ERSKINE, TIIO\IAS, Lord (1750-1823). An eminent Scottish lawyer and pleader. Ile was born in Edinburgh, January 21, 1750, the young est son of Ilenry David, the tenth Earl of Buehan, and Agnes. second daughter of Sir James Stewart, Bart., of Gmdtrees. Because of the straitened circumstallees of his father, his desire for a nni versity education was lint gratified, although lie attended classes at Saint. Andrews University during 1762 and 1763. .\t the age of fourteen lie entered the navy as midshipman. For some time he was stationed in the West Indies, where he had ample leisure for indulging his taste for literature and sonic forms of natural science. Returning to England soon after the death of his father, he gave up the navy for the army, ex pending his entire share of Ilk father's estate in purchasing a commission in the regiment of which the Duke of Argyll was colonel. In 1770 lie married a datoditer of Daniel Moore, for Marlow. During the next two years he was stationed at Minorca. As his military duties were not arduous, he indulged again his literary tastes. reading widely and gaining sonic repu tation as a writer. Returning to London in 1772, his family connections and his personal qualities gained for him easy admission to society. in which he became a favorite. Boswell, in meord ing the introduction of Erskine to Johnson. tells us that the young Scotch officer "talked with a vivacity, fluency, and precision that attracted pa rticu la r attention." Although he had been promoted to a lieu tenancy, he was led by a chance conversation with Lord Mansfield to make a second change in his profession—to give up the army for the bar. Ile sold his commission in 1775, entered Lincoln's Inn, became a student in the Chambers of Buller (afterwards Mr. ,Justice Buller), matricu lated as a gentleman commoner in Trinity Col lege, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1778. During this period of study he was very poor; and he declares that he was spurred to the eloquence which gained for him instant fame, in his first case, by the thought that his chil dren were plucking at his gown, crying to him that now was the time to get them bread. Not only did his remarkable address 'entrance the judges and the audience,' but it brought him many retainers and opened to him a lucrative practice. In 1779 he received from Admiral
Keppel, whose acquittal upon court-martial he had secured, a thousand pounds fee. Five years later his annual income had increased to i3000, and it is said that he made while at the bar f150.000. He was not a great lawyer, but his unfailing courtesy, good humor, high spirits, and great eloquence placed him at the head of the English liar. Ills most remarkable successes as an advocate were gained in a series of liti gations connected with the law of libel and treason. His defense of the Dean of Saint Asaph led to the passing of Fox's Libel Act in 1792, which affirmed the doctrine for which Ers kine had contended, that the question whether a particular publication is libelous or not is for the jury and not for the court. By his successful de fense of Walker, Hardy, Horne Tooke, and others, he exploded the theory of constructive treason upon which the prosecutions of these per sons were based. and rendered invaluable service to the cause of personal liuerty. In all these cases, as well as in his defense of Paine on the occasion of the publication of "The Rights of Man," he displayed great moral courage and a lofty conception of professional duty.
Erskine entered Parliament in 1783, but his career both in the House of Commons and in the Rouse of Lords was in striking contrast with that at the bar. His maiden speech was a failure owing to his fear of Pitt. On other occasions he actually broke down, and he was never able to address Parliament with the eloquence and power which characterized his forensic efforts. In 1806 he was made Lord Chancellor and elevated to a peerage with the title of Baron Erskine of Restormel. His reputation was not enhanced by his labors in this office, and after his retirement from the Chancellorship, when the Whigs went out of office in 1807, he sank into comparative insignificance and poverty. Dying. in 1823, he left his second wife and young child in straitened circumstances. Campbell. Lives of the Chancel lors (London, 1S6S) High, Speeches of Lord Erskine (Chicago, 1876).