(
May 8 ,
1859 -
October 24 ,
1935 ) was a lawyer and
Prime Minister of
Newfoundland . Born in
St. John's , Morris was educated at the
University Of Ottawa , joined the bar in 1885, and was a counsel for the
British government during the North American fisheries arbitration in 1910 receiving a
Knighthood in 1904. Morris served as governor of the Newfoundland Savings Bank from 1889 to 1913 and was elected to the Newfoundland
House Of Assembly in 1885 as an independent. He joined the
Liberal government of Sir
William Whiteway as
Attorney-General from 1889 to 1895.
Morris was the most senior
Roman Catholic politician in Newfoundland and had enoromous influence as a result. He had a strained relationship with Whiteway's successor as Liberal leader, Sir
Robert Bond , splitting with him to form the ''Independent Party'' which he led from 1898 to 1900. Morris formed an alliance with Bond to defeat the
Tories and served as minister of justice from 1900 to 1907 in Bond's government. In 1907 he again broke with Bond and formed the
People's Party . Both parties tied in the 1908 General Election.
Robert Bond was asked to form a government. He refused saying he could not because he could not elect a speaker, without losing a vote and thereby bringing down the government. Morris said he could form a government and was made
Prime Minister . He lost a confidence vote and then called an election. He led his party to victory in the 1909 election with a clear majority. He served in that position through the
First World War .
His ''
People's Party '' government enjoyed strong support from the
Dominion 's Catholics but was largely opposed by
Protestant s. As a result of a wartime crisis over
Conscription , and the decline of his popularity due to accusations of wartime profiteering and conflict of interest, Morris decided that it was necessary to have a government that had support from all denominations and so he invited the
Opposition in the
House Of Assembly to join a
National Government which was formed in 1917 to oversee the duration of the war. Morris retired from politics at the end of 1917 after eight years in power.
In 1918, Morris was elevated to the
British Peerage as the first
Baron Morris . Lord Morris moved to
London and took his seat in the
House Of Lords . He lived the rest of his life there, only returning to
Newfoundland once. He died in London, in 1935, at the age of 76.
Preceded by:
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Succeeded by:
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