The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy

Lancastrimrestorationdue toEd ward'sfailure.Edward's marriage in 1464 he was mainly in their hands ;after that date he attempted to free himself from them byraising up his wife's relations as a counterpoise to them ;a policy which led to the renewal of the former troubles,and ultimately to his own expulsion from the kingdom.We have the express testimony of Warkworth that therestoration of Henry V1 was rendered possible by thedisappointment felt at the performances of Edward IV1.Of the action of the new government we can form noestimate. Its duration was too short, and most of thedocuments relating to it have perished 2. Fortescue, as weshall see, drew up for it a programme of reform which isclosely connected with our present work3.After the restoration of Edward IV a distinct change forthe worse takes place in his character and government.Change inEdward'sgo,e,-mentarter His administration was no doubt firmer, but also morehis return.cruel and suspicious. He was determined 'to indulge hislove of ease and pleasure without disturbance, and he remorselesslycrushed everything which threatened to becomedangerous. The parties at the court continued and ranhigh, the Wydvilles on the one side, the other nobles onthe other. It is possible that it was Edward's deliberatepolicy to secure his own independence by balancing oneparty against the other ; but the ultimate outcome of thispolicy was the deposition of his son and the ruin of hisCompari- dynasty. In all this Edward showed how inferior he wasson of~ d ~ ~ in , real d statesmanship to Henry VII, whom Mr. Green haslvwith put down as a mere imitator of Edward IV. It would not1Ienry VII. be far from the truth to say that Edward's governmenthad all the faults of that of Henry without any of itsmerits. Common to both kings were the desire to befinancially independent of parliament5, and many of themeans which they took to secure that object. Both kings,See notes to Chap. xix. this among the 'cautelre' of aChastellain, v. 489 f., says that tyrant : ' Kex autem non procuratWarwick used his power with divisiones et partes in regno ;' Degreat tyranny and cruelty. Regimine, 111. ii. 10 ; cf. Bacon'sS Below ; pp. 70,89.Essay, ' Of Faction.'Egidius Romanus reckons See notes to Chaps. v, xix.to use Lord Bacon's words, made money out of their Financialsubjects for war, and out of their -enemies for peace. Other "'eaSUreS'sources of income which they had in common were theconfiscated goods of opponents, benevolences, the finesresulting from the enforcement of obsolete statutes andrights of the crown, and the profits arising from mercantilespeculations. These sources of income together with thegrants of the clergy made Edward to some extent independentof his lay subjects, and the people so far attainedthe wish they had so often expressed, that the king shouldlive of his own; with the result which might have beenexpected, that the voice of the nation was silenced, andthe king did very much what he pleased.Common again to both monarchs was the system of Repressiverepression and espionage which they adopted. This wasnecessitated in Edward's case by the disgraceful treatywith France, which caused so much discontent, that theCroyland Continuator believes that the people would haverisen, if only they could have found a leader l. The meansand position of his humblest subjects were known toEdward in a way which reminds us not only of HenryVII, but of Burleigh and Walsingham 2. And besidesthese evils which were common to both systems, the ruleof Edward IV had demerits which were all its own. Butthe simplest test of the relative merits of Edward IV andHenry V11 is to compare the state in which they respectivelyleft the kingdom at their death. Henry left aunited kingdom, an assured succession, a crown independentand secure from foreign interference. Edwardleft two bitter factions which he had fostered in life andidly fancied he could reconcile upon his death-bed, arevolution and a change of dynasty, and a crown the prizeof the first pretender who could gain some foreign help. Ihave saidqhat the condemnation of the house of Lancasterl P. 559.be knowne the disposition of thelb. 562, 564. The Liber countries ;' Ordinances, &C., p. 45.Niger of Edward IV curiously This again is a ' cautela tyranillustratesthis point. The forty nica ;' Kg. Rom. U. S.squires of the household are to be Above, p. 35.'of sundry sheres, by whom it illay