Thomas David Morrison

During the War of 1812 Morrison worked with the British army as a clerk of acquisitions in the medical department. In 1816 he was hired as a clerk in York for the office of the surveyor-general. He was fired from the position in 1822 for "uttering languages" and “opinions very unbecoming a person employed in one of His Majesty’s public offices.”[2]

After his dismissal, Morrison was educated in the field of medicine in the United States. He returned to York and on June 5, 1824 he was licensed to practice medicine in “Physic, Surgery and Midwifery.” Morrison opened his practice in York but also travelled north into the country to care for people. He was part of the ad hoc board of health in York during the 1832 cholera outbreak and worked to combat a larger outbreak in 1834.[2] In 1832 he administered the York Dispensary with William Warren Baldwin and John E. Tims, but it closed a year later due to a lack of funding.[3] In 1836 he was appointed to the Medical Board of Upper Canada by the Lieutenant-Governor.[4] He also served as a school board trustee and as a trustee for the York General Burying Ground.[2]

In 1828 Morrison ran for the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for the third riding in the town of York. He ran on a reform platform supported by William Lyon Mackenzie which opposed the firing of Judge John Walpole Willis by Lieutenant Governor Peregrine Maitland. He lost the election to John Robinson and unsuccessfully challenged the results.[2] After the election Morrison helped organise a committee to petition British politicians to intervene in Upper Canada to protect the constitution. Members of this committee were against Lieutenant-Governor's dismissal of Judge John Walpole Willis from the Court of King's Bench.[5]

In 1832 Solicitor-General Christopher Alexander Hagerman expelled Mackenzie from the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. Morrison organised a meeting on January 19 to demand that the Lieutenant-Governor call an election so Hagerman and others could explain their actions to voters in Upper Canada.[6] Mackenzie was in England when he was acclaimed in a by-election to a seat in the Legislative Assembly so Morrison spoke at the meeting and encouraged those assembled to join his recently created Upper Canada Central Political Union. Morrison proposed the organisational structure of the political union and in its first election for officers Morrison was elected as the corresponding secretary.[7]

In 1834 Morrison sat on the Toronto Board of Health when a second cholera outbreak occurred in the city. Morrison was removed from the board when it was restructured two weeks after the outbreak's declaration. Tory newspapers speculated of an argument between Mackenzie and Morrison over the lieutenant governor's offer to fund a cholera hospital. Mackenzie explained in his newspaper that Morrison did not want to apply for the funds again and resigned from the board.[8]

In 1834 Morrison was selected again as the reform movement's candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada in the third riding of York.[9] Morrison won his seat and was reelected in 1836. He was also elected as an alderman in the city of York for St. Andrew's Ward in 1834 and was reelected in this position in 1835 and 1836. In 1835 he became a member of the Toronto Board of Health and served as its chair while he was mayor.[1]

In 1836 he was chosen as mayor of Toronto. His mayoralty was focused on the continued controversies in the provincial government but also created new infrastructure projects to improve the water supply and an increased number of gas-powered street lamps. He chose not to run for city council in the preceding municipal election.[2]

Morrison was arrested on December 6 by a loyalist militia, charged with high treason for his part in the Upper Canada Rebellion and held without bail until his trial in April 1838.[2] Morrison appeared before a government committee that was investigating the revolt to proclaim his innocence and deny knowledge or participation in the rebellion.[1]

At his trial, the Crown argued their charge of treason by calling three witnesses who claimed to have seen Morrison on Yonge Street with Mackenzie on the night of the rebellion. However, the Crown admitted in their opening arguments that the witnesses might be mistaken. One witness stated that he saw Morrison wearing glasses, but Morrison's defence attorney argued that Morrison often wore sunglasses during the day but would not have worn them at night.[11] Fifteen witnesses also testified that Morrison was not on Yonge Street during the rebellion.[11]

The Crown brought a second charge of conspiring to form a rebellion and brought forward evidence of his signature on the reform declaration in July 1837. The prosecutor struggled to explain why Morrison was not charged when the declaration was originally published. The Crown also brought evidence that Morisson was at the October meeting where Mackenzie proposed the rebellion, but witnesses to the meeting testified that Morrison was against this proposal when Mackenzie proposed it. Morrison's defence counsel also claimed that the reform declaration could be calling for a convention to discuss political independence from Britain and prominent politicians in Britain were calling for colonies to be more independent without being arrested for advancing this idea. The defence counsel also challenged the idea that the declaration could call for the death of the monarch if the king was not physically present in the city.[11]

The jury deliberated for eight hours before rendering a decision. Half an hour into their deliberations the jury inquired about finding Morrison guilty of a crime less serious than high treason, but they were informed that they could not. The jury acquitted Morrison of the crimes brought forward at trial.[11]