Broadside entitled 'Inhabitants' Meeting'

Commentary

This report begins: 'A Full and Correct Account of the PUBLIC MEETING of the INHABITANTS of EDINBURGH, in Rose Street Church, on Saturday last, to vote an address to his Majesty on the late dissolution of Parliament, and to petition the Magistrates to elect the Right Hon. Francis Jeffrey, Lord Advocate, as member for the City, - with the speeches delivered on the occasion. - Also an account of Mr Jeffrey's joyous reception in Edinburgh.' It was published by the hawkers in Edinburgh. It does not carry a publication date.

The report on this broadside describes a public meeting convened to raise support for Lord Francis Jeffery's campaign to become Whig Member of Parliament for Edinburgh. This suggests that the broadside dates from 1832, when Jeffrey was returned as Edinburgh's MP. Previously he had represented Perth. Jeffery (1773-1850) was by vocation a lawyer but is perhaps better known for being the co-founder (with Henry Brougham) of the 'Edinburgh Review', a hugely influential quarterly magazine which ran from 1802 until 1929. Jeffrey's justified reputation as a ruthless editor and critic brought him into conflict with some of the leading authors of the day.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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