Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/662

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��The appointment of ' one skilled in the laws of the realm" as recorder was directed in 1628 and was made by the Court of Assembly for life, the salary being eighteen sugar-loaves and 26 5/. a year. 2 * 4 His duties in 1835 were to attend the election of the municipal officers on the charter day, to preside at the sessions and court of record, and to act as steward of the court leet and as legal adviser to the corporation.

There is no evidence to show at what date a town- clerk was first employed, but the trades companies in 1609 had a clerk who later invariably fulfilled both duties. 1 " He is first mentioned in the charter of 1628 as 'a common clerk and clerk of the peace, who is called prothonotary of the court of the town.' ** 7 He was elected for life by the Court of Assembly and was himself generally a freeman. 1 " It was a disputed election of this officer that led in 1655 to a tumul- tuous assembly at the Gildhall, when certain freemen sat as a court, censured the bailiffs for their choice of a clerk, and discharged them from bearing office.' 39 The town-clerk in 1835 acted as senior coroner, clerk of the court baron and court leet and as clerk-solicitor and attorney of the corporation. 140

There were other officials of less importance. After the restoration of the grammar school two school- wardens were chosen from among the freemen by the Court of Assembly, to which they were responsible for their expenditure."' Paving wardens are also men- tioned in 1684.*** Inferior to these in status were the two serjeants-at-mace authorized by the charter of 1481,*** who, under the grant of 1556, could execute writs and be sent by the bailiffs on business before justices of the peace, coroners, and other royal officers. 244 Their numbers were increased to four in 1628,"* but there is no evidence that more than two were ever appointed. Their duty was to execute the process of the court of record ; in 1835 one of the Serjeants was gaoler, and probably the office of keeper of the toll- booth mentioned in 1683-4 was ^' e d by his fellow.' 46 In 1682 the Court of Assembly ordered that in the future the bailiffs at the first hall after their election should deliver $os. apiece for gowns for the Serjeants.* 47 In 1835 there were also two mace- bearers to carry the maces before the mayor on occasions of ceremony,' 48 as well as a hall-keeper or general attendant on the Court of Assembly. 149

According to Stuart practice the charter of incor- poration was expanded and defined in 1603, when a few additional rights were granted, but no very material difference made. Henceforth the bailiff, steward, and recorder were to be justices of the peace for the town, its liberties, and the hamlets of Surbiton, Ham, and Hatch, with power to make amerciaments and deliver malefactors to gaol. 150 A further charter in 1628 defined the constitution more closely by authorizing the ancient methods of election and by stipulating that the Attorney-General should be the

��steward of the borough-court.' 51 With the exception of the period covered by the charter of James II this remained the governing charter until 1835.

Although not then a Parliamentary borough, Kings- ton was among the corporations which Charles II attempted to remodel. The first indication of the purpose of the Government appears to have been received in June 1682, when lew. was paid for making a copy of the governing charter for the use of the recorder, 15 ' but nothing further was done until the autumn of 1684, when the recorder resigned, probably as a protest, Francis Brown being elected in his stead.' 51 In September of that year the bailiff and all the gownsmen waited on the high and the learned steward to learn the royal pleasure concerning the surrender, 854 and two months later the Attorney- General gave formal notice that a writ of fue warranto would be brought against the charter. 854 The corporation was evidently severely frightened, and also puzzled as to their wisest course of action. Their high steward, Lord Arlington, was ill, but they secured the goodwill of his secretary by the gift of a guinea and obtained his promise to ' let them know if he heard anything against them at any time.' >M The surrender was authorized,' 57 sealed,' 58 and delivered to the king on 20 January i685. 159 Charles II died on 6 February, and the surrender not having been enrolled was rendered void.

A second quo warranto was brought against the corporation in May, 160 and the bailiffs now applied direct to Jeffreys, who ' was so kind to the corporation as to take the business upon him,' * 61 and ' directed that the Attorney-General should prepare a new surrender which should contain an absolute surrender of every person in the corporation, their respective offices, and places therein.' 16 ' The corporation though unwilling and terrified,' 61 made an absolute surrender in June of all liberties, charters, lands, and manors.' 64 They were forced to borrow 40 from the bridgewardens and smaller sums from the trades companies towards the expenses of the new charter, which was granted in August 1685 and remodelled the constitution under a a mayor, twelve aldermen, a recorder, high steward, steward of the court, sixteen common councilmen, and fourteen headboroughs,' 65 the minor offices remaining unchanged. 166 All officers were amovable by the king in council, and the right was exercised in 1688 against the recorder, Sir Francis Wythens, and the corporation required to choose Robert Power in his stead. 167 The new charter was recalled at Michaelmas 1688, and the old form of government resumed, Francis Brown, who had been removed in favour of Wythens in 1685, returning to the office of recorder.* 68

The constitution of the borough, though charac- terized by the commissioners of 1835 as 'harmless if not useful to the town,' was remodelled in the same year by an Act of Parliament.* 69 The style of the

��** Manic. Ctrf. Com. Ref. iv, 1896.

panies.
 * Doc, of Corp. Bk. of Trades Com-


 * " Roots, Cbarten, 167.

538 Manic. Ctrf. Ctm. Rtf. iv, 2897.

" Cat. S.P. Dom. 1655, p. 149 ; Mere- wether and Stephens, op cit. 1685-6.


 * Munic. Ctrf. Ctm. Rtf. iv, 2897.

841 Ct. of Assembly Bks. fassim.

148 Ibid. 3 July 1684.

843 Roots, Chartcrt, 59.

844 Ibid. 74. * Ibid. 171.

��*" Ct. of Assembly Bk. 7 Feb. 1683-4.

W Ibid. 1680-1714, foL ^b.

148 Munic. Corf. Com. Ref. iv, 2897.

849 Ibid. 2898.

450 Roots, Cbartert, 139.

" Ibid. 161.


 * ' Ct. of Assembly Bk. 22 June 1682.

Ibid. 5 Nov. 1684.

" Ibid. 4 Sept.

156 Ibid. 27 Nov.

M Ibid. 27 Nov. *? Ibid.

>sa Ibid, to Jan. 1684-5.

49 8

��**' Ibid. 29 Jan. MO Ibid. 4 May 1685. 861 Ibid. 12 May.
 * Ibid. 28 May.

848 Ibid. 16 June, 18 June, 25 July. M< Doc. of Corp. 868 Roots, Ckarttrt, 119. 848 Manning and Bray, Surr. i, 341. "7 Ibid, i, 342. Wythens had been removed from the King's Bench in 1687. 868 Doc. of Corp. " Public Act, 5 & 6 Will. IV, cap. 76.

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