Richard Garth

Sir Richard Garth PC QC (11 May 1820 – 23 March 1903) was member of parliament for Guildford from 1866 to 1868 and Chief Justice of Bengal from 1875 to 1886.

Lowndes inherited the manor and, in accordance with the requirements of his grandfather's will, he changed his and his family's surname to Garth by royal licence in 1837.

[10] He was also instrumental in the early planning of parts of Raynes Park,[11] on land he owned in the neighbouring parish of Merton.

His period as an MP ended at the 1868 general election when, as a consequence of the 1867 Reform Act, Guildford's second parliamentary seat was abolished.

[15] Garth's legal opinions often brought him into conflict with the Indian and Bengal administrations, particularly with the Viceroy, the Marquess of Ripon, over the Bengal Tenancy Act and the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill (the Ilbert Bill), both of which Garth publicly opposed.

[16] Although he had opposed legislation which would have brought the legal rights of whites and Indians closer together, Garth was a supporter of the Indian National Congress and, in 1888, wrote a pamphlet A Few Plain Truths about India in support of the organisation's aims stating, "for myself I have long been persuaded that many of the abuses complained of are real and serious; and that some of the proposed reforms would be not only of advantage to India, but would materially strengthen the hands of the Government.