Bills and Acts: Legislative Procedure in Eighteenth-Century England

The eighteenth century witnessed both a notable increase in the amount of legislation passed in each parliamentary session as a response to the changing economic and social climate, and the development of new forms of parliamentary practice which foreshadowed the much better known innovations of the nineteenth century. In consequence, Parliament gained much greater influence over the everyday life of the community, and the new profession of parliamentary agent developed to assist landowners and local communities in their dealings with Parliament. The study centres round the work of Robert Harper of Lincoln's Inn, an eminent conveyancer whose active career as one of the first parliamentary agents spanned half the century. Miss Lambert describes in detail Harper's important collection of printed parliamentary papers, using them to throw light on the nature of the evidence provided by printed bills. She demonstrates how this evidence may be used to advantage in conjunction with Parliamentary records, particularly in studying local, economic and family history.