New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-24

RENEWAL OF Az ANCIENT PAGEANT AT
DOVER

DOVER
London. July 3
Tic times change. and even conservative John
Full change, with them. ON very hand In Eng
land, in every department of life. undermining
tendencies appear. The Church is changed, and to
talk Of Di~c.tabliShment is no longer hercsy.
Tie Crown is changed. and Is no more a vital
force in politics Parliament has changed with
successive Reform bills. and now the reform OF
the House Of Lords I, seen TO he an event Of the
not distant future. Society has changed, new
element of brains and business coming in where
once only the old nobility Of blood found
Customs and ceremonies have changed, too, to
some extent: though now and then meets
with an entirely unchanged piece of purcst
mcdiacvalism Such is the Guy Fawkcs search
undc. the Houses Of Parliament. which is still
solcmnly maintained And such Is the installation
Of the Warden Of tho Cinque Ports
The Cinquc Ports Themselves an anarchro
ni,m. They are no longer five in number. Some
Of them no longer ports. And scarcely one
retains tithc Of its old-tmc power and great
nc-s. Cnc,T r1cy We're the guardians of Eneland's
| safety. Their shipping ~ once gave England her
! commercial greatness and shielded her shores from
alien assault. In them the English Navy had
II, origin. Indeed the history Of their greatness
dates back before there was an English nation
before there was Saxon kingdom herr" In the
DAYS NJ the Roman occupation. tie southeast
coast was governed 10y special officer The Count
Of the Sea Coast he was called. and his powers
greatly exceeded those of any inland governor
Dunng the Saxon dynasty the office lap~cl but
when William Of Normandy came over. il
rest rel and the Warl"n~hip OF the Cinqu" Ports
was founded. This officer had rule over the sea
coast 81 Kent and Sussex. with jurisdiction en-
tircly separate from the government Of the re-
maindcr Of those counties. His seat M
Dover Castle and he exercised full civil. mill
tarv and naval authority. He was Sheriff. Judge.
Lord Lieutenant and Admiral all rolled into one.
Romnev anl Sandwich. Hastings IIythe and
Dover, were the old Cnquc Ports After time,
such were the privileges they enjoyed various
/ Of er towns sought 10 Join them and were
allowed - do so ~ limbs" Such are Ford
witch. and Tcutcrlcn and Bcalshounc. and Mar
gate Rye and Winchclsca We're in very early
times added to the original five. not as limbs,
hut %, equals Yet the title Cinlue Ports has
always been retained. Down 10 the times of the
Tudors. these potts furnished the Crown with
practically all the shipping II required. there
being then no such thing as an ENGLISH navy.
And even long after the reign Of Henry VII.
when Enrland had national navy. the private
shipping Of these ports formed powerful and
valued auxiliary such was the ease at the
time of The Armada.
The privileges enjoyed by these towns exist now
only IN name But they existed in fact very
numcrou>y ana potentially The ports were. for
example exempt from all taxes and tallageS
They had the rights Of Infangihcof and ont
fangthcof and Soc and Sac, which, being inter
prcicd. tine power to try and mprson all
criminals and 10 put them to death They even
had local Parliament of their own. called Port
mote. or the Court of Shrpway This body
had power 70 make all needed local laws and or
dmanrcS FIR the government Of the ports AMI
for the regulation of the Yarmouth fisheries. and
also 10 punish all offenders The ports had the
right, of Toll and Thcan that i, collecting tolls
and holding scrfs; also of bloodwith and hciwith;
or puui,hing those who shed blood and those who
fled from justice. They were empowered 10 use
the pillory and tumbrl. the latter being a rude
cart i'm which the offender was dragged through the
streets 10 he pctcd with mud and stones The
right Of Mundbricch empowered them to build
dylcS on any man, land, wherever needed; while
Flotsam, ,IctS,m, Waits and Simys gave them
possession Of whatever east upon the shore by
the waves. and of cattle that wandered upon their
, land
The local Parliament or Pormotc has survived
even to the present day This Court Of Shrpway is
divided into two parts. One, the Court of Brother
hood, consists of the Mayors of the seven chief
towns. and representative citizens Of the others.
The other. the Court of GucStlng. comprises all the
Mayors bailIs and other officers. of all the towns
Tho Warden of the Cirque Ports is the President
Of the Courts. Another curious privilege which
has survived - modern times, is the right of the
Rarons Of the Cinuuc Ports 10 bear the four slaves
of the canopy over the head of the Sovereign at
coronation, and aftcrward TO dine at the Sover-
cign's right hand at the uppcrmost table in the
great hall.
How great were the naval services rendered by
the Cinquc Ports in early years may he partly rccl-
oncd from n single event which occurred in Aug
usi 1850 A. the story is told by Frossart, the
Spanish sent a great fleet against England. II
was met AT sea, of Winchclsca. by much smaller
English fleet, furnished entirely by the Cirque
Ports, but commanded by the King in person, as
sisted by Edward. the Black Prince. The Spanish
ships contained full ten thousand men, and
these were marvcllously provided" with all sorts
| Of warlikc ammunition. such as bolts for cross
bows, cannon" ana pieces of forged iron 10
throw the enemy, in hopes, with the assistance
Of great stones, to sink him. The power Of pelt-
ing with stones seems to have taken the place
now assigned 10 u portion OF the machine guns IN
war ships. for it is said concerning the 'pa"iSn
ships. near the top of their masts were small
castles, full of iints and stones. and soldier 10
guard them" The Spanish ships being larger anu
higher than the English the former enloyeu
great superiority in shooting and casting stones
and iron bars on board their enemy, which an
noyed them exceedingly" After long and deadly
contest victory declared for the English. mo
Spaniards lost fourteen ships. and the others saved
themselves by flight The English ships anchored
of Rye and Winchelsea . little after niGh'iaiI