Sir Francis Burdett's Address to the Prince Regent...
Burdett & Cochrane's 1812 Radical Address to the Prince Regent Burdett, Francis, [1770-1844]. Sir Francis Burdett's Address to the Prince Regent; As Proposed in the House of Commons, at the Opening of the Session, on the 7th of Jan. 1812. To Which is Prefixed the Speech upon that Occasion; And to Which is Subjoined the Speech of Lord Cochrane, who Seconded the Motion. London: Printed and Published by J. Morton, 1812. Seventh edition. 19 pp. Octavo (8" x 5-1/4"; 20.3 x 13.3 cm). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet, detached at page 8 and 9. Moderate shelfwear and soiling. Ex-library with number stamp to front cover and property stamp of Franklin Institute to page 17, otherwise internally clean. $250. * A dramatic, highly unusual breach of parliamentary protocol orchestrated by the popular radical reformer and MP for Westminster, Sir Francis Burdett, and the MP and naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars, Lord Thomas Cochrane, in an address to The Prince Regent, Prince George, ruling on behalf of his incapacitated father, King George III. On January 7, 1812, at the formal opening of the parliamentary session, the House of Commons gathered to hear the traditional Prince Regent's speech from the throne. Protocol dictated that the government's chosen representative would immediately move a standard, supportive "Address" in response to the Crown. Instead, Burdett caught the Speaker's eye first and preemptively proposed his own alternative Address. This alternative address was a scathing "catalogue of grievances" targeted directly at the Prince Regent (the future King George IV), boldly demanding sweeping electoral retrenchment and parliamentary reform. Burdett and Cochrane's radical maneuver was a deliberate protest meant to force public and parliamentary debate on systemic political corruption. However, the House of Commons overwhelmingly rejected their motion. The government's official counter-address passed by a staggering 238 votes to 1; leaving Burdett and Cochrane completely isolated in the division. Public interest in their defiance, however, prompted the publishing of their addresses.
Price: $250.00
Book number 86753