IT behoueth vs ernestly to pray vnto God / that lykewyse as he hath geuē vnto the king of this realme / a feruēt zele to set furth his truth / & strengthened him with a right worthy protectour & moost prudēt coun­sellours for y^e setting furth of the same / euē so that he will vouchsafe to sēde our sayde kyng lyke zeale and strength to make / set furth / and cause to be kepte such good po­lytike lawes and statutes as this Realme may be therby replenyshed wyth iustice re­quitie and wealth, that in all regions wher as it shalbe reported how that we of thys realme haue expelled all vayne tradicions of men / and receyued the true religion of Christ / that there also it may be sayd howe that we haue therto receyued the fruteful blessing of God, promysed vnto the follo­wers of his woorde. But except many in­conueniences in this realme be redressed / it is rather to be feared least that the Gospell be slaundred through vs. Neuerthe­les euen as in the time of oure greatest er­rour & ignoraunce, the fatte priestes wo [...] neuer confesse that any thing concernin [...] [Page] our religion was amis, worthy to be re­formed / euen so now at this daye there be many fatte marchaūtes which wold haue no reformation in the comon wealth af­firming that therin al thinges be wel / but he that wyll be conuersaunt with the comē sorte of the poore comens, shal (if he stop not his eares, nor hyde not his eyes) both heare se & ꝑceyue the case to be farre other wise. He shal heare tel that afewe riche mē haue ingrossed vp so many fermes & shepe pastures / & haue decayed so many whole townes / that thousandes of the poore co­mens can not get so muche as one ferme / nor scant any litell house to put their head in. It is not agreable with the gospel that a fewe parsons shall lyue in so great aboū daunce of wealth / ād suffer so many their christē brothers to lyue in extreme pouertie. It is contrary to the humanitie vsed euen amongest the heythen infidels, one mā to holde so great a quantitie of grounde / that by meanes therof hys other neygh­boures shall not haue whervppon to get their liuing. It is not vsed amongest the worst kinde of rauening beastes, that one shall snatche from an other that thing whiche he standeth no nede of, and whiche he [Page] neuer shal be able to spend. But what may I lyken it vnto / when a fewe men for the onelye greadines of gathering superfluous thinges / shall kepe in their hādes so muche groūd / & so many whole townes & feldes / that therby al theyr owne natiue countrey shal come vnto vtter ruine & decay? I wold not that those ydell mēbres of this realme, which for y^e mayntenaūce of their ydelnes wold haue al thīges in cōmen / shuld think that I do now harpe of that string: farre be such madnes fro me / for that confusion wold vtterly extinguish all industry vnto all maner of good artes ād qualities / and reduce vs vnto a bestly trade of life. But I wolde rather wish that they wich now in this realme be the auctours of that opini­on / shuld be sharpely punished by the ma­iestrates / as detestable enemies vnto the comon wealth / for he which bringeth into a Realme sedicion or discorde / bryngeth in the moost pernicious thinge that can be possible. And what thing can soner moue sedicion, than to go about to take from all good menne / all those their possessions ād goodes / which they and their auncetours haue by their prowes / vertue and industry obtayned and gotten / and to participate [Page] the sayd lādes and goodes / vnto the slouthfull, vicious ād ydell parsons? But admit that (which is impossible / ) all men wolde willinglye consent vnto the taking awaye of the proprietye of goodes / yet is ther no lykelyhod y^t thys realme coulde be so go­uerned & defended from enemies: for it a­ny realme could be so maynteined / it shuld haue bene in experience before thys tyme in some coūtries. But Aristotle in his politica, writing of all the sūdry kindes of gouernmentes of commēwealthes in y^e vni­uersall worlde, could not finde so much as one lytell Citie gouerned in such sorte: it is much more impossible y^t such a realme as this / being so populous, & much of the people being so naturally geuē to slouth / vyce & ydelnes / shulde be well ordered by suche meanes. Bnt these menne wolde fayne perswade their opiniō by scripture / saying that two or thre places in the scripture make euidētly for their purpose / yet wil they not cōfer therw^t all y^ose other places w^c be innumerable / y^t make directly