Volume 3 — THE HON. TELESPHORE FOURNIER.

Top

Judge Fournier is the son of William Fournier, of Bécancour, in the Province of Quebec. He was born at St. François, Rivière du Sud, Montmagny, in 1824, and was educated at Nicolet College, where he was a pupil of the Abbé Ferland. At an early age he entered the law office of the late Hon. R. E. Caron, as a student. At the age of twenty-two he was called to the Bar of Lower Canada. In 1857 he married Miss Demers. In 1863 he was created a Queen's Counsel, and in the course of his professional career has been Batonnier and President of the General Council of the Bar of the Province of Quebec. He was one of the principal editorial writers engaged on Le National, a Liberal journal which was published at Quebec in 1856-7-8. His writings were characterized by great breadth of view and vigour of expression, and his editorials exerted considerable influence. In 1854 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Reform interest for the constituency of Montmagny, in the Canadian Assembly. In 1857 he contested an election for the same Chamber, for the City of Quebec, and was again defeated. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Stadacona Division in the Legislative Council in 1861, and for De la Durantaye division in the same House, in 1864. He was first returned to Parliament in 1870, when he was elected to the Commons for Bellechasse. This seat he held until his appointment to the Bench. He also sat for Montmagny in the Quebec Assembly from the general election of 1871 until the 7th of November, 1873, when he resigned, on taking office in Mr. Mackenzie's Administration as Minister of Inland Revenue. He was sworn of the Privy Council on that day, and on the 8th of July, 1874, was appointed Minister of Justice. On the 19th of May, 1875, he was transferred to the Postmaster-Generalship of the Dominion, where he remained until his elevation to the Bench, as a Puisné Judge of the Supreme Court, in October of the same year. Among the measures introduced and carried through Parliament by M. Fournier as Minister of Justice, the most notable are the Supreme Court Bill and the Insolvency Act of 1875. In his judicial capacity he has been concerned in two very important causes. The first of these is the famous Jacques Cartier contested election case, decided in April, 1878, in which Justices Taschereau and Henry coincided with Justice Fournier in the opinion that the seat of the Hon. Mr. Laflamme should not be vacated, and that the appeal should be dismissed. The Charlevoix contested election case forms the second. Justice Strong delivered an elaborate judgment, sustaining the plea of the Hon. Hector L. Langevin, that judgments as preliminary objections were not appealable. Justices Fournier and Taschereau dissented from this opinion, but Chief-Justice Richards and Justice Henry concurring, Mr. Langevin was confirmed in his seat.