Page:Seventeen lectures on the study of medieval and modern history and kindred subjects.djvu/264

 to a formal historical audit, that is when the researches at the Record Office furnish us with a complete view of extant material; but it would be very rash now to define with any exactness either income or outlay for a reign of such abnormal character. The only general conclusion that I can come to is that, in despite of Wolsey's financial ability, and the cleverness of the agents who were trained under him, the policy of the whole reign in this respect was a hand-to-mouth policy, assisted by occasional godsends in the shape of forfeitures and benevolences. In this department the parliaments showed some spirit, as we shall see; the result of that was the grant of subsidies to reach over several years; under these subsidy-acts the king collected as much as he could, and then collected money in other ways until, the patience of the lenders being exhausted, a new parliament was got together to wipe off the old debt or promise a new subsidy. There can be little doubt that some of the most important legislative acts were carried, at least through the Commons, by the inducement that the king would be able to dispense with direct taxation; and although that undertaking was a fallacious one, men could be found to overawe opposition or make a show of self-sacrifice which was sure of subsequent reward. I may note some of the parliamentary methods when I reach that part of our subject: for this is the only point on which Henry in his parliaments had any real difficulty.

A hand-to-mouth policy has this drawback; that, on critical occasions, it involves critical demands, and critical demands produce special irritation. That rule is exemplified very clearly in the reign of Henry VII, whose financial policy was much safer than his son's; it was not a hand-to-mouth policy, but a severely economical one' and both policies coincide in having nothing to spare for emergencies; accordingly we find, on every imposition of a subsidy in the reign of Henry VII, an outbreak of popular disaffection, taking hold of some political quarrel. There was under Henry VIII something of the same sort; but it was, as a rule, more easily localised, and put down at once; the restoration of law and order by his father had borne this good fruit.