2 August 1448
No mayor is to have his reward until the chamberlains' account has been
written onto a parchment roll, and shown to the council [i.e.
audited], and they are acquitted. Nor is any mayor, under
penalty of £10 fine, to have possession of any gold or silver
belonging to the community, unless he receives it by the hands of the
chamberlains then in office.
[The "reward" referred to was a sort of performance bonus,
above and beyond the mayoral salary; what started out as an ad
hoc reward for some incumbents had, by this time, become a standard
payment expected by each mayor. Here the council seems to have been
trying to ensure that it was not automatic, but linked to fiscal
responsibility if not profitability.]