John Harvey

This article is about Colonial Administrator John Harvey. For further namesake see John Harvey (disambiguation)

Sir John Harvey

Sir John Harvey KCB , KCH (born April 23, 1778 in England , † March 22, 1852 in Halifax , British North America ) was a British officer and colonial administrator in the North American colonies, which later became Canada .

Early years

In contrast to most senior officers in the British Army of his time, John Harvey came from a humble background. His father was a pastor who persuaded William Pitt the younger to give his son an army officer license. This is how Harvey became an ensign in the 80th Infantry Regiment in 1794 . This regiment was set up by Henry William Paget , who later became the Marquess of Anglesey, who promoted the young officer and who later benefited from his wide-ranging connections, Harvey. With no personal fortune, Harvey was unable to accelerate his career by buying higher- ranking officers' certificates. His ascent was therefore slower and had to be worked hard.

From 1794 to 1796 Harvey was used in the Netherlands and in amphibious operations on the French coast , became a lieutenant in 1795 and served at the Cape of Good Hope in what is now South Africa in 1796 , in Sri Lanka from 1797 to 1800 and in Egypt in 1801 . Captain from 1803 , he fought from that year until 1807 in India in the Mahratten Wars , where he attracted the attention of his commander Lord Gerard Lake with particular bravery . Lake took him on his staff, which Harvey made the acquaintance of his daughter Lady Elizabeth Lake, whom he married in 1806. The fact that Lake allowed his daughter to marry an officer of humble origin with no assets clearly shows that he held Harvey highly. Despite the different origins of the two partners, the marriage, from which there were five sons and one daughter, turned out to be extraordinarily happy and harmonious.

War of 1812

In early 1808, Harvey was made Major and Deputy Quartermaster General and then came to Ireland to join a battalion of the occupation forces under the Earl of Dalhousie. In June 1812 he was appointed lieutenant colonel and was transferred as deputy adjutant general to the staff of Brigadier General John Vincent in Upper Canada . This had meanwhile developed into the main theater of the war of 1812 with the USA . In May 1813, an American army of 6,000 men under Major General Henry Dearborn crossed the Niagara River and forced the British to evacuate Fort George . Vincent, who had only 1,600 soldiers, withdrew to the heights of Burlington . The British were followed by 3,500 Americans who camped at Stoney Creek on June 5. As Vincent's chief of staff, Harvey explored the American camp, proposed a nightly surprise attack to force the Americans to retreat before further reinforcements arrived, and led 700 men against the invaders. The risky attack on the far superior Americans led to a decisive success in the battle of Stoney Creek . Since the British managed to capture the commanding general of the Americans and his deputy, the US troops withdrew to their starting positions. Together with the victory at Beaver Dams shortly afterwards, this success was decisive for the fact that the American invasion, undertaken with overwhelming odds, became an embarrassing fiasco for the attackers.

Harvey distinguished himself again in November 1813 in the Battle of Chrysler's Farm , after which he received a medal, and in 1814 in the Battle of Lundy's Lane and in the fighting for Fort Erie , where he was wounded on August 6, 1814. In addition to combat missions, Harvey also performed extensive administrative tasks, such as the exchange of prisoners of war . A lasting friendship developed with his American counterpart Winfield Scott . In addition, he served as a liaison officer to the Indian allies and was involved in the organization of the local militia troops . The end of the war, however, put an end to the opportunities for further rapid ascent. Since promotions in the British Peace Army were made according to seniority and Wellington , the dominant figure, mainly patronized officers who had fought under him in Spain or near Waterloo , his further military career was very slow. He was only promoted to colonel in May 1825 , in January 1837 to major general , in 1846 to lieutenant general and only received another brief command in 1840. The elevation to Knight Commander of the Guelph Order in 1824 did not change anything.

In Ireland

After being released from active service in 1817, Harvey initially stayed in North America, but returned to England in 1824 . Here the Colonial Office appointed him to one of two government representatives in a commission that was supposed to determine the price at which Canadian crown land should be sold to the newly founded Canada Company . The prices proposed by the commission also solve severe criticism, which also met Harvey, who spoke out against them. After some time without employment he was appointed inspector general of the police in the Irish province of Leinster in 1828 with the help of Anglesey . where there was riot over the collection of tithe for the Anglican Church of Ireland , the so-called tithe war . While Harvey could not avoid bloody riots, his efforts to calm and reconcile earned the respect of both the British government and Irish Catholics . In 1832, at a hearing of a committee of the House of Commons, he proposed a solution to the question of tenth, which was implemented six years later.

Lieutenant Governor in New Brunswick

At the same time Harvey had tried to use it in the colonies and in 1836 received the post of lieutenant governor of the province of Prince Edward Island, which is now part of Canada . Just one year later, he was appointed lieutenant governor of New Brunswick . The situation there was shaped by internal tensions within the leading stratum of the middle class. One of Harvey's predecessors, Sir Archibald Campbell , was a patron of another group that called for reforms and greater participation by the “assembly” (provincial parliament) in administration. As a result, Harvey carried out a number of liberal reforms, appointed leading representatives of the colony's bourgeoisie in his government council, involved the "assembly" in the administration and in particular left it to control the use of the provincial administration's income. One factor in Harvey's success as governor was his ability to develop personal relationships with many of the province's leading figures. Because he lacked the arrogance of many of his colleagues, mostly from the nobility or the higher military ranks, he had no problems treating merchants as equal partners.

