The Whole Proceedings on the Trial of Indictment Against Thomas..

1794. The Treason Trial of a Notable Cotton Merchant & Political Radical [Trial]. Walker, Thomas [1749-1817], Primary Defendant. Gurney, Joseph [1744-1815], Reporter. The Whole Proceedings on the Trial of Indictment Against Thomas Walker of Manchester, Merchant, Samuel Jackson, James Cheetham, Oliver Pearsal, Benjamin Booth, And Joseph Collier; For a Conspiracy to Overthrow the Constitution and Government, And to Aid and Assist the French (Being the King's Enemies) in Case They Should Invade this Kingdom, Tried at the Assizes at Lancaster, April 2, 1794, Before the Hon. Mr. Justice Heath, One of the Judges of His Majesty's Court of Common Pleas. Philadelphia: Printed for Samuel Harrison Smith, by W. Woodward, 1794. xii, 13-104, xix, [1] pp. Octavo (8" x 5"; 20.6 x 12.7 cm). Disbound. Moderate toning, occasional light foxing, title page detaching at foot. A good copy. $500. * Only American edition, one of two issues. A cotton merchant by trade, Walker was a well-connected radical and social reformer. His circle of friends and acquaintances included Thomas Paine, Charles James Fox, Josiah Wedgwood, Joseph Priestley and John Horne Tooke. He and his friends aroused suspicion during the anti-radical hysteria in Great Britain that followed the outbreak of the French Revolution, and were tried for treason. This trial is memorable for Lord Erskine's famous cross-examination, which discredited the Crown's principal witness, and lengthy jury address. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 12222.