Stewart Derbishire

Stewart Derbishire (1794 or 1795 – March 27, 1863) was the first elected representative for Bytown in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. Born in England, he was a strong Whig.

Stewart Derbishire
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Bytown
In office 1841–1844
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	William Stewart
Queen's Printer for Province of Canada
In office 1841–1863
Personal details
Born	1794 or 1795 London
Died	March 27, 1863 Quebec City, Canada East
Political party	Whig (Britain) Moderate Reformer (Canada)
Occupation	Lawyer, journalist, publisher

At various times he was an ensign in the British Army, a lawyer, a journalist, a soldier of the British Auxiliary Legion in the First Carlist War in Spain, an assistant to Lord Durham in his inquiry into affairs in British North America, and the Queen's Printer for the Province of Canada.

Early life and Spanish Carlist War

Derbishire was born in England around 1794. After a brief military career, he studied law and was called to the bar in 1830. In 1832, he was defence counsel to a group of labourers from Dorchester accused of machine-smashing, which earned him some popular recognition.[1]

He later worked for a time as a journalist. Sent to Spain to cover the First Carlist War in 1837 for the Whig Morning Chronicle, he joined the fighting with the British Auxiliary Legion and was decorated by the Queen of Spain.[1]

Assistant to Lord Durham

Returning to England in 1837, he began to publish a newspaper but he learnt of the mission given to Lord Durham to investigate the causes of the 1837 rebellions in Lower Canada and Upper Canada. Derbishire wrote a letter to Lord Durham, offering his services for the inquiry. Durham accepted his offer and sent him to New York in 1838 to gather information on the Rebellion of 1837. Derbishire's credentials as a strong Whig won him access to notable Canadian figures who had sought refuge in New York following the abortive rebellion. William Lyon Mackenzie, John Rolph, and Edmund Bailey O’Callaghan all granted him interviews in New York. When he went on to Montreal, he was able to speak with Denis-Benjamin Viger and numerous other Lower Canadians. His conclusion was that the habitants of Lower Canada had no "no practical grievances" and that the rebellion had been triggered by "the malaria of political agitation".[1]

Derbishire also acted as press agent for Durham, encouraging journalists to write favourable articles about Durham and his inquiry. His last action on Durham's behalf was to carry dispatches to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in November, 1838, through the wilderness in winter, seeking troops to assist in response to a resurgence of unrest.[1]

Durham left British North America at the end of 1838, but Derbishire remained. He continued to provide his views on the possibility of unrest to the colonial government, but was seen as alarmist. He also provided information to the British government on the Maine–New Brunswick border dispute.[1]

Political career

In 1840, Derbishire returned to Montreal as editor of the Morning Courier. He re-established connections with the colonial government and became a supporter of the new Governor-General of the Province of Canada, Lord Sydenham. Derbishire used his editorial position to support the government in the Morning Courier.[1]

The first general election for the new Parliament was held in the spring of 1841. Lord Sydenham was actively involved, taking all possible steps to ensure that there would be majority support for the new union Province of Canada.[2] He recruited candidates who would support the union, and Derbishire was one of those candidates. With Sydenham's influence, Derbishire stood for election in the town of Bytown, Canada West (now Ottawa, Ontario), even though he had no connection to the town. Other individuals were also nominated, but Sydenham personally urged two of the leading candidates to withdraw their nominations and to support Derbishire.[3] As a result of this pressure from the Governor General, Derbishire was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for the Bytown riding.[4][5] One of the candidates who withdrew from the Bytown election, James Johnston, instead ran in the surrounding riding of Carleton and was elected. Derbishire later commented that Johnston was one of the most effective members of the House in debate.[6]

In the first session of the Parliament, Derbishire was a consistent supporter of Lord Sydenham and generally voted with the moderate reformers. Following Sydenham's death, he continued as a moderate reformer and supported the new governor, but in the ministerial crisis of 1843 he broke with the governor and voted with the moderate reformers, supporting the principle of responsible government.[7]

Derbishire did not stand for election in the general election of 1844, having been appointed Queen's Printer for the Province of Canada.

Queen's Printer

Although Derbishire was a consistent supporter of Sydenham, he was not considered a very effective member in the Legislative Assembly.[1] In the fall of 1841, Sydenham appointed Derbishire as Queen's Printer, in a joint appointment with George-Paschal Desbarats. His appointment was published in the first edition of the Canada Gazette, on October 2, 1841.[8][9] He held the position from 1841 until his death in 1863.

Family and personal life

Derbishire was considered very generous to his friends and was often in financial straits, in part because of his generosity towards the poor and his strong hospitality for his friends. He was declared an outlaw in Britain in 1841 for failing to pay his debts. His appointment as Queen's Printer that year gave him a steady income, but his finances were still somewhat shaky.[1]

Derbishire was married twice. His first wife was wealthy, but by 1841 they were estranged, and she never joined him in Canada. She died in 1842 and he subsequently re-married. He was happier in his second marriage. He had six children between his two wives.[1]

Derbishire died in Quebec City on March 27, 1863. His funeral was well-attended.[1]

References

1. Michael Cross, "Derbishire, Stewart", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. IX (1861-1870).
2. Irving Martin Abella, "The 'Sydenham Election' of 1841", Canadian Historical Review (1966) 47:326-343. [Subscription needed.]
3. Abella, "The Sydenham election of 1841", pp.330–331.
4. J.O. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860 (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), p. 43.
5. There is a conflict in the sources as to whether Derbishire was opposed or acclaimed in the election. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography indicates that although several candidates withdrew under Sydenham's influence, one candidate refused to withdraw and was defeated by Derbishire: R. Forbes Hirsch, "Stewart, William", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VIII (1851-1860). However, Cornell in his study of elections to the Parliament of the Province of Canada states that Derbishire was elected by acclamation: Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada 1841-67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback, 2015), at p. 6.
6. Richard Reid, "Johnston, James", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VII (1836-50).
7. Cornell, Alignment of Polticial Groups, pp. 93-97.
8. Canada Gazette, October 2, 1841, p. 1.
9. Government of Canada: History of the Canada Gazette.