y in pushing matters to such an extremity. The
religious question after all might not be so important or so fraught with
danger as they had been led to believe by professional informers.
Addresses of the type of those presented by the lieutenancy of London and
the borough of Southwark, among them being one signed by over twenty
thousand apprentices of the city,(1453) began to flow in; and proceedings
were commenced against Protestants on no better evidence than had
previously been used against Catholics.

(M738)

Among the first against whom proceedings were taken was a Londoner named
Stephen College, a joiner by trade, who from his zeal in the cause of
religion came to be known as the "Protestant joiner." An attempt to get a
true bill returned against him at the Old Bailey, where the juries were
empanelled by the sheriffs of London and Middlesex, having failed, he was
removed to Oxford and tried there on a charge of high treason. After much
hard swearing a verdict was at length obtained.(1454)

(M739)

Having secured the conviction of College the council flew at higher game
in the person of the Earl of Shaftesbury. He was arrested at his house in
Aldersgate Street on the 2nd July, but it was not until November that a
bill of high treason was preferred against him at the Old Bailey. The
nomination of juries practically rested with the sheriffs, and the court
party had recently endeavoured to force the election of candidates of
their own political complexion. In this they had failed, although in
December last the king had endeavoured to change the character of city
juries by ordering the mayor (Sir Patience Ward) to issue his precept to
the Aldermen to see that none were returned by their wards for service on
juries "of inferior degree than a subsidy man."(1455) The sheriffs for the
year, Thomas Pilkington and Samuel Shute, who were zealous Whigs, took
care to empanel a grand jury which would be inclined to ignore the bill
against the earl, and under these circumstances the bill was thrown out
(24 Nov.).(1456)

(M740)

The failure of the court party to obtain a conviction of Shaftesbury owing
to the political bias of the sheriffs for the time being, determined them
to resort to more drastic measures to obtain the election of candidates
with Tory proclivities. In order to understand the method pursued it will
be necessary to review briefly the manner in which the election of
sheriffs had from time to time been carr