William Hey (judge) facts for kids

William Hey (born around 1733, died 1797) was an important British lawyer. He became the Chief Justice of Quebec in 1766. In this role, he helped create the legal system for the province of Quebec. Later, he also served as a member of the British House of Commons from 1774 to 1776.

Who Was William Hey?

William Hey was born in England around 1733. His father, Thomas Hey, used to be a merchant. William went to Eton College in 1748, which is a famous school. After that, he studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1750.

Becoming a Lawyer

William Hey continued his legal studies at Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in London. He became a qualified lawyer in 1756. Before becoming a judge, he worked as a Recorder for the town of Sandwich and as a deputy recorder for Dover from 1763 to 1766. These were important legal jobs in local towns.

Serving as Chief Justice of Quebec

In 1766, William Hey was chosen to be the Chief Justice of Quebec. This was a very important job because Quebec had recently become a British province. He traveled to Quebec with Francis Maseres, who was the new attorney general.

Building a Legal System

When Hey arrived in Quebec, he faced a big challenge. He needed to help create a legal system that would work for everyone living there. The main problem was how to combine the French and English legal systems. Quebec had been a French colony before, so it had French laws. Now, as a British province, it needed to include English laws too.

William Hey, along with Francis Maseres and the Governor Guy Carleton, worked together to figure this out. They sent their ideas back to London in 1769. Governor Carleton thought it would be best to use English law for criminal cases and French law for civil cases (like property or family matters).

Returning to London

In 1773, William Hey asked for permission to go back to London because he was not feeling well. He arrived in early 1774. He helped with the final steps of preparing the Quebec Act, which was a new law for Quebec. However, when he was asked about it in the House of Commons, he said he didn't know much about the details. The Quebec Act was mostly based on Governor Carleton's ideas.

William Hey's Time in Parliament

In September 1774, William Hey was chosen to be a Member of Parliament for Sandwich. He expected to get this job easily. He also sent in his resignation as Chief Justice because he believed he couldn't do both jobs at once.

A Difficult Decision

William Hey described his time in Quebec as "ten years of honest, however imperfect, endeavours to serve the Crown in an unpleasant and something critical situation." This shows he found his work there challenging.

Even though he resigned, the government didn't accept it right away. They sent him back to Quebec, and he kept his seat in Parliament. But he didn't plan to stay in Quebec for long. During an American invasion in 1775, he wrote that things in Quebec were "as gloomy... as can be imagined."

He returned to England in November 1775. In February 1776, he gave his only speech in Parliament. In this speech, he defended the Quebec Act and praised Governor Carleton.

New Role and Resignation

In October 1776, William Hey was appointed as a Commissioner of Customs. This was another important government job, and he held it until he died. When he took this new role on October 31, 1776, he resigned from his seat in Parliament. It was understood that he would leave his Quebec job soon after becoming an MP.

Later Life and Death

William Hey married a second time in 1783 to Sarah Paplay. She was from Jamaica. He passed away on March 3, 1797, in London.