Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A53079
|
A letter from an old Common-Council-man to one of the new Common-Council for this present year 1682, for this honourable city of London
|
D. N., Old Common-Council-man.
|
1681
(1681)
|
Wing N9; ESTC R9745
|
8,134
|
4
|
into the Lutherans Hands and hath ever since continued to the Exclusion of the Calvanists The fatal Consequence whereof hath been this that the Animosities between the Lutherans and the Calvinists made way for the Papists so far that at this day the Papists have as many Churches in that Renowned City as the Lutherans Oh sad fate of Divisions among Protestants But my Curiosity leading me to inquire into the true Reasons how the Papists prevail'd and got ground so fast I was informed that The Calvinists holding a real Sacramental Presence in the Sacrament as we in England do came nearest to the Primitive belief of the Protestant Religion as was used in England The Papists holding Transubstantiation in the Sacrement which is most remote from the true Primitive Opinion of Protestants And the Lutherans holding Consubstantiation in the Sacrament which came nearer to the Papists Tenets then the Calvinists Opinion did and also the Lutherans abounding in Ceremonies as the Papists for the Lutherans have Altars and Candles at their Altars as well as the Papists only the Lutherans Candles are not lighted and the Papists Candles are lighted Now the Lutherans coming so near the Papists in Opinion and Ceremonies and having a Multitude of such Ceremonies as the Papists have These things the People of that Citty report were the occasion of altering the Religious part of their Government And the Reason why the Lutherans inclined to the humour of the Papists was partly to get the upper-hand of the Calvinists and partly because their Ceremonies were so near akind to the Popish Ceremonies Thus we see the sad Effects and Consequences and the imminent Danger that may be feared from such whose Opinion or Ceremonies in Religion Border too near upon the Popish Tenets They will rather favour Popery to their own ruine than tolerate their Protestant Brethren that differ from them in their Ceremonies My design is not to compare our Religion in England with theirs of Dantzick nor to Examine with what expence of Blood in Flames of Martrydome our Ancestors in England purchased our Reformation from the Superstitions if not Idolatrous Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Rome Nor is it my business to inquire how far our Ceremonies in England do differ from some of those that are practic'd by the Whore of Babylon No no I leave Church-matters to Church-Men for I am one of the Church of England as Establish'd by Law And therefore I leave that matter till the Law shall think fit to alter it by King Lords and Commons I only aim from my Observations of the alteration made in the Religious part of the Government of that City To draw some advantage to the Civil part of Government of this Renowned City of London in the Common-Council whereof Sir you are newly chosen a Member And to prevent a loss of all those great Priviledges and Immunities which this City of London for Ages hath flourishingly enjoyed as a lover of this City whereof I have the happiness to be a Member I could not forbear to Caution you of the great danger you may be in of loosing all that belongs only to Free-men if you admit Vnfree-men to be Electors of such who are to serve in Common-Council Remember Dantzick Faelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum The Business of a Common-Council is to make Laws against the Interest of Vnfree-men and for the benefit of Free-men and to take care for securing the Orphans Estates in the Chamber of London where no Vnfree-mens Childrens Estates can be Deposited And this City Chamber hath for Ages been the best security in the World for Orphans Portions no History can tell you of Orphans that lost their Estates in the Chamber of London and next to God I attribute it to this that Free-men being Common-Council-men have in all Ages made it their Care to fortifie and secure their own Estates to their Orphans and their Posterities But all that they have been so many Ages a doing may be undone at once If you let but one Vnfree-man into the Elections the president of one Unfree Elector may be a president for Two for Two hundred and so at last Vote all Free-men out of the Election Therefore once again I say remember Dantzick It may be objected why then are all Inhabitants summon'd to the Ward-Mote I Answer it is the duty of all Inhabitants Free as well as Vnfree at least once a year for it is but once a year that they are summon'd to appear before the Alderman and Common-Council of each Ward if for no other Reason yet this may be one that notice may be taken who is Free and who is not But suppose it be further objected they are Inhabitants and have they not Right to chuse Officers Yes all Inhabitants Free and Unfree have a Right by Law to choose Constables and Scavingers which latter are but a kind of Surveyors of the High-Waies The reason is this because every Inhabitant has a Right to the Peace that is to be kept by the Constable And every one has benefit by the Conveniences of the High-Waies that are to be kept by the Surveyors And Constables and Surveyors of the Waies are Officers which the Law all over England takes notice of does appoint and direct and the Law the Common and Statute Laws of the Land directs them their Duties But Common-Council-men are not appointed by any Statute or Common Law of the Land but by the special Custom and Laws of the City Enacted as Laws of the City made in Common-Council of the City and what have Vnfree-men to do with choosing such as are not chose into Office by the general Law of the Land but by the particular Law of the City And if you read the Determination of the Common-Council before cited you shall find there that it does only prescribe who shall be Electors of Common-Council-men it expresly Limits the Choice only to Free-men and to such Free-men only as pay Scot and bear Lot and that this Choice shall be free Therefore keep to your own Laws Free-men such as pay Scot and Lot must be the sole Electors and the Elected must be freely Chosen do not let Vnfree-men into the Election as ye tender all your Priviledges Do not admit such for Electors as only pay Scot and will not bear Offices which I take to be the Genuine meaning of bearing of Lot You have many plead Patents and will bear no Office not so much as be a Collector of a Tax though for the King from whom they have their Pattent shall these choose whom they please to be their Asses to bear their Burdens And then that the Choice may be free don't let a Captain or any Officers stand and over-awe Men either not to come except they Vote for them or their Associates or to threaten if they Vote against them then O Sir you Come with a Pike I will make you bring a Musket and to another O you bear but half an Arms
you shall find a whole Man c. To prevent these 〈◊〉 where it is found you may order a Balloting Box if demanded this will prevent Heats and preserve Love among Neighbour-hoods for then it cannot be known who is for or who is against any Man In the next place I remember that at the first Common-Council that shall be holden in in February Annually you are to chuse a Committe to manage your Rights of Fishing and other Priviledges at London-Derry in Ireland this is to be done or your Priviledges there are in danger of being lost if you do not chuse such a Committe But I remember in Sir Robert Viners time we hazarded the loss of all those Irish Affairs rather then to lose our Rights at London and it was upon this occasion There was a Judges place then vacant in the Sheriffs Court and the Lord Mayor had put in one pro tempore and great disputes hapned between the Lord Mayor and Common-Council whose Right it was to chuse The Lord Mayor would fain have put it off and go to Election of the Committee for the Irish Affairs in the first place but the Court of Common-Council then prudently suspecting that when that business was done the Lord Mayor might take up his Sword and be gone and so dissolve the Court refus'd it I remember the Lord Mayor to induce them to settle the Committee first urged the danger of the loss of all their Concerns of London-Derry if they did not Chuse their Committee at that time but a worthy Member wisely replied we had rather lose our Rights at London-Derry then lose so great a Right in London as the Election of a Judges place for the Shreiffs Court is And the very like case may happen to come before you this year for a Judges place is now also void in the Shreiffs Court by the Death of Mr. Simpson Therefore maintain the Right of the Common-Council to Elect a Judge to sit there For it is undoubtedly your Right to Chuse one And then be sure Chuse a wise sober man and a good Lawyer and one that does understand the Practice of the Court You are not limitted to any Booby in a Biggin you are free to chuse whom you please But have a care of such a Complement from the Chair as this Gentlemen I allow that your Election is free But I recommend such a one to you who I think is the fittest man and then some of your own Members that design to Betray your Rights may perhaps stand up with the second Part to the same tune and wheedle further thus Gentlemen seeing the Chair does not insist upon it as a Right as some of his Predecessors have done but leaves it to us pray let us gratifie the Chair being filled with so Honourable and Worthy a Person and let us shew our Respect to the Chair by chusing this Man or one of those Men named by the Chair and yet our Right will be preserved because Chosen by us To such I would answer That for my part I pay as great Honour and Respect to the Person in this Chair as ever I did to any of his Predecessors But this talk of Gratifying the Chair may be a new way of SELLING the Place to One Two or Three from whom the Chair may have a Promise of a Gratification as they call it for only Naming them by the Chair in hopes you may be wheedled to Chuse One of those that the Chair seems to recommend to you Therefore beware of these men that seek to get the place This Way for besides that it is a direct Violation