Locke (John) .- Law.- Callaghan (Robert) The contractions of Mr. Lock's Essay concerning humane understanding by Robt. Callaghan, manuscript, 101pp., within a commonplace book with an additional 151pp. of mostly legal notes, a few ff. working loose, occasional spotting and mostly light staining, lightly browned, upper joint split, contemporary vellum, 'To be kept' inscribed in ink on lower cover, foot of spine worn, horizontal cut to lower cover, soiled, small 4to, [?Dublin], 1731-33.

⁂ A systematic and erudite summary of Locke's Essay up to the tenth chapter of Book IV by an 18th century Irish lawyer. In the second part of the volume Callaghan discusses specific legal cases, including Sir William Pelham (Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the 16th Century) and 'Lord Strafford ... Lieutenant of Ireland' (probably Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford and Lord Deputy of Ireland), and looks at the operations of different types of courts and the roles of officials within them. He also considers the differences between Irish and English law, and outlines the definitions 'of crimes & misdemeanors', including high treason, manslaughter, arson and kidnapping. Moving away from the Law we find discussion of natural law and metaphysics, and a seemingly unpublished 17pp. work of physics, beginning 'De objectu physices'.

The compiler is possibly Robert Callaghan of Dublin, alumnus of Trinity College, The Middle Temple in London, and King's Inns back in Dublin, which he joined in or around 1733 (the latest year documented in the present manuscript). He later followed in his father's footsteps and became a Member of Parliament.