ABBOT, establishing of all such impropriate benefices upon the corpoAbp. Cant. ration of Dublin or Londonderry, within that our kingdom, as shall be most convenient and available for the Church, to the use of the said incumbents, and their successors for ever. And our further express will and pleasure is, that whensoever it shall happen the said leases, or any of them now in being do determine, you our justices for the time being, or other deputy, chief governor or governors that shall be hereafter, shall hereby be enabled to present the then incumbent unto the same church, by the title of the full rectory thereof, as unto other churches of our patronage, reserving as aforesaid the rents, duties, and Paper-office. service formerly reserved unto us. And these our letters, &c. "Dated at Westminster the 30th of Jan., 1629."

Hist. of
Archbishop
Laud's
Troubles,
&c. p. 297.

And thus the impropriations remaining in the crown were returned to the parochial clergy. The occasion was this: Usher, lord primate of Armagh, being sensible of the ill condition of the Church for want of a competent maintenance for the clergy, solicited Laud to move his majesty for a grant of his impropriations; for this purpose Laud acquainted the lord treasurer and the chancellor of the exchequer with this motion. In fine, after a long debate, the king was pleased, at Laud's request, to pass the grant in the form above-mentioned.

The Irish Roman Catholics being somewhat too sanguine in their expectations, and hoping the necessities of the government would force the king to close with their proposal, and grant them a toleration; upon this prospect they overdrove their business, and had the courage to set up some religious houses in Dublin: besides this large step, friars appeared openly in their habits, and gave a public affront to the mayor and archbishop. His majesty receiving advice, despatched an order to the privy council in Ireland, "that the house where A.D. 1629. the seminary friars appeared in their habits and affronted the

Jan. 21,

Biblioth. Regia. 750.

archbishop and mayor, should be speedily demolished, and made a mark of terror to the resisters of authority and that the rest of the houses employed there, or elsewhere, to the use of superstitious societies, should be converted to houses of correction, and to set people on work, or to other public uses for the advancement of justice, or good arts, or trade.

At this time the interest of the Reformation was but low in Ireland, as appears by the account Dr. Beadle, bishop elect of

I.

The condition of some

Kilmore, transmitted to Laud: Beadle, at the instance of this CHARLES bishop of London, acquainted him that the popish clergy were more numerous than those of the Church of England; that they had their officials and vicars-general for ecclesiastical part of Ireland, jurisdiction, and were so hardy as to excommunicate those with respect to religion. who appeared at the courts of the Protestant bishops; that almost every parish had priests of the Roman communion; that masses were sometimes said in churches; that excepting a few British planters, not amounting to the tenth part of the people, the rest were all declared recusants; that in each diocese there were about seven or eight of the reformed clergy sufficiently qualified; but these being English, and not understanding the language of the natives, they could neither perform divine service, nor converse with their parishioners to advantage; and by consequence were in no condition to put a stop to superstition. By the way, the reader is to observe, April, that this relation of bishop Beadle refers only to the two dioceses of Kilmore and Ardagh.

Upon the death of William lord Herbert, earl of Pembroke, Laud was chosen chancellor of Oxford; which, besides other instances of service, gave him an opportunity of reforming the statutes of that university.

The next remarkable occurrence is the birth of prince Charles, afterwards king Charles II.

A. D. 1630.

May 29, 1630.

Davenant

preaches

Quinquar

court, and

To go back a little in Lent this spring, Davenant, bishop Bishop of Sarum, preaching before the king, happened to touch upon reaches the Quinquarticular controversy. The king, displeased with upon the his handling this prohibited argument, ordered him to appear ticular conbefore the lords of the council. Here Harsnet, archbishop of troversy at York, put Davenant in mind of his obligations to the king, gives great offence. dilated upon the contempt of his majesty's late declaration, and heightened the charge with smartness enough. The bishop of Sarum's text was taken out of Romans vi. 23: "Eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The third head of his sermon was, "that the godly are happy in the manner of their reward, because the eternal life bestowed upon them was, donum gratuitum, or free and unmerited bounty." From this proposition he considered life eternal under three respects; "that is, in the eternal destination thereof, which we call election." This being the passage which gave offence, the bishop's apology was, "that the doctrine of predestination

ABBOT, was not forbidden by the king's declaration. This he endeaAbp. Cant. voured to prove :—

His defence at the council-bourd.

"First, Because in the declaration all the Nine-and-thirty Articles are established; amongst which, that of predestination is one.

Secondly, Because all ministers are urged to subscribe the truth of the article, and all subjects to continue in the profession, as well as of the rest."

From these grounds he inferred predestination could not be reckoned amongst curious and forbidden doctrines. And here, desiring the declaration might be produced, he appealed to it for the inoffensiveness of his conduct. The lords of the council neither produced the declaration, nor charged his discourse with heterodoxy: they thought it sufficient to tell him it was his majesty's pleasure these mysterious questions should not be debated; and that silence in these points was the best expedient to secure the peace of the Church. To this the bishop replied, "he was sorry he misunderstood his majesty's mind; that had he been better informed, he would not have dipped in the controversy, but treated an unexceptionable argument; and that for the future he should govern himself accordingly.” Upon this he was dismissed without further trouble, and afterwards admitted to kiss the king's hand; who told him this doctrine of predestination was too big for the people's understanding, and therefore he was resolved not to give leave for discussing this controversy in the pulpit, and that the preachers' insisting on reformation and good life would be much more Dr. Ward. serviceable to the audience. Bishop Davenant promised obedience, and took his leave.

