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USED TO SLAY D'ARCY MCGEE
Museum gets $105Gs gun
A revolver used to assassinate one of the Fathers of Confederation -- Thomas D'Arcy McGee -- fetched $105,000 at a Hamilton auction yesterday.
The .32-calibre Smith and Wesson used by Irish militant James Patrick Whelan to kill McGee on April 7, 1868, sold by an unnamed private owner, was bought by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill.
McGee, considered a traitor by some Irish nationalists because he opposed Irish independence, was a politician, poet and journalist.
Dave Morrison, museum director of archeology and history, said he was pleased "it didn't go to a private collector, never to be seen again."
There were at least six other interested bidders, said Paul Wallace, a consultant at the auction held yesterday by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions Inc. at the Ramada Plaza in Hamilton.
The bidding, which started at $55,000, was over in only 12 minutes, Wallace said.
"We felt it was an important piece because he was the only (federal) Canadian politician to be assassinated and he was such a close colleague of Sir John A. Macdonald," Morrison said.
The pistol was seized from Whelan, a tailor, less than 24 hours after McGee was killed.
McGee was shot in the head as he returned to his boardinghouse after making a speech in the Commons.
Whelan, who said he was innocent, was hanged in February 1869 -- the last person hanged publicly in Canada.
http://torontosun.com/News/Canada/2005/05/23/1052284-sun.html
Museum gets $105Gs gun
A revolver used to assassinate one of the Fathers of Confederation -- Thomas D'Arcy McGee -- fetched $105,000 at a Hamilton auction yesterday.
The .32-calibre Smith and Wesson used by Irish militant James Patrick Whelan to kill McGee on April 7, 1868, sold by an unnamed private owner, was bought by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill.
McGee, considered a traitor by some Irish nationalists because he opposed Irish independence, was a politician, poet and journalist.
Dave Morrison, museum director of archeology and history, said he was pleased "it didn't go to a private collector, never to be seen again."
There were at least six other interested bidders, said Paul Wallace, a consultant at the auction held yesterday by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions Inc. at the Ramada Plaza in Hamilton.
The bidding, which started at $55,000, was over in only 12 minutes, Wallace said.
"We felt it was an important piece because he was the only (federal) Canadian politician to be assassinated and he was such a close colleague of Sir John A. Macdonald," Morrison said.
The pistol was seized from Whelan, a tailor, less than 24 hours after McGee was killed.
McGee was shot in the head as he returned to his boardinghouse after making a speech in the Commons.
Whelan, who said he was innocent, was hanged in February 1869 -- the last person hanged publicly in Canada.
http://torontosun.com/News/Canada/2005/05/23/1052284-sun.html