uneasie and much more troublesom than in such great Cities as Paris which is almost of an orbicular Form Now to keep up a necessary Correspondence the way formerly used was to hire Porters at Excessive Rates to go on Errands and to send Servants or Apprentices who in the mean while lost that time that should be spent to learn their Trades and benefit their Masters and would often loyter and get vicious habits and evil company c. when they need not to their own and Masters hurt or else such as could not spare the Porter so much money nor kept Servants as some poor Artificers and Labourers have been forced to sweat and toil and leave their work for it may be half the day to do that which now they may perform at the easie rate of a Penny But now all these Inconveniences are remedied by the Penny-Post with great Safety and Celerity for which the Contrivers really deserve the Thanks of all who reap benefit by it and I may be bold to say that all the Inhabitants in general and their Fellow-Citizens in particular are already very sensible of the great Convenience thereof For among the innumerable Benefits of this Penny-Post which for brevity we omit Friends may converse with Friends at any distance Merchants Shop-keepers and Tradesmen with their Customers or such as deal with them Clients may consult with Lawyers Patients with Doctors Poor Prisoners with Creditors or Benefactors and all Bills dispersed for Publication of any Concern all Summons or Tickets conveyed all Entries of Brewers to the Excise-Office and many more for One Penny 3. The Objections I have heard of are 1. From some sort of Porters viz. that it hinders their Livelihood Answ 1. 'T is certain that this is a mistake for their Livelihood never depended upon going on Errands their Business being other laborious Work and carrying of Burdens c. But some of the Free-Porters are now in the service of the Undertaking 2. Most Business dispatcht by this Undertaking was formerly either not done at all or performed by other hands to save Charges Porters Rates being so dear and Persons themselves or their Servants went on their own Errands 3. If the Porters who are an inconsiderable Number in respect of the whole Inhabitants of this great City should suffer some small loss of Petty Employ by it yet vast Numbers of poor People and others are exceedingly eased and beenfited thereby which deserve as much or more pity than Porters And a general and useful Undertaking should not in Equity or Prudence be discountenanced for the peculiar advantage of some few any more than all the Pipes or Water-Conduits of the City should be destroyed meerly for the Accommodation of Tankard-Bearers Printing suppressed to accommodate Writing Clerks Guns for Fletchers Navigable Rivers for Carriers and 〈◊〉 Trade of Jack-smiths for Turn-spits c. Nor have Porters any Authority to monopolize to themselves the Delivery of Letters it being by Law free for any Person to use what Conveyance they think good for their Letters within or without the Freedom And Coach-men Car-men Watermen c. may as well be put out of their Callings as the Undertakers disturb'd in this Concern because then the Porters may have more Burdens to carry Neither is any prohibited or restrained by this Undertaking but they may still employ a Porter if they please so that this Objection is causless and is level'd against the whole Body of Inhabitants as well as the Undertakers in particular 2. Others alledge That their Letters are not speedily answered and therefore say they miscarry Answ That may be because the Party is not at home and his Servants do not produce his Letter as he ought though punctually left by the Penny-Post-Messenger this I have very often known to be my own Case and some of my Friends Or the Party may not be at leisure or not willing to write or removed or would pretend he received it not when Dun'd for money which he cannot or will not pay And indeed I am also inform'd that abundance of Letters are so ill superscribed or uncertainly directed when frequently the particular Trade of the Party the Sign or what Noted Place is near are omitted that it is impossible to deliver such which is the fault of the Senders and not of the Office To conclude this Subject The Reader may expect hereafter a small Tract by it self Printed for the Undertakers of the Penny-Post What I have here inseâ—ted being briefly Remarkt as my own Notions concerning so laudable a Design by way of Specimen and as a thing suitable to my present Work The Rates and Orders of Coachmen BY an Act of Parliament made in the Fourteenth Year of Our Soveraign Lord King CHARLES â—he Second it is appointed That no person or persons after May 1. 1662. shall presume to drive except Stage-Coaches or let the Hire by the hour or day or otherwise any Hackney-Coach or Coach-Horses within the Parishes comprised within the Bills of Mortality without an especial License from the Commissioners appointed by His Majesty for Licensing and regulating Hackney-Coaches That no Horse Gelding or Mare to be used with such Coaches be under 14 hands high according to the Standard That the Number of Coaches so Licensed shall not exceed 400. That every Coach so Licensed shall have a Mark of distinction by Figure or otherwise as the Commissioners shall think fit to the end they may be known if any complaint shall be made of them That no person shall be Licensed to keep more than two Coaches which Coaches shall have several Figures or Marks of distinction as if belonging to several persons That no person shall put that Figure or Mark upon his Coach which is appointed for any other under the forfeiture of five pounds That no person shall be Licensed to drive or keep a Hackney-Coach or Coach-Horses that uses any other Trade or Occupation That first such as have been ancient Coach-men or such Coach-men as have