<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>3-24-10</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Added TEMPHEAD, checked ID, and added TYPEs to DIVs in order to validate. Proofed title. Checked ^s. Reviewed structure; added P. Checked placement and completeness of PBs. Checked for damage GAPs, #s, @s, --s, oe's, and UNCLEARs. Corrected [dollar]s. Checked for EPIGRAPHs and ARGUMENTs. Checked spacing of foreign GAPs. Checked CLOSERs, BYLINEs, SIGNEDs, OPENERs, SALUTEs, and TRAILERs. Checked for startqs and endqs, abq's, Ae's, qs, and Qs. Checked I / Js and U / Vs. Checked proofsheets and made corrections. Sample: 2 minutes. Proofing: 10 minutes. Tag review and corrections: 20 minutes. DONE.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A88494">
<STC T="W">L2919</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.13[23]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99869703</BIBNO>
<VID>162918</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="extract">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>Londons ancient Priviledges unvailed,
OR
An Extract taken out of the principall Charters of London, confirmed by many Acts of
Parliament, which are &s;till in force.</HEAD>
<P>By which appeareth,</P>
<P>That the Free-men of the Citie of London have their liberty to chu&s;e Yearly, or oftner (if need be) a <HI>Major,</HI> two <HI>Sheriffs,</HI> four
<HI>Trea&s;urers,</HI> two <HI>Bridge-Ma&s;ters, Chamberlane, common Clark, common Sergeant,</HI> of the City afore&s;aid, and to remove them at Plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>That the Free-men of Wards have a Right, Yearly to chu&s;e their <HI>Aldermen;</HI> and that the &s;ame <HI>Aldermen</HI> are not to bee cho&s;en the next Yeare.</P>
<P>The&s;e and many other particulars of the long concealed Rights of the Free-men of London, will mo&s;t evidently appear in the en&s;uing Relation.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Charter granted to the Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> was by King <HI>Henry</HI> the first, who Reigned in the Yeer one Thou&s;and one Hundred.</P>
<P>_HENRY By the Grace of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">148. yeers &s;ince the fir&s;t Sheriffe of London, this yeer 1648.</NOTE> King of England; Know ye that we have granted to my Citizens of London, to hold Middle &s;ex by Farm
for three hundred pounds upon Accompt to Them and their Heirs, of Me and My Heirs, &s;o as the &s;aid Citizens &s;hall appoint a Sheriffe whom they plea&s;e of
them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Al&s;o granted that all Citizens of London &s;hall be di&s;charged and free, and all their goods throughout all England, and Sea-ports, of Toll, Pa&s;&s;age and La&s;tage,
and all other Cu&s;toms; and if any &s;hall take Toll or Cu&s;tom of my Citizens of London, the City may take of the Burrough, or of the Town where the Toll or
Cu&s;tom was taken, &s;o much as the man of London for Toll gave, and moreover for his damage which he &s;hall receive, And that the Citizens of London may
have their Cha&s;es to cha&s;e; to wit, in Chiltre and Middle&s;ex, and Surrey.</P>
<P><HI>King</HI> Henry <HI>the &s;econd confirmed the &s;aid Charter, and granted to the Citizens of London, that</HI> all of them be free and di&s;charged of Bridge-Toll, and Childewits, of Jerefgreen,
and of Scotale.</P>
<P>Richard <HI>the fir&s;t confirmed the &s;aid Charters, and granted,</HI> That if any in all England &s;hall take Toll or Cu&s;tom of the men of London, after that &s;uch an one fail to do right,
the Sheriffe of London may take a Di&s;tre&s;s thereupon at London. <HI>Al&s;o the &s;ame King in his &s;econd Charter, grants in the&s;e words.</HI></P>
<P>Be it known unto you all, that We for the health of Our &s;oul, and for the health of the &s;oul of King <HI>Henry</HI> Our Father, and the &s;ouls of Our Predece&s;&s;ors, and al&s;o for the com|mon
profit of Our City of London, and Our whole Realm of England, granted and firmly commanded, that all the Weers which be in the Thames be removed, where&s;oever in
Thames they be, and from henceforth Weers be not &s;et any where in Thames: We have al&s;o quite claimed all that which the Keepers of Our Tower of London u&s;e yeerly to take
of the fore&s;aid Weers.</P>
