William Richard Howley, KC (July 6, 1875 – April 18, 1941) was a lawyer 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 ...

. He represented St. George's from 1900 to 1904 and Placentia and St. Mary's from 1909 to 1913 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 ...

. The son of

James Patrick Howley James Patrick Howley (born 7 July 1847 near St. John's, Newfoundland and died 1 January 1918 at St. John's) was a naturalist and geologist, one of the first Newfoundlanders of European descent to visit the interior of the island of Newfoundland at ...

and Elizabeth Jane Firth, he was born in St. John's and was educated at

St. Bonaventure's College St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adjacent to the Roman Cat ...

there. He studied law with Robert Kent and was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1898. He became the senior partner in Howley and Herder in 1909. Howley was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1911. Elected as a Liberal in 1900, he joined the Conservatives after a dispute with

Robert Bond Sir Robert Bond (25 February 1857 – 16 March 1927) was the last Premier of Newfoundland Colony from 1900 to 1907 and the first prime minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1907 to 1909 after the 1907 Imperial Conference conferred do ...

. He was defeated when he ran for reelection as a Conservative in 1904. Howley ran unsuccessfully as a People's Party candidate in 1908 but was elected in 1909. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in

St. John's East St. John's East (french: St. John's-Est; formerly known as St. John's North) is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1949. It covers a part of St ...

in 1913. In 1928, he was named Minister of Justice in the Newfoundland cabinet but failed in his bid for election later that year. When

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

was suspended in 1934, Howley served as Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General in the Commission of Government. From 1936 to 1938, he served as vice-chair of the commission. He was later named registrar for the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Howley married Mary Ryan in 1905 and the couple had two daughters. He died in St. John's at the age of 65.

References

Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador 1875 births 1941 deaths Members of the Newfoundland Commission of Government Newfoundland People's Party MHAs Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Attorneys-general of the Dominion of Newfoundland {{Newfoundland-politician-stub