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It is in this cafe, as with what is called the British conftitution. It has been taken for granted to be good, and encomiums have supplied the place of proof. But when the nation comes to examine into its principles, and the abuses it admits, it will be found to have more defects, than I have pointed out in this work, and the former.”

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CHA P. XVI.

OF THE ATTEMPTS AND EFFECTS OF LE

VELLERS IN THESE KINGDOMS.

Religion often

made the pretext for rebel

lion.

"THA

HAT all rebellions did ever begin with the faireft pretences for reforming of somewhat amiss in the government, is a truth fo clear, that there needs no manifestation thereof from example; nor were they ever observed to have greater fuccefs, than when the colours for religion did openly appear in the van of their armed forces; most men being defirous to have it really thought (how bad and vile foever their practices are) that zeal to God's glory is no small part of their aim; which gilded bait hath been usually held forth to allure the vulgar by those, whose end and designs were nothing else, than to get into power, and fo to poffefs themselves of the estate and fortune of their more opulent neighbours."

I do not undertake to write a full history of all the disturbances and infurrections, which

* Dugdale's Preface to his Short View of the late Troubles in England.

have been raised against the government of this realm, but only to fubmit to the reflection of my countrymen fome of the convulfions in the ftate, which have been heretofore produced by the adoption and propagation of fuch levelling principles, as are now fo frequently and fo boldly attempted to be maintained and circulated, in order that a premonitory review of past scenes may prevent the neceffity of corrective severity inj future.

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The first perfon, who appears in our chronicles to have acted openly upon this level

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England.

ling principle, was Walter Tyler; who having been flain in the most emphatical act of his calling, viz. that of levelling himself with his fovereign, may be properly called the protomartyr of levellers in England.— In the fifth year of king Richard II. A. D. 1381, a collector of the poll tax, which was payable by every one above the age of fixteen years, took a very unwarrantable and indecent method of ascertaining whether the daughter of this Tyler were liable to the tax. The father upon his return home, undertook Caufe of Wat to execute fummary juftice upon the col- lion. lector for the indignity offered to his daugh-. ter, and murthered him with his lathing hammer. He was applauded and fupported

by

Tyler's rebel

Difcontent at the Duke of

at the poll tax.

by fome malcontents of the day; and from thence broke out the open rebellion, of which Speed gives the following account.

* "Not long after the time of that Earles imployment into Spaine, there fell out accidents, which doe plainely conuince their error to be great, who thinke that any madneffe is like that of an armed and ungouerned multitude, whereof these times (by a kind of fate proper to childrens raigne) gaue a most dangerous document. The extreame hatred borne Laneafter, and by the people to John Duke of Lancaster, calling himselfe king of Caftile and Leon, and the discontentment taken at an extraordinary taxe, leuied per pol upon all forts of people, who were aboue fixteene yeers of age, which (as all other the euils of the time) they imputed to the duke (the manner being to count them the authors of euils, who are fuppofed to haue the greatest power of doing them) mooued the enraged multitudes upon flight and small beginnings to runne together in so fearefull a torrent, that it seemed the king and kingdome were fodainely falne under their most wicked fury. There were in this most rebellious infurrection, the commons and bond-men (who afpiring by force to a

Speed's Chronicle, c. xiii. Mon. 50. p. 733, & feq.

free

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free manumiffion) principally those of Kent
and Effex, whofe example was followed in
the neighbourfhires of Surrey, Suffolke, Nor-
folke, Cambridge, and other places, by in-
credible heards and droues of like qualified
people, who (specially in Norfolke) forced
fundry principall gentlemen to attend them
in their madding.

ters of London.

"They of Kent embattelled themfelues The rebels maf under two banners of St. George, and about threefcore and tenne perfons upon Blackheath by Greenwich, and from thence came to London, where the generality of people inclining to them, they are mafters. The priory of St. John's without Smithfield they kept burning for about feauen daies, and the goodly palace of the Sauoy belonging to the duke, with all the riches therein they confumed by fire in a kinde of holy outrage, for they threw one of their fellowes into the flame, who had thruft a piece of stolne plate into his bofome. The rebels of Effex came to Lambeth, burnt all the archbishop's goods, and defaced all the writings, rowles, records, thofe of Chanand monuments of the Chancerie, as hauing a speciall hatred to the lawyers, little to their difgrace, for that they fhared herein with good men also, whom they hated. But their defperate wickedneffe extended itselfe beyond

the

The archbishop records, and

of Canterbury's

cery, burut.

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