Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	george_n	john_n	sir_n	14,397	5	7.2829	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87260	Information for James Mclurg late dean of Guild of Edinburgh, George Clerk, Robert Blackwood and others, merchants and tradesmen of Edinburgh against Sir John Hall, Sir Archibald Muir, and others the present magistrates and council thereof.		1694 (1694)	Wing I164aA; ESTC R178645	13,017	11

NISI DOMINVS FRVSTRA INFORMATION For James Mclurg late Dean of Guild of Edinburgh George Clerk Robert Blackwood and others Merchants and Tradesmen of Edinburgh against Sir John Hall Sir Archibald Muir and others the present Magistrats and Council thereof THe perpetuating of the Magistracy and Government of the City of Edinburgh in the same persons or in the Hands of few by Turns being contrary to the fundamental Laws and Constitutions of the City tending not only to the discouragment of other well deserving Citizens but also to the appropriating and wasting of the Common good for supporting the privat Interest and Ends of such as aim at perpetual Magistracy these Projects and Designs have always been most unacceptable to the generality of the Inhabitants There was never a more open and manifest design of perpetuating the Magistracy in the Hands of a few than at this time a particular Faction having continued constantly in the Council and influenced all the Elections these four years bygone during which time more Violations and Invasions have been made upon the Set and Constitution of the City then can be instanced in any preceeding Age and that not only by overturning and contemning the Laws for regulating the manner of Leeting and Election but by gross and exorbitant Gratifications and Donatives without either cause or pretext notwithstanding that during the Influence of this Magistracy the Good Town lost the Imposition upon Malt which was the greatest part of their Revenue and which was enjoyed and possest by their Predecessors with the universal consent of the Inhabitants the Brewars and all who bore the Burden and thereby was so far differenced from the case of the illegal Exactions discharged by the Claim of Right that the Privy Council upon full Debate did continue the Magistrats in possession thereof and accordingly they did possess it until it was discharged and cut off by an Act of Parliament and if their Imprudence was not the occasion of that Act at least it must be said that no Donative whereof ever their Predecessors were possessed was discharged by any King or Parliament except what fell out during their Magistracy yet that Misfortune did not hinder the exorbitant Gratifications which were designed to support and advance their Faction for which there lyes a Complaint at the instance of the same Pursuers before the Lords Commissioners of Their Majesties Thesaury against these who have had the influence of the Magistracy these years bygone and who unwarrantably elicit and delivered up a Bond for a great Sum of Money and who to cover their shame in delivering that Bond do appear before the Thesaury to support it as a just Debt contrary their Trust which doth oblige them to defend the Common-Good against all unjust Burdens and Impositions There is such regard due to the Magistracy of this Metropolitan City that the Citizens of it could not be induced to state any publick Complaint against them upon a few or small Transgressions but finding at last that the fundamental Constitutions had been utterly neglected and contemned at three several successive Elections and that by these Streatches the Government of the City is now divided betwixt Sir John Hall and Sir Archibald Muir who have succeeded by Turns and who still continue the same persons upon the Council that influenced the former Elections and who were retained and acted in the Council manifestly contrary to the Set and the general Inclination of the City both Merchants and Trades and all that were any clog or weight upon them being now thrown out of the Magistracy Council Some of the Neighbours who joined not in any of their Illegalities nor were elected to any Office since Michaelmass 1690 and refused to sit and act with Sir Archibald after his Election until they took a formal Protestation which the Records bears that their coming to Council should not import any approbation of the Election Have at last been constrained to raise a Process before the Privy Council for punishing of these who contraveened the same and have entred into the Magistracy by illegal Elections and for annulling the last Election that the Magistrats and Council of the preceeding year may proceed to a new legal and formal Election excluding only such particular persons as shall be proven guilty or accessory to the Invasions and Incroachments Libelled This Process being called the Privy Council were pleased to hear Parties distinctly in their own Presence upon every Article of the Libel point by point and afterwards to allow both Parties to inform upon the Grounds that were Debated that the Business might be distinctly understood and deliberatly determined according to the Weight and Importance of it The first Article of the Libel is that Sir John Hall being Elected in May 1689 and being bound by Oath in the usual form not to continue above two years in the Office together was necessitate to dimit in April 1691 at which time there appeared a Faction in the Town Council who were determined by right or wrong to advance Sir Archibald Muir to the vacant Office and albeit that Party had a great Support at the time yet the appearance of a Faction gave early suspicion of the design of perpetuating the Magistracy in the hands of a few and this procured such Opposition to that design that it could not be brought about without extraordinary Streatches The ordinary Council of Edinburgh consists of 25 persons and the Provost or Praeses doth Vote first and hath a second Vote in case of equality and the Set requires a Council of thirty persons to be all present at the Leeting of Magistrats and 38 at the Election who must also be all present so that the Council of 30 having power of making Leets may exclude whom they please from these Leets and consequently from the Magistracy and therefore the great Intrigue of Elections is the framing of the Council of 30 for whoever is Master of the plurality of that Council is by consequence Master of the Election by excluding all Competitors The Method of making up the Council of 30 is by calling all to be present who have Right to Vote in the Leeting and if any be absent these who are present have power to chuse others to represent the absents and these who are Elected to fill up the Council are called Proxies so the Strugle on either hand was to have Proxies Elected favourable to the design of either Party and upon the matter the plurality of these who were present and upon the place had the true influence to turn the Election to either side It happened that there were only 22 of 30 upon the place whereby eight Proxies were to be Elected for filling up the Council of 30. The Provost having Demitted the eldest Baillie did precede and as Praeses had the first and last Vote in case of equality and in the choise of the eight Proxies some were elected cross to the Design of advancing Sir Archibald by an