MR. Papillon having been duly Elected one of the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex , he brought a Writ of Mandamus out of the Court of King's Bench , to command the Mayor and Aldermen to swear him into the Office ; that being disobeyed , he is advised by his Council , that he is entituled to an Action at Law for the Wrong done him ; he sends in a respectful Way , to the Mayor and Aldermen , requesting them to give voluntary Appearances to his Action ; THAT being refused , he proceeds by a Legal Process to bring them to answer him at Law : Whereupon Sir William Pritchard , being arrested by the Coroner of London , to whom the King's Writ was directed , and detained some Hours , upon his Refusal to give an Appearance to Mr. Papillon's Action ; Sir William brings an Action against him for thus arresting him ; and demands 10000 l. Damages , wherein he committed a great over-sight , for had he ask'd 100000 l. ( the usual Damages given in that Day ) he had not failed of it , with the following Jury , which tryed the Cause .

Bartholomew Ferryman , Thomas Blackmore , Thomas Symonds , William Whatton , John Greene , Thomas Amy , Joseph Baggs , Daniel Chandler , John Reynolds , John Allen , Joseph Caine , Will . Wythers Junior .

Mr. Mundy opened the Declaration , to this Effect , That the Plaintiff being Lord Mayor , and to attend that Office in the diligent Government of the City , The Defendant envying the happy Estate of the Plaintiff , and contriving unjustly to disturb him in the Execution of his Office ; did to vex him , ( not having any probable Cause of Action against him ) maliciously prosecute the King's Writ out of the Court of Kings ' Bench against him ; directed to the Coroner of London , commanding him to take Sir William Pritchard at Mr. Papillon's Suit , in an Action of Trespass ; and did procure Mr. John Brome , the Coroner , to arrest him , and that he was detained in Custody Six Hours , to the Disgrace and Scandal of the Plaintiff and of his Office : Whereas in Fact , he had not any just Cause of Action against him , to his Damage 10000 l.

Then the Attorney General told the Jury , That the Action was brought to vindicate the Honour of the Chair , from such Affronts , as these , which in no Age ( 'till our Times of Faction and Confusion ) it ever met with : And he said , we shall shew you , that there lay a further Malice in this Case , and that there was a Design in it against the Government : This Design was laid to carry on the great Plot , against the Lives of the King and the Duke ; and for Subversion of the Government — The End of this Business was , to have had a Commotion , for the accomplishing their great Conspiracy ; but Parturiunt Montes : For after this Tragical Out-cry , their own Witnesses only proved , that Mr. Brome the Coroner , went to my Lord Mayor , and told him that he had a Writ against him , at the Suit of Mr. Papillon , and another at the Suit of Mr. Dubois , and prayed him , that he would please to give an Appearance , and that upon his refusing to do it , his Lordship went in his own Coach to the Coroner's House .

Mr. Serjeant Maynard then offered to the Jury , That my Lord Mayor , if he mistake in his Office , and doth not that which belongs to him to do , he is as much subject to the Process of the Law , as any private Citizen ; That the Question they were to try , was , Whether Mr. Papillon had probable Cause of Action against the Mayor ; That the Case was thus , Upon the Contest about the Choice of Sheriffs , the Judges of the Election , certify to the Mayor and Aldermen , that Mr. Papillon had most Suffrages , thereupon he conceived himself rightly chosen ; and that surely gave him a probable Cause to proceed upon it ; and if so , no Doubt he might well take the Course he did : Here is no Arrest without Legal Process ; nay their own Witnesses say , there was an Offer to take an Appearance , without an Arrest ; but that being refused , the Process of the Law was executed — He had no other Course to take , but to bring his Action against the Mayor : This course he took , Here is a great Deal of Stir made , that a Coroner of London should Arrest my Lord Mayor ; he might do it lawfully ; doth this prove , that this was maliciously done ? Have they proved any particular Discontent and Malice that was between them ? No , the quite contrary appears : Did he violently arrest him ? That he might do , and no Offence in Law ; no , but he did it not , but only desired from Time to Time , that he would give an Appearance , that would have put a Conclusion to this Dispute — Besides , the Sheriffs having made a Return of Mr. Papillon's Election to the Aldermen ; they being of another Opinion , gave Order , that those who thought themselves aggrieved should take their Remedy at Law , which has been pursued in the Regular Course the Law prescribes — Here is a great Noise of Damage , and Disrepute , and Disgrace ; and the Plaintiff has been pleased to reckon his own Damages at 10000 l. — We say he has sustained no Damage — The very Court of Aldermen and the Lord Mayor , bidding them take their Course at Law ; We , sure shall not be punished for doing it .

