1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cartwright, Sir Richard John

CARTWRIGHT, SIR RICHARD JOHN (1835–  ), Canadian statesman, was born in Kingston, Canada, on the 4th of December 1835, son of the Rev. R. D. Cartwright, chaplain to H.M. Forces. In 1863 he entered the Canadian parliament as a Conservative, but soon after federation in 1867 quarrelled with his party on the question of their financial policy, which he considered extravagant. By 1870 the breach was complete, and in 1873 he became finance minister of the Liberal ministry of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie. His honesty and economy were undoubted, but the latter quality was sometimes pushed to extremes. From 1878 to 1896 he was the chief financial critic on the side of the Liberal opposition, and on the accession of Sir Wilfrid Laurier to power in 1896 he became minister of trade and commerce. In 1898–1899 he represented Canada on the Anglo-American joint high commission at Quebec. In 1904 failing health led to his retirement to the senate. He acted in Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s absence at the Imperial Conference 1907 as acting premier.