Sir Francis Hincks, (December 14, 1807 – August 18, 1885) was a Canadian businessman, politician, and British colonial administrator. An immigrant from Ireland, he was the
Co-Premier of the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...
(1851–1854),
Governor of Barbados
This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...
(1856–1862),
Governor of British Guiana (1862–1869) and
Canadian Minister of Finance (1869–1873).
Early life
Born at
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, he was the ninth and youngest child of the Rev.
Thomas Dix Hincks, a Presbyterian minister and scholar, and his wife Anne (née Boult). Two of his older brothers,
Edward Hincks
Edward Hincks (19 August 1792 – 3 December 1866) was an Irish clergyman, best remembered as an Assyriologist and one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform. He was one of the three men known as the "holy trinity of cuneiform", with ...
and
William Hincks, followed their father's footsteps as noted scholars and clergy. Francis was also intended for a career as a clergyman and was educated at the
Royal Belfast Academical Institution
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...
. However, he found himself more interested in business, starting in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, with commercial ties to the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
. It was at Belfast that he married his first wife. Two weeks after their marriage, they set sail for
the Canadas
The Canadas is the collective name for the provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada, two historical British colonies in present-day Canada. The two colonies were formed in 1791, when the British Parliament passed the '' Constitutional Act'', ...
.
Business career
Arriving in York,
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
(now
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
), Hincks set up a wholesale import business. He rented business premises from
William Warren Baldwin
William Warren Baldwin (April 25, 1775 – January 8, 1844) was a doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and reform politician in Upper Canada. He, and his son Robert Baldwin, are recognized for having introduced the concept of "respon ...
and his son,
Robert Baldwin
Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...
. The Baldwins were a leading Reform family, opposed to the Tory
Family Compact
The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in ...
, which had run the government of the Province for many years. Hincks became friends with the Baldwin family, who were also of Irish descent.
He accepted a job as manager for the
Farmer's Joint Stock Bank
The Farmer's Joint Stock Bank was a bank that operated in Upper Canada, and later in the Province of Canada, from 1834 to 1854.
History
Following the 1821 legalization of small notes and bills of exchange in Upper Canada, the Bank was formed in 1 ...
but left to become manager of the newly formed
Bank of the People after the management of the Farmers' Bank became dominated by Tories. When even moderate reformers were being persecuted following the
Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, Hincks considered moving to the United States. However, the appointment of
Lord Durham
Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gr ...
in 1838 provided new hope and he chose to continue in Upper Canada. That year, he established ''
The Examiner'' in Toronto, with the aim of promoting
responsible government; this newspaper merged with ''
The Globe'', the predecessor of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', in 1855.
After resigning from cabinet and government affairs in 1873, he became President of the Montreal-based
City Bank of Montreal
The City Bank of Montreal (known in French as "La Banque de la Cité") was an early bank founded in Montreal in 1833, when it was part of Lower Canada. It was founded as a counterpart to the Bank of Montreal, whose politically conservative direc ...
. This bank merged with the Royal Canadian Bank to form the
Consolidated Bank of Canada
The Consolidated Bank of Canada was created from the merger of City Bank and Royal Canadian Bank in 1876, but collapsed in 1880 and finally liquidated in 1882.
References
See also
Defunct banks of Canada
Banks disestablished in 1882
...
, and Hincks was its first President. His signature appears on banknotes issued by these institutions.
Political career
Reform Party and responsible government
Hincks was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of the
1st Parliament of the Province of Canada, sitting from 1841 to 1844, representing
Oxford County. He was defeated in 1844, but elected in 1848 and subsequent elections, sitting from 1848 to 1855.
Bank notes and central bank
During his first term, Hincks was the chair of a select committee which studied a proposal from the Governor General,
Lord Sydenham, who advocated that the government should take over the issuing of bank notes. Up to that time, paper notes were issued by the banks. Sydenham proposed that the government take over that function, with control over the amount of paper money in circulation, a forerunner of the idea of a
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central b ...
. Issuing the notes would also give the government an important source of income.