<P><HI>King</HI> John <HI>in his fir&s;t Charter, Confirmed all the fore&s;aid Charters: and in his &s;econd Charter, which was in the yeer 1205. granted to the Citizens of London,</HI> That they of
them&s;elves may make two Sheriffs whom they will, and remove them when they plea&s;e; and pre&s;ent tho&s;e whom they make Sheriffs to Our Barons of the Exchequer: and if tho&s;e
for the time being, &s;hall be appointed Sheriffs, &s;hall commit any offence wherefore they ought to incur the merce of money, or be amerced; &s;hall be adjudged or condemned in no
more, but in forfeiture of twenty pounds, and that without lo&s;s or prejudice of other Citizens, if the Sheriffs be not able to pay the forfeiture: but if they commit any offence for
which they ought to undergo the Tryal of Life or Member, they are to be adjudged as they ought, by the law of the City; but of that which belongs to the Sheriffwick, the Sheriffs
&s;hall an&s;wer in Our Exchequer, before Our Barons; &s;aving to the &s;aid Sheriffs the liberties which other Citizens of London have.</P>
<P><HI>King</HI> John <HI>in his fourth Charter,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">433 yeers &s;ince the fir&s;t Maior of London, this 1648.</NOTE> <HI>in the &s;ixteenth yeer of His Reigne, which was in the yeer 1215. granted to our Barons of our City of London,</HI> That they may of them&s;elves chu&s;e
yeerly a Maior who is di&s;creet, and fit for Government of the City, &s;o that (when he &s;hall be cho&s;en, he &s;hall be pre&s;ented to Vs, or to Our Ju&s;tice, if We be not pre&s;ent, and to &s;wear
to Vs fidelity; and that they may at the end of the yeer remove him, and appoint another or continue him if they plea&s;e. <HI>And King</HI> Henry <HI>the third confirmed the &s;aid Charter,
which was made by his Father King</HI> John.</P>
<P><HI>King</HI> Edward <HI>the &s;econd in the yeer</HI> 1338.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Livery-men had not a Being until within this hundred yeers.</NOTE> <HI>upon the Petition of the Maior and Citizens granted thirty particulars of their De&s;ires in their Petition: the fir&s;t,</HI> That the Maior and
Sheriffs of the &s;aid City, be cho&s;en by the Citizens of the &s;ame City, and not otherwi&s;e; and that the Maior of the City afore&s;aid, &s;hall not abide in his Office at one time, above one
yeer, and none of the Sheriffs have but two Clerks, and two &s;ervants, in regard of that Office, and that they take &s;uch Clerks and &s;erjeants at their own peril, for whom they will an&s;wer;
and that the Maior of the City afore&s;aid, while he is Maior, hold no other Office belonging to the City, then the Office of the Majoralty of the &s;ame City, nor any other place then
tho&s;e which according to the ancient Cu&s;tom of the &s;aid City, as Maior he ought to hold.</P>
<P>And that the Aldermen of the &s;aid City from yeer to yeer, and e&s;pecially upon the day of St <HI>Gregory</HI> the Pope, by the &s;aid Communalty be removable, and being removed, may not
be cho&s;en again for the en&s;uing yeer, but in&s;teed of tho&s;e that be removed, others be cho&s;en by the &s;ame VVards of which the Aldermen &s;o removed were; and that all Tallages or
Aids for the u&s;e of Vs, or for the &s;tate or profit of the City from henceforth in the &s;ame to be a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, after they be a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by men of the VVards cho&s;en or deputed for that end,
may not be encrea&s;ed or rai&s;ed by the Maior, Aldermen, or others.</P>
<P>And that the monies ari&s;ing from &s;uch Tallages or Aids be delivered into the cu&s;tody of four hone&s;t Commoners of the City afore&s;aid for that end, to be cho&s;en by the Commonalty
of the &s;aid Citie to be paid over by the te&s;timony of the &s;ame four men, &s;o that the &s;aid four men may be able to informe the &s;aid Commonalty for what profit and what u&s;es the &s;aid
monies went.</P>
<P>And that &s;trangers or others if they be of no trade, then they may not be made <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 word"> of the &s;aid Cittie without the a&s;&s;ent of the Commonalty of the &s;aid Cittie, and who again&s;t their
Oaths in this behalf or again&s;t the State of the Cittie have acted and been lawfully convicted &s;hall forfeit their freedom of the Cittie: and that every year inqui&s;ition &s;hall be made if
