William Bullock Ives
Encyclopedia
William Bullock Ives, PC
, QC
(17 November 1841 – 15 July 1899) was a Canadian
politician. He was the President of the Privy Council and Minister of Trade and Commerce
.
s from Connecticut
. After studying at the village school in Compton
, he attended the Compton Academy for four years, and then he continued his education on his own before undertaking the study of law
at Sherbrooke. He was called to the bar
on June 18, 1867 and practised his profession mainly in Sherbrooke, in the office of Henry Billings Brown
among others. In 1880 he was named a QC
.
On November 20, 1869, Ives married Elizabeth Emma Pope, the only daughter of John Henry Pope
. They would have no children.
for the East Ward of Sherbrooke
, a post he retained for four years. Chosen mayor
for 1878, he was elected that year for the constituency of Richmond—Wolfe
to the House of Commons
. He continued to represent this riding until 1891, being re-elected in 1882 and 1887. From 1891 he ran in Sherbrooke, where he was successful in the elections of 1891 and 1896, as well as in a by-election in 1892.
Ives, an ardent Conservative
, was respected for the competence in matters of business law and foreign trade that he brought to the house. His first speech, favouring a protective tariff on manufactured goods, showed a sound knowledge of economic factors as well as a firm commitment to his party's National Policy
. He unwaveringly supported government assistance for the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
. It was no doubt to these qualities that he owed his elevation to the Privy Council
and his appointment as its president on December 7, 1892. On December 21, 1894 he became minister of trade and commerce under Mackenzie Bowell
. He and six other Protestants in the cabinet resigned on January 4, 1896 in an attempt to force the hand of Bowell, who in turn resigned. When Sir Charles Tupper
assumed office as prime minister, Ives was reappointed within days. He remained in office until the ministry was defeated in July.
at Cookshire
and founded the Cookshire Mill Company. Ives and his brother-in-law Rufus Henry Pope
quickly became its sole shareholders. Not long after, Ives founded the Scotstown Lumber Company, of which he became president. Its main sawmill, in Scotstown
, processed timber from the region of Mont Mégantic
. He thereby gained control of most of the lumber in the eastern part of the Eastern Townships.
He soon developed an interest in pulpwood, which his two companies began exporting to the United States
. In 1884, with the backing of partners in the region and at Montreal
, Ives set up a pulp factory in Scotstown and in 1891 he bought the factory in East Angus
. He was also made president of the Royal Pulp and Paper Company, which installed a paper mill in that town. In 1893, with a restructuring of the firm, renamed Royal Paper Mills Company, Ives was reduced to a minority shareholder. Following the defeat of the Conservative government in 1897, he became manager of the East Angus plants and helped set up a new bisulphite pulp plant.
In 1887 he promoted the construction of the Hereford Railway to link northern New Hampshire
and Cookshire. He became the guiding light of the project and managed to interest a syndicate of American businessmen in it. The line, built within two years, was leased in 1890 to the Maine Central Railway. Ives stayed on as a director of the Hereford Railway, which he used to export lumber and pulp as well as lime and cement. With his American partners he in fact extended it from Cookshire to Lime Ridge
, where the lime kilns of the Dominion Lime Company, of which he was vice-president, were located.
. He was on his way back from a tour there, travelling on the CPR, when he suffered a paralytic attack
which was to prove fatal. His body was brought from Ottawa
to Sherbrooke, where he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, 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...
(17 November 1841 – 15 July 1899) was a 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...
politician. He was the President of the Privy Council and Minister of Trade and Commerce
Minister of International Trade (Canada)
The Minister of International Trade is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet is the head of the federal government's international trade department and the provisions of treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement .The post was first established in 1983 as the Minister...
.
Early life
William Bullock Ives was born to Eli Ives and Artemissa Bullock, two loyalistLoyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
s from Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. After studying at the village school in Compton
Compton (electoral district)
Compton was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1949, and again from 1968 to 1997.-History:...
, he attended the Compton Academy for four years, and then he continued his education on his own before undertaking the study of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at Sherbrooke. He was called to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
on June 18, 1867 and practised his profession mainly in Sherbrooke, in the office of Henry Billings Brown
Henry Billings Brown
Henry Billings Brown was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 5, 1891, to May 28, 1906. He was the author of the opinion for the Court in Plessy v...
among others. In 1880 he was named 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...
.
On November 20, 1869, Ives married Elizabeth Emma Pope, the only daughter of John Henry Pope
John Henry Pope
John Henry Pope, PC was a Canadian farmer, lumberman, railway entrepreneur, and politician.Born in Eaton Township, Lower Canada , the son of John Pope and Sophia Laberee, he served with the local militia during the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 and opposed those who supported annexation of...
. They would have no children.
Political career
Ives's political initiation came at the municipal level in January 1875, when he was elected councillorCouncillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
for the East Ward of Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke (Town of)
Sherbrooke was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925....
, a post he retained for four years. Chosen mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
for 1878, he was elected that year for the constituency of Richmond—Wolfe
Richmond—Wolfe
For other electoral districts with similar names, see Richmond Richmond–Wolfe was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1997.It was created as by the British North America Act of 1867.It was abolished in 1966 when...
to the 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...
. He continued to represent this riding until 1891, being re-elected in 1882 and 1887. From 1891 he ran in Sherbrooke, where he was successful in the elections of 1891 and 1896, as well as in a by-election in 1892.
Ives, an ardent 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...
, was respected for the competence in matters of business law and foreign trade that he brought to the house. His first speech, favouring a protective tariff on manufactured goods, showed a sound knowledge of economic factors as well as a firm commitment to his party's National Policy
National Policy
The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876 and put into action in 1879. It called for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry...
. He unwaveringly supported government assistance for the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. It was no doubt to these qualities that he owed his elevation to the Privy Council
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
and his appointment as its president on December 7, 1892. On December 21, 1894 he became minister of trade and commerce under Mackenzie Bowell
Mackenzie Bowell
Sir Mackenzie Bowell, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Canada from December 21, 1894 to April 27, 1896.-Early life:Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, England to John Bowell and Elizabeth Marshall...
. He and six other Protestants in the cabinet resigned on January 4, 1896 in an attempt to force the hand of Bowell, who in turn resigned. When Sir Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...
assumed office as prime minister, Ives was reappointed within days. He remained in office until the ministry was defeated in July.
Business career
In addition to his career in politics, Ives rose to prominence in the business world. In 1882 Ives and three partners bought a sawmillSawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
at Cookshire
Cookshire-Eaton, Quebec
Cookshire-Eaton is a ville in the Estrie region in Quebec. It was formed in 2002 by the amalgamation of the villages of Cookshire and Sawyerville, and the township of Eaton. It is the seat of Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality....
and founded the Cookshire Mill Company. Ives and his brother-in-law Rufus Henry Pope
Rufus Henry Pope
Rufus Henry Pope was a Canadian politician.Born in Cookshire, Canada East, the son of John Henry Pope, Pope was educated at the Cookshire Academy, Sherbrooke High School and McGill College Law...
quickly became its sole shareholders. Not long after, Ives founded the Scotstown Lumber Company, of which he became president. Its main sawmill, in Scotstown
Scotstown, Quebec
Scotstown is a city of 617 people in Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada....
, processed timber from the region of Mont Mégantic
Mont Mégantic
Mont Mégantic is a monadnock located in Québec, Canada, about 15 km north of the border between Québec and the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire.Mégantic is on the border of the regional county municipalities of Le Granit and Le Haut-Saint-François....
. He thereby gained control of most of the lumber in the eastern part of the Eastern Townships.
He soon developed an interest in pulpwood, which his two companies began exporting to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1884, with the backing of partners in the region and at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Ives set up a pulp factory in Scotstown and in 1891 he bought the factory in East Angus
East Angus, Quebec
East Angus is a city in Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada. The city had a population of 3,357 in the Canada 2006 Census....
. He was also made president of the Royal Pulp and Paper Company, which installed a paper mill in that town. In 1893, with a restructuring of the firm, renamed Royal Paper Mills Company, Ives was reduced to a minority shareholder. Following the defeat of the Conservative government in 1897, he became manager of the East Angus plants and helped set up a new bisulphite pulp plant.
In 1887 he promoted the construction of the Hereford Railway to link northern New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Cookshire. He became the guiding light of the project and managed to interest a syndicate of American businessmen in it. The line, built within two years, was leased in 1890 to the Maine Central Railway. Ives stayed on as a director of the Hereford Railway, which he used to export lumber and pulp as well as lime and cement. With his American partners he in fact extended it from Cookshire to Lime Ridge
Lime Ridge
Lime Ridge is the name of the following locations in the United States:*Lime Ridge, Pennsylvania*Lime Ridge, WisconsinIt is also the name of a geologic feature in the San Francisco Bay Area. There, Lime Ridge is a prominent foothill ridge of Mount Diablo....
, where the lime kilns of the Dominion Lime Company, of which he was vice-president, were located.
Later life
Around 1895 he became involved in mining development around Rossland, British ColumbiaRossland, British Columbia
Rossland is a city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, Rossland is at an elevation of 1023 metres . Population today is approximately 3500; a number that fluctuates from season to season. The population is at its peak during the winter...
. He was on his way back from a tour there, travelling on the CPR, when he suffered a paralytic attack
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
which was to prove fatal. His body was brought from Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
to Sherbrooke, where he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.