Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 3.djvu/295

Rh had it been a fabrication for any improper purpose, it is obvious that a more close imitation of the original would have been produced.

In Trinity Term, 35 Car. II., 1682, judgment was given on the famous quo warranto, that the corporation be seized into the king's hands as forfeited; and the charter appears to have been surrendered, an example which was successively followed by the other corporations of England. Considerable sums were exacted by the crown for their restitution. King James II., in the last year of his reign, restored the charter to the citizens of London by Lord Chancellor Jefferies, and one of the first acts of the new regime, after the revolution, was to reverse the judgment on the quo warranto, and declare the city a corporation. Mr. Carlos is of opinion that King James had contemplated the grant of a new charter as an act of grace from himself, and in anticipation of such intention had caused new seals to be fabricated for the corporation and for the mayoralty. There is, however, no evidence that any such seal was delivered, or used, and the old seals continued in use, with perfect propriety, as they bore no allusion to the charter, and as the quo warranto did not abolish the corporation, but only seized it into the king's hands. When, however, King James, according to the supposition of Mr. Carlos, contemplated the grant of a new charter, in order to palliate an unpopular measure, he very probably would cause new seals to be made, to shew that the matter of the new charter emanated from his prerogative. At last, the Prince of Orange being in motion, the king restored the charter to the city.

The seal in question appears to have been intended as the mayor's official seal, used on his own authority, and attached to precepts for the election of common council men, and other documents. Its ancient use was for sealing statutes as mayor, probably in pursuance of the statute of Acton Burnel (2 Edw. I.) which authorized the mayors of London, York, and Bristol, to have seals for statutes acknowledged under that act. The corporate seal was distinct from this; it was used to certify acts of the whole corporation, and always affixed in the presence of the court of common council, the "parliament of the city." Several curious objects of personal ornament, found in Worcestershire, have been submitted for examination by Mr. Jabez Allies. Amongst them may be noticed an ear-ring of silver, weight sixty grains, found with Roman brass coins of Allectus, Quintillus, and Constans, the acus of a fibula, and a silver penny of one of the Edwards, struck at London, in a field called