II. to all and everything contained and prescribed in and by the CHARLES book entitled, The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England: together with the Psalter, or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches; and the form or manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." Farther, all The penalty for refusing was deprivation. ministers and schoolmasters are bound, at their admission to their promotion or employment, before the feast of St. Bartholomew above-mentioned, to subscribe the declaration following: “I, A. B., do declare, that it is not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the king; and that I do abhor the traitorous position of taking arms by his authority against his person, or against those that are commissioned by him; and that I will conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by law established. And I do declare, that I do hold there lies no obligation upon me or on any other person, from the oath commonly called the Solemn League and Covenant,' to endeavour any change or alteration of government, either in Church or State; and that the same was in itself an unlawful oath, and imposed upon the subjects of this realm against the known laws and liberties of this kingdom." This declaration, excepting the clause for conformity to the Church of England, had already been couched in the form of an oath in the beginning of this session, and required of all magistrates and officers in corporations; and, a year forwards, 13 Charles 2. the subscribing the declaration was enjoined all vestrymen in cap. 1. cities or towns corporate. The militia act passed this session: being farther explanatory of the constitution upon this head, I shall transcribe part of it. The statute begins thus : “Forasmuch as, within all his majesty's realms and dominions, the sole supreme government, command, and disposition of the militia, and of all forces by sea and land, and of all statute 2. 15 Charles 2. cap. 5. Abp. Cant. JUXON, forts and places of strength, is, and by the law of England ever was, the undoubted right of his majesty and his royal predecessors, kings and queens of England; and that both or either of the houses of parliament, cannot nor ought to pretend to the same, nor can nor lawfully may raise or levy any war, offensive or defensive, against his majesty, his heirs, or 13 Charles 2. lawful successors," &c. cap. 6. 889. 13 & 14 Charles 2. сар. 4. About two thousand of the non ministers ejected. These statutes are remarkably extensive and determining ; they point particularly against all evasion and reserve: the force of language could not, one would think, secure the crown better, nor bar resistance more effectually than this provision. To proceed a little farther with the Statute for Uniformity, by which it is enacted, "that no person shall be capable of any benefice, or presume to consecrate and administer the sacrament of the Lord's supper, before he be ordained priest by episcopal ordination, upon pain to forfeit for every offence the sum of an hundred pounds." And, which is the last branch I shall mention, it is provided that none "be received as a lecturer, or permitted to preach or read any sermon or lecture in any church or chapel, unless approved and licensed by the archbishop or bishop, and shall read the Thirty-nine Articles of religion, with a declaration of an unfeigned assent to the same." This act pressed hard upon the principles of the Presbyterian ministers, and though the grounds for non-compliance were not the same to every individual person, yet about two conforming thousand of them lost their preferments upon scrupling some parts of the statute. Now if these divines would have subscribed the declaration, owned the diocesan for head of their communion, taken orders from the bishops, forbore opposition to the established Church, and not perpetuated their singularities by ordaining others: provided they would have advanced thus far, a question may be asked whether they might not have been dispensed with for their nonconformity in other matters, and suffered to enjoy their livings? Whether these terms were offered and refused before the bill passed, is more than I can discover. But had the Church and government relaxed to these conditions, I find it would have been Life of Bax- short of satisfaction to the most moderate Nonconformists. ter, p. 497. However, to say nothing more, the misfortune of their per Calamy's et deinc. II. suasion cannot be remembered without regret those who quit CHARLES their interest are certainly in earnest, and deserve a charitable construction: mistakes in religion are to be tenderly used, and conscience ought to be pitied when it cannot be relieved'. 'I shall quote Rapin's observations on this Act of Conformity: "St. Bartholomew's-day being come, on which the Act of Uniformity was to take place, two thousand Presbyterian ministers chose rather to quit their livings, than submit to the conditions of this act. It was expected that a division would have happened amongst them, and that a great number of them would have chose rather to conform to the Church of England than see themselves reduced to beggary. It was not, therefore without extreme surprise that they were all seen to stand out-not so much as one suffering himself to be tempted?. As this is a considerable event of this reign, it will not be improper to inquire into the causes of this rigour against the Presbyterians: I say the Presbyterians, because it was not the other sects that the Church of England most dreaded. "J. It cannot be denied, that the high churchmen, who prevailed in the parliament, acted in a spirit of revenge. But this revenge should not appear very strange, considering the persecution, and, at last, the entire destruction, brought upon the Episcopal Church by the Presbyterians, if honour had not been wounded, nor any promise made to the Presbyterians. The Church of England was the national Church, which had flourished from the Reformation to the time of the war between Charles I. and the parliament, when the Presbyterians entirely subverted it. It was, therefore, but just to restore it to its former condition. But it was injustice to violate the promise made to the Presbyterians, especially as they had greatly contributed to the king's restoration, and, withal, to that of the very Church, which persecuted them after being re-established by their assistance. "2. But revenge was not the sole cause of the present rigour exercised against the Presbyterians. The desire of self-preservation was no less concerned. Experience of what had passed, taught the Church of England, that if the Presbyterians should ever find an opportunity like that which they once had, they would not fail to improve it. They were always irreconcileable enemies, though, in the present juncture, they were unable to do any hurt, and obliged to sue for mercy. It was, therefore, undoubtedly, the interest of the Church of England, to use all possible precautions to hinder the increase of a party already too powerful, and which, probably, would never cease contending for the superiority. "3. We have seen what were the notions of this parliament, and of High Church, concerning the royal prerogative, and to what height it was carried. The Presbyterians, as well as the other sects, were known to follow quite contrary maxims, and if they were not entirely republicans, at least they endeavoured to reduce the royal