Ralph Neville (MP)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Neville, K.C. was an English barrister, politician and judge of the Chancery Court
.
. He was born on September 13, 1848, and was educated at Tonbridge School
and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, where he graduated BA in 1871. At the university he was known as a good oarsman. He rowed in the Emmanuel May boat in 1868, when it was fourth on the river. He stroked the college boat in the C.U.B.C. fours, and it was beaten only in the final heat. In the same year he got his trial cap. though he did not succeed in getting into the University boat. Upon his call to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
in 1872 he obtained but little work in London, and, after a few years' waiting, he went to Liverpool as a "local," it is said upon the advice of Sir Henry Jackson
, whose pupil he had been. There he practised in the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Lancaster and in the Court of Passage. As a junior both in these Courts and on the Northern Circuit he acquired a large practice. Eventually he returned to London, and took silk in 1888. At this time, Sir Marshall Warmington
was at the height of his renown, and Neville, who had the most versatile intellect, was looked upon as an easy second to him in the Court of Mr. Justice Kekewich
. Soon, Warmington "went special" and Neville obtained the leading practice before that Judge, and afterwards before Mr. Justice Romer.
In the meantime, he had given attention to politics. As a Gladstonian Liberal he contested the Exchange Division of Liverpool
against George Goschen, afterwards Lord Goschen, and was returned by seven votes. Fiver later he retained the seat with an increased majority against John Bigham
who stood as a Liberal Unionist. Neville's services to his party were thus considerable, and it was natural that he should be chosen, not only because of them, but because of his eminence at the Bar, to succeed Mr. Justice Farwell on his promotion to the Court of Appeal
in 1906.
As a Judge, Neville was successful, particularly in witness actions. At first he was inclined to be a little hasty in his judgements, but afterwards his decisions were rarely reversed on appeal. He was invariably painstaking and courteous, and it had been hoped at the Bar that an opportunity might arise to find him a place in the Court of Appeal. He had been called upon to hear several heavy and difficult cases, such as In re the Law Guarantee Trust and Accident Society (Limited), Re the Birkbeck Permanent Building Society, in which his decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeal, though the order of that Court was varied in the House of Lords, and the famous Osborne case, in which his decision that a rule of a trade union authorizing the application of union funds in payment of Labour members of Parlianment was not ultra vires was reversed.
His obituary states Neville was by instinct a clever advocate; by experience he became a sound, but not a brilliant lawyer. From the outset of his career he showed great ability in the handling of his cases, but it was only when his powers began to be recognized that he turned to a sufficiently close study of the law. It seemed as if the pleader by nature turned lawyer with reluctance. But if they were reluctance it yielded to a passion for hard work. Few men at the Bar burnt more of the midnight oil, and, though in recent years his health began to fail, a physical endurance, begotten, no doubt, of his athletic training, together with an extraordinarily alert and active mind, carried him through periods of toil in which others could not have long survived. In the management of witnesses, especially in cross-examination, he had n his time no rival at the Chancery Bar, and few, if any, equals on the Common Law side. No man possessed more fully the gift of divining quickly the temperament of a witness, of framing his questions in terse and homely language, and of coaxing a vital admission, as if he were merely seeking the disclosure of a harmless fact. But this was not the limit of his skill as an advocate. He had remarkable faculty for following the mind of the Judge before whom he was practising.
Neville married Edith Cranstoun Macnamara, eldest daughter of Mr. H. T. J. Macnamara, who was at one time a Judge of County Courts and a Railway Commissioner.
Chancery Court
The Chancery Court of York is an ecclesiastical court for the Province of York of the Church of England.The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, has been the same person as the Dean of the Arches since the nineteenth century . The Court comprises the Auditor, two clergy and two...
.
