Charles Bruce Morison (1861 – 6 January 1920), known by his first name and referred to as C. B. Morison in contemporary sources, was a New Zealand barrister. He stood in two elections around the turn of the century in the Otaki electorate and was later active with the Reform Party.

Early life and political ambitions

Morison was born in 1861 in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...

, Scotland. His family emigrated to New Zealand when he was a boy. He received his education at Nelson College. Morison twice contested the electorate for conservative interests. In the 6 December , he was defeated by the incumbent,

Henry Augustus Field Henry Augustus Field (1852 – 8 December 1899) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. By profession a surveyor, he retired in his late 20s due to rheumatism and became a farmer. He died in office just two days after having won ...

. Upon Field's death within days of the election, he contested the resulting by-election on 6 January and was beaten by Field's brother William. In later years, Morison was one of the principal organisers of the Reform Party in Wellington.

Legal career

Morison received his legal apprenticeship with Arthur Rigby Bunny, the second son of

Henry Bunny Henry Bunny (7 October 1822 – 15 February 1891) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Early life Henry Bunny was born in 1822 in Newbury in Berkshire, the second son of Jere Bunny, solicitor, of that town and ...

. After his admission to the bar, he practised at Woodville for a short time from 1885, before moving to Wellington. Arthur Atkinson joined him as a partner in 1892. When that partnership dissolved, he partnered with C. A. Loughnan, a brother of Robert Loughnan. In 1896, they took over the practice of

Worley Edwards Sir Worley Bassett Edwards (5 September 1850 – 1 June 1927) was a New Zealand lawyer and judge. Edwards was born in London, England, the son of Charles Scatcherd Wilson Edwards and his wife Cornelia Allen (Waller). He went to the Otago reg ...

upon his appointment to the Supreme Court. Loughnan left the firm to become the city solicitor for Palmerston North and was replaced by his brother F. O. B. Loughnan. That partnership lasted until 1904, and for the following two years, Morison practised on his own. In 1906, he took G. McLean as a partner, and upon his partner's death in 1908, W. S. Smith joined him. From 1912, David Smith worked for him as an assistant; Smith would later become a judge. Morison was appointed a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in November 1912. He specialised in company law and Māori land issues. He wrote several books on legal matters, of which ''The Law of Limited Liability Companies in New Zealand'' (1904) and ''Rescission of Contracts'' (1916) are regarded as standard works.

Family and death

On 22 September 1887, Morison married Caroline Annie Haultain, the youngest daughter of Theodore Haultain. They had two sons and two daughters. Morison died on 6 January 1920 at his home at Aurora Terrace in Kelburn, Wellington. His son Bruce died in Uganda in 1924. His wife died in April 1939 in Wellington. Charles and Caroline Annie Morison are buried at Karori Cemetery.

Bibliography

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Notes

References

* :* :* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Charles Bruce 1861 births 1920 deaths People educated at Nelson College New Zealand King's Counsel Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Burials at Karori Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand politicians