Edward Ellice

Who was Edward Ellice?

Edward Ellice, the younger was a Scottish Liberal Party politician.

He was the eldest son of Edward Ellice, from his first marriage to Hannah Althea Grey, the youngest sister of Earl Grey, and was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1832, he was appointed as Private Secretary to Lord Durham for his diplomatic mission to Russia.

Ellice was an unsuccessful candidate for Inverness Burghs in the 1835 general election, but was elected to represent Huddersfield in a May 1837 by-election. 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, his wife was briefly captured during the Rebellions of 1837. He remained a backbencher throughout his political career, taking special interest in the reform of the Poor Laws. He supported the idea of "clearance", but viewed indiscriminate forcible eviction of the peasantry as "cruel and indefensible".