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4 - Formal politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2009

Rose Melikan
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

John Scott was not, during his years as Solicitor General, one of the more prolific speakers in the House of Commons. On the countrary, he addressed the House on only fifteen different occasions. This level of participation, however, was not unusual for a junior law officer. Of those of his immediate predecessors who held office for a substantial period, only Alexander Wedderburn spoke much more frequently; James Wallace spoke twice in two years. As regards substance, Scott contributed several modest, rather colourless efforts which suggest little more than a work-manlike adherence to his duty to support the Attorney General and the government. In May 1792 he defended Archibald Macdonald's decision not to indict Birmingham magistrates for failing to prevent or control recent rioting there. In December he spoke on behalf of the Bill to regulate the presence of aliens in England. In May 1789 he had supported an inquiry into the slave trade, possibly out of friendship for the inquiry's principal advocate William Wilberforce. Not all of Scott's speeches were of this sort, however. During the debates on the King's illness in the winter of 1788–9, the Hastings impeachment in 1790, and the Libel Act the following year, Scott played a far more significant role. Since they contributed to the survival of the government, Scott's efforts during the Regency crisis were the most immediately important.

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John Scott, Lord Eldon, 1751–1838
The Duty of Loyalty
, pp. 61 - 81
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1999

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  • Formal politics
  • Rose Melikan, University of Cambridge
  • Book: John Scott, Lord Eldon, 1751–1838
  • Online publication: 07 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511495939.005
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  • Formal politics
  • Rose Melikan, University of Cambridge
  • Book: John Scott, Lord Eldon, 1751–1838
  • Online publication: 07 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511495939.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Formal politics
  • Rose Melikan, University of Cambridge
  • Book: John Scott, Lord Eldon, 1751–1838
  • Online publication: 07 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511495939.005
Available formats
×