Excerpt from Diary of the Corporation, Vol. 3: 5 16 Charles I, (1630 1640, )Municipal affairs. The most memorable event in our Municipal transactions at this time was the obtaining of a new Charter from the Crown, enlarging in several respects the Charter conferred by Queen Elizabeth. The Charter of Charles the First, dated at Westminster, December 17, 1638, contained the following special provisions Instead of the Nine Capital and Sixteen Secondary Burgesses, appointed by the Charter of Elizabeth, there were to be, in future, Thirteen Aldermen (of whom the Mayor was to be one), with Twelve Assistants, a Steward of the Borough (now Recorder), to be elected by the Mayor and Aldermen, and two Burgesses to be elected as Chamberlains. Virtually the chief authority was in the hands of the Mayor and Aldermen, although the Assistants could vote in the election of a Mayor. (2) Ample powers were conferred for the government and regulation of Trade and for holding property to an enlarged amount. (3) The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, the Bishop of the Diocese (salisbury), or his Chan cellor, the Senior Alderman, or the last precedent Mayor, to be Justices of the Peace, two of which may be a Quorum, the Mayor, or Deputy Mayor, being one.It is noticeable that the preamble to this Charter emphatically asserts those exalted claims of high prerogative which subsequently led to the outbreak of the Civil War. We may remark that the Charter of Charles the First, modified by some tri¿ing changes in succeeding reigns, was practically the governing Charter of the Municipality until the Corporation Reform Act of 1836. It is to be hoped that this and other valuable Charters in the possession of the Corporation may be published hereafter in a separate volume.At the close of this Volume (in 1640) we arrive at that eventful period of English History, which was to decide the long impending struggle between the Crown and the Commons. In the 'short' Parliament, which met April 13, and was unwisely dissolved by the King on May 5, the two Members returned for Reading were Sir Edward Herbert, solicitor-general, at the request of Laud.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.