WEll met, Brother Citizen, I am heartily glad to see you; but pray tell me now, how have you done since Midsummer-Day last? For then I saw you in the Common-Hall very busie, and warmly Engaged with some sort of Men, about the Election of Sheriffs, and of the Power of the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, &c. as if you had been as good a Livery-man as the best of them all, though you had no Right to be there.

And I am as heartily glad to see you in good Health, as any Friend and Relation I have this Day in the World; and as to your question, I have been extraordinary well since Midsummer-Day last, so Gay, so Brisk, so Airy, and so well pleased, satisfied and contented in my Mind, as to some Concerns and Transactions lately among us, as that I am at present so Transported, even to Admiration; and now Bro­ther Citizen, (and Mr. Livery-man) as to what you charge me withal, I shall deal very frankly and freely with you, in regard I am satisfied I shall receive no damage from such in­timate and good Friend as you have been to me, whom by ex­perience [Page 4] I have known to be such above Thirty Years, and therefore to tell you the Naked Truth (I must confess) I was there, and am constantly there at such Publick Elections; and tho' there is always Proclamation made, That all you that are not of the Livery, must depart the Hall upon Pain of Imprison­ment, yet I still stand my ground, (tho' many times well crouded for my pains) and love to stand up for the Rights and Liberties of the Citizens of London, in regard I am one my self, tho' not so well qualified as you are, with a Pudding at your Back, as I have often seen you upon a Lord Mayor's Day.

But Brother Citizen, suppose you should be caught in the Croud, and sent to Lobb's Pound for your Pains, and a Fine set upon your Head, for daring to appear among us, when you have not the least pretence to be there, as being not qualified for that Numerous and Grand Assembly.

Truly Sir, you may very well call it a Numerous and Grand Assembly, but I presume you may thank us Free-men, for the Honour we do you, to make you so. For my part, since I have used to frequent the Hall, I have seen but very few Livery men there; and tho' there was particular Order from the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, (to prevent us, I presume, from coming in for the future) that they must the next Summons appear in their Ancient and Decent Forma­lities, in their Livery-gowns, yet it was not observed among your selves; and we got in with the Croud, notwithstanding my Lord Mayor's Order: And as to any danger of being sent to Lobb's Pound, I will run the Risque of that, until you shall contrive some better way and method to keep us out; and for my part, I do as much Service in the Hall by Aiding, Assist­ing, Encouraging and Abetting for our good Friends, as if I had been a Livery-man this Twenty Years.

Well, I hope in time we shall take such measures as shall do your business effectually. But pray my Friend, now tell me what Party you were for in the Common Hall; for in my [Page 5] observation there was a great Party which were reputed all as Brethren of one stamp, yet were very hot and violent one a­gainst the other: So that there was (as some call you) Whig against Whig; and another Party, which some call Tories, (Pretty Names of Distinction, to set us in time altogether by the Ears) in the mean time laughing in their Sleeves, to see you fall out, and at such variance one with the other, and they cry'd out, Fight Dog, fight Bear, and let Old Nick part you: And this was Nutts & Sport alone to that sort of Livery-men: And there was such a great Noise and Confusion in the Hall about the Sheriffs and Chamberlain (and would suffer no vote to be put up but what pleased their humour) that no man can foresee what will be the Consequence of such proceedings, which I was hearti­ly sorry to see; but more especially at this present Conjuncture, to contest with the Lord-Mayor and Court of Aldermen, now His Majesty is absent, (and fighting our Battles for us) was not well timed; and how many is there at this day, (such as our distinguishing de facto and de Jure Men) that watch for such an opportunity, to blow the Coals of Dissention among us: though I hope all their expectations will be Frustrated. And if it shall please the Divine Providence to give good Success to his Majesty's Forces, both by Sea and Land, at his Return, I do really believe, for my part, he will confirm and restore un­to us all our Rights and Liberties whatsoever (as we can mo­destly claim) in as full and more ample manner (without Re­serve) as any of the Kings and Queens of England, his Royal Predecessours has done before him.

Well, I hope he will; for if after the Expence of so much Blood and Treasure, to make us a free People, and to save us from Popery and Slavery, and Arbitrary Government, (and the Gallican Yoke, worse than the Egyptian Bondage) he should not, Alas, alas! we should then be in a far worse Con­dition than before; but Dum Spiro Spero.

Well Brother Citizen, You speak something feelingly, and as one much concern'd; but it is the Language, and private VVhispering of many Thousands besides your self, but I hope they will have no real cause for such Cogitations; but this is not to our present purpose, pray as to the last Questi­on, let me know what party of Livery-men you did take in that warm Combustion?

My good Friend, 'tis true, there was some kind of Noise indeed in the Hall, (I must confess) more than usual, but you know it was Midsummer-Moon, and there ought to be some grains of allowance for that; but for my part to, answer directly to your Question, I was clearly for that part of the Livery-men (though some give us the nick-name of Whiggs) in opposition to my Lord-Mayor and Court of Aldermen, and Common Council-men in Common Council Assembled; being informed by my very good Friends the Sheriff-Makers (Men of great parts and abilities, in the knowledge of our true An­tient Fundamental Rights and Liberties) that the Livery-Men of the City of London are above all these great Men; which they have made out in a late Printed Paper (which I hope you have seen) to the great content and satisfaction of all our Friends; and therefore we will not now tamely submit and conform to any of their By-Laws by them made, unless first, confirmed by us in our Common-Hall, that grand and Numerous Assembly, as you before intimated.

But waving any farther Preamble and Intro­duction, Pray let us come now to be very serious, calm and se­date, one with another; and we will lay the Axe to the Root of the Tree, and will examine things to the very Bottom, in order to the fair stating and clearing up the present Controver­sy now upon the Stage, as to your Friends late Proceedings; for I will assure you, they have hitherto been much in the dark, (which I hope you will be able to understand before we part) and there is nothing in all their Papers, which I have seen, to [Page 7] any purpose in the least; for their making such a Noise and Clamour in the Hall, as to their Power and Authority, when there Assembled, as they would perswade you and others to believe. And therefore Inprimis & ante omnia, Pray let me ask you this Question, which I doubt not but you can immediate-resolve me, being you are so intimate with them, and they be­ing of such improved Parts and Abilities, as you, even now, intimated; and it is this, viz. How came these Livery-Men of the City of London, and not all the Free-men, either by themselves or Deputies, to have this great Power and Autho­rity over my Lord-Mayor, Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men in Common-Council Assembled, in all their Acts and By-laws by them made, unless they have first their good-liking, and approbation along with them; and this point well cleared, and fairly understood, will, I presume, put an end to the whole Controversy of these Livery-Gentlemen's Power and Authority, upon which they so much magnifie themselves, this present Year 1695.

Oh, good Sir, as to this Point, I can give you full satisfaction presently, and therefore shall not keep you long in suspence, but be very short and succinct; and therefore you may please to understand, that our Friends inform me, that we Freemen being Summoned, according to our usual Custom and Manner, to Elect our Officers, and finding the Citizens of London to grow very Numerous, Tumultuous and Trouble­some (as you say we were last Midsummer-Day) we did then in our Common Hall consult with each other, how to prevent such Popular Elections for the future; and in pursuance there­unto, did then make an Act to reduce the Election of our said Officers, to the Livery-men of the Respective Companies of London; and this way of Election hath continued (as they tell me) above Two Hundred Years, and this I am sure is time out of Mind.

Indeed, my good Friend, if this be true, as to Matter of Fact, I may then truly say, it was Midsummer Moon in good Earnest. For the Citizens of London by their Joint Consent, to give the Power at this rate out of their own Hands, to a mixt Multitude of unknown Persons, such as Wea­vers, Glovers, Coopers, Curriers, Blacksmiths, Cordwainers, & cum multis aliis Mechanicks, and many Hundreds of them liv­ing out of the Freedom, and pay neither Scot nor Lot to the City, but only to their Companies; and not to them neither, if they can help it; but when the Honest and Industrious Bea­dles find them out, and compel them to pay Quarteridge, and other Duties, unto which they are Sworn by their own By-Laws, (Men doubtless well qualified by Virtue of their Edu­cation, to be competent Judges in any intricate and disputable Case.) And not rather to have made the Act to a certain select number of Persons chosen out of every Precinct by themselves, to be sent to Guild-Hall as their Deputies and Representatives, which would have been according to their Ancient Fundamen­tal Rights and Liberties, long before any Charters were gran­ted unto them? And this was such an Act of Humane Frailty and Imbecility, that no Rational Man in the World can vin­dicate or defend them herein, as the Result of Grave and Pru­dent Determinations, and so unlike the Wisdom of our Fore­fathers, and the Sage Councils of our Worthy Ancestors and Progenitors.

My good Friend, I humbly thank you for this in­timation, for surely had I survived in those Days of our Fore­fathers, I should not have been so weak in my Understanding, as to give away my Birthright from my self into the Hands of others unknown, and not to have a Vote in the Choice of them at all times, (but especially once a Year) this certainly no Man would do that had any Brains in his Head, unless he had a mind to be put into Poor Robin's Almanack for an Ignoramus.

Therefore I am apt to conjecture and presume, that your Friends have imposed upon you, in telling you it was an Act of their Common Hall; I believe rather it was an Act of the Common Council in those Days, as some do posi­tively affirm it was, in the 15th Year of Edward the 4th, who Invested the Livery-men with that Power; and I dare say, (being very well assured thereof) your Friends cannot pro­duce any Act of the Common Hall of all the Freemen of the City, to give that great Power to the Livery-men, upon whom our Lives, Liberties and Estates do so much depend.

Oh! Yes, Sir, they can and have clearly prov'd it beyond Dispute, as they tell me, in their own Printed Papers, viz. That the Common Hall is the most Ancient Court, and Highest Authority in London. And in those Papers they tell us, That in the 20th of Edward the 3d, and in the 43d of Ed­ward the 3d, and in the 7th of Richard 2d, an Ordinance of the Common Hall was then made, how the Common-Coun­cil-Men should be Elected in their several Wards; and this they say is enough to prove that the Common Hall is above the Lord Mayor's, Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men, by their prescribing what Ways and Methods they should be advanced to that Honour and Dignity.

Now Sir, if this be true as you here alledge, it is a Bold Stroke indeed, and to the purpose, if your Friends could clearly make it out as to themselves, as to their present Establishment; but in all their Papers, Precedents and Records which they produce, they are all against themselves; and this is the great stumbling-block which they cannot get over, and thereupon fight against the Wind; and therefore I will now be so fair and kind as to undeceive you, (for I perceive you have been carried away too long with the Torrent of your old Friends Mistakes:) This Common Hall, upon which they so much Magnifie themselves, as to their Uncontroulable Power, was not the Livery Common Hall (as they pretend) [Page 10] who have no Power in the least over my Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men, as being their Creators; but it was the Common Hall of all the Free-men that was then Assembled, in the said Presidents and Re­cords, who had full Power and Authority among themselves, by their own Consent, to make what Orders and Ordinances they pleased, for their own ease, benefit and conveniency, and by what Methods they would have their Common-Council then Elected, to make their By-laws; and likewise by what Method they would chuse their other Representatives; for them to e­lect annually their Lord Mayor, & other principal Officers for the City of London, for the Year ensuing. And this August and Ve­nerable Assembly were true States-men, & true English-men, and that long before these Livery-Gent. were made our Electors.

Oh Dear Sir, I am almost amazed, astonished, and so surprized at this information, that I am not able to contain my self within Bounds; but let these Acts and Ordinances be made by either party, it is all one to me; for now I begin to have other Sentiments then I had before; since you tell me so much of our Antient Fundamental Rights and Liberties, it doth so raise my intellectual Faculties to that altitude, that I am so transported of a sudden, and find such Commotions and Cogitations within me, that I must ask you this question im­mediately, which I did not think on before; May not the same Power that Created these Topping Livery-men, (which are now grown so high) Uncreate them again, if they please? Pray let me crave your Judgment in the Case.

