WILLIAM AND MAEY.

37

age, made the name of publican a proverb for all that is most chap.

William had been so much moved by what he had heard ofthese grievances that, at one of the earliest sittings of the PrivyCouncil, he introduced the subject. He sent a message re-questing the House of Commons to consider whether better re-gulations would effectually prevent the abuses which hadexcited so much discontent. He added that he would willinglyconsent to the entire abolition of the tax if it should appear thatthe tax and the abuses were inseparable.* This communicationwas received with loud applause. There were indeed somefinanciers of the old school who muttered that tenderness forthe poor was a fine thing; but that no part of the revenue of thestate came in so exactly to the day as the hearth money; thatthe goldsmiths of the City could not always be induced to lendon the s’ecurity of the next quarter’s customs or excise, but thaton an assignment of hearth money there was no difficulty in ob-taining advances. In the House of Commons, those whothought thus did not venture to raise their voices in oppositionto the general feeling. But in the Lords there was a conflict ofwhich the event for a time seemed doubtful. At length the in-fluence of the Court, strenuously exerted, carried an Act bywhich the chimney tax was declared a badge of slavery, andwas, with many expressions of gratitude to the King, abolishedfor ever.**

The Commons granted, with little dispute, and without a nepay-division, six hundred thousand pounds for the purpose of re-thVex 0 -paying to the United Provinces the charges of the expedition ti”” iTni~ rwhich had delivered England. The facility with which this l ? d 1,ro "large sum was voted to a shrewd, diligent and thrifty people,our allies, indeed, politically, but commercially our most for-

* Commons’Journals, and Grey’s Debates, March 1. 168|.

** 1 VV. & M. seas. 1. c. 10.; Burnet, ii. 18,