Sir John Archibald Murray of Henderland, Lord Murray (1778–1859) was a Scottish judge and

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

Life

He was born in Midlothian on 8 June 1778, the second son of Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland, Lord of Session and Justiciary. His mother was Katherine Lindsay, daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick, Perthshire, and a niece of the first

Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British judge, politician, lawyer, and peer best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire, to a family of Peerage of Scotland, Scott ...

. His brother was William Murray of Henderland

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

. Murray was educated successively at the Edinburgh High School, at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. At Edinburgh he was a member of the Juvenile Literary Society, of which Henry Brougham and Francis Horner were the leading spirits, and of the Speculative Society. He corresponded with Horner, till the latter's death in 1817, and his letters form a major part of the ''Memoirs of Horner,'' 1843. In 1800, Murray passed to the

Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a consti ...

. When the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'' was founded,

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Besides his energetic parochial work, he was known for his writing and philosophy, founding the ''Edinburgh Review'', lecturing at the Royal Inst ...

, Horner,

Francis Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Life He was born at 7 Charles Street near Potterow in south Edinburgh, the son of George Jeffrey, a clerk in the Court of Sessio ...

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, and he, met for a time as joint editors in Jeffrey's house. He continued as contributor. His early career at the bar was distinguished, but he had no need to develop it further. A liberal, Murray threw in his lot with the young Edinburgh Whig lawyers, and took part in the agitation before the

Reform Bill of 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. In December 1832, he was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for Leith Burghs, which had been enfranchised under the bill. He was appointed recorder of the great roll and clerk of the pipe, a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

in the Scottish exchequer which he did not long hold. On the elevation of Jeffrey to the bench in 1835, Murray succeeded him as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

. He introduced a large number of bills into the House of Commons, including measures for the reform of the universities, for giving popular magistracies to small towns, for enabling sheriffs to hold small debt circuits, for the reform of the court of session, and for amending the bankruptcy law, but only succeeded in carrying a few minor reforms. In 1839, he was savagely attacked in parliament by his old friend Brougham for his conduct in the case of five cotton-spinners who were tried on a charge of murder arising out of a trade-union dispute. He answered the charges in the House of Commons. In 1839 Murray resigned his sear as MP for Leith in order to focus fully on his role in the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

as a law lord under the title of Lord Murray. He was knighted that year, adopting the courtesy title Lord Murray. In 1844 Murray was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, his proposer being

Thomas Stewart Traill Thomas Stewart Traill (29 October 1781 – 30 July 1862) was a British physician, chemist, meteorologist, zoologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He was the grandfather of the physicist, meteorologist and geologist Robert Traill Omon ...

. He served as the society's vice president from 1849 to 1857. He remained on the bench till his death at his house 11 Great Stuart StreetEdinburgh Post Office Directory 1858 on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate, also known as the Moray Feu, is an early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of the New Town, Edinburgh. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban plannin ...

in Edinburgh on 7 March 1859. He was buried in his parents' grave, marked by an elaborate monument, in St Cuthbert's churchyard in central

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Family

He was brother to William Murray of Henderland

(d.1854). In 1826, Murray married Mary Rigby (1778–1861), the eldest daughter of William Rigby of Oldfield Hall in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. Their only son died in boyhood.

Character

Murray's hospitality was profuse and famous. Walter Scott in his ''Diary'' records evenings spent at Murray's house, and

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist.Hill, Michael R. (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives'' Routledge. She wrote from a sociological, holism, holistic, religious and ...

celebrates his tea-parties at St. Stephen's when he was Lord Advocate. In Edinburgh and in his country residence at Strachur on Loch Fyne, and afterwards in Jura, he gathered friends round him, while Lady Murray, an accomplished musician, helped him to entertain them.

References

;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John Archibald 1778 births 1859 deaths Murray Lord advocates Scottish knights Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh People educated at Westminster School, London Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies