- Louis Henry Davies
Sir Louis Henry Davies, PC, KCMG (
May 4 ,1845 –May 1 ,1924 ) was aPrince Edward Island (PEI) lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as lead counsel for the Prince Edward Island Land Commission, which was established in 1875 to settle the problem of absentee land ownership and to provide tenants of the Island with clear title to their lands.He was born in
Charlottetown , the son of Benjamin Davies and Kezia Attwood Watts.Davies was first elected to the House of Assembly as a Liberal in 1872 just prior to PEI entering
Canadian confederation . With the issue of confederation resolved and the land question settled as a result of Canada's promise to fundland reform , the major issue remaining on the island was that of school funding and whether the school system should be entirely secular and public or whetherseparate school s forCatholic s should be permitted. The issue divided both parties, and had led to the collapse of one government.Following the defeat of the Conservative government of
Lemuel Cambridge Owen in 1876, Davies established acoalition government ofProtestant Liberals and Conservatives with himself asPremier andAttorney-General . The Davies government was formed to enact a "Public Schools Act" which made school attendance compulsory, and created a non-sectarian public school system. The act was passed in 1877 and, with the issue around which the coalition had been formed having been resolved, the coalition itself began to unravel. Davies' government reformed the civil service and brought in financial reforms before being defeated by the Conservatives in aMotion of No Confidence in 1879.Davies won a seat in the
Canadian House of Commons in the 1882 federal election as a Liberal. When the Liberals formed government after the 1896 election under SirWilfrid Laurier , Davies became minister of marine and fisheries. In 1901, he was appointed to theSupreme Court of Canada . In 1918, he becameChief Justice , and held that position until his death inOttawa in 1924.Davies was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897.
As of 2006, he is the only Prince Edward Islander to serve on the Supreme Court. The PEI Supreme Court building in Charlottetown is named in his honour.
External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7805 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=15941&s=M Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/aboutcourt/judges/davies1845/index_e.asp Supreme Court Biography]
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