In 1834, he married Amelia, eldest daughter of the Rev. David Williams, warden of New College and prebendary of Winchester, thereby vacating his fellowship. The same year he took silk.[1] He sat in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1841 for the City of Oxford but he never spoke in the house, voting steadily with his party. He was appointed counsel to the Bank of England in 1844 and did not seek reelection to parliament.[3]
Erle was regarded as what lawyers call a "strong" judge in that he exhibited the power of rapidly grasping the material facts of a case, and coming to a decided conclusion upon their legal effect. He aimed at strict impartiality, but at the same time he was very tenacious of his own opinion. His chief characteristic was said to be "masculine sense" and his mind "lacking in flexibility and subtlety". His speech was deliberate, "even to monotony", and he had a faint regional accent.[1] He decided a large number of important contract cases but is possibly best remembered for his judgments in the Swinfen will case, in particular Kennedy v. Broun (1863) in which he held that there could be no contract of hiring and service for advocacy in litigation.[2]
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. It was a very lucid exposition of the law as it then stood.[1] Erle endorsed the minority report of the commission but it was his liberal view that ultimately influenced parliament and led to the Trade Union Act 1871.[7]
He retired in 1866, receiving the highest praise for the ability and impartiality with which he had discharged the judicial office. On the last occasion of his sitting in court on 26 November 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.[1]
Private life
The Celtic cross on Gibbet Hill
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. His personal appearance was that of a country gentleman, his complexion being said to be "remarkably fresh and ruddy, his eyes keen and bright."[1]
In 1851, he erected a Celtic cross on Gibbet Hill, Hindhead on the former site of a public gibbet in order to dispel the fear of the residents.[8][9] He died at his estate at Bramshott.[5] He left no children.[1]
Bowers, J. (2005). A Practical Approach to Employment Law. Vol. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN0-19-927374-X.
Edgar, W. J. (1990). The Life and Times of Moondyne Joe: Swan River Colony Convict Joseph Bolitho Johns. Toodyay, Western Australia: Tammar Publications and Toodyay Tourist Centre. ISBN0-646-00047-0.
