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<DATE>2008-11-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080923.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<VID>175520</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
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<HEAD>The CASE of the Honourable <HI>Fytton Gerard</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> Returned to Serve in Parliament for the Borough of <HI>Clitheroe,</HI> again&s;t <HI>John Weddall</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> appointed to be heard on <DATE>the 15th Day of this In&s;tant <HI>January.</HI></DATE></HEAD>
<P>MR. <HI>Wilkin&s;on,</HI> Uncle to Mr. <HI>Weddall,</HI> de&s;igning (as appears by many of his, and his Agents foul Practices) to make a Return of his Ne|phew to &s;erve in Parliament for the &s;aid Borough, in the room of <HI>Anthony Parker</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> put in to be Cho&s;en one of the Bayliffs of the Town, and Treated for that purpo&s;e, as &s;ince, and before, he has been at the whole Charge for Mr. <HI>Weddall,</HI> whom he &s;et up to be Recorder of the Town; and by the Voices of a few, without the Con&s;ent of the Majority of the Burge&s;&s;es and Freemen, he got him declared Recorder, and &s;worn Clande&s;tinely in an Alehou&s;e.</P>
<P>The next point which they thought e&s;&s;ential to gain to &s;erve their turn, was to keep Men off from being found by a Jury according to Cu&s;tom to have right to be Burge&s;&s;es or Freemen; in order to which, &s;ome of the Jury were practiced upon to ab&s;ent them&s;elves, and force was u&s;ed, &s;o that there could not be a full Jury, though the Fore-Man, with others, met and &s;tayed in the Court &s;ome Hou<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and &s;everal Summons were &s;ent to the re&s;t, who were fined for their Non-appearance. Upon which the Court was Adjourned to the next Day, but <HI>Chippendale,</HI> one of the Bayliffs, pretended to have di&s;mi&s;s'd the Enquiry Jury, tho' without the Con&s;ent, or Privity of Mr. <HI>Stock</HI> the other Bayliff, and without cau&s;ing Pro|clamation to be made of the Di&s;mi&s;&s;ion, by Colour only of an In&s;trument &s;igned out of Court by Mr. <HI>Chippendale,</HI> which Mr. <HI>Weddall</HI> &s;itting as Recorder, ordered to be read: By which Trick &s;everal who had right to Vote in the Choice of Bayliffs, and had offered their Deeds to Evidence their right, were not found by the Jury, but their Votes, though they had a right, were denied at the Election of Bayliffs: Notwith&s;tanding which Mr. <HI>Mainwaring,</HI> a Gentleman of Four or Five Hundred Pounds a Year, within a Mile of the Place, be&s;ides Hou&s;es in the Town, and a good E&s;tate in the County, and in <HI>Che&s;hire,</HI> was in his Ab&s;ence, without his &s;eeking, or privity, duly Cho&s;en out Bayliff, who&s;e place has always been accounted the Chief.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> &s;oon after offered him&s;elf to be Sworn according to the Cu&s;tom, but being refu&s;ed, he brought two &s;ucce&s;&s;ive <HI>Mandamus</HI>'s from the <HI>King</HI>'s-<HI>Bench,</HI> which were di&s;obeyed: And Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on,</HI> though never Cho&s;en, pretending that Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> was incapable, as being under Age, was Sworn by Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> who him&s;elf had been Sworn but by one Bayliff, though the Cu&s;tom requires that both the old Bayliffs, if Alive and Well, &s;hould joyn in Admini&s;tring the Oath. Upon this Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on</HI> took upon him to Act as Out-Bayliff, and he and Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> that they might di&s;courage and &s;trike a Terrour into tho&s;e who had declared for Mr. <HI>Gerard,</HI> came with <HI>Ambro&s;e Pud&s;ey</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> <HI>Thomas Li&s;ter</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> and others Arm'd into a Publick Hou&s;e, where &s;ome of Mr. <HI>Gerard</HI>'s Friends were peaceably Drinking together, and fell violently upon them: <HI>Thomas Li&s;ter</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> and <HI>Ambro&s;e Pud&s;ey</HI> <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> &s;et Pi&s;tols to the Brea&s;ts of &s;everal of them, and Mr. <HI>John Li&s;ter</HI> Bayliff, threw one of them to the Ground, and Trampled upon him, and for this the pretended Bayliffs Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on</HI> and Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter</HI> Committed them to Pri&s;on, and ordered them to be laid in a Dungeon, without any Warrant or Mittimus. After this, &s;everal who had right, &s;ome to Burgages, others to Freedoms, proffered them&s;elves at &s;everal Court Days to be admitted and Sworn, but were refu&s;ed: Whereupon they brought &s;everal Writs of <HI>Mandamus,</HI> but to defeat them of the advan|tage thereof, and their Votes at the &s;aid Election, no return has been made of either of the &s;aid <HI>Mandamus</HI>'s.</P>
