Judge Curran was created a king’s counsel by the Marquis of
Lorne and was appointed secretary of the commission for the
codification of the statutes of the first De Boucherville
government. He was called to judiciary honor when made a puisne
judge of the superior court, December 5, 1892. He was appointed
solicitor general in the ministry of Sir John Thomas and
continued to hold that office after Sir Mackenzie Bowell became
premier. A contemporary writer said, “on the occasion of his
appointment his lordship was congratulated by the press without
distinction of party, both on public and personal grounds in
acknowledgment of his ‘indefatigable efforts to promote the
interests of his constituents’ and he was presented in 1890,
chiefly by citizens in Montreal, with a purse of seven thousand
dollars.” Judge Curran remained upon the bench for fourteen years
and proved himself the peer of the ablest jurist who has gained
the superior court bench. There were those who opposed him in the
beginning, but all came to acknowledge his capability, his record
being a credit and honor to the bench. His opinions were models
of judicial soundness and his record as a jurist was such as any
man might be proud to possess.
Politically his lordship was a liberal-conservative and he
rendered valuable service to his party. He was elected by a large
majority for Montreal Center to the house of commons in 1882,
1887 and again in 1891, and upon his appointment to the solicitor
generalship of Canada in 1892 he was reelected by acclamation.
On the organization of a law faculty in connection with the
University of Ottawa in 1892 Judge Curran was appointed to one
of the legal chairs and elected vice dean. He was also a member
of the senate of that university and president of its Alumni
Association. As an orator he swayed all by his eloquence. He
gained high rank as a lecturer and was frequently called upon to
address public gatherings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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