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John A. Macdonald

John A. Macdonald

The Right Honourable Sir John Alexander Macdonald, KCMG, GCB, QC, PC , DCL , LL.D (January 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada from July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873 and October 17, 1878 – June 6, 1891. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland. While there is some debate over his actual birthdate, January 10 is the official date recorded and January 11 is the day Macdonald celebrated it. His parents, Hugh Macdonald and Helen Shaw, met in Scotland in 1811. After the failure of his father's business ventures, his family emigrated to Canada in 1820 along with thousands of others seeking affordable land and promises of new prosperity. Macdonald did prosper, becoming a lawyer in 1836 and earning the esteem of many in his defence of American raiders in the Rebellions of 1837. In 1843, at the age of 28, he married his cousin, Isabella Clark (1811 - 1857). They had two children: a son John who died at the age of one, and a second son Hugh John who went on to become premier of the Province of Manitoba. Ten years after the passing of his wife, in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation, he married Susan Agnes Bernard (1836-1920). They had one daughter, Margaret Mary Theodora Macdonald (1869-1933).

Political Rise

In 1843 Macdonald exhibited his first interest in politics. He was elected as alderman of the City of Kingston, Ontario. The next year he accepted the Conservative party's nomination for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of what was then called the Province of Canada but has since been split into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Winning the seat easily, Macdonald was now a player in the political scene. He gained the recognition of his peers and in 1847 was appointed Receiver General by William Henry Draper's administration. However, Macdonald lost this distinction when Draper's government lost the next election. He left the Conservatives, hoping to build a more moderate and palatable base, leading to the creation, in 1854, of the Liberal-Conservative Party under the leadership of Sir Allan McNab. Within a few years, the Liberal-Conservatives would attract all of the old Conservative base as well as some centrist Reformers. The Liberal-Conservatives came to power in 1854 and under the new administration Macdonald was appointed Attorney-General. In the next election Macdonald continued his rise in politics by becoming Joint Premier of the Province of Canada with Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché of Québec for the years 1856 and 1857. In the election of 1858, the Macdonald-Cartier government was defeated and they resigned as Premiers. (Taché had resigned the previous year, with Sir George-Étienne Cartier taking his place). In an interesting piece of politics, the Governor General of Canada asked Cartier to become the senior Premier, only a week after his defeat. Cartier accepted and brought Macdonald into office along with him. This was legal as any member of the cabinet could re-enter the cabinet provided they did so within a month of resigning their previous position. The coalition government was again defeated in 1862. Macdonald then served as the leader of the opposition until the election of 1864, when Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché came out of retirement and joined ranks with Macdonald to form the governing party yet again.

Father of Confederation

At this point in Macdonald's career, he began to look to the future of politics in his region. He was the leader of arguably the largest British colony in the surrounding area and had the power to help enact agreements to confederate the British colonies. This would be done in an attempt to provide stability to the colonies, which were experiencing frequent government changes, to provide the basis for expansion into the West, and to create a unified country in order to guard against attacks from the Americans to the south. To prevent the frequent changes of government in the Province of Canada, George Brown, the leader of the Reformers (the forerunners to the Liberal Party of Canada) and an extremely vocal opponent of Macdonald's Conservatives, joined with Macdonald in 1864 to form the "Great Coalition." This was an important step towards Confederation. Macdonald then spent 1864 to 1867 organizing the legislation needed to confederate the colonies into the country of Canada. In September 1864, he led the Canadian delegation at the Charlottetown Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to present his idea to the Maritime colonies, who were discussing a union of their own. In October 1864 delegates for confederation met in Quebec City, Quebec for the Quebec Conference where the Seventy-Two Resolutions were created -- the plan for confederation. By 1866, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada had agreed to confederation. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island were opposed. In the final conference of confederation held in 1866 in London, England the agreement to confederate was completed. In 1867 the agreement was brought to the British Parliament who passed the British North America Act, creating the Dominion of Canada. Upon the creation of the Dominion of Canada the Province of Canada was then divided into the individual provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Britain's Queen Victoria knighted John A. Macdonald for playing the integral role in bringing about Confederation. His appointment as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George was announced on the birth of the Dominion, July 1, 1867. An election was held in August which put Macdonald and his Conservative party into power.

Prime Minister

As Prime Minister, Macdonald's vision was to enlarge the country and unify it. Accordingly, under his rule Canada bought Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company for £300,000 (about $11,500,000). This land became the Northwest Territories. In 1870 Parliament passed the Manitoba Act, creating the province of Manitoba out of a portion of the Northwest Territories in response to the Red River Rebellion led by Louis Riel. In 1871 the British parliament added British Columbia to Confederation, making it the sixth province. Macdonald promised a transcontinental railway connection to persuade the province to join, which his opponents decried as a highly unrealistic and expensive promise. In 1873 Prince Edward Island also joined Confederation, and Macdonald created the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (then named the North-West Mounted Police) to act as a police force for the vast Northwest Territories. After the Pacific scandal in 1873, in which Macdonald was accused of taking bribes to award contracts for the construction of the railway, Macdonald was forced to resign and Liberal leader Alexander Mackenzie formed a caretaker government. The subsequent 1874 federal election were won by the Mackenzie Liberals. Macdonald was returned to power in 1878 on the strength of the National Policy, a plan to promote trade within the country by protecting it from the industries of other nations and renewing the effort to complete the previously promised Canadian Pacific Railway, which was accomplished in 1885. That year, Louis Riel also returned to Canada and launched the North-West Rebellion in the territory of Saskatchewan, but now that there was a railway through the area the North-West Mounted Police were quickly sent to put it down. The trial and subsequent execution of Riel for treason caused a deep political division between French Canadians, who supported Riel (a culturally French Métis) and English Canadians, who supported Macdonald. Macdonald stayed in office until his death in 1891. His career spanned 19 years, making Sir John A. Macdonald the second longest serving Prime Minister of Canada. He is the only Canadian Prime Minister to win six majority governments. He died while still Prime Minister, winning praise for having helped forge a nation of sprawling geographic size, with two diverse European colonial origins, and a multiplicity of cultural backgrounds and political views. Grieving Canadians turned out in the thousands to pay their respects while he lay in state in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa and they lined the tracks to watch the train that returned his body to Kingston, Ontario where he was buried in the Cataraqui Cemetery. Macdonald was well known for his wit and also for his alcoholism. He is known to have been drunk for many of his debates in parliament. One famous story is that during an election debate Macdonald was so drunk he began vomiting violently on stage while his opponent was speaking. Picking himself up Macdonald told the crowd, "see how my opponent's ideas disgust me." In another version of the story, he responded to his opponent's query of his drunkenness with "It goes to show that I would rather have a drunk Conservative than a sober Liberal.". Sir John A. Macdonald is depicted on the Canadian ten-dollar bill. He also has bridges, airports, and highways named after him (such as the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway), as well as a plethora of schools across the country. Macdonald and his son, Hugh John Macdonald briefly sat together in the Canadian House of Commons prior to the elder Macdonald's death in 1891. Hugh John later became premier of Manitoba. In 2004, Sir John A. Macdonald was nominated as one of the top 10 "Greatest Canadians" by viewers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is considered by some Canadian political scientists to be the founder of the Red Tory tradition.