suffered for their Service to His Majesty or his Father or the Widows of such that have Coaches of their own be Licensed That the Commissioners forfeit one hundred pounds for every Coach they License above the Number of 400. That no Hackney-Coach-man so Licensed shall presume to take for his Hire in or about the Cities of London and Westminster above Ten shillings for a day reckoning 12 hours to the day and by the hour not above 18 pence for the first hour and 12 pence for every hour after nor for his Hire from any of the Inns of Courts or thereabouts to any part of St. James's or Westminster except beyond Tuttle-Street above 12 pence and the like from the same places to the Inns of Court or thereabouts nor from the Inns of Court or thereabouts to the Royal Exchange more than 12 pence but if to the Tower Bishopsgate-Street Aldgate or places thereabouts 18 pence and so from the same places to the said Inns of Court
particular Welfare of the Kingdom or Subject And every Parliament may get a Bill drawn and give it to the Speaker or Clerk of the Parliament to be presented in convenient time Whatsoever is proposed for a Law is first put in Writing and called a Bill which being read in a full Assembly it is either unanimously rejected or else allowed to be Debated and then it is Committed to a certain Number of the House presently Nominated and called a Committee After it hath been Amended and twice Read two several Days in the House it is Ingrossed that is Written Fair in a Parchment and Read the Third time another day and then if in the Lords House the Chancellor or if in the House of Commons the Speaker demands if they will have it put to the question whether a Law or no Law If the Major part be for it there is Written on the Bill by the Clerk of the Lords House Soit baille aux Seigneurs or of the House of Commons Soit baille aux Communes retaining the Antient Custom which was to speak in French When the Speaker finds divers Bills prepared to be put to the Question he gives Notice the day beâ— before that to morrow he intends to put such Bills to the passing or third Reading and desires the special attendance of all the Members If a Bill be rejected it cannot be any more proposed during that Session All Bills sent by the Commons to the Lords House are usually attended to shew their respect with several of their Members and as they come up to the Lords Bar the Member that 's to present the Bill maketh three profound Reverences and delivers it to the Lord Chancellor who comes down to the Bar to receive it A Bill sent by the Lords to the Commons is usually by some of the Masters of Chancery or some other whose seat is on the Wool-sacks and by none of the Members who coming up to the Speaker bow thrice and deliver it to him after one of them hath read the Title and desired it might be taken into Consideration If it pass that House then is Written on it Les Communes ont assentez When any Member of the House of Commons speaks to a Bill he stands up uncovered and directs his Speech only to the Speaker then if what he Delivers be confuted by another yet he is not allowed to Answer again the same day lest the whole time should be spent in a Dispute between two talkative persons Also if a Bill be debating in the House no man may speak to it in one day above once If any one speak words of offence which the House takes cognizance of as such he is called to the Bar and sometimes sent to the Tower The Speaker is not allowed to persuade or dissuade in passing of a Bill but only to make a short and plain Narrative nor to Vote except the House be equally Divided In Committees though of the whole House it is allowed to Speak and Reply as often as they please In the House of Lords they give their Suffrages or Votes beginning at the lowest Baron and so to the highest Peer in order every one Answering apart Content or Not content In the House of Commons they Vote by Yea's and No's and if it be doubtful which is the greater Number then the Yea's are to go forth and the No's sit still because these are content with their present condition without any addition or alteration of Laws as the other desire and then some are appointed to Number them But at a Committee though it be of the whole House as it is sometimes the Yea's go on one side and the No's on the other whereby they may be discerned If a Bill pass in one House and being sent to the other House they of the other House Demur upon it then a Conference is demanded in the Painted Chamber where certain deputed Members of each House Meet the Lords sitting covered at a Table and the Commons standing bare the business is then debated If they agree not it is Nulled if they do agree it Passes When Bills have past both Houses they are presented to his Majesty for his Royal assent who comes in his Robes with the Crown on his Head and being Seated in his Chair of State the Lords being all in their Robes the Clerk of the Crown reads the Tiâ—tle of each Bill and as he reads the Clerk of the Parliament according to his Instructions from the King who before hath maturely considered each Bill pronounceth the Royal assent If it be a Publick Bill the Answer is Le Roy le veut and then that Bill becomes a Law If a Private Bill the Answer is Soit fait comms el est desire If it be a Pubblick Bill which the King likes not then the Answer is Le Roy s'avisera which is taken for an absolute Denial in a more Civil way and that Bill wholly nulled So that nothing but what the King confirms by his Royal Assent hath the force of a Law The King can by Commission granted to some of His Nobles give His Royal Assent to any Bill that requires haste If it be a Bill for Monies given to His Majesty then the Answer is Le Roy remercie ses Loyaux Sujets accepte leur Benevolence aussi le veut which is an ancient Ceremony of Thanking the Subjects for