Aroostook war

A major role in Harvey's tenure was played by a conflict with the neighboring US state of Maine over territory on the Aroostook River that was claimed by both sides , the so-called Aroostook War , which sparked off in 1837 when an American tax collector was arrested on territory claimed by Great Britain. Although he had hardly any troops at first, he was able to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict through negotiations and - after the arrival of troops - a skillful combination of de-escalating measures and demonstrations of military strength, which was brokered by US General Winfield Scott in March 1839 . As a new war between Great Britain and the USA could well have developed from this dispute, Harvey's diplomatic achievement was also widely recognized in London. A side effect of this success was the elevation to Knight Commander of the Bath Order and in 1840 the promotion to commander in chief of the British troops in the Maritime Provinces.

The conflict flared up again, however, as the Maine government continued to seek to expand its territory at New Brunswick's expense, despite the 1839 Agreement. Harvey called for troops in Great Britain to be posted in the disputed border area. Not wanting to provoke the Maine government unnecessarily, he changed his mind and asked for the marching orders to be revoked. Since the soldiers were already on their way, he informed the Governor of Maine that they would soon be withdrawn. This indiscretion, also known in London, turned out to be a catastrophic mistake by an otherwise adept diplomat, as the British government decided to remove him from his post in early 1841. While this Maine wanted to show its strength in its place and force a negotiated solution, Harvey had continued his appeasement course. This misjudgment cost him his office and the continuation of a career which, in the opinion of contemporaries, would otherwise have led him to the office of Governor General of Canada .

Governor in Newfoundland

The dismissal was a personal catastrophe for Harvey, because without his income he threatened economic ruin. Fortunately, in April 1841, his protector Anglesey managed to secure his appointment as governor of the colony of Newfoundland . When Harvey took office in September 1841, he found massive conflicts, some of which had led to violent clashes in the previous elections. A major factor were differences between the various denominations. Since the provincial parliament was also largely paralyzed by these conflicts, the government in London had suspended the previous constitution. One of Harvey's main tasks was to restore peace. He benefited from the fact that the shock of the previous escalation had significantly increased the willingness to make concessions.

Harvey himself was a supporter of the Anglican Church , formed a close friendship with its Bishop Aubrey George Spencer and actively supported the construction of St. John's Cathedral . Nevertheless, he promoted the equality of the other religious groups. While his efforts for the Protestant free churches and other groups were only partially successful, this was better with the Catholics, who mostly came from Ireland. Against the resistance of the Protestants, Harvey pushed through the appointment of Catholics to high offices of the administration and filled his board of directors ("Executive Council") equally. With a strictly impartial conduct of office, he also succeeded in persuading the Catholic clergy to be largely politically restrained and to calm things down. The limits of his influence became clear in 1846 when the Legislative Assembly rejected an extension of the constitution introduced in 1842 and, against Harvey's wishes, passed a series of resolutions for a parliamentary-controlled government in the province ("responsible government").

However, his undeniable successes and the great respect he had received were overshadowed by private problems. On the one hand, he repeatedly had financial problems because his annual salary of 3,000 pounds was insufficient for the social and charitable obligations associated with his office. On the other hand, he suffered from the death of his youngest son (1846) and the absence of his other children. So in 1846 he applied for the position of lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia (his daughter lived in Halifax after they got married) and left Newfoundland as soon as possible after receiving an offer.

Lieutenant Governor in Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia , Harvey found considerable tension between the Tories ( Conservatives ) and Whigs ( Liberals ). Harvey succeeded in reducing this, but the coalition government he wanted from both groups did not materialize. After the Whigs had won the election for the provincial parliament on August 5, 1847, Harvey had to tolerate the formation of a government supported by this party after unsuccessful attempts at mediation. As the restructuring of the Executive Council into a parliamentary-controlled government required a series of layoffs, bitter conflicts arose over pensions and compensation - not least because the new provincial government only partially considered Harvey's request for a generous procedure.

The Conservatives retaliated by moving a motion to reduce the governor's salary. This move prompted the provincial government to implement a permanent legal regulation of the salaries of officials. Harvey got into personal trouble as a result, as his request for a higher salary was rejected by Colonial Minister Lord Gray. Harvey felt badly treated, publicly exposed, and continued to live on an inadequate salary for his obligations. There were further violent disputes with the Tories in 1849, when numerous conservative judges were replaced by liberals as part of a reform of the courts of justice. In addition, during his service, Harvey promoted the construction of railways and the establishment of telegraph lines and campaigned for free trade and the merger of the British colonies in North America.

Last years

The death of his wife on April 10, 1851 was a severe blow to Harvey, which was followed by a rapid deterioration in his health. Partially paralyzed, he continued to exercise his office until he died on March 22, 1852 and was buried at the military cemetery in Halifax at the side of his wife. Although Harvey played an important role in the history of Canada, achieved a high reputation and, as governor, initiated important decisions towards parliamentary government in the provinces under his administration, he has long been ignored in historical research. For a long time, according to the “Biography of Canada”, this focused on “bad” governors. Harvey is hailed here as a "peacemaker" who, as such, was the ideal man to manage four colonies in a difficult time.

Web links

• John Harvey . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Canadian Biographies: Sir John Harvey