The Constitutions of the Several States of the Union and United States, including the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation. Taken from authentic documents. by Victoria: - 1852

New York: A.S. Barnes and Company. 1852. Large 8vo. 556pp, 6pp publisher's adverts, frontis, each state's crest as a headpiece. Original red cloth, decorated in gilt on the spine and blind on the boards; extremities a trifle rubbed. The frontis is evenly browned, some large spots of foxing on the edges and some margins, otherwise clean. A very good copy. ***Inscribed on the title page 'A. Thomson'. Dr Alexander Thomson (1800–66) was a Scottish-born medical practitioner and pastoralist who emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1831, after having served as a surgeon-superintendent on several convict transports. He was granted land and operated a steam ferry service between Hobart Town and Kangaroo Point (using boats he had brought with him), and later moved to Launceston. He became interested in the opening up of the Port Phillip district, sending some cattle and sheep across the strait in 1835, and moved there in the following year to further his pastoral interests but also as the settlement's medical officer. Settling in the Geelong district, Thomson named his property 'Kardinia' and he became a leader of early pastoral society and the Presbyterian church. He was the first Mayor of Geelong, and was elected to the NSW Legislative Council; as a separatist, he resigned in protest at having to attend sittings in Sydney. In 1852-54 he represented Geelong on the Victorian Legislative Council and served on the select committee that drafted the Victorian constitution in 1853; hence, no doubt, his ownership of this book. [See ADB 2.] .