James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
lawyer, politician and judge.
Background and education
Scarlett was born in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, where his father, Robert Scarlett, had property. In the summer of 1785 he was sent to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to complete his education at Hawkshead Grammar School
Hawkshead Grammar School
Hawkshead Grammar School in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, of York, who petitioned a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to set up a governing body. The early School taught Latin, Greek and sciences, including arithmetic and geometry...
and afterwards at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, taking his B.A. degree in 1789. Having entered the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
he was called to the bar in 1791, and joined the northern circuit and the Lancashire sessions.
Legal and political career
Though Scarlett had no professional connections, he gradually obtained a large practice, ultimately confining himself to the Court of King's Bench and the northern circuit. He took silk in 1816, and from this time till the close of 1834 he was the most successful lawyer at the bar; he was particularly effective before a jury, and his income reached £18,500, a large sum for that period. He first entered parliament in 1819 as WhigBritish Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
member for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
, representing that constituency with a short break (1822–1823) till 1830, when he was elected for the borough of Malton
Malton (UK Parliament constituency)
Malton, also called New Malton, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295 and 1298, and again from 1640, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885...
. He became Attorney-General, and was knighted when Canning formed his ministry in 1827; and though he resigned when the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
came into power in 1828, he resumed office in 1829 and went out with the Duke in 1830.
His opposition to the Reform Bill
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
caused him to leave the Whigs and join the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
, and he was elected, first for Cockermouth
Cockermouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Cockermouth was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295, and again from 1641, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough represented by two...
in 1831 and then in 1832 for Norwich
Norwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Norwich was a borough constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election...
, for which he sat until the dissolution of parliament in 1835. He was appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" of the English Exchequer of pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who presided in the equity court and answered the bar i.e...
in 1834, and presided in that court for more than nine years. He was raised to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Abinger, of Abinger in the County of Surrey and of the City of Norwich, in 1835, taking his title from the Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
estate he had bought in 1813. The qualities which brought him success at the bar were not equalled on the bench; he had a reputation for unfairness, and complaints were made about his domineering attitude towards juries.
Family
Lord Abinger was twice married (the second time only six months before his death), and by his first wife (d. 1829) had three sons and two daughters, the title passing to his eldest son, RobertRobert Scarlett, 2nd Baron Abinger
Robert Campbell Scarlett, 2nd Baron Abinger DL was a British barrister-at-law and politician.Born in London, he was the oldest son of James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger and his first wife, third daughter of Peter Campbell. In 1844, he succeeded his father as baron...
. His second son was General Sir James Yorke Scarlett
James Yorke Scarlett
General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, GCB was a British general and hero of the Crimean War.-Early life:The son of the 1st Baron Abinger, and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, Scarlett entered the army as a cornet in 1818 and in 1830 became a major in the 5th Dragoon Guards...
, leader of the heavy cavalry charge
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
at Balaklava
Balaklava
Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...
. His third son, Peter Campbell Scarlett
Peter Campbell Scarlett
Peter Campbell Scarlett CB, DL , styled The Honourable from 1830, was a British diplomat.-Background:...
, was a diplomat. His elder daughter, Mary, married John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell
John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell
John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell PC, KC was a British Liberal politician, lawyer, and man of letters.-Background and education:...
, and was herself created Baroness Stratheden. Sir William Anglin Scarlett
William Anglin Scarlett
Sir William Anglin Scarlett was Chief Justice of Jamaica.Scarlett was the son of Robert Scarlett who owned property in Jamaica. His elder brother, James, was to become Attorney General. He was educated in Edinburgh and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1802. In 1809,...
, Lord Abinger's younger brother, was chief justice of Jamaica. While attending the Norfolk circuit on 2 April, Lord Abinger was suddenly seized with apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
, and died in his lodgings at Bury.