iiiiil!li'Sli!l!l'i'^!lHuiiii!;l^l!;i-^^ ■p 5 'X:> Columbia ^nibergitp ;i intljeCitpof^etogorfe LIBRARY 1 This book is due two weeks from t!u: last date stamped below, and if not returned or renewed at or before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. ( THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ^15 THE » * ifitorp of ti)e Sf)urcf) of From the Death of Elizabeth to the Present Time. BY THE REV. GEO. G. PERRY, M.A., Prebendary of Lincoln and Rector ofWaddington, late Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln College, Oxford. IN THREE VOLUMES. Vol. III. London : SAUNDERS, OTLEY, AND CO., 66, Brook Street, W. 1864. ^ys- London : F. Shoberl, Printer, 37, De^n Street, Soho, W. 2 ' Contents of VoL III, CHAPTER XXXIV. Infatuated conduct of the King — Symptoms of an impend- ing change — The King at last awakened — The bishops sum- moned to counsel him — Their ten recommendations — The King accepts them — Their effect not good on the country — Otlier interviews of the bishops with the King— The bishops refuse to publish a declaration against the Prince of Orange — Landing of the Prince of Orange — Gilbert Burnet — Difficult time for the clergy — Petition of the bishops — Mr. Chetwood — The King's vacillation and flight — The meeting at Guild- hall — The King's return and second flight — The Primate draws back, and refuses to act further in the change of Government — The change of Government — The oaths im- posed upon the clergy — Measures of relief for Dissenters — Comprehension — Attempted in the House of Lords — De- feated in the Commons— The Toleration Act — Its advantages to the Church — Commission to prepare matters for Convo- cation — Views of Tillotson — Recommendations of the Com- mission — Dangerous nature of the proceedings — Publications on the subject of the Commission — Meeting of Convocation — Dr. Jane chosen Prolocutor — His speech, and the Presi- dent's reply— The Royal Commission — The King's message — The address in reply — The Comprehension scheme not offered to Convocation — Prorogation of Convocation Page CHAPTER XXXV. The question of the oaths — Number of the Nonjurors — Greatness of loss to the Church— Bishop Thomas— Bishop Lake— Bishop Cart w right — Archbishop Bancroft- Bishop Ken— Bishop Frampton— Bishop Lloyd of Norwich— Bishop 18v248 vi Contents. Turner — Bishop White — ^John Kettlewcll — Charles Lesley — Robert Nelson — Henry Dodwell — 7^^ Ctise in View — The Case in Fact — George Hickes — Jeremy Collier — The Non- jurors divide into two communions — Character of the later Nonjurors — Mischief wrought by them to the Church — A Nonjuror's view of the state of the Church at this period Page 54 CHAPTER XXXVI. The clergy uneasy — The new bishops — Bishop Burnet — Patrick and Stillingfleet — The successors to the Nonjurors — Archbishop Tillotson — Archbishop Sharp — Richard Cumberland — John Hough — Robert Grove — Growth of immorality and profaneness — Bentley's Boyle Lectures — Collier On the Stage — Formation of the societies for the reformation of manners — The religious societies — Christian Knowledge Society — Dr. Thomas Bray — Society for the Propagation of the Gospel — Dr. Bray's libraries — Tillotson as Primate — His death — Archbishop Tenison — Death of Queen Mary — Church patronage — King's injunctions of 1695 — The Trinitarian controversy — Dr. Sherlock's Vindi- cation — Dr. South's reply — The King's directions — Union between Presbyterians and Independents — Antinomian con- troversy amongst the Dissenters — The Convocation contro- versy — Letter to a Convocation man — Dr. Wake's reply — Francis Atterbury — Meeting of Convocation — The Lower House resists the archbishops' prorogation — Presents a report on the point of prorogation — Lower House claims a free con- ference — Censures Toland's book — Bishops refuse to concur — Lower House determines to sit on intermediate days — Refuses to appoint a committee — Bishop Burnet charged with heresy — Particulars of charge evaded — Convocation dissolved — Spirit of the new Convocation — Phrase of proroguing the Convocation — Death of the Prolocutor — Dissolution of Convocation — Progress of the religious societies — Educational efforts — Traces of religious devotion — Distinctions of High and Low Church — Church mercifully preserved in the Revo- lution period ........ 79 CHAPTER XXXVII. Accession of Oucen Anne an important era to the Church — The opportunity lost — The Queen supersedes the Com- mission for Church Preferment — Unpopularity of the bishops — Bishop of Worcester charged with Breach of Privilege — Contents, vii Archbishop Sharp — The Tory character of the House of Commons — Occasional Conformity — Bill to prevent it brought into the House of Commons — The Bill sent to the House of Lords — The free conference — The Bill lost — The Queen's Speech — Occasional Conformity Bill revived — Bishop Burnet's Speech — Bill rejected a second time — Uueen Anne's Bounty — The attempt to carry the Occasional Con- formity Bill by a tack — Debate in the Lords before the Queen — Parliament dissolved — Disputes in the first Session of Con- vocation — The Declaration on the divine right of Episcopacy — The Lower House petitions the Queen — Disappointment of the High Churchmen — The representation about scandals — The prejnonentes clause — Speech of the Archbishop in pro- roguing Convocation — Dr. Binks chosen Prolocutor of Con- vocation — Violent attack on the bishops — The archbishop reproves the lower clergy — Continuance of the disputes — The archbishop's speech at the conclusion of Convocation — Excited temper of the clergy — The " Church in danger" — The Memorial of the Church of Englayid — Its great effect — False impressions regarding the Oueen — Promotion of Bishop Bull ; of Bishop Beveridge ; of Bishop Wake ; of Bishop Hooper ........ Page 138 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Whigs in the ascendant — Attempt to stop the alarmists — Debate in the House of Lords — Resolution of Parliament — Benjamin Hoadly — His sermon before the Lord Mayor — The first Session of the Convocation of 1705 — The two Houses differ on the Address — The Moderate party in the Lower House protests — The Queen's letter — Dangers to the Church from the Union — Convocation prorogued to prevent their opposition — Representation of the Lower House — Queen's second letter — Doubtful propriety of this proceeding — Convocation not allowed to meet — Turn in the state oi affairs — Promotion of Sir William Dawes and Offspring Blackhall — Moderate promotions — Controversy between Blackball and Hoadly — The question of the lawfulness of Resistance — Growing popularity of the High Church notions — Dr. Henry Sacheverell — His sermon at St. Paul's — Pro- ceedings taken in Parliament — Impolicy of the prosecution — The trial — The defence — Debates in the House of Lords — Dr. Sacheverell voted guilty — His sentence — Popular sym- pathy during the trial — Rejoicings in the country — Effects of the trial 180 viii Contents, CHAPTER XXXIX. The Church at the height of its influence in the country — Zeal for Church observances — Abuse of Whig clergymen — Dean Swift — Social condition of the clergy — Their small revenues — Humble way of living — Clergy had advanced in character — Their political combinations — Causes of scandal — Bonds of resignation — Abuses in administration of means of grace — Disuse o^ family prayer — Frequent services in churches— Defective education of the clergy — Ecclesiastical discipline — Foreign Churches attracted by the success of the English Church — Negotiations with Prussia — Learned writers among the clergy — Humphrey Prideaux — William Wall — ^Joseph Bingham — The sermons of this period — The Convocation of 1710 — Preliminary arrangements — The Queen's license for business — The points to be treated of — Disputes on the first topic — Report of the Committee on disciphne — Terriers of glebe lands — Rural deans — Mr. Whiston's case — Question of the jurisdiction of Convocation — His sentence is not ratified — This Session of Convocation more promising — Convocation, through Atterbury's ambi- tion, fails to effect anything — House of Commons recog- nizes the pretensions of the Lower House — Question as to the validity of lay-Baptism — Lower House of Convocation refuses to concur with the bishops' declaration — The Bill against Occasional Conformity passed — Censure of Bishop Fleetwood's sermons — The Schism Bill — Convocation of 1 7 14 — Dr. Samuel Clarke— His letter of submission — Queen's death great blow to the clergy . . . Page 226 CHAPTER XL. Accession of George L — Dissatisfaction among the High Churchmen — Election of a new Parliament — King's decla- ration against clergy interfering in matters of State — License to Convocation to transact business — Form for consecrating churches — The Seventy-fifth Canon — Address to the King — Changes in the Upper House — Death of Burnet — Of Tenison — His legacy for establishing bishops in America — Archbishop Wake — Benjamin Hoadly — Hoadly's Preserva- tive — His sermon on the Kingdom of Christ — The Bango- rian controversy — Character of the controversy — Growth of Latitudinarianism — Dr. Snape's answer — Hoadly's reply — Snape's second letter — M. de la Pilloniere — The Repre- sentation of the Lower House of Convocation — Dr. Sherlock Contents. ix charged with inconsistency — Hoadly's Reply to the Repre- sentation — The defence of the Representation — Dean Sherlock — William Law— His reply to Hoadly — Dispute between Bishop Nicolson and Hoadly— Daniel Whitby — Francis Hare — The Primate opposes concessions to Dissenters — Government coerces the High Church clergy — Archbishop Wake's negotiation with the Galilean Church— Policy of humbling the Church — The Bill against blasphemy — Quakers' Affirmation Bill— Bishop Atterbury the great opponent of Government — Atterbury's trial and banish- ment — His popularity — Church views recede from observa- tion Page 268 CHAPTER XLI. The Trinitarian controversy — Waterland's Vindication — Dr. Clarke's Modest Plea — Controversy between Waterland and Whitby — Waterland's Second Vindication — Further Vin- dication — History of the Athanasian Creed — Importance of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity — Case of Arian subscription — Dr. Sykes and Waterland — Deistical controversies — The Characteristics — Collins's Discourse of Free-thinking — Col- lins's Grounds, ^c. — Woolston's Discourses on the Miracles — Sherlock's Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection — Tindal's Christianity as Old as the Creation — Waterland's Scripture Vindicated — Dr. Conyers Middleton — Dr.Zachary Pearce answers Middleton — William Warburton — The Alliance between Church and State — The Divine Legation of Moses — The Eucharistic controversy — Socinian and Pela- gian views advocated — Bishop Hoadly's Plain Account — The Nonjuring School on the subject of the Eucharist — Waterland's Review of the Doctrine of the Eucharist — Origin of the Methodists — Doctrines of Wesley and Whit- field — They separate from the Moravians — Difference between Wesley and Whitfield — Danger of Wesley's views — Character of the opposition made to them — Difficulties of the clergy through the spread of Methodism — Odium brought upon the Church — Sir R. Walpole's distribution of patron- age — Queen Caroline — ^Joseph Butler — Publication of the Analogy — Religious policy of Walpole — Bishop Gibson — Archbishop Potter — Danger of the Church . . .321 CHAPTER XLII. Proceedings of Convocation — ^Jacobitism among the clergy X Contents. — Herring, Archbishop of York — Translated to Canterbury — Butler at Durham — The Durham charge — Francis Black- burne — The Serious Inquiry — The calumny on Butler — The Free and Candid Disquisitions — Negotiations for a com- prehension — Archdeacon Blackburne's avowal of his objec- tions to the Church — Bishop Clayton's Essay on Spirit — George Home — The Hutchinsonians — The Scriptural school — The Warburtonians — Warburton's Fiezv of Bolingbroke's writings — Change in the character of the attacks upon reli- gion — The writers in defence of Christianity — Hume's Essay on Miracles — The good Bishop Wilson — Grievous state of the Church at this period — Nonresidence of bishops — Want of orthodoxy — Negligence of deans and chapters — Nonresidence defended on principle — Archbishop Seeker — The question of bishops for America — Violent opposition to it — A great danger to the Church — The movement against subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles — The Con- fessional — Archbishop Cornwallis — Proposals for an appli- cation to Parliament — Meeting at the Feathers Tavern — Petition drawn up and circulated — Expectations of the peti- tioners — They prove fallacious — Debate in Parliament on the anti-subscription petition — Mr. Burke's speech — The petition rejected Page 364 CHAPTER XLIII. The Dissenting ministers seek to be relieved from sub- scription to the Articles — The debate in the Lords on the Dissenters' Relief Bill — Movement among the clergy for revision of formularies — Some of the Unitarian clergy avoid resignation — Spirit of antagonism to the great doctrines of the Faith — Gibbon's XV. and XVI. Chapters — Watson's Apology for Christianity — Dr. Priestley — Bishop Horsley — Thomas Paine's Age of Reason — Watson's Apology for the Bible — Archdeacon Paley — Relief to the Romanists — Pro- testant Dissenters relieved from subscription to the Articles — " No Popery " riots — Motion to repeal Corporation and Test Acts in 1787 — Archbishop Moore — Bishop Lowth — Bishop Hurd — The bishops declare against the repeal of the Test AcLs — Renewal of the motion in 1789 — And in 1790 — The " Church in danger " — Rejection of the motion — Mr. Burke and Mr. Wilbcrforce share in the apprehension — Proposal for a further relief of Romanists — Bishop Horsley 's speech — Religious liberty practically reached . 422 Contents. xi CHAPTER XLIV. Commencement of a more religious tone — The growth and development of Wesleyanism — Appointment of preachers — Excitement studied by constant change — The Bands and Leaders — Causes of the success of the Methodists — The Con- ferejice — The declaration about good works — Mr. Fletcher of Maddeley — Settling of chapels — The administration of the Sacraments in chapels — Mr. Wesley's bishops — George Whitfield — The Countess of Huntingdon — Mr. Berridge — Rowland Hill — The Serious C/ergy — Bishop Porteus — Sun- day schools — The religious laity — John Thornton — William Wilberforce — Hannah More — Samuel Johnson — George III. — The great orators in Parliament — Simoniacal practices abated — Increase of missionary efforts — Society for the Pro- pagation of the Gospel — Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge — Mr. Wilberforce's attempt for India — Founda- tion of the Church Missionary Society — Development of religious life . . . . . . . . '455 CHAPTER XLV. SCOTLAND. The Scotch clergy adhere to James II. — Rabbling of the clergy in the West — Episcopacy voted a grievance — King William inclined to favour the bishops — Danger of such a policy — He accepts the Crown with the condition of abolish- ing Episcopacy — The persecution of the clergy — Change in the Established Church Government — Further ejectment of the Episcopal clergy — Proceedings of Presbyterians disliked by the King — Jacobitism of the Scotch Church the great difiiculty — Some concessions made by Presbyterians — History of the Scotch Church henceforth not connected with the Establishment — The outed ministers prohibited from exer- cising their ofHce — The accession of Queen Anne brings no relaxation of legal disabilities — New bishops consecrated — English Book of Common Prayer generally used — Case of Mr. Greenshields — Passing of the Toleration Act — Question as to the validity of Presbyterian baptism — Severe measures passed against the Church — The question of the Usages — The College dispute — The Canons of 1743 — Revision of the Communion office — Consecration of the first bishop for America — Repeal of the penal laws . . . • 49 1 xii Contents. CHAPTER XLVI. IRELAND . The Irish Church favours the Revolution — 111 requited by the Government — Bishop King— The Presbyterian in- terest — Improvement in the beginning of Queen Anne's reign — Meeting of Con vocation — Indifference of the Upper House — Attempts to address the natives in the Irish tongue defeated by the Bishops — Irregular ordinations — General neglect of duty — Promotions of Englishmen in Ireland — The " English interest" — Primate Boulter — Character of the English clergy promoted in Ireland — Bishop Rundle — Union and disunion of parishes — Attempts to procure glebes — And enforce resi- dence — Philip Skelton— Bishop Clayton — The Essay on Spirit — Proceedings taken against the bishop — Bishop Berkeley — Dean Swift — Paucity of great divines in Ireland — Apathy and carelessness — The Church made to suffer for all the grievances of the people — Outrages upon the clergy — Relaxa- tion of penal Statutes — The Rebellion of 1798 — The Act of Union — Question of the Irish Convocation — Benefits of the union — Revival of energy in the Irish Church . Page 524 Conclusion . . . . . . . . '557 THE HISTORY CHURCH OF ENGLAND, CHAPTER XXXIV. Infatuated conduct of the King — Symptoms of an impending change — The King at last awakened — The bishops summoned to counsel him — Their ten recommendations — The King ac- cepts them — Their effect not good on the country — Other interviews of the bishops with the King — The bishops refuse to publish a declaration against the Prince of Orange — Landing of the Prince of Orange — Gilbert Burnet — Difficult time for the clergy — Petition of the bishops — Mr. Chctwood — The King's vacillation and flight — The meeting at Guildhall — The King's return and second flight — The Primate draws back, and refuses to act further in the change of Government — The change of Government — The oaths imposed upon the clergy • — Measures of relief for Dissenters — Comprehension — Attempted in the House of Lords — Defeated in the Commons — The Toleration Act — Its advantages to the Church — Commission to prepare matters for Convocation — Views of Tillotson — Recommenda- tions of the Commission — Dangerous nature of the proceedings — Publications on the subject of the Commission — Meeting of Convocation — Dr. Jane chosen prolocutor — His speech, and VOL. III. B Chap. XXXIV. 1688. THE HISTORT OF Chap. XXXIV. 1688. Infatuated conduct of the King. the President's reply — The Royal Commission — The King's message — The address in reply — The Comprehension scheme not offered to Convocation — Prorogation of Convocation. ^> ^N^e^^^f i|HE conduct of James II. during "^ ' the summer of 1688 — that critical period when, by a wise policy, he might perhaps have prevented, at any rate have delayed, his down- fall — was the conduct of a man who is infatuated to ensure his ruin. He had given all Englishmen abundant cause to tremble for their dearest rights, and driven them to that point at which they must either resist or be ruined ; but he did not appear to contemplate the possibility of their resistance. He had shown to the Church of the nation his deadly hostility to its faith, his deter- mination to humble and degrade it; yet he appeared to think that it must accept this resolve of his as a matter of course, and quietly submit to its destruc- tion. The trial of the bishops had failed to en- lighten him, or to make him change his policy. The High Commission Court continued its obnoxious existence, and menaced the refractory clergy with its censures. On August 13, 1688, we find him still exercising his dispensing power in the same irritating and illegal manner. A mandate bearing that date was directed to the Warden and Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford, to admiit John Cart- wright of Trinity College, Cambridge, to the Vicar- age of Barking in their gift, '^ any statute, custom or constitution to the contrary notwithstanding." * * 7)w//er MSS., 28, 160. i:he church of England. lile the King, however, was bhnd, every one Chap, w the danger. The Prhice of Orange's pre- ^^}),]} ' Whi else saw the danger. The Prhice of Orange's pi^ parations were not unobserved by the nation, though 5 j^^j^s of unheeded by the one chiefly menaced. The flock- an impending ing of men of influence to Holland increased.* change. The Churchmen who had lent themselves to the tyrannical measures of the King, began now to feel conscientious scruples, and to change their views. Bishop Sprat now writes to resign his oflice as Ecclesiastical Commissioner, calling God to witness that what he did in reading the Declaration, was upon a principle of conscience, but being fully satisfied that the contrary view of the clergy was upon a like principle. " I must declare," says he, " that I cannot with a safe conscience sit as judge upon so many pious and excellent men, with whom, if it be God's will, it rather becomes me to suffer. I protest sincerely what I did was to no other end, but that I might preserve the King's favour towards us, and thereby the enjoyment of our religion according to his gracious promise, nor did I conceive his Majesty's command for reading the Declaration did any way require our approbation of it."f These explanations, if somewhat late, are highly suggestive, and prepare us for the employ- ment in which the bishop is soon found engaged, viz., altering the service of November 5, so as to make it complimentary to King William. J Another * Dalrymple'sMmi?/rj,i.,v.,20. f TmnerMSS.,2i,\6j. X Bishop Patrick's Autobiography, p. 152. " It was the known characteristic of that prelate that no one had a quicker apprehen- sion of danger than he, or had more sagacity to avoid it." — Ralph's History of Ejigland, i., 995. B 2 THE HISTORT OF Chap. bishop who had published the Declaration, also ^"^li thought fit now to set forth an explanation of his conduct, and wrote to Archbishop Bancroft to endeavour to set himself right with him, though not with very good success.* The King It was not till the middle of September that at last King Tames was convinced that he was threatened awakened. '^ . . i , • • i 11 1 With an nivasion by his son-in-law, and that the hearts of his people were already with the invader. A letter from the King of France conveyed the Information. As the King read It, ^^ he turned pale and stood motionless. The letter dropped from his hand. His past errors, his future dangers rushed at once upon his thoughts. He strove to conceal his perturbation, but in doing so betrayed it ; and his courtiers In affecting not to observe him betrayed that they did." f The bishops The policy of James had hitherto borne the Im- sQmmoned to press of an Infatuated obstinacy ; It was now marked by an abject timidity. Nothing less than this could have induced him to ask help of those prelates of the Church whom he had so lately cruelly outraged. But on September 24, the Primate, the Bishops of London, Winchester, Ely, Chichester, Bath and Wells, Peterborough, Bristol, and Rochester were summoned to assist the King with their counsels. The Primate was either too ill to attend, or 111 enough to make his sickness a decent excuse for absenting himself, but most of the other bishops * Croft, Bishop of Hereford. The letters are among the I'ariTier MSS. t Dalrymple, i., v., 3 i. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. obeyed the summons. None of them, however, Chap ■ xxr 1688. appear to have been bold and ready enough to ^^^'^'^• speak plainly to the King, and the interview had no results.* The bishops were dissatisfied with themselves for having failed to take advantage of the opportunity, and, having consulted with San- croft, decided on asking for another audience. To this they were admitted on October 3. Now they came better prepared, with a paper ready drawn up containing heads of advice which they desired to offer. The document was a bold and plain- spoken one, doing great honour to its authors, and to the Primate who had the courage to sanction it and to read it to the King. Its recommendations were ten in number, i. That the King should put the Their ten management of the several counties into the hands recommen- of those who were legally qualified for it. 2. That he should annul the Court of Ecclesiastical Com- mission. 3. That he should neither grant nor continue any dispensation to any to hold preferment against the laws, and, in particular, that he should restore the Fellows of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford. 4. That he should revoke his licenses for Romish schools. 5. That he should desist from the exercise of a dispensing power. 6. That he should inhibit the Romish bishops from invading * ** The King and the Court seem to wonder that they received no further applications from tlie bishops to-day, adding, that it was my Lord Godolphin's opinion that whatever was now fit to be asked by us, we might have granted at least by degrees ; there- fore we ought to be plain, and to propose most humbly as a neces- sary discharge of our duty to his Majesty, whatever we thought necessary for the public security." — Bishop of Ely to Sancroft, Clarendon Correspondence, ii., 492. See also ii., 191. rHE HIsrORT OF Chap. the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 7. That he should XXI" 1688. fill the vacant bishoprics in England and Ireland with fitting men, and in particular should appoint to the Archbishopric of York. 8. That he should restore their old privileges to corporations. 9. That he should speedily call a free and regular Parliament, " wherein the Church of England may be secured according to the Acts of Uniformity ; provisions may be made for a due liberty of conscience, and for secur- ing the liberties and properties of all your subjects ; and a mutual confidence and good understanding may be established between your Majesty and all your people. 10. Above all, that your Majesty will be graciously pleased to permit your bishops to offer you such motives and arguments, as (we trust) may, by God's grace, be effectual to persuade your Majesty to return to the Communion of the Church of England : into whose most Catholic faith you were baptized, and in which you were educated, and to which it is our daily earnest prayer to God you may be reunited."* The whole of these heads of advice were unexceptionable except perhaps the last, for it must be confessed that it was not the most seemly time to press upon the King a change of faith, when the worldly advantages of such a change were so conspicuous. The King Yet even proposals so irritating as these must accepts thcni. ^^^^^^ h^ve been, were received meekly by James, in whom fear had subdued for the moment pride and obstinacy. He thanked the bishops for their * Life of Sdncroft, \., 339, 344. CLiycndon Correspondence, ii., 193. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 7 advice, and even proceeded to act upon it. He Chap, dissolved the Ecclesiastical Commission, he ordered XXXIV. the Bishop of Winchester to reinstate the Fellows of Magdalen, and he published a Proclamation to restore to the corporations their ancient charters, liberties, rights and franchises. Such, however, was the temper of the nation. The effect that these concessions, manifestly extorted by fear, "^'^ ^ ^" 1 r -1 1 -T 1 11 ^^^ country. not only failed to conciliate, but even tended to exasperate the public mind. They seemed to be clear admissions of previous wrong, and to assume the existence of a gross credulity and a childish shortsightedness on the part of those to whom they were offered. Even the bishops, so lately the objects of the highest popular regard, began instantly to decline in estimation from the mere fact of their having treated with the King. It was said that the Church was always willing to give up the cause of the people if her own interests were secured — that there was no thought for the Dissenters in these heads of advice offered ; that the prelates were absurdly credulous to imagine that they could effect any real improvement in the royal policy, and that they were usurping a position to which they were not entitled in con- stituting themselves advisers of the Crown.* It is indeed by no means imxprobable that the King's advisers favoured these frequent interviews to which the bishops were now admitted, that by the confidence which he seemed to grant them this * Dah-ymple's Mcjnoirs, i., v., 35. Ralph's History of E?ig- land, i., 1014. 8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. feeling might be fostered and the bishops robbed XXXIV. Qf their influence in the nation. The suspension of the Bishop of London, whom James knew as his most dangerous opponent, was, probably also. on this ground, taken off, and favours again offered to him. Other inter- On the 8 th October, the bishops were again with views of the ^j^^ King, and he desired them to appoint a fast bishops with ° ^/ - the King. and to prepare prayers to avert the danger or an invasion.* On the loth and iith they were at the palace on the same business, so that by their frequent presence they might almost seem to be fairly held accountable for all the royal policy. On the 1 6th, the King sent for Bancroft and told him that he had received certain intelligence that the Prince of Orange was about to invade the country, and that it would be " very much for his service and a thing well becoming the bishops if they would meet together and draw up an ab- * Clarendon Correspondence, ii., 193-4. The Collects drawn up by Sancroft are in vol. xxviii. of the Tanner MSS. in the Primate's handwriting. It seems scarcely possible to acquit them of a studied ambiguity. Burnet says, " The prayers were so well drawn that those who wished for the Prince might have joined in them." — Ozvn Ti?ne, p. 497. The author of the History of the Desertion goes further : " I am fully persuaded," says he, " that these prayers contributed very considerably to the late Revolution, and taught men that they were no more bound to promote any of the late King's under- takings with their swords than with their prayers, but what tended to the honour and service of God ; and the very suppli- cating God to preserve our holy religion, together with our laws and ancient Government necessarily put men in mind that they had been endangered, and by whom was as well known." — History of the Desertion y p. 18. See Echard's History of the Revolution y p. 144. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 9 horrence of this attempt of the Prince."* It is Chap, probable, however, that the Archbishop had now ^^^1^- become alive to the danger which the Church was incurring. He saw that if the nation should be convinced that it was in reality acting for the King its influence would be forfeited, and the presence of the Prince of Orange in the country would be dangerous to its best interests. Bancroft, as well as most of the other prelates, desired the coming of the Prince, not indeed with a view to a change of rulers, but as a strong intervention on the side of law and religion. On this ground, indeed, they were willing to go as far as to consent to a com- pulsory Regency. j- It became necessary therefore for the Primate to The bishops extricate himself from the difficulty in which the ^^^^^^.^ ^'^ King's request involved him. He assured his Declaration majesty that there were no bishops in London at against the that time, and that if there had been there could J"^"^^^ °^ Grange. be no occasion for such a declaration, for that he could not believe that the Prince had any such design as to invade and conquer England. With these assurances he managed for the present to escape. Before many days, however, had elapsed, the King was actually in possession of the Declara- tion published by the Prince of Orange in which * Archbishop Sancroft's account, printed in CIdrcjido7i Cor- respondence, ii., 193. Life of Saner oft, i., 353. t " If the bishops did not actually invite the Prince in form, they were in heart his well wishers ; for he was looked upon as the champion, saviour, and deliverer of the Church then groan- ing under the yoke of Rome without hope of redemption except by tlie interposition of his powerful arm." — Ralph, i., 1030. lo rHE HISrORT OF Chap. he stated that he had been invited to England by 6SS ' ^°^^ *^^ ^^^ Lords spiritual and temporal. The signature of Compton, Bishop of London, to the famous invitation of " the seven," perhaps justified this assertion ; and, by a singular coincidence. Bishop Compton was the first of the bishops sum- moned by the King to contradict the statement of the Declaration. " He told me," writes the Bishop to the Primate, *' that the Declaration of the Prince of Orange was now come to his hands, out of which he read me the short paragraph of the Lords spiritual and temporal inviting his highness over ; upon which I told him I was confident that the rest of the bishops would as readily answer in the negative as myself; and his majesty was pleased to say that he did believe us all innocent. Next he told me he thought it requisite we should make some public declaration of our innocence in this matter, and likewise an abhorrence. I then desired to see the Declaration but he refused. I told him this was a matter to be considered. ' Every one,' said he, ' is to answer for himself, but I will send for my Lord of Canterbury, who shall call you to- gether.' " * It seems impossible to excuse or even to palliate the Bishop of London's conduct in this matter, seeing that he had actually signed the invitation of the existence of which he now affected to be utterly ignorant. With a better grace and with greater truthfulness could the Archbishop and the others who met the King a few days after this declare that they knew nothing of any invitation * Cliiicndon Corrcspo/iJcnce, ii., 494. XXXIV. i688. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. to the Prince of Orange ; but when the King Chap, desired them to express this in writing, and withal to add to their denial their abhorrence of any such design, they cautiously refrained from committing themselves to any promise, but desired time to consider the matter.* After a few days passed in deliberation, on Tuesday, November 6, the Pri- mate, the Bishops of London, Peterborough, and Rochester, were again admitted to the King's presence. The two latter, who had not been pre- sent at the former interview, made now sepa- rate protestations of their innocence of having invited the Prince of Orange. " My lords," said the King, " I am abundantly satisfied with you all as to that matter — I had not the least suspicion of you. But where is the paper I desired you to draw and bring me?" '^ Sir," replied the bishops, *^ we have brought no paper, nor (with submis- sion) do we think it necessary or proper for us to do it. Since your majesty is pleased to say you think us guiltless, we despise what all the world besides shall say. Let others distrust us as they will, we regard it not ; we rely on the testimony of our own consciences and your majesty's favourable opinion." '' But," said the King, '' I expected a paper from you — I take it you promised me one ; * Sancroft's narrative in Clarendon Correspondence. The narrative continues in the Archbishop's liandwriting up to the commencement of the interview on November 6, where it is broken off. For this most important interview we have the account drawn up by Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and also a short account by the Bishop of Peterborough. i688. 12 THE HISTORT OF Chap. I look upon it to be absolutely necessary for my XXXIV. service, and seeing you are mentioned in the Prince of Orange's Declaration, you should satisfy others as well as me." * Without doubt the King eagerly desired a formal declaration of abhorrence from the bishops. It would have been a paper of the highest value to his cause ; it would have influenced some, it would have exasperated many more ; it would have divided the camp of his opponents, it would have served to place the Church in antagonism to the nation. At this critical juncture, it is possible that Bancroft, even though he desired the coming of the Prince, to provide efficacious defences for the safety of the Church and to ensure the calling of a free Parliament, might nevertheless have yielded to the King's request, led by that deep feeling of loyalty which distinguished him. But there were two of the four prelates present at that interview who had the strongest personal reasons for refusing to join in such a paper, and the Pri- mate having previously arranged with them to oppose it could not now yield to the proposition without their concurrence. Had the Bishop of London signed such a paper he might at once be convicted of the grossest double-dealing, having previously signed the invitation to the Prince. Had the Bishop of Rochester signed it, the storm of popular indignation, which had long been threatening him for his complicity in the pro- ceedings of the Ecclesiastical Commission and the * Cliircndou CorrcspofnlcNcc, ii., 497. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 13 other illegal acts of the Khig, would nifallibly have Chap "xxr 1688 burst upon him.'^' XXXIV. Happily, therefore, for the interests of the Church of England, the bishops steadily refused to give the King a paper expressing their abhorrence of the designs of the Prince of Orange. Strongly pressed by his majesty, they were put to all sorts of shifts and excuses in justifying their refusal. The ground on which they at last escaped was that they could not be separated from the tem.poral peers, and that their proper place for giving advice was in Parhament. " The substance and conclu- sion of our reply," writes Bishop Sprat, " was that, as bishops, we did assist his majesty with our prayers ; as peers, we entreated we might serve him in conjunction with the rest of the peers, either by his majesty's speedy calling a Parlia- ment, or if that should be thought too long, by assembling together with us as many of the tem- poral peers as were about the town. This was not hearkened to, and so we were dismissed." f The day before the King had this interview Landing of with the bishops, the Prince of Orange had actually ^^^ Pnnce of landed at Torbay at the head of an army of 16,000 men. He came, as his Declaration set forth, to interpose for the maintenance of the laws endan- gered by many acts of tyranny, to secure the calling of a free Parliament, to provide for the security of the Protestant religion and to deliver the King from evil counsellors. He desired to * Ralph's History of England, i., 1029. f Clarendon Correspondence, ii., 501. 14 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XXXIV. 1688. Gilbert Burnet. establish a good agreement between the Church of England and all Protestant Dissenters, and also to secure to all who would live peaceably. Papists not excepted, a freedom from persecution on account of religion.* Beyond these and similar purposes, he disclaimed any further objects, but implied rather than expressed that he had no design to seize upon the throne. f Together with the Prince came, as his great adviser in all matters ecclesiastical, his chaplain, secretary, and pamphlet writer, Gilbert Burnet, formerly professor in the University of Glasgow. Known to the learned world by his great work on the History of the Reformation, published some ten years before, and to the political world by his share in all the intrigues which had perplexed the religious history of Scotland in the late reign, Dr. Burnet having become an object of suspicion and dislike to James, had migrated to the Hague and determined to stake all his ambitious hopes upon the designs of the Prince of Orange. As a dexterous writer and intriguer, thoroughly con- versant with public opinion and public men in England, he had made himself very useful to the Prince, and now he came to be his medium of communication with the Church of England and the Dissenters. An able and well-read, but reck- less and unscrupulous man, Burnet has been more * How well this promise was redeemed the iniquitous laws of the 10th and 11th of his reign, which were the most ferocious ever enacted in England against the Romanists, testify. These laws were not repealed till 1778. f Dalrymplc, i., v., 42. Ralph, i., 1025-6. i688. r//£ CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 15 violently assailed than most men, and liis state- Chap, ments as to the history of his times have been "^"^"^y^' often impugned. Certainly he cannot be acquitted of inaccuracy, and probably not of wilful misstate- ment, but he had many fine traits in his character, and must be allowed to have proved himself useful not only as a politician, but also, and much more markedly, as a bishop. During the time that the expedition had been delayed by contrary winds at Helvoet Sluys, Dr. Burnet had read daily the English office according to the Rubric, for the officers, adding a paraphrase upon one or two of the Psalms. "^^' When the army of the Prince was safely landed in Devonshire, Burnet repaired with his master to Exeter Cathedral, and there con- ducted a thanksgiving service for the successful landing of the expedition. Bishop Lamplugh, terrified at the approach of the Dutch army, had fled in haste to London to demand the reward of his treachery towards the Church in ordering his clergy to read the Declaration ; and upon him was conferred the northern Primacy, long kept vacant by James in the hope of its being filled by Father Petre. The Dean of Exeter had also fled, though he soon mustered courage enough to return, and a similar panic seized all the cathedral clergy. When Dr. Burnet proceeded to read the Prince's Declara- tion, they rushed tumultuously from the church and forced their way through the crowd of listeners. f * Exact Diary of the late Expedition, p. 23. t Ibid., p. 47-48. History of the Desertion, 39-41. Kennct's Co7nplete History, iii., 496. 1 6 THE HISTORT OF Chap. It was indeed a most trying and difficult time ^™^- for the clergy of the Church of England. They Difficult time ^^"^*^ hope nothing from King James, who, what- for theclergy. ever promises his fears might now extort from him, sufficiently showed his real feelings by making, a few weeks before the Prince's landing, Mr. Timo- thy Hall — " the meanest and most obscure of the city divines " * — Bishop of Oxford, on no other ground than the fact of his having read the Declaration in his church ; and shortly afterwards advancing Bishop Lamplugh to the Archbishopric of York. Yet to this King, who despised and delighted to humiliate them, the clergy had sworn allegiance. Could they be justified in withhold- ing their obedience from him in the event of a struggle between him and the Dutch Prince, even when they knew that to support the King was to endanger their religion, and that the best interests of the Church seemed staked upon William ? This was the difficult question which they had to decide. It was not as yet a question of the transfer of allegiance to another, but the first difficulty which met them was how far were they justified in withholding active support from their lawful sovereign. There were fevv' clergymen in the country who did not wish well to the Prince of Orange in his capacity of armed mediator.f But should the King treat him as an enemy and lead out his forces to battle against him, their sympathies were in danger of being ranged in * Kennct, iii., 491. t Burnet's Own Time, p. 497. Ralph, i., 1030. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 17 opposition to their duty.* As much as possible Chap. therefore the clergy at this moment remained ^XXIV. 1688 tranquil and expectant and avoided any open partisanship. The Prince complained of the coldness with which he was received, and threatened to return to Holland.-|- The King, by his vacillation and im- policy, seemed to give all his subjects a fair excuse for abandoning his cause. Yet the most which Petition of the bishops could be induced to do was to address ^^^ bishops. a petition to him praying him to prevent the effusion of Christian blood, and to call a Parlia- ment " regular and free in all its circumstances." J The King answered by an evasion, and went to Salisbury to join his army. A poor and tardy tribute was now paid by him Mr. Ghet- to the Church of England. Mr. Chetwood, a Pro- ^^^''^' testant chaplain, was suffered to attend him to Salisbury, and even to dislodge the Romish priests from the chapel in the bishop's house, and to cele- brate the Anglican service there. His popularity with those who surrounded the King was excessive, for they knew that the issue of the struggle depended upon the attitude of the Church. The King him- self, however, did not relish the estimation in which * To meet the difficulties of this question, Burnet was em- ployed to writs a pamphlet on The Measures of Obedience, in which he maintains that it was lawful to resist a King who "went about to overthrow the whole Constitution." — See Ralph's History, i., 1027. f Echard's History of the Revolution, p. 167. X Uid.,Y>. 173. Kennet, iii., 497. The fullest details as to the getting up of this petition are to be found in Lord Clarendon's Diary. Clare7ido7i Correspondence, ii., 201, sq. VOL. III. C and flight. 1 8 THE HISTORY OF Chap. he was held, and took measures to remove him 68S ' '^^thout giving offence. He nominated Sir Jonathan Trelawney to the Bishopric of Exeter, and Mr. Chetwood was promised Bristol in succession to the high-spirited Cornish baronet.* The King's Not many days did the perplexed and vacillating ^^j^'ri^^'u" -^""^S remain at the head of his army. He found he could depend upon but few, and the false reports of the approach of the Dutch forces filled him with terror. He abandoned his troops, therefore, and coming again to London, was obliged, sorely against the grain, to appoint commissioners to treat with the Prince of Orange. The negotiations proceeded, the proposals made by the Prince were thought reasonable by the commissioners, the King called a council to consider them, but all this time he was only acting a solemn farce. Under the advice of his more cherished friends, who dreaded nothing so much as his reconciliation with his subjects, and the meeting of a free ParHament, James had come to the desperate determination of abandoning his king- dom, and throwing himself into the arms of the King of France, that he might wage war against his rebellious subjects at a safe distance and with foreign arms. Accordingly, in the night of December lo, he retired secretly from London, having written to Lord Faversham to disband the army, thrown the great seal into the Thames, and ordered the writs prepared for calling a Parliament to be burnt, f The meeting The throne being thus vacant, it became neces- sary for all persons of influence to unite in pre- * Ralj-)h, i., 1045. f Echard, p. 192. Kcnnctt, iii., 500. at Guildhall. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 19 serving order during the interregnum. Accordingly Chap, all the Lords, spiritual and temporal, then in and ^o'o about London, the two archbishops, five bishops, and twenty-two temporal peers, met at Guildhall, and after some debates, agreed to " apply them- selves to the Prince of Orange, who with so great a kindness to these kingdoms, so vast expense, and so much hazard to his own person, hath undertaken, by endeavouring to procure a free Parliament, to rescue us with as little effusion as possible of Christian blood, from the imminent dangers of Popery and slavery. And we do hereby declare that we will with our utmost endeavours assist his Highness in the obtaining such a Parliament with all speed wherein our laws, our liberties and pro- perties may be secured ; the Church of England in particular, with a due liberty to Protestant Dis- senters, and in general the Protestant interest and religion over the whole world may be supported and encouraged to the glory of God, the happiness of the established government in these kingdoms, and the advantage of all princes and states in Christendom that may be herein concerned." The framers of this Declaration did not confine themselves to words, but proceeded also to act. They removed the Governor of the Tower of London, sent an order to Lord Dartmouth in com- mand of the fleet not to engage with the ships of the Prince, and required him to dismiss all Popish ofHcers from their commands.* * Echard, p. 197. Kennctt, iii., 501. Life of Bancroft, i., 392. Lfe of Kettlewell, p. 80. C 2 20 THE HISrORl" OF Chap. Had the King not returned, all things might ■^ %qo have gone on smoothly, and the bishops been easily rpj^ T^. , induced to accept the permanent government of return and the man to whom they had themselves applied to second flight, administer affairs. Unfortunately, however, James having been roughly used by the Faversham fisher- men, returned to Whitehall, and by a strange turn of fortune appeared more popular, respected, and honoured than ever. It became necessary for the Prince of Orange to exercise a mild sort of compul- sion before he could make him again retreat,* and hence the strong argument for the transfer of allegi- ance from the voluntary desertion of the throne was invalidated. The bishops and the London clergy at once paid their respects to James on his return, and were very graciously received by him.f Some of the bishops exhorted him to give up his purpose of quitting the kingdom, and to conceal himself in the city. But the fear and embarrassment which oppressed him combined with pressing messages from the Queen, who had already reached France, to determine him to fiy. On December 23, he finally quitted England, " leaving," says Sir J. Dal- rymple, "a terrible example to all British kings not to invade the liberties or religion of Britain." J Immediately the Peers met, and agreed to an address to the Prince of Orange, requesting him to take upon himself the administration of affairs, and to summon a Convention or Parliament to meet on January 22. * L'ife of Jtvnes IL, ii., 264, sq. Clarcndo?! Correspondence, ii., 231. t Dairy mple's Memoirs, i. , vi. , 2 2 4, sq . Life ofKettlewell, p. 8 1 . I Dah-ymplc's Memoirs, i., vi., 226. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 21 At this second meeting of the Peers Archbishop chap. Bancroft was not present. He had taken part in XXXIV. . 1688 the meeting after the first flight of Tames, and his _, _ ° _ • , . ^ 1 T^ 1 The Primate name stands first ni the signatures to the DecJara- draws back tion or address then voted. Whether after doing and refuses to this he had seen cause to change his mind from a , " ., ^ r o ^ the matter or clearer apprehension of the designs of the Prince of change of Orange, or from the remonstrances of James, or Government. from some other cause, is not clear. " The King's being gone, had cast such a damp upon him," said Lord Clarendon, " that he would not come, which many of us were sorry for. His declaring himself at this time would have been of great weight among us." * '' The Archbishop did not care to appear among them more," says Kettlewell, " after the experience he had had of the first." f In like manner the Church of England, which had hitherto almost universally favoured the Prince, now showed signs of drawing back. J It was evident that it was a question now of nothing less than a change of rulers. Could the disciples of indefeasible hereditary right admit this? For himself, the Primate had already taken his resolution that he could not, and the great reverence in which he was held would be sure to draw many to imitate his example. Two, indeed, of the seven famous bishops, had declared themselves as partisans of the Prince in his schemes. t)n December 5, Bishop Trelawney writes to him, assuring him that he would always approve himself * Clarendon Correspondence^ ii., 234. t Kettleweirs Life, p. 8 1 . \ " To this time there was no difference of opinion among the bisliops and clergy." — Lathbury's History of the Nonjurors, p. 27. 22 THE HISrORT OF Chap. zealous to support his Highness ; and on Decem- ^88 ^^^ 1 7i Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, writes a letter, showing himself an avowed partisan and agent for the Prince in his most ambitious schemes. He had been employed by the Prince to gain over, if pos- sible. Turner, Bishop of Ely, but he found fhim strongly opposed to the notion that the King had ceded his Crown.* It is probable, indeed, that had Sancroft adhered to the Prince, both Turner and Ken might have followed him, but as the Primate drew back, his suffragans receded with him. San- croft not only declined to attend at the second meeting of the Peers, but he refused to pay his respects to the Prince after he had arrived in London, when some of the other bishops and the London clergy went. " I have been so slow," he writes, " in waiting upon your Highness, partly because of my being hindered with bodily infirmi- ties, and yet I must also acknowledge it was partly because I and my brethren were not so far satisfied with some things that have been done since your Highness coming to Windsor, that I could think fit to approve them, or to seem so to do, as it might have been understood if I had comx sooner." The bishops who usually acted with him had been summoned by the Primate to Lambeth to deliberate, and various schemes were ventilated by them, and papers drawn up to be offered to the Prince arguing against deposing the King, and breaking the royal succession, f Sancroft and most of the bishops * Dalrymplc, Appendix to Book vi. t Life of Sancroft, i., 414, sq. Life of Ken, by a Layman, ii., 491, sq. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 23 appear to have favoured a Regency,* which they Cliap. thought the best plan for extricating them from the ^^^^g^' difficulties caused by their oaths, but for some un- accountable reason when the Convention-Parliament met, and this plan among others was ventilated, Bancroft declined to attend ; and though most urgently pressed by his friends, j- and ordered by the House to appear in his place, obstinately re- fused. Lord Halifax writes to him that '' the present conjunction requires in a more particular manner the service of those who are so much concerned in the good and safety of the nation," and conveys the order of the House to him. Again he writes in a more peremptory fashion, but the Primate excuses himself on the ground of ill-health and refuses to attend. J It is not with- out some justice that one of his correspondents reproaches the Archbishop for " having joined with the other trumpeters of rebellion to sound an alarm for the Prince of Orange, and after your endeavours were accomplished, so to behave your- self as if you were ashamed of the glorious action."§ In the critical circumstances of the time, the pre- sence of the venerable Primate in the councils of * Evelyn's Diary, Jan. 15, 1689. " To declare the King, by reason of his principles and resolutions, incapable of the govern- ment, and to declare the Commander Custos Regniy who shall carry on the government in the King's right and name, is, I am clearly of opinion, the best way, and a settlement cannot be made so justifiable and lasting any other way." — Paper in Bancroft's writing, Tanner MSS., 459. I Clarendon Correspondence, ii., 248, 252. X Tanner MSS., 28, 352, 366. § N. Van Grut to Sancroft, "Tanner MSS., 27, 16. 24 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXIV. The change of Govern- ment. the nation was Indeed most urgently needed, and no depression, or reserve, or disgust should have been allowed to Interfere with so obvious a duty.* It was suggested with great force by some of those who were trying to make him consent to appear, that the bishops were in fact pledged to attempt something for the relief of Protestant Dissenters by the wording of that very petition which they had presented to James. To this the Primate answered that It certainly was so, that he was convinced that the bishops did not mean to evade their obligations, but that Convocation was the only place where such topics could be fitly Intro- duced.f The interests neither of Church nor State could draw Bancroft to attend the House of Lords, and yet, after all, his favourite proposition for appoint- ing the Prince of Orange Regent, and letting the Government still run in the name of James, was only lost by a majority of two. It was argued against the proposal for a Regency that this would be. In effect, to create two kings, one with title and the other with power ; that no man could act with safety under a new created Prince Regent while a lawful king was In being. If the oaths to King James were thought to be still in force, his subjects by these were not only bound to maintain his title, but all his powers and prerogatives. And, therefore. It seemed absurd to continue a Government in his name and to swear to him * See D'Oyly's Life of Sa?icroft, i., 430. t C/iirend^n Corrfspondencc, ii., 240. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. ^s when all the power was taken out of his hands. Chap. The proper use of a Regency was when the King, XXXIV. by reason of infancy or insanity, could not act ; ^* but in this case the King and the Regent would both be acting and maintaining a perpetual struggle, the one to recover his former power, the other to preserve his present authority.* Led by these arguments, the House of Lords voted against the Regency, and in substance agreed with the vote to which the Commons had already come, declaring the throne vacant. Twelve bishops voted in the minority, and only two, Compton and Trelawney, took the bolder view of the majority. j The Commons, indeed, had not only voted the throne vacant, but had also affirmed the doctrine that there is an original compact between king and people,^ a view in complete contradiction to that which had found so many zealous defenders in the Church of England, viz., that kings govern by a divine right and independently of their people. Yet this assertion of an inherent and original com- pact, hitherto confined to a few speculative men, was now voted by a majority of both Lords and * Burnet's Own Ti?ne, p. 515. Echard's History of the Revo- lution, p. 242. t Echard says nine, but see Clarendon Correspendence, \\., 2^6, note. It is difficult to understand the conduct of Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, in this matter. On January 15, Lord Clarendon notes in his Diary that he dined in his company and that he was constantly declaring that the King's going away was a cession. — Clarendon Correspondence, ii., 247. See also his letter to the Prince of Orange, quoted above. \ Parliamentary History, v., 50. 26 THE HISrORT OF Chap. Commons, and it is very observable that the XXXIV. majority which affirmed it in the Lords was greater ^' by four votes than that which had merely affirmed the throne vacant.* As a pendant to the vote that the throne was vacant, it was agreed that the Prince and Princess of Orange should be declared King and Queen, and, on February 13, they were proclaimed in London amidst general rejoicing. The oaths Upon the oaths of allegiance to the new Govern- imposed on ment being tendered to the House, eight bishops t e c ergy. j-^f^ged to take them. It became therefore neces- sary to enforce this pledge of submission, and it was accordingly enacted that all persons holding any public office should swear allegiance to the new Sovereigns before the first of August next, and that any ecclesiastical persons refusing to do so, should be suspended from their cures for six months from that date, and then, if still contumacious, be finally deprived of their preferment. This resolution had not, indeed, as might have been expected, been arrived at without a struggle, in which the two Houses of Parliament had been keenly opposed to each other. It was well known that many of the clergy had conscientious objections, not likely to be easily overcome, to the taking of the oaths to the new Sovereigns. It was therefore attempted to find some palliation for them. *'That which was long insisted on in the House of Lords," says Bishop Burnet, "was, that instead of the clause positively enacting that the clergy should be obliged to take the oaths, the King might be * Echard, p. 2-I.5. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 27 empowered to tender them, and then the refusal Chap, might be punished according to the clause as it ]^}^' stood in the Act. It was thought such a power would oblige them to their good behaviour and be an effectual restraint upon them. It was said that the clergy, by the offices of the Church, did solemnly own their allegiance to God in the sight of all their people, that no oath could lay deeper obligations upon them than those acts of religious worship did ; and if they should either pass over those offices or perform them otherwise than as the law required, there was a clear method, pur- suant to the Act of Uniformity, to proceed severely against them." * There was much wisdom in these considerations, but it was urged on the other side, by the House of Commons and the Court party, that the allowing the King a discretion on the matter was inflicting a hardship upon him, and that no man ought to be trusted by a Government in so sacred a concern as the ministerial office without the security of an oath. The majority of the Commons were in favour of no relaxation in the matter. The House of Lords was constrained to yield, and the clergy were bound, under penalty of deprivation, to take the oaths, the only conces- sion that was made being a power given to the King to reserve a third part out of the profits of any twelve benefices which he should name in favour of the deprived incumbents. -)- * Burnet's Ow?7 Time, p. 530. f Ihid., u. s. Ralph's History of Etigla7id, ii., 6"] , sq. Dal- rymple's Mefnoirs, ii., i., 22. XXXIV. 1689. Measures of 28 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. While the minds of Churchmen were filled with anxious thoughts as to their duty in reference to swearing allegiance to the new rulers, other matters relicf'fbrDis- also of equal importance, were demanding their senters. attention. It must have been evident to all who promoted the advancement of the Prince of Orange to the throne, that they would be speedily called upon to agree to some measure of relief for Pro- testant Dissenters. As for Romanists, every man's hand was as yet against them, and the peculiar circumstances of the Revolution only tended to in- crease the ill-feeling with which they were regarded. But the Protestant Dissenters had greatly contri- buted to the success of the change of Government. Many of them had refused to be bought by the illegal and ungracious favours of the late King, and had preferred to rest their hopes for toleration on the Prince, even before there was much probability of immediate relief from him. All of them had rallied round him since his arrival in the country, and it was evident that he was pledged to assist them. In the Declaration which he had issued, he had promised to '^ endeavour a good agreement between the Church of England and all Protestant Dissenters, and to cover and secure all those who would live peaceably under the Government from all persecution upon the account of their religion."* Yet King William had a difficult part to play. The Church, indeed, was in a measure committed to some concessions by the petition of the bishops to King James, in which they had declared that * Cardwcll's History of Conferences y p. 404. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 29 they had no want of " due tenderness to Dissenters, Chap. in relation to whom they were wlUing to come to ^^ ' such a temper as should be thought fit, when that matter should be considered and settled In Parlia- ment and Convocation."* But what did this Imply.? Did it mean that Churchmen would be willing to admit a relaxation In the terms of conformity, or did it merely mean that they would not object to a legal toleration of Dissent? To the latter there was no one now to offer any serious objection. It was evident that the old legal penalties could not be maintained. The Dissenters had become a recognised power In the State, had acted harmoniously with Churchmen both before and at the Revolution. They could no longer be oppressed and insulted by obnoxious penal laws. Toleration was therefore certain, but Compre- Comprehen- henslon was a much more difficult question. The Nonconformists had long contended to be admitted to the national Church on their own terms. Object- ing to some or other of the points sanctioned by law, they were continually claiming their right to dictate terms of conformity which, as they said, would not offend scrupulous consciences. Church- men had successfully resisted their claims ever since the Restoration; would they under the present settlement accede to them, abandon their long cherished views, and allow Liturgy and Canons to be remodelled to suit the Presbyterian, Baptist and Socinian ? It was clear that In any case a great struggle was to be apprehended. The King had * Cardwell's History of Conferences, p. 400. 30 niE HISrORl^ OF Chap. no wish to inaugurate it. He would have been XXXIV. contented to allow toleration, and to suffer Church 1689. . . . and Dissenters to go on side by side. But there were some, both among Churchmen and Dissenters, who could not, and would not, forego this great opportunity for attempting what they considered so desirable a change. Even some of the High Church party were committed to the attempt. Archbishop Bancroft had been occupied in consider- ing possible concessions in the matter of the cere- monial and the Liturgy, and had employed several divines to draw up papers on the subject.* The Low Church or Latitudinarian school reckoned now a large and increasing number among the chief divines. Compton, Bishop of London, was the friend and patron of the Dissenting ministers, and among the foremost divines were Stillingfleet and Patrick, both held to be comprehensive in their views. Gilbert Burnet, the King's favourite and most trusted chaplain, had been advanced to the see of Salisbury, and was ready to oppose with all the weapons of wit and eloquence the antiquated views of the Churchmen. There was also Dr. Tillotson, now promoted from the Deanery of Canterbury to that of St. Paul's, a man of clear and decided views in favour of a most liberal com- prehension, in high esteem with the King, and upon whom the principal labour of the undertaking was allowed to devolve, f Attempted in An attempt was first of all made by the Com- tie ousc o prehension party to carry their scheme by a surprise. * Birch's Life of Tillotson, p. 154, sq. f Ibid., p. 152. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 31 In answer to the addresses of the Dissenters, and Chap. the speech of Dr. Bates exhortnig him to bring ^^^IV. about an union between his Protestant subjects, on ' ^' " terms wherein all the reformed Churches agree," King William had declared that he would do all in his power to obtain such an union.* Yet scarce any one expected that within a few days of this assur- ance, a Bill should make its appearance in the House of Lords on so important a subject as that of " uniting their Majesties' Protestant subjects," and that, without any discussion by the clergy, any approval of Convocation, the whole terms of con- formity, the whole status of the Church should be assailed with a view to the satisfaction of the Dis- senters. This, however, was done. Side by side with the Bill for Toleration, the Bill for Union modestly made its appearance,-}- and a measure for undermining and revolutionizing the Church was allowed to pass through the Lords, where a greater care for the Interests of the Church might have been expected to prevail. By the same disingenuous and shuffling policy It Attempt to had before been attempted to get rid of the Sacra- ^peal the mental Test for qualification to office, by introducing * Kennett, iii., 523. f These bills were both brought in by Lord Nottingham, who had drawn them in the reign of Charles II., and had them by him. The whole course of affairs at this time was anomalous. Nottingham was looked upon as the head of the High Church party, yet he brought in the Comprehension Bill. The nonjuring bishops favoured it. The House of Commons showed more Church spirit than the Lords. Yet with regard to the oaths, the Lords were on the lenient side to the Church, the Commons for stricter measures. 1689. 32 THE HISrORl^ OF Chap. a clause into the Act for altering the oaths of supre- XXXIV. macy and allegiance.* This clause had been rejected by a large majority. Another attempt which fol- lowed to enact a clause making the receiving the Lord's Supper in any Protestant congregation^ a sufficient test was also rejected. It was not, indeed, to be expected that the policy which had been favoured by so many Parliaments, would now be abandoned at a word, and destroyed by a side wind.j- Where was the proof that all danger from Romanists, against whom these tests had been en- acted, had suddenly ceased, and why were the scruples of Protestant Dissenters, which had hitherto attracted no regard in this matter, to be suddenly clothed with such an exceptional importance P It was a bold attempt on the part of those who were opposed to the Church, to take advantage of the first fervour of the supporters of the new Govern- ment, and carry all by a coup de main. The Sacra- mental Tests, so indefensible in principle, were however retained, but the Bill for Union passed through the House, though the clauses for making kneeling at the Lord's Supper an indifferent act, and for putting some laymen into the commission for revising the Liturgy were negatived. J The Primate, unjustifiably absent from his post in the * Burnet's Own TimeyY>. 529. Birch's Ti/Iotson, p. 158. t '* It was tried if a bargain could be made for excusing the clergy from the oaths, provided the Dissenters might be excused from the Sacrament." — Burnet's Ow?i Time, p. 529. ** The attack on the SacramcntalTest came from the King." — Dalrymple's Memoirs, ii., i., 20. \ In both these cases the members on a division were equal, when, according to custom, the clauses were negatived. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. ^3 House while these great matters were in discussion, Cliap. • XXXIV was informed by Bishop Compton that they " were ,^j^ now entering upon the Bill for Comprehension, which will be followed by the Bill for Toleration. There are two great works in which the well-being of our Church is concerned, and I hope you will send to the House for copies."* With some of her prelates refusing to act, and Defeated by others acting a false and hollow part, t the Church ^^^ ^°"^~ was now exposed to a great danger. A crude and one-sided measure, hastily devised in the interest of her enemies, threatened to rob her of all her distinc- tive character. Her proper champions had allowed this damage, but, providentially, the House of Com- mons was still true to her interests. Now, as in the reign of Charles II., the Lower House showed itself actuated by a stronger Church spirit than the Upper ; and the Union, or Comprehension Bill, when brought down to it from the Lords, was not even admitted to the compliment of a discussion. J Instead of discussing it, the Commons voted an * Card well's History of Conferences, p. 406. t Birch's Life of Tillotson, p. 163. "This was seconded by some bishops, though more out of fear than inclination." — Sir J. Reresby's Memoirs, p. 390. "Some of them [the nonjuring bishops] moved the House before they withdrew from it for a Bill of Comprehension." — Burnet's Own Ti?ne, p. 528. X " The Commons were much offended with the Bill of Com- prehension as containing matters relating to the Church in which the representative body of the clergy had not been so much as advised with." — Burnet. Lord Macaulay asserts that the Com- mons were not actuated by any Church spirit. " Nothing is more certain," says he, " than that two-thirds of the Members were either low-Churchmen or not Churchmen at all.'' — History of England, chap. xi. The only proof given of this assertion, VOL. Til. D tion Act. 34 THE HISrORT OF y?y?v ^^"^^^ss to the King, desiring him to continue his 1689. * ^^^^ ^*^^ ^^^ Church of England, and to issue writs according to the ancient usage and practice of the kingdom in time of ParHament, for calHng a Con- vocation of the Clergy to be advised with in eccle- siastical matters.* The Tolera- Having thus done their duty to the Church, the Commons showed themselves not unmindful of the claims of the Dissenters, and proceeded at once to the consideration of the Bill for Toleration. This was rapidly passed through their House, and received the royal assent on the 24th May — a happy removal of a long-cherished injustice. By this Bill Dissenters were excused from all penalties for not coming to church, and for attending their separate meetings. There was an exception of Papists, and of such as should deny in word or writing the doctrine of the Trinity as it is declared in the Thirty-nine Articles. But a provision was inserted in favour of the Quakers, and, though the rest were required to take the oaths to the Govern- ment, they were excused upon making, in lieu than which " nothing is more certain," is that the House sat for dispatch of business on Easter Monday ! " The alarm," says Ralph, " was by this time taken in the House of Commons, and so much did the supposed danger of the Church weigh with those who had seceded in utter despair of the State, that they crowded again in their seats, and, in conjunction w^ith those who, either through principle or disappointment, had turned their backs upon the new Court, not only made a shift to keep the Ministerial party at bay, but occasionally became masters." — Ralph's History of England, ii., 74. '*The Church party were by far the most numerous in Parliament," says Sir J. Dalrymple. — Memoirs, ii., i., 25. * Birch's Tillotion, p. 164. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. i^s thereof, a solemn declaration. The Dissenting f-liap-^ teachers were to subscribe to the Thirty-six Doc- 1689.' trinal Articles of the Church of England, to certify their places of worship to the bishop of the diocese, or to the archdeacon, or to the justices of the peace at their general or quarter sessions, to be regis- tered ; and the register or clerk of the peace was to give certificates of this being done.* A great stumbling-block and difficulty was thus jts advan- removed from the path of Churchmen in considering tages to the the grave and difficult question of the terms of conformity. While the Dissenters were able to point at the crying injustice of vexatious penal laws inflicting punishment upon them for conscientious convictions, every right-minded Churchman must have felt it a most unwelcome task to strive to keep intact the boundaries between himself and them. He thus seemed to be aiding and abetting * Lord Macaulay thus criticises the provisions of this Act — " All that can be said in their defence is this, that they removed a vast mass of evil without shocking a vast mass of prejudice ; that they put an end at once and for ever, without one division in either House of Parliament, without one riot in the streets, with scarcely one audible murmur even from the classes most deeply tainted with bigotry, to a persecution which had raged during four generations, which had broken innumerable hearts, which had made innumerable firesides desolate, which had filled the prisons with men of whom the world was not worthy, which had driven thousands of those honest, diligent, and God-fearing yeomen and artizans, who are the true strength of a nation, to seek a refuge beyond the ocean, among the wigwams of red Indians and the lairs of panthers." — History of EngltJnd, ch. xi. The modern view of complete toleration had as yet been reached by very few. Mr. John Locke's Letters on Toleration, published about this time, contained the first clear statement of it. — See Calamy's Baxter^ i., 499, sq. D 2 26 THE HISrORT OF Chap. i-^g ciyil oppression which they suffered. But once XXXIV. . i68q. * ^^^ them free from this burden, and suffer him to meet them in the polemical field on equal terms, and then he could abundantly show cause why the ancient landmarks should not be removed, nor the primitive doctrine and discipline of the Church be lightly tampered with. Commission It is asserted that the advice of the Commons to to prepare ^}^g King to summo'n a Convocation to consider the Convocation, points in dispute between the Church and Dissen- ters was seconded by Dr. Tillotson, and that it was principally in reliance upon his opinion that King William consented to do this.* But the prudent monarch may have easily perceived that the Church of England was by no means warm in her support of him, and was becoming day by day more dissa- tisfied, f It must have been clear to him that she would not tamely submit to have her constitution remodelled without herself having a voice in the matter, and thus, on the common grounds of pru- dence, it was "necessary to summon a Convocation. Writs were accordingly issued, and, as a preliminary measure, a commission was sent out to ten bishops, and twenty other divines, to prepare matters to be considered by the Convocation. Among the bishops is found the name of Gilbert Burnet, lately conse- crated Bishop of Salisbury under a commission from Archbishop Bancroft, who, unwilling to act in * NichoU's Apparatus ad Defensionc?n Ecc/csiccAfiglicarKC, p. 93 . Birch's Life of Til/otso?i, p. 165. Calamy's Autobiography, i ., 209. t Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 531. Sir J. Rercsby's Memoirs y PP- 375"39^- C/arefidon Correspondence, ii., 238-246. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 37 person, did not seem, in this instance, to recognize Chap. XXI 1689 the truth of the adage. Qui facit per alium^ facit ' per se. Among the divines commissioned arc the eminent names of Stillingfleet, Patrick, Tillotson, Tenison, Sharp, Beveridge, and Grove, and those of two leading divines from Oxford, destined to take a prominent part in these transactions, Doctors Aldrich and Jane. * On the very same day that the Commission was Views of Til- issued Dr. Tillotson set down upon paper a sketch ^°^^°"- of the concessions " which would probably be made," and which the future Archbishop of Canter- bury was prepared to sanction. These were — I. All ceremonies to be made indifferent; i.e.., to be abrogated. 2. A careful revision of the Liturgy, to take away all grounds of exception ; i. e.^ all things to which the Dissenters excepted. 3. Assent and consent to be taken away, and a promise to submit to the doctrine and discipline of the Church substituted. 4. A new body of Canons to be made. 5. Ecclesiastical courts to be reformed. 6. Foreign (Presbyterian) orders admitted. 7. A form of conditional re-ordination to be used for those who have been ordained in England otherwise than by bishops, f Dr. Tillotson, at any rate, was not likely to offer any scrupulous objections to a Com- prehension scheme, and had it depended upon him 'the Church might have been remodelled to almost * Card well's History of Conferences , p. 41 i . '* Great care was taken," says Bishop Burnet, " to name them so impartially that no exceptions could lie against them. We had some very rigid and some very learned men among us." — Ozvn Timey p. 542. t Birch's Life of Tillotson, p. 168. 38 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XXXIV, 1689. Its recom- mendations. any extent. But though his views would probably have pleased some of the Dissenters,* they would have been extremely offensive to the great body of Churchmen,! and would have aggravated to such an extent the nonjuring schism that the whole Church of England might have been swallowed up by it. We have great reason to be thankful, then, that there were some wiser heads in the Convoca- tion than that of the popular dean. Of the Commissioners appointed to consider the alterations in the Liturgy and Canons to be offered to Convocation, some at once refused to act. Bishop Sprat considered that the Court was illegal, having, as it seems, gained a clearer insight into such matters since he sat in King James's Eccle- siastical Commission. Bishop Mew was old and * " I was one of those who was very well disposed towards falling in with the Establishment, could his (Tillotson's) scheme have taken place." — Calamy's Jutobiogniphyy i., 208. t *' I heartily rejoice that you are in this new Commission, wherein I hope both your true affection to the Church, and charity to Dissenters who are capable of being obliged, will appear . . . But the greater part o^ Dissenters here are Indepen- dents, who seem incapable of anything but toleration, and cannot be taken in but by such concessions as will shake the foundations of our Church ; and possibly by attempting to gain such as after all will be false friends, we may drive out many true ones, both of the considerable clergy and laity also." — Letter from Dr. Comber to Dr. Patrick, Tarnier MSS., 27, 93. "It grows every day plainer to me that some of our divines — men of name and note (I pray God there be not some bishops among them) — intend, upon any overture for Compre- hension, to offer all our ceremonies in sacrifice to the Dissenters, and would strip this poor Church of all her ornaments. I trust in God we shall have not only a breathing time, but a longer respite from further trouble." — Bishop of Ely (Turner) to San- croft, T^iriNfr MSS.,\-'i\ 28, 172. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 39 opposed to change, and the two Oxford Doctors Chap. had already determined to resist the movement. ^ ^^} ' These therefore withdrew.* But when Dr. Patrick went to the Jerusalem Chamber, on October 3, he found nearly twenty of the thirty Commis- sioners present. They sat several hours debating the question of the reading Psalms and Apocryphal lessons, and appointed another meeting for the following Wednesday.-f For some weeks the Com- missioners continued to meet almost daily, and agreed with great unanimity to the following articles: J — That the chanting of Divine service in cathedrals should be laid aside, that the whole may be rendered intelligible to the common people. That besides the Psalms being read in their course as before, some proper and devout ones should be selected for Sundays. That the Apocryphal les- sons and those of the Old Testament, which are too natural, be thrown out, and others appointed in their stead by a new calendar which is already fully settled, and out of which are omitted all the legendary saints days and others not directly re- * Calamy's Baxter, i., 453. f Autobiography of Bishop Patrick, p. 149. Burnet's Owfi Time, p. 542. X The wording of Calamy's paper, which was communicated to him by one of the Commissioners, is here mainly followed. I have also compared Bishop Williams's Diary which agrees, for the most part, as well as the interleaved prayer book placed by Archbishop Tenison in the Lambeth Library. These two last valuable documents, supposed by Dr. Cardwell and others to be lost, were published by order of the House of Commons, in 1854. There is an immense number of verbal alterations in the interleaved prayer book. Some specimens of the re- written Collects which it contains are given below. 40 THE HISTORY OF Chap. ferred to in the service book. That not to send XXXIV. ^j^g vulgar to search the Canons which few of them ever saw, a rubric be made setting forth the usefulness of the cross in Baptism, not as an essen- tial part of that Sacrament, but only as a fit and decent ceremony. However, if any do, after all, in conscience scruple it, it shall be omitted by the priest. That, likewise, if any refuse to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper kneeling, it may be administered to them in their pews. That a rubric be made declaring the intention of the Lent fasts to consist only in extraordinary acts of devo- tion, not in distinction of meats. And another to. state the meaning of Rogation Sundays and Ember weeks ; and appoint that those ordained within the quatuor te?npora do exercise strict devotion. That the rubric which obliges ministers to read, or hear, common prayer, publicly or privately, every day, be changed into an exhortation to the people to fre- quent those prayers. That the Absolution in morning and evening prayer may be read by a deacon, the word priest, wherever it occurs, in the rubric, being changed into minister; and those words, " and remission,*' be put out as not very intelligible. That the Gloria Patri be not re- peated at the end of every psalm, but of all appointed for morning and evening prayer. That those words in the Te Deum, '' thine honourable, true, and only Son," be thus turned, " thine only begotten Son," honourable being only a civil term and nowhere used " i?i sacris.'" That the Benedicite be changed into Psalm cxxviii., and other psalms THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 41 appointed for the Benedictus and Nunc Bimittis. ^^^P" That the versicles after the Lord's Prayer be read ^^g^^ " kneeling to avoid the trouble and inconvenience of so often changing postures in worship. And after those words, " give peace in our time O Lord," shall follow an answer promissory of somewhat on the people's part, of keeping God's laws or the like ; the old response being grounded on the pre- destinating doctrine taken in too strict an accepta- tion.* That all high titles or appellations of the King, Queen, &c., be left out of the prayers, such as " most illustrious, religious, mighty," and only the word sovereign retained for the King and Queen. That those words in the prayer for the King, " grant that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies," as of too large an extent if the King engage in an unjust war, shall be turned thus, " prosper all his righteous undertakings against Thy enemies," or after some such manner. That those words in the prayer for the clergy, " who alone workest great marvels," as subject to be ill-interpreted by persons vainly disposed, shall be thus, " who art the author and giver of all good gifts." And those words, " the healthful spirit of Thy grace," shall be the " holy spirit of Thy grace," healthful being an obsolete word. That the prayer which begins, " O God, whose nature and property," be thrown out, as full of strange and impertinent expressions, and besides not in the original but foisted in since by another hand. * I confess myself quite unable to understand the objection here urged. 42 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXIV. 1689. That the Collects for the most part be changed for those the Bishop of Chichester has prepared, being a review of the old ones, with enlargements to render them more sensible and affecting ; ^' and * " The first draught of the new Collects was made by Dr. Patrick, who was esteemed to have a peculiar talent for com- posing prayers. Dr. Burnet added to them yet further force and spirit. Dr. Stillingfleet then examined every word in them with the exactest judgment, and Dr. Tillotson gave them the last hand by the free and masterly touches of his natural and flowing eloquence." — Birch's Life of Tillotson, p. 175. (Translated from Nicholls.) That the reader may judge whether the contemplated altera- tions were in reality improvements of the Collects, two specimens are subjoined. COLLECT FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. New. Almighty God, who hast made a covenant of unspeak- able grace and mercy with us in Christ Jesus, and conveyed unto us therein an heavenly inheritance upon sincere obe- dience to His commands, which is our reasonable service. Grant that we may evermore rejoice in Thee, and walk worthy of our holy calling, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. COLLECT FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. Old. Grant, we beseech thee. Al- mighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds, do worthily de- serve to be punished, by the comfort of Thy grace may mer- cifully be relieved, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Old. O Lord, from whom all good things do come, grant to us Thy humble servants that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Neiu. O Lord, the Author of all good, grant unto Thy humble servants a right understanding in religion, that by Thy holy inspiration they may not only know and intend those things that be good, but by Thy mer- ciful guidance and assistance may perform the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 43 what expressions are needful so to be retrenched. Chap. If any minister refuse the surpHce, the bishop, if ^^J^^^" the people desire it, and the living will bear it, may substitute one in his place that will officiate in it : but the whole thing is left to the discretion of the bishops. If any be desirous to have god- fathers and godmothers omitted, and their children presented in their own names to baptism, it may be granted. Lest the wholly rejecting the Athana- sian Creed should, by unreasonable persons, be imputed to them as Socinianism, a rubric shall be made declaring the curses denounced therein not to be restrained to every particular article, but in- tended against those that deny * the substance of the Christian religion in general. Whether the amendment of the translation of the reading psalms, made by the Bishop of St. Asaph and Dr. Kidder, or that in the Bible, shall be inserted in the Prayer Book, is wholly left to the Convo- cation to consider of and determine. — To these alterations, as given by Dr. Calamy, from the information of one of the Commissioners, we may add the following from Bishop Williams's Diary , and the interleaved Prayer Book of Archbishop Tenison. In place of the Commandments in the Communion Service, the eight beatitudes were, at the discretion of the minister, to be read with appropriate response for each. In the Catechism, the duties to God and our neighbour were broken up into a number of questions and answers with * " It was afterwards carried that the word obstinately should be inserted." — Bishop Williams's Diary. 44 THE HISrORT OF Chap. special reference to the several Commandments. ^^''^^^^- An address was inserted to be read by the minister on the Sunday before a Confirmation, and also an address to be used by the bishop when the rite of Confirmation is performed. The absolution in the office of visitation of the sick was struck out. The Commination Service was considerably altered. In the ordinal a rubric was inserted declaring the necessity of letters testimonial, and a conditional or qualified form of ordination was given on the ground which was expressed in the rubric of " being desirous to do all that we can for peace and the healing of our dissentions."* Dangerous Among the Commissioners who set their hands nature of ^^ these proposed alterations, there were, without ings. doubt, m.any good and devoted men who had the interest of the Church truly at heart. Yet, per- haps, never did any enemies of our Church come so near working her a great mischief as these her friends and children. Had Convocation adopted these sweeping changes, making all the ceremonies optional, allowing the disuse of the Athanasian Creed, the sponsorial office, the absolution by a priest, rewriting all the Collects, and changing many time-honoured phrases and forms in the Liturgy, the schism of the Nonjurors must have become a distinct separation on the score of doc- trine, and would have probably carried with it the majority of the clergy. f Thus the Church would * Calamy's Life of Baxter, i., 452-5. t " The Jacobite clergy, who were then under suspension, were designing to make a schism in the Church whensoever they THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 45 have been effectually split and divided, and the Chap, mischievous consequences been infinite. It is true ^g that the recommendations of the Commissioners did not go quite as far as Dean Tillotson desired. There was no proposal to take off assent and consent or to admit Presbyterian orders.