Born in England, this printer and publisher represented North Hastings in Parliament from 1867 to 1892, and thereafter held a seat in the Senate until 1917. He served in the cabinets of Macdonald, Abbott, and Thompson, and became Prime Minister in 1894. Past Grand Master of the Orange Lodge of British North America, he nevertheless proposed to the House of Commons in 1896, remedial action that would settle the Manitoba Schools Question. In that same year, division within his cabinet and disenchantment with his leadership forced his resignation. He died in Belleville.