er, and had almost
annihilated the constitution under the weight of their prerogative; as
soon as the commons recovered from their lethargy, they seem to have
been astonished at the danger, and were resolved to secure liberty by
firmer barriers than their ancestors had hitherto provided for it.

Had James possessed a very rigid frugality, he might have warded off
this crisis somewhat longer; and waiting patiently for a favorable
opportunity to increase and fix his revenue, might have secured the
extensive authority transmitted to him. On the other hand, had the
commons been inclined to act with more generosity and kindness towards
their prince, they might probably have turned his necessities to good
account, and have bribed him to depart peaceably from the more dangerous
articles of his prerogative. But he was a foreigner, and ignorant of
the arts of popularity; they were soured by religious prejudices, and
tenacious of their money: and in this situation it is no wonder,
that during this whole reign we scarcely find an interval of mutual
confidence and friendship between prince and parliament.

The king, by his prerogative alone, had some years before altered the
rates of the customs, and had established higher impositions on several
kinds of merchandise. This exercise of power will naturally, to us,
appear arbitrary and illegal; yet, according to the principles and
practices of that time, it might admit of some apology. The duties of
tonnage and poundage were at first granted to the crown by a vote of
parliament, and for a limited time; and as the grant frequently expired
and was renewed, there could not then arise any doubt concerning the
origin of the king's right to levy these duties; and this imposition,
like all others, was plainly derived from the voluntary consent of the
people. But as Henry V., and all the succeeding sovereigns, had the
revenue conferred on them for life, the prince, so long in possession of
these duties, began gradually to consider them as his own proper
right and inheritance, and regarded the vote of parliament as a mere
formality, which rather expressed the acquiescence of the people in his
prerogative, than bestowed any new gift or revenue upon him.

The parliament, when it first granted poundage to the crown, had fixed
no particular rates: the imposition was given as a shilling in a pound,
or five percent, on all commodities: it was left to the king himself and
the privy council, aided b