40

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

chap, and for the rate of exchange, was about four thousand

XXV

" 7157 - pounds.

The success of the report was complete. The nationand its representatives hated taxes, hated foreign favour-ites," and hated Irish Papists; and here was a documentwhich held out the hope that England might, at the ex-pense of foreign courtiers and of popish Celts, he relievedfrom a great load of taxes. Many, both within and withoutthe walls of Parliament, gave entire faith to the estimatewhich the commissioners had formed by a wild guess, inthe absence of trustworthy information. They gave entirefaith also to the prediction that a strict inquiry woulddetect many traitors who had hitherto been ^permitted toescape with impunity, and that a large addition would thusbe made to the extensive territory which had already beenconfiscated. It was popularly said that, if vigorousmeasures were taken, the gain to the kingdom would benot less than three hundred thousand pounds a year; andalmost the whole of this sum, a sum more than sufficient todefray the whole charge of such an army as the Commonswere disposed to keep up in time of peace, would be raisedby simply taking away what had been unjustifiably givento Dutchmen, who would still retain immense wealth takenout of English pockets, or unjustifiably left to Irishmen,who thought it at once the most pleasant and the mostpious of all employments to cut English throats. TheLower House went to work with the double eagerness ofrapacity and of animosity. As soon as the report of the