Supreme Court Appointments

- Sir William Johnstone Ritchie (Chief Justice) - (January 11, 1879 - September 25, 1892) (appointed a Puisne Justice by Mackenzie in 1875)
- John Wellington Gwynne - (January 14, 1879 - January 7, 1902)
- Christopher Salmon Patterson - (October 27, 1888 - July 24, 1893)

Trivia

- Macdonald resembled British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. At Disraeli's funeral in 1881, another British official thought that he saw Disraeli's ghost in attendance, although it was actually Macdonald.
- Ontario's Macdonald-Cartier Freeway is named after Macdonald and fellow Father of Confederation George-Étienne Cartier which also was used for Ottawa's International Airport named Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.
- The Vancouver Sun reported on June 30, 2005, that Macdonald's birthplace in Glasgow, Scotland, is under threat of demolition. [http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=de9d3798-6c23-4416-99fc-651ac8774326]
- The National Post reported on June 30, 2005, that Canadian Wal Mart stores are selling a John A. Macdonald action figure.

External links

- [http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/federal/johna.htm John A. Macdonald, Confederation and Canadian Federalism]
- [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=40370 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online]
- [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=1870&s=M Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament] Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, Sir John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, John A. Macdonald, Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir John A.

The Right Honourable

The Right Honourable (abbreviated "The Rt Hon." or "The Right Hon.") is an honorific prefix which is traditionally applied to certain classes of people in the United Kingdom, Canada, and other Commonwealth Realms.

Entitlement

People entitled to the prefix in a personal capacity are:
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
- This includes all current and former members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, which is a committee of the Privy Council;
- Barons, viscounts and earls (marquesses are "The Most Honourable" and dukes are "The Most Noble" or "His Grace", and, if Privy Councillors, retain these higher styles); and
- The holders of certain offices of state in some Commonwealth realms (e.g. in Canada, the Governor General, Prime Minister and Chief Justice). In order to differentiate peers who are Privy Counsellors from those who are not, sometimes the suffix PC is added to the title. In addition some people are entitled to the prefix in an official capacity, i.e. the prefix is added to the name of the office, but not the name of the person:
- The Lord Mayors of London, Dublin, Cardiff, Belfast, York and Bristol; and of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart; and
- The Lord Provosts of Edinburgh and Glasgow. All other Lord Mayors and Lord Provosts are "The Right Worshipful".

Corporate entities

The prefix is also added to the name of various corporate entities, e.g.:
- The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal (of the United Kingdom &c.) in Parliament Assembled (the House of Lords);
- The Right Honourable the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses (now usually the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom &c.) in Parliament Assembled (the House of Commons); and
- The Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (the Board of Admiralty)
- The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations (the Board of Trade) See also the corporate use of "Most Honourable," as in "The Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council" (the Privy Council).

Use of the honorific

The honorific is normally only used on the front of envelopes and other written documents: for example, The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP is otherwise referred to simply as "Mr Blair". In the House of Commons, members refer to each other as "the honourable member for ..." or "the right honourable member for ..." depending upon whether or not they are Privy Counsellors. However the title "the honourable member" is only a parliamentary term and is not used outside the House. When a married woman holds this style, she uses her own given name in her style. So, when Mrs. Denis Thatcher was made a Privy Counsellor, she didn't become The Right Honourable Mrs. Denis Thatcher or The Right Honourable Mrs Thatcher, but became The Right Honourable Margaret Thatcher.

Outside the United Kingdom

Generally within the Commonwealth, ministers and judges are The Honourable unless they are appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, in which case they are The Right Honourable. Such persons generally include Prime Ministers and judges of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, and several other Commonwealth prime ministers.

Australia

In Australia some Premiers of the Australian colonies in the 19th century were appointed members of the UK Privy Council and were thus entitled to be called The Right Honourable. After Federation in 1901, the Governor-General, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the Prime Minister and some other senior ministers held the title. There has never been an Australian Privy Council. In 1972 Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam declined appointment to the Privy Council, but the practice was resumed by Malcolm Fraser in 1975. In 1983 Bob Hawke declined the appointment, and the appointment of Australians to the Privy Council was abolished shortly thereafter. The last Governor-General to be entitled to the style was Ninian Stephen. The last politician to be entitled to the style was Ian Sinclair, who retired in 1998. The only living Australians holding the title The Right Honourable for life are:
- Doug Anthony, former Deputy Prime Minister
- Sir Zelman Cowen, former Governor-General
- Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister
- Ian Sinclair, former Leader of the National Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives
- Sir Ninian Stephen, former Governor-General
- Reginald Withers, former Senator, Minister, and Lord Mayor of Perth. The Lord Mayors of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart are styled The Right Honourable, but the style (which has no connection with the Privy Council) attaches to the title of Lord Mayor, and not to their names, and is relinquished upon leaving office.