To give you a direct and short Answer to your Question, Sir, I am of an Opinion they may; for certainly all Legislators have Power to Repeal the same Laws they make; but more especially, when upon mature deliberation, they are convinced and satisfied they are become Grievances and Of­fences to the People, for whose Ease and Welfare (as is pre­sumed) they were first instituted, but more particularly when the Electors themselves are become Turbulent, Tumultuous, [Page 11] Headstrong, and to speak Evil of those Dignities by whom they were first Constituted, Ordained and Established.

Well Sir, I give you my hearty Thanks for the Satisfaction and Information you have given me in this parti­cular. And for my part, I had much rather trust a good Ho­nest Neighbour of my own in my own Precinct, that I do ve­ry well know (and one that our Neighbours have a Kindness and Respect for) to Vote for me in the Common Hall, than any of the Companies Liveries whose Faces I know not; (and being such Men as you have just now Characterized) and be­sides these Emphatical Words of Electing by my Self or De­puty, sounds like a good Honest Old English Expression, and I am for Honest Old England with all my Heart, and for all the Rights and Liberties that to her Inhabitants do appertain; and therefore I must now confess you have brought me over to be of the Freemens side, and shall not take part with the Livery-men any longer, unless they can give me some better satisfaction as to their Power and Authority, and also as to their quiet and peaceable Proceedings in the Common Hall for the future; for in good Earnest they were very hot, and not of such a Temper as is proper and requisite for so Grave and Venerable an Assembly. But Sir, you being a Livery-man, and of a long standing, pray tell me your Opinion of them, as to their present Constitution, Power and Authority to Elect our Great Officers, for I am fully satisfied and convinced, that it is of Great Concern, Honour and Trust, both to our selves, and to our Posterity.

To deal plainly with you, though I have been a Livery-man for many Years, yet I did never look upon them to be the true Representative Body of all the Citizens of the City of London, in regard we are not chosen in our several Wards, as the Aldermen and Council-men are at this Day, which are a true Representative of all the Freemen, as being chosen by themselves. And if the Common Council-men of [Page 12] the City of London in those days, did make the aforementioned Act, to debar the Freemen in their several Wards, of their Fun­damental Rights and Priviledges, to me it seems very strange: But till they shall please to Repeal that Act, we must be con­tented, in as much as we sent them to Guild-Hall, to make such By-Laws for us, as they in their great Wisdoms should think proper and convenient, for the Good Government and benefit of the whole Corporation; and by their Charter they are Empowered to make By-laws.

But since they are such wise Men (as you seem to intimate) pray how came they to make such an untoward Tory kind of Act against the Freemen?

Well Sir, I will give you the best satisfaction I can in that particular, and will tell you my thoughts concer­ning it. You must take notice that it was made many Years since, and in the Popish times, when the Name of Roundhead and Cavalier, Whig, Tory, Trimmer, Quaker, Socinian, & cum multis aliis, was not known in the World; and they were all of a peice, and did love one another far better than we Prote­stants (to our shame be it spoken) do at this day: And the Liverymen of London were but few in Number, to what they are now; (for many Companies in London have been made Livery Companies within these few Years) and those that were chosen, were all Grave and Antient Men, (as you see the Antient Pictures of them in many Houses, do represent, being in their Fur Gowns and Ruffs) and none then chosen, to be sent to Guild-Hall to serve a Turn, and to Vote Right, as it is too apparent it is among all the Contesting and Divi­ded Parties among us in the respective Companies, and this is like to continue ad infinitum, (at least so long as our Divisions continue) against one another: And no Man can foresee who shall have the benefit at last, of that old Motto, Divide & Im­pera; I wish we were all truly sensible and affected with the Thoughts thereof. But to proceed, They did in those Days [Page 13] usually chuse him for their Lord Mayor, as was next the Chair, (unless they continued the old One, which many times they did for several Years, as appears upon Record) and no thoughts of passing by any Man for fear of his destroying their Rights and Liberties, when he came to be their Chief Magistrate: And though they were Papists, they were then as Zealous and as Jealous, for their common Rights and Liberties, as we can be for our Lives, (witness the Barons Wars) for the which, they are handed down to Posterity (by the Pens Militant) as great Patriots for their Country; I wish we were all of the same Mind, though not of the same Perswasion, in matters of Religion; which came to them purely by Education, and not by Election, wherein every Man ought to chuse for himself; because every Man must answer for himself (and not for ano­ther) at the Universal Audit. And now we may so far Vin­dicate the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men in Common-Council Assembled, in making that Act in those peaceable Times, as to the Spirit and Tempers of Men, from what they are now, as that they did think, they did the Citizens a great kindness, in meeting every Year in their several Wards, to send their Deputes to Guild-Hall, they would now save them that trouble; which was the undoub­ted way of the Freemens Election, long before this Act of Li­veries took place, which I can make appear as clear as the Sun at Noon-day, by many Ancient Records, if there be occa­sion.

Very well, this is some pretty handsome Apology for that Act, as to them that made it; but by the way, there is one thing now comes in my Head, which is this, Suppose these Liveries should be laid aside, and some new Measures ta­ken to prevent these Popular and Tumultuous Elections, will not these Livery-men Huff and Bounce, Complain, and make a Noise, and tell you that they gave a great deal of Money for being chosen upon the Livery? And now to be debarred their [Page 14] Rights in Election of our Officers, this they will tell you, looks something like the Imposition of Popery, and Slavery, and Ar­bitrary Government. Pray give me some Satisfaction in this Point, if at any time I should hear it rounded in my Ears by a­ny of them.

