Reform in the Borough of Shrewsbury: An Analysis of Thomas Morhall’s Letter to Rowland Hunt, Esq., on 29 November 1806
- Caleb Shaw
- May 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 2
Introduction
On Tuesday, the 4th of November, 1806, the electors of the Borough of Shrewsbury assembled in the town’s guildhall to choose their next parliamentary representatives. There were three candidates for two seats: the Hon. William Hill, the Hon. Henry Bennet, and Mr. Thomas Jones, Esq.[1] It was after casting his vote that local landowner and respected orator, Rowland Hunt, Esq. (1753-1811), proceeded to address the Mayor, William Pressick, and the gathered electors.[2]
Presumably, among the assembled burgesses of the town was Thomas Morhall, who went on to write and publish a letter responding to Mr. Hunt’s discourse and addressing key elements of parliamentary and civic reform in a time when Britain was only beginning to experience the birth-pangs of political and social evolution. This rather obscure letter from a relatively unknown figure in provincial England, of which I possess a rare surviving copy, provides historians with insight into the burgeoning thought of political reform that would come to be associated with the early Industrial Revolution in Britain.
About Thomas Morhall
Almost all that we know of the author, Thomas Morhall, is what he records of himself in the letter. He writes that he was ‘born the son of a tradesman, a burgess of Shrewsbury’, possibly Thomas Morhall the Elder, who was a mercer,[3] and that ‘perseverance and successful industry have made me what I am’.[4] He further notes, in this personal introduction, that he has experienced both the privations of a humble life and the benefits of wealth, which is indicative of his upward social mobility, a phenomenon that was rare, but not impossible, during the early 19th century.
Throughout the text, Morhall presents himself as an upstanding member of the community within his borough and shows an active interest in both local and national governance. The fact that his letter was printed and sold, at a shilling apiece, for the financial benefit of the Salop Infirmary, a local subscription hospital formed in 1745, provides some evidence of charitable involvement within the Shrewsbury community.
The House of Commons and Its Members
One of the central issues that Thomas Morhall addresses in his letter is the proper duty and function of the House of Commons and its Members. He seems to be concerned with the irregular attendance of certain Members of the House, and that in their absence, the boroughs are deprived of their rightful representation in Parliament.
‘Every Member of the House of Commons lies under an indispensable obligation of attending to his post. He must be ready at all times to maintain the rights, preserve the freedoms, and advance the interest of those who choose him - of the House of which he is a Member, and the country in general.’[5]
Morhall’s sentiments, in this passage, echo the words of Edmund Burke spoken some thirty years prior, who argued that it was a representative’s duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to his constituents; and, above all, to prefer their interest to his own.[6] Many of the seats within the Commons were held by members of the landed gentry, who frequently represented the interests of their class over and above that of the majority.
Morhall's View of Social Rank
Morhall’s own personal view of social rank is worth remarking on. Although he thinks it is improper for anyone to unjustly speak ill of the higher social ranks, he disagrees with Rowland Hunt’s use of the term their betters. For Morhall, an honest man is the noblest work of God, and therefore he has no better but his Maker.[7]
Such a view was still considered radical in Britain at the time, but it formed the basis of a new wave of enlightenment thinking which began with the French Revolution and was promoted in radical works like The Rights of Man.
Rowland Hunt's Speech to the Shrewsbury Electors
In his speech before the electors, Rowland Hunt expressed his desire that one of the two seats assigned to Shrewsbury should be conceded to a candidate who represents the peerage, as a ‘tribute of respect’.[8] Morhall responds by arguing that the British Constitution does not recognise the right of Peers to be represented in the House of Commons, and by law forbids the interference of Peers in the representation of the common people.[9] However, the interference of landed aristocrats in the selection and sponsoring of candidates for the Commons was quite a regular practice.
The House of Lords, in which every Peer had the right to a seat, represented an infinitesimally small proportion of the population when compared to the House of Commons. According to historian George Rude, the House of Lords, by itself, still retained a measure of political authority and influence that was almost equal to that of the Commons, which did not begin to diminish until after the Reform Act of 1832.[10]
If Hunt’s proposal to split the borough’s seats was to be acted upon, as Morhall points out, the government would be an entirely Peer-dominated entity. This would both defeat the purpose of the British Constitutional system, in which both Houses are supposed to function as a mutual check upon the other, and crush any hope for proper representation for the people.
Conclusion
Thomas Morhall, in keeping the respectable image he has thus far portrayed, concludes by stating that the sentiments he has expressed throughout this letter are ‘in conformity to the constitution of the State’, and that his 'wishes are for the true interest and advantage of the Brough of Shrewsbury, as well as the British dominions in general’.[11] He also goes to great lengths to assure the reader of his noble and honest character and the impartiality of his vote.
‘I have not solicited a single vote for either party: actuated by a wish to have the minds of my townsmen unfettered, I purposely avoided even enquiring on whom such of my friends, as I had any influence with, chose to bestow their suffrage’.[12]
This deeply fascinating letter, written by a principled and determined member of the borough to a respected country squire, is a prime example of how the winds of political reform were blowing as far afield as Shrewsbury, in rural Shropshire.
We do not know the local impact that this letter may have had after its publication, but we do know that by the early 19th century, Morhall was not the only voice crying for reform in the wilderness.
Endnotes:
R.G. Thorne, ‘Shrewsbury’ in The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1790-1820, (1986). https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/constituencies/shrewsbury#footnote6_nufbywo
Rowland Hunt, Esq. The Speech Addressed to the Mayor and Electors of the Borough of Shrewsbury, (Shrewsbury: J & W Eddowes, 1806), Preface.
‘Will of Thomas Morhall the Elder of Shrewsbury’, The National Archives, (October 21, 1742), https:// discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/c08e5aba-ec3c-43b6-ad58-f2562e011a96
Thomas Morhall, A Letter to Rowland Hunt, Esq. on his Speech Addressed to the Mayor and Electors of Shrewsbury, (London: A. Machpherson, 1806), p. 6.
Ibid, p. 10.
Edmund Burke, ‘Speech to the Electors of Bristol, Nov. 3, 1774’ in The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, vol.1, (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854-56). https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/ documents/v1ch13s7.html
Morhall, Letter to Rowland Hunt, p. 8
Hunt, Speech to the Mayor and Electors of Shrewsbury, p. 14.
Morhall, Letter to Rowland Hunt, p. 11.
George Rude, Revolutionary Europe 1788-1815, (London: Fontana Books, 1964), p. 18-19.
Morhall, Letter to Rowland Hunt, p. 17.
Ibid, p. 17-18.
Bibliography:
Burke, Edmund. ‘Speech to the Electors of Bristol, Nov. 3, 1774’. The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Volume 1. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854-56. https://press pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch13s7.html
Hunt, Rowland. The Speech Addressed to the Mayor and Electors of the Borough of Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury: J & W Eddowes, 1806. https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=f9OLrnwVFWcC&printsec=frontcover&hl=zhTW&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Morhall, Thomas. A Letter to Rowland Hunt, Esq. on his Speech Addressed to the Mayor and Electors of Shrewsbury. London: A. Machpherson, 1806.
The National Archives. 665/522. Copy will of Thomas Morhall the Elder of Shrewsbury mercer. October 21, 1742. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/c08e5aba ec3c-43b6-ad58-f2562e011a96
Rude, George. Revolutionary Europe 1788-1815. London: Fontana Books, 1964.
Thorne, R.G., ed. ‘Shrewsbury’. The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1790-1820. 1986. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/constituencies/shrewsbury#footnote6_nufbywo
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