The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-29 00:00:00

THE COURT OF SHEPWAY.

This Court was held at Bredenstone-hill, in a tent,
within the Drop Redoubt. His Lordship sat on a
raised dais, covered with crimson carpet, with the
Mayors of Dover, Hastings, Hy the, Rye, Fever-
sham, Folkestone, Deal, Sandwich, New Romney,
and Winchelsee, the bailiffs of Lydd and Pavensey,
the mayors of Seaford, Tenterden, and Margate,
rangedm in a seicircle around him, bearing their
wands
of office. The officers of the court in their
eEqci.al robes were next placed at the extremities of
thesemi-circle as follows :—The Judge of the Ad-
ThirlitY Court of the Cinque Ports (Dr. Phillimore),
the Surrogate
of Admiralty,( Nlr. James Stilwell), the Sergeant
the Recorder of Dover, the Admiralty
Proctor, and
the Coroner of Dover. The general
body of delegmee from
the Ports occupied seats
ranged transversely and
ranting down the whole
leng•th of the tent within
the bar. Beyond the bar-
rier a number of ladiesand
conwdated as spectators. Thentlemen were ac-'
Hon. Mr. Cowper
and other distinguished spectators
d uniform,
wden, occupied
and the
a kind
of alcove to the right of the Lord
Hon. Capt. Waldegrave, in
the
was in attendance on his Lordship.
.
Tne'Lord Warden having takeu his seat, now
wearing his Order of the Garter, the Set„ehal (Mr.
Knocker, Town-clerk of Dover) conducted
the
E.
formalities for duly constituting the Cont.r The

mandate requiring the ports, towns, and their limits
to send representatives to the Court was read by the
Seneschal. The quaint and antique phraseology of
this document drew a smile from some of the specta-
tors. It began by reciting the style and titles of his
Lordship as "Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmer-
ston, Constable of the Castle of Dover, Lord Warden,
Chancellor, and Admiral of the Cinque Ports, two
ancient towns, and their members," &c. It was ad-
dressed thus :—" To all and singular the Mayor and
Bailiffs of the Cinque Ports, two ancient towns, and
members of the said Cinque Ports, and to every one
of them greeting." It then declared that for " cer-
tain good reasons and considerations him thereunto
especially moving," his Lordship notified to them
that he " purposed and resolved, by God's grace, to
be at Bredenstone-hill, within the liberty of the
town and port of Dover, on the 28th day of August
inst., then and there to hold a Grand Court of
Shepway, according to the ancient usage and cus-
toms of the said Cinque Ports, and there to take
upon himself the duties of the said office." It ac-
cordingly " straightly charged and commanded them
and every of them to give good summons and lawful
warning unto six, five, or four of the best and most
discreet ' corporate com-barons,' " from each port,
&c., to attend him at the time and place aforesaid,
together with the Mayors and bailiffs or their de-
puties, " to do as to them hath been accustomed and
belongeth."
The returns to the writ were next made, from
which it appeared that 14 different corporations
sent delegates.

The original five ports, the two ancient towns and
their " limbs" or members, were represented as fol-
lows :—Dover, by the Mayor, the Deputy-Mayor,
two aldermen, and two town councillors; Sandwich
by its Mayor, two aldermen, and three councillors;
New Romney, by its Mayor, two jurats, and
four freemen and commoners ; Hastings, by
its Mayor and seven. aldermen and coun-
cillors ; Hythe, by its Mayor and four
members of its council ; Rye, by its Mayor, two
aldermen, and five councillors; Winchelsea, by its
Mayor and three jurats; Folkestone, by its Mayor,
four aldermen, and two councillors; Feversham, by
its Mayor, one alderman, and four councillors ;
Deal, by its Mayor, three aldermen, and three
commoners; Tenterden, by five members of its cor-
poration ; Pevensey, by six ditto ; Seaford, by its
bailiff, three jurats, and one freeman ; Lydd, by its
bailiff and five jurats. Fordwich (a decayed " limb"
of Sandwich, with only 237 inhabitants by the
Census of 1851) sent no representative.
The Seneschal then called over the roll, when the
com-barons summoned answered to their names in
the order of the precedence belonging to the diffe-
rent ports. He then reported to his lordship that
returns had been made from all the towns within
the liberties of the Cinque Ports excepting Ford-
wich.

Lord PALMERSTON then said,—The Court having
been formed, I have now to declare that, having
been nominated by her Most Gracious Majesty to
the office of Constable of the Castle of Dover, Lord
Warden, Admiral, and Chancellor of the Cinque
Ports, two ancient towns and their members, an
office vacant by the lamented death of the most
noble the Marquis of Dalhousie, I have summoned
the Grand Court of Shipway, pursuant to ancient
usage and custom, on entering upon the office
aforesaid, and in testimony of my nomination
thereto I request that my patent of office may be
read by the Seneschal.

