When his father retired to Georgian House in
Basseterre, James lived on the Lime Kiln plantation and also owned Heldens and Spooners. Following his father into politics, he was elected to the St Kitts House of Assembly for the
Cayon ward on 16 July 1839, being appointed Quarantine Commissioner on 29 August 1839 and then Treasurer on 22 October 1839. That year he broadened his business interests by becoming the first manager of the St Kitts branch of the Colonial Bank (since part of
Barclays). In 1846 he went to England to plead the case for the island's economy, facing crisis after the
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 made the local sugar industry less competitive and the UK started importing cheap sugar from countries still using slave labour. He won agreement to recruit labourers from
Madeira and
India. That year he was elected President of the Legislative Council and next year became a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas. With his brother, he was appointed to the board of the Colonial Life insurance company (since merged with
Standard Life) in 1855 and was made the island's Postmaster in 1860. Finally, he served another term as President of Council in 1870 and then became a member of the Executive Council of the Leeward Islands in 1872. An active participant at
St George's church in Basseterre, he was a member of the vestry and a church trustee. He died at Lime Kiln on 5 November 1885. ==Family==