Hector Charles McDonald

MCDONALD, Q,C., HECTOR CHARLES, lawyer, and judge; b. 3 May 1856 in Flat River, Belfast, son of John McDonald and Mary McKinnon; Presbyterian; d. 10 May 1914 in Charlottetown. McDonald, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1890 for 4th Queens. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1893 for 4th Queens. He was re-elected in the general election of 1897. He was appointed to Executive Council as Attorney-General in 1897 under the Warburton* Administration, and was reappointed to the same position in August 1898 by Premier Farquharson*. McDonald resigned as Attorney- General in 1899 to accept an appointment as a County Court Judge for Queens County. McDonald advocated the abolishment of the Legislative Council, serving as a member of the committee to draft a new constitution for the Legislative Assembly when the Council was abolished in 1893. He took a great interest in the promotion of a railway branch to Belfast, and was also a strong supporter of the bridge over the Hillsborough River in Charlottetown. McDonald received his early education in Belfast. In 1876 he attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, after which he studied at McGill University in Montreal, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1881 and a Bachelor of Civil Law in 1883. When he left McGill, McDonald returned to the Island where he studied law in the offices of McLean and Martin. One of the partners, Donald Martin*, was a member of the Legislature. McDonald was admitted as an attorney at law in 1885, and called to the Bar in 1886. He was designated Queen's Counsel in 1898, and served as a judge from 1899 until his death. George Inman* studied law with McDonald. Besides his law career and political involvements, McDonald was involved in his community. He was a prominent Mason, a member of the St. John's Lodge A.F. and A.M. He was exalted to the Royal Arch and was Knighted in the Prince Edward Preceptory, and reached the 32nd degree in the A. and A.S. Rite. McDonald was a charter member of the Prince Edward Lodge Knights of Pythias. He also served as the Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island, Deputy Grand Master, and Grand Master. McDonald took an active interest in the militia, attending the Royal School of Artillery in Quebec, where he received a first class certificate. Hector McDonald died 10 May 1914.