First edition. vii+615 pages with index. Cloth. Fine. No dustjacket required. To become law, a Bill had to pass many different stages, at any of which, up to and including royal assent, it might fail; Bills unpassed at the dissolution of a Parliament were also automatically abandoned. Between 1660 and 1800 Parliament passed 14,216 Acts. In this period 7025 attempts to pass an act at Westminster failed. This study provides a full list of these. It provides a perspective on the legislative history of the period and should be a useful tool for social, economic and political historians. Arranged chronically, by parliamentary session, it presents the key information as to how legislative initiatives were handled. By showing pattens of demand for legislation, and categorizing types of legislation and their success rate, it also reflects on many aspects of British history in this period, and not just political history. Subject coding allows the list to be analyzed at a number of levels, from the general to the particular, including the examination of specific issues. Taken as a whole, it shows how extensively statute was used to address a wide range of issues, both local and national, in the early modern period.

Failed Legislation, 1660-1800: Extracted from the Commons and Lords Journals 1852851414