William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was a member of the Scottish Clan Murray and was educated in Perth, Scotland before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School. He was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, and graduated four years later. Returning to London from Oxford, he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn on 23 November 1730, and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister.
For descendants of the first Lord Mansfield, see Earl of Mansfield.
The Earl of Mansfield
He became involved in politics in 1742, beginning with his election as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge, now in North Yorkshire, and appointment as Solicitor General. In the absence of a strong Attorney General, he became the main spokesman for the government in the House of Commons, and was noted for his "great powers of eloquence" and described as "beyond comparison the best speaker" in the House of Commons.[1] With the promotion of Sir Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754, he became Attorney General and, when Ryder unexpectedly died several months later, he took his place as Chief Justice.
As the most powerful British jurist of the century, Mansfield's decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved the country onto the path to abolishing slavery. He advanced commercial law in ways that helped establish the nation as world leader in industry, finance and trade; modernised both English law and the English courts system; rationalized the system for submitting motions, and reformed the way judgments were delivered to reduce expense for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, he has been called the founder of English commercial law. He is perhaps now best known for his judgment in Somersett's Case (1772) where he held that slavery had no basis in common law and had never been established by positive law (legislation) in England, and therefore was not binding in law. This judgement did not, however, outlaw the slave trade.[2] However, historians note that Mansfield's ruling in the Somersett case only made it illegal to transport a slave out of England against his will, and did not comment on the institution of slavery itself.[3][4]
Early life and education[edit]
Murray was born on 2 March 1705, at Scone Palace in Perthshire, Scotland, the fourth son of the 5th Viscount of Stormont and his wife, Margaret, née Scott,[5] and one of eleven children.[6][7] Both his parents were strong supporters of the Jacobite cause,[8][9] and his older brother James followed "The Old Pretender" into exile, this left the family's finance relatively impoverished.[10] The Jacobite sympathies of Murray's family were glossed over by contemporaries, who claimed that he had been educated at Lichfield Grammar School with many other members of the English judiciary.[10] This was incorrect, as Murray was educated at Perth Grammar School,[7] where he was taught Latin, English grammar, and essay writing skills.[8][11] He later said that this gave him a great advantage at university, as those students educated in England had been taught Greek and Latin but not how to write properly in English.[12] While at Perth Grammar School, it became apparent that Murray was particularly intelligent. In 1718, his father and older brother, James, decided to send him to Westminster School as James knew the Dean, Francis Atterbury.[12]Thirteen year old Murray travelled alone with a pony given by his father, The distance from Perth to London was around 400 miles (640 km), and the journey took Murray 54 days.[13][2] Murray flourished at Westminster and was made a King's Scholar on 21 May 1719.[13]
After an examination in May 1723, Murray was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, having scored higher in the examination than any other King's Scholar that year.[11][14] He was admitted as a commoner on 15 June 1723, and matriculated on 18 June. The records say that he came from Bath rather than Perth, as the person recording the names of the new students was unable to understand his Scottish accent.[14] His older brother, James, was an advocate in Scotland (the Scottish equivalent of a barrister in England), and his family decided that a career as a barrister was best for Murray. The Scottish Bar at the time was overcrowded, which made it difficult for a young barrister to build a reputation, yet qualifying for the English Bar was extremely expensive.[15] Thanks to the patronage of Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley, who gave Murray £200 a year to live on, Murray could afford to study at the bar, and he became a member of Lincoln's Inn on 23 April 1724.[9][15]
After George I died on 11 June 1727, Murray entered and won a competition to write a Latin poem titled "The Death of the King".[16] His actions were seen as a show of support for the House of Hanover and the political status quo, something odd considering the strong Jacobite sympathies of his family.[16] He probably did this because, having no private income, he wished to secure patronage to help him advance politically.[16] Another entrant was William Pitt, who was a constant rival to Murray until Pitt's death in 1778.[17] There is very little information about Murray's time at Oxford. It is known that he studied ancient and modern history, became fluent in French, and gained a good understanding of Roman Law.[18] He also became fluent in Latin, translating Cicero's works into English and then back into Latin.[17] He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1727, and travelled to London to train as a barrister.[18]
Lord Mansfield's Rule[edit]
Lord Mansfield is frequently mentioned in modern legal settings as the originator of "Lord Mansfield's Rule", in his own words: "...the law of England is clear, that the declarations of a father or mother, cannot be admitted to bastardize the issue born after marriage."[80][81][82][83][84] This quote comes from Mansfield's appellate decision in Goodright v Moss (1777) 2 Cowp 591, 98 ER 1257 at 592. The primary legal question in the case was not this preexisting principle, which applies only to children "born after marriage", but rather whether the child had been born before the marriage. The question was whether statements the child's parents allegedly made before their deaths could be introduced as evidence that the child had been born before their marriage and was thus illegitimate. Mansfield ruled to admit the testimony against the child's legitimacy and grant a new trial. The term "Lord Mansfield's Rule" is often used in a slightly different sense to denote the principle still applied in several jurisdictions[85] that marriage creates a conclusive presumption of a husband's paternity of his wife's child.[86][87]
House of Lords[edit]
After the formation of the Fox-North Coalition, Mansfield agreed to act as Speaker of the House of Lords, taking up his post in February 1783.[88] The main item of debate during the Coalition Ministry was the East India Bill, which provoked bitter arguments in both the House of Lords and House of Commons.[88] In an attempt to speed up the process of passing the bill, Mansfield left his position as speaker to debate directly on 15 December; when this failed to help he returned to the Woolsack the next day.[88] The failure of the bill caused the government to be immediately dismissed, and Mansfield left his position on 23 December 1783.[88]
Mansfield had been made earl of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, on 31 October 1776. He attended the Lords as Lord Speaker, and the last record of him attending (other than his presence at the state opening of Parliament on 23 March 1784)[89] was in December 1783.[90]
Mansfield is immortalised in St Stephen's Hall, where he and other notable Parliamentarians look on at visitors to Parliament.[110][111]
In popular culture[edit]
In the 2013 film Belle, Murray is portrayed by Tom Wilkinson.
In the 2015 film The Scandalous Lady W, Murray is portrayed by David Calder.