John Joseph Francis KC (25 April 1839 – 22 September 1901) was a senior counsel in British Colony of Hong Kong and the first elected member of the Sanitary Board.
Early life
Francis was born in Dublin in 1839, the eldest son of William Francis Aylward, an Inspector of Irish National Schools, and Teresa Agnes Redmond. His father died in 1847, as did two of his four younger brothers. He attended the Jesuit boarding schools in Ireland from 1852 to 57 and then the Jesuit Novitiate at Beaumont Lodge, Windsor. It appears that he intended to train for the priesthood but in the end of the 1850s he joined the Royal Artillery and came to China in 1859. He stationed in Hong Kong and after a time he left the army and settled down as a civilian.
Legal career
He was admitted as proctor, attorney and solicitor in January 1869. His admission was moved by the Attorney General, Julian Pauncefote before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, J. J. Smale. The Chinese name for his firm was Fa Lan Shea Shi Chong Sz. He built up a remunerative practice but decided to sell his practice to M. J. D. Stephens, his managing clerk, in December 1873 and studied to be called to the Bar.
In January 1874 Francis was admitted to the Gray's Inn. He matriculated at the London University in 1875 and passed the Intermediate Examination in Laws, obtaining first place of those candidates who achieved second class at honours in 1876. In the same year he won the Lee Essay Prize at the Gray's Inn with the subject "The Judicature Act 1873, stating its object and provisions generally and its probable effect on the administration of the law in England." He was called to the Bar in November 1876.
Francis returned to Hong Kong and was admitted to practise at the Hong Kong Bar in March 1877, being the 27th on the Roll. His admission was moved by the Attorney General George Phillippo before J. J. Smale. Shortly after his own admission Francis signed an affidavit in support of the application of Ng Choy the first Chinese to be admitted to practise in Hong Kong.
In 1881, Francis was appointed Acting Crown Advocate of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan to prosecute a British employee of the Imperial Maritime Customs, Edward Page who was accused of murder for killing a Chinese smuggler. Thomas Hayllar QC and the Attorney General of Hong Kong, Edward Loughlin O'Malley, acted for Page.
Francis quickly became an established barrister in the colony and became the leading practitioner at the Bar when T. C. Hayllar, QC the most prominent barrister in the colony left in 1882. In 1886, he became the third barrister in Hong Kong to be a Queen's Counsel.
According to the newspaper reports of his cases Francis comes across as a forceful, and often pugnacious and outspoken, advocate who took every possible point for his clients and never gave up, although "his outspoken utterances estranged many person who would otherwise have employed him in Court," as the Hong Kong Telegraph commented.
He was appointed acting in several judicial positions from 1878 to 1880 including Police Magistrate in September 1878 and 1880, Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court in April 1879 and presiding over the Criminal Sessions in February 1880. He was appointed member of the commission to Revise the Laws and Ordinances of Hong Kong in 1887 and also examiner of candidates for admission as attorneys both when he was solicitor and barrister. However he was never appointed acting Attorney General and Chief Justice.
Public affairs
Francis was a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the China Association and the Navy League, and in 1895 accepted and presidency of the British Mercantile Marine Officers Association.
He was involved with a number of organisations founded for the benefit of the Chinese. In 1878 a number of Chinese, concerned about the traffic in women and girls, petitioned the Governor for permission to form an anti-kidnapping association. The Governor John Pope Hennessy appointed a committee of four, including Francis, to investigate the matter. In the result the Po Leung Kuk, or Society for the Protection of the Innocent, was formed in 1880. Francis drafted rules and regulations for the running of the Society.