office of coroner, as well as
from his duties as a member of the Common Council.(1547) Concurrently
with the Rye House Plot there was, so it was said, a design to raise an
insurrection in the city, in which Alderman Cornish was believed to be
implicated.(1548) The municipal authorities, however, as a body, were
indignant at the threatened attack on the king and his brother, and lost
no time in voting an address (2 July) of congratulation upon their escape,
assuring the king at the same time of their readiness to hazard their
lives and fortunes in defence of his person and the maintenance of the
government in Church and State.(1549)

(M796)

On Thursday, the 27th September, the mayor laid before the Common Council
drafts of a surrender of the City's franchise to his majesty, and of a
re-grant from his majesty which the Attorney-general had prepared for
their acceptance. After long debate the opinion of the Attorney-general,
the Solicitor-general, and the Recorder was taken upon the following
questions, viz., (1) Whether the surrender was agreeable to the submission
of the Common Council already made and necessary for the regulations
required by his majesty; (2) whether by this surrender the office of
mayoralty was surrendered; (3) if so, whether the customs and
prescriptions belonging to that office were not thereby surrendered and
lost; (4) whether in case judgment should be entered up (as the king had
threatened) the consequences would not be worse than a surrender; and (5)
how far did the re-grant confirm and restore the city to the liberties,
etc., therein mentioned. On the following Tuesday (2 Oct.) the opinions of
the several counsel were ready.(1550) Two of them, viz., that of the
Attorney-general and that of the Solicitor-general were decidedly in
favour of the City surrendering its liberties in preference to allowing
judgment to be entered up. The Recorder took a diametrically opposite view
of the matter, one of the reasons urged by him against a surrender being
that such action would be against their oaths, and that if they freely
surrendered their liberties there would be no redress left open to them.
If, on the other hand, they suffered judgment to be entered up, they could
take proceedings against it by writ of error. These opinions gave rise to
much debate, and many hard things were spoken against the Recorder. At
last the matter was put to the vote, when 103 were found against sealing
the deed of surren