Henry Pering Pellew Crease

Apr 21, 2026 - 16:39
0 0
Henry Pering Pellew Crease

source and info

← Previous revision Revision as of 11:08, 21 April 2026
Line 47: Line 47:
Upon his arrival in Victoria, Crease was admitted as a barrister to the courts of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and became thereby the first lawyer qualified to practice in both jurisdictions. Crease opened a practice in Victoria, sent for his family, and soon found himself travelling with Supreme Court Judge [[Matthew Baillie Begbie]] on his first circuit, dealing out justice on the frontier as a [[Crown prosecutor]] in the midst of the [[British Columbia Gold Rush|Gold Rush]].
Upon his arrival in Victoria, Crease was admitted as a barrister to the courts of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and became thereby the first lawyer qualified to practice in both jurisdictions. Crease opened a practice in Victoria, sent for his family, and soon found himself travelling with Supreme Court Judge [[Matthew Baillie Begbie]] on his first circuit, dealing out justice on the frontier as a [[Crown prosecutor]] in the midst of the [[British Columbia Gold Rush|Gold Rush]].


Crease opposed the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]'s [[hegemony]] over the colony, and in 1860 was elected to the [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island]] [[Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island|House of Assembly]] as an independent member representing Victoria. However, he was soon criticised by the ''[[Victoria Times-Colonist|British Colonist]]'' (a paper run by opposition leader [[Amor de Cosmos]]) for being too cozy with the HBC-backed government. The following year, as if to prove de Cosmos right, governor Sir [[James Douglas (governor)|James Douglas]] appointed Crease [[Attorney-General]] of [[British Columbia]], and Crease resigned his seat in the Assembly. He was a key member of the government, responsible for pushing literally hundreds of laws through the legislature, in between his continuing circuit tours, most of which was concerned with regulating the resource-based economic activity of the colony, including land settlement and gold mining. His legislation cemented his reputation as an advocate of free trade.
Crease, his wife, and his children, became friends of [[Richard Clement Moody|Colonel Ricard Clement Moody, Kt.]], who was the founder and the first [[Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia]], and with the officers of Moody's [[Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment]].{{cite web|url=http://api.ning.com/files/Pwx68GFnuuBDqb1wRfgoMEsaVMh9l6ZFcQE1PZO3RYpLzYY8Iwih2339ABomznAmgVyXNL97XKu75RxFRY8u31wYPO9QaQoI/MOODYAlbumINFO2a.pdf|title=The Photographic Album of Richard Clement Moody, Royal British Columbia Museum}} Like Moody, Crease opposed the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]'s control over the colony. In 1860 Crease was elected to the [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island]] [[Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island|House of Assembly]] as an independent member for Victoria. However, he was soon criticised by the ''[[Victoria Times-Colonist|British Colonist]]'' (which was run by the opposition leader [[Amor de Cosmos]]) for being too sympathetic to the colonial government, which, the following year, appointed Crease [[Attorney-General]] of [[British Columbia]], for which Crease resigned his seat in the Assembly.

Crease became an influential member of the colonial government who enacted hundreds of laws in between his legal tours, which regulated the colony's utilisation of its natural resources, including land and gold mining, under principles of free trade.


[[File:Pentrelew.JPG|thumb|left|Crease on the lawn of Pentrelew, his home in Victoria]]
[[File:Pentrelew.JPG|thumb|left|Crease on the lawn of Pentrelew, his home in Victoria]]
Read More