[267] 1 Rich. III, c. 2.--“The king remembering how the Commons of this his realm by new and unlawful inventions and inordinate covetousness, against the law of this realm, have been put to great thraldom and importable charges and exactions, and in especial by a new imposition named a benevolence, whereby divers years the subjects and Commons of this land against their wills and freedom have paid great sums of money to their almost utter destruction; for divers and many worshipful men of this realm by occasion thereof were compelled by necessity to break up their households and to live in great penury and wretchedness. Their debts unpaid and their children unpreferred, and such memorials as they had ordained to be done for the wealth of their souls were made void and annulled, to the great displeasure of God and to the destruction of this realm; therefore the king will it be ordained, by the advice and assent of his Lords spiritual and temporal and the Commons of this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that his subjects and the commonalty of this his realm from henceforth in no wise be charged by none such charge or imposition called benevolence, nor by such like charge; and that such exactions called benevolences, afore this time taken be taken for no example to make such or any like charge of any his said subjects of this realm hereafter, but it be dampned and annulled forever.” 2 _Statutes of the Realm_, 478. Translation given in Adams and Stephens, _Sel. Doc._ 212. [268] 6 _Rot. Parl._ 335. [269] 6 _Rot. Parl._ 421. [270] Taswell-Langmead, _Eng. Const. Hist._ 298, quoting from Lord Bacon’s _Henry VII_, 121. [271] For further details see Dowell, 1 _Taxation and Taxes_, 129, 130. A summary of the taxes of Henry VIII is given in Cobbett, 1 _Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803_, London 1806; 565-6. [272] Above, 206, 207. [273] More, _Life of Sir T. More_, 51, quoted in 1 _Parl. Hist._ 485-6. [274] 1 _Parl. Hist._ 486. [275] 1 _Parl. Hist._ 588. [276] 1 _Parl. Hist._ 490. [277] Taswell-Langmead, _Eng. Const. Hist._ 300. [278] Ibid., 300, quoting Hall, _Chronicle_, 696, 700. [279] 1 _Parl. Hist._ 490. [280] Henry levied another benevolence in 1545. [281] The form of these royal promissory notes is as follows:--“We, Henry VIII, by the grace of God, King of England and of France, Defender of Faith, and Lord of Ireland, promise by these presents truly to content and repay unto our trusty and well-beloved subject, A. B., the sum of ----, which he hath lovingly advanced unto us by way of loan, for defence of our realm, and maintenance of our wars against France and Scotland: In witness whereof we have caused our privy seal hereunto to be set and annexed the ---- day of ----, the fourteenth year of our reign.” Cited by Hallam, 1 _Const. Hist. Eng._ 26, note 1, from MS. Instructions to Commissioners.