Bishop
Davenant's

Letter to

Fuller's

Ch. Hist.

This contro

In the beginning of the next year this controversy was reversy revived vived at Oxford. Hill, of Hart-hall; Hodges, of Exeter-colat Oxford. lege; Thorn, of Balliol-college; and Ford, of Magdalen-hall, preached warmly at St. Mary's against the Remonstrant opinions, called those of that persuasion Pelagians and Semi Pelagians, and fell foul on his majesty's declaration. For this misbehaviour they were convented before Dr. Smith, warden of Wadham, then vice-chancellor. They appealed from the vice-chancellor to the proctors; Bruch, of Brazennose-college, and Doughty, of Merton. The appeal being received, the vice-chancellor complained to his majesty, then at Woodstock, where the matter was heard before the king and council.

August 23,

A. D. 1631.

As

I.

for Hill, he had sometime before procured his pardon upon his CHARLES submission in the convocation. The other three were, by an order of the council-board, expelled the university: the proc- Wood, Hist. tors for receiving their appeals, contra formam statuti, were Univers et Antiquit. sentenced to resign their office in the convocation-house; and Oxon. Dr. Prideaux, rector of Exeter-college, and Dr. Wilkison, King principal of Magdalen-hall, were reprimanded for abetting Ri those preachers. Hodges afterward recanted publicly in St. Archbishop Mary's, but Ford refused to give that satisfaction.

Annals of

Charles 1.'s

Reign.

Laud's

Diary.

Ireland.

This year, Usher, lord primate of Ireland, published his And in "History of Gotteschalcus." In this tract he undertook Vossius, in some measure upon the Pelagian controversy; and here his pen ran out a little in defence of the predestinarian scheme. Not long before, Downham, bishop of Derry, published a discourse concerning perseverance: in this performance there were some passages that clashed directly with the king's declaration. Usher's book being written in Latin, did less disservice; and besides, some regard was shewn to the eminence of his station. However, to make the primate sen- August 24. sible of the king's displeasure, he was commanded to call in Downham's book, but his majesty's letters not coming to Usher's hands till the middle of October, most of the copies were dispersed and out of reach. However, for preventing these prohibited sallies, Beadle, bishop of Kilmore, was ordered to overlook the press, and keep it inoffensive.

This year Laud set forward the repairing St. Paul's: some- The repair what had been done in the two late reigns to recover it from of St. Paul's. the lamentable condition it was reduced to by the fire which happened in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's government. Laud had no difficulty to dispose the king for encouraging so pious a work in short, a commission was issued under the broad seal, to the archbishop of Canterbury, to the lord-keeper, to the bishops of London, Winchester, and Ely, to sir Robert Ducy, lord mayor of London, and several others. The purport was, that all monies brought in for the repair of this cathedral should be paid to the chamber of London. register should be kept of all subscriptions for contribution. That the judges of the prerogative court, and all bishops' officials in England and Wales, should be put in mind to remember this Church, and set aside some part of the goods of intestate persons, proper for pious uses. And, lastly, commissions

VOL. VIII.

E

That a

751.

ABBOT, of the like nature were to be issued through the whole kingAbp. Cant.

A.D. 1632.

Cyprian. Anglic. p. 232.

dom.

To break a little into the order of time, and dispatch this matter at once. Before the year 1640, the contributions brought into the chamber of London amounted to 113,0007. and upwards. By these large supplies of money (of which the king sent in more than 10,0007.), the whole body of the church was finished, and the steeple scaffolded to the top. The design was to take down the tower to the arches, and rebuild it to a more magnificent height. There was likewise a stately portico built at the west end of the church. It was supported with pillars of the Corinthian order, and embellished with the statues of king James and king Charles. But the rebuilding the spire, and finishing the projected decorations, miscarried by the misfortune of bishop Laud, and the breaking out of the rebellion'.

Upon the death of archbishop Harsnet, Neile was translated from Winchester to York; Curle was translated from Bath and Wells to Winchester; Pierce from Peterborough to Bath and Wells; and Dr. Austin Lyndsell, dean of Lichfield, was made bishop of Peterborough.

Mr. Francis Windebank, now secretary of state by Laud's interest, offered two proposals to the privy-council at the instance of this prelate. The one related to the state of religion in foreign factories and regiments; the other suggested a regulation of the Dutch and French Churches in London and elsewhere in England.

With reference to the first proposal, we are to observe, the English factory at Hamburgh, though allowed the privilege of their own Church constitution, deserted to the Geneva discipline and worship. They omitted reading the Common Prayer, and managed their Church affairs upon Calvin's plan of elders and deacons.

But most of those English who traded, or settled in Holland, fell short of the liberties at Hamburgh, and were obliged to conform to the religion of the State. To set this matter in a fuller light, I shall give the reader the petition of the

Inigo Jones was appointed to superintend the restoration of the old cathedral, and the repairs were carried on for many years; but the building was so ruinated by the great fire, 1666, that sir Christopher Wren found it necessary to begin the work de novo, in 1675.