John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)

John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)

John Hamilton Gray (born May 3, 1814, died June 5, 1889) was a politician in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada, a jurist, and one of the Fathers of Confederation. He should not be confused with John Hamilton Gray, a Prince Edward Island politician (and Father of Confederation) in the same era.

Gray was born in St. George's, Bermuda. His father, William, was naval commissary in Bermuda and later served as British consul in Norfolk, Virginia. Gray's grandfather, Joseph Gray, was a United Empire Loyalist from Boston who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia following the American Revolution.

John Hamilton Gray was educated at King's College in Nova Scotia after which he became a lawyer in Saint John, New Brunswick. He also served as a captain in the New Brunswick Regeiment of Yeomany Cavalry becoming a major in the Queen's New Brunswick Ranger by 1850. In 1854 he became lieutenant-colonel of the regiment.

Politically, Gray was a high Tory Conservative but also a moderate reformer. He joined the New Brunswick Colonial Association after it was founded in 1849. Gray moved a motion calling for a "federal union of the British North American colonies, preparatory to their immediate independence." The motion was defeated but was an anticipation of Canadian confederation. Gray was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick as a supporter of the Colonial Association's platform of reforms in opposition to the Compact government. Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Walker Head appointed Gray to the Executive Council causing the reform opposition to collapse and ending Gray's career as a Liberal.

Gray became leader of the Conservatives in the legislative assembly and found himself leader of the opposition after the 1854 elections, the first held under responsible government, elected a Liberal (or Reform) administration ending "compact" government. In 1855, Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Manners-Sutton dismissed the Reform government over its attempt to institute prohibition and asked Gray to from an administration.

As Premier, Gray led the Conservatives to victory in the June 1856 election on an anti-prohibition platform and repealed the liquor law. However, with the central issue uniting his government now resolved he became unable to command a majority in the legislature and resigned in May 1857.

Gray continued in opposition as a Conservative MLA. He also led committees of inquiry into railway construction and investigated allegations of patronage and corruption but he concluded that the railway was "sound". After 1860, Gray drifted away from his fellow Conservatives and became supportive of Samuel Leonard Tilley's Liberal government but was defeated in the 1861 election for his efforts.

Out of elected politics, Gray returned to his practice as a lawyer and was appointed to an inquiry board on the land question in Prince Edward Island.

Gray became an active supporter of Canadian confederation and joined Tilley's new Liberal-Conservative party returning to the legislature in a by-election in 1864. Gray served as a delegate to the Charlottetown Conference only to return to New Brunswick to face growing hostility to the confederation project and lost his seat in the 1865 election that brought the Anti-Confederation Party to power. Gray returned to the legislature in 1866 and served as Speaker. When confederation became a reality, Gray won a seat in the House of Commons.

He did not run for re-election in 1872 and was instead made a judge on the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

On the court, Gray ruled in 1878 that the province's "Chinese Tax Act" was unconstitutional as its purpose was to "drive the Chinese from the country, thus interfering at once with the authority reserved to the Dominion Parliament as to the regulation of the trade and commerce, the rights of aliens, and the treaties of the empire."

John Hamilton Gray died in Victoria, British Columbia and is interred there in the Ross Bay Cemetery.

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=5556 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Hamilton Gray (Prince Edward Island politician) — John Hamilton Gray (14 June 1811 ndash; 13 August 1887) was Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1863 ndash; 1865 and one of the Fathers of Confederation. He should not be confused with John Hamilton Gray, a New Brunswick politician (and Father… …   Wikipedia

  • Gray (surname) — Gray is a surname usually of Scottish origin, and may refer to many people.Also, there are many people in Ireland with the last name Gray that are not of Ulster Scot heritage. It can be an anglicanized version of of the native Irish MagRaith… …   Wikipedia

  • John Gray — Notable people named John Gray include:Born 18th century*John Gray (North Carolina) (18th century), member of the North Carolina General Assembly *John Gray (banker) (c. 1755–1829), president of the Bank of Montreal *John Gray (American… …   Wikipedia

  • New Democratic Party candidates, 2008 Canadian federal election — This is a list of nominated candidates for the New Democratic Party in the 40th Canadian federal election, which resulted in a Conservative minority government.[1] Contents 1 Newfoundland and Labrador 7 seats 2 Prince Edward Island 4 seats …   Wikipedia

  • New Democratic Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election — The New Democratic Party fielded a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. It won 29 seats in the election to remain the fourth largest party in the House of Commons. Many of the New Democratic Party s candidates have… …   Wikipedia

  • New Democratic Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election — The New Democratic Party ran a full slate of candidates in the 2004 federal election, and elected nineteen members to become the fourth largest party in the legislature. Many of the party s candidate have their own biography pages; information… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Fisher (Canadian politician) — This article is about the Father of Confederation. For the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, see Charles W. Fisher. For other people named Charles Fisher, see Charles Fisher (disambiguation). Charles Fisher Source: Library and… …   Wikipedia

  • Chef de l'Opposition officielle (Nouveau-Brunswick) — Nouveau Brunswick Cet article fait partie de la série sur la politique du Nouveau Brunswick, sous série sur la politique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Wedderburn (Canadian politician) — William Wedderburn (October 12 1834 ndash; April 5 1918) was a lawyer, journalist, judge and political figure in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. He represented the city of Saint John in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1870… …   Wikipedia

  • List of streets in Hamilton, Ontario — Many of the streets in Hamilton were named after the Loyalist families who arrived to Hamilton after the British lost the American Revolutionary War. These names include Hess , Hughson , Land , Beasley , Gage , Doan , Davis , Mills , Carpenter ,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”