a place midway between the superior clergy and the baronage on the one hand, and the inferior clergy and the knights, citizens, and burgesses on the other.

In the reign of Edward the First the Portsmen rendered very signal service to the King in his conquest of Wales by blockading the Welsh coast and holding Anglesey. With Edward's army in his rear holding all the mountain passes and the seamen of the Cinque Ports on the coast, Llewellyn's cause became hopeless, and the subjugation of the Principality followed. In Edward's Scotch wars they were called out again, and they scoured the seas so effectually that no succours ever reached the King's enemies in Scotland from abroad. Just about this time a deadly insult was offered to the Portsmen. Some Norman vessels appeared off the coast, from the yards of which were hanging the bodies of some Englishmen who had been slain recently in a fight, alternately with the carcases of dogs; a dog and an Englishman, another dog and another Englishman, and so on all the way round. The fury of the Portsmen can be imagined. This kind of thing was not settled by arbitration in those days. The Barons flew to their ships and started off in frantic pursuit. They came up with the Normans and an engagement was fought in a blinding snowstorm and the French came so badly out of it that, according to Jeake, "France was thereby for a long season after in a manner destitute of both seamen and shipping."

Froissart has given us an account of a great sea-fight in which the seamen of the Cinque Ports assisted Edward the Third against the Spaniards.

The King of England hated these Spaniards greatly [he tells us], and said

publicly, "We have for a long time. spared these people, for which they have done us much harm, without amending their conduct; on the contrary they grew more arrogant, for which reason they must be chastised as they repass our coasts."

Three days the English ships waited for them in the narrow seas between Dover and Calais. On the third evening the King was in the front part of the deck, dressed in a black velvet jacket and " a small black beaver hat which became him

I

very well." He " was never more joyous in his life," says Froissart. The minstrels were playing to him and Sir John Chandos, one of his knights, was dancing on the deck for his entertainment. In short it was a very merry company. Suddenly the watch aloft called out, "Ho! see a sail." The music came to a dead stop, and Sir John stood stock still in the middle of his dance and a great silence fell on them all. “I see two, three, four, so many that, God help me, I cannot count them,' sang out the watch again, and shortly afterwards the Spaniards hove in sight.

They had forty vessels and of such a size and so beautiful it was a fine sight to see them under sail [says Froissart]. Near the top of their masts were small castles full of flints and stones and a soldier to guard them, and there was also a flagstaff, from whence fluttered their streamers in the wind so that it was pleasant to look at them.

They might have refused battle had they wished, as they were well freighted, in large ships, and had the wind in their favour but their pride and presumption made them act otherwise. They disdained to sail by and instantly bore down upon them.

He gives a vivid account of the fight, how the ships grappled and what deeds of valour were performed, how the King's ship received rough treatment and began to leak so badly that it is a wonder that he and his

knights were not all sent to the bottom; but after a terrible hand-tohand struggle they boarded the ship to which they were grappled, flung overboard every body they found in it, and thus saved themselves. "It lasted a considerable time," adds Froissart, "and the Spaniards gave the King of England plenty to do." At last the enemy, having lost fourteen ships, made off and the English vessels anchored for the night off Rye and Winchelsea, where the King thanked his Barons for their services and they "took their leave and returned every man to his home."

"In the reign of Henry the Fourth," writes Jeake, "the navy of the Cinque Ports conducted by Henry. Page (Arripay the Spaniards call him) surprised two hundred and twenty ships all laden with no worse merchandise than oil, iron, and salt." Henry the Sixth called upon them frequently for service, and they fitted out their whole fleet of fifty-seven ships for him in 1445; but by this time their glory was past, and they were never called upon to furnish their full quota of vessels again. Their harbours had begun to decay and could no longer accommodate the larger vessels which had come into vogue; other ports rose into prominence, and the limits of their service no longer sufficed for the national defence. Finally when England, imitating the example set her by France, began in Henry the Seventh's reign to construct ships specially designed for purposes of war, the fleet of the Cinque Ports sank into comparative insignificance.

