[1] He
looked on the army, the greater part of which he had quartered in the
neighbourhood of the metropolis, as his chief--his only support against his
enemies; and while the soldiers were comfortably clothed and fed, he might
with confidence rely on their attachment; but now that their pay was in
arrear, he had reason to apprehend that discontent might induce them to
listen to the suggestions of those officers who sought to subvert his
power. On former occasions, indeed, he had relieved himself from similar
embarrassments by the imposition of taxes by his own authority; but this
practice was so strongly reprobated in the petition and advice, and he had
recently abjured it with so much solemnity, that he dared not repeat
the experiment. He attempted to raise a loan among the merchants and
capitalists in the city; but his credit and popularity were gone; he had,
by plunging into
[Footnote 1: Thurloe, vii. 99, 100, 144, 295.]
war with Spain, cut off one of the most plentiful sources of profit, the
Spanish trade; and the number of prizes made by the enemy, amounting to
more than a thousand,[1] had ruined many opulent houses. The application
was eluded by a demand of security on the landed property belonging to
country gentlemen.
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