As to this Point, I am glad you have Started it; for it is a very material one, whereby to stop the Mouths of many Grumbletonians (as we have too too many among us at this present Conjuncture, and of several Sorts, and of several Denominations, the more is our shame, and the more is the pity) Pray ask any Livery-man of them all, when he paid his Fine to the Company, for being brought upon the Livery, Whether the Master and Wardens by that Act did, or could give him any Power or Authority to be an Elector at Guild-Hall? But it was the grace and favour of the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council, in Common-Coun­cil Assembled, that confer'd that Honour upon him, and not the Company, who can make no Laws but only for their own Corporation; and his Fine is for the better Maintenance and Support of the Company, unto which he is Sworn when he is made Free, to observe all the By-laws which they shall make, for, or concerning the Weal, Well-ordering, Rule and Go­vernment of the said Fraternity. And such Fines was the con­stant Practice of all Companies long before they were made Electors. And it is the constant Practice at this Day, (time out of mind) in most Parishes, Wards and Precincts in the City of London, and Liberties thereof to excuse Men from holding se­veral Offices by the way of Fines; and yet the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen must not be permitted, by these Livery Gentlemen, to have the same Power and Authority in their Legislative and Politick Capacity; and here one might argue with them, a minore ad majus; but in as much as they are at present somewhat clouded in their Superior Faculties, I will forbear until I hear how this Gentle Bolus, and Dormative [Page 15] Cordial will operate upon their Dogmatical Intellectuals, and Crazed Understandings. And what if the Court was pleased to give them the Power of being Electors? Yet as to matter of Fines, they have always, as their Prerogative, reserved that to Themselves, without asking the Consent of the Common Hall, (as is now pretended by these Livery Gentlemen They ought to do) as being a Superior Court to them, to all intents and purposes.

Very well, Good Sir, and I am heartily glad of what you have now told me, for you make it fairly and clear­ly appear, that they have no Title nor Power from their Halls to be Electors, but only from the grace and favour of the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men, who made that Act in their behalf; so that I hope I shall stop all their Mouths, if they make a noise Tom, to the disturbance of the publick Peace, if some other Measures should be taken upon this account. And in all our Charters, Confirmed by se­veral Acts of Parliament, I do not find one word or Iota to the Livery-men, but to all the Citizens in general; and this must still continue either to Themselves, or their Deputies, which these Gentlemen cannot in the least measure pretend unto, though the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, and Com­mon-Council may, even as the Members of Parliament, being Elected by the Freeholders, and the Members of the respective Burroughs and Corporations in the Country, are stiled, when they meet, The Commons of England Assembled in Parliament.

Well, now I hope you are pretty well satisfied, as concerning the Premises.

Oh my good Friend! You are very much mista­ken, if you think I am satisfied in my present state; for as you have informed me of such great things, which are of such great concernment (as you know great Weights, and great Bodies, move but slowly) I would now be informed and satisfied, how these great and mighty things (which are of such absolute and [Page 16] necessary concernment to our selves and our Posterity) shall be accomplished; and if you can please me here, and give me some ease in this Point; for I am now in a longing condition, as ever any Woman was, when great with Child, you shall oblige me to be your particular Friend and Servant, for ever and for ever, Amen.

Why Sir, though they are great things, and of great concernment to us all, yet they are not so great, but with much facility may be accomplished, provided we will take but right Measures.

Oh those Measures, those Measures, pray do not keep me too long in suspence about them, for I cannot have any satisfaction in my mind, until you have imparted them to me; and if they turn to account, Eris mihi Magnus Apollo.

I see now Sir, you are more warm and zealous for the Freemen, then you were but even now for the Livery-men; and if your Friends, whose Cause you did espouse, had been of the same Mind as you now are, and had not fallen so hot upon the Sheriffs, and their Fines, I presume they had got more Proselytes on their Side Ten to One, then they are like to get by their late Transactions and Proceedings.

In truth Sir, I believe no less, and perhaps by our present Discourse, many of them may fall in with us; for I my self know now more than I did before, and I hope in a short time they will be in a more sedate and calm Temper, than they have been hitherto (many of them being very Ho­nest and true English Men; and some of them have been great Sufferers upon that Accompt) but being so far transported in their warm Debates in the Common Hall, it may be imputed to Zeal without Knowledge, and for want of better Informa­tion: Come let us be Charitable in our Censures of them upon that account; but pray Sir, put me out of pain, as to those Measures, those Measures you even now Intimated.

Why then Sir, in Obedience to your request, I will speak Freely and Franckly to you, upon this great Point, viz. That by reason of the late Combustions and Con­tentions at Guild-Hall, in the Election of Sheriffs, and other Officers for the City of London and County of Middlesex, for the Year ensuing, You have now a very fair and pertinent occasion presents it self, for the Recovery and Restoring of your Antient Rights and Liberties; which for so many Years last past, have been taken from you (as is presumed) with­out your own consent, and the measures you are now to take, must be (though in a very Decent and Orderly manner, and not like the late proceedings by Noise and Clamor) by way of an Humble Petition to the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, and common Council-men in common Council Assembled, who have the only power, next to the Grand Council of the Nation, now to Relieve you; and peradventure the Court may be very much inclined, at this present conjuncture of Affairs, to hearken to your Petition, and especially since it will come to them from the hands of many thousands Worthy Citizens, both Livery-men and Freemen, as will be ready and willing to Sub­scribe the same.

Well, my most Cordial Friend, I am now very well pleased, and fully satisfied, with the Measures and Me­thod which you have proposed for the Recovery of our Anti­ent and Fundamental Rights, which I believe according to Magna Charta, no power upon Earth ought to take away from us. But sometimes the longest Sword (where Inter Arma, Silent Leges) hath done it, and will do it in Spight of our Teeth: And we must submit by Passive-Obedience, and Non-Resistance, untill we have a fair oportunity to recover our selves again; and as for our City Charter, that cannot be Forfeited by any dis­use, or by any abuse whatsoever; though the particular Members, for particular Crimes, may forfeit their Lives, Li­berties and Estates, to His Majesty; yet the Charter is in no [Page 18] danger, but remains firm and stable, (like a House built up­on a Rock) to us and to our Children, to all Posterity.

I perceive now Sir, you can say something to the purpose, I wish we had Ten Thousand such Proselites: I believe some of our Friends in the Court of Aldermen, would be willing to embrace them upon this account, and those be­low the Chair will get Immortal Honour, and Renown, in being instrumentall to have your Petition granted.

