James W. Cockburn, (February 13, 1819 – August 14, 1883) was a Canadian

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician, and a father of

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

Early life

He was born in

Berwick-Upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

on the

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– Scottish border and immigrated to Canada with his father, James Cockburn Snr. (1787–1832), mother, Sarah Turnbull (1797–1866) and brother, Adam (1820–1860), at the age of 13. After attending

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

and

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...

, he established a law practice in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

Career

In the 1850s, Cockburn was elected to the town council. In 1861, he was elected to the Province of Canada's legislative assembly as a Reformer representing

Northumberland West Northumberland West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. The original definition of t ...

. Despite elected as an opponent of the Macdonald - Cartier administration, Cockburn switched allegiances and became a supporter of Macdonald's Liberal-Conservative Party. Cockburn attended the

Quebec Conference of 1864 The Quebec Conference was held from October 10 to 24, 1864, to discuss a proposed Canadian confederation. It was in response to the shift in political ground when the United Kingdom and the United States had come very close to engaging in war w ...

as a supporter of Confederation. After

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, he was elected to the new House of Commons of Canada in the country's first election. He was nominated by Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

to be Canada's first

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, a position in which he served from 1867 to 1874. His performance as Speaker was hindered by the fact that he spoke no French in a chamber in which both English and French were official languages. He did however understand French. In 1872, Cockburn was nominated for a second term as Speaker despite reservations by the

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

that he had been too favourable to the government in his rulings. Cockburn lost his seat in the 1874 election that had been precipitated by the

Pacific Scandal The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving bribes being accepted by 150 members of the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract. As part of British Colu ...

and that brought down the Macdonald government. Cockburn won back his former seat in the 1878 election but did not take an active role in Parliament. He resigned in 1881 when he was appointed to collect and classify Canadian statutes but this assignment was cut short by his death.

Death

Cockburn died on August 14, 1883 from unknown causes. He is buried in St. James Cemetery, in Toronto.

Personal life

He married Isabella Susan Patterson (1838-1862) in 1854 and they had three children: Sarah Isabella Cockburn (1857-1911), Francis Cockburn (1858-1868) and May Cockburn (1859-1943).

References

* *
Gravestone, St. James Cemetery, Toronto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, James 1819 births 1883 deaths People from Berwick-upon-Tweed People from Cobourg Canadian lawyers Canadian King's Counsel

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Fathers of Confederation Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Upper Canada College alumni Immigrants to Upper Canada Burials at St. James Cemetery, Toronto Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West