Of all these devices for raising money, that of selling charters to
towns had the most important results. From the time of the Norman
Conquest the large towns of England, with few exceptions, were
considered part of the King's property; the smaller places generally
belonged to the great barons.
The citizens of these towns were obliged to pay rent and taxes of
various kinds to the King or lord who owned them. These dues were
collected by an officer appointed by the King or lord (usually the
sheriff), who was bound to obtain a certain sum, whatever more he
could get being his own profit. For this reason it was for his
interest to exact from every citizen the uttermost penny. London, as
we have seen, had secured a considerable degree of liberty through the
charter granted to it by William the Conqueror (S107). Every town was
now anxious to obtain a similar charter.
The three great objects which the citizens of the towns sought were:
(1) To get the right of paying their taxes directly to the King.
(2) To elect their own magistrates.
(3) To administer justice in their own courts in accordance with laws
made by themselves.
The only way to gain these privileges was to pay for them. Many of
the towns were rich, and, if the King or lord needed money, they
bargained with him for the favors they desired. When the agreement
was made, it was drawn up in Latin and stamped with the King's seal
(S154). Then the citizens took it home in triumph and locked it up as
the safeguard of their liberties, or at least of some part of them.
Thus, the people of Leicester, in the next reign, purchased from the
Earl of Leicester, their feudal lord, the right to decide their own
disputes. For this they payed a yearly tax of threepence on every
house having a gable on the main street. These concessions may seem
small, but they prepared the way for greater ones.
What was still more important, these charters educated the citizens of
the day in a knowledge of self-government. The tradesmen and
shopkeepers of these towns did much to preserve free speech and equal
justice. Richard granted a large number of these town charters, and
thus unintentionally made himself a benefactor to the nation.[1]
[1] Rise of Free Towns: By 1216 the most advanced of the English towns
had become to a very considerable extent self-governing. See
W. Stubbs's "Constitutional History of England."