Sir, as you have hitherto been so Courteous and Genteel, as to deny me nothing in what I have been willing to receive Satisfaction; there is one thing more which I must needs request of you (and I dare say, you will not deny me) viz. That you would be pleased so far to oblige me, as to draw the form of the Petition for us, and then I will trouble you no more

Sir, I must beg your Diversion in that Point, for if I should do it for you, I know many (in our divided and subdivided Age) would like it, and many dislike it; and if it should come to be known who was the Author, I should then (in my present Circumstances) peradventure, bring down an old House upon my Head.

Pray (My true Friend) Fear it not in the least, for you are so well known, as to have universal Love, Charity, and Good-will to all Men, of all Perswasions, (that appear sincere in their Professions) that it is almost morally impossible that any party of men, of any Perswasion, should take it un­kindly from you, supposing your late Objection of being discovered.

Well, Sir, in regard of your Importunity, I will endeavour (according to my slender Ability) to grant this your last Request, to draw the Form of a Petition for you, which you and your Friends may pollish, and put into better Words and Phrases than I can do, and also to contract the same, if there be occasion, after their Perusal. And here it is, Pray read it.

Well, Sir, I give you my hearty Thanks for this trouble; and tho' the Petition be somewhat long, yet I like it very well, in regard it is ad Rem; and I hope it will do our business to all intents and purposes; and I hope to get Ten thousand hands to it in a very short time, if I could get a good honest Freeman out of every Precinct, to go about his Precinct for Subscriptions; and then I should not value these Livery-Men a Rush, because I can now make it appear to the very Fa­ces of them, that they are built upon a very tottering, sandy, and dangerous Foundation: And if you please to hear me, I will tell you wherein.

Pray Sir, then do; for I perceive you intend to be a Zealot in this New Expedition; and if you could but bring over Mr. W. and Mr. W. and Mr. P. and Mr. K. with some others that I could name, your Work then, I presume, would be the sooner accomplished.

Well, Sir, I will do what I can; and I hear there is one of our W's come over to us already, (being convinced by an Eminent Dignified Person in our City) and so God speed the Plough, to make a Universal Conversion.

Tis true, Sir, that I have heard as much, but I can have no certain assurance of the Truth thereof, as to matter of Fact: But the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, [Page 23] and Common-Council Men in Common-Council Assembled, may do it themselves, if they please, and so save you from the trouble of going about to so many worthy Citizens, to Subscribe the same; and therefore you need not to be too forward, untill you hear whether the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, are willing to promote such a Petition: Verbam Sapienti, I know you understand. But you are now gone off from the Text, wherein you say that these Livery-Men are built upon a sandy and dangerous Foundation, as if they had no certain assurance to preserve their Lives, Liberties and Estates to them and their Posterity, upon their present Constitution.

Sir I hope I shall make it out, (and I beg your pardon for my small Digression, in not giving you an Answer immediately) and it shall be by putting of a Case: Suppose that the major part of the Livery-Men chosen by the Master and Wardens of each Company should chance to be Men of Complection, which are called by the nick-name of Tories, would not the Whigs then think themselves in danger of ha­ving Tory-Lord-Mayors, Tory-Sheriffs, and Tory-Juries, which may, as they have done formerly with a witness, hang them up by whole-sale, by way of Inuendo's, and good brisk Evidence, tho' in the Eye of the Law they were guilty of no Crime; or else our Legislators were most grievousely mistaken in Reversing their Judgment, and pronouncing them inno­cent, after the poor Gentlemen had lost their Lives for the publick good and service of this King and Countrey? And so e [...]ontra on the other side, would not the Tories think them­selves in danger of being much molested and troubled by that sort of men, if they should chance to be always of the major part, for there can never be any certainty in the Number of either; (and no certain trust to any party when they come in­to Power) but if we Citizens and Freemen must be always troubled, molested and disturbed by one of these Parties, is it not far better to chuse them our selves among our Neighbours, [Page 24] whom we may turn out the next year, if we do not like them, than these perpetual Dictators, whom we know not, and are chosen in for their lives? I dare appeal to any rational Men, tho' but of mean Understanding, to be Judge and Jury in this Case.

Well, I perceive you are resolved to study the Point, against you meet your old Friends at the Amsterdam and Bantham Coffee-Houses.

Yes yes, Sir, with some more of your Instructi­ons when wee meet again; and I will tell them also when I see them, hat as to Those Gentlemen who made the Livery-men the Electors, there was not then so much danger in that Act as now; for they were then all of one Stamp, and all of one Perswasion in matters of Religion, and they good honest well-meaning Men could not forsee (nor the Freemen them­selves, who then so tamely submitted to the said Act) of the Snake in the Grass, that should arise in after Ages and Gene­rations, which we have seen and felt to some purpose in our Age, to the great Scandal, Shame, and Reproach, of the Pro­fessors of that most Pure, Peaceably, Gentle, and easy to be intreated; full of Mercy and good Works: The most Ex­cellent and Divine Religion, Revealed to us from Heaven, by our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; And the truth of it is, by reason of our Manifold Divisions, Feuds, Con­tentions, Animosities, Heart-burnings, and the Spirits of Men raised to that most Inveterate hate of Contemning and despi­sing one another, even to the very Death, and that upon no other acount, than a small difference in Judgment in matters of Religion, is such an astonishing and Melancholly conside­ration, as that we cannot fore-see (even the best of us all) how it will please the most High (in his Divine Providence) to deal with us for the future upon this very account: Oh tell it not in Gath! nor declare it in the Steeets of Askelon; for this is a Lamentation, and will be for a Lamentation to us [Page 25] of this Generation, and I fear also (Rebus, Sic Stantibus) to our Posterity. And now he that hath Ears to hear, let him hear.

