II. the Church and the persons employed in the same, and con- CHARLES cerning all ecclesiastical meetings and matters to be proposed and determined therein, as they in their royal wisdom shall think fit." Charles 2. parl. 2. cap. 1. turned out By virtue of this act,-whether strained or not I shall not The archbishop of examine,-Burnet, archbishop of Glasgow, was dispossessed of Glasgow his see, and Dr. Leighton put in his place. This remove was by this act, made by the high-commissioner Lauderdale. However, the and restored. court, being sensible this was pushing the regale to an unusual extent, gave Leighton only the title of "commendator of Glasgow," till archbishop Burnet was prevailed with to sign a resignation. But this being looked on But this being looked on as an involuntary cession, the Scottish bishops were shocked at it. The archbishop of Canterbury likewise, and the English prelates, thought the common interest of their order affected, and that the episcopal authority was struck at in the Glasgow precedent. In short, they solicited so heartily in the cause, and represented the business in so persuasive a manner to the king, that his majesty revoked his proceedings, and archbishop Burnet was restored. those who The next session an act passed against "Invaders of Ministers," as the title runs. And here it is enacted and declared, “That whatsoever person or persons should be found guilty of An act against the assaulting of the lives of the ministers, or robbing their int houses, or actually attempting the same, shall be punished assaulted the with the pain of death, and the confiscation of their goods." Charles 2. How well this act has been since regarded, the period of my sess. 2. history will not give me leave to inquire. .6 clergy. parl. 2. cap. 4. suppressing conventicles. To return to England. In the parliament at Westminster, A. D. 1670. an act passed" for preventing and suppressing Seditious Conventicles." By this statute, if any person upwards of sixteen An act for should be present at any assembly, conventicle, or meeting, seditious under colour or pretence of any exercise of religion, in any other manner than according to the liturgy and practice of the Church of England, where there were five persons or more besides those of the said household; or if they met in the fields, where there were five persons met for the purposes abovementioned; in such cases the offenders were to be fined five shillings for the first offence, and ten shillings for the second. SHEL DON, And the preachers and teachers in any such meetings were to Apb. Cant. forfeit twenty pounds for the first, and forty for the second offence. And lastly, those who knowingly suffered any such conventicle in their houses, barns, yards, &c. were to forfeit 22 Charles 2. twenty pounds." cap. 1. in the Church. To say something concerning promotions in the Church : Promotions the honourable Nathanael Crew, son to the lord Crew, and clerk of the closet to his majesty, bishop elect of Oxon; and Dr. Thomas Wood, late dean of Lichfield, bishop elect of Coventry and Lichfield, were on Sunday, July the second, solemnly consecrated in the chapel at Lambeth, by the lord archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the bishops of London, A.D. 1671. Ely, Lincoln, Worcester, and Rochester. On Sunday, October 1, Dr. Henry Bridgeman, dean of Chester, was, in the cathedral of that city, elected bishop of Man, by the bishop of Chester, deputed for that purpose by Stern, archbishop of York; the bishops of St. Asaph, Bangor, and Clogher, assisting at the solemnity. The king's declaration for an indulgence. On February the 12th following, John Cosens, lord bishop of Durham, remarkably eminent for his loyalty and learning, departed this life. Besides his "Devotions," already mentioned, he wrote a "Scholastical History of the Canon of the Scriptures." This tract, written at Paris, is a very learned and solid justification of the Church of England, as to this branch of the controversy; the extending the canon by the council of Trent, being sufficiently disproved from the Fathers and Catholic tradition. After the see of Durham had been kept vacant for some time, Crew, lord bishop of Oxon, was translated thither. When the war broke out a second time between England and Holland, the king, who seemed inclined to favour the Dissenters, thought this a proper juncture to quiet the minds of his subjects, and set them at ease in matters of religion. this purpose, by the advice of his privy council, he published the declaration following: "CHARLES REX, To "Our care and endeavours for the preservation of the rights and interest of the Church, have been sufficiently manifested to the world by the whole course of our government since our happy restoration, and by the many and frequent II. 896. ways of coercion that we have used for reducing all erring or CHARLES dissenting persons, and for composing the unhappy differences in matters of religion, which we found among our subjects upon our return; but it being evident, by the sad experience of twelve years, that there is very little fruit of all those forcible courses, we think ourself obliged to make use of that supreme power in ecclesiastical matters, which is not only inherent in us, but hath been declared and recognized to be so by several statutes and acts of parliament: and therefore we do now accordingly issue this our declaration, as well for the quieting the minds of our good subjects in these points, for inviting strangers in this conjuncture to come and live under us, and for the better encouragement of all to the cheerful following of their trade and callings, from whence we hope, by the blessing of God, to have many good and happy advantages to our government; as also for preventing, for the future, the danger that might otherwise arise from private meetings and seditious conventicles. "And, in the