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HON.GEORGE 00338

Hon. George Coles was born September 1510, eldest

son of James and Sarah Gales, In l829, he visited England, and while there he married Miss Mercy Heine oi Somerseto " He became interested in the brewery and distilling

business. Drawn into publio life, it was not long before his ability as a leader of men was recognized. He entered the provincial Legislature in 1842, representing Govehead and DeSable districts. He represented Fort Augustus dis- tricts for the last ten years of hie public line, at a time when political life was dominated by a “Family Contact“. Thie he fought strenuously. From the first, Coles was a strong advocate of deepensible Goyernment, and became the leader of the Liberal party. With the oo-operetion of Hong Joseph Howe, Mr, Colee succeeded in interesting Hon. Edward Whelan in our provincial political affairs. Colee could never have been what he was, nor accomplished what he did, without the advice and assistance of Whelan, and Whelan could not have occupied the position he gained, but for his association with Boleeo

In 1848, Colee visited the United States, and be~ came interested in a “roe School System; thereafter the Libez e1 nolioy in Prince Edward Island was based on Responsible Government; Free Education; and Free Land.

The first, Responsible Government, was gained in 1851, and a measure of Free;Ean§tioniin 1854; these re= forms were gained in face of great difficultieso When the Land Question came under fire, it was attacked in a practi» oal day, A Land Purchase Act was passed, and as a first result, tub of the largest estates = the Mbrell and Selkirk lands,—were purchased and sold in small parcels, enabling the tenants to becOme freeholderso In 1867, he was Presi- dent of the Executive Council and Colonial Secretary for

the Colony. Soles, due to the heavy and continuous strain of

his public life, was compelled to retire as a semininvalid, some years before his death in 1875. The "Island Argus" of August 1875 paid the following tribute to Hon° George Soles "The brightest star that illumines the pages of the politi» cal history of his native province"e Called the Father of

Responsible Government, he was a self—made man; when he was young, means of education were scant, To MroColes we are

indebted for some of the best measure on our statute books,