tinent, but he had brought over with him the charters of the franchises
of the staples which had been purchased of the late king. These were in
the hands of John de Charleton, who refused to give them up. He had
himself, however, gone to Dover in the eighteenth year of Edward II, when
the king himself was there, and had caused a duplicate of the charters to
be made, which he had expressed his readiness to show them. He encloses a
copy. As a proof of the bad feeling (_la malencolye_) which the burgesses
of York entertained towards him, he proceeds to relate how the Mayor of
York, maliciously and without any warning, had appeared at the assembly
with four or five of his suite, accompanied by John de Charleton, clothed
in the mayor's livery, and by a crowd of citizens, to the terror of the
assembled merchants. Thereupon, Bretoyne had declared that he would not
sit nor remain where Charleton was, and had left the meeting; for, said
he, he would never make peace with Charleton except with the assent of the
Mayor and Commonalty of London. He concluded by asking that his character
might not be allowed to suffer by anything which the Mayor of York may
have written. By a postscript he informs the Mayor of London, that on the
eve of the Purification (the day fixed for the re-assembly of parliament)
the Mayor of York had come to his hostel, accompanied by many others, and
had accused him of having come to the city for the express purpose of
annoying their fellow-burgess John de Charleton, which he had denied. This
insult, he is advised, touches not only himself, but the Corporation of
London whose representative he was.

(M281)

Both these letters were laid before the commonalty of London assembled at
the Guildhall on the 19th February, when Betoyne's action was approved,
and on the following day a letter was addressed to him to that effect. The
Mayor and Commonalty of York received also a missive in which their late
conduct to Betoyne was severely criticised.(479) Betoyne's recent services
were recognized by the grant, at his own request, of a handsome coverlet
furred with minever, in part payment of his expenses incurred in attending
the parliament at York.(480)

(M282)

The king, finding that the opposition to the removal of the staple
displayed not only by London but by York, Winchester, Bristol and Lincoln
was too great to be overcome, abolished staples altogether (August, 1328),
and re-established free-trade.(481) He even