* But they went far enough to startle and alarm those who were sincerely attached to the Liturgy, doctrine, and dis- cipline of the Church of England, and to make them apprehend the worst results. " It was said," says Bishop Burnet, " the Church was to be pulled down and Presbytery to be set up ; that all this now in debate was only intended to divide and distract the Church, and to render it by that means both weaker and more ridiculous, while it went off from its former ground in offering such conces- sions." f All men felt that a mighty issue was staked upon the Convocation, and '^ great canvas- sings were everywhere in the elections of Con- should be turned out and their places should be filled up with others. They saw that it would not be easy to make a separa- tion on a private and personal account, they therefore wished to be furnished with more specious pretences ; and, if we had made alterations in the Common Prayer, they would have pretended they still stuck to the ancient Church of England in opposition to those who were altering it and setting up new models." — Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 544. * Kennett says, *' Some of the Commissioners were inclined not to insist on re-ordination, alleging that they ought not to show less regard to the vocation of Presbyterian ministers than to that of Roman Catholic priests. But the majority thought it more proper to keep a middle conrse," i.e., to require ordination by a bishop, but to allow it to be conditional or qualified. — Kennet's Cofnplete History, iii., 551. The Diary of Bishop Williams records several discussions on this point. ■j- Own Tifne, p. 543. 46 THE HISrORT OF Chap. vocation men, a thing not known in former Xf^^IV. times."* „ , ,. .' In the meantime, a flood of pamphlets came Publications -,,. . ,, ,. r ■ - x. r- on the sub- lorth discussing the pohcy of appointmg the Lom- ject of the mission, the proceedings, and supposed recom- mendations of the Commissioners. Dr. Sherlock, in A Letter to a Friend^ denied that there was any necessity for alterations in the Liturgy, and asserted that the attempt to make them was injurious to the reputation of the Church and not likely to satisfy Dissenters. Dr. Tenison, in reply, con- tended that this had been the constant practice of the Church, and that some additions and alterations were much needed.j- In answer to this, a pamphlet called Vox Cleri was published, which pointed out that the 600 alterations made in the Liturgy at the last review had not conciliated the Dissenters ; that the Church, as it stood, was beloved by its members, but that if the Dissenters made breaches in the House, took possession of it, and defaced its beauty, the true members of the Church would be much offended. The Dissenters had now a tolera- tion, by Statute, which the Church could never obtain during the twenty years of the Civil War and Rebellion. And " what though there be some few that are really but causelessly offended at our ceremonies, must we for their sakes give offence to the Church of God ? Is it necessary that a parent should yield to a disobedient child on his own unreasonable terms ?"J Everything betokened * Own Time, p. 543. t Lathbury's History of Co?ivocdtion, pp. 326-7. t I'ox Cleri. This pamphlet was written by Mr. Long, rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 47 a sharp and severe contest as soon as Convocation Chap. u li ki XXXIV. should assemble. ^^g The meeting of the Province of Canterbury y[^^^^^^ ^f took place on November 21, and the expected Convocatior contest at once commenced in a struggle for the election of a prolocutor to the Lower House. The party of Comprehension had fixed on Dr. Tillotson as their candidate, the man most earnest in forwarding their views, a divine of great popu- larity, eloquence, and zeal, and an especial favourite with the King. A better choice could certainly not have been made among the Latitudinarians, and, under ordinary circumstances, the clergy of the Lower House would probably have elected him unanimously. But to elect the Dean of St. Paul's now was, in fact, to accept the Comprehen- sion and the proposed alterations in the Liturgy, and this the Synod was by no means disposed to do. Accordingly, an opponent to Dr. Tillotson Dr. Jane was started in the person of Dr. Jane, Regius f^^^sen pro- - ^ ^^. . . ^ r ^ iT^ ^locutor. Professor of Divmity at Oxford, and Dean or Gloucester. Dr. Jane was said to be a strong Calvinist, but was known also as a resolute and determined Churchman, and was presumed to be not over friendly to the King and his policy from resentment at having been refused the Bishopric of Exeter.* He was elected by a majority of two Prebendary of Exeter. It was opposed by An Answer to Vox Cleri, by Dr. Payne ; Vox Populi, Vox Regis et Regni, &c., &c. — Toulmin's History of Dissenters, p. 50, note. * Calamy's Autobiography, i., 275. Toulmin's History of Dissenters, p. 54. Cardwell's History of Conferences, p. 423. Dr. Jane's election is said by Burnet to have been brought about 48 THE HISrORl^ OF Chap. to one, and the eagerness which was apparent hi ^^^J^' ^'^^ appointment planily showed the temper of the 1689. assembly. His speech On November 25, the prolocutor was presented and the Pre- ^q ^|^g Bishop of London as President of the Con- ' * vocation during the abeyance of the Primacy, and in a Latin speech " extolled the excellency of the Church of England, as established by law, above all other Christian communities, and implied that it wanted no amendments, and then ended with the application of this sentence by way of triumph, Nolumus leges Anglic mutari''^ Bishop Compton replied by recommending moderation, and remind- ing the clergy that they ought to show the same regard and charity for Dissenters under King William, which some of them had promised to them in their addresses under King James. But these soothing words, perhaps not very sincere, were not sufficient to quench the strong heats which prevailed. The Lower House showed itself deter- minded to oppose any change. The Upper House was weak, many of the prelates being under sus- pension, and several being only just raised to the mitre, j- There was no Primate to take the lead, and the majority of the Lower House felt that the by the intrigues of Lords Clarendon and Rochester, and by- Birch is imputed to the pique of the Bishop of London in know- ing that Tillotson was designed for the Primacy (see Prideaux's LifCy p. 55). The first assertion seems inconsistent with Lord Clarendon's Diary (see Clarendon Correspondence^ ii., 295). The latter is probable for as much as Bishop Compton's influence could effect. * Kcnnctt's Complete History , iii., 552. t Burnet's Own Time, pp. 541-4. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 49 -ommission. absent bishops were with them. The Bishop of Chap. London — himself ready enough to defeat Tillotson's '^'^^^^* schemes, whom he knew to be destined for the Primacy which ought to have been his own reward — was inchned to yield, and on the ground of the * Royal Commission to make Canons and alterations in the Liturgy being without the Great Seal, he prorogued the Convocation to December 4.* On that day, both Houses being assembled in The Royal Henry VII. Chapel, the Earl of Nottingham ^^ brought in the King's Commission, which pre- mising that " rites and ceremonies, and particular forms of Divine worship being things of their own nature alterable and so acknowledged, it is but reasonable that upon weighty and important con- siderations, according to the various exigency of times and occasions, such changes and alterations should be made therein, as to those that are in place and authority should from time to time seem either necessary or expedient. And whereas the Book of Canons is fit to be reviewed and made more suit- able to the state of the Church : and whereas there are divers defects and abuses in the Ecclesiastical courts and jurisdictions, and particularly, there is not sufficient provision made for the removing of scandalous ministers, and for the reformation of manners either in ministers or people. And whereas it is most fit that there should be a strict method prescribed for the examination of such persons as desire to be admitted into holy orders both as to * Kennett, iii., 553. VOL. III. E 5' THE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXIV. 1689. The King's message. The address in leply. their learning and manners," therefore grants to the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, license to make alterations and amendments in the Liturgy and Canons, and such rules, orders, forms, &c., as shall seem expedient to them. At the same time a message from the King was delivered to the Convocation, declaring that his Majesty had summoned it out of a pious zeal to do everything that may tend to the best establishment of the Church of England, which most signally deserved and should always have his favour and protection, and expressing a hope that no prejudices on their part would be allowed to disappoint his good intentions. He requests therefore that all things may be calmly and impartially considered by them.* The bishops at once voted an address in reply, commending his majesty's zeal " for the Protestant religion in general, and the Church of England in particular," and describing him as the blessed instrument for delivering them from Popish tyranny. It was thought, probably, by the bishops that the Lower House would agree to this complimen- tary reply as a matter of course ; that recognising, as they did, the settlement of the throne on the present King and Queen, they would not scruple to congratulate them on the work which they had performed. But the Lower House, irritated by the sweeping nature of the ecclesiastical changes medi- tated, appalled by the news of the practical over- throw of Episcopacy and the triumph of the * Kennett, iii., 553-4. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 51 Presbyterians in Scotland, and in no good temper Chap. with the Dissenters on many o^rounds * were anxious -^-'^''^^^'^' 1 6So to take the first opportunity of showing their inde- pendent spirit. TJiey decHned to concur in the bishops' address, and in particular objected to the phrase Protestant religion^ on the ground that being representatives of a formed Established Church, they could only recognise religion as the religion of a formed Church. The bishops amended their expression, and replaced it by the following phrase : '* The interest of the Protestant religion in this and all other Protestant churches." Again the Lower House objected. This, they said, was putting the Church of England on a level with the foreign Protestant and Presbyterian Churches, and they requested that the words this and might be omitted. The bishops were obliged to yield, and an address was at last voted thanking his Majesty for his care for the Church of England, " whereby, we doubt not, the interest of the Protestant religion in all other Protestant Churches which is dear to us, will be the better secured." The King, well aware though he must have been of the temper in which the address was voted, returned a gracious answer, * " It must be confessed tliat the Presbyterians did not a little contribute to exasperate the Convocation against them, having at that very time given orders to near fifty young students, and Mr. Baxter as the head of their party having published a book reflecting upon the Church of England." — Life of Bishop Cotfipton, P- 57- " The Convocation was against uniting with Dissenters at any time, and much more at that time, when Churchmen were so divided among themselves with respect to the civil government." — Calamy's Autobiography^ i., 212. E 2 offered to Convocation 52 THE HISrORl'' OF Chap. promising to do all he could for the service of the XXXIV. Church of England.* 1689. r^^^ Convocation was now fairly started, but the prchensTn advocates of the Comprehension scheme hesitated scheme not ^t bringing before it the desired alterations in the Liturgy and Canons. The tone of the Lower House was unmistakably antagonistic. An attempt was even made to obtain the presence of the Nonjuring bishops and clergy who were under suspension, and when this was defeated, the members set themselves diligently to work to find out some business to divert them from that for which they had been called together. They proposed to the Upper House to engage in the censure of some heretical books, a work which was likely to occupy a con- siderable time. Its proroga- But it was not thought worth while by the Government to keep the clergy together merely to exercise their talent as theological disputants, and as it was clear that they would yield nothing to the Dissenters, and were ready to oppose any change with a determined obstinacy, .it was considered more prudent to say nothing of Comprehension at pre- sent, and to prorogue the Convocation. j- Dr. Tillotson, who had been one of the chief advisers of the summoning of the Convocation, discovered now how entirely he had miscalculated the temper of the clergy. " When he observed with what resolution * Kcnnett, iii., 554. Bishop Patrick's Autobiogrnph'j^ p. 154.. Life of Bishop Comptoriy p. 54. Birch's Life ofTi/lotson, p. 188, sq. Burnet's Own Time, p. 543. Wilkins's Concilitiy iv.,619. t Kcnnett, iii., 534. It was prorogued to January 24, and soon after with the l^arHamcnt prorogued and dissolved. tion. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. s3 the body of them from the very first declared chap. against any alterations, and how they fortified and XXXIV. strengthened their confederacies and combinations, ^' he was convinced that the method he had been for was really Impracticable as things then stood, and therefore was not for repeating the dangerous experiment, or having any more to do with Convo- cations all the while he continued archbishop."* * Calamy's Autobiograph"^^ i., 2 1 o. 54 THE HISTORT OF CHAPTER XXXV. NONJURORS. Chap. The question of the oaths — Number of the Nonjurors — Greatness XXXV. °^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Church — Bishop Thomas — Bishop Lake — Bishop Cartwright — Archbishop Sancroft — Bishop Ken — Bishop Frampton — Bishop Lloyd of Norwich — Bishop Turner — Bishop White — ^John Kettlewell — Charles Lesley — Robert Nel- son — Henry Dodvvell — The Case in Viezv — The Case in Fact — George Hickes — ^Jeremy Collier — The Nonjurors divide into two communions — Character of the later Nonjurors — Mischief wrought by them to the Church — A Nonjuror's view of the state of the Church at this period. The question of the oaths. HAT which constituted the real impossibiHty of the success of any schemes of Comprehension at this moment was, without doubt, the great schism of the Nonjurors. With so serious a division threaten- ing the most terrible consequences, the Church could not venture to inaugurate any changes which were likely to produce fresh exasperations and new disunion. Thus the friends of Comprehension suffered their scheme to fall to the ground without a struggle, and the attention of all men became fixed on the great question of the oaths. The exact point for the conscience of each to determine rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SS was, whether he could swear allegiance to King Chap. William and Queen Mary, having already sworn ^XXV. allegiance to King James, who was still living, and claiming the allegiance as due to him. Was the obligation of the former oath abrogated, or did it remain in full force ? It was contended that the desertion or cession of the King took away the obligation of the oath, but it was answered that '' nothing that the King can do can make him cease to be King."* It was argued that there was a mutual pact or covenant between the sovereign and the subject, and that when one party broke this the other was free. It was replied that the true scrip- tural notion of a king was, that of an independent monarch, and that it was not for subjects to judge their ruler. It was said that a de facto government, though deficient in rightful title, had a just claim upon the allegiance of Churchmen. f It was an- swered that this would justify the acts of every successful rebel. The infinite number of pamphlets, sermons, * Life of Saner oft y i., 41 8. t This was Dr. Sherlock's great argument. He had at first refused the oaths, having advocated the very highest notions of the divine right of kings in his book called Case of Resistance^ &c. Before, however, his final deprivation of his preferment of the Mastership of the Temple, &c., he altered his mind, and gave to the world his reasons for doing so, in a book called The Case of the Allegiance due to Sovereign Pozoer. In this book he ascribes the change in his opinions principally to a passage in Bishop Overall's Convocation Book, which Archbishop Sancroft had just published, with a view of upholding the opposite opinions. Certainly there are some strong passages on the claims of a de facto government in that work, — See Biograph. Britan., art. . Sherlock. jurorors. the loss to the Church 56 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. treatises to which this controversy gave birth, XXXV. exhausted every argument for and against the oaths. Number of ^^^ ^^^ unfortunate practical result of the dispute the Non- was, that nine bishops and about 400 of the clergy* refused to swear allegiance, and were thus, after a six months' suspension, deprived of their benefices and incapacitated from officiating in the Church of England. Greatness of The Act of Uniformity had excluded nearly 2,000 clergy at a time when earnest religious teaching was most urgently needed. But the majority of these ministers were of principles hostile to the Church, and could not have been retained with any hope of preserving unity and peace. The Act requiring the oaths to King William, excluded upwards of 400 divines, whose positions, character, principles and attainments made them of most vital importance to the well-being of the Church. The latter Act, therefore, was infinitely a greater blow than the former. By it the Church lost some of the most saintly and energetic of her prelates, some of the most learned and highly gifted of her divines. Bancroft and Ken ceased to adorn the Episcopal bench, and the talents of Kettlewell and Hickes were no longer at her command. The better to present a general view of the Non- * Lathbury's History of the No?ijurorSy p. 84. The bishops were Sancroft, Ken, Frampton, Turner, Lloyd (Norwich), Lake, Thomas, Cartwright. The three latter died before the time of their deprivation. Among the clergy deprived were Kettlewell, Hickes, Collier, Leslie, and many others famous for their learning and talents. Among the lay Nonjurors were Henry Dodwell and Robert Nelson. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. si juring separation, it will be expedient to notice the Chap. leading men among them side by side, and to con- tinue a sketch of the history of the party till the time of its extinction. Some of the leaders of the Nonjurors soon passed Bishop to their account. Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Wor- Thomas, cester, died on June 25 (1689), before the time fixed for the commencement of the suspension arrived. He died in full confidence that he had acted rightly in refusing his allegiance, glorying in his act, and declaring that if his heart deceived him not, he could burn at a stake before he took the oath.* Such a declaration made at so solemn a moment by a man highly venerated for his humility and piety, could not fail to have a great effect upon the clergy. Dr. George Hickes, Dean of Wor- cester, to whom it was made, and who was himself a zealous and determined opponent of the change of Government, was careful to publish it as widely as possible. Within two months of the death of Bishop Bishop Lake. Thomas, died Dr. Lake, Bishop of Chichester. He too, on his death-bed, firmly protested his satisfac- tion at the course which he had adopted, and his conviction that the taking the new oaths was incon- sistent with the doctrine of passive obedience which he had always held to be the distinguishing cha- racter of the Church of England. As one of the seven patriotic bishops of the last reign, Dr. Lake's influence was very great. It was attempted, there- fore, to invalidate his dying words, by contending * Kettlewell's Life, p. 85. 58 THE HTSrORT OF Chap. XXXV. Bishop Cart- wright. Archbishop Bancroft. that to speak of a doctrine as the distinguishing one of a Church, is, in fact, to condemn it as un- cathoHc and untrue.* The exemplary Bishop of Chichester had been preceded to the grave by Cartwright, Bishop of Chester, who had fled from England to join King James in France. That this prelate should have shown himself willing to suffer for his principles was the most decorous act of his life, and the gravity of the scandals which attached to him was forgotten by many, when they saw him choose the side of reproach and rebuke. The venerable Primate would perhaps have esteemed himself happy could he thus by a season- able departure have escaped the anxieties and per- plexities of the position in which he was placed. His conduct ever since the return of King James from his flight, had been vacillating and strange. He had joined in the first meeting at Guildhall, and then refused to act. He had absented himself from his place in the House of Lords, when the settle- ment of the nation was proceeding, and his voice and influence were of the highest importance, yet had he not declined all action as metropolitan, for he had issued a commission to the bishops of his province to consecrate Dr. Burnet. He refused to take the oaths, yet he still clung to Lambeth, and altered nothing of his archiepiscopal state, being allowed by the great forbearance of the Govern- ment to enjoy his revenues for a considerable time * Sec ** A letter from a person of quality in the north to a friend in London," iScc. — Kettle well's Life, p. 87. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 59 after his deprivation.* At length he made up his Chap. mind to go, and was occupied in his preparations, XXXV. but on receiving a message from the Government requiring him to quit, he was very angry, and refused to move till he was forced, f " We cannot acquit him," says his biographer, " of some fractious- ness of temper, for which, however, at his advanced period of life, and under the pressure of chagrin and disappointment, great allowance is to be made." J It is probable, indeed, that Bancroft expected to be permitted, like Archbishop Abbot, to remain in his See, though suspended and in- capacitated from acting, and that to his disappoint- ment at finding a successor actually appointed was due his weak and petty resolve not to leave the palace till compelled by process of law. At his native place, Fresingfield in Suffolk, he lived con- tentedly and cheerfully on ^50 a year; yet here, in this quiet retreat, he still encouraged disunion in the Church, by delegating his archiepiscopal powers to Lloyd, Bishop of Norwich, and by approving of the consecration of Nonjuring bishops to continue the separation. § The instrument, indeed, in which he conveyed his powers as Primate and Metropolitan to Bishop Lloyd, is so strange a document, that it almost sanctions the belief that Sancroft's faculties * Till October, 1690. See Life of Saner oft ^ i., 460-2. f See Life of Ken, by a Layman, ii., 584. Some familiar letters of Sancroft's are printed in this excellent work, from Dr. Williams's collection. They will hardly tend to raise the arch- bishop's character for wisdom. X D'Oyly's Life of Bancroft, i., 466. § Life of Sancrofty ii., 31-33. Life of Kettle-welly p. 136. 6o rHE HISTORT OF Chap. were impaired before he consented to so schismatical ' an act as the new consecrations.* Yet he closed his days in a peaceful and happy serenity, dying full of Christian faith, humility, and love, on November 24, 1693. Bishop Ken. It is difficult, indeed, to imagine how any con- scientious Churchman could consent to the up- holding a schism so destructive to the Church, upon grounds such as those taken by the Nonjurors. Hence we are not surprised to find that the good Bishop Ken, in the first place, joined the Nonjurors after considerable hesitation, and, when he had cast in his lot with them, refused to sanction the con- tinuance of the division. The Bishop of Ely wrote to the archbishop to tell him that " this very good man (Ken) was, he feared, warping from them and the true interests of the Church towards a com- pliance with the new Government,"-|- but Ken de- * See the excellent remarks in D'Oyly's Life, ii., 36. The instrument of conveyance may be seen here in Latin. The English form will be found in Kettlewell's Life. t The letter is curious, and worth transcribing. — "I must needs say the sooner we meet our brother the Bishop of Bath and Wells the better, for 1 must no longer in duty conceal it from your Grace (though I beseech you to keep it in terms of a secret) that this very good man is, I fear, warping from us and the true interests of the Church, towards a compliance with the new Government. I received an honest letter from him, and a friendly one, wherein he argues wrong, to my understanding; but pro- mises and protests he will keep himself disengaged till he debates things over again with us, and that he was coming up for that purpose ... It would be extreme unhappy should we at this pinch lose one of our number. I apprehend that parson of Lam- beth (Hooper) has worked upon our Bishop of Bath and Wells, and, if he lodges again at his house, I doubt the consequences." — 7\w}icr MSS., 27, 16. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 6i cided, after some hesitation, to refuse the oaths. J^i^!F^ Beloved as he was by his clergy, by the Queen, whose chaplain he had been at the Hague, and by the whole Church of England, it would have been strange had no endeavours been made to induce him to comply. The greatest efforts accordingly were made, but the bishop, influenced chiefly by a feeling of loyalty to the Primate and of friendship towards some of the Nonjuring bishops, would not yield. There can scarcely be a doubt that the Government would not have proceeded to the de- privation of any of the bishops had they under- taken to continue in the exercise of their office without taking the oaths, but even this they would not promise, though Ken would have been ready to do so had the others consented.* Condemning the schism in his heart, though unable to see his way out of it, led by the rash and headstrong counsels of Bishop Turner against his own better judgment, the good Bishop of Bath and Wells was at last deprived, and a successor to him appointed. For more than a year after the term fixed for depri- vation had the Government suffered him to remain, but the interests both of Church and State required a period to be put to this license. Under these circumstances the See was offered to Dr. Beveridge, Rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, and Archdeacon of Colchester, a name standing very high in the roll of * " I confess," he says, " I never was for extremities which I soon thought would prove of fatal consequences ; but I find that others who always were and still are for them, think but hardly of me." — Life of Ken, ii., 571. See Clarendon Corres- pondence, ii., 221. 62 THE HISrORT OF YX^xv g^^^^ English Churchmen ; but Dr. Beverldge, from a scrupulous respect for Ken, refused to accept it. As Beveridge had himself taken the oaths without hesitation, this refusal cannot be held to be a testimony in favour of Ken's Nonjuring principles, but rather represents certain canonical scruples as to the actual avoidance of the See. A respectable successor, however, was at length found in the person of Dr. Kidder, Dean of Peterborough, who was consecrated August 30, 1691. * Bishop Ken, having delivered a public protest against the intru- sion, retired quietly and contentedly to the house of his noble friend Lord Weymouth, at Longleat. The sale of his effects had only realized the small sum of ^700, but it was arranged that, in order to relieve him of the sense of dependence, the bishop should make over this to Lord Weymouth, and receive an annuity for life of j/^So.f His resources, however, were not limited to this modest sum, for Queen Mary, in grateful remembrance of his ser- vices as her chaplain, settled on him an annuity of £100. \n his pleasant retreat at Longleat, among friends who venerated him, the saintly bishop lived for twenty years occupied in writing hymns and singing them to his violin, in devo- tions, and good deeds. Removed from the tur- moil of affairs he could take a calmer and wiser view of things than some of his brethren were able to do, and strongly disapproved of Bancroft's strange act of giving a commission to Bishop * Life of Ke?iy by a Layman, ii., 606. t HavvkiiT^'s Life of Ken, p. 23. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 63 Lloyd, and still more strongly of the clandestine 9^^^* consecration of bishops to continue the schism.* Consistently with these views, when Bishop Kidder was killed in his palace by the fall of a chimney during the great storm of 1703, Ken made a formal cession of his canonical rights in favour of his friend Bishop Hooper, who had been appointed to succeed to Bath and Wells, and, in spite of the taunts and anger of the determinately schismatical Nonjurors, did all in his power to close up the breach, f When he died the Church mourned him as a father of apostolic fervour and primitive sanctity. Of a kindred spirit with this great prelate was Bishop Bishop Frampton of Gloucester, a man of a genial ^^^"^P^^"- temper and natural vivacity, but strictly conscien- tious in the discharge of his duties, and highly valued by his friends. J He writes to Bancroft at the time of the crisis about the oaths, "The same difficulties oppress me about the oaths as oppressed Simonides when required to give an account of what God was. It now and then quickens me a * Life of Ken, by a Layman, ii., 640-5. t Life of Ke?i, by a Layman, ch. 24 & 25. — The Bishop thus writes to the learned Henry Dodwell in 17 10, when all the other Nonjuring bishops were dead : " In that you are pleased to ask me whether I insist upon my Episcopal claim, my answer is that I do not ; and that I have no reason to insist upon it, in regard that I made a cession of it to my present most worthy successor, who came into the fold by my free consent and approbation. As for any clandestine claim, my judgment was always against it, fore- seeing that it would perpetuate a schism which I found very afflicting to good people scattered in the country, where they could have no divine offices performed." — Lathbury's History of Nonjurors, p. 208. I Life of Bancroft, ii., 9. Life of Ken, ii., 758, 768. 64 1'HE HISrORT OF Chap. little to hear of this or that man of our persuasion ^ ' ' ■ yielding or falling off, which I do not envy or reprove in them, but take care that I may not do anything by example, how great soever, that may wound my conscience afterwards, and make me out of charity with myself when I am ready to leave this wretched world."* The tone of this letter does not lead us to expect to find the Bishop of Gloucester among the more determined of the Non- jurors, and such, in fact, was the case. Having protested against what he considered his uncanonical ejectment, he resigned his place in all goodwill to his successor, retired to Standish, where he was per- mitted to reside in the parsonage-house, attended the services of the church, signed his name Robert Frampton, formerly Glo'ster, and spent the rest of his days in the quiet practice of Christian charity and kindly offices to his poor neighbours. f Bishop Lloyd Had all the Nonjurors been of the spirit of Ken of Norwich, ^j^^ Frampton the schism might speedily have been healed, but there were some of a very different temper, whose obstinacy worked much mischief in the Church. The foremost of these was William Lloyd, Bishop of Norwich. This active and energetic prelate^ was the man of all others most trusted by -the Primate. To him, as we have seen, he delegated his archiepiscopal powers, and Lloyd * Tanner MSS.y 27, 40. f Life of Ken, by a Layman, ii., J^g. X " Dr. Lloyd was an excellent preacher, a man of great inte- grity and piety, thoroughly understood all the parts and duties of his function, and had a mind fully bent to put them all in execu- tion." — Li/e of Dean Prideaux, p. 73. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 6^ continued to exercise them for a considerable time, Chap, and to direct the tactics of the Nonjurors with ^XXV. great judgment and skill.* Fully impressed with the idea that the Church of England, by accepting King William, and agreeing to the deprivation of the Nonjuring bishops, was in a state of hopeless schism, Lloyd consented to take a part in the clan- destine consecration of bishops. In order to continue what he thought the true succession. Together with White, Bishop of Peterborough, and Turner, Bishop of Ely, he consecrated Dr. George HIckes, and Mr. Wagstaffe, on November 24, 1694, as the Suffragan-bishops of Thetford and Ipswich. j- King James had been first consulted on the subject, and after advising with the French bishops and the Pope, had approved the step. There Is reason, indeed, to believe that Bishop Lloyd lived long enough to repent this ill-judged and schismatical proceeding. When his friend Ken ceded his rights, Lloyd, at first, seemed to write approvingly to him, but afterwards the more heated and bigoted of the Nonjurors were allowed again to influence him. He then wrote sharply to his venerable brother, and was forced by his connection with the extreme party into a position antagonistic to him. J * How far Bishop Lloyd was implicated in the plot which brought disgrace upon Bishop Turner has always been doubtful. King James in his instructions to Wilson, dated October, 1693, thus speaks, " You are to let the Bishop of Norwich know from us how much we are pleased with his zeal and faithfulness in our service, to assure him of our favour, and to return him our most hearty thanks." — Macpherson's Original Papers, i,, 455. t Life of Kettlewell, p. 134. X Life of Ken, ii., 717, sq. VOL. III. F 66 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XXXV. Bishop Turner. Of a Still more eager and factious spirit than Bishop Lloyd was Turner, Bishop of Ely. Most of the other deprived divines were content to bear the new state of things in seclusion and passive dis- content, but Bishop Turner became an active and determined plotter for the exiled King. Although in the previous reign he had suffered rather than betray the religion and liberties of his country, yet now he considered it consistent with his Christian character to join with a knot of Popish desperadoes to bring back King James by the aid of a French army. Assuredly this was enough to account for, and almost to justify, the strong popular indigna- tion with which the Nonjuring bishops were re- garded. The Bishop of Ely had been one of the prelates who had solemnly declared, when the Jacobite Liturgy was published and attributed to them, that he was ready to sacrifice all he had, and even his life, " to prevent Popery and the arbi- trary power of France from coming upon us and prevailing over us;"* yet, a short time after, he was plotting for this very thing. By a timely flight, and through the clemency of the Government, Bishop Turner escaped the penalties of high treason, but his conduct cast great discredit upon the cause of the Nonjurors. * Lathbury's History of the Nonjurors^ p. 60. — " A day of fasting and humiliation had been ordered when King William went to Ireland, and a form of prayer composed for it. This was to be observed the third Wednesday in every month. The opportunity was taken by the Jacobites to publish another form, which was called the 'Jacobite Liturgy,' and appears to have been of Popish workmanship."— See Life of Kettlewell, p. 105-6. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 67 The only remaining prelate who refused alle- Chap. giance was White, Bishop of Peterborough. Scarce XXXV. anythino: is recorded of him save that he concurred 7t,, "P . 1 ^ , . . , . r ■ White. in the schismatical consecration of Hickes and Wagstaffe. He died in 1698, and Evelyn men- tions in his Diary that he was followed to the grave by a large number of Nonjuring clergy, who, nevertheless, thought fit to depart before the burial office was read, so bitter and bigoted were their feelings against the Established Church. Of the considerable number of clergy who re- John Kettle fused to take the oaths, the one who was prin- cipally concerned in giving a tone to the rest, the most revered and admired as a writer and a divine, was John Kettlewell, Vicar of Coleshill, in War- wickshire, and formerly Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. In his books of Christian Prudence, and Christianity the Doctrine of the Cross, Mr. Kettle- well strove to give a religious character to the refusal to take the oaths, to invest the prejudices and difficulties of the clergy with the attributes of a holy self-sacrifice made upon the highest prin- ciples of the Christian faith, and to cast around the sufferers the halo of confessorship and martyrdom. In the same spirit he treated as a sin the practice of certain of the Nonjurors of attending the services of the Church, and encouraged and welcomed the penitential confessions of some of the clergy who had taken the oaths and then felt troubled in con- science for their compliance.* Mr. Kettlewell also * One very silly clergyman, Mr. Pinchbeck, from near Barton, in Lincolnshire, having recanted and confessed his sin in taking F 2 68 rHE HISrORl^ OF Chap. XXXV. answered Dr. Sherlock's book In favour of alle- giance with temperance and candour ; and, full of a devout earnestness to promote practical religion amoncr those who agreed with him In his doctrinal views, he wrote A Companion for the Persecuted and the Penitent^ a 'Treatise on Death, and a Book on Christian Communion."^' His pious spirit prompted him not only to instruct but also to relieve the temporal wants of his suffering brethren. It was to him that the scheme of making a public appeal and collection for the Nonjuring clergy owed its origin, a scheme which Involved its chief pro- moters In trouble, and brought Bishop Ken before the Privy Council. Before this happened, Mr. Kettlewell was dead ; and his friends, mindful of the way in which he had laboured for their in- terests, cherished his memory and spoke of him as of a saint departed from among them. f A writer of more ability than Kettlewell, though not standing so high in the opinion of his party, was Charles Lesley. Driven from Ireland by the tyrannical misgovernment of King James's officers, he yet cherished to Its utmost extent the doctrine of non-resistance, and refused to accept the settle- ment of the Revolution. The author of many controversial works, which even now are well known, the scourge of Deists, Quakers and Soci- thc oaths in the midst of his congregation, was tried at Lincoln Assizes, and condemned to stand in the pillory and to pay a fine of ;^200. He was treated as not fully in his right senses, or he would not have been dealt with so leniently. — Kctt/ezvelPs LifCy p. 150. * Life of KettlezvelL p. 173. f Ibid., p. 165. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 69 nlans, Lesley spent a long life in literary labours, Chap. and added great lustre to the reputation of his XXXV. party. But the Nonjurors did not only number in their Robert ranks eminent and devout clergymen, but also lay- Nelson. men of great learning and worth. Such, pre-emi- nently, was Robert Nelson, the devout author of the Companion to the Fasts and Festivals of the Churchy and of many other devotional writings, and a man wholly given to good works. In him all the attempts which were made after the Revolution to abate the gross wickedness which abounded in the land, found a ready and untiring supporter. The records of the Committees of our old Church Societies bear witness to his labours. In helping to build churches, found schools, disseminate useful books, and enforce the laws against crime, Mr. Nelson, though a Nonjuror for twenty years, worked most effectually to promote the best in- terests of the Church whose communion he shunned.* Such, too, was Henry Dodwell, Camden Henry Dod- Professor of Ancient History at Oxford, a man of ^^'^^^• wonderful, though very eccentric, erudition and talents. Mr. Dodwell had entered into the con- troversy with great vigour. His first publication was A Cautionary Discourse of Schism^ written when Archbishop Sancroft and his six suffragans were suspended, which was followed by a Vindication of the Deprived Bishops, and a Defence of the Vindi- cation in answer to Dr. Hody. These books bore the mark of the strange and abstruse learning of * See the excellent Life of Nelson, by Mr. Secretan. 70 rHE HISTORY OF Chap. their author, and were not very intelligible or likely XXXV. ^Q i^g ygj.y instructive to the ordinary reader.* But Mr. Dodwell soon came to take a much more prac- tical view of the question at issue. When the Non- juring bishops began to be diminished by death, he foresaw that all the original grounds for the separation would speedily disappear, not knowing anything of the clandestine consecrations, f He felt that for the Nonjurors to continue in division from their brethren, when there were no longer any fathers of the Church claiming their allegiance, would be anomalous. In his view, the separation was made purely on ecclesiastical grounds, because certain bishops had been uncanonically deprived and others thrust into their places. Impressed with this, he wrote a treatise called ^he Case in The Case in View. " We are agreed," says he, " in asserting the spiritual rights of our surviving fathers who are still pleased to claim them, which no lay depri- vations can take from them. Nor can we think ourselves at liberty from asserting those rights till they, to whom we owe that duty, shall think fit to discharge us from it by some explicit or at least implicit renunciation of their title to them. But there is a case in view wherein we may perhaps not prove so unanimous unless we provide for it before it come to pass. This is on a supposition that all our present survivors' sees were fairly vacated by * KettlcwelPs LifCy p. 127. f When he became aware of" them, lie refused to recognise them and treated them as uncanonical and schismatical. — Lath- bury's History of Nonjurors, p. 218. View. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 71 death or renunciation. This being supposed, the Chap. inquiry will be whether such vacancies of either ^^^^• kind will suffice to put an end to the schism."* ne Case in View became 'The Case in Fact I "The Case iff when, Lloyd being dead, Frampton and Ken '^^^' having resigned, there were no longer any deprived bishops claiming their rights, and Dodwell, as well as his friend Nelson, returned to the communion of the Established Church,^ and did all he could to close the schism. The man who did more than any other to thwart George and prevent this desirable object, the staunch and Hickes. unyielding opponent of concession and conciliation in the matter, was Dr. George HIckes, the deprived Dean of Worcester, and formerly, like Kettlewell, Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. He was one of the two consecrated to the Episcopate In 1694, by Lloyd, White, and Turner. Wagstaffe, who * Dodwell's Case i?i View, ap init. Lathbury's Nonjurors, p. 195. ■j- Dodwell published a tract with this title when Lloyd was dead and Ken had resigned, advocating a return to Church com- munion. — Lathbury, p. 216. J They still, however, retained their Jacobite views and took care to show them even in the Church service. " Mr. Nelson was in the habit, like other Nonjurors of the time, of expressing his dissent when the royal titles were given the Queen in the services of the Church. His practice here agreed with those of his friends Cherry and Dodwell, the ibrmer of whom used to rise from his knees at the name of the Queen and stand up facing the congre- gation, while the latter contented his conscience with a less conspicuous protest and used to slide off his knees and sit down upon his hassock. Other Jacobite worshippers, as Samuel Parker, satisfied themselves and amused their neighbours in church by turning over the leaves of their prayer books \vith unnecessary vehemence so as to avoid hearing, if possible, the unpalatable words." — Sccretan's Life of Nelson, p. 82. 72 "THE HISrORT OF Chap. was consecrated with him, never took any part in XXXV. continuing the episcopal office, but Hickes, in the year 1713, when WagstafFe was dead, apphed to the Scotch bishops to join with him, and together with Bishops Campbell and Gadderar, consecrated Jeremy Collier, Samuel Hawes, and Nathaniel Spinkes, to be bishops in the Nonjuring Church. Not long after this rash act he died, and is now better known as the most learned and industrious of Anglo-Saxon scholars, than as a Nonjuring divine of pragmatical obstinacy.* eremy After the death of Hickes, Jeremy Collier, the :ollicr. learned and laborious historian of the Church of England, became the leading man among the Non- jurors.! In the year 1696, Collier had taken a prominent part in a very singular transaction which had involved him in trouble, and caused him to incur outlawry. Two gentlemen, Sir John Friend and Sir William Perkins, had been condemned to die on the scaffold for complicity in a plot to murder King William. At the place of their exe- cution they were attended by three Nonjuring clergymen, Collier, Cook, and Snatt, who laid their hands upon their heads and publicly absolved them. The action, if not uncanonical, was at least scanda- * Lathbury, pp. 228-245. Frequent notices of the great attain- ments of the learned author of the Thesaurus will be found in Nicolson's Correspondence, f " He was," says Lord Macaulay, " in the full force of the words, a good man. He was also a man of eminent abilities, a great master of sarcasm, a great master of rhetoric. His reading, though undigested, was of immense extent." — History of England, ch. xiv. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 73 lous, and It drew forth a severe and Indignant pro- Chap, test from twelve of the bishops of the Church, who ^^^V- denounced the conduct of the absolvers as " Inso- lent and Irregular." * Cook and Snatt were com- mitted to prison on a charge of high treason. Collier, having absconded, was outlawed, but from his place of concealment he sent forth a defence of their conduct In the matter. A decided and eager partisan of the Nonjuring faction. Collier did not hesitate. In conjunction with Spinkes and Hawes, to consecrate. In the year 171 6, two more Non- juring bishops, Gandy and Brett.f Upon what principles, either ecclesiastical or civil, the schism was now continued It is hard Indeed to say. Pro- bably an obstinate spirit which refused to acknow- ledge itself in the wrong was the chief cause of its vitality. But the Nonjurors, not satisfied with living In The Non- strife with the Church, began now to quarrel among J"^°^^ ^^^'^^^ J.-L \ A • 1 into two themselves. A certam party among them were anxious to adopt the Communion office of the first Prayer Book of Edward VI., and the usages which it enjoins, while others were opposed to any change. The dispute waxed warm. Collier taking the lead on one side, and writing In favour of prayer for the dead, prayer for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the elements, and at the oblation of them ; and Spinkes, on the other side, defending the Prayer Book of the Church of England. They formally separated about 1 7 1 8 ; the usagers (as they were called) having drawn up and published a new * Lathhury, p. 169. | Ibid., p. 248. communions. 74 1'HE HISrORT OF Chap. Communion office.* Both sides, by the aid of the XXXV. Scotch bishops, consecrated some of their body to continue the episcopal succession. They were reunited in the year 1733, but again separated on other points, and continued in disunion among themselves, until they gradually dwindled away and became extinct towards the close of the eighteenth century. ■)• Character of Many of the later Nonjurors were men distin- !!^ ^^^^ guished by their talents and learning, and they bore an active share in the religious controversies of their time. In fact, the greater part of them must have been supported by literary labours, for there is but little trace of their forming congregations, and being able to rely upon the contributions of their flocks. Here and there among the old manor houses of England, some stubborn Jacobite squire might maintain a Nonjuring clergyman as his friend and chaplain, but popular sympathy never went with them, nor did popular support wait upon them. Their principles were most difficult for the ordinary mind to apprehend, and when appre- hended, seemed but to few to be entitled to respect. That men should have felt scruples about taking the oaths to King William, when they had already sworn allegiance to James, was intelligible, and the * The dispute about the usages is intimately connected with the same dispute in the Scotch Churcii, which will be found noticed in ch. xlv. — See Cunningham's Church Hist, of Scotland , t A very interesting account of the negotiations of the Non- jurors with the Patriarchs of the Eastern Church to be received into Communion, will be found in Mr. Lathbury's work, ch. viii. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. IS first sufferers had a fair claim upon the sympathy Chap. of their fellow-countrymen. But why men who ^^^V. had never taken the oaths to James, and who, after the accession of Anne, had no desire to overturn the Government, should zealously continue a schism in the Church, because, in the year 1690, certain bishops had, as they alleged, been uncanonically deprived, was not so plain to the ordinary appre- hension. Yet for these apparently fanciful scruples. Mischief the Church of England suffered a loss of the ^^'^ought by element she most urgently needed. The Nonjurors church. carried with them from the Church much of the strong and decided Church feeling and Church views, which were prevalent after the Restoration. Their departure gave a great and overwhelming stimulus to the growth of Latitudinarianism. High Church doctrines seemed proved by their wayward- ness to be inconsistent with manly and enlightened views in politics. It was thought that to be careless about distinctive doctrines, to undervalue creeds, to amalgamate opinions, was the wise and liberal course. The tone of the clergy was lowered, and that of the laity still more so. It soon became almost impossible for a clergyman to advocate strong and decided views. Thus zeal and earnest- ness were affected, and worldliness increased. The following sketch of the Church at this A Nonjuror's period may probably be a true one, but if so, ^^^^ °^ ^^^ those who penned it had no small share in bringing church at it about : " At this time, among the clergy of the t^^'s period. countrv, there was a considerable number who 76 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. were painful and exemplary in discharging the great care committed to them, but there were too many supinely negligent. There was a number of the clergy very poor and also very weak and of small understanding, who, consequently, were under violent temptations to bad ' compliances, and to follow a majority, and were easily imposed on. The public prayers of the Church, which had been so much frequented when King James sat upon the throne, began now to be neglected everywhere. The Communion, which was ministered every Lord's Day in several of the parish churches in and about London and Westminster, as also upon the festivals of the Church, was now much un- frequented in comparison of what it had been, and in cathedral churches it was still worse, so that the alms there collected at the Communion did very little more than defray the charge of the bread and wine. It was observed that several of the dignitaries of the Church, and they some of the most zealous for bringing about the Revolution as in behalf of the Church which was in danger, neglected now their residence (how short soever that was), en- joined by the Statutes, and that many of the inferior clergy were likewise notoriously guilty of non-resideiice. It was complained that they were, moreover, faulty in their morals, that they gave not due attendance to their offices, and that some of the dignified clergy had cures more than one a-piece, which was inconsistent with that duty which they did owe to the Mother Church and against the Ecclesiastical Canons. Nay, it was THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 77 even more publicly represented by the hearty Chap, friends of what was then commonly called the ^^^V- constitution^ that others belonging to the Church were often seen in ale houses and taverns, and to be in great disorder through their intemperance. That not a few of them were newsmongers and busybodles. That those Presbyters whom the bishops ought to consult with were generally absent from the church, and the archdeacons which were to be their eyes were in the ends of the earth. That they had Indeed their deputies who did little more than dine, call over names, and take their money. That some in the country had two cures and resided on neither. That the catechizing of children and servants was now very much dis- used, and even by those who vaunted not a little of their zeal to the Church. That there was not that care that there ought to be In instructing the youth and preparing them for the Holy Sacrament of Christ's body and blood. And that, lastly, the preparing of children for Confirmation was extremely neglected, the bare saying some words by rote being as much as was generally done and sometimes more."* Whatever amount of truth there may have been in this bitter sketch only makes the crime of the Nonjurors, in abandoning their brethren and raising up a schismatlcal society against them, the greater. They prided themselves in carrying away the learning, the zeal, the earnest- ness of the Church, and leaving her exposed to * Life of Kettlezvelly by Lee, from materials by Nelson and Hickes, pp. 90, 91. y8 "THE HISTORY OF Chap. negligence, sloth, and Latitudinarianism. If this XXXV. ^^ere so, they are only to be the more deeply condemned, and a great part of the subsequent mischiefs which befel the Church of England is justly to be laid to their account. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 79 CHAPTER XXXVI. The clergy uneasy — The new bishops — Bishop Burnet — Patrick Chap. and StiJlingflcet — The successors to the Nonjurors — Arch- XXXVI. bishop Tillotson — Archbishop Sharp — Richard Cumberland i690-i'702. — John Hough — Robert Grove — Growth of immorality and profaneness — Bentley's Boy/e Lectures — Collier O;/ the Stage — Formation of the societies for the reformation of manners — The religious societies — Christian Knowledge Society — Dr. Thomas Bray — Society for the Propagation of the Gospel — Dr. Bray's libraries — Tillotson as Primate — His death — Arch- bishop Tenison — Death of Queen Mary — Church patronage — King's injunctions of 1695 — The Trinitarian controversy — Dr. Sherlock's l^i?idication — Dr. South's reply — The King's directions — Union between Presbyterians and Independents — Antinomian controversy amongst the Dissenters — The Con- vocation controversy — Letter to a Convocatmi man — Dr. Wake's reply — Francis Atterbury — Meeting of Convocation — The Lower House resists the archbishops' prorogation — Pre- sents a report on the point of prorogation — Lower House claims a free conference — Censures Toland's book — Bishops refuse to concur — Lower House determines to sit on inter- mediate days — Refuses to appoint a committee — Bishop Burnet charged with heresy — Particulars of charge evaded — Convoca- tion dissolved — Spirit of the new Convocation — Phrase of proroguing the Convocation — Death of the Prolocutor — Disso- lution of Convocation — Progress of the religious societies — Educational efforts — Traces of religious devotion — Distinctions of High and Low Church — Church mercifully preserved in the Revolution period. HE majority of the clergy had The clergy taken the oaths of allegiance to ""easy. the new Government, but it by no means followed from this that they were generally well-satisfied with the Revolution. Accus- [690-1702. 8o rHE HISrORT OF Chap. tomedj as many of them had been, to inculcate XXXVI. j^Qf Qj^ly ^|-jg doctrine of passive obedience, but also the theory of hereditary right, the sudden divorce between these two now distracted and perplexed them. Their brethren, who had refused the oaths, contemptuously spoke of them as **^ a pack of jolly swearers,"* and they were extremely embarrassed by the comparison which the Non- jurors were never weary of making between Crom- well and William, for " there was in that age no High Churchman who would not have thought himself reduced to an absurdity if he had been reduced to the necessity of saying that the Church had commanded her sons to obey Cromwell." f The ill temper produced by these perplexities was in no way soothed by the opinion which now gained ground with regard to King William's religious sentiments. It was seen that he had no hearty regard for the Church of England. The way in which the Episcopal Church had been treated in Scotland was held to show that he was at heart more a Presbyterian than an Episcopa- lian. :[: Neither Burnet nor Tillotson, his chief favourites among the clergy, were considered sound in orthodoxy. An uneasy feeling prevailed among the clergy disposing them to oppose and resist every measure of the new Government. To this, in great part, is to be referred the determined hostility displayed to the Comprehension scheme * Toulmin's History of Dissenters, p. 87. t Macaulay's History of England, ch. xiv. i Burnet's Own Ti?ne, p. 541. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 8i by the Lower House of Convocation. To this Is Chap. to be referred the spirit which now sprang up, and j^ ^ ^ soon so conspicuously showed itself, of antagonism between the leading clergy of the lower order and the bishops. The bishops, as nominees of the Crown, and selected, or supposed to be selected, on account of their readiness to support the views of the King, were the objects of dislike and suspicion to the clergy, who thought the interests of the Church likely to be compromised and betrayed by them.* The bitter and damaging animosities which broke out in Convocation at the end of this reign were principally due to this cause. It fell to the lot of King William to nominate The new in a very short time no less than fifteen members bishops. of the episcopal bench. f Both the Primates and thirteen of their suffragans were appointed by him soon after his accession. Many of the nominations were altogether unexceptionable, others such as readily to provoke criticism. Gilbert Burnet, the Bishop most busy and restless of politicians, a man of the ^^rnet. most decided party views, and more hated and feared by High Churchmen than any other man, * " The bishops had their share of ill-humour vented against them. It was obvious to the whole nation that there was another face of strictness, humility, and charity among them, than had been ordinarily observed before . . . but they were faithful to the Government and gentle to the Dissenters. This was thought such a heinous matter that all their other diligence was despised, and they were represented as men who designed to undermine the Church and betray it." — Burnet's Oivn Time, p. 600. "}■ Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 568, VOL. III. G 82 THE HISrORT OF Chap. was received with a storm of disapprobation and XXXVI. complaint, yet he soon justified his appointment ^ ' to SaHsbury by his fair and candid conduct in Parliament, and his vigorous administration of a diocese which had been long greatly neglected.* In the debate on the Oaths Bill, Burnet had generously contended for a greater indulgence to be given to the clergy ; he had opposed the appointment of laymen on the Commission to pre- pare matters for Convocation, and in his diocese he had tenderly treated the Nonjurors, and even allowed those incumbents who were ejected to nominate their successors. f Patrick and Simon Patrick was a man in every way fitted for Stilhngflcet. ^|^g episcopate by his learning, his piety, and his active labours as a London clergyman ; and if the clergy of England had been polled for the selection of the most distinguished and profound divine of the day, their choice would probably have fallen on Edward Stillingfleet. The learned Dr. Bentley, his friend and chaplain for fourteen years, scarcely exaggerates when he says of the Dean of St. Paul's, " Even envy itself will allow him to be the glory of our Church and nation ; who, by his vast and com- prehensive genius, is as great in all parts of learning as the greatest next himself are in any.";]: * " For the ministers in North Wiltshire they make sore complaint, saying there has scarcely been any confirmation in their memory." — Bishop of Sodor and Man to Sancroft. Tanner MSS., 28, 46. Bishop Ward, once a very active prelate, had been long disabled from ill health. f Toulmin's History of Dissenters , p. 107. \ Monk's Life of Bentley, i., 134. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 83 These were the appointments which had to be Chap, made at once, and before the question of filUng up ,5 q_j-q'2 the Sees vacated by the Nonjuring bishops came on The succcs- for consideration. To this question, indeed, there sors to the was attached a pecuHar difficulty. The bishops °"J^''°^ ' who dechned the oaths were suffisrers for conscience sake, and four of them now for the second time. The popularity which belonged to them for their conduct in the late reign had not altogether de- parted. It was no easy matter to supersede men with such claims, and of such character. Under these circumstances overtures were made to those bishops who had refused the oaths, to discover on what terms they would be willing to remain in their Sees. They would promise nothing but that they would live quietly.* This stiffness was turned to account by those opposed to them, and, at the same time, came most opportunely for their enemies the discovery of the Bishop of Ely's correspondence with the deposed King, and the (at least apparent) implication of some of the other bishops in his plots. f It was therefore determined, after more than a year had elapsed from the period of their legal depriva- tion, at length to fill up the vacant Sees. Tillotson had long been designed for the Primacy. The in- Archbishop timate friend of Burnet, the adviser and confidant of the Princess Anne, the Dean of Canterbury had soon become well known to King William, and, as Clerk of the Closet, had given the King every opportu- nity of judging of his character. He was quickly promoted from the Deanery of Canterbury to that * Burnet's Ozvj? Time, p. 565, f Ibid. p. 566. G 2 84 "THE HISrORT OF Chap. of St. Paul's, and on kissing hands on his promotion aXXv I. ^^g informed by Wilham, in no ambiguous lan- guage, that he was designed for a still higher dig- nity.* From the great responsibilities and diffi- culties of this high post Tillotson honestly and sincerely shrank. The qualities which had recom- mended him to the King disposed him to love and cherish a position of humbler usefulness. He was a man of " soft and prudent counsels," f without ambition, of an equable and unselfish temper, de- sirous to oblige and benefit all men, and shrinking from animosities and party strife. He knew that he had to expect bitter attacks and revilings if he should venture to step into the chair of the vene- rated Bancroft, and these attacks he unaffectedly dreaded. It was only to the King's strong and repeated importunity that he at last yielded, and consented to accept the Primacy. He accepted it rather as giving him the position of chief Christian minister of the English nation than that of chief bishop of the English Church. He was without Church principles — strictly so-called. The mat- ters in dispute between Conformists and Noncon- formists he esteemed but of little moment. He had been brought up among Dissenters, and was only weaned from their theology by the greater attractions of the Latitudinarian school of Chilling- worth. J With Dissenters he continued to live on terms of intimate friendship. A pattern of all the * Birch's Life of Tiilotsofi, p. 207. f Burnet's Ozv?i T'une.y^. 568. I Burnet's Funeral Sermon on 'Tillotson. — Kennctt's Complete History^ lii., 680. THE CHURCH OF ENGLJND. 85 domestic and social virtues ; the most admired Chap. preacher of his day ; liberal, just, active, humble, XXXVI. cheerful; he was yet scarce fitted for the high re- ^ '9°-^/ 02. quirements of the Metropolitan See ; neither as a theologian nor as a bishop did he catch the true tone of the English Church. The Northern Primacy was given almost at the Archbishop same time to Dr. John Sharp, Dean of Norwich. ^^^^P- Dr. Sharp had been distinguished, fortunately for himself, by having been made the first object of the tyrannical attacks of King James. He was also known as an excellent preacher, and a man of much scientific knowledge. His claim to preferment was obviously very great. But when preferment was thought of for him it was found that he, too, like some others of the leading divines of that day, declined to be thrust into the places of the expelled bishops. This would have quickly cost him the King's favour, had not his friends been active and vigilant, and, knowing his sentiments, obtained for him a promise of the first See regularly vacated by death. The Archbishopric of York thus fell to him, and seldom, if ever, has the Northern Primacy been held by a more devoted, more diligent, and more valuable bishop. Unwearied In preaching and promoting all good objects, he administered discipline with a firm but prudent hand, and by his great kindness conciliated the love as well as the respect of his clergy. The peculiar bias of Arch- bishops Tillotson and Tenlson soon made Sharp the leader of the Church party in the country, and the favour of Queen Anne placed him in a position 86 rHE HIsrORT OF Chap. XXXVI. 1690-1702 Richard Cumberland, John Hough. Robert Grove. Growth of immorality and profanc- ness. of commanding influence at Court. It is not too much to say that he used all the opportunities thus given him for the best and highest objects, and that his life gives a splendid example of a truly Christian prelate.* Of the other bishops promoted at this time, by far the most distinguished was Richard Cumber- land, made Bishop of Peterborough. The wonder- ful intellect and profound learning of the great author of the 'Treatise on the Laws of Natune were not more conspicuous than his devotion to his duties, and his unostentatious though munificent charities. Dr. Hough was now fittingly rewarded for his bold stand on behalf of his college during the late reign by being advanced to the See of Oxford ; and Dr. Grove, one of the London clergy who had assisted the seven bishops in pre- paring their famous petition, was made Bishop of Chichester. The convulsions and confusions of the Revolution- era gave a frightful impulse to the spread of immo- rality and profaneness, which, by the admission of all contemporaries, began to threaten the very existence of society. '^ We became," says Burnet, "deeply corrupted in principle, a disbelief in revealed religion, and _ a profane mocking at the Christian faith, and the mysteries of it became avowed and scandalous. The nation was falling under such a general corruption, both as to morals and principles, that it gave us great apprehensions of heavy judg- * Wc possess an admirable life of the archbishop written by his son. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 87 ments from heaven."* The system of Hobbes, Chap. which led directly to atheism, had corrupted the ^^^^J- . / . Ar \ ' 1 690- 1 702. thinking part of the community. " Of this," says Bentley, " the taverns and coffee-houses, nay, Westminster Hall, and the very churches were full."j- The stage poured forth a flood of blasphe- mous and obscene ribaldry ; and the laws against the grosser forms of vice having long been a dead letter, an open and unblushing licentiousness every- where prevailed. Against this fearful spread of vice good and Bcntley's thoughtful men now began to make a gallant stand, ^'-'■>'^^' ^^^" and with great and signal success. Richard Bentley, chosen at the age of twenty-eight from all the clergy of England to be the first preacher of the lecture founded by Robert Boyle to combat scepti- cism and infidelity, delivered a series of sermons which electrified the English literary world. J Jeremy Collier, the Nonjuror, attacked with ^CoWiQxOfi fearless and eloquent vigour the gross immorality the Stage. of the stage. '' He is well entitled," says Lord Macaulay, " to grateful and respectful mention, for to his eloquence and courage is to be chiefly ascribed the purification of our lighter literature from that foul taint which had been contracted during the anti-Puritan reaction." § To combat the prevalence of the grosser forms of vice, to oblige magistrates to enforce the laws, * Burnet's Otu?i Time, p. 584. t Monk's Life of Bentley , i., 41. X Monk's Lfe of Bentley, i., 46. The first course of Bentley 's Boyle Lectures was preached in 1692, the second in 1694. § Macaulay 's History of England, ch. xiv. 88 THE HISrORT OF Chap. to give Information, protect witnesses, hunt out XXX \ I. ^i^g more secret haunts of crime, and to bring 1690-1702. . , . n 1 • • P . p social influence to bear upon its suppression, men the societies HOW began to unite themselves in societies, the for reforma- formation of which is the most Interesting feature inanners. ^^ ^^^ time. In January, 1692,- the King Issued a proclamation against vice and immorality, and to order the execution of the laws for their repression, and immediately afterwards some noble-spirited gentlemen, among whose number were Members of Parliament, justices of peace, and considerable citizens of London, joined together, to see that the proclamation did not remain a dead letter. The Queen gave to their labours her hearty support and countenance. Tenison and Stilllngfleet, Dr. Bray and Robert Nelson, were conspicuous in their labours for their success, and the Dissenters vied with the Church in this good work. The members of the associations assembled quarterly for a religi- ous service and a sermon ; the Churchmen at St. Mary-le-Bow, and the Dissenters at Salter's Hall ; and their numbers soon began to be very consider- able. Various branch societies with special objects were formed. To one of these was entrusted the special work of suppressing brothels. Another was a society of constables to assist one another in the performance of their duties. There was also an association of those pledged to perform the repul- sive and dangerous task of informers, and several societies of housekeepers banded together to see that the constables performed their duty.'^ * The vigour with which these societies acted, may be judged THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 89 These societies for suppressing vice had been Chap. suTTgested by and in great part arisen from certain XXXVI. ^^. . \ . ° f. . ^, 1690-1702. associations for strictly rehgious purposes. 1 he ^, ,. . origin of these dates back to the year 1678. At societies. that time in the midst of a fearful profligacy, some young men of the middle classes had received serious views of religion chiefly from the ministra- tions of Dr. Anthony Horneck at the Savoy, Mr. Smithies, and Dr. William Beveridge, and becom- ing desirous of living a stricter life, had, with the advice of some clergymen, formed themselves into a religious association. They were to meet every week for religious conference, to sing psalms, offer prayers, and discourse upon some point of practical religion. Every time that they met they contri- buted for the relief of the poor, and two stewards were appointed to manage their contributions. Valuing highly the ordinances of the Church, they procured a daily evening service at the church of St. Clement Danes, which was always well attended, and they were present at the administration of Holy Communion weekly, and on all the festivals. With a view to a fitting preparation for this holy ordinance, they procured the establishment of pre- paration lectures, and they were in the habit of spending the vigils together in religious exercises. The association flourished and increased. The Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canter- bury favoured it, and it rapidly produced many from the fact that the number of prosecutions for profanity and vice, in or near London alone in the space of forty-two years, was 100,650. — Bishop Maddox's Sermon. Touhnin's History of Dissenters, p. 425. See, for a good account of their operation, Secretan's Life of Nelson, p. 96, sq. go THE HISrORT OF Chap. kindred societies. Of these, forty-two were soon XXXVI. i,^ existence in London and Westminster, and many 90 1702. ^^i^g^g y^Qxt formed in imitation of them in all parts of England and Ireland. The professed objects of all of them were to hold meetings for prayer and mutual exhortation, to send children to school, to support weekly lectures and daily prayers in churches, and it was particularly recommended to the members of them, that they should live in charity with all men, that they should pray if pos- sible seven times a day, that they should keep close to the Church of England, be very devout in their attendance on its services, and obey superiors both spiritual and temporal. Their rules prevented them from discoursing on controverted points of divinity or Church government, and from using any other prayers than those of the Church. In the choice of books which they read to one another, they were to follow the directions of the presiding minister. Of the effect of their efforts this striking account is given by a Dissenting writer : '^ They so improved their finances by collections, that they were enabled to remunerate the attendance of many clergymen to read prayers : these aids to devotion were in a short time afforded at so many different hours, and extended to so many places, as to include every hour of the day. On every Lord's-day there were constant sacraments in many churches. Greater numbers attended at prayers and sacra- ments, and greater appearances of devotion were diffused through the city than had been observed in the memory of man."* * Toulmin's History of Dhicntcn, p. 416. ^See Dr. Josiah THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 91 The spirit awakened by these useful associa- Chap. tions soon led to a more systematic attempt to ^^ ^ produce practical results by means of voluntary christian societies. The year 1698, which witnessed the Knowledge foundation of the venerable Society for Promoting Society. Christian Knowledge, is an epoch in the history of the Church of England. It was now that the first attempt was made to provide gratuitous instruction for the children of the poor. It was now for the first time that the Bible was made a cheap book,-|- and religious tracts, calculated to interest and instruct uneducated people, freely distributed. The names of five men have been preserved as the founders of this great institution, the work of which has been felt in every quarter of the globe. These were Lord Guildford, Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Justice Hook, Colonel Colchester, and Dr. Bray. Several of the bishops soon joined them. Burnet and Patrick were early supporters of the work. Robert Nelson was soon among the most conspicuous members of the society. Samuel Wesley was a corresponding member for Lincolnshire, and Thomas Wilson for the Isle of Man. When this society began its Woodward's History of the Religious Societies (3rd ed.). Lend., 1 701. Kennett's Complete History, iii., 643, sq. Birch's Life of Tillotso?!, p. 214. Horneck's Life, pp. 14-16. Burnet's Own Time, p. 709. Secretan's Life of Nelson, ch. iii. f At the beginning of the eighteenth century the price of the Bible was extremely high, and in consequence of this English bibles printed abroad, many of which were very inaccurate, were intro- duced. Archbishop Tenison complained of this in his speech to Convocation. — See 2'be Complainer Reproved^ p. 4. 92 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. work, no provision existed for the instruction of XXXVI. pQQj. children, except the insufficient and not uni- I 90-1702. ^^^g^j custom of catechizing in the afternoon service. The prisoners in the gaols were in a state at which humanity shudders, and soldiers and sailors were utterly neglected. In all these and many other fields, the society sought to promote Christian knowledge. It became a missionary society with a special view to the North American Colonies, but soon found that this branch of work was too extensive for it. Its members therefore formed another society exclusively for this object, which was called the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Dr. Thomas j^^ connection with these good works, the name ^^^* of one man stands forth in noble pre-eminence. Dr. Thomas Bray, Incumbent of Aldgate, was one of those enthusiastic men in whom " charity to the souls of men was wrought up to the highest pitch," and at the same time a man of such practical wisdom, that " most of the religious societies and good designs in London at that period were formed Society for on the plans which he projected." * Having gone thePropaga- ^^ America as Commissary for the Bishop of tion of the ^ , , r ^ - ^r ^ ^ C Gospch London, he saw for hmiself the extreme want ot clergy and provision for Christian instruction in those rapidly growing colonies, and on his return, he laid before the Christian Knowledge Society the draught of a charter which, on his petition. King William was pleased to grant in the year 1701. This gave power to a corporation to act for " the * Touhnin's History of Dissenters, p. 447. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 93 receiving, managing, and disposing of charity given Chap. for the maintenance of an orthodox clerp;y, and for -^-^^VI- , 1690-1702. making such other provision as may be necessary for the propagation of the Gospel in those parts." Under this agency chaplains were furnished to the English settlements, and some attempts were made at the conversion of the natives. Eleven years after its formation, the Society passed a resolution that it was very expedient that bishops should be established in America; but the vigour which marked the opening of the eighteenth century soon declined, and many years were destined to pass before the Church in its entirety was planted in America. Dr. Bray had also other designs in hand Dr. Bray's besides those of the societies which he did so much ^^"^^^^^^s- to inaugurate. He was particularly zealous in establishing libraries for the use of the clergy, whose poverty hindered them from buying books, both in England and the colonies, and, in pursuance of this useful design, was able during his life to witness the establishment of sixty-seven parochial libraries for the use of the minister of the place, eighty-three central libraries for loan amongst the neighbouring clergy, and fifty libraries dispatched to America and the East and West Indies.* Assuredly scarce any divine of our Church has left behind him a more enduring monument of his Christian labour. Archbishop Tillotson was, as he himself had * Dr. Todd's Life of Bray. Secretan's Life of NelsoTi, ch. iii. Past and Present of the Society for Promoting Christian Know- 94 rHE HISTORT OF Chap. foreseen, made the object of most bitter and XXXVI. vehement attacks on the part of the Nonjurors. I 90-1702. j^^ ^^^^^ assaults, Dr. Hickes, the deprived Dean Primate. of Worcester, made himself remarkable. The Primate was accused of having been the adviser of the abolition of Episcopacy in Scotland, of favouring Socinianism and Atheism. It was said of him that " his politics were leviathan, his religion Latitudinarian," and that " he was owned by the Atheistical wits of all England as their Primate and apostle." * The fury of the Non- jurors was divided between the Primate, who had ventured to step into the place of Bancroft, and Dr. William Sherlock, Master of the Temple, whose change of mind about the oaths between the period of suspension and deprivation, furnished an easy and obvious subject for satirical attacks. Yet Tillotson, during the short time that he remained Primate, was careful to avoid giving offence and unaffectedly desirous to promote the good of the Church. With this object, and in view of the grievous want of discipline and great scandals which prevailed,'!' he had arranged with the King to issue a paper of Injunctions to direct and assist the bishops in the His death, administration of their dioceses.J Before, how- * See Birch's Tillotson^ p. 297; also pp. 247, 282, 290. \ " It affords great matter of triumph to those who are with- out when they find how httle ye regard those very things for the retention of which they are separated from you." — Bishop of London's Charge ^ 1 694. See also Bishop of Lincoln's ChargCy printed 1697, and a curious pamphlet, \6g\j Ichabod ; or, the Five Groiim of the Church. X Birch's Til/otso?i, p. 307, sq. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 95 ever, he could carry out this plan, he was suddenly Chap. cut off by death, on November 22, 1604, and the ^^^^I- , r • 1 T • • J 1 J J690-I702. issuing and enrorcing the Injunctions devolved upon his successor. In the appointment of that successor, but little Archbishop time was lost. Twelve days after the death of"^^"^^®"' Tillotson, it was announced in the Gazette that he was to be succeeded by Dr. Thomas Tenison, Bishop of Lincoln.* That the new archbishop was the most eminent man among the prelates, either as a preacher or a scholar, none were found to assert. The pre-eminence of Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, was a fact universally admitted ; and, in all probability, Stillingfleet would have succeeded to the Primacy, had not his health been much broken, and he at that time been suffering from a dangerous attack of gout in the stomach. The Queen greatly valued the learned author of the Origines, and would have gladly advanced him. There were, however, those in power who con- sidered him too much of a Churchman to suit their views, and the convenient excuse of his ill- health was gladly siezed upon by them. " Dr. Hall, Bishop of Bristol, was," says Bishop Kennett, " recommended by a great party of men who had an opinion of his piety and moderation." What special claims Dr. Hall had for advancement, it is not easy at this time to discover ; but of Tenison it was at any rate known that he was a man of admirable temper and great diligence, that he had worked with zeal and success as a parish priest in * Ralph's History of Engl and, ii., 539. g6 THE HISrORT OF Chap. London, and had begun to reduce to some order XXXVI. ^i^g huge Diocese of Lincoln, which had suffered 1690-1702. ° . under the eighteen years* neghgence of Bishop Barlow. Though not so able and brilliant a man as his predecessor, he was known as a good preacher. His manners were popular, his health good, he was a Whig in politics, and a Latitudina- rian in doctrine.* Death of The first act which the new Primate was called ^^uccn an. ^p^j^ ^^ perform was an eminently painful one. It became his duty within a few days of his elevation to attend and console on her death-bed the young, amiable, and popular Oueen, who, smitten by the terrible malady of small pox, breathed her last on December 28. In her illness, Queen Mary dis- played an extreme devotion, and, says Burnet, " was the most universally lamented princess, and deserved best to be so, of any in our age or history." f By her popular manners and great tact and temper, she had done much to atone for the unsocial disposition and peevish moroseness of the King ; and the deep and unfeigned sorrow with which William grieved for her was due to his reflections upon his loss, both as a husband and as a king. Church To the Queen all matters of Church patronage patronage, ^^j httw entirely left. " She declared, openly," says Burnet, " against the preferring of those who put in for themselves, and took care to inform * Kennctt's Complete History, iii., 682. Burnet's Otvn T'wie^ p. 606. Monk's Life of Bentiey, i., 70. ■j" Own T'nne, p. 607. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 97 herself of the merits of such of the clergy as were Chap. not so much as known at Court, nor using any ^^XVr. methods to get themselves recommended." * The same laudable scrupulousness which had induced William to leave all matters of Church patronage to his wife, who, from her education and tastes, was more likely to judge rightly in such things than himself, induced him also at her death to appoint a commission of the six most distinguished prelates on the bench to administer the same trust. j- It may have been that this was done to free himself from importunity and trouble, but the act deserves commendation as likely to conduce to the good of the Church, and, at any other time, it could scarcely have failed to conciliate the good- will of the clergy. As things, however, now stood, this arrangement of the King's probably only served to stimulate and increase the jealousy and suspicion with which the bishops were regarded by the clergy generally. It might be said with plausibility, that a clique of Whig and Latitudi- narian prelates would take care only to promote those who were like-minded with themselves. The great majority of the clergy, dissatisfied with the Act of Toleration, fearing danger to the Church from the Dissenters, and many of them looking regretfully back to the Stuart regime, expected to receive no favour at the hands of the favoured bishops and decried them accordingly. J * Burnet's Ozvr? Time, p. 595. f Monk's Life 0/ Bent/ey, 1., 139. X " Dr. South by no means liked the Act of Tokration nor VOL. III. H 98 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. The ill-temper felt by the clergy towards the XXXVI. i^ishops, as the supporters of a Government and a 10Q0-1702. T^- , T policy which was distasteful to them, tended not a King s In- ' •' junctions of little to obstruct the efforts which some of the *^95- prelates were now honestly making to bring about a reformation in discipline, and an abatement of clerical scandals. In this matter. Archbishop Tenison proceeded, without loss of time, to carry out the measures projected by his predecessor. Early in the year 1695, appeared the King's In- junctions, dated February 15, which were dis- patched by the Archbishop to all his suffragans. The preamble stated that the King, being very sensible that nothing can more effectually conduce to the honour and glory of God and the support of the Protestant religion than the protecting and maintaining the Church of England, as it is by law established, had, upon mature deliberation with his bishops, by virtue of his royal and supreme authority, thought fit, with the advice of his Privy Council, to ordain and publish the following Injunctions: i. That the 34th and 35 th Canons (1603) concerning Ordinations be strictly observed.* 2. That candidates for Orders could well relish some proceedings at Court whereby he suspected some persons to be countenanced and in great power who were enemies to the Church Established. He laid hold of all oppor- tunities to decry their measures and to baffle their designs. He scarce ever preached but he set before his auditors the mischiefs that would arise by admitting such vipers into the revenues of the Church, that would eat their way through their adopted (not natural) mother's bowels." — Life of Dr. Robert South, p. 116. * Regulating the qualifications and examination oil candidates for Orders. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 99 signify their names to the bishops fourteen days Chap. before, and that they appear at the latest on Thursday in Ember Week for examination and preparation. 3. That bishops, before Ordination, be well satisfied that candidates have a sufficient title. 4. That a certificate of age be brought. 5. That bishops desire the clergy to be very careful in granting testimonials. 6. That bishops send a list of those ordained by them to the Arch- bishop. 7. That bishops reside in their dioceses, and oblige the clergy to keep such residence as the laws direct. 8. That all curates be licensed by the bishop or ordinary. 9. That the bishops use the most effectual means to suppress the great abuses occasioned by pluralities.* 10. That they look well to the lives and manners of their clergy to see that they are regular and exemplary. 1 1 . That they endeavour to oblige their clergy to have * From an appendix to a tract called Ichabod ; or, the Five Groans of the Church, published 1691 (the Groans being Undue ordination — Loose profaneness — Unconscionable simony • — Encroaching pluralities — Careless non-residence), we find that the number of benefices without residents in 43 counties of England and Wales was 2,718. "O sirs," exclaims the writer with indignant eloquence, " the harvest of souls at this time is great ; the prebends are many, the priests are many, the deans are many, the labourers are few. The souls that could be saved are many, but they die in ignorance, and you are not among them to instruct them. They die in doubt, and you are not near to satisfy them. They die in despair, and there is none to comfort them. They live in disorder, and there is none to guide them." ''Where is thy pious spirit, devout Hall! Where is thy gracious temper, excellent Usher ! Where is thy even and settled frame, serious Hammond ! Where is thy virtuous deport- ment, famous Morton ! Where is thy rational, well-weighed, and stayed soul, O venerable Sanderson!" — Ichabod, pp. 22-39. H 2 xxxvr. 1690-1702. loo THE HISTORY OF Chap. public prayer in their churches, not only on holi- XXXVI. days, but as often as may be, and to celebrate the 9o-»702. ^^j^ Sacrament frequently. 12. That they re- quire the clergy to take care for the due observance of the Lord's Day. 13. That they remind their clergy of the duty of visiting the sick. 14. And of catechizing. 15. That bishops be careful to confirm not only in their triennial visitations but at other convenient seasons. 16. That the arch- deacons make their visitations personally, and live within the bounds of their jurisdictions. 