlets born of the
Internet era: infomediaries. Among them, Google has moved beyond its
role as an infomediary to also invest in a fund to support the online press
in France, thereby replacing the French state as a provider of financial aid.
Since then, Google has scaled up efforts in this area and is now involved
at a European level. In 2015, it created a Digital News Innovation Fund
along the lines of the French FINP that is open to all EU member states.
The expansion also came with an increase in funding, with Google
16 F. REBILLARD

contributing €150 million over a three-year period. A wider range of sites

is also eligible, not only political and general news sites. The Fund is a part
of Google’s wider Digital News Initiative that, unlike the purely commer-
cial advice offered at the time of the FINP, is also involved in providing
technical assistance and training. In doing so, this has helped ensure that
Google services are incorporated into projects developing news sites
throughout Europe. Google has thus been able to ensure its dominant
influence over the industry and increased its likelihood of media capture,
which up to now has operated mostly through traditional financial pres-
sures (Nechushtai 2017).
Almost in parallel, the French state has introduced a number of new
efforts to support the online press. In 2017, fresh contributions totalling
€27 million were made to the Strategic fund for press development, more
than doubling the amount of available resources compared to the previous
year. In line with a recommendation in the Charon Report to the Minister
for Culture and Communication (2015), the French government also
established a €5 million fund to support creativity and innovation.
Together, the two funds represent more than €30 million in direct public
assistance for the online press, a funding level now similar to what was
available prior to FINP. Does this constitute an attempt by the govern-
ment to fill the €20 million gap left by the cessation of FINP activity that
was previously directed to the French political and general news media?
Naturally, this is not enough to offset the Digital News Innovation Funds’
€50 million per year that must be split amongst the 28 member states of
the EU. At the same time, is the Fund to support creativity and innovation
a way of avoiding the wholesale adoption of Google services? Deeper
research into this topic—outside the scope of this chapter—that incorpo-
rates interviews with public and private stakeholders notably, would make
it possible to answer such questions. Longer-term research would reveal
whether the recent re-emergence of direct State support to the online
press is a sign of the returning primacy of public support in this field, or
merely a last-ditch response to decisions made by private multinational
corporations that control much of the Internet.

References
Cariou, C., Lyubareva, I., & Rochelandet, F. (2017). Crowdfunding et qualité de
l’information. Le cas de la presse française. Réseaux, 205, 23–56.
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
farming improvements and wagons that indicate successful farming,
He has had twelve children, but only six — three of each sex — are
now living. One of his daughters, Hannah Maria, married to Walter
H. Spencer, lives in Morin, Manitoba ; Thomas, the eldest son, lives
with his father on the homestead. William P., the second son, was
married 6th May, 1891, to Ellen Cleland, and he lives on a farm of
100 acres, near the homestead. He has recently erected a good
barn, is making many improvements, and seems to have inherited a
good share of parental enterprise. He was employed in 1891 in
taking the census of Wentworth and Montcalm, and has stored his
mind with much interesting in formation respecting these townships.
LOUISA. A Post-office was established in the south-western part of
Wentworth in iSSo with the name Louisa, and WILLIAM WATCHORN
was appointed Postmaster, which position he still holds. His father,
William Watchorn, came from Ardoin, County of Wicklow, Ireland, in
July, 1833, and took up 100 acres of land in Gore. In 1837, ne
removed to Wentworth and took up 200 acres, Lot 5, in the ist
Range. He was Municipal Councillor some time, and was a Volunteer
in Capt, Quinn's Company in the Rebellion of 1837 ; he died, 2 2nd
December, 1865. He had four daughters and three sons who grew
up. William, his second son, when a young man, spent a year or two
in Ontario, and after his return, worked t\vo or three years on the
homestead. On December ioth, 1868, he married Mary Elizabeth
Robinson, of Wentworth, and the following year bought 200 acres in
the 2nd and 3rd Ranges,
The text on this page is estimated to be only 28.12%
accurate

HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 425 in this township, on which

