The jotting book; a political and literary experiment

James Hall, advocate; An amateur.

London, John Murray, 1839.

Bound in original 1/4 cloth over brown boards. 1st ed.  Scarce title. Scattered foxing. Subtitle: I. Progressive Thoughts on the Practical Working of the House of Commons before and since the Reform Bill; intended as an argument for the genuine finality of that meassure; being extracts from the diary of a resolute optimist in all that regards the Constitution of England.

Hall dedicates this book to Sir Robert Peel, Lord Stanley and Sir Francis Burdett.  Hall's Jottings contain his dated thoughts on the progress of the Reform Bill of 1832.  The Great Reform Act was a significant victory for democracy in the United Kingdom that attempted to attack the problem of the rotten borough system.  It greatly increased the franchise among adult males.  It is a reasonable supposition that without this Reform Bill the United Kingdom would have faced widespread bloody revolution and labor strife seen in other parts of Europe during the 19th century.  BMC I:533.459.