Donald Morison (1857 – April 24, 1924) was a lawyer, judge and politician in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He represented Bonavista in the

Newfoundland House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. Jo ...

from 1888 to 1897 and from 1906 to 1913. The son of William D. Morison and Bessie Whithall, he was born in St. John's and was educated at the General Protestant Academy there. Morison articled with James S. Winter and was called to the bar in 1881, becoming Winter's partner. He married Cassie Trapnell. He was first elected to the Newfoundland assembly in an 1888 by-election, the first election in the colony to make use of a

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

. Morrison served in the Executive Council as Attorney General. He was a member of the municipal council for St. John's from 1892 to 1896. He did not run for re-election to the assembly in 1897. Morrison was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and design ...

from 1898 to 1904. He resigned from the bench in 1904 to re-enter politics. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the assembly as a co-leader of the United Opposition Party but was subsequently elected in a 1906 by-election. He joined Edward P. Morris's People's Party in 1908. He was named Minister of Justice in Morris' Executive Council in 1909. Morison was defeated when he ran for re-election in 1913. He retired from politics and returned to the practice of law. Morrison convinced the cabinet to pass the Law Society Act, which allowed women to become lawyers, in 1911 after his niece Janet Morison Miller was not allowed to write her examinations by the law society. Miller moved to Scotland before she was able to take the examination but Louise Saunders later became the first woman called to the Newfoundland bar. Morison served as provincial Grand Master for the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

. He died in

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while visiting one of his sons.

References

Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador 1857 births 1924 deaths Newfoundland Colony judges Attorneys-General of Newfoundland Colony Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland {{Newfoundland-politician-stub