he still lives. He has cleared and improved his land, so that it
sustains a good stock of cattle, horses and sheep. He has been a
School Commissioner fifteen, and Municipal Councillor over thirty
years, and, some years ago, was Ensign in Company No. 2 of the
Argenteuil Rangers. ROBERT BOYD, an aged farmer of this section,
came to this country from Hazlewood, Sligo County, Ireland, in June,
1853, and was employed in different places — Chatham, Lachute,
Thomas's Gore, Toronto, etc., foi fifteen years. He was married 3rd
December, 1867, to Dorothy Brown of Gore. In May. 1877, he bought
300 acres in the i2th Range of Chatham. Soon after settling on it,
while clearing land, a limb of a tree penetrated his ear, causing
partial deafness, and so affecting his health that he felt himself
unable to manage so large a farm, hence he exchanged it for 50
acres in Wentworth, parts of Lots 5 and 6 in the 2nd Range.' This
was in May, 1879, and he has since lived on it, but, owing to the
infirmities of age, is obliged to yield the management chiefly to his
children, and he, resignedly, awaits the peace and rest of another
world. An Anglican Church edifice was erected in this locality in
1894, at an expense of $1,000, which has been fully paid. George
Scale, James Morrison and Robert Rowe formed the building
committee, and subscribed very liberally towards defraying the
expense of its erection. All who took an active interest in the work
were also liberal subscribers. Religious services of other
denominations are occasionally held here in the school house. An
Orange Lodge was formed in this part of the township, more than
half a century ago, and an Orange Hall was erected here in 1886.
WENTWORTH GLEN. In the eastern part of Wentworth, on the 4th
and 5th Ranges, adjacent to Shrewsbury, in Gore, is a moderate
depression of land which has long been known as the Glen, and
which is itself considerably diversified by hill and dale. A road leading
from Louisa to Shrewsbury passes through it, and Dalesville Creek
also runs through quite a portion of it. JOHN QUINTON and PATRICK
RICE, who located here about the year 1833, were the first settlers,
but neither of them remained more than a year or two. Quinton was
an Englishman, and was always known among his neighbors, who
were Irish, as " English John," to distinguish him from others who
bore the name of John. A small field, which he cleared, is still
designated as " English John's field." On the road leading to The
Glen from Louisa is a farm, on which JOSEPH CRESWELL, from the
County of Donegal, Ireland, settled in 1840. He took up onehalf of
Lot 4, 3rd Range, and several years later bought the other half of
the same lot. In May, 1846, this family suffered a terrible affliction,
their house being burnt, and three of their children — two little girls,
one three and the other five years old, and a boy of three — were
consumed in it. Mr. Creswell cleared up the first 100 acres he
purchased, and a lime kiln having previously been opened on the
other Lot, he repaired and worked it for some years, when it again
fell into disuse. He died 2oth September, 1885 ; his wife died the
22iid of the same month and year. Five of their children — three
sons and two daughters — lived to maturity. Joseph, the second son,
now living, in his youthful days went to Michigan, and was employed
there in lumbering five years. After his return he worked the same
length of time on the homestead, and then, 4th August, 1875, was
married to Annie Scarborough of Staynerville, Chatham. 28
The text on this page is estimated to be only 28.00%
accurate

426 HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. In 1877, he went to

California, where he spent two years ; but since his return he has
worked on the homestead, of which he owns all save 25 acres,
which has been sold. Four or five years ago, he reconstructed the
lime kiln, and has since kept it in active operation, his farm
possessing a large quantity of superior limestone. Mr. Creswell was
for some years a member of Company No. 2 of the Argenteuil
Rangers, and has also been a Municipal Councillor. HENRY
MORRISON, from Bella Bay, County Monaghan, Ireland, came to
Canada in 1833, worked on the Canal at Carillon three months,
spent a year in Gore, and then came to The Glen and bought one-
half of Lot No. i, in the 5th Range. Several years afterward, he
bought 200 acres more adjacent in the 4th Range of Gore. He and
his boys cleared up the greater part of the first and a portion of the
second lot. - He was a member of the Municipal Council a numbers
of years, of Capt. Quinn's Company in the Rebellion of 1837, and of
Capt. James Smith's Com pany during the Fenian raids. He died 3rd
October, 1873, at the age of 75 ; his wife died 3rd June, '877. They
had four sons and three daughters that grew up. William, their
eldest son, now living, was married, i8th March, 1857, to Elizabeth
Parker, sister to Mrs. James Morrison — his brother's wife — who
was mar ried at the same time. He settled on one-half of Lot i, 5th
Range, in Gore, and has since bought half of the adjoining Lot No. i,
6th Range, in Wentworth. He has constantly resided here since, and
has a good farm well stocked. He has been a Justice of the Peace
about 20 years, is Deputy Master of the Orange Lodge, and has also
been Master, and was Ensign of Company No. 2 of the Argenteuil
Rangers, and went with them to the different places to which they
were ordered during the Fenian raids. He has five sons and three
daughters ; two of the former are married — one resides in Carson
City, Nevada ; the other, 'William J., lives near the homestead ;
James is in Boston ; and Edward and Richard, the two youngest, live
with their parents. James, tht second son of Henry Morrison, was
married, as stated above, iSth March, 1857, to Jane Parker. She and
her sister, Mrs. William Morrison, were daughters of Edward Parker,
who came from the County of Carlow, Ireland, and settled in Gore,
in 1829. Mr. Morrison, a year previous to his marriage, bought half a
lot, near the homestead, on which he settled and has always lived,
and has since purchased 400 acres more, adjoining it. Though he
has devoted much time to hunting, he seems to have given enough
of it to farming to improve his land and acquire the quantity of stock
and other things usually possessed by the majority of farmers. He
has also found time to serve his country as a soldier, having for
several years been ist Sergeant in Company No. 2 of the Rangers,
and was with them in their famous endeavors to encounter Fenians.
The truth is, Mr. Morrison is a man of great muscular power and
vigorous health, a tramp of twenty miles, with a gun, through woods
and over hills and moun tains being yet but pastime for him, though
upward of threescore years of age. He is not above medium height,
but broad chested, with muscles and nerves of iron, and an eye that
never fails to send a bullet to a vital part. He has killed a quantity of
game that might rouse the envy of Nimrod, and no doubt has had
some exciting adventures, but he is not a man of boastful spirit, and
speaks of his experience as a hunter with extreme modesty. He shot
his first bear when he was 18 years old, and the number of animals
he had killed up to ist October, 1894, were as follows : bears, 47 ;
deer, about 50 ; foxes, over 40 ; 5 caribou and about the same
number of wolverines. He once had an unpleasant experience with
an animal, of which we have forgotten the name. He had set a steel
trap in the hollow of a fallen tree, and on visiting it afterward, he
thoughtlessly thrust in his hand to pull out the trap for
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accurate

HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 427 examination. Unluckily for

him, a victim which had been caught in the trap by the hind leg was
only too ready to avenge its wrongs, and buried its teeth in his hand
with a death grip, from which he could not release himself, though
he made strenuous efforts. He bethought him of his knife, but it was
in the right pocket of his pants, and his right hand was the one
seized by the animal. After several fruitless efforts he finally
succeeded in getting his knife with his left hand, and then, opening
it by the aid of his teeth, he actually severed the head of the animal
from its body before its grasp was relaxed. Mr. Morrison is as familiar
with every square acre of the forest land of Wentworth and other
new townships as he is with his own farm ; and we are indebted to
him for several facts respecting their physical features. He has had
eleven children, of whom six are now living — three of each sex. His
sons are all married — Edward, the eldest, lives in Manitoba, and the
other two, Henry and Thomas, have farms near the homestead;
both are members of the Orange Lodge and have belonged to the
Rangers. A daughter of Mr. Morrison, married, also resides in this
section. VALENTINE SWAIL came from the County of Down, Ireland,
to Thomas's Gore as early as 1820, and took up 100 acres of land
there. He sold it, and removed to "The Glen," not far from 1842, and
took up 200 acres in the 4th and 5th Ranges, on which he lived a
number of years, when he sold out and went to the Eastern
Townships — Compton County — where he died in April, 1870. He
was a man of intelligence, and was much respected while living in "
The Glen ; " his advice respecting legal as well as other matters
being often sought by his fellow-townsmen. He had formerly taught
school in Ontario, and no doubt his education gave him considerable
influence among the illiterate of that day, rendering him a desirable
leader in municipal and military affairs. He was one of the loyal
actors in the Rebellion of 1837, and became a Captain of militia. His
wife died here in 1870. He was twice married, and had seven
children, by whom he was much respected and loved. In his last
years he was much interested in spiritual matters, it is said, and died
a Christian. By his first marriage he had one son and two daughters,
who grew up. His son Valentine, when quite young, bought 100
acres here, which is now owned and occupied by James Morrison.
About 1847 he married Annie Lister, and after living on his farm a
number of years sold it, and removed to Morin, where he became
pro prietor of 200 acres, which is now owned by his son, Ebenezer
Swail. He lived here till his death, 26th April, 1894, and was for some
time one of the Argenteuil Rangers. He had six sons and three
daughters, who grew up. James Swail, his second son, when 18,
went to Michigan, and after an absence of two and a half years
returned, and on i4th June, 1871, was married to Mary Ann Davis.
She died in 1889, on the anniversary of her marriage. From this time
to the i5th of May, 1893, when he was married to Mrs. Sarah
Morrison, he was engaged in farming or lumbering in Papineau
Seigniory, Alberta and Wisconsin. His present wife was the widow of
the late John Morrison, and they now live on the farm where she
resided before her hus band's death. Mr. Swail once belonged to the
Rangers, and was with them during the Fenian excitement. By his
first marriage he had five children, three of whom are now living ;
one daughter, married, lives in Wisconsin; his two boys are with him.
SAMUEL CLIFFORD, from Fermanagh, Ireland, took up too acres in
Mille Isle, but being dissatisfied with his choice of land, sold it and
purchased of a British pensioner a Location Ticket for 200 acres of
land in " The Glen of Wentworth ; " this lot is now owned and
occupied by his youngest son, William, who has added 100 acres to
it. William was married, 23rd March, 1875, to Sarah Armstrong; he
has been Municipal Councillor ten years, School Commissioner eight,
a member of the
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428 HISTORY OF ARGENTEU1L. Orange Lodge and of the

Rangers several years. He has two sons and one daugh ter; the
former, Samuel and John, aged respectively iSand [6, belong to the
Rangers, and Samuel was one of the " Reserves " at the late "Tug-
of-War" between the Argenteuil boys and those of Glengarry. Harriet,
the daughter, also lives with her parents. Like others, Mr. Clifford in
early years suffered from raids of bears and wolves, the former
especially being numerous in this section. About 1882, he received a
visit from one, which seemed to have the combined impudence and
auda city of all the rest of his race. It was in the spring, one evening
at early twilight, and Mr. Clifford was milking in the stable. He had a
fine calf, about two months oldr on the bain floor, which was
separated from the stable by a. partition. Suddenly the calf gave a
loud piteous bleat or two, as if in pain. Mr. Clifford rose leisurely
from his milking stool, and started with his milk pail in his hand to
learn the cause. To his amazement, as he emerged fiom the stable
door, Bruin, a monstrous fellow, walked out of the other on his hind
feet with the calf in his mouth, having seized it with his teeth about
midway of the back, so that he could easily balance it. He seemed in
no wise disconcerted by the shouts of Mr. Clifford, but trotted off
with an air which portrayed the following thought — "You must be a
fool if you think, after all my trouble, I am going to give up this fine
veal, on account of a little noise." He did give it up, however, but not
till after Mr. Clifford had secured an axe and his dog, and was again
at his heels. He had not time to load his gun, hence Bruin escaped,
and the calf was so badly injured that soon afterward it had to be
killed. LAUREL. In the western part of Wentworth is a rew settlement
which, on account of the number cf Irish who have located there,
has long been called New Ireland ; but a Post-office was etablished
there in 1886 with the name Laurel, by which name the locality is
now known. About half a century ago, EDWARD McCmsKEY came
with his family from Ireland and settled in Chatham. Years afterward,
or about 1860, his two sons, James and John, took up 300 acres of
uncleared land in Wentworth. Lots 23 and 24, in the ;th Range. Their
improvements formed the nucleus of a settlement to which many
have since gathered. The McCluskeys and others in the locality have
made good progress as pioneers. About 1861, JAMES MCCLUSKEY
was married to Mary Wilson ofLachuter and their progeny alone are
likely to keep undiminished the population of Laurel. They have had
fourteen children — twins at one time and triplets at another. Ten of
the children are living, of whom one son and two daughters are
married. Matthew McCluskey, the second son, who has spent some
years in Michigan and Wisconsin, is Postmaster, and Edward, a
younger brother, is his assistant. MONTFORT. The following account
of the Montfort Colonization Railway and the Montfort Orphanage is
taken from 2 he Watchman: " Had the early settlers among the
forests and mountains of Wentworth been told that one day the
puffs of the engine and its shrill whistle would startle the wild
animals of that region, it would have been deemed a most unlikely
story. But this age of progress has produced many wonders, and a
railway in Wentworth is not one of the smallest. This has been
accomplished by the energy, pluck and perseverance of a band of
French Canadians in Montieal, who several years ago conceived the
idea of
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HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 429 colonizing the uninhabited

regions of Quebec. A charter was obtained, a survey made as far as
Arundel, and after seeking and obtaining aid from both
governments, the work was commenced and is now completed as
far as Sixteen Island Lake. "The officers of the Monlfort Colonization
Railway are E. Senecal, President ; Joseph Brunet, Vice-President;
Messrs. F. Froideveaux, Godfrey Chapleau and E. D. Porcheron,
Directors ; A. S. Hamelin, Secretary-Treasurer. The Railway is a
narrow-gauge line at present, although the road-bed, grades and
curves have been made the same as on the standard gauge. O.ving
to the wildness and roughness of the country the construction of the
Railway was very expensive. " At Montfort, we found, to our
surprise, a large, commodious and well furnished hotel. This hotel
was built last year by Mr. Froideveaux, and is kept by Mr. Piouff. It is
situated on the side of a high hill, overlooking lake St. Francois-
Xavier. Just below this lake is another called Lake Chevreuil (Deer
lake), the latter being several hundred feet below the former.
Between the two on the stream which connects them is situated the
Orphanage, and mills and out-buildings attached thereto, which are
under the direction of the Peres de la Societe" de Maiie. The origin,
work and present state of this institution deserves more than a
passing note. "The question naturally arises, ' how came this
institution to be planted in such a strange place ? ' for it must be
remembered that when the work was first inaugurated there was no
railway, no clearance, and not even a cart road — nothing but the
primeval forest. " It seems that a number of French Canadians in
Montreal conceived the idea of taking several lots of land in the bush
and forming a colony for the purpose of set tling the country. They
made their idea known to the late Cure Rousselot of Montreal, who
became interested therein. Messrs. Froideveaux and Montmarquet
were select ed to go in search of a location, and chose the nth
Range of Wentworth. In the meantime, Cure Rousselot, who as
rector of a large congregation in Montreal came into daily contact
with much suffering, degradation and crime among homeless
children thrown upon the streets, was seized with the idea that it
might be possible, in some of the unsettled lands of this province, to
establish an institution, which would take these children in their
tender years before they had become injured by the vice of the city,
and feed, clothe, educate and teach them how to cultivate the soil,
and finally place them as proprietors on lots of land to do for
themselves. The population of the city was congested, there was no
path but that of crime open for homeless waifs there, but the
country needed a rural population, and thus the scheme took shape
in the good priest's mind. Friends came forward with help, and in
1881 first a mill and then an orphanage was built, known as the
Agricultural Orphanage of Montfort. "An order of priests, brothers
and sisters in France, whose special work is that of agriculture, was
brought out to take charge of the work, and under their excellent
management its success has been assured. Some time later a large
property was bought in Arundel, where they have now an immense
establishment. " We were conducted through the institution by Pere
Albert, who in the absence of the Superior, Pere Boucher, was in
charge At present there are over 200 children being cared for, the
youngest being about five years old. In the school room was found a
large class of the smaller ones under the charge of one of the
sisters. They all looked well fed, well clothed, bright and happy. ' The
Superioress conducted us into the dormitories, where the little cots
were ranged in rows and seemed very comfortable. Another room is
fitted up as an hos pital ward, but happily it was unoccupied. One of
the sisters is skilled in the use of medicines and has a drug shop in
the building. In another room we found a number of young lads
learning the tailoring business, and specimens of (heir work
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43° HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. were exceedingly

