John Osborne was an English barrister and Law Officer who spent much of his adult life in Ireland. He was the only surviving son of the celebrated writer Francis Osborne, and the subject of his father's most famous book, Advice to a Son. John qualified as a barrister and moved to Ireland, where he rose to the top of the legal profession. He became Prime Serjeant-at-law under King Charles II. Since he was a determined opponent of King James II, he was removed from office by James's government, and was later proscribed by the Irish Parliament. After the Glorious Revolution he was restored to office as Serjeant-at-law. His notable independence of mind, and his hatred of all former Jacobites, Protestant as well as Roman Catholic, even those who had pledged their loyalty to the new King William III, soon made him almost as obnoxious to the new regime as he had been to the old. He was dismissed from office shortly before his death in 1692.
Family
His father Francis Osborne was the fifth son of Sir John Osborne of Chicksands Priory, Shefford, Bedfordshire and his wife Dorothy Barlee of Effingham Hall, Essex; Peter Osborne, Royal Governor of Guernsey during the English Civil War, was Francis's elder brother. Francis Osborne married Anna Draper, sister of the prominent Parliamentarian Colonel William Draper: John was the only boy among their four surviving children. Francis shared his brother-in-law's political beliefs, although he played little part in public life. His celebrated book Advice to a Son, which he intended for John's education, was published in two volumes in 1656 and 1658. He moved to Oxford to be closer to his son, and died there in 1659.
Career
John Osborne was at Magdalen College from 1648 to 1651 and became a fellow of All Souls' College. He graduated B.C.L. from the latter college in 1654, entered the Inner Temple in 1657 and became a Bencher of his Temple in 1689. When precisely he came to Ireland is unclear. He was admitted to the Irish Bar and rose rapidly in his profession. Uniquely, he was made Prime Serjeant, the most senior Law Officer after the Attorney General for Ireland, in reversion. His patent is dated 1676: he had taken up the office by 1680, and on the death of King Charles II the new regime renewed his patent of office. However Osborne, as a Protestant, could not have expected to hold the position for long under King James II, who was determined to promote as many Roman Catholics as possible to high office, and he was dismissed in 1686.
Proscription and return to office
Given his radical family background, it was natural for him to support King William III in his struggle against James II: on James II's arrival in Ireland in 1689 Osborne was proscribed by the Patriot Parliament. Following the downfall of James's cause at the Battle of the Boyne, he was quickly restored to favour. He was nominated for the office of Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, but William III personally vetoed his appointment in favour of Richard Pyne, and Osborne had to be content with resuming office as Prime Serjeant. Whether this was an early sign that the Government regarded him as a potential troublemaker is uncertain.
Opponent of the Crown
Once he was back in office, Osborne's insistence on pursuing his own independent policy angered the new Government. William III and his advisers had resolved on a policy of conciliation towards their former enemies in Ireland, especially those who were Protestants, as long as they would pledge their loyalty to William for the future. In open defiance of this policy Osborne, without instructions from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and without even consulting the Attorney General, who was now the senior Law Officer, began proceedings for treason against all Irish Protestants who had been loyal to James II. Outraged pleas from those thus accused were addressed to the London Government, backed by petitions from men of influence like William King, the Bishop of Derry and future Archbishop of Dublin, who wrote that Osborne's conduct had "startled the whole Kingdom". The result of this controversy was a stern letter from the Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham, to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Henry Sydney, informing him of the King's strong personal disapproval of Osborne's proceedings, which had given "great fear" to precisely those Irish subjects whom the King was seeking to win over to his side. The High Court judges were ordered to immediately halt all treason proceedings, and to reassure those charged with treason that no harm would come to them, so long as they were of good behaviour. The letter ended with a severe reprimand to Osborne for his "indiscreet zeal". , Osborne's superior, with whom he quarreled bitterly, leading eventually to his dismissal from office. Osborne seems to have been curiously untroubled by his official censure. He was prepared to act in open defiance of the royal command, and as late as 1692 Protestant landowners were still complaining of being harassed by him. His enemies argued that his real motive was not loyalty but greed: he was prepared to recommend pardons for those convicted of treason, but expected in return to receive the fees payable for the fiants necessary to obtain them. He gave even greater offence to the Crown by his conduct in the Irish House of Commons, to which he had been elected as member for County Meath in 1692. This Parliament had been called partly to ratify the Treaty of Limerick, which gave reasonably favourable terms to the defeated Roman Catholic supporters of James II. Osborne led the opposition to these terms as being excessively generous to the Catholics, with such powerful effect that Parliament had to be prorogued in November 1692, after a session of only four weeks. As a result, the relevant articles of the Treaty never took effect.
Dismissal from office and death
In the circumstances, Osborne cannot have expected to hold office as Serjeant for much longer. "He must certainly be turned out of his place", said the Lord Lieutenant grimly, for "every day he behaves himself more treacherously and ungratefully". His prestige had sunk so low that his office was offered to Sir John Meade, who had previously been regarded as ineligible for any Crown appointment on the ground that his wife was a Roman Catholic. Osborne was dismissed from office in November 1692 and died suddenly soon afterwards. He had married a daughter of his uncle William Draper: he is not known to have had any children.
