Farmer's son Jethro Brown from Watervale school the Adelaide law professor, 1906-16; a prolific writer on issues
Adelaide University law professor Jethro Brown also was appointed president of the industrial court of South Australia in 1916. Among his extensive writings, his The New Democracy (1899) was honoured with a doctorate of letters from Dublin University.
Image courtesy State Library of South Australia
A South Australian mid north farmer’s son, educated at a small grammar school in Watervale, (William) Jethro Brown, became professor of law at Adelaide University 1906-16, and continued his significant written contributions to legal, political and industrial thought.
Brown, the son of James Brown and wife Sophia Jane (nee Torr), was born at Mintaro in 1868 and educated at Joseph S. Cole’s Stanley Grammar School in nearby Watervale in the Clare Valley.
After teaching for a while at Moonta Mines State School, Brown left to study at St John’s College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1890 with a doctor of law and a double first class in the law tripos. He was called to the bar of the Middle Temple in London in 1891 and elected Macmahon student at St John's College in 1892.
In 1893, Brown was appointed professor of law and modern history at the University of Tasmania until 1900 (apart from acted as law professor at Sydney University in 1898). In 1898, he published a pamphlet Why Federate, read at a Australian Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, pointing out that the mostly technical difficulties of the proposed Australian federation. His thoughtful study The New Democracy (honoured with a doctorate of letters from Dublin University) appeared in 1899 and in 1900 he left Australia to become professor of constitutional law and history at University College London.
Next year, Brown was appointed professor of comparative law at the University College of Wales. He was examiner for the Cambridge University law tripos 1902-05, and for the University of London 1905-06.
His appointment as professor of law at Adelaide University in 1906 was accompanied by his The Austinian Theory of Law, an edition with critical notes and excursus of lectures I, V and VI of Austin's Jurisprudence and his Essay on the Uses of the Study of Jurisprudence, reprinted several times.
In 1912. he published The Underlying Principles of Modern Legislation, highlighting that greatly increased state activity would throws a great responsibility on the teacher and the brains and character of the community; and that problems would demand enlightened statesmanship with reforming zeal. Brown didn’t give his own views on settling these problems in what was planned as a university textbook.
His next work was The Prevention and Control of Monopolies, a more constructive but evenly balanced argument. Brown was appointed president of the industrial court of South Australia in 1916 and showed great industry, courtesy and ability in his duties. His experiences as chairman of the sugar commission (1912-14), as chairman of the price regulations commission, the foodstuffs commission, and the gas commission, gave his wide knowledge of the conditions in industry.
Brown also contributed a long essay “The Judicial Regulation of Industrial Conditions” to Australia, Economic and Political Studies. He also wrote largely for the reviews, including the Law Quarterly Review, Hibbert Journal, International Journal of Ethics, Westminster Review, Independent Review, Judicial Review, Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Review.
Brown's health began to fail and in 1927 he resigned rom Adelaide University and was replaced by Coleman Phillipson 1919-25.
