The Lord Advocates house at the foot of Advocates Close

Sir James Stewart (or Steuart) of Goodtrees (1635–1713) was a Scottish lawyer, political opponent of the Stuarts monarchy, and reforming

Lord Advocate of Scotland His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. T ...

from 1692 to 1713. The Jacobites nicknamed him Jamie Wylie.

Early life

James Stewart was the fourth son of Sir James Steuart of Coltness (1608–1681), a banker in Edinburgh and

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

, and Anne Hope, niece of Sir Thomas Hope. He was the brother of Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet of Allanbank (1643–1707) and Sir Thomas Stewart of Coltness, 1st Baronet.

Career

He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on 20 November 1661, but lost almost all his practice defending his father against a charge of embezzlement.

In exile

Stewart found it necessary to leave the country because of a pamphlet, and went to

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, where he became a merchant under the name of Graham. Some years afterwards he returned to Scotland, but he was suspected of having had a hand in a further political pamphlet, ''An Account of Scotlands Grievances by reason of the Duke of Lauderdale's Ministry'' (1675), an order was issued for his apprehension. He escaped, and lay in England under the name of Lawson. In 1678, Stewart opened a small office in London, where he gave legal advice at half fees, his clerk meeting the clients and transmitting their statements to the invisible Stewart. Returning to Scotland in 1679, he again got into trouble in 1681, when among the papers of

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...

a memorandum in his hand was found, reflecting on the government. He took refuge in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. He was present at the meeting at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1685, when the expedition of Argyll was resolved on. Stewart having prepared Argyll's declaration of war, he was accused of treasonably consulting and contriving Argyll's rebellion, He was found guilty in his absence. His sentence was to be executed whenever he could be found.

Later life

Stewart was pardoned by

James II of Great Britain James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glo ...

in 1687, and returned to London. His actions have been interpreted as those of a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

. On account of his supposed influence with the presbyterian party, he was received into favour, and employed to conduct crown cases along with George Mackenzie. In 1692, after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, Stewart was appointed Lord Advocate, and during his term of office introduced legal reforms in Scotland. He was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates until 1695. In December 1696 Stewart was the prosecutor in the last execution for blasphemy in the United Kingdom with the case of

Thomas Aikenhead Thomas Aikenhead ( bapt. 28 March 1676 – 8 January 1697) was a Scottish student from Edinburgh, who was prosecuted and executed at the age of 20, on a charge of blasphemy under the Blasphemy Act 1661 and Blasphemy Act 1695. He was the last ...

. Stewart demanded the death penalty to set an example to others who might otherwise express such opinions in the future. He resigned his position as Lord Advocate in 1709. He died in 1715 in his house at the foot of what is now Advocates Close, and was buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

. Stewart is the advocate who gives his name to

Advocates Close Advocates Close is a narrow and steep alley in Edinburgh of medieval origin, redeveloped in the early 21st century. With a multiplicity of steps it is not accessible to disabled persons. The close leads from Market Street at the foot of Cockburn ...

Works

An anonymous work ''Naphthali, or, The Wrestlings of the Church of Scotland'' (1667) is now attributed to Stewart and the Covenanter minister James Stirling, with Stewart supplying the legal portion. It defended the

Pentland Rising The Battle of Rullion Green took place on 28 November 1666, near the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian, Scotland. It was the only significant battle of the Pentland Rising, a brief revolt by Covenanter dissidents against the Scottish government. S ...

of 1666, in the context of the repression of the Presbyterians since 1660. In 1669 Stewart published a political pamphlet ''Jus Populi Vindicatum, or the People's Right to defend themselves, and their Covenanted Reign vindicated'', as a reply to

Andrew Honeyman Andrew Honeyman or Honyman (1619–1676) was a Scottish priest: he was Bishop of Orkney from 1664 until 1676. Life He was born in 1619, the son of David Honeyman of Pitairchney, a baker of St Andrews. His brother was Rev Dr Robert Honyman D ...

's ''Survey of Naphtali'' (1668).

Family

He was married to Agnes Traill (1646-1690), daughter of Rev. Robert Traill. Anne was the widow of James Maxwell of Blawarthill.H. Pirie-Gordon, editor, Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th edition, (London, England:

Burke's Peerage Ltd Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...

, 1937), page 1651. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Landed Gentry, 15th ed. Among Stewart's children, among which he had only one son, were: *

Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet (or Steuart; 1681 – 9 August 1727) was a Scottish lawyer and politician. Early life He was the first son of James Steuart (1635–1715), Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees (1635–1713) by his first wife Agnes, daug ...

(1681–1727), the solicitor-general, who married Anne Dalrymple, daughter of the Lord North Berwick, the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

*Anne Stewart, who married William Mure of Caldwell.

Descendants

His grandson was Sir James Steuart-Denham 3rd Baronet of Goodtrees and 7th Baronet of Coltness, (1713–1780) the elder Sir James Steuart-Denham.R.G. Thorne
"Lanarkshire"
in ''The House of Commons, 1790-1820'', 1986, vol. 2 Another grandson was William Mure (1718–1776), a Member of Parliament from

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

In fiction

Sir James Stewart features as a character in Heather Richardson's novel, ''Doubting Thomas'' (2017)Richardson, Heather (2017), ''Doubting Thomas'', Vagabond Voices,

Notes

;Notes ;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, James 1635 births 1713 deaths Lord advocates Members of the Faculty of Advocates Lawyers from Edinburgh Kingdom of Scotland expatriates in France Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish pamphleteers People convicted of treason against Scotland People sentenced to death in absentia Recipients of Scottish royal pardons Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard