George Spence (1787 – 12 December 1850) was an English jurist and politician. George Spence Bragg

Life

The second son of Thomas Richard Spence, a surgeon of Hanover Square, London, he was educated at a private school at

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, and at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he matriculated in 1802, and graduated M.A. on 11 April 1805. After some time spent in the office of a London solicitor, he was admitted in 1806 a student at 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 Wal ...

, where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on 28 June 1811; he was then elected a bencher in 1835, reader in 1845, and treasurer in 1846. A pupil of the equity draughtsman John Bell, Spence rapidly acquired an extensive practice, most of which he lost on

taking silk 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 or a ...

(27 December 1834). He was returned to parliament in the Tory interest for on 20 June 1826, but was unseated on petition (26 March 1827). He then (2 March 1829) secured the seat, which he retained as Member of Parliament until the dissolution of December 1832. Both in and out of parliament he made some ineffectual attempts to raise the question of chancery reform. In the divisions on the

Great Reform Bill The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

he voted against his party; he did not, however, seek election to the new parliament. On 12 December 1850 Spence died of self-inflicted wounds at his residence, 42

Hyde Park Square Hyde Park Square is a residential, tree-planted, garden square one block north of Hyde Park fronted by classical buildings, many of which are listed and marks a crossover of Lancaster Gate and Connaught Village neighbourhoods of Bayswater, Lon ...

Works

Spence was an early activist for

legal education Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

, and an original member of the Society for promoting the Amendment of the Law, founded in 1844. During the last years of his life he worked on his major work, ''The Equitable Jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery; comprising its Rise, Progress, and final Establishment'', London, 1846–9, 2 vols. It became a standard authority. He was also author of: * ''An Essay on the Origin of the English Laws and Institutions, read to the Society of Clifford's Inn in Hilary Term, 1812'', 1812. * ''An Inquiry into the Origin of the Laws and Political Institutions of Modern Europe, particularly those of England'', London, 1826. * ''The Code Napoléon, or the French Civil Code literally translated, by a Barrister of the Inner Temple'', 1827. * ''Reform of the Court of Chancery'', London, 1830. * ''An Address to the Public, and more especially to the Members of the House of Commons, on the present unsatisfactory state of the Court of Chancery'', London, 1839. * ''Second Address'', same place and year. * ''Documents and Propositions relating to the Masters' Offices'', London, 1842.

Family

Spence married, in 1819, Anne Kelsall, daughter of a solicitor of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, who with issue survived him.

Donald Spence Jones Henry Donald Maurice Spence (Spence Jones from 1904; 14 January 1836 - 2 November 1917) was an Anglican dean and author in the last decades of the 19th century and the start of the 20th. The son of the barrister and Chancery reformer George S ...

was their son.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, George 1787 births 1850 deaths English barristers English legal writers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Alumni of the University of Glasgow Members of the Inner Temple UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 Tory MPs (pre-1834) British politicians who committed suicide Suicides in Westminster 1850s suicides 19th-century English lawyers