Sir James Stuart, 1st Baronet of Oxford (March 2, 1780 – July 14, 1853) was a lawyer, judge, and political figure in

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 ...

Personal life

He was born in

Fort Hunter, New York Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the Town of Florida in Montgomery County, New York, United States, west of the capital at Albany, on the south bank of the Mohawk River and on the northeast bank of Schoharie Creek. The hamlet developed around a fort ...

, in 1780, the son of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest John Stuart, a United Empire Loyalist. He studied at King's College in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...

and then apprenticed in law in Lower Canada with John Reid and then

Jonathan Sewell Jonathan Sewell (born Jonathan Sewall; June 6, 1766 – November 11, 1839) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. Early life He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Sewall, the last British attorney gen ...

; he was called to the bar in 1801.

Politics

Stuart served as personal secretary for Lieutenant Governor Sir Robert Shore Milnes. In 1805, he was named solicitor general for the province. Stuart was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

for Montreal East in 1808 and was reelected in 1809. He supported the

Parti canadien The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pro ...

in the assembly. He was defeated in 1810, but elected for Montreal County in an 1811 by-election and served as leader of the Parti canadien, replacing

Pierre-Stanislas Bédard Pierre-Stanislas Bédard (September 13, 1762 – April 26, 1829) was a lawyer, judge, journalist and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Charlesbourg in 1762, descended from French ancestors who had first arrived in New France ...

. In 1814, he was elected for both Montreal and Buckingham counties and chose to represent Montreal; he was reelected in 1816. In the assembly, Stuart led the attack against the judges Jonathan Sewell and

James Monk Sir James Monk (1745 – November 18, 1826) was Chief Justice of Lower Canada. Monk played a significant role in the abolition of slavery in British North America, when as Chief Justice he rendered a series of decisions regarding escaped ...

; it was felt that by revising the rules of practice for the courts, these judges had stepped outside of their jurisdiction and taken on authority that should have been under the control of the legislature. After his party lost interest in pursuing this issue after 1817, Stuart lost interest in the affairs of the assembly. He was not reelected in 1820. Unlike his former party, Stuart supported the union of Upper and Lower Canada proposed in 1822. In 1825, he was named Attorney General for Lower Canada. He was elected to the assembly for the riding of William-Henry in an 1825 by-election, now a supporter of the British party; he was defeated by

Wolfred Nelson Wolfred Nelson (10 July 1791 – 17 June 1863) was the mayor of Montreal, Quebec, from 1854 to 1856. Biography Nelson was born in Montreal. His father, William Nelson, was an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, En ...

in the general election held in 1827. Stuart was named to the

Executive Council of Lower Canada The Executive Council of Lower Canada was an appointive body created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. Its function was to advise the Governor or his representative on the administration of the colony's public affairs. It was replaced by the Execu ...

in 1827 and served until the union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841. He was dismissed as attorney general in 1832, after having been accused by the assembly of conflict of interest in a case involving the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

, which had retained Stuart as its attorney, and other abuses of his position. He was offered the position of Chief Justice for Colony of Newfoundland as a form of compensation, but refused this offer and returned to private practice. He served as a member of the Special Council that governed the province after the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

and was president of this council from 1839 to 1841. Stuart was also named Chief Justice of Lower Canada in 1838. In 1841, he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the

County of Oxford Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. He died at Quebec City in 1853. His brother

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

was also a lawyer and a long-time member of the legislative assembly. His nephew George Okill Stuart later served in the legislative assembly for the Province of Canada and also as a mayor of Quebec City.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Sir James, 1st Baronet Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Chief justices of Lower Canada Canadian baronets Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 1780 births 1853 deaths People from Montgomery County, New York United Empire Loyalists Canadian Anglicans Attorneys-General of Lower Canada Anglophone Quebec people