All brokers and stock jobbers in London and Westminster of bank stock, bank bills, shares and interests in joint stock must be licensed by the mayor, which shall necessitate their taking an oath to exercise their office without fraud or collusion to the best of his skill and knowledge as of 1697. This is to avoid the collusion of fixing values to their own advantage.
The science of statistics made life insurance possible. But it was administered by ad hoc offices rather than companies and was not reliable in making payments.
Charles instituted a hearth tax of 2s. per year in 1662, with constables and offiers authorized to verify the number of hearths and stoves in houses. It was repealed in 1688 because it could not be enforced except by exposing every man's house to be entered and searched at pleasure by persons unknown to the people, which was oppressive and a badge of slavery.
By bribes, Charles built up a body of support in Parliament which could be relied upon for a majority. They came to be called "tories" by their opponents. "Tory" had been a term of abuse for Irish Catholic bandits. The tory and whig groups were known by their disagreement over the authoritarianism of the Crown. The tories were sympathetic to the doctrine of divine right and favored a doctrinally high church. The tories represented landed property and the established church, and usually wore blue in contrast to the purple of royalty. Many royalists became tories. The whigs refused to accept the sacrosanct character of the monarchy. The whigs opined that government depended upon consent of the people and that the people had a right of resistance. They subordinated the Crown to Parliament. The whigs represented the dissenters and the mercantile classes, and often wore red. Many former Puritans became whigs. "Whig" had been a term of abuse for Scots Presbyterian rebels and horse thieves. The gout and venereal disease were common among political leaders. A primitive condom just introduced to the aristocracy from France helped deter syphillus; It was uncomfortable and unreliable.
Under Charles II, the Treasury as a supreme financial body separated from the Exchequer as a depository of revenue. A gold guinea coin was issued. From 1690, government policy was controlled by specific appropriations. Money bills had to originate in the Commons, and could not be amended by the House of Lords.
Boards became independent of the king's Privy Council and answerable to the secretary of state.
In the 1680s, Charles compelled some of the livery companies in London to give up their charters to him and he called in many corporation charters of boroughs whenever some light excuse could be found to justify it. This was done by the use of the writ of quo warranto before a court. In London he had the tory mayor revive an ancient custom of selecting a sheriff by drinking to him at the annual feast. Two tory sheriffs were installed into office. All these actions gave the king a voice in selection of the officers of London and boroughs, since Royal commissioners would then determine who the officers would be. This was to assure London's representation in Parliament by Crown loyalists as London had been whig. It also allowed influenced selection of sympathetic jurors.
Criminal seditious libel was brought into the common law courts in 1664, when Benjamin Keach was tried for writing a book containing contradictions of the doctrine of the established church. He wrote against infant baptism and asserted that laymen might preach the gospel. The justice intimidated the jury to find him guilty. He was sentenced to be fined, to spend two hours in the pillory in two successive weeks, and his book to be burned before his face. He was to be imprisoned until he found sureties for his good behavior and renunciation of his doctrine and for his future appearance in court. Juries were loath to find anyone guilty of seditious libel.
James II succeeded Charles II to the throne and fostered Roman Catholicism by appointments and by attempting to suspend laws unfavorable to Catholics. He commanded all bishops to read in the churches his Declaration of Indulgence exempting both Catholic and Protestant dissenters from all penal statutes based on religion. Seven bishops refused to obey and jointly petitioned him, stating that his action was illegal according to Parliament. He prosecuted them for seditious libel in the petition. The jury found them not guilty. James discharged the two justices of the five who had rejected the seditious libel doctrine which had been created by the Star Chamber Court. This roused the whigs and tories in turn to discharge him by joining in inviting protestants William of Orange and Mary to take the throne in his place. James was effectively chased out of England by William's advancing army in the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9, which took away the powers of final authority from the king, but without transferring them to any other body. A "Bill of Rights" stated that
1. The king may not suspend laws or dispense with them
without consent of Parliament.