John Charles Templer (1814–1874) was an English barrister.
Life
Born in
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...
, he was the son of James Templer (1787–1858), a lawyer, and his wife Catharine Lethbridge. He was educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, and entered
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
in 1832, graduating in B.A. 1836. He was admitted to 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 1837.
In a voter qualification case relating to 1845, Temple is described as a
special pleader
A special pleader was a historical legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case.
History
Up to the 19th century, there were many rules, tech ...
, living with his wife in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
. On the evidence of newspaper reports of Templer's second son (John Harvey) in 1847, he was at that time in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.
Templer became a close friend of
James Brooke
Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868.
Brooke was b ...
through his elder brother James Lethbridge Templer (1811–1845), of the East India Company Merchant Navy.
[The private letters of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., Rajah of Sarawak: narrating the events of his life, from 1838 to the present time](_blank)
/ref> James Templer commanded the ''Minerva'' (Bombay, 1812) on a tea voyage to China in 1835–6, for his uncle Henry Templer who was its recent owner, and Brooke came on the journey. John Templer and Brooke were corresponding by 1840. Templer acted as Brooke's legal counsel. He went on to support Brooke as an apologist, and asked Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretic ...
for her advocacy.
In 1853 Templer was called to the bar, and from 1854 he was one of the Masters of the Court of Exchequer. He was also one of the founding directors of the Borneo Company
Borneo Company Limited, formed in 1856, was one of the oldest companies based in East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah).
History Brooke era
The Borneo Company Limited (BCL) was registered in London in June 1856 with a capital of £60,000 and off ...
in 1856. The company's initial finance was largely from directors and staff of W. R. Paterson & Co., with Robert Henderson. Templer took a 5% stake, and acted as the company's deputy chairman, also representing Brooke in London.
Works
Templer edited three volumes of James Brooke's letters for publication in 1853. He also edited the ''Poems'' of his brother James Lethbridge, and published them in 1872.
Family
Templer married in 1842 Hannah Frances Gordon, elder daughter of Sir James Gordon RN.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Templer, John Charles
1814 births
1874 deaths
People from Bridport
British barristers