17. That no commutation of penance be made but by the express order of the bishop, and that the commu- tation money be applied only to pious and charitable uses. 18. That no license for marriage without banns be granted by any ecclesiastical judge without first taking the oaths of two suffi- cient witnesses and proper security for performing the conditions of the license according to the 102nd and 103rd Canons. " These Injunctions," says the King, '^ we require you to transmit to the bishops of your respective provinces to be by them communicated to their clergy, and to be strictly observed and often inquired after both by you and them. For, as we esteem it a chief part of our princely care to promote true religion as it is established in this Church, and in order thereunto, we have determined not to dispose of any Church preferments in our gift but to such of our clergy as we shall have reason to believe do live most exemplary, and preach and watch most faithfully over the people committed to their charge, so we THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. loi assure yourselves that these our pious intentions Chap. will be effectually seconded by you and the rest of 150^^1702. our bishops." * These royal Injunctions were re- commended and enforced upon the bishops by a letter of the Primate accompanying them, in which he points out several matters which he conceives deserve especial attention ; and, in conclusion, says, " that the King may be better enabled to give you his further assistance in these and other affairs of the Church, you are desired and required to comply with his Majesty's command to me signi- fied, in giving me an account of what has been done in your diocese in pursuance of his Injunc- tions when you come next to Parliament, as also of the present state of it, in as particular manner as you well can." j- In the same month in which these disciplinary * Kennett, iii., 684, sq. Wilkins, iv., 624. T: ^e majority of the bishops at this time were men who performed cheir duties well, but there were some grievous instances of scandal in the Episcopal body. King James would almost seem to have selected the worst men he could find for the mitre. Dr. Watson had been made Bishop of St. David's by him in 1687. It is said that he paid a large sum of money for his promotion, and that, in order to the reimbursing himself, he sold most of the spiritual preferments in his gift. The account of his scandals, given by Burnet, who sat in the Commission to try him, is almost in- credible. " He was one of the worst men in all respects," says the Bishop of Sahsbury, " that I ever knew in holy orders." He was sentenced to be deposed from his bishopric, but eluded the sentence for many years. Another prosecution for simony im- mediately followed, viz., of Jones, Bishop of St, Asaph. " The presumptions here," says Burnet, " were very great, yet the evidence was not so clear as in the former case." — Otvn Time^ p. 658. The Welsh Church, however, can hardly complain of her bishops, for as Watson was followed by Bull, so was Jones by Beveridge. f Kennett, iii., 715. I02 THE HISTORT OF Chap. Injunctions were issued, the King also published 1600-1702 ^"o^^^^ Paper of Directions to the archbishops and The Trinita- bishops " for the preserving unity in the Church, nan Contro- ^nd the purity of the Christian faith concerning the Holy Trinity." The controversy which had called forth these directions had commenced very soon after the Revolution. Dr. John Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, published in 1690 a pamphlet, entitled The Doctrine of the Ever-blessed Trinity Explained. Applying his mathematical notions to this mysterious subject, the professor thought to make the doctrine of the Trinity intelligible by illustrating it by the three fundamental properties of solid bodies — length, breadth, and height. If this little treatise had been merely an unconscious display of Sabellianism it would have been of but little importance, but it served to call forth in reply Unitarian opinions which had long been spreading in secret. The writings of John Biddle, who had been condemned under the Commonwealth, were republished ; and another publication was issued, entitled A Brief History of the Unitarians, called also Socinians, Dr. Shcr- The latter tract was held of sufficient importance i^/tl^'"''''' ^y ^'' Sherlock, the learned Dean of St. Paul's, for him to undertake its answer. This he did in a publication called A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Ever-blessed Trinity (1693). The dean's work was an unhappy exhibition of genius and learning. It introduced new explanations and new terms, and only aggravated the dispute.* In the * "Dr. Sherlock undertakes to give the world a much better and THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 103 same year that Dr. Sherlock's book appeared there C'hap. was published a tract called by the audacious title ^^^^^^ ^^ of A Clear Confutation of the Doctrine of the Trinity. This, like other Socinian writings, was industri- ously distributed by the care and at the expense of Mr. Thomas Firmin, a London merchant of great wealth, who spared no money or trouble in endeavouring to spread the opinions which he favoured. Some Members of the House of Commons, indignant at receiving it, complained of it to the House, whereupon it was voted a blas- phemous libel, and ordered to be burnt by the common hangman. At this juncture, however, the unpopularity Dr. South's which attended Dr. Sherlock for having first re- '"^P^y* fused and then defended the oaths to the new Government, brought into the field a disputant against his book, who, though he also had taken the oaths, wished to reserve to himself and the clergy the liberty of inveighing against that to which they had sworn. Dr. Robert South, Canon of Christ Church, to whom belongs the somewhat questionable reputation of being a witty and railing preacher, wrote a reply to Dr. Sherlock full of irony and humour, which were very much out of place. The dean, a haughty and impetuous man, replied in the same strain. Again Dr. South answered with greater and more reprehensible face- more satisfactory explanation of this great mystery, and that by two new terms or notions, purely and solely of his own inven- tion, called self-consciousness and mutual consciousness."— South's Reply y Life y p. 12 2. I04 THE IIIsrORT OF Chap. tiousness.* Sherlock was represented as sacrificing 69^-^702. th^ ^^^^^y °^ ^^^ Godhead by describing three dis- tinct intelligences. South was accused of rank Sabellianism in speaking of three modes, subsis- tencies, and properties. On the one hand, the Unitarians declared that they could subscribe the Liturgy and Articles if such an explanation of the doctrine as South gave was to be the received one. On the other hand, the University of Oxford solemnly condemned Mr. Bingham, of University College, for advocating Dr. Sherlock's views in a sermon preached at St. Mary's. The dispute be- tween the two combatants had been so acrimonious as justly to draw down upon them the reproof of the learned Bishop of Worcester in his preface to the Vindication of the Trinity, ^ and the subject was one of a nature so impossible to handle aright in a polemical contest, that the King's Directions were very wisely issued by the archbishop, with a view to stop the strife. J * As a specimen of South's handling this most sacred subject, the following will suffice: — "To me it seems one of the most preposterous and unreasonable things in nature for any one first to assert Three Gods, and when he has so well furnished the world with Deities, to expect that all mankind should fall down and worship them." "I cannot see any advantage he has got over the Socinians, unless it be that he thinks his Three Gods will be too hard for their One." — South's Life, pp. 122-3. t Bishop Stillingfleet, in his preface, quotes this sentence as appHcable to Sherlock and South : — " Turpe esse viros indubitat^ doctos canina rabie famam vicissim suam rodere ac lacerare scriptis trucibus, tanquam vilissimos de plebe cerdones in angi- portis sese luto ac stercore conspurcantes." X Kennett's Complete History, iii., ddd, 714. Burnet's Own Time, pp. 649-70. Toulmin's /////«?ry of Dissenters y ch. ii., s. 2. Lfe of South, p. 118, sq. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 105 The King's words were, " We are given to un- Chap. derstand that there have, of late, been some dif- -^-^^^ vl. ferences among the clergy of this our realm, about r^., t^. , their ways of expressing themselves in their ser- Directions. mons and writings concerning the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, which may be of dangerous conse- quence if not timely prevented : we, therefore, out of our princely care and zeal for the preservation of the peace and unity of the Church, together with the purity of the Christian faith, have thought fit to send you these following directions, which we strictly charge and command you to publish, and to see that they be observed within your several dioceses : — i. That no preacher whatsoever, in his sermon or lecture, do presume to deliver any other doctrine concerning the blessed Trinity than what is contained in the Holy Scriptures, and is agreeable to the three Creeds and the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. 2. That in the explication of this doc- trine they carefully avoid all new terms, and confine themselves to such ways of explication as have been commonly used in the Church. 3. That care be taken in this matter especially to observe the 53rd Canon of this Church, which forbids public opposition between preachers ; and that, above all things, they abstain from bitter invectives and scurrilous language against all persons whatso- ever. 4. That the above directions be also ob- served by those who write anything concerning the said doctrine. And whereas we also understand that divers persons who are not of the clergy have, of late, presumed not only to talk and dispute io6 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXVI. [690-1702. against the Christian faith concerning the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, but also to publish books and pamphlets against the same, and industriously spread them through the kingdom, contrary to our known laws established in this realm, we do there- fore strictly charge and command you, together with all other means suitable to your holy pro- fession, to make use of your authority, according to law, for the repressing and restraining all such exorbitant practices. And for your assistance we will give charge to our judges, and all other our civil officers, to do their duty therein, in executing the laws against all such persons as shall herein give occasion of scandal, discord, and disturbance In our Church and kingdom."* In the Trinitarian controversy Dissenters had taken part on both sides of the question, Mr. Howe having written a book not very dissimilar in its views from that of Dr. Sherlock's, and others having defended Dr. South's views. But they were now being tried by a bitter and damaging controversy among themselves. As soon as the Act of Toleration had given peace to the Nonconformists, some of the leading men in the principal sects began to meditate a closer approximation to one another, and If possible a union on some common ground. Both Presby- terians and Independents seemed for a moment to be ready to forego some of their distinctive tenets, and to forget ancient differences. Eighty London ministers agreed to Nine Articles of Union on the * Kennctt, iii., 714. Wilkins, iv., 625. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 107 subjects of churches and church members, the Chap. ministry, censures, communion of churches, dea- ^^^^ • ^ . 1690-1702. cons and ruHng elders, synods, the demeanour towards the civil magistrate, and those of a dif- ferent communion, and confessions of faith. On these points a union was solemnly inaugurated between the Presbyterians and Independents at Stepney, in April, 1691. They were to drop their old appellations, and to assume the common one of United Brethren* They agreed not to separate on questions of doctrine. But no sooner was the convention made, than Antinomian they instantly began to quarrel upon these questions. ^^'^'^^^^^^^X *^ The Dissenters grew too like the Primitive Chris- Dissenters. tians," says Calamy, " in that for which they are deservedly censured by Eusebius, for they were no sooner delivered from the hands of their enemies, than they began to fall foul of one another." ■)■ A Mr. Davis published some wild Antinomian views, and though censured by the United Brethren, his opinions were generally defended by the Inde- pendents, while they were condemned by the Presby- terians. " So high," says Dr. Toulmin, " did the ferment rise, that if a minister among the Presby- terians preached a sermon in which hope was placed on conditional promises, or the fear of sin was pressed by the Divine threatenings, he was imme- diately condemned and censured as an enemy to Christ and free grace." J A candid and sober book * Calamy 's Life of Baxter , i., 476, sq. Toulmin's History of Dissenters y p. 99, sq, f Calamy's Autobiography, i., 324. % History of Dissenters, p. 202. To8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. called Gospel Truth Vindicated, was written by Dr. XXXVI. Williams, but this exposed the author not only to 1690-1702. ,. , , ^ , r Jiterary attacks, but to a personal persecution or unexampled bitterness from the Antinomians. The whole question of Justification became matter of dispute. Learned divines of the Church, such as Bishop Stillingfleet and Dr. Edwards, were appealed to, but no agreement could be arrived at. After a controversy lasting through seven or eight years, and in which the characters of all concerned were grievously damaged, the Presbyterians and Inde- pendents separated again, and were henceforth opposed to one another, not on questions of Church government, but on doctrinal grounds, the Presby- terians adopting Arminian, the Independents Calvi- nistic views. * The Convo- It would seem as if the polemical powers of both cation con- Churchmen and Dissenters having been withdrawn from questions of ritual and ceremonies, the most sacred doctrines of religion must now yield subjects for the inevitable strife. The uneasy and unsettled temper of men's minds appeared to make contro- versy of some sort a necessity. After a great storm the waves long continue surging, and the Revolution had so shaken society to its centre, that it was long before it could relapse into calmness. Scarcely had Churchmen been reduced to silence by the King's directions on the Trinitarian contro- versy, than the war between High and Low * Calamy's /,//> of Baxter y i., 510,530, 537, 549. Touhnin's History of Dissenters y ch. ii., s. 3. Calamy's Autobiography y i., 3 2 7> 337* 3725 394- Nelson's Life of Bull, troversy. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 09 Church, between Jacobites and WilHamites, be- Chap. tween dissatisfied and non-expectant Presbyters, ^^^V^- J • r J 1 • 1 1 • 1690-1702. and satisned bishops or expectant and aspirant bishops, again broke out. The subject now happily was not one which touched the mysteries of religion. It was a subject which allowed a cer- tain amount of keen controversial strife to be developed without much mischief resulting from it. It was a convenient weapon for the Jacobite party to wield against those in power and favour, and it was long before they were wearied of using it. The sudden outburst and industrious spread of Socinian, Arian, and Infidel writings at this time amazed and exasperated many not yet accustomed to this license of the press. The Commons ad- dressed the King for the suppression of " books and pamphlets which contain in them impious doctrines against the Holy Trinity and other fundamental articles of our faith." The King replied desiring their suppression. A Bill was passed through Parliament to facilitate this, and the King's Proclamation was issued against immo- rality and profaneness, and bidding all his loving subjects discover and apprehend any of the authors of these impious books, and bring them before some justice of the peace or chief magistrate.* But there were many who thought that royal Letter to a Proclamations and Acts of Parliament were not the Convocation proper weapons to use in this matter, and the complaints among Churchmen began to be loud, that the Synod of the Church, whose proper office * Kennett, iii., 745-6. no riiE HIsrORT OF Chap. it was to take cognizance of such pestilent writings, XXXVI. i^^j j^Q^ l^ggj^ j^^^ jj^ enforced silence for nearly lOQO-1 702. , ^ , , eight years. Whether the Crown, by virtue of its supremacy, had a right thus to muzzle the repre- sentatives of the Church any more than the repre- sentatives of the State in Parliament, became now a question. While men's thoughts were thus occu- pied, there appeared the famous Letter to a Convo- cation Man, which at once set the controversy in motion. The writer of this was Sir Bartholomew Shower,* who had been Recorder of London in the time of James II., and was a strong partisan of Jacobite views. He first sets himself to prove the need for Convocation meeting at that time. " You cannot imagine the mischievous effects which these various opinions and heresies, of late published and vindicated, have produced amongst the laity. They are such that a Convocation seems necessary not only for the sake of the faith and doctrine of our English Church, but even to preserve the belief of any revelation." He then examines the question of right. Convocation is summoned by the King's writ, but that does not make it a precarious assembly any more than the other writs under the great Seal, which the law directs to be issued, make the matters to which they appertain precarious. The ancient writ, always addressed to the bishops "*" * Mr. Lathbury erroneously attributes this letter to Dr. Binkes, but not only is it given to Sir B. Shower in the Somers Tracts, but also there are several copies in the Bodleian, in which the tract is set down as Sir B. Shower's, in handwriting which is evidently contemporaneous. There is also the strongest internal evidence that the tract was written by a lawyer. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. iii to summon them to Parliament, contains a clause Chap. (premojientes) directing them to summon the clergy, ,5 o_,-o'2. and this referring to the same persons who are members of, and constitute, the Lower House of Convocation, " is an argument of invincible strength, to establish the necessity of Convocations meeting as often as Parliament." Then as to the power of the Assembly to deliberate : " The prerogative power of assembling them by writ doth not import a power of licensing and confining them in their debates, any more than it doth in the case of Par- liaments, nor doth the writ of summons necessarily imply anything of this nature when fairly consi- dered." It is absurd (according to this writer) to suppose that if Convocation has a right to meet, it has not a right to deliberate. " Were a Parliament thus summoned and adjourned before the Lower House had made a vote, or so much as chosen their Speaker, I believe the members of that House would hardly allow this to be holding a Parliament." *' To confer, debate, and resolve without the King's license, is at common law the undoubted right of Convocation." " If the Church of England has any rights, privileges or liberties, as a Church, this we contend for is one and the first of them." * It mattered not that the views advocated in this letter were built upon slender foundations, and seemed to impugn custom, law, and precedent. They were a bold enunciation of high claims for the Church as against the State, and as such were received with * Letter to a Convocation Man, Lond., 1697, pp. 7, 35, 38, 41, 60. 112 THE HISrORT OF Chap. a chorus of approbation from the great and growing XXXVI. party which was discontented with the Revolutionary 1 690- 1 702. -^ / 1 1 • 111 settlement, and desirous to return to the old state of things when Dissenters were kept down with a high hand. The Jacobite clergy did not now choose to remember that their King had muzzled Convocation far more than the present occupant of the throne, that he had treated Churchmen with the grossest tyranny, and showed an illegal favour to Dissenters. All this was now forgotten in the pressure of present discontents. Dr. Wake's The Letter to a Convocation Man was imme- ^^P^y- diately answered by a Letter to a Member of Par- ^ liament^ and soon after by Dr. Wake, in a treatise called. The Authority of Christian Princes over their Ecclesiastical Synods. The writer observes that there was some further design in publishing the Letter than barely to assert the rights of the clergy and Convocation. He proves that princes have the power to convene Synods or to decline to convene them ; that in them is vested the right to order what relates both to their assembling and their acting ; and this he shows, first, as respects other countries, and, secondly, as regards England. Then addressing himself to one of the chief points in the Letter, he says, " It is as plain as anything well can be, that the Convocation of the clergy, considered as called by the Parliamentary writs, and sitting by virtue of them ; and the Convocation, considered as sitting by the Convocation writ and the orders of the archbishop consequent thereupon, are, in their nature and constitution, two different THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. iij assemblies, and as such ought by no means to be Chap, confounded too^ether." " Though our Convoca- ^^^^f- 1 • • 1 o 11 1 r 1 690-1702. tions, as ecclesiastical bynods, have come to be ror a long time summoned at the same time that the Par- liament was to meet, I do not see any reason there is to confine them so closely to such a season as to make it absolutely necessary for the King to call the one whenever he does the other." The Convocation has neither a right to meet, nor when met to debate without the King's license. The Act of Submission, 25 Henry VIII., expressly pre- cludes this. They cannot sit as a court of heresy without license, neither is it evident that it is desirable that the Convocation at this moment should act, " whilst pride and peevishness, hatred and ill-will, divisions and discontents, prevail among those who should teach and correct others ; and instead of improving a true spirit of piety and charity, peaceableness and humility, we mind little else but our several interests, and quarrels, and contentions with one another, what wonder if we see but little success of our ministry, and are but little regarded on account of it ? " * Dr. Wake's book was answered by a wild and violent writer named Hill, in a treatise called * Wake's Authority of Christian Princes over their Ecclesi- astical Synods, pp. 1 1 1, 226, 229. Archdeacon Nicolson, writing to Dr. Wake on his book, says, " Are you not too severe upon the members of our present Con- vocation, when you give such broad hints at their being warm and unthinking and having their very reason depraved, when you affirm that the present distemper of our Church is too great to be healed, and that a Convocation would be a remedy worse than the disease?" — Nicolson's Epistolary Correspondence, i., 67. VOL. in. I 114 THE HISrORT OF Chap. Municipium Ecclesiasticum. Among other tirades XXXVI. i,^ which he indulges, he says that he wonders how ^ ' the supremacy can be considered a glorious jewel in a Christian crown, since, if exercised, it must of necessity forfeit the King's salvation. Wake re- plied to this book and demolished the strange fallacies and unfounded assertions which it con- tained, and the advocates on this side would have had an easy victory had not the High Church party suddenly found a champion, who, if not deeply read in the historical part of the contro- versy, was one of the greatest masters of style, wit, and invective, whom the English Church has produced. This was Francis Atterbury, Student of Christ Church, known already to the literary world by his share in the famous attack upon Bentley's 'Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris.^ Atter- bury, a man ambitious, proud, and vehement, saw a great opportunity, by assaulting Wake's books, to oblige the High Church party and to step into the position of their leader.f Oxford, recurring to its old traditions, and unmindful of the oppres- sions it had witnessed in the last reign, was zealous to engage in conflict with the fashionable divines of the day. Thus, as Jane had withstood Tillotson, * Monk's Life of Bent ley, i., 88, sq. f " The mystery of this Convocation plot is discovered. The Church patriots have laid their heads together for a project to render the bishops in Parliament less dependent upon the Court. The secretary to this design was a Nonjuring Jacobite. First, then, the Convocation shall peremptorily sit with every Parlia- ment. Whatever bishopric becomes vacant in the summer, shall THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 115 and South Sherlock, so Atterbury engaged Wake, Chap and, in the opinions of his friends, gained a triumph over him. The Rights, Powers, and Privileges of an English Convocation was a sprightly and vigorous performance, and " the pert gentleman of Christ Church,"* as he was contemptuously styled, showed himself a dangerous and powerful literary antagonist. Addressing himself to an examination of the historical part of the question, Atterbury shows that the clergy were first sum- moned to Parliament by the premonentes clause In the Bishops' Writs in the time of Edward I., because of the jealousy which they then entertained of lay summons. That they then resisted the continue so till the Parliament meets in the winter. Being met, the Lower House of Convocation shall agree upon six persons to be nominated to this bishopric — out of these the Upper House shall choose four, out of the four the archbishop two, and out of the two the King one. . . . The singular merit of Mr. Atterbury would doubtless give him the honour of being the first bishop of the new Reformation." — Nicolson's Correspondence, i., 204. * Archdeacon Nicolson thus writes to Dean Graham : "April II, 1700. I suppose you have seen a book lately pubHshed in answer to Dr. Wake, wherein I am severely repri- manded for meddling with matters that I do not understand. The materials of this learned piece were, I am told, prepared by Dr. Hutton of Aynhoe, but they were put together by a pert gentleman of Christ Church, who has shown himself to have a much greater share of wit than logic. He proves me to be a blockhead by such arguments, as, I confess, I should never have thought on. My greatest mishap is that there is no replying to him, for I am assured beforehand, that whoever shall be so fool- hardy as to do that, must expect the united strength of the whole college upon him. And what an irrecoverable loss would the learned world have if all my Saxon should perish in the same pit of destruction with Dr. Bentley's Greek." — Nicolson's Corres- pondence, i., 174. Many interesting notices of this controversy will be found in this collection. I 2 XXXVI. 1 690-1702. 1690-1702. ii6 rilE HISrORT OF Chap. summons because they were so heavily taxed. "^"^"^yil For this reason, the provincial writ was addressed to the archbishop to compel the attendance of the clergy. " Not that the clause pre7nonentes now grew useless and insignificant, for still the bishop, who executed the royal writs upon the clergy of the diocese, as the sheriff did upon the laity of the county when he received his summons to Parlia- ment, transmitted it to those of the lower clergy concerned, and they still made their returns to it." There was, therefore, the same inherent right in the clergy to meet in Convocation as in the laity to meet in Parliament, and the terms of the Act of Submission " did not bind the clergy from con- sidering and making Canons, but only from pro- mulging and enforcing Canons without the King's approval."* Atterbury's book was immediately answered by Burnet, Kennett, Hody, and others, but it was not for several years that his chief antagonist. Wake, replied to him. When he did so, however, it was in a manner which left nothing to desire. His learned folio (published 1703) on The State of the Church and Clergy of England in their Convocations^ Historically 'Deduced^ &c.y completely established his original positions in answer to the Letter to a Convocation Man. It is evident that the whole controversy turns upon the point, whether the convention of the clergy, called by the premonentes writ, and the Convocation called by the archbishop, are one and the same * Atterbury's Rights, Powers , and Privileges of an English Convocation, 2nd ed., London, 1701, pp. 38, 41, 42, 43, 115. I690-I702. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 117 assembly. This, in chapter ii., Wake proves not chap. to be the case. " To prove the Convocation to ^^^VI. be a part of ParHament, and as such to have a claim to Parliamentary rights and privileges, 'tis said that the provincial writ is only a second summons sent forth to strengthen the premonitory call, but that they both relate to the same assembly. To clear this matter, and to show how widely different both, in the eye of the law — nay, even in fact, too — these two Convocations are from one another, I shall here enter on a particular examina- tion of this matter." The premonentes writ related to the clergy as one of the estates of the realm, whose consent was then required to their own subsidies. The other writ was directed to the archbishop, requiring the clergy to appear and then understand the King's further pleasure. This Is especially proved by the fact that the two assem- blies have different members. " The premonentes writ is addressed to all the clergy of England, and by virtue of it now the bishops of both provinces sit in the House of Lords. The archbishop's writ is only to summon the clergy of his province." At first the lower clergy were only called to the Parliamentary assembly in order that they might be taxed. The practice of admitting them to the Ecclesiastical Synod of the province, began under Archbishop Courtney about 1382, and had become the common practice by the time the Statute of the Submission of the clergy was passed. By this Statute, it was ordained (i) that the Con- vocation should not meet without the King's writ ; ii8 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. (2) that It should not attempt or make any Canons XXXyi. -without his license. * y. ^. / Meantime, however, the object of Atterbury Convocation, and his friends had been abundantly obtained. Whatever were the rights inherent in Convocation as a body, it seemed clear to all reasonable men that there was no sufficient reason why the Synods of the Church should be kept in an enforced silence. The King was now served by ministers not committed to the Whig antagonism to the Church. In consequence of their advice. It was intimated to the members of the Synod of Canter- bury that no opposition would be offered to their meeting for discussion. f Accordingly, the Convo- cation of the prelates and clergy of the Province of Canterbury, called by the archbishop's mandate in pursuance of the King's writ, met In the Cathedral of St. Paul's, on Monday, February 10, 1701, " where, after the Litany, In the Latin tongue, and an eloquent sermon In the same language, delivered by Dr. Haley, Dean of Chichester, and the hymn sung, ' O pray for the peace of Jeru- salem,' the archbishop, followed by his suf- fragans, went out of the choir and proceeded to the Chapter House : where, after reading the royal writ and the certificate of the Bishop of London for executing the archieplscopal mandate, his * Wake's St^te of the Church and Clergy of Enghmd, tffe., PP- 30, 35> 535' 536, &c. t Hallam's Cofistitutiomil History, ii., 393, note. " When the new ministry undertook to serve the King, one of their demands was that a Convocation should have leave to sit, which was promised." — Burnet's Oton Time, p. 689. rHE CIRJRCH OF ENGLJND, 119 Grace, in a Latin speech, admonished the lower Chap. clergy then present to retire and choose a Pro- ^^^vr. 1 1 1 • T- • 1 1 1690-1702. locutor, and present him on rriday, the 21st instant."* The choice of the Lower House fell upon Dr. Hooper, Dean of Canterbury. -f Doubt- less, Dr. Jane, the Prolocutor of the last Convoca- tion, who had so successfully withstood the designs of the Comprehension party, would have been re-elected, but his health was failing, and he him- self had signified his approval of Dr. Hooper.J The Prolocutor having been presented and ap- proved, the next Session of Convocation took place on February 25. It was now that the spirit which had produced The Lower the Letter to a Convocation Man and Atterbury's House resists book — the spirit which asserted for the Convoca- bishop's pro- tion inherent and independent powers, and for the rogation. Lower House the status of a spiritual House of Commons,^ showed itself. The archbishop's schedule of prorogation had hitherto been con- sidered as the proper and legal dismissal of the Lower House as well as the Upper ; but among the advocates of the new views, it was determined to resist this custom. The archbishop, it was held, could no more legally prorogue the Lower House of Convocation, than the Speaker of the Lords * Kcnnett's Complete History^ iii., 797. •j" Burnet calls Dr. Hooper " reserved, crafty, and ambitious.'* There is no proof of the truth of these assertions. Hooper was so highly esteemed by the venerable Bishop Ken, that on his pro- motion to the See of Bath and Wells, Ken at once resigned his episcopal rights in his favour. \ Lathbury's History of Convocation ^ 346, note. ^Pridenux's Life,^, 102. I20 THE HISTORT OF Chap. could order an adjournment of the Commons * XXXVI. xhe Lower House of Parliament could sit and 90-1702. jgij^^^^^g when the Upper House was not sitting, and so, it was contended, could the corresponding House in Convocation. The majority of the members, animated by these views, refused to ad- journ when the archbishop's schedule was brought down to them ; and, after remaining sitting suffi- ciently long, as they considered, to assert their rights, the Prolocutor, by consent of the House, adjourned them to Henry VII. Chapel, whereas the place intended, though not expressed in the archbishop's mandate, was the Jerusalem Chamber.f On February 28, the Upper House met but the Lower House did not appear. The archbishop sent for the Prolocutor and required him to answer, I. Whether the Lower House continued sitting on the 25 th after they had been prorogued by the schedule. 2. Whether they had met that morning in a place different from that indicated in the schedule. The Prolocutor replied that the Lower House was preparing something to lay before their lordships concerning the methods of prorogation and some other things of forms. The archbishop responded that " he and his brethren were ready to receive whatsoever should be offered by them, and * " We say that the Conti7iuatto pra^sentis Convocationis in the Upper House does no more adjourn the Lower than the like Cont'muatio prasentis Parliamenti in the Lords' House adjourns the House of" Commons." — Hooper's 'Narrative of the Proceedings of the Lower House of Cojivocation (London, 1701), p. 8. t Kennett, iii., 797. Burnet's Ozun Time, p. 699. Hooper's Narrative^ p. 12. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 121 would consider of It, and do upon It whatsoever Chap. -V " Y V AT' 7 should appear to them to be just and right; but, j'^^^, '^^ in the meantime, he and his brethren thought fit to continue the usual practice." Accordingly, that the phrase of proroguing, in hum locum, might admit of no dispute, it was in the schedule of this day expressly specified in hunc locum vulgo vocat. Jerusalem Chamber, to which the Lower House submitted with a salvo jure. At the next Session, on March 6, the Prolocutor, Presents a accompanied by several members of the Lower [J^^P^^^^-^^ ^f House, attended upon the archbishop in the prorogation. Jerusalem Chamber, according to the schedule. Being sent to their own House, they soon after returned with a report which they had drawn up on the precedents, with respect to the manner of adjourning. This report stated : i. That it was the common usage for the Lower House of Convocation to be prorogued by its Prolocutor, with the consent of the House, and that there were instances of the Lower House not adjourning on the same day as the Upper. 2. That when the words in hunc locum were used in the Schedule of Prorogation, the Lower House always met in the place of its own Session, and not in the place where the Upper House sat ; also that it was the constant practice for the Lower House first to meet, and then to attend their Lordships with business of its own motion, but not to attend them previously to its own sitting.* " To this paper," says Burnet, * Kennett, iii., 798. Calamy's Baxter, i., 573, sq. Burnet's Own Time, p. 690. Hooper's Narrative, p. 16. 122 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. *^ the bishops drew a very copious answer, In which XXXVI. ^]j ti^eij. precedents were examined and answered, ' and the matter was so clearly stated, and so fully proved, that we hoped we had put an end to the Lower House dispute."* This, however, was a vain hope. The claims ^free Lower House replied, not In writing, but by their Prolocutor, who said that " their Lordships' reply did not give them the satisfaction they desired, and, therefore, they prayed a free conference with their Lordships upon the subject-matter In dis- pute." To demand a free conference was exactly to Imitate the proceedings of the House of Com- mons. This, of course, was resisted by the bishops. They had begun the matter in writing, they said, and had been answered in writing ; in writing the controversy must continue. The Lower House, however, would only put Into writing their reasons for desiring a free conference — " a word," says Kennett, '^ that never appeared In the Acts of any former Convocation. "j- Censures Thus matters were at a standstill. But It was bo^or ^ before all things desirable for the Lower House, in the prosecution of their scheme for obtaining Inde- pendent rights, to do something propria motu. Nothing seemed so suitable for their purpose as to censure a book. This they had done In former * Ozun Time, p. 690 — '* As to their requiring that the Lower House should break up immediately the schedule was brought down, and appoint no committees to sit and act in the intermediate days, he (Dean Prideaux) was clearly of" opinion that they were wholly in the wrong." — Pridcauxi Life, p. 103. Dr. Prideaux belonged to the moderate party, which acted with the bishops. t Kennett, iii., 836. Hooper's Ndrnitivfy p. 43. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 123 Convocations, or at any rate had made representa- Chap. tlons to the Upper House about books. On the ^^^^^• 1 r r 1 169O-1702. present occasion, therefore, they fastened upon a Socinian or delstical book, written by John Toland, by birth an Irishman, by education a Romanist, by conviction a free-thinker, and a disciple of Le Clerc and Leibnitz. It was called Christianity not Mysterious^ and attempted to explain away Revelation in the usual method of such writers. It was easy to select objectionable passages from such a work and to send them up to the bishops. And the scheme was a very politic one. Should the bishops accept the censure, they would be recognizing the act of the Lower House. Should they refuse it, they would seem to be encouraging Socinianism and infidelity. But there were politic men among the bishops Bishops re- also. " This struck so directly at the Episcopal authority," says Burnet, " and it seemed strange to see men who had long asserted the divine right of Episcopacy, now assume to themselves the most important act of Church government — the judging in points of doctrine."* So the bishops took the paper about Toland's book as merely equivalent to a pointing it out to their notice, and themselves proceeded to examine and censure it. But now there suddenly occurred to their Lordships a more complete way of extinguishing the motion of the Lower House. It was suggested that if they cen- sured the book they might be going against law, having had no license to make Canons or Decrees "^ Own Thne, p. 691. 124 "^^^ HISrORT OF Chap. given to them. Lawyers were consulted, who an- XXXVI. swered very much as the bishops desired ; and the ' archbishop was constrained to inform the Lower House that nothing could be done in the matter of the book, while, at the same time, he gave them a severe lecture upon their desiring the free conference, and other irregularities which they had committed. * Lower House On April 8, the archbishop, having delivered a determines to dignified and sensible speech, prorogued the Synod medLeTays. "to th^ 8 th May. "This," says Nicholls, "being a very long prorogation, so irritated the Lower House that — to the admiration of all men — by their own authority they adjourn their Session to a different day."f "An affectation of independence," says Bishop Kennett, " that was unknown to former Convocations, and never before attempted by any Presbyters in any Episcopal Church." J Ac- cordingly when, on May 8, the Prolocutor again appeared before the archbishop, he was told " that whatever had been done in the meantime was not only null and void, but of very dangerous conse- quence." The Prolocutor, however, nothing daunted, * The chief of these irregularities was their sitting on inter- mediate days between the prorogations of the archbishop. The Lower House, indeed, continued to prorogue itself by its Pro- locutor, but it always fixed the day which the archbishop's schedule designated. In order, however, to continue their dis- cussions the plan of appointing Committees of the whole House was resorted to. These met on the intermediate days. Many members refused to attend them ; and the others were so secret that the bishops could not discover their proceedings. — Burnet's Own Time, p. 691. Hooper's Narrative. t Apparatus ad Defemionem Ecclesia- Aiiglicanm. \ Kennett, iii., 839. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 125 only answered, ''^ I am commanded by the Lower Chap. House to bring up this paper, and I do present it j^ _j_o2 as the act of the House this day." The paper which he laid on the table was a long reply to the archbishop's speech of April 8. The Lower House tell their Lordships that they need not have con- sulted lawyers about Toland's book, and that, if a royal license was necessary, the archbishop might have easily procured it. They also defend them- selves from the charge of irregularity, and retort it upon the bishops. It was an ill-advised step of the archbishop to receive any paper after having just declared that the proceedings of the Lower House were null and void, and still more so to reply to the paper. Yet it was evident that Bishop Burnet, with his extreme love of writing, could not resist the opportunity, and a reply was made. To meet also the charge of the lower clergy as to the irregularities of the Upper House, the archbishop appointed a com- mittee of five bishops, who were to meet ten members of the Lower House, to inspect the Acts of the present Convocation, and to report upon them. This appears to have been a fair proposal, Refuses to but the Lower House refused to entertain it, and Committee. " in a new and unprecedented way of contempt answered, that they did not think lit to appoint such a committee."* The bishops, highly incensed against them, determined to receive no paper from them till proper submission had been made for the disrespect. * Kennett, iii,, 840. 126 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. Yet under the pretence of Its being something XXXVI. relating to the irregularity, the Lower House con- 90-1702. ^^.^^^ ^^ Introduce and read a paper which assailed Burned the great leader of their opponents, and charged no charged with Jess a man than Bishop Burnet himself with heresy heresy. ^^^ j^j^ exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles. They had probably calculated that such a charge made against such a man was sure to be heard and discussed, for the bishop was not one who could sit silent when accused. The archbishop indeed was obliged to set aside his own previous refusal to have any dealings with the Lower House till they had atoned for their irregular proceedings. " I begged," says Bishop Burnet, " that the archbishop would dispense with the order made against further communication with the Lower House as to the matter."* Accordingly, '^ at the repeated request of the Lord Bishop of Sarum, "f the Primate de- clared himself ready to receive the particulars of the charge. Particulars It was soon, however, found that the Lower of charge House was not ready to produce these particulars. They offered a paper defending themselves from the charge of irregularity, in not appointing a com- mittee, to which the bishops immediately replied, but they did not proceed to attempt to prove their case against the Bishop of Salisbury's book. The impeachment of the exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles had been meant either as an empty menace, or as a device for breaking through the archbishop's refusal to hold communication with them. Per- * Ozvn Time, p. 691. t Kennctt, iii., 841. evaded. rUE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 127 celving this, the archbishop endeavoured to hold Chap. them closely to it, but they still evaded it, and ^^^J^^^'^ m this unsatisfactory state the Convocation, after Convocation frequent prorogations, came to an end with the dissolved. Parliament.* At the end of 1 701, a new Parliament assembled, Spirit of the and with it a new Convocation. The insult which "^^ C^^^^" . cation. Louis XIV. had just offered to the English nation by proclaiming the son of James King of England, had stirred the hearts of all men in the country, and the two Houses had united in voting a loyal and patriotic address to the King. That the strife between them, however, was not appeased, was shown by the election of Prolocutor. The mode- rate party put forward Dr. William Beveridge, one of the greatest names of the English Church for piety and learning, but the opposers of the bishops were ready to propose Dr. Woodward, Dean of Salisbury, a man who owed his advance- ment to the bishop of his diocese, but was now desirous to court popularity by opposing him. Dr. Woodward's election showed that the majority of the Lower House were still ready to contend for their distinct privileges, and the question was soon raised upon the point of the form to be entered on the minutes as to the prorogation of the Convoca- tion. Hitherto it had been expressed. Prolocutor intimavit hanc Convocationem esse continuatam. Now Phrase of the phrase was altered to Prolocutor continuavit et proi^guing prorogavit quoad hanc domum. The moderate party ^Jq^. objected to this, and protested against it; the majo- * Kennett, iii., 844. 128 THE HISrORT OF Chap. rity, however, supported the phrase. A committee XXXVI. ^^g appointed to Investlorate the matter, and 169O-I702. : • r r r ^^ • 1 reported in favour of following the ancient prece- dents. But new complications arose. The schedule of the archbishop when brought down was laid aside and not attended to ; another period of unseemly strife seemed to be threatened, when, Death of the on February 13, Dr. Woodward, the Prolocutor, Prolocutor, jj^^ somewhat suddenly. The archbishop, taking advantage of the opportunity thus afforded to him of keeping the Lower House In abeyance, declined to recommend them to choose another Prolocutor at the present time, but promising to do so, should any emergency arise requiring their deliberations, prorogued the Convocation on Fe- bruary 15. The Lower House, thus left without a head, was obliged to submit; but some tumultuary attempts were made by the members to Induce the archbishop to allow them to choose a Prolocutor. Dissolution Within a few days, however, the King died, and It of Convoca- ^^g j^^j^ \^y ^|^g lawyers that his death terminated the Convocation.* Thus the disputes ceased for a time, but the acrimonious spirit which had been evoked continued long to trouble the Church, f * In the Act which ordered the Parliament to continue sitting in event of the King's death, no provision had been made for the Convocation. — Burnet, p. 708. Kcnnctt's Complete Hist., iii., 845, 849. Hooper's Narrative of Proceedings. Lathbury's Hist, of Convocation, p. 363, sq. Calamy's Baxter, \., 6 1 4, sq. Atterbury's Charge to the Clergy of Totness. f " From the fire thus raised in Convocation, a great heat was spread through the whole clergy of the kingdom : it alienated them from their bishops, and raised factions among them every- where." — Burnet's Own Time, p. 692. tion THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 129 One of the very last acts of King William's reign Chap. was to give his assent to a Bill imposino; an Oath ^^^VI. r 1 1 11 rr 1 1690-1702. of Abjuration to be taken by all officers, clergy, schoolmasters, fellows of colleges, &c., directed Abjuration, against the claims of the son of King James, and styling William rightful and lawful King. This was a great blow to many of the clergy. Jacobitism had certainly been on the increase among them for some years, and they were by no means inclined to cut themselves off from any power of hereafter restoring their allegiance to the exiled family. There were very many who preferred the prospect of a Stuart King after the death of the Princess Anne, to that of the Hanover succession. It was also a stumbling-block to them to call William the rightful King. Many had accepted him as the de facto ruler, whose principles would not allow them to say that he governed de jure, for the assertion of this would be at once the proclaiming that the will of the people was the foundation of all authority. An attempt which had been made in Parliament to have this oath left voluntary had been resisted by the Tory party, who would rather be constrained to do a thing which they disliked, than, by having it left as a matter of choice, furnish the Govern- ment with an easy test for ascertaining their opinions. Yet, in imposing the oath as necessary, they did an ill service to the clergy whom they professed themselves desirous of assisting. Some of the Nonjurors would now have returned to alle- giance, considering that their obligation to James terminated with his life, had not this fresh test been VOL. III. K societies. 130 rUE HIST'ORl" OF Chap. enacted. They were unwilling, however, for ever XXXVI. ^Q proscribe his family, or to style William rightful 1690-1702. ^ r ^ ^ 1 King. Agam, some or the clergy, whose con- sciences were not altogether easy at having taken the oaths at the beginning of the reign — but who now would have been tranquillized by the death of James — were excited by this second oath to atone for their former slackness, and refused to take it. Thus new complications and troubles were introduced by the Abjuration Oath without any counterbalancing benefit whatever.* Progress of The period of Church history comprised in the the religious '^^ ^f William III., though vexed and embittered by numerous controversies and disputes, is yet not without redeeming points and marks of progress. The clergy were learning to be more self-reliant and more diligent. The societies for reformation of manners, which were zealously supported,-|- and spread rapidly through the country, developed a new principle of strength and influence, which has been of incalculable value to the cause of religion in England. These associations, recommended by the Primate, were patronized by a large number of * Ralph's History of England, ii., 1016, sq. Burnet's Own 7'ime, p. 698, sq. Lathbury's History of Nonjuror s, p. 184, sq. f " The societies in London have been so industrious in spreading their books, and the success they have had in this way hath made such a noise everywhere, that the whole nation almost hath taken the alarm. And so eagerly in many places are the minds of people set upon these new methods, that it may justly be doubted whether it be in the bishop's power to stifle or suppress these societies though he should use his utmost endeavours to do it." — Archbishop of York to Nicolson, Correspondence^ i., 156. Life of Sharp, i., 183. XXXVI. 1 690-1702. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 131 the bIshopS;,* but, nevertheless, did not fliil to Chap encounter considerable opposition from some influ- ential men, on account of Churchmen and Dis- senters being associated together in them. It was maintained that they contravened the 1 2th Canon of 1603, which forbids lay persons and ecclesiastics to join together to make regulations in causes ecclesiastical ; that those who met in them were parties to a conventicle and unlawful assembly. This opposition was not without its excuse, when we hear that in the society at Brampton, near Car- lisle, three beneficed clergy and the Dissenting minister were to take turns at a weekly lecture, and that the members of it " were the most violent opposers of ecclesiastical discipline in the county ."f Yet, after hearing the utmost that could be urged against the societies, and being somewhat prejudiced against them on account of their character of informers, Archbishop Sharp declared that he could not give the members of * Kennett, iii., 776. '^'icohovi's Con-espondence,^. i^g. Arch- bishop Tenison in his Circular Letter of April, 1699, says: — *' It were to be wished that the clergy of every neighbourhood would agree upon frequent meetings to consult for the good of religion in general, and to advise with one another about any diffi- culties that may happen in their particular cures. And these meetings might be made a still greater advantage to the clergy in carrying on the reformation of men's lives and manners, by inviting the churchwardens of their several parishes, and other pious per- sons among the laity, to join with them in the execution of the most probable methods that can be suggested for those good ends." — Kennett, iii., yjG. See Life of Dea?i Comber, p. 199. t Nicolson's Epistolary Correspo7idence, pp. 1 45, 1 6 1 , The same appears to have been contemplated at Nottingham, until Arch- bishop Sharp checked it. See Sharp's Life, i., 174. K 2 1690-1702. 132 rHE HIsrORT OF Chap. them any disturbance or discouragement ; * and ^^r^^l\\ certainly, as they were managed In many places, the societies were altogether free from objection. In the neighbourhood of Chester, " The clergy near the great towns preach a lecture there on the first market day of the month ; before which, they read the Act against profane cursing and swearing, with his Majesty's late proclamation against Immorality; and the effect was, the Dissenters fearing the people should be drawn from them, took the same method ; and finding the Churchmen's discourses were more taking than theirs, they proposed to the clergy mutually to hear one another : who replied, they were willing, provided the Dissenters would take out licenses, for their lecture, from the bishop, according to the Canons, as they had done. I need not tell you," says the writer, " what effect this answer had; you too well know their temper." j- " Our whole design of meeting," writes another distinguished clergyman, " Is to inform and assist one another which way we may best discharge our duties in obeying the established Canons and Orders of the Church of England legally constituted. As far as I can judge, that particular body of men, of which I am not ashamed to own that I am one, are as averse to fanaticism, are as conscientious sons of the Church, as I know anywhere." J " The objec- tions made by some persons to these Societies," writes the Bishop of Chester, " I take to be mere pretences, without any real truth to support them."§ * Life of Sharp, i., i82,sq. Nicolson's Correspondence, p. 162. t Ibid.f p. 165. X Ibid., p. 168-9. § Ibid., p. 171. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 133 The excellent Robert Nelson, whose Church prin- Cliap. ciples were very strong, says, " I know this work V ' „ * of reformation of manners, as under the care and management of a society for that purpose, lieth under some prejudices even with sober and under- standing persons; but I believe it chiefly proceedeth from false stories, which calumnies and slanders having been too easily believed, have thrown con- tempt upon the whole work, so good in itself, and so necessary for the welfare of the community."* The banding together of men in voluntary Educational. societies for the purpose of putting in execution efforts. the laws against open immorality, as well as profane and blasphemous publications, represents an inter- mediate state between the High Commission Courts and fearful punishments of the Stuart era, and the perfect freedom of modern days. It was the device to which good men naturally resorted in the pre- sence of the sudden comparative freedom of the press, and the appearance of such a multitude of books opposed to the fundamentals of Christianity. Unbelief, hitherto terrified into obscurity, now boldly paraded itself, and the friends of religion sought everywhere for weapons to strike it down. In the absence of experience, they cannot fairly be blamed or ridiculed for thinking that vice could be suppressed by magistrates and constables, or Soci- nian and Deist fallacies be exposed by prosecutions, or overthrown by judicial burnings of books. The higher wisdom, however, of the course indicated by the first labours of the Christian Knowledge * Nelson's Life of Bull, p. 312. 134 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XXXVI. 1690-1702. Society, was now being freely recognized, and schools and libraries were beginning everywhere to spring up in the country.* These institutions were strictly of a religious character. The masters were to be Churchmen and communicants, and to pay especial attention to instructing the children in practical religion. As to secular instruction, the boys were taught to read write and cipher, and the girls to read and sew. Large contributions were raised for their support. At St. Giles-in-the-Fields, ^400 was raised by annual subscriptions, and in many country towns there was proportionate libe- rality. The English charity schools became famous on the Continent, and the account of them, trans- lated into German, gave occasion for the founda- tion of schools in Hesse, Sweden, and Denmark, and in some parts of Switzerland and Russia.f The public ministration of the means of grace began also now to multiply. Weekly communions were not uncommon, and were practised in many of the cathedrals.! "Dr. Beveridge," says the author of Bean Comhefs Life, ''by the devout practice and order in his Church (St. Peter's, Corn- hill), doth exceedingly edify the city, and his con- * ^\Qohor\'s Epistolary Correspondence, TpY>- 184, 193. Toulmin's History of Dissent-ers, pp. 421, 425, 429. A Broad Sheet in the Bodleian Library, of the date 1 704, gives the particulars of seventy schools which had all sprung up within a few years, in which the children were clothed and fed, as well as taught. In the eight years which followed, the number of schools established exceeded 500. — Secretan's Life of Ne/son, p. 1 19. f Woodward's History of Religious Societies, p. 8. Secretan's Life of Nelson, p. 118. X Dean Comber'' 5 Life, pp. 180, 184. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 135 greefation increases every week. He hath seldom Chap. . XXXVI less than fourscore, sometimes six or seven score j^' ,-q2 communicants, and a great many young appren- tices, who come there every Lord's Day with great devotion."* With a view to provide for the devout receiving of the Lord's Supper, the re- ligious societies supported what were called prepa- ration lectures in many churches, and there were at this time some churches to be found in London where lectures were delivered every day as early as six o'clock in the morning, and numerous churches where the daily service was used.f To this period, also, other productions of a more Distinctions questionable character are to be referred. It was °^ ^'S^ ^"jj now that the distinctions and terms of High Church and Low Church began to be commonly in men's mouths. These appellations first came to be used among laymen and Members of the House of Commons. Those who were for strictly enforcing the laws still in force against Dissenters, and for excluding such as only occasionally conformed from the magistracy, were pleased to be called High Churchmen, and they treated (says Bishop Kennett) " all persons of charity and moderation with the character oi Low Churchy and Whigs, and tv^wfana- tics"f From the Members of Parliament the dis- tinction soon came to divide the clergy, and even the bishops. Bishop Compton, who had been the most liberal of the bishops, now — having been * De^i/i Comber's Life, ip. 1 79. f Pietas LondinensiSy pp. 30, 66, 90, 197, kc. X Kennett's Complete History, iii., 777. 136 rHE HIsrORT OF Chap. twice disappointed of the Primacy — is found XXXVI. ^anG-ing himself on the Hi^h Church side. Bishop 1 690- 1 702. i=> b & 1 1 J Sprat, discontented with the unworthy part he had played at the Revolution, also opposes the pre- vailing tone of the bishops of the new Govern- ment ; and Bishop Trelawney, mindful of his former friends the Nonjurors, inclines to the same views. With these exceptions, the bishops, with the Primate at their head, were generally regarded as Low Churchmen, and opposed by the majority of the clergy. These divisions, however, will appear much more marked in the history ot the following reign. Church mer- That in a time of such great difficulty for the ciiully pre- chm-^h^ when so much of her best blood had been served in the 1 1 • r i xt Revolution drained away by the unnatural schism ot the iM on- period, jurors, when so many controversies were rife to embitter and distract, she yet should not only have held her own, but even have made progress, and have been able to show so many great names among her bishops and divines (such as those of Stillingfleet, and Patrick, and Beveridge, and Bull) is another proof of that Providential care which watched over her not only in the excesses of the Rebellion, but also in the scarcely less perilous period of the Revolution-era. That there was a great and manacing peril to the Church at the Revolution few will be found to doubt. Had the clergy as a body adhered to James, the nation, thoroughly aroused to a hatred of his tyranny, might even have welcomed Presbyterianism rather than submit to such an interpretation of the duty rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 137 of obedience. Had, on the contrary, the whole of Chap. the clerory been eager partisans of WilHam, some ^^^^f- ^ ,1 • 1 1- • r 1690-1702. great and fundamental changes in the discipline and doctrine of the Church might have been attempted with success. But there was enough readiness in the clergy to accept the change of rulers to prevent the nation becoming discontented with their order, and enough uneasiness and dissatisfaction among those clergy who acquiesced in the new state 'of things, to keep back the Government from at- tempting anything likely to increase the ill-feeling. Thus the Church was saved from a national pro- scription, and from a Latitudinarian manipula- tion, and allowed to continue in its natural course of gradual development — from the condition of being supported by penalties and punishments to the condition of holding its own by the force of intrinsic and acknowledged merit. 138 THE HISTORT OF CHAPTER XXXVII. Chap. XXXVII. I702-I705. Accession of Queen Anne an important era to the Church. Accession of Queen Anne an important era to the Church — The opportunity lost — The Queen supersedes the Commission for Church Preferment — Unpopularity of the bishops — Bishop of Worcester charged with Breach of Privilege — Archbishop Sharp — The Tory character of the House of Commons — Occasional Conformity — Bill to prevent it brought into the House of Com- mons — The Bill sent to the House of Lords — The free con- ference — The Bill lost — The Queen's Speech — Occasional Conformity Bill revived — Bishop Burnet's Speech — Bill rejected a second time — Queen Anne's Bounty — The attempt to carry the Occasional Conformity Bill by a tack — Debate in the Lords before the Queen — Parliament dissolved — Disputes in the first Session of Convocation — The Declaration on the divine right of Episcopacy — The Lower House petitions the Queen — Disappointment of the High Churchmen — The repre- sentation about scandals — The pre7nonentes clause — Speech of the Archbishop in proroguing Convocation — Dr. Binks chosen Prolocutor of Convocation — Violent attack on the bishops — The archbishop reproves the lower clergy — Continuance of the disputes — The archbishop's speech at the conclusion of Convo- cation — Excited temper of the clergy — The " Church in danger" — The Memorial of the Church of Enghmd — Its great effect — False impressions regarding the Queen — Promotion of Bishop Bull ; of Bishop Beveridge ; of Bishop Wake ; of Bishop Hooper. HE reign of Queen Anne is a most important period in the history of the Church of England. Never before nor since have so many cir- cumstances of power, -prestige^ and influence combined in its favour. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 139 At no other period has It been so heartily and C'hap. earnestly supported by the Sovereign, and, at the ^^^^I^- • 1 • .1 f n-u c ^ 1702-1705. same time, so popular ni the nation. 1 he first Stuarts had zealously upheld the Church ; but the people, alienated by their tyranny, had learned to invest It with the odium belonging to the arbitrary measures of the Government. Under James II. the Church had been highly popular, but its po- pularity had arisen from its being oppressed by a monarch who was detested by his people. Under Anne the Church was loved, partly because the Queen loved it, and partly from other causes which had procured for it consideration and re- gard. King William III. had never been liked in the country. His unsocial habits and peevish manners had been exaggerated in the stories told of him, and hatred of the King and his Dutchmen had been the prevailing sentiment. Jacobitism had been growing in consequence. The tyranny of James, softened by distance, seemed preferable to the foreign manners of his successor, for which the country had to pay in costly wars, without any glorious successes to lighten the burdens of the expenditure. The clergy, dissatisfied with the way in which patronage had been administered, and with the favour shown by the King to Dissenters, de- clared that the Church was oppressed and en- dangered, and the country rallied boisterously round the Tory parsons, and gave them the benefit of their dislike of the Dutch. The Princess Anne ascended the throne in opposition to the policy of the late reign. Her heart, she was eager to say. 140 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XXXVII. 1702-1705. The oppor- tunity lost. was truly English.* She had been on bad terms with William, and was thought by some to have been unkindly used by him. She was known to have no Presbyterian or Whig bias, but to be a Churchwoman and a Tory. Against her the Jacobites had no dynastic prejudices, as after the death of James, and during the minority of his son, she was the natural regent of the country. f Being without children herself, it was confidently hoped that she would be succeeded by her brother. The burst of popularity with which her accession was received by all classes extended to the Church, which it was known she loved and reverenced. And now a great opportunity was given to the Church of England. Freed from the odium of enforcing penal and coercive laws, cherished by the Sovereign, acceptable to the people, it might seem not chimerical to hope that she might win back from the Nonconformists the allegiance of the whole nation. The opportunity, however, was lost through the prevalence of bitter disputes and angry passions. The feud which had been commenced in the late reign between the bishops and the inferior clergy raged only the more furiously now. The High Churchmen became more outrageous in their claims and pretensions, the Whig bishops more Latitudinarian. Churchmen wasted their energies * Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 704. — ** Many were highly offended at the expression in lier Speech that her heart was truly English, which was a glaring insinuation that the late King's heart was not so." — Boyer's Rcigji of i^cen Anne, p. 12. t Dairy mple's Memoirs, iv., i., 245. uccn es ommis- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 141 in preaching up non-resistance and abusing the Chap. Toleration Act and the Dissenters, until their j" '^-i oc opportunity was gone, and the Church had drifted into the hopeless negligence of the Georgian era. One of the first acts of Queen Anne was to The Q supersede the Commission for Ecclesiastical Prefer- sjipcrscd ments, which had been appointed by William after ^\^^^ foj. the death of Queen Mary.* It is probable that no Church Pre- small portion of the discontent and ill-feeling then ^^"^^"^• prevalent among the clergy was due to the working of this Commission. The men appointed by it were, doubtless, able and distinguished ; but being carefully selected from those who belonged to one school of opinions, the great body of the clergy felt themselves neglected, and cut off from all hope of rising. Embittered by this, they exag- Unpopu- eerated the failings of their more fortunate bre- , "^ °^ ^ 1 1 • 1 bishops. thren, and for a man to be a bishop was enough to draw down upon him a mighty load of vituperation and scorn. Bishop Burnet complains that the prelates were charged as " enemies of the Church, and betrayers of its interests ;" and even such a man as Bishop Hough, who stood so high for his bold resistance to the arbitrary measures of King James, mentioned in the House of Lords " the opprobrious names the clergy gave their bishops, and the calumnies they laid on them as if they were in a plot to destroy the Church, and had com- pounded to be the last of their order, and when the plot was ripe, to resign their bishoprics and accept a pension for life."'}' * Burnet's Otv?i Time, p. 708. f Parliamentary History , vi., 497. 142 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XXXVII. I702-I705. Bishop of Worcester charged with breach of privilege. Archbishop Sharp. In the first Session of Queen Anne's first Par- liament, Sir John Pakington, an ultra Tory mem- ber of the House of Commons, charged the Bishop of Worcester (Lloyd) with a breach of privilege in interfering in elections ; and so strong was the feeling against the bishops in the House, that a violent resolution, praying the Queen to remove him from the office of almoner, was voted without any pretence of hearing the other side of the question. The Lords endeavoured to protect the bishop, and voted that it was an injustice to con- demn any subject unheard, but the Queen listened to the remonstrance of the angry Commons and did as they desired. "And thus," says Boyer, " this pious and learned prelate fell a sacrifice to the prevailing High Church party."* Shortly afterwards, the same member of Parliament who had attacked Bishop Lloyd, thus enunciated the Tory views about the bishops : " One would be provoked, by the late behaviour of the bishops, to bring in a Bill for the toleration of Episcopacy, for, since they are of the same principles with the Dissenters, it is but just, I think, that they should stand on the same foot."f The Queen at once showed herself on the High Church side. Passing by Tenison she selected as the preacher of her Coronation sermon, and as her chief adviser in ecclesiastical matters. Dr. John Sharp, Archbishop of York. J The archbishop was * Reign ofQiietfi J fine, p. 3 6. See Sonierville's ^icen Anne, p. 2 4. \ParHajnentary History, vi., 154. :}:Tindars Continuation of Rapin, iii., 357. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 143 not an extreme man but he was a decided Church- Chap. man, andperhaps the Queen could hardly have ^J^f^^^l'. made a better choice. The Jacobites respected him for having refused to accept one of the sees made vacant by the deprivation of the Nonjuring bishops, and he was also popular among his Epis- copal brethren. Even Burnet records that " he preached a good and wise sermon."* Moderation, however, was now about to become The Tory out of fashion. The elections had revealed how character of the House of ready the country was to fall in with the Queen's Commons. inclination towards the Tories.f Everywhere the poll had gone in their favour. Men reflected bitterly on the late reign, and charged the Whigs with all their burdens and troubles. A House of Commons had been returned composed of at least two thirds of Tories who were " full of fury against the memory of the late King and those who had been employed by him. "J One of the first exhibitions of this excited temper, was an attempt to revenge themselves upon the Dissenters and to vindicate the cause of the Church, which they imagined had been hardly used in the late reign. The toleration of Dissenters was still clogged Occasional with those objectionable laws which required the conformity, partaking of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the usage of the Church of England as a qualification for oflice. This test had been originally directed against Romanists, but it is * Ow?i Time, p. 705. f Boyer's Reig?i of Queen Anue,^. 33. \ Burnet's Own Tifne, p. 719. 1702-I to: 144 rilE IIISrORT OF Chap, evident that It must have pressed with equal force XXXVJI. Qj^ ^u conscientious Protestant Dissenters. An underhand attempt to abrogate It at the Revolu- tion had been Indignantly rejected by the House of Commons, and It was still the opinion of most men of Influence and repute, that It was a neces- sary defence to the constitution In Church and State. A few keener spirits, like John Locke, could see their way clearly to the extent of a modern toleration, but as yet such views were far from being popular. Meanwhile, the test was irksome to the Dissenters, whose great strength lay among the rich tradesmen of London and the larger towns, as it excluded them from the civic oflices which naturally belonged to their position. To evade Its stringency, therefore, a practice had come into fashion among the Nonconformists of qualifying themselves for office by once receiving the Lord's Supper In the Church, and after having, by this means, entered on official duties, again returning to the services of the Conventicle. Sir Humphrey Edwin, Lord Mayor of London, had carried the insignia of his rank to the chapel at Pinners Hall,'* and the practice had grown so common that It began to be received as an obvious and convenient Interpretation of the law. But great objections were entertained against this laxity In two opposite quarters. The strict Dissenters condemned It as an unrighteous slackness, which, for the sake of worldly advancement, could dis- regard the sacred obligations of religion. The * Tindal'i) Continuation of Rtipin, iii., 449. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 145 strict Churchmen protested ap;ainst It as a mean Chap. trick of the Nonconformist to get a power which ^ ^ - ^ . ° . 1702-1705. the law did not allow him, that he might the better work the downfall of the Church. In support of the first view, a tract had been published by Daniel Defoe, in which "the author represents it as a most reproachful thing for persons to have such preposterous consciences as to believe one way of worship to be right, and yet serve God another way themselves for the sake of preferment."* In support of the other view, immediately on the meeting of Parliament, Mr. Bromley, Mr. St. • John, and Mr. Annesley, were ordered to bring in a Bill for the preventing Occasional Conformity, f That the Bill was a vindictive one was evident Bill to pre- enough, for even a motion to exempt the Dis- ^'^""^ ^'^ . r 1 • 11 J t- rr brought into senters from bemg compelled to serve those otiices ^^^ House of which required the Sacramental test was negatived. J Commons. So that the House would oblige them under penal- ties to do that which it would not permit them to do. It was, in fact, a bold attempt to repeal the Toleration Act, and to bring back the pains and penalties of the times before the Revolution. Yet the Bill began by saying that " nothing was more contrary to the profession of the Christian religion, and particularly to the doctrine of the Church of * Calamy's Life of Baxter, i., 577. Daniel Defoe, so well known as a political and romance writer, was a strong Dissenter. His Enquiry into Occasional Conformity , was published in 1 701 and attracted no notice, but republished in 1703, when the debate was raging. It was answered by Mr. Howe who defended Occasional Conformity. Life of Defoe, 410, pp. 6, 7. f Tindal's Continuation, iii., 449. Boyer's ^leen Anne, p. 39. i Tindal, u.s. VOL. III. L 146 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXVII. 1702-1705, The Bill sent to the House of Lords. England, than persecution for conscience only/' and that the Act passed for Toleration in the late reign " ought inviolably to be observed." " Never- theless," it continued, " as the law of England pro- vided that every person bearing office should be conformable to the Church, by ordering that all such should be partakers of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and as there have been evasions of this law by persons qualifying themselves for office by once receiving that Sacrament, and afterwards resorting to Conventicles ; be it therefore enacted that any person bearing office who shall resort to any conventicle where more than five persons besides the household are assembled, shall forfeit the sum of ;/^ioo and ^5 for every day that he shall continue in office afterwards, and shall be incapable of bearing any office whatsoever unless he conform to the Church of England for a year by making oath that he has done so and receiving the Lord's Supper at least three times. And if he shall offend a second time, the penalties shall be double, and three years conformity shall be re- quired before he can again bear office." * No limitation of time, nor of the way in which the offence was to be proved, was inserted in the Bill, yet, in a fortnight after its introduction, it had passed the House of Commons and was sent up to the Lords. There, however, a different reception awaited it. " Many were against it," says Burnet, " because of the high penalties. Some remembered the practice * Parliamentary History , vi., 61-68. rUE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 147 of Informers In the end of King Charles's reign, Chap. and would not consent to the reviving such Infa- j'^Q^.iyos* mous methods ; all believed that the chief design of this Bill was to model corporations and to cast out of them all those who would not vote In elections for Tories. The Toleration Itself was visibly aimed at, and this was only a step to break in upon It. Some thought the design went yet further, to raise such quarrels and distractions among us as would so embroil us at home that our allies might see they could not depend upon us. So that many of the lords as well as the bishops agreed In opposing this Bill though upon different views ; yet they consented to some parts of it, chiefly that such as went to meetings after they had received the Sacrament, should be disabled from holding any employments and be fined £10''^ The Commons, however, refused to take the milder view which found favour with the Lords. The Bill went backwards and forwards. The free but no agreement was arrived at, until, at length, conference. on January 16, 1703, the Houses met for a free conference in the painted chamber. The confer- ence was the most crowded that had ever been known, " so much weight was laid upon this matter on both sides." f On the part of the Commons, it was urged that the Bill for Preventing Occasional Conformity was only to restrain " a very scandalous practice, which is a reproach to religion, gives offence to all good Christians and to the best among the Dis- =^ Burnet's Own Time, p. 721. f Burnet, u.s. L 2 148 THE HISrORT OF Chap. senters themselves. That this Bill enacts nothing XXX\'ir. iiew, does not Intrench upon the Act of Toleration, nor take away from the Dissenters any privileges they before enjoyed. That It gives no privilege to the Church of England not designed by the law.* That by Occasional Conformity the Dis- senters might get themselves into the government of all the corporations. That Occasional Con- formity declares that a man's conscience will let him conform, and In such a man Nonconformity is a wilful sin. That the punishments were not excessive, the Incapacity, the recapacitating, and the increase of punishment for a second offence being warranted by many precedents, and that to make the Bill effective, it was necessary to extend it to all ofHces, those contemplated in the Corpora- tion Act as well as the Test Act. The managers for the Lords allowed the practice to be a scandal, but considered that a small penalty without the incapacitating was a sufficient punishment. They contended that the Dissenters were well affected to the Government and ought to be gently dealt with. That the Toleration had produced an ex- cellent effect in advancing the Church and diminish- ing the number of Dissenters, and that nothing trenching upon it ought to be passed. They declared themselves as zealous for the good of the * Yet, somewhat inconsistently with these reasons, it was also urged on the part of the Commons " that as upon the Revolution the last reign began with an act of favour of the Dissenters, so the Commons do desire in the beginning of her Majesty's auspi- cious reign an Act may pass in favour of the Church of England." — Parliamentary History y vi., 73, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 149 Church as the Commons could be, but hoped that Chap. the Church was well secured " by her doctrine, by XXXVI I. 1 1 , r ^ 1 II • r I702-I705. the good laws or the realm and the protection or so pious a queen, assisted by a Parliament so well affected to the Church and State." They said that their way of assisting the Church was a wiser one than that of the Commons. " The one would procure a hasty settled submission, not so much to be depended on ; the other would obtain for her a more gradual but a safer advantage over those who dissent from her." They do not defend Occasional Conformity, but they observe that some of the best of the Dissenters, such as Baxter and Bates, have been in favour of it, and some Dis- senters might not scruple to receive the Lord's Supper in the Church and yet not be able to conform in other things, as, for instance, the Baptists. They consider that the offices mentioned in the Test Act are sufficient for the Bill to apply to without descending to all the smaller offices mentioned in the Corporation Act. The managers for the Commons replied to the Lords' reasons, and finally left the Bill with them as it stood. The Lords divided on three main heads in which they differed from the Commons, and so evenly were parties balanced, that on each of the divisions the resolution to adhere to their amendments was only carried by one vote. The Bill was thus for The Bill lost. the present lost.* * Parliamentary History, vi., 73-93. Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 721. Calamy's 5/7;f/^r, i., 620-634. "V'vcxdizX^ Continuation, iii., 448-458. Boyer's Q^ueen Anne, p. 39, sq. Somcrville's Q^ueen Anne, p. 47. 150 THE HISTORY OF Chap. There can be no doubt that the Queen was very XXXyir. ej^j-iiestiy desirous that the Bill should pass, and that all the Court influence was brought to bear in its favour. To compensate somewhat to the High Church party for its failure, the Queen, in her speech at the end of the Session, took occasion to express herself very decidedly on their side. The Queen s " I hope that such of my subjects as have the speech. misfortune to dissent from the Church of England, will rest secure and satisfied in the Act of Tolera- tion which I am firmly resolved to maintain, and that all those who have the happiness and advan- tage to be of our Church will consider that I have had my education in it and that I have been willing to run great hazards for its preservation ; and, therefore, they may be very sure I shall always make it my own particular care to encourage and maintain this Church as by law established, and every the least member of it in all their just rights and privileges,* and upon all occasions of promo- tion to any ecclesiastical dignity I shall have a very just regard for such as are eminent and remarkable for their piety, learning, and constant zeal for the Church." -j- * " Her Majesty's speech upon this occasion contained an explicit approbation of the sentiments of the Tories, and gave a sanction which she could not afterwards revoke to that rancour against the Dissenters which had already begun to ferment in the minds of the people, and afterwards burst into such tumultuous fury as violated all public order and disgraced the name of reli- gion." — Somerville's ^leen Atine^ P- 33- f Parliamentary History ^ vi., 145. In one of her familiar letters to the Duchess of Marlborough at this time, the Queen writes, " I am very glad to find, by my dear Mrs, Freeman's, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 151 When such were the known sentiments of the Chap. Queen, it was not Hkely that the attempt to prevent f Q^.J^iJ* Occasional Conformity would be allowed to fall to q^^.^^^^^^^ the ground ; and although, when Parliament re- Conformity assembled, the Queen recommended peace, and ^^^^ revived. declared her desire that they should avoid heats and divisions, yet It was known that she still really desired that the measure should be passed.* Ac- cordingly, a very short time after the Parliament had met, the Bill was revived. In the new Bill the penalties were lowered one-half, and the Conven- ticle was made to consist of more than ten persons besides the family, instead of five. It passed the Commons by a large majority on December 7, and was sent up to the Lords, where a very animated debate arose upon Its second reading. Bishop Burnet made a bold and very able speech against the Bill. " I know some of our order," said he. Bishop^ '' as well as myself in particular, have been very ^^l^^^^^ indecently, and I hope very unjustly too, treated in that she liked my speech, but I cannot help being extremely con- cerned you are so partial to the Whigs. I know the principles of the Church of England, and I know those of the Whigs, and it is that and no other reason which makes me think as I do of the last. And upon my word, my dear Mrs. Freeman, you are mightily mistaken in your notion of a true Whig. For the character you give of them does not in the least belong to them, but to the Church." — Duchess of Marlborough's y^rro/////, p. 127. * She thus writes to the Duchess : — " I should have been very glad it had not been brought into the House of Commons, because 1 would not have any pretence given for quarrelling, but I cannot help thinking now, as it is as good as passed there, it will be better for the service to have it pass the House of Lords too. I cannot forbear saying that I see nothing like persecution in this Bill." — Duchess of Marlborough's Account, p. 154. 1702-1705. 152 THE HISTORY OF Chap. many printed libels on this very account ; as if we were the enemies of the Church, because we cannot think this bill for its service. The station we are in, sets us above answering every spiteful writer. But next to the Queen, we owe it to your lordships to satisfy you if anything sticks with you. We must freely own that there have been such severi- ties among us in every age since the Reformation, that there are blemishes not easily wiped off. The burnings in King Edward's reign is the reproach of that time. The capital proceedings in Queen Eliza- beth's reign, and the severe act of the 25th year of it, is a blemish even on that long and glorious reign. The severities in King James's reign cast a blot upon it, and the proceedings in the Star Chamber and the High Commission, are set forth by a noble historian* as things that did not a little contribute to bring on us the miseries of a civil war. The proceedings in the reign of Charles II. were severe, and set on with bad designs. That in a time both of war and plague, such an Act as the Five Mile Act should have passed, will amaze all who know the secret of that time. The whole management with relation to Dissenters, was an artifice to advance a Popish interest. The Act of Toleration has not only set the Dissenters at ease, but has made the Church both stronger and safer, since God has so blessed our labours, that we see the Dissenters lose as much strength as we gain by * The second part of Lord Clarendon's famous History of the Rebellion, was only published this year, having lain thirty years in MS. — Tindal's Continuation. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 153 it. Their numbers are abated by a moderate com- Chap. putation a fourth part, if not a third. But now ^^^^_ '^ they are alarmed, and begin to put on more zeal, for they apprehend the Toleration is aimed at, and that how little soever seems to be in this Bill, it is a step, and will be followed by more that are kept in reserve till this point is once gained. By this means we of the Church shall not have so free and unexcepted an access to work on their reasons (which we now do with so much success) when once their passions are kindled against us. I own I began the world on a principle of moderation, which I have carried down through my whole life, and in which I hope I shall continue to my life's end. I myself was an Occasional Conformist in Geneva and Holland. I thought their churches were irregularly formed, under great defects in their constitution ; yet I thought communion with them was lawful as their worship was not corrupted ; but at the same time I continued my communion with our own Church according to the Liturgy of this Church with all that came about me. So I think Occasional Conformity with a less perfect Church may well consist with the continuing to worship God in a more perfect one."* In thus taking bjh rejected boldly the Latitudinarian ground, and not only a second objecting to the infliction of pains and penalties for ^^ ' the practice of Occasional Conformity, but actually defending this practice on principle, the Bishop of Salisbury showed himself at least to be no time- * Parliamentary History, vi., 157, sq. Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 741. Boyer's Queen Autie, p. 104. XXXVII. 702-1705 54 I'HE HISTORY OF Chap. server. Such opinions found no favour at present in the highest places. The Bill, indeed, was rejected by a majority of twelve, but the Queen's Ministers voted in its favour, and the Archbishop of York, her principal adviser in Church matters, divided against the Archbishop of Canterbury and ten other bishops who opposed it.