In 1828 appeared the first edition of his “Digest of the Law of Evidence in the Trials of Actions at the Nisi Prius Law,” which in the next ten years ran through five editions. During 1829 and 1830 he produced a “Digest of the Law of Bills of Exchange,” which also passed through many editions, and he contributed to Lardner’s Encyclopædia a volume of “Lives of Eminent British Lawyers.” For some years he was engaged in the preparation of Parliamentary Bills, and under the direction of Mr. Gregson drew up the original draft of the Reform Bills of 1831-1832.
Two years after the death of his father, he produced the “Life of William Roscoe.” This work, undertaken at the request of the family, was no light task, on account of the mass of correspondence, pamphlets, etc., which had to be dealt with. It was completed during three or four months of the legal vacation, when rest and change were much needed. He was already suffering from overwork, confinement, and lack of exercise, and this additional tax upon his strength and nervous energy seriously affected his health.
Between 1830 and 1835 he produced other legal works, among them, “The Digest of the Law of Evidence in Criminal Cases,” and a “General Digest of Law from 1835-6,” and he contributed to many magazines and journals. In January 1836 he published his last work, a pamphlet “On Pleading the General Issue.” During the previous summer the serious state of his health compelled him to abandon the idea of continuing to live in town. He therefore gave up his house in London and went to reside at Gateacre, near Liverpool, in the hope that country air and rural life might improve his condition. He had been appointed in 1834 Judge of the Court of Passage, Liverpool, by Lord Brougham, then Lord Chancellor, and from that year until 1836 he omitted no weekly sitting.
Unfortunately persistent ill-health, aggravated by years of overwork and constant strain, had taxed to the uttermost a delicate constitution, and in March 1837, after a few weeks of suffering, he died at the age of thirty-six.
But for his early death he would certainly have risen to high distinction in his profession. His talents and learning, combined with his moral worth and charming personality, endeared him to his family and to a large circle of friends.
An appreciation by Henry Chorley speaks of him as the most gifted of the sons of the Italian historian—of quick sympathy and solid judgment, and with such instant justice and strength of decision as belongs to a truthful, acute, and strong man.
Certain of his legal books were standard works long after his death. Somebody once asked Sir Henry Roscoe if “Roscoe on Evidence” was any connection of his. “No nearer than that of father,” was the reply.
In 1831 he married Maria Fletcher, second daughter of a respected Liverpool merchant, and chairman of the West Indian Committee,
An honest man …