Thomas Chisholm Anstey (1816 – 12 August 1873) was an English lawyer and one of the first Catholic parliamentarians in the nineteenth century. He served as

Attorney General of Hong Kong The Secretary for Justice () is the head of the Department of Justice (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the chief law enforcement officer of the Government of Hong Ko ...

for 4 years. He also wrote pamphlets on legal and political topics, particularly those relevant to Roman Catholics.

Early life

He was the second son of Thomas Anstey (1777–1851) and his wife Mary Turnbull, born in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, London. In 1823, his father, a lawyer who had gone into commerce, moved to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and he followed in 1827 with his elder brother George Alexander (1814–1895). In his early education he studied Hebrew with the minister James Garrett. Anstey returned to England, intending to take up law, and was educated at school in

Wellington, Somerset Wellington is a market town in rural Somerset, a county in the west of England, situated south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the tow ...

and at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He came under the influence of the

Tractarians The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

, and also entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, being

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 ...

in 1839. He had become a Catholic convert, married that year, and moved with his wife to

Hobart, Tasmania 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 became a Catholic leader there, and achieved prominence for a court appearance (''R. v. Espie'', 1840). But he lost a position as commissioner of insolvent estates after a few months. Returning to England, Anstey took an appointment as Professor of Law and Jurisprudence at

Prior Park College Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I li ...

, Bath. By 1846 he had turned his attention to politics, and resigned.Norton-Kyshe, ''History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong'', p367-8 citing a biographical notice

Political career

Anstey favoured the repeal of the Union both with Ireland and Scotland. He was a Liberal in English politics, but Walker classifies him as an Irish Confederate candidate when he was elected

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 the Irish constituency of

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

in 1847. He was not renominated at Youghal in 1852, but contested

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

in the general election of that year. An opponent of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, Anstey often worked with

David Urquhart David Urquhart Jr. (1 July 180516 May 1877) was a Scottish diplomat, writer and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1847 to 1852. He also was an early promotor of the Turkish bath in the United Kingdom. Early life Urquhart was bo ...

as ally in foreign policy issues. On first entering politics in 1846, he aligned with the more radical followers of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, who died in 1847, and supported

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

Legal career

On Anstey's return to England, he joined the Northern Circuit before moving to practice at the Chancery Bar. After he dropped out of Parliament, in 1855, he was 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 Hong Kong and served in that capacity until 1859. His attempts to enforce building regulations on Chinese merchants led in 1858 to a strike, retrospectively named the "Anstey Riots". Anstey left Hong Kong in 1859, having fallen out with the Governor Sir

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...

. He went to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

) where at times he acted Judge of the

High Court of Bombay The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the o ...

in 1865. He came back to England in 1866 and in a tract entitled ''A Plea for the Unrepresented for the Restitution of the Franchise'' advocated

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

as a panacea for the ills resulting from class legislation. In 1867 he published an attack on

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

's Reform Act of that year. In 1868 Anstey returned to Bombay and resumed his practice as a barrister. Anstey died in Bombay on 17 August 1873, ending a life hampered by quarrels. He was buried at

Sewri Sewri (IAST: ''Śivdī,'' �iʋɖiː is a locality along the eastern edge of South Mumbai, in Maharashtra, India. It is also the name of a railway station on the Central Railway Harbour Line. Sewri (pronounced as Shivdi / शिवडी) was ...

Works

Anstey's publications included: * ''British Catholics and the New Parliament'' (1841), * ''Guide to the Laws of England affecting Roman Catholics'' (1842) * ''Guide to the History of the Laws and Constitution of England in Six Lectures'' * '' Crime and Government at Hong Kong'' (1859) He was a contributor in its early years to the '' Dublin Review''.

Family

In 1839, Anstey married Harriet, daughter of Jarrard Edward Strickland of Loughlinn, County Roscommon, Ireland. She was one of a family of six sons, including

Edward Strickland Sir Edward Strickland, , (7 August 1820 – 18 July 1889) was a British Army officer, commissariat officer in charge of the British army of occupation in Greece from 1855 to 1857 and a vice-president of the Geographical Society of Australasia. ...

, and four daughters. s:Historical account of Lisbon college/Appendix 3/N-S

References

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstey, Thomas Chisholm 1816 births 1873 deaths English Roman Catholics Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1847–1852 Members of the Middle Temple Attorneys General of Hong Kong