* The clergy throughout the country were violently excited by the rejection of the Bill a second time, and that, too, mainly by the instrumentality of the bishops. Even the Queen a,nd her Ministers were made the subjects of attacks, for having lent the measure (as it was said) only a cold support. -(■ Oueen Yet, if any doubt had arisen as to the Queen's Bounty ^^^^ affection and care for the Church, it ought to have been speedily dissipated, by the kind and con- siderate measure which she now caused to be carried out in its favour. The anniversary of her birthday falling upon Sunday, in the year 1704, the celebra- tion of it was deferred till the next day. On that day the Queen sent a message to the House of Commons, " That having taken into her serious consideration the mean and insufficient maintenance belonging to the clergy in divers parts of the king- dom, to give them some ease she had been pleased to remit the arrears of the tenths to the poor clergy, * For the Bill, Archbishop of York. Bishops of London, Win- chester, Rochester, Chester, and St. Asaph; proxies of Bishops of Durham, LlandafF, and Exeter. Against the Bill, Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishops of Worcester, Salisbury, Ely, Peterborough, Norwich, Lincoln, Chichester, Oxford, Bangor, Lichfield; proxies of Bishops of Hereford, Gloucester, and Bristol. — PiirliiWicntary History y vi., 171. t Burnet's Own Time, p. 741. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 155 and for an augmentation of their maintenance she Chap. would make a grant of her whole revenue arising XXXVII. , r • 1 1 J 1702-1705. out of the first-fruits and tenths, as far as it should become free from incumbrances, to be applied to this purpose.* And if the House of Commons could find any proper method by which her good * The first-fruits, pr'unitia^ or annates, were the first year's entire profits of a living or other spiritual preferment, according to a valuation made under the direction of Pope Innocent IV., by Walter, Bishop of Norwich, in 1254 (38 Henry III.), and after- wards increased during the pontificate of Nicholas III., in 1292 (20 Edward I,). This last valuation is still preserved in the Exchequer, Tenths, or decimce, were the tenth part of the annual value of such preferment according to the same valuation claimed also by the popes, under no more valid title than the command to the Levites contained in Numbers, xviii., 26. This claim met with a vigorous resistance from the English Parliament, and a variety of statutes were made to restrain it. The one passed in 1405 (6 Henry IV., c. v.), calls it "a horrible mischief and damnable custom." Yet the clergy continued to pay this tax to the Papal See until the statute 26 Henry VIII., c. 3, in 1535, made the King for the time being head of the Church, and trans- ferred to him the above payments. " They were first abolished for a year, probably to draw in the clergy to consent the more readily to a change that delivered them from such heavy imposi- tions, but in the succeeding Session of Parliament, this revenue was again settled as part of the income of the Crown for ever. It is true it was the more easily borne, because the rates were still at the old value, which in some places was not the tenth, and in most not above the fifth part of the true value ; and the clergy had often been threatened with a new valuation, in which the rates should be rigorously set to their full value. The tenths amounted to about £^ 1 1 ,000 a year, and the first-fruits, which were more casual, rose one year with another to ^^5,000, so that the whole amounted to between ^ 1 6,000 and £^ 1 7,000. This was not brought into the Treasury as the other branches of the revenue; but the bishops who had been the Pope's collectors, were now the King's, so persons in favour obtained assignations on them for life, or for a term of years." — Burnet's Own Titne, p. 744, where see note (ed. 1838). Burnet's History of the Reformation^ i., 118 (ed. 1841). Blackstone's Co?nmentaries. XXXVII I702-I705 156 THE HISTORY OF Chap. intentions to the clergy might be made more effec- tual, it would be of great advantage to the public, and acceptable to her Majesty." Upon the receipt of this message, a Bill was brought in enabling the Queen to alienate this branch of the revenue, and to create a corporation by charter, to apply it to the use for which she now gave it. To this was added a repeal of the Statute of Mortmain, so as to enable any by deed or by will to give money for the augmentation of benefices. This part of the measure occasioned great debates in the House of Lords, but the bishops were unanimously in favour of the Bill, and it passed into a law.* The credit of originating this excellent measure, which has proved a real boon to the Church of England, was, without doubt, due to the prelate, then the most obnoxious of all the bishops to the High Church party. Bishop Burnet had first sug- gested the arrangement to Queen Mary, and after- wards pressed it upon King William, who had favourably entertained the notion, and he had also often spoken of it to Anne while yet a princess. f The fruits of his endeavours were now to be received by the clergy, but though numerous addresses of gratitude were presented to the Queen, the popu- larity of the Whig and Latitudinarian bishop did not rise in consequence among his brethren. It was not a little singular that when the Queen's message was debated in the House of Commons, * Tindal's Continuation of Rnpin^ iii., 609. Boyer's Reign of i^ieen Jnne, p. 119. f Burnet's Own TimCy p. 745. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 157 the Whig party, affecting an extraordinary care for Chap. the clergy, urged that they should be altogether ^^^VII. excused from the payment or tenths and nrst- fruits ; while the Tory party, declaring that the clergy ought to be kept in dependence on the Crown, voted for the continuance of the tax.* Meantime the Occasional Conformity question The attempt was by no means allowed to sleep. Pamphlets ad- ^ ^^^l^ ^^^ / ... . Occasional vocatmg both sides were continually appearing and Conformity keeping men's passions alive; and those who were Bill by a tack, bent on inflicting this check upon the Dissenters were preparing a deeply-laid plan to ensure, as they supposed, its passing in the House of Lords. This device was to tack the Bill for preventing Occa- sional Conformity (drawn now in a milder form) on to a Money Bill. The Lords not having power to alter a Money Bill sent from the Commons, but only to accept or reject it, it was thought that they would not venture to stop the Supply of the country by rejecting it, and thus the obnoxi- ous Bill might, by this stratagem, become law. But a large number of Members who supported the Bill in the Commons were opposed to the strange and shuffling expedient of tacking it to a Money Bill, and, much to the consternation of the extreme party, the tack was rejected by a division of 251 against 134.! The Bill, however, passed separately, and was Debate in the sent up to the Lords House, where it would have \^^'^^ before the Queen. * Burnet's Own Time, p. 745. t Parliamentary History, vi., 359. Boycr's Reign of i^een Anne^ p. 161. 158 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XXXVII. 1 702-1 705, Parliament dissolved. Disputes in the first Session of Convocation been at once rejected a third time had not the Oueen happened to be present in the House. It was thought that her Majesty had been made familiar with only one side of the question, and that a few speeches from the opponents of the Bill might be a salutary enlightenment of her mind. " The topics," says Burnet, ^*^ most insisted on were the quiet that we enjoyed by the Tolera- tion, on which head the severities of former reigns were laid open both in their injustice, cruelty, and their being managed only to advance Popery and other bad designs ; the peaceable behaviour of the Dissenters, and the zeal they expressed for the Queen and her Government, was also copiously set forth. That which was chiefly urged was that every new law made on the matter altered the state of things from what it was when the Act for Toleration first passed ; this gave the Dissenters an alarm — they might from thence justly conclude that one step would be made after another until the whole effect of that Act should be overturned."* At the conclusion of the debate the Bill was again nega- tived by a majority of twenty, and before another opportunity of bringing forward the measure could be found the Tory House of Commons, which had shown such zeal for what it deemed the Church's interests, being irretrievably entangled in disputes with the House of Lords and the law courts, was dissolved. The High-flyer Parliament had shown a some- what boisterous advocacy of the Church, but a still * Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. ']66. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLylNB. 159 more combative spirit was exhibited in the Lower Chap. House of the Convocation of the province of Can- 1702-1705. terbury, which sat concurrently with this Parha- ment. The two Houses of the Convocation agreed, indeed, in an address congratulating the Queen on her Accession, but after this modicum of agree- ment they continued to disagree during the whole of the remainder of their existence. The disputes of the last reign about the right of prorogation still prevailed. The Lower House addressed the Upper, desiring that some settlement might be made in the matter. The archbishop replied (Nov. 13, 1702) that the right of proroguing was clearly with him, but that a Committee of seven bishops had been appointed to meet deputies from the Lower House with a view to settle the question. The arrangement that was offered by this Com- mittee of bishops seems to show that the prelates were really desirous to terminate the difficulties, and to leave the Lower House without excuse for the continued spirit of discord which it exhibited. It was offered that the Lower House should always have the privilege of meeting in Committees be- tween the Sessions, and that when there was busi- ness before the House the archbishop should always so order the prorogations as to allow time for the considering and finishing it. To this the Lower House answered, insisting on their right to hold assemblies as an independent body, and desiring that this might be recognised by the bishops. A reply was at once returned, declaring that the power of proroguing was undoubtedly in the arch- i6o THE HIST'ORT OF ^ Chap. bishop, with the consent of his suffragans. That XXXVII. j^ which prorogued the Convocation continued 1702-1705. ^ C3 the whole of the business in the same state it was then in till the next meeting. The claim of the Lower House to hold intermediate assemblies was, therefore, quite inadmissible ; and the proposal made by the bishops was sufficient for all purposes of carrying on business. The answer from the lower clergy to this was a suggestion that the Upper House was not a fitting judge in its own cause, and a request that the Queen might be solicited to appoint some competent persons to hear and decide the matter. There was a show of fairness in this, but the members of the Lower House knew pretty well that they might expect great consideration from those in high places at that moment. The House of Commons had just voted that they would always respect the privileges of the Lower House of Convocation, and the Government was, for the time, showing favour to extreme views. Their request was, therefore, de- clined by the bishops, who, af the same time, re- minded them that they were members of an Epis- copal Church, and ought to show some deference for their superiors, and that it would be unseemly that the quarrels of the clergy should be exposed before the Privy Council. TheDcclara- Stung by the reflection on their want of respect tion on the for the order of bishops, the Lower House at once ofTpisco-^^ sent up a declaration stating that they had been pacy. scandalously aspersed by some as favourers of Presbytery in opposition to Episcopacy, but that xxxvir. 702-1705. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 161 they now declared that they acknowledged the order ^^^;hap. of Bishops as superior to Presbyters, to be of divine apostolical institution, and that they claimed no rights but what they believed necessary to the very being of the Lower House of Convocation. The same day they presented an additional address signifying that, whereas they understood that this their declaration had given new offence, and that from having been accused of making too little of Episcopacy they were now accused of making too much of it, they begged the bishops would take the question into their consideration, and would make such a declaration on the subject as would repress Aerian or Erastian opinions. The subtlety of this request was considerable, but scarce sufficiently veiled.* The divine right of Episcopacy has always been, and always will be, an open question in the Church of England. Writers of great name and note are found on either side. Hooker, Field, and Stillingfleet, stand ranged against Bilson, Hall, and Hammond. The Preface to the Ordinal, so often quoted on the sub- ject, is evidently open to an interpretation which will suit either view,*!* and it seems impossible to prove that the Church has made any authoritative declaration on the subject. It is probable that the * " The Lower House looked on what they did in this matter as a masterpiece ; for if the bishops complied with them they reckoned they gained their point, and if they refused it, they resolved to make them wlio would not come up to such a posi- tive definition pass for secret favourers of Presbytery." — Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 727. f See Lathbury's History of Convocation,^. 380-1. VOL. III. M l62 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XXXVII. I702-I705, The Lower House peti- tions the Queen. majority of bishops in the Upper House at that time would have decided against the divine right, but they were not so short-sighted as not to per- ceive the great mischief which any decision on the subject might produce. Assisted, therefore, by a protest from some of the members of the Lower House against the declaration, they answered, after careful consideration, that the Preface to the Ordinal certainly spoke of three orders in the ministry, but that the bishops conceived that with- out the royal license they were not at liberty to enact any canon or rule respecting doctrine or dis- cipline. They thus happily extricated themselves from the difficulty, and the Lower House could merely express their surprise that the bishops would not say whether they agreed with them in their declaration. Meantime, an attempt had been made by the Lower House to induce the Government to inter- fere in their behalf, by addressing a petition to the Queen, praying her to call the question in dispute about prorogation, to be pleaded before her. The Privy Council was consulted about the points of the petition, and finding that the archbishop had the undoubted right to prorogue, the Crown de- clined to interfere. The Session of Convocation thus came to an end in an unsatisfactory and unsettled manner. The quarrel between the clergy and bishops, aggravated by the votes of the prelates in Parliament on the Occasional Conformity Bill, was intensified and increased, and the state of THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 163 Church matters did not look promisuig for the Chap. remainder of the reign.* XXX VJ I. I 702- I 70C. The first zeal and confidence of the Church t^. Disappoint- party had now changed into somewhat of disap- mcnt of the pointment and bitterness. The Queen was becom- High ing gradually reconciled to the Whigs by the influ- ence and intrigues of the Duchess of Marlborough. In her speeches she now dwelt upon moderation, and it was known that she was alarmed by the sen- sation produced among the Dissenters by the Occa- sional Conformity Bill.f The clergy who had fully anticipated a complete triumph at the acces- sion of a Princess so devoted to their principles, were proportionately vexed at the slow progress of their cause, and bitterly accused the bishops of betraying their order, and sacrificing everything to their ambition. Immediately, therefore, on the meeting of Con- The rep re- vocation in the winter, a paper was sent to the mentation n • 1 ^ about upper House, reflecting severely upon some of scandals, the scandals which were then prevalent, but with an evident intention of imputing to the bishops, who were armed with legal powers of suppressing them, a remissness in performing their duty. There were many scandals, they said, which they desired to point out to their lordships, but especi- * Calamy's Baxter, i., 635, 639. Burnet's Ozvti Time, 726-7. Tindal's Continuation, iii., 476, 481. Lathbury's History of Con- voeation, p. 377, sq. Kx.xs.x\)MxyWisitation Charge. Letters, ii., 222. The New Danger of Presbytery (1703). Jccount of the Proceedings between the two Houses of Convocation. By a member of the Lower House (Trimnell), 1 704. 7he Comflainer Reproved (Gibson), 1704. •}■ Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough, Y>' H3- M 2 XXXVII 702-1705 1 64 "THE HISTORT OF Chap. ally they were desirous of drawing their attention to the daring licentiousness of the press, through which books were constantly passing, impugning not only the worship and discipline of the Church, but the known fundamentals of religion. They doubted not, they said, but that their lordships by their great wisdom and their interest with those in power could abate this scandal if they would be graciously pleased to take it into consideration. On the same day they also sent up another paper complaining of inconveniences connected with the law of Church-rates, and desiring that the two Houses jointly might draw up a Bill on the sub- ject, to be presented to Parliament.* In answer to the latter paper, the archbishop told the Lower House that he had already ordered such a Bill to be drawn, and that he should be glad if any of their Members would go to Lambeth to see it, and suggest any improvement. On the other matter he promised to give them an answer on Wednes- day. " He seemed," writes Dr. Atterbury, " to be in very good humour, and expressed himself in such a gracious manner as we have not been accus- tomed to."-}- The Convocation was soon after prorogued for the Christmas holidays, but during this time a committee of the Lower House had frequent meetings to draw up a representation upon the state of discipline in the Church, to be submitted to the bishops at their next session. Dr. Hooper, formerly the Prolocutor and leader of the * Tindal's Contuiuatioji, iii., 617. f Attcrburv's Correspondence, iii., 148. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 165 High Church party in the Lower House, had now Chap. succeeded to the Episcopate, and showed himself ^^^VII. against his former friends. The numbers of the extreme party were also very much diminished,'* but enough remained to vote a somewhat severe representation, which, on February 4, was sent up to the bishops, j- In this paper they directed the attention of their lordships to the practice of some clergy of not reading the Common Prayer accord- ing to the Rubric, and of using the form of public baptism in private houses. They complained that churchwardens were remiss in making provisions for the celebration of the Lord's Supper ; that due care was not taken in admitting persons into holy orders ; that there were great abuses connected with marriages, and in commutations for penance ; that unlicensed persons were allowed to instruct youth ; that neither chancellors, registrars, nor churchwardens performed their duties carefully ; that excessive fees were exacted ; that gross errors were found in several editions of the Bible and Liturgy ; and that the Stage was in a very immoral state. J This paper was, in fact, a laboured bill of indictment against the administration of the bishops, and was regarded by them as such. Bishop Burnet retaliates by saying, " They drew up a representation of some abuses in the ecclesias- tical discipline, but took care to mention none of » * Atterbury's Correspondence^ iii., 141, 156. I " Great art," says Atterbury, " was used to render that report useless, and to make it impossible to send it up to the Lords, on February 4, the Synodical day." — Correspondence, iii., 164. \ Tindal's Continuation, iii., 619, note. i66 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XXXVII. 1702-1705. The premo- ncntes clause those greater ones, of which many among them- selves were eminently guilty, such as pluralities, neglect of their cures, non-residence, and the irre- gularities in the lives of many of the clergy which were too visible."* But the Lower House of the Convocation was not satisfied with accusing the bishops of mal- administration ; they also desired to record a decla- ration of their own rights, especially on the matter of the p'emonentes clause in the writ of summons to the bishops,-]- which was thought by many to be a point of much importance. It has been already shown that this had been a principal topic of dispute all along in the controversy on the rights of Convocation conducted by Shower, Atterbury, and Hill, on the one side, and Wake, Kennett, Hody, and Gibson on the other. It was con- tended by Atterbury and others, that this was the proper legal foundation for Convocations, and that, consequently, these synods naturally and necessarily met every time that Parliament met as an integral part of Parliament. Against this it was urged by Wake and Kennett that this ancient summons of * Burnet's Ozvn TifnCy p. 751. Yet, in the preface to his Pastoral Care, Burnet says, " Clamours of scandal on any of the clergy are not frequent, and God be thanked for it." f The bishop was to " premonish the dean and chapter of his cathedral church, the archdeacons and all the clergy of his diocese, that they, the said dean and archdeacons in their proper persons, the chapter by one, and the clergy by two sitting proxies, should by all means be present at the Parliament with him, to do and consent to those things which, by the blessing of God, shall, by their common advice, happen to be ordained in the matters afore- said, and that this they shall by no means omit." — Speech of Earl Temple, Parliame/itary History, xxxv., 1352. XXXVII. I702-I705. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 167 the attendance of the clergy in Parliament was Chap. simply for the purpose that they might tax them- selves. That they never had the same powers as the lay members of Parliament in matters of legis- lation, and that they could not be considered as an integral part of Parliament. It was pointed out that the true foundation of the Convocation Synods was altogether different. These, which had been formerly summoned by the archbishops by their own power, after the Act of Submission (25 Henry VIII.), could only be summoned by the writ of the King directed to the archbishop. In the Pro- vince of Canterbury, the archbishop was to send the writ to the Bishop of London, whose duty it was to summon all the bishops of the province to appear at a certain time and place, and to act as they should receive authority from the King. " The not distinguishing these two writs," says a learned writer on the subject, " hath caused so much confusion in some men's minds about the rights of Convocation. For they imagine that the Convocation, as it treats of ecclesiastical matters, sits by virtue of the first writ which is the bishops' summons to Parliament ; but that related to them as one of the estates of the realm, whose consent was then required to their own subsidies." * The Parliamentary attendance of the clergy ceased with their acknowledgment of the King's supremacy. * Account of the Proceedhigs in Coyivocatmi (1706), by Kennett, p. 2. Atterbury's Correspoiidence, iii., p. 1. Speech of Earl Temple on the eligibility of Mr. Home Tooke, Par- liamentary History, xxxv., 1349. 1702-1705 1 68 THE HISTORT OF Chap. Henceforth they only met as a Convocation, not XXXVII. ji^ ParHament, but separately, dependhig upon the King's writ of summons, but retaining the right of self-taxation (which they had formerly exercised in Parliament) down to the year 1664. It appears that while these disputes were in progress, those of the bishops, who favoured the High Church politics, agreed to summon the clergy to vote for the election of proctors under the -premonentes clause. This was done by the Bishops of London, Rochester, Exeter, Lichfield, and Winchester,* but the majority of the bishops refused to act upon it, as the admission of this point bore very materially on the question of the independent powers of the Lower House. On March 10, therefore, a paper was carried up, in which the Lower House asserted their right to be summoned as often as a new Parliament was called, according to the tenor of the clause premonentes, and com- plained that this had been omitted in many dioceses. They also claimed a right to have a Prolocutor chosen and admitted as often as that office should fall vacant by death or promotion, and to assume an actuary and to have a convenient place for debates, and to dispose of the interme- diate time as they thought good, f The archbishop in proroguing the Convocation on April 3, spoke to the clergy on the subject of their representation. He allowed their right to Convocation, complain, but observed that some of their com- * Ancrhwxy^s Correspo?idc?!cey\\\., 17. t Tindal's Continutition, iii., 620. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 169 plaints did not come properly under the power of ^^J'^P- the Canons or the authority purely ecclesiastical. I'yoz-iyo'-'. That the abuses complained of were of long stand- ing, and had not been passed over everywhere with supineness and neglect; that many of them were mentioned in King William's Injunctions and his own circular letter in pursuance of them. He told them also that never were there more frequent and careful visitations of bishops, more precautions and strict examinations before giving orders, or more solemn and orderly Confirmations " even in many places where a bishop had not been seen since the Reformation." He also said that the bishops had promoted the good design of setting up schools for the poor, had been concerned for the propagating the Gospel in foreign parts ; in pressing the frequent catechizing of youth, and helping forward the conversion of Dissenters of all sorts by sound arguments and gentle methods. He concluded his apology by confessing that there were still many abuses to be rectified, and desiring the assistance of all towards doing it.* The speech of the Primate, and his whole con- duct during the Session, appears to have been of a conciliatory character, and a better spirit might reasonably be hoped for when the clergy should again meet. But the march of public affairs unfortunately prevented this. The Occasional Conformity Bill had been a second time rejected. Lord Jersey, Lord Nottingham, and Sir E. Sey- mour had resigned their places. The Queen took * Calamy's Btixter, i., 663. lyo THE HISTORY OF Chap. the Privy Seal from the Duke of Buckingham, AAA VII. ^j^j ^j^g Whlas were completely In the ascendant.* 1702-1705. TT 1 1 • Dr Bink Under these circumstances, the clergy came to chosen Pro- the winter Session of 1704 in a worse temper locutor of t\\2i\\ ever with the bishops. In place of Dean ' Aldrich, who had presided over the previous Ses- sion with considerable skill and prudence, Dr. Binks, Dean of Lichfield, was now chosen Pro- locutor. This divine was one of the most violent men of his party. He was famous for having preached a sermon in which the death of King Charles I. was commented upon in a strain of blasphemous exaggeration,-f and for advocating the extremest views. Under such a leader the Lower House was not likely to abate any of its preten- sions. Violent Accordingly, on December i, a paper was pre- attac -s on gented to the bishops of a recriminating character, the bishops. . ^ ^ ' implying that the Upper House had all along been the great impediment to anything being done in Convocation, either in the matter of censuring books or redressing grievances, and begging them to exert their vigilance and zeal for rescuing Con- vocation from that contempt into which there was a danger of its falling. They again allude to the need of a Bill for the more speedy recovery of Church-rates, and for restraining the licentiousness * Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough ^ pp. 1 44-. H7- f This sermon was complained of and censured in the House of Lords as *' containing several expressions which give just scandal and offence to all Christian people." — Beyer's Reign of !^ieen Anne, p. 20. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 171 of the press ; and they complain bitterly of the Chap. hardships to which the parochial clergy were sub- ,^^^^X!!r jected in having to administer the Lord's Supper to notorious schismatics, who only sought it as a qualification for office.* This latter complaint y^as intended, doubtless, as a help to their friends in the House of Commons, who were again trying to pass the Occasional Conformity Bill by the device of tacking it to a money bill. This paper was not rendered more acceptable to The arch- the bishops by the fact of the " Representation " ^^^^^P 'f' ^ ■' 1 1 o • 1 • proves the which had been oifFered in the last Session, havmg, lower clergy. in the meanwhile, been published with a preface strongly reflecting on the bishops. Accordingly, the archbishop's answer on the part of the Upper House took the form of a severe lecture. The clergy were told of their unwarrantable claims and encroachments ; of insubordination to ecclesiastical superiors. They were reproached with ignorance in thinking that any business could be done with- out a royal license, and taunted with having them- selves refused to act when (as in 1689) a royal license was actually given, f The angry reply was certainly not unprovoked. Continuance and perhaps not undeserved, but that there were °^ "^^^ ^^^" . . . putes. faults of temper on both sides is sufficiently appa- rent. Being now exasperated into pushing their claims to the uttermost the Lower House refused to notice this paper as not having been communi- * Gibson's Co?nplai7ier further Reproved. Calamy's Baxter, \ Complainer further Reproved. Calamy's Baxter, i., 665, 172 THE HISTORY OF Chap. cated to them In due form. On February 14, XXXVII. lyof, they presented another paper complaining of 1^02 I o:,. ^^^ encroachments of Dissenting teachers on the office and rights of the clergy, of their administra- tion of baptism in private houses, and of their keeping schools and seminaries for the education of youth; and together with this they also pre- sented a paper against their old enemy, the Bishop of Salisbury, who was charged with having violated the privileges of Convocation in having severely reflected upon them in his visitation charge to his clergy. Upon the Prolo- cutor's appearing with these charges, the archbishop asked him if the Lower House had held any Session since the last Synodical day. The Pro- locutor replied that it had. The president told him that this was very irregular and an infringe- ment of his rights. But a few days after this, the Prolocutor returned and informed the archbishop that the Lower House, having taken his admonition into consideration, held it to be uncalled for, and protested against it as null and void. The Arch- Thus the quarrel was embittered, when, on bishop's March 15, the Convocation was prorogued with speech at the , ^ , 1 1 • i • 1 • 1 • • conclusion of ^ speech from the archbishop, m which, reviewing Convocation, the proceedings, he severely censured the ambitious and litigious spirit of the Lower House, defended the Bishop of Salisbury, and concluded his oration with somewhat of a menace. This Convocation, he said, was near an end, and a new one would soon be summoned. If new occasion ofli^ered he should think himself obliged to exert his authority. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 173 seeing that no better fruit had been reaped from Chap. his past conduct, which some ascribed to fear and 1702-1705. some to remissness. He earnestly desired, however, that all irregularities, and therefore all censure, might be prevented by their meeting together in such peaceable tempers and dutiful dispositions as became their function and order.* The clergy returned to their cures, furious at Excited the determined opposition of the bishops. The ^^j^^^P^''^^'^" High Churchmen in the House of Commons declared that the Court was now turned against them. The recommendations to union and mode- ration in the Queen's speech at the dismissal of Parliament were interpreted into a censure upon a party. " These words," says Burnet, " which had hitherto carried so good a sound that all sides pre- tended to them, were now become so odious to violent men that even in sermons, chiefly at Oxford, they were arraigned as importing some- what that was unkind to the Church and that favoured the Dissenters. "j- There was now scarce left a man in the Queen's counsels reputed to be a good Churchman. The dismissal of the Duke of Buckingham was followed by that of Sir Nathan Wright, Keeper of the Great Seal, who had always been considered a firm friend to the Church. J * Calamy's Baxter, i., 663-669. Tindal's Continuation, iv., 102-166. Gibson's Complainer further Reproved. Lathbury's History of the Convocation, 394-7. t Own Time, p. 751. — "There is a very good word which has of late suffered mucii by both parties — I mean moderation ; which the one side very justly disowns, and the other as unjustly pretends to."— Swift's Sentiments of a Church-of-England Man. \ Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough, y>. 147. 174 'I'HE HISrORT OF Chap. Many Churchmen feared, more perhaps affected to XXXVII. ^^^^ ^ j.^^1 dang-er to the Church. The brilHant 1702-1705. ' ^ successes of the Duke of Marlborough seemed to raise the Whigs to an unapproachable greatness. An attack must be made upon them before all was lost. Under these circumstances began that strange The episode in our history — the cry of The Church in " Church in JO)anger — the struggle of the Church against its enemies, real or supposed — the conversion of High Church Divines into popular democrats — the in- tense enthusiasm awakened for them — and the overthrow of the Whigs and the Marlboroughs by the Church party and the Tories, who were all along secretly favoured by the Queen. The Memo- ^^^ Struggle may be said to have begun by the /■//;/ of the publication of the pamphlet called the Memorial of ^E^"7Jnf ^^^^ Church of England. This tract, written by Dr. Drake, a physician, was a vehement attack upon the Queen's Ministers for betraying the in- terests of the Church, not without many insinua- tions against the Queen herself for her slackness in the matter. ^^ Those that look no deeper than the surface of things," says the writer, "are apt to con- clude, without hesitation, that the Church of Eng- land is in a very flourishing condition. Its digni- ties and preferments make a goodly show, and the patronage of the Queen seems to promise a con- tinuance of prosperity. But for all this fine com- plexion and fair weather, there is a hectic fever working in the very bowels of it, which if not timely cured will infect all the humours, and at 702-1705. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 175 length destroy the very being of it."'^" The grounds Chap. for this melancholy view are the increase of Dis- -^-^^^^I^- senters who " think the Church an abomination," and the treachery of the Ministers, who, under the pretence of the necessity of moderation, have alienated the Queen from the Church. " They have spirited up a faction that was down, and made those pretend to the whole power of the Government, who, but for their countenance and support, would gladly have purchased impunity with incapacity. They have disobliged the bravest and most affectionate House of Commons that ever any prince had, only to render a few in another place insolent, who have heat enough to embroil affairs, but not weight enough to turn, or skill enough to disentangle them."f Having thus at- tacked the Ministers and the House of Lords, the writer now turns specially to the bishops. ^^ There was a time when our clergy defended the cause of the Church against Papists and fanatics with a courage becoming the cause they served. But, alas ! many of those reverend persons that ani- mated and led them are dead. The Church has lost seventeen of those heroic prelates that gave life and vigour to those noble sentiments, and most of their places are filled with men of another stamp, who, not being warmed themselves with the same zeal for it, by preaching indifference to the in- terests of the Church, under the suspicious deceit- ful name of moderation, have very much damped, * Metnoridl of the Church of England, ap. init. t Ibid.y p. 21. 176 THE HIST0R2^ OF Chap. and, in a manner, extinguished that noble spirit which their predecessors had infused into the in- 1702-1705, ^ . , ' ferior clergy."* Its great The pamphlet was extremely violent and libel- eftcct. lous, but it exactly expressed the feelings of disappointment and rage of the Tories and High Churchmen, and it was welcomed by them with a chorus of approbation. In vain a hundred answerers rushed into print. In vain Daniel De Foe, the hired pamphlet-writer of the Whigs, put forth his High Church Legion. The Memorial gave a tone to the opinions of a great party, and suggested popular topics for use at the elections. " The clergy," says Burnet, " took great pains to infuse into all people tragical apprehensions of the danger the Church was in. The danger of the Church of England grew to be as the word given in an army — men were known as they answered it. * Even the Papists, both at home and abroad seemed to be disturbed with the fears that the danger of our Church put them under. Books were written and dispersed over the nation with great industry to possess all people with the apprehen- sion that the Church was to be given up, that the bishops were betraying it, and that the Court would sell it to the Dissenters. The clergy were gene- rally soured, even with relation to the Queen her- self, beyond what could be considered possible.''f False imprcs- Yet assuredly with regard to the Queen, at least, sions regard- there was no ground for this ill temper. To say Ouccru nothing of her munificent gift of the tenths and * Memorial, p. 26. f Ozvn Time, pp. 771, 778. XXXVll. 1702-1705. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 177 first-fruits, Queen Anne showed plainly by the Chap. appointments which she made among the clergy, her tender regard for the best interests of the Church. It had been long a scandal to the Church, and a discredit to the Committee which administered ecclesiastical patronage in the late reign, that George Bull, one of the most learned divines whom our Church has produced, a man equal to Stilling- fleet in the depth of his researches, and superior to him as a practical working clergyman, had not been advanced to the Episcopate. This disgrace was now at length removed. Watson, Bishop of St. Promotion of David's, a man infamous for simoniacal crimes, ^^^^°P ^"^^• after a protracted resistance to the sentence of deprivation pronounced against him, had been at last forced to yield, and Dr. Bull was nominated by the Queen as his successor. Another Welsh See was filled about the same Of Bishop time by a divine almost as illustrious. William ^^v^^idge. Beveridge, rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, and Archdeacon of Colchester, had been long con- spicuous among the London clergy for his influence over the youth of the city, who thronged to his weekly communions, and were directed by him in their societies for mutual improvement. At the beginning of the late reign the See of Bath and Wells had been ofi-ered to him, but Beveridge, like Sharp and Prideaux,* declined to take a See made vacant by deprivation. He had been an influential man in Convocation, but on the moderate side ; a staunch Churchman, but free from turbulence or * Sharp's Life, i,, 1 08. Pridcaux's Life, p. 78. VOL. III. N 1 78 THE HISTORY OF Chap. party spirit ; and no fitter man could be found for XXX\'II. ^i^g Episcopate to which he was now promoted. Of Bish ^' '^^^^ appointment of Dr. Wake, Dean of Exeter, Wake. to the See of Lincoln, was also one to which only his controversial adversaries could take exception. He had confessedly produced the most learned treatise on the Convocation question, and in every way he was a leading man among his contem- poraries. Of Bishop But if the appointment of Wake and Beveridge Hooper. might seem to indicate that the Queen was favour- ing the moderate party, the advancement of Dr. Hooper, Dean of Canterbury, to Bath and Wells,* might fairly be pointed at as proving her impar- tiality. Dr. Hooper had been the Prolocutor in the first Convocation, in which the Lower House had battled so strongly for its rights, he was the close and intimate friend of Bishop Ken, to whom his appointment might be regarded as a delicate mark of respect. It was known that the deprived bishop himself might have been reinstated had his conscience now allowed him to take the oaths, but he preferred to resign his rights in favour of his friend Hooper, and thus this judicious selection opened a door for the healing of the great Non- juring schism. Yet in spite of these promotions, the party which had anticipated an immediate repeal of the Toleration Act could not be appeased. It .* Dr. Kidder who had succeeded to the See after the depriva- tion of Ken, was killed, together with his wife, in the Palace at Wells, by the fall of a stack of chimneys during the great storm in November, 1703. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 179 was seen that not only this was safe, but that the chap. Bill against Occasional Conformity could not be ^^^VII. • r TT 1 • 1 • 1 1 1702-1705. carried. Hence the exasperation which prompted them to raise the cry of the " Church in danger," and which made them so eagerly solicitous to return a House of Commons which might equal or exceed the last in devotion to their cause. N 2 i8o THE HISrORT OF CHAPTER XXXVIII. Chap. XXXVIII. 1705-I7IO. The Whigs in the ascendant. The Whigs in the ascendant — Attempt to stop the alarmists — Debate in the House of Lords — Resolution of Parliament — Benjamin Hoadly — His sermon before the Lord Mayor — The first Session of the Convocation of 1705 — The two Houses differ on the Address — The Moderate party in the Lower House protests — The Queen's letter — Dangers to the Church from the Union — Convocation prorogued to prevent their opposition — Representation of the Lower House — Queen's second letter — Doubtful propriety of this proceeding — Convo- cation not allowed to meet — Turn in the state of affairs — Promotion of Sir William Dawes and Offspring Blackhall — Moderate promotions — Controversy between Blackhall and Hoadly — The question of the lawfulness of Resistance — Growing popularity of the High Church notions — Dr. Henry Sacheverell — His sermon at St. Paul's — Proceedings taken in Parliament — Impolicy of the prosecution — The trial — The defence — Debates in the House of Lords — Dr. Sacheverell voted guilty — His sentence — Popular sympathy during the trial — Rejoicings in the country — Effects of the trial. N spite of the strenuous efforts made by the Tories and High Churchmen to influence the elec- tions, it was discovered when Par- Hament met, that the Whigs were in a considerable majority. They were able to carry the choice of a speaker against the Tory candidate, and to defeat other projects of their opponents. The Queen now became more THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. i8i favourably disposed to them than she had been Chap. before, principally through the strange impolicy of ,-o..,-jo the Tories in proposing that the Electress of Hanover should be invited to reside in England.* It appears to have been hoped that their opponents would second this, and propose it to the Queen, to whom the plan was known to be very distasteful ; but the Whigs managed to oppose it without losing their credit with the country, and the whole dis- pleasure of the Queen fell upon the Tories. In her Majesty's speech at the opening of Parlia- Attempt to ment, she mentioned with warmth some who had ^^j^^^^^jg^g been so very malicious as even in print to suggest that the Church of England was in danger. " I am willing to hope," said she, "not one of my subjects can really entertain a doubt of my affection to the Church, or so much as suspect that it will not be my chief care to support it, and leave it secure after me ; and therefore we may be certain that they who go about to insinuate things of this nature must be mine and the kingdom's enemies, and can only mean to cover designs which they dare not publicly own, by endeavouring to distract us with unreasonable and groundless distrusts and jealousies." t Notwithstanding, however, this severe reproof directed against the alarmists. Lord Roches- ter, in the debate on the Regency Bill, spoke of the danger of the Church, and his words being taken up by Lord Halifax, a day was appointed to discuss the question, whether or no the Church was in danger. * See Account of the Conduct of Duchess of Marlborough^ pp. 148, 159. Tindal's Continuation^ iv., 189, sq. \ Parliamentary History, vi,, ±^2. I82 rUE HISrORT OF Chap. Lord Rochester attempted to make good his X^XXVIir. vvords by poniting to the Act of Security in Scot- 1705-1 710. ^ ^^.^^ estabHshed the Presbyterian Church the House of without a toleration for Episcopahans ; by dwellmg Lords. ypQj^ tj^g fact that the Heir Presumptive to the Crown was a stranger to the country, and not of the religion of the Church of England ; and by referring to the continual rejection of the Occasional Conformity Bill, which, he said, was in itself so rea- sonable, and the Church's request in it so small, that the industry in opposing it gave great ground for suspicion. Lord Rochester was answered by Lord Halifax, who introduced into his speech a very effective taunt against his opponent by referring to the times when, as he said, the Church was really in danger, in the reign of James IL, from the High Commission Court, of which Lord Rochester was a member. The Bishop of London replied to Lord Halifax, and maintained that the Church was in danger from the licentiousness of the press. A most vile book, he said, had been published by a clergyman in his diocese, Mr. Hickeringill, whom he had endeavoured to punish, but had been unable ;* and a sermon, striking at the root of all civil authority, had just been preached before the Lord Mayor by another London clergyman, Mr. Benjamin Hoadly. Then Bishop Burnet spoke, and after defending the principles of Mr. Hoadly's sermon, more especially addressed himself * Mr. Hickeringill was the Rector of All Saints', Colchester, and the author of divers scurrilous satires upon Tories and High Churchmen. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 183 to the Scotch question. He said that toleration ^^^^V- was not denied to the Episcopalians in Scotland, that ^^"^^^^j^'^ there were fourteen " Episcopal meeting-houses" in Edinburgh as open as the churches, and as much resorted to. He owned there was much profane- ness and licentiousness abroad, but that It was diminishing ; and that the societies for Reforma- tion, and the Corporation for Promoting Christian Knowledge, had done a great deal "by giving great numbers of books in practical divinity, by erecting libraries In country parishes, by sending over many able divines to the foreign plantations, and setting up schools to breed up the children in Christian knowledge; that, to his knowledge, j^ 1,200 had been expended last year in books to these purposes, all collected by voluntary contribu- tions." The Archbishop of York then declared that he thought there was a danger to the Church in the Increase of the academies of the Dissenters. The Bishops of Ely, and Lichfield and Coventry (Patrick and Hough), complained of the violent and bitter spirit shown in the Universities against Dissenters, of " the opprobrious names the clergy gave their bishops, and the calumnies they laid upon them." The Bishop of Bath and Wells (Hooper) complained of the terms High and Low Churchmen, defended the High Church party as only desiring the efficiency of the Church, and said that he did not believe that the Low Church had any wish to lower the Church to Presbytery. It was clear that there was no case for making Resolution of out any special danger to the Church at that parti- ^^ lament. 1 84 "THE HISrORT OF Chap. cular time, and at the end of the debate it was XXVIII. 705-1710. XXXVIII. ^Qj.gj^ i^y ^ majority of 61 to 30, that the Church was 7iot in danger. The Lords having sent a message to the Commons desiring them to concur, the vote was agreed to by a majority of 212 against 160. Upon this the two Houses addressed the Queen, and informed her that they had come to the following resolution : — " That the Church of England, as by law established, which was rescued from the extremest danger by King William III., of glorious memory, is now, by God's blessing, under the happy reign of her Majesty, in a most safe and flourishing condition; and that whoever goes about to suggest or insinuate that the Church is in danger under her Majesty's administration is an enemy to the Queen, the Church, and the kingdom." This resolution was immediately published in a Royal Proclamation which denounced punishment against any who should propagate the reports of the danger of the Church, and, in particular, stigmatized the Memorial of the Church of England as a '^ malicious and seditious libel," and invited all to assist in the apprehension of the printer of it, who had fled from justice.* Attempts so vigorous to coerce public opinion showed plainly enough the wide prevalence of an uneasiness and apprehension for which it is diflicult to assign an adequate cause, but which was, doubt- less, greatly due to the abundance of writings of a free-thinking tendency, left, through the insufli- ciency of the law, uncensured and unsuppressed. * Pfir/itinieNtary History, vi., 479, 511. Burnet's Own Tifne, p. 785. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 185 The Bishop of London had specially alluded In Chap, his speech to a sermon preached before the Lord -^-^^^^^^f- Mayor by the Rev. Benjamin Hoadly. We have thus brought before us a name which occupies a prominent place In English Church history for the next fifty years. Benjamin Hoadly, the son of a Kentish clergyman, Fellow of Catherine Hall, afterwards Lecturer of St. Mildred's, Poultry, and, in 1702, Rector of St. Peter-le-poor, was already well known In the literary world by his defence of Conformity to the Church of England against Mr. Calamy's tenth chapter of Baxter's Life. In 1705, he was selected by the Lord Mayor to preach before him, and the sermon which he then delivered was, as has been seen, censured by Bishop Compton, and soon afterwards condemned, though not In a formal sentence, by the Lower House of Convocation. It was. In fact, a bold and thorough-going attack His sermon on the principles of passive obedience, maintaining before the that the sole end and business of all governing °^ ^^°^* power Is to consult the good of human society ; that there are no sorts of governors endowed with any special privileges, but that all officers exist for this purpose only. That if they don't do their duty It Is Incumbent on all good citizens to resist them, and that passive non-resistance is a sin. Inas- much as it is a " tacit consent to the ruin and misery of mankind." The figment of a divine right of kings and the duty of non-resistance had hardly as yet been attacked so boldly by a divine of any standing in the Church.* A reply that was at * Dean Swift's admirable tract on the Sentiments of a Church- 1 86 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. once written to Mr. Hoadly only produced a re- XXXVIII. pj.-j^^ Qf ^l^g sermon, with a long and elaborate i70)-i/io- jg^gj^^g Qf -^s doctrine. Hoadly was a contro- versialist of uncommon power. Clear and simple in his style, specious and skilful in his arguments, and admirable for his command of temper, his writings gave no small provocation to those who, having practically renounced divine and hereditary right by acquiesence in the Revolution-settlement, were now eager to recur to their old predilections, though sadly perplexed how to defend the logic of their position. The first The Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, Session of which met with the Parliament in the winter of tio^nofTTos" ^7^5' ^^^ composed of nearly the same members as that which had preceded it. The opening sermon was preached by Dr. Stanhope, whom the moderate party were desirous of having for Pro- locutor, but Dr. Binks was again elected by a large majority. The same question which was dividing Parliament influenced also the business of Convocation. Was there or was there not ground for affirming that the Church of England was in danger .? The Upper House, in voting an address to the Queen, disclaimed any such notion, and condemned the asserters of it, but the Lower House was not inclined to acquiesce in that view. They refused to concur in the address voted by the Upper House, and brought in a form of their of-Enghmd Man was not written till 1708. The whole ques- tion is there discussed with a temperance and lucidity which can- not be surpassed. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 187 own which they offered to the bishops. In this, Chap. although they acknowledged that the Church could ^ ^ * be in no danger from the Queen on account of her zeal and devotion to it, yet they implied that it was in danger from others. They congratulated her Majesty in having been baptized and brought up in the Church of England, implying that this could not be said of her predecessor, nor of him who, in all probability, would be her successor. Such an address, put forward to supersede their The two own, could not of course be accepted by the ^^^^^' "^^^^^ bishops. It was refused with the intimation that address. the Lower House must either accept the bishops' address or give their reasons in writing. To this the Lower House answered, " that by the funda- mental constitution of an English Synod, they have an unquestionable right of dissenting from anything proposed to them by their lordships for their concurrence, without specifying the reasons for such dissent."* The Upper House replied, " We wish that instead of looking upon assemblies co-ordinate and independent on each other, they would consider the nature and constitution of that assembly whereof themselves are a part, we mean that of a Christian Synod. They would then certainly reflect that in all provincial Synods, since the first holding of them, the Presbyters have been reputed the council of the bishops, and in virtue of that relation they are obliged to give their advice and opinions when demanded."-)- The only * Proceedings in present Convocation {1706, Kennett), p. 36. t Uid., p. 39. 1 88 THE HISrORT OF Chap. efFect of this reproof was to increase the obstinacy XXXVIII. of t;he Lower House. They signified to the i70:,-i7io. j^jgj^Qpg ^j^^^ ^j^gy would not agree to any address which did not emanate from themselves ; and thus joint action was rendered impossible, the matter of the address fell to the ground, communications between the two Houses ceased, and the Lower House continued to hold its Sessions without regard to the bishops, as though it were a com- plete Synod in itself. The mode- It was not to be supposed that proceedings of rate party in g^^}^ ^ violent character would be quietly ac- House pro- quiesced in by all the members. There were many test. moderate men in the Lower House who could see that nothing could compensate for the mischief which this exhibition of strife and ill-will between the leading clergy must needs do to the cause of religion, and who could feel, to use the language of a contemporary, " indignum sane facinus esse schismaticorum coetus solemnes celebrari potuisse, et clerum interea Anglicanum dissentionibus mutuis labefactatum toties frustra convocari, dum nihil eiFecerit quod ad vel dignitatis suas ornamenta vel ad stabilitatis suae pra^sidia conservanda, per- tineret."* Accordingly, the Dean of Peterborough drew up a protest against the irregularities of the Lower House, and specially against the Prolo- cutor's proroguing the House by the authority of the House itself ; against his being put into the chair before he was confirmed by the arch- bishop ; against the power claimed to give leave * Godwin de PrasuUbus (cur. Richardson), p. i68. I705-I7IO* THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 189 to members to be absent and to give proxies; Chap. against the election of an actuary in prejudice to ^^^Vlir. the rights of the archbishop, and generally against the late disrespectful conduct of the House to the archbishop and Bishops. This protest was circu- lated with great secrecy among the moderate party, and was signed by 51 out of the 145 members of the House. When the Dean attempted to read it in the Lower House, it was received with great surprise and violent indignation, and he was not suffered to continue the reading of it. Upon this he carried the protest to the Upper House, where it was readily received and ordered to be entered on the Journals.* Furious at this treachery among themselves, the majority of the Lower House voted, at their next meeting, a complaint against the protesters and a declaration of their rights, but they had not so completely renounced all com- munication with the bishops as to refuse to address them a letter, especially as they thought they could inflict some sharp taunts upon their lordships for apathy and indifference. The letter bears date, February 19, 1706, and in it "they think fit to remind" their lordships of their having before applied to them about bringing in a Bill about collecting Church-rates. They are " much con- cerned to find " that their representation about grievances had had no effect. The Stage was as immoral and profane as ever. Daring insults were * Proceedings in present Convocation. Calamy's Baxter, \., 690. Tindal's Continuation, iv., 225. Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 789. Boyer's Reign of Queen Anne, p. 226, sq. 190 THE HISTORY OF Chap. heaped upon the clergy. An assembly of sectaries, XXXVIII. calling themselves Unitarians, was publicly, held in ^ * the City of London. Mr. Hickeringill, in spite of the zeal of the Bishop of London, remained unpunished. Mr. Benjamin Hoadly had lately contradicted the doctrine of the homilies at St. Lawrence Jewry.* The Queen's But a very few days after this letter had been letter. g^^^^^ ^ ^j^^ £g|j ^pon the Lower House from a quarter in which it was not anticipated. The Queen addressed to the archbishop a letter (dated February 25, 1706), signifying her concern that the differences in Convocation were still kept up, and rather increased than abated. She declared that she had always endeavoured to preserve the constitution of the Church of England, as established by law, but that she was resolved to maintain her supremacy and the due subordination of Presbyters to bishops, as fundamental parts thereof. She expected both bishops and clergy to act conform- ably to this her resolution, and assured them of the continuance of her favour and protection in so doing. This letter was communicated to the clergy on March i, according to the Queen's directions, and at the same time it was intimated to them that it was the Queen's pleasure they should be further rogucd. prorogued. The surprise was great. The Bishop of Norwich was acting as commissary for the arch- bishop, and in that capacity summoned the Prolo- cutor and the Lower House. Dr. Binks arrived attended by some of the members. The bishop * Wilkms's Conci/iti, iv., 633. The Convo cation pro- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 191 began to read the royal letter. Atterbury perceived Chap. the danger, and pluckhio; the Prolocutor by the XXXVIII. ^ ^ ^ , . 1 r 1705-1710. sleeve, bid him begone, as this was no place for them. Dr. Binks hesitated. But another impetu- ous spirit assailed him on the other side. Bishop Burnet springing from his seat, shouted out with excited gestures that 'twas the greatest piece of insolence he had ever seen in his life, thus to refuse to hear the Queen's orders, and he bid the Prolo- cutor go at his peril. Thus assailed, the Doctor remained for a few minutes, but before the letter was fully read, and when the members of the Lower House perceived that they were about to be pro- rogued, they rushed tumultuously to the door to endeavour to avoid hearing the sentence. After- wards they returned to the Lower House and held a meeting, as if to assert their dignity, although they did not venture to come to any vote.* When Convocation met for its next Session, the Dangers to question of the Union of Scotland with England, |-J^qj^|^j^J^^ was the all-engrossing topic of interest. In the Union. English Parliament there was a very decided majo- rity in favour of the project, though some of the Tories expressed great apprehensions of damage likely to accrue to the Church from the Presbyte- rians. These apprehensions were uttered in the House of Lords by Bishop Hooper, and in the Commons by Sir John Pakington. The Bishop of Bath and Wells said that the bishops' bench had always been considered the dead weight of the * Calamy's Baxter, i., 690. Tindal's Continuation^ iv., 226. Burnet's Own Time, p. 790. Beyer's Reign of Queen Anne, p. 228. 192 THE HISTORT OF Chap. House, ^^ but that the sixteen Scotch peers being aXXVIII. admitted to sit therein would more effectually be so, especially in any future debates relating to the Church, towards which they could no way be sup- posed to be well affected, and therefore he was humbly of opinion that some provision might be made of debarring them of their votes in any Church matter that should hereafter come in agita- tion."* Other lords expressed great fears of Pres- byterian votes in Church matters, and in the Commons Sir J. Pakington declared ^^ that the Church of England being established jure divino, and the Scots pretending that their Kirk was also jure divino, he could not tell how two nations that clashed in so essential a point could unite, and therefore he thought it very proper to consult the Convocation about this critical point, "f Convocation Nothing indeed would have been more accept- prorogued to ^^j^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ -^^^^ prevent their opposition, council on such a point. It would both have greatly enhanced their importance, and have given them an opportunity of strongly protesting against what was considered by the High Churchmen an unrighteous slackness in Church matters. But the managers of affairs at that time were not disposed to suffer their work to be marred by the scruples of the clergy. In spite of some symptoms of a better spirit in the Lower House at the beginning of this Session, in agreeing with the bishops in an address to the Queen, acknowledging that the Church was safe under her, it was, never- * Tindal's Continuation, iv., 368. f /^/V., iv., 359. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 193 theless, known that committees had been appointed Chap. to consider the dangers of the Church, principally -^-^-"^^^^ • 1 • 1 • TT J lu ' 1705-1710- with a view to the projected union. Under these circumstances it was determined, at the critical moment, when the action of the Lower House might possibly impede the measure, to prorogue the Convocation for three weeks. Before the expi- ration of this term, the Bill for the union of the two kingdoms had passed both Houses of Parlia- ment. * It may easily be supposed that this off-hand way Represcnta- of silencing them was anything but agreeable to th^^^^^i lYio. members of the Lower House. In their exasperation House, they voted at their next meeting a Representation to be made to the bishops, which stated that ever since the submission of the clergy in the time of Henry VIIL, for a space of 173 years, no such prorogation had been ordered during the sitting of Parliament; and they besought the bishops, from the ' conscientious regard which they doubted not they had for the welfare of the Church, that they would use their utmost endeavours that they might still enjoy those usages which they possessed, and which they had never misemployed, t This Representation ap- pears to be by no means justified by the facts of the history of Convocation, and it was a direct impeach- ment of the Queen's Act in the late prorogation. To guard against the appearance of disloyalty, the Lower House had indeed passed a vote that they " did not intend to enter into any debate concern- ing the validity of the late prorogation to which * Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 806. f Ibid., p. 806. VOL. III. O 194 'i^HE HISTORY OF Chap. they had humbly submitted;"* but this vote and XXXVIII. ^YiQ Representation scarcely agreed together. 1705-1710. ^j^^ incautious proceeding of the Lower House 1 he Oucen s ,,., • r-n- second letter, furnished to the archbishop an opportunity ot inflict- ing a severe humiliation upon them. On April 8, the Queen was induced to write a letter to him, in which she remarks that the Representatiiin is an invasion of her supremacy. She says, " In our letter to you, bearing date February 25, 1706, which we directed to be communicated to the bishops and clergy of the Convocation of your province, we declared our resolution to maintain our supremacy, and the due subordination of Pres- byters to bishops, as fundamental parts of the con- stitution of the Church of England. We did hope that so plain a declaration of our royal intention would have been a sufficient warning to those of the clergy whose innovations, contrary to the duty they owed to us and their ecclesiastical superiors, gave us occasion to make it. Yet, contrary to our expectation, we understand that not only the former illegal practices are continued, but also by the pro- ceedings laid before us by you and your suffragans, that the last prorogation of the Convocation held before you, which you made by our command, signified in our writ under our great seal, has been by divers of the clergy of the said Convocation in their application to you reflected on, as unprece- dented and contrary to the ancient and constant usage of the Convocation, which yourself and the bishops of your province were bound in conscience * Burnet, ii.s. Atterhury's Epistolary Correspondcncey iii., 273. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 195 to have seen preserved and maintained to them. Chap. We are satisfied that assertion is untrue m ponit of -^-^^^ ^^^• fact, and amounts to a plam invasion or our royal supremacy which is reposed in us by the law and constitution of the Church of England, and that their subsequent declaration being evasive and con- trary to what they had before done, has rather aggravated than lessened the guilt of so dangerous an attempt. As our repeated admonitions do suffi- ciently show our tenderness for the clergy, so our firm resolution to preserve the constitution of the Church of England, as by law established, and our rightful supremacy (if anything of the like nature be attempted for the future), will make it necessary for us (how unwilling soever we are to proceed to those measures) to use such means for punishing offences of this nature as are warranted by law. All which we require you to communicate to the bishops and clergy of your province in Convoca- tion assembled." * It was perhaps scarcely wise in Archbishop Doubtful Tenison to make the Queen thus speak the Ian- [jJ^J'gPpjQ^eed- guage of a heated partisan. Neither was it a com- ing. mendable proceeding in him to publish an ex parte statement of the matter in a circular letter to the bishops of his province. He had, however, been greatly provoked, and was desirous to humiliate his opponents. Full of his triumph in having obtained the Queen's letter, on April 1 8 the clergy were summoned to hear the document read. They appeared without their Prolocutor. Dr. Binks did * Wilkins's Concilia ^ iv., 635. O 2 196 THE HISTORT OF Chap. not feel disposed to adorn the triumph of the arch- XXXVIII. bishop, and had prudently retired to the country. 1705-1710. ^^^ ^^.^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ borne. Half the benefit of the victory would be lost if the leader of the van- quished side were absent. The archbishop there- fore proceeded to pass a sentence of contumacy against him for his absence. Whatever conse- quences may have been liable to result from this, the Prolocutor was not bold enough to face them. After a feeble attempt on the part of the Lower House to defend him, and to retort the charge of invasion of royal supremacy on the archbishop, he appeared and submitted himself, and the sentence was removed.* Perhaps this Session was as damag- ing to the character of Convocation as any that it had gone through. Convocation So hopeless, at any rate, did the prospect of union not allowed between the two Houses appear to those who were in power, that when the Parliament met afresh, under the provisions of the Act of Union, Convocation was not suffered to meet. It was summoned, indeed, for November, 1707, but before even the sermon was preached or a Prolocutor chosen, it was prorogued, and continued to be prorogued from time to time during this whole Parliament. It was feared that Dr. Atterbury, the uncompro- mising stickler for the privileges of the Lower House would be chosen Prolocutor,-(- and the same * Burnet's Ow?i Time, p. 806. Tindal's Co?itifiuntio7iy iv., 386-19. Calamy's 5^;jv/^r, i., 713. AiiQxh\xvy'sCorrcspo?iiieficey iii., 272. t Calamy's Baxter, i., 720. to meet. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 197 hopeless squabbles be repeated, and it was deter- Chap. ^ ^ ^ XXXVIl 1705-1710. mined to impose an unavoidable silence on the contentious clergy.* The cause of the High Churchmen seemed at Turn in the this time to be substantially declining. The Whigs ^^^^^rs^^ were triumphant and successful. The Queen seri- ously offended by the foolish cry of the Church in danger, and the impolitic project for bringing the Electress Sophia to England, had withdrawn her countenance from the Tories and Church party. But at the moment when the Whigs considered themselves secure, and the High Churchmen were morose and discontented, a change began. Mr. Harley, taking advantage of the real predilections of the Queen, was secretly working the downfall of the Marlboroughs. His friend, Mrs. Masham, had supplanted the Duchess in the confidential friendship of the Queen. It was suggested to her Majesty that though she was obliged to use her present ministers for carrying on public affairs, yet that there were many things in which she could show her independence of them. In particular, it was pointed out to her that to bestow some prefer- ments on High Churchmen would at the same time be a just and fair action, and a proper assertion of her independence.-f- In this matter she was told * The wisdom of this policy may, however, well be doubted. " The suspension of Convocation during this Session of Parlia- ment," says Dr. Somerville, " not only gave a new spur to the acrimony and intrigue of the violent clergy, but furnished them with plausible topics for announcing the perilous condition of the Church." — Somerville's ^ie£?i Anne, p. 369. t " They " (the Tories) " began by engaging her to nominate 198 THE HISTORT OF Chap. that she was a far better iudg-e than any of her ™™; ministers, p.^., .• V Great, therefore, was the astonishment of Lord r romotion ot ' ' Sir William Godolphin and his friends to iind that, without any D^ves and previous mention of their names in Council, the BlackhalL Queen had appointed Dr. Blackhall to the See of Exeter (vacant by the promotion of Bishop Tre- lawney to Winchester), and Sir William Dawes to that of Chester. Unfortunately for the Whigs there was nothing in the character of either of these two divines to which the most captious could object. Sir William Dawes was the best preacher of the day — a man of a most noble presence, with every grace of voice and manner. He was ^^ also a man of gravity and prudence, of decency and courtesy, of singular presence of mind, of extraordinary re- solution and constancy, of exemplary regularity and exactness in all parts of life."* Offspring Blackhall had been for many years an active London clergyman ; he had shown his learning in a con- troversy with the infidel Toland, and had filled the distinguished position of Boyle Lecturer. Even Burnet allows that they were both " in themselves men of value and worth. "f But both of them were specially marked as opponents of the views on civil government prevalent since the Revolution. Sir William Dawes had spoken so strongly on the divine right of kings in a sermon persons to bishoprics without consulting her ministers." — Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Mur/borough, p. 2 2 8 . See Burnet's Own Timey p. 816. * Life of Archbishop Sharps i., 333. t Burnet's Own Time, p. 816. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 199 preached on January -jo before the Queen, that her Chap. ^ ^ 7 ^ XXXVJI 705-1710. Majesty had been unable to obtain the acquiescence ^^^^^^I- of her Ministers in his appointment to the See of Lincohi, which she had desired to give him, in 1705, in preference to Dr. Wake. Blackball is said to have remained a Nonjuror for two years, though after- wards made chaplain to King William. His views on the divine origin of civil government had been made public in a sermon preached at St. Dunstan's in 1704. The appointment, therefore, of these two divines was a distinct demonstration in favour of the political High Churchmen. So great an alarm, indeed, was taken at it by Moderate the Whigs that the Queen was induced to promise promotions. them to promote no more Tories, while, at the same time, she gave the See of Norwich, vacant by the promotion of Bishop Moore to Ely, to Dr. Trimnell, Canon of Norwich, one of the moderate party in the Lower House of Convocation; and made Dr. Potter Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, in preference to Dr. Smalridge, who was strongly supported by the Tories.* But the great unwillingness shown by the Queen to make the latter appointment proved to the Whigs that her real inclinations were setting very decidedly against them, and made them especially bitter against the High Churchmen, who seemed to be sapping the very foundations of their power. Very soon after his consecration. Dr. Blackball "^Jccount of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough, p. 174. Dr. Potter owed his promotion to the solicitations of the Duke of Marlborough. — Anderson's Life of Pottery p. 6. 200 THE HISTORY OF Chap. was called upon to preach before the Queen, on the XXXVIII. anniversary of her accession. He now repeated n^r.. the doctrine delivered by him four years before at Lontroversy J _ ^ / _ between ' St. Dunstan's, asserted the divine origin of govern- Blackhall and ^^ent, and absolutely denied the right of resistance in the subject. To this sermon Mr. Hoadly at once published a reply. In a short and temperate, but very able, pamphlet, he re-asserted his view that the governors for whom St. Paul claims an absolute obedience are only ministers/or good, and that, when- ever they quit that character by any act of tyranny or injustice, they may be lawfully resisted. That there is no divine right of government other than the providential sanction assured to the trust of magis- tracy given by the people, from whom all power originally proceeds.* The bishop wrote an answer to this, in which he principally relies on charging misrepresentations against his opponent, and does not much join issue with him on first principles. Mr. Hoadly immediately answered, defending him- self from, unfair representations of the bishop's words, and fixing upon passages of his sermon inferences from which his lordship seemed rather inclined to shrink, f The controversy enlisted many other writers on either side. The question It was a question that ever since the Revolution o tic aw- ^^^ hetn stirrino: the minds of men. Was civil fulness or ^_ resistance. government so high and so holy a thing as that, * This argument was put into more homely language by Paley in his famous comparison of the divine right of kings to the divine right of parish constables. t Ihti(//y\f Works y ii., l 26, sq. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, ioi emanating directly from the Divinity, it could chal- Chap, lenge and demand an absolute unconditional obe- ^^^^^ ' dience in all cases ; or, was it a human institution owing its sanction to the popular will, entrusted by the majority with certain powers to be used for a certain end, but, when using these powers for another end, to be justly resisted and opposed? Those who held the former views had generally been obliged, since the Revolution settlement, somewhat to modify them. Formerly, the creed was to believe in the hereditary right of kings as of divine origin, and to connect with this the duty of passive obedience. This view could now only be held consistently by Nonjurors. The breaking through hereditary right having been acquiesced in, those who still preached non-resistance 'were obliged to connect it, not with the hereditary right of kings, but with the supreme authority of the nation which they declared to reside in the legis- lature. * They explained the Revolution as an exceptional case In which the legislative power was divided, and they dwelt upon the fact of the throne being vacated and the necessity of taking some extraordinary measures for the preservation of the Government. On their principles had the Lords and Commons concurred with King James II. * " He (Dr. Sacheverell) has indeed affirmed the utter ille- gality of resistance on any pretence whatsoever to the supreme power; but it cannot be pretended that there was any such resistance used at the Revolution. The supreme power in this kingdom is the legislative power, and the Revolution took effect by the Lords and Commons concurring and assisting in it." — Speech of Sir Simon Harcourt on Sacheverell's Trial, State Trials, xv., 190. 1705-1710- 202 THE HISrORT OF Chap. (which was very nearly happening at the beginning XXXVIII. q£ }^j3 reign), EngHshmen would have been bound to surrender their liberties, their properties, their religion, their lives, without a struggle. These were the opinions of the great majority of the clergy in the days of Queen Anne. On the other hand, a small but influential minority, who had managed, through the favour of Whig ministers, to obtain most of the high preferments in the country, held the popular origin of civil govern- ment and the lawfulness of resistance when wrong was done. They justified the Revolution on this ground, and held that it was absurd to maintain that there was then no resistance to the supreme legislative power when arms were actually taken on both sides, and that the Lords and Commons acted at that time not in their legislative capacity, but as parts of the nation.* The names of High and Low Churchmen, which were then almost entirely political appellations, were nearly co-extensive with these two sets of opinions. Not, indeed, that all Low Churchmen held and advocated the lawful- ness of resistance with the force and logical deduc- tion of Hoadly ; but it may be assumed that nearly all those who had obtained the name of High Churchmen from their political opposition to Dissenters, would acquiesce in the opinions on the divine right of Government advocated by Bishop Blackball. But these opinions were not only favoured by the clergy, they were also at this moment becom- * Sec Hallam's Constitutional History, ii.,. 359. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 203 ing the popular opinions of the country. The cry Chap. of the danger of the Church from the Dissenters ^]^^^[l^^' had seriously alarmed many. The Whig Govern- q^^^^^,-^^^ ment was becoming unpopular from its heavy popularity of demands for carrying on the war in a time ^^ [I'Jj^^^^'^f^ scarcity and amidst a great decay of trade. The notions. union with Scotland was the subject of many com- plaints.* The High Church clergy, jealous of the Toleration, and exasperated by the Occasional Conformity by which the Dissenters eluded the Test Act, chimed in with the discontents of the nation, and became highly acceptable. Their ser- mons condemning the principles of the Revolution grew bolder and more frequent. The suspension of Convocation, the admission of Presbyterians to the English Parliament, the naturalization of foreign Protestants, were all magnified into a deliberate attempt to subvert the Church of England. The Whig ministers saw their popularity waning and began to tremble for their power. Attacked on all sides by the Tory High Chuchmen, whose tirades were greedily listened to by the people, their ascen- dency was seriously threatened. Under these cir- cumstances, they determined to try to coerce and intimidate their chief opponents. Those divines who troubled them should no longer be allowed to continue their attacks with impunity. A principal offender should be singled out and a great example be made. * See Debate on Decay of Trade, Parliamentary History, vi. Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 848. Swift's Public Spirit of the Whigs. Somerville's ^leen Anne, p. 362, sq. 204 I^HE HISrORT OF Chap. It was at this moment that Dr. Henry Sache- XXXVIII. verell, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and 1705-1710. (-;j^^p|^|j^ q£ S^^ Saviour's,* preached at St. Paul's Sacheverlll. before the Lord Mayor and aldermen, on Novem- ber 5, 1709, a sermon, which if it had been com- posed in a cabinet council of Whig ministers, could scarcely have been better suited for the object re- quired. It was a violent and scurrilous rhapsody, full of bitter and scandalous reflections,! conveyed His sermon in language of uncommon power and vigour. The at St. Paul's, preacher was well known as an uncompromising political High Churchman. He was furnished with all the accessories likely to make his violent senti- ments popular. He was one of the handsomest men of his day. His voice was melodious, his delivery graceful. An immense effect was produced by the preaching of his sermon, which was greatly increased by its immediate publication, with a dedi- cation to Sir Samuel Garrard, the Lord Mayor. Forty thousand copies of it were sold in a few days, every one was talking of it, half the clergy in England were preparing to oppose or defend it. J The text of this remarkable discourse was taken * Dr. Sachevcrell had previously published a Fast Day Ser- mon, preached before the University of Oxford, June 10, 1702. Political Vnioriy a pamphlet published at the same time. An Jssixe Sermon, preached at Oxford, 1704. The Rights of the Church of England, 2i pamphlet, 1705. An Assize Sermon at Derby, 1709. Somerville's Queen Anne, 374, note. f " I must say thus much, that since the foundation of the City of London and the conversion of this island, there has not been in any age, in any cathedral or parochial church, such a sermon so insolent, uncharitable, untrue, as this." — Kennett. :|: Somerville's ^tcen Anne, p. 374. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 205 from II. Cor., xi., 26 — /;/ perils ainong false Chap. y . XXXVIII. ^^ethren. , ^ . , 1705-1710. The preacher beguis by a reference to the Papists' conspiracy, and says that to the Church, as to the great Apostle of the Gentiles, persecutions and perils belonged, and to both the peril from false brethren was a pre-eminent one. He then pro- ceeds to show : I . In what sense and upon what account men may be denominated false brethren. 2. The mischief of such both In Church and State. 3. The heinous guilt of their sin. 4. The pre- sent need of being watchful against them and stick- ing firmly to the principles of the Church and Constitution. Men may be false brethren either with relation to religion or the State, or to private friendship. With regard to the first, he is a false brother who believes, maintains, or propagates any false or heterodox tenet, who holds separation from the Church to be no schism, and Occasional Con- formity to be no hypocrisy. " If, upon all occa- sions, to comply with the Dissenters both In public and private affairs as persons of tender consciences and piety, to promote their Interest in elections, to sneak to them for places and preferment, to defend Toleration and liberty of conscience, and, under the pretence of moderation, to excuse their separation, and lay the fault upon the true sons of the Church for carrying matters too high ; If to court the fanatics in private and to hear them with patience, if not approbation, rail at and blaspheme the Church, and, upon occasion, justify the King's murder ; If to flatter both the dead and the living in I705-I7IO. io6 THE HISTORY OF Chap. their vices, and to tell the world that if they have AAA VIII. ^1^ ^j^j money enough they need no repentance, and that only fools and beggars can be damned ; if these, I say, are the modish and fashionable criterions of a true Churchman, God deliver us all from such false brethren. There is another sort of them who are for a neutrality in religion, who are equally of all and of no communion ; the Gallios that care for none of these things. They tell us that they are for the religion established by law, but no longer than it is so ; they can see neither sin nor danger in that ecclesiastical bugbear, as they call schism, yet talk very loud about Union, Compre- hension, and Moderation ; by all which canting expressions they mean nothing but getting money and preferment, by holding with persons of all parties and characters, halting between the diversity of opinions, and reconciling God and Belial for gain." With regard to the State, they are false brethren who allow or countenance any innovation. " The grand security of our Government, and the very foundation upon which It stands, is founded upon the steady belief of the subject's obligation to an absolute unconditional obedience to the supreme power In all things lawful, and the utter illegality of resistance upon any pretence whatsoever." Against this, said the preacher, our adversaries might urge the case of the Revolution. But this is to cast " black and odious colours " upon it. " How often must they be told that the King himself solemnly disclaimed the least Imputation of Resist- ance in his Declaration ; and that the Parliament XXXVIII. 705-1710. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 207 declared that they set the crown upon his head ^^^^fP upon no other title but that of the vacancy of the throne. But the fundamental doctrine of non- resistance is now ridiculed, and the opposite main- tained " under a new-fangled notion of self-defence ; the only instance they show of shame being that they dare not yet maintain rebellion by its proper name." 1. But to show the great peril of these false brethren in Church and State : — For the Church they desire " to let her worst adversaries into her bowels under the holy umbrage of sons, who neither believe her faith, own her mission, submit to her discipline, nor comply with her Liturgy. And to admit this religious Trojan horse, big with arms and ruin, into our holy city the strait gate must be laid quite open, her walls and Inclosures pulled down, and an high road made in upon her communion, and the pure spouse of Christ prostituted to more adulterers than the scarlet whore in the Revelations ... A scheme so monstrous, so romantic, so absurd that it Is hard to say whether it had more of villainy or folly in it . . . But since this model of an universal liberty and coalition failed, and these false brethren could not carry the conventicle Into the Church, they are now resolved to bring the Church into the conventicle, which will more probably and silly effect her ruin. What could not be gained by Comprehension and Toleration must be brought about by Moderation and Occasional Conformity ; that is, what they could not do by open violence they will not fail by secret treachery to accom- 1705-1710- 2o8 riiE HISrORl^ OF Chap. plish." ''And our false brethren are as destructive XXXVirr. ^^ ^^^^ ^j^-| ^^ ^^ ecclesiastical rights." '' Latitu- dinarian and Republican principles bring forth re- bellious and pernicious consequences." " What can be expected from miscreants begot in rebel- lion, born in sedition, and nursed up in faction?" '' I would not here be misunderstood as if I in- tended to cast the least invidious reflection upon that indulgence the Government has condescended to give them, which, I am sure, all those who wish well to our Church are very ready to grant to con- sciences truly scrupulous ; let them enjoy it in the full limits the law has prescribed. But let them also move within their proper sphere, and not grow eccentric, and, like comets that burst their orb, threaten the ruin of our Church and State." 3. All such false brethren are heinously guilty — as regards God, in renouncing their allegiance to Him — as regards the world, by giving men occasion to think " that all godliness is gain ; and that the doctrines of the Church lie not so much In her Articles as In her honours and reve- nues." '' In what moving characters does the holy Psalmist point out the crafty insldlousness of such modern Volpones !* Wickedness, he says, is * Volpone is a contemptible character in Ben Jonson's play of The Fox. It is supposed that this passage was the real cause of the prosecution of the sermon. *' It arose," says Swift, "from a foolish passionate pique of the Earl of Godolphin, whom this divine was supposed to have reflected on under the name of Volpone." — Memoirs refuting to the Change of Ministry. Swift's Works (Ed. Roscoe), i., 279. "We remember when a poor nick- name, borrowed from an old play of Ben jonson, was made use of as a motive to spur on an impeachment." — Exar/iiner, No. 26. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 209 therein, deceit and guile go not out of their Chap. streets." 4. " Let us, therefore, have no fellow- ^^^^VIII. ship with these works of darkness, but rather reprove t-hem. Let our superior pastors do their duty in thundering out their ecclesiastical anathemas, and let any power on earth dare reverse a sentence ratified in heaven."* This sermon immediately after its delivery was Proceedings published with a dedication to the Lord Mayor. \^^^^ ^" ^^^^' A 1 1 x>, r> 1 11 liament. Another sermon by Dr. Sacheverell preached at the Assizes at Derby, and containing somewhat similar sentiments, had been just before published. On December 13, a complaint was made in the House of Commons by Mr. Dolben, against the two sermons, and they were delivered at the table, and extracts read. The printer and Dr. Sache- verell being ordered to attend the House, the Doctor at once owned the sermons, and the House voted that he should be impeached before the House of Lords of high crimes and misdemeanours. On January 11, 17 10, articles were voted against him, and he was ordered to send his answer. On the 25th, he delivered in his answer to the House of Lords. On February 3, the Commons sent to the Lords their replication^ and declared their readi- ness to prove their charge " at such convenient time as shall be appointed for that purpose." Then the Lords appointed February 27 for the day of Swift's Works, i., 319. *'The Lord Treasurer was so described that it was next to the naming of him." — Burnet's Ozvji Time, p. 846. * State Trials y xv., 71-95. VOL. III. P 2IO THE HISrORT OF Chap. trial, to be held in a court erected in Westminster XXXVIII. Hall. T ,. ,- Thus the whole machinery of the most august Impolicy o[ . . , . theprosecu- court of judicature in the kingdom was set m tion. motion to censure a mountebank sermon, the only- proper notice of which would have been a severe reproof, and perhaps suspension, inflicted by the diocesan. The whole body of the peers of England was assembled, a large number of the leading Whigs in the House of Commons were appointed to plead before them as managers ; Attorney and Solicitor- General were employed to accuse, future magnates of the law to defend — and all to ascertain whether a clergyman of no comrrianding influence either by his talents or position had, forsooth, condemned the doctrine of the inherent right of the subject to resist tyranny in the ruler. The ministry could not have been so ignorant of the state of opinion in the Church, as not to know that this was denied in some hundreds of pulpits every week, neither could they have been unaware that besides the Homilies which speak with somewhat of authority, a consensus of the greatest divines of the Church of England had put forth the same sentiments though without the scurrility and vindictiveness of Dr. Sacheverell. " This prosecution," says Mr. Hallam, " was very unadvised, and has been de- servedly censured."