2

CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES DEVELOPED.

[1377.

impeachment of those who were considered as the evil advisers of the crown; and in strenuously insisting that the public liberties, secured by statutes and charters, should not be infringed upon by a king who had manifest tendencies. towards despotism. At one period, this despotism was nearly successful. For two years Richard was an uncontrolled tyrant. By what was unquestionably a national act, however accompanied by treachery and violence, the despot was deposed. In this deposition, all the forms which might appear to belong to a more advanced state of society were most carefully observed. The king, who neglected the duties of his station, and aimed at arbitrary power, was treated as a public delinquent; and the general good was set forth as the ultimate end of all government. But this reign is also remarkable for the great insurrection of the humblest classes of society against the remnant of feudal oppressions; and although the revolt was suppressed, and happily So, from that time the condition of the serf underwent a real mitigation; and as serfdom gradually became altogether extinct, the free labourer, although subject to much injustice, gradually acquired some of the rights of an independent citizen. In the revolution of 1399, which placed Henry IV. upon the throne, we no longer see the violent act of a factious nobility, united as a caste, but the result of a general agreement of various orders of society, having a common interest in the maintenance of freedom. In that revolution, and in many other occurrences of this reign, we may trace the influence of a public opinion, emanating from men of different degrees, accustomed to manage their own affairs, and now more awakened than ever to think upon the relations in which the governed stood to the governing. How far the agitation of great religious questions impelled the political and social movements of the end of the fourteenth century, is also an interesting matter of consideration. But we cannot look back from this period to that of the Norman conquest, and still farther back to the Anglo-Saxon times, without being impressed with the constant operation of the law of progress-that law by which great changes of society are steadily effected, as the minds of men become more and more capable of receiving them. Long before the feudal system had entirely passed away, the ancient constitution was again and again modified by those principles which, without historical research, look like new elements of society. It was this gradual introduction of the popular element which saved England from the despotism which, in other countries, grew out of the institutions of the Middle Ages. One of the ablest reasoners of our time has said of the period of which we are now treating, of analogies may be traced between the political institutions of France and 66 a multitude England, but then the destinies of the two nations separated, and constantly became more unlike as time advanced." ."*To use the words of the same writer, it was given to the English "gradually to modify the spirit of their ancient institutions without destroying them." The French lost the great principle of freedom when, at the same time as that in which the Commons of England would permit no tax to be levied without the consent of the people, the nobility of France suffered the crown to impose taxes at its will, provided they themselves were exempt. "At that very time," says M. de Tocqueville,

Alexis de Tocqueville, "On the state of society in France before the Revolution of 1789," translated by Henry Reeve, 1856, p. 181.

1377.]

CORONATION OF RICHARD II.-COUNCIL OF REGENCY.

"was sown the seed of almost all the vices, and almost all the abuses, which afflicted the ancient society of France during the remainder of its existence, and ended by causing its violent dissolution." *

Edward III. was within a few hours of his last mortal agony, when a deputation of the citizens of London came to his grandson, Richard, and offering their support of his right to the crown, invited him to take up his residence in the Tower. The prince was then in his eleventh year. The same day, June 21, Edward died. On the 22nd, the boy king made his triumphal entry into London, amidst pageants and devices in every street, and conduits running with wine. The obsequies of his grandfather having been performed, Richard, on the 16th of July, was crowned at Westminster. The ceremonial was one of unusual magnificence; and the beautiful son of the idol of the people, receiving the homage of his uncles and the barons, and at the subsequent banquet creating earls and knights, may, in that solemnity, have been impregnated with those impressions of his own irresponsible greatness which appear to have clung to him through life. Some of the circumstances attending the accession of Richard may be attributed to the apprehensions that were entertained of the ambitious designs of his uncle, John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster. The haste of the citizens of London to proffer their lives and fortunes, and the exaggeration with which the young king was gravely spoken of by great officers in church and state as a miracle of wisdom, were evidently calculated to reconcile the people to this shadow of a sovereign. The duke of Lancaster probably expected to be sole regent; but a temporary council was appointed, in which he took no part. A parliament met in October, when, at the request of the Commons, the Lords, in the king's name, appointed nine' persons to be a permanent council of the king; and it was resolved that, during the king's minority, the appointment of all the chief officers of the crown should be with the parliament. There was ill-concealed jealousy of Lancaster; and a speech which he made, demanding the punishment of those who spoke of him as a traitor, is upon the Rolls of Parliament. It was a serious time, when men's minds were excited by impending danger. The truce with France had recently expired: and not an hour was lost by Charles V. to renew hostilities in the way most offensive to the English. Commerce was interrupted; the sea-ports were burnt and ravaged; the Isle of Wight was plundered. To meet the expenses of a foreign armament, and of naval and land forces to protect the kingdom, a subsidy was granted. But two citizens of London, William Walworth and John Philpot, were sworn in parliament to be treasurers of the same, and strictly to apply the produce of the taxes to the support of the war. In this and immediately succeeding parliaments, the state of the nation was declared to be alarming. The wars of Edward III. had produced no perma

