1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Jones, Alfred Gilpin

21904831911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 15 — Jones, Alfred Gilpin

JONES, ALFRED GILPIN (1824–1906), Canadian politician, was born at Weymouth, Nova Scotia, in September 1824, the son of Guy C. Jones of Yarmouth, and grandson of a United Empire Loyalist. In 1865 he opposed the federation of the British American provinces, and, in his anger at the refusal of the British government to repeal such portions of the British North America Act as referred to Nova Scotia, made a speech which won for him the name of Haul-down-the-flag Jones. He was for many years a member of the Federal Parliament, and for a few months in 1878 was minister of militia under the Liberal government. Largely owing to his influence the Liberal party refused in 1878 to abandon its Free Trade policy, an obstinacy which led to its defeat in that year. In 1900 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of his native province, and held this position till his death on the 15th of March 1906.