Robert Porrett Collier, 1st Baron Monkswell (21 June 1817 – 27 October 1886) was an English lawyer, politician and judge.
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Collier was the son of a prominent merchant of Quaker extraction. He was educated at Oxford.
Collier was called to the bar in 1843, and went on the western circuit. He obtained a high reputation by his successful defence of Brazilian pirates in 1845; they were, indeed, convicted at the assizes, but Collier ultimately procured their escape upon a point of law which the judge had refused to reserve. He was elected member of parliament for Plymouth in the Liberal interest in 1852, and in 1859 was appointed counsel to the Admiralty and Judge-Advocate of the Fleet. In this capacity, he gave in 1862 an opinion in favor of detaining the Confederate rams building in the Mersey, which would have saved his country much money and much credit if it had been acted upon. In 1863, he became Solicitor-General, and in 1868 Attorney-General, and in 1869 successfully passed a bankruptcy bill.
In 1871 Collier was appointed by Gladstone one of four new judges upon the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, although it was expressly provided by the act creating these offices that none of them should be filled by a law-officer of the Crown. This prohibition was evaded by making Collier a judge of Common Pleas and transferring him after a few days to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This arrangement was unanimously condemned by public opinion, and gave the Gladstone cabinet a serious blow. He officiated, nevertheless, with distinction until his death, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Monkswell in 1885.
Lord Monkswell was a distinguished amateur painter, frequently exhibiting landscapes at the Royal Academy and elsewhere. In his younger days he had been noted as a clever caricaturist. Collier was married to Isabella Rose, daughter of William Rose. They had two sons. His elder son, Robert, after taking a first class degree in law at Cambridge, went to the bar, and became (1871) conveyancing counsel to the treasury, and (1885-1886) an official examiner of the High Court, and, taking to politics as a Liberal, Under-Secretary of State for War (1895). His younger son, John Collier, inherited his father's artistic tastes, and became a well-known painter. Monkswell died in 1886 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. Lady Monkswell died 10 April 1886, and is also buried in Brompton Cemetery. He was succeeded in the peerage by his elder son, Robert Collier.
R. v. Coote (1873), L.R. 4 P.C. 599, [1873] UKPC 26 (P.C.).
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Viscount Ebrington Roundell Palmer |
Member of Parliament for Plymouth 1852 – 1871 With: Charles John Mare 1852–1853 Roundell Palmer 1853–1857 James White 1857–1859 Viscount Valletort 1859–1861 Walter Morrison from 1861 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Bates, Bt Walter Morrison |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir William Atherton |
Judge Advocate of the Fleet 1859–1863 |
Succeeded by Thomas Phinn |
| Preceded by Sir Roundell Palmer |
Solicitor General for England and Wales 1863–1866 |
Succeeded by William Bovill |
| Preceded by John Burgess Karslake |
Attorney General for England and Wales 1868–1871 |
Succeeded by Sir John Coleridge |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Monkswell 1885–1886 |
Succeeded by Robert Collier |