Sir Thomas Wardlaw Taylor (March 25, 1833 – March 2, 1917) was a Canadian lawyer and judge. Born in

Auchtermuchty Auchtermuchty ( ; , 'upland of the pigs/boar') is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is beside Pitlour Hill and north of Glenrothes. History Until 1975 Auchtermuchty was a royal burgh, established under charter of James V of Scotland, King Jame ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, he studied at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, and was admitted to the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

in 1858. From 1872 to 1883 he was Master of Chancery, in the Ontario Court of Chancery. In 1883 he was appointed a

puisne Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art used mainly in British English meaning "inferior in rank". ...

judge of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, a position he held until appointment as Chief Justice of Manitoba in 1887. He was one of the members of the Court who sat on the appeal by Métis leader

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

from his conviction of high treason following the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

in 1885. The court dismissed Riel's appeal, which was upheld by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, at that time the highest court of appeal in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

.Thomas Wardlaw Taylor
at the Manitoba Historical Society Taylor was Chief Justice of Manitoba from 1887 to 1899, and in 1890 and 1893 was administrator of the provincial government. He made an extensive study of equity

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

, on which subject he published a volume of ''Commentaries'' (1875). He was the author of ''Chancery Statutes and Orders'' and ''The Public Statutes Relating to the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

'', and more. He was knighted in the

1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours The Diamond Jubilee Honours for the British Empire were announced on 22 June 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 20 June 1897. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ar ...

. He is commemorated by Wardlaw Avenue in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Notes

References

* * 1833 births 1917 deaths Province of Canada people People from Auchtermuchty Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Canadian legal writers Judges in Manitoba Lawyers in Manitoba Canadian Knights Bachelor Scottish emigrants to Canada {{Canada-law-bio-stub