Jonathan Sewell
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Sewell was a lawyer
, judge
and political figure
in Lower Canada
.
, the son of the last British
attorney general of Massachusetts
. After a group of patriots attacked the family's residence, the Sewalls moved to Bristol
, England; they adopted the spelling Sewell for the family name at this time. He attended Brasenose College, Oxford
and then went to New Brunswick
in 1785, where he studied law with Ward Chipman
. He was named registrar of the Vice Admiralty Court
for New Brunswick in 1787. In 1788, he was called to the bar and set up practice.
and qualified as a lawyer there. In 1790, he served as interim attorney general for the province. In 1793, Sewell was named solicitor general and inspector of the king’s domain and, in 1795, he became attorney general and advocate general in Lower Canada
. In 1796, he was appointed judge in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec. On September 24 that same year, he married Henrietta, daughter of chief justice William Smith
. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
for William-Henry (later Sorel) in 1796. In the house he was often called on to draft bills, but with regard to government business he normally played a role secondary to that of leaders of the English party such as John Young
and Pierre-Amable de Bonne
. He supported the party, except on two controversial issues — the financing of prisons in 1805 and the expulsion of Ezekiel Hart, a Jew — in which his legal opinions obliged him to break rank. He remained in the assembly until 1808.
Sewell helped introduce the Better Preservation Act of 1797 which allowed the suspension of habeas corpus
in cases of suspected treason. In 1797, he prosecuted David McLane
for treason; McLane was executed. He prepared legislation which led to the establishment of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (later McGill College
) in 1801. In 1808, he was named chief justice for Lower Canada and became a member of the Executive Council. Later in 1808, he was appointed to the Legislative Council
and was named speaker in 1809. Sewell supported a union of Upper
and Lower Canada; however, in 1822, he opposed a legislative union because of the strong opposition to union in the province. In 1809, he published rules of practice for the Quebec Court of King's Bench and the Court of Appeals; James Monk
published similar rules at Montreal
.
In 1814, the legislative assembly voted to impeach Sewell and Monk on the grounds that some of their rules of practice were actually legislation, the responsibility of the legislature. Sewell successfully defended himself against these charges in London. On the bench, he endorsed the use of civil law
based on French traditions and criminal law
modeled after English norms. Sewell resigned from the Executive Council in 1830 after the assembly requested that judges be excluded from serving on the council. He resigned from his position of chief justice in 1838 due to ill health.
He died November 11, 1839 in Quebec City. Sewell's residence at 87 Saint-Louis Street in Quebec City was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969.
and served as its president from 1830 to 1831.
His brother Stephen
was a member of the legislative assembly and served as solicitor general for Lower Canada.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and political figure
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
.
Early life
He was born in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, the son of the last British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
attorney general of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. After a group of patriots attacked the family's residence, the Sewalls moved to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England; they adopted the spelling Sewell for the family name at this time. He attended Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
and then went to New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in 1785, where he studied law with Ward Chipman
Ward Chipman
Ward Chipman was a New Brunswick lawyer, judge and political figure. He briefly served as administrator for New Brunswick from 1823 until his death in 1824.-Early life:...
. He was named registrar of the Vice Admiralty Court
Vice admiralty court
Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. Judges were given 5% of confiscated cargo, if they found a smuggling defendant guilty...
for New Brunswick in 1787. In 1788, he was called to the bar and set up practice.
Career
The following year, he moved to Quebec CityQuebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and qualified as a lawyer there. In 1790, he served as interim attorney general for the province. In 1793, Sewell was named solicitor general and inspector of the king’s domain and, in 1795, he became attorney general and advocate general in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
. In 1796, he was appointed judge in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec. On September 24 that same year, he married Henrietta, daughter of chief justice William Smith
William Smith (chief justice)
William Smith was a lawyer, historian, speaker, loyalist, and eventually Chief Justice of the Province of New York from 1763 to 1782 and Chief Justice of the Province of Quebec, later Lower Canada, from 1786 until his death...
. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...
for William-Henry (later Sorel) in 1796. In the house he was often called on to draft bills, but with regard to government business he normally played a role secondary to that of leaders of the English party such as John Young
John Young (seigneur)
John Young was a seigneur, businessman, judge and political figure in Lower Canada.He may have been born in Scotland around 1759. Young became a merchant in London and came to Quebec City in 1783 to collect debts from a bankrupt firm there on behalf of firms from London and Glasgow. He entered...
and Pierre-Amable de Bonne
Pierre-Amable de Bonne
Pierre-Amable de Bonne was a seigneur, lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Montreal in 1758, the son of Louis de Bonne de Missègle, and studied at a college operated by the Sulpicians, then the Collège Saint-Raphaël and the Petit Séminaire de Québec...
. He supported the party, except on two controversial issues — the financing of prisons in 1805 and the expulsion of Ezekiel Hart, a Jew — in which his legal opinions obliged him to break rank. He remained in the assembly until 1808.
Sewell helped introduce the Better Preservation Act of 1797 which allowed the suspension of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in cases of suspected treason. In 1797, he prosecuted David McLane
David McLane (merchant)
David McLane was a merchant from Providence, Rhode Island. He was hanged at Quebec City as a French spy by the British authorities....
for treason; McLane was executed. He prepared legislation which led to the establishment of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (later McGill College
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
) in 1801. In 1808, he was named chief justice for Lower Canada and became a member of the Executive Council. Later in 1808, he was appointed to the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Lower Canada
The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The legislative council was...
and was named speaker in 1809. Sewell supported a union of Upper
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and Lower Canada; however, in 1822, he opposed a legislative union because of the strong opposition to union in the province. In 1809, he published rules of practice for the Quebec Court of King's Bench and the Court of Appeals; James Monk
James Monk
Sir James Monk was Chief Justice of Lower Canada. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and educated in Halifax, Nova Scotia where his father had settled in 1749....
published similar rules at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
In 1814, the legislative assembly voted to impeach Sewell and Monk on the grounds that some of their rules of practice were actually legislation, the responsibility of the legislature. Sewell successfully defended himself against these charges in London. On the bench, he endorsed the use of civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
based on French traditions and criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
modeled after English norms. Sewell resigned from the Executive Council in 1830 after the assembly requested that judges be excluded from serving on the council. He resigned from his position of chief justice in 1838 due to ill health.
He died November 11, 1839 in Quebec City. Sewell's residence at 87 Saint-Louis Street in Quebec City was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969.
Personal life
Sewell also led an amateur orchestra and performed violin in a quartet at Quebec City and opened the Theatre Royal there in 1832. He helped found the Literary and Historical Society of QuebecLiterary and Historical Society of Quebec
-External links:*, managed by the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec.*, virtual exhibit on the history of Canadian learned societies.*, virtual library containing all publications from 1824-1924....
and served as its president from 1830 to 1831.
His brother Stephen
Stephen Sewell (lawyer)
Stephen Sewell was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born Stephen Sewall in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1770, the son of Jonathan Sewall who was the attorney general of Massachusetts, and returned to England with his family at the start of the American Revolution, where he...
was a member of the legislative assembly and served as solicitor general for Lower Canada.