ife in danger: yet all the notice
which the parliament took of this enormity, even in such a paltry court,
was to enact, that no man could afterwards be questioned for his conduct
in parliament.[v**] This prohibition, however, must be supposed to
extend only to the inferior courts: for as to the king, and privy
council, and star chamber, they were scarcely bound by any law.

There is a bill of tonnage and poundage, which shows what uncertain
ideas the parliament had formed both of their own privileges and of the
rights of the sovereign.[v***] This duty had been voted to every king
since Henry IV., during the term of his own life only: yet Henry VIII.
had been allowed to levy it six years, without any law; and though there
had been four parliaments assembled during that time, no attention had
been given either to grant it to him regularly, or restrain him from
levying it. At last the parliament resolved to give him that supply;
but even in this concession, they plainly show themselves at a loss to
determine whether they grant it, or whether he has a right of himself
to levy it. They say, that the imposition was made to endure during
the natural life of the late king, and no longer: they yet blame the
merchants who had not paid it to the present king: they observe, that
the law for tonnage and poundage was expired; yet make no scruple to
call that imposition the king's due: they affirm, that he had sustained
great and manifold losses by those who had defrauded him of it; and to
provide a remedy, they vote him that supply during his lifetime, and no
longer. It is remarkable that, notwithstanding this last clause, all
his successors for more than a century persevered in the like irregular
practice; if a practice may deserve that epithet, in which the whole
nation acquiesced, and which gave no offence. But when Charles I.
attempted to continue in the same course which had now received the
sanction of many generations, so much were the opinions of men altered,
that a furious tempest was excited by it; and historians, partial
or ignorant, still represent this measure as a most violent and
unprecedented enormity in that unhappy prince.

* Herbert.

** Hall, fol. 234. Stowe, p. 515. Holingshed, p. 947.

*** Hall, fol. 235. Holingshed, p. 547. Stowe, p. 577.

**** Hall, fol. 68.

v 14 and 15 Henry VIII. c. 15.

v* 34 and 35 Henry VIII. c. 5.

v** 4 Henry VIII. c. 8.