An Act for the More Easy and Speedy Recovery of Small Debts...
1753 Act for the Recovery of Small Debts in Boston and Skirbeck: A Landmark Provincial Legal Reform, Printed by Thomas Baskett [Great Britain]. [Debtors]. George II [1680-1760], King of Great Britain. [An Act for the More Easy and Speedy Recovery of Small Debts Within the Borough of Boston, And Skirbeck Quarter, And the Parishes of Boston and Skirbeck, In the County of Lincoln]. London: Printed by Thomas Baskett, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty; And by the Assigns of Robert Baskett, 1753. With a general title page beginning Anno Regni Georgii II. Regis Magnae Britanniae, Franciae, & Hiberniae... [ii], 199-212 pp. Folio (12" x 8"; 30.5 x 20.3 cm). Disbound, spine neatly reinforced with archival tape. Faint horizontal fold line, moderate toning, light foxing, and minor edgewear to title page. A sound, clean copy. $250. * First and only edition. This 1753 local Act of Parliament (26 Geo. II c.7) established a streamlined procedure for the recovery of small debts-generally under forty shillings-within the borough of Boston and the adjoining Skirbeck Quarter in Lincolnshire. Enacted during the reign of George II, the statute reflects the practical legal reforms that accompanied the expansion of England's provincial commercial economy in the mid-eighteenth century, when the expense and procedural complexity of the common law courts placed effective remedies beyond the reach of many tradesmen and householders. Like other contemporary "Small Debts" Acts, it authorized local justices of the peace to hear claims in a Court of Requests, providing a comparatively swift and economical forum for resolving minor financial disputes. By limiting recoverable awards to the amount of the debt itself, the Act curtailed excessive penalties and discouraged vexatious or punitive litigation. Such narrowly tailored, geographically specific legislation offers valuable insight into the development of accessible civil justice in provincial England and the evolution of summary debt procedures that anticipate the modern small-claims court. Printed by Thomas Baskett, the King's Printer, this Act is a characteristic example of mid-eighteenth-century parliamentary typography from the Royal Printing House. Local jurisdictional acts of this kind, limited in scope and distribution, are increasingly appreciated by collectors of.
Price: $250.00
Book number 85635