author
Corbyn Morris
1710–1779
An English official and economic writer, he moved between government service and public debate in the mid-1700s, writing on finance, trade, insurance, and the balance of political power. His work offers a clear window into the practical policy arguments of Georgian Britain.
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About the author
Born on 14 August 1710, Corbyn Morris was an English official and writer whose career linked government administration with economic and political argument. He was educated at Charterhouse and entered Queens' College, Cambridge, and he later became known as a commissioner of customs as well as a prolific pamphleteer and essayist.
During the ministries of Henry Pelham and the Duke of Newcastle, Morris was used in political and administrative work, including service connected with customs in Scotland and efforts to manage opposition. Alongside that public career, he wrote on questions that mattered deeply in 18th-century Britain: taxation, military costs, trade, insurance, and public revenue.
His books and pamphlets include A Letter from a By-stander to a Member of Parliament and An Essay towards Deciding the Important Question, Whether it be a National Advantage to Britain to Insure the Ships of Her Enemies? He died on 24 December 1779, and today he is remembered less as a literary celebrity than as a sharp, practical voice in the economic and political debates of his age.