Joseph Howe

The Honourable Joseph Howe PC
Howe, PC, MP, MLA by William Notman
3rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
In office May 1, 1873 – June 1, 1873
Monarch	Victoria
Governor General	The Earl of Dufferin
Premier	William Annand
Preceded by	Charles Hastings Doyle
Succeeded by	Adams George Archibald
Premier of the Colony of Nova Scotia
In office August 3, 1860 – June 6, 1863
Preceded by	William Young
Succeeded by	James W. Johnston
MP for Hants
In office 1867–1873
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Monson Henry Goudge
MLA for Halifax County
In office 1836 – February 24, 1851
MLA for Cumberland County
In office 1851–1855
Preceded by	None
Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
In office 1840–1843
Preceded by	Samuel George William Archibald
Succeeded by	William Young
Personal details
Born	December 13, 1804 Halifax, Nova Scotia
Died	June 1, 1873 (aged 68) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Reformer
Spouse	Catherine Susan Ann McNab (1806–1890)
Signature

Joseph Howe PC (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer have made him a provincial legend.^[1]

He was born the son of John Howe and Mary Edes at Halifax and inherited from his loyalist father an undying love for Great Britain and her Empire.^[2] At age 23, the self-taught but widely read Howe purchased the Novascotian, soon making it into a popular and influential newspaper. He reported extensively on debates in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and travelled to every part of the province writing about its geography and people.^[1] In 1835, Howe was charged with seditious libel, a serious criminal offence, after the Novascotian published a letter attacking Halifax politicians and police for pocketing public money. Howe addressed the jury for more than six hours, citing example after example of civic corruption. The judge called for Howe's conviction, but swayed by his passionate address, jurors acquitted him in what is considered a landmark case in the struggle for a free press in Canada.^[3]

The next year, Howe was elected to the assembly as a liberal reformer, beginning a long and eventful public career. He was instrumental in helping Nova Scotia become the first British colony to win responsible government in 1848. He served as premier of Nova Scotia from 1860 to 1863 and led the unsuccessful fight against Canadian Confederation from 1866 to 1868. Having failed to persuade the British to repeal Confederation, Howe joined the federal cabinet of John A. Macdonald in 1869 and played a major role in bringing Manitoba into the union. Howe became the third Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia in 1873, but died after only three weeks in office.