LON 
fifty-two of the companies’ halls, and a great number of 
Other (lately edifices ; together with three of the city 
gates, four Hone bridges, and the prifons of Newgate, the 
Fleet, the Poultry and Wood-ftreet Compters ; the lofs 
of which, by the belt calculation, amounted to 10,730,500!. 
And, notwithltanding all this deftruftion, on:y fix or 
eight perfons loft their lives. 
The irregularity of the buildings, the dark ill contrived 
tvooden houfes, and the narrow, crooked, and incommo¬ 
dious, (treets ot the city, had always been a Subject of com¬ 
plaint. The extent of the conflagration now put it in 
the power of authority to rebuild London with greater 
uniformity and fecurity ; and fuch was the immediate at¬ 
tention of the court on this occafion, that his majeliy if- 
fued a proclamation, while the . ruins were yet fmoking, 
to prohibit the rebuilding of houfes, till public care might 
be taken for its re-edification with greater magnificence 
and uniformity than before, and with fuch materials as 
*night molt effectually prevent fuch another occurrence. 
The parliament affembled with all ('peed; and, on the 
18th of September, palled an act for eredting a court of 
judicature, for fettling differences between landlords and 
tenants, refpedting houfes burned down and demolithed 
by the late fire; and appointed the juitices of the courts 
of King’s Bench and Common Pleas, and the barons of 
the Exchequer, to be judges of the laid court; who con¬ 
ducted themlelves with fuch admirable impartiality and 
ftridt juftice, that they gave univerfal content; and, in 
token of the general elteem of the citizens, their portraits 
were ordered to be hung up in Guildhall, where they re- 
«nain to this day. 
Soon after, an aft of parliament was palled for rebuild¬ 
ing the city, which laid down rules and directions for all 
perfons concerned therein. 
It is a Itrange coincidence, that, as the fire began at 
Pudding-lane, it was itopped at Pve-corner, near Smith- 
field. The figure of a grofsly-fat boy, with an inlcrip- 
tion attributing this calamity to the fin ol gluttony, placed 
on a houfe at Pye-corner, alludes no doubt to this cir- 
cumltance ; while the inscription on the Monument with 
equal abfurdity imputes it to the Roman catholics. 
The good confequences of this tremendous difafter, in 
preventing the returns of the plague, which for a feries 
of ages had fo frequently vifited the capital, may teach us, 
that what we call calamities are frequently blelfings in their 
effedts. This terrible diforder has never appeared in Lon¬ 
don fince the rebuilding of the city; which, under Provi¬ 
dence, may partly be attributed to the enlargement of the 
ftreets, and the prelent attention to cleanlincls. That great 
architect, fir Chriltopher Wren, exerted his fine genius in 
forming plans for rebuilding the city in the molt noble 
and elegant manner; but private intenelt interfered, and 
obstructed the execution of his magnificent defign. He 
was, however, permitted to difplay his talte in the erec¬ 
tion of many public edifices, particularly a fine Doric pil¬ 
lar, two hundred and two feet high, called the Monument, 
railed near the (pot where the conflagration began, in me- * 
mory of the event. 
On the 29th of Oftober, 1675, when fir Robert Viner en¬ 
tered into his mayoralty, his majelty honoured the corpo¬ 
ration with his company at Guildhall, and accepted the 
freedom of the city, in the chamberlain’s office, from the 
hands of fir Thomas Player, then chamberlain. The lord- 
mayor, aldermen, and common-council, to (how their fenfe 
of this inltance of conddbenfion, on the 18th of December 
following, waited on his majelty, at the Banqueting houle, 
Whitehall, and prefented him with a copy o( his freedom, 
in a large fquare box of maffiy gold, with a feal inclofed 
in another box of the fame metal, beautifully enriched 
with diamonds of immenfe value. 
