Sir Henry Pellatt

[ft.niagara]

When I toured the Casa Loma in Toronto I was saddened by the tale of Sir Henry Pellatt who had done so much for Canada, yet died a pauper. His last years were spent in the house of his driver. He and two others developed the power project around Niagara Falls, but as in Venezuela, it was socialized without compensation to anyone according to a video shown at Casa Loma. He was a super Canadian patriot, and a very loyal subject to the English monarchy. It was just sad.

[Mad_Michael]

When I toured the Casa Loma in Toronto I was saddened by the tale of Sir Henry Pellatt who had done so much for Canada, yet died a pauper. His last years were spent in the house of his driver. He and two others developed the power project around Niagara Falls, but as in Venezuela, it was socialized without compensation to anyone according to a video shown at Casa Loma. He was a super Canadian patriot, and a very loyal subject to the English monarchy. It was just sad.

Sad yes. Tragic no.

Henry Pellatt was no "industrialist" worthy of the word. The was a financier and he lost his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929. Gosh. Poor little millionaire had a tough life.

Btw, what one thing did Henry Pellatt do for Canada for which I ought to honour his memory?

[M.Dancer]

When I toured the Casa Loma in Toronto I was saddened by the tale of Sir Henry Pellatt who had done so much for Canada, yet died a pauper. His last years were spent in the house of his driver. He and two others developed the power project around Niagara Falls, but as in Venezuela, it was socialized without compensation to anyone according to a video shown at Casa Loma. He was a super Canadian patriot, and a very loyal subject to the English monarchy. It was just sad.

He died, a victim of an enlarged ego.

[Mad_Michael]

He died, a victim of an enlarged ego.

Yes, that pretty much sums up my view of the man.

[ft.niagara]

He brought electric power to Toronto. That was worth billions. He was not a victim of an enlarged ego, he was a victim of a socialist Canada.

[Mad_Michael]

He brought electric power to Toronto. That was worth billions. He was not a victim of an enlarged ego, he was a victim of a socialist Canada.

He lost his entire fortune in the Crash of 1929.

You suggesting that the Crash of 1929 was a socialist conspiracy?

[M.Dancer]

He would have had a tidy nest egg had he not poured millions.....(today's 100 of millions) into the monument of him slef, Casa Loma

[Mad_Michael]

He would have had a tidy nest egg had he not poured millions.....(today's 100 of millions) into the monument of him slef, Casa Loma

But hey!

That monument of Casa Loma is the ONLY reason anyone bothers to remember the old fart. And it is a nice building in the city - though totally wasted as a nothing place for little more than tourists and wedding photos.

[guyser]

He would have had a tidy nest egg had he not poured millions.....(today's 100 of millions) into the monument of him slef, Casa Loma

But hey!

That monument of Casa Loma is the ONLY reason anyone bothers to remember the old fart. And it is a nice building in the city - though totally wasted as a nothing place for little more than tourists and wedding photos.

Now now.....dont forget X Men movies being shot inside. And a nice place to hold and film Antiques Roadshow.

[ft.niagara]

He brought electric power to Toronto. That was worth billions. He was not a victim of an enlarged ego, he was a victim of a socialist Canada.

He lost his entire fortune in the Crash of 1929.

You suggesting that the Crash of 1929 was a socialist conspiracy?

Not really. According to the video of his life shown at Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada, the functioning electric power project was taken from him and the two other investors without compensation. Had compensation been given for 'nationalization' of his property, he certainly would have not been consigned to poverty. Or is the video wrong, or did I hear wrong, and he was indeed compensated for his property by the Canadian government. I am confused by such hostility to the man by Canadians. He should be a national hero. As far as his lavish home, so what. By today's standards, his house does not seem all that lavish for a high income person. It was nice, but not up to the standard of the DuPont estate, or the Hearst estate. In fact, there is no estate. I suspect that neither MM or MD have ever seen Casa Loma, and know little of the man.