any Free man of the &s;aid City &s;hall &s;ell in the City the Goods of others who are not free; by calling tho&s;e Goods their own: tho&s;e that &s;hall be lawfully convicted do forfeit their Freedom
of the City.</P>
<P>And that the main Common-Seal of the City afore&s;aid, be in the cu&s;tody of two Aldermen and two Commoners to be cho&s;en for it by the Commons of the City, and that the &s;aid
Seal be not denyed to the poor nor rich Commoners of the City afore&s;aid, when&s;oever they &s;tand in need of it; and that nothing be taken for the &s;etting to of the &s;aid Seal.</P>
<P>And that Weights and Mea&s;ures of Marchandize to be mea&s;ured betwixt Marchant and Marchant, of which the profit ari&s;ing, and the cognizance of the &s;ame belong to the Common|alty
of the &s;aid City remain in the keeping of hone&s;t men of the City, skillful in that calling, and to be cho&s;en for this by the Commonalty of the City, to be kept at the plea&s;ure of the
&s;aid commonalty, and it to be tru&s;ted by no means to any other but to &s;uch &s;o to be cho&s;en.</P>
<P>And that Marchants who are not of the freedom of the City afore&s;aid may not &s;ell any Wines or other wares within the City or Suburbs thereof by retale.</P>
<P>And that the keeping of the Bridge of the City afore&s;aid, and the Rents and profits belonging to the &s;aid Bridge be committed to two hone&s;t and able men of the City afore&s;aid, o|thers
then Aldermen to be cho&s;en for that purpo&s;e, by the Commonalty of the &s;aid City to be kept at the plea&s;ure of the Commonalty of the &s;aid City, who are to an&s;wer to the Com|monalty
of the &s;aid City, for the &s;ame.</P>
<P>And that the Chamberlane, common Clark, common Serjeant of the City afore&s;aid be cho&s;en by the Commonalty of the &s;aid City; and removed at their plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>And that the goods of Aldermen of the &s;aid City be taxed as the goods of other Citizens, in Aids, Tallages, and other Contributions hapening in the City, by men of the Wards,
where the&s;e Aldermen abide.</P>
<P>Moreover, We being willing upon their Petition, to confer more ample favour upon the Major, Aldermen, and Cittizens, have granted to them for us and our heirs, that the Major,
Aldermen, Citizens and Commonalty of the Commons of the City afore&s;aid, and their Heirs and Succe&s;&s;ours, for the nece&s;&s;ities and profits of our &s;aid City, by their Common con&s;ent,
among them&s;elves, may a&s;&s;e&s;s Tallage upon the goods within the City, as well upon Rents as other goods: and as well upon Trades as any other way which they &s;hall &s;ee expedient;
and the &s;ame to levy without let of us, or our Heirs, or our Mini&s;ters whom&s;oever: and that the monies ari&s;ing out of &s;uch Tallages remain in the cu&s;tody of four hone&s;t and lawful
men of the City to be cho&s;en for it by the Commonalty of the Citie, and expended out of their cu&s;tody, for the nece&s;&s;ities and profits of the &s;aid Citie, and not otherwi&s;e: In te&s;timony
whereof, we have cau&s;ed to be made the&s;e our letters, patents: Witne&s;&s;e our &s;elf, at York the eighth day of June, the twelft year of our Raign.</P>
<P>By all which Premi&s;&s;es it is evident, according to the Expre&s;s words of the Charters, That it is the Rights of the Free-men of London to chu&s;e the Maior, two Sheriffs, four Trea&s;u|rers,
the Chamberlain, common Clerk, common Serjeant of the City, and to remove them at their plea&s;ure: And it is al&s;o the liberty of every Freeman of every Ward, to have his
voice in chu&s;ing the Alderman, and to remove them every yeer, and being removed, others to be cho&s;en by the &s;aid Freemen of the &s;aid Ward. It is al&s;o the Rights of every Freeman, as
they are Members of the Corporation, to have his voice in chu&s;ing the Parliament men for the City.</P>
<P>And although it may be objected, <HI>that the Free-men of the City are &s;o numerous, that it is unpo&s;&s;ible they &s;hould meet together at one place:</HI> Yet this they may do, (though they
cannot all with conveniency meet) which is in the next place mo&s;t equal, that all the Free-men in every Ward may meet together, and make choice of a number of men out of them&s;elves,
who they may depute as their Tru&s;tees for that end, all Majors, Sheriffs, and Publike Officers, cho&s;en otherwi&s;e than afore&s;aid, their choice is null, and ought not to be obeyed: For a Free-man
of London is not bound to obey any Officer thereof, unle&s;s he have a voice in the &s;aid choice.</P>
