Editing Allan MacNab (section)

==Legal and business career==
After his service in the War of 1812, MacNab studied law in Toronto under (at the time) Judge [[G. D'Arcy Boulton|George D'Arcy Boulton]], where MacNab "took nearly twice the average time to [[Bar examination|qualify at the bar]] was a result of his inadequate education and his preference for active work".<ref name=dcb/> MacNab was admitted to the bar in 1824, and [[Call to the bar|called to the bar]] in 1826.<ref>{{cite book|title=Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862|year=1863|publisher=D. Appleton & Company|location=New York|page=566|url=https://archive.org/stream/1862appletonsan02newyuoft#page/n573/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name=dcb/> In 1826, MacNab moved from York to [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], where he established a successful law office, but it was chiefly by land speculation that he made his fortune. There was no Anglican church in Hamilton yet, so MacNab attended a Presbyterian church until [[Christ's Church Cathedral (Hamilton, Ontario)|Christ Church]] was established in 1835.<ref name=king>{{Cite web |last=King |first=Nelson |title=Alan Napier MacNab |work=Soldier, Statesman, and Freemason Part 3 |date=5 August 2009 |url=http://nel,sonking.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=37 |access-date=4 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706190407/http://nelsonking.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=37 |archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref>

A successful entrepreneur as well as politician, MacNab, with Glasgow merchant Peter Buchanan, was responsible for the construction of the [[Great Western Railway (Ontario)|Great Western Railway]] of Ontario.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Edward |year=2007 |chapter="All My Politics Are Railroads" |title=Dundurn Castle: Sir Allan MacNab and his Hamilton Home |publisher=James Lorimer & Company Ltd. |pages=75–84 |isbn=978-1-55028-988-6 |quote=The result was that Canadian directors like MacNab had control over the day-to-day work of the railroad and seeing to political backing in Canada, while overall financial control resided in England.}}</ref> MacNab also served on several boards, including as a board member of the Beacon Fire and Life Insurance Co. of London alongside prominent financier [[Thomas Clarkson (Upper Canada)|Thomas Clarkson]].<ref>Mights' Greater Toronto City Directory (1856) page 159</ref>

Following an amount of "liberal credit" rewarded from the [[Bank of Upper Canada]] regarding legislative assistance given by MacNab, and his own cash reserves, MacNab sought to own land. By May 1832, MacNab owned "some 2000 acres of wild land in [[London District, Upper Canada|London]], [[Gore District, Upper Canada|Gore]], and [[Newcastle District|Newcastle]] districts". The amount increased and by 1835 MacNab had "cornered much of the best land in the centre of expanding [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]". MacNab's land holdings fluctuated often, and their total value at any one time is unknown, but in a suggestion of just how massive the amounts of land and sales were, [[Charles Bagot]] stated in 1842 that MacNab was "a huge proprietor of land – perhaps the largest in the country".<ref name=dcb/> This is stated in MacNab's biography as "probably true".

MacNab's land purchases (especially in the early 1830s) placed financial strain on MacNab initially, but proved to be worth it in the long run. In one scenario, MacNab purchased a piece of land in November 1832 located in [[Burlington Heights (Ontario)|Burlington Heights]] from J. S. Cartwright for 2500 [[Pound sterling|pounds]] – 500 more than MacNab wanted – where MacNab saw the "symbol of his social aspirations" built: the opulent and luxury 72-room [[Dundurn Castle]]. On the day of the sale for the land, between 5000 and 10000 pounds of fire damage ravaged MacNab's Hamilton projects.<ref name=dcb/>

MacNab could prove to be unethical but effective with his business career: case in point is MacNab being some three years behind in payments for an extremely important creditor named [[Samuel Jarvis]], and after some three years time MacNab stated he would not pay Jarvis back for this credit as Jarvis "owed MacNab for past services". Whether this is true or not is unknown, but Jarvis simply stated MacNab as one word for this – villain.<ref name=dcb/>