HIST & SURVEY OF LONDON & ITS

Excerpt from The History and Survey of London and Its Environs, Vol. 2 of 4: From the Earliest Period to the Present TimeA dispute arose at this time, between the tenants of the Bishop of Ely and the lord mayor of Lon don, respecting the exercise of the mayor's authority among them: the dispute was referred to the lord keeper, the two chief justices, and the chancellor of the exchequer, who determined it in favour of the city; and that, for the future, the mayor might as justly exercise his authority in the bishop's rents, in Holborn, as in any other part of the city.It will probably astonish those, who look for the. Perfection of civilization under Elizabeth, to hear that the trial by combat might be legally demanded dur ing her reign; and that the judges of the common pleas actually sat in Tothill-fields, Westminster, on the 18th of J une,' 1, to decide by such pleadings; but, judging from the relation of the circumstance in Bowes's Chronicle, p. 668, it is probable that some compromise had taken place, to bring the question before the judges in a more civil way; since a deci sion was given against one of the parties, on a pre tended non-appearance, although his champion was in court.An act of parliament was passed in this year, directing a new cut or trench to be made at the charge of the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London, whereby the river Lea was to be made to convey all victuals, corn, and other necessaries, from the town of Ware to the. City of London, and from London to Ware. By this means the conveyance of grain and other provisions out of Hertfordshire was greatly facilitated, and a considerable expense of land carriage saved.In the same year the streets in the eastern suburbs of London, as far as Whitechapel-bars, were, by an act of parliament, ordered to be paved.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.