68pp. Presentation copy, inscription to head of title-page (partially shaved); 'From the author, Lord Auckland', and signed again beneath.

[Bound after:] LAUDERDALE, [James Maitland], Earl of. Letters to the peers of Scotland. London. Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1794. First edition. [2], 318pp, [2]. Without half-title, with terminal errata leaf.

[Bound before:] The substance of a speech made by lord auckland, on monday the second day of may, 1796, on the occasion of a motion made by the marquis of lansdown. London. Printed for J. Walker, 1796. First edition. [3], 6-41pp, [1]. Without half-title.

8vo. Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece, gilt. Extremities rubbed, loss to lettering-piece, splitting to joints. Armorial bookplate to FEP of Sir Velters Cornewall Bart., occasional light spotting, overall internally clean and crisp.

A sammelband of three related works; comprising Lauderdale's vehement attack upon the British governments handling of the Anglo-French War, and two further pieces relating to the conflict by political reformer and diplomat William Eden, Baron Auckland (1744-1814). Within the first mentioned work Auckland implicitly argues for a negotiated settlement with France upon the basis of the status of quo ante bellum. The pamphlet proved inspiration for Edmund Burke who, outraged at the possibility of the ministry's intention to negotiate with what he viewed as an illegitimate French government, composed Letters on a Regicide Peace (1796-7), the fourth of which was a refutation of Eden's arguments.