Mr. Williams then insisted , that the Plaintiff's Action must fall , if they shewed that it was not Malitious , and that Mr. Papillon had a probable Cause to bring his Action .

Mr. Ward then observed to the Jury , that Mr. Papillon had been greatly reflected upon ; That by way of Crimination against him , there was a most unjust Reflection , as if he were privy to an intended Insurrection and Conspiracy against the King's Life ; and procured the Mayor to be Arrested , to promote an Insurrection ; That this was only insinuated for Reflection sake , and not one Word of any such thing proved : He then added , that the Case before them depended upon this Point ; Whether Mr. Papillon had a reasonable Cause or probable Ground to bring an Action against Sir William Pritchard ; If so , all that was desired , was only an Appearance ; but that would not be given — That the Jury had been told of the great Dangers in the Case , as to the Infringement of the Peace , &c. but had Sir William-Pritchard complyed with the reasonable and oft repeated Request , of ordering of an Appearance , the Peace of the Kingdom had been in no Peril from such a Design as this Arrest .

Here the Chief Justice told Mr. Ward , ( a Person never esteemed to come short of Sir George Jefferies , in any thing but Insolence and Impudence ) That he had made a long Speech , and nothing at all to the purpose ; and that he did not understand what he was about ; and that made him ramble in his Discourse ; and did then , in a raving and most impetuous manner , repeat his Expression six or seven times , that Mr. Ward did not understand the Business .

Mr. Brome the Coroner ( being called to give an Account of the manner of his Arresting my Lord Mayor ) testified ; That he had a former Writ in Hillary Term , and went to my Lord Mayor , and desired him that he would appear to it , but he said , he would give no Appearance : That he gave his Lordship a Week or Ten Days to consider of it ; and then waited upon him at the Court of Aldermen , and had his Answer , That he had considered of it , and would give no Appearance .

That a little before Easter Term , the Attorney brought him another Writ , and threatned to complain to the Court of him , for neglecting the Execution of Two of the King's Writs : That thereupon he went again to my Lord , and told him that the Writ was renewed , and he was pressed to make a Return ; and desired , that his Lordship would please to give an Appearance ; and that he told him he was ready to submit to the King's Writ , but would not give an Appearance ; and thereupon the Officers named in the Warrant , Arrested him by his Command .

Then Mr. Crisp the Common Serjeant ( aiming at Alderman Cornish ) falls to interrogating Mr. Brome , who were present at the Meeting , when the Arresting the Mayor was agreed upon ? He having named Two or Three , the Common Serjeant further pressed him to name others ; and then the Chief Justice explained the Common Serjeant's Meaning , by demanding whether Mr. Cornish was there ?

Alderman Cornish , and Mr. Serjeant testified , That Mr. Papillon and Mr. Dubois being at the Alderman's House ; their Attorney came to them , and told them , that he had addressed himself from Time to Time to my Lord Mayor , to get him to give an Appearance , but he would not ; and that thereupon they told him , it was fit the matter should be brought to an Issue ; and ordered him to get an Appearance if he could , and to remember that the Lord Mayor was the Chief Majestrate of the City ; and that he should carry it with all imaginable Respect and Regard to him .

Here the Chief Justice and Attorney General , made long and extravagant Excursions , running upon Alderman Cornish , with Abundance of Questions , wholly foreign to the Matter in Question ; and Jefferies told him , that he had as much Cause as any Man to remember the Manner of his own being chosen Sheriff , for several Reasons that he knew . [ A plain Indication of what he designed against this honest Gentleman . ] And then his Lordship added , that he only asked Things by the By , to satisfy the World what Sort of Men these are , that pretend to Saintship ; and with his wonted Blustering Impudence , said , Do you think the Government will ever suffer it self , to be snivelled at , and overthrown By a Company of such Whining Fellows ? — Do you think to sham People into Offices ? No , I tell you , Villany was the Foundation of it , and Knavery the Superstructure — Neither Bethel , nor that very Fellow that stands there , Cornish , would have taken the Oaths and Sacrament , 'till they found it would contribute to the Design of subverting the Government ; then these Rascals could qualify themselves for an Office , only to put the Kingdom into a Flame .

Mr. Gilbert Nelson then testified , that upon the holding up of the Hands , at the Election of Sheriffs the 24th of June 1682. there were upon the View , most for Mr. Papillon , and Mr. Dubois ; and that upon the casting up the Poll Books , there was the greatest Number for Mr. Papillon . Mr. Wightman added , that in the Poll Books , there were 2400 and odd , for Mr. Papillon and Mr. Dubois .