Well my good Friend, I must now thank you for this last response; for I perceive by this, that you can dis­course like a Clergy-man as well as a City-Polititian, upon occasion, and I am glad to hear you are so well improved in so short a time; so that now you will need no Tutor to in­struct and inform you for the future, but may be turned loose to shift for your self; for when Men come to Embrace most Generous and Noble Principles, for the universal good and be­nefit of the whole Creation, including all mens Interest and no particular Party of Men, in all their Transactions) they have then quite contrary Sentiments, and their Spirits, Powers, and Superiour Faculties are raised to that Sublimity of a pure and refined Understanding, as that they shall be able to bear down and baffle all their Opposers, as to the Right of the Case, and the Reason of the Thing; as the Reverend Doctor Which­cot, when Inter vivos was used (good Man) frequently to express, in his Elaborate Sermons; and is now gon before us, to reap the benefit of his most Pious, Devour, and truly Christian Labours.

Ay, truly Sir, That R [...]verend Doctor was a very good Man indeed, and the Christian Church had a very great Loss (though his gain) in his Removal to the Angelical State in the other World: For as I am informed, he was for no im­position in matters of Religion; but that all Persons, professing Faith in God through Jesus Christ, he would have had equally protected (a truly Noble and a truly Divine Christian Principle, and one of his Encomiums at his Funeral Sermon, preached by the late Reverend Arch Bishop of Canterbury.) And had all the rest of his Brethren of the Clergy been of the same Senti­ments, Lord! What a happy People, and what a happy Nation we might have been, long before now? But it seems we are not yet qualified, (and at the Rate we still go on, I fear [Page 26] never shall be) for so great a Blessing. O England, England, (the Paradise of the World) and the Inhabitants thereof; Re­member, Remember, into what a Low & Degenerate Estate and Condition thou art fallen, and yet wilt not consider, nor be made sensible, (by all the stupendious Mercies and Judgments you have been exercised with, for these many years last past) in the day of your Visitation.

Very well observed, my very good Friend; and I hope at our next meeting, you will be able to give some account of your good success and progress in this great Affair, which we have now brought upon the Stage, and exposed to publique View, for the use and benefit of all the Freemen (and the Livery-men too, if they will but understand their, true interest,) of this great and populous City of Londonr And when you meet any of their great Champions and Goliah's, at the Amsterdam Coffee-House, who are so fond of, and depend so much upon the present Establishment, Power, and Authority of these present Livery-men, which they give out, by a general Meeting of the whole Freemen in the Common-Hall Assembled, were made Electors to chuse the a foresaid Offi­cers; which I cannot yet perswade my self, that ever they were so void of Understanding in their Intellectual Faculties; but it was certainly done by an Act of Common-Council, as before hinted, in the 15th year of King Edward the Fourth. But to strengthen your hands when you enter the Lists with them, pray tell them, That the Common-Council in those days had no power to debar, and keep out all the Citizens but the Liveries, to come to the Elections, in regard such an Act was quite contrary to their Natural and Fundamental Rights and Liberties, (which is, & ought to be like the Laws of the Medes and Persians, unalterable) long before any Charters were grant­ed unto them, which were only Confirmations, and not Ori­ginals of their Primitive Institution, but Declarative of their [Page 27] precedent, Natural, and Fundamental Rights and Priviledges. And moreover, The Common-Council Men themselves are but the Freemens Deputies, to make convenient By-laws for them, for their Preservation, and not for their Destruction; and all By-laws made against their Charter ought to be null, and void of themselves, if strictly enquired into, and looked after: And therefore they ought to have Asserted, Vindicated and Established the Antient Fundamental Rights of the Citizens, when the Electors came to be so Numerous, to have chosen a Select Number among themselves to have been the Electors, (which Act would have got them Immortal Honour and Re­nown, to all succeeding Generations) and not these obscure Livery-men, who came in of late years, by a strange kind of way, according to the Complection of the Master and War­dens, as in their several respective Companies they stand affec­ted to this or that party, which either by Interest or Education they have espoused. (Two of the grand Obstacles and Impediments, whereby Truth in all Ages hath prevail'd no more in the World.) But long before this Tory-Act came forth, it was the Usual and Antient Custom of the Citizens to chuse the other Way, but even now intimated: For in the 29th year of Edward the first, it is said, as by Antient Records do appear, That the Election of Mayor and Sheriffs was by a Select Number of Men chosen out of every Ward; At which time Sir John Blunt was so chosen Lord Mayor, and Mr. Robert Coller, and Mr. Peter Basano, were then chosen Sheriffs; and the said Sir John Blunt was continued and chosen Mayor for seven years successively in the same man­ner; (a Person surely well beloved of the Citizens, to con­tinue him so long in that High and Honourable Station) I wish we could find but such Men in our Days, the Electors would be very ready in the Common Hall to cry out Continuation, Con­tinuation, as you know some did the other day, Adhere, Adhere, Stand to your Election, Stand to your former Election, &c. It [Page 28] now grows late, let us therefore (my good Friend) think of departing.

My dear Friend, this is better and better, and you have now strengthened my Hands to the purpose. But in as much as you began, you must give me leave to be the last in concluding our Friendly Dialogue; (for I am very un­willing to part with you, if the time would permit.) And as to what I shall say more upon this Subject, in the first place it is, That I am heartily sorry, and much concerned, that these Livery-men, and my Brother Citizens, should be so much at variance and contention, not only with each other, but also with the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, and Common Council-Men in Common Council Assembled; and at this Juncture of Time to be so Ungovernable and Head­strong, which makes me apt to think, that our Grand Coun­cil, (the Wisdom of the Nation) will take Cognizance of it at their next Sessions; which if they do, I hope it will tend to their more quiet and peaceable Deportment for the time to come. And Sir, since you, as a Livery-man, (tho' contrary to your Interest, as may be presumed, which is truly Noble, Ge­nerous, and Genteel) have brought me over to my own Tribe of Freemen; so now I would, as a Freeman, willingly con­vince these Livery-Champions, and bring them over to our present Sentiments: And when I have an Opportunity, I will ask them a few Questions, one whereof, not to trouble you with any more at this time, shall be this: Suppose the City of London should be Fin'd for some High Misdemeanors, (as oftentimes they have been, supposing a large Sum) pray who must pay the said Sum, the Livery-men, who live out of the Freedom, or the Citizens in general, who live within the Freedom? It is a short Question, and let them Answer it. We have a late Instance of Two Thousand Pounds per Annum, (besides a considerable Revenue of our Cities Lands into the [Page 29] Bargain) which the Citizens must pay upon a High-Misde­meanour and Mis-management with a witness, even for our Predecessors, in expending the poor Orphans and Widows Money out of their Publick Treasury, which they thought was a Sacred Bank, and no Achans among them, to be guilty of his Sacrilegious Crimes: I wish their Cries have not ascen­ded to Heaven, and thereby hath been one procuring Cause of our present Distractions.

