Fielding Clarke

Sir Fielding Clarke, Chief Justice of Fiji, Hong Kong and Jamaica

Sir Fielding Clarke was a British colonial barrister, civil servant and jurist. He served as Chief Justice of Fiji, Hong Kong and Jamaica.

Early life

Clarke (born 1851) was the fourth son of Henry Booth Clarke and his wife Isabella (née Clarke). He married in 1888 Mary (May) Milward Pierce, the daughter of Mr Justice Timbrell Pierce D.L.^[1]

Education

Clarke was educated in Switzerland and then returned to England to attend King's College London and London University (LLB). On November 12, 1872 he was admitted to Middle Temple and in 1876 was called to the bar of the Middle Temple.

Career

After being called to the Bar, Clarke practiced on the North Eastern Circuit.

In 1881, he embarked on career as a civil servant and jurist in various British colonies. In that year, he was appointed Attorney General of Fiji in 1881 and served in that position until 1885. He acted as Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner, Western Pacific from 1882 to 1883 and in 1884. In 1885 he was appointed Chief Justice of Fiji & Chief Judicial Commissioner, Western Pacific. He served in that position until 1889.

In 1889, he was appointed Puisne Judge, of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong.

In 1892 he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong succeeding Sir James Russell. On his appointment as Chief Justice, William Meigh Goodman the Attorney General of Hong Kong in a congratulatory speech said:

"As Her Majesty has appointed Your Lordship it must, indeed, be a source of satisfaction to you to know that the Colony considers the appointment to be the very best that could have possibly been made. It must be a satisfaction to Your Lordship to feel that the legal profession endorses most cordially the appointment. They feel that you have had simply given to you what you had a right to. If no alteration is necessary and Your Lordship continues on the Bench - and we hope Your Lordship will for many years preside over this court in the same able and upright manner in which Your Lordship has always presided - the Colony will be able to boast a very efficient Chief Justice."^[2]

Clarke was knighted in 1894 while Chief Justice of Hong Kong.

In 1896 he was appointed as Chief Justice of Jamaica and served in that position until 1911 when he retired. He moved to Southchurch, Essex and later lived in Stifford, Essex.^[3]

In retirement, he was appointed, in 1916, to the Appeal Tribunal for the County of Essex created under the Military Service Act 1916 which introduced conscription.^[4]

Death

Clarke died on 30 July 1928 in Essex, England.^[5]

The Daily Gleaner of Kingston, Jamaica on his death said that "Sir Fielding Clarke will be remembered as one of the ablest judges that ever sat on the bench in Jamaica."

References