The PMRC Of The 18th Century

In the 1730's, some anonymous prankster composed a scandalous little tune which dared to poke fun at King George the Second. Actually, there were two tunes, and so incensed was King George that he offered a twenty pound reward for the heads of the seditious tune-smiths, these colonial Weird Al Yankovics. Here is the proclamation, (rewritten into current English) as set forth by William Cosby, then Captain General and Governour In Chief of the provinces of New York and New Jersey:

Whereas ill-minded and Disaffected Persons have lately dispersed in the City of New York, and diverse other Places, several Scandalous and Seditious libels, but more particularly two Printed Scandalous Songs or Ballads highly defaming the Administration of His Majesty's Government in this Province, tending greatly to Inflame the Minds of his Majesty's good Subjects, and to disturb the Public Peace. And Whereas the Grand Jury for the City and County of New York did lately, by their Address to me, complain of these Pernicious Practices, and request me to issue a Proclamation for the Discovery of the Offenders, that they might, by Law, receive a Punishment adequate to their Guilt and Crime. I Have therefore thought fit, by and with the Advice of his Majesty's Council, to issue this Proclamation, hereby Promising Twenty Pounds as a Reward, to such Person or Persons who shall discover the Author or Authors of the two Scandalous Songs or Ballads aforesaid, to be paid to the Person or Persons discovering the same, as soon as such Author or Authors shall be Convicted of having been the Author or Authors thereof.

via Images of American Political History.

Comments

[telly]

That's not the only William Cosby who's got a problem with parody, you know.

[1069]

Reminds me of a story about the movie "The Madness of King George." The play on which the movie was based was called The Madness of King George III, but the distributors dropped the III from the title because they were afraid that American moviegoers would think the movie was a sequel and wouldn't go to see it because they had missed I and II.