* Lord Somers, it appears, had earnestly dissuaded Lord Godolphin from it, but in vain.f Whether it was indeed the exaspe- ration at having been publicly called Volponc, or * Co7istitutio7ial History y ii., 356. f Swift's Works, i., 279. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, in whether the Increase of such attacks of the clerp-y Chap. "V Y Y A/ T T r on the Whigs, their augmenting popularity, and ^^^^ the danger to be apprehended from the prevailing discontent, determined the Lord Treasurer to pro- ceed, certainly a more fatal course could hardly have been taken. The Doctor, a man of no real weight,* was magnified into a hero, and became the great power of the day. He led the country, con- trolled the elections, upset the administration, altered the foreign policy of the nation, and changed the face of affairs in the whole of Europe. The articles drawn up by the Commons against The trial. Dr. Sacheverell were four in number, i . The first charged him with suggesting and maintaining that the necessary means used to bring about the Revo- lution were odious and unjustifiable. f 2. The second with maintaining that the Toleration granted by law was unreasonable and unwarrantable. J 3. The third with suggesting and asserting that the Church was in danger. 4. The fourth with * " Sacheverell, a man who was even the scorn of those who made use of him as a tool." — Duchess of Marlborough's Account, l^c.y p. 247. " A bold, insolent man, resolved to force himself into popularity and preferment." — Burnet's Own Time,^. 846. Dean Swift acknowledges that the Tory ministry who were made by him, heartily despised Sacheverell. — See Hallam's Constitutional History, ii., 358, note. f Dr. Sacheverell had expressly excepted the Revolution in his sermon, declaring that it was not a case of resistance, and that William in his Declaration disclaimed resistance. The managers of the Commons reject the exception, declare that the Revolution was a case of resistance, and that it was to be justiJied on that ground. X The Toleration granted by law had also (as will be seen above) been expressly approved of by the preacher. It was maintained that other passages in the sermon contradicted this. F 2 705-1710. 212 THE HISTORT OF Chap. maliciously suggesting that her Majesty's present XXX\ III. administration were false brethren and traitors to the constitution and the Church. The Attorney- General in opening, said that "when the Commons considered of what import it was to the nation, how much it concerned the very being of our con- stitution, to discountenance and put an end to such sort of seditious proceedings as the Doctor and some others of his brethren have been lately prac- tising in divers parts of the kingdom, they could not think otherwise than that it was a matter fit for the grand inquest of the nation to take notice of; and finding it to be a cause of so great moment to the public, they judged it fit to be taken under their own management, and not trust it to the deci- sion of any inferior tribunal."'* After the opening, the sermon as preached at St. Paul's, with its pre- face as published, and the preface to the sermon preached at Derby, were read by the clerk at the table. On the second day Rvq of the managers of the Commons undertook to establish the first article. f They maintained that it was notorious that resist- * State Trials^ xv., 53. f In the course of his speech, Mr. Walpole said that the Com- mons might despise anonymous libellers. " But, my lords, when the trumpet is sounded in Zion ; when the pulpit takes up the cudgels ; when the cause of the enemies of our Government is called the cause of God and the Church ; when this bitter and poisonous pill is gilded over with the specious name of loyalty, and the people are taught for their souls and consciences sake to swallow these pernicious doctrines . . . the Commons cannot but think it high time to put a stop to this growing evil." — State Trials y XV., 113. THE CHURCH OF ENGL/INB. 213 iince to the supreme power did take place at the ^ Chap. Revolution ; that if so, and the doctrine were ^^^^^^^^^ preached and believed that such resistance was a damnable sin, it was easy to see what consequences would follow. Men would be desirous of atoning for the sin by undoing the work, and the present settlement of the Government would be threatened. The remainder of the day was taken up by the speeches of three more of the managers to establish the second article. The Toleration Act was de- scribed " not only as a positive law, but also a bene- ficial one, as well for the welfare of the Church in particular, as the support of the Protestant interest In general, and it very ill became any private person to endeavour to bring that law by public discourse into contempt or disrepute."* The exception which the Doctor had made in favour of the actual law was shown to be utterly inconsistent with numerous passages in his sermon. On the third day four more managers spoke to the third article. Referring to the late vote of both Lords and Com- mons, which declared the Church not to be In danger, and to the Queen's Proclamation there- upon, they maintained that the sermon directly contravened them. And here Mr. Dolben, the original Informer against Sacheverell, was able to deliver himself of an invective quite in the Doctor's own style. ^' My Lords, you have now brought to your bar a clergyman bound by the strongest ties and duty of his functions, to instruct and propagate the necessary means for the people's true * State Trials, xv., 135. CI 1 4 THE HISTORT OF Chap. happiness in this world as well as the next; yet XXXVIIT. your lordships will find him proved to be a trum- 1705-1 710. pg^gj. itii-iei-^iit of sedition and rebellion, first at Derby, then in London ; an agent detached from that dark cabal, whose emissaries appear in all shapes and almost in all places ; an asserter of such pestilential and unparalleled doctrines as at once overthrow the whole constitution both of Church and State. To him must be allowed the infamy to have stretched and improved those pernicious tenets to the exalted height of making all our laws, liberties, religion, and lives held only at the pre- carious pleasure of any bold invader ; for nothing can be a plainer consequence, when it is taught that no oppression, no violation can justify an opposition to it." * During the remainder of the third and the fourth day, four speakers were occupied in sub- stantiating the fourth article, which charged the Doctor with having stigmatized the Government as false brethren. Sergeant Parker said: " My Lords, the Commons have the greatest and justest venera- tion for the clergy of the Church of England, who are glorious through the whole Christian world for their preaching and writing, for their steadiness to the Protestant religion when it was in the utmost danger. They look upon the order as a body of men that are the great instruments through whose assistance the Divine Providence conveys ines- timable advantages to us. But we consider Dr. Sacheverell as stripping himself of all the becoming qualities proper for his order, nay, of all that * State Trials, xv.. 168. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 215 peaceful and charitable temper which the Christian Chap, religion requires of all its professors, and with f ^^^^'0 rancour and uncharitableness, branding all those that differ from him with the titles of hypocrites, rebels, traitors, devils, labouring to sap the esta- blishment, and railing and declaiming against the Government; crying to arms and blowing a trumpet in Sion, to engage his country in seditions and tumults, and overthrow the best constitution, and betray the best Queen that ever made a people happy, and this with Scripture in his mouth." * On the fifth day began the defence of Dr. The defence. Sacheverell, which was conducted with great ability by his counsel, Sir Simon Harcourt, Mr. Phipps, Mr. Dee, Mr. Dodd, and Dr. Henchman. It was urged that he was not to be convicted by inferences and innuendoes, but by the plain words of the sermon; that he was justified in stating in absolute terms the duty of non-resistance without mentioning any exception, though an exception might exist ; for " if clergymen and others in their sermons, writings, or public discourses, instead of preaching up the general rule of obedience, are permitted to state the several extraordinary cases which may arise, the several excepted cases will in time devour all allegiance." This doctrine, it was urged, was warranted by the authority of the Church ; it was taught in the Homilies, it had been constantly maintained by the chief divines. Even since the Revolution, three archbishops and eleven bishops could be shown to have preached this * State Trials, xv., 185. 21 6 THE HISrORT OF Chap. doctrine. Divers Acts of Parliament had sane- XXXVIII. tioi^ej it^ and it was warranted by the laws of the I / 05-^710- j^j^^^ Then a number of passages from the Homilies and great divines of the Church were put in and read. The strongest and most extreme was from Bishop Sanderson. '' No conjuncture of circumstances whatsoever can make that expedient to be done at any time, that is of itself and in the kind unlawful. ... To take up arms (offensive or defensive) against a lawful sovereign, being simply and de toto genere unlawful, may not be done by any man, at any time, in any case, upon any colour or pretension whatsoever. . . . Not for the main- tenance of the lives and liberties either of ourselves or others, nor for the defence of religion, nor for the preservation of a Church or State ; no, nor yet, if that could be imagined possible, for the salvation of a soul ; no, not for the redemption of the whole world."* The extracts were so care- fully chosen, that only in two cases was the sense of the author quoted disputed. Archbishop Sharp's sermon, preached in 1700, was asserted, by the accusers of the Doctor, to justify resistance in certain cases, and a quotation, made out of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity; was at once met by a counter quotation of the well-known passage in which that great writer affirms that the highest governor hath universal dominion in dependency upon the whole entire body ; that he is " major singulis, universis minor," and that his authority is bestowed on him as an estate by the voluntary * Sttite Trials, xv., 255. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 217 deed of the people. The defence offered In the ^ Chap, second article was that there is no such thing as f^^'^^^H' Toleration granted by law, but only an indulgence granted to certain sects with certain conditions, that in declaiming against Toleration in the general the Doctor was not declaiming against the law, having expressly guarded himself on that point. That the Church recognised the sin of schism, and that in foro conscientia a separation from the Church since the Act of Indulgence was as much a schism as before. That on this ground it was allowable for a minister to condemn all separatists and certainly competent to him to preach against Atheists, Arians, Unitarians, Deists, and such like. -On the third article, it was contended that in saying the Church was in danger Dr. Sacheverell was not impugning the Resolution of Parliament. That there was a sense in which it was perfectly justifiable to say that the Church was in danger, viz., from the abundance of irreligious, blasphe- mous, and wicked publications which were abroad. A large number of extracts from such publications was then read. The defence offered on the fourth article, which charged the Doctor with pointing out the Queen's ministers as false brethren, was more difficult, as it was clear enough that if the sern.. .eant anything, it must mean to denounce them. Yet the counsel very ingeniously explained away the strongest passages, and pronounced eulo- giums upon the Doctor's loyalty and affection for the Queen. The defence was concluded by a speech from Dr. Sacheverell himself. This speech. 21 8 THE HISTORT OF Chap. which is supposed to have been written by the XXXVIII. accomplished pen of Dr. Atterbury, was an ex- tremely able review of the defence and a pathetical appeal to the House of Lords. The peroration, which would have been suitable in the mouth of some persecuted and oppressed minister of the Gospel, must have sounded somewhat strangely from the lips of Dr. Sacheverell. " How hard are our circumstances," exclaimed he, '' if we shall be punished in this world for doing that which, if we do not, we shall be more heavily punished in the next. What a condition we are in if we are com- manded to cry aloud and spare not, to exhort, rebuke in season and out of season, on the One hand, and prosecuted, imprisoned, ruined, on the Other. If this be our case, who indeed is sufficient for these things ? And, truly, how may we of the ministry, above all men living, apply to ourselves those words of the Apostle, ' If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.' But our comfort is that our hope in Christ is not only in this life." * Debate in The reply of the managers for the Commons the House occupied two days, and then the Lords adjourned to their own House. On March i6, there was a great debate as to whether the Commons had made good their first article. Lord Haversham made a very effective speech in favour of Dr. Sacheverell. " I am not ashamed," he said, " to say to your lordships, that I think myself obliged injustice to acquit the Doctor. And though this may seem * State Trialsy xv., 379. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 219 strange to some, yet I hope it will not appear so Chap, very strange as to see bishops vote against their ^^ o -i 10' own doctrines, and Dissenters in the midst of a mob that are pulling down meeting houses." He contended that the Revolution was not a case of resistance, and that the Queen's title to the throne was an hereditary title. " When the Homilies and Articles, when so many archbishops and bishops, and the Universities, and most of the foreign divines, too, have asserted the same doctrine of non-resist- ance to the supreme power as Dr. Sacheverell has, I think it the hardest case in the world that this unfortunate gentleman should be singled out and made a criminal and a kind of martyr, enduring the trial of cruel mockings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment for asserting the same doctrine."* The allusion to bishops voting against their own doctrines, called up Dr. Talbot, Bishop of Oxford, who, in an elaborate speech, defended the allowance of Resistance in certain cases. This speech was, however, disfigured by much fulsome adulation of the Queen who was present. Bishop Burnet after- wards treated the same subject at great length in an historical sketch of the doctrine, and it was not till late in the evening that the Lords came to a vote affirming the first article by a majority of nineteen. On the second day of debate the chief speech was delivered by Dr. Wake, Bishop of Lincoln. He defended the attempts at Comprehension which had been so severely denounced by Dr. Sacheverell. He gave a very interesting account of the pro- * Parliamentary History, vi., 831-5. 220 rHE HIST0R2^ OF Chap. ceedlngs taken in this matter under Archbishop XXXVITl. Sancroft, which had not before been made known. He defended the Commission of 1689, pomted out the absurdity of designating these great divines as " Ecclesiastical Achitophels/' and maintained that the Doctor had spoken " with more freedom than he ought, not only of the Dissenters themselves, but of the Toleration granted by law to them."* Bishop Trimnell, of Norwich, also spoke on the same side, and the Lords voted that the Commons had made good the second article of the Impeachment. The third article seems to have been carried without much debate. On the fourth "a. lively discussion arose, but it was ultimately carried that the Com- mons had made it good. Dr. Sache- On March 20 the Peers again appeared in West- vcrdl voted j^jj^gter Hall, and the due formalities having been gone through. Dr. Sacheverell was voted guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanours charged against him by sixty-nine Peers, and not guilty by fifty- two. Seven bishops voted against him, and five for him ; the most distinguished and influential prelate on the bench, Archbishop Sharp, being in the latter number. His sentence. Thus the Doctor was duly condemned ; but now the absurdity of the whole proceeding began to reveal itself. The criminal was ready for sentence, but what sentence was his crime to receive } The popular feeling had become strong and menacing ; all the clergy seemed to be on the side of the prisoner. The highest personage in the realm was * Purliamentary History , vi., 860-73. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 221 known to be favourably disposed towards him, and Chap. to have no dread of the treason and sedition which ^^'^vm. 1705-1710. was imputed to him — what were the Lords to do with this awkward malefictor ? Some proposed to sus- pend him from preaching for a year ; others, more courageous, were for extending the punishment to six years. The majority favoured a middle course, and voted suspension for three years. This must have seemed to most but a questionable punish- ment, inasmuch as it was pretty clear that it was but to fit the Doctor for high preferment, by making him a confessor. It occurred, therefore, to the Whig Lords to make this addition to the sen- tence — that he should be incapable of all prefer- ment for those three years. So hard an infliction as this, however, the Doctor's friends could not tolerate. They rallied in great force, and threw out this objectionable addition by a majority of one. But at any rate if the preacher could not be severely punished, at least the sermon might. The obnoxious document which had caused so much trouble was ordered to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, but then, as if to console the Doctor, and to allow him to suffer in good company, it was ordered that the Decree of the University of Oxford, passed in 1683, to exalt the doctrine of Passive Obedience, and highly acceptable to the powers that were at that time, should be burnt with it.* Parliamentary History, vi., 885. — Besides Sacheverell's sermon and the Oxford decree there were also burnt The Collection of Passages referred to by Dr. Sacheverell in his answer; and, on the complaint of the Doctor's friends, a book called The Rights of the 222 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. It was, Indeed, a lame and impotent conclusion to a XXXVIII. nionth's employment of all the magnates of the '"°-'''°- land. Popular sym- During the whole duration of this extraordinary pathy during ^j.-^j ^j^^j.^ ^^^^ |3gg,^ ^\^^ j^q^^ violent demonstrations of popular feeling in behalf of the accused. He was lodged in the Temple, and came every day with great solemnity in a coach to the Hall ; vast crowds running about his coach with many shouts, express- ing their concern for him in a rude and tumultuous manner. The mob pressed around him striving to kiss his hand. Money was thrown among them, and they were animated to such a pitch of fury that they rushed from escorting the champion of the Church to pull down the Meeting-houses, many of which were gutted and burnt ; while every one who would not shout " High Church and Sacheverell for ever," was insulted and knocked down. The Guards were called out to quell the riots, but it was thought some secret orders re- strained them from acting vigorously. It was even thought by some that the Queen did not regard the popular demonstration with anger, for the mob was allowed to run around her sedan as she went to the House of Lords to hear the debates, shouting '^God bless your Majesty ; we hope your Majesty is for High Church and Dr. Sacheverell." It was not, how- ever, only the rude mob which showed their sym- pathy for the oppressed Doctor. The clergy ap- peared unmistakably on his side. The Queen's chap- Christian Churchy and a Defence of It, and a Treatise on the Word Person. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 223 lalns stood round him when he made his defence. Chap. Prayers were offered up in the churches for one X^^^^'^'^- ■' *■ , 1 705- 1 7 1 o. under persecution, and even in the Queen's chapel was this insult to the law ventured upon. Respect- able clergymen who were opposed to the views of the High Churchmen could not go into the streets without danger of insult, and the whole nation seemed seized with a mania for the principles of non-resistance. The mild sentence passed upon the Doctor being Rejoicings in treated as a virtual acquittal, the country became ^^^ country. the scene of rejoicings similar to those which had celebrated the acquittal of the seven bishops. Bonfires and illuminations were seen all round London, and, as the news penetrated into the remoter parts of the kingdom, everywhere the same demonstrations of joy were exhibited. The victories of Blenheim and Ramillies had called forth no such enthusiasm. Addresses came pouring in to the Queen magnifying her absolute power, and denouncing Republican and anti-Monarchical prin- ciples. The persecuted Doctor himself was embar- rassed with the multitude of congratulations and the promotion which was heaped upon him. Within a week of his sentence, the Queen gave him the rich living of St. Andrews, Holborn. The living of Salatin, in Shropshire, was next • conferred upon him; and, when he went to take possession, his journey through Oxford, Banbury, Warwick, and Wrexham, and his return through Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, and Worcester, was a con- tinued triumphal procession. Princes in their pro- trial. 224 rUE HISTORT OF Chap. presses had not been followed by such numbers, or • feasted with such great map;nlficence. The Doctor, 1705-1710. to to ^ inflated with conceit, affected almost a regal air. He held his receptions and gave audiences, dis- pensed his smiles or his frowns according to the amount of zeal for High Church supposed to be possessed by those who sought his presence. Effects of the Neither were the effects of the trial transient. Upon the Queen, in particular, a lasting impression was made. The speeches of the Whig advocates had served to complete her disgust at their party and their principles. She now saw her way clearly towards freeing herself of their control,* and owning and supporting those high notions of the power of the Crown and Church which Dr. Sacheverell's friends upheld, and which she had always favoured. Her Ministers were surprised by a sudden display of energy, a Council was called, and it was inti- mated to them that the Parliament was to be dissolved. No debate was allowed. One after another the Whig Ministers were dismissed from their places and replaced by Tories. The general election began. The clergy threw themselves into the strife with intense vigour. The name of Sacheverell was a tower of strength. Inflam- matory sermons were delivered from the pulpits, and the clergy went from house to house pressing their people to vote for Church and Queen. When- * " The Queen was much delighted with all these changes, and seemed to tliink she was freed from the chains the old Ministry held her in: she spoke of it to several persons as a captivity she had been long under." — Burnet's Ozv/i T'ujic, p. 857. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. iis ever the Church of England is really aroused she Chap, can control the nation. Whigs and Dissenters -^^^VIII. melted away before her advance, and a House of Commons containing a vast majority of Tories and High Churchmen was returned to Parliament.* * Burnet's Ozcn Time, pp. 846, 857. Kennett's Life, p. 102. Swift's Works (ed. Roscoe), i., 279, 281, 44.2, &c. Tindal's Continuation, v., 330, sq. Somerville's ^/een Anne, ch. xv. VOL. III. 26 THE HISrORT OF CHAPTER XXXIX. Chap. XXXIX. 1 7 1 o- 1 7 1 4. The Church at the hciglit of its influ- ence in the country. The Church at the height of its influence in the country — Zeal for Church observances — Abuse of Whig clergymen — Dean Swift — Social condition of the clergy — Their small revenues — Humble way of living — Clergy had advanced in character — Their political combinations — Causes of scandal — Bonds of resignation — Abuses in administration of means of grace — Dis- use of family prayer — Frequent services in churches — Defective education of the clergy — Ecclesiastical discipline — Foreign Churches attracted by the success of the English Church — Negociations with Prussia — Learned writers among the clergy — Humphrey Prideaux — William Wall — Joseph Bingham — The sermons of this period — The Convocation of 1710— Pre- liminary arrangements — The Oueen's license for business — The points to be treated of — Disputes on the first topic — Report of the Committee on discipline — Terriers of glebe lands — Rural deans— Mr. Whiston's case — Question of the jurisdiction of Convocation — His sentence is not ratified — This Session of Convocation more promising — Convocation, through Atter- bury's ambition, fails to effect anything — House of Commons recognizes the pretensions of the Lower House — Question as to the validity of lay Baptism — Lower House of Convocation refuses to concur with the bishops' declaration — The Bill against Occasional Conformity passed — Censure of Bishop Fleetwood's sermons — The Schism Bill — Convocation of 17 14 — Dr. Samuel Clarke — His letter of submission — Queen's death great blow to the clergy. HE Church of England was now at the utmost height of its power and influence. The situation some- what resembled that of 1688. But the Revolution, and the internal contests arising out of the question of the oaths, soon weakened the great influence THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 227 which the Church had acquired at that period. In Chap. • V V v I \r 17 10, it appeared to have no foes to contend with. ^ * / » if _ . 1 7 10-17 1 4. The Queen was its zealous friend and patron. In every county and borough the influence of the Church carried the elections, and the House of Commons seemed to be returned on purpose to study its interests. The building of fifty new churches in London was now ordered by the Legis- lature to be defrayed out of the public funds. The Convocation was to have a license to act, and there scarcely seemed any more obstacles for the Church to overcome. Dr. Calamy, the Nonconformist historian, at this point breaks off his narrative with the desponding reflection : "So far are we from any hopes of a coalition which has been so often talked of, that nothing will do but an entire sub- mission." * Dr. Burnet, the Latitudinarian bishop, was preparing his mind for the reintroduction of Romanism, and the fires of Smithfield — so utterly had the clergy quitted what he considered the true Protestant spirit, f To afi^ect to be High Church had become the universal mode. In the days of Charles II., men of fashion swore and talked blasphemy ; now the wits extolled the Church and cursed the Dissenters. A revival of practices similar to what has been Zeal for seen in modern days, testified to the strong influ- Church ODScrv3.nccs ence which was at work. " The common people," writes an unimpeachable authority, " and the very * Calamy 's Baxter ^ i., 725. f See Burnet's Own Time, p. 853. Also preface to the third edition of Pastoral Care (17 13). Introduction to vol. iii. of History of Reformation {I'j 14). And Swift's Reviezv of this latter. CL2 2 28 THE HISTORT OF Chap. women have had their heads full of these notions. XXXlA. SQjy^e would not go to their seats in Church till they had kneeled and prayed at the rails of the Communion Table, they would not be content to receive the Sacrament there kneeling, but with prostration and striking of the breast, and kissing of the ground, as If there were an host to be adored. They began to think the Common Prayer without a sermon (at least after noon) to be the best way of serving God, and churches without organs had thinner congregations. Bidding of prayer was thought fitter than praying to God, and even pic- tures about the altar began to be the books of the vulgar. The meeting-houses of Protestant Dis- senters were thought to be more defiled places than Popish chapels." ^ Abuse of There were few of the clergy except the bishops Whig clergy- ^}-^q ^^j-g j^q^ Tory and High Church, and those men. . . who ventured to cherish Whig principles were reviled accordingly. Bishop Burnet was probably the best abused man in England. The following is an estimate of " the Whig clergyman " by one of his brethren, taken from a pamphlet of the time : "A Whig clergyman breaks the most solemn sacramental oaths; he betrays his trust; he gives up the cause of God and the Church knowingly, designedly, and with premeditation. f" Dean Swift. At the moment when all the nation was eager to hear the High Churchmen abuse the Whigs, there * Dr. Kcnnett to Mr. Coleman, Kennett's Life, p. 127. De- fence of the Church a7id Clergy of England, p. 59. t Vindication of Dr. Sacheverell, p. 97. See Kennett's Life, p. 108, XXXIX. 1 7 1 o- 1 7 H* THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 229 came forward as a writer on the High Church side Chap the greatest master of style, of irony, and of humour, that has ever composed in our language. Jonathan Swift, who had lived for many years as the domestic chaplain of Sir W. Temple, and had already distinguished himself by his Battle of the BookSy* and other witty writings, had retired to Ireland on his patron's death, still keeping himself, however, before the literary world by his extra- ordinary productions. 'The Tale of a Tub was pub- lished in 1704, and, could its inexcusable profanity be overlooked, would perhaps rank as the most humorous composition in the English language. In 17 10, Swift came to reside in England, and was admitted to the highest favour by the Tory ministry. His satirical pieces, his historical sketches, his papers in the Examiner, his lampoons on Whig bishops were welcomed with an intense avidity, and there were but few who did not think the clever author deserving of the very highest post in the Church he so wittily served. Happily, however, there was one Tory Churchman of great influence who thought otherwise. Archbishop Sharp could not consider profanity and ribaldry excused by wit and humour, and Archbishop Sharp was the trusted adviser of the Queen. f He recommended her Majesty not to promote Swift, and the talented * The Battle of the Books was written to aid Sir. W. Temple in his controversy with Wotton and Bentley, about the compa- rative excellency of ancient and modern learning, Sir W. Temple strongly maintaining the side of the ancient. It was handed about in MS., but does not appear to have been printed before 1704. f Sharp's Life, \., 333. 230 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. writer reached no higher elevation than that of an "J ^ "^* Irish dean. The popularity which the clergy at Social Condi- ^^^^ moment enjoyed was not due to any great rise tion of the in their social position, for this had not materially ^^'^^gy- improved since the Restoration. Their incomes Their small ^^^^ g^j|j j^Jserably insufficient. There were at revenues. , . . , least ten bishoprics in England, whose revenues did not average more than ^600 a year,* and from this to the stipends of the lower clergy there was an immense descent. A reader, even in a London church, was, in the time of Queen Anne, thought to be paid by a salary of £10, a chaplain in a great man's family might expect ^30 and vails, a lecturer in a town church might obtain £6o.-\- The main- tenance of an incumbent in most parts of the kingdom was extremely small, ranging from ;^20 to j^6o a year. J Humble way The smallness of this stipend did not, however, ^^^"2' necessarily imply actual poverty, because no attempt was made by the clergy of slender preferment to maintain the social rank of a gentleman. *' The vicar," writes Dean Swift, " will probably receive presents now and then from his parishioners, and perhaps from his squire ; who although he may be apt sometimes to treat his parson a little super- ciliously, will probably be softened by a little humble demeanour. The vicar is likewise gene- rally sure to find upon his admittance to the living * Szvift's Works, i., 382 (ed. Roscoc). t Swift's Essay on the Fates of Clergyrncn. Works y ii., 206. \ Stvift's Works, ii., 222. Curates in the country seldom ex- ceeded £zOy ^25, or j^30 a year. Bishop of Lincoln's Charge, 1697. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 231 a convenient house and barn In repair, with a ^^'^^p. garden, and a field or two to graze a few cows, ,^,0^,7^,4, and one horse for himself and his wife. He has probably a market very near him, perhaps In his own village. No entertainment Is expected by his visitor beyond a pot of ale and a piece of cheese. He has every Sunday the comfort of a full congre- gation of plain cleanly people of both sexes. . . . His wife Is little better than Goody in her birth, education, or dress ; and as to himself, we must let his parentage alone. If he be the son of a farmer it Is very sufficient, and his sister may very decently be chambermaid to the squire's wife. He goes about on working days In a grazier's coat, and will not scruple to assist his workmen in harvest times. He Is usually wary and thrifty, and often more able to provide for a large family than some of ours (Irish) can do with a rectory called £2^0 a year. His daughters shall go to service, or be sent apprentice to the sempstress In the next town, and his sons are put to honest trades."* Contemporary fiction fully bears out the accuracy of this sketch. Yet, though scarcely risen in social position Clergy had since the Restoration, the clergy of that time had ^^'^"^"^^^^^^^ made great advances in character and morals. Charges of scandal against any of them (as Bishop Burnet admits) were rare.f The Bishop com- plains, indeed, of " a remiss, unthinking course of life, with little or no application to study, and the bare performing of that which, if not done, would * Swift's Works, ii., 2 22. f Preface to third edition of Pastoral Care. 232 THE HISTORY OF draw censures when complained of," * but at this moment he was disposed to be an especially severe judge. That the clergy studied to preserve their influence by political combination is not to be doubted. In London and the larger towns they assembled regularly at certain cofl^ee houses to hear the political periodicals read.-f They had " their particular clubs and particular coffee houses where they generally appeared in clusters." J Their esprit de corps was favoured by the use of the clerical habit which was then universal, though a variety in its fashion seems to have existed. The High Churchmen were for wearing the gowns with long sleeves, the moderate men were content with the ordinary cassock. § The uniform dress, the constant meetings, the direction of the mind to one particular topic, viz., the danger of the Church from the Dissenters, all tended to keep up the influence of the clerical body in the country. But, on the other hand, are to be noted things which gave a just occasion of offence. A scanda- lous practice at that time prevailed of making the clerks presented to livings give their patrons bonds of resignation. This kept the incumbent com- * Preface to third edition of Pastoral Care. t Trial of Dr. Sachevcrcll, State Trials, xv. X Swift's Works, ii., 178. § " The author of the Vindication makes a heavy splutter about the clcrgys' gowns with long sleeves, and says, in plain Words, that all that wear them are High Churchmen. If the argument is cogent, he has fairly cured the Curate of Stepney from it, for he assures him he does not, nor ever will, oblige him- self to wear that habit." — He zmtild be a Bishop (1709), p. 4. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 233 pletely in the power of the patron, and made him Chap. liable to the loss of his benefice on any opposition X-^-^'^- or strict enforcement of his dues. Bishop Stilling- fleet, much to his honour, set himself earnestly to correct this abuse. So also did Archbishop Sharp in the Diocese of York.* Sometimes, in an unblushing manner, a certain sum was required from the clerk before presentation. Two of the Welsh bishops had been almost openly guilty of this. Lay patrons could hardly be expected to be more scrupulous. But this was a cruel exaction from the small means of the country clergy. In the administration of the means of grace, Abuses in there were some abuses prevalent which were admmistra- tolerated as springing out naturally from the j^^ans of insufficiency of the clerical revenues. Thus it grace, was a not uncommon practice at that time for the clergy to receive money for visiting the sick. Fees were also given, if not for the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism, yet, at any rate, for the con- cession of administering it in private houses with the use of the public form. Reading curates were so insufficiently paid that they were obliged to combine the duties of several churches, and it was a usual practice for them not to return from the vestry when the sermon began, but to hasten away to commence the prayers at another church, j- In like manner, the lecturers are accused of sitting * Stillingfleet's Life, p. 97. Sharp's Life^ i., 198. Sec, for the removal of this scandal, chap, xliii. t Defence of the Church and Clergy of England (1709), pp. 3o> 32, 34. 35- 234 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXIX. 1 7 10-17 14. Disuse of family prayer. Frequent services in churches. " smoking and sipping " in the vestry until the prayers were over and their services required in the pulpit.* If we are startled by the prevalence of such habits as these, it must be remembered that society in those days was not familiar with those observ- ances which exercise so powerful an influence in modern times. Family prayer was then a very rare practice. It had fallen into disuse at the Restoration and had not been generally revived. It was objected to by many well-meaning persons as unauthorised. In the Life of Bean Prideaux, who was Archdeacon of Suffolk, we are told that the dean " being well-informed that in many fami- lies of the clergy prayers were wholly omitted, and God not at all called upon either morning or evening, in one of his visitations, he made it the subject of his sermons in all the several summonses of the archdeaconry to urge them to the perform- ance of this duty." j- But if family prayer was rarer, public prayer was a far more common usage than at the present day. " It is a great ease and comfort to good Christians," says the writer before quoted, " within these cities of London and Westminster and the suburbs of them, that in most churches there be constant prayers morning and evening. These are supported by particular benefactions or by voluntary contributions." J In all the cathedrals * Defence of the Church and Clergy of Eng/nnd {\-/og), p. 34. t Life of Dean PridenuXy p. 69. \ Defence^ t^fc, p. 40. In a litrle work called Pietas Londi- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 235 the Lord's Supper was administered weekly, in the chap. town churches every month, at the least, and in XXXIX. many of them every week.* In many country *^^° ' churches the prayers and Litany were read regu- larly on Wednesdays and Fridays.f Yet, in spite of this frequency of services, it is asserted that the chancels of the churches were commonly not used. Some " lay wholly disused in more nasty manner than any cottager in the parish would keep his own house." J Others were employed for keeping school and subjected to the ill-effects of the rough usage of the children. § In some parts of the country clerical i\ -meetings Defective were held for the discussion of Scriptui ^ ^^^ 'hrder ""^ Church matters ; and, if we are to believe Bii.'->op Burnet, || Dean Prideaux, and other writers of the time, some, especially of the younger clergy, needed every assistance to aid them in understand- ing the Scriptures. It is asserted that this branch of instruction was wholly neglected at the Univer- sities, and that many of the candidates for orders ?iensis (1712), forty-seven churches are enumerated in London which had daily service. Many had also weekly Communions and preparation lectures, supported by the religious societies men- tioned in chapter xxxvi. * Defence, ^c, p. 45. Life of Dean Comhevy pp. 180-184. Pietas Londine?isis, p. 2. f Defence, &c., p. 57- J Bishop of Lincoln's Charge (1697). § Life of Dean Comber, p. 199. II Burnet, in his preface to Pastoral Care, asserts the great ignorance of candidates for orders of Scripture. Yet, in the con- clusion of his History of his Own Ti?ne, he says, " It is true those who came to me were generally zcell prepared 2.s to their studies." p. 909. 236 THE HISTORT OF Chap. betrayed a lamentable ignorance of Holy Scripture.* XXXIX. Archbishop Sharp, whose life displays him as a 1/ 10-1714. ^^^^1 Christian prelate, was in the habit of fre- quently hearing his clergy preach, and if he found anything amiss in their discourses afterwards point- ing it out to them. Ecclesiastical But if the clergy were not always powerful discipline. orators, it may be urged that their censures were not to be despised, for the hardened offender might be presented to the Ecclesiastical Courts with the danger of excommunication, imprison- ment, and loss of civil privileges. These words sounded terribly in the ears of the uninitiated and occasionally fell heavily upon some poor man, but to those who had money at command they were not of much signification. The Church discipline of that day was a clumsy contrivance only calculated to fill the pockets of the officials. " Archbishop Sharp," says his biographer, " was very sensible both of the decay of discipline in general, and of the curbs put upon any effectual prosecutions of it by the temporal courts, and of the difficulty of preserving and keeping up what little was left entire to the ecclesiastics, without creating offence and administering matter for asper- sions and evil surmises." The excommunicate person might be taken into custody, but a writ of supersedeas from Chancery would immediately dis- charge him. '' And let the cause be what it would, the easiness of obtaining these writs of supersedeas * DcdN Prideaux's Life, p. 90. Preface to third edition of Burnet's Pastoral Care. Life of Archbishop Sharpy i., 146. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 237 was so well known by the practising attorneys Chap. in the country, that they did generally encourage ^^^^'^• all sorts of persons to stand out in defiance of the Church censures." * The excommunication thus evaded in its temporal penalties might also be easily evaded in its spiritual part. The excom- municate person was to be received back on doing penance, but there was a happy invention called commutation of penance, which allowed him to settle the whole matter by the payment of a small sum of money. j- Such a discipHne as this could do but little for the efficiency of a Church. Yet, in spite of defects of discipline and synodal Foreign action, the power, the vigour, and the success of Ydb\^h' the English Church combined with the purity of success of the its confession, its apostolical order, and the admirable ^"j!^^^^^ frame of its Liturgy, to exalt It greatly at this season in the eyes of foreigners. There is scarcely a more interesting episode in our Church history than the spontaneous movement of the King of Prussia and the principal divines of his kingdom towards adopting the Orders, the Articles, and Liturgy of the Church of England. Dr. JablouskI, The negotia- Superlntendent of the Protestant Church in Poland, ^^^^^ .^^^^^ had, during a stay in England, conceived a strong affection for the Church there, and had suggested to the King of Prussia that the best way of uniting the Lutherans and Calvinlsts would be to induce both to adopt the Liturgy of the English use. The * Sharp's Life, i., 214, 216. f Ibid., i., 212. We shall find this manifest abuse occupying the attention of the Convocation of 1 7 1 o. 710-1714- 238 THE HISTORT OF Chap. English Liturgy was translated into German, and ^.^^y-^?'. an application was made to Archbishop Tenison to favour the design ; but, either through negligence or from the circumstance that the King of Prussia's letter never reached him, he did nothing in it.* JablouskI, however, still continued earnest In the matter, and failing any attention from the Primate, in the next place addressed himself to the Arch- bishop of York, who entered warmly into the de- sign, and advocated it with the Queen. In March, 17 1 1, the Prussian Minister in England wrote to his master to tell him that a conformity between the Prussian Churches and the Church of England would be received with great joy in England. That the point to which the English clergy attached the most importance was the introduction of Episco- pacy, which ^^ they look upon, at least, as of apos- tolical institution, and are possessed with the opinion that it has continued in an uninterrupted succession from the Apostles to this present time." Dr. JablouskI had designedly kept this point in the back-ground, thinking that, if the Liturgy were once introduced. Episcopal orders would soon follow; but, upon the receipt of this letter, being desired to express his sentiments, and " with that freedom of speech that becomes a servant of Christ, delivered * Archbishop Tenison is openly accused of negligence in this matter by Richardson, the editor of Godwin (see article Tenison in iiodzuin de Prccsuiibus). The writer of the Life of Sharp con- cludes that he never received the King of Prussia's letter ; but it seems difficult to reconcile with this, the fact that the negotiation was known to the Convocation in 1706, and mentioned by the Lower House in their letter to the Upper, as having been com- municated to ihcni. — Sec Wilkins's Concilid, iv., 634. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 239 an opinion for a form of prayer like the English Chap. Llturgv, and for the government of the Church by ^^^^^• 0/ ^ O^ . '' 17 10-17 14. bishops." These sentiments he afterwards further enlarged in a treatise, a copy of which was sent to the Archbishop of York. At this point the design became complicated with another for introducing the English Liturgy at the Court of Hanover, a scheme for which there were great and manifest reasons. Unfortunately, how- ever, the troubled state of Europe took off the attention of the diplomatists from these important negotiations, which might, if carried on with zeal, have resulted in the union of all the Protestant communities of Germans in the faith, worship, and apostolic order of the Church of England.* The time of Queen Anne is often described Learned as the Augustan age of English literature, and ^^"'^^^^ D to ....... among the It was by no means barren m theological writmgs. clergy. Not to speak of the vast amount of labour and erudition expended upon controversial writings, in which Atterbury, Wake, Kennett, Gibson, Hoadly, and numerous others distinguished them- selves, there were also many works of a more solid and less ephemeral character produced by clergymen of private station, and testifying to a very considerable amount of learned study in the Church. At Norwich, Dean Prideaux was composing his Humphrey Connection of Sacred and Profane History, a book Prideaux. which, though treating on subjects usually thought * A full account of these interesting negotiations will be found in Archbishop Sharp's Life, i., 403-449, and Appendix to vol. ii. 240 THE HISrORT OF Chap. dry and uninteresting, has all the attraction of a work of fiction. Written amidst the panors and 1710-1714. , 1- 1 • sufferings of a most acute disease, the Connection, on its appearance, at once attained such an extreme popularity as to run through eleven editions in five William Wall. years.* At Shoreham, William Wall, fifty-two years vicar of that place, produced the most learned, exhaustive, and accurate work on Infant Baptism which has ever been composed in England. Joseph At Headbourn -Worthy, near Winchester, con- i"g ^"1' tending against the trials of a narrow income and a large family, hampered for want of books, and smarting from much unmerited obloquy, lived and laboured one of those giants of erudition and re- search of which our Church can boast not a few distinguished examples. Joseph Bingham had been Fellow of University College in Oxford, but having embraced the unpopular side in the dispute between South and Sherlock on the subject of the Trinity, he so far yielded to the outcry raised in the Uni- versity as to resign his Fellowship. Upon this he was presented by Dr. Radcllfi^e to the small living of Headbourn -Worthy, within a mile of Winchester, where, with only the assistance of Bishop Morley's library, he composed his work of extraordinary learning and accuracy, the Antiquities of the Chris- tian Church. The first volume of this great work appeared in 1708, and it was followed by others in regular succession until the work was finished in 1722. In the last page of his great work he writes, * Life of Dean Pridenux, p. 122. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 241 " Another book more of miscellaneous rites might c:iiap. be added; but — having laboured in this work ^^^'>^- for twenty years with frequent returns of bodily ^7io-i7'4- infirmities which make hard study now less agree- able to a weakly constitution — 1 rather choose to give the reader a complete and finished work, with an index to the whole, than, by grasping at too much, to be forced to leave it imperfect, neither to my own nor the world's satisfaction."* The vast erudition and exhaustive character of this work gave it at once a European reputation. It was trans- lated into Latin, and used by Christians of every creed as the best exponent of antiquity. Yet the author died in poverty and neglect, and none of the rich preferment which fell to the lot of better courtiers solaced his declining years. In spite, however, of such learned works as those of Bingham and Wall, and the dexterous controver- sialism of Atterbury and Wake, the Church was not now so great in literary power as she had been at the era of Taylor and Pearson and Barrow and Bull, or as she became afterwards under Bentley and Waterland and Warburton and Butler. A dry and sententious style of sermon was The sermons at this time in vogue, due very distinctly to the of this period. influence of Tillotson as a model, and, if we may judge by the way in which italics are used in the printed discourses of that time, a formal and afl^ected delivery was the fashion. Yet there are no sermons in the English language richer in the application of Scripture than those of Bishop Beveridge ; and * Life of Bingbdm yWorkSy ix., 17. VOL. III. R 242 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XXXIX. 1 7 10-1 7 1 4. The Convo- cation of 1710. Preliminary arrange- ments. The Oueen's license for business. there were, doubtless, many who preached rather in his diffusive and copious manner than in the stiff and essay-Hke fashion which was imitated from Tillotson. It would naturally be expected from the temper of the country, the character of the new Parlia- ment, and the professed principles of the Queen's present ministers, that no impediment would any longer be placed in the way of the action of Con- vocation. Archbishop Sharp, the Queen's most trusted adviser in Church matters, had represented to her that it was desirable that the royal license should be given, and the Queen offered no objec- tion, provided the matters upon which Convocation was to act were first settled. Upon this several meetings were held, at which some of the ministers. Dr. Atterbury who had been chosen Prolocutor of the Lower House, and the Bishops of Bristol, St. David's, and Exeter attended. It had somewhat a strange appearance that the initiative in all these matters was taken by the Primate of the northern province, and that the Archbishop of Canterbury did not appear to interest himself in the proceedings. There was indeed a marked absence of all bishops of the moderate party.* The matters to be treated of were at length decided upon, and the Queen's license to the Con- * Life of Archbishop Sharp, i., 351-3. Bishop Burnet says that, "in this whole matter neither the archbishop nor any of the bishops were so much as consulted with." — Ozc?i Ti?;ic,^. 866. Had he said any of the Mlpig bishops, his statement would pro- bably have been more correct. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 243 vocation to proceed to business was brought by Chap. Lord Dartmouth on January 23 (17 11). In the ^^^^^• license the archbishop was not named president of the Convocation as had been usually done, neither was he left to choose his commissaries in case of his ill health. The Bishops of London and Bath and Wells were mentioned by name in the license, one of them to be necessarily present, in case of the Primate's non-attendance.* This which had pro- bably been done to prevent Bishop Burnet being appointed Commissary (the archbishop being known to be suffering from gout), was received with indignation by the Whig bishops. They com- plained to the Queen, and an explanation was given that it was not intended that one of the bishops named should necessarily preside, but only be present, and at the same time three other bishops were added to the quorum, viz., Winchester (Trelawney), Bristol (Robinson), and St. David's (Bull). The whole proceeding seemed a strange one, and certainly had the appearance which is attributed to it by Burnet, of giving a marked honour to the High Church bishops. " The Queen not only passed over all the bishops made in King William's reign, but a great many of those named by herself, and set the two last (Robinson and Bull) in a distinction above all their brethren."! On January 29, a paper was brought from the The points Queen, stating the points on which the Convoca- ^° ^^ '^^^^^^ * Wilkins's CoticHin, iv., 636. f Burnet's Ozvn TimCy p. 867. R 2 244 1'HE HISrORT OF Chap. tion was at liberty to debate, consider, consult, and XXXIX. agree upon. These were : i. The drawing up a 1710-1714. ^ ^ . - , r V ' representation of the present state ot religion among us with regard to the late excessive growth of infidelity, heresy, and profaneness. 2. The regulating the proceedings in excommunications, and reforming the abuses of commutation money. 3. The preparing forms for the visitation of pri- soners, and particularly condemned persons. For admitting converts from the Church of Rome, and such as shall renounce their errors. For restoring those who have relapsed. 4. For establishing rural deans where they are not, and making them more useful where they are. 5. For the making provi- sion for preserving and transmitting more exact terriers and accounts of glebes, tithes, and other possessions, and profits belonging to benefices. 6. For the regulating licenses for matrimony according to the Canon, in order to the more effec- tual preventing of clandestine marriages.* Disputes on Of these topics it would have been far better the first topic, that the first should have been omitted. It was clear that if this point were raised, a collision must take place between the two Houses. It was to open up again the matter of Sacheverell's trial, and the question of the Church in danger. The Lower House after a short debate, entrusted the drawing up of a representation on this subject to Dr. Atter- bury their Prolocutor. The author of Sacheverell's defence was hardly likely to produce a docurhent which should be acceptable to Talbot, Wake, and * Wilkins's Concilia, iv., 638. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 245 Burnet. Accordingly, the bishops rejected the Chap. paper sent up to them, and ordered the drawing of ^'^-^^^• another in more general terms, which the Lower House in their turn rejected.* On the question of excommunication and com- Report of the mutation of penance, a Committee of both Houses °"\"^'"J^.^ r ^ on discipbne. reported on March 7. They recommended that the powers given by the law as against the excom- municate person, might be extended to the case of the contumacious person, which would in most cases prevent the necessity of having recourse to the final sentence. 2. That no excommunication should be pronounced until after admonition had been given, and the minister of the parish had been certified, in order that he might, by his advice, induce the person threatened to submit. 3. That no commutation of penance should take place with- out the consent of the ordinary, who also was to provide for the proper application of the money.j- The regulation of terriers did not involve any Terriers of question of principle, and it Vv^as agreed on all sides g^^^^ ^^"^• that exact returns of all ecclesiastical property should be made by the incumbents and churchwardens, which the bishops should cause to be entered in their registries; and that the archdeacons who were to visit their archdeaconries parochially, after the rate of one deanery at the least in every year, should take occasion to verify the terriers, and ascertain that the returns were properly made. On the subject of rural deans, a dispute arose Rural deans. * Lathbury's History of Convocation, pp. 410, 416, 417. f Wilkins, iv , 638. 246 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. between the Upper and Lower Houses, whether XXXIX. |.j^g archdeacon was to have a concurrent jurisdiction with the bishop in displacing them when necessary. The bishops did not object to the archdeacon nominating persons for the office, but they took a strong objection to their having any power in the matter of removal ; and the Lower House, after long debating the question, so far yielded as to propose that all mention of the archdeacon should be left out of the constitution to be made on the subject.* Mr. Whis- But these labours of Convocation, which had in ton's case. them much promise of utility, were soon interrupted by an affair which engaged the attention of all, but without leading to any practical result. An eccentric man named William Whiston, Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, who, says Burnet, was " much set in hunting for paradoxes," had taken up the very remarkable paradox that the Apostolical Constitutions were equal in authority to the Epistles or Gospels. By these new Scrip- tures, he was soon led into Arianism and Apolli- narianism, and, being expelled the University, wrote a vindication of himself and his doctrine, and dedicated it to Convocation. f This was a sort * Wilkins, iv., 645. t " Jn Historical preface to Primitive Christianity revived, with an appendix containing an account of the author's prosecu- tion and banishment from the University of Cambridge, by- William Whiston, A.M., and dedicated to the most Reverend Thomas, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, president, and to the Right Reverend the Bishops of the same province, his grace's suffragans, and to the Reverend the Clergy of the Lower House in Convocation assembled." THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 247 of challenore which Convocation was not disposed Chap. to decline, and at once it prepared to animadvert ,;; ,' ' If 1710-1714 upon this new heresy and its author. On March 1 6, 1 7 1 1 , the Lower House agreed upon a schedule, presenting the book to the bishops as containing opinions " directly opposite to the fundamental articles of the Christian religion." On the 19th, the bishops came to certain resolutions about the book which (the archbishop not being present) were ordered to be laid before him for his conside- ration. On April 11, the Primate wrote to the bishops stating that he entirely agreed with them in their resolution that notice should be taken of the book ; and then, discussing the question as to the method of procedure, there were two points, he said, to be considered : I. The censure of the book and doctrine. II. The censure of the person. I. In order to the censure of the book and the doctrine two things were necessary: — i. To fix upon the objectionable passages. 2. To fix upon the particular passages of Scripture, the Articles of the Church of England and the Decrees of the Council of Nice, upon which the charge of heresy may be most clearly grounded. II. In order to a censure on the person in a Question of iudicial way there were three several methods which ^^^ J^^i^^^^" J ^ -r» 1 /- r r^ ^10^ o^ Con- might be pursued, i . By the Court ot Convoca- tion which has frequently acted in such cases, both before and since the Reformation, but the action of which is accompanied with the following difficul- ties : — This Court being final, or the last resort, from which no appeal is provided by the Statute sdic- C( vocation. 248 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. 25 Hen. VIII., c. xix., It is doubtful whether the XXXIX. exercise of it would not infringe upon the supre- macy of the Crown. Secondly, no use has been made of this Court for upwards of one hundred years, and it may be doubtful whether its revival would not be against 17 Car. II., which provides that no Court similar to that of High Commission should be established. Thirdly, the Statute, 29 Car. II., which takes away the writ i^e heretico comburendo appears to give jurisdiction, in cases of heresy, to the Ecclesiastical Courts rather than Convocation. Fourthly, that these Courts were the proper tribunal to take cognizance of such matters was the opinion of the Upper House of Convocation in 1689. 2. The second method of proceeding is for the archbishop to hold a Court of Audience, and calling to him his provincial bishops as assessors, to proceed. To this Court he is fully empowered, by a special provision (23 Hen. VIII., c. ix., s. 3), to cite any person out of his diocese wherein he dwells, in case the immediate ordinary of such person does not proceed. 3. The bishop of the diocese may cite and try the offender in his own Court. Of these three courses the two last are the most simple in point of legality. But the first is the more solemn, and it is, therefore, much to be wished that her Majesty would be pleased to lay the matter before her judges to ascertain its legality. Such was the substance of the Primate's letter, and, in accord- ance with it, the bishops, on April 22, petitioned the ^ueen to refer the point to the judges. On May 8 an answer was returned, forwarding the THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 249 opinions of the twelve judges, and the Attorney Chap. and Solicitor General. " We cannot doubt," said ^^^"^i^- the royal letter, after stating that eight of the /^°"*7H- judges, and the law officers of the Crown were in favour of the jurisdiction, " but the Convocation will now be satisfied they may employ the power which belongs to them in repressing the impious attempts lately made to subvert the foundation of the Christian faith, which was one of the chief ends we proposed to ourselves in assembling them. We trust that these our royal intentions, so often signified, will not be without effect." But, though a majority of the judges were in favour of the jurisdiction of Convocation to try and censure a heretic, and the Ministry sanctioned their proceed- ings, yet difficulties still remained. Was the Lower House to take part in the proceedings, and were they to be confirmed by the Convocation of York ? These matters being still undecided, the bishops resolved to begin the matter by censuring the book, and speedily agreed to the condemnation of a cer- tain number of passages as heretical, a judgment in which the Lower House concurred. The sen- The sentence tence was sent to the Queen for ratification, but no is not ratified. return was made. Some time after, two bishops waited on her to ask for her answer. She said she had lost the paper. Another copy was sent, but still no answer came, and thus, through the culpable carelessness or designed indifference of the Queen, the whole matter came to a lame conclusion.* * Burnet's Own Timey pp. 867, 887. Johnston's Account of the Proceedings of Convocation. Wilkins, iv., 646-65 i. Lathbury's History of the Conz'ocotion, p. 410, sq. S' THE HISTORY OF Chap. Although no constitution or canon was actually XXXIX. voted in this Session of Convocation, yet a certain 1 7 10-17 14. jjj^^Q^jj^^ Qf united opinion had been arrived at, and 1 his Session . -^ 1 1 r r of" Convoca- the way was, in a measure, cleared tor future pro- tion more ceedlngs. It was, apparently, the judgment of the promising, ^j^^j^ Convocation that a more effective discipline should be striven after, and, with a view to this, both Houses were ready to authorise changes in the matters of excommunication and commutation of penance, the careful management of Church pro- perty, the more extended use of the machinery of archdeacons and rural deans. Burnet says that the Bishops drew up "a scheme of regulations" on all these points, and it has been already shown that the joint committees were able to agree to a considerable extent. Hopes, therefore, might rea- sonably be entertained that when the next Session began business might be proceeded with, and some practical result follow. Convocation, These good hopes, however, were doomed to be through disappointed. The man who had been the main Attcrbury s . ^^ . r ^ ^ • tit tt i_ ambition, champion of the claim of the Lower House to be fails to cfFcct allowed privileges similar to those of the House of an) t iiig. Commons, was now in a place of influence as Pro- locutor, and the time seemed to him eminently favourable for obtaining the great object of his exertions. Atterbury was the friend of the Lord Treasurer, and the Lord Treasurer was all-powerful with the Queen. The House of Commons had almost recognised the right claimed by the Lower House, for the Prolocutor having been sent on a solemn message to thank the Commons for having THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 251 appointed a day to consider the subject of building Chap. new churches, the Commons immediately came to a ^'^^'^• . 1 7 10-17 14. resolution, " That they would receive all such ^loxx^c r information as should be offered in this case by Commons the Lower House of Convocation ; and would ^cognizes have a particular regard to such applications as sions of the should at any time be made to them by the clergy Lower in Convocation assembled, according to the ancient °^^^* usage, together with the Parliament."* Having obtained this acknowledgment. Dr. Atterburyf was not the man to let the matter sleep. Immediately on the meeting of Convocation for its next Session, when the bishops proposed to resume the conside- ration of the matters mentioned in the Queen's letter where they left them on their prorogation, Atterbury altogether refused. He maintained that the Lower House of Convocation must be guided by the practice of the House of Commons, and that it was the usage of Parliament to begin all afresh. In spite of the proof of a contrary usage made from the books, which showed that the. * Tindal's Continuation, v., 371. Pursuant to this resolution, quickened by a recommendation from the Queen, the Commons passed a Bill for the building y^j? new churches, and gave the duty of one shilling a chaldron on coals, from September 29, 17 16, to September 29, 1719, for raising the sum of ^^3 50,000 for the purpose. This duty had been reserved for building St. Paul's, which was now finished. -\ His biographer thus draws the character of this clever but wayward man : "His temper was made up of irascible qualities, and had very little in it of the mild and merciful. His resentment of injuries was quick and lasting, his remembrance of favours done him soon gone. There are few or none of his friends and patrons but what at one time or other he quarrelled with." — Stackhouse's Life of Atterbury, p. 63. This life is a very meagre and incor- rect sketch, and utterly unworthy of its subject. 252 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. Schedule of Prorogation continued all things in the XXXIX. same state until the next meeting, and in spite also 17IO-17H- Q^ ^j^g remonstrances of the bishops, the Lower House adhered to their Prolocutor's view, and a complete stop was thus put to all useful business.* Question of Disappointing as this must have been to all validity of those who had the best interests of the Church at lay-baptism, j^^^^.^^ ^^^^^ ^j.Qse yet another cause of difference and dissension in this Convocation, which for a long time vexed the Church. Henry Dodwell, Camden Professor at Oxford, a learned layman who had been a Nonjuror, but afterwards returned into commu- nion with the Church, had advocated some very strange and startling opinions on the subject of baptism. He had adopted the view (in which he is probably unique) that the souls of men are naturally mortal, but that they are immortalized by virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism, which in his view must needs be conferred by persons epis- copally ordained. That part of this strange system which related to baptism, and magnified the im- portance of the Sacrament when given by the Church to such vast proportions, was very accept- able to some of the extreme High Church party, and was a convenient topic in their arguments about Dissenters, whom they treated on these grounds as unbaptized heathens. The matter became the talk of the town,-|- and most of the bishops being met at Lambeth at the customary entertainment given by the Primate on Easter Tuesday (17 12), the * Burnet's Ozvn Time, p. 886. t Archbishop Sharp's Journal. Life, \., 370. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 253 matter was discussed, and It was thought desirable Chap. for the bishops to draw up a Declaration on the .. . 171 0-1714. subject, which might be offered to Convocation. This was done accordingly, and In a short and plain manner the doctrine of the Church of England, which Is also the Catholic doctrine In all ages, was embodied In a Declaration.* The Primate had been led to expect that Archbishop Sharp would sign this, and that he would procure the signatures of some of the High Church prelates who had not been at Lambeth. The Archbishop of York, however, though he expressly approved of the statement, yet declined to sign, and the Bishops of Chester, Exeter, and St. David's, did the same. The ground taken was, that the publishing this document would be " too great an encouragement to Dissenters to go on In their way of irregular uncanonlcal baptism." f The learned Bingham has shown with great clear- ness, that the Dissenters never contended for lay- baptism, but always opposed It, looking upon their ministers as having the proper ministerial character, * " Forasmuch as sundry persons have of late by their preach- ing, writing, and discourses, possessed the minds of many people with doubts and scruples about the validity of their baptism, to their great trouble and disquiet, we, the archbishops and bishops whose names are underwritten, have thought it incumbent on us to declare our several opinions in conformity with the judgments and practice of the Catholic Church, and of the Church of England in particulai', that such persons as have been already baptized in or with water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, ought not to he baptized again. And to prevent any such practice in our respective dioceses, we do require our several clergy that they presume not to baptize any adult person whatsoever, without giving us timely notice of the same as the Rubric directs." — Sharp's Life/\., 372. t Sharp's Life, i., 374. 254 THE HIST0R7'' OF Chap. and confining the administration of baptism to XXXIX. them.* 1 7 lo-i 7 14. . . ... l^^^^^.^^ The reasoning of Archbishop Sharp in this House of matter will therefore hardly hold good. But the Convocation opposition shown to the Primate's declaration refuse to 1,1.1 , r j i • concur with by the bishops who most ravoured their party, the bishops' doubtless encou raged the Lower House of Convo- declaration. ■ ^ • , ji ^ c j. cation to oppose it also, and to reruse to concur in condemning the unorthodox and uncatholic prac- tice of rebaptization. It was the bitter feeling prevalent against Dissenters, which led them to this view, although the more learned divines amongst them must have known that if any defect has existed in the administration of baptism, it is to be remedied by the conferring of Confirmation and admitting to Communion, not by the practice of rebaptizing, which was never insisted on in the Church even in the case of baptism by heretics. f Henceforth, however, another item of controversy was added to those already existing between the High and Low Churchmen, the one defending rebaptization, the other condemning it. J The Bill Meantime, in Parliament, the High Church party against Occa- Yi^^ obtained a great triumph. The Bill against formity Occasional Conformity, which in the earlier years of passed. the reign had caused such violent and acrimonious debates, and had been three times rejected by the House of Lords, was now brought in and carried * Sec Bingham's Works, viii., 144 (ed. 1844). f The whole question is exhausted in Bingham's learned treatise, A Scholiutical History of Lay Baptis?n. X Burnet's Otvn TimCy p. 887. Shurp's LifCy i., 369, sq. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 255 in that House without a division, or even the least Chap.^ opposition made to it. Being sent to the Com- ^^^l^' mons the next day, it was received there with the same general acquiescence, a few amendments (to which the Lords assented) were made to it, and the Bill passed at once.* It appears, indeed, that this sudden conversion of the Whigs was due to a compact between them and the Earl of Nottingham, who brought in the Bill. Lord Nottingham had agreed to join their party on the peace question, and vote for the continuance of the war, if they would support this measure, and save his credit with the Church party, of which he always affected to be a leader. It is even asserted that the chief Dissenting ministers were consulted in the matter, and desired not to raise an outcry about it, on the understanding that this law should be repealed, an^ others more in their favour enacted, as soon as their friends should be re-established.-t" In spite, however, of the exclusion of Dissenters Censure of from official posts, now at last sanctioned by law, ^f^^^ ^^^^^ there was yet something wanting to the triumph of mons. the Tories. Dr. Sacheverell and his doctrines had been formally condemned, and the Parliament had voted thanks to Mr. Hoadly for his views on the subject of resistance. It was needful to reverse these Whig decisions, to place on record something of a more wholesome character, and as the Whigs had censured a Tory Churchman, and burnt his * Parliamentary History y vi., 1045. -j- Swift's History of the Four Last Tears of S^ueen Anne. Works, i., 448. See Calamy's Baxter, i., 725. 710-1714- iS^ rHE HISTORY OF Chap. sermons, so now for the Tories to censure a Whig XXXIX. Churchman, and burn his sermons. A suitable I "T t /-v_ 1-714 ' victim was quickly found in the person of Dr. Fleetwood, Bishop of St. Asaph. This prelate, greatly respected in his private life, and known as a writer by his Essay on Miracles, had lately thought fit to publish a few sermons which he had formerly preached on State occasions, with a poli- tical preface, lamenting the dangers of the times, and prophesying the extinction of liberty. " He had resolved," he says, '^ to deliver himself as well as he could from the reproaches and curses of pos- terity, by publicly declaring to all the world that the doctrine of Scripture did not put men in a worse position with respect to civil liberty than they would have been had they not been Chris- tians." The sermons and preface contradicting the doctrine then in the ascendant, were ordered by a large majority of the Commons to be burnt by the common hangman.* Immediately, as might have been expected, the book attained a sale which its * Parliamentary History ^ vi., i i 5 1 . Jt was not to be supposed that Dean Swift would allow the bishop's somewhat conceited preface to escape the shafts of his irony. He ridicules it in A Pretended Letter of Thanks from Lord Wharton (a licentious free- thinker), in the name of the Kit-Cat Club. *' This you say is the doctrine of Christ, St. Paul, and St. Peter, and, faith, I am glad to hear it, for I never thought they had been Whigs before. But since your lordship has thus taught them to declare for rebellion, you may easily persuade them to do as much for profaneness and immorality, and then they, together with your lordship, shall be elected members of our club." — Swift^s Works y i., 375- The Kit-Cat Club was the club of the extreme Whigs, as the October Club, and afterwards the March Club, was of the ultra- Tories. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, isi own Intrinsic merit would never have commanded. ^^^^^'^ It was printed in the Spectator (No. 384), and (as ,7/0-1714. the bishop himself allows) above 4,000 copies were thus conveyed to those who would never otherwise have seen it.* There was now an interval in the action of Convocation for nearly two years. During the summer of 17 12, the negotiations which termi- nated in the peace of Utrecht t were being anxiously pushed forward, and Parliament was prorogued eleven times in the hope of being able to announce to it, at its opening, the conclusion of peace. It met in April, 17 13, and the peace was announced, but during the short Session that followed. Convocation did not act. In August, Parliament was dissolved, and the Tory ministc-s appealed to the country for the approbation of their policy In concluding the peace. The Par- liament, which was returned in November, con- tained a larger amount of the Whig element than had been expected, but the Tories still predomi- nated.J At this time the Queen was seized with a dangerous illness, and the whole country was in a state of panic. It was thought that the ministers were pledged to the Pretender, and that he would presently land in the country. For four days there was a great run upon the Bank of * Fleetwood's letter to Burnet. Parliamcjitary History, vi., 1 156, note. f One of the chief negotiators was a bishop— Dr. Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, who held the office of Lord Privy Seal, and was afterwards made Bishop of London to succeed Dr. Compton. :|: Parliamentary History, vi., 1238. VOL. III. S 258 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XXXIX. 1 7 1 o- 1 7 1 4. The Schism Bill. England, and universal terror reigned. The fears of the public were, however, soon partially allayed. The Queen recovered so far as to be able to open Parliament In person, on February 16, 1714- The Session which followed Is remarkable In the history of the Church for exhibiting the poli- tical reaction against the Dissenters and in favour of High Church views, at Its extreme point. On May 12, a BUI was brought Into the House of Commons, which was exactly similar In Its cha- racter and provisions to some of the Acts passed In the first fervour of the reign of Charles II. This Act provided that '' no person In Great Britain should keep any public or private school, or act as tutor, that has not first subscribed the Declaration to conform to the Church of England and obtained a license from the diocesan, and that upon failure of so doing the party may be com- mitted to prison without bail ; and that no such license shall be granted before the party produces a certificate of his having received the Sacrament according to the Communion of the Church of England within the last year, and also subscribed the oaths of allegiance and supremacy." * The private academies of Dissenters had for some time past been attracting the attention of Churchmen by their success and increase ; but to attempt, by this summary law, absolutely to stop all Dissenting education in England was a strange exercise of arbitrary power. The Bill, however, passed the Commons by a large majority, but in the Lords * Lord Mahon's History of England, i., 80 (5 th cd.). THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 259 encountered a vigorous opposition. Lord Cowper Cliap. argued against it that " instead of preventing schism and enlarging the pale of the Church, this Bill tended to produce ignorance and its insepa- rable attendants superstition and irreligion. That in many country towns, reading, writing, and grammar schools were chiefly supported by the Dissenters, not only for the instruction and benefit of their own children, but likewise of those of poor Churchmen, so that the suppressing of those schools would, in some places, suppress the reading of the Holy Scriptures." On the other hand, it was contended by Lord Anglesea, " that the Dis- senters were equally dangerous both to Church and State ; that they were irreconcileable enemies of the Established Church, which they had <5uffi- ciently manifested in the late King James Il.'s reign, when, in order to obtain a Toleration, they joined themselves with the Papists ; and that they had rendered themselves unworthy of the indul- gence of the Church of England, granted them at the Revolution, by endeavouring to engross the education of youth, for which purpose they had set up schools and academies in most cities and towns of the kingdom, to the great detriment of the Universities and danger of the Established Church."* Upon these grounds the Bill, though vigorously opposed in all its stages, was carried with some few amendments, and received the royal * Parliamentary History^ vi., 1 349-1 358. The Act never came into operation, the Queen's death happening on the very day on which it was appointed to commence. S 2 XXXIX. 1710-1714. 26o THE HISTORY OF Chap. assent. It Is obvious that the principle of this XXXIX. ^^{. jg entirely opposed to the grant of Toleration, ' °" '^'^' and it was the last law of such a character that ever was sanctioned by the English Legislature. Convocation The meeting of the Convocation of the Province °^*7H- of Canterbury took place concurrently with that of Parliament. Happily for the Lower House, their fiery leader had been taken from them, having been made Bishop of Rochester the pre- ceding year. A more moderate and practicable man was now chosen Prolocutor, Dr. Stanhope, Dean of Canterbury, and there seemed every reason to hope that some substantial fruit might at last be reaped from the deliberations of Con- vocation. The Queen's license was given to them for the dispatch of business, and, on March 17, a letter was brought from her Majesty authorising them to treat on the same subjects which had been recommended to the last Convocation. There had been a misunderstanding between the two Houses on the subject of the Address, the Lower House rejecting the Address sent down by the bishops on the ground of its not expressing a becoming joy at the peace, and the Queen after- wards consenting to receive an address from the Lower House separately.* In spite of this, how- ever, a certain amount of work appears to have been got through by the joint Committees. A form for regulating proceedings as to excommuni- cation was agreed upon very similar to that which had been drawn up in the last Convocation, the * Lathbury's History of Convocation ^ p. 424. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. iG\ principal point being that the contumacious person Cliap. should be subiect to the penalties which the law -^^^"^i-^- J 1 • 1 • -J 1710-1714. aecreed aganist the excommunicate^ \\\ order to obviate the necessity of proceeding to the last sentence.* There was also a form drawn up for the making and preserving of terriers ; a draught of canons for regulating matrimonial licenses ; a form for admitting converts from the Church of Rome ; and an exhortation to be read in church previous to the sentence of excommunication being passed, f Unfortunately, however, the proceedings of Con- Dr. Samuel vocation were again interrupted by the considera- Clarke. ration of a question of heresy, and, as William Whiston had been the mark for the Convocation of 17 10, so now Dr. Samuel Clarke — a name which holds a prominent place in the religious history of this time — attracted the animadversions of the present Synod. Samuel Clarke had been made chaplain to Moore, Bishop of Norwich, imme- diately on his taking orders, and had been rapidly advanced by the good offices of his patron. In 1704 he had been appointed Boyle Lecturer, and was thought to have acquitted himself so well, that he was again chosen the following year. His sub- ject now was the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, which he made principally to depend on arguments a -priori^ and what he calls " the fit- ness of things." Advanced to the Rectory of St. James's, Westminster, and a royal chaplaincy, and having distinguished himself still further in the * Wilkins's Concilia, iv., 654. f ^^'^^^"> i^'-> 656-666. 17IO-I7I+. 262 THE HISTORY OF Chap. literary world by exposing Henry Dodwell's strange ^.^^l'^*. fantasies about the immortality of the soul, Dr. Clarke was looked upon as one of the most rising divines of the day. Unfortunately, however, like many other distinguished men, in attempting to write on the deep mystery of the Trinity and to bring it down to the level of human understanding, he was led into statements opposed to the teaching of the Church. On June 8, the Lower House addressed the bishops, asserting that Dr. Samuel Clarke, in his book called 'The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity y had put forth " assertions contrary to the catholic faith as received and declared by this Reformed Church of England, concerning three persons of one substance, power, and eternity, in the unity of the Godhead," and that he had unfairly striven to explain the Formularies and Articles of the Church of England in conformity with this heretical belief.* The bishops sent back a message to desire that extracts from Dr. Clarke's book sub- stantiating the charge might be laid before them. On June 23 a paper of extracts was sent up by the Lower House, in which several passages occur expressly denying the doctrine that there are three persons of one substance. These expressions are also quoted : — " There are not three eternal per- sons." " There are ;/o/ three uncreated persons." " There are not three almighty persons." In fact. Dr. Clarke's work was shown to be, as nearly as possible, contradictory of the Athanasian Creed. The writer having proceeded to reply to the * Wilkins, iv., 657. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 263 extracts, the bishops took the subject into con- Chap. •J • XXXIX. s^^^^^t^^^^- , , I710-.7I4. At this point, however, Dr. Clarke — who, what- j^,^ j^^^^^ ^^ ever were his speculative opinions, had no wish to submission. break with the Church, and was by no means of the temper of his friend, Mr. Whiston, who was willing to undergo all manner of persecution rather than abandon the Apostolical Constitutions — sent a paper of submission. " My opinion is," said he in this document, " that the Son of God was eternally begotten by the eternal incomprehensible power of the Father, and that the Holy Spirit was likewise eternally derived from the Father by or through the Son, according to the eternal incomprehensible power and will of the Father." He further pro- mised neither to write nor preach any more on this subject, and, if he did so, willingly submitted himself to such censure as his superiors should see fit to pass upon him.* There is too much reason to believe that this paper, drawn up so as to look like a recantation, was not really what it pretended to be. There was no attempt to withdraw the state- ment that the three persons could not be of the same substance, but only an assertion of their eternity, when it was well known that Dr. Clarke explained the word eternal differently when applied to the Father, and when applied to any beside Him. Dr. Clarke was, therefore, not unnaturally charged with " saying something that has a double entendre to stop the rage of persecution, and to please the orthodox," and his character suffered accordingly. f * Wilkins, iv., 658-9. t S^'c Whiston's Life of Clarke, pp. 54, 66. 264 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. The bishops, indeed, very wisely accepted his sub- ,\^^\^/ mission in order to terminate the controversy; but the Lower House no less truly declared that Dr. Clarke's paper " doth not contain in it any recanta- tion of the heretical assertions and other offensive passages complained of by this House in their representation."* The new The publication of Dr. Clarke's book on the phase of the doctrine of the Trinity was the inauguration of the 1 rinitarian \ rr^ . . . controversy, third great phase of the Trinitarian controversy. The first was the patristic phase, in which Bishop Bull so greatly distinguished himself in asserting, principally against foreign opponents, the testimony of the ancient Church in opposition to Arlan notions. The second phase of the controversy may be de- scribed as the metaphysical. In this. Doctors Sher- lock and South were the principal disputants. To this succeeded the Scriptural phase as begun by Dr. Clarke, and supported by Doctors Sykes and Whitby and Mr. Jackson. The arguments for a sort of refined Arlanism which these divines professed to find in holy Scripture, were met by a numerous body of controversialists on the orthodox side. By far the most distinguished of these was Daniel Water- land, Master of Magdalen College, Cambridge, and second to few, if to any, divines of the Church of England. Upon Waterland the mantle of Bishop Bull deservedly fell. His clearness, vigour, and learning, were the great props of catholic truth and honest subscription In an age when both were in great danger, and the Church owes him a debt of * Whiblon'b Life of Clarke, p. 65. •uccn s death. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. i6s gratitude which is great indeed. A few days after Cliap. the affair of Dr. Clarke had been decided, the ,^,^^^,^" / / T' Session of Convocation came to an end with the ParHament. Nothing had actually been concluded, but a good foundation seemed to be laid for ar- ranging something definite in a future meeting. However, an effectual stop was put to all arrange- Qi ments and projects, by a sudden and great calamity. The Queen, who had been long in an ill state of health, had been much agitated by some very violent disputes between her ministers, and by the anxiety in which she was kept by the claims of her younger brother to the succession, checked, as they were, by the Parliamentary settlement on the House of Hanover, There can scarcely be a doubt that she favoured the pretensions of her own family, and was inclined to support those of her ministers who agreed in this view, against the others, who saw and yielded to the resolute determination of the Parliament and the nation to exclude the Stuarts. Agitated by these troubles, the gout, to which she had long been subject, flew to her stomach and head, and she died on Sunday, August i, 17 14. By a great majority of the clergy of England Great blow her death was regarded as an irreparable loss. She ^° the clergy, had been a faithful supporter of the Church, not on political grounds, but because, like her grand- father, Charles L, she loved and venerated it. She had shown herself desirous to promote men eminent in their profession, and ready to incur inconve- niences in State matters rather than forego this just exercise of her prerogative. She had known how to 17IO-I 266 THE HISrORT OF Chap. select a genuine son of the Church of England for XXXI^X. j^gj. adviser, and how to listen readily and humbly to his advice.* She had displayed her liberality to the Church In a more effective manner than any of her predecessors ; and while Queen Elizabeth, who has been so much vaunted for her good deeds, had robbed the clergy. Queen Anne had assisted them. In fact, she had ever displayed a Church spirit, and. the clergy felt confident that under her no great mischief to the Church would be tolerated. Bap- tized and brought up in the Communion of the Church of England, its cause was her cause, Its Interests her Interests. And the loss seemed the greater in view of the prospect of her successor- Neither the son of James nor the Hanoverian Prince had anything really In common with the spirit of the Church of England. The one had been brought up In the tenets of a Jesulted Romanism, the other had been familiar with the lax views of the Continental Protestants. A majority of the clergy would probably have pre- ferred the former candidate for the throne on account of his hereditary right ; not that they had any good reason to believe that he would prove a better ruler than his father. But the nation had * "The Queen not only allowed him (Sharp) to enter with her into warm discourses about religion, which he often did when he found proper opportunities for it ; but she would send for him on purpose to discourse with her on practical duties, especially before she received the Sacrament. He spoke often and freely to her, but he never could perceive that she was the least angry with him for this his frankness, in declaring his mind ; or that she was the more reserved towards him in communicating her own designs and thoughts." — Life of Archbishop Sharp, i., 317. XXXIX. 1710-1714- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 267 so firmly decided on the Hanover succession, that Chap, it was plain to the most Jacobite of the clergy that they would have to acquiesce in the arrangement, and the prospect was not of the most pleasing cha- racter. Evil days were prophesied of for the Church of England — days in which the preponder- ance of Whiggism would be sought to be pre- served by the promotion of men unfaithful to the Church which they were placed to rule — days in which a departure from orthodoxy would be treated as a merit, and Latitudinarianism and its ever- attendant coldness be accepted as the proper and rational expression of the faith and practice of the English Church. 268 THE HisroR r OF CHAPTER XL. Chap. XL. Accession of George I. — Dissatisfaction among tlie High Church- 1 7 14-1 723. men — Election of a new Parliament — King's declaration against clergy interfering in matters of State — License to Convocation to transact business — Form for consecrating churches — The Seventy-fifth Canon — Address to the King — Changes in the Upper House — Death of Burnet — Of Tenison — His legacy for establishing bishops in America — Archbishop Wake — Benjamin Hoadly — Hoadly's Preservative — His sermon on the Kingdom of Christ — The Bangorian controversy — Character of the con- troversy — Growth of Latitudinarianism — Dr. Snape's answer-=- Hoadly's reply — Snape's second letter — M. de la Pilloniere — The representation of the Lower House of Convocation— Dr. Sherlock charged with inconsistency — Hoadly's Reply to the Representation — The defence of the representation — Dean Sher- lock — William Law — His reply to Hoadly — Dispute between BishopNicolson and Hoadly— Daniel Whitby — Francis Hare — The Primate opposes concessions to Dissenters — Government coerces the High Church clergy — Archbishop Wake's negotia- tion with the Gallican Church — Policy of humbling the Church — The Bill against blasphemy — Quakers' Affirmation Bill — Bishop Atterbury the great opponent of Government — Atter- bury's trial and banishment — His popularity — Church views recede from observation. Accession of I^^^^^^^^HE sudden death of the Queen had George L ^/> i ^-^^ disconcerted the plans of Lord Boluigbroke and the Jacobites,* and by the bold and able measures of the Whigs, George, Elector of Hanover, was proclaimed King without opposition. It is a somewhat strange page * It is said that Bishop Atterbury, who had daring enough for THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. iG() in history which records the quiet surrender of this Chap. XL. great and proud monarchy of England Into the ^7i+-'72 3- hands of a petty German prince of fifty-four years of age ; a man distinguished by no great quaHtles, and a stranger to our traditions, our language, and our manners. The first clause of the Act of Settlement provided that the possessor of the throne should "join in Communion with the Church of England as by law established." Yet it must have seemed to Churchmen a portentous risk to accept, simply on the strength of this proviso, as the temporal head of the Church " In all causes ecclesiastical supreme," a prince who had passed the meridian of life under quite a different religious system ; a member of a Church without Episcopal orders, without a Liturgy, without any claim of inheriting and representing Catholic traditions. It required a lively remembrance of the tyranny of James II., a keen dread of the danger of Jesuit machinations, to reconcile the Church of England to such a sacrifice as this. Nor, Indeed, was It reconciled without exhibiting Dissatisfac- strong symptoms of repugnance. The University '^f'^u"^?"^ of Oxford openly professed Jacobitism, and was churchmen. openly coerced by a troop of horse. The day of Coronation was selected by the University to confer. In full Convocation, an honorary degree on Sir Constantine Phipps, the late Jacobite Chan- cellor of Ireland.* At Cambridge, though some anything, offered to proclaim James III. at Charing Cross in his lawn sleeves, but the measure seemed too desperate to the other ministers. — Lord Mahon's History of Englajid, i., 90. * Lord Mahon, i., 114. 270 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. of the leading men were Whigs, the bulk of the 1 7 14- 1 723. University was scarcely less Jacobite than Oxford.* At Norwich, Bristol, and Birmingham, riots took place in which the cry was High Church and Sacheverell, and down with all foreign govern- ments. " It is a very sensible concern to every one," writes the Whig Addison, " to hear these vile miscreants calling themselves sons of the Church of England amidst such impious tumults and disorders. Their concern for the Church always rises highest when they are acting in direct opposition to its doctrines. Our streets are filled at the same time with zeal and drunkenness, riots and religion."! " ^^ present," says the same writer, '* if we may credit common report, there are several remote parts in the nation in which it is firmly believed that all the churches in London are shut up, and that if any clergyman walks the streets in his habit it is ten to one but he is knocked down by some sturdy schismatic. "J But even those who were not quite so unreasonable in their terrors beheld the present crisis with somewhat of dismay. " We say," wrote the Tory pamphleteers, " the Whigs resolve, if they can procure a House of Commons to their mind, to destroy the Church of England. Whereby I do not mean that they have set up gibbets in their minds and design to hang, draw, and quarter every member of the Church, nor that all the Whigs will come into the scheme ; but we are persuaded * Monk's Life 0/ Bcntky. f The Freeholder, No. 52. X Ibid., No. 7. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 271 that the generaHty of the Whigs are averse to Chap. XL. the present hierarchy and government; that they ^7H-'723- neither Hke our doctrines nor our clergy, but would abolish bishops, priests, and deacons, assume the Church lands to themselves, appoint a small allowance to the parsons, and prescribe them what doctrines to teach from the pulpit ; that they would introduce a general comprehension and build up an ecclesiastical Babel of all the sects and heresies upon the face of the earth ; and, lastly, deprive the bishops of their vote in the House of Lords, which particular they have contrived to render the less odious by furnishing the reverend bench, as far as it was in their power, with such members as few Churchmen will pity or regret when they shall be unloaded. How religious soever the King Is, it cannot be imagined that he hath any extraordinary veneration for a religion which he came into but the other day, and to which he was an absolute stranger before. The Lutheran, wherein he was educated, and which he professed to the very hour of his landing, is entirely different both in doctrine and discipline from ours ; ill that there are no bishops which v/e think essen- tial to a Church, and there are some ceremonies and tenets which border too near upon Popery. And since his Majesty, to qualify himself for the Crown, was pleased to depart from his own and to embrace a religion so different from It In many and those essential respects. It Is no remote thought to apprehend he may consent to the alteration of ours for a valuable consideration to himself Can 272 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. any mortal assign a reason why he should refuse ta 1714-^723- give his royal assent to a Bill to Abolish the present Constitution in Church } His Coronation oath obliges him to maintain the laws of the State as well as the Church, and since an Act of Parliament may repeal the one, why may he not conclude it may do so with the other, since he can have no scVuples of conscience upon him as to the divine right of our constitution .^"* Such were the arguments by which one of the most able writers of the High Church party endeavoured to rouse the Church and nation to an opposition to the Hanoverian set- tlement, and it certainly is not to be wondered at if his opinions were very generally acceptable. Election of a On the Other side, it was, of course, confidently new Parha- asserted that the new King had the deepest venera- tion for our constitution in Church and State, and a new Parliament was called by a Proclamation, which was, in fact, a party manifesto, and an exhorta- tion to the freeholders to return Whigs. f At the same time the supporters of Government had an abundance of topics to influence the electors. It was easy to declaim against the late peace as having sacrificed all that the great victories of Marlborough had gained ; against the late Ministry as secret * English Advice to the Freeholders of England (Bishop Atter- bury). Somer's Tracts, xiii., 533. This tract was treated as an infamous libel, and a reward of ^^ 1,000 offered for the discovery of the writer. — Parliamentary History, v'n., 25. f " Such suggestions," writes Earl Stanhope, " however cau- tiously worded, are clearly unconstitutional, and appear least of all becoming in the mouth of a prince so lately called over to protect our liberties and laws." — History of England, i., I 18. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 273 favourers of the Pretender, and ready to consent to Chap. XL. Popery and slavery; to enlarge upon the great ^7»4-i723- debts of the nation which had been increased since the war, upon the decay of public credit and many other evils, all which it was promised would be remedied by the new King. Influenced by these topics, the country which in the last two elections had returned a great majority of Tories, now re- turned as great a majority of Whigs. Meantime, an attempt had been made to over- King's Decla- awe the clergy and repress their political influence, ^^H°" which had been so powerful during the latter years interfering m of the reign of Queen Anne. The revival of the affairs of Trinitarian controversy gave an opportunity to the ^^'■^* Government to republish the King's " Directions to the Archbishops and Bishops," which had been issued by King William on the occasion of the Sherlock and South dispute,* and to insert into the body of the Directions an additional clause relating to political sermons : " Whereas unusual liberties have been taken by several of the said clergy in intermeddling with the afl^airs of State and Govern- ment, and the Constitution of the realm, which may be of very dangerous consequence if not timely prevented (we therefore direct) that none of the clergy, in their sermons or lectures, presume to in- termeddle in any afli^airs of State, or Government, * These Directions were repubHshed in 1 721, in a form somewhat different. In the later edition "all the great and fun- damental truths of our holy religion " are included, as well as the doctrine of the Trinity, and the Act 1 3 Eliz. is quoted, which makes it highly penal for an ecclesiastical person to teach contrary to the Thirty-nine Articles. VOL. III. T 274 ^/^£ HISTORY OF Chap. XL. or the Constitution of the realm, save only on such ^ 7 14-^723. spL'cial feasts and fasts as are or shall be appointed by public authority, and then no further than the occasion of such days shall strictly require." By the next Direction the clergy were also commanded to use the prayer prescribed by the 55th Canon whenever they preached, giving the King his full titles.* License to But that it might not be thought that the onvoca- Government had in view so dangerous and un- tion to trans- _ & act business, popular a plan as attempting altogether to stifle the voice of the clergy, upon the meeting of the Con- vocation of the Province of Canterbury (May 5, 17 1 5), the King's license to transact business was brought to them, and a list of subjects laid before them, on which they were at liberty to construct Canons. Several of these subjects were the same as had occupied the two former Convocations, but on which nothing decisive had as yet been arrived at. They were — i. Excommunication and commuta- tion of penance. 2. Terriers of glebes, tithes, &c. 3. Prevention of clandestine marriages. J The * Wilkins's Concilia ^ iv., 666. t The subjects which were now omitted were: — i. Rural deans. 2. Forms to be made for visitation of prisoners, and admitting converts. Upon the first subject, it would appear that the Upper and Lower House had come to a substantial agreement. — See Wilkins, iv., 641, sq. With regard to the second, a form had been drawn up which was in all probability approved of. — Wilkins, iv., 660. Upon the three other subjects which were recommended to their attention, divers reports of committees had been made, which will be found in Wilkins. In spite, therefore, of unfortunate interruptions and much unhappy party spirit, all the important matters laid before Convocation were in a fair way of being disposed of when the wretched Bangorian dispute began, which led to that grievous outrage upon the Church, the silencing of Convocation. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. i^ s remainder were new, viz. : — " 4. The preparing a Chap. XL. form for consecrating churches and chapels. 5. The ^7'4-'723- better settling the qualifications, titles, and testi- monials of persons who offer themselves for holy orders. 6. The making the 75th Canon relating to the sober conversation required In ministers more effectual. 7. The making the 47th Canon, which provides for curates where ministers are lawfully absent from their benefices, more effectual ; as, like- wise, the 48th Canon touching the licensing such curates. 8. Rules for the better instructing and preparing young persons for Confirmation required , by the 6ist Canon, and for the more orderly per- formance of that office."* In pursuance of the business thus placed before Form for them, the Convocation proceeded to draw up a form consecrating • r 1 1 1-1 churches. for the consecration of churches ; a matter which required their attention, as many of the fifty new churches, for the building of which the Parliament had made a grant In 17 1 1, were now completed. f On another of the points recommended in the The 75 th King's letter, namely, the better enforcing the ^^°"' 75th Canon with regard to the discipline of the clergy, the Lower House made a recommendation that the bishops should publish a declaration solemnly enjoining the avoidance of scandals, and calling upon all those In authority to enforce the * Wilkins, iv., 667. t Wilkins, iv., 668. This form is the one usually adopted at the present day. A form had been drawn up in 1712, but with- out authority. This was substantially the same as the one now laid before Convocation. — See Lathbury's Histon of Convocation, p. 444, and note. T 2 276 THE HISTORl'^ OF Address to the King. Chap. XL. existing laws. They also expressed their opinion '7i4-'723- ^]^^^ all correction of clergy ought to be in the hands of judges who were in holy orders.* On July 20, the Convocation voted an address thanking the King for his care in providing a maintenance for the clergy of the new churches. The Jacobite rebellion was then imminent, and the Convocation spoke with a more hearty loyalty than perhaps could have been expected, at least from the Lower House. " After all the Declarations your Majesty has been pleased to make in favour of our Established Church, and the real proofs you have given of concern for its interest, we hope that none will be found so unjust as to doubt of your affection to it ; and we most humbly assure your Majesty that we will take all opportunities to instil into those who are under our care the same grateful sense that we ourselves have of your Majesty's goodness."! No further business of importance appears to have been transacted during this Session, and before the next meeting of the Convocation, important changes had taken place which seemed likely greatly to facilitate the effective Synodical action of the Church. The good effects of the removal of the proud and ambitious spirit of Atterbury from the sphere of the Lower House had been eminently visible, and not long after he had reached the See of Rochester, his old opponent, Gilbert Burnet liad died. The strong antagonism which the Bishop of Salisbury had ever shown to the High Church * Wilkins, iv., 669. f UiJ., iv., 670. Changes in the Upper House. Death of Burnet. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 277 party, his eloquence, talents, and great Influence Chap. XL. over his brethren, and especially over the Primate, '7H-'723' were a powerful obstacle to anything like real and effective union between the Houses. FIIs character in many respects deserving admiration, combining great zeal and earnestness In the performance of his episcopal duties with strong prejudices and warm political partisanship, was yet not framed in the model of the Church of England. He was essentially and markedly a Latitudlnarlan, though perhaps not prepared to go to the full extent to which Hoadly advanced ; but he was as much superior to Hoadly as a bishop, as Hoadly was to him In the power of clear, logical, and able writing. In the same year that Burnet died, the aged Of Tenison. Primate, Archbishop Tenison, was also removed. Tenison was a man of no shining talents, but of great honesty, straightforwardness, and consistency. He was known among his Whig friends by the soubriquet of " the old rock,"* on account of his steadiness. He appears, however, to have been slack and dilatory in some of his proceedings, and to have been occasionally more of a partisan than a president during the prevalence of the bitter and exasperating disputes between the two Houses of Convocation. In the matter of the Prussian Church, spoken of above, he can with difficulty be cleared from blame ; but in another matter of equal, if not greater, importance with regard to the spread of the Church, the archbishop showed his sentiments in a way that all Churchmen must * See Hoadly s Works, i., 556, note. 278 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. 1714-1723. His legacy for establish- ing bishops in America. Archbishop Wake. commend. In his will, he bequeathed ^^ 1,000 to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel towards the endowment of two bishops in America, and commented upon the matter in these terms : " until such lawful appointment and consecrations are completed, I am very sensible (as many of my brethren of that society also are) that, as there has not hitherto been, notwithstanding much importunity and promises to the contrary, so there never will nor can be any regular Church discipline in those parts, or any Confirmations, or due ordi- nations, or any setting apart in ecclesiastical manner of any public places for the more decent worship of God; or any timely preventing or abating of factions and divisions which have been and are at present very rife, no ecclesiastically legal discipline or corrections of scandalous manners either in the clergy or laity ; or Synodical assemblies as may be a proper means to regulate ecclesiastical pro- ceedings." * Archbishop Tenison died December 24, 17 15, and before the end of the following month, the Government had supplied his place. Their choice fell upon a most able and excellent prelate, a dis- tinguished divine, a deeply read scholar, and a good speaker and administrator. In the reign of James II., William Wake had been favourably known for his writings against Popery, and at the Revolution he was rewarded for his zeal by a Canonry at Christ Church in Oxford. He next gave to the world an English version of the * Tenison s Life. Lathbury's History of Convoention, p. 450. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 279 Epistles of the Apostolical fathers, and when the Chap. XL. Convocation controversy began, he came forward '7H-'723- as the opponent of Shower and Atterbury. His labours in this cause have before been mentioned ; it is sufficient here to say that his last great work on The State of the Clergy in their Councils, Synods, ^c, had remained unanswered, and appears to be unanswerable. Having been promoted first to the Deanery of Exeter, then to the Bishopric of Lincoln, Dr. Wake took a leading position among the bishops, and in his speech on Sacheverell's trial, in the House of Lords, greatly distinguished himself. It was probably to the strong line which he took on that occasion, that the Bishop of Lin- coln owed his appointment to the Primacy, but if the Government expected to find in the new archbishop a Latitudinarian and a betrayer of the Church, they were grievously disappointed. Dr. Wake, as he was a man of far greater ability than his predecessor, was also a more distinct and decided Churchman. The clergy had no reason to fear in him a Primate who would be desirous to muzzle the expression of feeling in the Church, or who would set himself against Convocations. The event proved in fact that he was somewhat over-zealous in supporting civil penalties for non- conformity, and it was probably to his known determination to uphold, in the Upper House of Convocation, the censure which a Committee of the Lower House had drawn up against Hoadly that the silencing of Convocation was immediately due. 2ao THE HISTORY OF Hoadlv Chap. XL. To the consideration of this important epoch 1714-1723. ij^ Q^j. Church History we have now advanced, and Benjamin j^^ order to its introduction we resume the sketch of the career of the principal actor therein. When the House of Commgns, in 17 10, made the first move- ment in the matter of the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell, they also agreed to a resolution that Mr. Benjamin Hoadly, Rector of St. PeterVle- Poor, had deserved well of the State for his able advocacy of the doctrines on which the Revolution was founded, and the Queen was requested to bestow some promotion upon him. Such pro- motion, however, was not very likely to fall to the share of this uncompromising advocate of the extremest Whig principles, during the latter years of the reign of Queen Anne. The views of Hoadly were looked upon then as little short of deadly heresy, and especially the Queen herself would be the last person likely to encourage them. Meantime, Mr. Hoadly occupied himself in writing satirical attacks upon the Tories, in some of which his power of irony almost equals that of Dean Swift on the other side.* Merits such as these were not likely to be overlooked by the new Govern- ment, and, in 17 15, Mr. Hoadly was promoted to the See of Bangor. It was not long before an occasion was given ■ to him of serving his friends by his powerful pen. After the Jacobite rising of 17 15, a large mass of papers, written by Dr. Hickes, the Nonjuring * See especially his dedication to the Pope, written to be prefixed to Sir R. Steele's Account of the Romnn Catho/ic Religion. Hoadly's Prescrvntii\ THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 281 bishop, was seized, in which the Church of Eng- Chap. XL. land was freely accused of heresy, perjury, and •7'4-'723- schism.* These papers determined the Bishop of Bangor to write his famous treatise, A Preserva- tive against the Principles and Practices of the Nonjurors in Church and State. In this treatise, he disclaims entering into the particular points at issue between the Nonjurors and the Church, but boldly attacks the principles of the former, which he declares to be, i . That no princes, except in the direct hereditary line, can have any right to the throne. 2. That no deprivation of bishops by the lay power can be valid, and that those who acknowledge it are guilty of schism, f Against the first of these principles, he argues on the ground that all power proceeds from the people, that they have a right to set aside a prince who is incapable, and that this incapacity was consti- tuted in the case of James II., by his Popery. Against the second he takes the general ground of denying the value of the succession of bishops altogether, rejecting the notion of the necessity of being in communion with any particular Church, and boldly proclaiming sincerity as the only neces- sary requirement of a Christian profession. J This daring enunciation of the extremest Lati- His sermon tudinarianism having been received with much °|^^^^^^K^"S- applause by many of those who were especially Christ. desirous, at that time, to humble the clergy, the bishop was encouraged to proceed to still more * See HoadWs Works, ii., 381. t ^^^V/., i., 581. :j: Ibid., i., 592, 593, 595. 282 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. definite and startling doctrine. In a sermon 1714-1723- preached before the King, March 31, 1717, on the text, " My kingdom is not of this world," he openly impugned the existence of a visible Church, denied to any society on earth the power of interpreting, ordering, governing, censuring in matters of religion, repudiated all tests of ortho- doxy, refused to admit the right of any inter- ference in matters of faith, and, in fact, argued as distinctly and strongly as it could be done against Articles XVIII. and XIX. of the Church. As he had already struck at the principles of the Non- jurors, so now he would strike at the principles of the High Churchmen, and so effectually did he strike, that not only were their principles attacked, but all principles of Churchmanship whatever. So daring a sermon has probably never before or since been preached by a bishop of the English Church ; a sermon which was opposed not only to definite articles, but the whole status and the very existence of the Church ; which was in even ludicrous contrast with the preacher's own position as a bishop, a spiritual ruler and administrator of discipline, and in open contradiction of his vows, taken so shortly before at his consecration. The ■ Government, it is said, had given a hint of the subject to be treated of, as they were desirous of proposing the repeal of the several Bills which enacted civil penalties in support of the Church, but they could scarcely have contemplated a bishop preaching a sermon which should not only impugn Schism and Test Acts, but Articles and Creeds THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 283 as well. The King had doubtless been familiar Chap. XL. with Latitudinarian views, but it must have been »7H-'723- new even to him to hear all religious confessions thrown over, all authority in spiritual things, including his own supremacy, derided, all distinc- tions between professing Christians abolished. It can scarcely indeed be doubted, both from the internal evidence of the sermon and from what the bishop afterwards wrote in its defence, that the preacher, relying on his own singular powers of argument, and anxious to distinguish himself in the field of dialectics, made much stronger statements in the sermon than his own deliberate convictions justified.* He was like the knight of old, riding into the lists with defiance and bravado to challenge all comers to the battle. Nor indeed was it long before the challenge was The Ban- accepted. In the disturbed state in which politics §°"^" ^^^' then were, when as yet the Pretender, though defeated, was still menacing, when Whigs and Tories were fiercely embittered against one another, and High and Low Churchmen were opposed by much more than theological antipathies, a contro- versy of some sort was almost a necessity, and the Bishop of Bangor's views were a subject eminently suited for a controversy. He had assailed high * There is somewhat of tiaivete and pristine innocence in Mr. Hallam's remark that Hoadly's sermon must needs have been orthodox, or he would have been liable to the charge of inconsistency in enjoying such a large amount of the Church's honour and rewards. It is certainly not evident upon the face of it that this charge of inconsistency, &c., did not rightly attach to him.— Hallam's Constitutional History, ii., 394, note. 284 'I'HE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. notions in State, as well as in Church, had contra- I7H-1723- dieted the divine right of kings as openly as he had the divine commission of bishops; denied the power of the State to legislate, as well as that of the Character of Church to excommunicate. The controversy there- thc contro- fore o-ave scope for the advocacy of all the topics ^^''^^* of the faith of a political High Churchman. All those things which he considered worth contending for either in religion or politics were in danger. The logical result of Hoadly's views would be republicanism in the State, and an elected chief magistrate, the overthrow of the establishment of the Church, and a complete anarchy of sects. Thus it was that men rushed in crowds to take part in that which soon came to be called the Bangorian controversy. Thus it was that so many wrote,* and that they wrote so fiercely. Thus it was that so much of personality was introduced into the strife, for men could not compose in the calm spirit of fair discussion, when all that they held sacred seemed to be at stake ; when the goodly edifice of * Tindal says that about seventy pamphlets were written. The number probably amounts to several hundreds. "The pamphlets arc so numerous," says Mr. Lathbury, " that tew persons have even seen them " {History ofConvocatlony p. 46 1), and (accord- ing to Mr. Hallam) so obscure, that they would not be much wiser if they had. " After turning over forty or fifty tracts, and * consuming a good many hours on the Bangorian controversy, I should find some difficulty in stating with precision the proposi- tions in dispute." — Hallam*s Constitutional Historyy ii., 394» note. In Mr. Heme's account of the controversy, printed in Hoadlys Works, the catalogue of the pamphlets written occupies eighteen folio pages. The list of the writers' names gives fifty-three, most of whom wrote several pamphlets ; and this does not take into account the vast mass of anonymous pamphlets. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 285 the Church seemed to be in danger of being under- Chap. XL. mined by those set to defend it; when a king ^7H-»723- without a creed, a ministry without principle, and bishops promoted in proportion as they showed their abihty to destroy, constituted a terrible menace for the Faith. In spite, however, of all that can be said to extenuate it, the rancour and personality of the Bangorian controversy cannot be excused. But the scandal which justly attaches to heated Growth of and violent personalities was not the greatest mis- Latitudina- ^ ^_, . . f. nanism. chief of this famous controversy. The writings or Hoadly gave a system to Latitudinarianism, and established it in a position of favour. Henceforth these opinions were marked out for honour, and the professors of them for promotion. Hence- forth statesmen smiled upon those divines who having accepted Creeds and Articles themselves, nevertheless declared that it was a matter of entire in- difference whether they were accepted or not. The natural effect was the increase of the advocates of these opinions, and the withdrawal into the back- ground, or the total silence of those who held con- trary views. It having become the fashionable creed that differences of opinion were of no im- portance, Arians and Unitarians could no longer be consistently interfered with. Why even, it was asked, should they not have a share in the ministry of the Church ? To enable them to do this, men began to defend the possibility of an honest Arian subscribing the Articles of the Church of England. The notion became popular, and was eagerly sup- 286 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. ported. It was said that the subscription of an 1714-1723. ^j-ian to Trinitarian articles was quite as fair as the subscription of an Arminian to Calvinistic articles.* For those whose consciences were not satisfied with the transparent dishonesty of a non- natural interpretation, other devices were invented. It was thought by some a sufficient excuse for retaining positions which had been reached by sub- scription if they condemned and ridiculed the for- mularies which had been subscribed, and openly advocated the abolition of tests. Latitudinarianism in all its forms owed its audacity and the promi- nence which it soon reached, to the publications of Hoadly. Dr. Snape's The first divine who took up his pen in defence of the Church against the Bishop of Bangors ser- mon, was Dr. Andrew Snape, Provost of Eton and Chaplain to the King. In a letter addressed to Hoadly, he declares that he cannot " sit as a spectator while principles are advanced which tend to a dissolution of the whole form and constitution of the Church." At His ascension Christ had not left the Church without power of government, but had provided for this by giving to some a commis- sion to " teach and expound His laws, to bear rule over His subjects, to be His vice-gerents, to act in His name and stead, and to perpetuate a succession of men through all ages of the world in whom the same powers should be lodged. If no such care had been taken to keep His subjects in order, the * Van Mildcrt's Life of Waterland. Watcrland's Works (Oxf., >843), i., 59. Disney's Life of Sykcs. Whiston's Life of Clarke. answer. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 287 Church of Christ would have been a Babel." Chap. XL. Christ, our King and Lawgiver, does not act by *7H-i723- direct interposition, nor govern by irresistible grace, but He acts through His ministers, " who are the judges and guides of His people by virtue of an authority He has delegated to them."* To this Hoadly immediately replied in a short Hoadly's letter, in which he denies that even the Apostles ^^P^^* had absolute authority in the Church, much less their successors ; and asserts that no Christians are indispensably and absolutely obliged to obey the decisions of any men. " And can there," he asks, " be an absolute authority in those who make those rules whilst there can lie no absolute obligation to submit to them upon those for whom they are made T'-\ Dr. Snape quickly published a rejoinder, in which Snape's . • second letter he observes (what, indeed, is sufficiently obvious to any reader) that the bishop had made an unfair use of the terms absolutely and indispensably in excusing himself from the obvious consequences of his doc- trine. " Let me beseech your lordship to consider whether this shifting way of writing, this art of being misunderstood, with one meaning for your reader to run away with and another to bring your- self off, is agreeable to the qualifications required in a minister of Jesus Christ."^ It was in this letter that he made the charge which led to so much re- crimination and contradiction afterwards, that the * Dr. Snape's Letter to the Bishop of Bangor (6th cd.), p. 20. t Hoadly's Works, ii., 410-28. X Dr. Snape's Second Letter, p. 38. 288 THE HISTORIC OF Chap. XL. 1714-1723 M. Dc la Pillonierc. The Repre- sentation of the Lower House of Convocation, bishop had inserted in his sermon these very words absolutely and indispensably of which he now made so much use in his argument, at the recommenda- tion of another divine. The letter also contains the following passage : — " Before you are so free in casting reproaches on others as Popishly affected, you would do well to put away the Jesuit whom you entertain in your family — your intimate com- panion and confidant."* This passage immediately produced a pamphlet written by M. De la Pilloniere, who had been a French Jesuit, but had been converted to Protes- tantism, and now resided with Hoadly, as tutor in his family. He gives a full account of his conver- sion and history, and shows clearly enough that no reproach of favouring Popery could attach to the Bishop of Bangor on this score. In the meantime, however, a more deliberate and weighty attack had been made upon the bishop's principles. Convocation was sitting, and the power of Con- vocation to censure an heretical publication was undoubted. Without loss of time the subject was broached in the Lower House ; a Committee was appointed, and in a week's time a Report was presented by them.f The following is the paper to which they agreed : — * Dr. Snapc's Second Letter, p. 66. f The Committee consisted of Sherlock, Mosse, Cannon, Davics, Friend, Bisse, Dawson, Spratt, and Barrcll. They entered on their task May 3, and on the 10th the Report was submitted to the House. Before, however, the Lower House had considered the Representation, Convocation was prorogued. There can THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 289 A Representation of the Lower House of Con- Chap. XL. VOCATION ABOUT THE BiSHOP OF BaNGOR's " SeR- •7H-'723- MON OF THE KiNGDOM OF ChRIST." May 3, lyi/- To his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and to the Lords the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury in Convocation assembled. Humbly Shou^eth, That with much grief of heart we have observed, what in all dutiful manner we now represent to your grace and lordships, that the right reverend the Lord Bishop of Bangor hath given great and grievous offence by cer- tain doctrines and positions by him lately published, partly in a sermon entituled " The Nature of the Kingdom or Church of Christ," and partly in a book entituled "A Pre- servative against the Principles and Practices of the Non- jurors both in Church and State." The tendency of the doctrines and positions contained in the said sermon and book is conceived to be L First, to subvert all government and discipline in the Church of Christ, and to reduce His kingdom to a state of anarchy and confusion. n. Secondly, to impugn and impeach the regal supre- macy in causes ecclesiastical, and the authority of the legislature to enforce obedience in matters of religion by civil sanctions. The passages in the sermon and book aforesaid, which are conceived to carry the evil tendency expressed under the first article, are principally these that follow : L (Sermon.) At page ii, octavo edition, his lordship scarcely be a doubt that the Lower House would have adopted this paper, and there is great reason to believe the Upper House would have done the same. Hence the eagerness of Government to prorogue the Convocation. The Report published stated in the title-page that it had been adopted by the Lower House, fiem. con. This was objected to by Hoadly, and appears not to have been the case. There was also a report raised that Hoadly had applied to the Government to interfere, but this he strongly denied. — See Lathbury's History of Convocation ^ pp. 453-6. Hoadly' s Works, ii,, 448. VOL. III. U 290 THE HISrORl^ OF Chap. XL. affirms— "As the Church of Christ is the kingdom of 1 7 14- 1 723. Christ, he himself is King; and in this it is implied, that he is himself the sole lawgiver to his subjects, and him- self the sole judge of their behaviour in the affairs of conscience and eternal salvation. And in this sense therefore his kingdom is not of this world ; that he hath in those points left behind him no visible human autho- rity ; no vicegerents, who can be said properly to supply his place ; no interpreters, upon whom his subjects are absolutely to depend ; no judges over the consciences or religion of his people." This passage seems to deny all authority to the Church, and under pretence of exalting the kingdom of Christ, to leave it without any visible human authority to judge, censure or punish offenders in the affairs of conscience and eternal salvation, which will be confirmed by the passage next to be produced, pages 15, 16. II. " If therefore the Church of Christ be the kingdom of Christ, it is essential to it that Christ himself be the sole lawgiver and sole judge of his subjects in all points relating to the favour or displeasure of Almighty God ; and that all his subjects, in what station soever they may be, are equally subjects to him; and that no one of them, any more than another, hath authority either to make n&w laws for Christ's subjects, or to impose a sense upon the old ones, which is the same thing ; or to judge, censure or punish the servants of another master in matters re- lating purely to conscience or salvation. If any person h^ith any other notion either through a long use of words with inconsistent meaning-s, or throuQ-h a neo-lio-ence of thought ; let him but ask himself, whether the Church of Christ be the kingdom of Christ, or not ? and if it be, whether this notion of it doth not absolutely exclude all other legislators and judges in matters relating to con- science or the favour of God ? or whether it can be his kingdom, if any mortal man have such a power of legis- lation and judgment in it ?" To the same sense he speaks, page 25 — " No one of his subjects is lawgiver and judge over others of them in matters relating to salvation, but he alone." If the doctrine contained in these passages be admitted, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 291 there neither is nor hath been since our Saviour's time any Chap XL. authority in theChristianChurch in matters relating to con- 1714-1723. science and salvation, not even in the apostles themselves, but all acts of government in such cases have been an inva- sion of Christ's authority and an usurpation upon his kingdom. To w^hich effect his lordship further expresseth himself, page 14 — " When they (/. e. any men on earth) make any of their ow^n declarations or decisions to concern and affect the state of Christ's subjects with regard to the favour of God j this is so far the taking of Christ's kingdom out of his hands, and placing it in their own. Nor is this matter at all made better by their declaring themselves to be vicegerents or lav^^makers or judges under Christ, in order to carry on the ends of his kingdom." Which words are not restrained to such decisions as are inconsistent with the doctrines of the gospel, as appears not only from the general manner in which he hath expressed himself, but from his direct words, page 15 — " And whether they happen to agree with him, or to differ from him, as long as they are the lawgivers and judges, without any interposition from Christ either to guide or correct their decisions, they are kings of this kingdom, and not Christ Jesus." Whether these passages exclude the sacred writers as well as other from making decisions, and interpreting the laws of Christ, your lordships will judge by a passage, page 12. — "Nay, whoever hath an absolute authority to interpret any written or spoken laws, it is he, who is truly the lawgiver to all intents and purposes, and not the person who first wrote or spoke them." When a distinc- tion is made between the interpreters of the written and spoken law, the sacred writers only can be meant by the latter. Others have had the written law, they only of all interpreters heard it spoke by Christ ; and his lord- ship has left us only this choice, either to deny their authority to interpret the laws of Christ, or to charge them with setting up for themselves in opposition to their master. III. These doctrines naturally tend to breed in the minds of the people a disregard to those who are appointed u 2 292 ruE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. to rule over them. Whether his lordship had this view, 1714-1723. the follou^ing passages w^ill declare, page 25 — "The Church of Christ is the number of persons w\\o are sin- cerely and w^illingly subjects to him as law^giver and judge in all matters truly relating to conscience or eternal salva- tion. And the more close and immediate this regard to him is, the more certainly and the more evidently true it is they are of his kingdom." And page 31 — "If Christ be our King, let us show ourselves subject to him alone in the great affair of conscience and eternal salvation, and without fear of man's judgment live and act, as becomes those, who wait for the appearance of an all-knowing and impartial judge, even that King whose kingdom is not of this world." IV. To these doctrines his lordship's descriptions of the Church doth well agree. He asserts, page 17, " That it is the number of men, whether small or great, whether dispersed or united, who truly and sincerely are subjects to Jesus Christ alone, as their lawgiver and judge in matters relating to the favour of God and their eternal salvation ;" and page 24, " The grossest mistakes in judgment about the nature of Christ's kingdom or Church have arisen from hence, that men have argued from other visible societies, and other visible kingdoms of this world, to what ouo;ht to be visible and sensible in His kingdom ;" and page 25, " We must not frame our ideas from the kingdoms of this world, of what ought to be in a visible and sensible manner in His kingdom." V. Against such arguings from visible societies and earthly kingdoms, his lordship says our Saviour has posi- tively warned us (page 25); and yet the Scripture represen- tations of the Church do plainly express its resemblance to other societies in many respects, and we presume his lordship could not be ignorant of Article XIX. of our Church, entituled, " Of the Church," viz. : " The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacra- ments be duly administered according to Christ's ordi- nance in all things, that of necessity are requisite to the same." Though in disparagement of this article by himself solemnly and often acknpwledged, he asserts, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 293 page 10, " That the notion of the Church hath been so Chap. XL. diversified by the various alterations it hath undergone, 1714-1723. that it is ahiiost impossible so much as to number up the many inconsistent images that have come by daily addi- tions to be united together in it." We v^ish that in his lordship's account no images necessary to form a just and true notion of the Church had been left out. He omits even to mention the preaching the Word, or adminis- tering the sacraments, one of w^hich, in the v/ords of Article XXVII. of our Church, is a sign of regeneration or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly, are grafted into the Church. We could wish also, that his lordship whilst he was writing on the subject of the power of the Church, had remem- bered his solemn profession made at his consecration, in which he promised, by the help of God, to correct and punish according to such authority, as he hath by God's Word, and as should be committed to him by the ordi- nance of this realm, such as be unquiet, disobedient and criminous in his diocese. Your grace and your lordships have seen the tendency of the doctrine in the sermon, to throw all ecclesiastical authority out of the Church. We now proceed to show that the doctrines before delivered in the " Preservative," etc., have the same tendency. VI. Where, not to trouble your lordships with the contempt thrown on the regular succession of the ministry, and of your own order in particular, for which his lord- ship has found no better words than trifles, niceties, dreams, inventions of men, etc., we observe that as in the sermon all rulers and judges in the visible Church are laid aside, so in the book all Church communion is ren- dered unnecessary, in order to entitle men to the favour of God ; and every man is referred in these cases to his private judgment, as that which will justify even the worst choice he can make. Which strange opinion his lordship grounds on what he calls a demonstration in the strictest sense of the word, in a paragraph, page 89, 90, which is indeed nothing but the common and known case of an erroneous conscience, which was never till now allowed wholly to justify men in their errors, or in throw- ing ofi-' all the authority of lawful governors. For this is 294 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. putting all communions on an equal foot, without regard 1 7 14-1723. to any intrinsic goodness, or whether they be right or wrong, and making every man, how illiterate and ignorant soever, his own sole judge and director on earth, in the affair of religion. The use his lordship intends from this doctrine, is expressed in page 90. " Every one may find it in his own conduct to be true, that his title to God's favour cannot depend upon his actual being or continuing in any particular method, but upon his real sincerity in the conduct of his conscience and of his own actions under it." And in page 91, is laid down this general proposition : " The favour of God follows sincerity, considered as such, and consequently equally follows every equal degree of sincerity." If sincerity as such (/.f., mere sincerity), exclusive from the truth or false- hood of the doctrine or opinion be alone sufficient for salvation, or to entitle a man to the favour of God, if no one method of religion be in itself preferable to another, the conclusion must be, that all methods are alike in respect to salvation or the favour of God. VII. His lordship himself, in a point of the tenderest concern, has applied this principle to the whole Reforma- tion, and in virtue of it has left no difference between the Popish and our Reformed Church, but what is founded in personal persuasion only, and not in the truth of the doctrines, or in the excellency of one communion above the other. The place we refer to is at page 85, "What is it that justified the Protestants in setting up their own bishops ? Was it that the Popish doctrines and worship were actually corrupt ; or that the Protestants were persuaded in their own conscience that they were so ? the latter, without doubt, as appears from this demonstration. Take away from them this persuasion ; they are so far from being justified, that they are con- demned for their departure. Give them this persuasion again, they are condemned if they do not separate. Or, in another manner ; suppose a Papist, not persuaded of that corruption, to separate, he is, for the want of that persuasion alone, condemned : suppose a Protestant, or one thoroughly persuaded of that corruption, to separate j and he is justified in so doing ^ or not to separate, and he THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 295 is condemned." From this pretended demonstration his Chap. XL. lordship concludes: " If this were duly and impartially 1714-1723. considered, it would be impossible for men to unchristian, unchurch, or declare out of God's favour any of their fellow creatures upon any lesser, or indeed any other consideration, than that of a wicked dishonesty and insin- cerity, of which in these cases God alone is judge." If it be true that there is but one consideration, viz., that of wicked dishonesty and insincerity, which will justify unchristianing, unchurching, or declaring out of God's favour, and of that one consideration God alone is judge; there is evidently an end of all Church autho- rity to oblige any to external communion, and of all power that one man, in what station soever, can have over another in matters of religion ; and this will show what his lordship's true meaning is under the many colours and disguises he makes use of when he speaks of excommunication ; and that he does not write more against the abuse than the use of it. . VIII. Your lordships will judge from hence what views he has in pronouncing, at page loi, " Human benedictions, human absolutions, human denunciations, human excommunications have nothing to do with the favour or anger of God," and in teaching them as human engines, permitted to work for a time (like other evils) by providence, page 10 1 ; as mere outcries of human terror, page 99 ; as the terrors of men and vain words, page 98. How his lordship can consistently, with these opinions, make good his solemn promise, made at his consecration, to be ready with all faithful diligence to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's word, and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to do the same ; and how he can exercise the high office entrusted to him in the Church, or convey holy orders to others, are difficulties which himself only can resolve, and we humbly hope your grace and your lordships will think it proper to call for the explication. In maintenance of the second article, we offer your lordships the following particulars : — i7H-'723- 296 THE HISTORT OF Ch XI ^^' '^^^N whereas his Majesty is, and by the Statutes of this reahn is declared to be supreme head of the Church ; and it is by the Statute i Ehzabeth, c. i, enacted that such jurisdictions, privileges, superiorities, and pre-eminences, spiritual and ecclesiastical, as by any spiritual and ecclesiastical power or authority hath here- tofore been, or may lawfully be exercised or used for the visitations of the ecclesiastical state and persons, and for reformation, order, and correction of the same, and of all manner of errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities, shall for ever, by authority of this present Parliament, be united and annexed to the Imperial Crown of this realm, in con- sequence of which, the kings and queens of this realm have frequently issued forth their proclamations. Injunc- tions, and directions in matters of religion ; and par- ticular his Majesty, that now is, did issue his directions for preserving of unity in the Church, and the purity of the Christian faith concerning the Holy Trinity, bearing date December 11, mdccxiv., Georgii prima; yet his lordship, in contradiction to this, affirms page 14 (sermon) — " If any man upon earth have a right to add to the sanctions of His (/.^., Christ's) laws, that is, to increase the number or alter the nature of the rewards and punishments of his subjects in matters of conscience or salvation ; they are so far kings in His stead, and reign in their own kingdoms and not in His:" and to the same purpose, page 18, " The sanctions of Christ's law are rewards and punishments — but of what sort ? not the rewards of this world ; not the offices or glories of this State ; not the pains of prisons, banishments, fines, or any lesser or more moderate penalties ; nay, not the much lesser negative discouragements, that belong to human society. He was far from thinking that these could be the instruments of such a persuasion, as he thought acceptable to God.'* And whereas the Scripture and our own Liturgy from thence has taught us to pray for kings, and all that are put in authority under them, that they may minister justice to the punishment of wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of true religion and virtue ; THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 297 his lordship asserts, page 2o (sermon), " As soon as ever Chap. XL. you hear of any of the engines of this world, whether 17 14-1723. of the greater or lesser sort, you must immediately think, that then, and so far the kingdom of this world takes place. P'or if the very essence of God's worship be spirit and truth, if religion be virtue and charity under the belief of a supreme governor and judge, if true real faith cannot be the effect of force, and if there can be no reward, where there is no willing choice, then in all or any of these cases to apply force or flattery, worldly pleasure, or pain, is to act contrary to the interest of true religion, as it is plainly opposite to the maxims upon which Christ founded His kingdom, who chose the motives, which are not of this world, to support a kingdom which is not of this world." X. The two first cases here mentioned relate to what is essential in the worship of God and religion ; yet he declares, that to encourage religion by temporal rewards, is to act contrary to the interest of true religion, as it is opposite to the maxims on which Christ founded His kingdom. This is to set the worship of God and the neglect of it, religion and irreligion, on an equal foot in the world, as if, because they shall hereafter be dis- tinguished by rewards and punishments by the Great Judge, therefore the magistrate was excluded from inter- posing with rewards and punishments to distinguish them here, and tied up from expressing any concern for his honour, by whom and under whom he beareth rule. This his lordship further supports, page 22 : " And, therefore, when you see our Lord in His methods so far removed from those of many of His disciples ; when you read nothing in His doctrine about His own king- dom, of taking in the concerns of this world, and mixing them with those of eternity ; no commands that the frowns and discouragements of this present State should in any case attend upon conscience and religion ; no call- ing upon the secular arm whenever the magistrate should become Christian, to enforce His doctrines, or to back His spiritual authority ; but, on the contrary, as plain a declaration as a few words can make ; that His king- dom is not of this world — I say, when you see this 298 THE HIST0R2^ OF Chap. XL. f^orn the whole tenor of the Gospel, so vastly opposite 17 14-1723. to many who take His name into their mouths, the question with you ought to be whether He did not know the nature of His own kingdom or Church better than any since His time ? Whether you can suppose He left any such matters to be decided against Himself and His own express professions?" Where your lordships will observe that all laws for the encouragement of religion, or discouragement of irreligion, are reckoned to be deci- sions against Christ. XI. The passages produced under this head, are as destructive of the legislative power as of the regal supremacy ; but the Acts for Uniformity of Public Prayer, and the Articles for establishing of consent touching true religion, which, in the last of the said Acts, are enjoined to be subscribed by the several de2;rees of persons ecclesiastical, being the main fence and security of the Established Church of England, they seem to be singled out by his lordship to be rendered odious. The passage we refer to is to be found, pages 27, 28, 29 (sermon). " There are some professed Christians who contend openly for such an authority, as indispensably obliges all around them to unity of profession, that is, to profess ever what they do not, what they cannot believe to be true. This sounds so grossly, that others, who think they act a glorious part in opposing such an enormity, are very willing, for their own sakes, to retain such an authority, as shall oblige men, whatever they themselves think, though not to profess what they do not believe, yet to forbear the profession and publication of what they do believe, let them believe it of never so great import- ance. Both these pretensions are founded upon the mistaken notion of the peace, as well as authority of the kingdom, that is, the Church of Christ. Which of them is the most insupportable to an honest and a Christian mind, I am not able to say, because they both equally found the authority of the Church of Christ upon the ruins of sincerity and common honesty, and mistake stupidity and sleep for peace, because they would both equally have prevented all reformation, where fHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 299 it hath been, and will for ever prevent it where it is Chap. XL. not already; and, in a word, because both equally divest 1714-1723. Jesus Christ of His empire in His own kingdom, set the obedience of His subjects loose from Himself, and teach them to prostitute their consciences at the feet of others, who have no right in such a manner to trample upon them." If your lordships consider by what authority the Acts of Uniformity were enacted, by whom the articles were made, and by whom ratified and confirmed, you will discern who they are that are said to divest Jesus Christ of His empire in His own kingdom, and stand charged by his lordship in the indecent language of trampling upon the consciences of others. Xn. Your lordships have now seen under the first head, that the Church hath no governors, no censures, no authority over the conduct of men in matters of con- science and religion ; you have seen under the second head, that the temporal powers are excluded from any right to encourage true religion, or to discourage the contrary. But to do justice to his lordship's scheme, and to set it before you in its full light, we must observe, that he further asserts, that Christ Himself (the only power not yet excluded) never doth interpose in the direction of His kingdom here. After observing, page 13 (sermon), that temporal lawgivers do often interpose to interpret their own laws, he adds : " But it is otherwise in religion, or the kingdom of Christ. He Himself never interposeth, since His first promulgation of His law, either to convey infallibility to such, as pretend to handle it over again, or to assert the true interpretation of it amidst the various and contradictory opinions of men about it." To the same purpose he speaks at page 15, in a passage before recited. Since then there are in the Church no governors left in the State, none who may intermeddle in the affairs of religion, and since Jesus Christ Himself never doth inter- pose, we leave it to your grace and your lordships to judge whether the Church and kingdom of Christ be not reduced to a state of mere anarchy and confusion in 300 rHE HISTORT OF Chap. XL. which every man is left to do what is right in his own 1714-1723. eyes. XIII. We beg leave to close these observations in the words of Article XXXIV. of the Church : " Whoso- ever through his private judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break (much more teach and encourage others to break) the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved of by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly (that others may fear to do the like) as one that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren." Having thus laid before your grace and your lordships the several passages upon which this our humble repre- sentation is grounded, together with our observations upon them, we must profess ourselves to be equally surprised and concerned, that doctrines of so evil tendency should be advanced by a bishop of this established Church, and that too in a manner so very remarkable, that the supre- macy of the King should be openly impeached in a sermon delivered in the royal audience, and that the constitution of the Church should be dangerously undermined in a book professedly written against the principles and practice of some who have departed from it. But so it hath happened : this right reverend bishop in his extreme opposition to certain unwarrantable pretensions to extravagant degrees of Church power seems to have been so far transported beyond his temper and his argu- ment as not only to condemn the abuse, but even to deny the use and to destroy the being of those powers, without which the Church, as a society, cannot subsist, and by which other national constitutions, next under Christ, are chiefly supported. Under these apprehen- sions, we could not but hold ourselves obliged to repre- sent our own sense with that of our brethren the clergy to your lordships, and to submit the whole to your much weightier judgment, which we do as with the most unfeigned sorrow for this unhappy occasion, and all becoming deference to our superiors, so with the most sincere and disinterested zeal, and with Jio other view THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. joi In the world but to give a check to the propagation of ciiap. XL. these erroneous opinions, so destructive of all govern- 17 14-1723. ment and discipline in the Church, and so derogatory to the royal supremacy and legislative authority as, wc pesuine, may have been sufficiently evinced,* he. To most impartial judges this paper will appear a fair and just representation of the sentiments of the Preservative and the Sermon. It might indeed have been made stronger, for it will be observed that there are no charges against the bishop for impugning the XVIIIth and XXth Articles of the Church, but only the XlXth, whereas the others are certainly as directly opposed as the one specified. Previously to the publication of this Report, Dr. Sher- Dr. Sherlock, one of the Committee, had been lock charged accused by Mr. Sykes (the defender of Arian sistency. subscription to the Articles, and now the chief supporter of the Bishop of Bangor) with having himself put forth doctrine similar to that which he was now busy in censuring, in a sermon preached by him some years previously. To this charge he had replied at once, and in his pamphlet had endea- voured to anticipate the Bishop of Bangor's Reply to the Representation of Convocation, and to argue against him beforehand. The bishop's reply was not long in appearing. Hoadly's It fills 130 folio pages, and is directed partly ^^/6' ''^ ^'^^ against Dr. Sherlock, but principally against the f//„['^'" ''' representation of the Lower House of Convoca- tion. Any production of Hoadly's would naturally bear the marks of talent, and of that acute power * Wilkins's Concilia^ iv., 672-676. 302 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. of disputation which he possessed in so high a 1714-1723. (degree. This treatise, however, can scarcely be deemed worthy of any great amount of praise. It is perhaps ingenious, but it is eminently fallacious. It is marked by a constant endeavour to evade the real points in dispute, to recede under the shelter of verbal pretexts from the plain and obvious sense of what he had written, and instead of boldly stand- ing by his positions to retreat from them without being discovered by means of rhetorical artifices and skilfully concealed sophistries. It is obvious that the bishop had a great advantage in arguing against a short and formal statement, such as that drawn up by the Committee of Convocation, and by his immediate reply he gained another advantage of no small moment. The controversy must now turn not upon his sermon, but upon his Reply, and in the Reply he had greatly modified, explained away, and qualified the original statements in the sermon. Hence a much more difficult task was now given to his antagonists. The defence A host of these was ready to take the field ° ^P^^" against him. Sherlock, Cannon, Dawson, Mosse, members of the Committee which had drawn up the Representation, hastened to justify it against Dean Sher- the Reply. Of these, Sherlock was the writer of °^ • most learning and greatest skill, and, from his re- putation and powers, he was evidently the opponent who was most dreaded by Hoadly.* * Dr. Thomas Sherlock, Dean of Chichester, was son of the Dr. William Sherlock, Dean of St. Paul's, who has been men- tioned above. The following was the part which he took in this controversy : — Early in 17 17, he published Remarks on the Bishop THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 303 But there was another writer against the bishop chap. XL. whose powers, as a dialectician, were equal if not i7H-'72 3- superior to those of Sherlock. This was William William Law, a Nonjuror, best known now as the author of ^^^• a devotional work called The Serious Call^ and one of the most acute controversialists of his day. He had early engaged in the strife, but the bishop had not condescended or had not found time to answer his letters, and it was not for some little His 7?^//y to interval after the publication of the Re-piy that his ^o^^ly- treatise in answer to it came forth. When it did appear it caused a considerable sensation. It is, indeed, not too much to say of it, that it was a complete destruction of Hoadly's treatise, that it exposes his fallacies with a singular acuteness and power. Hoadly had described the Church as " the number of men whether small or great, whether dispersed or united, who truly and sincerely are of Bangor's Treatment of the Clergy and Convocation, which soon called forth from the pen of Mr. Arthur Ashley Sykes A Letter to Dr. Sherlock, comparing the dangerous positions and doctrines contained in the Doctor s sermon, preached November 5, 1 7 1 2, with those charged on the Bishop in the late Report of the Committee, in which it was attempted to be shown that Sherlock had spoken against the authority of the magistrate in matters of religion as strongly as Hoadly. To this pamphlet the Dean replied, in an Anwer to a Letter sent to Dr. Sherlock relating to his Sermon, l^c. This was answered by a Second Letter to Dr. Sherlock, by Sykes, with a postscript by Hoadly. Sherlock answered the postscript, and soon afterwards published his chief and most able work in this controversy, viz.. The Vindication of the Corporation and Test Acts, a work which has enjoyed the highest reputation even down to modern times. — See Hughes's Life of Sherlock, p. 39. ^arterly Review, iv., 309. In the conclusion of this treatise, the dean had given an account of the bishop's sentiments on the Condition and Exa?nple of our Lord, which Hoadly did not con- sider fair, and upon this point the controversy now turned, several pamphlets being written by both disputants on the subject. 304 "THE HIST0R2^ OF Chap. XL. subjects to Christ alone in matters of religion." 1714-1723. This definition had been objected to by the Com- mittee of Convocation, and defended by the bishop on the ground that it was not intended to apply to a particular Church, but to the invisible Church. On this Mr. Law joins issue with him, and shows that the Church is never so described in Scripture, but is represented by the similes of the net con- taining good and bad fish, the field having tares as well as wheat, the feast having in it good and bad guests. " The profession of Christianity," says he, " or Church-membership is as external and visible a thing as the Sacraments are external visible institutions. So that it is as contrary to Scripture and as mere an human invention to make pretence of an universal invisible Church, when the dispute is concerning Christ's Church on earth, as it is to have recourse to invisible sacraments if the question was concerning Christ's sacraments." * " Outward ordinances and visible professions are as necessary to make men true Christians as outward acts of love and external purity are necessary to make men charitable or chaste. For Christianity as truly inspires external acts and professions as charity implies outward purity." " The Church of Christ is as truly a visible, external society as any civil or secular society in the world. And it is no more distinguished from such societies by the invisibility than by the youth or age of its members. "J Again, on the point of Church- authority, " You say that because Christ is * Ld\v*sRfp/y,p. 15. t ^^^'^'y P- 32. + ^^^''^-y P- 38- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 305 King, he is sole lawgiver. Now it Is Impos- chap. XL. sible it should be Implied In this unless the word '7 '4-' 723- King always implies the same power. For if there be any difference in the constitutions of kingdoms, though they all have kings, then it is plain nothing certain as to the nature and condition of any kingdom can be drawn from its having a king. Why will your lordship fall into so gross an error as to assert that Christ must be sole lawgiver to His subjects because there are some temporal kings who are sole lawgivers to their subjects?"* "All which you have advanced against the universally-received doctrines of Chris- tianity Is only an harangue upon this single text which everyone's common sense will tell him con- tains nothing in it that can possibly determine the cause which you are engaged in. For who can Imagine that it is as well to be a sincere Turk as a sincere Christian, or that a sincere Quaker Is as much in the favour of God as a sincere Churchman, because our blessed Lord told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, and that in such a manner and upon such an occasion as only to Imply that He was not that king which he inquired after ? Who can conceive that there Is no particular order of the clergy necessary, no necessity of any particular communion, no autho- rity In any Church, nor any signlficancy in the Sacerdotal powers for this reason, because there is a text in Scripture which denies that Christ was the temporal King of the Jews." f The bishop * Law's Reply, p. 44. f Ibid., p. 47. VOL. III. X 3o6 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. had also said in his sermon, that Christ " was the J7H-^723' sole judge of the behaviour of His subjects in the affairs of conscience and salvation ; in these points He hath left behind Him no human authority." This had been censured by the Committee as leaving the Church no authority to judge, censure, or punish offenders. Hoadly's answer to this is rightly described by Mr. Law as a remarkable evasion. He declares that when he said that Christ was the sole judge he meant it merely of the great judgment of the last day. "Pray, my lord," asks he, " what purpose does this manner of denying answer? Is it any argument that no persons have any particular authority to baptize others, to admit to the Holy Sacrament, and ex- clude unworthy persons from it because they are not to judge the world at the last day ? There is as much logic in saying that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate ; therefore, bishops have no more authority than laymen, as to say they have no authority in religious affairs because Christ is to judge the world." * With the same acute logic and skilful irony, he follows the bishop through the whole of his Reply to the censure of the Committee of the Lower House. On one point, Hoadly had laid himself particularly open by saying (in the Preservative) that " our title to God's favour cannot depend upon our actual being or continuing in any particular method but upon our real sincerity." This anti-Christian sen- timent, specially condemned by our Church in * Law's Reply, p. 97. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 307 Article XVIIL, Is exposed by Mr. Law with great Chap. XL. force. " In the Scripture we find," says he, " that ' 7 14-' 723- baptism is made a term of salvation, but if sin- cerity without baptism be as certain a title to the favour of God as sincerity with baptism, then it is plain that not to be baptized is as much a con- dition or term of salvation as baptism is a term of salvation." Again, " If true and right religion hath anything in its own nature to recommend us to God, then sincerity, in this true and right religion must recommend us more to God than sincerity In a false and wrong religion ; but if sincerity in any religion entitles us to the same degree of God's favour, then there Is no such thing as any real excellency or goodness in one religion which Is not In another. According to a maxim of your own, you are obliged to acknow- ledge that man to be sincere who thinks himself to be sincere. But It is as possible and as likely for a man to be mistaken in those things which constitute true sincerity, as in those things which constitute true religion. Hence It follows that sincerity, though influenced by false motives and in a false way of worship, is as acceptable to God as a sincere persuasion governed by right motives in a true and Instituted way of worship." * It has been already said, that an unusual amount Dispute be- of bitter personality was imported Into the Ban- T,!^"^^] ^^^^°P r^, . . . ,, - Nicolson and gorian controversy. This is especially true of one Hoadly. episode in it in which a question of veracity arose between Dr. Snape and Bishop Nicolson, on the * Law's Reply, pp. 195, 205, 213. X 2 3o8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. one side, and Dr. Kennett and Bishop Hoadly, 1714-1723. Qj^ ^j^g other. The matter is too trivial to be stated at length, but it served to call forth many- pamphlets full of bitterness and criminations.* Daniel One of the chief writers on the bishop's side Whitby. YV'as Daniel Whitby, so well known as an able commentator on the New Testament. Whitby's Latitudinarian tendencies had, before this, been developed in a way which had brought on him the animadversion of those in authority. He was also tainted with Arian views, as his contro- FrancisHare. versy with Waterland sufficiently shows. f Against Hoadly there appeared, among other powerful disputants, Francis Hare, Dean of Worcester and Chaplain to the King. Hare had long been a political writer for the Whigs, and having served as chaplain-general of the army under Marl- borough, had been admitted to the confidence of that great intriguer. He had also written a book which was considered to have sceptical tendencies, and had been censured by Convocation. This did not, however, prevent him from writing strongly and effectually against the new and startling views of Hoadly ; views which, he must have seen, struck at the very foundation of the Church, and made any theory of Church Government illogical and absurd. It was not advisable or fitting for the Primate * The details will be found in Kennett' s Lifey pp. 167-8, and Nicolson's Epistolary Correipondetice. See also Tindal's Con- tinuation y vii., 139, note. t Van Mildcrt's Life of Water land y p. 53. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 309 to appear in print upon this matter, but what Chap. XL. his views were on the subject was soon sufficiently ^^7 '4-' 723- shown. The first ministry of George I. had now ^pp^scs Ton- fallen from power, and the administration of affairs cessions to was in the hands of Lords Sunderland and Stanhope, Dissenters. men of less principle and less ability than their predecessors. On December 13, 17 18, Lord Stanhope brought into the House of Lords a Bill, having the strange and somewhat suspicious title, " for Strengthening the Protestant Interest." The object of this measure was to repeal the Occasional Conformity Bill, as also the Schism Act, which had never yet come into operation ; also to repeal certain clauses in the Test and Corporation Acts, preparatory to the total abolition of the religious tests. This policy was good in principle, but it was ill-timed. But few men as yet saw their way to the maintaining of an Established Church with- out these supposed safeguards. Toleration was a thing of recent date. Dissenter? had greatly increased in boldness since the accession of the pre- sent King, and Churchmen considered themselves in no small danger. A sermon had been preached by a bishop advocating the most entire surrender of the whole political status of the Church. These views had found many defenders, and appeared to have been ventilated expressly for the purpose of paving the way for more important measures in Parliament. Thus, when the Bill was brought into the House of Lords, Archbishop Wake at once took a decided line against it. " The Acts," he said, " which, by this Bill, are to be repealed. 3IO THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XL. are the main bulwarks and supporters of the 1714-1723. Established Church.'"^ He was followed by Sir William Dawes, Archbishop of York, who quoted a passage out of one of Hoadly's earlier books, which he declared to be inconsistent with his present views ; by Dr. George Smalridge, Bishop of Bristol, one of the most learned and highly respected divines of his day ; and by the eloquent Dr. Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, who said, with somewhat of menace, "We live in a changeable country, and the hardships which the Dissenters bring now upon the Church may one day or other be severely and with more justice retaliated upon them." Hoadly, Gibson of Lincoln, and Kennett of Peterborough, supported the Whig views, while Lord Lansdowne delivered a violent Tory speech against the measure.f On a division, the question that the Bill should be committed was carried in the affirmative, but so strong had been the opposition shown to it Hy the Primate and others, that the clauses which related to the Test and Corporation Acts were omitted. Thus the Sacramental Tests remained the same as before, only now by the repeal of the Act against Occasional Conformity, a bare single partaking of the Lord's Supper was suffi- cient — a miserable safeguard indeed for the interests of the Church. Yet the Primate was doubtless actuated in his policy by sound Church feeling, and dislike to the revolutionary views of Hoadly. He had no wish, as he declared, to see the Schism Bill enforced, but he would gladly liave retained the * Pnrlin?ne?!tnry History, vii., 570. f Ibid., vii., 571, 580. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 3 1 1 Act against Occasional Conformity, which gave a Cliap. XL. meaning and a force to the Sacramental Tests. J7'4-»723- The partisan policy of the Government was Government indeed sufficiently startling. Not contented with pj^hchurch having caused Convocation to be prorogued, and clergy. keeping it in enforced silence while Parliament was sitting, they had also removed all the royal chap- lains, four in number,* who had presumed to write against the Bishop of Bangor. This seemed a strange comment upon the extreme liberal opinions advocated by their favourite preacher, but liberals are not always the most tolerant of opposition. Meantime, Archbishop Wake, as head of the Archbishop Enplish Church, had been employed in a nesotia- ^^^.^^^'^ nego- ^ ^ . T 1 tiation with tion full of extreme mterest. In the year 1717, the Gallican the clergy of France were in a state of great irri- Church. tation against the Pope, on account of the Bull JJnigenitus, and were talking much of appealing to a general council. At that time a friendly inter- course existed between Dr. Du Pin, the head of the theological faculty of the Sorbonne, and Mr. Beauvoir, Chaplain to the English Ambassador at Paris. Mr. Beauvoir was also known to Arch- bishop Wake, and through this channel some expressions of the learned Du Pin of his desire that a union might be effected between the French and English Churches, were conveyed to the archbishop. The English Primate, with that Catholic spirit which distinguished him, eagerly caught at the * Dr. Snape, Head Master of Eton, and afterwards Provost of King's; Dr. Sherlock, Dean of Cliichcster, afterwards Bishop of London; Dr. Hare, Dean of Worcester ; and Dr. Moss. 312 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XL. idea, and a correspondence ensued between him and 1 71 4-1 723. Y)\x Pin on the subject. At this moment, Dr. Piers de Girardin, an eminent theologian, deHvered, in an extraordinary meeting of the Sorbonne, a discourse, in which he said that the Anglican Church which had been driven from communion with Rome by tyranny, might easily be reconciled with those who were now actuated by the same feelings. Upon this, having been taken into confi- dence by Du Pin, M. Girardin also entered into correspondence with Wake. The archbishop ad- dressed long Latin letters to each of them, strongly insisting on the policy of breaking at once with Rome, and implying that in that case he did not see any insuperable difficulty in the union of the two Churches. His view was, that they might join in brotherly union without a perfect assimilation in doctrine and discipline, as national Churches each of them members of the one Catholic Church, and each having liberty to appoint its own rites and ceremonies, and to draw up its own confession of. faith.* The views of the French doctors were not * *' If we could once divide the Gallican Church from Rome, a reformation in other matters would follow of course. The scheme that seems to be most likely to prevail, is to agree in the independence (as to all matters of authority) of every national Church on all others ; and of their perfect right to determine all matters that arise within themselves, and for points of doctrine to agree, as far as possible, in all articles of any moment (as in effect we either already do or easily may), and for other matters to allow a difference till God should bring us to a union in those also." — Archbishop Wake to Mr. Beauvoir. Maclaine's Appen- dix to Mosheim. " The surest way will be to begin as well, and to go as far as we can in settling a friendly correspondence one with another, to agree to own each other as true brethren and THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 313 quite so liberal, but they seemed inclined to go Chap. XL. considerable lengths with a view to union. To ' 7 '4-1 723- exhibit their sentiments on the matter, Dr. Du Pin addressed to the archbishop a paper of observations (commonitorium) upon the Thirty-nine Articles of the English Church. To the majority of the Articles he offered no objection ; to those even which condemn the errors of Romanism his oppo- sition was but faint. For the English Primate, however, to discuss matters of doctrine with a view to union with a foreign Church, was a delicate and dangerous opera- tion. His unauthorized statements might be taken as concessions, and his words made to involve con- sequences which he had not intended. From this, therefore. Archbishop Wake wisely abstained, con- tinuing, however, earnestly to press upon his cor- respondents the primary and absolute importance of separation from Rome. The death of Dr. Du Pin, and the ambition of the infamous Abbe Du Bois, who sought reconciliation with Rome that he might obtain a cardinal's hat, put an end to this interesting negotiation, which does great honour to all the parties concerned in it.* members of the Catholic Christian Church ; to agree to com- municate in everything we can witli one another (which on their side is very easy, there being nothing in our offices in any degree contrary to their principles), and would they purge out of theirs what is contrary to ours we might join in the public service with them, and yet leave one another in the free liberty of believing Transubstantiation or not so long as we did not require anything to be done by either in pursuance of that opinion." — Ibid. * A full account of these transactions, with the letters on which 314 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XL. But while the Church of England was in high ^7H-^7'^1>' esteem and reputation abroad, the Government was humbling the eagerly bent on lowering its position and influence at Church. home. In Hoadly they had found a man who standing in the place of a bishop could argue against Church government, and having accepted and subscribed creeds and confessions, could yet denounce them as unnecessary. A careful promotion of men of this stamp would give the Government a vast power in humbling the pride and restraining the influence of the Jacobite and High Church clergy. The bench of bishops might thus be made a sort of ecclesiastical police for carrying out the Government regulations, and putting down obnoxious churchmanship. The natural defenders of the Church might be trans- formed into its most dangerous enemies, and through them the Church might be made to appear to consent to its own degradation. The Bill There was now apparent in Parliament a way of against treating religious subjects and the requirements and position of the Church very difi^erent from that which had prevailed in the days of Oueen Anne. Upon the report of some grievous profanities, in which several great men had taken part. Lord Willoughby De Brooke, Dean of Windsor, brought into the House of Lords a Bill to punish with imprisonment the speaking or writing against the it is founded, will be found in an Appendix fixed by Dr. Mac- laine to his Translation of Mosheim. Some of the letters were obtained from Mr. Bcauvoir's son, and others from the Collection of Wake MSS., at Christ Church, Oxford. In connection with this subject, see the attack made upon Wake by Archdeacon Blackburnc, in the Confessional. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 315 fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and to give ^^^^p. XL. 11-1 ..,-. . , 1714-1723. the bishops a summary jurisdiction in such cases over the clergy, and the justices in Quarter Sessions over Nonconformist ministers. The Bill was pro- bably a crude piece of legislation, but its committal was moved by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and it deserved a more respectful reception than it met with. The Duke of Wharton and the Earl of Peterborough, two notorious profligates and sceptics, argued against it in a mocking tone, and it was rejected by the Lords by a large majority.* The Occasional Conformity and the Schism Bills had been repealed, the Test had hardly escaped ; another measure was now introduced, which, not so much in itself as in the circumstances attending its introduction, showed the temper in which the Ministers regarded the scruples of Churchmen. The followers of George Fox now existed as a con- siderable sect, under the name of Quakers, and by the Act of Toleration had gained a relief from those bitter persecutions in which their forwardness and their stubbornness had given them a prominent share. Their scruples, however, did not allow them to reap the full benefit of the change of law. The solemn affirmation required of them in legal Ouakers* transactions was held by their purists to be unjusti- Affirmation fiable, and thus they again found their way into prison for contempt of Court, while their goods * The Earl of Peterborough said, though he was for a Parliamen- tary King, yet he was not for a Parliamentary god. If the House were for such an one, he would go to Rome and get made a cardinal, &c. — Parliamentary History, vii., 893. 