Seven Rare Pamphlets Relating to The Society of Friends of the People, and the London Corresponding Society, (including one pamphlet in duplicate) from the Library of George Kinnaird, 7th Lord Kinnaird.

Seven items, 8vo & 4to, bound contemporaneously for George Kinnaird, with his armorial bookplate, in half red morocco, blue paper boards; sl. wear to tail of spine, otherwise v.g. I. Proceedings of the Society of Friends of the People; associated for the purpose of obtaining parliamentary reform in the year 1792. Printed for Mr. Westley. 1793. 8vo. Uncut. 69, (3)pp ads. ESTC T44524. II. The London Corresponding Society's Addresses and Resolutions. (Reprinted and distributed gratis.) Chairman, M. Margarot and Secretary, Thomas Hardy. Drophead title. 8vo. 1792. 16pp. ESTC N38947. III. Thatched House Tavern, May 16, 1782. "At a numerous and respectable Meeting of Members of Parliament friendly to a Constitutional Reformation." Broadside. 4to. 1p. ESTC T14592, BL only. IV. Undeniable Facts; or, The voice of reason and cool reflection addressed to every Englishman who is a well-wisher to his country. 4to. 3pp. (Text refers to National Assembly of 1789) [1790?] NOT IN ESTC. V. The State of the Representation of England and Wales, Delivered to the Society, The Friends of the People, associated for the purpose of obtaining a parliamentary reform, on Saturday the 9th of February 1793. Printed by order of the Society, for D. Stuart. (ii), 38pp; complete but pp9-16 repeated and pp29-32 bound out of order. Scar to first three leaves without loss & repaired. ESTC T48626. VI. Regulations of the Society of The Friends of the People, Associated for the purpose of obtaining a parliamentary reform. 4to. 4pp. [1792] NOT IN ESTC. With list of members & committee on p.3 & p.4; Treasurers, Rt. Hon. Lord Kinnaird & George Tierney, Esq. VII. Regulations of the Society of The Friends of the People. A SECOND COPY (see preceding item), catchword trimmed from p.1. The Society of The Friends of The People, in existence 1792-95, campaigned for parliamentary reform, but was not as radical as the London Corresponding Society (item II). Founded in April 1792, its leading light was the opposition Whig politician Charles Grey, with the support of, among others, Richard Sheridan, Thomas Erskine, Samuel Whitbread and the Earls Buchan and Lauderdale. Later recruits included Major John Cartwright ('The father of reform'), Capel Lofft and George Tierney, the latter becoming joint treasurer with George Kinnaird. The Society did not aim for a large membership (its annual subscription in England was two-and-a-half guineas), with membership largely limited to wealthy but progressive establishment figures. In Scotland subscription was half the price, with the result that the group garnered wider (and less privileged) support. The first item in this volume sets out the moderate aims of reinstating 'the constitution upon its true principles'. These relatively modest intentions drew criticism from more vehement reformers such as Major Cartwright who questioned the sincerity and commitment of the Society. Indeed, positioned in the middle ground of reform, the Society was attacked by both radicals and reactionaries. The fifth item is George Tierney's Report on the state of representation in England and Wales which draws attention to the situation at the time wherein the majority of seats in the House of Commons were controlled by patronage from the Crown and the aristocracy. In May 1793, a petition was presented to the House of Commons by Charles Grey, on behalf of the Society, together with other more radical petitions. Grey's motion for reform was rejected by 282 votes to 41. The society 'suspended' activities in January 1795, following a crackdown on Radical organisations by the Pitt government, which had introduced draconian laws designed to curtail reformist activity in the wake of the French Revolution. Although the notion of parliamentary reform was in the ascendancy in the early 1790s, there had been earlier attempts to initiate change. The third item here bears witness to this, in the form of a broadside, dated 1782, encouraging those 'friendly to a Constitutional Re.…