Andrew Bisset (barrister) explained

Andrew Bisset (28 November 1801 in Montrose, Angus – 28 February 1891 Fortis Green, London), was a Scottish barrister and historical writer. His writing was an influence on Henry George, who cites Bisset’s Strength of Nations, in the notes to Progress and Poverty.

Life

He graduated B.A. from Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1826. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1839.^[1]

He was a researcher for Richard Cobden, probably from the early 1840s, preparing a report in 1845 on agricultural districts.^{[2] [3]} In the 1850s he worked for the Anti-Corn Law League; his father-in-law was T. P. Thompson, of the League. He had a commission to write on English history, particularly land law.^[4] His later writings moved into Parliamentary history.

Works

• A Practical Treatise on the Law of Estates for Life (1842)
• Memoirs and papers of Sir Andrew Mitchell, K. B. (1850) editor
• On the Strength of Nations (1859)
• Omitted Chapters of the History of England from the death of Charles I to the battle of Dunbar (1864)
• History of the Commonwealth of England (1867), revised from Omitted Chapters
• Essays on Historical Truth (1871)
• The History of the Struggle for Parliamentary Government in England (1877)
• A Short History of the English Parliament (1883) 2 vols.
• Notes on the Anti-Corn Law Struggle (1884)

See also

• Henry George
• Richard Cobden

Notes and References

1. http://carlyleletters.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/1/lt-18520606-TC-KAVE-01 The Carlyle Letters Online
2. Anthony Howe (editor), The Letters of Richard Cobden: Volume I: 1815–1847 (2008), note p. 50.
3. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=182-cobden&cid=23 The National Archives | Access to Archives
4. Anthony Howe, Free Trade and Liberal England, 1846–1946 (1997), p. 6.