Henry John Boulton

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Henry John Boulton

Born

1790
Kensington, London, England

Died

18 June 1870
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Occupation

Queen's Counsel

Spouse(s)

Eliza, daughter of Ephraim Jones

Henry John Boulton, QC (1790 June 18, 1870) was a lawyer, judge and political figure
in Upper Canada.
He was born at Little Holland House, Kensington, England, the son of G. D'Arcy Boulton, in 1790.
Some time later, the family settled in New York state and then moved to Upper Canada around
1800. He studied law at York (Toronto) and then at Lincoln's Inn inLondon. He was called to the
English bar and, in 1816, the bar of Upper Canada. In 1818, he succeeded John Beverley
Robinson asSolicitor General and, in 1829, succeeded Robinson as attorney general. In 1830, he
was elected to represent Niagara in theLegislative Assembly of Upper Canada. He instigated
several expulsions of William Lyon Mackenzie from the assembly. In 1832,Lord Goderich,
the colonial secretary, asked the provincial administration to stop attacking Mackenzie; Boulton
was dismissed from office after expressing his opposition to these instructions.
After he protested his dismissal, he was offered the post of chief justice of Newfoundland in 1833.
He introduced a new system of selecting juries based on the method then used in England. He
set up a law society in the province and set up regulations governing the admission of
new lawyers to the bar. He also amended a number of traditional arrangements regarding credit
in the fishing industry. Many of these changes were not well received. After representatives from
the colony presented their concerns in London, Boulton was removed from office.
He returned to private practice in Toronto. In 1841, and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in
1842. He was elected to the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada representingNiagara. In
parliament, Boulton supported Robert Baldwin's concept of responsible government. His support
of the reformers resulted in his defeat in the next election but, in 1846, he was appointed to
the Executive Council and elected in Norfolk in 1847. He proposed an amendment to
the Rebellion Losses Bill which excluded those convicted oftreason from benefits which helped
sell the bill in Canada West. After 1851, he retired from politics but continued to practice law until
about 1860.
He died at Toronto, Ontario in 1870.
His brother, George Strange Boulton, was also a member of the Legislative Assembly and served
on the Legislative Council. Another brother, D'Arcy Boulton, built and lived atThe Grange
(Toronto). He married Eliza, daughter of Ephraim Jones, in 1818.