Edwin John James QC (''c.''1812 – 4 March 1882) was an English lawyer who also practised in the U.S., a Member of Parliament and would-be actor. Disbarred in England and Wales for professional misconduct, he ended his life in poverty. He was the first ever

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

to suffer

disbarment Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal con ...

Early career

His parents were John James, a solicitor and

secondary of the City of London The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, and his wife Caroline ''née'' Combe, niece of Harvey Christian Combe.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 7 March 1882, p.10 col.D He unsuccessfully attempted to establish a career as an actor at an early age, taking lessons from John Cooper. He played at a private theatre in Gough Street,

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

, London and appeared as George Barnwell in '' The London Merchant'' at Cooper's

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

.Boase (2004), "James, Edwin John (1812–1882)]", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' But, he lacked the natural good looks to succeed in the theatre, being said by one Cyrus Jay to have "the appearance of a

prize fighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

". He turned to the law to become a barrister, being called to the bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1836.Knott (1912) ''p.''317 James practised on the Home circuit and his most famous cases included: *The successful

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

of poisoner William Palmer in 1856. *The successful defence of

Simon Bernard Baron Simon Bernard (28 April 1779 – 5 November 1839) was a French general of engineers. Born in Dole, Simon Bernard was educated at the École polytechnique, graduating as second in the promotion of 1799 and entered the army in the corps of e ...

, who was tried in 1858 for complicity with

Felice Orsini Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the '' Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Early life Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, the ...

in his plot to assassinate

Napoleon III of France Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. James aroused controversy with his defence that Bernard had intended to kill a person other than Napoleon III.Pue (1990) 83 John Simon was James's junior at the trial. *The

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

appeal case of the fugitive slave John Anderson.Boase 891/ref> James was made QC in 1850 but was not elected a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of the Inner Temple as was customary. This may have been because of the

Establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

's distaste for his radical sympathies and the nature of his practice. ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' described him as: James was appointed

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Brighton in 1855, by that time enjoying an income of £7,000 per year (£477,000 at 2003 prices). In 1859 he was elected

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP for

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

Scandal

As an MP, he was a loyal supporter of

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

and favoured the introduction of a

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16 ...

for parliamentary elections and the abolition of

church tax A church tax is a tax collected by the state from members of some religious denominations to provide financial support of churches, such as the salaries of its clergy and to pay the operating cost of the church. The constitution of a number o ...

es to support the state church. His radicalism went beyond the mainstream. He spoke in public in support of democracy and against

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, and spent part of 1859 at the camp of Giuseppe Garibaldi. His reputation suffered by his alleged bribery of voters in his campaign on behalf of John Jervis in the Horsham constituency in 1847. Early in 1861, James was reputedly on the point of being appointed Attorney General but on 9 April 1861, he suddenly resigned all his public offices, stating that he needed to devote his time to his professional career. It came to light that he was in dire financial difficulties, owing £100,000 (£7.5 million at 2003 prices) and under investigation by his Inn. It was established that he had: * Led Lord Worsley, the young son of

Lord Yarborough Earl of Yarborough is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Charles Anderson-Pelham, 2nd Baron Yarborough. History The Anderson-Pelham family descends from Francis Anderson of Manby, Lincolnshire. He married ...

, into debts of £35,000 (£2.6 million at 2003 prices) in 1857 and 1860; * Obtained £20,000 (£1.6 million at 2003 prices) from Mr Fryar, a solicitor and his election advisor, by

misrepresentation In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a false or misleading '' R v Kylsant'' 931/ref> statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then inducing that other party to enter into a contract. The ...

in 1853; and * Borrowed £1,250 (£94,000 at 2003 prices) from a witness he was to

cross-examine In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and ...

in return for a promise of light questioning. Yarborough apparently persuaded James to resign his public offices in order to protect Worsley.

Marriage and family

On 9 July 1861 James married Marianne ''née'' Hilliard. They divorced in 1863, after having emigrated to the United States. James became a naturalized United States citizen in 1866. In 1868 he married Eliza ''née'' Wilson (1825–1902). She had formerly been married to Joachim Hayward Stocqueler.

Disbarment and after

Disbarred on 18 June 1861, James soon emigrated to the U.S. and was admitted to the bar in New York. There he was lauded as a leader of the English Bar, and he commented publicly on matters of public controversy, such as the

Trent Affair The ''Trent'' Affair was a diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and Great Britain. The U.S. Navy captured two Confederate envoys from a British Royal Mail steamer; the Brit ...

. The British press suggested that the New York Bar were well aware of his disbarment in England.Pue (1990) ''pp'' 77–78 When James' earlier conduct did become known in America, an attempt was made to disbar him there; it failed when he denied the charges on

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...

and the judges were equally divided as to his culpability. He appeared to have resurrected his acting career, performing at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

, New York in 1865. He became an associate editor of the ''New York Clipper,'' a sporting and entertainment newspaper. He also worked as the publicity manager for Adah Menken, the actress known for her sensational performance in '' Mazeppa''. He kept up a long correspondence with her until her death in Paris. He took American citizenship in 1866. After returning to England in 1873, James failed to gain readmission to the bar of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. He also failed to be admitted as a solicitor or to be selected for Marylebone. He practised as a paralegal for the rest of his life but was in poor financial circumstances, and eventually relied on charity.

In popular culture

Edwin James served as a basis of the character Stryver in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's 1859 novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

.''

References

Bibliography

Obituaries

*''

'', 7 March 1882, ''p.''10 col.D *''Daily News'', 7 March 1882, ''p.''5 *''Solicitors' Journal'', 26 (1881–2), 301 *''Law Times'', 18 March 1882, ''p.''358

By James

*James, E. J. (1842) ''The Act for the Amendment of the Law in Bankruptcy'' *— (1858) ''The Speech of E. James in Defence of S. Bernard'' *— (1867) ''The Bankrupt Law of the United States'' *— (1872) ''The Political Institutions of America and England''

About James

* non.(1859) ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'', 30 April 429 * non.(1861a) "The fall of Mr Edwin James", '' Saturday Review'', 13 April 358–359 * non.(1861b) "Edwin James on the

", ''Solicitors' Journal and Reporter'', 8 February 253 * non.(1861–2) ''Law Magazine'', new series, 12:263–86 * non.(1862a) "The disbarmment of Edwin James, Esq. Q.C.", ''Solicitors' Journal and Reporter'', 14 December 103 * non.(1862b) "The Inner Temple benchers – Disbarment of Edwin James Q.C.", ''Law Magazine and Review'', 12:266; 13:335–45 * non.(1862c) ''

Annual Register ''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...

'', 140–43 * *— rev. Metcalfe, E. (2004)
James, Edwin John (1812–1882)
, ''

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 27 Dec 2007 * *, ''pp''75–86 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, John Edwin 1812 births 1882 deaths English barristers English male stage actors UK MPs 1859–1865 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politics of the City of Westminster American lawyers English King's Counsel Disbarred lawyers Members of the Inner Temple English emigrants to the United States