Canada

In Canada, members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada receive the honorific The Honourable, with only the occupants of the most senior public offices being made The Right Honourable, as they used to be appointed to the British Privy Council. L'Honorable and le Très Honorable are used in French by the federal government, but the Office québécois de la langue française (the Quebec government body setting standards for the French language) considers them improper loan expressions and advises the use of Monsieur and Madame (Mr. and Ms.) instead. Although appointments of Canadians to the British Privy Council have ceased, the following public servants are domestically awarded the style The Right Honourable for life:
- the Governor General of Canada
- the Prime Minister of Canada
- the Chief Justice of Canada. (Governors General also use the style His/Her Excellency during their term of office.) Several prominent Canadians (mostly politicians) have become members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and have thus been entitled to use the title Right Honourable, either because of their services in Britain (e.g. serving as envoys to London) or as members of the Imperial War Cabinet, or due to their prominence in the Canadian Cabinet. These include:
- Sir John A. Macdonald (1879)1
- Sir John Rose (1886)
- Sir John Sparrow David Thompson (1894)1
- Sir Samuel Henry Strong (1897)4
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1897)1
- Sir Richard John Cartwright (1902)
- Sir Henri Elzéar Taschereau (1904)4
- Sir Charles Tupper (1907)1
- Sir Charles Fitzpatrick (1908)4
- Sir Robert Laird Borden (1912)1
- Sir George Eulas Foster (1916)
- Sir Louis Henry Davies (1919)4
- Lyman Poore Duff (1919)6
- Arthur Lewis Sifton (1920)
- Arthur Meighen (1920)1
- Charles Doherty (1920)
- Sir William Thomas White (1920)
- William Lyon Mackenzie King (1922)1
- William Stevens Fielding (1923)
- Francis Alexander Anglin (1925)4
- Sir William Mulock (1925)
- George Perry Graham (1925)
- R.B. Bennett (1930)1
- Sir George Halsey Perley (1931)
- Ernest Lapointe (1937)
- Vincent Massey (1941)3
- Raoul Dandurand (1941)
- Louis St. Laurent (1946)2
- James Lorimer Ilsley (1946)
- Clarence Decatur Howe (1946)
- Ian Alistair Mackenzie (1947)
- James Garfield Gardiner (1947)
- Thibaudeau Rinfret (1947)4
- John George Diefenbaker (1957)1
- Georges-Philéas Vanier (1963)5
- Lester Bowles Pearson (1963)1 1 - As Prime Minister. 2 - Tupper was appointed when he was no longer Prime Minister and St. Laurent was appointed when he was a cabinet minister under Mackenzie King. 3 - Massey became Governor General over a decade later. He was made "Right Honourable" while serving as Canada's High Commissioner to London. 4 - As Chief Justice of Canada 5 - As Governor General of Canada. 6 - Duff did not become Chief Justice until 1933. Canadian appointments to the British Privy Council were ended by the government of Lester Pearson. Since then, the style may only be granted for life by the Governor General to eminent Canadians who have not held any of the offices that would otherwise entitle them to the style. It has been granted to the following individuals:
- Paul Joseph James Martin (1992)
- Martial Asselin (1992)
- Ellen Fairclough (1992)
- Jean-Luc Pépin (1992)
- Alvin Hamilton (1992)
- Don Mazankowski (1992)
- Jack Pickersgill (1992)
- Robert Stanfield (1992)
- Herb Gray (2002)

Ireland

The Irish Privy Council was abolished with the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922; nevertheless the Lord Mayor of Dublin, like his counterparts in the United Kingdom, retains the usage of the honorific; the Lord Mayor of Cork has never been entitled to the title. The remaining members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland are entitled to be styled The Right Honourable.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the Prime Minister is customarily appointed to the British Privy Council and is styled The Right Honourable. However, the current Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has not recommended any new Privy Counsellors. The Governor-General is also usually a Privy Counsellor, but the current Governor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, is not. In any case the Governor-General as a plenipotentiary representative is entitled to the style "Excellency". At present there are only two Privy Counsellors in the New Zealand Parliament, both appointed by previous Prime Ministers: Helen Clark (appointed by Jim Bolger upon becoming Leader of the Opposition in 1993) and Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First (appointed by Jim Bolger upon becoming Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer in 1996). Privy Counsellors recently retired include the former Speaker of the House, Jonathan Hunt (appointed by Geoffrey Palmer in recognition of long service in 1989), who retired from Parliament in 2005 to become New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley (appointed upon becoming Prime Minister in 1997), who stepped down from Parliament at the 2002 election.

External links

- [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/pe/titre_e.cfm Current list of Canadian notables possessing some form of honorific] (incl. Rt. Hon.) Category:Titles

Order of St. Michael and St. George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. The Order includes three classes, in descending order of seniority:
- Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG)
- Knight or Dame Commander (KCMG or DCMG)
- Companion (CMG) It is used to honour individuals who have rendered important services in relation to Commonwealth or foreign nations. Ian Fleming's spy, James Bond, was decorated with the CMG in 1953 (mentioned in the novel From Russia with Love). The Order's motto is Auspicium melioris aevi (Latin for "Token of a better age"). Its patron saints, as the name suggests, are St Michael the Archangel and St George. One of its primary symbols is that of St Michael trampling over Satan. The Order is the sixth-most senior in the British honours system, after The Most Noble Order of the Garter, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India. The third of the aformentioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, no longer a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse; no appointments have been made to it since 1934. The last of the Orders on the list, related to India, is also in disuse for similar reasons. An occasionally used humorous mnemonic from Yes, Minister to remember the seniority order is: CMG "Call me God", KCMG "Kindly Call me God" and GCMG "God Calls me God".

History

The Order was originally founded to commemorate the British protectorate over the Ionian Islands, which had come under British control in 1814 and had been granted its own constitution in 1817. It was intended to reward "natives of the Ionian Islands and of the island of Malta and its dependencies, and for such other subjects of his majesty as may hold high and confidential situations in the Mediterranean." In 1864, however, the protectorate ended and the Ionian Islands became a part of Greece. The Order's basis was revised in 1868; membership was granted to those who "hold high and confidential offices within Her Majesty's colonial possessions, and in reward for services rendered to the Crown in relation to the foreign affairs of the Empire." Accordingly, Governors-General of the Commonwealth Realms are typically appointed Knight Grand Cross or Knight Commander, either at the start or at the end of their terms as Governor-General, unless the Realm in question has its own system of honours. The practice was ended for Australia in 1989 and New Zealand in 2000.

