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and that his majesty would be pleased to publish his pleasure that no oath or subscription, or renunciation of orders, might be required of any, till it was seen what was the issue of the desired agreement. The king treated them very respectfully, and renewed his professions of desiring an accommodation; told them he was well pleased that they were for a liturgy, and yielded to the essence of episcopacy; and promised them that the places in which the old incumbents were dead, should be confirmed to the possessors. But they were much disappointed to find none of the divines on the other side appear. After waiting some time, they received a severe answer from the episcopal party, who reflected on the proposals they had made to his majesty: saying that they did not perceive any necessity for their preliminary requests. As to church-government, they declared for the former hierarchy without any alteration. Bp. Usher's Reduction, they rejected, as being at best but a heap of private conceptions. The liturgy they applauded as unexceptionable, and thought it could not be too rigorously imposed, when ministers were not denied the exercise of their gifts in praying before and after sermon; which sort of praying, they declared however, to be but the continuance of a custom of no great authority, and grown into common use by sufferance only. As for the Ceremonies, they could not part with one; and they concluded with saying, "Were any abatements made, "we are satisfied that unquiet spirits would but be thereby "encouraged to make farther demands,"

Shortly after, instead of the diocesans' concessions, the ministers were told, that the king would put all that he thought meet to grant them into the form of a declaration, and they should see it before it was published, and have liberty to signify what they disliked. A copy of the said declaration was accordingly sent them by the Lord Chancellor. Having made some remarks upon it, they drew up a petition to the king, and delivered it to the Lord Chancellor; but he never called them to present it, only desired the particulars of what alterations they would insist on. They delivered him a breviate of these, which he took time to consider of. A day was appointed for his majesty to peruse the declaration as the Lord Chancellor had drawn it up, and determine on the particulars, upon the hearing of both sides. The king accordingly came to the Lord Chancellor's, with the dukes of Albemarle and Ormond, the earl of Manchester, &c. Dr. Sheldon, bishop of London, and several other bishops and

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clergymen, on one side: on the other, Dr. Reynolds, Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Dr. Spurstow, Mr. Baxter, and others. As the Lord chancellor read over the declaration, each party was to speak to what they disliked, and the king to determine how it should be. There were various altercations about prelacy, re-ordination, and other particulars. When the whole was perused, the Lord chancellor drew out another paper, intimating that the king had also been petitioned by the Independents and Baptists for liberty, and therefore he read an additional part of the declaration, to this purpose, "That others also be permitted to meet for religious worship, so be it, they do it not to the disturbance of the peace; and that no justice of peace or officer disturb "them." This being designed to procure liberty to the Papists, there was a general silence upon the reading it, At length, Mr. Baxter, fearing their silence might be misinterpreted, spake to this purpose: "That they desired not "favour to themselves alone, and regorous severity against "none; but as they humbly thanked his majesty for his de"clared indulgence to themselves, so they distinguished the "tolerable party from the intolerable: for the former, they humbly craved just lenity and favour; but for the latter, "(such as Dr. Gunning had before mentioned) Papists and "Socinians, they could not make a toleration their request." To which his majesty said, "That there were laws sufficient against the Papists." Mr. Baxter replied, "They under"stood the question to be, Whether those laws should be "executed or not?" Upon which the matter was dropped. But before the breaking up of the meeting, the king, having determined what he would have stand in the declaration, as to the sense of it, named four divines to determine on any words in the alterations, if there were any difference, viz. Bishop Morley, Bishop Hinchman, Dr. Reynolds, and Mr. Calamy; and if they disagreed, the Earl of Anglesea and the Lord Hollis were to decide. At length it came out so amended, that it was fitted to be an instrument of concord and peace, if settled by law, and the liturgy altered as the declaration promised. Several of the ministers were offered preferments: v. g. Mr. Calamy the bishopric of Coventry and Litchfield; Dr. Reynolds, that of Norwich; and Mr. Baxter, that of Hereford; Dr. Manton, the deanry of Rochester; Dr. Bates, the deanry of Coventry and Litchfield; and Mr. Edward Bowles, the deanry of York: but they all refused, on account of the uncertain continuance

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of the terms in the declaration, except Dr. Reynolds, who declared when he accepted the bishopric of Norwich, that he did it upon the terms laid down in the declaration, and not as episcopacy stood before in England; and that he would no longer hold or exercise it than he could do it on those terms.