The patent was read accordingly, conferring on
his lordship the remnant of the ancient jurisdiction
attached to his office, together with the right to all
wrecks of flotsam, jetsam, and lagen, or lost mer-
chandise, and all things taken up, gotten, or reco-
vered from the sea, either by himself, his deputies,
or agents of all the ports or creeks, as well by land
as water, within the precincts and liberties of the
Cinque Ports, the office to continue for life.

The Mayor of HYTHE, the Speaker of the Ports
for this year—a post which falls to the chief magis-
trate of each port in annual rotation—then requested
his lordship to take charge of the ports, waiving the
usual request that he would take the oath binding
him to maintain their special rights and immuni-
ties, which no longer exist.
According to the oath the Lord Warden shall
hold up his right hand breast high, and shall says
" Yea, if God will, I shall to my power." As there
are now no great privileges to conserve and protect
the oath or serment was not administered. 4

Lord PALMERSTON rose and said—l have great
pleasure in accepting the office conferred upon me
by the Queen, and ratified by this Court. I shall
feel it my duty to fulfil all that belongs to that
ancient and honourable office. (Hear.)
(This announcement was received with loud ap-
plause, instantaneously followed by a salute of 19
guns from the adjacent battery.)
Dr. PHILLIMORE then addressed the Lord War-
den as follows :—My Lord Viscount Palmerston,
Constable of Dover, Lord Warden of Dover, Sand-
wich, Romney, Hastings, and Hythe, of the mem-
ber towns Winchelsea and Rye, and the other tri-
butaries,—Time-honoured custom casts upon the
holder of my office the duty—l should, perhaps,
more correctly say invests him with the privilege—
of addressing a few sentences on behalf of the
mayors, bailiffs, barons, and other inhabitants of the
Cinque Ports, to the Lord Warden on the occasion
of his installation, at this his first grand Court of
Shipway. I find, my Lord Warden, that according
to ancient precedent the speaker on this occasion
ought to confine himself to two topics—he ought to
congratulate the Lord Warden upon the high dignity
and emoluments of his office, and he ought also, after
the fashion of free subjects addressing a constitu-
tional Sovereign, gently to remind the Lord Warden
that his subjects have rights which he is bound to
protect and privileges which he is bound to main-
tain. To former speakers, my Lord Warden, these
topics were somewhat more fruitful than, unfortu-
nately, they can be to me. The ruthless hand of
an unromantic Legislature has made much havoc
with the substantial emoluments of the Lord War-
den's office, and with the rights and privileges of
those over whom he is appointed to rule. Enough,
however, of this ancient institution happily remains
to preserve the relations between the Lord Warden
and the inhabitants of the Cinque Ports, and to
justify the present solemnity. Not to mention other
privileges, the rights of the Lord Warden to jetsam,
flotsam, and lagan still remain intact, and the Ad-
miralty Court, over which I have the honour to pre-
the Crown,
side, and from which there is but one appeal—to
still retains its jurisdiction from the
shore beacon on the coast of Essex to the red cliffs
by Seaford on the coast of Sussex. Time is indeed
a great destroyer and a great innovator ; he lays his
withering hand upon the outward form and visible
insatitturtuieona;nbaustouifidthperiinn:
fabric of many a goodly
es
it
pi title t,
oi ovne
rbteh founded
has unpoa u
power; it is indestructible;
it escapes from his grasp ; it survives the outward
form; it may assume another shape; it may animate,
like the Dervish in the Eastern fable, another body;
havens
but it survives, it is not extinguished. Let me ap.
plycin
qthis p
Ports
rbtsse.r v ati on
What to
thoughtlie presentnc,m o
more
e status
these
ve
of thens
equip 57 ships at the command of their Soverepiglann.
?
What though no more—as in the time of the
tagenets—they anticipate the order of the State,an(/'
unbidden, make war to avenge an insult offered t
the national flag ? What though no more—as in the
time of the Tudors—the navy of the Cinque Ports
enables the Sovereign to think foul scorn that a
foreign force should invade the borders of England ?
What though those times and their peculiar exigen-
cies have passed away—and the burden of main-
taining the maritime defences of Great Britain be
now wisely apportioned over the whole kingdom ;
yet the spirit of loyalty to the Throne and of
love to the country which once animated the crews
of the Cinque Ports galleys still survive. Witness
the magnificent spectacle of this day—of that gal-
lant force of Volunteers which has sprung into
sudden existence at the shadow of a shade of a
menace offered to our fatherland; of that force
whose remarkable characteristic it is that the pri-
vate soldier is often, in refinement of nurture and
gentleness of birth, not inferior to the officer who
commands him ; of that force which recalls to our
recollections the classical lines—
" Egreditur miles eastris generosus ab iisdem
E queis dux fuero quilibet aptus erat ;--"
of that noble army of patriots no part of her Ma-

jesty's dominions has furnished a better or more
efficient quota than these ancient Cinque Ports.
(Cheers.) Long may they retain all their remain-
ing privileges, and among these long may their
Barons preserve that peculiar privilege which their
loyalty has ever merited, of assisting at the coro-
nation of our Sovereign. Long may Shakspeare's
lines be true—

