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Joseph Edward Bird (July 16, 1868 – 1948) was a Canadian legal figure. Bird was the primary lawyer, hired by the Khalsa Diwan Society to represent the passengers on board the ''Komagata Maru'' in Vancouver, 1914. Bird fought actively against the threat of his clients' eventual deportation, and he made great effort to challenge Canada's highly restrictive immigration laws.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Voyage of the Komagata Maru )〕 Bird was an advocate for equality, and sought to reform the race-based exclusion laws in Canada. Bird attempted to prove that the passengers of the ''Komagata Maru'' should have been able to settle in Canada as British subjects, though he was ultimately unsuccessful; public and political sentiments and policies at the time were overtly racist, and the BC Court of Appeal ordered the ''Komagata Maru'' to return to India. == Early life and background == Born on July 16, 1868, and raised in Barrie, Ontario on Lake Simcoe, Bird's lineage is Canadian dating back many generations, with a distant Irish past. His mother was Elizabeth Bird, and his father was Henry Bird, a prominent citizen of Barrie who worked as a treasurer and clerk for the municipality of Barrie. Though Barrie had both a strong farming industry, and a prosperous forestry (saw-milling) industry, Bird's desire to further his education took him beyond the trades of his hometown. After completing his schooling at Barrie Collegiate Institute, Bird left for Toronto, where he attended school and began his legal studies at the University of Toronto. He then went on to practice law. Bird was called to the bar in 1893 and began to practice that same year with the Toronto-based law firm, Edgar & Malone.〔 After eight years in Toronto, Bird moved to Kenora, Ontario (then known as Rat Portage) where he helped open an Edgar & Malone branch office. Bird remained in Kenora for seven years.〔 On July 1, 1899, Bird married Caroline Irwin. Irwin and Bird had two sons, Harry J., and Edward I., and in 1903, the family relocated to Canada's west cost in Vancouver, BC.〔 In Vancouver, Bird continued to practice law. He became partner in the firm of Bird, Brydon Jack & McCrossan until 1907. From 1907-1912, Bird partnered with MacNeill and practiced in the firm of MacNeill & Bird until 1912, when two others joined the firm, making it MacNeill, Bird, Macdonald & Darling.〔 Aside from his practice, Bird held various business interests. He held a directorial role with the Coast Quarries, Ltd., the British Columbia Dental Supply Company, Ltd., and the Alberta Lumber Company, Ltd.〔 Notably, Bird was a member of the labour-oriented Socialist Party of British Columbia, and was elected to Vancouver City Council as an alderman in 1908. He was a leftist candidate with Marxist ideologies; he and his socialists laid the foundation of the eventual Communist Party of Canada. Bird was a member of the Masonic Order alongside MacNeill, and was also a member of the Terminal City Club of Vancouver.〔 The Socialist Party of British Columbia was active in reaching out to the Sikhs and their Indian compatriots even before the ''Komagata Maru'' incident.〔 Bird's interest in the ''Komagata Maru'' case was linked to the ideology that he (his peers ) held. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「J. Edward Bird」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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