# 3rd Parliament of Ontario

The 3rd Parliament of Ontario was in session from 18 January 1875 until 25 April 1879, following the 1875 general election in which the Liberal Party was returned as the majority party. Oliver Mowat was again the province's Premier.
The Ontario Liquor Licence Act, 1876 (often referred to as the Crooks Act), which transferred control of licenses for the sale of alcohol from individual municipalities to commissioners appointed by the province, was passed.
Rupert Mearse Wells served as speaker for the assembly.

## Members of the Assembly

| Riding | Member | Party | First elected / previously elected | Comments |
| Addington | Hammel Madden Deroche | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Algoma | Simon James Dawson | Liberal | 1875 | Member until 26 August 1878. Resigned to enter federal politics. |
| Algoma | Robert Adam Lyon (1878) | Liberal | 1878 | Won byelection, was member from 16 September 1878. |
| Brant | Hugh Finlayson | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Brant South | Arthur Sturgis Hardy | Liberal | 1873 | Provincial Secretary and Registrar in Mowat ministry after March 19, 1877 |
| Brockville | Wilmot Howard Cole | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Bruce North | Donald Sinclair | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Bruce South | Rupert Mearse Wells | Liberal | 1872 | Speaker |
| Cardwell | John Flesher | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Carleton | George William Monk | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Cornwall | Alexander Fraser McIntyre | Conservative | 1875 | Served 18 January 1875 – 18 June 1875. Election disqualified on 8 June 1875 |
| Cornwall | John Goodall Snetsinger | Liberal | 1872, 1875 | Defeated McIntyre in byelection 17 July 1875 and served to end of Parliament session. |
| Dufferin | John Barr | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Dundas | Andrew Broder | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Durham East | John Rosevear | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Durham West | John McLeod | Liberal | 1867, 1872 | |
| Elgin East | John Henry Wilson | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Elgin West | M.G. Munroe | Conservative | 1875 | Member until June 1875 when he was unseated in election trial. |
| Elgin West | Thomas Hodgins | Liberal | 1871, 1875 | As opponent of Munroe, he won the seat upon conclusion of an election trial. Resigned in 1878 to become a candidate for federal politics. |
| Elgin West | David McLaws | Liberal | 1878 | Won byelection and served from September 1878 until end of Parliament session. |
| Essex North | James Colebrooke Patterson | Conservative | 1875 | Member until September 1878 when he resigned to enter federal politics. |
| Essex North | Solomon White | Conservative | 1878 | Won byelection and was member after September 1878. |
| Essex South | Lewis Wigle | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Frontenac | Peter Graham | Conservative | 1875 | Died in office in January 1877. |
| Frontenac | Delino Dexter Calvin | Conservative | 1868, 1877 | Won byelection in 1877 and served to end of Parliament session. |
| Glengarry | Alexander James Grant | Independent-Liberal | 1875 | |
| Grenville South | Christopher Finlay Fraser | Liberal | 1872 | Provincial Secretary and Registrar in Mowat ministry until July 23, 1875? Commissioner of Public Works in Mowat ministry after March 24, 1874 |
| Grey East | Abram William Lauder | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Grey North | Thomas Scott | Conservative | 1867 | Disqualified in September 1875. |
| Grey North | David Creighton | Conservative | 1875 | Won byelection and was member from 1 November 1875. |
| Grey South | James Hill Hunter | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Haldimand | Jacob Baxter | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Halton | William Barber | Liberal | 1867 | Member until 30 June 1875 after he was unseated in election trial. |
| Halton | William Durie Lyon | Liberal | 1875 | Won byelection and was member from 15 November 1875 until end of Parliament session. |
| Hamilton | James Miller Williams | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Hastings East | Nathaniel Stephen Appleby | Independent-Conservative | 1875 | |
| Hastings North | George Henry Boulter | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Hastings West | Thomas Wills | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Huron East | Thomas Gibson | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Huron South | Archibald Bishop | Liberal | 1873 | |
| Huron West | Alexander McLagan Ross | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Kent East | Archibald McKellar | Liberal | 1867 | Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works in Mowat ministry until 25 July 1875 when he retired from politics. |
| Kent East | Daniel McCraney | Liberal | 1875 | Won byelection in 1875 and was member until end of Parliament session. |
| Kent West | Alexander Coutts | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Kingston | William Robinson | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Lambton East | Peter Graham | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Lambton West | Timothy Blair Pardee | Liberal | 1867 | Commissioner of Crown Lands in Mowat ministry |
| Lanark North | William Mostyn | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Lanark South | Abraham Code | Conservative | 1869 | |
