Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 28.djvu/97

Howe defence, and spoke for six hours and a half with an eloquence which at once established his reputation as an orator. He obtained a verdict of not guilty, and was conducted home in triumph. This case established upon sure foundations freedom of the press in the colony. In November 1836 Howe was elected, by a majority of more than one thousand, member for the county of Halifax in the local parliament. On 4 Feb. 1837 he made his maiden speech. On the 11th of that month he inaugurated his agitation for securing to Nova Scotia responsible government by laying twelve resolutions before the lower house, and about the same time began his advocacy of the right of the cities of the British colonies generally to municipal privileges. From April to November 1838, in company with 'Sam Slick,' he was in Europe on a first visit, and travelled through various parts of England, Ireland, Scotland, and the continent of Europe. The Tyrian brig in which he sailed out was overtaken by the Sirius, which was concluding its trial trip as the first steamship to carry mails across the Atlantic. Howe interested himself in the matter, and drew up the letter addressed (24 Aug. 1838) to Lord Glenelg, then colonial secretary, which led to the contract for the carriage of mails between Samuel Cunard [q. v.] and the English government. On his return home he published an account of his journey under the title of 'The Nova Scotian in England.' During Howe's absence in Europe the Earl of Durham had come and gone as governor-general of British North America. Lord Durham's 'Report in favour of Responsible Government in the Five Provinces' (dated February 1839) led to. the realisation of Howe's desire for independent government. In 1840 Howe was appointed a member of the executive council and showed great skill as an administrator. In the late autumn of that year he was elected speaker of the House of Assembly. During four years he served as provincial secretary under Sir John Harvey. He was in England from November 1850 to April 1851 as a delegate from Nova Scotia, and on three occasions afterwards acted in the mother-country as agent for the lower provinces; his essay on the organisation of the empire appeared in 1866. In 1870 he was appointed secretary of state for those provinces in the Dominion of Canada; and, on the resignation in May 1873 of General Sir Hastings Doyle, he was nominated governor of Nova Scotia. He had hardly been installed in office when he died suddenly at Halifax on 1 June 1873.

In 1828 Howe married Catharine Susan Ann, the only daughter of Captain John MacNab, by whom he had ten children.

[Personal recollections; The Speeches and Public Letters of the Hon. Joseph Howe, compiled by William Annand in 2 vols. imp.8vo,1858; Men of the Time, 8th ed. p. 510; Athenæum, 7 June1873.]  HOWE, JOSIAS (1611?–1701), divine, born about 1611, was the son of Thomas Howe, rector of Grendon-Underwood, Buckinghamshire. Howe told Aubrey that Shakespeare took his idea of Dogberry from a constable of Grendon (Brit. Mus. MS. Add. 24489, 250). He was elected scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, on 12 June 1632, and graduated B.A. on 18 June 1634, M.A. in 1638 (, Fasti Oxon. ed. Bliss, ii. 96-97). On 26 May 1637 he was chosen fellow of his college. A sermon which he delivered before the king at Christ Church on Psalm iv. 7 was, it is said, ordered by Charles to be printed about 1644 in red at Lichfield's press at Oxford. Only thirty copies are supposed to have been printed, probably without a title-page. Hearne, who purchased a copy at the sale of Dr. Charlett's library on 14 Jan. 1723, has given an interesting account of it in his edition of Robert of Gloucester's 'Chronicle' (ii. 669). Howe's preaching before the court at Oxford was much admired, and on 10 July 1646 he was created B.D. Howe was removed from his fellowship by the parliamentary visitors in 1648 for 'non-appearance' (Register, Camd. Soc., p. 552), but was restored in 1660, and died in college on 28 Aug. 1701. He has commendatory verses before the 'Works' of Thomas Randolph, 1638, and before the 'Comedies, Tragicomedies, and other Poems' of Wm. Cartwright (London, 1651). [Authorities in the text.]  HOWE, MICHAEL (1787–1818), bush-ranger in Tasmania, was born at Pontefract in 1787. After serving for some time on board a merchantman, and incurring an evil reputation at home as a poacher, he entered on board a king's ship. Deserting from her he was tried at York in 1811 for highway robbery, and was sentenced to seven years' transportation. On his arrival in Van Diemen's Land he was assigned to a settler, from whom he ran away into the bush, and became the leader of a large band of ruffians. For six years he led this wild life, the terror of all decent people. Twice he surrendered on proclamations of pardon, but on each occasion was suffered to escape and return to the bush. Once he was apprehended, and under the guard of two men was marched towards the town, but killing both his guards escaped again. At last a reward of one hundred