Name James Russell | Role Judge | |
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Sir James Russell, CMG (died 1893), was a Hong Kong colonial administrator and Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1888 to 1892.
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Early life
Russell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University of Ireland in 1863.
Career in Hong Kong
Russell joined the Hong Kong civil service as a cadet in 1865. He was appointed a Government Interpreter in 1867. In 1868 was appointed as private secretary to the Governor of Hong Kong Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell. He ably assisted MacDonnell in dealing with the "blockade of Hong Kong", where the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City in what was then Chinese territory.
In 1870, he was appointed as Police Magistrate.
In 1874, after reading for the bar while in England on leave, he was called to the bar of Lincoln's Inn.
He continued to hold the position of Police Magistrate until 1881. In that role he acted twice as Attorney General for Hong Kong.
Between 1881 and 1883 Russell served as Colonial Treasurer and Registrar-General.
Russell was appointed Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1883 and acted from time to time as Chief Justice. He was awarded a CMG in 1887 in recognition of his work on the Mixed Commission appointed under the Chefoo Convention to seek to resolve the Chinese customs blockade of Hong Kong.
On the retirement of Sir George Phillippo in 1888, Russell was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong.
Russell was knighted in 1890.
Russell was described as: "one of the most hard working officials that the Hongkong Civil Service has ever possessed, and with his industry were united great natural shrewdness and common sense."
As a judge his "keen sense of justice, his firmness, and his unfailing courtesy commanded for him universal respect and confidence, and it was seldom that his judgments could be assailed on points of law or equity."
Retirement
On 23 March 1892, Russell left for England on home leave seeking to recover from ill health. He resigned on arrival in England.
Death
In 1893 he was staying in Strathpeffer, Scotland, to convalesce. He was joined there by his old friend Sir William Henry Marsh who had also been a senior official in Hong Kong. Russell had two heart attacks in the last week of August 1893 but by 1 September 1893 was feeling better and went down for breakfast. He had another heart attack and died a few hours later. He was 50 years old at the time.
His body was taken back to Ireland by his brother and interred in the graveyard of Broughshane First Presbyterian Church, County Antrim, Ireland (now part of Northern Ireland).
Russell Street
Russell Street in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong was named after Russell.