Adams George Archibald
Encyclopedia
Sir Adams George Archibald, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, PC
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a father of Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

. He was based in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 for most of his career, though he also served as 1st Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba is the viceregal representative in Manitoba of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United...

 from 1870 to 1872.

Archibald was born in Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...

 to a prominent family in Nova Scotian politics. He was the son of Samuel Archibald
Samuel Archibald
Samuel Archibald was an Irish-born farmer, merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Truro Township in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1775 to 1777....

, and grandson of James Archibald, judge of the court of common pleas, Nova Scotia. He was also related to Samuel G. W. Archibald
Samuel George William Archibald
Samuel George William Archibald was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Halifax County from 1806 to 1836 and Colchester County from 1836 to 1841 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....

, who had served as the province's Attorney General from 1830 to 1841. Sir Adams Archibald studied science and medicine for a few years, subsequently articled in law, and was called to the Nova Scotia bar in January 1839. He held a number of local offices over the next decade, and was appointed a probate judge in 1848.

Political career

Archibald was elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in 1851 as a supporter of Joseph Howe's governing Reformers, topping the poll in the two-member riding of Colchester County
Colchester County, Nova Scotia
Colchester County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:The appellation Colchester was applied in 1780 to the district previously called "Cobequid," and was derived from the town of Colchester in Essex...

. Once in the legislature, Archibald frequently took positions that were opposed by other members of the Liberal caucus. He supported elected municipal governments, for instance, and was a vociferous proponent of taxation for a state-run school system (regarded by many Nova Scotia Liberals as an unnecessary expense). Archibald also supported reciprocity with the United States, and opposed any efforts to expand the province's electoral franchise.

Archibald was re-elected in 1855, and was appointed Solicitor General
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

 of Nova Scotia on August 14, 1856. His term in office was cut short by a sectarian quarrel in the legislature, which occurred after the President of the Charitable Irish Society was dismissed from his government job and charged with treason. The Liberal government had previously been supported by a majority of the province's Catholic population, but in early 1857 eight Catholic Liberals and two Protestant Liberals from Catholic ridings defected to the Conservative opposition, which was then able to form government. Archibald was forced to resign his position on February 21, 1857.

In the provincial election of 1859, Howe's Liberals were returned to office on a platform of defending Protestant interests. This was essentially a cynical appeal to popular prejudice, and no significant actions were taken against the province's Catholics following the election. Archibald did not run, but was nevertheless appointed Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

 in Howe's government on February 10, 1860. He returned to parliament following a by-election victory on March 8, 1860. In his new capacity, Archibald was a leading proponent of provincial railway development, even following the economic downturn of 1862.

In December 1862, Premier Howe was appointed Imperial Fisheries Commissioner by the British government. Archibald succeeded him as Liberal leader, although Howe continued to serve as Premier until the next election was called.

In early 1863, Howe's outgoing ministry passed a bill which re-introduced property qualifications for voters. The bill did not become law before the provincial election of May 1863, however, and it was largely due to the bill's unpopularity that Archibald's Liberals were dealt a crushing defeat. The party won only 14 seats out of 55, though Archibald was personally re-elected in Colchester South
Colchester South
Colchester South was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It existed from 1978 to 1993.-Members of the Legislative Assembly:...

.

Despite serving as leader of the opposition from 1863 to 1867, Archibald frequently sided with the Conservative ministry against his own caucus on important legislative initiatives. He supported the education tax plan put forward by Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...

's government, although it was opposed by most members of his own party. Archibald was later the Nova Scotia Liberal Party's representative to the first conference on Canadian Confederation, held at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1864. Following the conference, he was the only member of the Liberal caucus to support Nova Scotia's entry into confederation.

Archibald faced a leadership challenge from anti-confederate William Annand
William Annand
William Annand was a Nova Scotia publisher and politician.Born in Halifax, Annand was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1836 and supported demands for responsible government. He lost his seat in 1843 and became proprietor and editor of the Novascotian and Morning Chronicle...

 in 1866, but emerged victorious. When Nova Scotia joined the new nation of Canada on July 1, 1867, Archibald was appointed Secretary of State for the Provinces
Secretary of State for the Provinces
Secretary of State for the Provinces was an office in the Cabinet of Canada, active from 1867 to 1873. The office was superseded by the Minister of the Interior on May 3, 1873.-Ministers:...

 in the cabinet of John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...

.

Nova Scotia's political system was transformed by the debate on Confederation, and its concurrent provincial and federal elections in September 1867 were fought by Confederation and anti-Confederation parties, rather than by Liberals and Conservatives. The Confederation Party suffered a massive defeat, and Archibald (despite spending a very large sum of money) was defeated by Archibald McLelan
Archibald McLelan
Archibald Woodbury McLelan, PC was a Canadian shipbuilder and politician, the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia....

 in the riding of Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

. He resigned his cabinet post on April 30, 1868.

Popular opinion in Nova Scotia subsequently shifted in favour of Confederation, particularly after one-time anti-confederate Joseph Howe joined Macdonald's government in 1869. McLelan followed Howe to the Confederation side, and was appointed to the Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 in August 1869. This allowed Archibald to run for the riding in a by-election, in which he defeated Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 Frederick Pearson
Frederick M. Pearson
Frederick M Pearson was a Nova Scotia businessman and political figure. He represented Colchester in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1870 to 1874....

, 1585 votes to 1230. Archibald was by this time a Liberal-Conservative, and continued to support the Macdonald government in parliament (though he was not re-appointed to cabinet).

