(f) Grey's examination of the second volume of Neal's hif tory of the Became in a condition to be both dreaded and the peace of the church. But James not only fpoke well of churchmen, and endeavoured to recommend them to the esteem and regard of his fubjects, but he heaped on them wealth, and fuffered them to enjoy riches in abundance. "He founded a dean and chap"ter of feven prebendaries at Rippon, in Yorkshire; and fettled two hundred and forty-feven pounds per ann.. of crown lands for their maintenance." (f) Williams, dean of Westminster, retained at the fame time, as himfelf tells the duke of Buckingham, the rectories of Di num, Walgrave, Grafton, and Peterborough, and wasalfo chaunter of Lincoln, prebendary of Afgarbie, prepuritans, p 75 8vo. bendary of Nonnington, and refidentiary of Lincoln. (g) Lond. 1736. And when advanced to the fee of Lincoln, and made (g) Cabala, lord-keeper of the great feal, he was continued dean of P. 409. Weftminster, and held his other preferments; fo that, fays Heylin, he was a perfect diocefs within himself, as being bishop, dean, prebend, refidentiary, and parfon ; (5) Life of and all thefe at once. (b) This was a goodly fight in the eyes of Laud, who made ufe of the example, in retaining with his bishopric of St. David's, not only his prebend's place in the church of Weftminster, and his benefices in the country, but alfo the prefidentfhips of (), ibid. his college in Oxon. (i) In fhort the churchmen throve well under James, and were greatly cherished by him. For to the wealth he permitted them to enjoy, he added real power, and gave them liberty to crush all their opposers.In the canons compiled anno 1603, to which his majefty gave his royal fanction, we find that whoever fhould hereafter affirm, that the form of God's worship in the church of England, established by law, and contained in the book of common prayer, is a corrupt, fuperftitious, or unlawful worship of God, or containeth any thing in it that is repugnant to the fcriptures; whofoever fhould affirm that any of the thirty-nine articles, are in any part fuperftitious or erroneous, or fuch as he may not with a good confcience Laud, p. 86. fubfcribe pu and envied by her adverfaries. Not fo the ritans. There were the objects of his majesty's highest 1 fubfcribe unto; whofoever fhould affirm that the rites. and [ceremonies of the church were fuch as men who were godly affected, may not with any good conscience approve them, use them, or, as occafion requireth, fubfcribe unto them; whofoever should affirm the government of the church of England under his majesty, by archbishops, &c. is antichriftian, or repugnant to the word of God, were to be excommunicated. (k) (k) See The fame punifhment was denounced against the au- canon's 3. thors of fchifm, the maintainers of fchifmaticks and 4, 5, 6, 7. maintainers of conventicles. (1) Thus were church-() In canons men armed with power, with which, we may be af- 9, 10, 11. fured, they took care to defend themselves and annoy their adverfaries. Add to this that the high commiffion was then in being, in which the bishops were the judges who, by adminiftring the oath ex officio, compelled men to accuse themselves, and then punished them in the fevereft manner. "Twas this court which obliged the renowned Selden, to make his fubmiffion, and beg pardon for having published his book on tythes; (m) though (m) Heylin's muft learned men fince that time, have acquiefced in prefbyte. what he has afferted concerning their original; and be- rians, p. fore this, we find by a complaint of the parliament, 392. that lay-men were punished by this court for fpeak hiftoryof the be parlia ing of the fymonie and other misdemeanours of spi"ritual men, though the thing spoken were true, and the speech tending to bring them to condigne punith"ment." (n)-Such was the power of the clergy under (n) Record James, fuch was the use that was made of it! honeft, of fome prolearned, and worthy men were called in queftion, and eedings in fubjected to all the terrible confequences of that thing ment, anno called an excommunication, for daring to tell church- 1610, p. 29. men of their vices, or denying their whimfical pretences. This at length bred much ill-blood, and issued in dreadful confequences. Let the prince therefore that would reign gloriously, curb the power of his clergy; let him Q3 never (a) Win wood, Vol. II. p. 40. highest averfion [4] and greatest hatred ; thefe never be made the tool of their wrath or refentment; but by diftributing equal and impartial justice to all his fubjects, fhew himfelf their common father and fovereign, and thereby eftablish his throne in their hearts, and render it immoveable. [4] The puritans were the objects of his highest averfion, &c.] This appears from what has been faid in the notes [M] and [MM] fo clearly, that I need fay no more concerning it. But James contented not himfelf with reproaching them, but he let his clergy loofe upon them, and subjected them to great penalties, meerly on account