SPEECHES 685341 THOMAS LORD ERSKINE. REPRINTED FROM THE FIVE VOLUME OCTAVO EDITION OF 1810. With Memoir of His Life BY EDWARD WALFORD, M.A. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: REEVES & TURNER, 100 CHANCERY LANE, AND 196 STRAND. 1870. PREFACE. THE Speeches of Lord Erskine being in constant demand, on account of their great value both to admirers of English oratory and also to students of the law, have of late years become extremely scarce, and the few copies which have been offered for sale have consequently increased to a price which has placed them beyond the reach of many who would otherwise have been glad to avail themselves of their contents. The Publishers have, therefore, brought out a new edition of these Speeches, in a far cheaper and more compact form than that in which the work originally appeared. At the same time, they have endeavoured to avoid the objection to which the majority of modern reprints are liable, we mean that of overcrowded type. This edition, it is hoped, will have also one additional merit, with regard to the accuracy with which it has been reprinted from the original edition, which has been followed verbatim, with the exception of a few typographical errors which had escaped the notice of the former Editor. On another ground this edition may claim superiority, as in the original the Speeches were printed without regard to the order in which they were delivered: the reader, however, will find them arranged here in strict chronological order. |