Page:Landholding in England.djvu/71

 of the characters is called "Verity." "He is a vile traitor," says Verity, "that rebelleth against the Crown. In this the scripture is plain." Clergy says in excuse, "He speaketh not against the crown, but the man." To which Verity replies: "The crown of itself without the man is nothing. In his own realm a king is judge over all, and none may judge him again, but the Lord himself." The play concludes with denunciations of the Anabaptists. "We shall cut them short, if they do hither swarm," says Civil Order. After more of this. Clergy says to Imperial Majesty: "Your Grace shall be the supreme head of the church."

We have only to compare the sentiments of Verity with Fortescue's exaltation of the Common Law above the Civil Law, to see how the old English ideas of kingship had been transformed into the "Imperial majesty" of the Tudors.

This carefully packed Parliament met on 28th April 1539, and sat, with a week's interval till 28th June, when Henry prorogued it in person. No Parliament ever had such a record in its first session. It passed the Dissolution Bill, the Bill for giving Royal Proclamations the force of law and the Six Articles. Packed as it was, and despite the fair promises made to it, it was very loth to incur the guilt of sacrilege. Afterwards, when the spoils had been shared, and the heavens had not fallen—except on the Poor Commons—it was otherwise. But now the Bill "stuck long in the Commons, and could get no passage." At last, the King "commanded the Commons to attend him in the forenoon in his gallery, where he let them wait till late in the afternoon, and then coming out of his chamber, walking a turn or two amongst them, and looking angrily on them, first on the one side, then on the other, at last, 'I hear' (saith he) 'that my Bill will not pass; but I will have it pass, or I will have some of your heads': and without other rhetoric or persuasion returned to his chamber" (Spelman).

This Parliament seems to have made a feeble attempt to grant the Church lands conditionally—the King was to have "as ample a title" as the former owners. He received them, therefore, charged with the relief of the poor, and in trust for the poor. This purpose was always expressly stated in donations to the Church.