|
Hon. Charles Wilson Cross,
a member of the Edmonton bar and for a number of years prominently
connected with the political history of the province, being still a
member of the provincial legislature, was born at Madoc, Hastings
county, Ontario, on the 30th of November, 1872, and comes of Scotch
ancestry. His father, Thomas Cross, was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland,
while his mother, who in her maidenhood was Miss Maria Mouncey, was born
in Canada but of Scotch parentage. Thomas Cross became a prominent
merchant of Madoc and a leading man in the life of that community.
Reared under the parental
roof, Charles W. Cross acquired his more advanced education in the Upper
Canada College, in Toronto University and in Osgoode Hall, and after
this thorough and complete equipment for his professional career, he
decided to put his knowledge to the test in the west, as he felt that
the opportunities in that section of the country were superior to those
of the more thickly settled east. In 1897, therefore, he made his way to
Alberta and opened an office in Edmonton, where he at once entered upon
the practice of law. Before long he had become a partner in the well
known and prominent law firm of Short, Cross, Biggar & Ewing and almost
from the beginning of his professional career he has enjoyed an
extensive and growing practice, increasingly important as the years have
passed by. His analytical mind enables him readily to understand the
salient features of a case and his presentation of his cause before the
courts is always clear, logical and convincing.
From his arrival in the
province he has taken an active interest in politics and in the fall of
1905 was elected a member of the provincial parliament in the Edmonton
constituency. He was immediately appointed attorney-general in the
cabinet under Hon. A. C. Rutherford—a most distinguished honor for so
young a man, but he proved adequate to the demands made upon him and his
party never regretted having trusted the interests of the province in
his hands. The public had the assurance that the rights of all would be
protected and his course justified the faith that was reposed in him. He
made a splendid record as attorney-general, his course constituting a
most creditable chapter in the history of legal procedure in the
province. Mr. Cross is still a member of the legislature but is not as
active in politics as formerly, preferring to devote his attention to
the private practice of law. |
