Sir William Young, (8 September 1799 – 8 May 1887) was a

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

politician and jurist. Born in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, the son of

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

and Agnes Renny, Young was first elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

in 1836 as a Reformer (or

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 ...

) and, as a lawyer, defended Reform journalists accused of libel. 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 instituted in 1848, Young hoped to become the first Premier but was passed over in favour of fellow reformer

James Boyle Uniacke James Boyle Uniacke (1799 – 26 March 1858) led the first responsible government in Canada as it is today or any colony of the British Empire. He was the first Premier of the colony of Nova Scotia from 1848 to 1854 serving concurrently as ...

and Young became

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. However, Young succeeded Uniacke in 1854. His government was accused of overlooking

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 and tensions with Catholics were exacerbated by

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...

's rupture with Nova Scotia's Irish Catholic community over his recruitment of Americans to fight on the British side in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. In February 1857, ten Catholic and two Protestant Liberals voted with the

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

to bring down Young's government. Young returned to power in January 1860 when the Tory government was unable to command a majority in the legislature after an election. In July, the colony's Chief Justice died and Young, who had long coveted the job, was appointed to the position by the lieutenant governor. He served as Chief Justice for twenty-one years and was noted for placing cushions on his chair so he would tower above his fellow justices. He died in Halifax in 1887.

Legacy

* Young Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia is named after Sir William Young * In 1887 (the same year that the Bandstand was built), the estate of chief justice Sir William Young, donated three statues and six urns from his own garden, to

Halifax Public Gardens The Halifax Public Gardens are Victorian-era public gardens formally established in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation. The gardens are located in the Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Halifax Peninsula near the popular shopping district of Spri ...

. *Nova Scotian artist William Valentine painted Young's portrait.
The Private and Local Acts of Nova-Scotia By Nova Scotia, Sir William Young

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, William 1799 births 1887 deaths Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Premiers of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Falkirk Alumni of the University of Glasgow Colony of Nova Scotia people Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Colony of Nova Scotia judges Nova Scotia political party leaders