fying a regard for their intereft. He knew by that means, however ill he ufed his other fubjects, he should still preserve the reputation of a pious prince, zealous for the cause and honour of God, which could not but greatly contribute to baffle any oppofition to his meafures. The clergy had all along fo connived at the pretenfions of the court of Rome, that the endeavours of former parliaments to put a stop to that abufe, proved ineffectual. The people groaned for a reformation; there fore, though the king was obliged at first in compliance with his parliament to revive the ftatutes of præmunire, yet never was the breach of them more winked at, than in this reign. To give the ecclefiafticks a more public inftance of his zeal, Henry at their petition procured the bloody act to pass in parliament for the burning fuch as they should declare heretics. Immediately the poor Lollards, who had incurred their unrelenting displeasure for broaching doctrines repugnant to their temporal grandeur, are without mercy delivered to the flames; and the churches found with the encomiums of a king, who had given fuch unquestionable proof of his piety and zeal.

But a parliament,, that met fome time after, had not the fame complaifance for the clergy.

This was that which by way of reproach, they have called the illiterate parliament, reprefenting them as a fet of men chofen according to the king's private letters, merely on account of their ignorance; an error moft people fince, and amongst the rest a very eminent man in our law †, has been led into. But thefe letters were in reality writs of fummons, in which there were directions, in pursuance of a ftatute made in Edward IIId's time, excluding all sheriffs and practifing lawyers from being elected the reafon of which was, that fuch procured themselves to be elected merely to ferve views of their own, and did not faithfully discharge their duty to their country. Instead therefore of looking upon this parliament in the light, in which it has been reprefented, we are to confider it as compofed of honeft, difinterest. ed country gentlemen, who having no private views to serve, came up fraught with the fentiments of those they reprefented, who impatiently wished to fee themselves freed from the ecclefiaftical yoke.

Accordingly, when the king, laying his neceffities before them, demanded an aid, they remonftrated the hardship of burthening his fubjects with further taxes, when at the fame

+ Pry's pref. to parl. roll.

time the clergy contributed nothing to the neceffities of the ftate, though poffeffed of the third part of all the lands in the kingdom; wallowing, to the neglect of their duty, in luxury and idlenefs: that therefore it was their defire that his wants fhould be fupplied out of the ecclefiaftical revenues, as not only juft, and agreeable to the fentiments of the people, but in the main of real fervice to the church itself.

We may eafily imagine, what treatment a propofition of this kind met with from the clergy. The archbishop of Canterbury, who was prefent, could not forbear treating the commons in the most arrogant and infolent manner: he even told them in a menacing way, no attempt of that fort fhould be offered the church without impunity, and that it should be at their peril if they seized any of its revenues; that for his part he would fooner lofe his life than fee it deprived of them.

The king, in purfuance of the maxim he had laid down, to keep well with the clergy, took this opportunity to affure the archbishop of his refolution to maintain the church in

+ Walfing. p. 371.

its full poffeffions, and of his defire rather to increase than diminish its fplendor. The commons, not intimidated by the threats of any dignified church-man, went on and prepared a bill for supplying the king's neceffities out of the revenues of the church; but when the bill came to the lords, they refufed their concurrence, through the cabals of the bishops, who had gained a confiderable party in that houfe, for having oppofed the commons not long before in a laudable defign they had of fupplying the king's wants, by a revocation of feveral lands alienated from the crown by grants in the late reign, and fquandered upon favourites, to the great impoverishing of the crown, and burthening the people; which revocation would greatly have affected several peers, who at that time were in poffeffion of fuch lands. Here we fee the bishops, oppofers in general of every step taken for the ease of the fubject, and treating the reprefentative body of the whole people in parliament with infolence, ill language, and threats for the attempt.

Though the commons were disappointed this time in their defign, yet the grievance was too generally felt, and a redress too much defired by the people for them to fit down difmayed at this repulfe. In a parliament affem

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bled fome time after they renewed their former inftances in regard to the clergy's revenues; the confequences alfo of the ftatute against the Lollards obtained by influence and cabal were now known to be fo terrible, that they likewife defired a repeal of it; at leaft an amendment. As to their first inftances, they fet forth, that the king might eafily feize out of the revenues of the ecclefiafticks, what would be fuf ficient to provide in a moft ample manner for fifteen carls, fifteen hundred knights, fix thousand two hundred efquires, and a hundred hofpitals. But they had the mortification to have their remonftrances meet with no better fuccefs with the king, who was now more than ever confirmed in his refolution of being well with the church. Therefore he not only refufed his affent, but did it in a most arbitrary manner, forbidding them for the future to presume to meddle with fuch affairs; and as for the statutes against the Lollards, he was fo far from allowing any mitigation, that he faid he could wish they were made more rigorous. To please the ecclefiafticks ftill fur'ther with an open affront upon the commons, he affected at that time to fign a warrant for the burning of a poor Lollard, who suffered death with great resolution.

Walfing. p. 379.