In 1870, Archibald gave a speech in favour of conciliation towards the leaders of the Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...

 in Manitoba. This was noticed by George-Étienne Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....

, who was the de facto leader of the Canadian government while Macdonald was recovering from a serious illness. Cartier asked Archibald to become the first Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

. Although he had little interest in the region, he agreed on condition that he be appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia after serving a single term.

Archibald was sworn into office in August 1870, in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...

. He then travelled to Manitoba, and began piecing together the province's first government. There was considerable antagonism between the province's Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

 population and recently-arrived soldiers from Ontario, and Archibald had difficulties finding suitable candidates to work with him. Until January 1871, the only members of his cabinet were local merchant Alfred Boyd
Alfred Boyd
Alfred Boyd was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He is usually considered to have been the first Premier of Manitoba , but he was not recognized by that title at the time and was not the real leader of the government. He is more correctly referred to as the first Provincial Secretary of Manitoba...

 and Marc-Amable Girard
Marc-Amable Girard
Marc-Amable Girard was the second Premier of the Western Canadian province of Manitoba, and the first Franco-Manitoban to hold that post. The Canadian Parliamentary Guide lists Girard as having been Premier from 1871 to 1872, but he did not have this title at the time and was not the government...

, a recent arrival from Quebec. Archibald himself was the province's de facto Premier, and often determined policy without consulting his ministers.

Despite opposition from many of the province's Anglophones, Archibald was able to settle the province's electoral boundaries by December 1870. Archibald himself was the leader of the government side in the election which followed; the francophone population was mostly united in support of him, while John Christian Schultz
John Christian Schultz
Sir John Christian Schultz, KCMG was a Manitoba politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1882, a Senator from 1882 to 1888, and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1888 to 1895.Schultz was born in Amherstburg, Upper Canada...

 led a group of ultra-loyalist Anglophones who opposed the conciliation policy. Archibald was successful, as Schultz's opposition won only five seats and Schultz was personally defeated in Winnipeg and St. John.

Archibald put together a five-member cabinet in January 1871, which included Boyd, Girard, Henry Joseph Clarke
Henry Joseph Clarke
Henry Joseph Clarke , who sometimes used the middle names Hynes and O'Connell, was a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada....

, James Mackay and Thomas Howard — a group which balanced the province's ethnic, religious and linguistic divisions. Archibald himself remained the real Premier.

Archibald continued to pursue a policy of conciliation with the province's Métis population, encouraging them to register their lands and even meeting with Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....

 after an armed Métis band had defended the government against Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...

 invaders from America. His real intentions were to prevent another Métis uprising in the short-term, and to allow for the gradual hegemony of new Canadian settlers in the region. Nevertheless, the specifics of his conciliation policy were opposed by Macdonald and Howe alike (Howe was by this time Macdonald's Indian Affairs minister). In the face of this opposition, Archibald submitted his resignation in late 1871. Macdonald initially had difficulty finding a replacement and asked Archibald to reconsider. The federal government chose Francis Godschall Johnson
Francis Godschall Johnson
Sir Francis Godschall Johnson was a Canadian office holder. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba on April 9, 1872, but had his commission revoked before he was officially sworn in. In 1889, he was appointed the 4th Chief Justice of the Province of Quebec.-Early life:Born New Year's...

 as his replacement on April 9, 1872, but this commission was revoked before Johnson was sworn in. It was not until October 1872 that Archibald returned to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

Archibald was not immediately appointed to the Nova Scotia court, and was instead made a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 in February 1873. He was finally appointed to the bench in June, but withdrew days later to be appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (former Conservative Premier James W. Johnston initially received this appointment, but had to withdraw due to ill health). This position required much less intervention than Archibald had exercised in Manitoba, although he attended cabinet meetings in 1873 and 1874. After 1876, he came to regard the position as primarily ceremonial, and above partisan concerns.

Archibald served as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia until June 1883. In 1886, he became President of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, which he had helped to found six years earlier. He courted controversy by a public defence of the 18th-century Acadian expulsion later in the year.

In 1888, Archibald McLelan
Archibald McLelan
Archibald Woodbury McLelan, PC was a Canadian shipbuilder and politician, the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia....

 was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. McLelan had resigned his Senate seat in 1881 and subsequently returned to the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. His appointment meant that the riding of Colchester again became vacant, and, ironically, Archibald was once again prevailed upon to stand for the riding as a Liberal-Conservative candidate. He was re-elected to the Commons on August 15, 1888, eighteen years after his previous departure. Archibald was little involved in the activities of the House following his return, and did not make any speeches. He did not run again in 1891 due to ill health, and died the following year.

family

Hon. Sir Adams George Archibald, K.C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia married Elizabeth A. Burnyeat, daughter of Rev. John Burnyeat. Their daughter Elizabeth Alice Archibald was born and educated in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. She lived in Ottawa, Ontario with her parents, while her father was a Minister of the Crown for the three years succeeding Confederation. She went with her parents, on her father's appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. In December, 1881, Elizabeth Alice married the Right Reverend Dr. Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland
Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland
Llewellyn Jones, Fourth Bishop of Newfoundland, was born in Liverpool, England, 1840 October 11.Llewellyn Jones was consecrated Bishop of Newfoundland 1878 May 1 by Archbishop Tait, of Canterbury, with Bishops Jackson and Atlay assisting. His predecessor, Bishop Kelly had resigned in 1877 due an...

. After the couple`s marriage, they lived at Bishopscourt in St. John's, Newfoundland.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK