Henry VIII. 27 140 3,780} Ditto 11 560 6,160} 9,940 Edward VI. 6 560 3,360 Mary 5 280 1,400 Elizabeth 44 140 6,160 James I. 22 140 3,080 Charles I. 24 90 2,160 Commonwealth 11 90 990 --- ------ 150 27,090 It is, of course, not claimed that this table presents more than the results of reasonable conjecture—with the data available we cannot get beyond conjecture. The table shows 27,090 executions at Tyburn in 150 years, leaving fewer than 23,000 to be made up in the remaining 450 years to the conjectured number 50,000. This gives a yearly average of less than 52, which is certainly very low. During the last hundred years of the existence of Tyburn, political executions become more and more rare; the interest of Tyburn becomes more and more a social interest. The salient feature of this period is furnished by the exploits of highwaymen: it might almost be called the era of the knights of the road. Apart from this, the striking feature of the later history of Tyburn, say from the accession of William III., is the constantly increasing ferocity of the laws. The reign of William saw passed the infamous Act inflicting the punishment of death for stealing in a shop to the value of five shillings. Through succeeding reigns Acts were heaped on Acts, making this and that crime a capital offence. No opportunity was lost of loading the Statute Book with these odious Acts, till, as has been estimated, the law of England reckoned two hundred capital offences. Children were hanged or burnt, according to sex; nor did even this satisfy the ferocity of the governing classes. Theorists advocated a return to the barbarous punishments of rude times: the State, by diminishing the time accorded for repentance, sought to pursue its victims beyond the grave. The heaping up of death-punishments continued beyond the time when Tyburn ceased to uphold the majesty of the law. In the year 1786 an Act was passed imposing duties, denoted by stamps, on perfumery and the like—the duties ranged from one penny upwards. To counterfeit such a stamp was DEATH, so that to defraud the State of one penny put an offender in jeopardy of his life.