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sion, or to put to shame the Commissioners. And therefore that there would not lack tales, surmises, and practices for that purpose. And that the hand of the Papists was in this, pei'ceiving the execution of the commission would be an establishment to Christ's religion in the people's hearts. For they could not but love it, when they saw it brought forth such good fruit. He prayed the Protector therefore, that when such rumours again came to him, he would learn the names of the offenders and the accusers : and then the
150 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK matter would soon be tried, where punishment was required. But that according to the charge given them, the Commis- Anno i548.sioners, they intended to do at their return, and what trans- gressors they should find, to commit to ward, till his Ma- jesty's pleasure were further known concerning them. He shewed the Protector moreover what practices were used, and threatenings and revilings towards those honest men, that were sworn to present the offenders. And in fine, he put the Protector in hope, that they should find the com- monalty in their circuit (at least) quiet, and some of them better disposed to religion and the King's proceedings than they were before. Displeasure Such reports also came to the Earl of Warwick's ears, HaieTfor his being then at Warwick; insomuch that he grew much dis- comraission. pleased with Hales, who acted very honestly in this com- mission, and favourably to the commons. Which occa- sioned him to write at large to the said Earl, answering the two causes of his displeasure against him, (according as he had taken it from Hales's enemies, that were secret Papists.) The one was, that he should sue out the commission against enclosures in that troublesome time. The other, that in the execution of it by his charge to the people, he stirred up the commons against the nobility and gentry. But Hales, in a letter to him dated from Fladbury, August 12, as to the former, professed he thought upon nothing less than en- closures, when he was appointed to be a Commissioner, and willed to prepare to see the same executed. But he thought it not his part, he said, to deny to serve, nor to let that, that the King and his Council minded to set forward : the 96 sore, he added, was brought to such an extremity, that if it were not remedied, all the realm would rue. And besides, that this was no new motion, for as long as he had know- ledge of things, all men had cried out against enclosures. He meant not, he said, hedging in lands, but decaying til- lage and husbandry. Some had complained to the Par- liament, some in their sermons, some in books. And as to the second, that he should by his hortation set the com- mons against the nobility and gentlemen, he said, that he
OF KING EDWARD VI. 151 never spake any word, but some of the Commissioners were CHAP, present ; who he doubted not would testify for him in this part to his accuser's shame. And then he declared unto Anno 1543. the Earl the chief points of the charge he gave at that time, which had not one word that tended that way as was sur- mised. And therein he was sure that he offended neither God nor the King, nor gave occasion to any honest man to be offended ; saying, that whosoever that reported any other- wise to his Lordship, he trusted, should be found the child of the devil, and not of God : for he is true, and his chil- dren will not lie. He concluded, praying his Lordship for God's sake (though he trusted he should not need to put him in remembrance) to remember the poor, to have mercy and compassion on them, and that he would not go about to hinder them. That the hindering of them, if we con- sidered it well, should be our own hinderance at length. That God had as much respect to the poor as to the rich, to the poor man as to the gentleman, and to every man in- differently. It grieved him much, he said, that those that seemed to favour God's word should go about to hinder or speak evil of this thing : whereby the end and fruit of God's word, that is, love and charity to our poor neighbours, should be so set forth and published to the world. In a word, he exhorted to take example by the Germans, who, because they were babblers, and no doers of God's word, were then and worthily punished, and brought to extreme misery and servitude, praying God the like happened not to them.
especially further and promote this commission, and laboured f,-iends\o to remedy those oppressions towards the poor: knowing ^'^Z' what lessons of compassion and benignity true religion re- quired; and reckoning, that hereby the Gospel would re- ceive the better countenance in the country, when they saw how it produced love and charity towards the poor neigh- bours, when others oppressed and vexed them. But though the good Duke of Somerset took all this Hath not pains, and employed many honest men (such as Mr. Hales) ^jj^^t. L 4 iis com- mission.
