Legislative Council of British Columbia
Encyclopedia
The Legislative Council of British Columbia was an advisory body created in 1867 to the Governor of the "new" Colony of British Columbia
, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia
(aka the Mainland Colony, or the Gold Colony). The new colony, like its predecessors, did not have responsible government
, and while its debates and resolutions carried considerable weight, executive power remained in the hands of the Governor, who at the time of the Council's founding as Frederick Seymour
.
There were three groups of members: five senior officials of the Colony, who also constituted its Executive Council, nine magistrates (some of whom, being popular in their districts, had been elevated to that post so as to please Whitehall
's intent that there be a more democratic presence in the Council), and nine elected members. The electoral members represented two seats in Victoria, one in Greater Victoria ("Victoria District"), New Westminster, Columbia River and Kootenay, Nanaimo, Yale and Lytton, Lillooet, Cariboo.
Elected members were actually appointed by the Governor and not mandated by their election, but appointed "in deference to the wishes of the people". George Wallace, the representative for Yale and Lytton, resigned his seat before the first session and a by-election was held which selected F.J. Barnard
as his replacement. All members, including elected ones, had the right to use "the Honourable" before their name.
Other members included:
The council was abolished in 1871 when British Columbia became a province.
United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia is a crown colony that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia...
, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...
and British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
(aka the Mainland Colony, or the Gold Colony). The new colony, like its predecessors, did not have 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...
, and while its debates and resolutions carried considerable weight, executive power remained in the hands of the Governor, who at the time of the Council's founding as Frederick Seymour
Frederick Seymour
Frederick Seymour was a colonial administrator. He served as the second Governor of the Colony of British Columbia from 1864 to 1866, and the first governor of the union of the two colonies, also named the Colony of British Columbia from 1866 to 1869.Seymour was the son of Henry Augustus Seymour,...
.
There were three groups of members: five senior officials of the Colony, who also constituted its Executive Council, nine magistrates (some of whom, being popular in their districts, had been elevated to that post so as to please Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
's intent that there be a more democratic presence in the Council), and nine elected members. The electoral members represented two seats in Victoria, one in Greater Victoria ("Victoria District"), New Westminster, Columbia River and Kootenay, Nanaimo, Yale and Lytton, Lillooet, Cariboo.
Initial composition
At the time of the Council's creation, its members were:- Executive Council
- Arthur N. BirchArthur Nonus BirchArthur Nonus Birch was Lieutenant Governor of Ceylon, Colonial Secretary for Ceylon and acting Lieutenant Governor of Penang and Province Wellesley .The son of H.W.R...
- Colonial Secretary - H.P.P. CreaseHenry Pering Pellew CreaseSir Henry Pering Pellew Crease was a British lawyer, judge, and politician, influential in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia...
- Attorney-General - W.A.G. Young - Acting Treasurer
- Joseph W. Trutch - Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works
- Wymond O. Hamley - Collector of Customs
- Arthur N. Birch
- Magistrates
- Thomas L. Wood - Acting Solicitor-General
- Henry Maynard Ball - Magistrate, Cariboo West
- Chartres BrewChartres BrewChartres Brew was a Gold commissioner, Chief Constable and judge in the Colony of British Columbia, later a province of Canada....
- Magistrate, New Westminster - C.F. CornwallClement Francis CornwallClement Francis Cornwall was a Canadian parliamentarian and the third Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia....
- Magistrate, Thompson River District - W.G. CoxWilliam George CoxWilliam George Cox was Gold Commissioner for the Cariboo and Boundary Districts in the Colony of British Columbia, Canada during the Rock Creek Gold Rush....
- Magistrate, Cariboo East - W.J. Macdonald - Magistrate, Victoria
- C.S. Nicol - Magistrate, Nanaimo
- Peter O'ReillyPeter O'ReillyPeter O'Reilly was a prominent settler and official in the Colony of British Columbia, now a province of Canada who held a variety of positions, most notably as the head of a commission struck to revise and allocate Indian Reserves throughout the province.O'Reilly was criticized in his time and by...
- Magistrate, Kootenay - E.H. Sanders - Magistrate, Yale and Lytton
- Elected members
- Amor de CosmosAmor De CosmosAmor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...
- Victoria - J.S. HelmckenJohn Sebastian HelmckenJohn Sebastian Helmcken was a British Columbia physician who played a prominent role in bringing the province into Canadian Confederation...
- Victoria - Joseph D. PembertonJoseph Despard PembertonJoseph Despard Pemberton was a surveyor for the Hudson's Bay Company, Surveyor General for the Colony of Vancouver Island, a pre-Confederation politician, a businessman and a farmer. He was born in 1821 in Dublin, Ireland and died in 1893 in Oak Bay, British Columbia...
- Victoria - John RobsonJohn RobsonJohn Robson was a Canadian journalist and politician, who served as the ninth Premier of the Province of British Columbia.-Journalist and activist:...
- New Westminster - R.T. SmithRobert T. SmithRobert Tharp Smith was born in York, Nebraska. His family moved to Red Cloud from Hooper, Nebraska in 1927 when his father, Earl W. Smith, was hired as Superintendent of Schools. He graduated Red Cloud High School in 1935. Smith attended the University of Nebraska before joining the U.S...
- Columbia River and Kootenay - J.J. Southgate - Nanaimo
- Edward StampEdward StampEdward Stamp was an English mariner and entrepreneur who contributed to the early economic development of British Columbia and Vancouver Island...
- Lillooet - G.A. Walkem - Cariboo
- George Wallace - Yale and Lytton
- Amor de Cosmos
Elected members were actually appointed by the Governor and not mandated by their election, but appointed "in deference to the wishes of the people". George Wallace, the representative for Yale and Lytton, resigned his seat before the first session and a by-election was held which selected F.J. Barnard
Francis Jones Barnard
Francis Jones Barnard , often known as Frank Barnard Sr., was a prominent British Columbia businessman and Member of Parliament in Canada from 1879 to 1887....
as his replacement. All members, including elected ones, had the right to use "the Honourable" before their name.
Other members included:
- George Phillippo
The council was abolished in 1871 when British Columbia became a province.
See also
- United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British ColumbiaUnited Colonies of Vancouver Island and British ColumbiaThe Colony of British Columbia is a crown colony that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia...
- Executive Council of British ColumbiaExecutive Council of British ColumbiaThe Executive Council of British Columbia is the cabinet of that Canadian province....
- Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaLegislative Assembly of British ColumbiaThe Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....