Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie

SIR MATTHEW BAILLIE BEGBIE (1819-94)

Chief Justice of British Columbia

Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie is the son of Major Thomas Stirling Begbie, and his wife, Mary Hamilton. He is reported to have been born on 9 May 1819, although this seems unlikely. Wikipedia According to the 1891 census return for British Columbia he was born in Mauritius Canada Census, 1891 He died at Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, on 11 June 1894. British Columbia Death Registrations

Big Chief

Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie was known to the First Nation people as "Big Chief" The People of the Cariboo Gold Rush In 1860 he found a white Californian man by the name of William Marshall guilty of assaulting a First Nations man based only on the testimony of First Nations people, the first time this had ever occurred. He spoke several languages and is said to have been able to conduct trials in several aboriginal languages without the use of an interpreter. He also allowed people of other cultures to swear an oath of truth on an object sacred to them in place of the Bible. Wikipedia

Biographical Accounts

1. DCB/DBC Mobile beta
2. Wikipedia
3. and The People of the Cariboo Gold Rush

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GEDCOM Note

<p><span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: #ffffff; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie was a British lawyer, politician, and judge. In 1858, Begbie became the first Chief Justice of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in colonial times and in the first decades after British Columbia joined Confederation as a province of Canada.<u></u></p> <table class="ent_tmln" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; width: 100%; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <tbody> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1858:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">In 1858, Begbie became the first <a style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none;" title="" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Chief+Justice&amp;filters=sid%3a%229d...">ChiefJustice</a> of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in colonial times and in the first decades after <a style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none;" title="" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=British+Columbia&amp;filters=sid%3a%2...">British Columbia</a> joined <a style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none;" title="" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Confederation&amp;filters=sid%3a%2210...">Confederation</a> as a province of Canada.</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1858:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">Begbie reached <a style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none;" title="" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Fort+Victoria&amp;filters=sid%3a%2244...">Fort Victoria</a> on November 16, 1858.</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1860:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0;border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">In 1860, Begbie found a white Californian man by the name of William Marshall guilty of assaulting a First Nations man based only on the testimony of First Nations people, the first time this had ever occurred.</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1864:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">In 1864, Begbie presided over the murder trial of five Tsilhqot'in men who were part of the <a style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none;" title="" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Chilcotin+War&amp;filters=sid%3a%22c6...">Chilcotin War</a>.</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1886:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">Begbie ruled in 1886 that a law imposing very high licence fees discriminated against Chinese people even though it did not mention them, because laundries at the time were overwhelmingly run by Chinese.</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;" data-exp-noani="1"> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; padding: 0px 16px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">1894:</td> <td style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;"> <p style="border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-spacing: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none currentColor;">Begbie continued his judicial duties well into his last illness, dyingin Victoria, British Columbia on June 11, 1894.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p>