152 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK in this charitable work, to put a stop to the impoverishing ^' and dispiriting of the poor, and to heal their discontents, Anno 1548. which he foresaw also a great danger in ; yet such was the greedy avarice of the gentry, that all these endeavours proved insuccessful ; many great men at the Court, and the Earl of Warwick, it seems, among the rest, backing them, being themselves probably guilty in that behalf. The se- vere effects of which appeared, as was feared, the next year, in insurrections almost throughout the kingdom. The jea- lousies of which were at present so great, that, besides these gentler methods, it was thought necessary to summon all the realm to be ready to arm, vipon the fears of intestine turmoils, as well as upon the present hostility with France and Scotland. Such an order I find now sent in May to 97 the Earl of Sussex, dwelling in Norfolk, as no question the like were sent to others of the nobility and gentry. This to that nobleman was as follows :
OF KING EDWARD VI. 153 " thought good and necessary to have out of hand put in CHAP. " order a sufficient number of horsemen of sundry sorts, to " be employed for defence and safeguard of our said sub-^nno 1548. " jects, dominions, and countries, as occasion shall serve. " And for this it is, knowing your accustomed towardness " and good-wil toward the advancement of our service, we " have, with the advice and consent aforesaid, thought meet " to pray and require you among others of that our county " of Norfolk, to have in ful areadiness by the 10th of June " next ensuing, two good and hable horses or geldings " meet to serve in the field for demilances, with two demi- " lances to be employed upon the same, harnessed, wea- " poned, and furnished in all things, as appertaineth : put- " ting the same in such order and arreadiness, as upon one " hours warning after the said 10th of June they may be " in ful readiness to set forward to any such place, as by " us or our said dearest uncle and Council shal be appointed *' unto you. Wherof we require you not to fail, as ye " tender the advancement of our service. Yeven under " our signet at our palace of Westminster, the 16th of " May, in the second year of our reign. " E. Somerset.'' There was now so great exportation of leather, that there Exporting became a mighty scarcity and lack thereof at home for the prohibited, necessary use of the people : and the prices of that com- modity rose to great, high, and unsupportable rates, which caused a proclamation dated from Westminster, June 1, that no manner of person should carry or export out of the realm any manner of leather or salt hides unto any strange nation without express licence. By virtue of the act made last year, whereby chantries Care taken was given to the Kinff, the Commissioners appointed for ^^^".* *^® . o ^ o' r r pensions of execution of the same were empowered to assign to the stipendiary stipendiary Priests that attended those chantries whose p"jgg*^^^"*'^^ salaries the King was entitled to, and to every fellow and gg poor person that was wont to have yearly relief out of any 154 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK of those colleges, free chapels, or chantries, such yearly an- nuities. pensions, or other recompences, during their lives, Anno ] 548. as by them should be thought convenient : and thereupon to make assignments and orders for the payment to the said Priests, or other. This occasioned vast numbers of stipendiaries, and other poor people that claimed these pen- sions, to flock to London, for getting them assigned to them. So that the Court, the Lord Protector"'s house, the Court of Augmentations, and other courts and places, were extremely pestered with them. Whereupon, to satisfy these men, and to deliver the town of such confluxes of unne- cessary people, a proclamation was issued forth, dated at Westminster, May 14, to this tenor: "that the King's *' Majesty, of his tender zeal and love which he bore to " his loving subjects, understanding that divers chantry " priests, poor men, and other men, of late dissolved col- '' leges, chantries, free chapels, &c. which by the last act " of Parliament were come to his hands, daily repaired to " London to him, and to the Protector, the Chancellor of '' the Augmentations, and other courts, for assurance of '' their pensions, to their great cost and charges, and no '' small travail : by the advice of his entirely beloved uncle " the Duke of Somerset and the rest of his Council, for " the avoiding of the same, had taken order, that Commis- " sioners should repair down shortly to every shire, and " there should declare unto them the manner of the pay- " ment of their said pensions, so by the said act due, and " to be appointed, and also for their said patents of their *' pensions, in such sort and manner, and to the proportion " as they should be therewith right well contented. Where- " fore his Highness willed and commanded all manner of " chantry priests, prebendaries, guild priests, or any other " who had repaired thither for that purpose, to return im- " mediately down into their countries."