to the con­trary. Wold you not thinke hī to be a mad taylour which wold go about to ꝑswade you to take a coate of his makyng / because one sleue of the coate is fyt inough for you / [Page] all the reside we of the coate / being so scāte & vnfyt that it can by no meanes be put vppon your backe. And are not they muche madder / w^t findīg one or two textes in the scripture w^c semē to take awaye propriety of goodes / and do not regarde how their opiniō agreeth w^t the eight cōmaundemēt / which sayth: thou shalt not steale / ād with the tenth / which inhibiteth vs to couetour neyghbours house / or our neighbours wife / his seruaunt / his mayd, his oxe / his asse or any thing that is our neighbours. And if their shulde be no proprietie / I pray you to what purpose shall these wordes sound which shalbe spoken by Christ at the daye of iugemēt. Whan I was hungry ye gaue me meate / and whan I was athrust ye gaue me drinke &c. Or wherfore doth Christ in y^e. vi. chap. of mat. wil vs / whē we giue our almes to giue it secretly? If I shuld here rekē vp al y^e places in scripture w^c make directly agaīst this fōd opiniō / I might be accōpted more thē halfe mad to bestowe so much time in a matter so manifest: therfo­re wisshīg y^t y^e manteynours of this fran­ricke opiniō may be well kept ī a close house vntill their wittes be better comē vnto thē I wil returne to my purpose & declar / [Page] vnto you one other inconuenience / whych onely if it be not remedied / is able to bring this whole Realme vnto vtter ruine: for by the meanes of it / the moost parte of all those poore comōs of thys realme / whych haue no landes of theyr owne / are lyke by all lykelyhod of reason, wythin proces of fewe yeres to be brought vnto extreme pouertie. And for the profe herof, let the na­ked trueth set furth it selfe. Whan all the great numbre of Abbays did stand here in Ingland, a great parte of the men of thys Realme / were Monkes / Chanons / Fry­ers, Chauntrypriestes / Pardonners / He­remites & such as had Idle liuīgs / by those monkes / chanōs / fryers & chaūtripriests. And to thintent y^t my meaning herin may be y^e better perceyued: admit y^t these Idle parsōs w^c the tyme which the residue of y^o inhabitaūtes of this realme did bestow in going of pilgrimages / in caruing painting & gylding of Images, in makīg of torches ād waxcādels / in keping of so many super­sticious holy days: admit all these to counteruayle as thogh the thyrd part of y^e men of this realme had then cōtinuallye lyued in Idelnes as touching any necessary busines, ād that the other two partes had then [Page] done all the necessary worke w^c was to be done in y^e whole realme / that is to say / manured y^e ground to bryng furth corne / and victuall / and done all the labour for the ta­king of fysh / for the makīg of cloth making of garments ād all other thīges necessary / both for thē selues & for all those other I­dell parsōs ād for the whole realme. And it is not to be supposed the cōtrary / but y^t there shalbe as many people in the realme, whē all those parsōs w^c were mōkes / cha­nons / fryers & chaūtripriests shalbe dead / as there were at such time whē all y^e sayd Abbeys dyd stand: but the. ij. partes of y^e mē of this realm keping no supersticious holydays / & spending no tyme in pilgrimages nor such vanities / wilbe still able to do all the necessary worke in the realme / then the other iij. part must lyue in Idelnes except some other worke be deuised for them But this gret nōbre of people shall thē nether haue lādes nor pencions to maīteyne them lyuīg in Idelnes. Therfore if more woorke be not prouided for theym / what can ensue but extreame pouertie / beggery ād miserie? For when the forsayd Abbays did stand / that Husbandman whych had two or thre Sonnes, wold for the mooste parte / finde one of thē at Scoole for a yere [Page] or two vntill he might read the masse boke / and then make him eyther a monke hanō trier or chauntripriest, which many times also shuld helpe his other brethern to some parte or their liuinge, but nowe there is no such refuge: all must be put to labour. And lyke as thre score men can not be all suffici­entlye armed for the warres with fourtye harneysses / ne thre score womē can not all be spinning at home vppō fourty wheles, no more can all those parsons in this real­me which must nowe hereafter haue their liuinges vppon labour be continuallye set to work / except they may haue more groūd totylle or more of som other thīg to worke vppon. And besides all thys they whiche were professed in these supersticious / rely­gions did abstayne from matrimonye / so y^t now when mariage shall be fre for all men ther is lyke to be a greater īcrease of chyl­dren then was in those dayes. But to this some menne wyll saye / that although they had no wyues of their owne / yet they ly­ued not chaste. I graunte that fewe of them lyued chaste. And yet I deny that the Roylme was anye thynge so muche replenyshed wyth Chyldren by their vn­chastnes, as it wold haue bene if they shuld [Page] haue had wifes of their owne / for it is to be cōsidered y^t the moost parte of them are but comen aduouterers. And those wo­men w^c lygh w^t more mē then one / do not therfore bring furth the more childrē. All these thinges cōsidered it is no small numbre of people that must now hereafter liue by labour / ouer that there was whā thab­beys did stande / so y^t if some other prouision be not made / it is like to come to passe, y^t shortly after the warres (for the warres haue hitherto foūd a great sorte occupied / and cleane ryd vs of a great nōbre of them w^c shulde els haue bene eyther beggers or theues) but whē y^e warres be done / & they which be now chyldrē comen vnto mens estate / by the reason before declared, there shalbe so many w^tout fermes ād disirous to haue fermes / that they them selues by their high proffers shall cause them to be yet agayne hygher inhaunced / so that he onelye shalbe able to lyue vppon the sayde fermes / whyche hath no charge of chyl­dren / and he whyche shal haue any charge of chyldren / shal not be able (bryngyng vp his children) to lyue vppon any of them / but shall euery day be poorer and poorer vntyll he and all hys chyldren / be at [Page] playne beggery. And lykewyse then the la­bouringe man, beinge then so many of thē / they shalbe retayned for so litel wages (hauīg now respect vnto the high price of vic­tuall and cloth / and to the high rēt of their houses) that he which shalbe in health & hauīg no childer, shal barely get by his labour to finde him selfe his necessary sustenaun­ce, so that he which shall haue any children / shall not by his labour be able to finde him selfe and his chyldren. And thus shall the moost parte of the Realme be in pouertie / one not able to helpe an other. Is it lyke thē that those fewe parsons which shal haue the aboundaunce of riches / wil euery yere cōtinually departe from so great sōmes of money as will serue for the releafe of so great a nōber? no surely, for whē they haue had a farre smaller nōbre / they suffred thē to dye for hunger in the stretes. And for y^e moost parte, y^e wicked & the couetous parsōs shalbe y^e greatest possessours of goods, whose propertye is alwayes to gather, and neuer to distribute / redy in takīg / but slacke in geuing. When so many shalbe thus fal­len into such extreame pouerte / what may then follow / it greueth me to declare. But what nede I to declare it / whē euery man [Page] may so easely perceyue it whych thīge if it shulde come to passe (as God forbyd) then wold our great enmy y^e bisshop of rome & all his adherentes, insulte and triumph o­uer vs / imputing our distruction / as a pu­nishment / for the suppressīg of abbayes ād chauntries. And so might it well be accōp­ted / if we shuld / whē they were suppressed / beīg satisfied and stayed with their worldly goodes, procede no further in redressing other abuses / nor in the prouiding of liuinges for them w^c were cōmonly wont to go into abbeys / or other wise to haue their ly­uinges by thē and by such other like kinde of ydelnes. Adde vnto this also that there is now at this day fewer seuerall fermes for the husbandeman to lyue vppon / and lesse worke for the labourīge mā / thā was in those dayes when the foresade abbeyes did stande. For a greate parte of the sayde abbeylandes be eyther geuen, solde or lea­sed vnto suche lordes and Gentelmen / as had landes before of their owne. And for as much as it is wel nygh impossyble for them to ouersee so manye seruauntes as might kepe so great quantitie of grounde in tyllage / and desiringe to haue the who­le [Page] profight of their grounde them selues / they are driuē (by their infaciable couetousnes) to conuert al their groundes vnto the pasturing of shepe & such kynde of beastes as they maye receyue the whole proffyght with very litell charge of seruauntes / so y^t one man hauing in his occupying so much ground as fiue hundreth parsons haue