Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/504

 428 Outlines of European History Contrast between the position of the Estates General and the EngHsh Parliament reforms was drawn up. These provided among other things that the Estates General should meet regularly even when the king failed to summon them, and that the collection and expenditure of the public revenue should be no longer entirely under the control of the king but should be supervised by the representa- tives of the people. The city of Paris rose in support of the revolutionary Estates, but the violence of its allies discredited rather than helped the move- ment, and France was soon glad to accept the unrestricted rule of its king once more. The history of the Estates General forms a curious con- trast to that of the English Parliament, which was laying the foundation of its later power during this very period. While the French king occasionally summoned the Estates when he •needed money, he did so only in order that their approbation of new taxes might make it easier to collect them. He never admitted that he had not the right to levy taxes if he wished without consulting his subjects. In England, on the other hand, the kings ever since the time of Edward I had repeatedly agreed that no new taxes should be imposed without the consent of Parliament. Edward II, as we have seen, had gone farther and accepted the representatives of the people as his advisers in all important matters touching the welfare of the realm. While the French Estates gradually sank into insignificance, the English Parliament soon learned to grant no money until the king had redressed the grievances which it pointed out, and thus it insured its influence over the king's policy. Fig. 165. Royal Arms of Edward III On the upper left-hand quarter and the lower right-hand are the lilies as represented in heraldry