Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 06.djvu/51

 Bovillus A few months previously he had been elected treasurer of the Middle Temple, but on being raised to the bench he resigned that office. In 1870 he was made honorary D.C.L. of Oxford, and he was also F.R.S. He became most familiar to the public during the first Tichborne trial, which took place before him. At its conclusion he ordered the plaintiff to be indicted for perjury, admitting him to bail in 5,000l for himself and two sureties of 2,500l each. In January 1873 he was appointed a member of the judicature commission; but going the midland circuit in March he did not long act upon it. For some weeks before his death he was in ill-health, but was thought to be recovering when, on 1 Nov., he died at noon at his residence, Coombe House, Kingston, Surrey, for which county he was many years a magistrate. He was of the best type of the non-university judge; very few were more learned, though some might be more eloquent; but in advocacy no one at the common law bar surpassed him. At nisi prius he displayed great force and energy, a great grasp of facts, and a very acute perception of the true point of a case. In argument before a court in banc he was logical, skilful, and authoritative. His memory and industry were alike great, and he was scrupulous in attending to all cases that be undertook, often returning briefs in preference to neglecting them. If not one of the great judges whose tradition is handed down for generations, he was unsurpassed in his practical mastery of commercial law. His successor, the attorney-general, Sir John Coleridge, said of him: 'Not a single day passes that I do not long for some portion of his great and vigorous capacity, and for his remarkable command of the whole field of our great profession.' His defect as a judge was a too great confidence that he had apprehended the point and the merits of a case at nisi prius before hearing the evidence out, but with time he got rid of it. Always patient, courteous and genial, and very kind to junior counsel, he was much lamented by the profession. He married in 1844 Maria, eldest daughter of Mr. John Henry Boulton, of Lee Park, Blackheath, by whom he had a large family. One of his sons he appointed in 1868 clerk of assize of the western circuit.

.  BOVILLUS. [See .]  BOWACK, JOHN (fl. 1737), topographer, was for many years a writing-master at Westminster School. In 1705–6, when living in Church Lane, Chelsea, he began to publish, in folio numbers, 'The Antiquities of Middlesex, being a collection of the several church monuments in that county; also an historical account of each church and parish, with the seats, villages, and names of the most eminent inhabitants.' Of this work two parts appeared, comprising the parishes of Chelsea, Kensington, Fulham, Hammersmith, Chiswick, and Acton. A third part was promised, which would have extended through Ealing, New Brentford, Isleworth, and Hanwell ; but from want of encouragement Bowack proceeded no further. A beautiful specimen of his skill in ornamental handwriting is to be seen in Harleian MS. 1809, a thin vellum book, containing two neat drawings in Indian ink, and various kinds of English text and print hands, which was sent to Lord Oxford in December 1712, with a letter, wherein the author expresses the hope that his little work may find a place in his lordship's library. Bowack was appointed in July 1732 clerk to the commissioners of the turnpike roads, and in 1737 assistant-secretary to the Westminster Bridge commissioners, with a salary of 100l. a year. The date of his death appears to be unknown.

 BOWATER, EDWARD (1787–1861), lieutenant-general and colonel 49th foot from 1846, was descended from a respectable Coventry family, members of which were established in London and at Woolwich during the last century. From one of the latter, a landowner of considerable wealth, the government purchased most of the freehold sites since occupied by the artillery and other barracks, the military repository grounds, &c. at Woolwich. Sir Edward was the only son of Admiral Edward Bowater, of Hampton Court, by his wife Louisa, daughter of Thomas Lane and widow of G. E. Hawkins, sergeant-surgeon to King George III. He was born in St. James's Palace on 13 July 1787, educated at Harrow, and entered the army in 1804 as ensign in the 3rd foot guards, with which he served in the Peninsula from December 1808 to November 1809, in the Peninsula and south of France from December 1811 to the end of the war, and in the Waterloo campaign. He was present at the passage of the Douro, the capture of Oporto, the battles of Talavera, Salamanca, and Vittoria, the sieges of Burgos and San Sebastian, the passage of the Bidassoa, and the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and was wounded