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Description and Holding Information
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Ridgeway, 1810, Speeches of Lord Erskine, 4v., main collection
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Speeches of the Hon. Thomas Erskine (now Lord Erskine) when at the bar, on subjects connected with the liberty of the press and against constructive
treasons: collected by James Ridgeway: Vol. 1-4, London, J. Ridgeway, 1810. (A table of contents for the first three volumes appears following the
title page of Vol. 3, and one for Vol. 4 appears following the title page of that volume. It appears that the original intent was to publish this work in
three volumes, and a legend to that effect appears on the title pages for Vols. 1 & 3. Thomas Erskine 1750-1923, the youngest son of a Scottish Earl,
rose from a relatively impoverished background to become a prominent barrister and eventually Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. Although an
indifferent parliamentarian, he was an accomplished court pleader. This collection includes his famous defenses of William Davies Shipley, dean of St. Asaph
and later John Stockdale, both for seditious libel. His defense of the former led to the Libel Act of 1792, which established the principle that juries,
not judges, decided the question of whether or not a publication constituted a libel. Perhaps his most famous case in the area of freedom of the
press was his defense in 1792, during the reign of George the Third, of Thomas Paine, author of The Rights of Man. An American edition, 1870, likely
derived from this English edition, is also offered on this site. See also a separate one-volume title, also edited by Ridgeway, published in 1812 covering
somewhat less important cases, Speeches of Lord Erskine When at the Bar on Miscellaneous Subjects, which is also offered on this site.)
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Title:
The speeches of the Hon. Thomas Erskine : (now Lord Erskine), when at the bar, on subjects connected with the liberty of the press, and against constructive treasons / collected by James Ridgway.
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OCLC Number:
60724691
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Available Volumes
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