252 HUME. 



HENRY III. 

 " I reckon not among the violations of the great charter 



arbitrary 



some practices A Exertions of Prerogative, which Henry's 



without producing any discontents 



necessities oblig'd him to practice, and which A were uniformly 



continued 



practiced by all his successors till the last century. As the par- 



that -somctimco in a manner somewhat 

 liament often refusd him supplies, and A often in a very rude 



and indecent-rfteamer-, he obliged his opulent subjects, parti- 

 cularly the citizens of London, to grant him loans of money : 



want of economy 



and it is natural to imagine, that the same necessities- which 



reduced him to the necessity of borrowing him from 



obliged him to borrow, would prevent -btrfr being very regular 



He demanded benevolences, or pretended voluntary 



their contributions from his nobility & prelates. 



in 4ke payment of his dobtc A He was the first King of 

 England since the Conquest who could be fairly said to 



also 



lye under the restraint of law : and he was A the first who 

 practicd the dispensing power, and employ'd the famous 



Patents 

 clause of non obstante in his grants and charters. The Princes 



notwithstanding the great power of the monarchs, 



both of the Saxon & Norman line own country 



of Wales A still preserved authority in their mountains ; and 



had often -fead been constraind to pay tribute 

 tho' they oontinuod to do homage to the crown of England, 



in subordination or even in peace 



they were with difficulty retaind in oubj action, and almost 

 throughout 

 4a- every reign since the conquest had infested the English 



inroads 

 frontiers with petty incursions and sudden inourciono, which 



-dooonrod to bo mentioned merited to have place 

 seldom merited to havo place in a general history." 



" The behaviour of John show'd him not unworthy of 



- gcncrouo courteous never 



this A treatment. His present abject fortune A made him 

 never forget a moment that he was a King. More sensible 



Edward's 



to hio the Princes generosity than to his own calamities, he 



