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 .