wards King Edward II.,
was born at Carnarvon in =1284=, and soon afterwards, having become
heir to the throne upon the death of his elder brother, was presented
to the Welsh as Prince of Wales, a title from that day usually
bestowed upon the king's eldest son. At the same time, though Edward
built strong castles at Conway and Carnarvon to hold the Welsh in awe,
he made submission easier by enacting suitable laws for them, under
the name of the Statute of Wales, and by establishing a separate body
of local officials to govern them, as well as by confirming them in
the possession of their lands and goods.

[Illustration: Group of armed knights, and a king in ordinary dress.
Date, _temp._ Edward I.]

3. =Customs Duties. 1275.=--Though Edward I. was by no means
extravagant, he found it impossible to meet the expenses of government
without an increase of taxation. In =1275= he obtained the consent of
Parliament to the increase of the duties on exports and imports which
had hitherto been levied without Parliamentary sanction. He was now to
receive by a Parliamentary grant a fixed export duty of 6_s._ 8_d._ on
every sack of wool sent out of the country, and of a corresponding
duty on wool-fells and leather. Under ordinary circumstances it is
useless for any government to attempt to gain a revenue by export
duty, because such a duty only raises the price abroad of the products
of its own country, and foreigners will therefore prefer to buy the
articles which they need from some country which does not levy export
duties, and where, therefore, the articles are to be had more cheaply.
England, however, was, in Edward's time, and for many years
afterwards, an exception to the rule. On the Continent men could not
produce much wool or leather for sale, because private wars were
constantly occurring, and the fighting men were in the habit of
driving off the sheep and the cattle. In England there were no private
wars, and under the king's protection sheep and cattle could be bred
in safety. There were now growing up manufactures of cloth in the
fortified towns of Flanders, and the manufacturers there were obliged
to come to England for the greater part of the wool which they used.
They could not help paying not only the price of the wool, but the
king's export duty as well, because if they refused they could not get
sufficient wool in any other country.

4. =Edward's Judicial Reforms. 1274--1290.=--Every king of England
since the N