John Lind (1737–1781) was an English
barrister, political activist, and pamphleteer who opposed the American Revolution.
Lind was educated at
Balliol College
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, receiving an MA in 1761. While there he began a long association and friendship with
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries, and in November 1773 was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
.
Early life
John Lind was born on 13 August 1737, the only son of the Rev. Charles Lind, D.D. His father was vicar of
West Mersea
West Mersea is a town and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is the larger (in terms of population) of two settlements on Mersea Island, south of Colchester.
History
Roman buildings and tesselated pavements close to the quayside have led to ...
1738–48, rector of
Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...
1750–1771, and rector of
Paglesham 1752–71, all livings in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. He married a Miss Porter of
Winchester, and died 6 March 1771, leaving his livings sequestrated and two daughters.
Lind matriculated on 22 May 1753 at
Balliol College, Oxford, graduating with a
BA degree
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
1757 and
MA in 1761. About 1758, he took
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
's orders in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, and a few years later accompanied
John Murray on his embassy to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
in the capacity of
chaplain, but as "too agreeable to his Excellency's mistress" was dismissed from his post.
In Poland
John Lind then went to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, where he dropped his clerical pretensions and became tutor to
Prince Stanisław Poniatowski. He was noticed by King
Stanisław August Poniatowski, who made him governor of an institution for educating cadets, and the title of privy councillor. In 1773, after the
First Partition of Poland, he returned to England with a pension from the king and added to his income by reading to Prince Czartoryski, the king's uncle.
In England
Lind was burdened by his father's debts and by the support of his sisters, Mary and Lætitia, who ran a boarding school for girls at
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
. He was received by
Lord North
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...
, then prime minister, and was a familiar figure at the card parties of Henrietta Maria North, wife of
Brownlow North
Brownlow North (17 July 1741 – 12 July 1820) was a bishop of the Church of England.
Early life, family and education
Brownlow was born on 17 July 1741 in Chelsea, London, Chelsea, Middlesex, Great Britain, the only son of Francis North, 1st ...
. The king of Poland had given him letters of introduction to
Lord Mansfield
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...
, by whom he was employed to advocate his political views, and through whose management he was admitted at
Lincoln's Inn 23 June 1773, and
called to the bar in 1776. Lind, already an F.S.A., was elected F.R.S. in 1773.
Among Lind's close friends was Jeremy Bentham, who gave the bride away on Lind's marriage at
St Andrew's, Holborn. Lind wanted to enter parliament but failed. After some years mainly spent pamphleteering, he died in
Lamb's Conduit Street, London, on 12 January 1781, and was buried in
Long Ditton churchyard, in
Surrey, where a white marble scroll, with an inscription by
Sir Herbert Croft, was placed to his memory on the outside of the north wall of the church.
Works
Lind's first publication was ''Letters concerning the Present State of Poland'' (anon.), 1773, 2nd ed. 1773, against the First Partition of Poland. He was supported in writing it by Lord Mansfield and
Viscount Stormont. He was also almost certainly the author of the much translated ''The Polish partition : illustrated; in seven dramatick dialogues, or, conversation pieces, between remarkable personages, published from the mouths and actions of the interlocutors. By Gotlieb Pansmouzer, the Baron's nephew,'' which is often mistakenly attributed to Theophilus Lindsey. Lind's other works were:
* ''Remarks on the Principal Acts of the Thirteenth Parliament of Great Britain'', vol. i. containing remarks on the acts relating to the American colonies (the
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest of the Tea Act, a tax measur ...
), with a plan of reconciliation, 1775.
Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...
praised this work as a defence of the British case against the colonists, and Bentham claimed to have made its outline.
*
An Answer to the Declaration of the American Congress' (anon.), 1776. On the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
. Bentham's supposed involvement with the content has been seen as evidence of his early commitment against
natural rights.
* ''Three Letters to Dr. Price, containing Remarks on his Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, by a Member of Lincoln's Inn'', 1776. Abusive attack on
Richard Price
Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...
.
* ''Defence of Lord Pigot'' (anon.), 1777. On behalf of
George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot.
* ''A Letter to the Rt. Hon. Willoughby Bertie, by descent Earl of Abingdon, in which his candid and liberal treatment of the new Earl of Mansfield is fully vindicated'' (anon.), 1778. A satirical reply to
Lord Abingdon's attack on Lord Mansfield.
For his works in justification of the
American War of Independence, a pension payment is said to have been conferred on each of Lind's sisters.
A History of the United States Vol. 3: The American Revolution, 1761–1789
by Edward Channing
Edward Perkins Channing (June 15, 1856 – January 7, 1931) was an American historian and an author of a monumental ''History of the United States'' in six volumes, for which he won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History. His thorough research i ...
Two papers on ancient monuments and fortifications in Scotland were communicated to '' Archæologia'' through Lind. His defence of Bentham's ''Fragment on Government'' appeared in the ''Morning Chronicle
''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. It ...
'', 26 July 1776, and was reproduced in Bentham's ''Works'', i. 258–9. A reply from Sir James Wright on Lord Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...
's action and opinions is said by Horace Walpole to have been written by Lind.
Family
Lind's pension was continued to his widow and paid regularly until 1794, when delays arose. These were solved by Bentham, who entered into correspondence with the czar of Russia on the subject. Lind had brought to England an illegitimate daughter, and at his death, she and his two sisters were left destitute. Croft solicited a subscription for them and for the widow, who refused to accept it. Elizabeth, another of his sisters, married Captain William Borthwick, of the artillery, and died 2 May 1764, aged 29.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lind, John
1737 births
1781 deaths
People from Colchester
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
English barristers
English chaplains
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Fellows of the Royal Society