Sir William Milbourne James, (29 June 1807 – 7 June 1881) was a Welsh barrister and judge. A Chancery specialist, he was appointed to the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

of England in 1869. The next year, he was appointed

Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery The Court of Appeal in Chancery was created in 1851 to hear appeals of decisions and decrees made in the Chancery Court. The appeals in the court were heard by the Lord Chancellor alone, or as a tripartite panel (supplemented by two Lords Justice ...

(

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

from 1877), serving until his death in 1881.

Early life and family

James was born in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

, Wales, in 1807 to Christopher James, a prosperous provision merchant, and his wife, Ann.Lloyd (1958), pg 428. He was baptised

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. His cousin was Charles Herbert James, who later became

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

.Lloyd (1958), pg 420. He was educated privately at the school run by John James of Gellionnen before entering

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. In 1836 James was included in the preparations for the record breaking balloon trip funded by

Robert Hollond Robert Hollond (1808–1877) was an English balloonist, lawyer, and politician. He funded and then took part in establishing a distance ballooning record with Thomas Monck Mason and Charles Green. He later served as a Whig politician represen ...

. He was amongst six people included in the commemorative painting which is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 1846 James married Maria Otter, daughter of

William Otter William Otter (23 October 1768 – 20 August 1840) was the first Principal of King's College, London, who later served as Bishop of Chichester. Early life William Otter was born at Cuckney, Nottinghamshire on 23 October 1768, the son of Do ...

, Bishop of Chichester. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. Their son, W. C. James, became an officer in the

16th Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

, and was the father of Admiral Sir William Milbourne James. Their daughter, Mary Jaqueline James, married George Salis-Schwabe, also of the 16th Lancers."James, William Milbourne", by John Andrew Hamilton, ''Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900'', Volume 29.
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Career at the bar

James was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

from

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 ...

in 1831. James first practised his legal work around the South Wales circuit, but later switched his activities to his Chancery practice. During his legal career, he held several government legal positions:

Junior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

, Junior Counsel to the Woods and Forests Department, the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

, and the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...

. In 1853 he was appointed

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 ...

, and

Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster The Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster is an office of the Duchy of Lancaster. The vice-chancellor is appointed by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster after consultation with the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Since 19 ...

. James also was appointed to several commissions of inquiry into various subjects, including equity procedure, the

Law Commission of India Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. The Commission's function is to research and advise the Government of India on legal reform, and is composed of legal experts, and headed by a reti ...

, and the army purchase commission. As a member of the judicature commission, he argued strongly for major reforms, including the abolition of

pleadings In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another party's claims in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjudi ...

. In 1866, he was the Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn.

Political activity

James stood for election twice in the constituency of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, as a Liberal. He was also a member of the

Reform Club The Reform Club is a private members' club on the south side of Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it comprised an all-male membership for decades, but it was one of the first all-male cl ...

. In 1880, he was considered for the nomination to the Merthyr Tydfil seat when his cousin was elected, but by that time James had lost touch with Welsh affairs and had little interest in the Welsh national movement.

Judicial career

On 2 January, 1869, James was appointed a

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

, receiving the customary knighthood. The next year, 1870, he was appointed a

of the

Court of Appeal in Chancery The Court of Appeal in Chancery was created in 1851 to hear appeals of decisions and decrees made in the Court of Chancery, Chancery Court. The appeals in the court were heard by the Lord Chancellor alone, or as a tripartite panel (supplemented by ...

. He was also sworn to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. He had a reputation as an eminent and shrewd judge, learned in the law, with a talent for concise but clear enunciation of principles. While on the Court of Appeal in Chancery, he decided several cases under the new Companies Act and Bankruptcy Act of 1869. '' Lambe v Eames'', which is a leading case on the construction of declarations of trust, and ''

Ex parte Mackay ''Re Jeavons, ex parte Mackay'' (1873) LR 8 Ch App 643 is a UK insolvency law case. It decided that a creditor could not reserve an obligation to himself in priority of other creditors if a company were to go into liquidation. Facts Mr Joshua Je ...

'', a foundational case in bankruptcy law. In ''

Tamplin v James ''Tamplin v James'' (1880) 15 Ch D 215 is an English contract law case concerning the availability of specific performance for a breach of contract induced by mistake. The case established that if a person enters a contract under a mistake tha ...

'' he gave the decision concerning the availability of

specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, whereby a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of the contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, ...

for a

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

induced by mistake. In 1874, James gave the decision of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

in a significant constitutional case from Canada, ''

Maher v Town Council of Portland ''Maher v Town Council of Portland'' is a Canadian constitutional law court decision dealing with the constitutional guarantees for separate schools, denominational schools set out in section 93 of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (formerly the ...

''. The case concerned the interpretation of s. 93 of the British North America Act, 1867 (now the

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

), dealing with publicly funded religious separate schools, and has been cited by the Canadian courts in subsequent cases dealing with separate schools.

Interest in India

In addition to sitting on the commission relating to Indian legal matters, James had a personal interest in India and its position in the Empire. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he began writing a planned two-volume text on India, but did not complete it due to his judicial workload and ill-health. His daughter, Mary Salis Schwabe, completed the editorial work on the first volume, which was published the year after James's death.Sir William Milbourne James, "The British in India" (London: MacMillan and Co., 1882); edited by Mary J. Salis Schwabe, pp. v-vi
reprinted Amazon Paperback edition, 2020

Later life and death

James died in 1881 at his London residence, 47

Wimpole Street Wimpole Street is a street in Marylebone, central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian baroque architecture, compl ...

, and is buried at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Judgments

*'' Lambe v Eames'' (1871) LR 6 Ch App 597 *''

'' (1873) LR 8 Ch App 643 *''

'' (1874) ''Wheeler's Confederation Law of Canada'' (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1896), pp. 362-366 *''

'' (1880) 15 Ch D 215 (CA)

Publications

Sir William Milbourne James, "The British in India" (London: MacMillan and Co., 1882); edited by Mary J. Salis Schwabe.

Arms

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, William Milbourne 1807 births 1881 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century English judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Merthyr Tydfil Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 19th-century Welsh lawyers