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<DATE>2008-11-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">52211974</BIBNO>
<VID>175543</VID>
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<HEAD>THE CASE OF <HI>THOMAS CHRISTY</HI> of <HI>Bedford,</HI> E&s;quire.</HEAD>
<P>THE Precept for the Choice of two Burge&s;&s;es for <HI>Bedford,</HI> was made by the Sheriff, and delivered to the Mayor the 18th day of <HI>February,</HI> who kept the &s;ame in his hands above 14 days, <HI>viz.</HI> until the 5th of <HI>March</HI> before he would Execute it, allthough Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie</HI> &s;ent daily to him to know what day he would appoint, that his Friends might not be &s;urprized, and all the An&s;wer he would give, was that he &s;hould have Legal Notice by Proclaiming the &s;ame, which was not till <HI>Monday</HI> Evening, and the Election on <HI>Wedne&s;day</HI> after.</P>
<P>And altho' the Mayor took &s;o much time, yet he cho&s;e to appoint the Election upon <HI>A&s;hwedne&s;day,</HI> a Solemn Fa&s;t-day, knowing it would plea&s;e the <HI>Anabapti&s;ts</HI> and other Di&s;&s;enters, who are numerous in that Town, (and were all of them, and al&s;o the Regulators for Sir <HI>William Francklynn</HI>) but would be an offence to the Church Men, for that the Mini&s;ters of the five Pari&s;hes there, could none of them performe their Duties in the Churches on that day, the whole Town Attending the Election.</P>
<P>Whether that delay was made at the in&s;tance of Sir <HI>William Francklin,</HI> who lodged at the Mayors Hou&s;e all the while and &s;pent pro|fu&s;ely, or that the Mayor being a common Brewer, and &s;erving a great part of the Inns and Alehou&s;es of the Town, for his private Lucre, may be a que&s;tion. But it is certain, that the Mayor was wholy directed by him in all things touching the Election, both before, at, and after the &s;ame, and would not appoint a time, until Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ty</HI> (being loaded with Libels and Slanders, and other illegal Practi|ces) they thought them&s;elves &s;ecure of the greate&s;t number of Voters.</P>
<P>Note,</P>
<P>That all Precepts are directed to the Mayor and Bayliffs, but the Mayor would not &s;hew the Precept to Mr. <HI>Robert Thomas</HI> the Elde&s;t Bayliff, who had equal Power with the Mayor, nor acquaint him with the day of Election or any other of his Proceedings.</P>
<P>Upon <HI>A&s;h-Wedne&s;day</HI> (the day of Election) the four Candidates, were Sir <HI>Anthony Che&s;ter,</HI> Barronet, Sir <HI>William Francklyn,</HI> Knight, <HI>Thomas Hiller&s;don</HI> and <HI>Thomas Chri&s;tie,</HI> E&s;quires: Sir <HI>William Francklyn,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Hiller&s;don,</HI> having joyned their Intere&s;t from the be|ginning: And five Per&s;ons were appointed by the Mayor (by con&s;ent of the Candidates) to take the Polls, <HI>viz.</HI> one for each Candidate, and another for him&s;elf, who Poled all that day, and on the next day till Noon, and then no more Per&s;ons coming to Vote on any &s;ide, after three Proclamations the Poll was clo&s;ed, and the Mayor adjourned the fini&s;hing the Election, unto the <HI>Swan-Inn</HI> (the Treating-Hou&s;e of Sir <HI>William Francklyn</HI>) at three of the Clock in the Afternoon, at which time, <HI>John Backwel,</HI> E&s;quire, a Member of Parlia|ment, was nominated to be a Teller for Sir <HI>Anthony Che&s;ter, John Hervey,</HI> E&s;quire, for Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie,</HI> and then Sir <HI>William Francklyn,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Hiller&s;don,</HI> being de&s;ired to name their Tellers, they refu&s;ed to nominate any. The Elde&s;t <HI>Bayliff</HI> de&s;ired they might proceed to fini&s;h the Election: but the Mayor and the other <HI>Bayliff</HI> by direction of Sir <HI>William Francklyn,</HI> adjourned the Telling and Examining the Poll untill <HI>Friday</HI> the morrow &s;eavenight after, to the &s;ame place, refu&s;ing to give any rea&s;on, though the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Backwell</HI> and Mr. <HI>Her|vey</HI> declared they &s;hould be out of the Country at that time.</P>
<P>At which <HI>Friday,</HI> Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie,</HI> demanded that the Polls might be opened, Examined and Compared one with another.</P>
<P>That the number of Votes for each Candidate might be Counted, and that they who had the Majority &s;hould be proclaimed.</P>
<P>That each Candidate &s;hould have one of the five Polls that were taken, or Coppies thereof.</P>