<P>A Writ for the Choice of a Burge&s;s being delivered to the High Sheriff, he being informed of the&s;e Irregularities, him&s;elf carryed his Precept for an Election, and coming to the Town on the 24th of <HI>November,</HI> &s;ent to &s;peak with Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> who declined &s;peaking with him, but being acquainted by the Under Sheriff, while Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on</HI> was by, that a Precept was brought for Electing a Burge&s;s, Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> with &s;ome Burge&s;&s;es, and Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on</HI>'s Clerk, without his Ma&s;ter, came to the Sheriff, who in pre&s;ence of a great many of the Burge&s;&s;es, demanded who was the Out-Bayliff, and they cryed out, Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> is our Out-Bayliff. Upon this the High Sheriff delivered the Precept to Mr. <HI>Mainwaring,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> as Bayliffs of the Town, and told them he expected a return of it: And Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> ask't Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter</HI> when they &s;hould meet with &s;ome of the Burge&s;&s;es to con&s;ider of a Day for the Election; but he, notwith&s;tanding he had been &s;ollicited with all Civility by Mr. <HI>Mainwaring,</HI> refu&s;ed to joyn; upon which, on the 25th of <HI>November,</HI> Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> meeting with &s;everal of the Burge&s;&s;es, by their Advice appointed the Election to be on the 30th, and cau&s;ed it to be proclaimed in two places of the Town, upon a Market Day, and publi&s;hed Papers to the like ef|fect: but Mr. <HI>Wilkin&s;on</HI> and Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter,</HI> in Contempt of the Precept, cau&s;ed Proclamation to be made by way of Countermanding the Election. When the Day of Election came, Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> came to the Town-Hall, and to prevent di&s;orders adjourned into a Penthou&s;e in the open Street where the Precept was read: But Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter</HI> who was per&s;ent, being de&s;ired by Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> to joyn with him, without proclamation pronounced, the Court Adjourned to the Town Hall, where he proceeded without a Precept, to have a Poll taken for Mr. <HI>Weddall,</HI> while Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> with the Precept, proceeded on to the Election: And though Mr. <HI>Li&s;ter</HI> admitted per&s;ons unqualified, to Vote for Mr. <HI>Weddall,</HI> Mr. <HI>Gerard</HI> had the Majority: Therefore the Sheriff annexed to the Precept an Indenture Signed by Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> and &s;everal of the Burge&s;&s;es who Cho&s;e Mr. <HI>G<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">rard.</HI></P>
<P>This Mr. <HI>Weddall</HI> Complains of as irregular, upon pretence that Mr. <HI>Mainwaring</HI> was not a Legal Bayliff, being under Age.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Con&s;titution of the Borough of <HI>Clitheroe,</HI> with the Right of Elections for Bayliffs, or Members of <HI>Parliament.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis Borough Con&s;i&s;ts of two Bayliffs, and Burge&s;&s;es, and Freemen.</P>
<P>The Bayliffs are cho&s;en out of the Burge&s;&s;es by the Burge&s;&s;es and Freemen.</P>
<P>The Burge&s;&s;es are &s;uch as have free Burgages within the Borough, and they are of two &s;orts, <HI>viz.</HI> Out-Burge&s;&s;es, and In-Burge&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>The Out-Burge&s;&s;es are &s;uch as have a Hou&s;e or Land in Borough Tenure, and pay Borough Rent, but are re&s;ident, and inhabiting out of the Borough.</P>
<P>The In-Burge&s;&s;es are &s;uch as are &s;o intitled, and are re&s;ident and inhabiting within the &s;aid Borough.</P>
<P>The Freemen are &s;uch as are Tenants to &s;ome Burge&s;s, that is Owner of &s;ome Me&s;&s;uage or Burgage, Hou&s;e or Lands which pays &s;ome part of the Borough Rent.</P>
<P>There is, and has been time out of mind within the &s;aid Borough an Enquiry Jury Impannell'd in <HI>January</HI> or <HI>February</HI> every Year, who&s;e Duty and Bu&s;ine&s;s it is (among&s;t other things) to find all Per&s;ons that offer them&s;elves, and &s;hew a &s;ufficient right to be Burge&s;&s;es or Freemen, and to pre&s;ent them as &s;uch to the Bayliffs, who ought thereupon to Admit and Swear them, as has been always accu&s;tomed; and this Jury is u&s;ed to be Adjourned from Court to Court as occa&s;ion requires, and is continued or di&s;mi&s;t at di&s;cretion of the Bayliffs.</P>
<P>In Ca&s;e of the Elections for Bayliffs, or Members of Parliament, they are Cho&s;en by Burge&s;&s;es and Freemen, and if the Burge&s;s appear and Vote, the Freeman, his Tenant, cannot Vote for the &s;ame Burgage, but if the Burge&s;s Vote not, then, in his &s;tead, his Tenant as Freeman may.</P>
<P>Where a Burge&s;s hath &s;everal Burgages, he can but Vote for one, and his Tenants as Freemen for the re&s;t.</P>
<P>For free Borough Land none can Vote but the Landlord him&s;elf.</P>
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