[taken from Chapter 4 Manx Worthies, A.W.Moore, 1901]

JOHN CLOWIS STEPHEN (b. 1806, d. 1880),

eldest son of the Rev. Thomas Stephen, vicar-general (see Ch. V.) and Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. Daniel Gelling, Rector of Ballaugh, was called to the Manx Bar in 1828, and, in 1855, he was appointed northern deemster. He was a humorist as well as a lawyer. As a specimen of his witty sayings, we may quote the following allusion to the leaders of his Bar:" .... is too old and people are driven to .... by sheer necessity, but he alas, like necessity, knows no law." Deemster Drinkwater speaking of him just after his death, said: " He was my colleague for upwards of 25 years and one to whose honest advice I could always refer in cases of difficulty.... The public have lost in him a most honest and independent judge. Every suitor who went into his court knew that they would get an unbiased decision." He was a true lover of his country, a wise counsellor and legislator, and an able and upright judge. Many of his judgments will be remembered for their clearness and literary finish.