Sir Samuel Thomas Evans (4 May 1859 – 13 September 1918) was a Welsh barrister, judge and Liberal politician.

Background and education

Evans was born at

Skewen Skewen () is a village within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in Wales. The village is served by Skewen railway station and has its own Skewen RFC, rugby club. History Skewen was once an industrial village. There were a number of Coal ...

, near

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

, Glamorganshire, the only son of John Evans, a grocer, and his wife Margaret, both originally of

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

. He was educated in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, at University College, Aberystwyth, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Family

Evans married firstly Rachel, daughter of William Thomas, in 1887. They had one son. After his first wife's death in 1889 he married secondly Blanche, daughter of Charles Rule, in 1905. They had one daughter.

Legal career

He qualified as a solicitor in 1883. On 28 April 1891 he was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

and on 10 June 1891 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 ...

. Evans gained a large practice on the South Wales circuit and in 1901 he became the last QC appointed by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. He served on the Neath Town Council during the 1880s. He was a Recorder of

from 1906 to 1908 and became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

in 1908. His reputation as a judge rests mostly on his role as President of the

Prize Court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...

established during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Political career

In 1889, Evans sought election to the inaugural

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...

but was unsuccessful both at the initial election and the by-election which followed the successful Conservative candidate's elevation to the aldermanic bench. In 1890 he was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for

Mid Glamorgan Mid Glamorgan () is a preserved county of Wales. From 1974 until 1996 it was also an administrative county with a county council. Mid Glamorgan was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It consisted of part of the former adminis ...

. He combined his parliamentary work with his legal practice in Wales. In 1900 it was said that he "began his Parliamentary career with some brilliant displays but has of late given the House fewere and rarer tastes of his quality. (He) first won his Parliamentary Spurs over the Church Discipline Bill, in which he showed a strength and sureness in debate which brought him out with credit even from contests with the great

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

himself. But of late years he has been drawn off, like so many promising young Parliamentarians, to his work at the Bar, and the circuits have claimed much that was meant for the House of Commons." He was re-elected in

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

and at the Khaki General Election of 1900. He seconded the motion for a full inquiry into the Jameson Raid. At the General Election of January/February 1906 he was returned unopposed.The Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 92 1910 Section In October 1906 upon appointment as Recorder of Swansea, an office of profit under the Crown, he was required to seek re-election and in the by-election he was returned unopposed. In 1908, he was appointed

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

in the Liberal administration of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

upon taking office. He was re-elected at the following general election, in January 1910. He was then sworn of the Privy Council in 1910. In March 1910 Evans decided to give up his political career and accept the post of President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

. His appointment was not popular with the legal establishment as he was considered to have little experience in these fields. He was appointed a GCB in 1916. However, he declined the offer of a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. Evans died in September 1918 aged 59 and was buried at

Electoral results

References

Sources

Books and Journals

*Davis, H. W. C.; Weaver, J. R. H. ''The Dictionary of National Biography. 1912-1921''. Oxford University Press.

Online

Other

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Samuel Thomas 1859 births 1918 deaths 20th-century Welsh judges Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 19th-century Welsh lawyers Presidents of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division Alumni of Aberystwyth University