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their proceedings there, and the raising these allowances, were other necessary causes of creating this their Court of Brotherhood. And moreover, for joint advice and assistance one of another in all emergencies, prudent policy enforced them to acquaint each other with the state and condition of their affairs, in relation to their Charters and Customs, and to a unanimous defence thereof. For, if any particular of them should be impeached or invaded (they being all equally enfranchised) the mischief might not only have been precedential, and so of ill consequence to the rest in their like loss, but would have been prejudicial to the whole, who must have made good the total of what was jointly charged on them in general to perform ; though some part had been disabled to furnish his quota thereof. And these things also, with others, made it necessary sometimes, for these Ports and two Towns, to have conference with their Members ; where-upon arose the ancient Court among them, called a Guestling, where the members that are corporate, as Guests invited, appear and sit with those of the Ports and ancient Towns, to consult about the general state of their affairs ; for the members cannot raise or appoint this Guestling of them selves, but the Ports and two Towns, by consent of the major part of them , can and do rear it and call the Members together, when and where they please. By the same name of a Guestling, is also a Court called, that consisteth but of part of the Ports and two Towns, as suppose Hastings, Winchelsea, and Rye, raised upon request of one of them ; where by consent, and as by brotherly invitation, they ap pear to agree on something necessary to their respective Towns, but not by compulsion or penalty ; whereas in the Brotherhood, and other Guestling, if the person or members of any Corporation fail to appear, the Corporation is fined to the use of the whole Ports and Members. Of these Brotherhoods and Guestlings, there are two sorts, general and special. The general, is that court which is raised to sit at the usual time of holding it, and appears with the full number of persons to be returned thither (defaulters ex cepted .) The special is summoned to sit at some unusual -