And by an Act passed the same Year (viz., 1534), The King was “declared to be _Supream Head of the Church_.” “But he did not exercise any act of that Power till a year afterwards, by appointing Sir Thomas _Cromwell_ to be his Vicar General in Ecclesiastical Matters, and Visitor of all the _Monasteries_ and other Privileged Places in the Kingdom.” In 27 _Hen. VIII._ (1536) “all the _lesser Monasteries_, under the number of _twelve Persons_, and whose Revenues were not of the Value of £200 _per annum_, were given to the King, his Heirs and Successors; and a Court was erected on purpose for collecting the Revenues belonging to these Monasteries, which was called _The Court of Augmentation of the King’s Revenue_, who had full power to dispose of those Lands for the Service of the King.” The officers of this Court had, among its other duties, that of inquiring “into the Number of _Religious_ in the House, and what Lives they led; how many would go into other Religious Houses, and how many into the _World_, as they called it.” The whole of the goods thus confiscated were valued at £100,000, and the rents of these small Monasteries came to £32,000 _per annum_. “This occasioned great Discontents amongst the people,” to appease which the King sold some of the Lands “to the Gentry” at low Rates, “obliging them to keep up Hospitality.” “This pleased both them and the ordinary Sort of People for a little time; and, to satisfy others,” the King “continued or gave back thirty-one Houses. But these, about two Years afterwards, fell under the Common Fate of the great Monasteries, and were all suppressed with them.” “But notwithstanding he gave back some of these Houses, yet the People were still discontented, and openly rebelled in _Lincolnshire_, which was quieted by a Pardon: There was another Rebellion in _Yorkshire_ and the Northern Counties, which ended also in a Pardon, only some of the chief of the Rebels were executed for this last Rebellion.” Most of the Monasteries, “seeing their Dissolution drawing near, made voluntary Surrenders of their Houses in the 29th _year of Hen. VIII._, in Hopes by this means to obtain Favor of the King; and after the Rebellion, the rest of the Abbots, both great and small, did the like; for some of them had encouraged the Rebels, others were convicted by the Visitors of great Disorders, and most of them had secured all the Plate, Jewels and Furniture belonging to their Houses, to make Provision for them and Relations and then surrendered their Monasteries.” “Afterwards, _Anno_ 31 _Hen. VIII._, a Bill was brought into the House of Peers to confirm these surrenders. There were 18 Abbots[32] present at the first Reading, 20 at the second, and 17 at the third. It soon passed the Commons and the Royal Assent; and by this Act all the Houses, etc., were confirmed to the King.”