Composition

The British Sovereign is the Sovereign of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order (by convention, on the advice of the Government). The next-most senior member is the Grand Master. The office was formerly filled by the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands; now, however, Grand Masters are chosen by the Sovereign. The current Grand Master is HRH The Duke of Kent. The Order originally included 15 Knights Grand Cross, 20 Knights Commanders and 25 Companions. Several expansions have been made; now, the limits are 125, 375 and 1750, respectively. Members of the Royal Family who are appointed to the Order do not count towards the limit; neither do foreigners appointed as "honorary members". The Order has six officers: the Prelate, the Chancellor, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms and the Usher. The Order's King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, like many other heraldic officers. The Usher of the Order is known as the Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod; he does not, unlike his Order of the Garter equivalent (the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod), perform any duties related to the House of Lords.

Vestments and accoutrements

Members of the Order wear elaborate costumes on important occasions (such as coronations), which vary by rank:
- The mantle, worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, is made of Saxon blue satin lined with crimson silk. On the left side is a representation of the star (see below). The mantle is bound with two large tassels.
- The collar, worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, is made of gold. It consists of depictions of crowned lions, Maltese Crosses, and the cyphers "SM" and "SG", all alternately. In the centre are two winged lions, each holding a book and seven arrows. At less important occasions, simpler insignia are used:
- The star is an insignia used only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commanders. It is worn pinned to the left breast. The Knight and Dame Grand Cross' star includes seven-armed, silver-rayed 'Maltese Asterisk' (for want of a better description—see Maltese Cross), with a gold ray in between each pair of arms. The Knight and Dame Commander's star is a slightly smaller eight-pointed silver figure formed by two Maltese Crosses; it does not include any gold rays. In each case, the star bears a red cross of St George. In the centre of the star is a dark blue ring bearing the motto of the Order. Within the ring is a representation of St Michael trampling on Satan. Maltese Crosses
- The badge is the only insignia used by all members of the Order; it is suspended on a blue-crimson-blue ribbon. Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear it on a riband or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip. Knights Commanders and male Companions wear the badge from a ribbon around the neck; Dames Commanders and female Companions wear it from a bow on the left shoulder. The badge is a seven-armed, white-enamelled 'Maltese Asterisk' (see Maltese Cross); the obverse shows St Michael trampling on Satan, while the reverse shows St George on horseback killing a dragon, both within a dark blue ring bearing the motto of the Order. On certain "collar days" designated by the Sovereign, members attending formal events may wear the Order's collar over their military uniform or evening wear. When collars are worn (either on collar days or on formal occasions such as coronations), the badge is suspended from the collar. All collars which have been awarded since 1948 must be returned to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. The other insignia may be retained.

Chapel

The original home of the Order was the Palace of St Michael and St George in Corfu, the residence of the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands and the seat of the Ionian Senate. Since 1906, the Order's chapel has been in St Paul's Cathedral in London. (The Cathedral also serves as the home of the chapel of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.) Religious services for the whole Order are held quadrennially; new Knights and Dames Grand Cross are installed at these services. The Sovereign and the Knights and Dames Grand Cross are allotted stalls in the choir of the chapel, above which their heraldic devices are displayed. Perched on the pinnacle of a knight's stall is his helm, decorated with a mantling and topped by his crest. Under English heraldic law, women other than monarchs do not bear helms or crests; instead, the coronet appropriate to the dame's rank, if there is one, is used (see coronet). Above the crest or coronet, the stall's occupant's heraldic banner is hung, emblazoned with his or her coat of arms. At a considerably smaller scale, to the back of the stall is affixed a piece of brass (a "stall plate") displaying its occupant's name, arms and date of admission into the Order. Upon the death of a Knight, the banner, helm, mantling and crest are taken down. The stall plates, however, are not removed; rather, they remain permanently affixed somewhere about the stall, so that the stalls of the chapel are festooned with a colourful record of the Order's Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1906.

Precedence and privileges

Members of the Order of St Michael are assigned positions in the order of precedence. Wives of male members also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders; relatives of female members, however, are not assigned any special precedence. (As a general rule, individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands, but not from their mothers or wives.) (See order of precedence in England and Wales for the exact positions.) Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders prefix "Sir", and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commanders prefix "Dame", to their forenames. Wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of Dames. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when the names of the former are written out in their fullest forms. Furthermore, honorary members and clergymen do not use the accolade of knighthood. Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal "GCMG"; Knights Commanders and Dames Commanders use "KCMG" and "DCMG" respectively; Companions use "CMG". Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also entitled to receive heraldic supporters. They may, furthermore, enircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of the latter. Knights and Dames Commanders and Companions may display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet.

External links

- [http://www.debretts.co.uk/etiquette/st_michael_st_george.html Debrett's Limited. (2004). "The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George."]
- "Knighthood and Chivalry." (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
- [http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-stm&stg.htm Orans, L. P. "The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George."]
- [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/order_precedence.htm Velde, F. R. (2003). "Order of Precedence in England and Wales.] Category:British honours system Category:British knights Category:British dames Saint Michael and Saint George, Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Order of

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as King's Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". They do not constitute a separate order or degree of lawyers. They are, however, more than merely a professional rank, as their status is conferred by the Crown and recognised by the courts. Queen's Counsel have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court, and wear silk gowns of a special design (hence the informal title Silks). See Court dress.

