BURDETT, Sir Francis (1770-1844), Baronet, was born on the 25th of January 1770. The rudiments of his education he received at Westminster school, whence he removed in due time to Oxford. He did not wait to graduate at that university, but in 1790 set out on a Continental tour, in the course of which he became strongly imbued with the revolutionary principles then dominant in France and other countries. On his return to England in 1793 he married the youngest daughter of Thomas Coutts, a London banker, with whom he received a large fortune. In 1796, through the influence of the duke of Newcastle, he was chosen M.P. for Boroughbridge, on which occasion he had as colleague John Scott, afterwards Lord Eldon. In 1797 he succeeded his grandfather in the baronetcy, his father and elder brother having predeceased him. At the outset of his political career he was a zealous supporter of ultra-liberal measures. In 1802, after a protracted contest, he was elected M.P. for Middlesex, in opposition to the former member, Mr Mainwaring. The election, however, was declared void, and in the subsequent canvass he was defeated. In 1806 he again stood for Middlesex and was again defeated, but when he stood for Westminster in the same year he was elected by a large majority. In March 1810 he wrote a letter to his constituents, denying the right of Government to commit for libel, as they had recently done. This letter was brought under the notice of the House, and the speaker issued a warrant for the committal of Sir Francis to the Tower. The baronet, however, disputed the right of the House, and had to be removed from his own residence by force. There was some collision in consequence between the military and the populace who were devoted to Sir Francis. At the prorogation of parliament he ...