Louis Henry Davies
| The Right Honourable Sir Louis Henry Davies PC, KCMG, QC | |
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| The Right Hon. Sir Louis Henry Davies | |
| 3rd Premier of Prince Edward Island | |
| In office August 1876 – April 25, 1879 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Lieutenant Governor | Robert Hodgson |
| Preceded by | Lemuel Owen |
| Succeeded by | William Wilfred Sullivan |
| Member of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island | |
| In office 1872–1879 | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Queen's County | |
| In office 1882–1883 Serving with John Theophilus Jenkins | |
| Preceded by | James Colledge Pope Frederick de Sainte-Croix Brecken |
| In office 1883–1884 Serving with Frederick de Sainte-Croix Brecken | |
| In office 1884–1887 Serving with John Theophilus Jenkins | |
| In office 1887–1896 Serving with William Welsh | |
| Succeeded by | The electoral district was abolished in 1892. |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for West Queen's | |
| In office 1896–1901 | |
| Preceded by | The electoral district was created in 1892. |
| Succeeded by | Donald Farquharson |
| Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada | |
| In office September 25, 1901 – November 23, 1918 | |
| Nominated by | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Preceded by | George Edwin King |
| Succeeded by | Pierre-Basile Mignault |
| 6th Chief Justice of Canada | |
| In office October 23, 1918 – May 1, 1924 | |
| Nominated by | Robert Borden |
| Appointed by | Duke of Devonshire |
| Preceded by | Charles Fitzpatrick |
| Succeeded by | Francis Alexander Anglin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 4, 1845 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
| Died | May 1, 1924 (aged 78) Ottawa, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Other political affiliations |
Prince Edward Island Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Wiggins (m. 1872) |
| Relations | Benjamin Davies |
| Children | Gertrude, Ethel, Thomas, Mary, Vera, Robert, and Hugh (the latter three did not survive childhood) |
| Residence | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
| Alma mater | University of Prince Edward Island Prince of Wales College |
| Occupation | lawyer, judge, business person, and publisher |
| Profession | Politician |
| Cabinet | Attorney General (1876-1879) Solicitor General (1869) Minister of Marine and Fisheries (1896-1901) |
| Religion | Anglican |
Sir Louis Henry Davies, PC KCMG QC (May 4, 1845 – May 1, 1924) was a Prince Edward Island (PEI) lawyer, businessman and politician, and judge. In a public career spanning six decades, he served as the third Premier of Prince Edward Island, a federal Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister, and as both a Puisne Justice and the sixth Chief Justice of Canada.
Life
He was born in Charlottetown, the son of Benjamin Davies and Kezia Attwood Watts. He read law at the Inner Temple in London and later called to bar in England in 1866. He served as lead counsel for the Prince Edward Island Land Commission, which was established in 1875 to settle the problem of absentee land ownership and to provide tenants of the Island with clear title to their lands.
Davies was first elected to the House of Assembly as a Liberal in 1872 just prior to PEI entering Canadian confederation. With the issue of confederation resolved and the land question settled as a result of Canada's promise to fund land reform and the passage of the Land Purchase Act, the major issue remaining on the island was that of school funding and whether the school system should be entirely secular and public or whether separate schools for Catholics should be permitted. The issue divided both parties, and had led to the collapse of one government.
Following the defeat of the Conservative government of Lemuel Cambridge Owen in 1876, Davies established a coalition government of Protestant Liberals and Conservatives with himself as Premier and Attorney-General. The Davies government was formed to enact a Public Schools Act which made school attendance compulsory, and created a non-sectarian public school system. The act was passed in 1877 and, with the issue around which the coalition had been formed having been resolved, the coalition itself began to unravel. Davies' government reformed the civil service and brought in financial reforms before being defeated by the Conservatives in a Motion of No Confidence in 1879.
In 1877, Davies was one of the Canadian counsel who appeared on behalf of the British Government before the Halifax Fisheries Commission, appointed under the Treaty of Washington (1871) to resolve outstanding issues, including fishing rights. The Commission gave an award directing the United States to pay $5,500,000 to the British Government.
Davies won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1882 federal election as a Liberal. When the Liberals formed government after the 1896 election under Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Davies became minister of marine and fisheries.[1] In 1901, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1918, he became Chief Justice, and held that position until his death in Ottawa in 1924.
Davies was named a Queen's Counsel in 1880 and knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897.
As of 2014, he is the last Chief Justice of Canada to have previously served in elected office. He is also, as of 2014, the only Prince Edward Islander to have served on the Supreme Court. The PEI Supreme Court building in Charlottetown is named in his honour. Also named for him is Davies Point, at the meeting of Hastings and Alice Arms on Observatory Inlet in British Columbia; the naming was done at the time of his appointment to the Supreme Court,[2] as was also Davies Bay, at the head of Work Channel just east of Prince Rupert.[3]
Family
Sir Louis Henry Davies, married Lady Davies, a daughter of Dr. A. V. G. Wiggins in July, 1872. She was a member of the Humane Society, the Women's Canadian Historical Society, and similar organizations. The couple lived with their children at 236 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, Ontario. [4]
References
- ↑ Chisholm 1911.
- ↑ "Davies Point". BC Geographical Names. http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/37147.html.
- ↑ "Davies Bay". BC Geographical Names. http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/35961.html.
- ↑ Morgan, Henry James Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada : (Toronto, 1903)
- Attribution
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Davies, Sir Louis Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis Henry Davies. |
- "Louis Henry Davies". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2005.
- Louis Henry Davies – Parliament of Canada biography
- Supreme Court of Canada biography
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