by act of parliament; such a remedy, however, only became possible when
king and parliament were on good terms of agreement with one another.
Crown and parliament.
That time was as yet far distant. The House of Commons brought fresh
charges against Buckingham, whose murder soon after the prorogation
removed one subject of dispute. But when they met again (1629) they had
two quarrels left over from the preceding session. About a third part of
the king's revenue was derived from customs duties which had for many
generations been granted by parliament to each sovereign for life.
Charles held that this grant was little more than a matter of form,
whilst the Commons held that it was a matter of right. But for the other
dispute the difficulty would probably have been got over. The strong
Protestantism of Elizabeth's reign had assumed a distinctly Calvinistic
form, and the country gentlemen who formed the majority of the House of
Commons were resolutely determined that no other theology than that of
Calvin should be taught in England. In the last few years a reaction
against it had arisen especially in the universities, and those who
adopted an unpopular creed, and who at the same time showed tendencies
to a more ceremonial form of worship, naturally fell back on the support
of the crown. Charles, who might reasonably have exerted himself to
secure a fair liberty for all opinions, promoted these unpopular divines
to bishoprics and livings, and the divines in turn exalted the royal
prerogative above parliamentary rights. He now proposed that both sides
should keep silence on the points in dispute. The Commons rejected his
scheme, and prepared to call in question the most obnoxious of the
clergy. In this irritated temper they took up the question of tonnage
and poundage, and instead of confining themselves to the great public
question, they called to the bar some custom-house officers who happened
to have seized the goods of one of their members. Charles declared that
the seizure had taken place by his orders. When they refused to accept
the excuse, he dissolved parliament, but not before a tumult took place
in the House, and the speaker was forcibly held down in his chair whilst
resolutions hostile to the government were put to the vote.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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