Louis Henry Davies
Sir Louis Henry Davies, PC, KCMG, QC ( born May 4, 1845 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Iceland, † May 1, 1924 in Ottawa, Ontario ) was a Canadian judge and politician. He was Prime Minister from 1876 to 1879 the province of Prince Edward Iceland and led a Liberal-Conservative coalition government. For 19 years he worked for the Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament in the House from 1896 to 1901 he was Minister of Fisheries. He was appointed to the Supreme Court then, where he remained until his death, in 1918, then Chairman ( Chief Justice ).
Provincial policy
The son of Benjamin Davies, a politician and shipping entrepreneurs, attended schools in Charlottetown and then went to London to study at the Inner Temple law. In 1866 he was admitted as a lawyer. Davies earned a reputation for being an excellent speaker and cricket players. In 1872 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. In vain he opposed the accession of the island to the Canadian Confederation.
The Prince Edward Iceland Liberal Party chose Davies in 1874 as its chairman. In the provincial legislature, he pushed through an improvement of the land reform law. This allowed tenants of the British " absentee landlords ", the non-living on the island of aristocratic landowners, acquire parcels to significantly better terms. Davies was also a leader in developing a new Education Act, which abolished the denominational segregation of schools and they assumed the control of the provincial government.
In August 1876, the Conservative provincial government of Lemuel Owen broke at this debate. Then Davies formed a coalition government that was worn by Protestant members of the Liberal and Conservative Party. At the same time he assumed the office of the Attorney General. The government set up in 1877 by the introduction of the Education Act against the will of the Catholics. After the coalition government came under increasing pressure and was finally overthrown on March 6, 1879 by a vote of no confidence. Davies did not occur at the elections and remained until April 25, head of government.
Federal policy
At the general election in 1882 Davies was elected in the constituency Queen's County as a deputy. He belonged to the Liberal Party of Canada, which was then in opposition. After Wilfrid Laurier became party chairman, Davies became one of its most important strategic advisor. In particular, in the search for a compromise in the Manitoba school conflict Davies could benefit from his own experiences in Prince Edward Iceland.
The Liberals won in the general election in 1896 and now presented by the government. Laurier, the new prime minister, Davies appointed Minister of Fisheries. This office, which he assumed on 13 July 1896 was for the Maritime Provinces of great importance. As a minister, he traveled several times on other issues for negotiations abroad, for example, to Washington DC for talks on a trade agreement or to London for the Imperial Conference. Queen Victoria struck him knighted in 1897.
Supreme Court
On September 24, 1901 Davies was appointed by Prime Minister Laurier judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. Different lawyers have criticized this decision because they thought he was neutral for inexperienced and political issues for too little. According to contemporary opinion lacked Davies actually often of independence. He had the reputation of being a formalist Minimalist and his judgments presented hardly ever the decisions of the lower courts in question.
Following the resignation of Charles Fitzpatrick Davies is applied as the new Chairman ( Chief Justice ). Prime Minister Robert Borden had trouble enforcing his appointment in the Cabinet, but finally Davies could take office on 23 November 1918. Five and a half years later, he died aged 78, having set without special accents.