The Case of the Late Election for the County of Middlesex...
Blackstone's Remarks on the Wilkes Cause [Blackstone, Sir William (1723-1780), Attributed]. The Case of the Late Election for the County of Middlesex, Considered on the Principles of the Constitution, And the Authorities of Law. London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1769. [iv], 48 pp. With a half-title. Quarto (10-1/4" x 7-3/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet recently resewn into marbled wrappers. Moderate toning to interior, light foxing and soiling in a few places, faint fold lines to corners of a few leaves, small tear to half-title not affecting text, "N 24" written in ink at its head. $2,500. * First edition, one of two 1769 issues. In 1768 Wilkes [1727-1797], the publisher of the controversial paper the North Briton, was elected to Parliament by Middlesex County. However, he was imprisoned for seditious libel and expelled. While the legitimacy of his sentence was being debated, Middlesex attempted to re-elect him several times without success. Blackstone supported Parliament's position. During the expulsion debate, Blackstone was challenged by Grenville, who noted a discrepancy between his position on the floor and in the Commentaries. Unable to deliver a satisfactory rebuttal on the spot, he replied with the anonymously published The Case of the Late Election. It initiated a lively pamphlet exchange that involved Samuel Johnson, Sir William Meredith and others. This pamphlet has also been attributed to Jeremiah Dyson [1722-1776] and Owen Ruffhead [1723-1769]. English Short-Title Catalogue N26881. Eller, The William Blackstone Collection in the Yale Law Library 231, which notes Ms. Eller had not seen a copy of this work. Laeuchli, A Bibliographical Catalog of William Blackstone 539.
Price: $2,500.00
Book number 75217