Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 3.djvu/429

1536.] example of the Duke of Norfolk, and he had since distinguished himself as a hardy adventurous soldier, no slight qualification for so dangerous a command.

He found Ireland outwardly quiet; but his position, it soon appeared, would require a strong head as well as a strong hand. In June, 1536, the Earl of Desmond and O'Brien were again conspiring; and the English soldiers were in mutiny for want of pay. The King had been encouraged to believe that, when the insurrection was over, their numbers might be reduced, and that the Irish revenues would support as many as would remain. It was found that the revenue existed only in the imagination of the treasurer. Neither rent of crown lands, nor customs dues, nor taxes could be collected. The Irish Parliament could grant no money, for the people, exhausted by the war, had none to give; while not a man could be spared from the force at the command of the deputy. The Irish chiefs had but paused to take breath, or had been tranquil as a variation of amusement from the monotony of war; and, when Henry expected to hear that the country would be self-supporting, he was informed that 'the English blood was worn out, and the Irish blood ever more and more increased.' If peace was to be maintained permanently, three armies would be needed instead of one, to invade simultaneously north, south, and west, to build fortresses and garrison them,