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<DATE>2008-10-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080813.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A78267">
<STC T="W">C1149A</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">43663209</BIBNO>
<VID>171948</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 14 -->
<HEAD>THE CASE OF THE PURCHASERS of &s;ome LANDS, belonging to the Corpora|tion of <HI>Malmesbury,</HI> in the County of <HI>Wilts,</HI> by Lea&s;es for 21 Years.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Burrough is an Ancient Burrough, and had &s;everal hundred Acres of Land given the Burge&s;&s;es and their Succe&s;&s;ors by King <HI>Athel&s;tane,</HI> 7 or 8 hundred years &s;ince, which were confirmed by &s;everal &s;ucceeding Kings of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>That King <HI>Charles</HI> the 1&s;t, in the 11th year of his Reign confirmed the &s;aid Charter, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and granted them &s;everal other Priviledges; the Burrough at fir&s;t con&s;i&s;ting only of free Burge&s;&s;es, but of late years there is an Alderman, 12 Capital Burge&s;&s;es, 24 Per|&s;ons called A&s;&s;i&s;tants, Land-holders and free Burge&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>That about the beginning of the Reign of King <HI>James</HI> the 1&s;t, the Aldermen and 12 Capital Burge&s;&s;es u&s;urped to them&s;elves 13 &s;everal inclo&s;ed Grounds, part of the &s;aid Lands which cau&s;ed great Differences, and Law-Suits between them and the free Burge&s;|&s;es; but about the 6th year of the &s;aid King, it was agreed among&s;t them&s;elves, that the 13 Capital Burge&s;&s;es &s;hould hold the &s;aid Grounds as long as they continued Capital Burge&s;&s;es, paying 10 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to a Free-School, and 10 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to an Almes-Hou&s;e, but were often interrupted by the free Burge&s;&s;es, for that the &s;aid Lands ought to have been held (as they were given) in Common.</P>
<P>That 4 or 5 years &s;ince a <HI>Quo Warranto</HI> was brought again&s;t the Corporation, and pro&s;ecuted to Judgment, and entred, and the Corporation and Lands &s;eized.</P>
<P>That &s;ome &s;hort time after the late King <HI>James</HI> the 2d did by Charter, (among&s;t other things) grant to the Burrough the Lands afore&s;aid, and named therein an Alderman and 12 other Capital Burge&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>That pre&s;ently after the Per&s;ons within the Corporation cut down the Hedges, and levelled the Ditches of the 13 Grounds, and made it Common, and claimed it in Common, and denied the new Capital Burge&s;&s;es to hold it, as it was formerly held by the old ones.</P>
<P>That afterwards a Common Hall was called within the Burrough, there being pre&s;ent all the Magi&s;trates, and the major part of the free Burge&s;&s;es, for &s;etling the &s;aid Lands belonging to the &s;aid Burrough, as al&s;o the &s;aid 13 Grounds and other Agreements, and By-Laws, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And that then all things were &s;etled and agreed on by all Per|&s;ons then pre&s;ent, <HI>(Nemine Contradicente)</HI> which were many more than the major part of the &s;aid Burge&s;&s;es, and for that there had been &s;everal Di&s;putes in former times, and then concerning the &s;aid 13 Capital Burge&s;&s;es holding the &s;aid 13 Grounds to them&s;elves, which ought to have been held in Common, it was agreed that the &s;aid Lands &s;hould be Lea&s;ed out to Tenants for any Terms, not exceeding 21 years to rai&s;e Money to pay the Corporation's Debts, re&s;erving 50 <HI>l. per Annum,</HI> (viz.) 10 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to a Free-School, 10 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to an Almes-Hou&s;e, as formerly, as al&s;o 5 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to a Bell-Man, 5 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> to the Steward, 15 <HI>l.</HI> 10 <HI>s. per Annum,</HI> an Ad|dition to the Alderman for his Table, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the remainder for a Town-Stock.</P>
<P>That the &s;ame was drawn into Writing, and Signed by the major part of the Corporation, and by 7 or 8 of the Per&s;ons who call them&s;elves the old Burge&s;&s;es, &s;ome of them receiving part of the Fines, there being not above 2 or 3 now living that did not con&s;ent with the Common Seal of the Burrough affixed, which &s;aid Agreement was de|creed in Chancery, and (among&s;t orher things) is in the&s;e words, <HI>(viz.)</HI> That the 13 Grounds called the Burge&s;|&s;es parts, and all other Lands and Rents being part, or parcel of the &s;aid 13 Grounds, or thereunto belonging, and all other Lands held in &s;everalty by the late Capital Burge&s;&s;es, &s;hall from time to time hereafter be Lea&s;ed out by the Alderman for the time being, the High Steward, or in his Ab&s;ence his Deputy-Steward, and A&s;&s;i&s;tant therein named, and the 4 other Stewards of the 4 &s;everal Companies, or the major part of them, the Alderman for the time being to have a ca&s;ting Voice, and always to be one for any term of Years, not exceeding 21 for &s;uch Fines, as they &s;hall agree, provided the whole Rent re&s;erved for all the &s;aid Lands to be Lett, &s;hall be 50 <HI>l. per Annum</HI> at the lea&s;t, clear of all things.</P>
<P>That the Alderman, and the major part of the Per&s;ons appointed to make Lea&s;es, did make Lea&s;es under the Common Seal of the Burrough, to Tenants for valuable Con&s;iderations, re&s;erving the 50 <HI>l. per Annum,</HI> Rent as a|fore&s;aid, which Tenants to their great Co&s;ts have improved the &s;aid Grounds, and &s;ome of them have burnt, bak'd 4 of the &s;aid Grounds, and &s;owed Wheat on them at <HI>Michaelmas</HI> la&s;t, now worth near 200 l.</P>
<P>It is intended on behalf of the old Burge&s;&s;es, upon the Report of the Committee of the Bill, for re&s;toring Cor|porations, to move the Hou&s;e to alter that Clau&s;e in the &s;aid Bill, that provides for all Le&s;&s;ees of Lands, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and get a Clau&s;e in&s;erted, to de&s;troy the Tennants Lea&s;es, without &s;atisfying the Money paid by them, for Fines and Im|provements, although the Lea&s;es were made by the major part of the Corporation, as al&s;o by &s;even or eight of them|&s;elves as afore&s;aid.</P>
<P>The Tenants hope that the Parliament will not in&s;ert any Clau&s;e to make void their Lea&s;es, they being Purcha&s;ors on valuable Con&s;iderations, as al&s;o &s;owed their Corn peaceably, being matter of Title, and for the Rea&s;ons afore&s;aid.</P>
<P>One <HI>W&mdash; A&mdash;</HI> th&ocirc; one of the Le&s;&s;ors, and a Party to the Agreement and Decree, is now Sollicitor again&s;t the Ten|nants, and (as we are informed) hath wrote a Paper of the Ca&s;e, with a great many voluntary Mi&s;takes, and Mi&s;|informations.</P>
<P><HI>The Tennants are willing to accept their Fines and Improvements.</HI></P>
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