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William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, SL, 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 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. He became involved in politics in 1742, beginning with his election as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge, 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.〔 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. The most powerful British jurist of the century, his decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved England on the path to abolishing slavery and the slave trade. He advanced commercial law in ways that helped establish the nation as the world leader in industry, finance and trade. He modernised both English law and the English courts system; he sped up the system for submitting motions and reformed the way judgments were given to reduce time and 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 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 law (although this did not end slave trafficking altogether).〔Norman S. Poser, ''Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason'' (2013)〕 ==Early life and education== 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,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=William Murray, Lord Mansfield )〕 and one of eleven children.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=William Murray (Lord Mansfield) 1705–1793 )〕〔Shaw (1926) p.2〕 Both his parents were strong supporters of the Jacobite cause,〔Heward (1979) p.2〕〔Plunkett (1956) p.248〕 and his older brother James followed "The Old Pretender" into exile.〔Fifoot (1936) p.27〕 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.〔 This was incorrect, as Murray was educated at Perth Grammar School,〔 where he was taught Latin, English grammar, and essay writing skills.〔〔 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.〔Heward (1979) p.3〕 While at Perth Grammar School, it became apparent that Murray was particularly intelligent, and in 1718, his father and older brother James decided to send him to Westminster School, as James knew the Dean, Francis Atterbury.〔 The distance from Perth to London was around , and the journey took Murray 54 days.〔Heward (1979) p.4〕 Murray flourished at Westminster and was made a King's Scholar on 21 May 1719.〔 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.〔〔Heward (1979) p.7〕 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, because the person recording the names of the new students was unable to understand his Scottish accent.〔 His older brother James was a barrister in Scotland, 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.〔Heward (1979) p.8〕 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 became a member of Lincoln's Inn on 23 April 1724.〔〔 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".〔Heward (1979) p.9〕 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.〔 He probably did this because, having no private income, he wished to secure patronage to help him advance politically.〔 Another entrant was William Pitt, who was a constant rival to Murray until Pitt's death in 1778.〔Fifoot (1936) p.28〕 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.〔Heward (1979) p.10〕 He also became fluent in Latin, translating Cicero's works into English and then back into Latin.〔 He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1727, and travelled to London to train as a barrister.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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