Charles Cahan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Canadian Parliament
for St. Lawrence—St. George
In office
1925–1940
Preceded byHerbert Meredith Marler
Succeeded byBrooke Claxton
Leader of the Liberal-Conservative Party of Nova Scotia
In office
1890–1894
Preceded byWilliam MacKay
Succeeded byWilliam MacKay
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
for Shelburne
In office
1890–1894
Preceded byWilliam F. MacCoy
Succeeded byThomas Robertson
Personal details
Born
Charles Hazlitt Cahan

(1861-10-31)October 31, 1861
Hebron, Colony of Nova Scotia
DiedAugust 15, 1944(1944-08-15) (aged 82)
Hebron, Nova Scotia, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal-Conservative Party of Nova Scotia
Conservative Party of Canada
Spouses
Mary J. Hetherington
​
​
(m. 1887; died 1914)​
Juliette Elisa Charlotte
​
​
(m. 1918)​
Children
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • politician
  • businessman
  • newspaper editor

Charles Hazlitt Cahan PC KC (October 31, 1861 – August 15, 1944) was a Canadian lawyer, newspaper editor, businessman, and provincial and federal politician.

Biography

Cahan, a

Hebron, Nova Scotia
. He was the son of Charles Cahan Jr. and had three siblings: Frank D. Cahan (1863–1936), Jennie M. Cahan (1866–1918) and Loie S. Cahan (1871–1881).

He was educated at Yarmouth Seminary and Dalhousie University. He married Mary J. Hetherington of Halifax, Nova Scotia in March 1887;[1] she died in July 1914. In January 1918, he married Juliette Elisa Charlotte Hulin of Paris, France. Cahan had two sons, John Flint Cahan (1889–1928) and Charles H. Cahan, Jr. (1887–1970), and one daughter, Lois Theresa (1891–1964).

Cahan died on August 15, 1944, and is buried at Riverside Cemetery, in

Hebron, Nova Scotia
.

Career

Cahan was chief editorial writer of the Halifax Herald and Mail from 1886 to 1894. He was called to the bar in Nova Scotia in 1893 and in Quebec Bar in 1907, designated KC in 1907 (Nova Scotia) and 1909 (Quebec). He practiced corporate law in Halifax as a partner at Harris, Henry & Cahan from 1893 to 1908, and in Montreal, Quebec, from 1908.

In private business, Cahan was a lawyer and financier for extensive tramway operations in South America, Trinidad and Mexico. In 1902, Cahan became the general counsel and on-site manager of the Mexican Light and Power Company Limited.[2]

Politics

From 1890 to 1894, Cahan was a leader of the Liberal-Conservative Party in Nova Scotia Legislature and a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature for Shelbourne. He also served as Hon. Secretary, Halifax Branch, Imperial Federation League, Hon. Secretary, Liberal-Conservative Association, Nova Scotia, and Director of Public Safety for Canada during World War I.

In his article, "The Role of Lawyers in Corporate Promotion and Management: A Canadian Case Study and Theoretical Speculations" (see link below), Marchildon states, "With his four-year arts degree, as well as a law degree from the Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Charles Cahan was one of the few formally educated practitioners in late nineteenth century Canada. This gave Cahan flexibility and, rather than immediately pursuing a legal career, he worked first as a newspaper editor and then became a politician. Only when he was electorally defeated in 1896 did he turn to the practice of law."

Between 1887 and 1891, an attempt by Cahan and others to secure a federal civil service appointment for John James Stewart, owner of the Halifax Herald and Mail, came to nothing. Cahan attributed this result to the influence of

Sir Charles Tupper and his son, Charles Hibbert Tupper, who were critics of Herald policies.[3]

In 1901, Cahan managed the provincial campaign for his business associate, John Fitzwilliam Stairs who was the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal-Conservative Union and a former Conservative house leader.[4]

Cahan was first elected to the

R.B. Bennett
.

