E-Books →Law Justice And Empire The Colonial Career Of John Gorrie 1829-1892

Holding radical political and social views, especially a conviction that persons of all ethnic and class backgrounds should enjoy equal justice under the British Crown, he was a controversial jurist who inspired both bitter opposition from colonial elites and intense admiration from the 'subject races' in each place where he served. A maverick official of the British Crown, Gorrie tried to use his judicial office to secure justice and protection for ex-slaves, indentured labourers, indigenous peoples and other nonwhite groups in the empire. Moreover, Gorrie's beliefs led him to intervene in political issues and debates in a way which was unusual for a colonial judge and which ensured that he would often be the focus of public comment and criticism.