of divine service in the Temple Church was handed over to strangers, and the cvstos was thrown by the crown for support upon the voluntary contributions of the two societies. He re ceived, indeed, a miserable pittance of 371. -βίί 8d. per annum from the exchequer, but for this he was to find at his own expense a minister to serve the church, and also a clerk or sexton Î As the crown retained in its own hands the appointment of the custos and all the antient revenues of the Temple Church, it ought to have provided for the support of the officiating ministers, as did the Hospitallers of Saint John. " The chardges of the fellowshyppe," says the MS. account of the Temple written in the reign of Hen. VIII., " towards the salary or mete and drink of the priests, is none ; for they are found by my lord of Saint John's, and they that are of the fcllowshyppe of the house are chardged with nothing to the priests, saving that they have eighteen offring days in the yeare, so that the cbardge of each of them is xviiirf." * In the reign of James the First, the custos, Dr. Micklethwaite, put forward certain unheard-of claims and pretensions, which led to a rupture between him and the two societies. The Masters of the bench of the society of the Inner Temple, taking umbrage at his proceedings, deprived the doctor of his place at the dinnertable, and " willed him to forbear the hall till he was sent for." In 8 Car. I., A. D. 1633, the doctor presented a petition to the king, in which he claims precedence within the Temple " according to auncient custome, he being master of the house," and complains that " his place in the hall is deny ed him and his dyett, which place the Master of the Temple hath ever had both before the profession of the lawe kept in the Temple and ever siuce, whensoever he came into the hall. That tythes are not payde him, whereas by pattent be is to have omîtes et ommmodas deci • MS. Nil). Cotton. Vitollius, c. 0. ibi. 320 a.