By the practice of annulling the charters, the king was become master of all the corporations, and could at pleasure change every where the whole magistracy.

The church party, therefore, by whom the crown had been hitherto so remarkably supported, and to whom the king visibly owed his safety from all the efforts of his enemies, was deprived of authority; and the dissenters, those very enemies, were first in London, and afterwards in every other corporation, substituted in their place.

Not content with this violent and dangerous innovation, the king appointed certain regulators to examine the qualifications of electors; and directions were given them to exclude all such as adhered to the test and penal statutes.[*] * The elections in some places, particularly in York, were transferred from the people to the magistrates, who, by the new charter, were all named by the crown.

Sir John Reresby's Memoirs, p.272.This was in reality nothing different from the king's naming the members.

The same act of authority had been employed in all the boroughs of Scotland.
Queries to this purpose were openly proposed in all places, in order to try the sentiments of men, and enable the king to judge of the proceedings of the future parliament.