" The Petition of the Barons of the Cinque Ports sheweth :
-- "1. That your petitioners represent the Mayors, Aldermen, Jurats, Freemen, and burgesses of the Five Ports, to wit, Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, and the two Ancient Towns of Rye and Winchelsea, together with the Limbs and Members of the same Ports and Towns, to wit, the Corporate Towns of Deal, Faversham, Folkestone, Lydd, Margate, and Ramsgate, assembled in Court of Brotherhood and Guestling, at the Ancient Town and Port of Hastings.
-- "2. That the area subject to the jurisdiction of the said Ports and Towns also includes sundry Non-corporate Members or Limbs, is situate principally along the coasts of Kent and Sussex and is commensurate with that formerly commanded by the Court of the Saxon Shore, and that the population thereof is at the present day about 200,000 souls.
-- "3. That this district constitutes what has ever been known as the Gates of the Kingdom, being that portion of His Majesty's territory which has always been selected as the most available for invasion. That every hostile landing upon the soil of this country, whether by Romans, Danes, or Normans, was within the limits of the Cinque Ports, and that during the time of Napoleon I., and even during that of Napoleon III., the coast of Kent or Sussex was indicated as the spot likely to be attempted.
-- "4. That from the time of His Majesty's ancestor, King Edward the Confessor, for many centuries, the Cinque Ports formed the nucleus of the King's offensive and defensive power. Their ships and sailors guarded his coasts, and accompanied him in his foreign wars, and the Ports were liable to, and did, find both ships and men when the safety of the country required their aid. That the Barons of the Cinque Ports thus became, and have ever been, regarded as the founders of the King's Navy, and in recognition of services thus rendered to them and their ancestors the Kings and Queens of this realm have at their Coronation required of the Barons certain duties, and conferred upon them certain rights.
-- "5. That at the Coronation of the Kings of England and Queens Consort, the said Barons were, from time immemorial, accustomed to carry over the head of every of the said Kings and Queens a cloth, called a canopy, of gold or purple silk, borne upon four lances or staves, ornamented with silver-gilt bells ; that sixteen of the said Barons were appointed to each King's canopy, and that a similar canopy was borne over the head of the Queen Consort by other sixteen Barons of the said Ports. That the said Barons were accustomed to have and take the said canopy or canopies, staves and bells, for their own use, and to dine, on the day of the Coronation, at a table in the Great Hall (where the King or Queen was accustomed to dine), at the right hand of the King or Queen.
