A Letter to the Right Hon Charles James Fox, Occasoned by His Motion..
Against Trial by Jury In Libel Cases Bowles, John [1751-1819]. A Letter to the Right Hon. Charles James Fox, Occasioned by His Motion in the House of Commons Respecting Libels: And Suggesting the Alarming Consequences Likely to Ensue, If the Bill Now Before the Legislature Upon that Subject Should Pass into a Law. London: Printed for Whieldon and Butterworth, J. Debrett and J. Sewell, 1792. [iv], 34 pp. Half-title lacking. Octavo (8-1/4" x 4-3/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet bound in recent buckram, blind rules to boards, paper title label to front board. Light toning to interior, occasional light foxing, faint dampstains in several places, moderate soiling and spotting to title page, along with small ink library stamp. $350. * Second edition. Written in opposition to what would become the Libel Act of 1792, which restored the right to decide libel cases to juries. Pitt had previously stripped juries of this right, according it to judges instead in a wave of other similar reforms meant to stem the tide of the French Revolution. Our pamphlet argues that juries may not be capable of understanding libel cases and that the knowledge of a judge is needed. An earlier edition was published in 1791. OCLC locates 10 copies of this edition in North America, none in law libraries. English Short-Title Catalogue T84415.
Price: $350.00
Book number 72952