parting with their Money The Bill for the King 's General Pardon hath but one Reading in either House because they must take it as the King will please to give it so the Bill of Subsidies granted by the Clergy Assembled in Convocation for the same Reason When the Bill for the General Pardon is passed by the King the Answer is thus Les Prelates Seigneurs Communes en ce Parliament Assemblez au nom de tous vos autre Sujects remercient tres humblement votre Majeste prient Dieu vous donner en sante bonne vie Congue All Acts of Parliament before the Reign of Henry 7. were Passed and Enrolled in French now in English The stile runs thus Be it Enacted by the King 's most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons c. When it pleases the King the Parliament is Adjourned Prorogued or Dissolved thus Adjournments are usually made in the Lords House by the Lord Chancellor in the King's name to what other day and place the King pleases and then all things already Debated and Read in one or both Houses may be resumed because they continue in the same State they were in before to the next Meeting When the Parliament is Prorogued there is a Session and then all Bills and Debates must begin anew at the re-assembling of the Parliament The Speaker of the House of Commons upon notice given that it is the King's pleasure that that House shall also Adjourn doth say with the Assent of the House This House is Adjourned
which Mr. Bedlow says was a course they much advise him to 6. By firing Hay-lofts as in Smithfield 7. By strangers feigning Eirands as in the Temple 8. By untyling Houses breaking Windows c. and there putting in their Combustibles 9. By getting into empty Houses and setting them on fire as in Budge-row 1670. 10 By creeping into Back-yards and firing stacks of Bavins Reed c. as at Lime-House 11. By going into Victualling-Houses and leaving behind them Trains for firing as at the Cooks in Fetter-lane and in Southwark 12. By Conâ—ederate Servants as lately at the Attorneys in the same Lane Secondly Their Instructions are 1. TO do it in Select places amongst old Buildings and where Engines cannot play 2. To Fire the Water-Houses and get the Newriver-water stopt if they can for that time near that place 3. To have some of their chief Friends thereabouts that may misadvise great persons that they may blow up Houses where it is not necessary or where rather it will do harm by opening a passage for the fire 4. To have some of their active Instruments who under pretence of helping may scatter Fire-halls in contiguous Houses and break down the Windows Roof c. to let in the fire more easily 5. To have others attending that shall cry out against French and Papists and mightily pitty the People thereby getting to be trusted with removing of Goods and so to plunder and steal or if they find an opportunity to fire Houses at a distance 6. Curiously to observe Wind and Tide in all attempts as likewise Frosts and very dry times and chuse Sundays for doing the business because then there is least Water Now whether those wicked Incendiaries have observed these Rules in that monstrous and execrable villany before recited is left at the Tribunal of the Readers Impartial Judgment who may consider the Circumstances following of which they viz. the Papists made a fatal use 1. It was the dead time of the night or rather a little before two in the Morning when all persons gave themselves to their repose and were in a dead â—leep 2. The Dead time of the Week being Saturday night when Traders were retired to their Country-Houses and none but Maid-servants or Apprentices to look after their Houses 3. The Dead time of the Year being then the long Vacation when Tradesmen were generally in the Country to fetch in their Debts 4. The Closeness of the Buildings there facilitated the progress of the Fire and hindred the playing of Engines 5. The Houses were generally Wooden or built of old Timber 6. A very dry preceding Summer made the Timber very apt to take Fire 7. In those parts were the greatest Magazines and Store-houses of the City of Oyls Pitch Tar Rosin Wax Butter Brimstrne Hemp Cordage Cheese Wine Brandy Sugars c. 8. An Easterly Wind continued long before and then blew strongly a fatal help to spread the Fire Westward 9. The Thames-Water-Tower was immediately burnt down being near the place where the fire began so that they could not be supplyed with Waters that way To conclude The same several Testimonies and Depositions taken by a Committtee appointed for that purpose by the House of Commons Tuesday 25 Sept. 1666. viz. That this was acted by a Hellish Combinatâ—on of Papists evidenced by the words of Papists before the Fire by their actual flinging of Fire-balls c. and otherwise promoting the Incendium during the Fire many of which were catched in the Fact but conveyed away by some of their Friends under pretence to secure them The free Confession of the French-man Robert Hubert who was hang'd for it and the Witness of Capt. Bedloe and others who have made out that they were concern'd in it I say all these are enough to satisfie any that will not wink himself blind that London was burnt by Romish Fire-balls which they were wont to call Tewxsbury Mustard-balls thrown by Romish hands But Renowned LONDON notwithstanding those vast losses and the Devouring-Plague the Year before and the chargeable War we had then against three powerful Neighbour Nations lay not long in Rubbish but began Phenix-like to revive out of the ashes of its consumed Predecessor This dismal Calamity gave His Majesty a sad opportunity of exercising hs Compassion and Care towards many distressed Families who lay in the open Fields His Majesty therefore issued Proclamations to Justices of the Peace for causing Provisions to be sent into the Markets and ordered his Sea-store to be opened for a present supply of Bread in Ship-Bisket c. The King passed an Act of Parliament for establishing a Judicature to take Cognizance of and Determine all Differences that might arise among parties concerning burnt or Demollished Houses And by Act of Parliament there was a New-Model of Building appointed which may be worth the Readers perusal It was past Anno 1666. 