, ventured to slight the Reformed Churches of
the Continent in favour of the Church of Rome, and to advocate in his
sermon the Real Presence in the Sacrament and a divine right in kings.

[Sidenote: The Parliament of 1625.]

The Houses had no sooner met in the May of 1625 than their temper in
religious matters was clear to every observer. "Whatever mention does
break forth of the fears and dangers in religion and the increase of
Popery," wrote a member who was noting the proceedings of the Commons,
"their affections are much stirred." The first act of the Lower House
was to summon Montague to its bar and to commit him to prison. In their
grants to the Crown they showed no ill-will indeed, but they showed
caution. They suspected that the pledge of making no religious
concessions to France had been broken. They knew that the conditions on
which the last subsidy had been granted had been contemptuously set
aside. In his request for a fresh grant Charles showed the same purpose
of carrying out his own policy without any regard for the national will
by simply asking for supplies for the war without naming a sum or giving
any indication of what war it was to support. The reply of the Commons
was to grant a hundred and forty thousand pounds. A million would hardly
cover the king's engagements, and Charles was bitterly angered. He was
angered yet more by the delay in granting the permanent revenue of the
Crown. The Commons had no wish to refuse their grant of tonnage and
poundage, or the main customs duties, which had ever since Edward the
Fourth's day been granted to each new sovereign for his life. But the
additional impositions laid by James on these duties required further
consideration, and to give time for a due arrangement of this vexed
question the grant of the customs was made for a year only. But the
limitation at once woke the jealousy of Charles. He looked on it as a
restriction of the rights of the Crown, refused to accept the grant on
such a condition, and adjourned the Houses. When they met again at
Oxford it was in a sterner temper, for Charles had shown his defiance of
Parliament by promoting Montague, who had been released on bond, to a
royal chaplaincy, and by levying the disputed customs without authority
of law. "England," cried Sir Robert Phelips, "is the last monarchy that
yet retains her liberties. Let them not perish now." But the Commons had
no sooner announced their resolve to consider public grievanc