Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received Alia Johnson From: Gerald Harris personal information Sent: Saturday, June 4, 2016 12:08 PM To: Alia Johnson Cc: Monica Dhawan; Brian McKee; Betty Thacker; Betty Honsinger; Soren Henrich; Denis Fading; Marie Kelly Subject: Re: City of Victoria: Name that Park! Working Group Attachments: New park for North Jubilee statement.docx Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Completed Dear Alia, Thank you for inviting us to participate in the working group. We appreciate the invitation and do wish to participate. We are wondering where the "Name That Park" initiative is coming from, since we have not heard anyone locally advocating a new name for Begbie Green, and anyone we have talked to is happy with the present name. Our representative on the the working group will be most interested to see if there is indeed local support for changing the name, or for a particular name. We are clear that we prefer the the green to remain a "green", rather than becoming a "park". Our advocacy and efforts have been for renewal of Begbie Green. Our celebration on June 11th is for the renewed Begbie Green. We do not consider that our neighbourhood has new park, though we recognize with appreciation that the greenspace at Begbie Green has been enlarged. The "Park" that we wish to take part in naming is the new park along Richmond Road between Kings and Newton. See the attached statement by the North Jubilee Neighbourhood Association Board. In declaring our old Begbie Green a new park, we would would fear that the City might consider its park-making in our neighbourhood complete for the present. I will be leaving town for a couple weeks, and our group will provide another correspondent in my absence. Also, our group has joined with the Greenspace Committee of the North Jubilee Neighbourhood Association, so we are able to speak for the neighbourhood Greenspace Committee. Best regards, Gerald On 2016-06-02, 2:29 PM, "Alia Johnson" <aiohnson(5)victoria.ca> wrote: Dear Begbie Green Neighbours Group: Last year, the City of Victoria worked with local residents to renew the community green space located at the intersection of Shelbourne, Pembroke, and Begbie Streets in the North Jubilee Neighbourhood l Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received North Jubilee Neighbourhood Association advocates for a park along the west side of Richmond Road between Newton and Kings, that daylights Bowker Creek, and which respects and renews the spirit of the Spirit Garden. Victoria's Official Community Plan proposes a new park at this location, and park space is needed for North Jubilee. Among the neighbourhoods of Victoria, we notably lack public park area and facilities. The Bowker Creek Blueprint, endorsed by the City of Victoria, suggests daylighting Bowker Creek between Newton and Kings. Besides providing a beautiful nature focus for the park, daylighting the creek would assist the City's adaptation to climate change, as outlined in the Blueprint. The existing Spirit Garden at the site of the new park is loved by local people, and is part of our Neighbourhood identity. The park can be a means of renewing and extending our engagement with the Spirit Garden. As City and Neighbourhood work together in planning and development, we can create a new vision for sustainable community involvement. Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received Alia Johnson From: Citizen Engagement Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 2:45 PM To: Monica Dhawan Subject: FW: Name that Green Original Message From: Denis Farling [mailto: personal information j Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 2:42 PM To: Citizen Engagement <[email protected]> Subject: Name that Green I am a neighbour to the currently named Begbie Green and I am NOT in favour of changing the name. I would like to know why time and money is being spent on this initiative. Had it come up at the time of the changes that were being made to the Green at least it would have been considered part of that process and the costs would have been less. It seems to be a perfectly reasonable name for a Green that abuts Begbie Street. I heard some people expressing concern that Judge Begbie was the "hanging judge", which in fact all judges were at the time, however apparently the label arose out of a misunderstanding. Apparently he was definitely known as the "haranguing judge" as he always gave the accused a stern and sometimes long lecture before he pronounced a sentence on the convicted. The story goes that the confusion of the two was due to an error made by a journalist in Barkerville and it stuck. Considering that Judge Begbie was in fact one of the first in the judiciary to stand up for minorities at a time when they effectively had no rights, is in my opinion