HENRY III.—1216 to 1272.
Why taxes are paid; how Henry the Third robbed the people; how Simon
de Montfort fought against King Henry, and made him agree not to tax
the people without the consent of the parliament.
The reign of John’s son, who was called Henry the Third, was very
long and very miserable. He was made king when he was only nine years
old, and there were civil wars for almost fifty years while he lived.
You must think that such a little boy as Henry was, when he was made
king, could not do much for himself, or anything at all for his
subjects. But he had a wise guardian, called the Earl of Pembroke,
who did many things to repair the mischief done by King John.
However, that wise man died very soon, and then the king behaved
so ill that there was nothing but quarrelling and fighting for the
greater part of his life.
I think you do not know what TAXES are; I must tell you, that you
may understand some things you must read about in History.
TAXES are the money which subjects pay to the king, or to those
persons who govern his kingdom for him.
I must now tell you why taxes are paid. Every man likes to live
safely in his own house; he likes to know that he and his wife,
and his children, may stay there without being disturbed, and that
they may go to sleep safely, and not be afraid that wild beasts, or
wicked men, or enemies like the old Danes, may come and kill them
while they are asleep. Next to his life and the lives of his wife and
children, a man likes to know that his money and his furniture are
safe in his house, and that his horses and cows, and his trees and
his corn-fields, are safe out of doors.
Now he could never have time to watch all these things himself, and
perhaps he might not be strong enough to fight and drive away the
wicked men who might try to rob or kill him; so he gives money, which
he calls taxes, to the king, who pays soldiers and sailors to keep
foreign enemies away, and policemen to watch the streets and houses,
to keep away thieves and robbers: besides he pays the judges to
punish men who are found doing anything wrong.
So you see that whoever wishes to live safely and comfortably ought
to pay some taxes.
Sometimes it happens that a king spends his money foolishly, instead
of putting it to the good uses I have mentioned, and then wishes to
get more, even by unjust means. And this is what King Henry and his
father, King John, were always trying to do. And they were so wicked
as to rob their subjects, many of whom they put into prison, or
threatened to kill, if they did not give them all they asked for, and
that was the beginning of the miserable civil wars in the time of
Henry the Third.
The whole story of these wars would be too long for us now. So I will
only tell you that one of the bravest men that fought against the
king was Simon de Montfort, who was a very wise man; and although he
was killed in a great battle, he had forced the king and parliament,
before he died, to observe a custom which is most useful even to us
who live now.
It is this: No king can make his subjects pay a tax without their own
consent or that of the parliament. Now, though several kings tried,
after this time, to get money by some other means than these, the
people would never allow them to do so, and their only trying to do
it always did themselves a great deal of mischief, as you will read
by and by.
And I want you to remember that Simon de Montfort was the first man
in England that called the people in the towns to send members to
parliament. This was in the year 1265. The common people loved him so
much that, when he was dead, they called him Sir Simon the Righteous.
I am afraid this is a very dull chapter, but you see it is very
short.