"Payment of the Uses of Sir Thomas Gresham's Will; and that all the Arrears due to the Lecturers, &c. be fully paid, clear of all Taxes, either now assessed, or to be ever hereafter assessed; and that no Stoppage shall be made of the said Payments for the future, on Account of rebuilding the Exchange, or otherwise howsoever. And that the Trustees shall support, maintain, and repair, at their own Costs and Charges, the said Hall and Lecturers Houses, &c. as often as Occasion shall be; and that the Trustees shall, on any Vacancy of a Lecturer for the future, come to a Choice within two Months."

The Bill being thus lost in the House of Lords, upon the Petition of Dr. Hooke, the Geometry-Professor, the Trustees were much offended, and therefore went no farther in clearing the Arrears due to the Professors, than the abovementioned Payment of the Year's Salary, and laid aside this Project of Rebuilding, 'till the Death of Dr. Hooke, which happened within a Year or two after; soon after which, the Trustees again resumed their Design of bringing in their Bill into Parliament, as hoping now for better Success, when the main Opposer of it was dead; and then again they desired the Professors Consent and Concurrence, which they readily had; and accordingly, in the Year 1703/4, they brought into the House of Lords the same Bill as before, where it passed, but with the following Clause added, "Provided always, that no Person shall hereafter be capable of being chosen a Lecturer upon any Vacancy, except he be a Graduate in one of the Universities of this Kingdom." There was likewise added a Penalty to the Bill namely, "The the Trustees should be obliged and required to build these Houses, Hall, and Alms-houses, for the Lecturers and Alms-folks, within five Years from the passing of this Act, upon the Penalty of two thousand Pounds, to be forfeited to her Majesty, her Heirs, or Successors, &c." But when this Bill came down to the House of Commons, Exception was taken to this Clause, and the Bill being on that Account rejected, hath never since been attempted again in Parliament.

In Page 129.b. Some Account is given of a Petition preferred against the Professors, both in the Court of Aldermen, and at the joint Committee for Gresham Affairs: But the Original of this Complaint, the Particulars of the Professors Defence of themselves, as well as some other material Points relating thereto, being there omitted, it is thought proper to give here a more distinct and full Account of them.

In the Year 1706, some Persons in Office, in the Parishes of St. Helen's and Broadstreet, did, contrary to all Custom and Usage, assess and tax the several Apartments of the Professors as distinct Houses; whereas the whole seven Lodgings (all which, as was well known, were only the single Mansion-house of Sir Thomas Gresham) had been before taxed but as one House: They likewise endeavour'd to bring the Professors into the Poor's Rates, and other parochial Taxations, to subject their Salaries to the King's Taxes, and to lay other such-like Hardships upon them, nothing of which had ever before been so much as demanded of them. The Professors absolutely refused to comply with any of these Demands, and by proper Appeals, and other Methods, got themselves discharged from these Impositions. The Parish-Officers finding themselves disappointed, and not able to lessen their own Charges, by laying part of them on the Professors, grew angry, and sought to give all the Molestation and Trouble they could to them; for which Purpose, they employed Persons of mean and sorry Condition perpetually to attend the Lectures, not to reap any Advantage thence, or even to satisfy any Curiosity, but to obtain Matter for Calumny or Complaint, and to give Notice if any blameable Omission should happen: And these Persons Behaviour was suitable to the Design they were sent to pursue, being always tumultuous and rude, and sometimes abusive to some of the Professors, during the Time of their performing their Duty. The Professors might have taken just Exception to such an Audience, and have refused to read to Persons so unqualified as they were: However, they never omitted their Lectures on this Account; but continued in the constant Discharge of their Duty, to the Disappointment of their Adversaries, who wanted nothing more than a just Occasion of Complaint; but as they could find no Neglect in the Professors of their real Duty, they had Recourse to an imaginery one, demanding of the Professors to read Lectures on Holidays, nay, of the Divinity Professor to read on Sundays: This they afterwards carried so far, as to insist on Lectures every Day in the whole Year. The Professors refusing Compliance with with these Demands, their Adversaries had Recourse to Clamour and Noise; they printed Representations and Advertisements, that such Lectures were to be read on such Days, namely, on Holidays, when they knew no Lectures were to be read, and pasted these up and down in the most publick Places, and by other Means dispersed them, and thus drew many Strangers thither; who being disappointed, and not knowing the Usage and Custom of the Place, were drawn in to join with them in their unresaonable Clamours: And among these several Persons of good Fashion and Education.; such, whose Attendance might have been a Credit and Reputation to the Professors, had they not fallen into the Prejudices before-named, and with great Zeal joined in the groundless Demand of Lectures every Day in the Year, instead of the known Duty of reading them only in the Term Times. The Professors refusing to depart from what had been ever the Custom of the College, were menaced with Complaints to be made to the Committee for Gresham Affairs; and if Redress was not to be had there, of farther appealing to the Lord Maior and Court of Aldermen. And to make these Complaints more effectual, and pursue them with a greater Vigour, the Complainants selected a Number from among themselves, to meet and consider how to carry on these Designs in the most proper Manner: At these Meetings they diligently went thro' the Founder's Will, to see if any thing was there directed that they could charge the Professors with the Omission of; and there finding the Expression of studying and reading daily, they fixed upon this last Word, and obstinately contended, that nothing else was or could be meant by it, than every Day in the Year; tho' as has been before observed, to any one who is acquainted with our University Statutes, or Customs, it will appear to have a quite different Meaning. They likewise found Fault with the customary Hour of reading, (two of the Clock) as unseasonable for them to attend, it falling within the Time of their Dinner. This was the Original and Progress of their Complaints, which they carried on farther, by using great Industry to get Hands to an Instrument, setting forth these Grievances, in order to be presented to proper Authority to obtain Redress; and accordingly, Petitions were delivered in to this Effect, both to the Court of Aldermen, and Grand Com-