ning
received from the lord chancellor, Clayton insisted on presenting a
petition, and for doing so was rewarded with the grateful thanks of the
Common Council on his quitting the mayoralty.(1437) Jeffreys on the other
hand was compelled to resign the recordership.(1438)

(M730) (M731)

When parliament was at last allowed to meet the City lost no time in
presenting a dutiful address(1439) to Charles acknowledging his majesty's
favour and their own satisfaction. They besought him to lend a ready ear
to the humble advice tendered by his great council for the safety of his
royal person and the preservation of the true Protestant religion, and
promised to be ready at all times to promote his majesty's ease and
prosperity, and to stand by him against all dangers and hazards
whatsoever. Had Charles accepted this address in the spirit with which it
was made matters might have gone better with him, and the Stuart family
might never have been driven from the throne; but he was in no mood to
accept advice either from parliament or the city, and the only answer he
vouchsafed to the citizens was to tell them to mind their own business. He
knew what he had to do, without their advice.(1440)

(M732)

As soon as the House met it commenced an attack upon Papists. The
Exclusion Bill was again passed, but was thrown out by the Lords. Thus
baulked the Commons revived the impeachment of the Catholic lords. During
the trial of Stafford on a charge of a design to murder the king, more
than ordinary precautions had to be taken by the mayor to maintain order
and prevent too great a crowd assembling at Westminster.(1441) Being
condemned to death, the king was ready to spare Stafford the grosser
indignities attached to a felon's execution, but the royal act of clemency
was not allowed to pass unchallenged by the sheriffs of London on the
ground that if the king could dispense with some part of the execution why
not of all?(1442) The House had passed a vote of thanks to the City for
its "manifest loyalty to the king" and its care and vigilance for the
preservation of his majesty's person and of the Protestant religion, and
had got as far as the second reading of a Bill for repealing the
Corporation Act of 1661 when it found itself suddenly prorogued from the
10th January to the 20th.(1443)

(M733)

During the interval a petition was drawn up by the Common Council (13
Jan.) and presented to the king, in which the petitioners expressed their