Doesthispreamble，doesasinglefactofthecase，justifyhistoriansintalkingofthese\'king\'sdebts\'injustthesametoneasthatinwhichtheywouldhavespokeniftheKinghadsquanderedthemoneyonprivatepleasures？Perhapsmostpeoplewhowritesmallhistoriesbelievethatthisreallywasthecase。TheycertainlywouldgathernootherimpressionfromthepagesofMr。Hallam。Nodoubttheactmusthavebeenburdensomeonsomepeople。Many，wearetold，hadbequeathedtheirpromissorynotestotheirchildren，usedtheirreversionaryinterestintheloaninmanyways;andthese，ofcourse，feltthechangeveryheavily。Nodoubt:butwhyhavewenotarighttosupposethattheParliamentwereawareofthatfact;butchoseitasthelessofthetwoevils？TheKinghadspentthemoney;
hewasunabletorecoveritfromFrancis;couldonlyrefunditbyraisingsomefreshtaxorbenevolence:andwhymaynottheParliamenthaveconsideredthereleaseofoldtaxeslikelytooffendfewerpeoplethantheimpositionofnewones？Itiscertainlyanuglythingtobreakpublicfaith;buttoprovethatpublicfaithwasbroken，wemustprovethatHenrycompelledtheParliamenttoreleasehim;iftheactwasoftheirownfreewill，nopublicfaithwasbroken，fortheyweretherepresentativesofthenation，andthroughthemthenationforgaveitsowndebt。Andwhatevidencehavewethattheydidnotrepresentthenation，andthat，onthewhole，wemustsuppose，asweshouldinthecaseofanyothermen，thattheybestknewtheirownbusiness？Maywenotapplytothiscase，andtoothers，mutatismutandis，theargumentwhichMr。FroudeusessoboldlyandwellinthecaseofAnneBoleyn\'strial——\'TheEnglishnationalso，aswellas……deservesjusticeatourhands？\'
Certainlyitdoes:butitisadisagreeabletokenofthemethodonwhichwehavebeenaccustomedtowritethehistoryofourownforefathers，thatMr。Froudeshouldfinditnecessarytostateformallysoverysimpleatruth。
Whatproof，weaskagain，istherethatthisoldParliamentwas\'servile\'？Hadthatbeenso，Wolseywouldnothavebeenafraidtosummonit。ThespecificreasonfornotsummoningaParliamentforsixyearsafterthatof1524wasthattheywerenotservile;thatwhen（herewearequotingMr。Hallam，andnotMr。Froude）WolseyenteredtheHouseofCommonswithagreattrain，seeminglyforthepurposeofintimidation，they\'madenootheranswertohisharanguesthanthatitwastheirusagetodebateonlyamongthemselves。\'Thedebatesonthisoccasionlastedfifteenorsixteendays，duringwhich，saysaneye—witness，\'therehasbeenthegreatestandsorestholdintheLowerHouse，\'\'thematterdebatedandbeaten\';\'suchholdthattheHousewasliketohavebeendissevered\';inaword，hardfighting——andwhynothonestfighting？——betweenthecourtpartyandtheOpposition，\'whichended，\'saysMr。Hallam，\'inthecourtpartyobtaining，withtheutmostdifficulty，agrantmuchinferiortotheCardinal\'soriginalrequisition。\'Whattokenofservilityishere？
AndisitreasonabletosupposethatafterWolseywasconquered，andacomparativelypopularministryhadsucceeded，andthatmemorableParliamentof1529（whichMr。Froude，notunjustly，thinksmorememorablethantheLongParliamentitself）beganitsgreatworkwithahighhand，backednotmerelybytheKing，butbythepublicopinionofthemajorityofEngland，theirdecisionsarelikelytohavebeenmoreservilethanbefore？IftheyresistedtheKingwhentheydisagreedwithhim，aretheytobeaccusedofservilitybecausetheyworkedwithhimwhentheyagreedwithhim？IsanOppositionalwaysintheright;aministerialpartyalwaysinthewrong？Isitanoffenceagainstthepeopletoagreewiththemonarch，evenwhenheagreeswiththepeoplehimself？Simpleasthesequestionsare，onemustreallystoptoaskthem。
