The burgesses or representatives sent by this town to the short parliament, which met in the spring of 1640, as well as those sent to the long parliament, which met the ensuing autumn or winter, were chosen from among its principal and responsible inhabitants; which seems to have been strictly proper and unexceptionable.—The representatives in the former or short parliament were Mr. Wm. Doughty and Mr. Tho. Gurlyn, the two senior aldermen; those in the latter, or long parliament, were Mr. John Percival and Mr. Tho. Toll; who were also chosen from among the aldermen. To each of those representatives their constituents allowed five shillings a day for their trouble, while they attended their duty in parliament. With this trifling allowance, while it was paid, the recipients appear to have been quite satisfied. But their constituents soon grew tired of it, and withheld it from them, which occasioned the interference of parliament, as appears by the following order.
“October 15. 1642—It is this day ordered by the Commons, now assembled in parliament, that the mayor, aldermen, and common counsell of the town of King’s Lynn, in the county of Norfolk, shall pay and allow, out of the town stock, as formerly, unto John Percevall [765a] and Tho. Toll, their burgesses for this present parliament, as large an allowance, per diem, as they have hitherto [765b] allowed any of their aldermen that have been burgesses in parliament for that towne, notwithstanding the freemen [765c] of that town had their voyces in the choice of the said John Percevall and Tho. Toll to be their burgesses in the present parliament. If the mayor of Lynn can shew any cause to the contrary wee shall be ready to hear him.”
The Corporation appear to have been pretty much at a loss how to act in this affair. No public notice appears to have been taken of it from the middle of October till the beginning of January. On the 2nd. of that month the Corporation had a meeting on the occasion, when the above order was taken under consideration. On the next day they met again, when it was resolved and ordered that the following Letter or address should be presented to the House of Commons, by way of answer.
“We the Mayor, Aldermen, and Comon Councel, whose names are hereunto subscribed, doe in all humbleness represent unto your grave wisdoms, That as heretofore no parliamentary wages have been paid before the parliament ended, [766] nor then out of the town stock, but by the Freemen and Inhabitants, saving that of late time, meerly of bounty not of dutye, the burgesses were diversely rewarded by the representative body, so in like humbleness we represent the now impossibility of performance of the said order, in respect wee have not at present (nor had at any time since notice of the said order) any Town-Stock at all, nor are likely to have any for many years to come, for that our revenues are not sufficient to defray the necessary charges wee annually disburse for the ordinary maintenance of the town, whereunto wee are tyed, besides the extraordinary expences which unavoidably do and will daily fall upon us for the safety of our town in especiall, and of the kingdom in generall, all which wee humbly refer to your high Justice and Honorable Consideration.”
As this address was a mere shuffle, it was not likely to impose upon parliament, or prove ultimately of any avail to the corporation. They affected however, to be still desirous of keeping fair with that body; and accordingly treated Cromwell and his company, when they visited the town, two or three months after, with marks of most respectful attention. [767] But that was probably a piece of downright finesse on their part, to gain time and bring the plot which they were forming, or their plan of future resistance to greater ripeness and a fairer chance of success. Even their withholding from their two members the usual allowance for their attendance in parliament may be naturally supposed to have resulted from the design of declaring for the king and against the parliament: and this design was put in execution the ensuing summer, which brought on the siege and other events already noticed.
The Corporation evaded the payment of the said daily allowance to their two members for a whole year or more: but it was not forgotten by the parliament, who sometime after the siege, appear to have put them again in mind of it. Accordingly we find that the following memorandum stands yet in the corporation-books—“Nov. 24. (1643,) ordered that five shillings per diem be paid to John Percevall and Tho. Toll, burgesses in this parliament, from the time they went to parliament to this day.” Thus the affair ended; and our representatives, it is presumed, continued to receive the like allowance afterwards, till the restoration. But it does not appear, or is at all likely to have been the case any longer, as to this town, though it might elsewhere. [768] At the period of which we are speaking, it was, probably, pretty general. Had it been universal, and so continued to this day, it would, no doubt, have been a very happy circumstance for these kingdoms. Our House of Commons, in that case, would have felt more for the country than it has generally done in these latter times: not to say that the people too had been then more careful in the choice of their representatives.
As to the two last elections, already glanced at, that for the short and that for the succeeding long parliament, they appear to have differed from each other in this, that the former was the act or deed of the corporation alone, and the latter that of the whole body of freemen, as is the case (at least nominally) at present. Succeeding elections seem to have exhibited similar diversity. In Cromwell’s first parliament, that of 1653, it does not appear that Lynn had any representatives. It is therefore likely that there was here then no previous election. In the second protectoral parliament, which met in 1654, this town was represented as usual; but how the election was conducted does not seem very clear, though it appears most probable that the freemen at large had no share in it, as may perhaps be concluded from the following memorandum in the town-books—
“1654 July 21. Ordered that 4l. 15s. expended by Mr. Mayor on the day of the election of the burgesses to serve in parliament for this corporation be paid by the chamberlain.”
That the election for the members sent to the 3rd protectoral parliament (that of 1656,) was managed by the corporation solely seems pretty evident from the following note in the town books—
“1656. August 18th. This day general John Desborow and major general Philip Skippon are chosen in this house to serve as burgesses for this borough in his Highness next parliament upon the 17th September next, according to a precept directed to Mr Mayor from the Sherife, and ordered that their charges be paid by this House.”