Matthew Baillie Begbie

Matthew Baillie Begbie

Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie (9 May 1819 – 11 June 1894) was born on the island of Mauritius, thereafter raised and educated in the United Kingdom. In 1858, Begbie became the first Chief Justice of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in colonial times and in the first decades after confederation of Canada.

Begbie served as the first Judge of the Supreme Court, Colony of British Columbia 1858 to 1866 and then, in the same capacity in the Supreme Court, the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia from 1866 to 1870. He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Colonies from 1870 to 1871 and, following British Columbia joining confederation in 1871, he served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the new Province of British Columbia until his death on June 11, 1894.

In the years after his death, Begbie came to be known as the Hanging Judge. However, it appears that he does not deserve this reputation. The death penalty was mandatory in murder cases in those days unless the government approved a judge's recommendation for clemency. Indeed, Begbie successfully argued for clemency in several cases.