19 Car. 2. See Kebles Statutes at large p. 1327 to 1335. but 't is too large to be transcribed Purâ—uant to this Act the Citizens betook themselves chearfully to Rebuild and in four years time they erected in the same Streets 10000 Houses and laid out for the same 3000000 of pounds Sterl counting but 300 l. a House one with another besides several large Hospitals divers very stately Halls 19 fair solid Stone Churches that did cost above 100000 l. were all at the same time erecting and soon after finished And since that time they have gone on Chearfully to Rebuild so that there is hardly a vacant place in the City except such as are designed for other uses than Dwelling-Houses And as if the Fire had only purged the City the Buildings are become infinitely more Beautiful more Commodious and more Solid the three main Vertues of all Edifices then before Nay as if the Citizens had not been any was impoverished but rather enricht by that huge Conflagration they may be said to be even rather excessive than otherwise in their Expences upon the stately Italian Faciata's or Fronts of their New Houses Churches and Halls many of excellent Portland-stone upon their richly adorn'd Shops Chambers Balconies Signs Portals c. The publick Halls which are so magnificent and richly adorn'd with excellent and Curious Architecture Carved Work in Stone and Wood with Pictures and Wainscot not only of Firr and Oak but some with sweet-smelling Cedar The Churches beautified with excellent various Towers and Fronts of true Roman Architecture They have made their Streets much more large and streight paved on each-side with smooth-hewen-stone and guarded the same with many Massy Posts for the benefit of Foot Passeugers and whereas before they dwelt in low dark Wooden Houses they now live in lofty lightsome uniform and very stately Brick-buildings A great number of the Halls stately Taverns and magnificent Houses of Merchants and other Wealthy Citizens being fit to receive the greatest Monarch in Europe with a brave Train at an Entertainment Abundance of these are built backwards for the advantage
Foreigner an English Man can Attaint a Man of Treason when he is Dead and when he is no more a Man c. A Parliament is Summoned in manner following About fourty Days before the Parliament doth Assemble the King Issues out His Writ out of the Chancery cum advisamento Consilii sui with the advice of His Council and the Warrant is per ipsum Regem Consilium by the King Himself and His Council The King's Writ which is a short Letter or Epistle is directed and sent to every particular Person of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal commanding the Lords Spiritual in Fide Dilectione in Faith and Love and the Lords Temporal per fidem allegantiam by their Faith and Allegiance to appear at a certain time and place to Treat and give their Advice in some certain Important Affairs concerning the Church and State c. Other Writs are sent to the High Sheriff of each County to Summon the People to Elect two Knights for each County two Citizens for each City and one or two Burgesses for each Burrough according to Statute Charter or Custom In these Elections antiently all the People had their Votes and most Votes carried it but for avoiding of Tumults and Trouble it was Enacted by Henry the VI. that none should have any suffrage in the Election of Knights of the Shire but such as were Free-holders did Reside in the County and had of Yearly Revenue 40 s. which till the discovery of Gold and Silver in America was as much as 30 or 40 l. now The Persons Elected for each County are to be Milites Notabiles or at least Esqs or Gentlemen fit to be made Knights as it is in the Statutes of Henry the VI. they ought to be de discretionibus Militibus ad laborandum potentioribus of the discreetest Knights and most able to endure Labour of age viz. 21 Years at least and Experience without Rancor Malice Heat and Envy to be constant so as not to be swerved from Right by Fear Reward or Favour and in Judgment no respecters of Persons of a ripe and good Memory that remembring Perils past they may prevent Dangers to come They are to be Vigorous Active and Temperate and content to give their Attendance for Publick Good with which they are Intrusted Men of Noble Spirits and good Estates to prevent their being Mercenary or Bribed to betray their great Trust Men well verst in National and Political Affairs and of Capacious Understandings that so they might not be imposed upon ' by the Subtilty of such as would over-reach them They ought also to be well acquainted with the Laws of the Land and the Transactions of former Parliaments in order to the Repeal of Old Laws which though fit for the times they were made may not be so for the present times the Circumstances of things being varyed much from what they were by divers Revolutions and to Enact New Laws for general Good And indeed we have had of late Parliaments of this Character Men of such brave Spirits such Sagacity Prudence and Integrity to promote the General Welfare of that Great Body Politick whose Worthy Representatives they were as have exceeded their Predecessors and will hardly be out-done in succeeding times They ought to be Native English Men or at least such as have been Naturalized by Act of Parliament No Alien or Denizen none of the twelve Judges no Sheriff of a County no Ecclesiastical Person that hath curam animarum the cure or care of Souls may be chosen to Serve for any County City or