Timothy Warren Anglin (August 31, 1822 – May 4, 1896) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician and
Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada.
Born in
Clonakilty
Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...
,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...
,
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 ...
, Anglin emigrated at the age of 26 as part of the exodus caused by the
Great Famine. Following a sectarian riot in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
between members of the
Orange Order and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
s, Anglin appealed for moderation and unity. This led him to take up the editorship of a new newspaper, ''The Freeman'', in 1849,
which made him an influential voice in the colony. He was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
in 1861, and became an opponent 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 ...
and of the government of
Samuel Leonard Tilley
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as a ...
which he helped defeat in 1865. Tilley returned to power the next year, however, with the defeat of the
Anti-Confederation Party
''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal ...
in the election. Anglin lost his own seat.
New Brunswick entered Confederation as a province in 1867 and Anglin won a seat in the new
House of Commons of Canada as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for the
riding of
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
in the country's
first general election.
When the Liberals came to power in the
1874 election, the new
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...
,
Alexander Mackenzie, nominated Anglin as Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada.
Anglin's term as Speaker was controversial. The Speaker is expected to act in a non-partisan manner and be above politics, but Anglin used his rulings as Speaker as opportunities to enter into partisan debate. Even more troubling to the opposition was that he retained his position as editor of a partisan newspaper during his term as Speaker, and used his position to write editorials berating 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 ...
. Especially controversial was that his newspaper was given government printing contracts. Anglin was accused of violating the ''Independence of Parliament Act'' for accepting government printing contracts, and was censured by the House of Commons Committee on Privilege in 1877. Anglin was forced to resign as Speaker and as an MP, but was re-elected to the House of Commons in the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
that was held to fill his seat. He was successfully renominated by Mackenzie to the position of Speaker.
Anglin's period as Speaker ended with the
1878 election that defeated the Liberal government. He remained in the House of Commons until he lost his seat in the
1882 election. Following his defeat, Anglin moved to
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 ...
and became editor of the ''Toronto Tribune''. In the
1887 election, he was defeated in his bid to win a seat from the Ontario riding of Simcoe North.
Three of Anglin's nine children were notably successful;
Francis Alexander Anglin
Francis Alexander Anglin PC (April 2, 1865 – March 2, 1933) was the seventh Chief Justice of Canada from 1924 until 1933.
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, one of nine children of Timothy Anglin, federal politician and Speaker of the ...
was Chief Justice of Canada from 1924 to 1933, Arthur Whyte Anglin was a successful lawyer in private practice, and
Mary Margaret Anglin became the first internationally renowned Canadian stage actress.
Electoral record
Simcoe North
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglin, Timothy
1822 births
1896 deaths
19th-century Irish people
Canadian male journalists
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick
Journalists from New Brunswick
Politicians from County Cork
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada
Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick