Andrew Charles Elliott (June 22, 1829 – April 9, 1889) was a British Columbian politician and jurist who was the fourth

premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

from 1876 to 1878.

Career

Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included gold commissioner,

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

, and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866, high sheriff of the province. He resigned his magistracy to take the post as High Sheriff. He was a member of the colony's appointed Colonial Assembly from 1865 to 1866. After the colony became a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he was elected, in 1875, to the Victoria City seat in the provincial

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

and became

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. Before his election to the House, he was a provincial magistrate in

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

. In 1876, Elliott became the fourth

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the province on the defeat of George Anthony Walkem's government in a

Motion of No Confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

. His government was unstable, and he was unable to make progress with the federal government on the province's demands that Ottawa builds a railway to the Pacific. Tax increases and the government's failure to secure a railway terminus for

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

led to Elliott's defeat in his riding in the 1878 election as well as the defeat of his government.

Death

Andrew Charles Elliott is interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery in

. His

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

in Amor de Cosmos' Victoria ''Colonist'' newspaper read:

Family life

His daughter Mary married James W. Douglas, the only son of James Douglas, but his son-in-law died at age 32, and Elliott was one of the pallbearers at the funeral.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*''Halfway to the Goldfields'', Lorraine Harris, J.J. Douglas, Vancouver, 1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Andrew Charles 1829 births 1889 deaths Premiers of British Columbia Elliot, Andrew Charles Canadian civil servants Gold commissioners in British Columbia People from Lillooet Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Members of the Colonial Assembly of British Columbia Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) judges Canadian magistrates