334 THE CORPORATION OF LONDON. CH. II. little opposition. Lord Mansfield, in a matter which concerned the administration of justice, laid aside his usual cautious reserve, and gave the bill a cordial reception. Chatham took the opportunity of paying a graceful and well-merited compliment to his old antagonist. I ondon. While an able and vigorous Opposition were harassCorporation of ing administration in both Houses, they were aided, or perhaps damaged, by a daring and violent proceeding on the part of the City of London. This great corporation had for centuries been distinguished for its love of liberty and its bold assertion of popular rights. It was the only corporation in England, the members of which were elected by popular suffrage. It was the most dignified, the most powerful, the wealthiest of all the municipal bodies. Its origin, like that of many other corporations, was lost in prescription; but its privileges were recognised or extended by no less than one hundred. and twenty charters, beginning with the reign of William the Conqueror, and ending with that of His Majesty's immediate predecessor.* The constitution and privileges of this famous body are, indeed, a remarkable proof of what the bold and independent spirit of the people could effect even in the earliest times. They erected a Government side by side with that of the Sovereign in his capital city; imitating, if not emulating, the great institutions of the realm. This Government had its Chief Magistrate, its Court of Eldermen, its Common Council, analogous to King, Lords and Commons. It was in some respects an imperium in imperio affecting independent rights, and almost equal degree. The City of London to this day closes its gates on certain occasions at the approach of royalty, or the representatives of the Crown. By a particular exception in the annual * Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the Corporation of the City of London, p. 15 (1854). 1770. PRIVILEGES OF THE CITY OF LONDON. 335 Mutiny Act, soldiers are not to be billeted within its domain. In all acts of Parliament touching municipal rights, the privilege of the City is expressly excepted. When the Corporation address the Crown, the Lord Mayor and principal officers insist upon being received in state by the King on the throne. If they approach the House of Commons, their petition is not presented in the ordinary way by one of their representatives, but is delivered at the bar by their Sheriffs in full dress. On the 9th of November in every year, the new Lord Mayor is presented to the Judges The Lord vileges. of the land sitting in banco in their re- Mayor's prispective courts. On that occasion, their lordships appear in their robes of state, but the great magistrate stands covered, while the Recorder claims respect for the ancient rights and privileges of the City of London. Every event of great national importance, the demise of the Crown, or a declaration of war, is immediately communicated to the Lord Mayor by one of the principal Secretaries of State. But it would be tedious to enumerate in all its particulars the grandeur of this mighty corporation; which if it has sometimes assumed the air of sovereignty, equals many sovereign states in the extent of its revenue and the value of its domains. But though declined from the eminence which it maintained for centuries, the Corporation of London will claim a more prominent place in history than many petty states whose existence has not been illustrated by any great or useful actions. The liberties of England are indebted to the City of London. Many a time has it been a safe refuge from tyranny, and at all times the steady and potent ally of national freedom. Not to go back to ruder periods, it was in the City that the five members found a secure retreat from the vengeance of Charles Stuart. When the quarrel between the King and the Parliament came 336 THE LORD MAYOR, BECKFORD. CH. II. to an issue of arms, the City was the first to declare for the Parliament, and to place its vast resources at their command. Again, when the royal army approached the capital, the City turned the scale in favour of the Parliament by placing its trained bands, a corps of high military reputation, under the orders of the parliamentary general. And as they had been foremost in vindicating the cause of the nation against the violence of the Crown, so when the Parliament had dwindled away under military violence, the City were equally prompt and decided in declaring for a free Parliament. It was probably, indeed, the firmness of the City which determined the indecision of Monk, and gave one more trial to legitimate monarchy. The City's The last memorable occasion on which the great Corporation had interposed between the interposition. Crown and the people, was when they demanded a Parliament in 1680, to protect religious liberty, then supposed to be endangered by Popish machinations. They now stood forward to vindicate the rights of the people in the choice of their representatives. In the former year, they had presented an address to the Crown on the subject of the Middlesex election, to which no answer had been vouchsafed. It was determined to repeat this proceeding, but in a more solemn and emphatic manner. A common hall having been convened in pursuance of a requisition, was attended by nearly three thousand of the livery. The Lord Mayor, Beckford, addressed this large assembly in a speech which would have been inflammatory but for the already heated temperature of public feeling. A paper was eagerly signed containing language such as had never before been addressed by a subject to a sovereign. After complaining of the contempt with which the petitions of the people had been treated, it referred to the secret malignant influence,' which through each successive 1770. THE CITY ADDRESS AND REMONSTRANCE. 337 administration had defeated every good and suggested every bad measure, and had at last procured the majority of the House of Commons to deprive the people of their dearest rights. The petitioners, or rather the remonstrants, for so they styled themselves, affirmed that the House of Commons had no longer any validity, and intimated to His Majesty in significant terms that in tampering with the constitution of Parliament, he was pursuing a course similar to that which lost James the Second his crown. And they assured him that if the substance of liberty had been violated, it would make no difference that its forms had been respected. The misdeeds of your ministers in violating the freedom of election, and depraving the noble constitution of Parliament, are notorious, as well as subversive of the fundamental laws and liberties of the realm; and since your Majesty is both in honour and justice, obliged inviolably to preserve them according to the oath made to God and your subjects at your coronation, we, your remonstrants, assure ourselves that your Majesty will restore the constitutional government and quiet of your people, by dissolving this Parliament, and removing those evil ministers for ever from your councils.' Address and remonstrance of the City. This paper, which was entitled 'An Address, Remonstrance and Petition,' they determined to present, according to the privilege of the City, to the King on his throne. A copy having been previously sent to the Secretary of State in the usual manner, it was debated at Court whether an address worded and entitled in such an extraordinary manner should be received. The AttorneyGeneral was indeed consulted whether such an address would not be impeachable, but it seems that learned functionary declined giving an answer to a question so absurd. Lord Weymouth wrote an impertinent letter to the Sheriffs of London, inquiring what was 338 UNUSUAL ANSWER TO CE. XI. the nature of the meeting at which the address had been voted, and how the document was authenticated? promising that when these queries were answered, His Majesty's pleasure would be signified. The Sheriffs informed the Secretary of State, that their answers to his questions would be delivered to the King in person, and they demanded an audience for that purpose. The claim was allowed, and the Sheriffs having formally satisfied His Majesty of the authenticity of the address, a day was named for its being presented. The Lord Mayor, accompanied by some of the Aldermen and a numerous body of the Common Council and Livery, accordingly attended at St. James's. The Recorder, whose duty it was to read the address, had excused himself; the Common Serjeant, the law officer of the Corporation next in rank, undertook the task, but was so confounded at the audacity of the language, that, after reading a few sentences, he refused, or was unable to proceed. The Town Clerk then took the paper, and succeeded in getting through it. The King's reply. The King's answer, which was said to have been revised by Lord Mansfield, administered a severe rebuke to the citizens. He pronounced their remonstrance disrespectful to himself, injurious to his Parliament, and irreconcilable to the principles of the constitution. Taking the remonstrance as a charge against himself rather than his ministers, he denied that he had ever invaded any of those powers which the constitution had placed in other hands; and concluded by avowing his belief that the conduct which he had pursued was such as to entitle him to the steady and affectionate support of his people. It was observed,* that since the Revolution there *Wedderburn. Debate in the House of Commons on motion for a copy of the Remonstrance and the Answer. Cavendish Debates. |