Burrough This Grand and Illustrious Senate Consists of the three great Estates of the Kingdom the King 's most Excellent Majesty being the head viz. The Prelates and the Peers of the Realm and the Commons in which is such a Co-ordination of Power such a Wholsom mixture betwixt Prince and Commonalty during the time of Consultation that they make but one Body Politique their Results when they concur being as so many Harmonious Diapasons arising from the Touch of different Strings This Great Council is the great Bulwark of the English Liberty Property and Religion and the great Bank that keeps them from Slavery and the Inundations of Tyrannical Incroachments and unbounded Will-Government The People are lyable to no Laws but what they themselves make and are subject to no Contribution Tax Assessment or Pecuniary Leveys whatsoever but what they themselves Vote and Voluntarily yield to For there all Degrees of People be Represented the Yeoman Merchant Tradesman Mechanick c. have their inclusive Votes as well as the Gentry and Free-holders their Burgesses and Knights The House of Lords consists of Eleven Dukes whereof two are of the Royal Family viz. the Duke of York and Prince Rupert then the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal the Lord Treasurer and the Lord Privy Seal takes Place before all Dukes not of the Royal Blood There are two Marquesses the Lord High Chamberlain of England the Lord Steward of the King's Houshold and the Lord Chamberlain of the King's Houshould in respect of their Offices takes place of all Earls who at present are in Number viz. such as may Sit in the House of Lords 64. Then there are 7 Viscounts and 60 Barons according to the Printed List of the last Parliament that met at Oxford March 21. this present Year 1681. Then there are two Archbishops and twenty four Bishops so that the whole Number may be about 176 some of which Lords are under Age some Employed abroad by the King some Sick or Infirm so that the ordinary Number that Sits besides the Peers in the Tower and such as are Excluded by Act of Parliament for Recusancy c. may be about one hundred The House of Commons consists of two Knights for each of the 40 Shires in England being 80. One for each County in Wales being 12 Knights Two for each of the 25 Cities in England and four for London in all 52. Sixteen Barons for the Cinque-Ports Two Burgesses for each of the two Vniversities About 330 Burgesses for 168 Burroughs in England of which some few send but one Burgess a piece Lastly of twelve Burgesses viz. one for one Burrough in each County of Wales so that the Total according to the aforesaid List is 513. Of which many are absent somtimes by permission of the House upon business or because of Sickness c. The Number of the Parliament Men that each County sends are as followeth 1. Bedfordshire 4 2. Berkshire 9 3. Buckinghamshire 14 4. Cambridgeshire 6 5. Cheshire 4 6. Cornwall 44 7. Cumberland 6 8. Derbyshire 4 9. Devonshire 26 10. Dorsershire 20 11. Durham 4 12. Essex 8 13. Glocestershire 8 14. Herefordshire 8 15. Hartfordshire 6 16. Huntingtonshire 4 17. Kent 10 18. Lancashire 14 19. Leicestershire 4 20. Lincolnshire 12 21. Middlesex 8 22. Monmouthshire 3. 23. Norfolk 12 24. Northamptonshire 9 25. Northumberland 8 26. Nottinghamshire 8 27. Oxfordshire
sumptuous Fane The Lands Chief Seat that challengeth for hers Kings Coranations and their Sepulchers Then goes along by that more beautious Strand That shews the Wealth and glory of the Land Such sumptuous Seats within so little space Th' all-viewing Sun scarce sees in all his Race By London leads which like a Crescent lies Whose Windows view with the be-spangled Skies Her rising Spires so thick themselves do show As do the Reeds that on her Banks do grow There sees his Wharffs and People-crowded Shores His bosom spread with shoals of labouring Oars With that great Bridge that doth him most Renown By which he puts all other Rivers down This Noble River hath her Original out of the side of an Hill in Cotswold Downs a little above a Village called Winchcomb in Oxfordshire where it was antiently called Isis or the Ouse running to Oxford and by the way receiving many small Rivulets and Brooks joyning at that City with the Charwell then by Abington Dorchester where the River Thame and Isis joyn from whence it is called Thamâ—sis or Thames thence by Reading Maiden-head Windsor Stanes and several other considerable Palaces Towns and stately Houses to London and receives the Medway a considerable River that runs by the City of Rochester and Waters all the Southern parts of Kent The length of it being at least if measured by the Journeys at Land 180 Miles and Ebbs and Flows as before near 80 Miles The Common difference betwixt Tide and Tide is found to consist of 24 Minutes which wanteth but 12 of a whole hour in 24 by which they come later than the other Mr. Stow tells us that in his time the first Edition of his Survey being Printed above 80 years ago there were 2000 Wherries or small Boats whereby 3000 Water-men got their Living their Gains being most in Term-time but now there are a great many more this River being a Nursery to breed young Men sit for the Sea to Serve His Majesty or the Merchants c. Besides these there is an Infinite Number of Wherries Tide-Boats Tilt-Boats Barges Hoys c. for Passengers or to bring necessary Provision of all sorts from all Quarters of Oxfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Bedfordshire Hartfordshire Middlesex Essex Surrey and Kent unto the City but of the Navigation of London we refer to the Chapter of Trade and the Rates of Water-men to a distinct head to be Treated of hereafter The Extent of the Jurisdiction and Prerogative of the Lord Mayor Commonalty and Citizens of London on the River Thames c. THe Lord Mayor of LONDON for the time being and his