reason enough to be OK with the name remaining. The further fact that almost singlehandedly Judge Begbie was responsible for instituting the rule of law in the colony and later the province at a time when things were pretty chaotic and the territory was under pressure from the Americans, seems like a good enough reason to keep the Green named as it is. I hope the name doesn't change. Sincerely, Denis Farling personal _ . _ information Begbie Street 1 Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received Alia Johnson From: Citizen Engagement Sent: Monday, June 27, 2016 9:07 AM To: Monica Dhawan Subject: FW: Bowker Green naming... From: Kathrynn Foster [mailto: personal information Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2016 11:12 AM To: Citizen Engagement <[email protected]> Subject: Bowker Green naming... Hi there, A wish to upgrade Begbie Green has been part of our neighbourhood plan for over 20 years. Neighbours have always referred to it as Begbie Green and that is exactly what it feels like to us. While we are happy the upgrade has finally occurred, we see no need to change the name of a place that has been waiting to come into its own identity for decades. The time and resources required for a naming contest could be better put to use in plant material or an upkeep plan for the physical needs of this green space into the future. Please leave the name alone! fcatkrynr, Foster North Jubilee resident personal information l Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received Alia Johnson From: Soren Henrich < Personal information > Sent: Tuesday, July 5, 2016 4:42 PM To: Alia Johnson Cc: Denis Fading; Brian McKee; Betty Honsinger; Betty Thacker; Alexandra Lane; Marie Kelly; Patrick May; Janice Stewart Subject: City of Victoria: Name this Green! Working Group Attachments: Notes on Judge Begbie.docx Hi Alia, The CoV Council led the initiative requesting alternate names for the newly-renovated green space at the intersection of Begbie, Pembroke, Ashgrove and Shelbourne Streets, primarily known and recognized as Begbie Green by the neighbours. The green space and Begbie street are presumably named after Sir Matthew Bailie Begbie. The article and attached research file below, give some information about him. It appears the derisive moniker, 'the Hanging Judge,' is a misnomer. Kindest regards, Soren Henrich North Jubilee neighbour for the North Jubilee Green Space Committee Thanks to Denis and Betty for the research. • In 1860, Begbie found a white Californian man by the name of William Marshall guilty of assaulting a First Nations man based only on the testimony of First Nations people, the first time this had ever occurred. He spoke several languages and is said to have been able to conduct trials in several aboriginal languages without the use of an interpreter. He also allowed people of other cultures to swear an oath of truth on an object sacred to them in place of the Bible. • Judge Begbie, conversant in four different aboriginal BC languages, had a real heart for the First Nations people whom he praised as 'a race of laborious independent workers.' Begbie also advocated for the Chinese miners who often suffered from racism. He was concerned that legal justice be fair and speedy, regardless of race, colour, or wealth. Begbie was known as 'the salvation of the Cariboo and the terror of rowdies.' Fellow pioneers agreed that Judge Begbie was 'just the man for a new country'. "My hair is white, but my hand is strong, and my heart is not weak. If I punish only a little," said Begbie, "it is not because I am weak, nor because I am afraid, but because I wish to change your hearts." (attributed to Rev Ed Hird St Simon's Anglican Church North Vancouver) l Naming Initiative for Begbie Green Appendix C: Correspondence received The Haranguing Judge - The Tale Of Matthew Baillie Begbie By Norman K Archer Senior Living Magazine Don't do Matthew Baillie Begbie the injustice of inflicting on him the common but ill-deserved title of "Hanging Judge." That epithet was only applied after his death. The Barkerville Gazette, however, did once carry a report, referring to him as the "Haranging Judge" due to his habit of giving every convicted felon a scolding before passing sentence. So, poor Begbie inherited a name he did not merit, no doubt, due to perhaps both the misspelling of the word by the reporter, and the misreading by the public. To his credit, Begbie disliked the taking of life by any means, even judicially. Statistically, of the 52 murder cases he tried over his long career, he sentenced only 27 to hang. Given the coarse, rough and uncouth nature of the pioneer days, that number was far lower than most of his contemporary jurists, facing similar situations in the "Wild West." Furthermore, in contrast with other judges of the West, he never personally hanged anyone.