On the outbreak of the War of 1812 he joined the 3rd Regiment of York Militia as a Subaltern and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights. He was carried from the battlefield to a nearby village by John Cawthra where his wounds were hurriedly dressed. Because of an infection caused by the late removal of a bullet he was not fit to fight when the Americans attacked York in April, 1813. McLean buried the York militia's colours in the woods and escaped to Kingston, Ontario. He fought again at Battle of Lundy's Lane, but was captured by the Americans and held prisoner for the remainder of the war.
Politicsedit
In 1815 he turned down a commission into the British regular army, joining the law firm of William Warren Baldwin before starting his own lucrative law firm in Cornwall, Ontario. In 1820, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Stormont; he held that seat until 1834, shared for the previous four years with his old school friend Philip VanKoughnet. He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, 1831-1834.
He was then elected to represent Cornwall in 1834 and served a second term as Speaker of the Assembly in the 1836 session. He was a leading Tory member and advocated the rights of the Presbyterian Church to be equal to those of the Church of England. Elected for the sixth time in 1836, this time again for Stormont, he soon thereafter is appointed to the Legislative Council and to the King's Bench.
Upper Canada Rebellionedit
He was named colonel in the militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion and commanded the left flank of the loyalist forces under Colonel James FitzGibbon at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. McLean initially opposed the Union of Upper and Lower Canada out of fear that Upper Canadians would be dominated by French Canadians. He saw responsible government as a danger to the British connection and to the ordered freedom and the recognition of class and property of the British tradition, but he quickly adjusted to the new reality.
In the Extradition case of John Anderson, the fugitive slave, McLean argued that 'in administering the laws of a British province, I can never feel bound to recognize as law any enactment which can convert into chattels a very large number of the human race.'
In 1862, he was appointed chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench for Upper Canada. In 1863, he was appointed judge of the Court of Error and Appeal. For many years McLean had served as president of the St Andrew's Society of Toronto.
He married Joan McPherson and they were the parents of seven children. He died in Toronto in 1865 and was honoured with a public funeral. The Upper Canada Law Journal wrote,
Upon the bench was dignified and courteous; unsuspicious and utterly devoid of anything mean or petty in his own character, his conduct to others was always what he expected from them.
External linksedit
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
archibald, mclean, judge, chief, justice, archibald, mclean, april, 1791, october, 1865, lawyer, judge, political, figure, upper, canada, archibald, mcleanspeaker, legislative, assembly, upper, canadain, office, 1831, 1834preceded, bymarshall, spring, bidwells. Chief Justice The Hon Archibald McLean April 5 1791 October 24 1865 was a lawyer judge and political figure in Upper Canada Archibald McLeanSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper CanadaIn office 1831 1834Preceded byMarshall Spring BidwellSucceeded byMarshall Spring BidwellSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper CanadaIn office 1836 1836Preceded byMarshall Spring BidwellSucceeded byAllan MacNabPersonal detailsBorn 1791 04 05 April 5 1791St Andrews Ontario CanadaDiedOctober 24 1865 1865 10 24 aged 74 Toronto Ontario CanadaParentNeil McLean father RelativesAlexander McLean brother Contents 1 Early life 2 War of 1812 3 Politics 4 Upper Canada Rebellion 5 Judicial career 6 External linksEarly life editMcLean was born at St Andrews in the Lunenburg District in 1791 the son of Lt Col The Hon Neil McLean and Isabella McDonell of Leek He studied at John Strachan s school in Cornwall and articled in law with William Firth War of 1812 editOn the outbreak of the War of 1812 he joined the 3rd Regiment of York Militia as a Subaltern and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights He was carried from the battlefield to a nearby village by John Cawthra where his wounds were hurriedly dressed Because of an infection caused by the late removal of a bullet he was not fit to fight when the Americans attacked York in April 1813 McLean buried the York militia s colours in the woods and escaped to Kingston Ontario He fought again at Battle of Lundy s Lane but was captured by the Americans and held prisoner for the remainder of the war Politics editIn 1815 he turned down a commission into the British regular army joining the law firm of William Warren Baldwin before starting his own lucrative law firm in Cornwall Ontario In 1820 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Stormont he held that seat until 1834 shared for the previous four years with his old school friend Philip VanKoughnet He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 1831 1834 He was then elected to represent Cornwall in 1834 and served a second term as Speaker of the Assembly in the 1836 session He was a leading Tory member and advocated the rights of the Presbyterian Church to be equal to those of the Church of England Elected for the sixth time in 1836 this time again for Stormont he soon thereafter is appointed to the Legislative Council and to the King s Bench Upper Canada Rebellion editHe was named colonel in the militia during the Upper Canada Rebellion and commanded the left flank of the loyalist forces under Colonel James FitzGibbon at the Battle of Montgomery s Tavern McLean initially opposed the Union of Upper and Lower Canada out of fear that Upper Canadians would be dominated by French Canadians He saw responsible government as a danger to the British connection and to the ordered freedom and the recognition of class and property of the British tradition but he quickly adjusted to the new reality Judicial career editAppointed to the Legislative Council in 1836 the following year he was named to the Court of King s Bench his brother Alexander McLean taking his Stormont seat From 1850 to 1856 he served in the Court of Common Pleas with Sir James Buchanan Macaulay and Robert Baldwin Sullivan In the Extradition case of John Anderson the fugitive slave McLean argued that in administering the laws of a British province I can never feel bound to recognize as law any enactment which can convert into chattels a very large number of the human race In 1862 he was appointed chief justice of the Court of Queen s Bench for Upper Canada In 1863 he was appointed judge of the Court of Error and Appeal For many years McLean had served as president of the St Andrew s Society of Toronto He married Joan McPherson and they were the parents of seven children He died in Toronto in 1865 and was honoured with a public funeral The Upper Canada Law Journal wrote Upon the bench was dignified and courteous unsuspicious and utterly devoid of anything mean or petty in his own character his conduct to others was always what he expected from them External links editBiography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online Archibald McLean Preceded byMarshall Spring Bidwell Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada1831 1834 Succeeded byMarshall Spring Bidwell Preceded byMarshall Spring Bidwell Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada1836 Succeeded byAllan MacNab Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Archibald McLean judge amp oldid 1212992178, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