creditable. In a large room perhaps a dozen sisters were engaged
mending clothes for the boys. The kitchen was a model of
cleanliness and conve nience. There, an immense range, covered
with large copper kettles and pots from which delicious odors came,
gave some indication of the amount it takes to supply such an
institution with a meal, especially when its inhabitants are blessed
with a Wentworth appetite. In the kitchen is the only fire in this
large building. The whole is heated by hot-water furnaces, and all
the rooms lighted by electricity. Some of the larger boys work in the
saw mill, to which is connected a run of stones. There is also a
planing machine, a blacksmith and carpenter shop." Gore.
PROCLAMATION OF IQTH OCTOBER, 1840. This township is
bounded on the north by Mille Isles, east by the Seigniory of Two
Mountains, south by the Seigniory of Argenteuil, and west by
Wentworth, and contains about 23,660 acres and the usual
allowance for highways. It has several beautiful little lakes, and
much fine scenery. Notwithstanding the fact that Gore is a rough,
stony township, containing, in fact, scarcely any of what might be
termed level land, men have settled here, prospered, and become
well-to-do farmers. Neither is their number small ; there being very
few who are not proprietors of at least 100 acres, with the buildings,
and stock of cattle, horses and sheep, which supply them with the
comforts of life. Wonder at what men through determined
perseverance have accomplished in other localities, mentioned in
these pages, here grows into astonishment, and espe cially when we
learn that, little more than half a century ago, the inhabitants of
Gore were struggling with poverty and all its attendant ills. But they
were a hardy race, large in stature, giants in strength, and gifted
with almost superhuman endurance; indeed, the well authenticated
accounts of the feats of labor individuals sometimes performed, and
the privations they endured, almost stagger credulity. The carrying
of loads on the back weighing from 50 to roo Ibs. from Lachute to
the different abodes in this township was a matter of so common
occurrence, that it incited little wonder or comment. It was only in
drawing a parallel between hard ships of which their children
complained years afterward, and what they themselves endured in
the first decade of their pioneer experience, that these incidents
were mentioned, and they were thus retained in memory to edify
and instruct their posterity. The following true story is related of a
man who lived in a remote part of Gore : He was one day carrying
home, on his back, from Lachute a sack of flour weigh ing 1 12 Ibs.,
expecting that his sons would meet him on the way and relieve him
of this heavy burden. He had arrived within two miles of his house,
however, before meeting the sons, and so indignant was he that
they had not sooner come to his assistance, that he refused to let
them touch his load, and bore it to his door before putting it down.
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HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 431 Hard labor, with scanty and

poor diet, was the lot of many, potatoes often being the only food
some of them could obtain for days and even weeks. It is said that a
man living in Mille Isles named Robert Carruthers often related a
feat he accomplished, and which no one doubted, viz., chopping and
burning the wood, and performing the other labor requisite for
manufacturing two barrels of potash, having nothing in the way of
nourishment meanwhile but potatoes and water. The tim ber
required for this was 120 maples of large size, or their equivalent ;
and when we consider the amount of chopping and other labor this
task involved, it seems incred ible that the physical powers could be
supported by such nutrition sufficiently long to perform it. A family
named Rogers, who had lately arrived from Ireland, on their way to
Gore, remained over night at St. Andrews; at this place an addition
was made to the family by the birth of a son. The third morning
afterward, the mother, taking the young infant in her arms, walked -
the entire distance — twenty miles — that day to Gore. For a long
time, the only horse in Gore was one which belonged to a pioneer
whose name was Hazlitt Hicks, and it is doubtful if any horse has
become as famous since the days of Bucephalus — the war horse of
Alexander. His services were not so much required in clearing or
tilling the land, for the men, by uniting their efforts, performed much
of the labor that in later years was done by oxen or horses, but in
conveying grists to and from the mill this particular horse was of
price less value, not only to his owner, but to all his neighbors. So
many were the loads of corn he drew to the mill at Lachute that he
began to be called " Cobby," and the name is as well known to-day
in Gore, and in adjacent localities, as that of John A. Macdonald. The
price of " Cobby " for a day was a day's work, to be given to his own
owner by the one who hired him ; and many a day's work did he
earn for his master during the thirty years " Cobby " is said to have
lived. It is a subject for regret, that the great strength of many of
the pioneers of this section was not always used in the wisest
manner, nor for the promotion of good; especially was this the case
when they attended bees, cattle fairs and elections, or on festive
occasions, where a free use of liquor invariably led to quarrels, or to
the settlement of old feuds, by pugilistic encounters. So well
established was the fact, that a cattle fair always resulted in
intemperance and disgraceful fights among some of the men of this
section, that it became a custom with one of the clergymen of Gore
to preach a powerful temperance sermon to his congregation on the
Sabbath preceding the fair. From the number of times this sermon,
or one of like import, was heard, it became so familiar to one young
man of retentive memory, that he often rehearsed it for the
edification of his companions. It is to be hoped, however, that
although they made it a subject for levity, it was not altogether void
of influence on them for good. An aged eye-witness of the scene
describes a humorous incident which occurred at Grand Brule during
the troubles of 1838. The Registry Office among other public
buildings had been sacked, and when our informant arrived, a
herculean Irish man from Gore stood at the open door of the vault
with a score of his companions around him, whom he was
addressing, as follows : " It's hard, boys ; we've worked for many a
day, and little we have to show for it, and sure we might as well now
have a dade for a farrun' ; " and with serene gravity he took up a
pile of papers, and walking through the crowd, gave to each person
a document with the exhortation, "Take a dade, sir." The strength
and courage of the men of Gore made them important allies to the
politician who anticipated trouble on the day of nomination or
election ; indeed their
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432 HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. fame for carrying every

