Sir William Grant (13 October 1752 – 23 May 1832) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
lawyer, Member of Parliament from 1790–1812 and
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...
from 1801–1817.
He was born at
Elchies,
Moray, Scotland. His father, James Grant, was a tenant farmer, later collector of the customs in the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
; after the death of his parents, Grant was raised by his uncle Robert Grant, a London merchant with fur-trading interests in Canada. Grant studied at
King's College,
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
, at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
and then studied law at
Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the bar in 1774. Grant arrived at the
town of Quebec in 1775 and took part in its defence against the
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
. In 1776, he was appointed attorney general for the province. However, Lord
George Germain, secretary of state for the American colonies, chose
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 ...
for the post. In the meantime, Grant had issued ordinances establishing civil and criminal courts 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 returned to Britain in 1778.
Grant's legal career after his return was initially quite unsuccessful, and he contemplated returning to Canada. However, on the advice of
Lord Thurlow
Baron Thurlow, of Thurlow in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 11 June 1792 for the lawyer and politician Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, with remainder to his younger brothers and the heir ...
, he turned with better success to the
equity courts. An interview with
Pitt encouraged his Parliamentary ambitions, and he was returned as Member of Parliament for
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...
in 1790. Grant proved to be a powerful orator, giving a lucid explanation of Canadian law during the debates over the
Quebec Government Bill.
He received a
patent of precedence A patent of precedence is a grant to an individual by letters patent of a higher social or professional position than the precedence to which his ordinary rank entitles him.
Historical use in the English legal profession
The principal instance in r ...
in 1793, was made a
bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...
of Lincoln's Inn, and was appointed a Welsh justice for the
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
great sessions. However, he was not returned for Shaftesbury at the by-election triggered by his appointment, returning to Parliament only in February 1794 for
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
after a strenuously-fought contest. In March, he was appointed Solicitor-General to
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
. His oratorical reputation was renewed the following year with a defence of the
Seditious Meetings Act 1795
The Seditious Meetings Act 1795 (36 Geo.3 c.8) was approved by the British Parliament in December 1795; it had as its purpose was to restrict the size of public meetings to fifty persons.
It was the second of the well known "Two Acts" (also known ...
.
In 1796, Grant was returned for
Banffshire, which he continued to represent until 1812. He was appointed
Chief Justice of Chester in 1798, and the following year was made
Solicitor General and knighted. Grant left office with Pitt, but under
Addington, was made
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...
and sworn of the
Privy Council on 21 May 1801. He continued to support Addington and the
second Pitt ministry
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
in debate in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
; his defence of
Melville in 1805 brought him into conflict with
Grenville when he came to power.
Grant declined an offer of the
Chancellorship of Ireland in 1807 from the
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
, but supported the Portland and
Perceval
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gra ...
ministries. He left office as Master of the Rolls in 1817, but continued for several years to hear appeals to the Privy Council at the
cockpit. Among other honours, Grant served as treasurer of Lincoln's Inn in 1798,
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
from 1809, and was awarded a
DCL by the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1820.
On 24 June 1824, he was appointed to the
Royal Commission for inquiring into the nature and extent of the Instruction afforded by the several Institutions in Ireland established for the purpose of Education where he served with the other Commissioners:
Thomas Frankland Lewis
Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis, 1st Baronet (14 May 1780 – 22 January 1855) was a British Poor Law Commissioner and moderate Tory MP.
Early life
Lewis was the son of John Lewis and Anne Frankland, daughter of Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet. ...
,
John Leslie Foster,
James Glassford and
Anthony Richard Blake.
[A copy of the Report of the Commission is available at: http://eppi.dippam.ac.uk/documents/9883/eppi_pages/217631 (accessed 18/11/2012).]
Grant died at his sister's house
Dawlish, Devon, England on 25 May 1832. He was remembered both for the excellence and persuasiveness of his Parliamentary oration, as well as for eloquence and exposition during his judicial career.
References
*
External links
*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, William
1752 births
1832 deaths
Knights Bachelor
Rectors of the University of Aberdeen
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
People from Moray
Scottish expatriates in Canada
Solicitors General for England and Wales
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
Whig (British political party) MPs
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Masters of the Rolls
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800