[Mad_Michael]

Not really. According to the video of his life shown at Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada, the functioning electric power project was taken from him and the two other investors without compensation. Had compensation been given for 'nationalization' of his property, he certainly would have not been consigned to poverty. Or is the video wrong, or did I hear wrong, and he was indeed compensated for his property by the Canadian government. I am confused by such hostility to the man by Canadians. He should be a national hero. As far as his lavish home, so what. By today's standards, his house does not seem all that lavish for a high income person. It was nice, but not up to the standard of the DuPont estate, or the Hearst estate. In fact, there is no estate. I suspect that neither MM or MD have ever seen Casa Loma, and know little of the man.

You suspect incorrectly. I'm born and raised in Toronto and I know Casa Loma very well. Being the history buff that I am, I'm also quite aware of Pellatt's life as well.

National hero? What did he do that was impressive? (besides military service)

And as I've noted above, Pellatt was ruined in the crash of 1929. Up until that point, he was a very wealthy man. After that, nothing.

And that is why Casa Loma is in the condition that it is - it was never completed because Pellatt went broke in 1929 while the house was only 3/4 built. It was never completed for this reason.

[ft.niagara]

Of course he went down in 1929. I know that. First he was a monarchist. Some of the rooms in the house were designed for an anticipated visit from the English monarchy, to which he saw Canada as a loyal subject. Second, he paid for Canadian soldiers to compete in European (British) military competition. Part of the movie is showing Canadian soldiers training for the competition. Besides promoting other things which helped the general citizenry (the name escapes me) having to do with young people with uniforms, he developed at Niagara Falls the power project. That ornate building coming into NF from the south on the Canadian side is part of its remains. On the American side, there was also a private development of electric power. According to the movie, that development of electric power production was taken without compensation. Even if he lost all his money in 1929 plus, taking that property without compensation was a black day for Canada, at least as it seems to me.

[Mad_Michael]

Of course he went down in 1929. I know that. First he was a monarchist. Some of the rooms in the house were designed for an anticipated visit from the English monarchy, to which he saw Canada as a loyal subject. Second, he paid for Canadian soldiers to compete in European (British) military competition. Part of the movie is showing Canadian soldiers training for the competition. Besides promoting other things which helped the general citizenry (the name escapes me) having to do with young people with uniforms, he developed at Niagara Falls the power project. That ornate building coming into NF from the south on the Canadian side is part of its remains. On the American side, there was also a private development of electric power. According to the movie, that development of electric power production was taken without compensation. Even if he lost all his money in 1929 plus, taking that property without compensation was a black day for Canada, at least as it seems to me.

Yes, Henry Pellatt was a British monarchist and ardent militarist, a proud example of British colonialism at its finest. Guys like him made WW1 happen.

Secondly, and most importantly, I've spend a couple hours this morning trying to research this outrageous accusation you make about Pellatt being ripped off by the nationalisation of the Canadian Niagara hydro-electric project.

To the best of my researches, I could only find a few references to Pellatt upon the subject, often in reference to him acting as a broker trying to sell electric power from one private company on the Niagara River to another company in Toronto distributing electric power. At a later date, Pellatt is listed as a financier or investor in a corporate enterprise established for this type of trading. There is no record of Pellatt forming or establishing any company engaged in actually producing or distributing electricity. His financial interests in the electrical trade are entirely of that of a middle man. Indeed, a Globe newstory cites him as such in 1906, as one of the reasons why the Ontario government needed to nationalise the hydro-electric power production of the Niagara River. It is further a matter of public record that the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPCO, the government agency created in 1906 to takeover all hydro-electric power generation in Ontario) actually purchased the Electrical Development Company (the company that was buying/selling electricity from Niagara to Toronto) in 1916, of which, Henry Pallett was a shareholder.

I was unable to find even one word of reference to Pellatt receiving anything but what he was rightfully due as a shareholder in the Electrical Development Company when it was legally purchased in 1916. At no time did Henry Pellatt engage in any activity here other than investing in a small brokerage firm that was apparently engaged in the buyging/selling of electricity between Niagara and Toronto. There are oblique references to the fact that the actions of Pellatt and the EDC were not in the public interest, which is why this industry became nationalised by the government in response to widespread public demand.

Also, as part of my researches into this matter, it became apparent that Henry Pellatt's financial difficulties began during WW1 due to lots of failed land speculations. In this respect, the crash of 1929 was only the last straw for Henry Pellatt.

