TAXATION AND FINANCE. 159 



wrath with which the Irish revolt was met on the part of the 

 county representatives, who generally worked very briskly to 

 save their constituents in the assessment. It is even possible 

 that the ship-money assessment, fair as it seems to have been, 

 was thrown aside as untrustworthy in consequence of the odium 

 felt at its origin and surroundings. In the next of their Acts, 

 cap. 33, they passed a sweeping confiscation Bill for Ireland. 



The war between King and Parliament is the beginning of 

 the modern system of finance, the Parliament leading the way, 

 and borrowing expedients for raising supplies from Dutch 

 precedents. From the financial view of the situation, the 

 Parliament was from the beginning in a position of over- 

 whelming strength. It controlled, or rather had the uninter- 

 rupted sympathy of London and the wealthiest part of 

 England, the Eastern, or as they were subsequently called, the 

 Associated Counties. By far' the largest part of the customs 

 duties was taken at the port of London. They also for a 

 time possessed the second commercial city of the kingdom, 

 Bristol, till it was lost by the incompetent Fiennes. The city 

 of London, from sheer good-will to the cause which the Par- 

 liament represented, made enormous sacrifices both in taxation 

 and in advances to the Parliament's exchequer. Besides, the 

 House of Commons was the unquestionable source and sole 

 authority for taxation. The imposts of the king, deriving all 

 their force from his own will and the authority of the Council, 

 were the continuance of that system which Parliament had 

 been called together with the purpose of putting an end to. 

 Except for the generous gifts of his more wealthy supporters 

 among the nobles and gentry, all the king's taxation was 

 illegal, the richest landowners had generally very little cash at 

 their command, and the supply of plate was very soon ex- 

 hausted, even if it was so absolutely surrendered as to justify 

 the contemptuous name of thimble-money, as the Roundheads 

 called it. But on the other hand, nearly all the military 

 experience of the country was on the king's side, though very 

 little reliance could be placed on the returned adventurers of 



