Edward Clarke (Conservative politician)

Sir
Edward George Clarke
QC
Born (1841-02-15)15 February 1841
Died 26 April 1931(1931-04-26) (aged 90)
Occupation barrister and politician

Sir Edward George Clarke QC (15 February 1841 – 26 April 1931) was a British barrister and politician, considered one of the leading advocates of the late Victorian era and serving as Solicitor-General in the Conservative government of 1886–1892. His legal career included representing Oscar Wilde in his disastrous prosecution of the Marquess of Queensberry for libel, and representing the plaintiff in the "baccarat case", during which Sir Edward cross-examined the Prince of Wales.

Background and early life

Clarke was the son of J. G. Clarke of Moorgate Street, London. He was educated at King's College London. In 1859 he became a writer in India Office, but resigned in the next year, and became a law reporter. He obtained a Tancred Scholarship in 1861, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1864, joining the Home Circuit.

Clarke quickly gained a high reputation at the junior bar, and made his name appearing for the defence in the two most notorious cases of 1877, securing the acquittal of his namesake Chief Inspector Clarke in the Great Scotland Yard scandal (when other senior CID detectives were convicted of corruption) and unsuccessfully defending Patrick Staunton (who had been accused of complicity in starving his sister-in-law to death) in the Penge Murder. On the back of these successes Clarke took silk in 1880, and quickly came to be recognised as one of the leading members of the bar; he became a bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1882, and was knighted in 1886. He also entered Parliament as Conservative MP for Southwark at a by-election early in 1880, but being unable to hold the seat at the general election later that year he was elected instead for Plymouth. He was Solicitor-General in the Conservative administration of 1886–1892, but declined office when the party returned to power in 1895 as he would have been debarred from continuing his lucrative private practice.

In 1899, Clarke found himself in total disagreement with his party over the government's South African policy, and in early February 1900 his constituency party in Plymouth called upon him to resign his seat.[1] He resigned the following day.[2] He did not contest the general election of 1900, but returned to the House as MP for the City of London in 1906; however, he offended a section of his constituents by a speech against tariff reform in the House of Commons on 12 March 1906, and shortly afterwards he resigned his seat again on grounds of health.

He published a Treatise on the Law of Extradition in 1903, and several volumes of speeches (both political and legal). He also wrote a biography of Benjamin Disraeli. His autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published in 1918,[3] and a biography by Derek Walker-Smith and his grandson Edward Clarke (Life of Sir Edward Clarke) followed in 1939.

Famous cases

"Southwark". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1880.

Family

Clarke's son, Percival Clark, was a prominent lawyer in the 1920s and 1930s. His great-nephew, Edward Clarke, followed him into law and was number two to Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence in the defence team for suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.[5] His youngest son William Clarke trained as a lawyer, but became a cryptographer.

References

  1. "Sir E. Clarke and his constituents". The Times (36061). London. 9 February 1900. p. 6.
  2. "Sir Edward Clarke and his constituents". The Times (36062). London. 10 February 1900. p. 8.
  3. Sir Edward Clarke The Story of my Life 1918
  4. The National Archives: "Queen's Bench: R v Leander Starr Jameson, Sir John Christopher Willoughby Bt, Henry..." TS 36/102
  5. Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Locke
Marcus Beresford
Member of Parliament for Southwark
1880
With: Marcus Beresford
Succeeded by
Arthur Cohen
Thorold Rogers
Preceded by
Peter Stewart Macliver
Sir Edward Bates, Bt
Member of Parliament for Plymouth
1880–1900
With: Peter Stewart Macliver 1880–1885
Sir Edward Bates, Bt 1885–1892
Sir William Pearce, Bt 1892–1895
Charles Harrison 1895–1898
Sigismund Mendl 1898–1900
Succeeded by
Sigismund Mendl
Hon. Ivor Guest
Preceded by
Alban Gibbs
Sir Joseph Dimsdale, Bt
Member of Parliament for City of London
1906
With: Sir Joseph Dimsdale, Bt Jan–Feb 1906
Arthur Balfour Feb–Jun 1906
Succeeded by
Sir Frederick Banbury, Bt
Arthur Balfour
Legal offices
Preceded by
Sir Horace Davey
Solicitor General for England and Wales
1886–1892
Succeeded by
Sir John Rigby
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