heretofore with their labour gayned their lyuinge vppon / shall kept perchaunce ten or twelue shepehardes and fower or fyue ne­therdes. So y^t although there be all ready and shalbe hereafter manye more parsons which must get their liuīges vppon labour then there was when thabbeys did stand: yet y^t not w^t standing / their is at this (psent)present much lesse grounde put in tillage / thē was whē they stode. And by this meanes shall this realme come much the soner vnto de­caye / if remedye be not had. For as the number of menne encrease, which muste lyue by Laboure / so onght it to be forsene that they may haue whervppō to labour. For that shepemaster which suffereth one flocke of hys shepe to encrease muche in numbre / and doth not regarde to prouide suffyciente of Pastoure for them accor­according [Page] to the nōbre of his encrease / he shall not onely haue no profight by thyn­creasinge of his shepe / but shal also put al the reside we of y^t flocke in daunger of the hūgerrotte. This flocke of labourers, are like dayly to encrease / but the pastour they shulde liue vppon / which is worke / doth dayly deminish. And is lyke hereafter vppon other occasiō w^c I haue not here rehersed / euer more & more to be deminished. Hitherto I haue declared certeyne causes why it is requisite y^t more work shuld be deuised: desiringe you my lordes with the knightes & burgoisses of y^e parlyamēthouse y^t ye will accepte this my rude boldnes in good parte, & not to impute it to arro­gancy for that I enterprise amōgest men of so high wisdome / to reason in matters of so great importaunce. For lyke as the moost expert mariners / in a great tempestuous wether / wil not disdayne somtime to be admonisshed by an inferioure Par­son / by cause that some thinges may then come to ther emembraunce of some one mā, w^c at that time an other thynketh not vppon / euen so the moost wyse Councel­lours & Maiestrates / in the commē affayres of y^e Realme, wyl somtime vouchesafe [Page] to heare the deuise of a simple Subiect.

Therfore / after pardon obteyned for my bold enterpryse and for my rude language. I intende (vnder the correction of other better experienced) to shewe my simple o­pinion by what meanes all the for sayd nō ­bre of people maye haue plentie of woorke And then what proffit maye therby ensue vnto the Royalme / and vnto the Kynges Maiestie. For these inconueniences and this imminent mischeafe maye bee so met wyth / and in suche sorte remedyed & redressed / that besydes the proffit / whych is taken by the Landes and goodes of the the sayde Abbayes Priories / Chauntries and Pilgrimages, the suppressing of them and of suche lyke Idelnes and Idell wor­kes, maye be turned moreouer vnto an o­ther the greatest Commoditie y^t euer came vnto this Royalme. That is onelye / if all that multitude of People / which was wonte to lyue so in Idelnes, maye alwa­yes haue woorke. And by two sundrye meannes maye it be broughte to passe that there may be more plentie of work throghout this realme: one is, by the conuertīg into pastour or Arable waiste and desolate groundes, nowe beinge ouerflowen wyth [Page] water or ouergrowen wyth Brome / Fer­rne whinnes or Fyrres / & by the restray­ninge of the forsayde Shepemasters and ingrossers of Fermes, that they doo not hereafter conuert so muche grounde vnto Shepepastours / & thē to suffer all maner of corne to be yerelye transported ouer the seas as well as anye other kynde of mar­chaundise. And for these purposes I haue drawen furth certeyne rude Bylles to be exhibited to you of y^e Parliamēthouse / trustinge that by your wysdomes / learninge & knowledge / sayd of the same rude bylles may be reduced into the due forme of good statutes. An other waye to cause the for­said great numbre of people to haue more woorke, is by the causing of all such ma­ner of thynges being comonlye worne / oc­cupyed & spent within this realme / nowe vsed to be brought from the parties of be­yonde the seas / & being possible to be made wrought or had wythin thys realme. As linē cloth / flax / ād all thyng made of flaxe or hempe: all things ready made of Iron­sope / rapeoyle / saye / stamin / worsteds / caps hattes & all such other thinges to be made and wrought within thys royalme / which thing may be brought to passe / by the settīg [Page] of a great subsidy / as a subsidy of fower or fiue shillīges of euery pounde valure / of all such kinde of wares coming into this realme from the parties of beyonde the seas.

