Codification Proposal, Addressed by Jeremy Bentham to all Nations Professing Liberal Opinions;

THE REVISION OF ALL JURIDICIAL IDEAS UNDER THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY.

or Idea of a Proposed All-Comprehensive Body of Law, with an Accompaniment of Reasons, Applying all Along to the Several Proposed Arrangements.

First edition, second issue variant. 8vo (230 x 146mm). 78, [Supplement, printed by T.C, Hansard] 79-106, [2, list of Bentham's works], [Second Supplement, Printed by C. and W. Reynell] 107-118 pp. Later polished green muslin over boards, edges untrimmed (corners slightly bumped, otherwise an excellent copy). London, Printed by J. M'Creery.

Bentham here optimistically proposes the revision of all juridical ideas under the principle of utility and the systematic codification of civil and penal law, a neologism of his own invention, denoting a simplified system of easily understood and administered laws designed to cleanse the legal profession of what Bentham described as the "demon of chicane". Appended are two supplements consisting largely of responses in the form of correspondence from abroad to Bentham's proposals.

A variant of the second issue, with the 1822 M'Creery title page and list of Bentham's publications characteristic of the first issue, but also containing the two supplements that usually appear in the second issue, in which the first issue sheets (including the original 1822 title page, which was not cancelled) were conjoined with a new 1830 title page bearing the imprint of Reynell as printer and Robert Howard as publisher. Chou notes a comparable copy of this variant of the second issue, without the 1830 title page, held by UCL.

Rare. Although relatively well-held institutionally in all its variant issues, significantly scarce in commerce, with RareBookHub / ABPC listing no copies of the configuration presented here to appear at auction and only two copies with the 1830 second issue title page, appearing in 1988 and 1990 respectively.

Not in Goldsmiths or Kress; Chou, C.3.2.; Everett, p. 538f.

Stock Code: 231218