Sir James Stuart (March 2, 1780 – July 14, 1853) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Map of Lower Canada (green) Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791-1841). ...

He was born in Fort Hunter, New York in 1780, the son of Anglican minister John Stuart. He studied at King's College in Windsor, Nova Scotia and then apprenticed in law in Lower Canada with John Reid and then Jonathan Sewell; he was called to the bar in 1801. Stuart served as personal secretary for Lieutenant Governor Sir Robert Shore Milnes. In 1805, he was named solicitor general for the province. Stuart was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal East in 1808 and was reelected in 1809. He supported the parti canadien in the assembly. He was defeated in 1810, but elected for Montreal County in an 1811 by-election and served as leader of the parti canadien, replacing Pierre-Stanislas Bédard. In 1814, he was elected for both Montreal and Buckingham counties and chose to represent Montreal; he was reelected in 1816. In the assembly, Stuart led the attack against the judges Jonathan Sewell and James Monk; it was felt that by revising the rules of practice for the courts, these judges had stepped outside of their jurisdiction and taken on authority that should have been under the control of the legislature. After his party lost interest in pursuing this issue after 1817, Stuart lost interest in the affairs of the assembly. He was not reelected in 1820. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... The Kings Quad in a Halifax spring fog. ... St. ... Jonathan Sewell (ca 1766 – November 11, 1839) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. ... Sir Robert Shore Milnes was Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada from 1799 to 1805. ... The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. ... The Parti canadien (also Parti patriote) was a political party in what is now Quebec, Canada, that was founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. ...

Unlike his former party, Stuart supported the union of Upper and Lower Canada proposed in 1822. In 1825, he was named attorney general for Lower Canada. He was elected to the assembly for the riding of William Henry in an 1825 by-election, now a supporter of the British party; he was defeated by Wolfred Nelson in the general election held in 1827. Stuart was named to the Executive Council in 1827 and served until the union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841. He was dismissed as attorney general in 1832, after having been accused by the assembly of conflict of interest in a case involving the Hudson's Bay Company, which had retained Stuart as its attorney, and other abuses of his position. He was offered the position of chief justice for Newfoundland as a form of compensation, but refused this offer and returned to private practice. He served as a member of the Special Council that governed the province after the Lower Canada Rebellion and was president of this council from 1839 to 1841. Stuart was also named chief justice for Lower Canada in 1838. In 1841, he was named a baronet. Map of Upper Canada (orange) Upper Canada was a British territory in what is now the Canadian province of Ontario. ... Wolfred Nelson, (July 10, 1791 – June 17, 1863) was from 1854 – 1856 the mayor of Montreal, Quebec. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Newfoundland —   (stress on final syllable; for mispronunciations, see Newfoundland travel guide from Wikitravel)— (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. ... Flag used by the Patriotes between 1832 and 1838 The Lower Canada Rebellion is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the British colonial power of that province. ... A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt), is the holder of an hereditary title awarded by the British Crown, known as a baronetcy. ...

He died at Quebec City in 1853.

His brother Andrew was also a lawyer and a long-time member of the legislative assembly. His nephew George Okill Stuart later served in the legislative assembly for the Province of Canada and also as a mayor of Quebec City. Andrew Stuart (November 25, 1785 – February 21, 1840) was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada. ...

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online