“John Ridout”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

John Ridout, still a teenager when he died in 1817, died in a duel with Samuel Jarvis.^[1]^[2]^[3] Both Ridout and Jarvis were from the small circle of privileged insiders called upon by the Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada, to fill administrative posts, and sinecures, that William Lyon Mackenzie would later brand the Family Compact. Ridout's father, Thomas Ridout, was Upper Canada's Surveyor General.^[4] Jarvis's father, William Jarvis, had been appointed Upper Canada's provincial secretary and registrar.

During the War of 1812 Ridout served as a "confidential clerk" to his elder brother Thomas Gibbs Ridout, in the Army's Commissary Department.^[6] Ridout was studying law at the time of his death.

According to Mike Filey, the author of a long-running local history column in the Toronto Sun, this was the last duel in York, the capital of Upper Canada.^[7]

Jarvis, then 24, had owed debts to multiple individuals, including Ridout's father.^[6] When Ridout visited Jarvis to collect, blows were exchanged. Jarvis challenged Ridout to a duel, at dawn, on July 12, 1817. The rules for this particular duel were that Ridout and Jarvis would face away from one another, then each stride 8 paces, turn around, wait out a count of three, then fire. Ridout fired early, at two - but missed. This turned out to be a wrinkle the duelists seconds hadn't anticipated. However, they agreed that Ridout would now have to stand, unarmed, while Jarvis took his shot.

While Ridout's autopsy would conclude that Ridout was killed immediately by a shot to his jugular and windpipe, Jarvis and the seconds told authorities that Ridout had lived long enough to forgive Jarvis and absolve him of responsibility.^[6]^[10] Jarvis was initially charged with murder. His charges were later reduced to manslaughter. He was acquitted. Twentieth Century commentators characterize Jarvis's acquittal as typical hypocrisy of privileged individuals, closing ranks to protect their peers.

References

1. ^¹²³{{cite news | url = http://spacing.ca/toronto/2013/02/05/the-infamous-bloody-1817-duel-at-the-corner-of-yonge-college/| title = The infamous, bloody 1817 duel at the corner of Yonge & College| work = Spacing magazine| author = Adam Bunch| date = 2013-02-05| page = | location = | isbn = | language = | trans-title = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2019-03-27| deadurl = No | quote = According to the autopsy, Ridout died pretty much instantly, but by the time the authorities arrived, Jarvis and the seconds were telling a different story. They claimed Ridout had lived just long enough to forgive them and absolve them of all responsibility. The ploy didn’t work: Jarvis was arrested and charged with murder.}}
2. ^¹{{cite news | url = https://legionmagazine.com/en/2005/01/hand-me-my-pistol-please/| title = Hand Me My Pistol, Please| work = Legion magazine| author = Hugh A. Halliday| date = 2005-01-01| archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2019-03-27| deadurl = No | quote = Ridout’s premature shot was a terrible breach of the duelling codes. He was brought back by the seconds and a conference followed. The seconds agreed that Jarvis was entitled to his shot. Ridout stood in his place; the count resumed. On the word, “Fire!”, Jarvis brought up his pistol, took deliberate aim, and shot Ridout through the jugular and windpipe. }}
3. ^¹{{cite news | url = https://www.townofyork.com/model49.html| title = A MODEL CITY| work = Town of York Historical Society| author = | date = | page = | location = | isbn = | language = | trans-title = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2019-03-27| deadurl = No | quote = Samuel Peters Jarvis (1792-1857) spent his life battling with debt(1). His duel with John Ridout [site 37] was not so much because John was his enemy, but because Ridout was a reminder of his father’s debts and unlike a slip of parchment, Ridout was a living, breathing target. The money which Jarvis owed Ridout was one of many debts which for any aristocratic family lead to slander and dishonour.}}
4. ^¹{{cite news | url = http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/jarvis_samuel_peters_8F.html| title = Jarvis, Samuel Peters, militia officer, office holder, and lawyer| work = Dictionary of Canadian Biography| author = Douglas Leighton, Robert J. Burns| date = | page = | location = | isbn = | language = | trans-title = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2019-03-27| deadurl = No | quote = }}
5. ^6. ^7. ^8. ^ -->{{cite news | url = http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ridout_thomas_gibbs_9E.html| title = Ridout, Thomas Gibbs, banker| work = Dictionary of Canadian Biography| author = | date = | page = | location = | isbn = | language = | trans-title = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2019-03-27| deadurl = No | quote = Following the examples of nepotism set by his own father and other members of the small government clique at York, Ridout, within a month of his own appointment, procured as confidential clerk his 14-year-old brother John. }}
9. ^¹{{cite journal| title = The Duel in Early Upper Canada| author = William Renwick Riddell| journal = Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology| volume = 6 | date = July 1915| pages = 165–176| publisher = Northwestern University| doi = 10.2307/1132814| issue = 2| jstor = 1132814}}
10. ^¹{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/?id=Z_5A5TPu7aAC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%22Samuel+Peters+Jarvis%22|title=Toronto Sketches 7: The Way We Were | author = Mike Filey | year = 2003 | isbn = 1-55002-448-5 | publisher = Dundurn Press| quote = One other interesting fact about Samuel Peters Jarvis is that he holds the distinction of being the "winner" of Toronto's last duel. }}
11. ^¹{{cite web| url=http://www.freedom24.org/rationalpost/2005/06/08/mean-streets/| title=mean streets| date= 2005-06-05| work = The Rational Post}}