Although Hincks personally supported the proposal, it was defeated in the committee, largely because of opposition from the banks who would lose a major source of income.
[James Powell, ''A History of the Canadian Dollar'' (Ottawa: Bank of Canada, 2005), pp. 21–22.]
/ref>
Inspector general
In 1842, he was appointed inspector general of public accounts. In 1844, he became editor of a new newspaper in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, the ''Pilot'', which supported Reformers in both Canada East and Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
. Because he sought subscriptions for his paper in Canada West, he came into conflict with George Brown George Brown may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter
* George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist
* George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor
* G ...
, editor of the ''Globe''. In 1848, he sold the paper and accepted the post of inspector general.[
]
Co-Premier of Province of Canada
Hincks was Premier of the Province of Canada from 1851 to 1854. Hincks' vision of a railroad linking British North America led to the establishment of the Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...
in 1852 and he helped negotiate the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 with the United States.
Decimal currency
During Hincks' time in office, currency reforms were a major issue in the British North American provinces. Although the British government wanted to keep all of its overseas possessions on the pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
, the North American provinces favoured a decimal currency, to facilitate trade with the United States. A compromise was reached in 1853 when the Canadian Parliament passed a ''Currency Act'', allowing both pounds and American dollars to be used in the Province of Canada, at fixed exchange rates. New Brunswick passed similar legislation, the beginning of a common currency system in British North America.
Fall of government
A scandal developed in 1854 as a result of profits made by Hincks and Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
John George Bowes of Toronto from the sale of railway stock. The government fell as a result, but when this matter was reviewed in the next parliament, no basis was found for allegations of corruption against Hincks.
Governorships in the Caribbean
In 1856, he accepted an appointment as governor of Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
and the Windward Islands
french: Îles du Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea No ...
, and, in 1861, became governor of British Guiana. He was knighted in 1869, upon the completion of his term in British Guiana.
Minister of Finance
On his return to Canada, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada and became Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
from 1869 until 1874. Starting in 1870, he created the first government-issued fractional paper currency, popularly known as "Shinplaster
Shinplaster was paper money of low denomination, typically less than one dollar, circulating widely in the economies of the 19th century where there was a shortage of circulating coinage. The shortage of circulating coins was primarily due t ...
s". This was intended to deal with the large amount of American silver coins entering the country, which were valued less than a Canadian dollar. While intended as a temporary solution, the shinplasters were popular, with subsequent issues in 1900 and 1923.
Later life
In 1878, he represented the federal government on the Ontario-Manitoba boundary commission.
He was also an editor of the '' Toronto Express'' newspaper.
Family
Hincks was married twice. In 1832, he married Martha Anne Stewart, in Belfast, Ireland. They remained married until her death in 1874 and had five children.
In 1875, he married Emily Louisa Delatre, widow of Judge Robert Baldwin Sullivan
Robert Baldwin Sullivan, (May 24, 1802 – April 14, 1853), was an Irish-Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician who became the second Mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada.
Career
In 1835, he was elected to Toronto City Council of the year-old city ...
, another member of the extended Baldwin family. Lady Hincks died in Montreal, May 14, 1880, aged 69.
Sir Francis Hincks died in Montreal, August 18, 1885, of smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
.
Legacy
Hincks Township in Quebec was named in his honour (but was officially renamed in 1975 to Lac-Sainte-Marie).
Hincks Street, Bridgetown, Barbados: In February 1861 H.R.H. Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh visited Barbados. In a bout of excess jubilation towards the visit, authorities promptly renamed several streets in and around the capital city of Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...
. Among the changes, one of the city's oldest streets, Madeira Street was renamed to Hincks Street after Sir Francis, the then Governor of Barbados
This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hincks, Francis
1807 births
1885 deaths
Governors of British Guiana
Deaths from smallpox
Governors of Barbados
Canadian Ministers of Finance
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs
People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
Irish Presbyterians
Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath
Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Politicians from County Cork
Premiers of the Province of Canada
Canadian people of Anglo-Irish descent
Infectious disease deaths in Quebec
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Canadian newspaper founders
19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people)
Immigrants to Upper Canada