Joseph Howe

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Joseph Howe

Joseph Howe , PC (born December 13, 1804 in Halifax , Nova Scotia , † June 1, 1873 ibid) was a Canadian politician and journalist . As the founder and editor of the liberal newspaper Novascotian , he exerted a great influence on the British crown colony of Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Nova Scotia House of Representatives for more than three decades and ruled as Prime Minister from 1860 to 1863. As chairman of the short-lived Anti-Confederation Party , he campaigned against Nova Scotia's accession to the Canadian Confederation . After he could not convince the British government of his request, he joined the Canadian cabinet of John Macdonald in 1868 and played an important role in Manitoba's admission to the Confederation. He was Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia for a short time before his death .

Early life and defamation process

Howe's father, a Massachusetts print shop owner , supported the British during the American Revolutionary War . After the war, he fled with numerous other loyalists to Halifax in the British colony of Nova Scotia . He was appointed postmaster for his loyalty . Son Joseph supported him in this task and received training as a printer. In 1827 Howe acquired the Novascotian newspaper, which had been founded three years earlier . As editor and editor, he made the weekly paper one of the colony's most influential liberal publications, largely thanks to his critical reporting on the sessions of the Nova Scotia House of Representatives .

On January 1, 1835, the published Nova Scotian accused an anonymous letter, the politicians and the police, they had 30,000 in the course of thirty years, a total of pound sterling embezzled. Outraged politicians charged Howe with "seditious defamation," which was considered a serious crime. His position seemed hopeless, as all the prosecution had to do was prove that he had published the letter. Howe decided to defend himself. In a speech lasting more than six hours, he presented numerous cases of corruption to the jury. He spoke eloquently about the importance of the freedom of the press and urged the jury to "leave their children with an unbound press as a legacy". Although the judge recommended a conviction, the jury decided, after only ten minutes of deliberation, to acquit Howe. This event is considered a milestone in the development of press freedom in Canada.

Political career

Howe decided to take political action to make the changes he was calling for in his paper himself. In 1836 he was elected to the House of Representatives and in the following years he campaigned for the self-government of the colony. He was soon a leader in Liberal MPs, but that didn't stop him from working with the Conservatives when it served the cause. His articles in the Novascotian enraged John Haliburton (son of the judge in defamation proceedings) so much that he challenged Howe to a duel . The duel took place on March 14, 1840; After Haliburton missed, Howe purposely shot in the air.

From 1840 Howe belonged to the colonial government. The following year he sold his newspaper in order to devote himself entirely to politics. In 1841 he was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in 1842 tax collector for Halifax. In 1843 the coalition of Liberals and Conservatives broke up and Howe resigned from government. Due to his tireless efforts, Nova Scotia became the first colony in British North America five years later to have some self-government. While James Boyle Uniacke was the colony's first prime minister, many considered Howe to be the actual head of government. As provincial secretary, he was busy adapting existing institutions to the new system of government.

Howe began to promote the construction of railroad lines in 1850, with which the economic development should be promoted. In 1853 he resigned as provincial secretary to become Nova Scotia's first railway commissioner. As such, he oversaw the construction work on the Nova Scotia Railway . During the Crimean War he organized the recruitment of soldiers. These activities left him little time for the election campaign in 1855, after which he lost his seat to the conservative Charles Tupper . Howe then had to run for a by-election in another constituency . After the resignation of the liberal Prime Minister William Young on August 3, 1860 Howe succeeded him and took over the party leadership at the same time. Given the uncompromising opposition course of the Conservatives, his government could hardly achieve anything. The Liberals lost the next election and Howe lost his seat, his term ending June 5, 1863.

Unsuccessful effort for independence

After his election defeat Howe accepted the post of agent for fishing in the Empire offered by the British colonial administration . His duties prevented him from attending the 1864 Charlottetown Conference and the Quebec Conference , which were negotiating the creation of a state in British North America. Howe thus had no opportunity to influence the negotiations. He rejected the accession of Nova Scotia to the planned Canadian Confederation and fought against this project with journalistic means.

Howe could not prevent the Conservatives led by Tupper from accepting membership in the House of Representatives. In order to prevent accession after all, he sent delegations to London . These efforts were unsuccessful, too, as the British Parliament approved the British North America Act , which formed the basis of the Canadian state. Howe founded the Anti-Confederation Party , which won 18 out of 19 seats in Nova Scotia in the first general election in 1867 ; he himself was elected in the Hants constituency. In the House of Commons , he tried to have the membership declared invalid. But soon he saw the hopelessness of the venture and limited himself to negotiating better conditions afterwards.

Finally, on January 30, 1869, Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald Howe elected to the federal government. First he was President of the Privy Council , on November 16 of the same year he took over the office of State Secretary for the Provinces. As such, he played an important role in establishing the province of Manitoba . From December 8, 1869, he also headed the Department of Indian Affairs . For health reasons he resigned as minister on May 6, 1873. He was then appointed lieutenant governor of the province of Nova Scotia. He held this representative office for only three weeks until his death.

literature

  • J. Murray Beck: Joseph Howe: Conservative Reformer 1804-1848 . McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal / Kingston 1982, ISBN 0-7735-0387-0 .
  • J. Murray Beck: Joseph Howe: The Briton Becomes Canadian 1848–1873 . McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal / Kingston 1982, ISBN 0-7735-0388-9 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Howe, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1804
PLACE OF BIRTH Halifax
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 1873
Place of death Halifax