" They that bear
" The cloth of honour over her are four Barons
" Of the Cinque Ports."
To many persons, my Lord Warden, all traditionary
customs and rights appear idle and useless, but I
demur to their philosophy. I deny their states-
manship. To you, my Lord Warden, we know
that we shall not look in vain for respect for
traditional usage, to conciliate progress with
stability, to accept the spirit of the present, and
to reverence that of the past ; to pursue a policy
at once reforming and conservative is the high
mission entrusted by the Crown and the people
to your Lordship's hands, and with that mission
the present ceremony is not inconsistent. In-
deed, my Lord Warden, the ceremony furnishes
of itself no insignificant proof of your extraor-
dinary popularity, for I am informed by our
Seneschal that the last public recorded installation
was that of the Duke of Dorset in 1765. During
that interval nearly a century has rolled away.'
And what a century ! What mighty names do I
find on the muster roll of Lord Wardens. For to
pass by others, and even your immediate predeces-
sor, the able and gifted Dalhousie, whose loss we
have not yet ceased to lament, think of the names
alone of Pitt and Wellington, both dear to this
country for their many victories—victories of peace
(for such there are) and victories of war, but dearer
still for the true English hearts which warmed their
bosoms, for the genuine love which they bore to
their country. And, my Lord Warden, permit me
to say that it is not much that your name has been
associatEd for many years with every political event
in Europe—of all of which you have indeed been
a great part—and by a happy fortune having been
the chosen friend of the great Canning, you have
lived to choose his illustrious son for the preserva-
tion of India ; not so much that you are now in pos-
session of the highest object of ambition which a
subject can attain; not so much on these grounds,
ample as they are, that you are received, here as
elsewhere, by this hearty greeting, but because
there is a general and deeply-rooted conviction
throughout the land that your heart's desire is to
promote the welfare of England. Fully sharing
in this conviction we of the Cinque Ports heartily
congratulate your lordship on this accession to your
other honours, and we feel certain that our remain-
ing rights and privileges are safe in your lordship's
hands. (Cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON replied in these terms :
Gentlemen,—l need not say that I have heard with
the greatest delight, with feelings of gratitude as
well as of pride, the eloquent address just delivered
to us by a person distinguished in his learned pro-
fession as well as in other walks of life ; for I well re-
member his eminence as a member of the Legislature.
It is peculiarly gratifying to me that that well-known
voice should upon this occasion have complimented
and congratulated me on my accession to this an-
cient and honourable post. I quite concur with my
learned friend, as I am sure he will permit me to
call him, for our friendship has been of long stand-
ing, and founded on a long acquaintance with his
merits and deserts—l quite concur that we ought
to respect ancient traditions, because, although they
have a value which to a superficial observer may
not at first be apparent, yet if any one will look at
the hearts of men and into his own feelings, he will
be convinced that the knowledge that the town or
the county, the corporation or the community, to
which he belongs has been famous in history, has
been loyal to the Sovereign, and done good service
to the country—that sentiment in his mind is a
guarantee for good conduct in whatever circum-
stances he may be placed, for, independently of his '
own sense of what is right and what is wrong, he
would feel ashamed of lowering the character of
that community in connection with which his an-
cestors for generations and centuries past have done
credit to their country, and rendered themselves
useful to the Crown and the State of which they
formed part. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I respect
this corporation of the Cinque Ports. It is true, as
my learned friend has said, that the progress of
general improvement has visited the Cinque Ports,
as well as the other institutions of the land; but
the progress of true improvement is not to demolish,
but to amend—(hear, hear)—not to destroy ancient
institutions, but to adapt them to the times in
which we live—to make them a part of a harmoni-
ous whole, instead of foreign excrescences upon the
general fabric. Why, that which we are now doing
in this neighbourhood is an example of this. We are
increasing and improving those ancient works which
in former ages were sufficient for the defence of this
part of the realm. We are adding to them modern
improvemements ; we are removing those parts which
are no longer suited to the exigencies of our times ;
and just in the same way, without destroying
those venerable institutions of the Cinque Ports, we
have removed from them those functions which
might be better exercised by other parts of the con•
stitution, with. advantage not only to themselves,
but to the public at large. Gentlemen, I will not
detain you any longer. I will simply return you
my sincere thanks for the hearty welcome you have
given me, and assure you that, if it were my lot as
a much younger man to live for many years to
come, the recollection of this reception I have met
with this day would survive in my bosom to the
latest hour of my existence.
The members of the Court then did formal obei- '
sauce to his lordship ; and, the Mayor of Dover
having invited his lordship to a banquet in the
evening, the delegates were dismissed and the Court
dissolved,