A Modest Enquiry Concerning The Election Of The Sheriffs of London And The Right of Choosing Demonstrate To belong unto, and to have been always adjudged to reside in the Lord Mayor, And the Common-Hall

London: Henry Mead, 1682. First edition. Hardcover. Modern quarter brown morocco and marbled boards. Fine. 46 pages. 20 x 15.5 cm. A fascinating tract about the election of London's sheriffs, written during the Exclusion Crisis in the late seventeenth century. This was a period of intense political turmoil between Whigs and Tories over whether Charles II's brother, James, Duke of York, should be excluded from succeeding to the throne because he was a Catholic. Due to the sheriffs' control over jury selection, they became a central part of the debate, with both parties seeking to exploit the office for political advantage. ESTC R17026. Slight toning to interior contents. Leather backstrip lettered in gilt.