This maye be best done when a subsidye shulde be els graunted vnto the kinges maiesty for the mayntenaunce of his warres, w^c thing shuld be also some parte of punishment vnto our enemies, if we shall chaūce to haue any beyond the seas, for asmuch as they shal therby haue the lesse vent of their wares / thorow which their reames shalbe the more enfebled. And surelye this kynde of subsidy for the mayntenaunce of the kinges maiestyes warres / shulde not onely be more for the common wealth, but also much easelyer borne then suche taxes & subsidies as were heretofore wont to be leuyed / for no man shall pay any thing in this kinde of subsidy but they onely which of their ow­ne voluntary will, shall bye such wares cō ming frō beyōde y^e seas: but if we shall not haue occasion to haue any subsidye graun­ted for the mayntenaūce of warres / yet for this forsayde consideracion the Subsidye may be inhaunced vpon all such wares cō ­ming inwarde. And the subsidye which is is now payd vpō leade / tinne corne & cloth [Page] going outwarde / maye be in consyderacion therof remitted / which shalbe also a greate cause that the more leade linne / cloth and corne shalbe wrought / made and laboured for within this realme, but if it so be that the kinges maiesty hauing no warres will not set any higher subsidy vpō such wares, yet at the least way for asmuch as the price of all maner of wares is highlye risē syth the time of the makinge of the laste rate: it is reason that the wares coming inwarde be rated agayn at the value that they nowe be solde for, or els the custume which shall be hereafter payde vppon lynen cloth and such kinde of wares comīg into this real­me shalbe so lytell in respect of y^e price they be here solde for, that men shall not haue so good cause to be driuē vnto the making of lynen cloth and such other thinges within this realme as they had when the sayde rate was firste made. It is no maruayle though this my saying concerning the setting of a greater subsidy vppon wares in­warde and also some of the forsayde bylles shalbe vnto some men at the first very har­de to digest, but like as vnto those mē euery thing is pleasaunt that sauoureth of lucre, so cā they not abyde the taste of ought that [Page] smelleth any thinge agaynst their singuler profight. And yet if they pondred the mat­ter throughly well / and wolde make a true definicion of vtilyte / they shulde finde that it were not agaīst their profight. But they be so farre blynded in couetousnes y^t they can not or els will not forsee the true ende of thinges. Therfore you of the parliamēt house must do vnto them as the louing pa­rentes do vnto their chyldrē when they cō strayne thē to drinke wormesedes or such other bitter medecines for the preseruatiō of their lyues / although the chylderen / for the bitternes of the medycyne / be neuer so lothe to receyue it. Nor I maruayle not though some of you the lordes knightes & burgoyses of the parlyamenthouse be not at the first syght parswaded vnto all these my sayinges. For I being altogether ignoraunt of the arte of rethorycke / haue not conningly let furth this matter but onely layde before you the naked trueth in rude wordes, which onely bare truth if you sub­stancially wyll ponder / I dout not but you shall thē easely perceyue that by these meanes the sayde great number of people whiche before were wont to liue in Idelnes / shall not onely gayne their owne liuynges [Page] but also they shall both cause great sūmes of money to be yerely brought īto this real­me for such corne as shal encrease by their labour vppon tyllage. And furthermore cause greate summes of money to be kept within this realme / which was wont here to fore to be exchaunged into other Royal­mes for suche lynen cloth and suche other thinges. And for as much as I doubt least y^t my meaning herein be not so easy of all men to be perceyued: to make the matter more playne / admit y^t when the foresayde Abbays did stande, we sent ouer y^e seas ye­rely into other Realmes in woll, leade tin­ne corne cloth and all other kinde of mar­chaundise, y^e value of fower hūdreth thowsande pounde, and y^t we did then receyue agayne into the realme from y^e sayde parti­es of beyōd y^e seas yerely y^e value of other fower hundreth thowsande pounde in o­ther kynde of Marchaundise / admit also y^t for as much as all those people which before were wont to liue Idelly in Abbays / Priories and chauntries / adding thervn­to the time which was accustumed heretofore to be Idelly bestowed in goīg of pyl­grimages / in keping