Source.—Statutes of the Realm, 23 Henry VI., c. 14.

The statute recites 1 Henry V. c. 1 (see p. 13), and 8 Henry VI. c. 7 (see p. 35), then proceeds:

... By force of which statutes elections of knights to come to Parliament sometimes have been duly made and lawfully returned until now of late that divers sheriffs, for their singular avail and lucre, have not made due elections of knights, nor in convenient time, nor good men and true returned, and sometime no return of the knights, citizens and burgesses lawfully chosen to come to the Parliaments; but such knights, citizens, and burgesses have been returned which were never duly chosen, and other citizens and burgesses than those which by the mayors and bailiffs were to the said sheriffs returned; and sometimes the sheriffs have not returned the writs which they had to make elections of knights to come to the Parliaments, but the said writs have imbesiled, and moreover made no precept to the mayor and bailiffs, or to the bailiffs or bailiff, where no mayor is, of cities and boroughs, for the elections of citizens and burgesses to come to the Parliaments, by colour of these words contained in the same writs—"Quod in pleno comitatu tuo eligi facias pro comitatu tuo duos milites, et pro qualibet civitate in comitatu tuo duos cives et pro quolibet burgo in comitatu tuo duos burgenses;" and also because sufficient penalty and convenient remedy for the party in such case grieved is not ordained in the said statutes against the sheriffs, mayors, and bailiffs, which do contrary to the form of the said statutes: The King considering the premises hath ordained by Authority aforesaid, that the said statutes shall be duly kept in all points: and moreover that every sheriff, after the delivery of any such writs to him made, shall make and deliver without fraud a sufficient Precept under his seal to every mayor and bailiff, or to bailiffs or bailiff where no mayor is, of the cities and boroughs within his county, reciting the said writ, commanding them by the same precept, if it be a city, to choose by citizens of the same city, citizens; and in the same manner and form, if it be a borough, by burgesses of the same to come to the Parliament. And that the same mayor and bailiffs, or bailiffs or bailiff where no mayor is, shall return lawfully the precept to the same sheriffs by indenture betwixt the same sheriffs, and them to be made of the said elections, and of the names of the said citizens and burgesses by them so chosen; and thereupon every sheriff shall make a good and rightful return of every such writ, and of every return by the mayors and bailiffs, or bailiffs or bailiff where no mayor is, to him made.