Manuscripts

The piercing cryes of the poor and miserable prisoners for debt in all parts of England, [followed by] reasons humbly offered for an extensive act for the discharge of poor prisoners

Image not available

Description: A treatise against the practice of imprisoning debtors, arguing from religious, moral,economic, and historical grounds, citing both natural and civil law, and framed in the conceit of a petition to Queen Anne and Parliament for legislative redress. Argued chiefly from the perspective of those imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1714.
Call number: mssHM 72022
Creator: Cottam, John (active 1714)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from The Lawbook Exchange, December 3, 2009. Contemporary provenance notes on the front cover identify an early owner as "Ob. Holds, Ex dono John Holds".
Dimensions: 19 cm :
Find out more: View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

You might also be interested in

Image not available
A Short Treatice concerning Thinges nedefull for the present State, collected by John Mountgomere, Londoner in anno Dni 1562
Manuscripts
A manuscript treatise written by John Montgomery arguing for England's need to establish a standing army and create hospitals for soldiers. The manuscript is dedicated to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. Includes a 20th century typed transcription.
mssHM 84078
Image not available
People of California petition to President Franklin Pierce
Manuscripts
This manuscript is a petition addressed to United States President Franklin Pierce, from the "Citizens of the Northern District of the State of California," calling for the removal from office of J. Y. Mcduffie, Marshal of the Northern District, on account of his being "a professional gambler in this State, and that his appointment to office is exceedingly obnoxious to the moral sense of the People of this District." Printed form, with fifty-two hand-written signatures.
mssHM 2058