liberality. The last fifteenth and tenth was voted in 1624, from which date this old-established form disappeared leaving the subsidy only. In spite of Charles I's high-handed policy, five subsidies were voted after the Petition of Right had been accepted, and even the Long Parliament made similar grants. At or near the outbreak of the Civil War, it also granted the king a graduated capitation tax. Other modes of direct taxation were used without parliamentary sanction. The collection of antiquated feudal dues was enforced through the special courts (particularly the Star Chamber) with a rigour long unknown. James had tried the French device of a tariff of honours and he and his son both employed the benevolence until the Petition of Right made such a levy illegal. But by far the most serious innovation was the collection of Ship Money, a course forced on Charles by his determination to rule without Parliament. These writs embodied the ultimate expression of the ingenuity of the King's advisers in the invention of means to enable him to do so. The first writs secured over £100,000, and were followed by five further issues (1634–1639) bringing in an average return of £200,000 or about three lay subsidies. Like the benevolence, Ship Money was declared to be illegal (1641). The contest respecting monopolies settled by Elizabeth's withdrawal was revived under James, finally being stopped by the Statute of Monopolies (1624) which declared such grants to be utterly void. Certain exceptions (as in the case of the soapboiles) permitted the raising of revenue by what was, in fact, a rudimentary excise and plans for a general excise were also discussed, especially as a substitute for feudal dues, though these were not reduced in practice. In the early part of the 17th century, customs steadily increased from £127,000 in 1604 to nearly £500,000 in 1641 due to the growth of English trade, the adoption of new books of rates—1608 and 1635—the fixing of higher valuations and also the inclusion of new commodities, in particular, wine, currants (the subject of controversy in Bates' case) tobacco and sugar. One development was the adoption of the farming system on a larger scale, an evident imitation from France. Distinctions were made between the great, the petty and the sugar farms, and opportunities for gain were afforded to the relevant officials. Constitutionally, the life grant of subsidies, voted in accordance with Tudor usage