to James, was withheld from Charles by Parliament because of his overbearing policies. However, between 1628 and 1640, all customs revenue was raised by the use of the prerogative only, an avenue that was finally closed by The Tunnage and Poundage Act 1641 which made such extra-parliamentary customs illegal. In short, financial progress from the Conquest to the crisis of the Great Rebellion was marked by an almost complete shift of revenue-raising methods. The King had ceased to maintain himself and the royal demesne and the prerogative rights included in feudalism had become totally subordinate, being replaced by direct and indirect taxation. The Civil War and the Commonwealth A new departure in English financial history occurred during the Civil War and the Commonwealth when most feudal systems were abandoned. Thus, this period, together with the Interregnum (1649–1660) may be regarded as marking a new watershed. At the beginning of the struggle, both sides were forced to rely on voluntary contributions. Plate and ornaments were melted down whilst useful commodities were furnished by the adherents of both king and parliament respectively. However, despite the voting in of subsidies and a poll tax, imports were levied only with difficulty so that new methods of collection became necessary. Therefore, in marked contrast to the lax management of former subsidies, direct taxation was, from now on, assessed monthly at a rate fixed from time to time and gathered under strict regulations, thus becoming more systematic and equitable than previously. Despite its origin, this assessment became the model for a later property tax. Its yield for the whole period exceeded £32,000,000 thus proving its importance. Minor contrivances, e.g. the weekly meal tax, indicate various parliamentary difficulties, but were otherwise unimportant. Owing to its control of the sea and the principal ports, Parliament was also able to command customs revenue where it again remodelled duties, abolishing the wool subsidy and readjusting general customs by a new book of rates. A more extensive tariff was adopted in 1656, and various restrictions in harmony with mercantilist ideas of the time were enforced, French wines, silk and wool being exempted from 1649 to 1656. Far more revolutionary in its effects was the introduction of the excise or inland duties on goods, a step which Elizabeth, James I and Charles I had hesitated to take. Beginning (1643) with duties on ale, beer and spirits, it was soon extended to meat,