Securities against Misrule and other Constitutional Writings for Tripoli and Greece

ed. Philip Schofield (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1990) pp. li, 326.

The essays collected here, dating mainly from late 1822 and early 1823, lend credence to Bentham's claim, in Constitutional Code, that his ideas were appropriate `for the use of all nations and all governments professing liberal opinions'. Bentham attempts to legislate for an Islamic state, and offers advice to another in the process of throwing off Islamic rule. The writings for Tripoli include the famous `Securities against Misrule', while those for Greece include a rare commentary on the first Greek Constitution of 1822. The main theme in both groups of writings is the efficacy of representative institutions and the publicity of official actions in preventing the abuse of government power.

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