NodoubtpainswereoftentakentosecureelectionsfavourabletotheGovernment。Arenonetakennow？Arenotmoretakennow？Willanyhistorianshowusthedocumentswhichprovetheexistence，inthesixteenthcentury，ofReformClub，CarltonClub，whippers—inandnominees，governmentalandopposition，andalltherestofthebeautifulmachinerywhichprotectsourReformedParliamentfromtheevilinfluencesofbriberyandcorruption？Pah！——WehavesomewhattoomuchglassinourmodernHousetoaffordtothrowstonesatourforefathers\'oldSt。Stephen\'s。Attheworst，whatwasdonethenbutthatwithoutwhichitissaidtobeimpossibletocarryonaGovernmentnow？TakeaninstancefromtheParliamentof1539，oneinwhichthereisnodoubtGovernmentinfluencewasusedinordertopreventasmuchaspossiblethereturnofmembersfavourabletotheclergy——forthegoodreasonthattheclergywerenodoubt，ontheirownside，intimidatingvotersbyallthoseterrorsoftheunseenworldwhichhadsolongbeentothemasourceofboundlessprofitandpower。
CromwellwritestotheKingtosaythathehassecuredaseatforacertainSirRichardMorrison;butforwhatpurpose？Asonewhonodoubt\'shouldbereadytoanswerandtakeupsuchasshouldcrackorfacewithliteratureoflearning，ifanysuchshouldbe。\'Therewas，then，freediscussion;theyexpectedcleverandlearnedspeakersintheOpposition，andonsubjectsofthedeepestimport，notmerelypolitical，butspiritual;andtheGovernmentneededmentoanswersuch。Whatmorenaturalthanthatsocloseonthe\'PilgrimageofGrace，\'andinthemidstofsogreatdangersathomeandabroad，theGovernmentshouldhavedonetheirbesttosecureawell—disposedHouse（onewouldliketoknowwhentheywouldnot）？Butsurelytheveryeffort（confessedlyexceptional）andtheacknowledgeddifficultyprovethatParliamentwerenomere\'registrarsofedicts。\'
ButthestrongestargumentagainstthetyrannyoftheTudors，andespeciallyofHenryVIII。inhis\'benevolences，\'isderivedfromthestateofthepeoplethemselves。Ifthesebenevolenceshadbeenreallyunpopular，theywouldnothavebeenpaid。Inonecasewehaveseen，abenevolencewasnotpaidforthatveryreason。ForthemethodoftheTudorsovereigns，likethatoftheirpredecessors，wastheveryoppositetothatoftyrantsineveryageandcountry。Thefirstactofatyranthasalwaysbeentodisarmthepeople，andtosurroundhimselfwithastandingarmy。TheTudormethodwas，asMr。
Froudeshowsusbymanyinterestingfacts，tokeepthepeoplearmedanddrilled，eventocompelthemtolearntheuseofweapons。
ThroughoutEnglandspreadonevastmilitaryorganisation，whichmadeeveryadultasoldier，andenabledhimtofind，ataday\'snotice，hiscommandingofficer，whetherlandlord，sheriff，orlieutenantofthecounty;sothat，asaforeignambassadorofthetimeremarkswithastonishment（wequotefrommemory），\'Englandisthestrongestnationonearth，forthoughtheKinghasnotasinglemercenarysoldier，hecanraiseinthreedaysanarmyoftwohundredthousandmen。\'
Andofwhattemperthosemenwereitiswellknownenough。Mr。
Froudecallsthem——andwebegleavetoendorse，withoutexception，Mr。Froude\'sopinion——\'Asturdyhigh—heartedrace，soundinbodyandfierceinspirit，andfurnishedwiththewsandsinewswhich，underthestimulusofthose\"greatshinsofbeef，\"theircommondiet，werethewonderoftheage。\'\'Whatcomynfolkeinallthisworld，\'saysaStatePaperin1515，\'maycomparewiththecomynsofEnglandinriches，freedom，liberty，welfare，andallprosperity？Whatcomynfolkissomighty，sostronginthefelde，asthecomynsofEngland？\'
