Notes on the Reform Bill. By a Barrister. First edition.
Rare 1831 Pamphlet of The Great Reform Act Debate [Coleridge, John Taylor, (1790-1876)]. Notes on the Reform Bill. By a Barrister. London: Roake and Varty, 1831. First edition. 63 pp. Octavo (7-1/2" x 4-1/2"; 19 x 11.4 cm). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Slight soiling and foxing to covers, otherwise internally clean. A good copy. $250. * An important contemporary legal and conservative critique of the Whig administration's proposed electoral overhauls, written by English judge Sir John Taylor Coleridge under his customary pseudonym "A Barrister." Published immediately following the bill's second reading in the House of Commons, this pamphlet provides a primary window into the establishment's constitutional pushback against Lord Grey's government. While acknowledging that some reform was necessary, Coleridge defended the principle of certain nomination boroughs (where patrons controlled the seats). He argued they provided a vital mechanism for introducing intelligent, independent men into Parliament who might not otherwise win popular elections. Coleridge attacks the proposed uniform ?10 property qualification, arguing that abandoning historic, localized voting customs would destabilize the social order. He famously defends "nomination boroughs" (rotten boroughs) as essential meritocratic vehicles for introducing brilliant men into Parliament without the caprice of popular elections. A vital primary source documenting the legislative battle that ultimately resulted in the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Price: $250.00
Book number 86748