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Morris was born in Perth, Upper Canada (now Ontario), the son of William MorrisThis page is about William Morris the writer, designer and socialist. For the industrialist, see William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. For the talent agency, see the William Morris Agency. William Morris ( March 24, 1834 October 3, 1896) was one of the p, himself a prominent Canadian businessman and ConservativeThe name Conservative Party of Canada has been used twice in Canadian history. For the current party founded 2003 please see the article Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party has been gone under a variety of names over the years. Initially politician. From this privileged social position, Morris was educated in Canada and ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p and worked for three years at the MontrealMontreal (/mVn. tri"Al/ in English, /mO~. re"al/ in French) is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, where it also constitutes an administrative region. It is Canada's second most populous city after Toronto ( Statistics Canada), and the sec firm of Thorne and Heward. In 1847Events January 4 Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. January 13 The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California. January 16 John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory., he moved to Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario with a population of approximately 127,436 people, is located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin. Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the m and articled for a year under John A. Macdonald. In 1849Events January 23 Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her MD by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, thus becoming the United States' first woman doctor January 31 Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom February 14 In New York City, James Knox Polk be, he became the first person to receive an arts degree from McGill College . He would subsequently receive other degrees from McGill, including a DCL in 1862Events January-March January 10 End of term for John Gately Downey, 7th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Amasa Leland Stanford. January 30 The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched. February 1 Julia Ward Howe's " Battle Hy. In 1851, he was admitted to the bar in both Canada East and Canada West; he subsequently built up a profitable legal practice.

Morris was also an author, and in 1855 published an essay entitled Canada and her resources, which called for the development of national industry. In 1858, he predicted a coming federation of the British North American colonies in a work entitled Nova Britannia, which sold 3,000 copies in its first ten days of publication. He also wrote on academic matters and developments in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, of which he was a prominent member (becoming a ruling elder of its synod in the 1850s).

Alexander Morris was raised for public life, and it was no surprise when he declared himself a candidate for the Province of Canada's legislature in 1861. He ran as a Liberal-Conservative in the riding of Lanark South in Canada West, supporting the government of George-Etienne Cartier and John A. Macdonald. Morris received 1265 votes, against 828 for his opponent. The Cartier-Macdonald government came out of the 1861 election in a weakened position, and Liberal John Sandfield Macdonald was able to form a ministry in 1862. Morris, accordingly, went into the opposition. He was easily re-elected in 1863, and returned to the government side when the Étienne-Paschal Taché-John A. Macdonald ministry was formed in 1864.

Morris's role in parliament was limited during these years, though he spoke frequently in support of confederation and played a role in negotiating the grand coalition ministry of 1864. He also expanded his business interests in this period, and was named to the board of the Commerical Bank of Canada in 1867. During his time in parliament, he was responsible for introducing a bill ending public executions in Canada.

Morris was re-elected by acclamation in the federal election of 1867, the first to be held following the royal proclamation of Confederation. He was appointed Minister of Inland Revenue on November 16, 1869, and served as a competent if not prominent member of the Macdonald ministry for the next three years. On the advice of his doctors, he did not seek re-election in 1872.

He was instead appointed as the first Chief Justice of Manitoba, serving in this position from July to December 1872. He was also appointed as the acting Lt. Governor of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories in October 1872, following the departure of Adams George Archibald. Morris maintained Archibald's policy of conciliation among the various factions in Manitoba, and unsuccessfully attempted to establish a local police force to preserve law and order in the region. He was formally sworn in as the official Lt. Governor on December 2, and attempted to accelerate the settling of Metis land claims in the province.

Manitoba's government was still in an developing state when Morris became Lt. Governor, and he continued Archibald's practice of serving as the province's de facto Premier. In 1873, he refused a request by Henry Joseph Clarke to be recognized as Premier of the province, and continued to exercise his own authority over the province's legislative process.

After the defeat of the provincial ministry in July 1874, Morris asked Marc-Amable Girard to become the province's first Premier, thereby instituting responsible government to the province. Even after this, he continued to exert considerable authority from behind the scenes.

Morris spoke for Manitoba on matters of federal-provincial relations, and helped to create the University of Manitoba in 1877. He was also actively involved in treaty negotiations with aboriginal groups, signing Treaties 3, 4, 5, and 6, and revising Treaties 1 and 2. Morris seems to have been more willing to support aboriginal land title than was his predecessor Archibald, and argued in favour of education and hunting/fishing rights for aboriginal groups. Despite some successes, however, he was unable to prevent the withdrawal of many Metis from the province (there were some suspicions about Morris's own speculation in land previously owned by the Metis).

Morris stepped down as Lt. Governor of the Northwest Territories in 1876, after it was made a separate jurisdiction. While losing this position, he also gained the Lieutenant Governorship of Keewatin District , a new territory which stretched up into the Arctic. He held this position until 1877, when he resigned as Lt. Governor of Manitoba and returned to Ontario.

Morris sought to return to the federal House of Commons in 1878. After losing the Conservative nomination in the Manitoba riding of Marquette, he decided to contest nearby Selkirk instead. He was defeated by Canadian Pacific Railway spokesman and Independent Conservative Donald A. Smith by 555 votes to 546, and subsequently returned to Ontario again.

Later in 1878, Ontario MLA Matthew Crooks Cameron was appointed as a judge, and the provincial seat of Toronto East became vacant. Morris contested the riding as a Conservative, and defeated his Liberal opponent J. Leys by 1891 votes to 1846. The Conservatives were in opposition to the Liberal government of Oliver Mowat in this period, and Morris served as the opposition house leader. In the general election of 1879, he personally defeated Mowat in Toronto East by 2132 votes to 2075 (though it should be noted that Mowat also contested Oxford North, which he won easily). Morris again defeated Leys by a narrow margin in 1883, but did not seek re-election in 1886, once more for medical reasons. The Conservatives were never able to form government in Ontario during Morris's time in the provincial house.

Morris continued to serve as a prominent figure in the Presbyterian Church following his retirement. He died in 1889, at age 63.