<P>But contrary to the &s;aid Charters and Liberties of every Free Citizen of London, a corupt party in the City takes upon them to ingro&s;s the Choi&s;e and Rights of the re&s;t of the Free-men,
and doth nominate the afore&s;aid Officers and the Aldermen, who keeps that Office during life, if they plea&s;e they chu&s;e one of tho&s;e the Livery-men pre&s;ents to be Maior or Sheriffs: ac|cording
to their plea&s;ure mo&s;t unju&s;tly with-held, even by force from the Citizens: The Ma&s;ter, Wardens, and Livery-men of all Companies in London, unle&s;s it be Merchant-Taylors, are
of late yeers unju&s;tly cho&s;en; for by the Charters of the Companies, the Ma&s;ter, Wardens, and Livery-men are to be cho&s;en by the Comunalty of the &s;aid Company; Contrary thereunto
of late yeers, twelve or fifteen men of the &s;aid Company, by u&s;urpation made Orders and Ordinances, and pre&s;ent them in the Name of the Comunalty, although without the view,
knowledge, or con&s;ent of the Comunalty, to the Lord chief Ju&s;tice, who with other two Ju&s;tices did a&s;&s;igne them, and by this unju&s;t means they proceed; and three or four, or the major
part of twelve men chu&s;eth the Ma&s;ter, Wardens, and Livery-men, and &s;et a Fine, upon &s;ome men twenty, and &s;ome thirty pounds, to be paid at the fir&s;t entrance of the &s;aid Livery-man,
all which is contrary to the Charter; and this money, and the profit of the Companies Stock, they imbezel in Fea&s;ting, and in other unju&s;t waies, on purpo&s;e to keep the Comunalty from
their Rights, the Comunalty them&s;elves who have right by their Charter to chu&s;e their Livery-men, and to make Orders and Ordinances, cannot make any Order to di&s;anul any part of
the &s;aid Charter, although the chief Ju&s;tice hand be procured unto it.</P>
<P>And whereas it hath bin of late yeers u&s;ed, that when there is a Sheriffe or Alderman to be cho&s;en, enquiry is made for the Riche&s;t men in the City, which is quite contrary to the Char|ter,
for mention is made to chu&s;e hone&s;t men fit for Government, and not to chu&s;e men becau&s;e they are rich, as it is frequently practi&s;ed in mo&s;t parts of the Land; By the Charter of <HI>Henry</HI>
the third, the King makes a doubt of the two Sheriffs of London not worth 20. <HI>l.</HI> And in all ju&s;t Governments men have bin cho&s;en for their hone&s;ty; poor men from the Plough have bin
cho&s;en to the highest Office in the Land becau&s;e they were hone&s;t: It is well known that mo&s;t of the great rich men of the City and Country, got mo&s;t of their E&s;tates (or their Parents or
Friends for them) unju&s;tly, either by Patent, or Monopolizing, or ingro&s;&s;ing, or by great gifts from Kings or other great men; who&s;e creatures they were, to do his work right or wrong;
the&s;e men are not fit to be cho&s;en into place of Tru&s;t by any hone&s;t man; onely u&s;urpers and robbers of the people of their Rights will endeavour to chu&s;e &s;uch men.</P>
<P>There is a great deal of ju&s;tne&s;s and equity in the Charters of London in this point; that all the Officers of the City are to be cho&s;en once a yeer, and oftner if need be; and the next yeer
others to be cho&s;en in their &s;teed, It would be happy for this poor Nation (and never will till then) that a ju&s;t government be &s;et up, wherein all men may be equally bound, and that all pub|like
Officers throughout the Land be cho&s;en freely every yeer, or oftner if need be; for u&s;ually all or mo&s;t men turn Tyrants if they be in Publike Office above one yeer.</P>
<P>And now, O all ye Citizens of London that have any goodne&s;s in you, &s;tand up like hone&s;t men for your Rights and Liberties, and redeem them out of the hands of unrea&s;onable u|&s;urping
men: Is it a work of mercy to help your neighbours ox even on the Sabbath day out of the ditch? How much more is it for you to &s;tand up like men, and help to do that
great work of mercy, well-plea&s;ing to God, in a&s;&s;i&s;ting to the utmo&s;t for your &s;elves and neighbours both in the City and Country, that you may be free from all tyrannie, of what
kind &s;oever? and in your &s;o doing, you may expect the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of God, and all good men, and the ble&s;&s;ing of God will attend you in &s;o good a work. <HI>September</HI> 28. 1648.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
