Sir Alexander Croke (July 22, 1758 – December 27, 1842) was a British judge,

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

administrator and

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influential in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

of the early nineteenth century.

Life

Croke was born in Aylesbury, England, to a wealthy family and attended

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he earned the degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

. He was called to the bar in 1786. Practicing maritime law, he earned a strong enough reputation for his work that in 1801 he was offered his choice of appointments to the newly established vice-admiralty courts in Nova Scotia or the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. He married Alice Blake in 1796.

Career

Croke's bench in

had considerable jurisdiction: it covered all maritime cases in a colony based largely on

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and where smuggling was commonplace. Since the population and the Assembly was highly sympathetic to smuggling, the court, which denied

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

s to the accused was unpopular. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the ever-conservative Croke even found guilty merchants who had been granted licences by colonial authorities to engage in the slave trade with

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, on the grounds that he could not support an illegal policy. His appointment to the

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

in 1802 gave him seniority over the other councilors, contrary to the established order. As the senior councilor, Croke administered the colony while the lieutenant governor was away, from December 6, 1808, to April 15, 1809, and again from August 25 to October 16, 1811. His administration was marked with conflict with the Assembly, whose budget he vetoed. Croke influenced the development of educational institutions in Nova Scotia. He was on the first board of King's College and was primarily responsible for drafting its statutes, which required students to subscribe to the Anglican faith (as only a quarter of Nova Scotians did). When a strong movement to establish inter-denominational education appeared a few years later, Croke was among its most vocal opponents. Croke published works of satirical poetry (which exacerbated his unpopularity in certain circles), a book on the genealogy of his family, and many letters. He left Nova Scotia in 1815 and was knighted on July 5, 1816. He died in 1842 at his family home Studley Priory, Oxfordshire.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croke, Sir Alexander 1758 births 1842 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia Colony of Nova Scotia judges Knights Bachelor

Life

Career

See also

References