John Black (judge)

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John Black (11 March 1817 – 3 February 1879) was a Scottish-born figure who acted in the politics of both the future Canada and the fledgling Australia.

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Black resided in the Canadian territories from 1839 until 1854, then returned to Scotland. He resided in New South Wales, on Australia's East Coast, from 1857 to 1861. He returned to England, where he was promptly (April 1862) assigned a post in Assiniboia, remaining in North America until 1870. He returned to Scotland, where he died (at St. Andrews) in 1879 at age 61.

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's North-West Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.

Career

Black was born in Fife County in Scotland in 1817. He became a lawyer by working as a clerk for seven years in the office of an Edinburgh solicitor, although he never became a member of the bar.

Scotland Country in Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh Capital city in Scotland

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.

Black traveled to the Red River Colony, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba in 1839, having been appointed clerk to the General Quarterly Court of Assiniboia. His duties as deputy to Adam Thom, the recorder of Rupert’s Land, were soon superseded by his active employment in the offices of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1848 the company appointed him chief trader.

Red River Colony settlement

The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk on 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) of land. This land was granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company, which is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The establishment of Canada in the late 19th century led to the creation of what is today Manitoba, although much of its original territory is now part of the United States.

Manitoba Province of Canada

Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is often considered one of the three prairie provinces and is Canada's fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi) with a widely varied landscape, stretching from the northern oceanic coastline to the southern border with the United States. The province is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut to the north, and Northwest Territories to the northwest, and the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south.

Adam Thom was a teacher, journalist, lawyer, public servant, and recorder.

In 1850 Black was appointed chief accountant of the Upper Red River district, with residence at Fort Garry (Winnipeg). The governor had appointed him unwillingly, and continued to look for a more suitable candidate. On 21 July 1852 Black lost his post as chief accountant.

Black left the company and 1854 and returned to Scotland. He moved to Australia in 1857, and promptly became engaged in the newly-formed Parliament of New South Wales. [1]

Black was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1859 to 1860, representing the seat of East Sydney. He had moved to New South Wales in 1857 and was Chairman of the newly-formed Land League. He was Secretary of Lands from 27 October 1859 to 8 March 1860 in William Forster's administration. He retired from the Assembly in 1860 and returned to England in 1861.

New South Wales Legislative Assembly one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is presided over by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

East Sydney was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian colony of New South Wales created in 1859 from part of the electoral district of Sydney, covering the eastern part of the current Sydney central business district, Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay and Darlinghurst, bordered by George Street to the east, Boundary Street to the west, and, from the creation of South Sydney in 1880, Liverpool Street and Oxford Street, to the south. It elected four members simultaneously, with voters casting four votes and the first four candidates being elected. For the 1894 election, it was replaced by the single-member electorates of Sydney-King, Sydney-Fitzroy and Sydney-Bligh.

William Forster (Australian politician) Premier of New South Wales

William Forster was a pastoral squatter, colonial British politician, Premier of New South Wales from 27 October 1859 to 9 March 1860 and poet.

In the spring of 1861 Black was appointed president of the General Quarterly Court of Assiniboia. He was assuming what had previously been the office of recorder; the title was changed to allow his appointment, since he had never been a member of the bar. On 4 June 1862 the new president was introduced to the Council of Assiniboia. He presided over the tribunal at Assiniboia for eight years. He had decided to resign in the summer of 1868, but the company asked him to remain. He finally departed in March 1870.

The Council of Assiniboia was, from 1821 until 1870, the appointed administrative body of Rupert's Land.

Black's tenure at Assiniboia covered the 1869-1870 Red River Rebellion. He presided over the council on 23 October 1869 [2] when Louis Riel was summoned to explain his rationale for preventing lieutenant governor-designate William McDougall from entering the Red River Colony. However, he was also one of three delegates (along with Alfred Henry Scott and Joseph-Noël Ritchot) selected by Riel to travel to Ottawa, Ontario to negotiate with the Canadian Government on behalf of Riel's provisional government. During the negotiations, Black proved to be more concilliatory to the government than the other negotiators.

When the talks were finished, Black contemplated returning immediately to London. He was offered the position of lieutenant governor or of recorder of Manitoba, but he declined, and in the summer of 1870 took up residence in Scotland for good. He died at St. Andrews on 3 February 1879.

Personal

Black married Margaret Christie, daughter of the governor of Assiniboia, in 1845. She traveled with him on a visit to Scotland over the winter of 1852/1853; she died soon after their return to Canada. Her passing was the principal motivation for his leaving the Hudson's Bay Company and his return to Scotland in 1854.

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References

  1. ↑ Parliament of New South Wales 1856 to 1889 - Responsible Government and Colonial Development
  2. ↑ Black served as Acting Governor during the protracted illness of Governor William MacTavish
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New seat Member for East Sydney
1859–1860
Served alongside: Cowper/Faucett, Martin, Parkes 		Succeeded by
John Caldwell
Charles Cowper
Robert Stewart


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