, 1880-06-27
upon the industry and savings of the 11,oo
people who constituted the population OF
v.n1- Cor, 4ho pn1>irou

people WHO constituted the population Of
York. Says the Reuiclo:
There was no more fertile source Of warfare.
/ litigation, intrigue, and scandal among the
| Church and monastfc bodies thun tho unceaslng
effort to enlarge and agErandlze, without the
smallest regurd to the health and convenience
of others, lay or clerical, the sumpt4ous etitces
and spacious peasances Of their doIn!c1le. In
York the consequence Of these great ecclesias~
ticnl Enclosures was to rclegate the ordinary in
habitAnts into narrow and tortnous lanes anu a.
lcys, built up both sides with tall, ovcrhang-
ing timber-houses, the perpetual scats OF fever
| and plngue, and the constant prey or devasta-
ting fires It ts quite permissible to say that tne ne
the seltshness and ostentatfon of the Medieval
Church was chief cause of the sicknesses
Of terrible Intensity.
The influence of this constant aggrandize-
ment for the Church was manifest in the pov-
erty Of the people. When Parliament granted
wool subsidy to Edward ". Of 80, 600 sacks
at 81 each, which was only a tax of one shil-
ling head on the then population OF two and
half millions, the taxes had to be taken In
kind, just as they now are in the poorest and
most Ignorant parts Of Eastern Europe. The
history Of medieval agriculture also fur
nishes some suggestive proofs Of the wretch
edness OF the people. The rate Of seed to the
acre i'll those days was about the same as
nov, two bushels. It was only at two locall-
ties in all England that the farmer reaped
two quarters (s1xteen bushels) to the acre.
UslialIy they got less than one quarter. Now
farmers get forty bushels. Stock was always
starved i'll winter. The sheep were very
small and their fieeces rarely weighed two
pounds. The ravages Of murrain we're con-
slant, and sometimes half the sheep and
l.. 1oo{ f,,o n f1a
lived is thus told:
His dwelling was built of the coarsest material,
most Frequently OF wattIes daubed with mud or
clay; bricks never appear to be used. We. in
this age, cannot rcallze the priyatlons Of q
and lr' the e' glad thaukfu}ness Of m aDund,.ns
harvest. The Offering of candle at the shrine
of Il saint was rational tribute because it was
a choice personal enjoyment. Few persons
could then afford to break the Curfcw.
Scuryy, in It's most virulent forms, and leprosy,
disorders, for the people lived on salt meat half
the yoar: and not only were they without pota-
toes, but they do not appear to have had other
and parsnips. Onions and cabbage appear to
have been the only csculcnt vegetables. Spices
were quite out OF reach; sugara very costly lux
ury; bees very rare; cotn was coarse and denr;
linen very coatly, so much SO that sheets wore
often the subjects Of ostontatous do1es, and at
this time and centuries afterwards we're devised
by will
It is unnecessary to draw the picture Of
poverty and general wretchedness under the
rule of the Church with any further detail.
The bright side comes into view with the
Reformation. The Papal rule ended in 1880,
and with it came to an end the enormous
taxes laid upon the people for Romish eccle-
siastical expenditure. From that moment En-
gland fairly bounded forward upon career
Of prosperity. It was like lifting huge bur-
den Trade and commerce revived. Wealth
increased. Agriculture was stimulated. The
condition of the people improved. Freed
from ecclesiastical control, everything found
it's natural growth and increase. To-day the
State is infnitly better off without the
Church, and to all reasonable people the
Church is infnitly better off without the
Cfnfn