"THE TERROR THEY WERE IN FROM THE CRUELTY OF THE REBELS, AND THE LITTLE PROSPECT THEY HAD OF MAKING AN EFFECTUAL DEFENSE… PREVAILED OVER HIS EXPOSTULATIONS": 1747 FIRST EDITION OF THE TRIAL OF ARCHIBALD STEWART, PROVOST OF EDINBURGH, FOR SURRENDERING THE CITY DURING THE 1745 JACOBITE REBELLION

(LAW—TRIALS) (STEWART, Archibald). The Trial of Archibald Stewart Esq; late Lord Provost of Edinburgh, before the High Court of Judiciary in Scotland. Edinburgh: Gideon Crawfurd, 1747. Octavo, 19th-century full calf rebacked, retaining original red morocco spine label, marbled endpapers; pp. 178, 203. $750.

First edition of the account of the two 1747 trials of Archibald Stewart, Provost of Edinburgh at the time of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, for "Neglect of duty, and misbehavior in the execution of his office… at the time the rebels got possession of that city in the month of September 1745." From the library of 19th-century Scottish legal writer and historian James David Marwick, with his bookplate.

Stewart was Provost of, and MP for, Edinburgh at the time of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. He refused to arm the city, essentially allowing the Jacobite Highland army to occupy it. This is the account of the 1747 trial in which Stewart was tried for "neglect of duty and misbehavior in the execution of his office." The trial was much publicized; David Hume wrote 51-page pamphlet in his defense, entitled A True Account of the Behavior and Conduct of Archibald Stewart. While Stewart was imprisoned in the Tower of London for more than a year for neglect of duty, he was ultimately acquitted and subsequently moved his business to London. Armorial bookplate of Scottish legal and historical writer James David Marwick (1826-1908).

Skillful repair to last leaf of text, interior generally clean, expert restoration to corners. A nicely refurbished copy, with excellent Scottish legal provenance.