Overview

Throughout the British colonies in the nineteenth century, judges were expected not only to administer law and justice but also to play a significant role within the governance of their jurisdictions. British authorities were consequently concerned about judges’ loyalty to the Crown and on occasion removed or suspended those who were found politically subversive or personally difficult. Even reasonable and well-balanced judges were sometimes threatened with removal. Using the career histories of judges who challenged the system, Dewigged, Bothered, and Bewildered illuminates issues of judicial tenure, accountability, and independence throughout the British Empire. John McLaren closely examines cases of judges across a wide geographic spectrum – from Australia to the Caribbean, and from Canada to Sierra Leone – who faced disciplinary actions. These riveting stories provide helpful insights into the tenuous position of the colonial judiciary and the precarious state of politics in a variety of British colonies.

Full Product Details

Author:   John McLaren ,  Osgoode Society
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Edition:   3rd Revised edition
Dimensions:   Width: 16.10cm , Height: 3.60cm , Length: 23.70cm
Weight:   0.820kg
ISBN:  

9781442644373

ISBN 10:   1442644370
Pages:   277
Publication Date:   22 October 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Colonial Judges in Trouble: Setting the Scene Judicial Tenure, Accountability, and Independence in the Common Law World before 1800 The Administration of Colonial Justice and Law in the Nineteenth-Century British Empire: General Contours The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: Courting Reform in a Counter-revolutionary Empire, 1800-1830 The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: Ultra-conservative Judges in an Era of Developing Reformist Sentiment in the British Empire, 1810-1840 The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: Guarding the Sanctity of the communal law from Local ‘Deviations’ in a Convict Colony, 1800-1830 The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: English Legal Culture and the Repugnancy Card in the Australian Colonies, 1830-1850 Repugnancy in Australia after 1850: Shoot-out in Adelaide, 1854-1868 The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: The Incubus of Slavery in the West Indian Colonies and West Africa, 1800-1834 The Perils of the Colonial Judiciary: The Indelible Stain of Slavery in the West Indian Colonies, 1834-1900 Judges, Courts, and Empire in the nineteenth Century and Beyond Notes Index

Reviews

'McLaren's book provides a rigorous and fascinating account of how the Colonial Office exercised its disciplinary authority over colonial judges... McLaren's empire-wide comparative approach allows us to observe imperial political, legal, and social networks in play.' -- Philip Girard Journal of Law and Society vol 39:04:2012

The impressively researched and ambitious Dewigged, Bothered, and Bewildered makes an important contribution to the growing field of comparative legal history. Through well-selected judicial examples, John McLaren provides rich illustrations of many important constitutional and rule of law themes. This lively, engaging book promises to stimulate reflection and new debate on colonial development and the relationship between law and politics. - Barry Wright, Departments of Law and History, Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Carleton University

'McLaren's book provides a rigorous and fascinating account of how the Colonial Office exercised its disciplinary authority over colonial judges... McLaren's empire-wide comparative approach allows us to observe imperial political, legal, and social networks in play.' -- Philip Girard Journal of Law and Society vol 39:04:2012 'McLaren is to be congratulated for coherently tying together the experience of a dozen colonies over a full century... the author has done a good job showing how the quirks and oddities of these individual judicial characters have the potential to reveal a great deal about the inner workings of the imperial project.' -- Patrick J. Connors Canadian Historical Review, vol 94:01:2013

‘This book is a colourful comparative study of the contested boundaries between law and politics in the British Empire …The sheer number of characters and colonies McLaren has researched here gives unprecedented empirical breadth to his history. Underneath McLaren’s detailed biographies lies a new history of the British Empire written on an archival scale.’ -- Lisa Ford * Victorian Studies, Spring 2014 * ‘McLaren’s book provides a rigorous and fascinating account of how the Colonial Office exercised its disciplinary authority over colonial judges… McLaren’s empire-wide comparative approach allows us to observe imperial political, legal, and social networks in play.’ -- Philip Girard * Journal of Law and Society vol 39:04:2012 * ‘McLaren is to be congratulated for coherently tying together the experience of a dozen colonies over a full century… the author has done a good job showing how the quirks and oddities of these individual judicial characters have the potential to reveal a great deal about the inner workings of the imperial project.’ -- Patrick J. Connors * Canadian Historical Review, vol 94:01:2013 * ‘McLaren’s work is a wonderful contribution to English legal history that will be of great value to both legal scholars and more general students of the British Empire.’ -- Jeffrey B. Robb * The Historian; vol 75:02:2013 *

Author Information

John McLaren is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.

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