James Edward Small, (February 1798 – May 27, 1869) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. He was born in

York, Upper Canada York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location fo ...

in 1798, the son of John Small. He attended the

Home District The Home District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and detached in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. It was abolished with the adoption of the county ...

School with

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he served on the ship St. Lawrence. On July 12, 1817, he was the second for

John Ridout John Ridout (1799-1817), still a teenager when he died in 1817, died in a duel with Samuel Jarvis. Both Ridout and Jarvis were from the small circle of privileged insiders called upon by the Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada, to fill administra ...

in a duel with Samuel Peters Jarvis. When Ridout fired his gun early at Jarvis, Small insisted that Ridout be allowed to re-load his gun. When Ridout was shot Small sought the assistance of George Playter. Small articled in law with

William Warren Baldwin William Warren Baldwin (April 25, 1775 – January 8, 1844) was a medical doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and reform politician in Upper Canada. He, and his son Robert Baldwin, are recognized for having introduced the concept o ...

and was called to the bar in 1821. In 1831 Small and his younger brother,

Charles Coxwell Small Charles Coxwell Small (b 1801) was a wealthy farmer and public official in Upper Canada. Like his father, John Small (Canadian politician, born 1746), John Small, Small was the Clerk (legislature), Chief Clerk of Upper Canada's Privy Council. ...

, inherited their father's large house on the southwest corner of what is now Berkeley and

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

streets. In 1834, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Li ...

in Toronto. He was elected in an 1839 by-election in the 3rd riding of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

; he was reelected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

in 1841. Small supported

's call for responsible government; in 1842, he was named solicitor general for Canada West in the Baldwin-

Lafontaine Lafontaine, French for "the fountain", may refer to: People * Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), French fabulist, one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century * De Lafontaine (1655–1738), French ballerina * Georg Wilhelm Lafonta ...

government. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1842. He resigned from his post as solicitor general in 1843. He was reelected in 1844 but was later disqualified and George Monro was declared elected. In 1849, he was appointed judge in Middlesex County. He died in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

in 1869. The

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; ) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a collaboration between the University of Toro ...

, while noting Small was born into a life of privilege, had nevertheless allied himself with relatively liberal figures, like his school chum, Robert Baldwin, Upper Canada's prime advocate for

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, James Edward 1798 births 1869 deaths Judges in Canada West, Province of Canada Lawyers in Upper Canada and Canada West Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Judges in Ontario Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada Canadian King's Counsel 19th-century Canadian judges