But of these promises, the first
proved a mere delusion; for, though some partial reductions were made, on
the whole the amount of the army continued to increase; the second was
fulfilled; but in return, the burthen of taxation was augmented; for the
monthly assessment on the counties gradually swelled from sixty to ninety,
to one hundred and twenty, and in conclusion, to one hundred and sixty
thousand pounds.[2]
Another subject of disquietude sprung out of those principles of liberty
which, even after the suppression of the late mutiny, were secretly
cherished and occasionally avowed, by the soldiery. Many, indeed, confided
in the patriotism, and submitted to the judgment, of their officers; but
there were also many who condemned the existing government as a desertion
of the
[Footnote 1: Journals, 1649, April 18, Oct. 4; 1650, March 30; 1651, Sept.
2, Dec. 17; 1652, April 7.]
[Footnote 2: Journals, 1649, April 7, Aug. 1, Dec. 7; 1650, May 21, Nov.
26; 1651, April 15, Sept. 1, Dec. 19; 1652, Dec. 10; 1653, Nov. 24.]
good cause in which they had originally embarked. By the latter Lilburne
was revered as an apostle and a martyr; they read with avidity the
publications which repeatedly issued from his cell; and they condemned as
persecutors and tyrants the men who had immured him and his companions in
the Tower.
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