James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger (13 December 1769 – 17 April 1844), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer, politician and judge.

Early life

James Scarlett was born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, where his father, Robert Scarlett, had property. In the summer of 1785 he was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to complete his education at

Hawkshead Grammar School Hawkshead Grammar School in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, of York, who petitioned a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to set up a governing body. The early School taught Latin, Greek and sciences, includi ...

and afterwards at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, taking his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1789. Having entered 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 ...

he took the advice of

Samuel Romilly Sir Samuel Romilly (1 March 1757 – 2 November 1818), was a British lawyer, politician and legal reformer. From a background in the commercial world, he became well-connected, and rose to public office and a prominent position in Parliament. A ...

, studied law on his own for a year, and then was taught by George Wood. He was called to the bar in 1791, and joined the northern circuit and the Lancashire sessions. This cites: *

Peter Campbell Scarlett Peter Campbell Scarlett CB, DL (27 November 1804 – 15 July 1881), styled The Honourable from 1830, was a British diplomat. Background Scarlett was the youngest child of James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger and his wife Louise Henrietta Campbe ...

, ''A Memoir of the Right Honorable James, First Lord Abinger, Chief Baron of Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer'', 1877 *

Edward Foss Edward Foss (16 October 1787 – 27 July 1870) was an English lawyer and biographer. He became a solicitor, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His ''Judges of England'' (9 vols., 1848� ...

, ''Lives of the Judges'' *

Edward Manson Edward Alexander Manson (October 6, 1906 – February 17, 1989) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Cape Breton West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1956 to 1970. He was a member of the Nova Scotia Prog ...

, ''Builders of our Law'', 1904

Legal and political career

Though Scarlett had no professional connections, he gradually obtained a large practice, ultimately confining himself to the Court of King's Bench and the northern circuit. He took silk in 1816, and from this time till the close of 1834 he was the most successful lawyer at the bar; he was particularly effective before a jury, and his income reached £18,500, a large sum for that period. He first entered parliament in 1819 as Whig member for

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, representing that constituency with a short break (1822–1823) till 1830, when he was elected for the borough of Malton. He became

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

when Canning formed his ministry in 1827; and though he resigned when the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

came into power in 1828, he resumed office in 1829 and went out with the Duke in 1830. His opposition to the Reform Bill caused him to leave the Whigs and join the Tories, and he was elected, first for Cockermouth in 1831 and then in 1832 for

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, for which he sat until the dissolution of parliament in 1835. He was appointed

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

in 1834, and presided in that court for more than nine years. He was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

at the end of that year. He was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Abinger, ''of Abinger in the County of Surrey and of the City of Norwich'' in 1835, taking his title from the

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

estate he had bought in 1813. The qualities which brought him success at the bar were not equalled on the bench; he had a reputation for unfairness, and complaints were made about his domineering attitude towards juries. While he was studying in England, he became the guardian of Edward Moulton, who later assumed his mother's family name, and became the father of the poet Elizabeth Barrett, later Elizabeth Barrett Browining. The Scarletts and the Barretts had been friends for many years in Jamaica, and it seems natural that James Scarlett would have been selected to keep an eye on young Moulton, while the boy was at school in England. In a note prefixed to the ''Collected Edition'' of his wife's poems,

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

tells us that "On the early death of his father, he (Edward Moulton) was brought from Jamaica to England when a very young child, as ward to the late Chief Baron Lord Abinger, then Mr. Scarlett, whom he frequently accompanied in his post-chaise when on pursuit."

Family

Lord Abinger was twice married (the second time only six months before his death), and by his first wife (d. 1829) had three sons and two daughters, the title passing to his eldest son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. His second son was General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, leader of the heavy cavalry charge at Balaklava. His third son,

, was a diplomat. His elder daughter, Mary, married

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, PC, QC, FRSE (15 September 1779 – 23 June 1861) was a British Liberal politician, lawyer and man of letters. Background and education The second son of the Reverend George Campbell, D.D., and Magdalene H ...

, and was herself created Baroness Stratheden. Sir William Anglin Scarlett, Lord Abinger's younger brother, was

chief justice of Jamaica Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

. While attending the Norfolk circuit on 2 April, Lord Abinger was suddenly seized with apoplexy, and died in his lodgings at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. A more distant relation was the painter

John Scarlett Davis John Scarlett Davis (1 September 1804 – 29 September 1845), or Davies, was an English landscape, portrait and architectural painter, and lithographer.Tony Hobbs, ''John Scarlett Davis: A Biography'', Almeley, Herefordshire, Logaston Pres ...

Cases

*''

Fouldes v. Willoughby ''Fouldes v Willoughby'' (1841) 8 M&W 540 is a leading English law case on the tort of conversion. Facts The owner of two horses had come on board a ferry from Birkenhead to Liverpool. The ferryman refused to carry the horses. The owner refused t ...

'' (1841)

Property

In 1836, Scarlett was awarded compensation of £626 2s 2d for 30 slaves on the Spring Grove estate in Manchester, Jamaica.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abinger, James Scarlett, 1st Baron 1769 births 1844 deaths English people of Jamaican descent Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Scarlett, James Attorneys General for England and Wales Chief Barons of the Exchequer Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James People educated at Hawkshead Grammar School Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom James 1 British slave owners Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge