Edward Bates Against Thomas H Benton. St Louis, 1828

1828. St. Louis: Charless & Paschall, 1828. 12 pp.. St. Louis: Charless & Paschall, 1828. 12 pp. An Important Western Americana Tract on Spanish Land Claims in Missouri and Arkansas Bates, Edward [1793-1869]. Edward Bates Against Thomas H. Benton. St. Louis: Charless & Paschall, Printers, 1828. 12 pp. 12mo. (7-1/2" x 4-3/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet as issued in recent plain wrappers, untrimmed edges. Moderate toning, faint spotting and "(20)" in small early hand to title page. Uncommon in commerce. $1,250. * Only edition. Bates accuses Benton [1782-1858], the important Missouri politician and United States Senator, of political opportunism and corruption and refutes Benton's charge that he failed to protect his constituents against Spanish land claims in Missouri and Arkansas as a member of the U.S. Congress. "Among other things, Benton is accused of being a public defaulter, tainted in every relation of life with peculation and falsehood; his alleged dishonesty as a lawyer, as a director in the Bank of Missouri, and as a United States Senator is painstakingly argued" (Anderson Galleries Auction Catalogue, 1922). Despite the topicality of this pamphlet and its political motivation, it makes a number of useful observations about the nature of land claims and the influence of Spanish law in America. This pamphlet is also notable as an early Missouri imprint by Missouri's first printer, Joseph Charless [1772-1834], who introduced printing there in 1808. He established his partnership with Paschall in 1828. Bates later served as the first attorney general of Missouri after it was admitted as a state and the U.S. attorney general under President Lincoln. The Celebrated Collection of Americana Formed by the Late Thomas Winthrop Streeter 1853. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 7901.50.