John Mercer Johnson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Mercer Johnson (October 1, 1818 – November 8, 1868) was a New Brunswick politician and a Father of Confederation.
He was born in Liverpool, England and brought at an early age to Chatham, New Brunswick by his father, where he became a lawyer in 1850. He was later Solicitor General, Minister for the Stations, and Attorney General. He was delegated to the Quebec Conference in 1864 and that of London in 1866. After Confederation in 1867, Johnson was elected to the new Canadian House of Commons of the federal Parliament.
Johnson was educated at a grammar school in Northumberland before he studied law. In 1840, he was called to the bar of New Brunswick. At the Charlottetown Conference and the two later conferences discussing the confederation, Johnson vigorously asserted the fact that the provincial governments should not hold any power above the course of the county or zone.