Joseph Howe: Patriot, Statesman and Communicator Extraordinaire

Things were different in the Halifax of 1835. Then, as now, Nova Scotia’s capital was a busy seaport and naval base, the largest city in the region, and a hub of political and cultural activity. But as much as Atlantic Canada today is known as a bastion of sensible and progressive politics, in those days colonial Halifax was in the cozy but iron grip of a small and privileged clique – wealthy, white, male, Church of England, mostly with military, professional, or commercial backgrounds, or all of the above. And they liked it just the way it was.

Joseph Howe could have been part of the clique. He had the pedigree. But he also had a social conscience, and was of the view that he was called upon to speak out clearly and forcefully. It also happened that he was the publisher of a local newspaper, the Novascotian.

The January 1, 1835 edition published an anonymous letter accusing Halifax’s police and politicians of stuffing over £30,000 into their collective pockets since the turn of the century. In 1835 in the little capital of a small colony, that was an enormous sum of money, but more to the point, represented gigantic, and pervasive institutionalised graft.

As you might imagine, the elite was not happy. Howe was criminally charged with seditious libel. The crime carried punishments of up to life in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

Now, the problem with a charge of seditious libel in 1835 was that today’s defence of truth was not available. All the Crown had to prove was publication. In other words, Howe was sunk. In all the circumstances, Howe could not find a lawyer willing to defend him. Shame on my profession.

Howe acted on his own behalf. Judge Haliburton instructed the jury to find Howe guilty, that they simply had no choice but to follow the letter of the law. Technically, he was correct.

For more than six hours, Howe cited instance after instance of civic corruption, names, dates, and sums. He spoke of the importance of freedom of the press, and urged jurors to “leave an unshackled press to our children.”

The jury took but ten minutes to return a verdict of “Not guilty”.

Nova Scotia’s privileged families did not take kindly to this outcome, and Judge Haliburton’s son, John C. Haliburton, challenged Howe to a duel.

The pair met at Point Pleasant. Young Haliburton fired, and missed. Howe then discharged his pistol into the air, wisely avoiding giving the young Haliburton a more heroic status than he deserved.

Howe’s courage and success were a direct precursor of the Rebellions of 1837 in Lower and Upper Canada, the Durham Report, and the beginning of representative democracy in our country.

The courage of Joseph Howe, and of his jury, can never be forgotten. The freedom we so easily wear today was born, in large part, in Halifax in 1835.