From this impartial statement, it may be doubted whether so excellent and useful a minister of Christ was ever suspended and cast into prison upon such trivial and ridiculous charges before. It does not appear how long the good man continued in a state of confinement. If his persecutors considered the above charges so dangerous to the episcopal authority and the church of England, as to justify their proceedings, he might remain a long time. He died about the year 1603. Mr. Philips most probably never published any thing himself; but after his death, in 1605, Sir Henry Yelverton, afterwards judge, who having been his constant hearer, had taken down some of his sermons as they were delivered, published a volume, entitled, "Two and thirty godly and learned Sermons." MR. MIDGLEY was many years vicar of Rochdale in Lancashire, and a man of high reputation in his time. He is denominated a grave and godly minister, whose praise was great in the gospel.+ In the year 1585, he was appointed by the Bishop of Chester, to be one of the moderators of the religious exercises in that diocese. He was greatly admired and beloved by the puritans. Dr. Chadderton made mention of him, at the Hampton-court conference, in 1603. He requested on that occasion, that the wearing of the surplice, and the use of the cross in baptism, might not be urged upon certain ministers in Lancashire, and particularly upon the vicar of Rochdale. The request was no sooner presented, than Archbishop Whitgift replied, saying, "You could not have light upon a worse. For not many years ago it was proved before me, that by his irreverent usage of the eucharist, in dealing the bread out of a basket, every one putting in his hand and taking out a piece, he made many loathe the communion, and refuse to come to church." His grace in this statement was certainly mistaken. It could not be Mr. Midgley's "irreverent usage of the eucharist," in the way described, but their own ignorance, bigotry, and superstition, which produced those evils. Mr. Midgley was the pious and laborious minister of Rochdale nearly fifty years, and is said to have been instru Wood's Athenæ Oxon. vol. i. p. 277. + Clark's Lives annexed to Martyrologie, p. 68. Strype's Annals, vol. ii. Appen. p. 75. Fuller's Church Hist. b. x. p. 20. mental in the conversion of thousands of souls; yet he was silenced and deprived by the Bishop of Chester for nonconformity. He was the happy means in the conversion of Mr. Richard Rothwell, another worthy puritan divine. Mr. Midgley's son was also vicar of Rochdale, and a man of distinguished eminence. He presented "The Abridgment of the Lincolnshire Ministers' Reasons" to Bishop Morton, who afterwards published an answer to it. Both father and son were deprived for nonconformity. The latter, after his deprivation, turned physician, and was afterwards prosecuted for refusing to kneel at the sacrament.+ WILLIAM HUBBOCK, A. M.-He was born in the county of Durham, in the year 1560, and educated first in Magdalen-hall, then in Corpus Christi college, Oxford. Afterwards entering upon the sacred function, says the Oxford historian, he was in great repute for his learning; and he might have added, that he was a divine of distinguished worth, on account of his christian piety, his excellent preaching, and his manifold labours; and that he was highly esteemed and admired by some of the most worthy persons in the nation. Mr. Strype denominates him one of Mr. Cartwright's fraternity, yet a modest nonconformist. In the year 1590, Mr. Hubbock was cited before Archbishop Whitgift, and other high commissioners, at Lambeth, when he was charged with having preached a sermon at Oxford, in which he made some reflections upon a certain great person (this was the archbishop,) which the commissioners held to be undutiful and seditious. He was therefore required, as a just punishment of his crime, to enter into bonds that he would preach no more, nor come again within ten miles of Oxford. Upon the proposal of these demands, he thus replied, in the presence of his judges: "I cannot, with a safe conscience, enter into any such bonds, nor do any thing by which I should willingly exclude myself from the exercise of my ministry. Nevertheless, if I must be put to silence, I had rather be committed to prison, than thus silence myself; especially unless I had committed some fault, by preaching some false doctrine, or by publishing some offence, for which I justly deserved to be punished. Whitgift, at the same time, required him to subscribe, signifying, that, if he would comply, he should be dismissed, * Burges's Answer Rejoined, p. 218. Edit. 1631. + Paget's Defence, Pref. Wood's Athenæ Oxon. vol. i. p. 281. and his troubles ended. But the good man refused subscription, as well as entering into bonds; and, accordingly, received the ecclesiastical censure.* In this state of perplexity and distress, Mr. Hubbock made application to Sir Francis Knollys; who, most warmly espousing his cause, immediately wrote to the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, recommending his distressing case to his lordship's consideration. But the zealous intercessions of these great statesmen were of no avail whatever. Whitgift and his brethren had passed a decree against Mr. Hubbock, which, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, could not be altered. With this decree, however, the treasurer was much displeased. Though our learned historian has altogether failed in saying what the decree was, we may easily conjecture, that, as it proceeded from Lambeth, and was against a divine of puritan principles, it savoured not of the things of Jesus Christ. But the treasurer did not immediately relinquish the cause of this injured servant of Christ. One repulse from the archbishop did not discourage him. Beholding the severity with which the good man was treated, he still took his part, and wrote again to the archbishop, boldly declaring, "That Mr. Hubbock had committed no offence, only he had said in his sermon, that a great nobleman (meaning the archbishop) had kneeled down to her majesty, for staying and hindering her intent to reform religion." Sir Francis Knollys also wrote again to the treasurer in these words: know how greatly and how tyrannically the archbishop hath urged subscription to his own articles without law; and that he has claimed a right of superiority in the bishops over the inferior clergy, from God's own ordinance, to the great injury of her majesty's supreme government. Though at present he does not profess to claim it; yet I think he ought openly to retract it."