Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Johnston, Alexander (1775-1849)
JOHNSTON, Sir ALEXANDER (1775–1849), reorganiser of the government of Ceylon, elder son of Samuel Johnston, brother to the Laird of Carnsalloch, by Hester, only daughter of Francis, fifth lord Napier, was born on 25 April 1775. His father obtained civil employment at Madras under Lord Macartney, and in 1781 settled at Madura. Alexander was partly trained by Swartz the missionary, and Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas) Monro [q. v.] He learnt the Tamul, Telugu, and Hindustani languages, and imbibed a lifelong sympathy with the natives.
When only eleven years old he was offered a cornetcy of dragoons, but as the regiment was ordered on active service he resigned the commission, and in 1792 returned to Europe with his parents. By Lord Macartney's advice he was now trained for the law, and studied for a time at Göttingen. Thence he passed to Lincoln's Inn, where he was called to the bar, and went the home circuit till an accidental interview with Fox turned his thoughts again to India. He was in need of an increased income, having in 1799 married the only daughter of Captain Lord William Campbell, R.N., and now obtained the post of advocate-general of Ceylon. In 1805 he succeeded to the chief-justiceship, and in 1809 was summoned to England to give suggestions to the government, many of which were embodied in the renewed charter issued to the East India Company in 1813. Johnston was knighted by the prince regent, and returned to Ceylon in 1811 as president of the council. In 1817 he acted as admiralty judge, but declined to accept any salary.
Under his impulse Ceylon now led the vanguard of Indian reform. A system of universal popular education was set on foot, religious liberty was established, and the owners of slaves were led to agree to their complete emancipation; public employment was largely opened to the natives and half-castes, while Europeans were permitted to acquire land; trial by jury was established, and a considerable advance was made in the preparation of a code of law, in which provision was made for the due preservation of the views and usages of Hindus, Muhamadans, and Buddhists (for a letter upon the jury system in Ceylon see Bentham's Works, ii. 182–8).
When Johnston returned to England in 1819, Lord Grey declared in the House of Lords that his ‘conduct in the island of Ceylon alone had immortalised his name.’
In England he was instrumental in the foundation in 1823 of the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he became vice-president. In 1832 he was made a privy councillor, and it was chiefly owing to his advice that the judicial committee of the privy council was established as a court of ultimate appeal in colonial litigation. Appointed a member of that court 4 Sept. 1833, he became distinguished as a supporter of the rights of the natives and an interpreter of their laws. His services were acknowledged in a petition to the House of Commons from the leaders of native society in the presidency of Bombay; Johnston declined to draw the salary attached to his office.
In 1832, when the East India Company's charter once more came up for renewal, Johnston was again examined at great length before the committee of the commons; and his evidence contained strong recommendations for extending the rights of the natives of India. In 1840 he unsuccessfully contested as a liberal the representation of the Dumfries burghs. He died in London on 6 March 1849, and was buried at Carnsalloch, Dumfriesshire, where he had long endeared himself to all classes. In person he was of distinguished appearance and manners, and was highly esteemed in society. He left four sons and three daughters.
Alexander Robert Campbell-Johnston (1812–1888), younger son of the above, was born at Colombo, Ceylon, on 14 June 1812, and went to the Mauritius in the colonial service in 1828. In 1833 he accompanied his cousin, William John, eighth lord Napier, to China. He received a medal for services on board H.M.S. Nemesis in the Chinese war of 1841, and was, in the absence of the appointed governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, administrator of the government of Hong Kong from June 1841, when the British flag was first hoisted, until the close of 1842. His conduct at Hong Kong was highly commended. Johnston was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1845 in recognition of contributions to the natural history of China, which he made during his stay in that country. He retired from the colonial service in 1852, and died at Raphael Ranch, Los Angeles, California, 21 Jan. 1888.
[Family papers kindly contributed by Sir Alexander's son, P. F. Campbell-Johnston, esq.; Reports of Parliamentary Proceedings; Gent. Mag. 1849, pt. i. p. 424; Dumfries Times, 12 March 1849; Athenæum, 1888, i. 151; Royal Society's Lists.]