And therefore how cautious and circumspect ought we to be in the Choice of our Magistrates and Officers, whom we trust for our Selves and our Children after us, to be Men of known Integrity and Uprightness, left they should run a­gain (which GOD forbid) into the same Extream, when we have put the Power into their hands.

I instance this the rather, because I would have our Citi­zens beware of such Governours to have the Ascendant among us, who to please their Superiours, will hang up Innocent Persons at a very strange rate; perhaps only for Vindicating and Asserting their own Magna Charta Rights and Liberties, and for standing in the Gap, in Opposition to Popery, and Sla­very, and Arbitrary Government, and being against an Illegal Dispensing Power in the Administration thereof: From such Magistrates, Libera Nos Domine! And let every True English Man say, Amen, Amen.

But you know very well who we may thank for running that Point of Dispensing Power so high, which I am perswaded was one principal Cause of the late Wonder­ful and Stupendious, and I will yet hope, when we can all agree, Happy Revolution: And tho' they (poor blind Politi­tians!) thought it morally Impossible to be stopped in their full Carreir: To whom therefore should we ascribe the Praise and the Glory, but to the Uncontroulable and Irresistable Power of Infinite Goodness and Mercy? And for preventing among us such Magistrates for the future, the only probable [Page 30] means is to Elect them according to the Method proposed to the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, and Common-Council-Men, in Common-Council Assembled; and is in the Prayer of the said Petition: Which may be done in two hours time, as well as in two Months, if ever it should come to be reduced into Practice; and we should be sa [...]e enough in the hands of the Citizens, tho' by no means in the hands of the Liveries.

But to draw towards a Conclusion: There is one thing comes now into my mind, which I will relate to you, if you please to hear me, and it is an Observation of my own, in my conversation with these your Friends, and it is this, That in regard these Men of the Livery, who now so much jar among themselves, are esteemed all of a piece in some other Concerns, should no better agree in this: And this makes the Observa­tion more strange and unaccountable, That when they were formerly under some Pressures, they did often times wish, That if once they could but get a good honest Set of Aldermen, they should be happy; and if after that, they could but get a good honest Set of Common-Council-Men to joyn with them, they should then be yet more happy: And tho' they are convinced and satisfied that the major part of the Aldermen and common Council-Men at this day are their Friends, and who have fairly promised them that what By-Laws are become Grievances to them, they will take care in due time to have them Repealed; and yet, notwithstanding they menace them with a Suit of Law in the Case, yet they cannot nor will not be Ruled by them, if they do not please them in every little Nicity and Punctillio as they shall desire. And therefore what shall, or can we say to these Proceedings, but only Monstrum Horren­dum? &c. At the which every sober and sedate thinking Man among us, (who are of any Improvement in their Intellectu­als) ought to be grieved and much concerned (if not surprized [Page 31] and astonished) at the dismal apprehension of the fatal and dreadful consequence thereof.

And now if you please (wherein I will not long in­trench upon your Patience) to let me be your Lieutenant, to bring up the Rear: I will here say something in relation to their She­riffs which they have chosen, and by no means will permit them to Fine, which is is their grand Complaint and Grievance this year, (though admitted, and submitted unto, for many years last past.) And they give us a Notable and Remarkable In­stance, in their Printed Paper, of Sir Christopher Lethuleier and Sir John Houblan: (And this is their great Goliah's Sword, wherewith he doth defy the Armies of Israel.) But in An­swer thereunto, they may please to take notice, that some do alledge, That in that Case they have not dealt so Fairly, and upon the Square, as they ought to have done; (as Men pro­fessing to be under a purer Administration, in their Way of Worship, than the rest of their Neighbours) For they say, It is very well known, that at the same time many of these Worthy Knight's particular Friends did perswade them to hold; and these Gentlemen, out of a Generous and Noble Disposition to oblige them, (and in some measure to stop the then present Clamour) did take upon them the said Offices, and were sworn thereunto; and yet all this while, not that the Common-Hall had any power to bind them (as their own Phrase is) whether they would or no; and not to be loosed again for one year, pursuant to that By-Law of Com­mon-Council, which is and ought to be in force, until re­pealed, as well as that very By-Law made by the same Power concerning the Liveries, which they have so tamely submitted unto (though contrary to their own City-Charter, (wherein all the Freemen are concerned, as made to the Mayor and Commonalty, or Barons, as the Old English Phrase was, though now used as a distinction of Honour) for above Two hundred years. And now,

This is is very well observ'd, I will assure you: And I dare appeal to any Rational Man whatsoever, that is not of a Party, Whether the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, in their more grave and serious Debates, are not more proper Judges in this Case of Binding and Loosing, than a mixt Multitude of several thousands in the Hall, who come, many of them, from all the remote parts of the City at that time, and are under an utter impossibility of understanding who are fit, and who not fit, to Hold or Fine, for the year ensuing.

And for the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen to be de­barred so considerable a Revenue and Advantage to the Cham­ber of London, which if we could have but a little Patience, and take care every year, as much as in us lies, to Elect Magi­strates fearing God, and hating Covetousness, (which in this Age, you will say, is a pretty difficult Task) I question not, but in due time it will turn to account; and that these Hot-Spurs should not be made sensible of the conveniency thereof, to me it seems very strange.