History: England

The Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, and King's Sergeants were King's Counsel in Ordinary. The first Queen's Counsel "Extraordinary" was Sir Francis Bacon, who was given a patent giving him precedence at the Bar in 1597, and formally styled King's Counsel in 1603 (W. S. Holdsworth, History of English Law (1938) vi 473-4; Patent Rolls, 2 Jac I p 12 m 15). The obsolete rank of Serjeant-at-Law was formerly more senior, though it was overtaken formally in the 1670s, and professionally in the course of the late eighteenth century by the newer rank. The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General, had similarly succeeded the King's Serjeants as leaders of the Bar in Tudor times, though not technically senior until 1623 (except for the two senior King's Serjeants) and 1813 respectively (JH Baker, "The English Legal Profession 1450-1550" in Wilfred Prest (ed), Lawyers in Early Modern Europe and America (1981), 20). But the Queen's Counsel only emerged into eminence and integrity in the early 1830s, prior to when they were relatively few in number. It became the standard means of recognising that a barrister was a senior member of the profession, and the numbers multiplied accordingly (Daniel Duman, The English and Colonial Bars in the Nineteenth Century (1983) 35.) It became of greater professional importance to become a QC, and the serjeants gradually declined. The QCs inherited not merely the prestige of the serjeants, but enjoyed priority before the courts. Queen's Counsel and serjeants were prohibited, at least from the mid-nineteenth century, from doing chamber work. They were briefed together with a junior barrister, and they had to have chambers in London (Duman 98-99). Till 1920 in England and Wales they had to have a licence to appear in criminal cases for the defence. On appointment, QCs renounced the preparation of written pleadings and other chamber practices. Queen's Counsel were traditionally selected from barristers, rather than from lawyers in general. This was because they were counsel appointed to conduct court work on behalf of the Crown. Although the limitations on private employment were gradually relaxed, they continued to be selected from barristers, who had the sole right of audience to the higher courts. However, in 1994 solicitors of England and Wales were entitled to be admitted to the upper courts. Some 275 were so practising in 1995. In 1995 these solicitors alone became entitled to apply for appointment as Queen's Counsel. The first such was appointed March 1997 (On 27 March 1997, of the 68 new QCs announced, two were solicitors. These were Arthur Marriott (53), partner of the London office of the American law firm of Wilmer Cutler and Pickering, and Dr Lawrence Collins (55), a partner of the City law firm of Herbert Smith who was subsequently appointed as a High Court Judge. The first women to be appointed as King's Counsel were Helen Normanton and Rose Heilbron in 1949. The appointment of further Queen's Counsel was suspended in 2003 and it was widely expected that the system would be abolished, although existing QCs were not affected by the suspension. However, a vigorous campaign was mounted in defence of the system, including those who supported it as an independent indication of excellence valued by outsiders who did not have much else to go on, and especially foreign commercial litigants, and those who contended in a letter to The Times in London that it was a means whereby the most able barristers from ethnic minorities could overcome prejudice. The Government's focus then switched from abolition to reform and, in particular, reform of the much-criticised "secret soundings" of Judges and other establishment legal figures upon which the old system was based, which was said to be inappropriate and unfair given the size of the modern profession, a possible source of improper Government patronage (since the final recommendations were made by the Lord Chancellor, who is a member of the Government) and discriminatory against part-time workers (especially women) and ethnic minorities. In November 2004, it was announced that appointments to the title of Queen's Counsel in England would be resumed but that future appointees would not be chosen by the government but by a nine-member panel, chaired by a lay person, which will include two barristers, two solicitors, one retired judge and three non-lawyers.[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/25/nlaw25.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/11/25/ixhome.html]. Application forms for appointment under the new system were released in July 2005 and the next round of appointments is due to be made in early 2006, after which further appointments will be made annually, as before.

History: Scotland

In Scotland, where the independent Bar is organised as the Faculty of Advocates and its members known not as barristers but as advocates, a separate roll of Queen's Counsel was created only in 1897, with the first appointed 1898. Before that year, the only QCs appointed in Scotland were the Lord Advocate and the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. There are now about one hundred QCs in practice in Scotland, about one-fifth of the practising Bar. They are in practice appointed on the recommendation of the Lord President of the Court of Session. In the 1990s, it became possible for solicitors with rights of audience in the Court of Session or High Court of Justiciary to apply for appointment, and two or three have done so.

History: Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, Queen's Counsel was referred to as 御用大律師 in Hong Kong Cantonese. The rank has been replaced by Senior Counsel (SC) (資深大律師) since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The SC who had achieved the rank of QC before the handover might keep the use of QC in addition to SC in their title.

Today

Queen's Counsel are retained in several Commonwealth Realms where Queen Elizabeth II is head of State. Elsewhere the style is now Senior Counsel or State Counsel. In Commonwealth countries that have become republics, the office of Queen's Counsel has generally been retained, though with a new style becoming Senior Counsel in South Africa, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, Senior Advocate in India and Bangladesh, and President's Counsel in Sri Lanka. In Australia, the governments of New South Wales and Victoria have replaced the title with Senior Counsel and Queensland with State Counsel. Similar changes are under consideration in New Zealand and elsewhere in Australia. The practice of appointed Queen's Counsel has also fallen into disuse in much of Canada where the two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec, ceased making appointments in 1985 and 1976 respectively and the federal government ceased the practice in 1993. No substitute distinctions have been implemented in these jurisdictions as it is felt that the practice is a form of political patronage and is best discontinued entirely.

External links

- [http://www.nsbs.ns.ca/qc/qc_historical.htm Queen's Counsel - Historical Context] a paper written in 2001 for the Nova Scotia Barrister's Society reviewing the history of the QC and current practices throughout Canada and the Commonwealth.
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1189337,00.html Guardian 2004-04-10: QC system replaced by new scheme after 400 years]
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1225397,00.html Guardian 2004-05-28: U-turn lets QC title live on for now]
- [http://www.qcapplications.org.uk Website of the new English QC appointments procedure] Category:Law Category:Common law Category:Lawyers

