Thomas Horne (8 June 1800 – 23 September 1870)
was an Australian judge and politician.
Early life
Horne was born in
Chiswick,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
and 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
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
.
He entered
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
and was called to the Bar in February 1827. He married Maria Hyriott in 1826.
Arrival in the colony
Horne travelled to
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
with his wife and two daughters, arriving in Hobart Town on 31 January 1830. He was soon engaged in local politics, opposing the governor,
Sir George Arthur and editing the ''Colonist'' newspaper.
Horne's life was marked by frequent descent into debt. At one point he admitted to losses of £22,000.
Legal career
He became
Solicitor-General in January 1841, and acted as
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 ...
from July to November of that year. He became Attorney-General in March 1844, and in January 1848 was appointed as
puisne judge
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
to the
Supreme Court of Tasmania
The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and de ...
.
This appointment attracted criticism from the press due to Horne's financial history, and was unsuccessfully challenged in the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. When Sir
John Pedder
Sir John Lewes Pedder (10 February 1784 – 24 March 1859) was an English Australian judge, politician and grazier, he was the first Chief Justice of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania).
Early life
Pedder was born in London, the eldest son of Joh ...
retired as
Chief Justice, the
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
, Sir
William Denison
Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866.
According to Percival S ...
, recommended
Valentine Fleming
Major Valentine Fleming (17 February 1882 – 20 May 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I. He was the father of authors Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming, the latter of whom created the James Bond c ...
over Horne, arguing that the instability in Horne's finances made him an unsuitable candidate for the position.
Political career
Horne was elected to the
Legislative Council as member for
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
, along with
William Carter and
James Milne Wilson
Sir James Milne Wilson, (29 February 1812 – 29 February 1880) served as Premier of Tasmania from 1869 to 1872.
Biography
Wilson was born in 1812 in Banff, Scotland; the third son of John Wilson, a shipowner, and his wife, Barbara Gray; mat ...
.
In January 1857 a special Act was passed to enable Horne to act as both a judge and an unsalaried
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Legislative Council.
In 1861 Horne was
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
to the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
as a representative of
Hobart Town
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...
.
He served in the House of Assembly
until 1866.
See also
*
List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania
Of the judges who have served on the Supreme Court of Tasmania , including Chief Justices and Puisne Judges: 13 had previously served in the Parliament of Tasmania, Algernon Montagu, Thomas Horne, Valentine Fleming, Francis Smith, William La ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, Thomas
1800 births
1870 deaths
People from Chiswick
People educated at Westminster School, London
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Presidents of the Tasmanian Legislative Council
Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania
Attorneys-General of Tasmania
Solicitors-General of Tasmania
Australian newspaper editors
Politicians from Hobart
Members of Lincoln's Inn
19th-century British journalists
British male journalists
19th-century British male writers
19th-century British writers
Van Diemen's Land judges
Colony of Tasmania judges
19th-century Australian politicians
19th-century Australian judges
English emigrants to colonial Australia