cause they espoused rendered them about as important a factor in
election campaigns as was the Irish Brigade, in the Federal Army,
during the Great American Rebellion. But all this has passed away ;
great indeed is the change that a third of a century has wrought in
Gore, in the moral and social condition of its people ; the disgrace
and other evils of intemperance are as well understood and
abhorred here as in any township in the province. Even those who
still adhere to the custom of taking a social glass when away from
home do it with that regard for decency and economy which
prevents their absence from their families an unreasonable time, and
restrains from the foolish expenditure of money. A higher degree of
intelligence is now found among the people ; sobriety has taken the
place of intemperance ; prudence has sup planted recklessness, and
the many dwellings in which a family altar has been estab lished
proclaim that the people of Gore understand, and are trending
toward that higher life, without which existence is nonentity. Lovell's
Gazetteer of British North America, published in 1881, says : " The
men of Gore are a sturdy loyal class, mostly descendants of and
settlers from the north of Ireland. They are nearly all Orangemen,
and are famous for the fine appearance they made when, as a part
of the Argenteuil Rangers, they hastened to the front to repel the
Fenian invasion." The first settlers in Gore were James Stephenson
and Robert Smith, who came from Ireland, and located in the
extreme west of what now forms the township. R.obert McMahon
about the same time settled in another part, and William Henderson,
Alexander Johnson, James Armstrong, William Boyd and his brother
James soon located at what is now the centre of Gore, which is
crossed by the present road from Lakefield to Lachute. They were all
from Ireland, and their descendants may still be found in the
township, as well as the descendants of other pioneers whose
names will be mentioned in the proper place. WILLIAM HENDERSON
came from the parish and county of Sligo, and settled here in 1824,
in the 2nd Range, very soon after the arrival of Robert McMahon. He
lived here till his death, aoth August, 1870. He had fourteen
children, eight sons and six daughters, all of whom save one son
lived till maturity. Samuel, the eldest one, now living, was married
26th March, 1837, to Hannah Hunter ; they had three sons and
three daughters who grew up. William, one of the sons, and the only
one now living, has been connected with the Methodist Church as a
clergyman for thirty years, and is now stationed at Danville, Que.
About a year after the death of his first wife, Mr. Henderson married
Mary Ann, daughter of the late Capt. Johnstone, By this marriage he
has had ten children, *of whom nine — two sons and seven
daughters — are now living. John, one of the former, has been a
minister of the Methodist Church fifteen yeais, and is now stationed
at South Woods, Lake Ontario. His twin brother, who was a fireman
on a railway train, was killed in California in a wreck caused by train
robbers. Another son of Mr. Henderson, who had charge of a gang of
thirty men in a quarry in New Hampshire, was killed by the
premature explosion of a blast. Mr. and Mts. Henderson are still
living, and though aged, are active in mind and body, and are much
respected for their good words and works ; he was one of the loyal
actors in the Rebellion of 1837. LAKEFIELD. This is a small hamlet in
the southern part of Gore. Its buildings comprise two churches —
Anglican and Methodist — a school-house, blacksmith shop, grist
mill, saw mill, and four or five dwellings.
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HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 433 A Post-office was

established here about 1844 ', George Rodgers was the first
postmaster. Mr. Rodgers was a very prominent man in the township,
and for several years was its Mayor. The place is so called from the
proximity of two small lakes— the smaller one, lying within a few
yards of the street, is about three-fourths of a mile long and a little
less in width. The larger one, Barren's Lake, so called in honor of
Col. Barren of Lachute, is about three miles long, with an average
width of half a mile. It is a beautiful body of water, and much of the
scenery around it is very attractive. The first settlers here and in this
vicinity were Frederick Rodgers and two brothers, Samuel and
George Rodgers, Hazlett Hicks and Michael Craig. FREDERICK
RODGERS came from the County of Mayo, Ireland, about 1824, and
took up the east half of Lot 10, 3rd Range, which is now owned and
occupied by his grandson, George Rodgers. He was Ensign in Capt.
Evans' Company, and was on duty during the Rebellion of 1837-38,
and was also a staunch Orangeman. He died in February, 1878.
Three sons and five daughters of his fourteen children arrived at
maturity. Frederick, the eldest son, after living twenty years on two
different farms which he had purchased , settled on the homestead.
He has recently given this to his second son George, and i>ow lives
with his third son, Matthew J., on a farm of 200 acres lately
purchased, located about i^ miles from the homestead. Mr. Rodgers
joined the Rangers on their organization, and was always with them
when they were on duty until a few years since ; he was Municipal
Councillor fourteen years. He has been twice married, first to Eliza
Rodgers in November, 1844, by which marriage he had three
daughters who grew up ; his second marriage was to Eliza Parker,
26th July, J857» by whom he had eight children, four of each sex.
He claims to have been the first male child born in Gore, and though
he is now nearly threescore and ten, he still continues to drive 10
miles daily to Lachute, carrying the mail, for which he has had a
contract ten years. Mr. Rodgers has many reminiscences of pioneer
life, one of which was his first trip to Montreal, when he carried a
barrel of potash. In returning, he stopped at a house just at dark, to
inquire the way. Falling asleep, soon afterward, he rode till past
midnight, when coming to a house he roused the proprietor and
once more asked the way. To his surprise and chagrin, he found th*
it was the same house at which he first called. While asleep, he had
struck a road on which he had long been travelling back toward
Montreal. Besides the two sons mentioned he has one in Toronto
and another, Wm. J., in Lachute. SAMUEL RoEGEPScame from the
County of Connaught, Ireland, with his wife, two sons and a
daughter, in the summer of 1828. His elder son, John, married
Elizabeth Nicholson in 1832 ; she is now 82 years of age, and in the
enjoyment of a fair degree of health. Mr. Rodgers was an active
Churchman, and for years officiated as Lay Reader, often walking
many miles to distant places to hold services; he died in June, 1845.
He had three sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest was the
late Col. Samuel F. Rodgers, of the nth Battalion. Capt. John Rodgers
is the second son of the late Samuel Rodgers, Lay Reader; he was
married in March, 1872, to Harriet, fourth daughter of the late
Captain George Sherrit, who commanded a Company in the nth
Battalion for twenty years. Mr. Rodgers is Captain of Co. No. 5, in the
same Battalion, and has been Secretary-Treasurer of the Municipal
Council of Gore and of the Board of School Commissioners, since
Nov., 1876. He has three sons and one daughter; the latter is a
teacher in her native township.
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434 HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. JAMES ARNOTT, from