* De Tocqueville, p. 182.

3

2

so,

CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES DEVELOPED.

[1377.

impeachment of those who were considered as the evil advisers of the crown; and in strenuously insisting that the public liberties, secured by statutes and charters, should not be infringed upon by a king who had manifest tendencies towards despotism. At one period, this despotism was nearly successful. For two years Richard was an uncontrolled tyrant. By what was unquestionably a national act, however accompanied by treachery and violence, the despot was deposed. In this deposition, all the forms which might appear to belong to a more advanced state of society were most carefully observed. The king, who neglected the duties of his station, and aimed at arbitrary power, was treated as a public delinquent; and the general good was set forth as the ultimate end of all government. But this reign is also remarkable for the great insurrection of the humblest classes of society against the remnant of feudal oppressions; and although the revolt was suppressed, and happily from that time the condition of the serf underwent a real mitigation; and as serfdom gradually became altogether extinct, the free labourer, although subject to much injustice, gradually acquired some of the rights of an independent citizen. In the revolution of 1399, which placed Henry IV. upon the throne, we no longer see the violent act of a factious nobility, united as a caste, but the result of a general agreement of various orders of society, having a common interest in the maintenance of freedom, In that revolution, and in many other occurrences of this reign, we may trace the influence of a public opinion, emanating from men of different degrees, accustomed to manage their own affairs, and now more awakened than ever to think upon the relations in which the governed stood to the governing. How far the agitation of great religious questions impelled the political and social movements of the end of the fourteenth century, is also an interesting matter of consideration. But we cannot look back from this period to that of the Norman conquest, and still farther back to the Anglo-Saxon times, without being impressed with the constant operation of the law of progress—that law by which great changes of society are steadily effected, as the minds of men become more and more capable of receiving them. Long before the feudal system had entirely passed away, the ancient constitution was again and again modified by those principles which, without historical research, look like new elements of society. It was this gradual introduction of the popular element which saved England from the despotism which, in other countries, grew out of the institutions of the Middle Ages. One of the ablest reasoners of our time has said of the period of which we are now treating, a multitude of analogies may be traced between the political institutions of France and England, but then the destinies of the two nations separated, and constantly became more unlike as time advanced."* To use the words of the same writer, it was given to the English "gradually to modify the spirit of their ancient institutions without destroying them." The French lost the great principle of freedom when, at the same time as that in which the Commons of England would permit no tax to be levied without the consent of the people, the nobility of France suffered the crown to impose taxes at its will, provided they themselves were exempt. "At that very time," says M. de Tocqueville,

Alexis de Tocqueville, "On the state of society in France before the Revolution of 1789," translated by Henry Reeve, 1856, p. 181.

1377.]

CORONATION OF RICHARD II.-COUNCIL OF REGENCY.

was sown the seed of almost all the vices, and almost all the abuses, which afflicted the ancient society of France during the remainder of its existence, and ended by causing its violent dissolution." *