power within very narrow bounds, as appeared in the resolutions and conduct of the parliament of 1640. But while the Church of England had no suspicion of the king's religion, and believed him a zealous member, it was her interest to support and extend the prerogative, and consequently to disable the Presbyterians from prosecuting their maxims. "4. The Church of England's interest required that she should improve so favourable an opportunity, which, perhaps, might never return. It was seen how greedy the king was of money, to throw it away with the greatest profusion, and that he could not be without the assistance of his parliament; and the Church had the good fortune to have a parliament consisting of her most zealous members, and disposed to sacrifice to the king a little of the nation's treasure, provided the king would, in his turn, make them a sacrifice of the Presbyterians. Though he was not suspected to be a Papist, it could 2 Kennet's Register, p. 747, &c. Baxter's Life. Burnet. JUXON, cap. 17. At the beginning of this session, the parliament repealed an Abp. Cant, act passed in the last reign, "For disabling all persons in 17 Charles 1. holy orders to exercise any temporal jurisdiction or authority.” 13 Charles 2. To give some account of the proceedings of the convocation The proceed during the time the Act of Uniformity was going forward in parliament. cap. 2. ings in the convocation, Synod. p. 108, 109. To begin the bishop of London, as president, and the rest of the bishops, consulted touching a subscription to the three articles in the thirty-sixth canon; and referred the drawing not be thought, he would, from a pure principle of honour and honesty, quarrel with a parliament so favourable to him, for the sake of the Presbyterians, whom he neither did, nor had reason to love. There was nothing, therefore, but what might be expected from his complaisance, provided care was taken to supply him with money. Such a juncture was not to be neglected. "5. But there was another still more powerful cause of the parliament's severity against the Presbyterians: this was the interest of the Papists, who had ever a great influence during this reign. Some made an open profession of their religion, and yet were looked upon with a very favourable eye by the court. Others, after the king's example, pretended to be good Protestants, and zealous members of the Church of England, in order to be more serviceable to their party. The first used their utmost endeavours to incite the parliament to a severe treatment of the Presbyterians, in order to destroy a party which had so openly declared against the royal power. The others, concealing themselves under a false zeal for the Protestant religion, laboured with the same ardour to excite the enmity of the heads of the Church of England, and of those whom they knew to be most warm against men, who would not spare them, if ever they were in a condition to ruin them, as they had manifestly shown. But while they were thus zealously labouring to bring things to extremities, they were endeavouring, on the other hand, by their emissaries, to encourage the Presbyterians, and exhort them to the closest union, by insinuating it to be the most effectual means to defeat the measures of their enemies. They were told their number was so great, that, in all likelihood, it would deter the parliament from attempting the ruin of so many at once for fear of exciting new troubles. Whereas, if their party should divide, they would be insensibly and irrecoverably ruined. In short, to induce them the more easily not to despair, they were told, the king, provoked with the ill-treatment they received, notwithstanding his promise to them, would protect them openly if they would remain united; but a division would put it out of his power to do them any service. It is certain the court was in this disposition, not from any pity to the Presbyterians, or regard to the king's honour, but from the hopes that the union amongst the Nonconformists would procure them more favourable conditions, of which the Papists might make an advantage. But when I say the court, I do not pretend to include the earl of Clarendon, though prime minister. This justice must be done him, to say, that not only he did not contribute to the designs of the king and the Papists, but was the man that broke their measures, by secret intrigues, well knowing what was concealed under this feigned moderation of the king to the Presbyterians. However, the king, the duke of York, and the other leading Papists, believed it necessary to push the Presbyterians, and then encourage them to hold together, that the danger arising from their union might prevail with the parliament to grant to all the Nonconformists in general, a toleration which should extend to the Papists. This is not a bare conjecture. All the king's proceedings demonstrate this was the scheme he had formed 1. Burnet, p. 194. Kennet. II. up a form of subscription to a committee of bishops. It was CHARLES likewise resolved by the upper house, that no ordination of clerks should be made by any bishop but only within the four Ember weeks solemnly appointed for that purpose; and that no bishop should ordain beyond the bounds of his own district, unless by letters dimissory first obtained from the lord archbishop of Canterbury. Three forms of prayer for the 5th of November, April 26. the 30th of January, and the 29th of May, were brought up into the upper house and unanimously approved; and the care of translating the Book of Common Prayer into Latin was committed to Dr. John Earl, dean of Westminster, and Dr. John Pearson. A few days forward, the president and bishops held Id. p. 110. a debate upon a message received from the house of commons May 10. touching "reverent and uniform gestures and demeanours at the time of divine service:" and here it was agreed by the majority that the constitution in the book of canons, made in the year 1603, and entitled "Of solemn reverence to be used in time of Divine Service," it was agreed, I say, this constitution should be laid before the house of commons, having been first considered by the lower house of convocation. After two days this constitution was brought up to the bishops from the lower house, with some amendments, to which their lordships Id. p. 111 agreed. And now, without making any farther progress, the May 16. convocation was prorogued by the king's writ to February the 19th, next ensuing. declaration In December following, his majesty set forth a declaration, Dec. 26. in which, amongst other things, "he declared his resolution to The king's maintain the Act of Uniformity; only he should dispense with for insinuasome matters in it." And in his speech at the next session ting an indulgence to he concluded with a smooth intimation of some indulgence the Nonconformists. The mention of this favour was granted to Dissenters. couched in wary and gentle expressions, and which seemed almost to give up the dispensing power. His majesty's words are these "that if the Dissenters would demean themselves peaceably and modestly, he could heartily wish he had such power of indulgence to use upon occasion." The house of commons might probably suspect this toleration might comprehend more persuasions than they desired should be sheltered; and over and above they might be apprehensive the dispensing in this manner would carry the prerogative too far, press the constitution, and bear down upon |