Francis Evans Cornish
Encyclopedia
Francis Evans Cornish, QC
(February 1, 1831 – November 28, 1878) was a politician in the Canadian
provinces of Ontario
and Manitoba
. He served as Mayor of London, Ontario, in the early 1860s, became the first Mayor of Winnipeg in 1874, and was for a time a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
.
Cornish was born in London, Ontario
, to a family that had moved to Canada from England
twelve years earlier. He was educated in London, articled in law, and was called to the bar
of Upper Canada
in 1855. At age 26, he was appointed a QC
. He was a successful lawyer, and was involved in the local masonic
and Orange
lodges.
London was incorporated as a city in 1855, and Cornish was elected as an alderman in its seventh ward three years later. He was re-elected in 1859 and 1860. In May 1860, Cornish ran as a Conservative
candidate in the riding of Middlesex East
, in a by-election
for the Province of Canada's legislature
. He was defeated by R. Craik, a Liberal
. There was a second Conservative candidate in the race, and some suspect that Cornish deliberately split the Conservative vote to permit a Liberal victory.
Cornish was elected Mayor of London in 1861, and held the position for the next four years. He was responsible for resolving a scandal at the city's hospital, and oversaw the city's first serious efforts to reduce fire hazards in its central region. The most notorious incident of his tenure as mayor occurred in 1863, when he physically attacked a British commander who boasted of an affair with Cornish's wife. He was convicted of assault, and fined eight dollars.
Cornish often resorted to dubious means to win elections, and received assistance from members of the local Orange Order. He was defeated for the mayoralty in 1865, when his opponent David Glass
successfully petitioned for the local militia to oversee the civic proceedings.
Cornish ran for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
in the 1871 provincial election
, but was defeated by John Carling
, a local brewer and fellow Conservative
. Cornish's loyalty to the Conservative Party was ambiguous in this period, and some sources believe he favoured the Liberals.
Although he was re-elected to London's municipal council
in 1871, Cornish had little interest in the city. He moved to Winnipeg in 1872, and assisted in developing of the new province's legal system. He became a spokesman for recent Ontario immigrants, and forged a political alliance with John Christian Schultz
's Canadian Party
. Schultz's followers opposed the province's "consensus government" and were often involved in violent activities against the local Métis
population.
Against the wishes of prime minister
John A. Macdonald
, Cornish coordinated the arrest of Ambroise-Dydime Lepine
in 1873. Lepine had been the adjutant-general in Louis Riel
's provisional government, and his arrest sparked bitter divisions among the province's English-speaking and French-speaking communities. Cornish served as leader for the prosecution in Lepine's trial, which resulted in a conviction and a death sentence (later commuted to a minor jail sentence).
Winnipeg was formally incorporated as a city in 1873, and Cornish declared himself a candidate for the city's mayoralty. On January 5, 1874, he defeated William F. Luxton
by a margin of 383 votes to 179. It may be noted that there were only 382 eligible voters in the city at the time, but that property owners were allowed to vote in every civic poll in which they owned property. Cornish's followers exploited this rule to their benefit.
In the 1874 provincial election
, Cornish declared himself a candidate for the Manitoba legislature in the constituency of Poplar Point. He ran as an opponent of premier
Robert A. Davis's ministry (which was primarily supported by francophones), and defeated his sole opponent, Robert Hastie
, by a margin of 92 votes to 65. Cornish subsequently allowed his name to stand for re-election as mayor of Winnipeg, but paid little attention to the campaign. He was defeated by William Kennedy
, 218 votes to 164.
Early in 1875, opposition leader John Norquay
entered the cabinet of Premier Davis and brought several of his Anglophone followers to the government side. Cornish did not join Norquay, and emerged as the leader of the parliamentary opposition. He was again accused of fomenting violence in an 1876 municipal election, and was fined twenty dollars for his role in an altercation.
Cornish was asked to run as a Liberal
candidate in the 1878 federal election of 1878
, but declined. His party affiliation was still ambiguous in this period. He declared himself a "National" in federal politics, and is generally considered to have been a Conservative
, albeit of an independent stripe, during his time in the Manitoba legislature. Like John Christian Schultz, he gradually left his Ontario Conservative background, and sometimes aligned himself with a "Liberal" position when opposing the provincial government.
Cornish was elected as an alderman to the municipal council of Winnipeg in 1878. He was also planning to run for re-election to the provincial legislature, but died from cancer of the stomach in November.
In his history of Manitoba's legal system, Bruce MacFarlane describes Cornish as "by most accounts a brash and rude man, but extremely intelligent. Best known as the first mayor of Winnipeg, he was also decidedly anti-Catholic, anti-Métis and especially anti-Riel. http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/history/acenturyofintegrity.pdf
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...
(February 1, 1831 – November 28, 1878) was a politician in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provinces of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. He served as Mayor of London, Ontario, in the early 1860s, became the first Mayor of Winnipeg in 1874, and was for a time a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
.
Cornish was born in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, to a family that had moved to Canada from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
twelve years earlier. He was educated in London, articled in law, and was called to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
in 1855. At age 26, he was appointed a 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...
. He was a successful lawyer, and was involved in the local masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and Orange
Orange Order in Canada
The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and has lodges in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, Togo, the U.S.A, etc..-History:...
lodges.
London was incorporated as a city in 1855, and Cornish was elected as an alderman in its seventh ward three years later. He was re-elected in 1859 and 1860. In May 1860, Cornish ran as a Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
candidate in the riding of Middlesex East
Middlesex East
Middlesex East was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Middlesex into three ridings: Middlesex North, Middlesex West and...
, 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....
for the Province of Canada's legislature
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...
. He was defeated by R. Craik, a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. There was a second Conservative candidate in the race, and some suspect that Cornish deliberately split the Conservative vote to permit a Liberal victory.
