Before Cromwell could hope to derive much benefit from Ireland, it was necessary to establish some sort of government in the country, as well as to subjugate it. To this intent, Lord Grey summoned a Parliament, which met at Dublin in the spring of 1536[341]. Its first act was to pass a bill securing the succession of Anne Boleyn’s issue: the report of this came to Cromwell in London in June, two weeks after Anne’s execution[342]. He must have been somewhat puzzled, when he heard the news; events were moving so rapidly, that even an ‘ordered’ Parliament could not keep pace with them. He finally wrote back that in case the act for the succession was not ‘passed thoroughly’ they were to ‘staye the same tyl further knowleage of his grac_es_ pleasure[343].’ It was too late, however, to do this; but when the report came that Anne had been executed, and that Jane Seymour had become Queen, the Parliament was ready enough at once to rescind the old statute, and pass a new one in favour of the issue of Henry’s third wife. Later there were enacted a series of measures to loosen the bonds that held the Irish Church to Rome[344], and George Browne, Provincial of the Austin Friars, who had already made himself useful in forcing the oath of succession on his brethren in the south of England, was nominated in 1535, by Cromwell’s influence, to succeed Alen as Archbishop of Dublin. The Deputy meantime carried on the subjugation steadily and consistently in the wilder portions of the country. Everything in Ireland was now proceeding to the complete satisfaction of Henry and Cromwell, except the finances. Few could equal Cromwell’s ideal, or satisfy Henry’s avarice in this respect. Ireland had never paid its expenses before; and it was largely in the hope of deriving revenue from a land which had hitherto been only a burden, that the King and his minister had undertaken to subjugate it. A letter from Henry to the Deputy and Council in 1537 blames them for taking excessive fees, thinking only of private gain, and not taking care of the royal income[345]. To remedy this Cromwell appointed and sent over Commissioners, who were ordered to try to reduce expenses and increase revenue, and, to this end, to inquire into the conduct of every royal officer in Ireland, learn all the particulars of the local government, and cut down the retinue of the Deputy and Treasurer to 340 men[346]. In the list of Commissioners occurs the name of William Brabazon (Cromwell’s old friend and fellow servant under Wolsey), who later attained a very important position in Irish affairs. The extant letters of Cromwell to the Commissioners deal for the most part with the adjustment of petty land claims. The most interesting of them is the one concerning the policy to be pursued towards ‘that traytor Bryan Oconor[347].’