Dictionary of National Biography, 1927 supplement/Hunter, Robert
HUNTER, Sir ROBERT (1844–1913), solicitor, and authority on commons and public rights, was born in London 27 October 1844, the only son of Robert Lachlan Hunter, by his wife, Anne Lachlan. He was educated at a private school and at London University. After taking the M.A. degree in 1865 he studied law and was admitted solicitor in 1867. Public opinion at that time was stirred by the enclosure of many metropolitan commons, and (Sir) Henry Peek, of Wimbledon, offered prizes for essays on the subject. Hunter, amongst many rising lawyers, competed; his essay gained a prize and was selected for publication. This led to Hunter becoming in 1869 a partner in the firm of Fawcett, Horne, and Hunter, solicitors to the Commons Preservation Society which had been founded in 1865. He was entrusted with the conduct of the suits that led to the protection of Hampstead Heath, Berkhamsted, Plumstead, and Wimbledon commons, and other threatened open spaces, and established the principles of public interest upon which the law relating to commons is now based. The most notable case effected the recovery of 3,000 acres of Epping Forest on the suit of the corporation of the city of London, when Hunter acted with the city solicitor in the conduct of the protracted legal proceedings (1871–1874).
In 1882 Henry Fawcett, then postmaster-general, appointed Hunter solicitor to the General Post Office. He held the position until shortly before his death, and was concerned in the drafting and passage of over fifty acts of parliament dealing with the department. These measures included the Conveyance of Mails Act (1893), which ensured that all differences between the railway companies and the state as to remuneration for the carriage of mails should be referred for settlement to the Railway and Canal Commission. It has been officially stated that by his initiative and able handling of this measure Hunter saved the country over £10,000,000. His most striking achievement, however, was his successful negotiation, in conjunction with Sir Henry Babington Smith, of the terms for the purchase of the National Telephone Company's system under the powers conferred on the Post Office by the Telegraph Arbitration Act, 1909. The compensation claimed by the company was £20,924,700, but the amount awarded to them was reduced to £12,515,264, after the contract, drafted by Hunter, had stood the test of bitterly fought arbitration proceedings lasting for seventy-two days. The value to the Post Office of Hunter's acumen and persuasive personality was well recognized, and Fawcett once declared that nothing in his official career had given him greater pleasure than the securing of a man of Hunter's character and ability for the country's service.
Hunter's interest in the movement for protecting commons was maintained, and until his death he remained closely identified with the Commons Preservation Society. In 1895, with Miss Octavia Hill [q.v.] and Canon Rawnsley, he founded the National Trust; and he took a leading part in many schemes for acquiring open spaces. Hunter lived at Haslemere, and was instrumental in preserving in that neighbourhood over 1,500 acres of commons, including Hindhead and the Devil's Punch Bowl. He died at Haslemere 6 November 1913, within a few months of his retirement from the Post Office. As a national memorial of his work a beautiful tract of woodland adjoining the Waggoner's Wells, near Haslemere, was purchased by public subscription.
Hunter was knighted in 1894; he was made C.B. in 1909 and promoted K.C.B. in 1911. He married twice: first, in 1869 Emily (died 1872), daughter of J. G. Browning; and secondly, in 1877 Ellen, daughter of S. Cann. He left three daughters by his second marriage.
[Sir Robert Hunter, The Preservation of Open Spaces, Footpaths and Other Rights of Way, 1896, and Gardens in Towns (published posthumously), 1915; The Movements for the Inclosure and Preservation of Open Lands (Royal Statistical Society), 1915.]