Edward Ellice, the younger (19 August 1810 – 2 August 1880) was a British Liberal Party politician and landowner.

Life

He was the eldest son of Edward Ellice, from his first marriage to Hannah Althea Grey, the youngest sister of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey. The Ellice family was English by descent, and had settled in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

in the mid-17th century. Edward Ellice was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1810 and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

(1823–1836) and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He matriculated at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

on the 6 June 1828 and in 1831 was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree without having first obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. In 1832, he was appointed as Private Secretary to John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham for his diplomatic mission to Russia. Lord Durham was a close friend and a relative of Ellice's father, having married the Earl Grey's second daughter. Ellice was an unsuccessful candidate for

Inverness Burghs Inverness Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain (at Westminster) from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (also at Westminster) from 1801 to 1918. It electe ...

in the 1835 general election, but was elected to represent

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

in a May 1837

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. In the general election that year he was elected to represent St Andrews Burghs, a seat he held until 1880. Ellice continued as Durham's private secretary during his term as Governor General of the Province of Canada; whilst he was working in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, his wife Katherine and her sister were captured for six days during the

Rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (french: Les rébellions de 1837), were two armed uprisings that took place in Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared g ...

.K. D. Reynolds, ‘Ellice , Katherine Jane anie(1813–1864)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 19 June 2017
/ref> He remained a

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

throughout his political career, taking special interest in the reform of the

Scottish Poor Laws The Scottish Poor Laws were the statutes concerning poor relief passed in Scotland between 1579 and 1929. Scotland had a different Poor Law system to England and the workings of the Scottish laws differed greatly to the Poor Law Amendment Act whic ...

. He supported the idea of " clearance", but viewed indiscriminate forcible eviction of the peasantry as "cruel and indefensible". He was offered a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

in 1869, but declined the offer,Debrett's House of Commons, 1870 and retired from Parliament in early 1880, shortly before his death aged 69. Ellice married the diarist Katherine Jane Balfour, daughter of General Balfour of Balbirnie, in 1834. She accompanied him to Russia and Canada. In Canada she was taken prisoner for ten days. Following her death in 1864, he married in 1867 Eliza Stewart, daughter of Thomas Campbell Hagart of Bantaskine, widow of Alexander Spiers of Elderslie.

References

*''Oliver & Boyd's new Edinburgh almanac and national repository for the year 1850''. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 1850 *Jonathan Spain, "Ellice, Edward (1810–1880)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', Sept 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 11 July 2006
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellice, Edward 1810 births 1880 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies 19th-century Scottish politicians Ellice family