A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography: Brief biographies of persons distinguished in the professional, military and political life, and the commerce and industry of Canada, in the twentieth century
History
A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography: Brief biographies of persons distinguished in the professional, military and political life, and the commerce and industry of Canada, in the twentieth century
Canada -- Biography
=Drayton, Sir Henry Lumley, K.C., K.B.=, Chief Commissioner, Board of
Railway Commissioners for Canada, was born in Kingston, Ontario, April
27, 1869. He is the son of Philip Henry Drayton, who came to Canada with
the 16th Rifles of England, and Margaret S. (Covernton) Drayton. He was
educated in the schools of England and Canada. On September 14, 1892, he
married Edith Mary Cawthra, daughter of the late Joseph Cawthra,
Toronto, and has three daughters. Sir Henry Drayton was called to the
Ontario Bar in 1891 and soon became recognized as one of the leaders in
the legal profession. In September 1893, he was appointed Assistant City
Solicitor for Toronto, and when he resigned in September, 1900, he was
presented with a gold watch in recognition of the valuable services he
had rendered to the city in his legal capacity. He immediately
(September, 1900), formed partnership with Charles J. Holman, K.C., and
in January, 1902, was appointed Counsel to the Railway Committee of the
Ontario Legislature by the Chairman, the Hon. John Dryden. The following
year he was appointed representative of the Ontario Government for the
purpose of adjudicating upon and paying, on behalf of the Government,
the claims of workmen of the different Clergue Companies operating at
Sault Ste. Marie, and on January 29, 1904, he was appointed County Crown
Attorney for the County of York, on the recommendation of the Hon. J. M.
Gibson. In 1905 he was appointed Counsel on Civic Bribery Investigation,
Toronto, the Civic Investigation Court House in 1906, the Public School
Board Investigation, and also the Civic Investigation into the Medical
Health Department. January the 20th, 1908, he was created K.C. He
resigned his position as County Crown Attorney in 1909, and the
following year, April 25, 1910, was appointed Counsel for the
Corporation of the City of Toronto. May 11, 1911, he was appointed as
representative of the Ontario Government a member of the Toronto Power
Commission. When on July 1, 1912, he was appointed Chief Commissioner of
the Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada the Toronto City Council
presented him with an illuminated album. In July, 1913, he was appointed
Commissioner to deal with the question of Control of Ocean Freight
Rates. In 1917 Sir Henry Drayton was appointed a member of the
Drayton-Smith-Acworth Commission which investigated the Canadian railway
situation. When the work of the Commission was completed and their
report presented to the Government, he, as his fee for his able services
on the Commission, was presented with a cheque for $15,000 by the
Dominion Government. He refused to accept payment and returned the
cheque. Acknowledging the receipt of the returned cheque the then
Minister of Railways and Canals, Hon. Mr. Cochrane, wrote in part as
follows: “I can assure you that your very patriotic attitude in this
matter is most sincerely appreciated by the Government at a time when
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