Successors for ever in that great Dignity have full Power and Authority over the Rivers of Thames and Medway to inflict punishment upon all Transgressors relating to the said Rivers the Water-Bayly of London being his Substitute The Extent of this Jurisdiction begins at a place called Colnie-Ditch a little above Stains-Bridge Westward as far as London-Bridge and from thence to a place called Yendall otherwise Yenland or Yenleete and the Waters of Medway This Authority and Jurisdiction belongs to the Lord Mayor Commonalty and Citizens of London by divers Grants Charters and Confirmations made by the Kings and Queens of England besides sundry Acts of Parliament Yet there have been some contests betwixt the Lord Mayor and the Lord High Admiral of England about it but after a fair and Judicial Tryal in open Court the Controversie was decided in favour of the City and the Lord Mayor was adjudged to be Conservator of the Thames There were also some Controversies about the Rivers of Thames and Medway but all differences were absolutely concluded Anno 1613. Sir John Swinnerton being then Lord Mayor and Thomas Sparry Esq being then his Deputy in that Office So that the Lord Mayor bears always since as in former times the stile of Conservator of the said River within the said Limits and Bounds And whereas there was a Company of Fishermen called Tinckermen that with unlawful Nets and other devices made an infinite destruction of the young Brood or Fry of Fish to feed their Hogs by the singular care and cost of the Lord Mayor and vigilance of the Citizens they were many years ago supprest and a regular and orderly manner of Fishing brought in use that such a havock may not be made of the young Fry As also sundry other abuses by unlawful Fishing and some annoying Timbers in Tilbury-hope dangerous to Passengers and destructive to the young Brood of Fish and Fishermens Nets were also to general benefit reformed Likewise they took care to clear and cleanse the River Westward of about 79 Stops or Hatches consisting of divers great Stakes and Piles erected by Fishermen for their private lucre and standing ill-favouredly for Passengers near the Fair-Deep but none now are left except such as stand out of the passable high stream that can prejudice none The like Course was kept in the time of Henry the 4 th and Henry the 8 ths times There is also a watchful Eye that no Carrion nor Dead Carkasses be thrown into the River to pollute or infect the stream To all these intents and purposes the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen his Brethren with the under Officers meet eight times a year in the four Counties of Middlesex Surrey Kent and Essex and have a Judicial sitting for Maintenance of the Rivers Rights and Priviledges where they have power to Impanel Juries to make Inquisition after all Offences committed upon the River within their Exteâ—â— and as the Verdict given by the Jury makes it appear so they proceed to the punishment of the 〈◊〉 sors according to the quality of the offence whereof it may be proper to give this Memorable Instance as it is Recorded by Mr. Stow in his Survey page 20 Printed Anno 1633. and more briefly delivered by Mr. Howel in his Londinopolis Printed Anno 1657. page 15. Thus. Sir John Rolls Knight and Lord Mayor of the City of London and Conservator of the River of Thames and Waters of Medway assisted and accompanied by the Aldermen and two Sheriffs then contemporary and attended by the Recorder and the Sub-conservation or Water-Bayly with 50 Officers and Servants took their Barges at Billings-gate the third of July 1616. and in a few hours arrived at Graves-end in Kent where a Session for Conservancy of the said River was kept before the said Lord Mayor and his said Assistants at which place and time a Jury of the Free-holders of the said County being sworn to inquire of all Offences committed in any part of the River whatsoever within the said County The Common Sergeant of the City the Recorder being then absent upon extraordinary occasions Delivered them a Charge to this effect That for as much as there had not been any Session of Conservancy in many years passed kept by any Lord Mayor of London in that place it was probable and evident they could not be well informed neither of the Lord Mayor's
Jurisdiction and power to Reform Annoyances and Offences there and to inflict due punishments upon the Offendors nor of the Nature of the Service to be by them performed in the Course of their Inquiry therefore he thought it convenient to make both the one and the other known unto them Hereupon he shewed them that the Jurisdiction of the Court of London in the River of Thames from Stanes Bridge Westward unto the points of the River next unto the Sea Eastward appeared to belong to the City in manner and form following I. First in point of Right by prescription as appears by an ancient Book called Dunâ—horp That Civitatis fundationis aedificationis constructionis causa erat Thamesis Flâ—vâ—us quorum vero Civitatis fluminis gubernationem tam duces Majores Custodes Vicecomites Aldr. Magnates Civitatis Memoratae hucusque obtinuerunt habuerunt Whence he inferr'd that the Government of the River hath belonged to the City time out of mind In 21. H. 3. Jorden Coventry one of the Sheriffs of the City was sent by the Mayor and Aldermen to remove certain Kiddles that Annoyed the Rivers of Thames and Medway who ultra Yenland versus mare did take divers persons that were Offenders and imprisoned them Whereupon complaint being made to the King he took the matter ill at the first and sent for the Lord Mayor and Citizens to Kennington Where upon hearing of the Matter before the said King the Cities Jurisdiction over the said River was set forth and allowed and the Complainants convinced and every one of them Amerced at 10 l. and the Amercements