Henry Erskine | |
|---|---|
 The Hon Henry Erskine by Henry Raeburn | |
| Lord Advocate | |
| In office 1783–1783 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Duke of Portland |
| Preceded by | Henry Dundas |
| Succeeded by | Ilay Campbell |
| In office 1806–1807 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Lord Grenville |
| Preceded by | Sir James Montgomery, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Archibald Colquhoun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 November 1746 |
| Died | 8 October 1817 (1817-10-09) (aged 70) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Christian Fullerton (d. 1804) (2) Erskine Munro |
| Alma mater | St Andrews University University of Edinburgh University of Glasgow |
The HonourableHenry Erskine (1 November 1746 – 8 October 1817) was a Scottish advocate andBritishWhig politician.
Erskine was the third but second surviving son of Agnes, daughter of Sir James Steuart, 7th Baronet and his wife Anne (1687-1736), andHenry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan. He was the brother ofDavid Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, andLord ChancellorThomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine.[1] His elder sister was LadyAnne Agnes Erskine who was involved with the evangelical methodists ofCountess of Huntingdon's Connexion.[2] He was educated at theUniversity of St Andrews (1760-1764), theUniversity of Glasgow (1764-1766) and then to theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1766.[3] He was described as "a tall and rather slender figure, a face sparkling with vivacity, a clear sweet voice, and general suffusion of elegance".[4]
Erskine is considered the lawyer who effectively created the modern adversarial. He was considered a legendary orator compared by his contemporaries toCicero.
Erskine served asLord Advocate from 1783 to 1784 in theFox-North Coalition and again from 1806 to 1807 in theMinistry of All the Talents. He was advocate and state councillor to thePrince of Wales in Scotland from 1783. He wasDean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1785 to 1795, but was not re-elected in 1796, due to his opposition to the war.Lord Cockburn, commenting on his replacement, observed that "it was the Faculty of Advocates alone that suffered".[5]Robert Burns wrote a ballad memorializing the vote entitled, "The Dean of Faculty".[6][7] In 1788, Erskine had the unenviable task of defending the celebrated Edinburgh thiefDeacon Brodie.[5] Despite his best efforts, Brodie was sentenced to death.
He led a campaign which resulted in the political reformerThomas Muir being expelled from theFaculty of Advocates but offered to defend Muir free of charge when he was brought to trial for sedition on 30 August 1793.[8]
In 1795 he was living at 68Princes Street facingEdinburgh Castle[9] having moved there fromGeorge Square.[10]
Erskine sat asMember of Parliament forHaddington Burghs from April to November 1806,[11] and forDumfries Burghs from 1806 to 1807.[12] He was appointed as a Commissioner to inquire into administration of justice in Scotland in 1808. In 1811 he gave up his practice at the bar and retired to his country residence of Almondell, inLinlithgowshire. It was said of him that "no poor man wanted a friend while Harry Erskine lived."[5] He publishedThe Emigrant, an Eclogue, 1773 and other poems.[13]
Erskine married firstly Christian, daughter of George Fullerton, in 1772. They lived at Shoemakers Close on theCanongate.[14] They had two sons and two daughters. Their eldest son,Henry, succeeded as 12thEarl of Buchan on his uncle's death in 1829. After Christian's death in May 1804 Erskine married as his second wife Erskine, daughter of Alexander Munro and widow of Sir James Turnbull, in 1805. This marriage was childless. Henry Erskine died in October 1817, aged 70.[1] A bust of Erskine byPeter Turnerelli stands in Parliament Hall in Edinburgh.[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHaddington Burghs 1806 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDumfries Burghs 1806–1807 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1783 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1806–1807 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
