BIRTHPLACE OF THE EARL OF ELDON.
Little need be said, by way of explanation, for the addition of the present subject to our collection of the birthplaces of eminent men. It is something to know that John Scott was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the principal dwelling represented in the above Engraving, in the year 1751; that he received the rudiments of his education at the free grammar-school of the town; that he grew up "a man of safe discretion;" that he enjoyed the highest legal honours which his sovereign could bestow for a quarter of a century; and that he still lives, a venerable octogenarian, in the enjoyment of "glory from his conscience, and honour from men." The biography of so distinguished an individual must have innumerable good tendencies: it at once inculcates the wholesome truth that "every man is the architect of his own fortune;" and it presents us, moreover, with the encouraging picture of a well-regulated life, and its healthful energies so employed in the discharge of important duties as to entitle the subject to high rank among the worthies of his country.
John Scott, Lord Eldon, is the third son of William Scott, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. "His father was by trade what in the language of the place is called a 'fitter,' or agent for the sale and shipment of coals. He had by industry and habits of close saving accumulated rather considerable means from small beginnings. Beyond this he was a man of great shrewdness and knowledge of the world," and quickly perceiving the talents of the two younger boys, William (now Lord Stowell,) and John, he wisely gave them an education in accordance with their mental endowments. "It is said that the singular variety in the talent of these two remarkable youths was manifested at a very early age. When asked to 'give an account of the sermon,' which was a constant Sabbath custom of their father, William, the eldest, gave at once a condensed and lucid digest of the general argument. John, on the other hand, would go into all the minutiae, but failed in producing the lucid, general view embodied in half the number of words by his brother."[1] The two boys received their early education at the free grammar-school of Newcastle.[2] William was from the beginning destined for the study of the law. John was at first intended for the church, and was, accordingly, sent to Oxford: early marriage was, however, the fortunate means of changing his destination, and he began the world in the same profession with his brother. In 1757, John was entered as a student at the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar at the usual period. He at this time possessed an extensive stock of legal information, having been an indefatigable reader, and spent the two last years of his preliminary studies in the office of a special pleader. At his outset he made no progress, his powers being palsied by an oppressive diffidence. He therefore devoted his talents entirely to being a draftsman in Chancery. His employment was laborious, and not lucrative, while it materially injured his health. In a fit of despondency he resolved to retire into humble practice in his native county; and he had actually given up his chambers and taken leave of his friends in the metropolis, when he was not only diverted from his purpose by an eminent solicitor, but was even prevailed upon to make one more trial at the bar. His first success was the undoubted fruit of his extraordinary abilities, and is said to have originated in the sudden illness of a leading counsel the night before the trial of a complicated civil cause. It could not be put off, and the client of the lost leader was in despair, when Scott courageously took the brief, made himself in one night master of its voluminous intricacies, and triumphed. From this time he gained confidence, and his forensic reputation soon became established. He was much aided by the encouragement which he received from Lord Thurlow, who praised his abilities, and is said to have offered him a mastership in Chancery, which Mr. Scott declined.
In 1783; Mr. Scott obtained a silk gown; and, through Lord Weymouth's interest, he was introduced into parliament for the borough of Weobly. It is stated that on the latter occasion, he stipulated for the liberty of voting as he pleased. He took a decided part with the Pitt administration; and in 1788, he was appointed solicitor-general, and knighted; in 1793, he rose to be attorney-general, and in the following year he conducted the trial of Hardy, Tooke, and Thelwall, for treason. Erskine was opposed to him; and the prosecution failed, though the speech of the attorney-general occupied nine hours in the delivery.
In 1799, Sir John Scott was appointed to the chief justiceship of the Common Pleas, on the resignation of Chief Justice Eyre; and in the same year he was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Eldon. In 1801, he was made Lord Chancellor, which high office he retained till the year 1827, with the exception of the short period during which the Whigs were in office, in 1806. His lordship was raised to the dignity of an earl at the coronation of George IV. in 1821.
The high character of the Earl of Eldon as Chancellor is thus lucidly drawn by Sir Egerton Brydges: "Of all who, in the long lapse of ages, have filled the sacred seat on which he now (1823) sits, none ever had purer hands, none ever had a conscientious desire of equity more ardent and more incessant than Lord Eldon. The amazing expanse of his views, the inexpressible niceness of his discrimination, his unrelaxing anxiety to do justice in every individual case, the kindness of his heart, and the ductility of his ideas, all ensure that attention to every suitor which must necessarily obtain the unbounded admiration and attachment of the virtuous and the wise. Lord Eldon's eloquence," continues Sir Egerton, "is rather adapted to cultivated and thinking minds than to a popular audience. It generally addresses the understanding rather than the fancy. It frequently wants fluency, but occasionally is tinged with a high degree of moral pathos."
We could illustrate the conscientious character alluded to by the above writer, with anecdotes of the chancellorship of Lord Eldon. As the following have, we believe, but once appeared in print, they may not, be familiar to the reader. Sir Richard Phillips relates:[3] "In conversation with Mr. Butterman, (at Dronfield), I heard two anecdotes of Lord Eldon, which, as an example to Lord Chancellors, and to public spirited parishioners, I consider it my duty to introduce. The incumbent, some years ago, thought proper to propose an exchange with an incompetent clergyman; when Mr. B., as a friend to the church, and some of his respectable neighbours took alarm at the negotiation, and in the commencement he penned a letter to the Chancellor. The other parties calculated on the arrangement, but, on applying to the Chancellor he could consent to no exchange, but that if the parties were tired of their positions, they might respectively resign, and there were plenty of candidates. The determination was final, and the scheme of exchange was abandoned. In another instance, a master had been regularly appointed to the grammar school at Dronfield, on liberal principles of education, but, within a few years, some prejudice was excited against him, and the churchwardens for the time thought proper to stop his salary. On this occasion, Mr. B. and some friends combined in an application to Lord Eldon, and his lordship instantly directed the churchwardens to render an account of the trust within a few days. They claimed time, and were allowed a month, when, without other form, he directed the salary to be paid to the appointed master, with all expenses."
Newcastle contains memorials of Lord Eldon which indicate that the inhabitants are proud of their distinguished fellow-freeman. A spacious range of elegant buildings is called Eldon Square: and in the Guildhall is a portrait of his lordship, opposite that of his brother, Lord Stowell.