Cornish was elected Mayor of London in 1861, and held the position for the next four years. He was responsible for resolving a scandal at the city's hospital, and oversaw the city's first serious efforts to reduce fire hazards in its central region. The most notorious incident of his tenure as mayor occurred in 1863, when he physically attacked a British commander who boasted of an affair with Cornish's wife. He was convicted of assault, and fined eight dollars.
Cornish often resorted to dubious means to win elections, and received assistance from members of the local Orange Order. He was defeated for the mayoralty in 1865, when his opponent David Glass
David Glass (politician)
David Glass was a Canadian lawyer and political figure. He was a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons representing Middlesex East from 1872 to 1874....
successfully petitioned for the local militia to oversee the civic proceedings.
Cornish ran for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
in the 1871 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1871
The Ontario general election of 1871 was the second general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on March 21, 1871, to elect the 82 Members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
, but was defeated by John Carling
John Carling
Sir John Carling, PC, KCMG of the Carling Brewery was a prominent politician and businessman from London, Ontario, Canada...
, a local brewer and fellow Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
. Cornish's loyalty to the Conservative Party was ambiguous in this period, and some sources believe he favoured the Liberals.
Although he was re-elected to London's municipal council
London City Council
London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada.-Composition:One Councillor represents each of the 14 city wards along with the Mayor,Joe Fontana resulting in a 15-member city council....
in 1871, Cornish had little interest in the city. He moved to Winnipeg in 1872, and assisted in developing of the new province's legal system. He became a spokesman for recent Ontario immigrants, and forged a political alliance with John Christian Schultz
John Christian Schultz
Sir John Christian Schultz, KCMG was a Manitoba politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1882, a Senator from 1882 to 1888, and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1888 to 1895.Schultz was born in Amherstburg, Upper Canada...
's Canadian Party
Canadian Party
For the mid-19th century French Canadian party see Parti canadienFor the World War II era party see Parti canadien The Canadian Party was a group founded by John Christian Schultz in 1869, in the Red River Settlement...
. Schultz's followers opposed the province's "consensus government" and were often involved in violent activities against the local Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
population.
Against the wishes of prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
, Cornish coordinated the arrest of Ambroise-Dydime Lepine
Ambroise-Dydime Lépine
Ambroise-Dydime Lépine was a military leader of the Métis under the command of Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion of 1869-1870. He was tried and sentenced to death for his role in the rebellion and for the execution of Thomas Scott, but his sentence was commuted by Governor General Lord...
in 1873. Lepine had been the adjutant-general in Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
's provisional government, and his arrest sparked bitter divisions among the province's English-speaking and French-speaking communities. Cornish served as leader for the prosecution in Lepine's trial, which resulted in a conviction and a death sentence (later commuted to a minor jail sentence).
Winnipeg was formally incorporated as a city in 1873, and Cornish declared himself a candidate for the city's mayoralty. On January 5, 1874, he defeated William F. Luxton
William F. Luxton
William Fisher Luxton was a Canadian teacher, newspaper editor and publisher, politician, and office holder....
by a margin of 383 votes to 179. It may be noted that there were only 382 eligible voters in the city at the time, but that property owners were allowed to vote in every civic poll in which they owned property. Cornish's followers exploited this rule to their benefit.
In the 1874 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1874
This was the second Manitoba general election and was held on December 30, 1874.Persons elected:...
, Cornish declared himself a candidate for the Manitoba legislature in the constituency of Poplar Point. He ran as an opponent of premier
Premier of Manitoba
The Premier of Manitoba is the first minister for the Canadian province of Manitoba. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. Until the early 1970s, the title "Prime Minister of Manitoba" was used frequently. Afterwards, the word Premier, derived from the French...
Robert A. Davis's ministry (which was primarily supported by francophones), and defeated his sole opponent, Robert Hastie
Robert Hastie
Robert Hastie was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Kanowna in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1905. He was Minister for Justice and Mines from 1904 to 1905 and Minister for Justice and Labour in 1905....
, by a margin of 92 votes to 65. Cornish subsequently allowed his name to stand for re-election as mayor of Winnipeg, but paid little attention to the campaign. He was defeated by William Kennedy
William Nassau Kennedy
William Nassau Kennedy was the second Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1875 – 1876. He was the first commander of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles....
, 218 votes to 164.
Early in 1875, opposition leader John Norquay
John Norquay
John Norquay was the Premier of Manitoba from 1878 to 1887. He was born near St. Andrews in what was then the Red River Colony, making him the first Premier of Manitoba to have been born in the region....
entered the cabinet of Premier Davis and brought several of his Anglophone followers to the government side. Cornish did not join Norquay, and emerged as the leader of the parliamentary opposition. He was again accused of fomenting violence in an 1876 municipal election, and was fined twenty dollars for his role in an altercation.
Cornish was asked to run as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate in the 1878 federal election of 1878
Canadian federal election, 1878
The Canadian federal election of 1878 was held on September 17 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression...
, but declined. His party affiliation was still ambiguous in this period. He declared himself a "National" in federal politics, and is generally considered to have been a Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...
, albeit of an independent stripe, during his time in the Manitoba legislature. Like John Christian Schultz, he gradually left his Ontario Conservative background, and sometimes aligned himself with a "Liberal" position when opposing the provincial government.
Cornish was elected as an alderman to the municipal council of Winnipeg in 1878. He was also planning to run for re-election to the provincial legislature, but died from cancer of the stomach in November.
In his history of Manitoba's legal system, Bruce MacFarlane describes Cornish as "by most accounts a brash and rude man, but extremely intelligent. Best known as the first mayor of Winnipeg, he was also decidedly anti-Catholic, anti-Métis and especially anti-Riel. http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/history/acenturyofintegrity.pdf