Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière

Sir Henri- Gustave Joly de Lotbinière KCMG, PC ( born December 5, 1829 in Epernay (France), † November 16, 1908 in Quebec ) was a Canadian politician. He was the fourth Prime Minister of the Province of Québec, and the first Protestant in this office. Lotbinière reigned from 8 March 1878 to 31 October in 1879 and had during that time chaired the Parti libéral du Québec. From 1867 to 1874 and from 1896 to 1900 he was Liberal deputy in the Canadian House of Commons. Finally, he served from 1900 to 1906 as Vice- Governor of the Province of British Columbia.

Biography

Family background

The paternal branch of his parents ( Joly was the last name of the Father, de Lotbinière the one his mother ) is originally from Switzerland and moved to the beginning of the 19th century in France. His father, a wealthy wine merchant, eventually hit on one of his many trips his future wife ( the owner of a winery ) in Montreal and settled on their property. The diverse interests of the Father, which is also related to photography, took him to Paris with the photography pioneer Louis Daguerre in contact, from whom he acquired one of the first cameras and was taught by him personally in their use.

1829 Henri- Gustave was born as the eldest son, his mother's surname, he added only in 1888 at his father's. Originally the Huguenots belonging, parents converted to the Anglican denomination, which was thus transmitted to her son.

Career

Joly de Lotbinière spent the years 1836-1849 in Paris, there to receive his education and pursuing a law degree. During this time he was his father's side and an aunt under the strict supervision of his grandmother. After his return he received in 1855 admitted to the bar. A year later he married Margaretta Josepha Gowen, with whom he should have six children. The father tied him into the leadership of the goods; However, he left after his son in 1860 officially inherited the estate, due to the alienation of his wife again Canada and moved to Paris, where he died in 1865.

The political cost Joly de Lotbinière had in 1861 with the arrival in the House of the Province of Canada for his home constituency of Lotbinière. He participated in the actions against the establishment of a Canadian Confederation in 1865 and held to a long speech, which was published by the newspaper Le Pays. Joly de Lotbinière held the Federation plans for entirely superfluous, since he an emerging rivalry between the provinces feared by the merger who were accustomed to conduct their affairs locally, and suspected that the new centralism would cause an underrepresentation of French Canadians at parliamentary federal level. In addition, it would also be in the status quo possible to respond to threats from the outside by a defensive alliance of Upper and Lower Canada. Finally, he was nevertheless willing to adapt to the new developments that led to the establishment of the Canadian Confederation in 1867.

In the elections of that year, Joly de Lotbinière was given a dual mandate to both the National Assembly of Quebec as well as for the House of Commons in Ottawa. In the former he was represented until 1885, in the second he had to resign in 1874 because such dual mandates were abolished in the same year and he therefore had to opt for a parliamentary membership. At the early days of the province of Quebec, there was not yet the formation of a single Liberal Party. The Rouges, originally radical opponents Federation, formed a group and chose Joly de Lotbinière to their group leaders. At the time of his reign recording in 1878, the Parti du Québec libéral should have finally finally formed.

As opposition leader, Joly de Lotbinière dealt almost exclusively with economic issues, particularly in relation to the modernization of agriculture, forest-related issues and a constantly hot topic of the first decades, the expansion of the railway network. The latter led to a conflict between the Lieutenant Governor Luc Letellier de Saint -Just and the conservative Prime Minister Charles -Eugène Boucher de Boucherville on financial contributions from abutting communities, to which Saint -Just put down the Premier and Joly de Lotbinière on 8 March 1878 of the Education a new government commissioned. The following new elections brought a very close result: Liberals gained 32, the Conservatives 33 seats, one of which ( he was offered to become Speaker of the House ) Joly de Lotbinière was inclined to, as well as two seats for independent Conservative.

The government work turned out to be correspondingly difficult because the absence or even the transfer of a member to the Conservatives could mean the end of government. The defeat of the Liberals at the general election in 1878 complicated the situation further. The Conservatives now want to achieve by requesting a federal level, the detachment Saint -Just, despite the personal use of Joly de Lotbinière in London, he could not prevent this. Théodore Robitaille, a former conservative member of the Federal Parliament, was determined to succeed. The provincial government tried to consolidate the state budget through spending cuts and proposed in August 1879 before even abolish the Legislative Council, to which he refused his consent. in October of that year eventually joined five Liberal MPs over the Conservatives, which the government ran into an untenable position. Since his request by a government resolution was not met, Joly de Lotbinière finally resigned on October 31, 1879. He was succeeded by Joseph -Adolphe Chapleau.

His dislike the then moral state of the policy towards the electoral defeat of the Liberals in 1881 and the desire of the Liberal leader after a the wrought iron Joly de Lotbinière persuaded to leave the leadership of the party at Honoré Mercier. After his retirement from Parliament he went back to his farm and forestry. He pursued on a private level remains critical political events and looked at the growing role of the churches in society with great concern. However, in the summer of 1891 he was again ready to accept the post of Agriculture and Kolonisierungsministers in the Cabinet Mercier, but this was thwarted by the Chaleur Bay scandal.

The 1894 was offering to take back the party leadership, he struck out. Nevertheless done with the candidacy to the general election in 1896 for the constituency of Portneuf return to active politics. He became a member of the cabinet of Wilfrid Laurier, where he auditor and then 1897 Minister for Internal taxes were initially in June. After a few years the rumor was handled already that he would named vice governor of a province (which he rejected them ), he was then but on June 22, 1900 appoint for this position, and indeed for the province of British Columbia.

The political instability of British Columbia ( there were more informal groups, as real parties ) required a strong role of the vice- governor. In his six years there Joly de Lotbinière refused the Premier James Dunsmuir in October 1901 resignation to avoid a new election, dismissed in 1903, the Cabinet of Edward Gawler Prior after a scandal in which several ministers were involved, and certain Richard McBride as his successor. After the end of his term Joly de Lotbinière returned to Quebec. His health had begun to deteriorate, he died 79 years old in 1908 on his estate.