functions in private assemblies; and met with countenance and encouragement from

part in all publick appearances, and the face of it has been kept up with great reverence throughout all ranks, from the highest to the lowest; not only upon occasional solemnities, but also in the daily course of behaviour. In the heathen world, their superstition was the chief subject of statuary, sculpture, painting, and poetry. It mixt itself with business, civil forms, diversions, domestick entertainments, and every part of common life. The Mahometans are obliged to short devotions five times between morning and evening. In Roman catholick countries, people cannot pass a day without having religion call'd to their thoughts by some or other memorial of it; by some ceremony, or publick religious form occurring in their way: besides their frequent holidays, the short prayers they are daily called to, and the occasional devotions injoined by confessors. By these means their superstition sinks deep into the minds of the people, and their religion also into the minds of such among them as are serious and well-disposed. Our reformers, considering that some of these observances were in themselves wrong and superstitious, and others of them made subservient to the purposes of superstition, abolished them, reduced the form of religion to great simplicity, and injoined no more particular rules, nor left any thing more of what was external in religion, than was, in a manner, necessary to preserve a sense of religion itself upon the minds of the people. But a great part of this is neglected by the generality amongst us. For instance: the service of the church, not only upon common days, but also upon saints days: and several

those to whom they ministered, as well as from persons of moderation and virtue,

other things might be mentioned."

Degenerate

times indeed! times to be lamented and mourned over! Our reformers, by this account, seem to have been much in the wrong, by depriving us of the means the pious catholics, in imitation of their forerunners the heathen priests, had instituted and appointed for our growth in piety and holiness. However, he who calls to mind what pure and undefiled religion is, and is careful to practise it, need not be much troubled in conscience, though he has neglected the service of the church, not only upon common days, but also upon saints' days; or even omitted the holy rite of confirmation, on which some very extraordinary persons have talked with great solemnity. For what are these in his eye

"That doth prefer,

Before all temples, th' upright heart and pure ?"

MILTON,

But, to put an end to this long, very long note: Non-resistance, by the act of uniformity, we see, was established; and the covenant condemned, which had been taken by his majesty in Scotland, and contributed greatly to his restoration.-Colonel Birch, in this very house of commons, observed, "after he had the honor to come into this house, some intentions were to renew the covenant. Cromwell, Ireton, and the rest, would not have it done. He said then, that these men would alter the government, and the house then would have sent them to the Tower.He never saw such mettle in this house. He had forty notes

2 Charge to the Clergy, p. 14. 4to. Lond. 1751,

though of different persuasions: as this, I say, was the case, various laws were made",

sent him: Stick to the covenant, and you shall die.' This was his greatest inducement to stick to it. Not one of these men could be brought to change the government. Love lost his life for it. The presbyterian party declared against the kings murder. To the restoration of the king all agreed. Had he not engaged for the king by the covenant, he had prevented himself twenty-one imprisonments he has suffered. When the king was restored, these were the men we only durst trust "."- -A fine return this from a grateful monarch! to make men renounce what they had sworn to; and belie their consciencès, for the preservation of which they had suffered so much, and by so doing had promoted his interest,

a

12 Laws were made against the nonconformists and rigorously executed by the instigation of the prelates.] It is said, on good authority, that his late majesty, king George II. in the early part of his reign, did declare," that not an hair of the head of any one of his subjects should be hurt on account of religious opinion, so long as he wore the British crown." A declaration this worthy of so good a prince, and faithfully, if I remember right, adhered to by him. Not so the race of the Stuarts. Their choice it was, to fet ter the free-born minds of men, and render them obedient to their galling yoke. The severe laws enacted by Elizabeth, inheritrix of her father's tyrannical spirit, on account of religion, were confirmed and enlarged by them, and many an honest and good man smarted

* Grey's Parliamentary Debates, vol. II. p. 46. p. 123. 8vo. Lond. 1762.

▸ Palladium,

from time to time, against them and their

under them. The governors of the commonwealth,
and Cromwell, indeed, saw the absurdity and iniquity
on which they were founded; and, therefore, made
little or no use of them. But when Charles II. revi-
sited his native land, and he had got a parliament after
his own heart, they soon became again in vogue; and
the people found, to their cost, that, like his fathers, he
was a persecutor. The Act of Uniformity, we have
just seen, deprived multitudes of their subsistence on
account of their religious opinions; and the acts that
followed were far from easing those who had suffered
by it. I will give a short abstract of the penal laws
made in this reign, that the reader may be convinced
that persecution was not unjustly complained of under
it. By one statute it was ordained,
"That any
person, above sixteen years old, present at any meeting
under pretence of exercise of religion, in other man-
ner than is allowed by the Liturgy or practice of the
Church of England, where there shall be present five
persons, or more, above those of the household, upon
proof thereof made, either by confession of the party,
or oath of witness, or notorious evidence of the fact,
the offence shall be recorded under the hands of two
justices, or the chief magistrate of the place, which
shall be a perfect conviction; who, thereupon, may
send such person to jail, or the house of correc-
tion, for any time not exceeding three months; unless
he or she pay down so much money, not exceeding
five pounds, as the said justices or chief magistrate
shall impose. For the second offence, imprisonment,
not exceeding six months; unless money paid, not ex-
ceeding ten pounds. And persons so offending the
third time, were to be sent to the goal, or house of

adherents, which were executed with great

correction, there to remain until the next session, or assizes, and then to be indicted; and being thereupon found guilty, the court was to enter judgment of transportation against such offenders, to some of the foreign plantations (Virginia and New-England only excepted), there to remain seven years; and warrants were to issue to sequester the profits of their lands, or to distrain and sell their goods, to defray the charges of their transportation; and for want of such charges being paid, the sheriff had liberty to contract with any master of a ship, or merchant, to transport them.-Upon paying down, however, one hundred pounds, the transportation was to be discharged.And if any, under such judgment of transportation, shall escape, or, being transported, return into any part of England, they were to suffer death as felons without benefit of clergy." --All persons in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, who had not declared their assent and consent to the Book of Common Prayer, according to the Act of Uniformity; and did not take and subscribe the oath of Non-resistance therein contained; together with all such as should take upon them to preach in 'any conventicle or meeting, for exercise of religion contrary to law; were not (unless only in passing the road) to come, or be within five miles of any city, town corporate, or borough, that sends burgesses to parliament; nor within five miles of any place where they had officiated, or taken upon them to preach; upon pain of forfeiting forty pounds for such offence. Nor was any person so restrained, or who should not take the said oath, and frequent divine service, to teach any

* Stat. 16 Car. II. c. 4