Edwin James (barrister)

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Edwin John James
Edwin John James, by unknown engraver, published 1859 (after John Watkins)
Born1812
London, England
Died4 March 1882 (aged 69–70)
United States
Spouses
Marianne Hilliard
​
​
(m. 1861; div. 1863)​
Eliza Wilson
​
​
(m. 1868; died 1882)​
Parents
  • John James (father)
  • Caroline Comb (mother)
RelativesHarvey Christian Combe (great-uncle)

Edwin John James (c.1812 – 4 March 1882) was an English lawyer who also practised in the United States, a Member of Parliament and would-be actor. Disbarred in England and Wales for professional misconduct, he ended his life in poverty. He was the first ever

Queen's Counsel to suffer disbarment
.

Early career

His parents were John James, a solicitor and

secondary of the City of London, and his wife Caroline née Combe, niece of Harvey Christian Combe.[1]

He unsuccessfully attempted to establish a career as an actor at an early age, taking lessons from

called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1836.[3]

James practised on the Home circuit and his most famous cases included:

James was made

radical sympathies and the nature of his practice.[8] The Spectator
described him as:

... a leader in all actions for

breach of promise of marriage, assault, and false imprisonment, and in all cases that involved the reputation of an actress or a horse.[9]

James was appointed Recorder of Brighton in 1855,[1] by that time enjoying an income of £7,000 per year (£477,000 at 2003 prices[10]).[3] In 1859 he was elected Liberal MP for Marylebone.[3][11]

Scandal

Illustrated London News
, 13 October 1860

As an MP, he was a loyal supporter of

Palmerston and favoured the introduction of a ballot for parliamentary elections and the abolition of church taxes to support the state church.[2] His radicalism went beyond the mainstream. He spoke in public in support of democracy and against Napoleon III, and spent part of 1859 at the camp of Giuseppe Garibaldi. His reputation suffered by his alleged bribery of voters in his campaign on behalf of John Jervis in the Horsham constituency in 1847.[4]

Early in 1861, James was reputedly on the point of being appointed Attorney General[12] but on 9 April 1861, he suddenly resigned all his public offices, stating that he needed to devote his time to his professional career.[13] It came to light that he was in dire financial difficulties, owing £100,000 (£7.5 million at 2003 prices[10]) and under investigation by his Inn. It was established that he had:[3]

  • Led Lord Worsley, the young son of Lord Yarborough, into debts of £35,000 (£2.6 million at 2003 prices[10]) in 1857 and 1860;
  • Obtained £20,000 (£1.6 million at 2003 prices[10]) from Mr Fryar, a solicitor and his election advisor, by misrepresentation in 1853; and
  • Borrowed £1,250 (£94,000 at 2003 prices[10]) from a witness he was to cross-examine in return for a promise of light questioning.

Yarborough apparently persuaded James to resign his public offices in order to protect Worsley.

Marriage and family

On 9 July 1861 James married Marianne née Hilliard.[2] They divorced in 1863, after having emigrated to the United States.[2]

James became a naturalized United States citizen in 1866. In 1868 he married Eliza née Wilson (1825–1902). She had formerly been married to Joachim Hayward Stocqueler.[14]

Disbarment and after

New York Bar were well aware of his disbarment in England.[15]

When James' earlier conduct did become known in America, an attempt was made to disbar him there; it failed when he denied the charges on oath and the judges were equally divided as to his culpability.[6] He appeared to have resurrected his acting career, performing at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York in 1865.

He became an associate editor of the New York Clipper, a sporting and entertainment newspaper. He also worked as the publicity manager for

Adah Menken, the actress known for her sensational performance in Mazeppa. He kept up a long correspondence with her until her death in Paris. He took American citizenship in 1866.[2]

After returning to England in 1873, James failed to gain readmission to the bar of England and Wales. He also failed to be admitted as a solicitor or to be selected for Marylebone. He practised as a paralegal for the rest of his life but was in poor financial circumstances, and eventually relied on charity.[3]

In popular culture

Edwin James served as a basis of the character Stryver in Charles Dickens's 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Times, 7 March 1882, p.10 col.D
  2. ^
    Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  3. ^ a b c d e f Knott (1912) p.317
  4. ^ a b Pue (1990) 83
  5. ^ R v. Bernard [1858] 8 St. Tr. N.S. 887, (1858) 1 F&F 240
  6. ^ a b Boase [1891]
  7. ISBN 0-665-37830-0
    .
  8. ^ Pue (1990) 82–83
  9. ^ "The career of a Q.C.", The Spectator, 8 Feb 1862, 150–151
  10. ^ a b c d e O‘Donoghue, J.; et al. (2004). "Consumer Price Inflation since 1750". Economic Trends. 604: 38–46, March.
  11. ^ Stenton (1976)
  12. ^ The Times, 18 March 1882, p.10 col.D has "Solicitor General" but "Attorney General" is clear from Pue (1990)
  13. ^ Pue (1990) 76
  14. ^ Boase rev. Metcalfe (2004)
  15. ^ Pue (1990) pp 77–78
  16. ISBN 978-0-415-05999-2
    .

Bibliography

Obituaries

  • The Times, 7 March 1882, p.10 col.D
  • Daily News, 7 March 1882, p.5
  • Solicitors' Journal, 26 (1881–2), 301
  • Law Times, 18 March 1882, p.358

By James

  • James, E. J. (1842) The Act for the Amendment of the Law in Bankruptcy
  • — (1858) The Speech of E. James in Defence of S. Bernard
  • — (1867) The Bankrupt Law of the United States
  • — (1872) The Political Institutions of America and England

About James

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Lord Fermoy
1859–1861 		Succeeded by
The Lord Fermoy
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