Which kind of levying money was first devised by King Edward the Fourth, as it appeareth before in his history. King Henry, following the like example, published abroad that by their open gifts he would measure and search their benevolent hearts and good minds towards him, and he that gave little to be esteemed according to his gift. By this it appeareth that whatsoever is practised for the prince's profit and brought to a precedent by matter of record, may be turned to the great prejudice of the people, if rulers in authority will so adjudge and determine it. But by this means King Henry got innumerable great sums of money, with some grudge of the people, for the extremity shewed by the commissioners in divers places. THE REBELLION OF THE CORNISHMEN (1496). +Source.+--Holinshed, Vol. III, p. 514. These unruly people, the Cornishmen, inhabiting in a barren country and unfruitful, at the first sore repined that they should be so grievously taxed and burdened by the king's council as the only cause of such polling and pilling, and so being in their rage, menaced the chief authors with death and present destruction. And thus being in a rave, two persons of the affinity, the one called Thomas Flammock, a gentleman, learned in the laws of the realm, and the other Michael Joseph, a smith, men of stout stomachs and high courage, took upon them to be captains of this seditious company. They laid the fault and cause of this exaction unto John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, and to Sir Reginald Bray, because they were chief of the King's council. Such reward have they commonly that be in great authority with kings and princes. The captains Flammock and Joseph exhorted the common people to put on harness and not be afeared to follow them in that quarrel, promising not to hurt any creature, but only to see them punished that procured such exactions to be laid on the people, without any reasonable cause, as under the colour of a little trouble with the Scots, which (since they were withdrawn home) they took to be well quieted and appeased. So these captains, bent on mischief (were their outward pretence never so finely coloured), yet persuaded a great number of people to assemble together and condescend to do as their captains would agree and appoint. Then these captains praising much the hardiness of the people, when all things were ready for their important journey, set forth with their army and came to Taunton, where they slew the Provost of Perin, which was one of the commissioners of the subsidy, and from thence came to Wells, so intending to go to London, where the King then sojourned.