| Leeds North and Grenville North | Henry Merrick | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Leeds South | Robert Henry Preston | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Lennox | John Thomas Grange | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Lincoln | Sylvester Neelon | Liberal | 1875 | |
| London | William Ralph Meredith | Conservative | 1872 | Leader of Opposition after c. October 1878 |
| Middlesex East | Richard Tooley | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Middlesex North | John McDougall | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Middlesex West | John Watterworth | Liberal | 1872 | |
| Monck | Henry Ryan Haney | Liberal | 1872 | Member until 18 November 1878, having died in office. |
| Monck | Richard Harcourt | Liberal | 1879 | Won byelection and was in the Legislature as of January 1879 until the end of the Parliament session. |
| Muskoka and Parry Sound | John Classon Miller | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Norfolk North | John Fitzgerald Clarke | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Norfolk South | Richard Richardson | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Northumberland East | James Marshall Ferris | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Northumberland West | William Hargraft | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Ontario North | Thomas Paxton | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Ontario South | Nicholas W. Brown | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Ottawa | Daniel John O'Donoghue | Liberal | 1874 | |
| Oxford North | Oliver Mowat | Liberal | 1872 | Premier and Attorney General in Mowat ministry |
| Oxford South | Adam Oliver | Liberal | 1867 | Member until 15 July 1875 after he was unseated by election trial. |
| Oxford South | Adam Crooks | Liberal | 1871, 1875 | Won byelection in 1875 and was in the Legislature as of December 1875. He served until the end of the Parliament session. Treasurer in Mowat ministry until March 19, 1877; Minister of Education in Mowat ministry after February 19, 1876 |
| Peel | Kenneth Chisholm | Liberal | 1873 | |
| Perth North | David Davidson Hay | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Perth South | Thomas Ballantyne | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Peterborough East | John C. O'Sullivan | Conservative | 1875 | Although unseated by election trial on 2 August 1875, he retained this riding. |
| Peterborough West | George Albertus Cox | Liberal | 1875 | Unseated in election trial 2 August 1875. |
| Peterborough West | William Hepburn Scott | Conservative | 1874, 1875 | Won byelection and was member from December 1875. |
| Prescott | William Harkin | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Prince Edward | Gideon Striker | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Renfrew North | Thomas Deacon | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Renfrew South | James Bonfield | Liberal | 1875 | |
| Russell | Adam Jacob Baker | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Simcoe East | John Kean | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Simcoe South | D'Arcy Edward Boulton | Conservative | 1873 | Died in office 16 February 1875. |
| Simcoe South | William McDougall | Independent-Liberal | 1875 | Won byelection and was member from 1 June 1875 to 9 September 1878. Resigned early to seek seat in federal House of Commons. |
| Simcoe South | William James Parkhill | Conservative | 1878 | Won by-election and was member from 1 October 1878. |
| Simcoe West | Thomas Long | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Stormont | James Bethune | Liberal | 1872 | |
| Toronto East | Matthew Crooks Cameron | Conservative | 1867 | Leader of the Opposition until c. 1878. Served as member of legislative assembly until 9 January 1879 when he retired from politics. |
| Toronto East | Alexander Morris | Conservative | 1879 | Won byelection and was member from January 1879 until the end of Parliament session. |
| Toronto West | Robert Bell | Conservative | 1875 | |
| Victoria North | John David Smith | Liberal | 1875 | Was member until 27 August 1875, after being unseated in election trial. |
| Victoria North | Duncan McRae | Conservative | 1875 | Won byelection. |
| Victoria South | Samuel Casey Wood | Liberal | 1871 | Retained seat in August 1875 byelection. Commissioner of Agriculture in Mowat ministry after July 23, 1875: Treasurer in Mowat ministry after March 19, 1877 |
| Waterloo North | Moses Springer | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Waterloo South | John Fleming | Liberal | 1875 | Died in office 21 January 1877. |
| Waterloo South | Isaac Master | Liberal | 1877 | Won byelection after recount and was member from March 1877. |
| Welland | James George Currie | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Wellington Centre | Charles Clarke | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Wellington South | Peter Gow | Liberal | 1867 | Member until 1876 when he resigned. |
| Wellington South | James Massie | Liberal | 1876 | Won byelection and was in the Legislature as of January 1877 until the end of the Parliament session. |
| Wellington West | John McGowan | Liberal-Conservative | 1874 | |
| Wentworth North | Thomas Stock | Conservative | 1875 | Disqualified in September 1875. Was Conservative member until 30 June 1875. |
| Wentworth North | James McMahon | Liberal | 1875 | Won byelection and was in the Legislature as of December 1875 until the end of the Parliament session. |
| Wentworth South | William Sexton | Liberal | 1867 | |
| York East | John Lane | Liberal | 1875 | |
| York North | Joseph Henry Widdifield | Liberal | 1875 | |
| York West | Peter Patterson | Liberal | 1871 | |

