John William Bell
John Bell was born on March 18, 1838 at Desmond, Ontario. He was educated at nearby Newburgh Academy and earned a teacher’s certificate. He taught school for the next ten years while operating a farm in Camden Township. He was active in local politics and was a councillor for Camden Township in 1872 - 1873, Reeve in 1874 - 1876, 1878 - 1879, and 1881, and Warden of Lennox and Addington County in 1879.
In 1882 he was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative for the riding of Addington. He was re-elected in 1887, 1896, and 1900. He was one of the "Noble 13" in Parliament when he supported the motion of William Edward O’Brien to disallow the Jesuit Estates Bill. In the month before the vote on the bill he had written to Sir John A. Macdonald that, "If I support the government…..I shall be in a very awkward position with my Orange brethren."
Bell also voted against the government in 1896 on the issue of Remedial Legislation for Manitoba on the issue of separate schools. He was a member of L.O.L. No. 756 and served as County Master of Lennox and Addington in 1892 - 1894. He served as the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario East in 1896 - 1897 and in 1900 in New York city he was elected to the office of President of the Grand Orange Council of the World. Bell suffered a stroke and died at his farm on July 5, 1901. Over 5,000 people attended his funeral and two of the speakers at his funeral were N. C. Wallace and Sir Mackenzie Bowell.
John Hewitt was born in County Limerick, Ireland on December 10, 1843 and came to Canada with his family in 1847. He was a cooper by trade and he worked in New York for three years in the 1860’s and became a committed labour unionist. In 1866 he saw active service during the Fenian Raids.
He organized local # 3 of the Coopers International Union of North America and in 1870 he was appointed as Canadian organizer of the union. In 1871 he was elected as the first President of the Toronto Trades Assembly. He was a founding member and driving force in the creation of the Canadian Labour Union in 1873 and served as its first secretary.
In politics he was a strong Conservative and he was one of the trade unionists in the late nineteenth century who worked to keep the working class vote in the Conservative fold. In 1873 he accepted a job as a clerk in Toronto’s Waterworks department and he resigned from the Toronto Trades Assembly the following year.
A member of L.O.L. 212, Hewitt was co-editor and co-owner of "The Sentinel" from 1877 - 1879. He served as County Master of Toronto in 1898 - 1899 and as Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario West from 1906 - 1911. At the turn of the century Hewitt was quoted "the progress of the labour movement can have but one result, namely justice and equal rights to all men". John Hewitt died on March 14, 1911.
A. J. W. McNeily was born in 1845 in County Armagh, Ireland and came with his family to Newfoundland in 1849. He was educated at the General Protestant Academy in St. John’s and at Queen’s College in Belfast. He chose law as his profession and began his career by articling in the office of Hugh Hoyles and was called to the bar in 1870.
In 1873 he entered politics, being elected in the riding of Bonavista and he represented the area until 1878. McNeily was a very prominent Orangeman, a member of Royal Oak L.O.L. 22, St. John's, and served as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Newfoundland. This position gave him strong political leverage in the northern, mostly Protestant ridings. In 1878 he was elected in Twillingate and in 1879 he was elected as Speaker of the House.
McNeily switched his support from William Whiteway in 1882 over disagreements about the funding for the proposed island railroad and he represented the New Party which was led by his father in law, J. J. Rogerson and he was defeated in Twillingate. In the election of 1885 he was elected in the riding of Bay Verde as a member of Robert Thorburn’s Reform Party.
He was given the post of Solicitor-General but he resigned the position in 1886 to once again become Speaker of the House. He served in that office and as Attorney-General until 1889 when he left politics. That year he was appointed chief clerk and registrar of the Supreme Court and he resigned the position the next year to again practice law.
In 1910 he helped found the Game and Inland Fishery Board. He was also an avid historian and had several articles published and he helped to establish the Newfoundland Historical Society in 1905. McNeily died in 1911 and Judge D. W. Prowse wrote of him: "a wonderful all round man - a profound student of the law, a most eloquent and attractive advocate, a nature lover, an enthusiast about music, withal a keen sportsman both with rod and gun."
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