OBSERVATIONS ON A LIBEL. 423 



expence are decayed, according to the humour of 

 the time, which he hath not been able to resist, no 

 not in his own house. And as for attainders, there 

 have been in thirty-five years but five of any of the 

 nobility, whereof but two came to execution ; and 

 one of them was accompanied with restitution of 

 blood in the children : yea, all of them, except West 

 moreland, were such, as, whether it were by favour 

 of law or government, their heirs have, or are like to 

 have, a great part of their possessions. And so much 

 for the nobility. 



Touching the oppression of the people, he men- 

 tioneth four points. 



1. The consumption of people in the wars. 



2. The interruption of traffic. 



3. The corruption of justice. 



4. The multitude of taxations. Unto all which 

 points there needeth no long speech. For the first, 

 thanks be to God, the benediction of &quot; Crescite&quot; and 

 &quot; Multiplicamini,&quot; is not so weak upon this realm of 

 England, but the population thereof may afford such 

 loss of men as were sufficient for the making our 

 late wars, and were in a perpetuity, without being 

 seen either in city or country. We read, that when 

 the Romans did take cense of their people, whereby 

 the citizens were numbered by the poll in the 

 beginning of a great war ; and afterwards again at 

 the ending, there sometimes wanted a third part of 

 the number : but let our muster-books be perused, 

 those, I say, that certify the number of all fighting 



