A Review of the Laws Against the Knowingly Receiving of Stolen Goods..
A Rare Review of the Laws on Stolen Goods [Hargrave, Francis (1741?-1821)]. A Review of the Laws Against the Knowingly Receiving of Stolen Goods: And a Proposal for Making a New Law on That Subject. London: [s.n.], 1770. [ii], ii, 47 pp. Octavo (7-1/2" x 4-3/4"). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning, light soiling to exterior and a few other leaves, small circular label and early ink annotation to title page, which has a small chip to its upper corner. Brief annotations and corrections in two early hands to several leaves. Rare. $1,750. * Only edition. Hargrave is remembered today as the most prominent of the five advocates who defended James Somersett in the 1772 case that determined the legal status of slaves in England. As Holdsworth attests, he was also a first-class jurist and legal historian, an opinion echoed by later legal historians. Here, he discusses the laws concerning the receiving of stolen goods in light of a parliamentary inquiry into the causes of "the great number of burglaries lately committed within Westminster." He proposes, among other reforms, that authorities should be able to search the possessions of a suspect for tools for jewel theft, rather than only the jewels themselves. This provision was enacted later in 1770, as noted on the title page by an annotator. The annotations to our copy are in two hands. One, which appears to be authorial, makes corrections and minor additions to the text. The other notes additional statutes and cases in the margin. OCLC and the ESTC locate 3 copies of this title worldwide (British Library, Manchester Central Library, Harvard Law School). Holdsworth, A History of English Law XII:410. English Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC) T6303.
Price: $1,750.00
Book number 75291