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Erle year he took silk. He was returned to parliament in the liberal interest for the city of Oxford in 1837, but declined to seek re-election in 1841. He never spoke in the house, but voted steadily with his party. He was appointed counsel to the Bank of England in 1844. He accepted a puisne judgeship of the common pleas from Lord Lyndhurst in 1844, when he became serjeant-at-law and was knighted. He was transferred to the queen's bench in the following year, and on 24 June 1859 succeeded Cockburn (raised to the lord chief justiceship of England) as lord chief justice of the common pleas, being at the same time sworn of the privy council. He retired in 1866. On the last occasion of his sitting in court (26 Nov.) the attorney-general, Sir John Rolt, on behalf of the bar, expressed his sense of the great qualities of which Erle had given proof during his tenure of office, in terms so eulogistic that the judge, though naturally somewhat reserved and undemonstrative, was visibly moved. He was regarded as what lawyers call a ‘strong’ judge, i.e. he exhibited the power of rapidly grasping the material facts of a case, and coming to a decided conclusion upon their legal effect. There is no doubt that he aimed at strict impartiality, but at the same time he was very tenacious of his own opinion. His chief characteristic was masculine sense, his mind was lacking in flexibility and subtlety. His elocution was deliberate even to monotony, and his accent was slightly tinged with provincialism. His personal appearance was that of a country gentleman, his complexion being remarkably fresh and ruddy, his eyes keen and bright. He was a member of the Trades Union Commission of 1867, and appended to the report of the commissioners, published in 1868, a memorandum on the law relating to trades unions, which he published separately in the following year. It consists of two chapters treating respectively of the common and the statute law relating to the subject, and an appendix on certain leading cases and statutes, and is a very lucid exposition of the law as it then stood. During the rest of his life Erle resided chiefly at his modest seat, Bramshott, near Liphook, Hampshire, interesting himself in parochial and county affairs. Though no sportsman he was very fond of horses, dogs, and cattle. He died on 28 Jan. 1880, leaving no issue. Except the work above referred to, ‘The Law relating to Trades Unions,’ 1869–80, he seems to have written nothing.

[Times, 30 Jan. 1880, p. 10; Cat. Oxford Graduates; Inns of Court Calendar, 1878; Law Mag. and Review, 4th ser. v. 191; Law Times, lxiii. 268; Solicitors' Journal, xxiv. 274.]  ERNEST AUGUSTUS, (1674–1728), the fifth son of Ernest Augustus, elector of Hanover, by the Princess Sophia, and therefore brother to George I, was born on 17 Sept. 1674. He was trained as a soldier, and served with some distinction under the emperor. Visiting England after the accession of his brother, he was created Duke of York and Albany and Earl of Ulster on 29 June 1716, and was, together with his great-nephew Frederick, afterwards Prince of Wales, elected a knight of the Garter. He returned to Germany, and resided there as Prince Bishop of Osnaburg, which title was conferred on him 2 March 1716, till his death, which took place in 1728. The fact of his existence was scarcely known to the majority of the British nation.

[Noble's Continuation of Granger, iii. 9; Historical Account of George Lewis, king of Great Britain.]

 ERNEST AUGUSTUS, and  (1771–1851), fifth son of George III and Queen Charlotte, born at Kew on 5 June 1771, was baptised at St. James's Palace by Archbishop Cornwallis on 1 July following. His sponsors were Prince Ernest of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, from whom he received his name, Prince Maurice of Saxe-Gotha, and the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse-Cassel. He was educated at Kew with his younger brothers, and his first tutors were the Rev. G. Cookson, afterwards canon of Windsor, and Dr. Hughes, who regarded him as a far more promising lad than his brothers. He was destined by his father from the first to be the commander-in-chief of the Hanoverian army, and in 1786 he was sent to the university of Göttingen with his younger brothers. Among his teachers at Göttingen were Heyne, the classical scholar, and General Malortie, who was his tutor in military subjects.

Before leaving England Prince Ernest was installed a knight of the Garter on 2 June 1786, and on completing his education in 1790 he was gazetted a lieutenant in the 9th Hanoverian hussars, of which regiment he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in 1793. His military training was superintended by Lieutenant-general Baron Linsingen, and on the outbreak of war in 1793 his regiment was sent to the front with a division of the Hanoverian army under the command of General Walmoden. Prince Ernest served with the Hanoverians through the campaigns of 1793 and 1794 in Belgium and the north-west of France. In the campaign of 1793 the Hanoverians were generally kept in reserve, but in 1794 the Duke of York was obliged to make