of England is yet to grant to the king our lord, as of the subsidy of wool, leather, and woolfells granted in the last parliament: and that these four earls and barons be sworn in their presence that whatever is received by them of the said subsidies shall be wholly expended for the said wars and for no other work; and that the high treasurer of England shall receive nothing of it and shall not meddle in it in any manner. 84. Persons appointed to supervise Expenditures (1377. French original, 3 R. P. 7. Translation by Editors. 2 Stubbs, mdor Me. 465, 597.) 27. ITEM, the lords and commons of the realm of England, perceiving clearly the great peril of the realm, that it is on the point of being lost, if God does not give a remedy for it most speedily, amid the great wars which are waged against it and quite openly on either side as well by land as by sea, of which there is more to be feared than ever before: And therefore in aid of the expenditures which must be made for the conduct of the war of the realm in resisting so many enemies and for the aid and rescue of the realm aforesaid, for the aid of our lord they now of their free will grant to the said king our lord, two fifteenths outside the cities and boroughs, and two tenths within the said cities and boroughs, to be levied on their goods; And humbly praying their liege lord and the other lords of parliament, that as well of these moneys as of the money of the tenths now to be granted by the clergy of England and also of the moneys arising from the subsidies of wools, certain suitable persons shall be appointed by the king to be treasurers or guardians to such effect that these moneys shall be entirely applied to the expenses of the war and to nothing else in any way. And be it remembered that this request was granted them by the king, saving to the king entirely his old duty of half a mark from citizens and ten shillings from foreigners due on each sack of wool exported from the realm, etc. And thereupon our lord the king appointed William Walworth and John Philipot, merchants of London, to be guardians of the said sums for the use aforesaid, and to render faithful account of their receipts and expenditures in such manner as shall be ordained by our lord the king and his said great council in reasonable manner. And thereupon, by commandment of our said lord the king, the said William and John accepted their charge and they took oath and swore in the presence of the king himself in full parliament to do this faithfully. Saving always to the king, that he should be repaid first for the sum expended by him and paid for this last expedition by sea, which amounts to more than fifteen thousand pounds sterling, for which the king is still debtor to his creditors. 85. Account of Expenditures required by Parliament (1378. French original, 3 R. P. 35. Translation by Editors. 2 Stubbs, 467, 598.) 20. AND thereupon the commons, after considerable deliberation, make request once more to our lord the king that it may please him to communicate to his said commons how and in what manner were expended the said great sums thus given and granted for the said war; and that proper order should be made, that if it should so happen that any lord or any other person engaged for the last expedition or anywhere else had a smaller number of men to his credit than he had engaged to have with him and had received wages and money of the king, that surplus money over and above the wages of the men shown should be repaid to our said lord the king to be used for the war, in discharge, therefore of the commons aforesaid. And they also make request that it may please our lord the king to grant that the commons shall be informed of the names of those who are to be the great officers of the realm and of those who are to be councilors to our lord the king and governors of his person, inasmuch as he is thus of tender age, for the ensuing year, according to the manner at other times ordained in parliament. 21. To which answer was made by the said Monsieur Richard at the said commandment that it had never been known that, of a subsidy or other grant made to the king in parliament or out of parliament by the commons, an account had afterwards been rendered to the commons or to any one else except to the king and his officers; nevertheless that our said lord the king wills and commands, for the satisfaction of his commons, of his own motion, without doing it of right or by constraint of the said request now made to him, that the said William Walworth here present together with certain other persons of the council of our lord the king assigned thereto by the king, shall clearly set forth to you in writing the receipts and expenditures made therefor, on this agreement, that this shall not in future be considered a precedent or an inference that this should have been done otherwise than by the personal volition and command alone of our said lord the king as has been said. And as to the surplus of the wages received over and above the men shown, you shall know that this belongs to our said lord the king and his ministers of the exchequer and to no one else; and those of the exchequer should not pay any attention to such matters nor should they keep any record of these things, but that the greatest lord of England should do it. And as to the said officers and councillors, our said lord the king by the advice of the lords has chosen the said officers, and his councillors shall be of such as shall please him, as soon as he shall be able to attend to it; of which names you shall be duly informed, if it please the king. 86. The King orders Accounts submitted to Parliament (1379. French original, 3 R. P. 56. Translation by Editors. 2 Stubbs, 468, 698.) 7. AND that you [Parliament] may be fully informed of the real nature of the said necessary expenditures made and to be made, the treasurers for the said war shall be present and shall appear, at such an hour as pleases you, to show you clearly in writing their receipts and expenditures made since the last parliament, and the amounts due, with the other necessary expenditures above mentioned, to be made for the march of Calais, at Cherbourg, at Brest, in the marches of Scotland, in Ireland, and elsewhere. And our lord the king wills that, if anyone in the realm shall feel aggrieved at anything done to him wrongly and contrary to the law, which cannot be remedied without parliament, he shall bring forward his petition in the matter in parliament, and for receiving, trying, and examining such bills, our said lord the king has made assignment of certain prelates, lords, justices, and clerks, in the form and manner which follows: and he wills and commands that full justice shall bę done and ordained in this parliament to all men, as well to the least as to the greatest; and that this present parliament shall continue from day to day until the king our lord shall give you his leave and license to depart. 12. These are the names of the prelates and lords appointed to examine the estate of the king, at the request of the commons; that is to say, the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, the bishop of Rochester, the Earl of March, the earl of Warwick, the earl of Stafford, the Lord Latimer, Guy de Brienne, or John Cobham, and Roger Beauchamp. First, to examine the revenues accruing from the subsidy of wools received since the last feast of St. Michael and which probably will be received before the coming feast of St. Michael. Item, to examine as well all the revenues of the realm received since the said time, also the revenues of the alien priors and the ancient maletote of wools, the vacancies of the bishoprics and abbeys, and all other profits whatsoever, and those which will probably be received and levied before the said feast of St. Michael, both by the hands of the treasurer of war as the collector and of the hanaper of the chancery and all other offices whatsoever of our lord the king. Item, to examine what manner of fees or wages were used to be taken by the grand and petty officers of the king in the time of King Edward, the grandfather of our lord who now is. Item, to examine what annuities granted by our lord the king, the said grandfather, and by the prince, whom God assoil, were paid. Item, to examine the properties of the royal grandfather, that is to say, where they have gone and into whose hands, and what persons were paid in discharge of the alms of the said grandfather; and what part thereof remains for the use of our lord the king; and what has become of the rest. And that those who have the distribution thereof be held to account by the said lords, and whether they have come to the profit of the king in discharge of his people, or not. Item, to look over and examine the sum of the expenses of the household of our lord the king, calling before them the officers of the aforesaid household, the better to inform themselves. Item, the wardships, marriages, forfeitures and escheats. Item, the revenues of Calais, and the other castles and fortresses, the other revenues of the war by sea and by land. Item, the revenues of Bordeaux, that is to say, of wine and money, and other such profits. Item, the subsidy of cloths, that is to say, the cloth with the seal eighteen pence. Item, the profits from the possessions of the rebellious cardinals, Item, to see to it that those who have taken wages for the war be made to give account of them and to answer for that which remains in their hands. Item, of the moneys called Roman pence, which amounts to a great sum, and of the arrears of many years. And be it remembered that the said lords appointed have themselves the command of the king in parliament to enter, that is to say, altogether or three of them at least, of whom one should be of each rank, the places and offices of the king which shall be necessary for this matter, with the officers or guardians of the same, and to examine together with the said officers the rolls, accounts, and whatsoever other things touch upon this matter, and to do and accomplish as much as is said above and to report distinctly to our said lord the king and to his council what they shall have done or found, with their best advice on this matter. And our lord the king wills and commands all his officers and ministers of the said places to show to the said lords appointed, or three of them, the rolls, accounts, tallies, and whatsoever other evidences touch this matter and to attend them in the manner before said as much and as often as they shall be required by the said lords or any of them. 87. The Poll-tax of 1379 (1379. French original. 3 R. P. 57. Translation by Editors. 13. ITEM, the lords and commons of the realm of England sitting in this parliament grant for themselves and for all the commons of England the subsidy of wools, leather, and woolfells; and another subsidy, to be taken of the goods of certain persons in the realm, under a certain form and manner embodied in a schedule made thereof and delivered before parliament, the tenor of which follows word for word : *** The lords and commons of the realm of England considering the great needs of the said realm and the malice of the enemies in France and elsewhere, desiring the great recovery of the said realm and the destruction of the said enemies, grant, that if the mark on the sack of wools and the six pence on the pound which were granted at the last parliament held at Gloucester, be excused and annulled at present, the subsidy of wools to last for one entire year after the feast of St. Michael next to come; that is to say, on each sack as much as was granted before the said |