[1] He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Eton, and St John's College, Cambridge.

[1] Martin, the Attorney-General William Swainson and Thomas Outhwaite, the first Registrar of the Supreme Court, were responsible for setting up the New Zealand judicial system.

Martin, a friend of Bishop George Selwyn was sympathetic to the missionary and evangelical aspirations of the Anglican Church in the South Pacific, and to the Māori.

Martin was appointed one of the two lay members of the council of St John’s College in 1850; and acted as a co-examiner with Bishop Selwyn of candidates for ordination in the Anglican church.

[1] He wrote protests against the Crown's disregard of its moral obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and the invasion of Taranaki.