InauthenticstoriesofactionsunderHenryVIII。——and，wewilladd，underElizabethlikewise——wheretheaccuracyoftheaccountisundeniable，nodisparityofforcemadeEnglishmenshrinkfromenemieswhenevertheycouldmeetthem。AgainandagainafewthousandsofthemcarrieddismayintotheheartofFrance。Fourhundredadventurers，vagabondapprenticesofLondon，whoformedavolunteercorpsintheCalaisgarrison，wereforyears，Hallsays，theterrorofNormandy。Intheveryfrolicofconsciouspowertheyfoughtandplunderedwithoutpay，withoutreward，savewhattheycouldwinforthemselves;andwhentheyfellatlast，theyfellonlywhensurroundedbysixtimestheirnumber，andwerecuttopiecesincarelessdesperation。Invariably，byfriendandfoealike，theEnglisharedescribedasthefiercestpeopleinallEurope——EnglishwildbeastsBenvenutoCellinicallsthem;andthisgreatphysicalpowertheyowedtotheprofuseabundanceinwhichtheylived，tothesoldier\'straininginwhicheveryoneofthemwasbredfromchildhood。
Mr。Froude\'snovelassertionaboutprofuseabundancemustbeweighedbythosewhohavereadhisinvaluableintroductorychapter。Butwemustaskatoncehowitwaspossibletolevyonsuchanarmedpopulaceataxwhichtheyweredeterminednottopay，andfeltthattheywerenotboundtopay，eitherinlaworjustice？ConceiveLordPalmerston\'ssendingdowntodemanda\'benevolence\'fromthearmyatAldershot，beginningwiththegeneralincommandanddescendingtotheprivates……Whatwouldbetheconsequences？Uglyenough:butgentleincomparisonwiththoseofanyattempttoexactareallyunpopulartaxfromanationofwell—armedEnglishmen，unlessthey，onthewhole，thoughtthetaxfittobepaid。Theywouldgrumble，ofcourse，whethertheyintendedtopayornot，——forweretheynotEnglishmen，ourownfleshandblood？——andgrumbleallthemoreinperson，becausetheyhadnoPresstogrumbleforthem:butwhatistherethenintheM。P。\'slettertoLordSurrey，quotedbyMr。Hallam，p。25，orinthemorepointedletterofWarham\'s，twopageson，whichwedonotseelyingonourbreakfasttablesinhalfthenewspaperseveryweek？Poor，pedantic，obstructiveoldWarham，himselfveryangryatsomuchbeingaskedofhisbrotherclergymen，andattheirbeingswornastothevalueoftheirgoods（solikeareoldtimestonewones）;andbeing，onthewhole，ofopinionthattheworld（theChurchincluded）isgoingtothedevil，saysthatashehasbeen\'showedinasecretmannerofhisfriends，thepeoplesoregrudgethandmurmureth，andspeakethcursedlyamongthemselves，asfarastheydare，sayingtheyshallneverhaverestofpaymentsaslongassomeliveth，andthattheyhadbetterdiethanthusbecontinuallyhanded，reckoningthemselves，theirwivesandchildren，asdespoulit，andnotgreatlycaringwhattheydo，orwhatbecomesofthem。\'
Verydreadful——iftrue:whichlastpointdependsverymuchuponwhoWarhamwas。Now，onreadingMr。Froude\'soranyothergoodhistory，weshallfindthatWarhamwasoneoftheleadersofthatdespondentpartywhichwillalwayshaveitsantitypeinEngland。Havewe，too，notheardwithinthelastsevenyearssimilarpropheciesofdesolation，mourning，andwoe——oftheChurchtotteringonthevergeofruin，thepeasantrystarvingunderthehorrorsoffreetrade，noblefamiliesreducedtothevergeofbeggarybydoubleincome—tax？
EvensuchaprophetseemsWarhamtohavebeen——ofallpeopleinthatday，oneofthelastwhomonewouldhaveaskedforanopinion。
PooroldWarham，however，wasnotsofarwronginthisparticularcase;forthe\'despoulit\'slavesofSuffolk，notcontentwithgrumbling，roseupwithswordandbow，andvowedthattheywouldnotpay。Whereonthebloatedtyrantsenthispraetorians，andenforcedpaymentbyscourgeandthumbscrew？Notintheleast。Theywouldnotpay;andtherefore，beingfreemen，nobodycouldmakethempay;andalthoughintheneighbouringcountyofNorfolk，fromtwentypounds（i。e。200poundsofourmoney）upward——forthetaxwasnotleviedonmenoflesssubstance——therewerenottwentybutwhathadconsented;
andthoughtherewas\'greatlikelihoodthatthisgrantshouldbemuchmorethantheloanwas\'（the\'salttears\'shedbythegentlemenofNorfolkproceeding，saysexpresslytheDukeofNorfolk，\'onlyfromdoubthowtofindmoneytocontenttheKing\'sHighness\'）;yettheKingandWolseygavewayfranklyandatonce，andthecontributionwasremitted，althoughtheDukesofNorfolkandSuffolk，writingtoWolsey，treattheinsurrectionlightly，andseemtoobjecttotheremissionasneedless。
Fromallwhichfacts——theyareMr。Hallam\'s，notMr。Froude\'s——wecandeducenottyranny，butlenity，goodsense，andthefrankwithdrawalfromawrongpositionassoonastheunwillingnessofthepeopleprovedittobeawrongone。
Thisinstanceiswellbroughtforward（thoughonlyinalineortwo，byMr。Froude）asoneamongmanyproofsthattheworkingclassesinHenrytheEighth\'stime\'enjoyedanabundancefarbeyondthatwhichingeneralfallstothelotofthatorderinlong—settledcountries，incomparablybeyondwhatthesameclasswereenjoyingatthatverytimeinGermanyorFrance。Thelawssecuredthem;andthatthelawswereputinforce，wehavethedirectevidenceofsuccessiveactsoftheLegislature，justifyingthegeneralpolicybyitssuccess:andwehavealsotheindirectevidenceofthecontentedloyaltyofthegreatbodyofthepeople，atatimewhen，iftheyhadbeendiscontented，theyheldintheirownhandsthemeansofassertingwhatthelawacknowledgedtobetheirright。\'TheGovernment，\'aswehavejustshownatlength，\'hadnopowertocompelinjustice……Ifthepeasantryhadbeensufferingunderanyrealgrievancesweshouldhaveheardofthemwhenthereligiousrebellionsfurnishedsofairanopportunitytopressthemforward。Complaintwasloudenough，whencomplaintwasjust，undertheSomersetProtectorate。\'
Suchbroadfactsasthese——forfactstheyare——oughttomakeuspauseereweboastofthegreaterlibertyenjoyedbyEnglishmenofthepresentday，ascomparedwiththetyrannyofTudortimes。ThankGod，thereisnolackofthatblessingnow:butwasthereanyreallackofitthen？Certainlytheoutwardnotesofatyrannyexistnowinfargreatercompletenessthanthen。Astandingarmy，aGovernmentpolice，ministrieswhobearnolovetoamilitia，andwouldconsiderthecompulsoryarminganddrillingofthepeopleasadangerousinsanity，donotlookatfirstsightasmuchlike\'freeinstitutions\'
asaGovernmentwhich，thoughagainandagainindangernotmerelyofrebellion，butofinternecinewarsofsuccession，sotrustedthepeopleastoforceweaponsintotheirhandsfromboyhood。Letusnotbemistaken:wearenohankerersafterretrogression:thepresentsystemworksverywell;letitbe;allthatwesayisthattheimputationofdespoticinstitutionslies，primafacie，ratheragainstthereignofQueenVictoriathanagainstthatofKingHenrytheEighth。Ofcourseitisnotsoinfact。Manymodernmethods，whicharedespoticinappearance，arenotsoinpractice。Letusbelievethatthesamewasthecaseinthesixteenthcentury。Ourgovernorsnowunderstandtheirownbusinessbest，andmakeaveryfaircompromisebetweendisciplineandfreedom。Letusbelievethatthemenofthesixteenthcenturydidsolikewise。Allweaskisthatourforefathersshouldbejudgedaswewishtobejudgedourselves，\'notaccordingtooutwardappearance，butwithrighteousjudgment。\'
Mr。FroudefindsthecauseofthisgeneralcontentmentandloyaltyofthemassesintheextremecarewhichtheGovernmenttookoftheirwell—being。Theintroductorychapter，inwhichheprovestohisownsatisfactionthecorrectnessofhisopinion，iswellworththestudyofourpoliticaleconomists。Thefactswhichhebringsseemcertainlyoverwhelming;ofcourse，theycanonlybemetbycounter—
facts;andourknowledgedoesnotenableuseithertocorroborateorrefutehisstatements。Thechiefargumentusedagainstthemseemstous，atleast，toshowthatforsomecauseorothertheworkingclasseswereprosperousenough。ItissaidtheActsofParliamentregulatingwagesdonotfixtheminimumofwages，butthemaximum。