We still hear of them from time to time, however. Henry the Eighth called upon them on more than one occasion for special service; and at the time of the Spanish Armada they furnished five stout ships and a pinnace for her Majesty's service for two months, though in fact they kept the

sea four months at their own cost; and we read further that it was their mariners who being, of course, well acquainted with the channels and shallows of the opposite coasts, were enabled to allure some of the enemy's huge galleons to certain destruction, and thus put them out of action for the rest of the engagement.

Before the sailing of the Invincible Armada, Philip, confident of victory, bestowed the office of Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports on one of his favourites, a man of some distinction, who proceeded to expend the whole of his substance on fitting out a vessel for the Armada in which he held a captain's command. At the last moment illness prevented him from sailing with the rest of the fleet, but so soon as he had recovered he followed in a pinnace, and nothing doubting that by that time the conquest of England was an accomplished fact, steered his course direct to Dover to take up his appointment. Instead of being received, as he had anticipated, with abject submission by a cringing and servile population, to his utter astonishment his vessel was boarded, he himself seized, forcibly dragged before the Constable, and clapped into prison to wait, in one of the dungeons of the castle in which he had expected to rule as governor, until the terms of his ransom could be arranged. One can imagine the delight of the Portsmen at his discomfiture. Some seven years later, when the attack on Cadiz was being organised, they came forward with alacrity and provided five ships of 160 tons each, all at their own expense, and placed them at the Queen's disposal for the space of five months. We hear of their sea-service once more after this, and once only. In Charles the First's reign they furnished him with two ships for

three months, at a cost to themselves of £1,825 88.

During the coronation feast of Charles the Second news was brought to the Barons that the royal footmen were attempting to appropriate the canopies, which with the silver staves and bells had from time immemorial been considered the property of the Barons of the Cinque Ports. On hearing this news the Barons rose at once from their seats and went out to protect their property. A very noisy scene ensued, and the King sent out to know what it was all about. The royal footmen were placed under arrest and were dismissed the King's service next day. An incident which occurred at the coronation of James the Second was by many regarded as an evil omen. The King was returning to Westminster Hall after the ceremony, and walking in his royal coronation robes under a canopy borne by the Barons of the Cinque Ports, when suddenly it tore across. ""Twas of cloth of gold," says Aubrey, "and my strength could not, I am confident, have rent it, and it was not a windy day."

At the coronation of George the Third, no table was placed for the Barons in Westminster Hall. They protested, but in vain, and when they arrived at the Hall and found that the table which should have been theirs was already occupied by several peers and ladies, they were extremely indignant and, refusing to sit anywhere else,

stood in a group at the high table on the King's right hand until past nine o'clock, when they retired. A formal protest was addressed to the Earl Marshal later, and at the coronation of George the Fourth their table was placed in its ancient position. But the Barons were not entirely satisfied even then, for they complained that the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London were allowed to sit nearer to the King than they were. At the coronations of William the Fourth and Queen Victoria the usual procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey was omitted, as was also the feast, so no opportunity was afforded to the Barons of performing their usual offices. At the coronation of King Edward the Seventh they were present in the Abbey but did not attend personally on the King and Queen.

Of the ancient and honourable corporation of the Barons of the Cinque Ports, the two Ancient Towns and their Limbs, very few signs remain at the present time. In one place only does the name still appear, and that is on the rolls of Parliament. The Man in the Street may be ignorant of their claims, yet the page which records the brilliant service which they rendered the country in the far off past, and also the leading part which they played in helping to establish the constitutional liberties of England, will ever keep its place in the annals of our history.

MINTO F. JOHNSTON.

THERE are many reasons why London with its great size, wealth, and peculiarly varied population should be one of the greatest, if not the greatest school for medical education in the world. That it is not so can be easily shown, and at the present time when an earnest effort is being made to establish a medical institute and to organise the various branches of medical education it is as well to examine some of the causes of the failure. The report of the Committee which was appointed on behalf of King Edward's Hospital Fund to enquire into the financial relations between hospitals and medical schools in London has dealt with this subject to some extent, and their findings are alone sufficient to indicate the gravity of the present position. From the point of view of the general public, who are asked to subscribe large sums of money to London hospitals, it appears that much money is wasted on the education of medical students, and as some of the money comes out of the coffers of the hospitals it follows that it also comes out of the pockets of the British public.