<P>All which, were de&s;ired by the Elde&s;t <HI>Bayliff</HI> al&s;o, but denyed by the Mayor at the in&s;tigation of Sir <HI>William Francklyn,</HI> who told the Mayor that he was the &s;ole Judge of the matter, and might if he plea&s;ed count the Polls in private, and declare who were to be returned, whereupon the Mayor adjourned again until the next day to the &s;ame place, at which time Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie</HI> repeated his former demands, and the Mayor un&s;ealed the Polls, giving out two of the Originals to the Per&s;ons who took them, but refu&s;ed to compare them or count the numbers, or Proclaim tho&s;e who had the Majority, but kept the other three Polls him&s;elf Un&s;ealed, and Adjourned until the Tue&s;|day after, at three of the Clock in the Afternoon, being but one whole day before the &s;itting of the Parliament; pretending that <UNCLEAR>he</UNCLEAR> would make a Scrutiny for unqualified Voices, but was told, that he a&s;&s;umed the bu&s;ine&s;s and Authority of the Comittee of Elections, and that it was not in his Power to expunge whom he plea&s;ed, and was asked what the qualifications were, and what did di&s;able any to Vote, which he refu&s;ed to declare, and was told by Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ty,</HI> that then it was impo&s;&s;ible to be prepared, to prove the Legality of the Electors Voices, and although the Electors with much importunity, pre&s;&s;ed the Mayor to Proclaim tho&s;e who were cho&s;en, yet he refu&s;ed and Adjourned to <HI>Tue&s;day</HI> as afore&s;aid, when he knew that Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ty</HI> would be out of Town, and on the Rode for <HI>London,</HI> to attend the Publick Service; and in his ab&s;ence, the Mayor and one of the Bayliffs have returned Sir <HI>William Francklyn</HI> and Mr. <HI>Hil|ler&s;don,</HI> altho' it appeared upon counting of the Polls, that Sir <HI>William Francklyn</HI> had 249 Voices, Mr. <HI>Hiller&s;don</HI> 284, and Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie</HI> 291 Voices, &s;o as Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie</HI> had the Majority of all the Candidates, and 42 Voices more than Sir <HI>William Francklin.</HI></P>
<P>Note,<LB>
That on <HI>Monday</HI> morning, the Mayor &s;ent for &s;uch Per&s;ons as he plea&s;ed to his own Hou&s;e, (who all had Voted for Sir <HI>William Franck|lyn</HI>) and in their Pre&s;ence, without giving notice to Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie,</HI> had expunged out of the Poll, a great number of Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ties</HI> Voices, and refu&s;ed to give unto the &s;aid Elde&s;t Bayliff, who demanded the &s;ame, (and who was al&s;o to make a Return) the names of the Per|&s;ons which he had &s;o put out of Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ties</HI> Voters, or the Rea&s;ons why he did &s;o: Whereupon the Elde&s;t Bayliff (finding that Mr. <HI>Chri&s;ty</HI> had the Majority of Voices by above forty, Proclaimed Mr. <HI>Hiller&s;don</HI> and Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie,</HI> and Sealed an Indenture accordingly, which the Sheriff hath al&s;o returned with the other.</P>
<P>Note al&s;o,<LB>
That on the Evening before the Election, the Mayor, Sir <HI>William Francklyn</HI> and 200 others (&s;ummoned or invited thither by them) met Tumultuou&s;ly and Riotou&s;ly in the Town-Hall, where one Mr. <HI>Ea&s;ton</HI> a Draper, read publickly in the Hall before all the Multitude, a Libellous Paper again&s;t Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie.</HI></P>
<P>So the Irregularities and Partiality of the Mayor appears in the&s;e particulars.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. He did not &s;hew the Precept to the Elde&s;t Bayliff.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Nor acquaint him of the day of Election.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. But kept the Precept from the 18th of <HI>February,</HI> to the 5th of <HI>March,</HI> and delayed the Execution; being a common Brewer.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. And gave but one whole days notice of the Election.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. And then cho&s;e to execute it upon <HI>A&s;h-Wedne&s;day.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>6. And refu&s;ed to tell the Poll and declare the Numbers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7. But Adjourned from the 6th to the 15th, then to the 16th, then to the 18th of <HI>March.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>8. All the&s;e Adjournments again&s;t the con&s;ent and prote&s;tation of the Elde&s;t Bayliff.</ITEM>
<ITEM>9. And were made to Sir <HI>William Francklynn's</HI> Inn, and not to the Town-Hall.</ITEM>
<ITEM>10. Kept the Poll Un&s;ealed three days in his own hands.</ITEM>
<ITEM>11. Expunged whom he plea&s;ed.</ITEM>
<ITEM>12. Made him&s;elf Judge of the Qualifications.</ITEM>
<ITEM>13. Refu&s;ed the Elde&s;t Bayliff, a Note of the Names and Di&s;abillities of the Per&s;ons expunged.</ITEM>
<ITEM>14. And &s;ummoned a Tumultuous and Riotous A&s;&s;embly to the Town-Hall, where were read defamatory Libels again&s;t Mr. <HI>Chri&s;tie.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>So if Mayors may Return whom they plea&s;e, whether duly Elected or not, and not be puni&s;hed for &s;uch Mi&s;demeanours, then they and not the Electors choo&s;e Parliament-Men.</P>
<P>But now, the Mayor to colour what he hath done &s;o unju&s;tly, with &s;ome pretence gives out, that none have Voices, but &s;uch as pay to the Church and Poor, whereas the U&s;age or Cu&s;tom hath been time out of Mind, that all Hou&s;e-Holders have Voices who do not receive Collection, and &s;o it will be proved for eight or ten Parliaments &s;ucce&s;&s;ively, and &s;uch is the Cu&s;tome in many other places of the Kingdome, and here now they were all admitted to be Polled on both &s;ides.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>To be heard on <DATE><HI>Friday</HI> the 4th of <HI>April.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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