Article

James Boyle Uniacke

Published Online January 16, 2008

Last Edited December 15, 2013

James Boyle Uniacke, lawyer, politician (b probably 1799, bap at Halifax 19 Jan 1800; d there 26 Mar 1858). As the son of Richard John UNIACKE, he enjoyed favoured status in NS politics and society.

Uniacke, James Boyle

James Boyle Uniacke, lawyer, politician (b probably 1799, bap at Halifax 19 Jan 1800; d there 26 Mar 1858). As the son of Richard John UNIACKE, he enjoyed favoured status in NS politics and society. He became a lawyer and then entered the Assembly, representing Cape Breton County 1832-48, Halifax Township 1848-51 and Richmond County 1851-54, initially as a Conservative but after 1840 as a Reformer (Liberal). He was appointed to the Executive Council in 1838 and served intermittently in several important offices during the struggle for RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, which culminated in 1848 with Uniacke serving as attorney general and premier, the first premier in the British Empire to serve under a responsible government. He retired in 1854 to become commissioner of crown lands and surveyor general.