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (French: Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada) is the ceremonial council of advisers to the Queen of Canada, whose members are appointed by the Governor General of Canada for life on the advice of the Prime Minister. It was established by the British North America Act, and is modelled on the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Britain and Canada are the only two Commonwealth Realms to have privy councils. Other Realms, as well as Canadian provinces, have Executive Councils which are the equivalent of the federal Cabinet in Canada. The formal authority of the council is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Canadian Cabinet, who make up a minority of the Council's members. Their actions are supported by the Privy Council Office which is headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council as chief civil servant and the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada as the Cabinet minister in charge. All Orders of the Governor in Council must be made on the recommendation of a Privy Councillor, invariably a government minister. Among the ceremonial duties of the Privy Council is the proclamation of the new Sovereign following a demise of the Crown. Constitutional scholar and former Member of Parliament Ted McWhinney has suggested that Canada could cut its ties with the monarchy and become a republic without passing an amendment to the Constitution of Canada by simply failing to proclaim a new monarch upon the demise of the old. This suggestion, included in McWhinney's book The Governor General and the Prime Ministers, due to be released in December 2005, has not yet elicited a response from the federal government or from other constitutional experts. John Aimers of the Monarchist League of Canada has argued that McWhinney is assuming it would be politically possible to achieve such a change in the status of the Crown without input from the provinces, and that his proposal ignores what Aimers asserts are prescriptive clauses of the Constitution Act, 1867 such as Sections 9 and 17 [http://themonarchist.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_themonarchist_archive.html 1]. McWhinney's suggestion does not address the basic constitutional principle that "The King never dies", i.e. there is never a vacancy or abeyance in the Crown, as succession to the Crown occurs automatically at the instant of the death of the previous monarch, without the need for any formal action such as proclamation or coronation. See Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. 1 ch. 7. At present the membership of the Council comprises all current and former federal cabinet ministers, and Chief Justices of Canada. As well, all former Governors General are members as are all former Speakers of the House of Commons. The Leader of the Opposition and leaders or other members of Opposition parties are inducted into the Privy Council from time to time, either as an honour or so that sensitive information can be disclosed to them under the Official Secrets Act. For this reason, new members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee are inducted into the Privy Council if they are not already members. Other persons recommended by the Prime Minister have been sworn into the Privy Council as an honour. Under Paul Martin, Parliamentary Secretaries have also been sworn into the Privy Council. Ministers are not automatic appointees, although generally they are made members at the same time as their appointment as ministers, and various non-cabinet members have been appointed since 1891. Provincial premiers do not automatically become Privy Councillors, but have been made members on special occasions (e.g., the centennial of Canadian Confederation, 1967 and the patriation of the Constitution of Canada, 1982. On Canada Day 1992, the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Brian Mulroney appointed eighteen prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including former Premier of Ontario David Peterson and businessman Conrad Black. The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour has not been employed by his successors. Privy Councillors are entitled to the style The Honourable (or if a serving or former Governor General, Prime Minister or Chief Justice of Canada, The Right Honourable as are certain other eminent individuals). The post-nominal initials "P.C." (or "C.P." in French) are also used. Until 1967, the style Right Honourable was only employed in Canada by those appointed to the Imperial Privy Council in London. Such appointees were usually, prime ministers, Supreme Court Chief Justices, certain senior members of the Canadian Cabinet and other eminent Canadians. Canadian appointments to the Imperial Privy Council ended under Lester Pearson and, instead, the Governor General assumed the right to assign holders of these positions (as well as former Governors-General) and other eminent Canadians the title of Right Honourable. From 1967 until 1992 the only members of the Canadian Privy Council granted the style Right Honourable were prime ministers, chief justices and governors-general. In 1992, several eminent Privy Councillors, most of whom were long-retired from active politics, were granted the style. In 2002, Jean Chrétien recommended that Herb Gray, a Privy Councillor of long standing, be given the style upon his retirement from Parliament. Governors General are entitled to use the style "Right Honourable" while they are in office; however, unless they are already members of the Privy Council by virtue of being a former Cabinet minister or having been inducted for another reason, they do not become members of the Privy Council until their term as Governor General has concluded. The Canadian Privy Council has met in the presence of the Sovereign only twice: in Ottawa in 1957 and in Halifax in 1959. The full Privy Council meets to proclaim the accession of a new sovereign and to give consent to Royal Marriages. The last meeting of the full Privy Council was in 1981 to give formal consent to the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. Following the announcement of the Prince of Wales' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles, however, the Department of Justice announced its decision that the Privy Council was not required to meet to give its consent to the marriage as the union would not result in offspring and thus would have no impact on the succession to the throne. However, the consent given is symbolic in nature only. The Canadian Privy Council itself has no direct legal power to stop a Royal Marriage, as the Royal Marriages Act, 1772, a part of Canadian law, predates the creation of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada and assigns the authority to withhold assent to a marriage to the Sovereign in consultation with the British Privy Council.

External link

- [http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=home Privy Council Office] Category:Privy councils Category:Canadian ministers Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Doctor of Laws

Legum Doctor (English: Doctor of Laws; abbreviated to LL.D.) In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the LL.D. is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of exceptionally insightful and distinctive publications, containing significant and original contributions to the science or study of law. Some universities, such as the University of Oxford, award a Doctor of Civil Law instead. In Canada, LL.D and DCL are awarded as substitute of Ph.D. in law. The LL.D. may also be awarded as an honorary degree based upon a person's contributions to society. In the United States the LL.D. is almost always an honorary degree. In the USA, the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D. or D.J.S.) is awarded for research in the form of a dissertation. In the legal profession it is seen as equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy in law. Most people who pursue the J.S.D./S.J.D./D.J.S. intend upon a career as a law professor or other scholar as the J.D. degree serves as the professional degree required for contemporary practice in the United States—thus the J.S.D. is not required in the least for professional practice. Moreover, lower graduate (not professional) degrees in law (e.g., L.L.M.) exist for further study of specific areas of law, such as taxation. Therefore, most scholars who take the doctoral graduate degree intend study in a very specific field of law or to continue work beyond what research experience a masters degree would provide. Legal scholars who intend to teach in the United States but who were educated elsewhere are attracted to the doctoral degree because many hold degrees that would be considered equal to the bachelors rather than a masters or J.D. degree in the United States. Plural abbreviations in Latin are formed by doubling the letter, hence the double "L".

