Samuel Romilly
Sir Samuel Romilly (1 March 1757 – 2 November 1818), was a British lawyer, politician and legal reformer. From a background in the commercial world, he became well-connected, and rose to public office and a prominent position in Parliament. After an early interest in radical politics, he built a career in chancery cases, and then turned to amelioration of the British criminal law.
Early life
Romilly was born in
The family was
Romilly was articled in 1773 to William Michael Lally, a chancery solicitor.[1] Lally worked in the Six Clerks office of the Court of Chancery. Romilly after five years turned down the possibility of purchasing his post there.[5]
Legal career
In 1778, Romilly decided on a career as barrister, and entered
Travels and associations, radical period
First continental tour
In the legal vacation of 1781, Romilly made a tour in
A friend from the Paris leg of this visit was Marguerite Madeleine Delessert (1767–1839), later Madame Gautier. Her mother was Madeleine Catherine Boy de La Tour, who married Etienne Delessert (1735–1816). Marguerite became the wife of the Genevan banker Jean-Antoine Gautier (1756–1800), who moved to Paris.[13][14][15][16] Romilly stayed at the Delessert home in Passy.[17]
Second continental tour
In 1783, immediately after being called to the bar, Romilly made a second tour. This time he was accompanied in France by
In the meantime, the failed
Bowood circle
The Marquess of Lansdowne, to 1784 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and Prime Minister in 1782–3, invited Romilly to Bowood House, around 1784–5. He had heard Romilly's name from Mirabeau, had read the pamphlet A Fragment on the Constitutional Power and Duty of Juries upon Trials for Libels by Romilly, and was interested in Dumont.[23]
In what has been called the Bowood circle, Jeremy Bentham, with whom Romilly was acquainted, became a friend, and he had much to do with Benjamin Vaughan, another friend.[24]
French Revolution and its era
In 1789 Romilly visited Paris, and studied the course of the French Revolution there, also visiting the dungeon at Vincennes where Mirabeau had been confined.[4][25] When Mirabeau became a political leader, it was to Romilly that he applied for an account of the procedure used in the House of Commons of Great Britain.[4] He left France with less optimism about the politics of the Revolution.[26]
Romilly's abilities were recognized by the
By the end of 1793 Romilly had concluded that French revolutionary politics amounted to "barbarism".[30] He explained in 1794 to his correspondent Madame Gautier that "public events" had brought about his change of views.[31] In August 1797 he secured the acquittal of the radical John Binns.[32]
During the
Political career
In 1806, on the accession of the
Abolitionist
Romilly was a vocal opponent of the
During the parliamentary debate on the Slave Trade Bill, Romilly paid tribute to Wilberforce, saying that his leadership had "preserved so many millions of his fellow creatures."[34] As he concluded his remarks, Romilly was greeted with a standing ovation by other Members of Parliament, a reaction that very rarely occurred in the House of Commons. Wilberforce himself sat with his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.[35]
Legal reformer
Romilly worked to reform the
In 1808, Romilly managed to repeal the Elizabethan statute which made it a capital offence to steal from the person. Successful prosecutions of
In 1809, three bills for repealing draconian statutes were thrown out by the House of Lords under the influence of Lord Ellenborough. Romilly saw further bills rejected; but in March 1812 he had repealed a statute of Elizabeth I making it a capital offence for a soldier or a mariner to beg without a pass from a magistrate or his commanding officer.[39]
In 1813
Seeing a connection, Romilly also advocated prison reform in 1811. Here, however, reform in the direction proposed by Jeremy Bentham was thwarted.[40]
Works
- A Fragment on the Constitutional Power and Duty of Juries upon Trials for Libels (1784) on juries and the Case of the Dean of St Asaph, anonymous publication by the Society for Constitutional Information.[9]
- Observations on a Late Publication Intituled, Thoughts on Executive Justice (1786), influenced by Cesare Beccaria, was a reply to Martin Madan's Thoughts on Executive Justice, advocating the increase of capital punishments.[4]
- Thoughts on the Probable Influence of the Late Revolution in France upon Great Britain (1790).[9]
- Letters containing an Account of the late Revolution in France, and Observations on the Laws, Manners, and Institutions of the English; written during the author's residence at Paris and Versailles in the years 1789 and 1790; translated from the German of Henry Frederic Groenvelt (1792), translation from the French of letters of Etienne Dumont, with some of Romilly's own letters (assistance from James Scarlett), containing criticism of British politics from a republican angle.[9]
Death
On 29 October 1818 Lady Romilly died in the Isle of Wight. A few days later, on 2 November 1818, Romilly cut his throat, and died in a few minutes, in his house on Russell Square in London. His nephew Peter Mark Roget attended him in his final moments.[5] His last words were written: My dear, I wish ... presumably regarding his late wife.[41]
Romilly was buried on 11 November 1818 at the parish church of St Michael and All Angels,
Family
Romilly married Anne Garbett, daughter of Francis Garbett, of Knill Court, Herefordshire, in 1798. They had met at Bowood House, and Francis Garbett had worked for Lord Shelburne as his secretary. They had six sons and a daughter:[1][5]
- Sophia Romilly (d. 9 Oct 1879). She married the Rt. Hon. Thomas Francis Kennedy, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs and grandson of John Adam.
