James Smith, (May 16, 1806 – November 29, 1868) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He represented Missisquoi in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

from 1844 to 1847 as a Conservative. He was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, the son of James Smith and Susanna McClement. Smith studied with John Doty in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

and completed his education in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. On his return to Lower Canada in 1823, he studied law with Benjamin Beaubien and

Samuel Gale Samuel Gale (17 December 1682 – 10 January 1754) was an English antiquary, and a founder of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Early life Samiel Gale was born in the parish of St Faith's, London, on 17 December 1682, the youngest son of Tho ...

; Smith was called to the Lower Canada bar in 1828 and set up practice in Montreal. He was named to a commission created by Governor

Charles Bagot Sir Charles Bagot GCB (23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as ambassador to the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the second Governor General of ...

in 1841 to review the

seigneurial system Seigneurial system may refer to: * Manorialism - the socio-economic system of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period * Seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (french: Régime seigneu ...

; the commission's report recommended that the system be abolished. Smith became a

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. Also in 1844, he was named to the Executive Council as attorney general for Lower Canada. In 1847, he was named a judge in the Court of Queen's Bench. He was named to the Superior Court for Montreal district in 1849. In 1854, he was appointed to the Seigneurial Court created to deal with the abolition of the seigneurial system. Smith retired in August 1868 and died several months later in Montreal at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James 1806 births 1868 deaths Attorneys General of Canada East, Province of Canada Lawyers in Lower Canada/Canada East Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Judges in Quebec Canadian King's Counsel Province of Canada judges 19th-century Canadian lawyers Province of Canada people