He was a candidate for the

laisser-faire principles of C.H. Cahan acquired a whole new respectability, though it is doubtful that many in the party had ever heard of him.' "[5]

In 1927, Cahan advocated for an independent

Second World War, and after an unsuccessful appeal to the Privy Council of the Supreme Court's decision. Finally, in 1949, the government enacted legislation establishing that new litigation could not be appealed to the Privy Council.[6]

In 1929, Cahan moved in the

Richard B. Bennett
, both voted "yea" with Charles Cahan, but the motion was defeated.[6]

Relations between Canada's religious communities was an important issue that Cahan had to deal with as Secretary of State. As stated by McEvoy in Religion and Politics in Foreign Policy: Canadian Government Relations with the Vatican, "Cahan, though a Presbyterian, had forged close contacts with the Catholic clergy both in his native Nova Scotia and later in Quebec. He had come to the conclusion that domestic peace in Canada was largely dependent upon the happiness of the French Canadian people and clergy. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to him, he now found them in June 1931 'disposed to be anxious and sorrowful' and felt strongly that everything possible should be done to alleviate their discontent. Finding Bennett unwilling to intervene, Cahan wrote on his own responsibility to the British Chargé d'affaires to the Holy See, George Ogilvie-Forbes, requesting him to raise the matter delicately at the Vatican, an initiative approved by Archbishop Gauthier of Montreal...In September 1931 Ogilvie-Forbes told Cahan that "the subject of your last letter has reached the proper and highest quarters.' "

Cahan also had to deal with problems of precedence within the Catholic community. At a state dinner following the opening of Parliament in January 1934,

Cardinal Villeneuve was ranked behind the apostolic delegate and the Archbishop Forbes of Ottawa, who had seniority as an archbishop. Villeneuve, who considered himself as head of the church in Canada, refused to attend the dinner. The incident was covered by the press and Cahan, who was the responsible minister, offered to resign. As stated by McEvoy, "To Cahan, a contented French-Canadian clergy could help ensure domestic peace in Canada".[7]

As Secretary of State of Canada, Charles Cahan was a Canadian delegate to the

Japan's occupation of China.[8] The speech prompted an arguably prescient critique at the Empire Club of Canada by W.L. Grant entitled, "Does Canada Take the League of Nations Seriously".[9]

Cahan lost his seat in the 1940 general election.

Awards and honors

Cahan was a guest speaker at the Empire Club of Canada in 1919 on the subject of propaganda,[10] and in 1929 on the subject of constitutional issues.[11] In 1939, he was a guest speaker at the Canadian Club of Ottawa in 1939 on the subject of Pan-American relations.[12]

Cahan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1919.[13] He is a member of the Nova Scotia Railway Hall of Fame.[14]

Archives

There is a Charles Hazlitt Cahan fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Wed by Two Ceremonies; C.H. Cahan, Montreal Financier Marries Miss Juliet Hulin of Paris" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Marchildon, Gregory P. (1998). "Benjamin Franklin Pearson". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  3. ^ W. D. March (1994). "John James Stewart". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Cahill, J. B. (1994). "John Fitzwilliam Stairs". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  5. John T. Saywell (1992). "Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927–1938, by Larry A. Glassford". utpjournals.com. University of Toronto Press. Archived from the original
    on January 15, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  6. ^ Brown, R. Blake (2002). "The Supreme Court of Canada and Judicial Legitimacy: The Rise and Fall of Chief Justice Lyman Poore Duff" (PDF). McGill Law Journal. 47: 559. Retrieved June 17, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ McEvoy, F. J. (1984). "Religion and Politics in Foreign Policy: Canadian Government Relations with the Vatican". CCHA Historical Studies. 51: 121–144. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  8. ^ Oblas, Peter. "Canada's Far West Policy: China and Japan 1929–1932". info.sophia.ac.jp. Archived from the original on April 30, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Grant, Principal W. L. "Does Canada Take The League of Nations Seriously?". Empire Club of Canada. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Cahan, Chas H. "A Pernicious Propaganda". Empire Club of Canada. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  11. ^ Cahan, C. H. "Pending Developments in the Constitution of the British Empire". Empire Club of Canada. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  12. ^ "Canadian Club of Ottawa". canadianclubottawa.ca. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  13. ^ "Networking Events, Speech Events – Canadian Club of Ottawa – Ottawa, On". Canadian Club of Ottawa. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "Nova Scotia Railway Hall of Fame". nsrwyhalloffame.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  15. ^ "Charles Hazlitt Cahan fonds, Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved August 31, 2020.

External links

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