- William Romilly (1798 - 3 Oct 1855)
- John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly (10 Jan 1802 - 23 Dec 1874).[5]
- Edward Romilly (1804 - 12 Oct 1870). Mp for Ludlow and a first class cricketer.
He married Sophia Marcet, daughter of Swiss chemist Alexander John Gaspard Marcet. They had no known children.
- Henry Romilly (31 Dec 1804 - 25 Dec 1884). He married Rosa Morris, and had no known issue.
- Charles Romilly (1808 - 29 Aug 1887). He married Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Russell, daughter of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and Georgiana Gordon. They had six sons.
- Lt.-Col. Frederick Romilly (21 Mar 1810 - 6 Apr 1887).[42]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Romilly, Sir Samuel (1757-1818), of Russell Square, Mdx. and Tanhurst, Surr. History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org.
- ^ Medd, Patrick (1968). Romilly: a life of Sir Samuel Romilly, lawyer and reformer. Collins. p. 25.
- ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 686.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24050. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Collins, William Job (1908). "The Life and Work of Sir Samuel Romilly". Printed by Spottiswoode. p. 7.
- ISBN 9781136601552.
- ^ The Law Magazine, Or, Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence. Saunders and Benning. 1840. p. 300.
- ^ a b c d Lee, Sidney, ed. (1897). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 49. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24008. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 9781843447931.
- ^ Medd, Patrick (1968). Romilly: a life of Sir Samuel Romilly, lawyer and reformer. Collins. pp. 37–8.
- ISBN 9781107098671.
- ISBN 9780199278305.
- ISBN 9783734054631.
- ISBN 9780226118659.
- ^ Medd, Patrick (1968). Romilly: a life of Sir Samuel Romilly, lawyer and reformer. Collins. p. 62.
- ^ a b Romilly, Sir Samuel (1841). Memoirs of the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly. J. Murray. pp. 49–51.
- ISBN 9781587299834.
- ^ Romilly, Sir Samuel (1841). Memoirs of the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly. J. Murray. p. 57.
- ISBN 9780300175578.
- ^ Halévy, Élie (1955). The growth of philosophic radicalism. Beacon Press. p. 75.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Edmond George Petty-Fitzmaurice (1876). Life of William, Earl of Shelburne, Afterwards First Marquess of Landsdowne: With Extracts from His Papers and Correspondence. Macmillan. p. 442.
- ISBN 9781443802826.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 0-7618-1484-1.
- ISBN 9781843830412.
- ^ Kevin Belmonte. William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity. Zondervan. p. 150.
- ^ B. Carey. British Abolitionism and the Rhetoric of Sensibility: Writing, Sentiment and Slavery, 1760-1807. Springer. p. 191.
- ISBN 9781135455446.
- ^ ISBN 9781908162397.
- ISBN 9780582784857.
- ^ Memoirs of the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly. 1840. p. 19.
- ^ Annual report of the executive committee of the Prison Association of New York. Argus. 1865. p. 77.
- ISBN 978-0-399-15462-1.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titles, Landed & Official Classes. Kelly's Directories. 1875. p. 404.
Further reading
- The Speeches of Sir Samuel Romilly in the House of Commons (2 vols., 1820)
- Patrick Medd, Romilly: A Life of Sir Samuel Romilly. Lawyer and Reformer (Collins, 1968)
External links
- Chambers' Book of Days
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Samuel Romilly
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Samuel Romilly
- Attribution
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Romilly, Sir Samuel". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 686.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the