ʒg Constitutional History. [chap.
Restriction dismissed at once, and the council must before Michaelmas
on the king's , t
gifts. ascertain what economies could be made in the annuities granted
by the king and in the administration of the alien priories.
They also insisted on the king’s abstaining from bestowing any
gifts until the debts of the household had been paid and regu-
lations made for putting an end to the outrageous and excessive
ment"™™ exl'er'diture. The parliament then adjourned to the 13th of
v∣∙ October.
SneZs During the recess, it would appear, Henry’s health showed
Unmistakeable signs of failure. He had been ill'ever since his
journey into the north in 1405; whether his disease were
leprosy, as the chroniclers say, or an injury to the leg aggra-
vated by ague, as we might gather from records, or a complica-
tion of diseases ending in epilepsy, as modern writers have
inferred1, he had before the meeting of parliament become far
too weak to resist the pertinacious appeals of the commons.
Secondses- The second session lasted from the 13th of October until the
22 nd of December. On the 18 th of November the speaker
again came before the king with the old complaint and begged
that he would charge the lords on their allegiance to take up
the work of reform2 ; but the conclusion of the complicated
transactions of the year is recorded on the 22nd of December.
On that day the king empowered the auditors to pass the
Voteofccn- accounts of Pelham and Furnival3; a grant of a fifteenth and
tiιe coιιncιl. tenth, tunnage and poundage, was made by the commons l for the
great confidence which they had in the lords elected and ordained
to be of the continual council4 ;, and the other acts of the
session were ordered to be ingrossed under the eye of a com-
mittee elected by the commons5. The same day a body of
articles was presented, which the Councillcrs at the king’s
1 See Plummer’s Fortescue, p. 7, note ɪ. On the 28th of April 1406, the
JCing had hurt his leg and was so ill with ague that he could not travel ;
Or<lin. i. 290.
2 Hot. Parl. iii. 579. s lb. iii. 5S4.
4 lb. iii. 568. A Iibt of the council nominated Nov. 27 is in the Ordi-
nances, i. 295; it is somewhat different from the lists of May 15 and
Dec. 22 ; Kot. ParL iii. 572, 585 ; but the three commoners, Hugh Water-
ton, John Cheyne, and ArnoM Savage, appear both in May and in
November, 5 Rot. Parl. iii. ςSg.
Session, of 1406.
XVXII.]
57
command swore to obey1. These articles comprise a scheme of
1 eform in government, and enunciate a view of the constitution
far more thoroughly matured than could be expected from the
events of late years. It had pleased the king to elect and Scheme of
nominate councillors pleasing to God and acceptable to his government,
people, in whom he might have good confidence, to advise him
until the next parliament, and some of them to be always in
attendance on his person ; he would be pleased to govern in all
cases by their advice, and to trust it. This preamble is followed
by thirty-one articles, which forbid all gifts, provide for the
hearing of petitions, prohibit interference with the common
law, enforce regularity and secrecy, and set before the members
as their chief aim the maintenance of economy, justice, and
efficiency in every public department. The records of the
privy council contribute some further articles2 which were
either withdrawn or kept private; a good controller was Schemeof
suggested for the household, Sir Arnold Savage or Sir Thomas mooted in
Bromflete ; ten thousand pounds of the new grant might be
devoted to the expenses of that department ; but, most signifi-
cant of all, it was desired that the king should after Christmas
betake himself to some convenient place where, by the help of
his council and officers, might be ordained a moderate govern-
ance of the household, such as might be for the future main-
tained to the good pleasure of God and the people,. The
demands of the commons and the concessions of the king al-
most amounted to a supersession of the royal authority. This Length and
_ , cost of the
done, the parliament broke up, after a session of 159 days. session of
The expenses of the knights and borough members nearly 14°6'
equalled the sum bestowed on the royal necessities: £6000
were granted to Henry on the last day of the parliament ; the
wages of the representatives amounted to more than £50001.
ɪ Rot. Parl. iii. 585-589. 2 Ordinances, i. 283-286.
3 Ordinances, i. 206. Henry V in the first year of his reign was advised
by the council to stay in the neighbourhood of London, that he might be
within reach of news from all sides; ib. ii. 125.
4 The returns from thirty-seven counties and seventy-eight boroughs are
known. The wages of the knights (knites-ɪnete, Capgr. Chr. p. 293)
amounted to ∙C2595 12s. od, Those of the other members calculated on