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His father remained in New Brunswick until 1877, when ill health forced him to leave for his native Ulster, where he died five years later. Bonar Law's stepmother died in 1914. Her two daughters, Bonar Law's half-sisters, outlived him by many years. Bonar Law's brothers followed very different paths. The eldest, Robert, remained in Kingston and farmed. The second brother relocated to Coleraine, Ireland and practiced medicine, while Bonar Law's third brother entered into business with him at the firm of William Jacks & Company. His sister Mary came over to Ireland with their father in 1877 and lived with Bonar Law from the death of their father until his marriage in 1891. She died in 1929.

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Image - His father remained in New Brunswick until 1877, when ill health forced him to leave for his native Ulster, where he died five years later. Bonar Law's stepmother died in 1914. Her two daughters, Bonar Law's half-sisters, outlived him by many years. Bonar Law's brothers followed very different paths. The eldest, Robert, remained in Kingston and farmed. The second brother relocated to Coleraine, Ireland and practiced medicine, while Bonar Law's third brother entered into business with him at the firm of William Jacks & Company. His sister Mary came over to Ireland with their father in 1877 and lived with Bonar Law from the death of their father until his marriage in 1891. She died in 1929. Image - His father remained in New Brunswick until 1877, when ill health forced him to leave for his native Ulster, where he died five years later. Bonar Law's stepmother died in 1914. Her two daughters, Bonar Law's half-sisters, outlived him by many years. Bonar Law's brothers followed very different paths. The eldest, Robert, remained in Kingston and farmed. The second brother relocated to Coleraine, Ireland and practiced medicine, while Bonar Law's third brother entered into business with him at the firm of William Jacks & Company. His sister Mary came over to Ireland with their father in 1877 and lived with Bonar Law from the death of their father until his marriage in 1891. She died in 1929.
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Object Name: His father remained in New Brunswick until 1877, when ill health forced him to leave for his native Ulster, where he died five years later. Bonar Law's stepmother died in 1914. Her two daughters, Bonar Law's half-sisters, outlived him by many years. Bonar Law's brothers followed very different paths. The eldest, Robert, remained in Kingston and farmed. The second brother relocated to Coleraine, Ireland and practiced medicine, while Bonar Law's third brother entered into business with him at the firm of William Jacks & Company. His sister Mary came over to Ireland with their father in 1877 and lived with Bonar Law from the death of their father until his marriage in 1891. She died in 1929.
Other Artist: presentation
Other Artist Role: Active
Object Type: It was during this decade of working for his cousins that Bonar Law began to acquire an interest in politics and a desire to one day enter Parliament. His political ambitions were given a huge boost after then-Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone visited Glasgow to be installed as Lord Rector of the University. Among those in the crowd present was Bonar Law, a young man of twenty-one. Upon witnessing Gladstone speak, Bonar Law became determined to reach the same position, stating that "I left the meeting with the hope, indeed the intention of occupying that post."5 Bonar Law decided to cultivate his political abilities and practice skills such a speech making through a variety of activities. In 1879 he joined the Glasgow Parliamentary Debating Association, a mock Parliament that followed as closely as possible the form and procedures of Westminister. The mock Parliament served as a popular training ground for aspiring young politicians from Glasgow's business classes, of which Bonar Law wa
Category: communication artifacts
Discipline: History
Material: leather
Technique: Coleraine, Lord
Accession Number: NB 991.1.2
Museum Collection: Bonar Law Collection
Origin-Country: By the late 1890s Bonar Law believed he was finally ready to actively enter politics, and in 1897 began looking for a constituency to run in. It was very much obvious that Bonar Law would run under th
Use-Country: painted, hand
Description: Rectangular flat folder. Red leather with a gold line border opens to a hand lettered presentation on the left side and a street scene to the right. Scene depicts two wheel cards, horses and people.
Narrative: From the beginnings of the question of Irish Home Rule, Bonar Law was a very outspoken crusader for Ulster and for the Protestant minority scattered throughout southern Ireland. His father, it is helpful to remember, was a Presbyterian minister who was born in Ulster and died in Ulster. Bonar Law sympathized greatly with the aversion many Irish Protestants had towards the idea of being ruled by Roman Catholics. He believed that it would be criminal to propose or enact any measure that would subject the Protestants of Ulster, who wished to retain their allegiance to the British Crown, to rule from their hereditary foes to the south. Indeed, Bonar Law and most other Unionists hoped to use the question of Ulster as a means of derailing the whole Home Rule debate. Once it was realized that Home Rule for the south could not be halted, he fought vehemently for the cause of Ulster, asserting that Ulster should remain exempt from any Home Rule scheme and continued to be governed by London.
History of Use: This folder was presented to Andrew Bonar Law in April 1912 by the members of the Ballyclare Branch of the East Antrim Women's Unionist Association. The folder was presented to him as a reward for his work in promoting the cause of Ulster Protestants in the national debate concerning Irish Home Rule. This folder is strong evidence of how many Ulster Protestants looked to Bonar Law as their prime champion in London.
Length: 31.5
Number of Components: Soon after Bonar Law received this folder he made a speech in Belfast that was certainly his most militant and one that reveals his strong feelings for Ulster Protestants. In July 1912 he attended a pro-Ulster demonstration in the city, and he took to the stage to speak, as he usually did at such events. What he said came as a shock to many. He referred to the "birthright" of the Ulster Protestants to remain under British rule, and stated that if they were denied this right by a "corrupt Parliamentary bargain" that they "would be justified in resisting such an attempt by all means in their power, including force".
Marks/Labels: Stamped in gold in the centre "8th April, 1912". Captioned "Ballyclare on a fair morning". Left hand side to the right "Honourable Andrew Bonar Law, M.P. We, the members of the Ballyclare branch of the East antrim Womens's Unionist Association __________ signed Ceil Kirkpatrick, President, Agnes Dickey Treasurer, Hester Carse Secretary Ballyclare, 8th April 1912".
Department: Heritage Branch
Institution: Province of New Brunswick, Heritage Branch 
Institution City: Fredericton
Institution Province: New Brunswick

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