1815

1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 2 - Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke, Seaham, County Durham.
- January 3 - Austria, Britain, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
- January 8 - War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans
- February 3 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded in Switzerland
- February 4 - Netherlands, Foundation of the first dutch student association, the Groninger Studenten Corps, Vindicat atque Polit. The first rector of the senate was B.J. Winters.
- February 6 - New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to a John Stevens.
- February 26 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba
- March 1 - Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
- March 16 - Willem I becomes King of the Netherlands
- March 20 - Napoleon enters Paris after escaping from Elba with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000 beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
- April 5-April 12 - Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies blows its top during an eruption event. 92,000 are killed during this eruption. The event is the cause of 1816 becoming known as the Year Without a Summer.
- April 23- Second Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule takes place in Takovo, Serbia. By the end of the year Serbia had been acknowledged as a semi-independent state. Ideals of the First Serbian Uprising have thus been temporarily achieved.
- June 9 - End of the Congress of Vienna: new European political situation is set.
- June 18 - Battle of Waterloo ends the Napoleonic wars.
- June 22 - Napoleon abdicates again, restoration of Louis XVIII as King of France
- July 8 - Louis XVIII returns to Paris
- July 17 - In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort to British forces.
- October 15 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
- October 21 - Humphry Davy patents the miner's safety lamp for use in coal mining
- Austria, Prussia and Russia sign a Holy Alliance to uphold the European status quo.
- British missionaries arrive in New Zealand
- In Britain, use of pillory is limited to punishment for perjury
- Second wave of Amish immigration to North America
- First-class cricket begins.

Ongoing events

- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)-Seventh Coalition/Hundred Days
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
- Congress of Vienna (1814 - 1815)

Births

- January 10 - John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
- February 15 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German Biblical scholar (d. 1874)
- April 1 - Otto von Bismarck, German statesman (d. 1898)
- April 1 - Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
- April 6 - Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
- April 24 - Anthony Trollope, British author (d. 1882)
- August 5 - Edward John Eyre, explorer
- October 16 - Francis Lubbock, Governor of Texas (d. 1905)
- October 31 - Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician (d. 1897)
- November 2 - George Boole, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1864)
- December 10 - Augusta Ada King (neé Byron), Countess of Lovelace, early English computer pioneer (d. 1852)
- November 12 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women's rights activist (d. 1902)
- December 21 - Thomas Couture, French painter (d. 1879)

Deaths

- January 8 - Edward Pakenham, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1778)
- January 16 - Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio Nelson (b. 1765)
- February 24 - Robert Fulton, American inventor (b. 1765)
- February 26 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737)
- March 4 - Frances Abington, English actress (b. 1737)
- March 5 - Franz Mesmer, German developer of hypnotism (b. 1734)
- April 21 - Joseph Winston, American patriot and Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)
- June 1 - Louis Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (b. 1753)
- June 16 - Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick, German noble and general (killed in battle) (b. 1771)
- June 18 - Thomas Picton, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1758)
- June 18 - Claude-Etienne Michel, French general (killed in battle) (b. 1772
- June 18 - Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (killed in battle) (b. 1766)
- August 2 - Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, French marshal (murdered) (b. 1763)
- September 9 - John Singleton Copley, American painter (b. 1738)
- September 20 - Nicolas Desmarest, French geologist (b. 1725)
- October 15 - Joachim Murat, French marshal and King of Naples (executed) (b. 1767)
- December 3 - John Carroll, first American Roman Catholic Archbishop (b. 1735)
- December 7 - Michel Ney, French marshal (executed) (b. 1769) Category:1815 ko:1815년 ms:1815 simple:1815 th:พ.ศ. 2358

1891

1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 1 - Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany
- January 20 - James Hogg becomes the first native Texan to be governor of that state.
- January 29 - Liliuokalani proclaimed Queen of Hawaii
- March 3 - The International Copyright Act of 1891 was passed by the 51st Congress of the United States of America
- March 9 - 12 - Powerful storm off England's south coast; 14 ships sink
- March 14 - In New Orleans, lynch mob storms the Old Parish Prison and lynches eleven Italians arrested but found innocent for the murder of Police Chief David Hennessey.
- March 17 - The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574.
- April 1 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- May 1 - Nine killed and thirty wounded when troops fire on workers' May Day demonstration in support of eight-hour workday in Fourmies, France.
- May 5 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with maestro Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
- May 20 - First public display of Thomas Alva Edison's prototype kinetoscope (shown at Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs).
- June 16 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister.
- June 21 - First long-distance transmission of Alternating current by the Ames power plant near Telluride, Colorado by Lucien and Paul Nunn.
- August 27 - France and Russia conclude defensive alliance.
- October 1 - In California, Stanford University opens its doors
- December 29 - Thomas Edison patents the radio
- Building of The Trans-Siberian Railroad begins (ends 1917)
- The Brahmin teacher and nationalist, Bal Bangadhar tilak, begins agitation for Indian home Rule
- Civil War in Chile
- Kicking Bear surrenders
- Earthquake in Japan kills 25.000
- Famine in Russia
- Maria Skłodowska enters Sorbonne University
- New Scotland Yard becomes the HQ of London Metropolitan Police
- Swiss Army Knife
- Eugene Dubois made first discovery of Homo erectus fossils in Dutch colony of Java.
- Winter - James Naismith invents Basketball
- The Tobacco Protest occurs in Iran
- Oba Ovonramwen seizes the throne of Benin
- Auckland University Students' Association founded

Births

- January 8 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1957)
- February 9 - Ronald Colman, English actor (d. 1958)
- February 11 - J.W. Hearne English cricketer (d. 1965).
- February 27 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcasting pioneer (d. 1971)
- March 10 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (d. 1984)
- March 19 - Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1974)
- March 29 - Yvan Goll, French lyricist and dramatist (d. 1950)
- April 2 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
- April 13 - Nella Larsen, American novelist (d. 1964)
- April 17 - George Adamski, Polish-born UFO traveler (d. 1965)
- April 23 - Sergei Prokofiev, Soviet composer (d. 1953)
- May 15 - Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian writer (d. 1940)
- May 16 - Richard Tauber, Austrian tenor (d. 1948)
- May 18 - Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (d. 1970)
- May 19 - Oswald Boelcke, German World War I pilot (d. 1916)
- May 22 - Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (d. 1963)
- May 23 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- May 24 - William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar (d. 1971)
- June 9 - Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
- June 20 - John A. Costello, second President of Ireland (d. 1976)
- June 21 - Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (d. 1966)
- June 30 - Man Mountain Dean, American professional wrestler (d. 1953)
- July 5 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- September 12 - Pedro Albizu Campos, advocate of Puerto Rican independence (d. 1965)
- September 14 - William F. Friedman, American cryptographer (d. 1969)
- September 16 - Karl Dönitz, President of Germany (d. 1980)
- September 26 - Charles Munch, French conductor and violinist (d. 1968)
- September 28 - Myrtle Gonzalez, American film and stage actress (d. 1918)
- October 12 - Fumimaro Konoe, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1945)
- October 20 - James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- October 24 - Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic (d. 1961)
- November 14 - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1941)
- November 15 - Vincent Astor, American philanthropist (d. 1959)
- November 15 - Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (d. 1944)
- December 10 - Nelly Sachs, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- December 26 - Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)

