New-York tribune., 1907-01-05

ID. xvi 625 LongTna1E, Green e Co
This new volume in THE Political History Of
england" is the fourth in the series and the
stxth thus far published. Six volumes coyer,n,
the period from 14S5 to 1850. are still to ap-
pear. the last Of them carrying the history down
20 the close OF the nineteenth century Pro-
fessor Oman, dealing with the los years from
tie death Of Edward III to the accession Of the
first Of the Tudors. deals with the most troub
lous century IN the history of England -There
we're, II is true, two kings of character and abiI-
ity during the period the fourth and fifth Hen
rys, but their joint reigns included only twenty
three years. Henry " spent the greater part
Of his reign in securing to his house a peace-
able occupancy OF the throne and subdutng the
many disturbances that were left as a legacy
OF his predecessors misrule. Henry v who
might have made England great and prosper
GUS nation, sQuandered her chances Of political
Industrial and commercial development in the
vain effort to gain for himself and his descend
ants the Crown Of France.
The section Of Professor Oman's book which
viii have the greatest interest for modern read
ers La the first part treating Of the reign of
Richard II. The story Of Henry " and of Henry
has been well told many times before and he
ADDS little TO our knowledge of the hero Of
Agincourt; though he is careful to divest him
Of much Of the glamour that belongs only to the
hero OF Shakespeare's plays. The weakness and
misery Of Henry W. and the intricate compiled
tons Of the intr1gues of Yorkist and Lancas-
trian supporters and partisans, are admirably
summarized But in regard to neither the Ian
castrian nor the Yorkst kings has Professor
Oman added much Of original matter to the
work Of earlier writer's. In regard to the reign
Of Richard II, however. there is a more dis
tnctive value to his work He has delved into
this period with enthusiasm, and by making
use Of all available material in the form OF
chronicles and annals, OF official and Parlia-
mentery records, where these exist, and of the
scanty contenporaneous literature. he has
ceeded in reconstructing the England Of this
turbulent period with remarkable completeness.
The Importance which Professor Oman gives
70 the twenty-five years Of King Richards
reign may be judged by the fact that he devotes
10 # 154 out Of his 501 pages, while the twenty
two years Of the reign of Edward " are dis
posed Of in sixty-one pages. in spite Of the fact
that ten years Of the reign passed before the
Wars Of the Roses were al an end. To the stu
dent Of English social conditions and of Eng
lish history the development of q nation.
rather than a chronicle OF foreign wars and
the exploits Of sovereigns these early chapters
Of the deepest interest When Richard II
succeeded his grandfather England was still
feeling the effects os the long French War and
Of the Black Death The peasantry was be-
ginning TO hberate itself from the serfdom in
which 81 had been held since the Norman Con-
guest, and Parliament, alarmed at the demands
Of the newly self-conscious population, was
veinly trying to enforce and strengthen the
Statute OF Laborers. In 1880 It seemed to Par
lament that sn the wealth Of England was
going into the hands Of the laborers and work.
men. and when II necessary to raise money
for the French War poll tax decided upon.
that every one might share in the burden. This
poll tax Of 1880 the final cause that pre-
cipftated Wat Tyler's revolt. Although II was
enacted that every lay person in the realm,
except beggars. over fifteen years of age"
should pay the tax Of groats pa cents), IT
was so arranged that in each township the
richer should help out the poorer. The whole
township was assessed according TO the num-
Der OF its nhabitants, but the richest might
have 10 pay any amount up to so groats and
from the poorest not more than 1 groat was
exacted. This scheme worked great hardship
on the poorer districts, where there were no
wealthy TO lft the burden from the poor, and
resulted in enormous frauds in the returns for
these places. According to some Of the town
ship returns, there were villages in which there
were no unmarried women widows. and the
bachelors and the married men outnurnbered
The women four to three. Such an enumera-
tons coming shortly after the long drain on the
men OF England for the French wars. was mani
festy impossible. and commissioners were ap-
pointed to inquire into the frauds
Had the people had no other cause Of discon-
tent II is unlikely that widespread popular
uprising would have resulted from even so heavy
an !mpost as a shilling head on every man
and woman in the country. Even the popular
Indignation over the conduct Of the commits
sioners IN carrying out their inquiry would not
have had such a result. The years following the
Black Death would, under modern conditions
have been golden age for the laborer There
was shortage Of labor all over the country
and the landowners were willing to bid one
against another for the services of the peasants
But the Statute Of Laborers Of 1851 not only
penalized the workman for asking more than
the old rate Of wages IT also penalized the land
lord who offered more. and everywhere there
were bitter discomfort and unrest, due TO this
effort TO keep down wages by legislation, while
prices scared owing TO the large amount of
land that had fallen out of cultivation or that
had been diverted from agriculture into pastur-
age These and other subsidiary causes of the
widespread discomfort which eliminated IN the
first really popular uprising in English history,
clearly and fully described by Professor
Oman. He then tells the picturesque story Of
the insurrection led by John Ball and Wat
Tyler OF King Richards gallant conduct in the
face Of danger, and the complete suppression Of
the revolt In estimating the results of the
uprising ne takes issue with Thorold Rogers,
who attributes the emancipation of the peas
entry OF England from serfdom to this uprising.
and far more reasonably concludes that such
an emancipation not likely to have resulted
from insurrection that was completely
quelled and in some places cruelty crushed out.