3i6 rilE HIsrORT OF Chap. XL. suffered by distraint and legal process. The Go- 17 14-1723. vernment undertook to remedy this by a Bill brought into the Commons (Dec, 172 1). This measure passed the Lower House easily, and was brought into the Lords after the Christmas recess. Here it encountered strong opposition from some of the bishops, who argued that Quakers could not be regarded as Christians, inasmuch as they rejected the Sacraments.* But the debate was principally remarkable as drawing forth a petition from the London Clergy, who took a very strong line against the Quakers : " That which chiefly moves your petitioners to apply to your lordships is their serious concern lest the minds of good men should be grieved and wounded, and the enemies of Christianity triumph, when they shall see such condescensions made by a Christian Legislature to a set of men who renounce the divine institutions of Christ, particularly that by which the faithful are initiated into His religion and denominated Christians, and who cannot, on that account, according to the uniform judgment and practice of the Catholic Church, be deemed worthy of that sacred name."-|- In the Parliaments of Queen Anne this petition would have been wel- comed with respect, now it was declaimed against by the Ministers as a libel, and the House, by a large majority, voted that It should not be received. A protest was put In by the dissentient Peers, in which it is stated, with much truth and force, that " The London clergy, from whence this peti- * Parlinmonary History, vii., 938. f I^id-> 842. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 317 tion came, are, In our opinion, and have been Chap. XL. always, esteemed of great consideration with re- ^7H-»723- spect to their extensive Influence, and their ability to be serviceable to the State in Important conjunc- tures. On which, and many other accounts, we cannot but wish that the applications, at any time, made to this House by the City Clergy might be received with regard and tenderness, and a more than ordinary indulgence shown them." There was nothing especially offensive In the tone of this protest, yet It was ordered by a special vote to be expunged from the books of the House.* Another very strong protest was afterwards drawn up when the Bill passed the House of Lords. The Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as his brother of York, was opposed to these concessions to the Quakers; but the great leader of Opposition in this and other matters, dnd the drawer up of the' pointed and telling protests which are so frequent in the records of Parliament at this period, was Bishop Atter- Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester. With his great ^^ry the J ^ r o great oppo- powers and singular eloquence, but impetuous, ^ent of proud, intractable as he was, Atterbury was a danger- Government, ous foe as well as an injudicious friend. His Jacobite predilections and his strong hostility to the present Government were not disguised ; both by pen and word he opposed every measure of the Ministry, and was ever ready to do battle for high Tory principles and the ascendancy of the Church. To remove such a man from his sphere of influence, * Par/inmentiiry History, vii., 945. There was a protest made against expunging the Protest. — Pdrhamcntary History, iv., 979. 3i8 rHE HISTORY OF Chap. XL. 1714-1723. Atterhury's trial and banishment. and from his place of leader of the High Church party, would be a great step in that line of policy which Sir Robert Walpole, now the chief manager of affairs, had determined to pursue. There were two ways open to him by which he might attempt to overturn the Bishop of Rochester's influence, and silence his opposition. The bishop might be bought or he might be ruined. The first plan was tried and failed, the second was then put in practice and succeeded. There is good reason to believe that Atterbury was offered the See of Winchester at its next vacancy, with a pension of j^ 5,000 a year in the meantime, if he would with- draw his opposition to the Government.* But the Bishop of Rochester was not of the stamp of those who are bought and sold. He refused the offer, and continued more fierce in opposition than ever. Then it was determined to ruin him. Jaco- bite conspiracies were rife during all this period. So zealous a Jacobite might easily be implicated in a conspiracy. Accordingly, in August, 1722, the bishop was arrested and thrown into the Tower, where he was treated with great severity. For six months no attempt was made to bring him to trial, and that for a very good reason — because nothing could be found sufficient to criminate him. At length, in March, 1723, he was arraigned, not before the judges in a court of law, but before the House of Commons, in a Bill of Pains and Penalties. By this device it was easy to sacrifice him to the indig- nation of the Whigs, and the Bill passed the House * Atterhury's Correspondence, &e. (cd. Nicholls), v., 41. THE CHURCH OF ENGLylND. 319 of Commons on April 9, by a majority of fifty- Chap. XL. three.* The bishop had declined to defend him- '7'4-»723- self before the Commons, and had reserved his "^ defence for the Lords. On May 6, he was brought to the bar, and delivered that famous oration which is one of the most skilful defences on record, but he was nevertheless condemned to be deprived of all his ecclesiastical preferments, and to be banished during life. There can scarcely be a doubt that Atterbury was innocent of the charge made against him. The evidence was circumstantial and weak, and one topic much relied on was the great art and dexterity of the accused, which was likely to pre- vent any proofs of his guilt from being apparent. f But the fact that Atterbury on his banishment took service under the Pretender,, gave a strong support to the accusation, and has caused it to be generally believed. The popularity which attended the Bishop ofHispopu- Rochester during his trial was excessive, and ^^''■^* showed how strong a Church feeling still existed among the people. Under pretence of his being afflicted with the gout, he was prayed for during his imprisonment in most of the churches of London and Westminster, and when he went to the ship which was to carry him into exile, he was attended by a crowd which might recall to the re- membrance of the old the days of the seven bishops and their triumphant progress to the Tower. :|: * Coxe's Memoirs ofWalpok, i., 294.. t See Coxe's Walpole, \.,zg6. Aitcvhmy's Corrcspondnur, v., 41. X Coxe's Wnlpole, u.s. Tindal's Continuation, vii., 462. 320 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XL. The banishment of Atterbury was a serious 1 7 14-1723. menace to those of the clergy who cherished Jaco- Church i^j^g views, the first effect of which would be to views recede 1 1 • • 1 /-> from obser- exasperate and embitter them agamst the Cjovern- vation. ment. Another effect, however, was also produced, which has a strong bearing upon the religious his- tory of the eighteenth century. Advocates of High Church opinions now became more secret and less prominent in putting forward their views. The Latitudinarians soon had the public almost to themselves. There was still abundance of High Churchmen, but they ceased to be seen and known. The place of power and dignity was conceded to their opponents. The old Church views were still cherished in many country parsonages and acade- mical cloisters, but they soon became in great measure lost from the public observation. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 321 CHAPTER XLl. The Trinitarian controversy — Waterland's Vindication — 'Dr. Chap. XLI. Clarke's Modest Plea — Controversy between Watcrland and 1 723-1 741. Whitby — Waterland's Second Vindication — Further Vindication — History of the Athanasian Creed — Importance of the Doctri?ie of the Holy Trinity — Case of Arian subscription — Dr. Sykes and Waterland — Deistical controversies — The Characteristics — Collins's Discourse of Free-thinking — Collins's Grounds, ^c. — Woolston's Discourses on the M/r^fA'j-— Sherlock's Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection — Tindal's Christianity as Old as the Creation — Waterland's Scripture Vindicated — Dr. Conyers Middleton — Dr. Zachary Pearce answers Middleton — William Warburton — The Alliance betzveen Church and State — The Divine Legation of Moses — The Eucharistic controversy — So- cinian and Pelagian views advocated — Bishop Hoadly's Plain Account — The Nonjuring School on the subject of the Eucharist — Waterland's Review of the Doctrine of the Eucharist — Origin of the Methodists — Doctrines of Wesley and Whitfield — They separate from the Moravians — Difference between Wesley and Whitfield — Danger of Wesley's views — Character of the oppo- sition made to them — Difficulties of the clergy through the spread of Methodism — Odium brought upon the Church — Sir R. Walpole's distribution of patronage — Queen Caroline — Joseph Butler — Publication of the Analogy — Religious policy of Walpole — Bishop Gibson — Archbishop Potter — Danger of the Church. T is now fitting to recur to that The Trini- important episode in the history of ^^"^" ^°"" the Church of England, the Trini- tarian controversy as it was carried on between Dr. Waterland and Dr. Samuel Clarke. It has been already said that a large number of controversialists VOL. III. ^ 322 rilE HISrORT OF Chap, XLI. entered the field against Dr. Clarke's book, which 7 3- 74 J- }^^j been animadverted upon by the Convocation, and that among these writers Dr. Waterland was Watcrland's markedly the foremost. His Vindication of Christ's Vindication. J)ivinity y^2is not published till 17 19, and then only on what he judged the necessary occasion of defend- ing certain ^eries of his drawing up, which had been made public without his consent. Mr. Jack- son, Vicar of Rossington, in Yorkshire, had pub- lished Waterland's ^eries with his own answers to them, which seemed to be a challenge to the latter to write something in their defence. To this we owe the great work of the Vindication, which in its general line of argument is purely scriptural ; being in arrangement more skilful and lucid than the work of Dr. Clarke ; giving abundant proofs of a Dr. Clarke's vigorous intellect and laborious research. Dr. Mod Plen. Clarke replied to this work in The Modest Plea Continued, ^c, with much subtlety and acuteness. But the scriptural expressions which directly desig- nate the Saviour as God, were an insuperable diffi- culty to him. His explanations appear to be quite incompatible with the notion of the unity of the Godhead, and do, in fact, imply a supreme God and a subordinate God. Soon after the publication of the Modest Plea, Dr. Waterland made an answer to it in eight sermons preached at a City lecture founded by Lady Moyer, which were published with a preface. Controversy He was next engaged with Dr. Whitby, who ^twccn i^^j published a book animadverting upon Bishop and Whitbv. Bull's famous Defensio Fidei Nic.cn.v. Dr. Water- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 323 land wrote to point out the fallacies in which Chap. XLI. Whitby had indulged. Whitby replied with great '723->74'- acrimony, and Waterland rejoined, maintaining his original statements. A second Reply from Dr. Whitby immediately appeared, and now Water- 1 and's original antagonist, Mr. Jackson, entered the field again with a large and learned volume. This was entitled J Reply to Br. M^ater land's Defence of his Queries y and is acknowledged to have been the joint production of Jackson and Samuel Clarke.* The Arianism in this work is skilfully veiled, but the writer distinctly refuses to allow the Son to be the supreme God in the same sense that he allows the Father. Early in the following year (1723) Dr. Water- Waterland's land published his Second Vindication of Chrisfs^^'^^'.^^^^''^^'' Bivinity, &c., " a work," says Bishop van Mildert, " in which the whole force of our author's great intellectual powers, and of his extensive and pro- found erudition appears to have been collected for the purpose of overwhelming his adversaries by one decisive effort." Yet his indefatigable anta- gonists both replied to it, and Waterland again returned to the combat in a short' tract, entitled A Further Vindication of Chris fs Bivinity (1714). Further lift- In this he declares that his opponents had not ^''''^^^^"'''^• got rid of the charge of making two Gods — one supreme, the other inferior ; had not removed the difficulty of supposing God the Son and God the Holy Ghost to be two creatures ; had not been able to defend creature worship ; had not inva- * Life ofjoh/i J Dickson, p. 80. V 2 . 324 "THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. lidated the proofs of divine worship being due to 1723-1741. (^i-irist ; nor accounted for divine titles, attributes, and honours being ascribed to a creature ; nor given satisfaction as to Christ being both creator and creature. Before this last work was published. Dr. Water- land had given to the world a learned treatise which occupies an important place in his valuable writings on the doctrine of the Trinity. This was History of the his Critical History of the Athanasian Creed. " The Athanastan controversy about the Trinity^' he says in his in- troduction, "is now spread abroad among all ranks and degrees of men with us, and the Athanasian Creed becomes the subject of common and ordinary conversation." For this reason it was desirable that the treatise should be composed in the English tongue and made as popular as possible, though concerned necessarily with abstruse and learned matters. The treatise is divided into nine parts, in the seventh of which he treats of " the darkest part of all, the inquiry after the age and author of the Creed." The age of the Creed is very inge- niously argued from its internal evidence. It was certainly later than the Apollinarian heresy (370), because it condemns the tenets of these heretics in very express terms. It is later than the publication of St. Augustine's books on the Trinity (420), because it uses the very terms used in them, but it is earlier than the Eutychian heresy and the Council of Chalcedon (451), because there is no special re- ference to Eutychian tenets in it. For the same reason it is also earlier than the Nestorians and the THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 305 Council of Ephesus (431), Inasmuch as it docs not Chap. XLI. condemn in terms the heresy of the two persons. '723-174'- It was, therefore, written between the years 420 and 431, and as it was first received in the GalHcan Church, it was probably written in Gaul, and com- posed by Hilary, Bishop of Aries. About ten years after the publication of this Importance of work, the last treatise of this great divine on the ^^^ f %^5''^^ subject of the Trinity appeared. It was called Trinity. The Importance of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity Asserted, and was called forth not so much by Arian or Socinian attacks as by the spread of Lati- tudinarianism, which began to teach that doctrines, of what sort soever, were but of very trifling importance. " Writers of high name and reputa- tion were found to incline towards that laxity of principle, which, scarcely acknowledging the obli- gation of contending even for the most essential and fundamental articles of faith seemed to en- courage a general indifference to religious truth."* Against these treacherous neutrals Dr. Waterland was as eager to combat as against the direct im- pugners of the faith, as he had abundantly shown in the controversy now to be mentioned. Dr. Clarke, in the first edition of his Scripture- Case of doctrine of the Trinity, had laid it down as a maxim, ^ruwsub- that in complying with any formularies or confes- sions of faith imposed by Protestant communities, which professed to be guided solely by Scripture authority, " every person may reasonably agree to * Van Mildert's Life of Waterland, p. 43-87. See also Whiston's Life of Clarke. Life of Mr. John Jackson. 326 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLI. such forms whenever he can in any sense at all 1723-1741. reconcile them with Scripture." This startling doc- trine had given such offence to his friends, both orthodox and heterodox,* that he had omitted the passage in the second edition of his work. But those who condemned Dr. Clarke's sentiments as dishonest professed to find equal dishonesty in the subscription of the articles in an anti-Calvinistic sense, while others were found to adopt the opinion which Dr. Clarke had abandoned, and to defend the lawfulness of an Arian subscribing the articles. To reprobate this mischievous notion, and to show that an Arian and Arminian sense were in no respect parallel. Dr. Waterland wrote a tract called Tbe Case of Arian Subscription Considered^ and the several Pleas and Excuses for it particularly Examined and Confuted. In this he shows that it is not enough that formularies should be capable of a sense, but that regard should be had to the plain, obvious, and natural signification of the words themselves, and the intention of those who first compiled the forms. With regard to the Calvinistic (or alleged Calvin- istic) articles being subscribed by an Arminian, he * Whiston's remarks do him so much honour that they deserve to be quoted : — " What will become of all oaths, promises, and securities among men, if the plain real truth and meaning of words be no longer the measure of what we are to profess, assert, or practice ; but every one may, if he do but openly declare it, put his own strained interpretation, as he pleases, upon them ? Espe- cially if this be to be allowed in the most sacred matters of all, the signing articles of faith, the making solemn confessions of the same, and the offering up public prayers, praises, and doxologies to the great God in the solemn assemblies of His worship. This, I own, I dare not do at the peril of my salvation." — Whiston's A//? of CUrkCy p. 52. THE CHURCH OF ENGLylND. J27 shows that there Is nothing parallel between this Chap. XLI. case and an Arian subscribing Athanasian articles. ^723-'74»- The former doctrines are avowedly laid down in general terms, without any specific interpretation, and therefore left on purpose in some degree in- definite ; whilst the latter are guarded most care- fully and explicitly against any other interpretation. To this tract an answer was speedily published Dr. Sykcs by that indefatigable controversialist Dr. Sykes,* ^"'J^^^^^'^' who retorts upon Dr. Waterland the charge of subscribing the Articles in a particular sense of his own and not in the sense of the framers of them ; while he utterly ignores the latitude allowed by the Articles themselves on certain points of doctrine. Waterland answered in A Supplement to the Case of Arian Subscription Considered, in which he enters more fully into the incompatibi- lity of Dr. Clarke's doctrines with those of the Church of England, and the impossibility of any honest holder of them subscribing the Articles. * Disney's Life of Sykes, p. 24. Dr. Sykes was one of the defenders of the famous Dr. Bentley from his numerous antago- nists, and in this capacity came in for the lash of Dr. Conyers .Middleton, one of the greatest masters of invective in that con- troversial age. " Wherever you find a writer surprisingly trifling and dull, glorying in never being in the right, discovering an antipathy to Church and University, pronounce it to be Sykes, you need not be afraid of counterfeits. When the work is too foul and scandalous for any other man to engage in, Sykes is a sure card, and never fails his friends in distress. He always keeps himself in readiness for service, and, like a famous lawyer I have heard of, can be advocate or evidence as occasion requires ; and, like a true dragoon, fights either a-footor on horseback." — Monk's Life of Bent ley y ii., 72. Dr. Sykes's share in the Bangorian Con- troversy has been mentioned above. 328 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. He also addresses himself to the case of the 1 723-1 741. supposed Calvinistic Articles, and shows that no conclusion that these Articles were intended to support the views of Calvin, can be drawn either from the words of the Articles themselves, or from the intention of their framers. In Dr. Sykes's Reply ^ he endeavours to prove specially that the terms of the Articles will bear an Arian sense ; but, in the opinion of his own biographer, he scarcely succeeds. Neither was he more success- ful in endeavouring to fasten an essentially Calvin- istic sense upon certain of the Articles.* The controversy on Waterland's part was pur- sued no further, but it is one which has often reappeared in the Church, and so long as heresies and errors abound, periodical attempts to establish the honesty of subscribing formularies in a non- natural sense are sure to recur. Deistical From these two important controversies, in controversies, ^hj^h the cardinal doctrines of the Church were defended against heresy and Latitudinarianism, we pass to a review of that great fundamental dispute, in which the very truth of the Christian religion * Disney's Life of Sykesy p. 119. Dr. Disney says, "Mr. Sykes replied to all Dr. Waterland's answers to his pleas for a latitude with great acuteness, but I do not think with equal advan- tage or to the satisfaction of an impartial examiner." Dr. Disney was honourably distinguished by having resigned his own pre- ferment when he could no longer agree with the doctrines of the Church. Mr. Jackson, of Rossington, Waterland's old opponent, had written against his Jrinn Subscription, but, on the remon- stance of Mr. Whiston, did not publish his book. Mr. Whiston says of the two pamphlets of Dr. Sykes, that he " twice endea- voured to wash a blackamoor white."— Disney's L//^ (J^ 5)'^^/, p. 125. Life of John Jackson, p. 69. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 329 was assailed, and which, under various names and Chap. XLI. forms, had been raging since the beginning of the '723-»74'- century. Mention has already been made of the work of John Toland, called Christianity not Mysterious^ which was censured by Convocation, and presented to the Grand Jury of London. A The Cha- far more dangerous attack on Christianity than ^'^^^^^^^^f^^- that of Toland was made by the publication (in 171 1) of the Characteristics of Lord Shaftesbury. The object of this accomplished writer is to prove disinterestedness to be of the very essence of virtue, and that the doctrine of future rewards and punish- ments is incompatible with true morality. By carrying away the question from the region of fact and evidence into that of metaphysical specu- lation, he was likely both to attract and perplex readers. The Characteristics were quickly fol- Colllns's lowed by another considerable work of an infidel ?"^^TfV-^ or deistical character, viz., that of Anthony Collins, ^w a country gentleman of fortune, called the Dis- course of Free-thinking, and published in 17 13. This work was travestied by Swift with inimitable irony,* and answered by the learned Dr. Bentley with great success. Bentley's work was received with general thanks by the clergy, and was so completely crushing as to paralyse the open advocacy of infidel opinions for a time. Some Collins's years afterwards, however, the same author returned Grounds.i^c. * Mr. Collins' s Discourse of Free-thinking put into plain Eng- lish. Swift's Works (ed. Roscoe), ii., '193. " The parody," says Bishop Monk, " considered as a composition is clearly superior to the original." — Sec Monk's Life of Bentley, i., 341, sq. 330 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLI. to his unhallowed work, and in a book called Dis- 1723-1741. f^Qn^^g Qfi //;^ Grounds of the Christian Religion (published 1724), endeavoured to show that Christianity was nothing better than a mystical Judaism ; that it was based upon a false interpre- tation of prophecy disowned by the Jews them- selves, and had no real evidence to support it. Numerous writers answered this audacious per- formance, among whom Dr. Chandler, Bishop of Woolston's Lichfield and Coventry, was conspicuous.* The ?l''°^T^^ r next assailant of the faith was a Fellow of a college the Miracles. r rr , a r ^ 1, who, up to the age or nrty, had lived contentedly at Cambridge, not troubling the world with his vain imaginations, even if he entertained them himself Thomas Woolston, a Fellow of Sidney- Sussex College, had become a convert to the alle- gorical method of interpreting Scripture used by Origen, and leaving Cambridge, went to London the better to disseminate his views and advocate them in publications. In the years 1727, 1728, and 1729, he published six Discourses on the Miracles of Christy in which he either asserts that the miracles were not actually wrought, or else gives a mythical interpretation of them, very similar to that which has found a place in modern German theology. His books being a direct impugning of the truth of the Christian religion, he was prosecuted under the laws against blas- phemy, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment and a fine of ;^ioo. If ever legal penalties for opinions be defensible, this might seem to be the * Lcland's View of Deistical Writers^ i., LettcM- v. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 331 case with regard to Mr. Woolston, unless indeed Chap. XLI. it he true, as has sometimes been asserted, that the ' 723- 174' • scoffs and coarse buffoonery which he appHed to the Gospel history were due to nothing less than madness. Meantime, numerous able divines hastened to answer his mischievous works. Of these, among the most conspicuous, were Sherlock's Dr. Zachary Pearce, and Dr. Smallbroke, Bishop ^^^^j£^' of St. David's (A Vindication of our Saviour's ^^^ Resurrec- Miracles) but the answer which attracted most tion. attention and procured the greatest fame for its author, was that of Dr. Thomas Sherlock, who had lately been promoted to the See of Bangor as successor to his old antagonist Hoadly. The attacks of Woolston had been chiefly directed against the great fundamental miracle of Chris- tianity — the Resurrection of our Saviour — and Sherlock's treatise accordingly was addressed to this point. From his long connection with men learned in the law as master of the Temple, he was induced to throw his work into the form of a legal trial, and entitle it the 'Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. The great talents and high reputation of the writer, and the novelty of the composition, made it extremely popular, and in a very short time the work ran through fourteen editions.* But with all Bishop Sherlock's abilities and good intentions, it may well be doubted whether his work did not rather prejudice than advance the cause of truth. The ground * Hughes's Life of Sherlock, p. 49. Life of Dr. Zachary Pearce, p. 417. Leland's Viezu, i., Letter vii. 33^ THE HISTORT OF as Old as the Creation, Chap. XLI. taken was a bad precedent in succeeding contro- ^723-1741- versies, and it could serve no good purpose to have the Christian religion perpetually put upon its defence at the pleasure of every empty scribbler who chose to recast the oft-refuted objections to its truth. The town was still full of Woolston and his opponents, when there appeared a work which caused a still greater sensation. Woolston's writings had been defiled by coarse ribaldry and scurrilous jests ; the writer, of whom we now come to speak, was of a more chastened and philoso- Tindal's phical turn. In the year 1730, Matthew Tindal, Chnstianity^ a Fellow of All Souls* College, Oxford, published anonymously a deistical work called Christianity as Old as the Creation ; or, the Gospel a Republica- tion of the Religion of Nature. The design of this work is to prove that all external revelation is absolutely needless and useless ; that the original law and religion of nature is so perfect that nothing can possibly be added to it by any subsequent external revelation whatsoever. The writer then endeavours to overthrow the revelations contained in the Old and New Testaments. He attacks the evidences on which their authority is grounded, and the nature of the revelation and instruction contained in them, asserting that the Scriptures are only useful to perplex and misinform, and to lead men wrong in their views of moral duty. That part of this treatise which contains the violent attack upon the Scriptures induced Dr. Waterland to take up his pen, and, in the same Waterland's Scripture Vindicated. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. i,22 year in which Tindal's book appeared, he published Cliap. XLI. the first part of his Scripture Vindicated. The '723-174'- writer's design is, as he himself says, " to rescue the Word of God from misrepresentation and censure, from the reproaches and blasphemies of foolish men." He was very successful in exposing the sophistries of Tindal, and, at the same time, exhibiting his shallowness, most of his attacks being taken from other infidel writers while they •professed to be his own. In this treatise. Dr. Waterland took ground different from that of Sherlock, not professing to explain all the state- ments of Scripture to the level of a human under- standing, but advocating an implicit and trusting faith. This brought into the field the famous pam- Dr. Conyers phlet-writer. Dr. Conyers Middleton, who attacked ^iddleton. Waterland with great vehemence for what he con- sidered a dangerous defence of Christianity, and endeavoured to show that the only way to meet the Deists was to give up the defence of the parts of Scripture to which they objected, and to rest the whole case upon the strange argument that granting Christianity to be an imposture, it would be wrong to impugn it because of its antiquity and usefulness. Another able writer now came to the assistance Dr. Zachary of Dr. Waterland. This was Dr. Zachary Pearce, Pcarce Rector of St. Martin's, London, and afterwards ^j^^^j^^^^^^ Bishop of Rochester. Dr. Pearce wrote a reply to Middleton, in which he set forth '' the many falsehoods, both in the quotations and historical 334 ^J^^HE HISTORY OF Chap. XLI. facts, by which the letter-writer had endeavoured 1723-1741. ^Q weaken the authority of Moses." The contro- versy continued between the two Doctors, and Middleton's views and statements were clearly shown to be inconsistent with any real belief in revelation and the divine authority of the Scrip- tures. Meantime, Dr. Waterland published a second and a third part of his Scripture Vindicated, which, together, make up a complete defence of those portions of the Holy Scriptures which were usually assailed by the Deists.* The progress of the Deistical controversy intro- duces us to another great writer of the English Church — a man of vast reading and brilliant genius, though as an exact scholar, a divine, and a bishop, he may not occupy the foremost place. William William Warburton was bred to the profession of Warburton. an attorney, and had actually begun to practice at Newark, when his intense love for learned studies induced him to seek admission into holy orders. Having managed to recommend himself to Sir Robert Sutton by a dedication, he was presented by him to the valuable living of Brant-Broughton, in Lincolnshire, where he resided many years, labour- ing with untiring zeal in his studies. The first con- siderable effort of his pen was a pamphlet on The The Alliance Alliance between Church and State, which supposes between ^y^ ^ bodies, originally distinct, to have formed Church and ,,. r 1 , r 1 j . .u State. ^i"i alliance for the sake of mutual advantage ; the Church bargaining with the State for protection, * Van Mildert's Life of Waterlandy pp. 120-133. Bishop Pearcc'* s Life, by himself. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 335 while the State required from the Church, as an Chap. XLI. equivalent, the religious sanction for law and order. ^723-174'- This was a way of defending civil disabilities for Dissenters and the maintenance of Test Acts inge- nious enough to cause much approbation at the time. But this effort was soon eclipsed by one of greater daring, and of more ambitious range. War- burton had observed that the Deists in their contro- versies with Christian writers had made great use of the omission of the doctrine of a future state from the Mosaic law. They affected themselves to believe in a future state, and they argued that the omission of this doctrine was a clear proof of the imposture of Moses, as no system of religion coming from God could be without that principle. This was a line of argument very difficult for orthodox writers to meet, for it is evident that, even if traces of a future state may be pointed out in the writings of Moses, yet the doctrine itself does not enter into the Mosaic covenant. The genius of Warburton saw the difficulty, and thought also that it had found an infallible solu- tion of it. He rushed into the strife, eager to turn the supposed triumph of the Deist to his confusion, to make his own arguments militate against him, and to demonstrate the divine mission of Moses from the very fact of there being no mention of the future state in the law which he promulgated. Such was the origin of that great and striking work. The Divine Legation of Moses The Divine Demonstrated on the Principles of a Religious Deist. ^^' 'f " In the conduct of this new and paradoxical argu- 336 THE HISrOR2^ OF Chap. XLI. me-nt," says Bishop Hurd, " so many prejudices 1723-1 741. ^j^j objections both of believers and unbelievers were to be removed, and so many collateral lights to be let in upon it, that the discourse extended itself far and wide, and took in all that was curious inGentile, Jewish, and Christian antiquity."* The first volume of the work appeared in i738,f and attracted, as might be expected, universal attention. As many attacks were made upon it from the orthodox side as from the infidel. Every class of writer seemed interested in decrying it, while a few — attracted by the genius, the novelty, the daring of the argument — lent themselves to defend it. It was a great misfortune for Warburton that he was an incomplete and inaccurate scholar. As his latest biographer has somewhat severely expressed It, " his deficiency in Hebrew exposed him to the ridicule of Lowth. His imperfect acquaintance with Greek left him dependent on Latin or French translations. His unskilfulness in the niceties of Latin led him into mistakes. "J This want of learned scholarship was due to his lack of acade- mical training, and to his eagerness rather to grasp * Life of Warburton^ p. 19. t The second volume was published in 1 741, which completed the argument, though not the entire plan of the work. This included three additional books which were never finished. \ Watson's Life of Warburton, p. 628. Warburton himself despised the niceties of language. " Were I," he says, " to be the reformer of Westminster School, I would order that every boy should have impressed upon his accidence in great gold letters on the back of his horn-book, that oracle of Hobbes, * that words are the counters of wise men and the money of fools.' " — Letters of a late Eminent Prelate, p. 72. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 337 the contents of books tlian to dwell upon the con- Cliap. XLl. struction of their sentences. It was also unfortu- nate for Warburton that, though a great reader, he was too forward to write, and rushed into print before he had fully mastered his subject. Thus, his theories are sometimes as crude as they are audacious, and he was obliged to defend with a misapplied ingenuity what a calmer judgment would have altogether suppressed. A third fault in Warburton, as a writer, is the almost brutal violence with which he assails his adversaries. But in this he was not worse than his age. Not worse than the stately Bishop Hurd, not worse than the great critic Bentley, not worse than the polished scholar Conyers Middleton, not nearly so bad as the elegant Lord Bolingbroke. Yet making all these deductions from the fame of Warburton, admitting him to be an inaccurate scholar, a hasty arguer, and a violent polemic, his fame will yet remain. He was a profound and original thinker, and, in spite of defects of style and taste, no one can take up his writings without being struck and fascinated by them. There is an energy and vigour in them, and a charm of freshness and genius. A man who undertakes to write de omni scibili will, no doubt, make many grievous mistakes, and no one has fur- nished a better mark for the critics than William Warburton. Yet one who could exercise a fasci- nation over his age, and divide literary England into Warburtonians and anti-Warburtonians was no small man, nor was his great work, 'The Divine Legation^ a mere transient effort of polemical con- VOL. III. z 33^ 'THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. troversy. In private life this violent disputant was 1723-1741. amiable, polished, and genial, contrasting in this respect strongly with his friend and admirer, Bishop Hurd, who was remarkably cold, stiff, and severe.* The names of Warburton and Waterland may well redeem the Church of England in the earlier part of the eighteenth century from the reproach of having produced no great divines. It is true there is but little actual similarity between the bold and original thinker and the consummate divine and scholar, but both were great in their several spheres. The theological attainments of Water- land were employed to illustrate every point of doctrine. We have already seen him crushing Arians, Latitudinarians, Deists ; it yet remains to consider him contending both with these, and, at the same time, with a different school of writers, for those views on the subject of the holy Eucharist which are so great a treasure to the Anglican Church. The Eucha- The publication of Dr. Samuel Clarke's expo- ristic contro- sition of the Church Catechism, in which the ^ ^^^^ ' Sacraments are slightingly spoken of as mere positive duties which cannot compare in value with moral virtues, drew forth some Remarks from Dr. Water- land, which were immediately attacked by Dr. Sykes. This writer ridicules the notion of there being any special virtue in the Sacraments, asserts that the Lord's Supper is a mere commemorative rite not of any more definite value than any other Socinian and religious service. Socinian and Pelagian views are Pelagian clearly advocated in this tract, to which Dr. Water- views advo- ^ ' cated. * Kilvert's Life of Hurd, p. 127. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 339 land at once responded, by The Nature ^ Obligation^ Cliap. XLl. and Efficacy of the Christian Sacraments consi- * 7 23-' 74'- dered {^^2^)' ^'"^ ^^^^y ^^ ^'"^ ^^^ former tract, the learned writer may perhaps have attributed too much of weight to positive duties, compared with moral. Upon this point Dr. Sykes attacks him in his Defence, but if he succeeds in showing Waterland guilty of any confusion on these points, his own statements are infinitely more objectionable, contradicting (as they do) not only the efficacy of the Sacraments in procuring grace, but even the need of grace itself, and asserting the absolute per- fection of moral virtue. Thus In his reply. Dr. Waterland exhibits him as " setting up a system of morality without God at the head of it, obligation without law, a religion of nature without a Deity." The Eucharist could scarcely have been more Bishop degraded than it was by Sykes's treatment of it, ^^^.^^^'^ but it remained for one of a higher position in the Account, Church, of greater reputation and more authority, to give the finishing touch to the levelling notions of Clarke and Sykes. Bishop Hoadly, in his Plain Account of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ex- plains that holy rite simply as a Socinian might, as an act of pious gratitude and obedience, unattended with any peculiar benefits.* * Dr. Herring, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, thus writes of this book : " I see no reason for such a prodigious outcry upon the P/din Account. I really think it a good book, and as to the Sacrament in particular, as orthodox as Archbishop Tillot- son." — Herring's Letters to Duticombe, p. 28. Some may perhaps think the criterion of orthodoxy here proposed not an infallible one. Z 2 340 rHE HISTORT OF Chap. XIJ. A large and increasing number of clergy now 1723-1741. looked up to Hoadly as their leader; his views were considered liberal and enlightened, and happily exempt from the old superstitions. Yet to many they must have seemed to be paving the way for the omission of the Sacraments altogether from the Christian scheme, as he had already advocated the omission of Church government, of formularies, creeds, and confessions of faith. Not a few writers The Non- therefore came forward to combat him. But there juring school ^^^^ other views prevalent at the same time on the on the sub- ^ ^ jcctofthe subject of the Eucharist, nearly as much opposed Eucharist, ^q ^^g teaching of the Church of England as those of Bishop Hoadly himself. Dr. Brett, one of the most learned of the Nonjurors, had maintained the real presence quite as corporally as any Lutheran could desire. Mr. Johnson, Vicar o^ Cranbrook, in Kent, in his Unbloody Sacrifice, had placed the efficacy of the Eucharist in a propitiatory sacrifice, in which, by means of the material elements, the representative body and blood of Christ is offered for sins.* Watcrland's Between these views, so widely conflicting, the cview of j.g^j truth was in danger of being lost, when at the Doctrine ^ y ' 0/ the Eueba- ^Q^^gth Dr. Waterland produced his great work on ^'■^^- the subject, the fruit of many years' labour and study. In this the grace of the Lord's Supper is shown to be special, not ordinary ; the sacrifice * This work, which shows considerable learning and great knowledge of the Fathers, was first published in 1714, and after- wards reprinted in 1724. Mr. Johnson was one of the proctors of his diocese in Convocation, and is often wrongly described as a Noniuror, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 341 Eucharistic, not material; the real presence spiritual, Chap. XLI. not corporeal. This is by many conceived to be ^723-' 74' Waterland's greatest work, and has generally been treated almost as the text-book of the Church of England on this important doctrine.* In this hot contentious strife about the doctrines of the faith, much of its reality, power, and life were forgotten. The lovers of religion were awed and cowed by the numerous attacks which were directed against it on every side. Many of its de- fenders by their injudicious admissions, and the low standard which they favoured, were doing it still greater mischief. At the same time that an insidi- ous scepticism invaded the intellect of the country, a gross licentiousness corrupted its morals, while the clergy, paralysed by the powerful opposition to their teaching, receded further and further into the regions of common-place, and enunciated the merest platitudes of morality instead of the sublime truths of Scripture. It was far easier to abandon the doctrines of the Prayer Book, and to treat the Sacraments as matters of trivial importance, than to defend them against the Latitudinarian and the Sceptic ; while the general looseness of manners pervading, as it always does, the clerical body when . it predominates among the laymen, encouraged some to a carelessness which procured them a cheap regard from the squire and yeoman. Socinian and Pelagian teaching did not so directly condemn care- less lives as Christianity would have done, and * Van Mildert's Life ofWnterland, p. 143 — 188. Bishop Hoadly's Works, iii. 342 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLT. hence Socinian and Pelagian views were spreading' 1723-1741. jii^g ^ blight over the Church of England. Provi- Origin of the (jgi^tially at the moment of pjreatest danger, an Methodists. .,•'' ,, . rj a 111 antidote to this poison was round. A small knot of zealous men began to set forth views in direct opposition to these pestilential errors, though in a manner not conformable to the wise moderation of the Church of England. The advocates of these opinions met with a storm of opposition, oppro- brium, and reviling, but they quickly made that progress which men thoroughly in earnest are sure to command. They were a party of young men at Oxford, the eldest of whom were John Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College, and Charles his brother, a student of Christ Church. With these, George Whitfield, son of a Gloucester innkeeper, and ser- vitor of Pembroke College, Ingham of Queen's, Morgan of Christ Church, Kirkman of Merton, Broughton of Exeter, and James Hervey, formed a small coterie or club. Their meetings began in 1729, when John Wesley came to reside at college and take pupils, and continued with some inter- missions and change of members till 1735, when John and Charles Wesley sailed for Georgia. " Our design," says John Wesley, '^ was to read over the classics which we had before read in private on common nights, and on Sunday some book in divi- nity."* Gradually they were brought to add to this the visiting of prisoners in the gaol, and of sick persons in the town, the receiving the Holy Com- munion once a week, the practice of fasting, and other * Wesley's hitroductory Letter to his Journal^ p. 6. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 343 religious exercises. They were assailed with much Chap. XLI. ridicule, and called the Holy Club, the Godly »723-i74'- Club, the Sacramentarians, and the Methodists, from their professing to live by exact method or system; but all this did not move them, for their zeal was too fervent to feel the shafts of ridicule. In the meantime, a mystical turn was given to John Wesley's religious views by the study of the writings of William Law and some German mys- tical authors. The teaching of these writers, as it excited his enthusiasm to a high pitch, at the same time failed to give him inward contentment and peace. His Journal for the years 1736, 1737, records many instances of his doubts, fears, and perplexities. During this period, he was in Georgia, whither he had gone with his brother Charles, in August, 1735. Owing to various circumstances, he found his usefulness in that colony prevented, and he returned to England on February i, 1738. The ship which brought him home was passed in the Downs by the vessel which was carrying out his old friend Whitfield to join him in America ; and no sooner had Mr. Wesley found his way to London, than he dis- covered abundant traces of the work which this highly-gifted and enthusiastic man had been per- forming in his absence. Whitfield had, in 1736, been ordained deacon at the age of twenty-one, by Benson, Bishop of Gloucester, and the follow- ing year had preached his first sermon in London in Bishopsgate Church. His extraordinary powers as a preacher, his unequalled voice, his impassioned 344 "^^^ HISTORT OF Chap. XLI. manner, his unfailing command of language, 1723-1741. attracted immediate attention, and his popularity at once became extreme. He thus describes the effects of his work in London. " For nearly three months, there was no end of people's flocking to hear the Word of God. Sometimes constables were obliged to be placed at the doors both without and within. One might, as it were, walk upon the people's heads. Thousands went away from the largest churches for want of room. I now preached generally nine times a week. The people were all attention as hearing for eternity. The early Sacraments were exceedingly awful. Oh, how often at Cripplegate, St. Anne's, and Foster Lane, have we seen Jesus Christ crucified and evidently set forth before us. On Sunday mornings, long before day, you might see streets filled with people going to church with their lanthorns in their hands, and hear them conversing of the things of God." * Similar effects were produced by this impassioned orator at Bristol, Bath, and Gloucester. Yet, in the midst of his triumphs, he thought it his duty to abandon England and to follow the example of his friends the Wesleys in going to preach to the American colonists. It was doubtless owing to the excite- ment caused by the preaching of Whitfield, and the offence taken at it by moderate persons, that John Wesley found, on his arrival in London, so much opposition raised against his views. He obtained access at first to many pulpits, but one ♦ Philip's Liff of Whitfield, p. 50. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 345 after another they were closed against him. * Chap. XLI. Meantime, an event important to his future career »723-»74»- had happened to him. On his return from America, he had formed the acquaintance of Peter B()hler, a German of the Moravian sect, and a thorough enthusiast on the matter of subjective rehgion. John Wesley became convinced by his arguments, as did also his brother Charles. The sum of Bohler's teaching is thus given in Mr. Wesley's Journal, i. When a man has living faith in Christ, then he is justified. 1. This is always given in a moment. 3. And in that moment he has peace with God. 4. Which he cannot have without knowing that he has it. 5. And being born of God he sinneth not. 6. Which deliverance from sin he cannot have without knowing that he has it.f In accordance with these new views, John Wesley considered himself to have been instantaneously converted about nine o'clock on Wednesday, May 24, 1738, while he was at a meeting of a society in Aldersgate Street, and some one was reading Luther's Introduction to the Epistle to the Romans. The same assu- rance had been given to his brother Charles three days previously. J These opinions now gave a greater point, distinctness, and earnestness to the preaching of the two brothers, and, in their hands, were made eminently attractive to uneducated and unreflecting minds. The beginnings of a little society had been already made (May i), of which * See his Journal for 1738, which records numerous instances, t Wesley's Journal, i., 1 1 1 . % Ibid., i., 96, 103. 346 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. the fundamental rules were the following : " In 1 723-1 741. obedience to the command of God, by St. James, and by the advice of Peter Bohler, it is agreed by us, I. That we will meet together once a week to ' confess our faults one to another, and pray one for another that we may be healed.' 2. That the persons so meeting be divided into several bands or little companies, none of them consisting of fewer than five or more than ten persons. 3. That every one in order speak as freely, plainly, and concisely as he can the real state of his heart, with his temptations and deliver- ances, since the last time of meeting. 4. That all the bands have a conference at eight every Wednesday evening, begun and ended with sing- ing and prayer. 5. That any who desire to be admitted into this society be asked What are your reasons for desiring this ? Will you be entirely open, using no kind of reserve ? Have you any objection to any of our orders? (which may then be read.) 6. That when any new member is proposed, every one present speak clearly and freely what- ever objection he has to him. 7. That those against whom no reasonable objection appears, be, in order to their trial, formed into two or more distinct bands, and some person agreed on to assist them. 8. That after two months' trial, if no objection then appear, they may be admitted into the society. 9. That every fourth Saturday be observed as a day of general intercession. 10. That on the Sunday seven-night following be a general love feast, from seven till ten in the evening, i i. That THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 347 no particular member be allowed to act in anything Chap. XLI. contrary to any order of the society ; and that, if * 723-1 74*- any persons, after being thrice admonished, do not conform thereto, they be not any longer esteemed as members."* This society met first in Fetter Lane. The enthusiasm which it engendered and supported soon began to display itself with striking effect. Mr. Whitfield returned from Georgia in the autumn of 1738 ; and on the ist of January of the following year, we have an entry in Mr. Wesley's Journal, which shows that one of the peculiar fea- tures of his system had already been developed. At the love-feast in Fetter Lane, " about three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many/d"// to the ground. ''"^ As the excitement spread, both Whitfield and Wesley began to preach in the open air to immense audiences. J In their sermons they were sometimes interrupted by per- sons crying out " as in the agonies of death," but • though this at first '^ startled them," they soon became accustomed to the various forms of delirium and hysteria which their enthusiastic fer- vour produced, and even began to look upon them as fitting proofs of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. § Mr. Wesley's power * Wesley^s yourna/, i., gz. f Ibid.yi., ijo. X Philip's Life of Whitfield, p. 79. § Joiirnaly i., 186, 187, 189, &c. " As men are intoxicated by strong drink aflfecting the mind through the body, so are they by strong passions influencing the body through the mind. Here there was nothing but what would naturally follow when persons 348 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLI. of enduring fatigue was truly marvellous. He 1723-I7+J- preached every day, sometimes three or four times. In some cases the clergy allowed him the use of their churches, in others he addressed ten or twelve thousand people in the open air. In 1739 he was principally occupied at Bristol and the neighbourhood, and here, near St. James's Church, the first chapel was built in the spring of this year. Mr. Wesley, however, earnestly exhorted his hearers to use diligently the means of grace pro- vided by the Church. He himself read daily the morning service of the Church ; observed and recommended to others the observance of the weekly fast, and strongly enforced attendance at the Doctrines of Holy Communion as a chief means of grace.* He Wesley and (declared that he did not differ in any point from the doctrines of the Church of England, but at the same time he stated his belief to be that justifica- tion was produced by an act of faith antecedent to and independent of good works (" faith including no good work"). That sanctification was " an inward thing, namely, the life of God in the soul of man." That the new birth was not baptismal, but a change " from outward wickedness to inward goodness."! In these doctrines Wesley and Whit- field agreed, though they differed on the doctrines in a state of spiritual drunkenness abandoned themselves to their sensations, and such sensations spread rapidly both by voluntary and involuntary imitation." — Southey's Life of Wesley, i., 239. * Wesley's Journal, i., 1 85, 23 i, 282, &c. t Journal, i., 224. It will be seen that Mr. Wesley after- wards greatly modified these views as he shrank more and more from Calvinism and Antinomianism. Whitfield. rHE CHURCH of England. 349 of election and predestination. Faith, in their Chap.XLL view, was a firm persuasion and assurance of per- '723-174^- sonal forgiveness.* It was to be evidenced not by works but by inward perceptible motions of the spirit. The new birth and sanctification were ex- plained as purely inward processes. Wesley indeed was not Antinomian in his teaching, though his doctrines had that tendency. Internal religion was exalted, and external religion was treated with somewhat of contempt. But when he came to meet these views face to face, as, in the year 1740 he had to do in the case of the Moravians, he declared plainly for the necessity of good works, and the use of ordinances. The society in Fetter Lane, which had been They sepa- founded by the Wesleys on the rules of Peter ^^^^ ^^°^^ ^^^ Bohler, soon completely abandoned the more sober teaching of its English pastors, and adopted the wild mysticism of the Moravians. These views are stated by Mr. Wesley to have been as follows : " The way to attain faith (you say) is to wait for Christ and be still — that is not to use (what we term) means of grace — not to go to church — not to communicate — not to fast — not to use so much private prayer — not to read the Scripture — not to do temporal good — nor to attempt doing spiritual good." All this was strongly condemned by the * "That faith, which is the sole condition of justification, is a sure trust which a man hath that Christ hath loved him, and died for him.'" — Wesley's Jota-nal, i., 255. This is, in fact, to assert that sins may be forgiven without repentance, for, according to Mr. Wesley's own definition, justification is " the present remis- sion of our sins." — 'Journal y i., 254. 350 THE HISTORT OF Difference between Wesley and Whitfield. Chap. XLT. Wesleys, as well as by Whitfield, and they soon 1 723- 174 1, separated themselves completely from the original Fetter Lane Society, and from all connection with the Moravians.* Not less sound and judicious was the conduct pur- sued by John Wesley and his brother, with regard to the prominent assertion of the doctrines of election and reprobation, predestination and irresistible grace, which was zealously followed by Mr. Whitfield. In the beginning of 1740, John Wesley preached strongly against Whitfield's views on these points, at which the latter was much offended. A sermon was preached by him in reply, and by the manage- ment of some injudicious friends printed and dis- tributed. Like all Whitfield's published writings, it was poor and shallow, and was treated with con- siderable contempt by Mr. Wesley. This served to cause a complete breach between them. " He told me," says Mr. Wesley, '' he and I preached two different gospels, and therefore he not only would not join with or give me the right hand of fellowship, but was resolved publicly to preach against me and my brother wheresoever he preached at all."f Henceforth their paths were separate, and though the Christian friendship which existed between them was not long interrupted, yet they were not again found, except on rare occasions, working together. * Wesley's Journal, i., 2 8 2. Philip's Life of Whitfield, ch. xxi. Southey's Life of Wesley, ch. x. t yc//r/7^/, i.,305. V\\)\\\^\ Life of Whitfield, q\\.\\\\. Southey's Life of Wesley, ch. xi. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 351 Mr. Wesley had thus freed himself from Anti- Chap. XLI. nomlanism on one hand, and Calvinism on the ^723-1741. other, but yet there was much of danger in the ^^'^f\f doctrines which he cherished. His zealous assertion views. of subjective religion came most opportunely to awaken the Church from the Pelagianizing ten- dency of the views of Hoadly and the Latitudina- rians, but yet it was charged with perils of its own. To exaggerate sensations and feelings into a test of new birth and acceptance with God, to attribute justification to a simple act of the mind, and at the same time to assert that perfection can be reached by the growth of this inward life, is to strike at the root of all sober moral teaching ; and however much the preacher may assert that good works will not be wanting if the faith is earnest, it is evident that the system does not allow the due place for good works, justification having preceded them, and sanctification depending on inward conditions alone. The great Bishop Bull, in his work on Justifica- Character of tion, had long ago refuted Solifidianism, but under tio^n°made\o the powerful eloquence of Wesley and Whitfield, it them. revived with alarming rapidity. The opposition which was made to them only served to establish their doctrines. Men ignorant of the true teaching of the Scriptures, and of the very language of their own formularies, undertook to prove that to speak of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, was to use the language of enthusiasm, and were of course triumphantly refuted. It was this which induced Dr. Waterland to give to the world his Regeneration Stated, and his Summary View of the Doctrine of 352 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. Justification^ in which the true Catholic doctrine 1 723- 1 74 J • on all the points most insisted on by the new school of preachers is set forth. " Without any personal notice of these new enthusiasts," says Bishop Van Mildert, " not only their errors but those of less exceptionable writers are refuted ; not in the spirit of controversy, but by a plain and lucid exposition of the doctrine, as deducible from Scripture, reason, and antiquity, and in connection with the whole system of our redemption."* Not long after the publication of these tracts, the valuable labours of Dr. Waterland in behalf of the Church were brought to a premature termination by his death from what appeared to be a trifling ailment. Difficulties of Meantime, the clergy of the Church were placed the clergy jj^ ^ most difficult position by the rapid growth through the riv/Tii- 11 •• 11 r • spread of ^^ Methodism, and the itmerant labours or its Methodism, preachers. Mr. Wesley, on his journeys from one place to another, generally applied for the use of the church, and as being an ordained clergyman, and not under any ecclesiastical censure, some of the clergy were ready to grant his request. By doing so, however, they seemed to be giving their countenance to the wild scenes of hysterical ravings which almost invariably followed his preaching, when sometimes his voice could scarcely be heard for the shrieking, howling, and roaring of those who were " struck down." They might also appear to be lending their approval to the doctrine that inward sensations and convictions are the true test of religion. It is wonderful, indeed, that the * Life of Water ltj)id, p. 1 40. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 353 very numerous cases which Mr. Wesley records Chap, XLI. with perfect honesty, wherein these sensations were ' 723- •74'- proved to be utterly fallacious, did not open his eyes to their deceptive character, but they were constantly set forth by him as of the utmost value and Importance. Should, however, a clergyman to whom application had been made for his church — alarmed at the extravagance of the doc- trines preached, and the wild delirium of the scenes which often followed — refuse the use of his church, and take a strong stand against the Methodists, he was certain to be accused of want of zeal and want of knowledge, and to have his usefulness to his flock greatly endangered. The railing and rudeness which the preachers often met with, and sometimes from clergymen,* served to give a disgraceful character to the opposition to them, and to imply an irreligious temper in it which might well deter serious men from appearing as their antagonists. These shrank back into obscurity, and left the contest against the Metho- dists to be conducted by irreligious men, and on grounds hostile to all devout earnestness. Thus, by the silence of the good, and the pro- Odium minence of objectionable champions, the Church ^'°"l^ T" 1-1 • 1 A/r 1 1. , the Church. appeared, in her contest with Methodism, to be waging a war against zeal and earnestness in reli- * " How bishops have treated the Methodists in common dis- course I have been an ear-witness myself; viz., with language not only below the Episcopal dignity, but even inconsistent with common decency — in which, to my knowledge, they have been followed with great zeal by our brethern, from the chaplain to the country curate." — Archdeacon Blackburue's Works, i , 312. VOL. III. A A 354 5^^^ HISrORT OF Chap. XLr. gion, and to be defending lukewarmness and worldly 1723-1741. living.* Sir R. Wal- A timidity in the assertion of Church principles pole's admi- ^^^^ Catholic truth unhappily gained ground, and this paVona°g^° was not checked by the conduct of those who were in authority. For upwards of twenty years the nation was governed by a Minister who dexter- ously made up for his want of a policy and the possession of any great qualities, by the skilful administration of bribes, and the unprincipled use of his patronage. Under such a Governor morality must needs suffer, while learning, eloquence, zeal, devotion, could look for no countenance nor pro- motion. The highest qualities of Churchmen, and those most calculated to uphold the Church against the Methodists were thus unnoticed, while, at the same time, brilliancy, talent, and the power of dis- putation, were at an exceptional value. George II. was no more of an English Church- man than his father, and cared as little for learned * Archbishop Seeker was careful to warn his clergy against this danger. " When we are undoubtedly informed of any extrava- gant things which they have asserted or done, it may be useful to speak strongly of them ; but not with anger and exaggeration, which will only give them a handle to censure our uncharitable- ness, and confute us. Nor will ridicule become our character or serve our cause better than invective. Persons negligent of reli- gion will think that all they need to avoid is being righteous over- much. Tender minds will be grieved and wounded by such ill- placed levity, and crafty declaimers will rail at us with success as * scoffers, denying the power of godliness.' But if we let fall any light expressions that can be wrested into a seeming disre- spect of any Scripture doctrine or phrase, we shall give our adver- saries unspeakable advantages, and they have shown that they will use them without mercy or equity."— Seeker's Seventh Charge, Works, v., 469. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 355 divines as he did for great artists. But his consort Chap. XLI. was of a different character. Queen CaroHne was a »723-»74»- clever woman, and was much interested in questions ^^^^ of divinity, though rather for purposes of inquiry than devotion. At her levee divines attended, and prayers, and sometimes a sermon, were read while Court gossip went on freely all around, and scandal was retailed in audible whispers.* Of a piece with this was the Queen's behaviour in chapel, where she talked politics with the King through the whole service.t Her want of reverence, combined with her taste for philosophical discussion, served to make her favour those divines who had the greatest talent for controversy. She was fond of Samuel Clarke and Bishop Hoadly, and Dr. Sherlock had the especial good fortune both to be pleasing to the Queen for his disputatious talents, and to have been also the Eton friend of Sir R. Walpole. Hence his advancement to the See of London.J With the Queen's taste for metaphysics and divinity it was natural that she should rescue as much Church patronage as she could obtain from the grasp of Sir R. Walpole. Her favourite. Lady Sundon, was thought to have great power of preferment in her hands, and was courted accordingly.^ Certainly the appointments made were such as were very defensible on the score of talent and eminence in learning, and the Church can never forget that she * Coxe's Memoirs of Sir R. Walpole, ii., 9. t Newton s Life, p. 148. Coxe's Walpole, ii., 27. + Hughes's Life of Sherlock, p. 48. § Bishop Pearce's Life, by himself, p. 387. A A 2 2s6 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XLI. owes a debt of gratitude to the memory of Queen 1723-1741. Caroline for having procured high and justly deserved distinctions for the good and amiable Berkeley, and the great and surpassing Butler. BishopButlcr. Joseph Butler, the son of a Presbyterian shop- keeper at Wantage, had been sent to a Dissenting academy at Tewkesbury, where he had for a com- panion and friend Thomas Seeker, afterwards Arch- bishop of Canterbury. At the age of twenty-two he gave proof of his great metaphysical powers by conducting, anonymously, a correspondence with Dr. Samuel Clarke on the argument a priori ; Mr. Seeker, in order to ensure secrecy, conveying Butler's letters to the post-office, and calling for Dr. Clarke's replies.* Having, after due consideration, deter- mined to seek for orders in the Church, Mr. Butler was suffered by his father, very unwillingly, to go to Oxford, where he formed a friendship with Edward Talbot, son of the Bishop of Durham. Imme- diately after his ordination he obtained, through Mr. Talbot's influence, the preachership of the Rolls, where he delivered those famous sermons which contain in themselves almost a complete body of moral philosophy. His friend, Edward Talbot, died ; but the bishop showed himself mindful of the interests of his son's friends, and, in 1725, gave Butler the living of Stanhope, almost the wealthiest benefice in England. It is said that Butler was not altogether happy here on account of the great retirement of the situation. Meanwliile, his friends, confident in his great abilities, were striving to * Portcus's Life of Seeker, p. 2. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 357 bring him forth from his seclusion. Mr. Seeker Chap. XLI. had been made Chaplain to the Queen on the '723-'74»- recommendation of Bishop Sherlock, and in a con- versation which he had with her Majesty took occa- sion to mention Mr. Butler. The Queen, who, doubtless, was acquainted with his name from his philosophical sermons, said she thought he was dead. " No, Madam," said Archbishop Black- burne, " but he is buried." Soon after this the Lord Chancellor Talbot, brother of his friend, made Mr. Butler his chaplain, and this having brought him to London and into notice, in 1736, he was appointed Clerk of the Closet to the Queen. In the same year he presented to her Majesty his Publication celebrated treatise. The Analogy of Religion Natural j^aloz^j and Revealed to the Constitution and course of Nature. " A work," as has been well said, " too thoughtful for the flippant taste of the sceptical school, and, indeed, only to be truly appreciated after much and patient meditation. It is not a short line that will fathom Butler. Let a hundred readers sit down to the Analogy^ and, however various the associations of thought excited in their minds by the perusal (whether as objections or otherwise) they will find, on examination, that Butler has been beforehand with them in all. Whether we consider it as directly corroborative of the scheme of Christianity by showing its con- sistency with natural religion, or whether (which is, perhaps, its most important aspect) as an answer to these objections which may be brought against Christianity arising out of the difficulties involved 358 rilE HISrORT OF Chap. XLI. In it, we look upon the Analogy of Bishop Butler 1723-1741- as the work above all others on which the mind can repose with the most entire satisfaction, and faith found itself as if on a rock."* Another learned writer thus criticises Butler's famous treatise : "It is no paradox to say that the merit of the Analogy lies in its want of originality .... Its admirable arrangement, only, is all its own. Its substance are the thoughts of a whole age — not barely compiled, but each reconsidered and digested."! The Queen, delighted with Butler's great work, and charmed with his conversation, recommended him strongly to the King for a bishopric. She died, indeed, before she could see her wish realised; but, very shortly after her death, Butler was made Bishop of Bristol and Dean of St. Paul's, the King designing to bestow on him still more splendid preferment. The religious policy of Sir R. Walpole, if it was not guided by any high principle, was never- theless in a high degree prudent. Thus, as the Quakers were an influential body, and useful to his party at elections, he brought in (1736) a Bill for their relief from some inconveniences and hardships in which their scruples involved them with regard to the payment of tithes and eccle- siastical dues. On the other hand, knowing the vast power of the Church to influence the public mind, he always resisted the repeal of the Test Act, though it was often pressed upon him * ^iiirterly Review, vol. xxxviii., p. 309. t Mr. Pattison*s Essay, Essays and Reviews, p. 287 (3rd cd.). THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 359 forcibly by the Dissenters, with whom he acted, Chap. XLI. and their supporters.* Indeed, comparatively few ^723-'74»- public men could as yet see their way to the repeal of the Test Act, though, divorced as it now was from the Occasional Conformity law, it was simply an institution for encouraging hypocrisy and degrading the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. In 1736, its repeal was negatived in the Commons by 251 against i23.f The influence of the clergy was also sufficient to cause the rejection in the Lords of Sir R. Walpole's measure for the relief of the Quakers, a matter at which the minister was extremely Irritated and especially Indignant at Gibson, Bishop of London, who had been zealous In marshalling the opposition to it. Bishop Gibson, during the long Illness of Arch- Bishop bishop Wake, had acted as the minister's secretary Gibson. for ecclesiastical affairs, and so high did he stand In his favour, that he was usually called " the heir apparent of Canterbury." The greater credit is due to him for acting according to his conscience in resisting a measure which he believed to be dangerous, though it should cost him (as It evi- dently did) the Primacy. J Nor is this the only point in which the learned author of the Codex Is deserving of credit for his administration of the diocese of London. He is said to have remon- * Coxe's Walpole, ii., 367, 370. Tinchil's Continuation^ viii., 186. In 1739, when ^ deputation waited on tlie minister on the part of the Dissenters and pressed him as to when he thought the time for the repeal would arrive, he answered frankly that the time would never arrive. — Coxe, iii., 92. f Coxe's Walpole^ ii., 367. J Ibid.y ii., 373. 36o THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLI. strated strongly with the King against the pre- ^ 723-^ 74 1- valence of masquerades at Court and the license which was encouraged by them — a license which had a pernicious effect on the state of morals in the country. The bishop also took a very decided and able line in the Deistical controversy, and in two pastoral letters which he published appeared as a powerful champion for the truth. But whatever his merits, political insubordination to the all-powerful minister was a fault too great to be overlooked, and much to the astonishment of the clergy, when Archbishop Wake at last sank, in January, 1737, the Primacy was given, not to the Bishop of London, but to Dr. John Potter, Bishop of Oxford. This appointment, indeed, was highly creditable both to the Queen, who suggested it, and to the minister who acquiesced in it. Potter was a High Churchman and a learned divine of the patristic school. His treatise on Church Government is of the type of Hall, Taylor, and Bilson. He had written vigorously against Hoadly, and had been complimented by the Bishop of Bangor by being described as the antagonist of whom he was most afraid. * When Fellow of Lincoln College, at the early age of twenty-three, Mr. Potter had astonished the learned world by his famous treatise on The Antiquities of Greece^ having previously edited Plutarch^ Basil, and Lycophron. Advanced by the interest of the Duchess of Marlborough * Anderson's Life of Potter, p. 8. See Disney's Life of Sykes, p. 15. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 361 to the Divinity Chair at Oxford, 'he had occupied Chap. XLI. that important post for thirty -one years, and ^ 72 3-' 74*- for twenty-two he had been Bishop of Oxford. He was a great favourite with Queen Caroline though differing in some essential points from the character of divine usually preferred by her. A Whig in politics he was yet a High Churchman in divinity, and was somewhat stiff in his deport- ment, and exact and unbending in his views. The son — like Tillotson, and Seeker, and Moore — of a small tradesman, he had raised himself by his own merits and learning. His promotion could not be said to be due to an attempt to conciliate powerful families or to any political help anti- cipated from his oratory in Parliament. And if, as Primate, Potter did not make any striking impression or inaugurate any great reform, at any rate^ under him the Church was saved from the danger which at that moment was no slight one of having a deliberate attack made upon her for- mularies and confessions, and the subscription to them.* Had Hoadly been made Primate, perhaps Danger of something of this sort might have been attempted, ^^^^ Church, and though Sir Robert Walpole would not care to originate, he might have been equally careless as to opposing any measure proceeding from the bishops. Mr. Pulteney, Walpole's successor in power, was indeed somewhat more of a Churchman,-)- but he * When tlie two Weslcys called upon Archbishop Potter, he assured them that there should be no innovation in the formu- laries of the Church while he lived. — Southey's Life of Wesley, i., 221. ■j" See Lives of Bishop Newton and Bishop Pearce, London, 1816. ;^62 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLI. soon sacrificed himself by his scruples about taking 1723-1741. office, and the chief power fell to Mr.Pelham and his brother the Duke of Newcastle, men of the school of Walpole but without his ability and tact. And, indeed, so rapid was the spread of Latitudina- rianism, that even a minister well-disposed towards the Church might have mistaken the wishes of the clergy, had a change been advocated by the leading bishops. Hoadly, however, was but an indifferent speaker; the Episcopal orator in the House of Lords was Bishop Sherlock, and he was somewhat more of a Churchman.* In the meantime, some of the Latitudinarians had, as we have seen, taken up a ground which, however difficult it may be to reconcile it with the ordinary- notions of honesty, at any rate greatly helped to save the Church from dangerous attacks. They had persuaded themselves that the formularies of the Church might be subscribed, not in the sense of the framers or imposers, but in a sense which they themselves had invented for them. Thus, even Arian and Socinian views did not make them tremble for their preferments or excite them to seek for easier terms of conformity. Yet these lax notions, which must have occasionally troubled the conscience, might easily have been diverted by a bold advocate of sweeping changes into a determined attack upon the Church. A man, by ingenious sophistry, may persuade himself that * Even Sherlock was in favour of a Comprehension scheme with Dissenters. — See letter quoted below. Doddridge's Cor- respondencey v., 41. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 2^3 he can make a subscription in a peculiar sense, Chap. XLI. but he would always rather not have to use the * 723-1 74'- sophistry or make the subscription. Hence there was plenty of material for any agitator against confessions to make use of, and the dangerous movement which, in fact, took place under his immediate successors In the Primacy, may well make us esteem the somewhat cold and dry ortho- doxy of Archbishop Potter as of essential service to the Church. 3^4 THE HISTORT OF CHAPTER XLIL Chap. XLIL Proceedings of Convocation — Jacobitism among the clergy — 1 741-1772. Herring, Archbishop of York — Translated to Canterbury — Butler at Durham — The Durham charge — Francis Blackburne — The Serious Inquiry — The calumny on Butler — The Free and Candid Disquisitions — Negotiations for a comprehension — Archdeacon Blackburne's avowal of his objections to the Church — Bishop Clayton's Essay on Spirit — George Home — The Hutchinsonians — The Scriptural school — The War- bur tonians — Warburton's Fiew of Bolingbroke's writings — Change in the character of the attacks upon religion — The writers in defence of Christianity — Hume's Essay on Miracles — The good Bishop Wilson — Grievous state of the Church at this period — Nonresidence of bishops — Want of orthodoxy — Negligence of deans and chapters — Nonresidence defended on principle — Archbishop Seeker — The question of bishops for America — Violent opposition to it — A great danger to the Church — The movement against subscription to the Thirty- nine Articles — The Confessional — Archbishop Cornwallis — Proposals for an application to Parliament — Meeting at the Feathers Tavern — Petition drawn up and circulated — Expec- tations of the petitioners — They prove fallacious — Debate in Parliament on the anti-subscription petition — Mr. Burke's speech — The petition rejected. Proceedings of Convoca- tion. N the accession of Potter to the Primacy, a general opinion seems to have prevailed that the action of Convocation would be revived.* A rumour of the same sort had been prevalent at the beginning of the reign of George II., when it was found that * Lathbury's History of Convocation, p. 465. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 365 "the inferior clergy had returned to a sense of Chap. XLII. their duty, were willing to be prorogued by the ^74i-i772- archbishop, to concur in the address, to have their Prolocutor confirmed."* But no license for busi- ness came. At the meeting of the two Houses to vote the address, the bishops made a declaration as to the power of the archbishop to prorogue, and the Archdeacon of Lincoln brought forward cer- tain gravamina in the Lower House, which he was ordered to put into writing for the next meeting of Convocation. It does not appear that any meeting for discussion again took place till the year 1741, when the new Parliament met, which overthrew the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. At this time the Convocation assembled, the Primate delivered a Concio Synodalis, in which an eloquent tribute is paid to the merits of Dr. Waterland, who had been chosen Prolocutor in 1732, and Archdeacon Reynolds produced a paper containing his propositions on the points which he had before introduced.f His views which were of a Latitudi- narian order, were not acceptable to the majority of the Lower House. Dr. Chapman, Dean of Winchester, spoke strongly against them, declaring that they were a libel on the Constitution, and the House on his motion voted that they should not be received. J The next trace of any life in the Jacobitism Synod of the Church, is in the year 1755, when ^^j^^^g^^S/^" * Archdeacon Reynolds's Historical Essay, p. 206. f The state of the Ecclesiastical Courts. Clandestine Marriages. Qualifications for Orders. Titles and Salaries of Curates. — Reynolds's Essay, p. 207. I Reynolds's Historical Essay, ^. 241. 266 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. there was some discussion occasioned by the publi- 1 741-1772. cation of Lord Bolingbroke's Works, and an address to the Crown was agreed upon, calling for the sup- pression of atheistical and blasphemous writings.* Again, in 176 1, at the beginning of the new reign, when the formal meeting of Convocation took place, and an address was voted to the King, Archbishop Seeker had prepared an Oratio Syno- dalis, which he was too ill to deliver, but which is to be found in his works. In this he declares his opinion, that those who desire the restoration of Synodal action, and the revival of discipline, "parum vident quid ferant tempora, quove loco simus." The Deists and Infidels, the Romanists and Dissenters would, said the Primate, strive to set all things in confusion, many monstrous and wild opinions would be brought forward ; if the Synod did little, all men would deride their inacti- vity ; if it did much, all men would fear their rest- lessness and love of change. Upon these grounds he concludes that no license for business was desir- able.t Indeed, whatever may have been the case at a later date, it is probable that in 1741 a license to transact business might have been as fruitless in results as it had been on previous occasions. The clergy were still divided by strong political animo- sities. The Latitudinarians cried up the House of Hanover, the High Churchmen affected a tender regard for the exiled Stuarts. These divisions * Tindal's Cotitinuntioriy ix., 530. f Seeker's Works ^ v., 508, sq. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 367 Imported a bitterness and ferocity into their contro- Chap. XLII. versial discussions, which increased the strength of *74»->772- theological antipathies. But the attachment of the High Church clergy to the Stuarts was more a sen- timent than a practical matter. When, in 1745, the young Charles Edward at the head of his gal- lant Highlanders, came sweeping through asto- nished England, and penetrated as far as Derby, the clergy were no more forward than the rest of his nominal English adherents to join his enter- prise.* The solid advantages of a quiet Govern- ment with no greater grievance than neglect, proved stronger inducements to them to remain quiet than the sentimental loyalty which still mag- nified hereditary right, and the annoyance at the favour shown to Latitudinarian bishops, did to excite them to dangerous action. As the High- landers advanced through England, the prevailing sentiment was one of indifference. f It seemed as if the people did not take much interest in the ques- tion as to whether King George or King James was to be their ruler. The clergy so far shared the popular sentiment as ^ot to be willing to show any decided earnestness m the matter. It was safer to wait for the result, and to express their zeal after- wards in carefully worded addresses. There were, however, some exceptions to this Herring, cautious temper. The University of Oxford was /y !^ °P strongly demonstrative in favour of the Stuart * Tindal's Continuatmiy ix., 204. Lord Mahon's History of England, iii., 268, 271, iv., 8, &c. f Lord Mahon's History, iii., 271. 368 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLIL family, and so deeply did its open Jacobitism 1 741-1772. offend the Government, that several undergraduates who had made themselves conspicuous were tried and severely punished, while the address voted by the University at the conclusion of the French war was refused acceptance.* On the other side also, at least one prelate of the Church showed a zealous earnestness. The Primacy of the North was at the time of the Jacobite rebellion held by Arch- bishop Herring, who had been translated from Bangor in 1743. This prelate, full of enthusiasm for his patrons and of loyalty to the Government, exerted himself with great activity to rouse the Yorkshiremen to support King George. In the former rebellion Bishop Nicolson had done great things in the Diocese of Carlisle, and Archbishop Herring was not less successful now in Yorkshire. His eloquent appeals produced a general mustering of volunteers, and a subscription of no less than ^40,000 towards the expenses of defending the country. f When, in 1747, Archbishop Potter died, these services were not forgotten. The King, mindful of his late Queen's favourite divines, had caused the Primacy to be offered first to Bishop Sherlock and afterwards to Bishop Butler, but neither of these distinguished prelates thought fit to accept it. It is said that the great metaphy- sician, whose temperament was inclined to melan- choly, took so gloomy a view of the state of affairs, that he thought it too late to attempt to save the * Tindal's Continiujtiofi, ix., 398. f IbifLy ix., 192. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 369 Church of England;* Init why so able a man as Chap. XLIl. Bishop Sherlock refused the high honour is not so '74i-'772- clear. However, upon the refusal of these eminent divines, the high political merits of Archbishop Herring procured him the next offer, and he was T^^anslatcd to translated from York to Canterbury. That the Canterbury. new Primate was an amiable man all accounts agree. f He was, however, Latitudinarian, if not Arian in his views, and if he did not do much mischief to the Church, it was because he preferred an inactive peace to all other considerations. :j: He thus speaks of his elevation in a letter to a friend : " I think it happy that I am called up to this high station at a time when spite, and rancour, and narrowness of spirit are out of countenance ; when we breathe the benign and comfortable air of liberty and toleration, and the teachers of our common religion make it their business to extend its essential influence, and join in supporting its true interest and honour." § In the following year Bishop Sherlock succeeded to the Diocese of London, and, in 1750, the splendid preferment of g , Durham was conferred on Bishop Butler. An Durham, attempt was made by the Minister in conferring this promotion to rob it of somewhat of its ancient splendour, by separating from the bishopric the * See Bartlett's Life of Butler, p. 95. Hughes's Life of Sher- lock, p. 55. t See Life of Gilbert Wn kef eld, i., 1 4, 1 5. Walpole's George II. y L, 148. \ Lindsey's Historical View of Unitarian Doctrine, p. 236. Walpole's George 11. , i., 148. § Herring's Letters to Duncojnbe, p. 1 1 1 . VOL. III. B B 370 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. Lord-LIeutenancy of the County, which had 1 741-1772. j^jyy^ys hitherto accompanied it. This was firmly resisted by Butler, who declined to accept the See unless accompanied by all its accustomed privi- leges.* It was then conferred upon him '^ without any condition whatever," and to the universal satis- faction of all good men, the great Christian philo- sopher was advanced to one of the foremost places in the English Church. The same liberality which had distinguished him during his occupancy of the poor See of Bristol, continued to be conspicuous in the rich preferment of Durham. Scarcely had he taken possession of his diocese, before he began to build and improve both at Durham and Auck- land, and he immediately entered himself as a sub- scriber of ^^400 a year to the County Hospital of Durham. Three days a week he entertained the principal gentry of the county and neighbourhood, and the clergy were always welcome guests at the palace. j* The Durham Soon after Bishop Butler's translation to Dur- Chargc. ham, he assembled his clergy in visitation, and delivered to them that Charge which, from the extraordinary and malicious attacks that were made upon it and the groundless imputations that arose out of it, has obtained more attention than it otherwise would have commanded. Sir James Mackintosh's remark upon Butler has often been quoted, that '' no man who thought so well ever wrote so badly ; " and this, which is true of the sermons and in a less degree of the Analogy , is * ^zxxXQit's Life of Butler, Y>- 113. t Ihid.,"^. 194. