- Francis Plowden (barrister)
Francis Plowden (b. at
Shropshire , 8 June, 1749; d. at Paris, 4 January, 1819) was an EnglishJesuit , barrister and writer.Life
He was the son of William Plowden of
Plowden Hall . He was educated atSt. Omer's College and entered the Jesuit novitiate atWatten in 1766.When the Society was suppressed, he was teaching at the College at
Bruges . Not being inholy orders he was, by the terms of suppression, relieved of his first vows, and soon afterwards married Dorothea, daughter of George Phillips ofCarnarvonshire .He entered the
Middle Temple and practiced as aconveyancer , the only department of the legal profession open to Catholics under thePenal Laws . After the relief Act of 1791 he was called to the Bar. His first major work, "Jura Anglorum", appeared in 1792. It was attacked in a pamphlet by his brotherRobert Plowden , a priest under the title of "A Roman Catholic Clergyman". The book was so highly thought of that theUniversity of Oxford presented him with the honorary degree ofD.C.L. , a unique distinction for a Catholic of those days.His improvidence, extreme views, and intractable disposition made his life a troubled one. Having fallen out with the
Lord Chancellor , he ceased to practice at the bar and devoted himself to writing. While in Dublin (1811) he published his work "Ireland since the Union" which lead to a prosecution on the part of the Government for libel, resulting in a verdict of £5000 damages. Plowden considered that this was rewarded by a packed jury and determined not to pay it. He escaped to Paris where he spent the remaining years of his life in comparative poverty.Works
His "Historical Review of the state of Ireland" (1803) was written at the request of the Government; but it was too outspoken a condemnation to meet their views, and was attacked by
Richard Musgrave in the "Historical Review" and also by the "British Critic". Plowden answered by a "Posthumous Preface" giving an account of his communications withHenry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth , and also by a "Historical Letter" to Sir Richard Musgrave.His "Historical Letters" to Sir John Cops Hippisley (1815) contained matter connected with the question of
Catholic emancipation . His other works are:*"The Case Stated" (Cath. Relief Act, 1791);
*"Church and State" (London, 1794);
*"Treatise on the Law of Usury" (London, 1796);
*"The Constitution of the United Kingdom" (London, 1802);
*"Historical Letters to Rev. C. O'Connor" (Dublin, 1812);
*"Human Subornation" (Paris, 1824).References
*COOPER in Dict. Nat Biog., s. v.;
*Joseph Gillow , Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath. s. v.;
*KIRK, Biographies;
*Henry Foley , Records Eng. Prov. S. J., IV, VII (London, 1878-80), giving pedigree of Plowden;
*WARD, Dawn of Cath. Revival (London, 1909);
*Gentleman's Magazine (1829).External links
* [http://www.pgil-eirdata.org/html/pgil_datasets/authors/p/Plowden,F/life.htm "Eirdata" page]
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