There are twelve medical schools in London, yet none of them occupies such a position of authority in the medical world as does Edinburgh University. The number of medical students in London has decreased during the past thirty years by about one-half, and the present tendency is for the number to sink

still lower. The annual entry of fresh students for all the London medical schools has declined from an average of 679 in the years 1879-1883 to an average of 424 in the years 1900-4. Edinburgh has students who hail from various parts of England, Ireland, Wales, and the Colonies, and these students form about one-half of the total number on the books. Even Birmingham, which is the proud possessor of a fine university, is slowly beating London.

The twelve medical schools, some of them fairly good in their way, are not sufficiently adequate to cope with great opportunities. They lack the advantage which one or two big centres would possess. Their teachers, on account of the comparative smallness of the schools, are underpaid. There are, of course, some very distinguished men teaching in the London medical schools, but when opportunity offers they go elsewhere. Many of the schools would have to close their doors if it were not for the support they receive out of the funds of the hospitals to which they are attached. Such schools are known to lack in many respects the complete equipment which big medical centres possess. Consequently they are somewhat inefficient; but they are also expensive, and it is this question of expense, together with the pitiful fact that London as a medical centre is ceasing to exist, that possesses a vital interest just

now.

Out of the twelve medical schools there are only four where contributions are not made out of the general funds of the hospitals to make up the deficit on the working of the schools. These are Guy's Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, King's College, and University College. For the rest, Charing Cross, London, Middlesex, St. Bartholomew's, St. George's, St. Mary's, St. Thomas's and Westminster Hospitals, the amount of money which has to be given by them to the schools annually is a very large one; though, of course, owing to various circumstances, such for instance as an increased number of students and more fees, it fluctuates to a certain degree. A well-known official connected with St. Bartholomew's Hospital recently made a private calculation of the amount of money which passed from the hospitals to these schools during the course of a year and for which no adequate return was given. He arrived at the conclusion that the average yearly sum was at least £10,000. As this amount goes to bolster up schools which lack a good many requirements, and which are far below the standard of what the leading medical schools in London ought to be, it can only be viewed as money wasted,-wasted in the sense that the object and the expenditure do not give anything like a fair return. There is also another view. The sum of £10,000 is a very considerable one, and in the hospital world of London it could do a vast amount of good if applied judiciously.

Here are the amounts which in 1903 were paid by hospitals to the various schools which are connected with them. These figures, I may explain, are taken from the material laid before the Committee appointed by King Edward's Hospital Fund and they may be regarded as accurate.

In fairness to the medical schools it must be explained that in some instances pecuniary returns were made. In the case of Charing Cross Hospital the school paid to the hospital onefifth of its gross receipts, which in 1903 amounted to £626 8. 1. With respect to the London Hospital certain amounts have from time to time been paid by the hospital to the schools on which the latter pays interest, but taken altogether the money passing from the hospital to the school is considerable. For certain loans the school of St. Bartholomew's paid to the hospital in 1903 £778 19. 9., but against this it may be pointed out that the hospital has expended on the school buildings since 1865 a sum of £59,694 18. 6. The land occupied by the college belongs to the hospital, and the residential college occupied by the students of the school belongs to and is maintained by the hospital, which has incurred a loss under this head averaging £86 13. per annum during the last thirty-four years. St. George's Hospital received from the school £359 17. 1., which however was rent and interest due. In the case of St. Mary's Hospital the original accommodation of the school was paid for by the founders of the hospital. Since then part of the accommodation has been taken by the hospital and a sum of £11,000 advanced to the school for new build

ings. Up to and including the year 1900 four per cent. interest on this sum was paid; in 1902 three and a