Removing statue of Judge Begbie benefits no one

We should not hide history but face it, Bill McKee says.

I have been disturbed by the public discussion of the removal of the statue of Judge Begbie in New Westminster. While I’m not an authority on him, I am a historian and was, at one time, the curator of B.C. history at the Museum of Canadian History.

To remove this statue would be to deny both the positive and the negative sides of this important man in our history in B.C. As I’m sure you already know, Matthew Baillie Begbie was the person who brought law and order to the Colony of British Columbia, during and after the gold-rush era, when New West was the main city in B.C. I would recommend that a representative from the city contact recently retired Vancouver Sun columnist Stephen Hume, who wrote a column on Begbie and his place in B.C. history.

While Begbie was bringing British colonial law to a land where First Nations had resided for thousands of years, and was an instrument of British imperialism, he was often more sensitive to the needs of the native populace than many of his contemporaries. The reality is that his ordering, as chief justice of B.C., the execution of native leaders was unfair and appalling, and needs to be acknowledged by British Columbians in a meaningful way. The overwhelming majority of white British Columbians at the time supported his decision, and so we shouldn’t place responsibility for the executions solely on his shoulders.

Removing his statue will accomplish nothing of general benefit. It would help to hide this sad part of our history. In its absence, no one will remember or learn a lesson to understand the native side of the Chilcotin War, and the complex story behind the execution of the chiefs.

I would suggest, rather than removing this important statue, a more useful step would be to provide interpretive panels explaining all parts of the life of Matthew Baillie Begbie, around the statue, similar to an interpretive exhibition in Vancouver’s Chinatown, just east

Removing his statue will accomplish nothing of general benefit.

of Carrell Street. The exhibition could highlight his impact upon our history, and focus on his impact upon First Nations, not as an aside, but a central part of our history.

Another important way to recognize the cost of the arrival of the British and Canadian fur traders, the participants in the several gold rushes and of the British colonial society upon our First Nations would be to erect another large statue recognizing the story of the Chilcotin War and the resulting executions of indigenous leaders. The funding could come from the public, as well as the City of New Westminster and the governments of B.C. and Canada. It could be located on the site of the former cemetery next to the new high school or near the courthouse, where the remains of the chiefs were possibly buried. I would think the site near the high school would be a chance to highlight the story of our First Nations to young people in New Westminster.

I also want to point out that the statue of Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie was created by Elek Imredy, a refugee who came to Canada from Hungary, after the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution. Many people will recognize his “Girl in a Wetsuit” statue off of Stanley Park, at the entrance to Burrard Inlet, which was created at the request of the City of Vancouver. These statues are a reflection of the contributions of the many immigrants and refugees who have contributed to our history.

Please don’t remove the statue of Matthew Baillie Begbie.