James Ramsay MacDonald

“ Resolved to secure a seat in the House of Commons, Bradlaugh stood for Northampton in 1868, but was unsuccessful at the polls. His notoriety greatly alarmed the minds of the religious and conservative sections of the electors, and every effort was made to defeat him. ”

“ Bradlaugh's writings were mostly controversial pamphlets and press articles. Some of his pamphlets went into several editions, the best known being (1) 'Impeachment of the House of Brunswick,' London, 1872; (2) 'Land for the People,' London, 1877; (3) 'Perpetual Pensions,' London, 1880; (4) 'John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough,' London, 1884. He was also connected editorially with the 'London Investigator,' vols. v. and vi. 1854, &c.; 'Half-hours with the Freethinkers,' London, 1856, &c.; 'The National Secular Society's Almanac,' London, 1869, &c.; 'Freethinkers' Textbook,' London, 1876, &c. ”

“ The controversy which followed was one of the most exciting in the recent annals of the church of Scotland. Wallace won mainly owing to his own remarkable powers as a debater, but in 1876 he determined to leave the church, and became editor of the ‘Scotsman’ newspaper. ”

“ COOPER, THOMAS (1805–1892) , chartist, born in Leicester on 20 March 1805, was the son of a working dyer. The family removed to Exeter when Cooper was a few months old, and there his father died three years afterwards. The widow returned to Gainsborough and opened a business in dyeing and fancy box making. Cooper was admitted into a bluecoat school, and remained there until 1820, when, after a trial of the sea, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. ”

“ In 1886 he was elected to parliament as a radical to represent East Edinburgh, and his connection with the constituency lasted until his death. In parliament he maintained an unusual independence, and though he took only an occasional part in the debates, he kept up the reputation he had won in the ecclesiastical courts. ”

“ He also wrote his 'Autobiography,' London, 1873; 'Genesis: its Authorship and Authenticity,' London, 1882; 'The True Story of my Parliamentary Struggle,' London, 1882; 'Rules, Customs, and Procedure of the House of Commons,' London, 1889.
[Charles Bradlauph, by Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner and John M. Robertson; Autobiography, supra; Life by A. S. Headingly; Review of Reviews, March 1891; Annie Besant: an Autobiography, by Mrs. Besant; Collection of Broadsides, Ballads, &c., issued in connection with Northampton election in Brit. Mus.] ”

“ Acquitted on this charge, he was re-arrested on a charge of sedition and conspiracy. After an adjourned trial he was sentenced in March 1843 to two years' imprisonment. Most of the time he spent in Stafford jail. ”