The Sun.
London, England, 1830-05-05 00:00:00

FOREIG

RYE ELECTION.-(THIS DAY.)

The Committee met at eleyen o'clock.

thaAr. HARRISON
tlhail
been
Rla resumed
dtiuce the
adduced. The
Tiiesupcmin
Learned Counsel
the
counse evidence
woull first call the attention of *he Committee to the
term " Baron," which the other side had treated with so
much dignity.—( A laugh.)—He should be able to satisfy
them that in the Cinque Ports " Baron" meant nothing
more than a " Freeman." He was aware the word would
admit of various interpretations. It was only necessary
now, however, to show the evident meaning of the
Charter, that gave certain privileges to the Ba-
rons and their Heirs of the Cinque Ports to
prove the claim set up by the petitioners. He must
totally deny the inference drawn by his Learned Friend as
to the meaning of the word ; it never could be so construed
by the wording of the Charter; for instance, that Charter in
page 7, gave liberties and exceptions to the freemen of the
Cinque Ports, being Barons, which clearly meant all those
resident within the ports paying scot and lot. If this was
not the case, what had become of those ancient Barons
about whom so much had been said ? they could not now be
in existence. The first document that had been pro•
duced was an award made by a Committee of very learned
personages including several eminent Judges, Serjeants at
law, &c. &c. that had been appointed to decide what in-
habitants of the Cinque Ports were entitled to the privi-
lege of fishing and drying their nets on a part of the coast
near Great Yarmouth ; that Committee decided that all
the inhabitants of the said ports were entitled to the privi •
leges. In fact Barons and freemen were never different
persons until found so by his Learned Friend (Serjeant
tpankie). He (Mr. Harrison) did not mean to contend,
that every person eating and drinking in any of the
Cinque Ports was entitled to the privileges thereunto
belonging, but he would contend that every resident inhabi-
tant paying scot and lot was entitled. Another document
had been put in by the other side, which enacted, that if
the Barons of Dover did not perform certain services to
the King they would be banished from the port, and an
argument had been founded on it to the effect, that the
word Baron, there could not mean all the resident inhabi-
tants, as it never could he supposed that the whole popu-
lation was to be driven from the place. No argument
could be drawn from the document of such a nature,
when it was taken into consideration the state of population
at the time it bore date, with the present time. This
document was dated previous to the year 1378, which was
the fist time there was any estimate formed of the popu-
lation of the country. Iu that year it was stated the
population of Great Brit tin was only 2,300,000 ; in 1485
it had increased to 3,000,000 ; in 1585 to 4,400,000 ; in
1698 to 5,500,000 ; and, at the present time, there were
14,000,000 of inhabitants ; therefore, as he before said,
nothing could be said as to the population of Dover at the
time the document bore date. The argument of his Learned
Friend, on this point, must, therefore, fall to the ground,
The increase of the wealth of the country had also gone
on progressing with the population. It was therefore
idle to talk of the consequences that would at that time
ensue by banishing all the Barons of Dover—it was a
thing that coulnl then have very easily been done. When
a freeman went to Yarmouth, he had nothing to do to
entitle him to the privileges but to show that he belonged
to one of the Cinque Ports. The term " Baron"
was still kept up for corporation purposes, and when
a freeman was summoned to carry the canopy at Co-
ronations, he was styled Baron, but that term, and
freeman in the sense intended by the Charter, were
synonimous, and merely meant that it referred to certain
persons living in, and entitled to the privileges of, the
Cinque Port. One of the first documents in the reign of
Henry the Second, and also one in the reign of Richard
the First, make no distinction of privileges. Both docu-
ments are worded—" We give and grant unto the good
men of the ancient town of Rye," and then sets forth
certain privileges to which the resident inhabitants are
entitled. The Learned Counsel then went into a long
argument, and contended that freeman and Baron, in
the ancient Charter, were synonimous. He was address-
ing the Committee when our Reporter left.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.