Byron's maiden speech against the Frame-Breaking Bill

Byron's first speech before the Lords, delivered on 27 February 1812, was loaded with sarcastic references to the 'benefits' of automation, which he saw as producing inferior material as well as putting people out of work. He concluded that the proposed law was only missing two things to be effective: 'Twelve Butchers for a Jury and a Jeffries for a Judge!' He denounced what he considered the plight of the working class, the government's inane policies, and ruthless repression. He was specifically against a death penalty for Luddite frame breakers in Nottinghamshire, who destroyed textile machines that were putting them out of work.