Edward III. was within a few hours of his last mortal agony, when a deputation of the citizens of London came to his grandson, Richard, and offering their support of his right to the crown, invited him to take up his residence in the Tower. The prince was then in his eleventh year. The same day, June 21, Edward died. On the 22nd, the boy king made his triumphal entry into London, amidst pageants and devices in every street, and conduits running with wine. The obsequies of his grandfather having been performed, Richard, on the 16th of July, was crowned at Westminster. The ceremonial was one of unusual magnificence; and the beautiful son of the idol of the people, receiving the homage of his uncles and the barons, and at the subsequent banquet creating earls and knights, may, in that solemnity, have been impregnated with those impressions of his own irresponsible greatness which appear to have clung to him through life. Some of the circumstances attending the accession of Richard may be attributed to the apprehensions that were entertained of the ambitious designs of his uncle, John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster. The haste of the citizens of London to proffer their lives and fortunes, and the exaggeration with which the young king was gravely spoken of by great officers in church and state as a miracle of wisdom, were evidently calculated to reconcile the people to this shadow of a sovereign. The duke of Lancaster probably expected to be sole regent; but a temporary council was appointed, in which he took no part. A parliament met in October, when, at the request of the Commons, the Lords, in the king's name, appointed nine persons to be a permanent council of the king; and it was resolved that, during the king's minority, the appointment of all the chief officers of the crown should be with the parliament. There was ill-concealed jealousy of Lancaster; and a speech which he made, demanding the punishment of those who spoke of him as a traitor, is upon the Rolls of Parliament. It was a serious time, when men's minds were excited by impending danger. The truce with France had recently expired: and not an hour was lost by Charles V. to renew hostilities in the way offensive to the English. Commerce was interrupted; the sea-ports were burnt and ravaged; the Isle of Wight was plundered. To meet the expenses of a foreign armament, and of naval and land forces to protect the kingdom, a subsidy was granted. But two citizens of London, William Walworth and John Philpot, were sworn in parliament to be treasurers of the same, and strictly to apply the produce of the taxes to the support of the war. In this and immediately succeeding parliaments, the state of the nation was declared to be alarming. The wars of Edward III. had produced no perma

* De Tocqueville, p. 182.

most

3

4

WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND-TAXATION.

[1378-80. nent advantage; but had engendered a spirit of revenge which threatened the safety of England. There were enemies all around. France was active in her hostilities, in concert with Spain. The Scots, in 1378, burnt Roxburgh and captured Berwick. The great border-fortress was soon retaken, and a small gain was obtained by the cession of Cherbourg and Brest. But the duke of Lancaster was unsuccessful in an attack upon St. Malo, to whose relief the vigilant Du Guesclin came with a large army, and compelled the duke to retire to his ships. All the foreign enterprises of the English were futile and disastrous; and their cost produced general discontent. In addition to heavy duties on wool and leather, a capitation tax was granted in 1379. In principle this was an income tax, touching every person, from the duke, who was assessed at 67. 13s. 4d., to the labourer, who was called upon to pay 4d. for himself and his wife. The poll-tax of the next year was mainly granted for the support of a fruitless expedition to assist De Montfort, the duke of Brittany, against France. The earl of Buckingham, who had the command of this expedition, returned home with his army in great discontent; for De Montfort had concluded a pacific treaty with the French king. The expedition had no results. Its charges were very fatal. The poll-tax was essentially different from the direct tax of 1379. It was a tax of "three groats of every person of the kingdom, male or female, of the age of fifteen, of what state and condition soever, except beggars; the sufficient people in every town to contribute to the assistance of the less able, so as none paid above sixty groats, including himself and his wife."* How far the "sufficient people" contributed to the assistance of "the less able," may be inferred from the fact that very speedily "the less able" were in a state of insurrection. The pressure of the tax upon the humblest portion of the community, and the brutal manner in which it was enforced by the king's collector at Dartford, were the main causes, according to the chroniclers, of the revolt headed by Wat the Tyler. The tax was indeed as the match to the mine. The explosive materials had long been accumulating.

In the statutes of the first Parliament of Richard II., we have the earliest direct indications that the system of villanage was tottering to its fall. Complaint is made by lords and commons and men of Holy Church that in many seignories and parts of the realm, the villans and land-tenants in villanage, who owe services and customs to their lords, do day by day withdraw such services and customs; and by colour of certain exemplifications made out of the Book of Domesday of the manors and towns where they have been dwelling, and their evil interpretations of the same, affirm themselves to be utterly discharged of all manner of serfage, due as well of their body as of their said tenures. The Act goes on to point out the riotous assemblies and confederacies incited by counsellors and abettors, wherein it was agreed that every one should aid the other to resist their lords with strong hand. Such proceedings are to be put down by Special Commissions. We learn by this statute that it was not only the villans who resisted their lords in claiming "the franchise of their bodies," but the land-tenants, who sought "to change the position of their tenure and customs of old time due." There was an agitation of the social state which extended even further than

* Parliamentary History, vol. i. p. 162.