+ "You con The worthy endeavours of these illustrious statesmen proved altogether ineffectual. The inflexible prelates would not alter their purpose. The good man tinued under the sentence of his spiritual judges; but how long, or whether he was ever restored, our materials fail to afford sufficient information. Mr. Hubbock published "An Oration Gratulatory upon King James's Coronation,' 1604; and several sermons. * Strype's Whitgift, p. 341. + Ibid. p. 341, 349. THOMAS CAREW was born of the ancient and worthy family of his name in Cornwall, educated in the university of Oxford, and, entering upon the sacred function, became a frequent and zealous preacher. He received ordination from the Bishop of Worcester, and was licensed by Archbishop Grindal and Bishop Aylmer, from whom, on account of his excellent preaching, he received high commendations. He afterwards became minister at Hatfield Peverel, in Essex; but having acquainted the bishop by letter, that in the county of Essex, within the compass of sixteen miles, there were twenty-two nonresidents, thirty insufficient and scandalous ministers, and, at the same time, nineteen ministers silenced for refusing subscription, his lordship, instead of being pleased with the information, convened Mr. Carew before the high commission, and charged him, without the smallest evidence, with setting up a presbytery, and contemning ecclesiastical censures. It was further alleged against him, "That he was chosen by the people; that he had defaced the Book of Common Prayer; that he denied that Christ descended into the regions of the damned; and that he kept persons from the communion, when there was more need to allure them to it." These charges being brought against him, the bishop, to make short of it, tendered him the oath ex officio; upon the refusal of which Mr. Carew was immediately committed to the Fleet, and another minister sent to supply the place. His successor was soon found guilty of adultery; and when the parishioners petitioned Bishop Aylmer for his removal, and the restoration of their former minister, his grace said, "That he would not, for all the livings he had, put a poor man out of his living for the fact of adultery."+ Mr. Carew having left an account of his troubles, let us hear him speak for himself. "The bishop," says he, "first granted me a license to preach, and much commended my preaching; but afterwards, upon the complaint of secret enemies, he sent for me, and took it from me. Before I had been at Hatfield above seven weeks, because I would not wear the surplice, he suspended me, and I continued under suspension half a year. My parishioners were at considerable expense and trouble in presenting many supplications unto him, that I might be released from suspension and restored to my ministry, but without success. Afterwards MS. Register, p. 651, 652.-Strype's Aylmer, p. 120, 121. + MS. Register, p. 653, 654. I went to his lordship myself, to know the reasons of his displeasure; and when I said I would yield in all things according to the word of God, he replied, That addition, according to the word of God, is your knavish trick; but you shall observe all things. At length," says Mr. Carew, "in about a twelvemonth after, by the kind favour of one who was intimate with the bishop, my liberty was obtained. Nevertheless, by further complaints of known enemies, I was again suspended; and after I was cleared by my judges, I obtained my release from suspension. Soon after this, I was again brought into trouble; and refusing to take the oath to answer their articles against myself, I was committed to the Fleet."* His commitment was dated November 16, 1585. Mr. Carew, and Mr. Allen, his patron, were both committed to prison at the same time. They both offered bail, but it was refused. Afterwards, it was offered them by the bishop, upon these conditions: "That Allen, the patron, would not disturb the minister who was appointed to preach there, nor disquiet him in reading the service; and that Mr. Carew would preach no more in his diocese, without a further license."+ These conditions did not, however, meet their approbation. During their imprisonment in the Fleet, Mrs. Carew presented a supplication to the queen, for the release of her husband, in which she addressed her majesty as follows:-" This most humbly beseecheth your most royal majesty, to relieve the distressed state of your poor handmaid, who sueth to your highness in behalf of her husband, a minister of the gospel, who hath been accused by certain papists, and who incensed the Bishop of London against him. And for refusing to subscribe to two of the archbishop's articles, which appear to him to be contrary to the word of God and the laws of the realm, the bishop hath suspended, deprived, and twice committed him to prison; and hath now a third time committed him, because he is unwilling to give up preaching till the bishop license him. Wherefore, I heartily beseech your majesty, that you will set my husband at liberty; that, by preaching the word, he may further instruct the people how to pray for the present peace and everlasting felicity of your most excellent majesty." Mr. Carew and his worthy patron, having suffered imprisonment for some time, made application to the privy council, + Strype's Aylmer, p. 121, 122. MS. Register, p. 653-655. |