SIR WILLIAM MOLESWORTH (1810-1855). ALS signed “Wm Molesworth”, 11 July 1838, concerning the Transportation Committee, Lord Howick, and the Duke of Wellington.

A significant political autograph letter signed “Wm Molesworth”, written by Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet (1810-1855), Chairman of the celebrated Select Committee on Transportation, one of the most influential parliamentary investigations into Britain’s convict transportation system.

Written from 79 Eaton Square, London, on 11 July 1838, the letter concerns arrangements for a forthcoming committee meeting during the final stages of preparation of the Committee’s landmark report on transportation and secondary punishment.

Molesworth writes:

“Lord Howick has just written to inform me, that he cannot attend (as he promised) the Transportation Committee on Thursday, as the Duke of Wellington has fixed that day for going on with the inquiry of the Commission on Naval & Military promotion.

Lord Howick has, therefore, desired me to postpone the meeting till Friday at 1/2 past one…”

and requests members to:

“…consider the report, of which a draft was sent round yesterday.”

The letter links three major political figures of the Reform Era:

• Sir William Molesworth, Radical politician, leading member of the Philosophic Radicals, and Chairman of the Select Committee on Transportation.

• Lord Howick (Henry George Grey, later 3rd Earl Grey), Secretary at War and prominent Whig statesman.

• Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo, former Prime Minister, and chairman of the Commission on Naval and Military Promotion.

Of particular significance is Molesworth’s reference to the circulation of a draft committee report, placing the letter at the crucial moment when members were examining the Committee’s findings immediately before publication. The resulting report became one of the most influential official critiques of Britain’s convict transportation system and contributed to the growing movement for penal reform.

The reference to Wellington is especially noteworthy. At the time, the Duke was presiding over the Commission on Naval and Military Promotion, an inquiry examining promotion, advancement, and patronage within the armed services. Wellington’s proceedings were sufficiently important to require Lord Howick’s attendance and force the postponement of Molesworth’s committee meeting, neatly illustrating how two major government investigations were operating simultaneously.

More than a routine administrative note, the letter provides a remarkable snapshot of high-level Victorian government business, bringing together parliamentary reform, penal policy, military administration, Lord Howick, and the Duke of Wellington in a single contemporary document.

A highly desirable political manuscript connecting three major nineteenth-century statesmen and documenting the final deliberations of the famous Transportation Committee.

Provenance: 

One of c.2,500+ items once from the collection or dealer stock of Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Ltd, St Martins Lane, London, evidenced by the quantity of Myers pre-printed envelopes and paper folders and the general ‘presentation’ of the items, many having Myers identification notes in pencil. 

Winifred Alice Myers (1909 – 1985) served as ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc) president, 1950-1952. See the ABA website for an extended article on Myers. Myers left her business, in 1985, to Ruth Shepherd, who traded from home until 2004. 

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