Under these circumstances Henry thought it fit to summon a Parliament, the first since December, 1515. The policy of Wolsey, in regard to the great legislative body of the kingdom, had up to this time been very closely followed. He had not reached the point which Cromwell at a later day was destined to attain; that is, he had not so completely obtained the upper hand of the Commons that he could use them as a tool to accomplish his will. He rather regarded Parliament as a dangerous power to be suppressed at all costs, than as a means to attain his own ends. Consequently it had not met for nearly eight years. But the present crisis was one which called for more than the ordinary resources of the nation; nothing could be accomplished against France unless an enormous subsidy was granted; that subsidy could only be granted by Parliament, and Wolsey, rather unwillingly, was forced to consent to the King’s summoning it, relying on Henry’s great personal popularity, and the peculiarly bitter national hatred of France, to make it accomplish for him what he could not do for himself[47]. Sir Thomas More was chosen Speaker, probably because of his high favour with Henry, who did not scruple to give Parliament broad hints of his pleasure in all matters in which he was interested, and though, as Roper says, More was ‘very loath to take this room upon him[48],’ yet the King would not consent to his resignation. And the story goes on to tell how Wolsey ‘found himself much grieved with the burgesses of this Parliament, for that nothing was so soon done or spoken therein but that it was immediately blown abroad in every ale-house[49],’ and how, fearing that the subsidy bill might not pass, he determined to be present at the debate himself, and was received, at Sir Thomas More’s suggestion, ‘with all his pomp, with his maces, his pillars, his poleaxes, his crosses, his hat, and his great seal too.’ But Wolsey need not have been so anxious about the passage of his bill. Though at first the House would not deign to consider the subsidy in his presence, alleging that ‘there was not so much money out of the King’s hands in the whole realm,’ it had been out of practice too long to realize its own power, and after a great deal of haggling and fruitless endeavours by the members to beg off for less than the £800,000 at first demanded, Wolsey carried his point[50], and by the end of June was able to announce to Henry that there was no further hindrance to the proposed invasion of France. While the debate was in progress, however, Cromwell was one of the strongest opponents of the Cardinal’s scheme. The following speech, which he wrote to deliver on this occasion[51], clearly reveals his attitude on the questions before the House.