first place, we declare our express resolution, meaning, and intention, to be, that the Church of England be preserved, and remain entire in its doctrine, discipline, and government, as now it stands established by law; and that this be taken to be, as it is, the basis, rule, and standard, of the general and public worship of God, and that the orthodox conformable clergy do receive and enjoy the revenues belonging thereunto; and that no person, though of a different opinion and persuasion, shall be exempt from paying his tithes, and other dues whatsoever. And farther we declare, that no person shall be capable of holding any benefice, living, or ecclesiastical dignity, or preferment of any kind, in this our kingdom of England, who is not exactly conformable. "We do, in the next place, declare our will and pleasure to be, that the execution of all and all manner of penal laws in matters ecclesiastical, against whatsoever sort of Nonconformists, or Recusants, be immediately suspended; and they are hereby suspended. And all judges, judges of assize, and gaol delivery, sheriffs, justices of the peace, mayors, bailiffs, and other officers whatsoever, whether ecclesiastical or civil, are to take notice of it, and pay due obedience thereunto. "And that there may be no pretence for any of our subjects to continue their illegal meetings and conventicles, we do SHEL declare, that we shall from time to time allow a sufficient our kingdom, for the use of such as do not conform to the "But to prevent such disorders and inconveniences as may happen by this our indulgence, if not duly regulated, and that they may be the better protected by the civil magistrate, our express will and pleasure is, that none of our subjects do presume to meet in any place until such places be allowed, and the teacher of that congregation be approved by us. "And lest any should apprehend, that this restriction should make our said allowance and approbation difficult to be obtained, we do farther declare, that this our indulgence, as to the allowance of the public places of worship, and approbation of the preachers, shall extend to all sorts of Nonconformists and Recusants, except the Recusants of the Roman Catholic religion, to whom we shall in no wise allow public places of worship, but only indulge them their share in the common exemption from the execution of the penal laws, and March 15, the exercise of their worship in their private houses only. 1671-2. Feb. 4, 1672-3. "And if, after this our clemency and indulgence, any of our subjects shall presume to abuse this liberty, and shall preach seditiously, or to the derogation of the doctrine, discipline, or government of the established Church, or shall meet in places not allowed by us; we do hereby give them warning, and declare, we will proceed against them with all imaginable severity and we will let them see, we can be as severe to punish such offenders, when so justly provoked, as we are indulgent to truly tender consciences. "Given at our court at Whitehall, this 15th day of March, in the four-and-twentieth year of our reign. The next session of parliament, the king, in his speech to both houses, acquainted them, he had granted an indulgence, and was resolved to stand by it. The lord chancellor Shaftsbury dilated upon what his majesty had delivered. It was in this speech that he applied that remarkable sentence, "Delenda II. est Carthago," to the Hollanders: and endeavoured to prove a CHARLES competition for interest and trade, between England and the united provinces: and that the Dutch would always be enemies to his majesty's kingdoms, upon this principle. mons remon against it, The commons being apprehensive the dispensing power The commight make the scale too heavy on the crown side, remon- strating strated against it: and in their address acquainted his majesty, it is recalled. that "considering his declaration of indulgence, they found themselves bound in duty to inform him, that penal statutes in matters ecclesiastical, cannot be suspended but by act of parliament." The king in his answer endeavoured to prevail with them to solicit no farther, but drop the motion. But the house not being satisfied with what his majesty had offered, repeated their application, and argued against the legality of dispensing to such compass and latitude. In short, they pressed the complaint with so much vigour, that his majesty found himself obliged to comply: and thus the indulgence was recalled, and taken off the file. Soon after this address, the commons resolved, 66 nemine contradicente," that "a bill be brought in for the ease of his majesty's subjects, who are Dissenters in matters of religion from the Church of England." This bill passed the lower Feb. 14. house, but was thrown out by the lords. To go back a little to the parliament at Edinburgh; where an act passed against unlawful ordinations. The statute ordains, “That no person or persons whatsoever presume to 4 Scotch act of parappoint or ordain any person to the office and work of the liament ministry, except those who have authority approved by the against unlawful ordilaws of the kingdom for that effect; and that no person take nations. ordination from any but such as are thus lawfully authorized to give the same: declaring hereby all pretended ordinations of any persons since the year 1661, which have not been, or hereafter shall not be according to the appointment of the law, to be null and invalid." By the way, the reader may Charles 2. parl. 2. observe, John duke of Lauderdale was high commissioner of sess. 3. Scotland during the first, second, third and fourth sessions of cap. 9. this second parliament. Another statute in this session sets forth, "that upon the 13th of August, 1670, an act had been made against conventicles and that upon the 20th of the said month, in the year aforesaid, another act passed against separation, and 897. |