## Election trials

The early months of this Parliament were marred by election trials in many ridings. Most of these cases challenged the validity of the election results on such charges as bribery or corruption. A common accusation was that of "treating", where candidates or their agents would buy potential electors alcohol or other favours.
The following ridings and candidates were affected:
| Riding | Original Candidate | Comment |
| Cardwell | Flesher | Retained seat. |
| Cornwall | McIntyre | Unseated - election voided 8 June 1875, then defeated by Snetsinger in byelection. |
| Dundas | Broder | Retained seat. |
| Elgin East | Wilson | Retained seat - charges dropped 13 May 1875. |
| Essex South | Wigle | Retained seat - originally unseated, but appealed. |
| Elgin West | M.G. Munroe | Unseated - Hodgins declared the proper member of Legislature after 16 votes declared invalid, leaving Hodgins with a majority of 6 votes. |
| Grey North | Scott | Unseated - original petition dismissed, but reversed on appeal, therefore Scott disqualified. 8-year ban from office. |
| Grey South | Hunter | Retained seat - charges dismissed 2 July 1875. |
| Halton | Barber | Unseated. |
| Hastings West | Wills | Retained seat - charges dismissed. |
| Lincoln | Neelon | Retained seat - initially unseated, but regained seat. |
| London | Meredith | Retained seat. |
| Middlesex North | McDougall | Retained seat - charges dismissed. |
| Monck | Haney | Retained seat - election initially voided, byelection called which Haney won. |
| Muskoka | Miller | Retained seat - initially unseated, but appeals on some aspects of the election trial were still in progress through November 1875. |
| Northumberland East | Ferris | Retained seat. |
| Ontario North | Paxton | Retained seat - charges dismissed, upheld on appeal, although the original election was still void and required byelection. |
| Ontario South | Brown | Retained seat - charges dismissed, case appealed, seat retained. |
| Oxford South | Oliver | Unseated - lost byelection 25 August 1875 |
| Peel | Chisholm | Retained seat. |
| Perth North | Hay | Retained seat. |
| Peterborough East | O'Sullivan | Retained seat - although initially unseated in election trial on 2 August 1875. |
| Peterborough West | Cox | Unseated - 2 August 1875. |
| Russell | Baker | Retained seat - charges dismissed, byelection called in which Russell won. |
| Simcoe East | Kean | Retained seat. |
| Simcoe West | Long | Retained seat. |
| Toronto East | Cameron | Retained seat. |
| Toronto West | Bell | Retained seat. |
| Victoria North | Smith | Unseated. |
| Welland | Currie | Retained seat - Currie won byelection. |
| Wellington West | McGowan | Unseated - byelection called, McGowan regained seat. |
| Wentworth North | Stock | Unseated - 8-year ban from office. |
Source: "What have they gained by it? / Election appeals". The Globe. Toronto, Ontario. 27 September 1875. p. 2..