Scotland, was one of the very early settlers at Lakefield. A man
named Robinson had taken up land and made a little improvement
when he sold out to Arnott. The latter erected a grist mill and saw
mill here about 1835, and kept them in operation many years. Other
early settlers in Gore were William Byrnes, William McMannis, James
Bennett and James McDonald, who was for a long time Secretary of
the Municipal Council ; he died in 1881, at the great age of 103.
WILLIAM EVANS, from the County of Mayo, Ireland, came to Gore
with his family about 1834, and settled on a lot of 200 acres, which
is now owned by George Rodgers. During the Rebellion of 1837-38,
he organized a Company of Volunteers, of which he became Captain.
He had several children, of whom Thomas was the eldest son. He
was married about the year 1847 to Miss S. Moore, and settled on
the east half of his father's lot, which he had purchased. He joined
the Rangers at their organization, as Lieutenant, inCapt. Sherritt's
Company, and after the death of the latter he succeeded to the
Captaincy. He was also chairman of the School Board several years,
and was Lay Reader at Lakefield and in Arundel, a long time. He
died in December, 1868. He had seven children — five sons and two
daughters — that grew up. Two of the sons are deceased, two are in
California, and one and the two daughters live in this township.
Robert, the eldest son, who still lives here, bought 100 acres of Lot
n, 5th Range, and some years later, in 18*84, he bought the same
quantity of Lot 7, 2nd Range, on which he now lives, though still
owning the other. He was married ist May, 1883, to Louisa Bennett.
He joined Capt. Rodgers' Company of Rangers at its organization;
has been witli them at all the different places to which they have
been called, and is now Lieutenant of that Company. ANTHONY
COPELAND came from Enniskillen, Fermanagh County, Ireland, to St.
Andrews in 1822, and in 1833 came to Gore, and took up a Lot of
200 acres in the 6th Range, on which he lived till his death about
1874. He had three sons and four daughters who arrived at maturity.
Nathaniel, his eldest son, learned the car penter's trade, and
followed it, with the exception of a few years spent in farming, till
1868, when he bought a farm of 200 acres in the parish of St.
Jerusalem, on which he now lives. Thomas, his eldest son, went to
California in 1868, and was employed there about 17 years, as
foreman in a quartz mill. He returned in 1884, and bought a store at
Lakefield, wh^re he still trades. He has since built a new store, and
has both stores well stocked with general merchandise. He also has
the Post-office, having been appointed Postmaster in 1885, and as
he is the only one engaged in mercan tile business in Lakefield, he
receives large patronage, which may be attributed, in part,
doubtless, to his genial nature, public spirit, and general confidence
in his integrity. He was married 23rd December, 1887, to Elizabeth
Boyd, and was ap pointed Justice of the Peace in 1893, and for
several years has been master of an Orange Lodge at Lakefield.
MICHAEL CRAIG, a local preacher, was the first to devote his time
and energies to religious labor in Gore. He came from Ireland with
Samuel and George Rodgers, in the summer of 1828, and very soon,
it appears, engaged in those earnest efforts for the moral
improvement of his fellows which was his characteristic through life,
and owing to which he is still held in grateful remembrance. It may
be said that he was the father of Methodism in this township. He
was a peace-maker, and through his influence many local disputes
and differences were settled without litigation, and amicably. About
the year 1829, he induced the people to erect a place of worship,
and although it was a log structure, many a reverential band of
worshippers gathered there, and the good wrought within its humble
walls was not less, doubtless, than that effected at grander and
more costly shrines.
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HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. 435 William Henderson and