But to accomplish their own Designs, and the Result of their private Caballs, they have found out and studied a new way of Chymical Extractions and Preparations in Philosophy, vizt. By planting their Emissaries and Janizaries with Printed Papers, at the Hall Doors, to manage the Electors, before they enter into their Fort Royal, (or their own House, as some have call▪d it.) A very unfair way of the Sheriff-Makers, to an­ticipate the Freedom and Liberty of any Mans Vote in that [Page 33] Hall, by way of Prejudice and Prepossession; a Practice doubt­less not heard of in former Ages, until we came to be sunk down into that Degenerate (or rather at this time Unregene­rate) state, formerly hinted. For when Men come to be Trouble­some, Turbulent, Tumultuous, Hot-headed, Clamorous, Censo­rious, Ungovernable, and the like, are not some Marks and Signs of Unregeneracy? Pray let them ask their own most Learned and Profound Casuistical Doctors (the Champions of Irresistible Grace, and of a Fixed Decree concerning the Fu­ture Immutable State of every particular Person, by Virtue of a Divine Preterition, or Election from all Eternity) to resolve the Point, and who are able to furnish them with a plentiful number in such Cases (having always a very good Stock by them) of Marks and Signs to distinguish the Precious, and the Vile; the Regenerate, and the Unregenerate; the Sheep, and the Goats; the Elect, and Reprobate, one from another.

But in as much as some of your Friends (as I am inform'd) were not well-pleased with these Marks and Signs in the for­mer Edition, as presuming they did grate a little too hard up­on some sort of Men, and thereupon did reflect upon the Au­thors Integrity and Reputation in his present Undertaking; and therefore to make them some part of amends for their kind­ness, I will now somewhat Enlarge upon the Subject (though I must confess it is beside the Matter in hand, which I hope you will pardon) and tell them, It is a Doctrine, esteemed by many Eminent Learned Men now among us, (who are both Pious and Virtuous, Modest and Merciful, Humble and Charitable, Spotless and Unblameable, in their Lives and Conversations) so Dangerous, so Heterodox, so Unworthy of, and Derogatory to the very Being of Infinite Goodness and Perfection, and so Diametrically opposite to the Truth and Principal Design of the Christian Religion, The Gospel of God's Free Grace, and Salvation, and Glad-tydings of great Joy and Good-will to all the Sons and Daughters of Men, first [Page 34] sang in the fulness of Time by a Quire of Angels (a multitude of the Heavenly Host) and afterwards Preached by his Dear­ly Beloved Son, our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who laid down his Life for the confirmation of this Truth; so that such an Opinion, as before intimated, ought, and that deservedly, to be exposed and exploded, as being in the conse­quence thereof, enough to Extirpate all true Virtue, and sin­cere Piety and Goodness out of the World; and it is a Thou­sand Pities, that ever any Learned Man should preach it up with that Vehemency and Heat (as many of them have done) as to propose it as an Article of their Faith in their Creeds and Confessions, the better to have it take place and esteem in the World; and whereby they lay Pillows under the Elbows of so great a part of Mankind, where it is embraced, entertain­ed and received, the dreadful consequence whereof will be Graddtim, to enwrap in Sable Darkness the Freedom of our Wills (who are Intelligent Agents) and the Divine Sove­raignity of God's Empire, (who Appeals to the Reasons and Understandings of his Rational Creatures, in all his proceed­ings with them) and Man's Obedience to his most Righteous Laws, and Sacred Institutions.

And now to draw towards a conclusion, I will assure you, I have no other Design herein (though your Friends gave me this occasion by their Reflections) then to promote the Ho­nour, the Glory, and the Praise of the Infinite Goodness and Mercy, (with Reverence be it spoken) of the most High, (whose Being and Actings are Originally of Himself, and who alone is the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, and only Wise God) and to advance true Virtue, sincere Piety, and Christian Charity in the World; which hath been so long vail­ed and obscured among the generality of Christians, by the subtle Artifice, and inflamed Zeal, of some sort of Divines a­mong us; on purpose to keep up the separate Interest of their Party, and their own Credit, and Reputation, and plentiful [Page 35] Incomes in the World: Though the precedent Doctrines, and some others I could name (which they also place in the num­ber of their Fundamentals) are quite contrary to the whole current of Divine Revelation, both of the Old and New Te­stament. And I presume these Nonconformists Gentlemen could not keep up the Interest of separate Parties so long as they have done, did they not preach up a different Doctrine from what is now generally and publickly received among us: And I am perswaded, should our Legislators be once pleased to open our Church Doors so wide, as to let in the Congregational Dissenters, they would there be Charmed with more Sound and Orthodox Doctrine, than they had been accustomed to hear, and by that means, in a little time, would drain their Beloved Tabernacles to a very inconsiderable number, to what they are at present. I think it is now high time to depart. Vale.

Good Sir, you need not have made any Apology, or craved any Pardon for this small Digression, (wherein there is Multum in Parvo) which I will assure you is very accep­table unto me, in regard I was formerly somewhat tainted with those severe and rigid Principles, but am now got pretty well over them; and I presume, when my good Friends have perused it, they will forbear any farther Personal Reflections on you, lest at your next putting your Pen to Paper, you might yet more severely expose them.

And for my part, I do verily believe you had no sinister or unworthy Design in your Undertaking this present Controver­sal Point, (so earnestly contended for this Year, with more Heat, and inconsiderate Zeal than is requisite, necessary, and convenient) than to promote and procure the Honour, true Peace, and Tranquility of this Ancient and Renowned Corpo­ration, and to assert the Fundamental Rights and Liberties of the Members thereof.

And now to conclude the whole; if any of these Livery-Gentlemen will be pleased to enter the Lists, and by another Friendly Dialogue will give me any better Satisfaction, as to the Premises, than you have done, and will propose a more true Basis, and more firm and lasting Foundation to Settle and Unite us upon, than what is herein proposed, which will doubtless continue to future Generations, when once reduced into practice, I shall most heartily thank him for it; for I ne­ver was so tenacious, or so firmly fixed in my Judgment and Opinion, whether in Civils, or in Spirituals, (as too many Thousands are at this Day in the World) but upon a melius inquirendum, I was willing to quit my former Station, and to embrace that, which according to the best of my Reason and Understanding, I did apprehend to be more true; (and I could wish all Rational and Intelligent Animals were of the same Perswasion.) And so farewel, my Dearest Friend, until our next Rencounter. I am,