9] Walsingham, p. 97. The Lords' committee "have found no evidence of
any writ issued for election of knights, citizens, and burgesses to
attend the same meetings; from the subsequent documents it seems
probable that none were issued, and that the parliament which assembled
at Westminster consisted only of prelates, earls, and barons." p. 259.
We have no record of this parliament; but in that of 5 Edw. II. it is
recited--Come le seizieme jour de Marz l'an de notre regne tierce, a
l'honeur de Dieu et pour le bien de nous et de nostre roiaume, eussions
grante de notre franche volonte, par nos lettres ouvertes aux prelatz,
countes, et barons, _et communes de dit roiaume_, qu'ils puissent eslire
certain persones des prelatz, comtes, et barons, &c. Rot. Parl. i. 281.
The inference therefore of the committee seems erroneous. [Note VIII.]

[100] "La commonaltee" seems in this place to mean the tenants of land,
or commons of the counties, in contradistinction to citizens and
burgesses.

[101] Rot. Parl. vol. ii. p. 66. The Lords' committee observe on this
passage in the roll of parliament, that "the king's right to tallage his
cities, boroughs, and demesnes seems not to have been questioned by the
parliament, though the commissions for setting the tallage were objected
to." p. 305. But how can we believe that after the representatives of
these cities and boroughs had sat, at least at times, for two reigns,
and after the explicit renunciation of all right of tallage by Edward I.
(for it was never pretended that the king could lay a tallage on any
towns which did not hold of himself), there could have been a parliament
which "did not question" the legality of a tallage set without their
consent? The silence of the rolls of parliament would furnish but a poor
argument. But in fact their language is expressive enough. The several
ranks of lords and commons grant the fifteenth penny from the
commonalty, and the tenth from the cities, boroughs, and demesnes of the
king, "that our lord the king may live of his own, and pay for his
expenses, and not aggrieve his people by excessive (outraiouses) prises,
or otherwise." And upon this the king revokes the commission in the
words of the text. Can anything be clearer than that the parliament,
though in a much gentler tone than they came afterwards to assume,
intimate the illegality of the late tallage? As to any other objection
to the commissions, which the committee suppose to have been ta