Theyarenotintendedtodefendtheemployedagainsttheemployer，buttheemployeragainsttheemployed，inadefectivestateofthelabourmarket，whentheworkmen，bythefewnessoftheirnumbers，wereenabledtomakeextravagantdemands。Letthisbethecase——wedonotsaythatitisso——whatisitbutatokenofprosperityamongtheworkingclasses？Alabourmarketsothinthatworkmencandemandtheirownpricefortheirlabour，tillParliamentiscompelledtobringthemtoreason，issurelyatimeofprosperitytotheemployed—
—atimeoffullworkandhighwages;offullstomachs，inclinedfromveryprosperityto\'waxfatandkick。\'If，however，anylearnedstatisticianshouldbeabletoadvance，ontheoppositesideofthequestion，enoughtoweakensomeofMr。Froude\'sconclusions，hemuststill，ifhebeajustman，dohonourtothenoblemoralityofthismoststrikingchapter，couchedasitisinasperfectEnglishaswehaveeverhadthedelightofreading。Weshallleave，then，thebattleoffactstobefoughtoutbystatisticians，alwaysaskingMr。
Froude\'sreaderstobearinmindthat，thoughotherfactsmaybetrue，yethisfactsarenolesstruelikewise;andweshallquoteatlength，bothasaspecimenofhismannerandofhismatter，thelastthreepagesofthisintroductorychapter，inwhich，afterspeakingoftheseverityofthelawsagainstvagrancy，andshowinghowtheywereexcusedbytheorganisationwhichfoundemploymentforeveryable—
bodiedman，hegoesontosay:—
\'ItwasthereforetheexpressedconvictionoftheEnglishnationthatitwasbetterforamannottoliveatallthantoliveaprofitlessandworthlesslife。Thevagabondwasasorespotuponthecommonwealth，tobehealedbywholesaledisciplineifthegangrenewasnotincurable;tobecutawaywiththeknifeifthemildertreatmentofthecart—whipfailedtobeofprofit。
\'Ameasuresoextremeinitsseveritywaspartlydictatedbypolicy。
Thestateofthecountrywascritical;andthedangerfromquestionablepersonstraversingit，unexaminedanduncontrolled，wasgreaterthanatordinarytimes。Butinpointofjusticeaswellasofprudenceitharmonisedwiththeirontemperoftheage，anditansweredwellforthegovernmentofafierceandpowerfulpeople，inwhoseheartslayanintensehatredofrascality，andamongwhomnoonecouldhavelapsedintoevilcoursesexceptbydeliberatepreferenceforthem。ThemoralsinewoftheEnglishmusthavebeenstrongindeedwhenitadmittedofsuchstringentbracing;but，onthewhole，theywereruledastheypreferredtoberuled;andifwisdomcanbetestedbysuccess，themannerinwhichtheypassedthegreatcrisisoftheReformationisthebestjustificationoftheirprinces。
TheerawasgreatthroughoutEurope。TheItaliansoftheageofMichaelAngelo，theSpaniardswhowerethecontemporariesofCortez，theGermanswhoshookoffthePopeatthecallofLuther，andthesplendidchivalryofFrancisI。ofFrance，werenocommonmen。Buttheywereallbroughtfacetofacewiththesametrials，andnonemetthemastheEnglishmetthem。TheEnglishaloneneverlosttheirself—possession，andiftheyowedsomethingtofortuneintheirescapefromanarchy，theyowedmoretothestronghandandsteadypurposeoftheirrulers。
\'Toconcludethischapter，then。
\'InthebriefreviewofthesystemunderwhichEnglandwasgoverned，wehaveseenastateofthingsinwhichtheprinciplesofpoliticaleconomywere，consciouslyorunconsciously，contradicted;whereanattempt，moreorlesssuccessful，wasmadetobringtheproductionanddistributionofwealthunderthemoralruleofrightorwrong;
andwherethoselawsofsupplyanddemand，whichwearenowtaughttoregardasimmutableordinancesofnature，wereabsorbedorsupersededbyahighercode。ItisnecessaryformetorepeatthatIamnotholdingupthesixteenthcenturyasamodelwhichthenineteenthmightsafelyfollow。Thepopulationhasbecometoolarge，andemploymenttoocomplicatedandfluctuating，toadmitofsuchcontrol;