Capt. Alexander Johnstone were on the building com mittee of this
first house of worship. Mr. Craig travelled through several townships
in the course of his labors, and his memory is cherished as gratefully
in Morin, Mille Isles, and other places, as at Lakefield. About the year
1867, the Rev. William McCullough began to collect funds for a new
church, but it was not completed till 1869, during the pastorate of
the Rev. Mr. Russell. It is a frame building, bricked up inside, and
finished neatly with ash ; the walls and ceiling being entirely of this
wood. This place first belonged to St. Andrews Circuit, then to
Lachute ; but, during the pastorate of Mr. McCullough, it was formed
into a circuit of itself, called Lakefield, which embraces Gore, Mille
Isles, Thomas's Gore, and a school-house in the Seigniory, known as
Hammond's School-House. The first Church of England clergyman
that came to Lakefield was the Rev. William Arnold, who was sent by
the S. P. G. in the beginning of 1838. He awak ened sufficient
interest to secure the erection of a church edifice here, but left near
the close of the year, and was succeeded by the Rev. John
Macmaster, whose first record of Baptism was 2-jih December, 1838.
He was here several years, as his last record of Baptism was 3Oth
January, 1849. Rev. William Abbott of St. Andrews officiated a short
time till the arrival of Richard L. Stevenson, travelling missionary of
the District of Montreal. The first record of Mr. Stephenson was i4th
March, 1850 ; his last ist January, 1851. Rev. Joseph Griffin,
missionary, succeeded, and his first entry in the Register was iQth
January, 1851. He was a very energetic man, and was instrumental
in securing the erection of a new church building at Lakefield and at
Shrewsbury. But a mental disease destroyed his usefulness, and he
died at St. Andrews 6th May, 1867. The church here is of stone,
firmly and thoroughly built, and of good size. In it is a tablet, on
which is inscribed the following : " Erected to the memory of Rev.
Joseph Griffin, who built this church. " A man of energy, self-denial
and truthfulness, who, for many years, as beloved clergyman of this
parish, bravely served his Master. Who went about doing good." The
following are the names of the clergymen who have been on this
mission since the incumbency of Mr. Griffin : Rev. Mr. Taylor, Rev. J.
Empson, B.A., Rev. Mr. Kittson, Rev. John Rollit, Rev. Mr. Richmond,
Rev. Charles Boyd, LL.D., Rev, James Senior, Rev. R. D. Irwin, Rev.
Mr. Mount. GEORGE POLLOCK, from the County of Derry, Ireland,
came to Gore about the year 1837, and was soon afterward engaged
as a loyal Volunteer in the Rebellion. He settled on the lot which is
now owned and occupied by his second son, Captain John Pollock.
He died here 2nd February, 1891. He had two sons who arrived at
the age of manhood — William, who lives in Lachute, and John, who
is Captain of No. 6 Company of Rangers, and Master of an Orange
Lodge — the latter position being one which was also held by his
father. He married Jennie, a daughter of William Riddle, one of the
pioneers of Mille Isles. The following obituary notice of HAZLETT
HICKS is taken from the Lachute Watchman of February 25th, 1887 :
" By the recent demise of Hazlett Hicks, Esq., of Gore, that part of
our community has lost one of its oldest and most respected
members. The deceased was one of the first enterprising men who
settled in this section of the country. He was born in the County
Fermanagh, Ireland. Mr. Hicks and wife emigrated to Canada
somewhere about the year 1825. He took up his resi 
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HISTORY OF ARGENTEUIL. dence in East Settlement, on

the farm of Mr. Barber, for whom he worked two years.
Subsequently, and as one of its first settlers, he moved into the
north part of Gore, and became the proprietor of two hundred acres
of land in the 3rd concession. For several years after his occupancy
of his farm, he was, in consequence of the absence of roads,
necessitated to make his own road to Lachute Mills, a distance often
miles, and being the only owner of ahorse in the community, for
several years, he found his services in almost constant requisition for
conveyance of grist, etc., for his settlement, to and from Lachute
Mills. As a farmer Mr. Hicks was successful. He was always a
constant and worthy member of the Church of England, and an
unswerving adherent of the Conservative party. About eight years
ago his wife passed into eternity. Of their family of eight children,
four survive to mourn the loss of those who have been called hence,
it is to be hoped, to a brighter and happier home. The survivors
have the heartfelt sympathy of the community in which they are well
known. The remains were taken to Trinity Church, Lakefield, where
the service was read by the Rev. J. Senior; the funeral sermon was
preached by the Rev. G. Rogers, of St. Luke's Church, Montreal." —
Com. "LAKEFIELD, February 23, 1887." JOHN SCOTT is the
proprietor of one of the finest farms in Argenteuil ; his buildings are
located back a little from the main road leading from Lakefield to
Lachute at the boundary between Gore and the parish of St.
Jerusalem d' Argenteuil. His father, James Scott, came from the
County of Mayo, Ireland, in 1847, and settled in Gore on 100 acres in
the 6th Range; he lived there till his death, 2ist November, 1885. He
had six children — three of each sex— all of whom, save one son,
live in this county. John Scott, his second son, was married 24th
March, 1864, to Elizabeth Arm strong ; they have four sons and
three daughters ; one of the latter, married, lives near the
homestead. Mr. Scott first bought 300 acres in the first and second
Ranges of the parish of St. Jerusalem, where, evidently, he had
followed farming with much success. In 1894, he purchased another
well-improved farm of 200 acres adjoining his own, and now has a
tract of 500 acres, with good buildings. The latter are located near
the outlet of the lake called Sir John's Lake — from Sir John Johnson
— on a good-sized creek, which supplies admirable water-power. Mr.
Scott has so utilized this that it is made not only to saw his wood
and grind his grain, but do all his threshing and cutting of ensilage.
His barns are located several rods from the creek, but power is
transmitted to them by means of wire cables. Altogether, Mr. Scott's
farm and improved methods of agricultural work are extremely
interesting, and are strong evidence of his enterprise. At the time of
the organization of the Argenteuil Rangers, four Companies were
formed in Gore, though many of them were Mille Isle men, and were
respectively commanded as follows : Company No. 2, by Capt. Wm.
Smith ; Company No. 3, by Capt. Geo. McKnight ; Company No. 5,
by Capt. Geo. Rodgers ; Company No. 6, by Capt. Geo. Sherritt.
Capt. Sherritt distinguished himself during the Rebellion of 1837. He
was an energetic, brave man, one who always stood fearlessly for
right. SHREWSBURY. A Post office was established at this place,
which is in the extreme west of the township, in 1860, and JOHN
CHAMBERS was appointed 'Postmaster. His father, James Chambers,
came from the County of Sligu, Ireland, to Montreal, in 1831, and
remained there in the employ of the "Board of Works," nineteen
years. About
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