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The active part which Newton had taken in defending the legal privileges of the university against the encroachments of the crown had probably at least equal weight with his scientific reputation when his friends chose him as a candidate for a seat in parliament as one of the representatives of the university. The other candidates were Sir Robert Sawyer and Mr Finch. Sir Robert headed the poll with 125 votes, Newton next with 122 and Mr Finch was last with 117 votes. Newton retained his seat only about a year, from January 1689 till the dissolution of the [[Coventry Parliament]] in February 1690. During this time Newton does not appear to have taken part in any of the debates in the House, but he was not neglectful of his duties as a member. On April 30, 1689 he moved for leave to bring in a bill to settle the charters and privileges of the [[University of Cambridge]], just as Sir [[Thomas Clarges]] did for Oxford at the same time, and he wrote a series of letters to Dr Lovel, the vice-chancellor of the university, on points which affected the interests of the university and its members.
Some of the members of the university who had sworn allegiance to James had some difficulty in swearing allegiance to his successor. On February 12, 1689, the day of the coronation of William and Mary, Newton intimated to the vice-chancellor that he would soon receive an order to proclaim them at Cambridge. He enclosed a form of the proclamation, and expressed a hearty "wish that the university would so compose themselves as to perform the solemnity with a reasonable decorum."hi
==See also==
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