ore. The Cutlers' Company would furnish "a very good turky blade and good
open hilts" for 6_s._, thus under-selling the private firms.

(M80)

On the 5th May, 1615, the Common Council ordered another fifteenth to be
levied on the inhabitants of the city "towards the defrayinge of all maner
of charges to be disbursed in and about the trayninge and musteringe of
men";(201) and in the following year the trained bands were divided into
four regiments, under the command of Sir Thomas Lowe, Sir Thomas
Middleton, Sir John Watts, and Sir John Swinnerton, and quartered in
different parts of the city for the purpose of putting down riots. For
these measures the mayor, Sir John Jolles, and the aldermen received the
thanks of the lords of the council.(202)

(M81)

Yet, notwithstanding the manifest pains taken by civic authorities to
carry out the wishes of the lords of the council, the latter within a few
weeks again wrote to the mayor,(203) rating him soundly for not having
made a return of men and arms with which the city was provided, as
previously directed. Their lordships had been informed that the city was
altogether unprovided with arms and could not furnish the full number of
trained men with weapons at one and the same time, and that there was
scarce sufficient match and powder in the whole city to serve for one
day's training. They expressed astonishment that the civic authorities, in
whom was vested the government of the king's Chamber, should have proved
so negligent in a matter so important, and directed them to set up
forthwith a magazine of arms for supplying not only the inhabitants of the
city, but also those of adjacent counties, with military weapons, and to
supply themselves with a store of gunpowder of not less than 100 lasts, by
the aid of the city companies, as had been usual in like cases. A
certificate was also to be returned without delay to their lordships
according to previous orders. The matter was referred by the Common
Council to the "committees for martial causes" in the city, with
instructions to report thereon to the Court of Aldermen.

(M82)

After the receipt of this letter considerable activity was shown in the
military preparations of the city. A muster and review were ordered to be
held on the 6th August in Finsbury Fields, and steps were taken to fill up
the muster-roll of every captain to its full strength of 300 men.(204)

(M83)

By the spring of the next year (1617) the city autho