The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III

UNDERTAKING a revision of the book after a lapse of thirty years, I had to ask myself what measure of change would improve and not deform it. During the intervening period, and especially since work started on the History of Parliament five years ago, I have examined scores of collections of MSS.how much of the new material was I to fit into the book? It seemed to me best to leave the basic structure unchanged : had I started pulling down and replacing bits of the fabric, architectonic chaos might have resulted, while stuck on additions would have disfigured it. I have corrected mistakes, clarified points in the light of new information, and have made minor additions : the sum total of these alterations has wrought much greater change than appears on the surface. Still, only in exceptional cases have I made more extensive additionsfor instance in the essay on Harwich : material in the Devonshire Papers and the Townshend MSS. in the possession of the Duke of Buccleuch has supplied me with the other side of the story. New wine has not been poured into old bottles but old wine has been allowed to mature. I beg to express my dutiful thanks for permission to make use of the papers of King George III in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. I further wish to thank the owners and custodians of private collections of manuscripts listed below for generous permission to quote from them. I am parti~larly indebted to John Brooke for having read the proofs and made valuable suggestions. For helping me with information on particular points I have to thank Ian Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Why Men Went into Parliament....Pages 1-61 The Electoral Structure of England....Pages 62-157 The General Election of 1761....Pages 158-172 Secret Service Money Under the Duke of Newcastle....Pages 173-234 Shropshire Politics and Men at the Accession of George III....Pages 235-298 The Cornish Boroughs....Pages 299-357 Two Treasury Boroughs....Pages 358-401 Parliamentary Beggars....Pages 402-425 Back Matter....Pages 427-514 A classic study of elections and political influence in 18th century Britain.