Adam Wilson
Sir Adam Wilson | |
---|---|
Solicitor General of Upper Canada | |
In office May 1862 – 1863 | |
Legislative Member for York North | |
In office 1860 – May 1863 | |
15th Mayor of Toronto | |
In office 1859–1860 | |
Preceded by | David Breakenridge Read |
Succeeded by | John George Bowes |
Personal details | |
Born | Edinburgh, Scotland | September 22, 1814
Died | December 28, 1891 Toronto, Ontario | (aged 77)
Spouse | Emma Dalton |
Sir Adam Wilson
Early life and career
Adam Wilson was born in
In 1850, he became
Municipal politics
Wilson was elected to Toronto city council in 1855, representing St. Patrick’s Ward. He led a group of councillors who were against the influence of the railway companies in council decisions. He also organised an investigation on how Casimir Gzowski won a contract to construct the Esplanade.[2]
Wilson was encouraged to run in the 1859 mayoral election of Toronto by the Municipal Reform Association,[2] a Reform group who opposed the Conservative dominance of Toronto municipal politics.[4] His campaign focused on the railway business’ influence over alderman’s decisions on council.[2] His concerns included the Grand Trunk Railway putting trains between residents and Lake Ontario and the pollution that accumulated in various water sources along the Toronto waterfront.[5] Wilson won the 1859 mayoral election in Toronto’s first direct election for mayor and won a subsequent campaign for mayor in 1860.[2]
His time in office included an initiative to simplify the city’s by-laws, which the Canadian Law Journal cited as an “indescribable confusion.”[3] He also focused on police reform and was a member of the Toronto Board of Police Commissioners when they fired the deputy police chief of Toronto.[4]
Politics in the Legislative Assembly
Wilson was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in an 1860 by-election in the riding of York North. The following year he was reelected in his York North riding but lost his simultaneous election in the riding of Toronto West. In May 1862 he became Solicitor General for Upper Canada but was not reappointed the following year.[2]
Judicial career
Wilson resigned from politics in 1863 and was named a judge in the Court of Queen's Bench.[2] He was part of the Court of Common Pleas and was an ex-officio judge of Error and Appeal until 1874.[3] In 1871 he was appointed to the Ontario Law Reform Commission. In 1878, Wilson became chief justice in the Court of Common Pleas and, in 1884, was named to the same function in the Court of Queen's Bench.[2]
In 1876 Wilson claimed that George Brown wrote a letter “for corrupt purposes”[2] and that Reform engaged in corrupt practices during previous elections.[6] Brown was asked to answer this letter in front of judges in a “contempt of court” charge. The judges in this case disagreed on their findings and there were no further proceedings.[6]
In his rulings, Wilson would bring together applicable precedents but have little analysis of how they worked together to come to a conclusion. He also cited American law and tried to show independence from British law.[2] He was also credited with the huge amount of research that he conducted for his rulings.[3]
Writing career
In 1861 Wilson wrote The constable’s guide; a sketch of the office of constable.[2]
Honours and achievements
At his retirement Wilson was the longest-serving judge in Ontario.
Personal life and death
Wilson married Emma Dalton on May 1, 1841, and adopted a daughter. He died in Toronto on December 28, 1891.[2]
References
- ^ a b The Law Times Volume 92. London: The Law Times. 1892. p. 151.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Parker, Graham (1990). "Wilson, Sir Adam". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ^ OCLC 1124547496.
- ^ OCLC 243586856.
- JSTOR 43562058.
- ^ a b c d Gardiner, Herbert Fairbairn (1899). Nothing But Names: An Inquiry Into the Origin of the Names of the Counties and Townships of Ontario. Toronto: G.N. Morang. p. 474.
- ISBN 0-8020-7207-0.