of a Statute in force he that will directly or indirectly Buy a Judicial Place will Sell Justice Therefore to prevent those Under-hand Practices which are too often used and to dash all Recommendation of others by Letters let your Choice be only of such a man as is Nominated by Your Selves and by no body else whatsoever and then your Voluntary Free-Choice will be an Obligation on him and it will be a Satisfaction to all People that shall come to your Sheriffs Court for Justice when every body may hear and know that the Judge that sits there did not purchase his Place nor came to it by the Recommendation of any Great Man nor by Nomination of the Chair nor by any kind of Fraud or indirect Means but by his own Just Merit and fitness for the Place and by the Free Nomination as well as Election of Your Selves Then will People be satisfied that they shall have Justice from such a Judge who obtains his Place by Merit and not by Money which will bring both Profit and Honour to your City Courts for Men need not despair of having Justice that have Right on their sides Suspect all those Men that would tempt you to Gratifie the Chair least they may have some private end For you may hazzard your future Right by such gratifying or paying such respect to the Chair now For if you chuse any Man now upon such suggestions of Respect c. to the Chair then you give ground for the future for the Chair to claim the same Respect and it will be a dis-respect to deny it to every one in the Chair hereafter and so in time the Point may be gained from you that the Right is in the Chair to Elect as you know of late one did pretend and perhaps he had no better ground but only because the Chair had that Respect formerly allowed it In truth this Respect as it is called may be suspected would never have been expected from you but that some Perquisite hath usually attended the Chair therewith directly or indirectly before or after yea sometimes there have been Benefits not to say Money given for the Place which perhaps the Chair hath not directly known of as when Wife Children Relations or Friends have been underhand dealt withall Therefore the surest way to prevent all Indirect practises is to chuse one nominated by Your Selves which pray remember as an especial Maxim Another thing I would mind you of is the Quo Warranto that is talked of I cannot tell what the full Intent of that Quo Warranto may be but be sure to take care of the Committee that shall be chosen to mannage your Defence least you chuse such who instead of making Legal Defence may out of pretence of a sort of Zeal join and yield up what they are Commissioned by you to Assert and Maintain Also pray have a care of the old wheedle that may be set on foot as formerly was done by a notable Gentleman when the Court was as you may remember upon Petitioning for Sitting of the Parliament And Arguments were offered for and against it One Argument that Worthy Person then urged was thus Oh! there is a Quo Warranto against the City already about the WEIGHING and WATERBAYLIGE And there is a Verdict against the City thereon in favour of the Vnfreemen that have got the QUO WARRANTO in the Kings Name and they are just ready to enter up JUDGMENT against the City And this may be a loss of a good Revenue which the City makes by those Duties Therefore said that Worthy Person O do not provoke the Court at this time by Petitioning and I hope we may get the King to grant a Noli Prosequi and so stop Judgment And this did work so far on you at that time that you did not Petition and it is true there did follow a Noli Prosequi But you will never be without Quo Warranto's if there may be such use made of them But when they shall see they are vigorously Defended by Law those Devices will vanish Perhaps you may now again hear of such another business to Bug-bear you into something I know not what But possibly it may be to surrender your Charter and you may be told you shall have a better But I hope you will have a care and not part with the Old before you are sure of a New and one that is better For I am sure you cannot have a new one that is better before you have a Parliament For THIS you have already is confirmed by several Acts of Parliament Therefore to all such Motions of laying down the Old in hopes of a Better say only thus Yes Sir as soon as we see a Parliament Sir that can confirm a better then it will be time enough to think of laying down of this in hopes of a better but not till then No no defend this you have by all Legal ways and part with nothing but what the Law forces you unto Suppose any one single Branch can be taken from you keep the Rest If a forfeiture of a single Branch or Two should be pretended yet you cannot forfeit the Whole You have Proviso's in your Charter that a Miscarriage of a Mayor or Sheriff◠or Misuser or Abuser shall not forfiet the whole In a word nothing but your own Act of Common-Council can Cancel your Charter and if you do pass any such Act then your own Memories ought for ever to be Cancelled and forgotten for every thing except for perpetual Disgrace and Infamy D. N. LONDON Printed for W. Inghall 1681.