Note 222 — Chapter XI

The ability displayed by Serjeant Adair on this occasion obtained him the patronage of the Duke of Portland, who afterwards brought him into Parliament. He spoke there occasionally, and distinguished himself in the debates on the slave-trade. He was without any vivacity of manner or expression, but had the reputation of being a sound lawyer, and it may be perceived by the reports that his business in the Common Pleas was considerable. He was a staunch Whig; it therefore became a subject of the deepest mortification to him that Mr. Erskine should have been brought from the King’s Bench to lead in the great case of Mr. Fox against the High Bailiff of Westminster. Mr. Fox, who highly esteemed him, perhaps was not less distressed, but the matter was too important to be ruled by personal feelings. The Mr. Adair whose name appears in the reports of the trial as the junior counsel, was not the Serjeant, but a young barrister, who has since obtained a place in history, by his eminence in diplomacy and his friendship with Mr. Fox—the Right Hon. Sir Robert Adair, G.C.B. The Serjeant died suddenly in 1798. His daughter married the late Judge Wilson. He succeeded Glynn as Recorder, and held that office for ten years.—E.