 He was Member of Parliament for Reading from 1852 until 1860 and as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1857-8 and in 1859.He sat as a Judge of Common Pleas from 1859–75.He became a member of the Privy Council in 1875, entitling him to sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the court of last resort for the Empire.