Henry George Hughes (10 August 1810 – 22 July 1872) was an Irish judge, politician, and third
Baron of the Court of Exchequer
The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...
. In 1850 he was appointed
Solicitor-General for Ireland
The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On rar ...
. He was elected
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
in 1856.
Background and early career
He was born in Dublin, eldest son of James Hughes, solicitor, and Margaret Morton, daughter of Trevor Stannus Morton, also a solicitor. They lived on
Capel Street
Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin.
History
Capel ...
.
[Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.2 p.302] He went to a private school at Jervis Street, Dublin and matriculated at
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
in 1825, but did not proceed to a degree. He entered the
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...
in 1830, and
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1832. He was called to the
Irish Bar
The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
in 1834,
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1844.
[
He practised at the Chancery Bar and rapidly built up a very large practice; he became renowned for his mastery of Chancery procedure, which was then very complex. His book ''Chancery Practice'' (1837) enjoyed considerable success.]
Political and legal career
Before entering Parliament for Longford he had stood unsuccessfully for Cavan
Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...
in 1855. He was a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and could generally rely politically on the support of the Catholic hierarchy, although his support for the Ecclesiastical Titles Act
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the British Parliament (14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church of England and Ireland" to use any episcopal title "of any city, t ...
, forbidding Roman Catholic bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
from naming episcopal sees
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, maki ...
after British cities or towns, offended some of his co-religionists.[
His appointment to the Bench was well-deserved on merit, but is said to have been partly the result of the Government's policy of increasing the number of Catholic judges. The appointment of such a noted Chancery lawyer to a ]common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
court caused some surprise, but in time he came to be recognised as one of the few lawyers who had successfully made the transition from one system of law to another.[
]
Family
He married Sarah Isabella l'Estrange, daughter of Major Francis l'Estrange. They had two daughters, of whom Anna, the elder, married the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin
Michael Morris, Baron Morris and 1st Baron Killanin, (14 November 1826 – 8 September 1901), known as Sir Michael Morris, Bt, from 1885 to 1889, was an Irish lawyer and judge. He was Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland from 1887 ...
.[ His younger daughter Margaret married Edward Fitzgerald of Dublin. His wife conformed to the ]Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
, and their daughters were raised in that faith, though both married Catholics. He lived in Monkstown, County Dublin
Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' ( gle, Carraig Bhraonáin), is a suburb in south Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is on the coast, between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire.
The lands of the Carrickbr ...
, and also owned property in County Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
. He died at Bray, County Wicklow
Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...
in 1872, attended in his last illness by his brother James, a well-known physician.
Arms
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Henry George
1810 births
1872 deaths
Solicitors-General for Ireland
UK MPs 1852–1857
Members of Gray's Inn
Lawyers from Dublin (city)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Longford constituencies (1801–1922)
Barons of the Irish Exchequer
Alumni of King's Inns
Politicians from Dublin (city)
Irish Queen's Counsel