Sowerbutt's Anger

Manningtree bit into a cream custard. “Tithe Wars? A damn disgrace, old boy. The tithe-owners, mostly civilians who’d bought them out but a few Anglicans, trying to squeeze blood out of a stone. Middle of a depression, corn prices were down 30% and the cost of labour and supplies sky-high. People couldn’t pay, good people." 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Smoke-London-Sowerbutt-Novels-ebook-x/dp/B00RYR8BWG