of their non-conformity to the established ceremonies. Hutton, archbishop of York, received orders from the privy-council," that the puritans fhould be proceeded against according to law, except "they conformed themfelves; tho' I think, fays he, all or most of them love his majefty, and the prefent "eftate." (a) And fays Sir Dudley Carleton in a letter to Mr Winwood, dated Feb. 20, 1604, "the poor "puritan minifiers have been ferrited out in all corners, "and fome of them fufpended, others deprived of their 66 livings. Certain lecturers are filenced, and a crew of "gentlemen of Northamptonfhire, who put up a petition "to the king in their behalfe, told roundly of their boldnefs, both at the council table and ftar-chamber: and Sir Francis Haftings for drawing the petition, and standing to it, when he had done it, put from his lieutenancy and jufticeship of the peace in his fhire : Sir Edward Mountague, and Sir Valentine Knightly, for refufing to fubfcribe to a fubmiffion, have the like fentence: the reft upon acknowledgment of a (b) Winfault have no more faid to them." (b)-——And his wood, Vol. majefty fummoned the judges into the ftar chamber, and in the presence of the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London, and about twelve lords of the privy-council, afked of them three questions with regard II. p. 48. 19 thefe he was continually reproaching in his to the punishment of the puritans; the third of which and collected a multitude of hands thereto, to prefer "to the king in a public caufe, as the puritans had "done, with an intimation to the king, that if he de"nied their fuit, many thousands of his fubjects would "be discontented?" To this the judges in their great wisdom replied, "that it was an offence fineable at dif"cretion, and very near to treason and felony in the "punishment, for it tended to the raising sedition, re"bellion and discontent among the people." (c) This (c) Croke's judicious refolution was agreed to by the lords then pre- reports, part fent. Bancroft hereupon required a ftrict confor- and Win"mity to the rules of the church, according to the wood, Vol. "laws and canons in that behalf; and without fparing 2d. p. 49. "non-conformifts, or half-conformists, at last reduced "them to that point, that they muft either leave their "churches, or obey the church." (d) And that none (d) eylin's might escape the penalties of the canons and high com- hiftory of million court, this pious prelate required" fome who the prefbyterians, P. 2d. p. 37. had formerly fubfcribed to teftify their conformity by 376. that which they meant not to practise, as they had the true intention of the church in the faid three ar ticles." (e) In fhort, fuch was the rigor of the pre-(e) Id. p. lates, fuch the fufferings of the puritans, that we find 377. the parliament, in the year 1610, interceding with the king in their behalf. "Whereas, fay they, divers "painful and learned paftors, that have long travelled Q4 "in writings; and not contented herewith he expofed "in the work of the minifterie with good fruit and bleffing of their labours, who were ever ready to per"form the legal fubfcription appointed by the ftatute of 13 Eliz. which only concerneth the confeffion of the true chriftian faith and doctrine of the facraments, yet for not conforming in fome points of ceremonies, and refufing the fubfcription directed by the late canons, have been removed from their ecclefiaftical livings, being their freehold, and debarred from all "means of maintenance, to the great grief of fundrie έσ your majefties well-affected fubjects; feeing the whole "people, that want inftruction, are by this means "punished, and through ignorance, lye open to the feducements of popith, and ill-affected perfons: We "therefore most humbly befeech, your majefty would "be graciously pleased, that such deprived and filenced minifters may by licence, or permiffion of the reverend fathers, in their feveral dioceffes, inftruct, "and preach unto their people in fuch parishes, and "places, where they may be employed: fo as they ap"ply themselves, in their miniftery to wholefome doc"trine, and exhortation, and live quietly, and peace"ably in their callings, and fhall not by writing or "preaching, impugn things eftablished by public au(f) Proceed-thority." (f)Soon after this Bancroft died, and was fucceeded by George Abbot, a man of a more gentle and merciful difpofition, who was much more favourable to the puritans than his predeceffor. But the rigor against them was far from being wholly remitted. They were fo ill ufed, that they preferred dwelling in a wilderness to their native foil, and chofe the perils of waters before the perils they were in among their bre thren; though for a time even this was denied them, "Some of the bifhops, fays Wilfon, were not contented to fupprefs many pious and religious men ; but I know not for what policy, reftrained their going beyond fea for there were divers families, about this time, ings in the house commons, in 1610. " (1613) |