adjudged to the City And afterward their Nets were burnt by Judgment given by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in the Hustings 1. R. 2. Writs were directed to the Sheriffs of Essex and Kent Reciting the Cities Title with Command not to suffer the Citizens of London to be molested contrary to the Liberties formerly granted and allowed unto them II. Secondly In point of Right by Allowance in Eire the Conservation of the Thames belongs to the City For it was produced that 1 R. 2. before Hugh Bigot Justice Iâ—enerant the Sheriffs and Citizens of London were called in Question for their Jurisdiction exercis'd on the Thames before whom it was found by a Jury in Southwark Quod nullus habet aliquid Juris in Thamisia usque ad Novum Gurgitem nisi Civis London In the 14 E. 2. The Constable of the Tower was Indicted by Divers Wards of London before the Justices in Eire at the Tower De muneris recep Cove pro Kedellis in Thamisiis Constabularius ad Kidellas respondet quod Justic non habent Jurisdictionem extra London prolitum inde cognoscere cum praedict Kidelli sunt in aliis Comitatibus Justic. dixerunt aqua Thamisiae pertinet ad Civitatem London usque Mare si velit respondeat Who then Pleaded Not Guilty III. He went further in point of Right that this Jurisdiction belonged to the City by antient Charters 8 R. 1. that is 480 and odd Years ago Dominus Richardus Rex Filius Regis Henrici secundi concessit firmiter praecepit ut omnes Kidelli qui sunt in Thamisia amoveantur ubicunque fuerint in Thamisia 1. Joh. Rex concessit firmiter praecepit ut omnes Kidelli qui sunt in Thamisia vel in Medway amoveantur ne caeteri Kidelli alicubi ponantur in Thamisia vel in Medway super forf 10 1. sterlingorum Then he urged the Famous Charter of King Henry the III. which ran thus Henry by the Grace of God King of England Lord of Ireland Duke of Normandy and Aquitain and Earl of Anjou unto all Archbishops Bishops Abbots Priors Earls Barons Justices Sheriffs Stewards Ministers and to all Bayliffs and to all his True Men Greeting wotteth well that we for the health of our Soul and the health of the Soul of King John our Fader and the Souls of our Ancestors and also for the Common profit of our City of London and of all our Realms have Granted and stedfastly Commanded That all the Weares that be in Thames or in Medway be done away and that from henceforth no Weares be set in Thames or Medway upon the forfeiture of 10 1. Also we claim quit to our Citizens of London all that that our Constable of our Tower of London was wont to take of the said Weares Wherefore we will and stedfastly Command that no Constable of the aforesaid Tower at any time from henceforth forward any thing ask nor any Grievance do to any of the same City by Eâ—cheson of the same Weares it is to us known enough and by our true Men do us to understand that most privacy and least profit might fall unto the same City and to the whole Realm by Enchesen of the same Weares which we make for ever firm and stable unto the same City as the Charter of our Lord King John our Fader which our Barons of London thereof have reasonably Witnessed Witnesses Eustace of London Peter of Westminster c. at Westminster the 18th of February in the Year of our Reign Eleven Besides these he produced divers others in this King ' s Reign to the purpose aforesaid and the 7th of E. III. IV. This Jurisdiction belongs to the City of London by Acts of Parliament W. 2. cap. 47. an 13. No Salmons to be taken from the Nativity of our Lady unto St. Martins Day in all points nor none to be taken in Mill-Pools from the midst of April until Midsummer under penalty for the first Offence of burning of Nets and Engines the second Offence Imprisonment for a Quarter of a Year the third Offence for a whole Year 13. R. II. confirms the restraint of taking Salmons in many Waters from the midst of April until Midsummer upon the same pain nor within that time to use any Nets called Stalkers nor any other Engine whereby the Fry may be destroyed He urged likewise 17 R. II. cap. 9. and the 11. H. VII cap. 15. 1 Eliz. cap. 17. Against Nets Wheeles and other Engines for destroying the Fish against killing of Salmon and Trouts out of season against killing Pike or Pickerel not ten Inches long or Salmon not 16 Inches long or Trout not 8 Inches long or Barbel 12 Inches and more nor to Fish with any Nets but such whereof every Meash or Mash shall be two Inches and a half broad Angling excepted This not to extend to Smelts Roches Minoes Bullhead Gudgeons or Eâ—les in place where the same have been used to be taken The Offender to lose for every Offence 20 â—s and the Fish also the unlawful Nets Engines and Instruments The Mayor of London Inter alia hath full Power and Authority by this Act to Inquire of all Offences Committed contrary thereunto by the Oaths of 12 Men or more and to Hear and Determine all and every the same and inflict Punishments and impose Fines accordingly V. He proceeds to assert the Cities
