London and the Kingdom - Volume II | Page 5

a speech, wishing him on
behalf of the city "a golden reigne," and that a cup of gold was
presented to the king, the queen and the young prince who

accompanied them respectively;(19) but no record of the speech or gifts
appears in the City's archives.
(M7)
One of the first questions James had to decide on his accession to the
throne was that of religious toleration; and his settlement of the
question was anxiously looked for as well by the Puritans as the
Catholics. The fear lest the policy which the king should advocate
might prove adverse to their interests determined the Catholics to resort
to strong measures, and the life of James was threatened by a series of
plots, as that of Elizabeth had been before him. Among these was a
plan for seizing the king at Greenwich on Midsummer-day, 1603. The
plan was laid by a secular priest named William Watson, who had
previously sounded James as to his probable attitude to the Catholics if
he came to the throne, Sir Griffin Markham, a Catholic gentleman, who
for private reasons was discontented with the government, and one
Antony Copley. News of the plot having reached the government, the
conspirators fled for their lives. Proclamations were issued for their
capture,(20) in which details were given of their personal appearance.
Thus Watson was described as a man of the lowest sort about thirty-six
years of age, "he lookethe a squinte and is verie purblynde," and had
formerly worn a long beard which he was believed to have cut off;
whilst Sir Griffin Markham is credited with having a large broad face
of a "bleake" complexion, a big nose, and a hand maimed by a bullet.
His brethren "have all verie greate noses." Copley's description is not
given, but we have that of another conspirator, William Clarke, a priest,
whose hair is represented as having been "betwixte redd and yeallowe."
The whole party was subsequently taken, one after another, and their
examination disclosed traces of another conspiracy, the object of which
was to place Arabella Stuart on the throne.
The discovery of Watson's conspiracy--generally known as the "Bye"
or "Surprise" Plot--so alarmed the king that he lost no time in making
known his intention to exact no longer the recusancy fines. The result
was such as might be expected. The Puritans were disgusted, whilst the
number of recusants increased to such an alarming extent that in

February, 1604, the king took the extreme measure of ordering the
expulsion of all Jesuits and Seminary priests from the country before
the 19th March,(21) the day fixed for the meeting of parliament.
(M8)
As soon as parliament met a crisis was felt to be at hand; the new king
and the Commons were for the first time to measure their strength. The
city's representatives are duly recorded.(22) At the head of them was
Sir Henry Billingsley,(23) a former mayor, Sir Henry Montague,(24)
recently appointed Recorder of the city upon the king's own
recommendation, Nicholas Fuller, of whom little is known beyond the
fact that he came from Berkshire and married the daughter of Nicholas
Backhouse,(25) alderman and grocer, and Richard Gore, a merchant
tailor.
(M9)
With his customary self-complacency and patronising air James told
the assembled Commons that he had brought them two gifts, the one
peace abroad,(26) and the other the union of England with Scotland
under the title of Great Britain,(27) and he expressed no little surprise
and indignation when he found that neither one nor the other was
acceptable. The question of the union of the two kingdoms, seeing that
it involved some political difficulties necessary of solution, was
referred to a commission.(28) James showed his displeasure at the want
of compliance displayed by the Commons by refusing to accept a
scheme of commutation of his rights of purveyance and wardship,
which had now grown so burdensome.
(M10)
The abuse of purveyance, more especially, had become a standing
grievance to the burgesses of London as well as of other cities and
towns, in spite of attempted remedies by statute or charter.(29) An offer
of £50,000 a year was made to the king by way of commuting any
shred of right he might still have to purveyance after thirty-six statutes
had pronounced it altogether illegal. This, however, he refused, and the

matter was allowed to drop. Two years later, almost to the day (23
April, 1606), the king endeavoured so far to remedy the evil as to issue
a proclamation against exactions and illegal acts of his purveyors,(30)
and yet scarcely a month elapsed before the lord mayor had occasion to
call the attention of the lords of the council to the great inconvenience
caused in the city by their recent demand for 200 carts with two horses
to each, together with the lord