Francis J. Morris (December 5, 1862 – February 12, 1947) was a Newfoundland solicitor and politician.

Biography

Francis J. Morris was born in St. John's,

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 ...

son of Catherine Fitzgerald and Edward Morris and brother of Edward P. Morris. Morris completed his schooling at

Saint 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 ...

. Enrolled as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

on November 29, 1886 he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on November 21, 1867. He married Mary Feehan in 1892 and they had one daughter. Morris worked in the law firm Morris and Morris for many years and went on to become the solicitor for the St. John's

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, a position he held for 24 years. In 1902 he was named to the

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 the November 6, 1889 Newfoundland general election, Morris ran for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the two-member district of Harbour Main. Morris had defeated the incumbent Maurice Fenelon convincingly. Morris also won his second term in office in the 1893 election running in the same district of Harbour Main. In 1904 Morris was appointed as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

, a position he held for the next four years even while his brother broke with the

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

government, resigned from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and crossed the floor to sit with the opposition. Morris kept in political life until 1917 when he resigned from the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

to accept the appointment as

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the Central District Court. Morris was very influential in his many non political pursuits; he was a member of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

board of education for 28 years. During that time he was also a member of the board of governors for Saint Bonaventure's College. Morris was also an avid sports fan and was a member of the St. John's Regatta Committee for 38 years. He was also the first president of the Newfoundland Horseman's Association. He chaired the recruiting committee for the

Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal New ...

from 1915 to 1918 and was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1919 for his efforts. Morris was also the founding member of the Catholic Cadet Corps and of the Academia Institute, and a lifelong member of the Benevolent Irish Society.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Francis 1862 births 1947 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Dominion of Newfoundland judges Newfoundland Colony people Dominion of Newfoundland politicians Place of death missing

Biography

See also

References