OF KING EDWARD VI. 155 CHAP. XIII. 99 A gift to the Lady Mary. The King minds the public af- fairs. Points of state polity for the King's exercise. Con- sultation about the coin. The case of the nation in- volved in war with France and Scotland. The merchants of Antwerp wronged. The English Ambassadors inter- pose.
Lady Mary, and in accompHshment of his father's last tes- Lands by tament, on May 17, he granted to her the lordship and ma- granted^o nor of Kenninghal, alias Kenningale, and the rectory im- 1^^ ^^^^ propriate thereof with the appurtenances, in the county of Book of Norfolk; and divers other lordships, manors, lands, tene-^^^^^' ments, and possessions in the counties of Norfolk, Suf- folk, Hertford, Essex, Bucks, Chester, and Middlesex. To the yearly value of 8489/. 18^. Qd. q. di. q. Rent reserved 99/. \Ss,Qd.q. di. The time of the issues of this estate so granted was to commence from the feast of St. Michael, anno 88 Hen. VIII.
seriously set himself to mind the public affairs of his king- ^^^^ 'l^i'^seii dom, and to study to understand the state and condition of public af- it, and to provide for the safety and peace of himself and his^^'^^' people. And for this purpose he began to bethink himself how he might make use of the present time with advantage to himself and his realm, and likewise to inspect more nar-^ rowly into his own affairs abroad and at home. And as to the former, how a great point of his security and strength consisted in a good understanding with his neighbours. And as to his own realm at home, this also he saw required a great deal of diligence, for the well understanding, regu- lation, and government thereof. And for the better furnish- ing himself with knowledge and insight into these things, he delighted to hear and read learned men, and learn their judgments. Among those, he made great use of William Thomas, Esq. a person (however unfortunate, being after-
156 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK wards executed for treason in Queen Mary's rough reign) ^' excellently qualified to instruct the King in these and such Anno 1548. like politic matters, by his travels abroad, and his thorough acquaintance with the Roman and other histories, joined with an accurate skill of dexterity in drawing proper and useful inferences and conclusions from former accidents and transactions. Thomas This Thomas drew up proper questions of state polity, queriom of devised for the exercise of the young King's contempla- state polity tions : upou which the said learned man purposed at his King!^ leisure to compose distinct discourses. He entitled them \00 Common Places of State. Which, together with his prefa- tory letter to the King, when he presented them, may de- serve a place here. Cot. Lib. " To the King's Highness, r.tus, B. 2. ^^ pieaseth your excellent Majesty. Albeit that my gross " knowledge be utterly unapt to enterprise the instruction ^' of any thing unto your Highness, whose erudition I know " to be such as every faithful heart ought to rejoice at ; yet " imagining with myself, that hitherto your Majesty hath " more applied your study of the tongues, than any matter " either of history or of policy, (the holy Scriptures except- " ed,) and considering, that since your Highness is by the " providence of God already grown to the administration of " that great and famous charge, that hath been left unto " you by your most noble progenitors ; there is no earthly " thing more necessary than the knowledge of such exam- '' pies, as in this and other regiments heretofore have hap- " pened : methinks, of my bounden duty, I could no less " do, than present unto your Majesty the notes of those " discourses, that are now my principal study, which I have " gathered out of divers authors ; intending with leisure to " write the circumstances of those reasons that I can find to " make most for the purpose. And because there is no- " thino- better learned than that which man laboureth for " himself, therefore I determined at this present to give " linlo your Highness tliis little abstract only ; trusting," OF KING EDWARD VI. 157 " that like as in all kinds of virtuous living and exercise, CHAP, "ye have always shewed yourself diligent ; even so in this ^^^^' "part, which concerneth the chief maintenance of your Anno 1 54 8. " high estate, and preservation of your commonwealth, " your Majesty would shew no less industry than the mat- " ter deserveth. For though these be but questions, yet " there is not so small an one among them, as will not ad- *' minister matter of much discourse, worthy the argument " and debating. Which your Highness may either for pas- " time, or in earnest, propone to the wisest man. And " whensoever there shall appear any difficulty, that your " Majesty would have discussed, if it shall stand with your " pleasure, I shall most gladly write the circumstance of " the best discourses that I can gather touching that part, " and accordingly present it unto your Highness : most " humbly beseeching the same to accept my good-will in as " good part, as if I were of ability to offer unto your Ma- " jesty a more worthy thing. " Your Majesty's most humble servant, " William Thomas." 1. Whereof hath grown the authority of astates; and Politic how many kinds of astates there be ? • 2. Which of all astates is most commendable and neces- sary ?