[ft.niagara]

Thank you for your reply. I am not going to try and outresearch you, however, one of the last stops during our visit to Casa Loma was a video room. It discussed his running ability in early life, the brokerage, early riches came from land speculation, later losses from land speculation, and assorted other investments. That which interested me most was the electric investment. It showed pictures of the two other investors, and it made a point of saying that he lost the investment with out compensation. It showed a picture of the building I referred to above. As far as his type being responsible for WWI, it sounds like you have a really strange dislike for the poor guy. When his assets were sold at auction, they were purchased for pennies on the dollar. When his house was made into a museum, he attended the ceremony, and said that he was happy it would continue as a place of gathering. The soldiers formerly in his command arranged a large ceremony for him on the occasion of some anniversary, ie they loved him. His son hardly paid attention to him in his old age. Casa Loma is today one of the biggest tourist attractions to Toronto. In all, I think he was poorly treated in the end. In death, I think he got a large funeral, but as was also asserted, his final years were spent in the hourse and care of his driver.

[Mad_Michael]

As far as his type being responsible for WWI, it sounds like you have a really strange dislike for the poor guy.

No, I have no personal dislike for Pellatt at all. Just his social-type.

To me, he is a classic example of a type of pompus colonial bastard that used to be very common in places like Canada, Australia and South Africa back around the turn of the century, who uses their upper-class connections in order to leverage huge profits as a middle-man. He then brags about what a great entrepreneur/industrialist he is for making himself rich from this method.

Secondly, this class of person is almost always an ardent royalist & militarist supporting the most belligerently nationalist positions that coalesced into war in July 1914.

It is to be noted that Colonel Pellatt paid (out of his own pocket) for a portion of his Regiment to tour Britain in 1910 in order to show the Brits that the Colonies can and would stand behind Britain in the foreshadowed war that was coming.

Thus, Pellatt (and others of his type/class) is one of those people who encouraged WW1 to be fought. They wanted it to happen. WW1 was one of the most disgusting bloodbaths in the history of warfare. It was fought for no substantial reason at all other than the egos of the leaders and the ardent nationalism of the participating nations.

In death, I think he got a large funeral, but as was also asserted, his final years were spent in the hourse and care of his driver.

This is probably more than he deserved, but I don't begrudge him this.

Casa Loma is a nice chateau. A fake Loire-valley chateau, dressed up with mock gothic battlements. Tourists may like it (and that's nice) but that doesn't make this building architecturally interesting or important. It is a tourist trap about as authentic as Disneyland.

[Charles Anthony]

bump

[Huston]

He lost his entire fortune in the Crash of 1929.

You suggesting that the Crash of 1929 was a socialist conspiracy?

Well, ah yes. It occured the same way today with the banks and easy credit. Of course, all the major financiers of socialist states around the world were banks. What easier way is there in aquiring land/wealth/property for the state.

All for the "public" good. Of course it is not "conspiracy" in the common sense of the world, since it is all out in the open. You could say he was a sacrificial lamb. When you are a monarchist and militarist, you will be stabbed in the back by larger psychopaths further up the chain.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Huston

[M.Dancer]

You suspect incorrectly. I'm born and raised in Toronto and I know Casa Loma very well. Being the history buff that I am, I'm also quite aware of Pellatt's life as well.

National hero? What did he do that was impressive? (besides military service)

And as I've noted above, Pellatt was ruined in the crash of 1929. Up until that point, he was a very wealthy man. After that, nothing.

And that is why Casa Loma is in the condition that it is - it was never completed because Pellatt went broke in 1929 while the house was only 3/4 built. It was never completed for this reason.

I live up the street from the place. Was he ever in active service? I thought he was only an honourary colonel (being the fund raiser for the Reg't)?

[Topaz]

Dancer , I goggled for more info. on Sir Henry Pellatt, and Casa and its a beautiful place. My hubby's family was/is from Toronto and his gr grandfather was one that took his own life when he lossed everything 1929, unlike Pellatt, who got through it. Grgrandfather own a hotel and was one of the founders of Woodbine race track, own land on Lake Ontario and the only thing left from him is the 9 foot grfather clock sitting in my livingroom.