John Hamilton Gray (New Brunswick politician)
Encyclopedia
John Hamilton Gray, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 (1814 – June 5, 1889) was a politician in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, a jurist, and one of the Fathers of Confederation. He should not be confused with John Hamilton Gray, a Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

 politician (and Father of Confederation) in the same era.

Gray was born in St. George's
St. George's, Bermuda
St. George's , located on the island and within the parish of the same names, was the first permanent settlement on the islands of Bermuda, and is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. However, St...

, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

. His father, William, was naval commissary in Bermuda and later served as British consul in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. Gray's grandfather, Joseph Gray, was a United Empire Loyalist from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 following the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

.

John Hamilton Gray was educated at King's College
University of King's College
The University of King's College is a post-secondary institution in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. King's is a small liberal arts university offering mainly undergraduate programs....

 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...

 after which he became a lawyer in Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

. He also served as a captain in the New Brunswick Regiment of Yeomany Cavalry becoming a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the Queen's New Brunswick Ranger by 1850. In 1854 he became lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant-Colonel (Canada)
In the Canadian Forces, the rank of lieutenant-colonel is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a commander of the Navy. A lieutenant-colonel is the second-highest rank of senior officer...

 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 America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...

n colonies, preparatory to their immediate independence." The motion was defeated but was an anticipation of Canadian 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...

. Gray was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 as a supporter of the Colonial Association's platform of reforms in opposition to the Compact
Family Compact
Fully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...

 government. Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
The Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick or Lieutenante-gouverneure du Nouveau-Brunswick) is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick 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...

 Edmund Walker Head
Edmund Walker Head
Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet, KCB was British colonial administrator.He was born at Wiarton Place, near Maidstone, Kent, the son of Reverend Sir John Head, 7th Bt. and Jane Head. He was educated at Winchester College and Oriel College, Oxford. He succeeded to his father's title in 1838...

 appointed Gray to the Executive Council
Executive Council of New Brunswick
The Executive Council of New Brunswick is the cabinet of that Canadian province....

 causing the reform opposition to collapse and ending Gray's career as a Liberal. He was created a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 In 1853.

Gray became leader of the Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 in the Legislative Assembly and found himself leader of the opposition
Leader of the Opposition (New Brunswick)
The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government....

 after the 1854 elections, the first held under responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...

, 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
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 and asked Gray to form an administration.

As Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

, 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
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

 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
Samuel Leonard Tilley
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family...

'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
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

.

Gray became an active supporter of Canadian 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...

 and joined Tilley's new Liberal-Conservative Party
Liberal-Conservative Party
The Liberal-Conservative Party was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as late as the 1911 election and others ran as simple Conservatives prior to 1873...

 returning to the legislature in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in 1864. Gray served as a delegate to the Charlottetown Conference
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...

 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
Anti-Confederation Party
Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now Atlantic Canada by several parties opposed to Canadian confederation.-Nova Scotia:In Nova Scotia, the "Anti-Confederates" were led by Joseph Howe. They attempted to reverse the colony's decision to join Confederation, which was initially highly...

 to power. Gray returned to the legislature in 1866 and served as Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

. When confederation became a reality, Gray won a seat in 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...

.

He did not run for re-election in 1872. He was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Supreme Court of British Columbia
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia. The BCSC hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Including supernumerary judges, there are presently 108 judges...

 and moved west reluctantly. He served on the 1885 Royal Commission on Chinese immigration.

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."

He was a Freemason, and a member of Albion Lodge No. 570 in St. John, N.B., and Civil Service Lodge No. 148 in Ottawa.

John Hamilton Gray died in Victoria, British Columbia and is interred there in the Ross Bay Cemetery
Ross Bay Cemetery
Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada.-History:The cemetery was opened in 1873. The 27.5 acre cemetery is part of a public park and its south side faces Ross Bay on the Pacific Ocean...

. He is the only father of confederation buried west of Ontario.
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