Deaths

- January 5 - Emma Abbott, American opera singer (b. 1849)
- January 16 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)
- January 21 - Calixa Lavallée, Canadian composer (b. 1842)
- March 15 - Théodore de Banville, French writer (b. 1823)
- March 15 - Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (b. 1819)
- April 7 - P. T. Barnum, American showman (b. 1810)
- April 24 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
- May 8 - Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Russian-born author and theosophist (b. 1831)
- July 4 - Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
- August 12 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (b. 1819)
- August 14 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (b. 1803)
- September 11 - Antero de Quental, Portuguese poet (b. 1842)
- September 15 - Ivan Goncharov, Russian author (b. 1812)
- September 28 - Herman Melville, American novelist (b. 1819)
- October 6 - Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist leader (b. 1846)
- October 15 - Gilbert Arthur a Beckett, English writer (b. 1837)
- November 10 - Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (b. 1854)
- December 5 - Pedro II, Brazilian deposed emperor (b. 1826)

Fictional events of the year

Sherlock Holmes is believed to have died in the Reichenbach fall with the "Napoleon of crime", Professor James Moriarty. Category:1891 ko:1891년 simple:1891 th:พ.ศ. 2434

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada (French: Premier ministre du Canada), the head of the Government of Canada, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. The prime minister has the right to the style of "Right Honourable". The current prime minister is the Right Honourable Paul Martin.

Qualifications and selection

Paul Martin The prime minister may be any Canadian citizen of voting age (18 years). It is customary for the prime minister to also be a sitting member of the House of Commons and able to speak French and English, although two Prime Ministers have governed from the Senate: Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell. If the prime minister should fail to win his or her seat, a junior Member of Parliament in a safe seat would typically resign to permit a by-election to elect that leader to a seat. However, if the leader of the governing party is changed shortly before an election is due and the new leader is not a Member of Parliament, he or she will normally await the general election before running for a seat. For example, John Turner was briefly prime minister in 1984 without being a member of the House of Commons; he would ironically win his seat in the general election that swept him from power. The official residence of the prime minister is 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Ontario. All prime ministers have lived there since Louis St. Laurent in 1951. In earlier years, it was tradition that the sovereign bestow a knighthood on each new Canadian prime minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name (of the first eight prime ministers, only Alexander Mackenzie refused knighthood). Since the Nickle Resolution of 1919, it is against policy for the sovereign to grant titles to Canadians; the last prime minister knighted was Sir Robert Laird Borden, who was in power when the Nickle Resolution was passed.

Term

A prime minister does not a have a fixed term. A prime minister may resign for personal reasons at any time, but is required to resign only when an opposition party wins a majority of the seats in the House. If his or her party loses a motion of no confidence, a prime minister may resign (allowing another party to form the government), or more often will appeal to the people by having Parliament dissolved and a general election held. If a general election gives an opposition party a plurality of the seats, the prime minister's party is still given the first opportunity to continue as the government. The incumbent prime minister may attempt to gain the support of another party (a coalition government), or he/she may resign and allow the party that won the most seats to form the government. coalition government An election for every seat in the Commons (a "general election") is called at most 5 years after the previous one; however, the prime minister has the power to call a general election at virtually any time. Customarily, when a majority government is in power, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election or as a de facto referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the United States). If a minority government is in power, a vote of non confidence in the House of Commons may lead to a quick election (nine months in the case of the second-most recent Canadian minority government, the Clark government of 1979-1980). In contrast to the British government, in which members of Parliament have long tenure but prime ministers have relatively short tenures, the Canadian prime minister typically has a long tenure except in cases where there is a minority government.

Role and authority

Since the prime minister is, in practice, the most powerful member of the Canadian government, he or she is sometimes erroneously referred to as Canada's head of state. The Canadian head of state is Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, who is represented by the Governor General of Canada. The prime minister is the head of government. head of government The office of Prime Minister of Canada is not mentioned in the Canadian Constitution, save for a recently added clause mandating meetings with the provincial premiers. In modern-day Canada, however, his/her prerogatives are largely the duties to which the constitution refers to as the job of the Governor General (who is a figurehead). The function, duties, responsibilities, and powers of the Prime Minister of Canada were established at the time the country was created as a self-governing dominion in 1867 and were modeled upon those of the existing office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over time, the role of the Prime Minister of Canada has undergone some modifications but today has, arguably, the most personal and absolute power of any elected leader of any full democracy in the world. The prime minister plays a prominent role in most legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament. The majority of Canadian legislation originates in the cabinet of Canada, which is a body appointed by the prime minister largely from the ranks of his party's MPs. The Cabinet must have "unanimous" consent on all decisions they make, but in practice whether or not unanimity has been achieved is decided by the prime minister. Such legislation is referred to as a "Government Bill" and is designated by a number (such as C-18). The members of the governing party in Parliament, elected to represent their constituents, will usually vote in favour of any government legislation. Once passed by the majority vote of the members of the Prime Minister's party in the House of Commons, the legislation will then almost always be passed by the unelected Canadian Senate. Although any elected member of the House of Commons may introduce new legislation of their own, referred to as a "Private Members' Bill," it is an infrequent occurrence that one is ever enacted. In the 37th Parliament 2nd Session, of the 471 Private Members' bills tabled, only four received royal assent (although some others were passed by the House of Commons). None of these were significant changes to socio-economic matters aff