In the declaration, dated October 25, 1660, the king expresses the highest opinion of the Presbyterian ministers, as persons full of affection to him, of zeal for the peace of church and state, and neither enemies of episcopacy nor liturgy; but modestly desiring such alterations in both, as without shaking foundations, might best allay the present distempers, which the indisposition of times, and the tenderness of some men's consciences had contracted. At the same time assuring them of his resolution to grant them all the indulgence they required, promising that they should exercise their functions, and enjoy the profits of their livings, without being obliged to those oaths and subscriptions to which they objected. Upon this an address of thanks was drawn up, signed by many of the ministers in and about London; which was graciously received,

But after all, this declaration had no effect, save only a year's suspension of the law that afterwards took place. At a distance in the country, some men were so violent, that they indicted ministers at the assizes and sessions, notwithstanding the declaration, taking it for no suspension of the law; though upon application to the king and lord chancellor, they were generally released. But as to the matter of church-government, none of the concessions in the declaration were put in execution. However, a commission was at length granted to certain persons nominated, to meet for the purpose of reviewing the liturgy. The commissioners on one side were, the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London, Durham, Rochester, Chichester, Surum, Worcester, Lincoln, Peterborough, Chester, Carlisle, and Exeter. Those on the other side, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Tuckney, Dr. Conant, Dr. Spurstow, Dr. Wallis, Dr. Manton, Mr. Calamy, Mr. Baxter, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Case, Mr. Clark, Mr. Newcomen. The assistants on one side were, Dr. Earle, Dr. Heylin, Dr. Hacket, Dr. Barwick, Dr. Gunning, Dr. Pearson, Dr. Pierce, Dr. Sparrow, and Mr. Thorndike; and on the other side, Dr. Horton, Dr. Jacomb, Dr. Bates, Mr. Rawlinson, Mr. Cooper, Dr. Lightfoot, Dr. Collins, Mr. Woodbridge, and Dr. Drake.

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The Savoy was appointed as the place of meeting. When they were met, the bishop of London told the ministers, "That they, and not the bishops, had sought the conference, being desirous of alterations in the liturgy; and "that therefore there was nothing to be done, till they had brought in all they had to say against it in writing, and "all the additions which they desired." The ministers moved for an amicable Conference, according to the commission, as more likely to answer the great end; but the bishop of London insisted upon it, "That nothing should "be done till all exceptions, alterations, and additions were brought in at once." After some debate, it was agreed, "That they should bring all their exceptions at "one time, and all their additions at another time." They accordingly drew up their exceptions, and offered them to the bishops. They proposed, that the liturgy might have nothing left in it doubtful, or questioned amongst pious, learned, and orthodox persons; and particularly mentioned a variety of alterations, which the reader will easily judge of, from the reasons they afterwards gave for their nonconformity. (See Sect. V.) Mr. Baxter drew up the additions, or new forms, (for those who might scruple to use the old) stiled, The Reformed Liturgy *; which the ministers generally approved, as indeed it was undertaken at their request.

During the interval, the convocation was chosen, which was politicly deferred till now; for had it been called when the king came in, the inferior clergy would have been against the diocesans. But now the diocesan party wholly carried it in the choice. The election was in London, May 2, 1661. Mr. Calamy and Mr. Baxter were chosen by a majority of three voices. But the bishop of London, having the power of chusing two out of four, or four out of six, who are chosen by the ministers in a certain circuit, was so kind as to excuse them by pitching on others; and so the city of London had no clerk in the convocation. May the 4th, the paper of exceptions was given in at a meeting with the bishops. May the 7th, there was a meeting at Sion College, of the ministers of London, for the choice of a president and assistants for the next year. Some of the Presbyterians, upon a pettish scruple absenting them

*That the world might judge of this performance, Dr. Calamy has preserved a copy of it at the end of Mr. Baxter's life.

selves, the diocesan party carried it, and got the possession and rule of the college. May the 8th, the new parliament and convocation sat, constituted of men devoted to the diocesan interest. May the 22d, by order of parliament, the national vow and covenant was burnt by the common hangman.

A petition was, by the consent of the ministers, drawn up and presented to the bishops, at the same time with the reformed liturgy; in which they, with great humility and earnestness, desired them to abate their impositions, in order to the peace of the church; pathetically urged many arguments to induce them to a compliance; and begged only that they would "grant them the freedom which * Christ and his apostles left unto the churches.”

The bishops, after some delay, sent them a paper of reasonings against their exceptions, without any abatements or alterations at all, worth naming; an answer to which was also drawn up. At last, the commission being within ten days of expiting, the ministers sent to the bishops to desite some personal conference upon the subject of the papers, which was yielded to; and at the meeting the answer to their last paper was delivered them. Thè miễ nisters earnestly pressed them to spend the little time remaining in such pacifying conference as tended to the ends mentioned in the king's declaration and commission. There is reason to think, that the generality of the bishops and doctors who were present at these meetings, did not read the Reformed Liturgy, or the reply of the ministers to the reasons against the exceptions they had given Bo that it seems, before they knew what was in them, they resolved to reject the papers of the ministers, righ o wrong. When they came to debates, the ministers desired the bishops to animadvert on the alterations of the tungy, and declare what they allowed or disallowed in them. But they would not be prevailed upon to debate that matter, or give their opinions about those papers. It

• Dr. Allen, of Huntingdonshire, clerk in this convocation, earnestly laboured with the bishop of London, that they might so reform the liturgy, that no sober man might make exception; but was desired to forbear, as what should be, was concluded on.-Conformist's Plea for Nonconf. p. 31. So very nice and exact were the high party, that they would not yield so much as to forbear the lessons of the Apocrypha: insomuch, that after a long tug at the convocation-house about that matter, a good doctor came out at last with great joy, "that they had carried it for Bell and the Dragon.”

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