Right to the Conservation of the Thames and the Waters of Medway by way of Inquisition whereof there were two the one taken at Raynam in Essex the other at Gravesend in Kent before Sir William Cambridge Grocer then Lord Mayor of London 9 Henry V. where it was presented that whereas by the antient Ordinances of London the Meshes of Nets should be two Inches in the fore part and one Inch in the hinder part and it being found that the Offences according to the said Inquisitions are Contra libertates consuetudines Civitatis it was adjudged that the Nets should be burnt according to the antient Custom in that behalf provided VI. He goes on after to prove that this Right belongs to the City by Decrees In 8 Henry IV. the Mayor and Aldermen did exhibit their humble Petition to the King's Councel reciting that time out of mind they had the Conservation and Correction of the River of Thames of all Trincks Nets and other Engines whatsoever in the River of Thames and Medway placed and have used to make a Sub-Conservator under them and complaining that Alexander Bonner then Sub-Conservator having discharged his Duty in removing Kiddles he was ill intreated by the owners dwelling in Erith Bratriferry Barking Woolwich and other places in the Counties of Kent and Essex and upon hearing of the matter in Camera Stellata they were found Guilty and Constrained to submit themselves to the Lord Mayor and ordered to bring always their Nets unto him before they should use them and that the Kiddles then taken should be at the disposition of the Lord Mayor so the Offenders made their submission accordingly VII He proceeds This Right appertains to the City of London by Letters Patents which he proved by a Grant made by Edward IV. to the Earl of Pembroke for setting up a Wear in the River of Thames which Grant was Revoked and Cancelled at the Request of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen upon shewing their Right therefore alleaged it was contrary to their antient Liberties At which time the Cities Title to the Conservancy of the Thames and Medway was at large set forth and recited to have been shewn to the Lord Chancellor and to the said Earl and his Counsel which accordingly was also read VIII He reinforceth the Right of the City by Proclamations whereof one was made by H. VIII in the 34 of His Reign wherein it is affirmed that the Lord Mayor and his Predecessors have had by divers Grants of the Kings of England and by Acts of Parliaments enjoyed always the Conservacy of the Thames without Impediments or Interruption By which Proclamation it was Commanded that none should resist deny or impugne the Lord Mayor or his Deputy in doing or executing any thing that might conduce to the Conservacy of the River and of the Fish and Fry within the same IX He produceth Report for in a Controversie betwixt the Lord Admiral and the Lord Mayor for the Measuring of Coals and other things upon the Thames it then fell into Debate to whom the Conservacy of the Thames did belong which cause was referred by Queen ELIZABETH's Councel of State 1597 to the Attorney-General and Solicitor who joyntly Certified amongst other things that the Conservancy and care of the said River did and ought to belong to the City of London X. By quo Warranto it was proved that the Conservacy of the Thames belongs to the City for 3 Jac. a quo Warranto was brought against the City in the Exchequer to know by what Title She claimed the Conservacy of the River of Thames and the Waters of Medway whereupon the City made Her Title Good thereunto by antient prescription and otherwise so Judgment was given in Her Favour XI He goes on afterwards to confirm the Right of the City by Proof of Vsage in regard the Lord Mayor and Aldermen have time out of mind made Ordinances concerning the Good Government of the River of Thames as well for the Seasons and Manner of Fishing beneath London-bridge Eastward upon pain of certain Penalties as appears from time to time from the Reign of Henry III. and so downward The Lord Mayor hath removed Kiddles Wears Trinks and other unlawful Engines and reformed the disorders of such as have offended besides in the River of Thames and inflicted punishment upon Offenders accordingly The Right of the City appears also by the Writs and Preceps under the Teste of the Lord Mayor to the Sheriffs of Kent and Essex for the Returning of Juries before him to inquire of Offences done in the River The same Right of the City appears also by Commissions whereof divers have been directed to the Lord Mayor to put in Execution the Acts of Parliament made for Conservance of the Thames and Medway and to inquire of all Offences made or done in the said Waters and to punish the Deliaquents accordingly Lastly He makes good the Right and Title of the City by the Continual Claim She has made thereunto as appears in those various Contests She had with the Lord Admiral of England wherein after divers Debates and Disputes She still came off well and made Her Title good Which moved King Jamts in the third Year of His Reign to put a Final Determination to the Business by the Letters Patents he passed unto the City wherein he saith That ad omnem Controversiam in hac parte Temporibus tam presentibus quam futuris tollendam omne Dubium amo vendam that to cut off all Controversies as well of the present times as of Future and to remove all Doubts he did Confirm and Ratifie the said Right unto the City of London c. I. This Office of Conservator of so Noble a River is of great Extent for he is to preserve the Currency of the stream on the Banks on both sides II. To preserve the Fish and Fry within the same that no Fishermen use unlawful Nets or Engines or fish at Prohibited Seasons III. To hinder the erection of any Weares Kiddles or Engines and the knocking in of any Posts Piles or Stake which may in any sort hinder the Stream or Navigation and to pull them up if already done and punish the Offenders also to prevent all incroachments upon the Rivers and the Banks thereof likewise to inquire of all Bridges Flood-Gates Mill-dams and such like Annoyances and whether any do hurl in any Soyl Dust or Rubbish or other Filth whatsoever to choak her But for the strength and safety of the River against the Invasion of an Enemy by Block-Houses Forts Bastions or Castles and the securing of the Merchant and Navigation to and fro that Charge belongs to the Soveraign Prince The former Charge Care and Circumspection belongs properly to the City of London which is Seated in a fit place to be watchful over her for which Vigilance the Thames Rewards the City abundantly by bringing her in the Spices of the South the Jewels of the East and the Treasures of the