A Student's History of England, v. 2: 1509-1689: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VIIGardiner, Samuel Rawson
History
A Student's History of England, v. 2: 1509-1689: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VII
Gardiner, Samuel Rawson
Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History -- Outlines, syllabi, etc.
26. =The Last Parliament of James I. 1624.=--James's foreign policy
had now hopelessly broken down. He had expected that simply because
it seemed to him to be just, Philip would quarrel with the Emperor
for the sake of restoring the Palatinate to a Protestant. When he
found that this could not be, he had nothing more to propose. His
son and his favourite, who had been created Duke of Buckingham
whilst he was in Spain, urged him to go to war, and early in =1624=
James summoned a new Parliament, which was entirely out of his
control. For the time Buckingham, who urged on the war, was the most
popular man in England. A large grant of supply was given, but the
Commons distrusting James, ordered the money to be paid to
treasurers appointed by themselves, and to be spent only upon four
objects--the repairing of forts in England, the increase of the army
in Ireland, the fitting-out of a fleet, and the support of the Dutch
Republic, which was still at war with Spain, and of other allies of
the king. The king, on his part, engaged to invite friendly states
to join him in war for the recovery of the Palatinate, and to summon
Parliament in the autumn to announce the result. The Commons were
the less anxious to trust James with money as they were in favour of
a maritime war against Spain, whilst they believed him to be in
favour of a military war in Germany. They had reason to think that
Cranfield, who was now Earl of Middlesex and Lord Treasurer, had
used his influence with the king to keep him from a breach with
Spain; and, with Charles and Buckingham hounding them on, they now
impeached Middlesex on charges of malversation, and drove him from
office. It was generally believed that the Lord Treasurer owed his
fall to his dislike of a war which would be ruinous to the finances
which it was his business to guard. The old king could not resist,
but he told his son that, in supporting an impeachment, he was
preparing a rod for himself. Before the end of the session the king
agreed to an act abolishing monopolies, except in the case of new
inventions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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