Charles Lucas (politician)
| Dr Charles Lucas | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
16 September 1713 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 4 November 1771 (aged 58) St Michans, Dublin, Ireland |
| Resting place | St. Michan's Church and Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Politician and physician |
| Known for | Political radicalism |
Charles Lucas (16 September 1713 – 4 November 1771) was an Irish apothecary, physician and politician. He sat as Member of Parliament for Dublin City and was known as the "Irish Wilkes" because of his radical views.
The Lucas family were established in Ireland when Colonel Benjamin Lucas, Charles' great-uncle, was granted lands in County Clare following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the early 1650s. Charles Lucas was the younger son of Benjamin Lucas of Ballingaddy, County Clare. Benjamin Lucas died about 1727, leaving £937 to his family, of which Charles was to receive £80. Having served the usual apprenticeship as an apothecary, Lucas was admitted to the Guild of St. Mary Magdalene.
For many years Lucas kept a shop in Charles Street, Dublin. He married his first wife Anne Blundell in 1734. In conducting his business Lucas was struck with certain abuses connected with the sale of drugs, and in 1735 published A Short Scheme for Preventing Frauds and Abuses in Pharmacy, humbly offered to the Consideration of the Legislature. His pamphlet was resented by his fellow-apothecaries, but was the cause of an act being passed for the inspection of medicines. In 1741 he published his Pharmacomastix, or the Office, Use, and Abuse of Apothecaries Explained, and had the satisfaction of seeing the former act renewed.
In this year Lucas was chosen one of the representatives of his corporation on the Common Council of the City of Dublin. He soon came to the conclusion that the board of Aldermen had illegally usurped many of the powers belonging of right to the entire corporation. Aided by James La Touche, a prominent merchant of the city, he secured the appointment of a committee, with Latouche as chairman, to inspect the charters and records of the city. The Aldermen strenuously resisted reform, and in 1743 he published A Remonstrance against certain Infringements on the Rights and Liberties of the Commons and Citizens of Dublin, arguing that the right of electing Aldermen lay with the entire corporation. His argument was disputed by Recorder Stannard, and in the following year Lucas published his closely reasoned and temperate Divelina Libera: an Apology for the Civil Rights and Liberties of the Commons and Citizens of Dublin. During the year the controversy continued with unabated zeal on both sides (see The Proceedings of the Sheriffs and Commons, &c., Dublin, 1744, and A Message from the Sheriffs and Commons to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen... protesting against the Election of George Ribton, Dublin, 26 Sept. 1744). By Lucas's efforts a fund was raised by voluntary subscription, and a suit commenced on 7 November 1744 against the Aldermen in the court of king's bench. But after a hearing of two days, permission was refused by the judge to lodge an information, and the victorious Aldermen struck out the names of Lucas and his supporters from the following triennial return of the Common Council. On 25 December 1747 Lucas presented a printed statement of the case, entitled The Complaints of Dublin, to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Harrington, but Harrington declined to move in the business.
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