of newe founden ho­lydayes / in caruing, paynting and gilding [Page] ymages in makīg of copes / torches & waxs candels / all this time before spent in idel­nes ād in vnproffitable labours, hereafter imployed vppon the tillage o [...] the waste & desolate groundes, and in making & wor­king of such thinges as we hertofore were wont yerely to receyue from the parties of beyond the seas / admit (I say) that by the encrease of the corne coming of this tillage we maye sende ouer into the parties of be­yonde the seas yerely / the value of one hū ­dreth thousande pounde more in corne, thē we heretofore were comēly wōt to do: & y^t by the meanes of the linē & such other thī ­ges being wrought within this realme, we shall nede hereafter to receyue agayn in all those kynde of marchaūdises comīg frō beyōd y^e seas / the value of one hūdreth. M. pounde lesse then we hertofore were wont yerely to receyue / then shall therebe caried ouer y^e seas yerely in all kinde of marchaū dise the value of fiue hundreth thousande pounde / and receyued agayne yerely in all kinde of marchaundyse but the value of thre hundreth thousande pounde / so y^t the other two hundreth thousande pound muste yerely be brought into thys realme ey­ther in golde or siluer. And for asmuch as [Page] they haue nowe much gaynes beyonde the seas / and this realme not a litell therby in domaged / in that they do counterfayte our new coyned siluer beyond the seas & send it hither. It therfore good prouision and narrowe search be made that none of the sayde counterfayted money be connuayed hither / then shulde all the foresayde sūmes of money which shall come yerelye frome beyond the seas for the foresayd ouerplus in wares / be brought into this royalme in such gold & siluer as y^e kīges maiesty may take advauntage by the coynage. Thus ye may perceyue that by these forsayd meanes the realme maye be wonderfully enriched / the kinges maiesty haue great gaynes in his mintes, and euery man that listeth to laboure / may gaine him selfe an honest liuing. Yet I wolde not that any mā shuld thinke it possible by any worldly policy to defend thys realme from vtter distructiō / except we amend our sinfull liuing. For if God be determined to plage vs / for our offences / what can worldly policy preuay­le to the contrary? And is their any hipo­crisye more like to ꝓuoke y^e wrath of god: or any blasphemy more worthy of his in­dignacion / thē busuly to pretend the most [Page] holy Gospell, and yet neuertheles to be so voyde of all charite / y^t it shalbe takē but for a small matter / and for a common practise amongest vs / one mā to encroche so much grounde in to his handes that he shal ther by expell fower or fiue hundreth parsons frome their liuinges? How doth this tra­de of liuing agre with the Gospell / seing y^t the chefe poynte of our religion / yea ād as Christ him selfe saith / all our religion consysteth in Louinge of GOD aboue all thīges / and our neyghbour as our selues? The more knowlege y^t we haue of y^e truth, the greater is our offence / and the more a­boundant y^t the goodnes of god hath bene towardes vs / the more detestable is our in gratitude towardes him. For these iniuries that we do vnto the poore membres of Christ / we do vnto hī sayth he. Therfore after such euident knowledge of the scripturs: & after so manifest admoniciō by y^e preachers: what can solowe but the iust bengeance of God? if reformacion be not had. If youre Childeren hadde so muche vnderstāding to foresee the plage and ven­geaūce of God / ready to be powred doune vppō the whole realme / for this cruell op­pressiō of the pore / which so frely is suffe-suffered [Page] here to reygne amongest vs / wolde they not altogether knele vpō their knees with the teares runnīg downe by their che­kes rufullye loking towards you of the parliament house / and holding vp their hā des [...] you altogether with one vo [...]ce / that you with all diligence and hast possible wolde se to the r [...]formaciō hereof, that the dredefull wrath of God myght be spedely turned frō [...] which [...] of y^e [...] being on [...] of other [...] Realme beinge reformed, [...] in wealth & prosperite all y^e realms in y^e world: That the fame therof with the renowne of the moste vertuous king Edwarde the sixte / shall redounde at the furdest ende of the worlde, to the great prayse of the Gospell▪ and to the high glory of god vnto whom all honour be re­ferred for euer.

A faute escaped in printing. In the. xvii page in the. xiij. lyne. Sayde of the same▪ Rede some of the sayde.