HINCKS, SIR FRANCIS (1807-1885)

This article appears in Volume V13, Page 477 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: HIG-HOR

HINCKS, SIR FRANCIS (1807-1885) , Canadian statesman, was born at

Cork

, Ireland, the son of an Irish Presbyterian minister. In 1832 he engaged in business in Toronto, became a friend of Robert Baldwin, and in 1835 was chosen to examine the accounts of the Welland Canal, the management of which was being attacked by W. L. Mackenzie. This turned his attention to political life and in 1838 he founded the Examiner, a weekly

paper

PAPER
PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

in the Liberal

interest

INTEREST

. In 1841 he was elected M.P. for the county of

Oxford

, and in the following year was appointed inspector-general, the title then borne by the finance minister, but in 1843 resigned with Baldwin and the other ministers on the question of responsible government. In 1848 he again became inspector-general in the Baldwin-Lafontaine
ministry, and on their retirement in 1851 became premier of Canada, his

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

colleague being A. N.

Morin

MORIN, JEAN (latinized JOANNES MORINUS) (1591-1659)

(1803-1865). While premier he was prominent in the negotiations which led to the construction of the Grand Trunk railway, and in co-operation with Lord

Elgin

ELGIN

negotiated with the United States the reciprocity treaty of 1854. In the same year the

bitter

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

hostility of the " Clear Grits " under George Brown compelled his resignation, and he was prominent in the formation of the Liberal-Conservative Party. In 1855 he was chosen

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of Barbados and the Windward Islands, and subsequently

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of British Guiana. In 1869 he was created K.C.M.G. and returned to Canada, becoming till 1873 finance minister in the cabinet of Sir John Macdonald. In February of that year he resigned, but continued to take an active part in public life. In 1879 the failure of the Consolidated Bank of Canada, of which he was president, led to his being tried for issuing false statements. Though found guilty on a technicality (see

Journal

JOURNAL
JOURNAL (through Fr. from late Lat. diurnalis, daily)

of the Canadian Bankers' Association, April 1906) judgment was suspended, his personal credit remained unimpaired, and he continued to take part in the discussion of public questions till his death on the 18th of August 1885.
His writings include: The Political History of Canada between r84o and 1855 (1877); The Political Destiny of Canada (1878), and his Reminiscences (1884).

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