ABSTRACT
John Binns (1772–1860), the son of a Dublin ironmonger, was educated at a local school and then at a classical academy. Towards the end of 1794 he joined the London Corresponding Society, founded in 1792 to press for parliamentary reform. Binns rapidly became one of the next generation of leaders, acting as chairman of the general committee for six months and chairing the mass meeting held at Copenhagen Fields on 26 October 1795. This chapter presents passages from Binns’s Recollections, which shed light on Godwin’s links with the reform associations of the 1790s, a matter of some critical dispute. Contrary to the frequently held view of Godwin as a theoretician who stood aloof from the activities of the reform societies, the passages suggest that he was closely associated with their leaders and establish a direct link between Godwin and the working-class leaders of the Corresponding Society who are often thought to have had little access to his views.
