Prime Minister Lord John Russell Signed Letter. A handwritten and signed letter by Lord John Russell, Liberal Prime ...

Prime Minister Lord John Russell Signed Letter. A handwritten and signed letter by Lord John Russell, Liberal Prime Minister 1846-52 and 1865-66. 'My dear Sir, I wish you would send fifteen copies of the Order in Council to Lord Lansdowne. He will consult his colleagues, and he or I will let you know whether the days fixed upon will answer the purpose. Yours truly, J Russell'. John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC, FRS (18 August 1792 - 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866. The third son of the 6th Duke of Bedford, Russell was educated at Westminster School and Edinburgh University before entering Parliament in 1813. In 1828 he took a leading role in the repeal of the Test Acts which discriminated against Catholics and Protestant dissenters. He was one of the principal architects of the Reform Act 1832, which was the first major reform of Parliament since the Restoration, and a significant early step on the road to democracy and away from rule by the aristocracy and landed gentry. He favoured expanding the right to vote to the middle classes and enfranchising Britain's growing industrial towns and cities, but he never advocated universal suffrage and he opposed the secret ballot. Russell was outspoken on many issues over the course of his career, advocating Catholic emancipation in the 1820s, calling for the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1845, denouncing Pope Pius IX's revival of Catholic bishoprics in 1850, and supporting Italian unification during the 1860s. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99