Life
Neville was the son of Mr. Henry Neville, a surgeon, of EsherEsher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
. He was born on September 13, 1848, and was educated at Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, where he graduated BA in 1871. At the university he was known as a good oarsman. He rowed in the Emmanuel May boat in 1868, when it was fourth on the river. He stroked the college boat in the C.U.B.C. fours, and it was beaten only in the final heat. In the same year he got his trial cap. though he did not succeed in getting into the University boat. Upon his call to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1872 he obtained but little work in London, and, after a few years' waiting, he went to Liverpool as a "local," it is said upon the advice of Sir Henry Jackson
Sir Henry Jackson, 2nd Baronet
Sir Henry Mather Jackson, 2nd Baronet, KC, DL was a British Liberal Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1867 to 1868, and from 1874 to 1881, when he became a High Court judge.-Early life:...
, whose pupil he had been. There he practised in the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Lancaster and in the Court of Passage. As a junior both in these Courts and on the Northern Circuit he acquired a large practice. Eventually he returned to London, and took silk in 1888. At this time, Sir Marshall Warmington
Sir Marshall Warmington, 1st Baronet
Sir Cornelius Marshall Warmington, 1st Baronet QC was an English barrister and Liberal politician.Warmington was born at Colchester, Essex. He became a member of the Middle Temple and was invested as Queen's Counsel in 1882. In 1885 he was elected as Member of Parliament for West Monmouthshire...
was at the height of his renown, and Neville, who had the most versatile intellect, was looked upon as an easy second to him in the Court of Mr. Justice Kekewich
Arthur Kekewich
Sir Arthur Kekewich was a British Chancery Division judge.He was the second son of Samuel Trehawke Kekewich....
. Soon, Warmington "went special" and Neville obtained the leading practice before that Judge, and afterwards before Mr. Justice Romer.
In the meantime, he had given attention to politics. As a Gladstonian Liberal he contested the Exchange Division of Liverpool
Liverpool Exchange (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Exchange was a borough constituency within the city of Liverpool in England, centred around Liverpool Exchange railway station. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.The...
against George Goschen, afterwards Lord Goschen, and was returned by seven votes. Fiver later he retained the seat with an increased majority against John Bigham
John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey
John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey was a British jurist and politician. After early success as a lawyer, and a less successful spell as a politician, he was appointed a judge, working in commercial law....
who stood as a Liberal Unionist. Neville's services to his party were thus considerable, and it was natural that he should be chosen, not only because of them, but because of his eminence at the Bar, to succeed Mr. Justice Farwell on his promotion to the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
in 1906.
As a Judge, Neville was successful, particularly in witness actions. At first he was inclined to be a little hasty in his judgements, but afterwards his decisions were rarely reversed on appeal. He was invariably painstaking and courteous, and it had been hoped at the Bar that an opportunity might arise to find him a place in the Court of Appeal. He had been called upon to hear several heavy and difficult cases, such as In re the Law Guarantee Trust and Accident Society (Limited), Re the Birkbeck Permanent Building Society, in which his decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeal, though the order of that Court was varied in the House of Lords, and the famous Osborne case, in which his decision that a rule of a trade union authorizing the application of union funds in payment of Labour members of Parlianment was not ultra vires was reversed.
His obituary states Neville was by instinct a clever advocate; by experience he became a sound, but not a brilliant lawyer. From the outset of his career he showed great ability in the handling of his cases, but it was only when his powers began to be recognized that he turned to a sufficiently close study of the law. It seemed as if the pleader by nature turned lawyer with reluctance. But if they were reluctance it yielded to a passion for hard work. Few men at the Bar burnt more of the midnight oil, and, though in recent years his health began to fail, a physical endurance, begotten, no doubt, of his athletic training, together with an extraordinarily alert and active mind, carried him through periods of toil in which others could not have long survived. In the management of witnesses, especially in cross-examination, he had n his time no rival at the Chancery Bar, and few, if any, equals on the Common Law side. No man possessed more fully the gift of divining quickly the temperament of a witness, of framing his questions in terse and homely language, and of coaxing a vital admission, as if he were merely seeking the disclosure of a harmless fact. But this was not the limit of his skill as an advocate. He had remarkable faculty for following the mind of the Judge before whom he was practising.
Neville married Edith Cranstoun Macnamara, eldest daughter of Mr. H. T. J. Macnamara, who was at one time a Judge of County Courts and a Railway Commissioner.