1794 — 148 p. + Frontis portrait of Muir engraved by John Scoles. 8vo. 210 mm. Early Henry family autograph ownership. ExLib stamp of the Lancaster Mechanic's Society. Age stain, but still good. Thomas Muir [the Younger of Huntershill](1765-1799) was a Scottish political reformer. As a student he embraced controversy, and he soon developed a reputation as a lawyer who was willing to appear in court on behalf of poor clients who could not afford to pay a fee and was a fierce critic of a legal system that he believed was biased in favor of the rich. As a young Whig he helped form Friends of the People branches were formed throughout Scotland. Muir was arrested January, 1793, and charged with sedition. After being interrogated for several hours he was released on bail. Muir now traveled to London where he had talks with other leaders of the Friends of the People. The leaders of the movement were concerned about the violence taking place in France. Muir agreed to go to France and join Tom Paine in his attempts to persuade the leaders of the revolution to abandon the plan to execute Louis XVI. Muir was unsuccessful and after having talks with the Girondist leaders, he returned to Scotland, and was promptly arrested. Edinburgh he was tried for sedition before Lord Braxfield and a hand-picked jury of anti-reformers. Muir was found guilty and sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. Afraid that Scottish reformers would attempt to rescue Muir, he was quickly removed to London. Radicals in the House of Commons immediately began a campaign to save the men now being described as the Scottish Martyrs. Attempts to stop the men being transported failed and in May 1794, the ship Surprise left Portsmouth and began its 13,000 mile journey to Botany Bay. The men arrived on 25th October to join the Colony of 1,908 convicts. As a political prisoner, Muir was given more freedom than most convicts and he was allowed to buy a small farm close to Sydney Cove. After two years at Port Jackson, New South Wales, Thomas Muir escaped with the help of Francis Peron, the chief mate of the American ship, the Otter of Boston. Muir reached Vancouver Island but after being offered help by a Spanish captain, he was arrested and taken on board the Ninfa. While on the way to Cadiz the Ninfa was attacked by the British warship Irresistible. During the battle Thomas Muir was hit by a glancing blow from a cannonball which smashed his left cheekbone and seriously injured both his eyes. For several days Muir's condition was so bad he was expected to die. When the French government heard about what had happened to Muir they tried to persuade the Spanish authorities to release him. The Spanish eventually agreed and Muir arrived in Bordeaux in November 1797. Muir joined up with Tom Paine in Paris where they continued the fight for parliamentary reform in Britain. However, Muir had never fully recovered from the wound he received on the Ninfa and his health began to deteriorate at the end of 1798. He was taken to Chantilly where he died on 26th January, 1799. First American Edition. Evans 27633. EVANS2