Mr. Leonard Robinson added , that by the Hands , the Majority was much more for Mr. Papillon and Mr. Dubois , than for the other Two ; and the Sheriffs did so declare their Opinion ; and a Poll being demanded , and granted , after it was closed in the Evening , the Sheriffs declared the Numbers upon the Hustings ; Mr. Papillon and Mr. Dubois had above Two Thousand , and Mr. North and Mr. Box some Hundreds under Two Thousand .

Mr. Baker testified , that the Action was brought by the Advice of Mr. Wallop , Mr. Pollexfen , and Mr. Thompson .

Then the Chief Justice comes to sum up the Evidence , and after a most tedious Introduction , proceeds to discharge his Spleen thus . Come , Gentlemen , it is best to be plain ; Tho' it is true , a Man may lawfully sue for such an Office , and it is no Offence , yet it looks somewhat extraordinary , 't is for some strange Purpose or other — It is notoriously known , that for several Years the Government has been beset , and which is a baser Thing than ever was thought of , or acted in the highest Times of Villany ; the very Methods of Justice have been corrupted ; and all to serve the main Design of subverting the Government .

Gentlemen , this is so black a Wickedness , that no honest Man , that has any Sense of Loyalty , Religion , or common Justice ; but must tremble at the very Thoughts of it : When we see such Fellows as are common Reproaches to the Government , shall get into Office , to make Ignoramus Juries — When Men begin to take Oaths to sanctify Villany , what shall we say ? And all this you , all of you , Gentlemen , know to be true — Was it not more safe to conspire the Death of the King and his Brother , than to give the least Frown upon one of these snivelling Saints ? Did not we know , that Men were sanctified to be Jury-men , that before , were never thought sit to be trusted with the common Society of honest Men ?

Mr. Papillon knows all this to be true eminently : When pack'd Juries were grown to that Heighth , that when Seven or Eight Witnesses swore down-right Treason , the Traytor could not by these Men so much as be accused by an Indictment : To that Stupidity in Villany , were Things brought by these Fellows : So were the Proceedings in Courts of Justice tainted , that cropp'd Hair and a demure Look , were the best Signs of a good Evidence .

Gentlemen , There was not a Pursuit of Right in this Case , It was a designed Piece of Villany , on purpose to affront the Government ; nay , to destroy it ; and if he were Ten Thousand Times Mr. Papillon , I would tell him so .

It is plain , Gentlemen , that the Design from the Beginning to the End , was to cause a Tumult and Confusion in the City , in Order to put that damned hellish Conspiracy , for destroying the King and his Brother , and every Man , that was honest and loyal , in Execution : This , Gentlemen , is Plain English .

We all know Mr. Papillon to be a wealthy Man ; one that had rather have minded his Affairs , than the expensive Office of Sheriff ; but that something was to be done , to wreak a damned Malice and Revenge upon the Governmment — This I tell him openly , and let him and his Party make their Remarks upon it as they please — There was questionless a devilish Malice , fixed in his Heart and Mind ; and he wanted an Opportunity to effect it , and he thought it best for his own Security , to take this course , and nothing else was in it . — Alack-a-day , ( as Mr. Pilkington said ) I am for the Preservation of the Liberties and Properties of the Subject ; but I find the City is strangely run down , in their Rights and Priviledges , I will rather take a troublesome Office , than let all run thus , and immedately sets himself a Cock-a-hoop , as if there were none to take care of the City , but himself — He , and Mr. Bethel , and Mr. Cornish , forsooth , are the only Men of the Times , the Men ; Men for the Liberties of the Subject , and the Rights of the City .

Gentlemen , the Government is infinitely concerned in this Case ; that puts a Weight upon your Enquiry into the Damages ; your Severity in this Case , will deter all People from entring into Clans and Cabals to affront Government .

That I may not further nauseat the Reader with the foul Language and venomous Malice of this Insolent , Arrogant and intolerable Slanderer , I shall transcribe no more of his virulent Discourse , tho' he run on to a strange Length , at a most wicked and infamous Rate of Falshood and Defamations , against the best Men of the City , without any manner of Colour for the Truth of what he said .

The Jury thus directed , found for the Plaintiff , and assessed Damages to 10000 l.

The Chief Justice said , Gentlemen , you seem to be Persons that have some Sense upon you , and I think have given a good Verdict , and are to be grealy commended for it .

By this extravagant and most unrighteous Verdict , was this upright and wise Citizen , Mr. Papillon , drove into Exile , 'till Heaven vouchsafed him , with the Nation , a most miraculous and happy Deliverance by the Glorious Undertaking of our now Sovereign , then Prince of Orange .