Burrow, Sir James

, born in 1701, was made master of the crown-office in 1724, and was elected F. R. S. 1737, F. A. S. 1751. On the death of Mr. West in 1772, he was prevailed on to fill the president’s chair at the royal society till the anniversary election, when he resigned it to sir John Pringle; and Aug. 10, 1773, when the society presented an address to his majesty, he received the honour of knighthood. He retained his mastership of the 'crown-office till his death, Nov. 5, 1782. An elegant whole-length portrait of sir James Burrow was engraved, after Devis, by Basire, in 1780. During the memorable presidency of the great earl of Mansfield, sir James seems | to have been the first reporter of law cases. From a series of many years’ attendance on the court of king’s bench officially, and from a constant habit and attention to accuracy in preserving notes of the business in that court, and being further assisted by the records which passed through his hands in the cpurse of his office, he was particularly enabled to give a collection of the Cases from 26 George II. to 12 George III. in which generally the arguments of the counsel as well as those of the court, are related in a very full and accurate manner, and in a method adapted to give a regular view of the actual progress of the cause as it occurred in court, which of course led the reporter into a more diffuse and circumstantial detail of the arguments than has in general been thought necessary by other reporters, but which appears to have been considered by the author as essential to an exact report of tfhe case, as well as conducive to the improvement of the student. These reports have therefore been considered as a work of the first necessity in the library of a modern lawyer. They have passed through four editions, the last of which was printed with “additional notes and references in 1790, 5 vols. royal 8vo. He also published a separate collection of his” Reports of the Decisions of the Court of King’s Bench, upon Settlement cases, from the year 1732 to 1776,“having during the whole of that period uniformly attended that court, and made it a part of his employment to record the proceedings of it; and in this part of his labours he had the satisfaction of being greatly instrumental in promoting the knowledge of this much litigated branch of the law, and his work seems to have had the effect of lessening the number of appeals to the court of king’s bench. These decisions have been twice printed, first in 4to, 1768, 1772, and 1776, to which were subjoined a few thoughts on pointing (published separately in 1769 and 1772), and secondly in 1786, with marginal notes and references. It is said that he intended to have published his reports of the cases decided in the court of king’s bench, during the time of the three chief justices immediately preceding lord Mansfield, and that the manuscripts of such cases were in the hands of Robert Burrow, esq. his nephew, lately deceased. Sir James also published, without his name, a few” Anecdotes and observations relating to Oliver Cromwell and his family, serving to rectify several errors | concerning him, published by Nicol. Comnenus Papadopoli, in his “Historia gymnasii Patavini,” 1763, 4to. ¹