and Latin, but weak and ignorant of his duties as a king, he
was inclined to trespass on the rights of his subjects. As has been
already remarked, the genius of his reign was the contest between
prerogative and liberty. The Commons did not acquiesce in his
measures, or yield to his wishes, as they did during the reign of
Elizabeth. He had a notion that the duty of a king was to command, and
that of the subject was to obey, in all things; that kings ruled by
divine right, and were raised by the Almighty above all law. But such
notions were not approved by a parliament which swarmed with Puritans,
and who were not careful to conceal their views from the king. They
insisted on their privileges as tenaciously as the king insisted on
his prerogative, and often came into collision with him. And they
instituted an inquiry into monopolies, and attacked the monstrous
abuses of purveyance, and the incidents of feudal tenure, by which,
among other things, the king became guardian to wards, and received
the profits of their estates during their minority. These feudal
claims, by which the king, in part, received his revenue, were every
year becoming less valuable to the crown, and more offensive to the
people. The king, at length, was willing to compound, and make a
bargain with the Commons, by which he was to receive two hundred
thousand pounds a year, instead of the privileges of wardship, and
other feudal rights. But his necessities required additional grants,
which the Commons were unwilling to bestow; and the king then resorted
to the sale of monopolies and even peerages, sent the more turbulent
of the Commons to prison, and frequently dissolved parliament. He was
resolved to tax the people if supplies were not granted him, while the
Commons maintained that no taxation could be allowed without their
consent. Moreover, the Commons refused to grant such supplies as the
king fancied he needed, unless certain grievances were redressed,
among which was the High Commission Court, an arbitrary tribunal,
which fined and imprisoned without appeal. But James, though pressed
for money, stood firm to his notions of prerogative, and supplied his
most urgent necessities by illegal means. People were dragged to the
Star Chamber, on all kinds of accusations, that they might be
sentenced to pay enormous fines; new privileges and monopolies were
invented, and new dignities created. Baronets, who are hereditary
knights, were instituted, and baron