In 1629 the Commons, under the lead of Eliot and Pym, took advanced
ground alike on the questions of religion and of taxation. Pym was
supplementing Eliot’s work, which was to make the House of Commons the
supreme authority in England, by striving to associate together a
majority of the members for the achievement of certain common objects;
in other words, he was laying the foundation of party government. Under
the lead of these two men, the first two Parliamentary and popular
leaders in the modern sense, the House of Commons passed resolutions
demanding uniformity in religious belief throughout the kingdom and
condemning every innovation in religion, and declaring enemies to the
kingdom and traitors to its liberties whoever advised the levying of
tonnage and poundage without the authority of Parliament, or whoever
voluntarily paid those duties. The first clause hit Catholics and
Dissenters alike, but was especially aimed at the bishops and their
followers, who stood closest to the King; and the second was, of course,
intended to transfer the sovereignty from the King to Parliament—in
other words, from the King to the people. Charles met the challenge by
dissolving Parliament. Eleven years were to pass before another met.
Meantime, the King governed as a despot; and it must be remembered that
when he deliberately chose thus to govern as a despot, responsible to no
legal tribunal, he at once threw his subjects back on the only remedies
which it is possible to enforce against despotism—deposition or death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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