24 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

c h a r

LXIX.

1633 .

. therefore , was formed, not only to make theking master of the city, but by that precedentto gain him uncontrolled influence in all thecorporations of England, and thereby give thegreatest wound to the legal constitution, whichthe most powerful and most arbitrary monarchshad ever yet been able to inflict. A writ of quo■warranto was issued against the city; that is, aninquiry into the validity of its charter. It waspretended , that the city bad forfeited all itsprivileges , and ought to be declared no longera corporation , on account of two offences,which the court of aldermen and commoncouncil had committed. After the great fire in1666, all the markets had been rebuilt, and hadbeen fitted up with many conveniences; and,in order to defray the expense , the magistrateshad imposed a small toll on goods brought tomarket: in the year 1679, they had addressedthe king against the prorogation of parliament,and had employed the following terms : “ Yourtc petitioners are greatly surprised at the latetc prorogation, whereby the prosecution of thetc public justice of the kingdom, and the makingtc of necessary provisions for the preservation ofcc your majesty and your protestant subjects,u have received interruption; " These wordswere pretended to contain a scandalous reflectionon the king and his measures. The cause of thecity was defended against the attorney and soli-citor generals, by Treby and Follexfen.

These last pleaded, that, since the foundation