THE Artillery Company being Assembled according to Summons and yearly Custom, at the Armory in the Artillery Ground, to choose new Officers, they proceeded to Election without interruption, and chose Sir Joseph Shelden, President; Sir William Pritchard, Vice-Pre­sident; and Sir Matthew Andrews, Treasurer: Then proceeding to choose their Court of Assistants, which consists of 24 Members, there was read the List of the Old Assistants. Sir Joseph Shelden stood up, and told them that according to ancient Custom, they must choose 8 of the 24 to serve again, and the other 16 whom they pleased, out of the Company, which they did, leaving out 4 of the old 16, viz. one Captain of the Yellow, and 3 of the Blew.

Being then to pro [...]eed to choose the other Officers, Sir Joseph proposed to choose their Lieutenant and Ensign, at which the Company were much distur­bed, and cryed out, first let us choose our Leader, Sir Joseph standing up again, endeavoured to perswade them from it; telling them, he should think himself much obliged to them, if after the Honour they had done him, in choosing him their President, they would so far condescend, as to think him worthy to give them his Advice, and to entreat them that no heat might arise amongst them in that affair, and forasmuch as they had been well Governed for these 3 years last past, without a Leader, they would try it one year more; and also told them that whatever they might think of him, he did propose it as his best Advice: And withal assured them, that so long as he had had the Honor to be of that Society, he had to the utmost of his power, endeavoured to serve them with his best Ser­vices, and still would continue so to do, and that at any, and at all times, when occasion required it, he should heartily venture his Person and Purse, as far as any man alive, in the Defence of the King, the Laws as now established, and the Protestant Religion, upon which the Company returned Thanks by a general — Then Sir Matthew Andrews made a Speech to the same effect, endeavouring like­wise to perswade them to defer the Choice of a Leader, and proceed to the Choice of a Lieutenant and Ensign, at which the Company with a great cry, said No, No, No, a Leader first, and would by no means be pacified without a Leader, which Sir Joseph perceiving, stood up, and in a short Speech told them; Gentlemen, You now compell me to that, which I was in hopes I needed not to have done, and do protest am yet unwilling to do, before I again endeavour to prevail with you to proceed to the Choise of a Lieutenant, and leaving the Choice of a Leader alone: but still with more violence they cryed No, No, No, a Leader, a Leader, no­thing before a Leader. Then Sir Joseph Shelden said; Gentlemen, You force me and I cannot avoid it, to tell you, That I have received a Letter from his Maje­sty, in order to this days business, which I desire may be read, the purport of which was as followeth.

After which divers Members stood up, one after another, saying they hum­bly conceived that there was not any thing in His Majesties Letter, which did forbid their choosing a Leader, but that their proceedings seemed rather to comply with it, for that they intended not to change their Leader, but accord­ing to Custom to choose their old Leader again, &c. Upon which the Letter was read again, and a third time, but the reading thereof did the more confirm them in their Opinion, That His Majesties Letter did no way prohibit their Choosing a Leader. A Worthy Member that was newly chosen into the Assist­ants, stood up and said, Mr. President, with your Worships favour, I humbly conceive His Majesties gracious Letter to us, may have relation to a particular Circumstance in our Affair of this day, it having been noised about the Town in Coffee-Houses, &c. that the Artillery Company at their next Choice would leave out the Duke of York as their Captain General, and choose some other person of Honour in his Highnesses stead, some fancying one person, and some another, but I hope no Member of this Honourable Society came hither with any such Design, for indeed it doth not lye before us, nor is it the business of this Com­pany, now perhaps the noise of this Change might come to his Majesties know­ledge, and probably occasion the sending this Letter, and no other reason, the Assembly seemed well pleased with this motion, by their applauding it with a general Hum. Another standing up, said he Humbly conceived that their past Proceedings were more contradictory to His Majesties Letter than their desiring to proceed to the Election of a Leader could be, and it being fit that his Maje­sties Letter should be obeyed, asked why the same was not produced sooner, that it might have prevented the past proceedings, as well as the rest of the bu­siness of the day. Upon which Sir Joseph stood up and said, Gentlemen, I do not know what you dare do, but I assure you I dare not do any thing which may seem to oppose this His Majesties Letter, Pray consider what you are doing, and be prevailed with: But they cryed out No, No, No, nothing before a Leader be chosen, a Leader, a Leader, a Leader. Then Sir James Edwards stood up and made a Speech to the same purpose as Sir Joseph Shelden and Sir Matthew Andrews had done before, but nothing could prevail, they being so violently set upon their old Custom, nothing but a Leader, a Leader, &c. At which Sir Joseph seeing no­thing would prevail, said Gentlemen, I must Adjourn the Court till some day next Week, against which time you shall have fair Summons, and in the mean time I will wait on the King, and Know his Majesties Royal Pleasure and mean­ing in the Letter, in which, as in all other Affairs that may concern the Honour and Welfare of this Society, I do promise you to use my utmost endeavour, at which the major part of the Company seemed well pleased, upon Condition, that all the Choices they had made should be void, and to choose all anew when they met again; and so the Court was Adjourned.