4. Whether is wiser and most constant, the multitude or the prince ? 5. Whether it is better for the commonwealth, that the power be in the nobility or in the people ? 6. Whether a mean estate may bear a great subject ? loi 7. What laws are necessary, and how they ought to be maintained ? 8. How easily a weak prince with good order may long be maintained : and how soon a mighty prince with little dis- order may be destroyed ?
158 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK also the greatest stay of civil order ; and whether the unity ^' thereof be not to be preserved with the sword and rigour ? Anao 1548. 11. Whether of the two is the more unkind, the people or the prince ?
of him that is in authority ; and what moveth them so to do ? 15. What a man of authority may do in the multitude .'* 16. What is to be observed in choosing of officers ? 17. How flatterers are to be known and despised.? 18. How men^s opinions in great matters are to be pon- dered ?
served .''
feriors ? 91. How dangerous it is to leap from humility unto pride, and from pity unto cruelty ? 22. Whether men may easily be corrupted ? 23. How much good ministers are to be rewarded, and the evil punished ? 24. How dangerous it is to be author of a new matter ? 25. Whether accusations are necessary, and whether evil reports are condemnable ? 26. Whether evil report lighteth not most commonly upon the reporter ? 27. Whether ambitious men mounting from one ambition to another, do first seek not to be offended, and afterward to offend ?
once hath been misused ? 29. Whether they be not often deceived, that think with humility to overcome pride ? 30. What force the princess example hath among the sub- jects ?
tation ?
OF KING EDWARD VI. 159 32. What things deserve either praise or reproach ? CHAP. 33. What is Uberality and misery ? ^^^^' 34. What is cruelty and clemency ? Anno i548. 35. Whether hate and dispraise ought to be eschewed ? 36. What is fortune ? 37. How men be oftentimes blinded with fortune ? 38. Whether it be not necessary for him that would have continually good fortune, to vary with the time ? 39. What princess amity is good ? 40. Whether a puissant prince ought to purchase amity with money, or with virtue and stoutness ? 41. What trust ought to be had in leagues ? 42. What is the cause of war ? 43. How many kinds of war there be ? 44. How many kinds of soldiers. 45. Whether they that fight for their own glory are good and faithful soldiers ? 46. Why do men overrun strange countries ? 47. How should a prince measure his force ; and how rule 1 02 himself in war ? 48. Whether a manifest war towards, ought to be begun upon the enemy, or abidden till the enemy begin ? 49. Whether it is better to assault or to defend ? 50. Whether money be the substance of war, or not ? 51. Whether weak astates are ever doubtfully determin- ing ; and whether much deliberation doth rather hurt than help.?
than profitable ? 56. Whether it be wisdom to venture much ? 57. What means ought to be used in defence ? 58. Whether the country ought not always to be de- fended, the quarrel being right or wrong ? 59. Whether inconveniences ought rather to be quali- 160 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK lied and overcome with leisure; or at the first plainly re-
I.
pressed ?
Anno 1548. 60. What danger it is to a prince, not to be revenged of an open injury.'^
6ti. How much ought artillery to be esteemed ? 63. Whether ought more to be esteemed, footmen or horsemen ? 64. Whether it be dangerous to be served of strange sol- diers ?
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