 peter mitchell, pc (january 4, 1824 &ndash; october 25, 1899) was a canadian politician and one of the fathers of confederation. ==life== he was born of scottish parents at newcastle in the county of northumberland, new brunswick, on 24 january 1824. he was educated at the quebec grammar school; he studied law and was called to the bar of the province of new brunswick in 1848. he practised his profession for four years, and then entered into partnership with a mr. hawe in the business of lumbering and shipbuilding.  mitchell ran again in 1856 as an opponent of prohibition, which had been proposed by the government. he carried a pistol for protection during the campaign and rum for his supporters. he was successful in this election. in the legislature, mitchell opposed denominational schools and supported the creation of municipal government. he became a member of the executive council in 1859, and introduced the colony's first bankruptcy act in order to make things easier for debtors. mitchell did not run for re-election in 1861, but was soon appointed to the legislative council (the colony's upper house) and rejoined the executive council. whil
1824_births 1899_deaths Canadian_Presbyterians Canadian_senators_from_New_Brunswick Conservative_Party_of_Canada_(1867a1942)_senators Fathers_of_Confederation Independent_Liberal_MPs_in_Canada Independent_MPs_in_the_Canadian_House_of_Commons Members_of_the_House_of_Commons_of_Canada_from_New_Brunswick Members_of_the_Queen\'s_Privy_Council_for_Canada People_from_Miramichi,_New_Brunswick Persons_of_National_Historic_Significance_(Canada) Premiers_of_New_Brunswick