Sir William Rees Morgan Davies (May 1863 – 14 April 1939), more commonly known as William Rees-Davies, was a British politician, lawyer and colonial judge. His last appointment was as Chief Justice of Hong Kong. He was the father of William Rupert Rees-Davies, who was also a politician and lawyer.

Early life

After attending Eton, Rees-Davies studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA degree in 1885. He 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 ...

of the Inner Temple in 1887 and joined the South Wales Circuit.

Parliamentary service

He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, from July

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

, having succeeded his father, Sir William Davies in the seat. He was private secretary to the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

, Sir William Harcourt, from 1893 to 1895. He was succeeded by the Liberal politician

John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids John Wynford Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids , (30 May 1860 – 28 March 1938) was a British Liberal politician. Background and education Philipps was the eldest son of Reverend Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, Vicar of Warminst ...

Legal appointments

He left Parliament on being appointed

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 ...

of The Bahamas. He stayed in the Bahamas until 1902 and acted as Chief Justice at times. He was appointed

King's Advocate The King's Advocate (or Queen's Advocate when the monarch was female) was one of the Law Officers of the Crown. He represented the Crown in the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England, where cases were argued not by barristers but by ad ...

in Cyprus in June 1902, serving as such until 1907. In 1907, he was appointed Attorney General of Hong Kong. In that position he was entitled to a seat on the

Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...

and Legislative Council. He was appointed a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in Hong Kong in 1908. In 1912, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong succeeding Sir Francis Piggott. He was knighted in 1913. Rees-Davies retired as Chief Justice in 1924 and returned to England. He was succeeded by Sir Henry Gollan.

Death

He died on 14 April 1939 in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, England.''The Solicitors' Journal'', Volume 83, p. 319.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees-Davies, William 1863 births 1939 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Pembrokeshire constituencies Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Attorneys General of Hong Kong Hong Kong Queen's Counsel British Hong Kong judges Attorneys General of the Colony of the Bahamas UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies