HISTORY OF KING IIKNRY VII.
sons, abominable murders, manslaughters, robbe ries, extortions, the daily pilling of the people by dismes, taxes, tallages, benevolences, and other unlawful impositions and grievous exactions, with many other heinous effects, to the likely destruction and desolation of the whole realm; shall, by God s grace, and the help and assistance of the great lords of our blood, with counsel of other sad persons, see that the commodities of our realm be employed to the most advantage of the same ; the intercourse of merchandise betwixt realm and realm to be ministered and handled as shall more be to the common weal and pros perity of our subjects ; and all such dismes, taxes, tallages, benevolences, unlawful impositions, and grievous exactions, as be above rehearsed, to be foredone and laid apart, and never from henceforth to be called upon, but in such cases as our noble progenitors, kings of England, have of the old time been accustomed to have the aid, succour, and help of their subjects, and true liege-men. " And further, we do, out of our grace and cle mency, hereby as well publish and promise to all our subjects remission and free pardon of all by- past offences whatsoever, against our person or estate, in adhering to our said enemy, by whom, we know well, they have been misled, if they shall within time convenient submit themselves unto us. And for such as shall come with the foremost to assist our righteous quarrel, we shall make them so far partakers of our princely favour and bounty, as shall be highly for the comfort of them and theirs, both during their life and after their death : as also we shall, by all means which God shall put into our hands, demean ourselves to give royal contentment to all degrees and estate of our people, maintaining the liberties of holy church in their entire, preserving the honours, privileges, and pre-eminences of our nobles from contempt or disparagement, according to the dignity of their blood. We shall also unyoke our people from all heavy burdens and endurances, and confirm our cities, boroughs, and towns, in their charters and freedoms, with enlargement where it shall be de served ; and in all points give our subjects cause to think, that the blessed and debonair govern ment of our noble father King Edward, in his last times, is in us revived. " And forasmuch as the putting to death, or tak ing alive of our said mortal enemy, may be a mean to stay much effusion of blood, which other wise may ensue, if by compulsion or fair pro mises he shall draw after him any number of our subjects to resist us, which we desire to avoid, though we be certainly informed that our said enemy is purposed and prepared to fly the land, having already made over great masses of the trea sure of our crown, the better to support him in fo reign part. we do hereby declare, that whosoever shall take or distress our said enemy, though the parly be of never so mean a condition, he shall be by us rewarded with a thousand pound in money, forthwith to be laid down to him, and a hundred marks by the year of inheritance; besides that he may otherwise meiit, both toward God and all good people, for the destruction of such a tyrant. " Lastly, we do all men to wit, and herein we take also God to witness, that whereas God hath moved the heart of our dearest cousin, the King of Scotland, to aid us in person in this our righteous quarrel; it is altogether without any pact or pro mise, or so much as demand of any thing that may prejudice our crown or subjects: but contrariwise, with promise on our said cousin s part, that when soever he shall find us in sufficient strength to get the upper hand of our enemy, which we hope will be very suddenly, he will forthwith peace ably return into his own kingdom ; contenting him self only with the glory of so honourable an en terprise, and our true and faithful love and amity; which we shall ever, by the grace of Almighty God, so order, as shall be to the great comfort of both kingdoms." But Perkin s proclamation did little edify with the people of England ; neither was he the better welcome for the company he came in. Where fore the King of Scotland, seeing none came in to Perkin, nor none stirred anywhere in his favour, turned his enterprise into a rode ; and wasted and destroyed the country of Northumberland with fire and sword. But hearing that there were forces coming against him, and not willing that they should find his men heavy and laden with booty, he returned into Scotland, with great spoils, de ferring further prosecution till another time. It is said, that Perkin, acting the part of a prince hand somely, when he saw the Scottish fell to waste the country, came to the king in a passionate manner, making great lamentation, and desired, that that might not be the manner of making the war; for that no crown was so dear to his mind as that he desired to purchase it with the blood and ruin of his country. Whereunto the king answered half in sport, that he doubted much, he was careful for that that was none of his, and that he should be too good a steward for* his enemy, to save the country to his use. By this time, being the eleventh year of the king, the interruption of trade between the Eng lish and the Flemish began to pinch the mer chants of both nations very sore ; which moved them by all means they could devise, to affect and dispose their sovereigns respectively to open the intercourse again; wherein time favoured them. For the archduke and his council began to see, that Perkin would prove but a runagate and a citizen of the world : and that it was the part of children to fall out about babies. And the king, on his part, after the attempts upon Kent and Northumberland, began to have the business of Perkin in less estimation; so as he did n.">t put it to account in any consultation of state Bht that
