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<DATE>2013-02-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B120717.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">C1119A</STC>
<STC T="C">R173474</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]61296903</BIBNO>
<VID>180487</VID>
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<HEAD>THE CASE OF THE Old Governors <HI>of the</HI> FREE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL <HI>in</HI> BIRMINGHAM <HI>in the County of</HI> WARWICK, Appellants, <HI>again&s;t a</HI> DECREE <HI>made in the</HI> Court of CHANCERY, <HI>in the Name of the</HI> Attorney-General, <HI>at the Relation of the</HI> New Governors.</HEAD>
<P>KIng <HI>Edward</HI> the Sixth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2</HI> Die Januanriei Anno <HI>5.</HI></NOTE> by his Letters-Patents of that Date, erected a Free Grammar-School in <HI>Birmingham</HI> afore&s;aid, for the Benefit of the &s;aid Town, and thereby appointed Twenty of the mo&s;t di&s;creet Inhabitants of the &s;ame Town, to be Governors of the &s;ame School; whom he did thereby Incorporate: And by the &s;ame Letters-Patents granted to them and their Succe&s;&s;ors Lands to the Value of One and twenty Pounds <HI>per An.</HI> for the Support of the &s;aid School: And gave them Power to Elect a School-ma&s;ter and U&s;her, and New Governors, as often as any of the Old &s;hould die or leave the &s;aid Town, (&s;pecial Provi&s;ion being made by the &s;aid Letters-Patents, <HI>That none but the Re&s;iding Inhabitants of that Town &s;hould be capable of the Government.</HI>) And further, by the &s;aid Letters-Patents it was provided, That the Governors, by the Con&s;ent of the Lord Bi&s;hop of the Dioce&s;s for the time being, &s;hould have Power to make Orders as well for the Government of the &s;aid School, as for the Applica|tion of the Rents ari&s;ing out of the &s;aid Lands.</P>
<P>The &s;ucce&s;&s;ive Governors of the &s;aid School, ever &s;ince the Foundation thereof, having taken great care to chu&s;e able School-ma&s;ters &s;ucce&s;&s;ively to that Place, and having by their Indu&s;try and Prudence improved the Rents of the &s;aid Lands, by Building and otherwi&s;e, from One and twenty Pounds <HI>per Annum,</HI> to about Three hundred Pounds a Year; by means whereof this School has for &s;everal Years la&s;t pa&s;t been a great Nur&s;ery of Learning, and thereby a Publick Advantage to the Kingdom, which have been in a great mea&s;ure occa&s;ioned by the Encouragement &s;ome poor Scholars of that School received from the &s;aid Governors, out of the improved Rents, by the Con&s;ent of the Bi&s;hop of the &s;aid Dioce&s;s, towards their Maintenance at the Univer&s;ity.</P>
<P>Which Methods continued until the latter end of the Reign of King <HI>Charles</HI> the Second, at which time the then Se|cretaries Letter was brought by a Neighbouring Gentleman of that Country, directed to the Governors, purporting, That King <HI>Charles</HI> the Second required a Surrender of their <HI>Charter;</HI> to which if they complied, the Bearer told them, they might continue Governors, and have a new <HI>Charter,</HI> with greater and more ample Priviledges: But upon refu&s;al, he al&s;o told them what a &s;evere Pro&s;ecution they mu&s;t expect from his then Maje&s;ty; And at the &s;ame in&s;tant prevailed with &s;ome of the mo&s;t unwary Governors to joyn in an In&s;trument for the Surrender of their <HI>Charter.</HI></P>
<P>This Surrender was never Inrolled: But after King <HI>Charles</HI>'s Death, in the Fir&s;t Year of King <HI>James</HI> the Second, a New <HI>Charter</HI> was granted, wherein the Per&s;on that brought the &s;aid Letter, and thereby procured the &s;aid Surrender, is made a Governor, together with &s;everal other Per&s;ons of his Acquaintance, inhabiting far di&s;tant from the &s;aid Town, and in other Counties, and not above Five of the &s;aid Governors therein named are inhabiting within the Town: In which la&s;t-granted <HI>Charter</HI> the King re&s;erved a Power to him&s;elf of Removing or Di&s;placing any of the &s;aid Governors and Ma&s;ters of the &s;aid School at his Plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Upon this, the Old School-ma&s;ter is removed, although he had for many Years together acquitted him&s;elf in an ex|traordinary manner in that Employment, and greatly to the &s;atisfaction of the Inhabitants, for who&s;e Benefit the Cha|rity was de&s;igned, and a New Ma&s;ter brought thither in his room, again&s;t the Good-will and Inclination of the Inha|bitants of the &s;aid Town, whereby their Children are neglected, and the poor Scholars are totally deprived of their Sub&s;i&s;tence and Exhibitions formerly received in the Univer&s;ity.</P>
<P>The Inconveniency of which New <HI>Charter</HI> was &s;oon felt in another manner, it being totally in his then Maje&s;ty's Power; and the Town having generally a great aver&s;ion to Popery, when not one Inch of Ground could be procured in that Place, from any of the Inhabitants, to build a Popi&s;h Chappel on, for the propagating that Religion, a long Lea&s;e is made of part of the School-Lands for that purpo&s;e, and a Chappel erected accordingly on the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Thus &s;tood the &s;tate of the School until Their pre&s;ent Maje&s;ties (the Great Re&s;torers of our Ancient Liberties and Privileges) happy Acce&s;&s;ion to the Crown; at which time the &s;aid Surrender not being Inrolled, your Petitioners, the Old Governors, were advi&s;ed to, and did act as formerly; and being ob&s;tructed by the New Governors, they brought their Ejectment at Law, and did recover therein; and thereupon the New Governors, immediately by Petition, ap|plied them&s;elves to the then Lords Commi&s;&s;ioners of the Great Seal, for liberty to Inroll the &s;aid Surrender, but were de|nied the &s;ame, upon hearing Coun&s;el on both &s;ides: And thereupon the &s;aid New Governors Petitioned the Hou&s;e of Commons, for leave to bring in a Bill, to be pa&s;&s;ed into an Act of Parliament, for Settling the School upon the New Foundation; and the &s;ame was referred to a Committee: Who, upon an Examination thereof, reported to the Hou&s;e, That they &s;aw no Cau&s;e to bring in a Bill; and the &s;ame was thereon rejected.</P>
<P>That the New Governors, who are the Re&s;pondents, having met with the&s;e Di&s;appointments, then exhibited their Bill in <HI>Chancery,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Trin.</HI> 16<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">9.</NOTE> in the Name of the Attorney-General, thereby praying the &s;aid Surrender might be then Inrolled; which, upon the hearing of the Cau&s;e on the Tenth of <HI>July</HI> la&s;t, the Court ordered accordingly; and that the Govern|ment of the &s;aid School be &s;ettled under the &s;aid New <HI>Charter;</HI> and that the Governors thereby, and their Succe&s;&s;ors, do quietly Hold and Exerci&s;e the &s;aid Government, under the &s;aid New <HI>Charter,</HI> and di&s;po&s;e and order the Lands and Re|venues thereto belonging, again&s;t the Old Governors, and all Claiming under them, &s;ince the Information Exhibited: And that an Injunction be Awarded, to prevent the Old Governors from Trying their Right at Law, notwith&s;tanding the &s;aid Inrollment.</P>
<P>From which Decree the Old Governors have Appealed to the Right Honourable the <HI>Hou&s;e of Peers,</HI> for the Rever&s;al thereof.</P>
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