i6 2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

CHAT.

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1611 .

id January.Exchequer

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of taxing themselves was the privilege, of whichthe English were , with reason , particularly jea-lous. Some other resource must be fallen on.The king had declared, that the staff os treasurerwas ready for any one, that could find an ex-pedient for supplying the present necessities.Shastesbury dropped a hint to Clifford , whichthe latter immediately seized, and carried to theking, who granted him the promised reward,together with a peerage. This expedient wasthe shutting up of the Exchequer , and the re-taining of all the payments, which should be madeinto it.

It had been usual for the bankers to carrytheir money to the Exchequer, and to advanceit upon security of the funds , by which theywere afterwards re-imbursed, when the moneywas levied on the,public. The bankers, by thistraffic, got eight, sometimes ten, per cent. forsums, which either had been consigned to themwithout interest, or which they had borrowedat six per cent.: Profits, which they dearly paidfor by this egregious breach of public faith. Themeasure was so suddenly taken , that none hadwarning of the danger. A general confusionprevailed in the city, followed by the ruin ofmany. The bankers stopped payment; the mer-chants could answer no bills; distrust took placeevery where, with a stagnation of commerce, bywhich the public was universally affected. Andmen, full of dismal apprehensions, asked eachother, what must be the scope of those myste-