e shouts of a great multitude who strewed laurels in their
path.

[Sidenote: Work of the Houses.]

The effect of these rapid blows was seen in the altered demeanour of the
king. Charles at once dropped his old tone of command. He ceased to
protest against the will of the Commons, and looked sullenly on while
one by one the lawless acts of his Government were undone. Ship-money
was declared illegal; and the judgement in Hampden's case was annulled.
In February 1641 a statute declaring "the ancient right of the subjects
of this kingdom that no subsidy, custom, impost, or any charge
whatsoever ought or may be laid or imposed upon any merchandise exported
or imported by subjects, denizens, or aliens, without common consent in
Parliament," put an end for ever to all pretensions to a right of
arbitrary taxation on the part of the Crown. A Triennial Bill enforced
the assembly of the Houses every three years, and bound the returning
officers to proceed to election if no royal writ were issued to summon
them.

[Sidenote: Church reform.]

The subject of religion was one of greater difficulty. In ecclesiastical
as in political matters the aim of the parliamentary leaders was
strictly conservative. Their purpose was to restore the Church of
England to its state under Elizabeth, and to free it from the
"innovations" introduced by Laud and his fellow-prelates. With this view
commissioners were sent in January 1641 into every county "for the
defacing, demolishing, and quite taking away of all images, altars, or
tables turned altarwise, crucifixes, superstitious pictures, monuments,
and reliques of idolatry out of all churches and chapels." But the bulk
of the Commons as of the Lords were averse from any radical changes in
the constitution or doctrine of the Church. All however were agreed on
the necessity of reform; and one of the first acts of the Parliament was
to appoint a Committee of Religion to consider the question. Within as
without the House the general opinion was in favour of a reduction of
the power and wealth of the prelates, as well as of the jurisdiction of
the Church courts. Even among the bishops themselves the more prominent
saw the need for consenting to an abolition of Chapters and Bishops'
Courts, as well as to the election of a council of ministers in each
diocese, which had been suggested by Archbishop Usher as a check on
episcopal autocracy. A scheme to this effect was drawn up by Bishop
Williams of Lincol