This cordiality did not lait long. The frequent proro¬ 
gations of the parliament began to raife an univerfal dif- 
contenr, which was considerably itfereafed by an opinion, 
that this and. other unpopular meafures were produced by 
the influence of the duke of York in the cabinet. He 
was known to be a rigid papift ; and, as one of the bufi- 
neffes molt eagerly purfued by the parliament, when they 
did meet, was the bill for excluding him from the pari la¬ 
ment, and indeed from the fuceeffion to the throne, the 
uneafinels of the people was manifelted by numerous and 
repeated petitions to the throne; and rl ■ fenfe of Uie citi¬ 
zens ot Loudon, on this fubjebt, was 10 itr ugly exprefled 
in a petition prefented to the king from them,..as to give 
great offence to his majelh , whole anfwer.pui ponvd, that 
“ he looked upon himlelf to be the head of the govern¬ 
ment, and the only judge what was proper to be done in 
thefe cafes.” 
The citizens were refolute to their purpoTe ; and, ac¬ 
cordingly, on Midfummer-day, 1679, Bethel and Cornilh, 
two men on whom they could depend, were nominated for 
(heriffs, and, on a fhow of hands, elected by a-confiderable 
majority; but, a poll being demanded in favour of the 
court-candidates, a tumult eniued, which -as reprefented 
by the mayor, and other Supporters of the duke of York, 
as a riot; and the king iifued a commiflion, on the fame 
evening, for the trial of the rioters. 
But, far from being over-awed by this exertion of au¬ 
thority, they perfevered with more ardour than before in 
their oppofition to papacy; and having, on the difiolution 
of parliament, which took place fliordy after, re-elected 
their former representatives, in defpite of every artifice 
made life of to procure, tlie return of members devoted to 
the miniltry, they gave them a paper of inltructions, in 
the name of the citizens in common-hall affembled ; in 
which, after thanking them for their unwearied endea¬ 
vours in furthering their views during the l ilt two parlia¬ 
ments, and more efpecially for promoting the bill for the 
exclulion of the duke of York ; they conclude, by ex- 
p re (fin git heir confident a flu ranee, “that the faid members 
w ill never confent to granting any mooey-f’upply, till they 
have effectually Secured them againll popery and arbitrary 
power.” 
From the fudden difiolution of parliament, the bill of 
exclufion, the darling object of the citizens, was loft; yet 
they chole every opportunity of fhowing their diflik.e to 
theirfuture fovereign. An inf.ance of this occurred fhortly. 
after, on occafion of an entertainment given, at Merchant- 
t ay lots’ Hall, by the Artillery-company, to him, as their 
captain general. To leifen the gratification the duke might 
derive from this public mark of diltindion, as mucif as 
was in their power, the anti-courtiers fixed on the fame 
clay for a public-dinner, at Haberdafhers’ Hall, to be pre¬ 
ceded by a fermon ; the invitation to which ran in the fol¬ 
lowing form : “ It having pleafed Almighty God, by his 
wonderful providence, to deliver and proted his majefty’s 
perlon, the proteflant religion, and Englifh liberties, hi¬ 
therto, from the hellifh and f requent attempts of their ene¬ 
mies, the papilts ; in teflimony of thankfulnefs herein, and 
for preserving and improving mutual love and charity 
among fuch as are fen Able thereof, you are deli red to meet 
many of the loyal proteflant nobility, clergy, and citizens, 
on Friday, the 21U inflant April* 1682, at ten ot the clock, 
at St. Michael’s church, in Cornhill; there to hear a fer- 
mon, and from thence to go to' Haberdafliers’ Hail, to 
dinner; and to bring this ticket with you.” 
This fcheroe gave great offence to the court,, it being 
reprefented to them as a matter ot very dangerous ten¬ 
dency ; to prevent which, an order of council was made, 011 
the 19th of the fame month, ftrictly charging the iord- 
mayor and aldermen, as they fhould anfwer the contrary 
at their peril, “to take immediate and effectual care to 
prevent and hinder the faid meeting, .as an unlawful af- 
lembly.” 
Party-diffenfions now ran very high, and each fide yfed 
their utmolt efforts to (ecure the (heriffs of Loudon and 
Middlefex in their intereff. The lord-mayor, who was 
on the coprt-lide, infifted on his right of nominating one, 
by drinking to him ; a ceremony, by which it was unaer- 
ltood, that the perlon lb drank to was put in nomination* 
Subject to the election ot the common-hall. But, debend- 
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