Timothy Anglin
Encyclopedia
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...
politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
.
Born in Clonakilty
Clonakilty
Clonakilty , often referred to by locals simply as Clon, is a small town on the N71 national secondary road in West County Cork, Ireland, approximately 45 minutes away by road to the west of Cork City. The town is on the southern coast of the island, and is surrounded by hilly country devoted...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Anglin emigrated at the age of 26 as part of the exodus caused by the Irish Potato Famine. Following a sectarian riot in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
between members of the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s, Anglin appealed for moderation and unity. This led him to take up the editorship of a new newspaper, the Freeman, which made him an influential voice in the colony. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...
in 1861, and became an opponent of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
and of the government of Samuel Leonard Tilley
Samuel Leonard Tilley
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family...
which he helped defeat in 1865. Tilley returned to power the next year, however, with the defeat of the Anti-Confederation Party
Anti-Confederation Party
Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now Atlantic Canada by several parties opposed to Canadian confederation.-Nova Scotia:In Nova Scotia, the "Anti-Confederates" were led by Joseph Howe. They attempted to reverse the colony's decision to join Confederation, which was initially highly...
in the election. Anglin lost his own seat.
New Brunswick entered Confederation as a province in 1867 and Anglin won a seat in the new Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Gloucester in the country's first general election
Canadian federal election, 1867
The Canadian federal election of 1867, held from August 7 to September 20, was the first election for the new nation of Canada. It was held to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons, representing electoral districts in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec in the...
.
When the Liberals came to power in the 1874 election
Canadian federal election, 1874
The Canadian federal election of 1874 was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Canada. Sir John A...
, the new Prime Minister of Canada
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...
, Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
, nominated Anglin as Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.
Anglin's term as Speaker was controversial. The Speaker is expected to act in a non-partisan manner and be above politics, but Anglin used his rulings as Speaker as opportunities to enter into partisan debate. Even more troubling to the opposition was the fact that he retained his position as editor of a partisan newspaper during his term as Speaker, and used his position to write editorials berating the Opposition. Especially controversial was the fact that his newspaper was given government printing contracts. Anglin was accused of violating the Independence of Parliament Act for accepting government printing contracts, and was censured by the House of Commons Committee on Privilege in 1887. Anglin was forced to resign as Speaker and as an MP, but was re-elected to the House of Commons in the by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
that was held to fill his seat. He was successfully renominated by Mackenzie to the position of Speaker.
Anglin's period as Speaker ended with the 1878 election
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...
that defeated the Liberal government. He remained in the House of Commons until he lost his seat in the 1882 election
Canadian federal election, 1882
The Canadian federal election of 1882 was held on June 20, 1882 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Canada.Prime Minister Sir John A...
. Following his defeat, Anglin moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and became editor of the Toronto Tribune. In the 1887 election
Canadian federal election, 1887
The Canadian federal election of 1887 was held on February 22, 1887 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Canada.The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A...
, he was defeated in his bid to win a seat from the Ontario riding of Simcoe North.
Three of Anglin's nine children were notably successful; Francis Alexander Anglin
Francis Alexander Anglin
Francis Alexander Anglin PC was Chief Justice of Canada from 1924 until 1933.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, one of 9 children of Parliamentarian Timothy Anglin, and elder brother to the renowned stage actress, Margaret Anglin, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of...
was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1924 to 1933, Arthur Whyte Anglin was a successful private practise lawyer, and Mary Margaret Anglin
Margaret Anglin
Mary Margaret Anglin was a Canadian-born Broadway actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."...
became the first internationally-renowned Canadian stage actress.