(Image: From Four Prints of an Election, plate 4: Chairing the Members by William Hogarth c.1754, image from the Tate)
Edwardrushton.org.uk celebrates the life of the Liverpool poet who, at the age of 19, was blinded helping slaves. Founder of the School for the Blind, Rushton’s world was one of press gangs, revolution and oppression.
One of the first people to look afresh at Edward Rushton’s life was the late Bill Hunter. Bill wrote Forgotten Hero in 2002, and you can listen to a recording of it on the website, in instalments.
This week is Track 19. Democracy and Parliamentary Reform. In the eighteenth century, Government and Parliamentary corruption was open and widespread. Parliament became a place where deals were done, fortunes made and honours sold.