Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 5.djvu/79

1552.] Not to be left too far behind by the citizens, the Government exerted themselves in the same direction. An Act was passed in Parliament for the collection of alms for the poor in every parish. The contributions were nominally voluntary, but payment might be enforced by the reproofs of the clergy, the censures of the Church, and by punishment at the discretion of the Bishop. The scandalous frauds in the manufacture of woollen cloth having injured the credit of the trade, the sheep-farming no longer yielded its disproportionate profits; the tillage question could, therefore, be taken up again with a chance of success. Commissioners were appointed to hold district courts, to empanel juries, and compel the owners to bring their recent