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the Cinque Ports, for refusing compliance to the loan, was sent to serve (as a soldier) in the Palatinate. Sir Randal Crew, chief justice, not favouring the loan, was put out of his place."-Hist. Stu. p. 90, 92.-Whitelock's Mem. p. 8.

"The reluctancy of private persons made the government more severe in the execution of the project, and that severity made the people more averse."-Echard, p. 430. "Those of the lower sort who refused to lend were pressed for the army, or had soldiers quartered on them; who by their insolent behaviour disturbed the peace of families, and committed frequent robberies, burglaries, rapines, murders, and other barbarous cruelties; insomuch that the highways were dangerous to travel, and the markets unfrequented: officers of justice in performance of their duties were resisted and endangered: tradesmen, artificers, and farmers were forced to leave their trades, and give up their wonted dwellings, and to employ their time in preserving themselves and families from cruelty."-Neal, Vol. 11. p. 173.— Rapin, Vol. x. p. 149. To the imposing of loans, was added the billetting of soldiers; martial law was executed, and the soldiers committed great outrages."— Whitelock, p. 8.

An order was made in council for the imprisonment of those who refused to pay coat and conduct money; and several aldermen of London were committed to prison, for refusing to give in the names of such persons as were able to lend the king money."-Tindal's Sum. p. 122. "The papists were forward in the loan, the puritans were recusants in it."-Whitelock, Mem. p. 8.

"At this time the Earl of Denbigh, the admiral, had an hundred sail of ships under his command in our seas, but his excellency having no

commission to fight, suffered divers English vessels to be taken away by our enemies, in his view, without rescue by their countrymen.”—Ibid.

"Besides the loan, there was a benevolence also required; another way of forcing the people to give a free gift. The bishop of Lincoln was prosecuted in the star-chamber for speaking against it".-Hist. Stu. p. 90. "The king ordered that the counties should advance coat and conduct money, for the maintenance of his troops. He would have borrowed 300,000 pounds of the city of London, but had the mortification to meet with a denial. He was so displeased at it, that he resolved to be revenged in this manner: a grant, made by the king in the beginning of his reign, in consideration of great sums of money, of good quantities of land in Ireland, and of the city of London-derry there, was voided by a suit in the star-chamber. All the lands, after a vast expence in building and planting, were resumed into the king's hands, and a fine of fifty thousand pounds imposed upon the city."-Clarend. Vol. 11. p. 372. "He fined also the city in 1500 marks for neglecting to make inquisition about the death of one Dr. Lamb, who passed for a conjurer, employed by the Duke of Buckingham, whom the mob had pursued from street to street, and who died a few days after."-Rapin, Vol. x. p. 257. He granted a commission to twenty three lords and others to raise money by impositions in the nature of ercise." --Echard, p. 434. "When the parliament, anno 1627, met, they debate about grievances, of billetting of soldiers, loans, benevolences, privy seals, imprisonment of refusers, not bailing them upon habeas corpus, and incline to give no supply, till these are redressed."-Whitelock. Mem. p. 9.

But the tax which of all others was most grievous to the subject, and raised the greatest cla

mour, was that which was called SHIP-MONEY. "The king, by his answer to the Petition of Right, had bound himself not to raise any tax without the consent of both houses. But expedients to evade the most solemn promises are seldom wanting, when men have power in their hands."-Rapin, Vol. x. p. 284. "For a spring and magazine" (says Lord Clarendon) "that should have no bottom, and for an everlasting supply of all occasions, a writ was framed in a a form of law, and directed to the sheriff of every county in England, to provide a ship of war for the king's service; and to send it amply provided and fitted, by such a day, to such a place; and with that writ were sent to every sheriff instructions, that instead of a SHIP, he should levy upon his county such a SUM OF MONEY, and return the same to the treasurer of the navy for his majesty's use; with direction in what manner he should proceed (viz. by distress and imprisonment) against such as refused. And from hence that tax had the denomination of ship money; by which for some years really accrued the yearly sum of 200,000l. to the king's coffers." -Clarend. Vol. 1. p. 68.

"This tax being imposed by virtue of the prerogative power, several private persons refused to pay the sums they were rated at.-But the king considering that by the help of this tax he should have a settled revenue, besides that it would be a precedent to make use of his prerogative on other occasions, resolved to support his project at any rate. To that end, he sent to the judges of the realm for their opinion concerning his power to impose this tax. As the judges wholly depended upon the court, after much solicitation by the chief justice Finch, promising preferment to some, and highly threatning others whom he found doubt

ing, he got from them an answer in the king's favour."-Whitelock, p. 24.

"Great murmurs and a general sense of oppression ran throughout the kingdom, on account of this new tax, levied without act of parliament: in London one Mr. Chambers a merchant had peremptorily refused to pay it; for which he had been committed to prison by Sir E. Broomfield lord mayor, against whom he commenced a suit for tresspass and false imprisonment, which case, when it came to be heard before Sir R. Berkeley, one of the judges of the King's Bench, he would not suffer the point of the legality of ship-money to be argued by Chambers's counsel, but declared in open court that there was a RULE OF LAW, and a RULE OF GOVERNMENT; and that many things which might not be done by the RULE OF LAW, might be done by the RULE OF GOVERNMENT."-Echard, p. 459.-His lordship added, -"That no act of parliament could bind the king not to command away his subjects goods and money." -Neal, Vol. 11. p. 157. Yea all the judges (except Hutton and Croke,* partly by promises and partly by threats, were brought to avow the legality of the tax, and to declare, "That his majesty may, by wRIT under the great seal, command all his subjects, AT THEIR CHARGE, to provide and furnish such a number of ships, with

*

Judge Croke, says Whitelock, of whom I speak knowingly, was resolved to deliver his opinion for the king, and had prepared his argument for that end; but upon his most serious thoughts, and being heartened by his lady, a very pious woman, who told her husband she hoped he would do nothing against his conscience for fear of any danger or prejudice to him or his family; and that she would be content to suffer want or any misery with him, rather than be an occasion for him to do or say any thing against his judgment and conscience :-Upon these, and like encouragements, he altered his purpose, and gave his opinion against the king."-Whitelock. p. 24.

men, victuals and ammunition, and for such time as his majesty shall think fit, for the defence and safeguard of his kingdom in time of danger and peril; and BY LAW might COMPEL the doing thereof in case of refusal. And that in SUCH CASE, the king is the SOLE JUDGE both of the dangers, and wHEN and How the same are to be avoided."--Echard, p. 459.

A sentence, says Lord Clarendon," which brought upon the judges deserved reproach and infamy; and by which they justly fell into irreverence and scorn. But when men heard shipmoney demanded in a court of law, as a right; and found it, by sworn judges of the law, adjudged to be so, upon such grounds and reasons as every stander-by was able to swear was not law,—and were required to pay it by a logic which left no man any thing he might call his own, they no more looked upon it as the case of one man, but the case of the kingdom; and an imposition which they thought themselves bound in conscience to the public justice not to submit to.- Sir John Finch, also lord keeper of the great seal, upon a demurrer put into a bill before him, which had no other equity in it than an order of the lords of council, declared that whilst he was KEEPER no man should be so SAUCY as to dispute those orders; but that the wisdom of that board should be always ground enough for him to make a DECREE in chancery."-Clarend. Vol. 1. p. 69, 70. --Ibid p. 74. Here then was a total end to the liberty of the subject; and the CONSTITUTION of our government was absolutely overthrown; when an order of council is to have the same authority as a law enacted by parliament: and one of the highest courts of judicature declares it will always regulate its determinations thereby.

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