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 371 eminently true of the Durham Charge. The style Chap. XLII. of this document is heavy and inelegant, there *74'-i772. is nothing to attract tlie attention or please the ear. But the matter of the Charge is replete with sound sense and wisdom, exhibiting a perception of the fitness of things far beyond what was common at that day, and likely to provoke the comments of the shallow writers who then boasted themselves as liberal and enlightened. In the outset of the Charge, the bishop laments the general decay of religion in the nation and the wearing out of its influence from the minds of men. He comments upon the frequency of open attacks upon religion by infidels, and gives his clergy some very wise rules for their conduct when brought into collision with such men. " Religion is far too serious a matter to be made a hackney subject, and by preventing its being made so you will better secure the reverence which is due to it than by entering into its defence." " Notwithstanding we have the best cause in the world, and though a man were very capable of defending it, yet I know not why he should undertake it upon so great a disadvantage and to so little good effect as it must be done amidst the gaiety and carelessness of common conversation." * But what the clergy are recom- mended to avoid in common conversation they are encouraged to undertake in the pulpit, where it is very fitting that they should bring forward all the most weighty arguments to counteract the * Butler's M^orks (ed. 1828), p. 24.0. B B 2 372 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. prevailing scepticism. From this topic, the bishop 1 741 -1 772. passes to the consideration of the want of religion among the lower orders, and with a view to its revival he strongly presses upon the clergy the importance of attending to external religion. He recommends care being had to the repair and adorn- ment of churches, more frequent services, and a more systematic admonition to their flocks on the part of the clergy, the observance also of stated times of prayer in their families and in private. The bishop's language is so extremely moderate on the subject of external religion, and so cautious is he to warn against the form of godliness without the power,* that it seems hard to understand why his sober words should have stirred up the zeal of even the most jealous of Latitudinarians. Such, Archdeacon however, was the case. Francis Blackburne, Arch- Blackburne. ^jg^^con of Cleveland, thought himself bound to assail the bishop's theology. Blackburne was a man who, in those Latitudinarian times, obtained *a conspicuous pre-eminence as a writer against almost every distinctive point either of faith or worship in that Church to which he still clung with apparent inconsistency. Having met with this charge of the Bishop of Durham, he at once The Serious proceeded to animadvert upon it. In a tract of fiquiry, considerable length, called a Serious Enquiry into the Use and Importance of External Religion j\ he * Butler's Works ^ p. 252. t This tract was published anonymously, but was discovered to be Blackburne's by the vigilance and care of Archbishop Seeker, and was afterwards acknowledged by the Archdeacon. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 373 attacks Butler's position that " the form of religion Chap. XLII may indeed be where there is little of the thing '74'-'772 itself; but the thing itself cannot be preserved among mankind without the form." On this the following not very logical comment is bestowed. " The Christian religion was revealed and dis- pensed, as we are taught, to make mankind happy both here and hereafter ; we are further taught that the circumstances of this religion without the spirit or power of it will have no efficacy to procure this happiness ; now one or more par- ticular Christians may be so situated that they cannot have the benefit of the form. Apply your lordship's doctrine to the case of such people, and the consequence will be that they can have no religion amongst them."* Again, Butler had said, " In Roman Catholic countries, people cannot pass a day without having religion recalled to their thoughts by some or other memorial of it ; by some ceremony or public religious form occurring in their way : besides their frequent holidays, the short prayers they are daily called to, and the occasional devotions enjoined by con- fessors." On this the archdeacon comments, " This, my lord, is the passage which (taken along with your lordship's positions above laid down) may well give occasion of triumph to the Papists, and of grief and resentment to all good Christians and true Protestants : for if true reli- gion cannot be preserved among men without forms, and if the frequent occurrence of forms * Blackburne's Works (1804), i., 100. 374 "^HE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII. in some instance or other afford so many admoni- 1 741 -1772. XAons to bad men to repent, and to good men to grow better, the consequence must be that the Romish religion, having more of these instances and more frequent occurrences of forms, is better than other rehgions which have fewer of these instances and occurrences." * Bishop Halifax might well reply to this — ^^Nego consequentiam. There may be too much of form in religion as well as too little. One is Puritanism, the other Popery. Did the inquirer never hear of the possibility of having too much of a good thing ?"f The calumny The attack, however, of the Serious Enquirer on Butler, ^pon the charge of the great philosophical prelate had an effect of more importance than the strength of its arguments could have procured it. It laid the foundation for that scandal which was after- wards propagated against Butler, that he died in the communion of the Church of Rome. The matter was thoroughly investigated by Archbishop Seeker, the faithful friend of Butler, and the atrocious wrong of this utterly unfounded impu- tation seems to belong in no small degree to Archdeacon Blackburne and his son-in-law Theo- philus Lindsey, who may be presumed to have been somewhat a more honest man than the Archdeacon, inasmuch as he afterwards resigned his Church preferment to become the pastor of an Unitarian congregation.:!: During the last few years, Latitudinarian views * Blackburne's Works, i-> 1 1 3- t Halifax's ed. of Butler, p. 249. \ Bartlett's Life of Butler, ch. viii. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 375 had made surprising progress, and were now Chap. ^LII. seriously threatening the very existence of the I2j^^ . Church. In the year 1749, Mr. Jones, Vicar of ^^^^^^^^^ 2)//- Alconbury, near Huntingdon, gave to the world a quisitions, book called Free and Candid Disquisitions relating to the Church of England. This book was a com- pilation of passages from the writings of the great divines of the Church of England, and of letters, observations, and disquisitions from living divines of note, all tending to show the necessity of a review of the Prayer-Book, and of making omis- sions and alterations in it. The compiler or editor, a friend of Dr. Doddridge's, seems to have been a man of great moderation and prudence, and was by no means inclined to go far enough for the more fiery spirits among the clergy.* Warburton, having received a copy of the book from Doddridge, says of it, " As to the Disquisitions I will only say that the temper, candour, and charity with which they are wrote are very edifying and exemplary. I wish success to them as much as you can do."t A some- what rash and violent reply to the Disquisitions having been written by Mr. Boswell, of Taunton, Blackburne immediately wrote an Apology, which takes a far more decided line against the Church than the book it defends. With this book Hutton, Archbishop of York, was so pleased that he pro- moted Blackburne to the Archdeaconry of Cleve- land.J In fact the great danger to the Church lay in this, * Blackburne' s Lifey p. 1 3 . t Doddridge's Correspondence, v., 1 6j. J Blackburne s Life, p. 15. 376 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII. that scarce one of the prelates was to be depended ^7+'"^ 772. upon. A letter written about this time to Dr. fbr^a°Com-' Doddridge, and of the accuracy of which there prehension, is no doubt, shows vividly the peril to which the Church was exposed under the mild primacy of the amiable Herring. Mr. Chandler, an eminent Dis- senting minister, had heard a Charge to his clergy from Gooch, Bishop of Norwich, which he thought "not very candid." He wrote a letter to the bishop to remonstrate. The letter was followed by a visit, in which the two divines began to discuss the matter of a Comprehension. At another visit Sherlock, Bishop of London, was present, who thus oracularly delivered his views to the Non- conformist : " Our Church, Mr. Chandler, con- sists of three parts — Doctrine, Discipline, and Cere- monies ; as to the last, they should be left indif- ferent as they are agreed on all hands to be ; as to the second, it is so bad that no one knows how to mend it ; and as to the first, what is your objec- tion ?" " Your Articles, my lord," said Mr. Chandler, " must be expressed in Scripture words, and the Athanasian Creed must be discarded." Neither of the bishops saw any objection to this. Then came the point of reordination. Mr. Chandler, liberal in his turn, had no objection to the imposition of Episcopal hands provided no renunciation of previous orders was required. All things proceeding thus amicably. Bishops Sherlock and Gooch proposed that Archbishop Herring should be taken into their confidence. He was found still more liberal than his brethren. " A THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 2II Compfehenslon," he said, "was a very good thing, Chap. XLII. and he wished it with all his heart." "But, may ^74»-»772. it please your grace," said Bishop Gooch, " Mr. Chandler says the Articles must be altered into the words of Scripture." " And why not ?" replied the archbishop. The notion appeared to him to be quite a happy one, and (he added) " the Bench of Bishops seemed to be of his mind ;" but, as he was then obliged to go to Court, he would see Mr. Chandler another time.* In fact, the only security for the Church at this period seems to have been that which was pointed out by Warburton. " I can tell you of certain science," said he, " that not the least alteration will be made in the ecclesias- tical system. The present Ministers were bred up under, and act entirely on, the maxims of the last. And one of the principal of his (Sir R. Walpole's) was, not to stir what is at rest . . . Those at the head of affairs find it as much as they can do to govern things as they are, and they will never ven- ture to set one part of the clergy against the other ; the consequence of which would be, that, in the intrigues of political contests, one of the two parties would certainly fall in with the faction, if we must call it so, against the Court. "| The Church owed her deliverance from Comprehension rather to the timid policy of statesmen than to the fidelity of her own sons. Soon after this (1753) Archdeacon Blackburne made a formal declaration of his objections to the * Letter of Rev. John Barker to Dr. Doddridge (1748). Dodd- ridge Correspondence, v. 41. f Doddridge Correspondence, v. 167. 378 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. Prayer-Book, and, at the same time, gate his 174^-^772. reasons for remaining as a minister of a Church BlackbumT ^^^^^e ritual he disHked. This declaration was avows his Contained in a sermon written for Christmas Day, o^^^^^onsio jj^ which he strongly condemns the observance of that festival, and of any others appointed by the Church, and adds, " besides these festivals there are many other things in the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Church of England which are very exceptionable, not to say grievous to me, and other clergymen with whom I have conversed." Naturally enough, thinking that with these views his parishioners would inquire why he continued to minister to them, he gives the following reasons for so doing: — First, he pleads the fact of his having a wife and children to maintain. Secondly, he pleads his age and infirmities, and the probable shortness of his life. (He lived thirty-four years after this was written !) Thirdly, he declares that he has still a " reverence and affection " for the Church of England ; and, lastly, he mentions the mildness of the present Ecclesiastical discipline, " by which a way is left open to the diligent and conscientious minister of edifying his people by methods and expedients which were utterly imprac- ticable when the iron rod of canonical correction was in the hands of some great Churchman of former times."* Nearly coincident with the startling avowal made by Archdeacon Blackburne of treachery to the Church, whose officer he professed to be, there * Blackbuine's Works, i., 198-201. rilE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 379 came forth from another highly-placed Churchman Chap. XLII. a treatise more openly Arian than anything which l"!^^ )^/^' ^ . 11-1 ji Bishop Clay- Samuel Clarke had written, and which was avowedly ^,,^'5 Essay on published with a view of bending the Church to Spirit. the opinions of the writer, instead of his honestly leaving a position which was incompatible with his views. In the year 1750, Robert Clayton, Bishop of Clogher, published an Essay on Spirit, the object of which was to show the inferiority of the Son and the Holy Spirit, with a view to some alterations in the Liturgy of the Church of Eng- land.* '' The favourers of heresy," writes Mr. Jones, of Nayland, " are seldom found to be the enemies of schism ; this author, therefore, to strengthen his party, distinguished himself as a warm friend to the cause of the sectaries ; intimi- dating the Church with a prospect of destruction unless the safety of it were provided for by a timely compliance with the demand of its adversaries."f The tone and temper of the Essay on Sprit were well calculated to excite indignation in the breasts of any true lovers of the Scriptural doctrines of the Church of England, and they speedily produced this effect upon a young divine who was destined to be one of the greatest preachers and most suc- cessful expositors of Scripture of his day. At the time that this book came out, George George Home was only twenty years of age, but he had Ho^ne. * This Essay is said not to have been written by the bishop himself, but by a young divine whom he befriended. He, how- ever, took the responsibility on himself by its publication. A fuller account of it will be found in ch. xlvi. t Life of Bishop Home, p. 60. insonians. 380 rilE HTSrORT OF Chap. XLII. already distinguished himself at Oxford, and was 1741-1772. j^i-iown to his friends to have published a spirited essay in defence of the Hutchinsonians against their The Hutch- numerous adversaries.* The opinions of John Hutchinson were at this time in some vogue in the University, and were magnified with a greater zeal as a set-off to the brilliant fame which Sir Isaac Newton had conferred on Cambridge. These strange notions are thus described by one of the most sensible of their advocates : '' The design of the author is to prove the infallibility, perfection, and thence the authority of the Holy Scriptures, to show that they are not repugnant to natural science, but when properly understood and trans- lated, do contain in them the substance of all the natural philosophy." '' All the various phenomena of nature are to be accounted for mechanically hereby." '^ The author of Moses's Principia has brushed down the cobweb of circles and lines which Newton had spun to catch flies in."j- Together with these views in science the wildest fancies on etymology were held, and it was maintained that from the Hebrew roots all important knowledge could be derived, and that the Hebrew Scriptures contained an inexhaustible fund of teaching on every subject. The attraction which these fanciful * Warburton's estimate of this performance is amusing enough. ** Mr. Warhurton has seen a thing against the Newtonian philo- sophy, and in favour of Hutchinson, by one Home of Oxford, and thinics it would be a good employment for some Cambridge soph to answer it." — Hurd to Dr. Balguy. Kilvert's Hurdy p. 49. f Philosophicid Principles of Moses Asscrtcdy by Julius Bate, Rector of Sutton. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 381 doctrines had for Home, his friend William Cliap.XLII. Jones, and others, was that they greatly magnified *74»-»772- and extolled the Sacred Scriptures. Deeply shocked as these young students were by the repeated attacks of sceptics on the Word of God, believing as they did that the Newtonian philosophy, by- establishing natural laws, seemed to exclude the personal agency of the Deity, and that " infinite mischief had been done not only by the tribe of Deists and philosophers, but by some of our most celebrated divines in extolling the dignity of human nature and the wisdom of human reason,'"-^ they sought refuge from these supposed dangers and impieties in the cabbalistical f lucubrations of Hutchinson. But Mr. Home, though he addicted himself to the study of the Hebrew, never defended Hutchinson's strange etymological views, while of many parts of his system he was a great admirer. The reverence for Scripture which belonged to this school, induced him, though at so young an age, to propose to his friend William Jones, who was then a curate at Finedon, in Northamptonshire, that they should write a joint answer to the Essay on Spirit, The project was carried out, and with much success. By the aid of an excellent library to which they had access, the two young men pro- * Life of Home, by Jones of Nayland, p. 21. f This was the term whicli was apphed to the Hutchinsonians by Bishop Warburton. They were violently opposed to his system as might be expected, and looked upon the Divine Legation as one of the most wicked of books. " To the purity of Christian lite- rature," says Mr. Jones, " his works have done and are doing much hurt." — Life of Homey p. n. 382 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. duced a reply which was very favourably received. 1741-1772. But their studies in this matter had a still further advantage. They now learnt to discard many of the vagaries of the Hutchinsonians, and were con- firmed in Church principles and sound Scriptural views, which both of them afterwards so well defended by their pens. And though we may ridi- cule now the shallowness which could oppose the demonstrations of the great Sir Isaac Newton, we cannot, if we rightly estimate the tone prevalent in the religious writings of that day, refuse our sympathy to any who were prompted to come for- ward out of the love which they felt towards the imperilled Word of God. " The question seems really to have been this," writes Mr. Jones, ^^ whether Christianity in the truth and spirit of it ought to be preserved, or whether a spiritless thing called by the name of Christianity would answer the purpose better : in other words, whether the religion of man's philosophy, or the religion of God's revela- tion should prevail."* George Home was very soon described as " without exception the best preacher in England,"-]- a judgment which his ser- mons which remain to us go far to justify. By these and his other writings, especially his devo- tional work on the Psalms, Home may be regarded The Scrip- as the founder of the Scriptural school, which tural schooh towards the end of the century received so great a development. It is remarked by Mr. Jones, that the spirit of the Scripture had been almost entirely neglected by the theological writers of the eigh- * Home's Life, p. 92. f Ibid., p. 73. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 383 teenth century up to the time of Home ; and the Chap. XLII. remark is not without its weight. "More reputa- *74i-i772. tion was to be obtained by picking and sifting of letters, than by the apostolical method of opening the sense and spirit of them. When fashion invites, vanity will always follow ; critic will succeed to critic, and he that is the boldest will think himself the greatest, till all due veneration for the Bible is lost, and the text is cut and slashed as if it were no longer a living body, but the subject of a lec- ture in Surgeons' Hall."* The praise of attempt- ing to overthrow this lifeless and unedifying treat- ment of Scripture is due to Home, and the great success which his truly Christian writings obtained, was of the highest service to the cause of religion. Certainly the Warburtonians with their excessive The War- ferocity, and their readiness on all occasions to b^rtomans. resort to the grossest personal reflections, had done much to degrade theological controversy even below the standand at which it was left by the Bangorian dispute. Following and even exagge- rating the peculiar manners of their chief, the writers of this school were ready to pillory on the shortest notice any man who should venture to think Job an historical character, or the Sixth Book of the iEneid a mere work of the poet's imagination. Whatever the great leader had settled must not be impugned or even glanced at. For a very mild dissidence from the Warburtonian views, both Jortin and Leland were fiercely assailed by Bishop Hurd; and Dr. Lowth, Professor of Hebrew * Homes Life, p. iio. 384 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XLII. at Oxford, and afterwards Bishop of London, was 174^-1772- attacked by Archdeacon Towne, a devoted follower of Warburton's. Dr. Lowth replied both to Towne and Warburton, in a Letter full of severe and cutting remarks, some of which (such as the reflec- tion upon Warburton's early life in the attorney's oflice) can hardly be excused even by the license used by Warburton himself.* Warburton's But the " burly intellect "f of Warburton was not ^'f"" ?^ , , without service to the cause of Christianity in its Bolingbrok.es . _,, , 1111 1 rr '^ \ writings. ^ay. The knowledge that he was ready to " gibbet up" any one who should be bold enough to attack religion, imposed a trembling silence upon many an infidel writer, who had a regard for literary fame. Even Lord Bolingbroke is said to have been deterred by a fear of Warburton from pub- lishing his anti-religious lucubrations during his life-time. J The use which Dr. Johnson has made * Of this license it is almost superfluous to give specimens ; a few will suffice. Of John Jackson, the friend of Samuel Clarke, Warburton says : " The wretch has passed his days in the republic of letters, just as your vagabonds do in the streets of London, in one unvaried course of begging, railing, and stealing." — Watson's Lifey p. 349. He speaks of " impotent railers, such as Dr. Richard Grey, and one Bate (Julius Bate, a respectable clergyman of Hutchinsonian views), a zany to a mountebank." — Watson's Life, p. 292. Dr. Sykes had threatened to answer his Julian, and War- burton immediately describes him as a vermin, a thief, and as deserving the gallows. Of Hume he speaks as only fit for the pillory. — Hurd's Lfe, pp. 65, 78. " To be whipped at the cart's tail, in a note to the Divine Legationy'' was said by Bishop Lowth, " to be the ordinary place of Warburton's literary executions." — Letter to Warburton. ^QQT)'\sT\Qy\ Life of jfortin, 'p. 89. Home's Life, p. 93. Watson's Life of Warburton, p. 614. f Mr, Pattison's Essay in Essay and Reviews. X Hurd's Life if Warburton, p. 73. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 385 of this to point his invective against Bolingbroke Chap. XLIL is well known. "Sir, he was a scoundrel and a '74'-' 772. coward : a scoundrel for charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality : a coward because he had no resolution to fire it off himself, but left half a crown to a beggarly Scotchman to draw the trigger after his death."* The philosophical works of Bolingbroke were published in 1753, and imme- diately caused an immense sensation. The promi- nent station which their author had so long occu- pied, his wonderful abilities, his attractive style, his keen and satirical genius, gave a charm to the licentiousness and virulence of his writings, which they would not otherwise have attained. War- burton was personally assailed in them, for he was hated by their author as having had more influence with Mr. Pope than himself, and this did not tend to abate his readiness to answer the pernicious opinions of this scoffing and profane writer. Accordingly, a View of Lord Bolingbroke' s Philo- sophy in Four Letters to a Friend^ speedily came out from the powerful pen of Warburton, which with the Apology prefixed to them, constituted his reply to Bolingbroke. " The occasion of the sub- ject," says Bishop Hurd, " fired the writer. His whole soul came out in every sentence. The Apology is written with a peculiar glow of sentiment and expression, and is at once the most interesting and the most masterly of all his works." f * BoswelFs Life of Johnson (cd. 1848), p. 70. For Johnson's opinion of Warburton and the Divine Legation, see p. 443. t Kurd's Life of Warburton, p. ']']. In opposition to this, VOL. III. C C 386 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. From the period of the publication of Lord 1741-1772. Bolingbroke's Philosophy, the character of the Change 111 attacks Oil reHgloii may be said to have changed. the character ^ ^ ir j t-- j 1 l j of the attacks Shaftesbury, Wollaston, Colhns, and Tmdal, had on religion, endeavoured to set up a substitute for Christianity. A school of writers succeeded them which endea- voured to overthrow Christianity without pro- viding any substitute. In the former class of writers, natural religion, naturalism, or a Chris- tianity without mysteries, was the object of their advocacy ; in those who came after, all religious systems were scoffed at, man was to be completely a god to himself; no checks, no rules were to bind him ; the light of nature in each individual was abundantly sufficient, and all revelation, all law, was cant, priestcraft, and tyranny. This school of writers may be said to have begun with Bollngbroke and David Hume, and culmi- nated in Thomas Paine.* It was a mere copy in England of the Encyclopedists and Voltaire Mr. Watson, the latest biographer of Warburton, the design of whose work is, apparently, to depreciate with the utmost care every writing and every action of the subject of his Memoir, doubts whether any reader has been able to go through the letters, and thus describes them : " His attacks are desultory, and he presents no chain of continuous argument. He imputes bad motives rather than overthrows weak assertions. His letters are terribly tedious, for the reader finds no connexion in the matter to draw him onwards." — Watson's Warburton^ p. 420. * Lcland, a very fair and judicious critic, says of Hume, " His writings are calculated rather to confound than instruct. They strike at the foundation of natural as well as revealed religion." As to Lord Bolingbroke, his stock argument is that every one who ever attempted to teach any thing was jnad. Plato and Aristotle were mad ; St. Paul was mad ; Cudworth and Cumber- land were mad. " Atheists," says he, " are one sort of madmen. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 387 in France, and it received a crushing and fatal Chap. XLIT. blow by the horrible excesses of the French »74'-'772- Revolution. The writers who replied in England to these The writers attacks on religion and morality, did not gene- [^'j^j.i3j^"^ky. rally take sufficiently high ground. Instead of exposing the noxious and desolating character of the principles to which they replied, they wrote apologies for Christianity, and sometimes with such large concessions that the apology might be held as mischievous as the attack. Bishop Watson, when writing to Gibbon, even on so fundamental a point as the question of a future life, " begs his pardon for the declaration of his belief," and the earnestness of his advocacy of Christianity may be judged by his words, " If any one thinks a Unitarian is not a Christian, I plainly say I think otherwise."* On the other hand, the system of violent railing and calling names, such as was used by Warburton and Hurd against Bolingbroke and Hume, was certainly not the most perfect method of a Christian answer. Neither did the unfair and immoderate depre- Divines and Theists another sort." — Leland's Fiezv of Deistlcal Writers, ii., 3, 154. The learned Montesquieu thus writes of Bolingbroke : " He that attacks revealed religion, attacks revealed religion only ; but he that attacks natural religion, attacks all the religions in the world. If men are taught to think themselves under no obliga- tions from revealed religion, they may still think themselves under other obligations ; but it is most pernicious to persuade them that they are under no restraint at all." — Literary Remains of War- burton, p. 237. * Watson's Autobiography, i., 75, 108. C C 2 38 THE HISTORT OF Hume's Essay on Miracles. Chap. XLII. elation of an adversary and the attempt to laugh 17+1-1772. }^ij^ Q^f Qf ^l-^g £gj^^ by sneers and ridicule, always succeed. * Perhaps the writer who did most service in answering sceptical attacks was John Leland, a Presbyterian divine. In his View of Deistical Writers, and his answers at greater length to Tindal, Bolingbroke, and Hume, he defends Christianity temperately, fairly, and ably, stating the arguments of his opponents with clear- ness and impartiality, and replying to them with force and success. The most dangerous attack which had as yet been directed against Christianity, was made by the publication, about the middle of the century, of Mr. Hume's Essay on Miracles, The ground taken in this ingenious performance, is that miracles are in the nature of things inca- pable of being proved by any evidence or testi- mony whatever. This was to cut away all the learned labours of the divines who had toiled in supporting the evidences of Christianity by one fell stroke of remorseless a priori argument. Many divines therefore proceeded to examine the grounds on which the edifice was reared. Of these, none has handled it in a more simple and straight- forward way than Dr. Leland. We turn for a moment from the spectacle of Latitudinarians undermining and traducing the Church which feeds them, and of infidels malign- The good Bishop Wilson. * ** Dr. Home considered the profession of infidelity a thing more ridiculous and insignificant in itself than some of his learned readers might do, that, as it appeared in some persons, it was really too absurd to be treated with seriousness." — Life, p. 127. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 389 ing the religion designed to bless them ; from the Chap. XLII. view of divines combating with polemical bitter- *74i-»772- ness; from the scandals and troubles of the Church, to the contemplation of a character which is unique in the history of the eighteenth century. In the year 1756 died Thomas Wilson, for fifty-eight years Bishop of Sodor and Man. In that obscure retirement, unmoved by any temptations of ambi- tion, undisturbed by the offers of rich English preferment repeatedly made to him, this holy man showed for more than half a century a pattern of primitive manners, apostolic zeal, and true Christian charity. The history of his life is a continuous record of deeds of self-sacrifice and devotion. John Wesley showed an untiring vigour and unflinching diligence in the path which he had chosen for himself; John Howard, not unfitly called the philanthropist, went in the spirit of a hero through all the most noisome prisons of Europe ; but In the labours of both of these there was the charm of novelty, the excitement of change. John Wesley freely confessed that he could not labour continu- ously In one spot.* But without any of the enthusiasm engendered by crowded congregations, and converts shrieking and howling In every form of hysteria; without the grateful incense of applause and the glory of a triumphal pro- * " I know were I myself to preach one whole year in one place, I should preach both myself and most of my congregation asleep." — Wesley to Mr. Walker of Truro, Coke's Life of Wesley y p. 325. 390 THE HISTORY Of Chap. XLII. gress through England, Bisliop Wilson laboured, 1 741-1772. preached, and prayed in his little island for a longer period than the great founder of the Metho- dists, and without any diminution of his zeal to the very last. Born in Cheshire and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Mr. Wilson settled as a curate in Lancashire, and soon became known to Lord Derby, who appointed him his chaplain and tutor to his son. Here he showed his sense of duty in a way not very common to those in his position. He gravely reproved the Earl for his extravagance and careless living, and the admo- nition was taken in good part and produced a happy effect. It was not long before Lord Derby gave a practical proof of his value for his plain- spoken chaplain. As Lord of the Isle of Man, he had the appointment of its bishop, and to this dignity he nominated Mr. Wilson. The revenues of the See were small, the sphere of action remote, but these were not considerations likely to deter a man of the spirit of Mr. Wilson. In those private devotions, which happily remain to us as the picture of a soul entirely devoted to doing good, we find him recording at this period a prayer, " O God, grant that by a conscientious discharge of my duty I may profit those over whom I am appointed Thy minister, that I may make such a return as shall be acceptable to Thee." This was the description of his life. His labours, his alms, his exercise of discipline, were all for this end. He refused to hold a living in commendam^ which had usually been done by his predecessors. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 391 and looked upon the small revenues of his See Chap. XLII. as belonging more to the poor than liimself. Early *74»-i772. in life he had dedicated a tenth of his income to charity ; the proportion gradually increased until it became one half. He would not attempt to save anything for his family out of his income from the Church, considering himself not as a proprietor but as a steward. During the period when the export of corn from England was for- bidden, the inhabitants of the island were nearly reduced to starvation, and were only rescued by the care, energy, and devotion of the bishop and his son. The bishop was the only physician in Man, and ministered to the bodily ailments of his people as well as their spiritual necessities. With a view of efficiently caring for the latter, he organized and attempted to carry out a system of discipline which was the nearest imitation of the primitive order witnessed in modern days. During the earlier years of his episcopate, the good prelate was seconded in the administration of his discipline by the ready help of the Governor and the enforce- ment of spiritual censures by the temporal power. Delinquents who objected to perform penance were imprisoned, sometimes also whipped, dragged through the water after boats, or exhibited at the market cross of their town with a bridle on their heads and a bit in their mouths to signify that they were suffering for not being able to govern the tongue.^" Such treatment could only be excused by the semi-barbarous state of the population of * See Keble's Life of Wilson, i., 268, 270, 295, Sec. 392 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII. the island, but, even with this to defend it, it could ^ 741-1772. scarce be expected to be of long continuance. Accordingly, the- bishop and his vicars -general were soon brought into collision with the tem- poral power, a Church censure having been pro- nounced against Mrs. Home, the wife of the Governor of the Island. From that moment the good prelate was treated with the greatest brutality and injustice by the civil authorities, with the Earl of Derby, the proprietor of the Isle, at their head. He was fined and imprisoned, and only delivered by the intervention of the British Government to which he had been constrained to prosecute an appeal. For himself he did not regret his im- prisonment, for he said he never governed his diocese better than from within the walls of the prison, and the expense to which his appeal sub- jected him was partly met by a subscription raised by his friends in England. But the Church discipline on which he laid so much stress, was rudely interrupted by the collision between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Church censures could not now obtain the support of the secular magistrate, and the spiritual sentence of excom- munication could now only rely upon its eifect on the conscience of the ill-doer. In the view of most, this change will be held to have made the discipline more respectable, though the Church Courts in Man were still disgraced by the adminis- tration of the oath ex officio and the admission of compurgators. But if the Church discipline was now relieved from the scandal of cruel, arbitrary. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 393 and degrading punishments, and was made almost Chap. XLir. a voluntary matter as to the offender's submission; '74'-'772- on the other hand, under this higher and better system, Its vigour soon began to die away. '' Churchwardens and questmen are repeatedly censured for neglect of their official duties ; offenders appear oftener to have braved out their sentence ; the awful name of excommunication appears more frequently but with less effect." * Neither was there a revival when, upon the change of the proprietorship of the island Into the hands of the Duke of Atholl, the opposition of the civil power was modified. " From 1720 to 1736, the number of persons dealt with as subjects of the Manx Church criminal discipline, mostly In the Chapter and Consistory Courts, appears to be not less than 1450; from 1736 to 1755, the number of names Is only about 68."'j* The discipline here, as elsewhere, gradually became obsolete. But it Is not on the success of his discipline that the repu- tation of Bishop Wilson rests. He has far higher claims upon our regard than his honest but short- sighted attempt to revive a by-gone Institution. The simple charges by which he yearly guided his clergy, the plain practical sermons which he addressed to his people, his prayers and medita- tions upon each event of his calm and holy life, reveal to us a character on which the English Churchman may well hang with affectionate reve- rence. Separated by an Immense interval from the contentious and worldly prelates of his day, * Keblc's Life of IVi/son, p. 690. f IbU., p. 816. 394 "THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. elevated far above the strife of words and the 1 741-1772. (desire of gain. Bishop Wilson ranks with Herbert, and Ferrar, and Hammond, and Ken, as in the truest and highest sense a saint of the English Church.* Grievous Of what vast benefit that bright example of pri- statc of the j^Jtive piety must have been in the midst of that Church at , ; , ^- 1 tu *. this period, crooked and perverse generation ! Here was, at least, one splendid illustration of the system of the English Church when scandals were so rife that many began to doubt whether it had any share in the power of godliness remaining. It was, indeed, a time of rebuke and sin. The middle of the eighteenth century may not unfairly be said to have witnessed the deepest obscuration of the Church of England. The country clergy were ignorant and scandalous; the bishops and dignified clergy were careless and nonresident. The universal negligence may not unfairly be estimated by the attacks on the system and constitution of the Church which arose now, not from her enemies, but from within her own bosom. So little was apostolical order now valued that a clamorous outcry of excessive viru- lence was raised at a well-meant attempt of Arch- bishop Seeker's to plant bishops in the American colonies; while the Latitudinarians and Socinians, * See Cruttwcll's Life of Bishop Wilson, prefixed to his Works, ed. 1 78 1. The Icng-expccted memoir of this holy bishop, from the pen of the author of the Christian Tear, has at length made its appearance. In this work the most complete appreciation of Bishop Wilson 5 character and administration of his See, extend- ing even to all the details of his disciplinary arrangements, will be found. rilE CHURCH of ENCLylND. 395 by an organised movement, assailed the very exist- Chap. XLII. ence of creeds and formularies. It was an unhealthy *74i-'772- and anomalous state of things. Men found them- selves hampered by a Prayer- Book and Articles which were continually testifying against the low and heathenizing views of religion which were pre- valent ; and the three-fold order of ministers, while scarce any of either order seemed to perceive in what the ministerial office consisted, appeared cum- brous and useless. Archdeacon Blackburne, writing in 1754, says: " The collective body of the clergy, excepting a very inconsiderable number, consists of men whose lives and ordinary occupations are most foreign to their profession. We find among them all sorts of secular characters — courtiers, politicians, lawyers, merchants, usurers, civil magistrates, sportsmen, musicians, stewards of country squires, and tools of men in power, and even companions of rakes and infidels, not to mention the ignorant herd of poor curates to whom the instruction of our common people is committed, who are, accordingly, in reli- gious matters, the most ignorant common people who are in any Protestant, not to say any Christian, society upon the face of the earth."* Some abate- ment must be made for the archdeacon's antipathy to his order, but there is no reason to suppose that the description is altogether false. Mr. Wesley's censures upon many of the country clergy with whom he met are sufficiently severe. Besides recording many instances of swearing, drunken, * Blackburne's PVorksy ii., 117. 396 THE msrORT OF Chap. XLII. tyrannical clergymen, he speaks generally of the ^74^-1772. treatment used by the clergy towards those who had been impressed by the Methodists, in the severest terms. He says they watched over their flocks " like a leopard watches over his prey," and " openly cursed them in the name of the Lord." And when those who had shown signs of religious impressions '^ turned back to their vomit again," then " those good pastors gloried over them, and endeavoured to shake others by their example."'-^ This, too, is an unfriendly testimony requiring abatement, but, nevertheless, of a certain value. It would be idle to produce here the witticisms of fiction-writers or the bitter and scoffing attacks of infidels. The most complete justification, how- ever, of the assertion that the clerical character was now at a very low point, is to be found in the charges and sermons of the bishops, and in the standard of requirements, and views of clerical responsibility which everywhere prevailed. " If," says Archbishop Seeker, " we look on what we are apt to call our livings only as our livelihoods, and think of little more than living on the income of them according to our own inclinations ; if, for want of a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, we forfeit the protection of God, and by worldliness, or indolence, or levity in behaviour, talk, or appear- ance (for gross vices I put out of the question) lose, as we assuredly shall, the reverence of mankind, there will be no foundation left for us to stand upon. Our legal establishment will shake and sink * Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 218. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 397 under us. Wicked people will attack us without Chap. XLIL reserve; the goodwill be forced to condemn and '^'^^'^''Z^. give us up."* In fact, from the conduct of the superior clergy, Non- we may easily infer what that of the inferior clergy [JjgJ^Qpg^'^ ° must have been. At that time no bishop dreamt of residing continuously in his diocese. Those were thought well of who paid their country-houses a visit every summer. Those were not thought ill of who (like Bishop Watsonf) resided many hundred miles away, and never entered their dioceses except for the triennial visitation. During the six years for which Bishop Hoadly held the See of Bangor he never once visited his diocese. Hence, we are not surprised to learn that, in some dioceses. Con- firmations were not held for many years together,:]: though it may strike us as somewhat singular that there should have been such a flocking of titled ecclesiastics to the waters of Bath, inasmuch as the labours performed by the bishops hardly seem to have required this relaxation. The more diligent * Charge y ij$^,Works,y., 444. f Watson, Bishop of Llandaff, lived as a country-gentleman in Westmoreland. This prelate was one of the most conspicuous bishops of the period. His writings, his life, his tone of mind, his theological views — of which we have ample means of judging from the autobiography which he has left us — give us a vivid pic- ture of the prelate of the eighteenth century. See, for a forcible sketch of Bishop Watson and his nonrcsidence. Life of Gilbert Wakefield, ii., 1 19. \ Blackburne's Works, ii., 13. It is recorded by Bishop Newton, as a gr^t improvement introduced by Gilbert, Arch- bishop of York, that he first began the practice of saying the words in Confirmation once for a whole rail of candidates. — Newton'' s Life, p. 105. 398 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. of the prelates appear to have looked upon learned V4J-I772- pursuits as their proper business, and the necessary Episcopal acts which they had to perform as an inconvenient interruption. When Warburton was promoted to the See of Gloucester, he lamented " the inconveniencies of that public station " as hindering his studies. " He performed," says his biographer and panegyrist. Bishop Hurd, " the ordinary duties of his office with regularity, but further than that he could not prevail with himself to go."* Even Seeker, the model orthodox prelate of the day, looked upon his summer visits to Cud- desdon as giving him '^ a delightful retirement for the prosecution of his favourite studies. "f The spectacle of a bishop actively engaged in devoting his whole time, thoughts, and care to his diocese was hardly to be seen out of the Isle of Man. The view taken of episcopal duties by the states- men of the day is naively recorded in the Life of Bishop Newton. " Mr. Grenville said ( 1764) that he considered bishoprics as of two kinds — bishoprics of business for men of abilities and learning, and bishoprics of ease for men of family and fashion. Of the former sort he reckoned Canterbury and York and London, and Ely on account of its connection with Cambridge. Of the latter sort, Durham and Winchester and Salisbury and Worcester. "J Want of or- And as there was no security for the efficiency of thodoxy. bishops, so neither was there for their orthodoxy. Bishop Clayton was an avowed Arian, Bishop * Kurd's Life ofWarburtoriy p. 86. j Portcus's Life of Seeker, p. 6 1 . \ Newton's Life, p. 154. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 399 Rundle was thought too much of a Deist for Chap. XLII. England, but was promoted in Ireland. Bishop *74i-'772- Watson could not see that a Unitarian was a worse Christian than another,* and Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury, could write with reference to Dr. Clarke's Arian Prayer-Book : " I have seen Dr. Clarke's Common Prayer-Book. I have read it ; have approved the temper and wisdom of it. But into what times are we fallen after so much light, and so much appearance of moderation, that one can only wish for the success of truth .? The world will not bear It."-t- It is unnecessary to enlarge here upon the utter contempt in which Hoadly, who lived till 176 I, held the doctrines of the Church of which he was a bishop, and Hoadly was a sort of apostle among his brethren. And if such was the negligence of prelates. Negligence of deans and canons would not be slow to imitate ^^^"^^^^^^^ them. Bishop Newton complains that during his summer residence at Bristol neither dean nor pre- bendary belonging to the Cathedral Church ever showed themselves. The whole service was per- formed by one minor canon. The same was also the case at Rochester, t Nonresidence and plura- Nonresi- A A lities were the universal practice among the bene- ^^^^^ ^j^ ficed clergy. Many of the bishops held livings, principle. Bishop Watson who held a valuable one, though professing to be a Church-reformer, actually de- fends the practice of nonresidence. The passage * Watsojis Life, i., 75, 217. t Lindsay's Historical View of Unitarian Doctrine, p. 236. \ Bishop Newton's Life, pp. 172-3- 400 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLII. is somewhat curious : " A man of great talents and J 741- J 772. good manners may, by mingling with the higher classes of society in great towns, as essentially pro- mote the belief and practice of Christianity, as if he were constantly conversant with a dozen pea- sants, his parishioners in a country village. Nay, if a young man should be accidentally inspired with an ambition to display his talents before a more respectable audience than his country parish affords him, his ambition should be rather encou- raged than ridiculed or restrained ; for a desire of acquiring professional fame is, next to poverty, the great source of professional excellence and industry."* Archbishop When, in 16 c8. Seeker succeeded to the Pri- c 1 macy, after the death of Hutton, he had too decided views in religion to please the Latitudina- rians and Dissenters. The two last archbishops had been completely of the Latitudinarian school. Herring was a mild Arian, whose ambition was to be thought an amiable and enlightened man.f Hutton who followed him at Bangor, York, and Canterbury, was the patron of Archdeacon Black- burne, and '^ of very liberal notions on ecclesias- tical affairs." J These men suited the age, and obtained praises from all quarters, but Seeker was a Churchman of a different school. A man of more learning than ability, careful, precise, and * Watson's Autobiography^ ii., 155. f See his letter quoted above. Also Letters to Dinicombe^ pp. 133,1 46. Blackburne's letter to Archbishop Herring (vol. ii. of his Works), and Disney's Life ofjortin. \ Life of Archdeaco?! Blackbiirtie, p. 15. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 401 exact, with just notions of his duties, and honest Chap. XLU determination to perform them. Seeker really '74»-'772 valued the Church, and desired to uphold her, not by sacrificing her ritual and betraying her doctrines, but by extending her system and freeing her from the impediments which retarded her progress. The prevailing laxity of the day was excited to fury by such exceptional strictness, and Seeker was vitupe- rated on all sides with a bitterness and vigour which are quite startling. From the Arian and Dissenting side it was indeed scarcely to be expected that he would be spared. Like his friend Butler, he came of a Dissenting family, and had begun the study of medicine, for which purpose he visited Paris, but afterwards, changing his views, he went, like his friend, to Oxford, and took a degree there. Hence the following outburst of spleen against him: "An imperious and persecuting prelate," writes Gilbert Wakefield, " who thought himself bound after the example of all interested converts (for in such a case I conceive sincere conviction to be scarcely possible) to recede the greatest distance from the tolerant principles of his Dissenting education, that he might remove every suspicion, as Blackburne expresses it, of 'hankering after his old deviations.'"* The Whig political estimate was still more bitter : *' Character and popularity," writes the waspish Horace Walpole, " do not always depend upon the circumstances that ought to compose either. The bishop who had been bred a Presbyterian and man-midwife, which sect and profession he had * Life of Gilbert Wdkcfeld, \.,\-]\. VOL. III. D D 402 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLII. dropped for a season while he was president of a 1 741-1772. ^gj.y free-thinking club, had been converted by- Bishop Talbot, whose relation he married, and his faith settled in a Prebend of Durham, from whence he was translated, at the recommendation of Dr. Bland, by the Queen, and advanced by her who had no aversion to a medley of religions which she always compounded into a scheme of heresy of her own, to the living of St. James's, vacant by the death of her favourite Arian, Dr. Clarke ; and afterwards to the bishoprics of Bristol and Oxford. His discourses from the pulpit, which, by a fashion that he introduced, were a kind of moral essays, were as clear from quotations of Scripture as when he pre- sided in a less Christian society ; but what they wanted of gospel, they made up in a tone of fana- ticism which he still maintained. But even the Church had its renegades in politics, and the King was obliged to fling open his asylum to all kinds of deserters, content with not speaking to them at his levee or listening to them in the pulpit."* To this may be appended an estimate from the Jaco- bite point of view. "Seeker," writes Dr. King, "was insincere, of moderate parts, and a bad preacher."! Up to the time of Seeker, some ap- pearance of deference had usually been shown to the Primate in the distribution of Church preferment by the Government. During Archbishop Wake's illness, Bishop Gibson had been ecclesiastical minister under Sir R. Walpole. But when Seeker * Horace Walpok's George Il.y i., 6^. f King's Anecdotes, p. 15. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 403 became Primate, this salutary custom was dropped. Chap. XLIl. He was not acceptable at Court, and no reference '7+i-»772. was made to him in giving promotions.* When George III. succeeded his grandfather, the arch- bishop might hope for better things ; but though the King was personally kind to him,f his influ- ence did not prevail ; his opinions were not those of the day. In the strife of parties, and the eager contests of statesmen at the beginning of the new reign, the patronage of the Church was made to serve the worst purposes of political corruption. Church appointments went, not to the best men, but to the best Parliamentary influence. The King, though superior to his ministers, had not as yet displayed that vigorous firmness and that strong sense of duty which he afterwards showed. Upon one thing especially the mind of Arch- The question bishop Seeker was set. The Crown of England °^ bishops , 1 , , J . . . . ^ ° for America. had long had possessions ni America, l^or 150 years these colonies had been growing in wealth and population. The religion of some of them had originally been Independent ; others, like Vir- ginia, were exclusively Church of England : but in all of them, as they grew in size, was exhibited the same mixture of creeds which prevailed in the mother country. The majority were nominal members of the Church of England. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent them mis- sionary chaplains. In the year 1761, about thirty missionaries were stationed in New England, while * Bishop Nczvtons Life, p. 160. f Porteus's Life of Seeker, p. 45. D D 2 404 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLII. in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the 1 741-1772. Carollnas, and Georgia, there were some fifty more.* These clergymen were technically consi- dered to belong to the Diocese of London, and were governed by the Bishop of London's Com- missaries in America.t Such a state of things no Churchman could defend. There was no real supervision, no provision for Confirmation, no power to confer orders. Even Archbishop Tenison, the last man to be taunted as an extreme Church- man, had lamented the state of things in America, and left a bequest in his will for the establishment of bishops. It appears, indeed, that the clergy required a vigorous hand over them. While the state of those in the mother country was so low, and scandals were so prevalent, naturally in the colonies things would be still worse. The clergy were even described by one, who, however, may be allowed to have regarded them with prejudice, as " with a few exceptions to the contrary, as bad a set of men as perhaps ever disgraced the Church of God; nor had their wretched flocks, at the distance of three or four thousand miles from the source of ecclesiastical power, the least hopes of redress." J Archbishop Seeker himself speaks of them as " men of desperate fortunes, low qualifications, bad * Blackburne's Works, ii., 63. ■j- Whence the power of the Bishop o^ London over the colonial clergy had sprung is uncertain. Bishop Gibson caused inves- tigations to be made, and could find no legal foundation for it. Afterwards he obtained a special commission from the Crown, but this only lasted for his lifetime. — Wilbcrforce's History of American Church (3rd ed.), p. 136. X Coke's Life of Wesley , p. 447. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 405 and doubtful characters, and a great part ofchap. XLII. them Scotch Jacobites."* Many of the colonists ^l^^-^ll'^' themselves had eagerly petitioned for bishops. " From all parts," says Seeker, in 1741, " the most affecting representations of their deplorable condi- tion had been made."f The good bishop had not ceased to labour to prornote this object as long as he had been in a subordinate situation, and when he was promoted to the Primacy, he determined to make a vigorous effort to bring it about. That this effort should have failed, that not only Dis- senters and political adventurers, but that dignified Churchmen also should have opposed it and scoffed at it, is assuredly a remarkable proof of the con- tempt into which negligence, Latitudinarianism, and Scepticism had brought the system of the Church at this period. At this time (1764), such was the expense and risk of a voyage from America to England to obtain orders, that one half of the churches in several colonies were destitute of clergy- men. J It was proposed to send only two bishops, * Seeker's Letter to Horace Walpole. " The scandal of ill- living clergymen," says Bishop Wilberforce, " had risen to a fearful height. The clergy had declined both in numbers and character. Those who came out were those least fitted for the work." — History of American Church, pp. 139, 140, 141. f Sermon before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, February, 1741. — See Wilberforce's History of American Church, p. 146, &c. *' Letters and memorials from the colonies supply for a whole century a connected chain of such expostulations, yet still the mother country was deaf to their entreaties." — /<^.,p. 149. + Porteus's Life of Seeker, p. 5 i . There was an especial danger to young men from America of taking the small-pox, of which disease many who had come over for ordination died. Within a few years seven were thus carried off. — Wilberforce's History of American Church, p. 135, note. 4o6 THE HIsrORT OF Violent opposition to it. Chap. XLII. who were to be settled not in the New England 1 7+1-1 772. colonies, but in those more episcopally inclined. The bishops were not to hold courts, or exercise any jurisdiction over the laity.* Yet this unobjectionable project excited the most keen antagonism. " The sticklers for American Episcopacy ought to be covered with contrition and confusion," t writes Bishop Watson. " The plan of sending bishops from hence," says Arch- deacon Blackburne, " is a mere empty chimerical vision which deserves not the least regard." J " Posterity will stand amazed," exclaims, not with- out reason, the biographer of the archbishop, " when they are told that on this account his memory has been pursued in pamphlets and news- papers with such unrelenting rancour, such unex- ampled wantonness of abuse, as he would scarce have deserved had he attempted to eradicate Christianity out of America and to introduce Mahometanism in its room ; whereas the plain truth is that all he wished for was nothing more than what the very best friends to religious freedom ever have wished for — a complete toleration for the Church of England in that country." § We come now to trace out, if not a more remarkable, at any rate a more dangerous develop- ment of the Latitudinarianism of the period, and to record a movement which might have placed the best interests of the Church in deadly peril. A great danger to the Church * Seeker's Answer to Dr. Mayhew. t Watson's Autobiography, i., 104. § Portcus's Life of Seeker, p. 54. :j: Works y ii., 19. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 407 At the Revolution there was cause to fear lest, Chap. XLII. through a profitless desire to conciliate, the spirit '74»-»772. of the Church formularies should have been sacrificed in a vague comprehension. The energy of the Lower House of Convocation happily defeated this. But now there was no Convocation sitting, no means by which the Church could make her voice heard. The bishops, selected in many instances for their laxity of views, were not to be relied on as a body. The laity might fairly be considered as likely to be less strict in their opinions on Church matters than the clergy. Under these circumstances, an appeal to Parlia- ment, undertaken by any large and influential body of the clergy, having for its object the obtaining a greater latitude in clerical obligations, had the greatest probability of success. At no time, indeed, in our history, could such an appeal come before the Legislature with so much chance of obtaining its object. Wherever there still remained any Churchmen who reverenced the primitive and Catholic truth embodied in the for- mularies of their Church, they must needs have trembled when they saw proceeding from the clergy themselves an organized attempt to throw off Articles and Creeds, and to allow every man, however much he had pledged himself to certain doctrines, to sit free to them and to every other save what his own particular taste for the moment favoured. The movement itself was indeed a natural and obvious one. When men, solemnly bound to a 4o8 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII, 1741-1772. The move- ment against subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles. The Con- fcsiional. certain confession of faith, have come to take to themselves the liberty of oppugning and vilifying all the chief parts of that confession ; * when those who have subscribed to Trinitarian Articles teach Arianism or Socinianism, it is natural that the conscience should be somewhat uneasy. It is natural that relief should be sought by attempting to get rid of the confession. This was simply the history of the movement which came to a head in 1772. Men had gone on denying or ignoring the doctrines of the Church, when suddenly a feeling of uneasiness at having subscribed to these doctrines came over them. The fallacy of Arian subscription had been tried but had failed to satisfy. It was better to endeavour to get rid of subscription altogether. It has been already seen with what poor arguments Archdeacon Black- burne endeavoured to satisfy his conscience for remaining a minister in a Church to whose system he was opposed, but this sophistry did not long continue to content him. In the year 1766, he published, anonymously^ a book called T^he Confes- sional^ which is an elaborate essay against confes- sions of faith in general, and against the requiring the clergy to subscribe to any confession. The archdeacon had by this time discovered that the arguments which he had before advanced to defend his position in a Church, to whose formularies he took objection, were weak and sophistical. He now bent all his energies to get rid of the pledge and to ease his brethren also from what he con- * Sec Blackburnc's Confessional, p. 183. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 409 sidered a grievous bondage. To make out his Chap. XLir. argument for the abolishing of subscription to the ^74i-^772- Articles, it was necessary in the first place to show the worthlessness of the arguments for Latitudi- narian subscription; or, in other words, for the claim to subscribe confessions of faith not in the sense of their framers, but in the sense which the signer chose to put on them. This part of his work, at any rate, he may be admitted to have performed satisfactorily. " When the Church set forth these forms of words, the usual literal con- struction of them was but one. If time and the mutability of language have given room for another usual literal construction of these words or forms, the Church cannot help that because she could not foresee it. They who understand both constructions (as all scholars do) know very well that the old one is the Church's construction ; and, therefore, they who put the new construction upon the Church's old words or forms — they, I say, and not the compilers of the Articles, are the inaccu- rate persons, and as such are justly complained of for prevaricating."* By thus closing up the loophole of subscribing in an unnatural sense, a pretext which had satisfied (or apparently satisfied) Hoadly, and Clarke, and Sykes, and Clayton, the author of The Confessional thinks that he has made out a case to prove the insupportable burden of confessions of faith. Against these, therefore, he proceeds to direct the utmost fierceness of his attacks. He denies that Churches have any right * Confessionaly p. 349. 410 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII. to make confessions of faith, and asserts that the 1 741-1772. inalienable privilege of every person to believe as he pleases ought not to be interfered with. There is not one of all the confessions, according to the archdeacon, which does not contain '' very material decisions from which an intelligent Christian, who hath duly examined the Scriptures, may not reasonably dissent." * " Lodge your Church authority in what hands you will, and limit it with whatever restrictions you think proper, you cannot asssert to it a right of deciding in contro- versies of faith and doctrine, or, in other words, a right to require assent to a certain sense of Scrip- ture, exclusive of other senses, without an unwar- rantable interference with those rights of private judgment which are manifestly secured to every individual by the Scriptural terms of Christian liberty, and thereby contradicting the original * Cotifessional, p. 175. One of Archdeacon Blackburnc's friends, who resigned his preferment on account of his Unitarian opinions, thought otherwise. " I have no objection to subscrip- tions in general to articles of faith which, notwithstanding what has been urged against them by Burnet, the masterly author of The Confessionaly and others, seem to me both lawful and expe- dient; all the arguments that have been brought against them tending only to prove that their use has been less hitherto than it might have been owing to the narrow principles on which they have been framed ; considerations which, in my opinion, do not outweigh the objections stated by Dr. Balguy to having none at all." — Mr. Maty's Letter. Lindsey's History of Unitariiw Doc- trine, p. 519. It may be interesting to some to know what security the archdeacon was ready to admit against the appointed teacher being an infidel or blasphemer. He refers to the promises made by the priest to the bishop on ordination, but adds, in a note, on second consideration^ the promise to drive away erroneous and strange doctrine, might " better be omitted." — Confessional^ p. 510 and note, cd. 1804. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 411 principles of the Protestant Reformation. "* Chap. XLII. Having thus denied the right of a Church to ^74»-'772. have a confession of faith, it would seem almost unnecessary to enter into the question of the expediency or utility of enforcing a confession by subscription or otherwise, but this the archdeacon proceeds to do first by examining the arguments brought forward by the Dutch Arminians in favour of confessions, next by criticising Bishop Burners defence of subscription to the Articles, and then by devoting a chapter to what he calls " the embarrassed and fluctuating casuistry " of other divines who have ventured to recommend subscription. As a disputant, the archdeacon is not very fair, nor sufficiently attentive to the rules of logic ; but he has a facility in writing, and a plausible way of putting things, likely to exercise a considerable influence over many minds. That this influence was exercised by his treatise there is evidence enough. At this time, the poison of Unitarianism had made great progress among the clergy, but few as yet had made up their minds to resign their preferments in consequence of their opinions. Attempts were even ventured upon by some to tamper with the Liturgy of the Church in their public ministrations, and by leaving out the Gloria Patri and the invocation in the Litany, to minister in the Church of England as Arians or Unitarians. f Others salved their consciences * Confessional, p. 186. •j" See Lindsey's History of Unitarian Doctrine, ch. vi., where many instances are given. 412 ruE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. by determining that they would never renew their 1 741-1772. subscription, and thought that this was sufficient to justify their position. All such clergymen would receive the Confessional with loud appro- bation. Others, who had no scruples on the doctrine of the Trinity, had difficulties of other sorts. Many more, from the prevailing laxity of the day, had learnt to dislike and resist restraints of every kind. Thus Bishop Watson writes, not from having any particular objections to the Church system, but from the philosophical point of view, " I certainly dislike the imposition of all creeds formed by human authority." * From many quarters a chorus of approbation arose to cheer the bold author of the Confessional. The orthodox took the alarm. Archbishop Seeker discovered the name of the author, and instantly took measures to procure able replies to the book. Archbishop But the movement against subscription continued Cornwalhs. ^^ gather force and distinctness. The danger rapidly increased. In 1667, Archbishop Seeker died, and Bishop Cornwallis was promoted to the Primacy by the favour of the Duke of Grafton. The duke was an avowed Unitarian,-]- which did not seem to augur well for the view of his friend. The new arch- bishop is described as "hospitable, affable, business- * Watson's Autobiography, i., 395. f Bishop Watson, who was a great friend of the duke's, thus writes : — " I never attempted either to encourage or discourage his profession of Unitarian principles, for I was happy to see a person of his rank professing with intelligence and with sincerity Christian principles." — Autobiography /i., 75. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 413 like."* But if he may be presumed to have been Chap. XLir. of not very rigid orthodoxy, he certainly did not '74^-^772. justify his preferment by any clerical or literary claims, j- Were the leaders of the Church likely to exercise a due vigilance under such a head ^ The " great impression which had been made upon the public mind, and especially upon the minds of many of the learned, liberal, and serious clergy, by the celebrated work of Archdeacon Blackburne,"J was, we may presume, deepened during the two following years, by the publica- tion of the archdeacon's Replies to his antagonists, many of which are ingenious enough. In 177 1, Proposals for the author thought that the time had arrived ^.'' ^PP^^^^" o . . , tion to Par- for something more definite in attempting to carry Hament. out his project, and accordingly put forth a paper of Proposals for an application to Parliament for relief in the matter of subscription. The docu- ment is a remarkable one. " It is natural," it says, " gentlemen, to suppose that you, to whom this paper is addressed, not only see but inwardly feel the incongruity of requiring of you this implicit subscription, when compared with the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and the general principles of the Protestant Reformation. It is highly probable that you do not find all the established doctrines and forms of worship to which you are obliged by law to subscribe in perfect agreement with your private sentiments. And where you find they are not, the integrity of your * Life of Bishop Newton, p. 1 64. t See Kilvert's Life of Hurd, p. 103. X Belsham's Memoirs of Lindsey, p. 46. 414 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLn. 17+1-1772. Meeting at the Feathers Tavern. Petition drawn up and circu- lated. own hearts, and your desire to edify the people committed to you as pubHc teachers in truth and sincerity, must dispose you to wish to be deHvered from this yoke of bondage which every honest man, who, after an impartial and diligent study of the Scriptures differs from the public system, must bear with reluctance and regret." The only objection that is made (says the writer) to the relaxation of subscription, is the danger to ortho- doxy. " But orthodoxy, we apprehend, in the mouth of a Protestant, is a term which should only mean agreement in opinion with the Scriptures." * A petition to Parliament by the clergy who felt the burden of subscription is stated to be the only probable means of obtaining relief; and, with a view of getting up this petition, it is recommended that a meeting should be held, and an association orga- nized to circulate the draught of the petition through the country. Accordingly, on July 17, 177 1, a meeting of certain clergy in or near London was held at the Feathers Tavern, and a petition drawn up by Blackburne having been adopted, means were taken to circulate it through the country with great industry, in order to obtain signatures before the opening of Parliament. j* The petitioners stated that there were certain rights and privileges which they held of God only, and which are subject to * Blackburnc's Works, vii., 7, sq. t Belsham's Memoirs of Lindsey, p. 48. Mr. Lindsey tra- velled nearly 2,000 miles to solicit subscriptions. It is curious to find that the most violent opposition he encountered was from the Methodists. — Ibid., p. 50. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 415 His authority alone. That of this kind is the free Chap. XLII. exercise of their own reason and judgment, whereby *74'-i772- they have been brought to and confirmed in the belief of the Christian religion, as it is contained in the Holy Scriptures. That they are in a great measure precluded the enjoyment of this invaluable privilege by the laws relating to subscription ; whereby they are required to acknowledge certain articles and confessions of faith and doctrine, drawn up by fidlible men, to be all and every of them agreeable to the said Scriptures. They therefore pray to be relieved from this burden, and " to be restored to their undoubted right as Protestants of interpreting Scripture for themselves, without being bound by any human explications thereof." They declare their belief that subscription is a hinderance to the spread of Christ's Gospel, and a great snare to many, especially the young, and desire they may be released from it, " though willing to give any further testimony which may be thought expedient of their affection for his Majesty's person and government, of their attachment and dutiful sub- mission in Church and State, of their abhorrence of Popery,"* &c. The formidable attack which had been long pre- paring against the constitution of the Church of England, was thus fully organized and set in motion. The Latitudinarian, Socinian, and Arian Expectations clergy were determined to try their strength. Their °/ ^^^ P^^^~ loud and noisy argumentation, their bold denuncia- * Blackburne's /F-i772- the very small number of 250 signatures,* a great p^^^^ ^'^ many of which were those of laymen, civilians, or on the anti- physicians. In the next place, not one name of subscription any weight in the Church, with the exception of^^^'^"' that of Archdeacon Blackburne, was attached to the document. But, principally, the debate which the presentation of the petition produced in the House of Commons, where the discontented clergy had expected to find so many friends, evoked so strong a demonstration of good sense and right feeling in the matter, as effectually to silence these complainers who wished to retain their preferment in the Church, while they deserted its doctrines. The petition had been entrusted to Sir William Meredith, who, on February 6, 1772, moved in the House of Commons for leave to read it. It had been intended by Lord North, then Prime Minister, not to oppose the introduction of the petition, but to allow it afterwards to be quietly shelved. But the zeal of Sir Roger Newdegate, the Member for the University of Oxford, pre- * There is no doubt that many more of the clergy agreed with the petition besides those who signed it. Dr. Watson has recorded his objection to subscription. — Life, i., 69. Bishop Law preached against it at Cambridge in 1773. Dr. Paley wrote against it, though anonymously. — Defence of the Considerations , Lond., i 774. And none of these signed the paper. When Paley was pressed to sign, he declined, on a ground which is very intelligible, if not very creditable: "I cannot," said he, "afford to keep a con- science." — Lfe, by Meadley, p. 89. Afterwards, in his Moral and Political Philosophy, Paley made a lame and shuffling defence for subscription. — Viile ch. x. See Life of Wakefield, i., 129. VOL. in. E E 41 8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLII. vented the success of this temporising policy. 1 741-1772. \Yj-ie,i it ^v^s moved that the petition be read, he at once rose to oppose its being received. " The honourable gentleman tells you that the petitioners are respectable," exclaimed the baronet. " But how are they respectable ? not surely for number. In that view they are light as dust in the balance. Is it from their characters then that they derive their weight .^ I desire no better proof of the absurdity of that supposition than this petition. For what is Its object P The repeal of the Tests of Orthodoxy which they have not only professed, but sworn they believed." Mr. Hans Stanley fol- lowed : " The object of this motion is no less than the absolute destruction of the Church. For how, I beseech you, is the fabric of it cemented and held together, but by creeds and subscriptions?"* Mr. Fitzmaurice was still more vehement : ^' If the petitioners were in earnest about a reformation, why did they not first apply to the King ? Why not to the bishops .^ His Majesty, if properly soli- cited, would no doubt have called the Convocation, and allowed It to take their case into consideration. •[• Had they been baffled in this attempt, yet still they should have applied not to us, but to the Upper House, where they might have had the * An admirable letter from Mr. Hans Stanley to Mr. Lindsey, on the subject of this petition, which he had been asked to sup- port, will be found in the Appendix to Belsham's Memoirs of Lindsey. It is also printed in the ParUa7ne7itdry History, f This is important, and, judging from the King's character, likely to be true. If so, it is a strong reflection upon Archbishop Cornwallis. THE CHURCH OF ENGLJND. 419 assistance of the bishops, men who have made Chap. XLII. divinity their particular study." On the other *74J-»772- hand, Lord George Germain, professing himself a warm friend to the Church of England, opposed subscription to the Articles on the ground that " some of them were incomprehensible, and some self-contradictory." Mr. Thomas Pitt defended the character of the petitioners, and denied that they were actuated by Interested motives, and Lord John Cavendish was for allowing " a discreet lati- tude of opinion, to bring things as much as pos- sible Into the channel of nature, whom no body ever neglected with impunity." In his view, " according to the present system, it is almost as easy for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, as for a conscientious man to enter Into orders." But the case of the petitioners, through It found some strenuous supporters, received a terrible overthrow from the splendid declamation and finished oratory of Edmund Burke.* " These Mr. Burke's gentlemen," said he, " complain of hardships. No ^P^^^^* considerable number shows discontent, but In order to give satisfaction to any number of respectable men who come In so decent and constitutional a mode before us, let us examine a little what that hardship Is. They want to be preferred clergymen in the Church of England as by law established, but their consciences will not allow them to con- form to the doctrines and practices of that Church ; * Mr. Burke's speech, which is given very imperfectly in the Parliafnentary History, was found among his papers, and is published in his Works, vol. x. E E 2 420 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLII. that is, they want to be teachers in a Church to 1741- 1 772. ^,}-,}ch they do not belong. This is an odd sort of hardship.* They want to receive the emoluments appropriated for teaching one set of doctrines, while they are teaching another. . . . The laws of toleration provide for every real grievance which these gentlemen can rationally complain of. Are they hindered from professing their belief of what they think to be truth ? If they do not like the establishment, there are an hundred different modes of dissent in which they may teach. But even if they are so unfortunately circumstanced, that of all that variety none will please them, they have free liberty to assemble a congregation of their own ; and if any persons think their fancies worth paying for, they are at liberty to maintain them as their clergy — nothing hinders it. But if they cannot get an hundred people together who will pay for their reading a liturgy after their form, with what face can they insist on the nation's conforming to their ideas for no other visible purpose than for enabling them to receive with a good conscience the tenth part of the produce of your lands ?" In reply to this, it was useless for Sir George Saville earnestly to beseech the House to treat this as a * Thus Dean Tucker in his admirable Apology for the Church of England^ l^c. ** Now this is an odd kind of struggle. And a stranger to the complaining genius of the English could imagine no less from the doleful complaints every day uttered, but that these few unhappy persons had either suffered all the cruelties of a bloody inquisition, or were now in the utmost danger of losing their lives, at least their liberties and properties by this persecuting majority. Great, then, would be his surprise when he should be informed how the case actually stood." — Tucker's Apology ^ p. 53. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 421 matter of religion. He " would not set bars in Chap. XLII. the way of those who are willing to enter and '74^-' 772- labour in the Church of God." The Saviour reproved the disciples for forbidding one to act because he followed not with them.* The splendid The petition oration of Burke had completely demolished the rejected. case of the petitioners, and when, after an eight hours' debate, it came to a question whether the petition should be brought up, the proposal was negatived by 217 against 71, and the Church of England happily escaped another great and menacing danger, j- * The speech of Sir George Saville was greatly admired by the petitioners ; but if he is not wrongly reported, he showed a strange ignorance of Holy Scripture. He thus quotes the text on which part of his argument is built : " He that is not against me is for me. Go ye and say likewise." — ParliaTne7itary History, xvii., 293. t Parliamentary History, xvii., 24.5, 297. Belsham's Afi?;/r^/r/ of Lindsey, p. 53. Lord Mahon's History, v., 301 (ed. 1858). 42 2 THE HISrORT OF CHAPTER XLIII. Chap.XLIII. The Dissenting ministers seek to be relieved from subscription to 1 772-1 800. the Articles — The debate in the Lords on the Dissenters' Relief Bill — Movement among the clergy for revision of for- mularies — Some of the Unitarian clergy avoid resignation — Spirit oi antagonism to the great doctrines of the Faith — Gibbon's XV. and XVI. Chapters — Watson's Apology for Christianity — Dr. Priestley — Bishop Horsley — Thomas Paine's Age of Reason — Watson's Apology for the Bible — Archdeacon Palcy — Relief to the Romanists — Protestant Dissenters relieved from subscription to the Articles — " No Popery " riots — Motion to repeal Corporation and Test Acts in 1787 — Arch- bishop Moore — Bishop Lowth — Bishop Hurd — The bishops declare against the repeal of the Test Acts — Renewal of the motion in 1789 — And in 1790 — The "Church in danger" — Rejection of the motion — Mr. Burke and Mr. Wilberforce share in the apprehension — Proposal for a further relief of Romanists — Bishop Horsley 's speech — Religious liberty prac- tically reached. The Dissent- ing ministers seek to be relieved from subscription to the Articles. N the controversy which had been stirred up by the clergy, who protested against subscription to to the Articles, many expressions had fallen from those who defended the enforcing of subscription on the clergy of the Established Church, favourable to the relaxation of this requirement in the case of the Dissenters.* The Toleration Act still required that all Dissenting teachers who were to * See a Vindication of the Protestant Dissenting Ministership c.y by Dr. Kippis, p. 13. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 423 take advantage of it should subscribe the doctrinal Chap.XLIII. Articles of the Church of England. This obliga- >772-i8oo. tion had indeed for many years been a dead letter. Unitarian and Arian teachers, who objected to subscribe the Trinitarian Articles, were allowed to minister to their congregations without molesta- tion. But though the law was practically a dead letter, it might at any moment be revived, and then all those who were not qualified might be exposed to the tender mercies of Five Mile Acts, Conventicle Acts, and all the machinery of perse- cution used in the time of Charles II. The Dissenters also, who did not object to the doctrinal Articles, nevertheless took a general exception to the requirement of subscription. They had imbibed the philosophical notions of Locke, and denied " the right of any body of men, whether civil or ecclesiastical, to impose human tests, creeds, or articles, and they protested against such imposi- tion as a violation of men's essential liberty to judge and act for themselves in matters of reli- gion."* They now took a ground very different from that which had been taken by the original Nonconformists. To them the notion of a com- plete toleration had been utterly distasteful, and they could not bring themselves to accept the doctrine that in matters of religion the State ought to be neutral. But now the Dissenters had, as they themselves freely allowed, completely changed in their views. f They no longer clamoured about * Dr. Kippis's Vindication^ p. 29. \ See the Case of the Dissenting Ministers (London, 1772), 424 "^HE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. vestments and ceremonies. These things were 1 772-1 800. beneath the regard of philosophers. But that the dignity of human nature, the freedom of thought, the natural independence of reason, should be interfered with by paltry and antiquated human formularies, this was their grievance. They talked and wrote, in fact, very much as the author of The Confessional and his friends, but, it will be admitted, with much greater propriety. Indeed, their claim to a complete toleration, on whatever ground they chose to take, could scarcely be denied. Dean Tucker and Mr. Toplady admitted it as unreservedly as the Latitudinarian and Soci- nian clergy. The speakers in the debate on the Clerical Petition had again and again asserted it. Under these circumstances, it would have been strange if the Dissenting ministers had not pre- ferred their perfectly fair claim to be relieved from subscription to the Articles of a Church of which they were not members, and in whose privileges and emoluments they had no share. Accordingly, immediately after the dismissal of the Clerical Petition, a meeting was held, and of the ninety- five ministers of the three denominations (Presbyte- rians, Independents, Baptists) in and about London, by Israel Mauduit, p. 15. Vindication of the Protestant Dis- senting Ministers (1773), by Dr. Kippis, p. 27. In this able tract, the complete change in the views of the Nonconformists is well brought out. They no longer symbolised with the Old Puritans, or with the ejected ministers of St. Bartholomew's Day. Mr. Mauduit speaks contemptuously of the rising sect of the Methodists, and says that they are the greatest sticklers for the Thirty-nine Articles. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 425 seventy agreed to endeavour to get a Bill brought Chap.XLIII. into Parliament for their relief.* It was proposed ^772-1800. that in lieu of the subscription to the doctrinal Articles, each Dissenting minister should make the following declaration : — " I, A. B., declare, as in the presence of Almighty God, that I believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- ment contain a revelation of the mind and will of God, and that I receive them as the rule of my faith and practice." The Bill found a ready reception in the House of Commons. When leave was moved for to bring it in, the House, with the exception of Sir Roger Newdegate and Sir William Dolben, was unanimous to allow it. I The second reading was only opposed by a mino- rity of nine. It- went rapidly through the House, and was sent up to the Lords on May 19, 1772. Here its reception was very different. The The debate bishops had been greatly scandalized and alarmed ^" ^^^ ^^^^^ by the bold publication of Socinian views. It senters' Re- was asserted that some of the Dissenting teachers Hef Bill, even held Deistical opinions. The coincidence of this attempt to get rid of their subscription * Case of the Dissenting Ministers, p. 57. ■j" Mr. Burke delivered another of his splendid orations on this occasion. " The honourable gentleman," said he, " who opposed the motion, says that the Church is a respectable body, and their satisfaction ought to be studied as much as that of the Presby- terians. I own it, and for that very reason I would abolish a subscription which does the Church more harm than good, as it only binds men to the observance of the tenets of Geneva, and exempts them from paying the least attention to the distinc- tive doctrines of the English Church." — Parliamentar;^ Historyy xvii., 436. 426 THE HISTORY OF Chap.XLIII. with the petition of the Latitudinarian clergy, the 1 772-1 800. endeavour to repeal the Nullum Tempus laW, and to abolish the service for January 30,* seemed to Indicate a systematic attack upon the Church. They exerted themselves therefore against the proposed relaxation : Terrick, Bishop of London, Drummond, Archbishop of York, and Lowth, Bishop of Oxford, spoke against it, but the greatest effect was produced by Dr. Shute Bar- rington. Bishop of LlandafF, " who attacked the principles of some living Dissenting ministers with an eloquence that astonished both his friends and his opponents. He quoted a variety of passages from the writings of Dr. Priestley, which equally excited the wonder and abhorrence of his hearers. Amongst others. Lord Chatham Interrupted him with exclamations of ' monstrous! horrible! shock- ing ! ' " f Yet it was probably in this debate. In * The attempt to abolish the Nullum Tempus law, or to pre- vent the revival of dormant claims of the Church to lands, &c., was made by Mr. Seymour on February 19, but opposed by Lord North and negatived. — Parliamentary History, xvii., 301. The motion to abolish the service for January 30 was made after a ludicrous error into which the House of Commons had been led. Dr. Nowell, Principal of St. Mary Hall, in Oxford (for whose character and views see BoswcU's Life of Johnson), had preached a sermon on that day before the Commons in the old high strain, which had been listened to by very few members and by those not very attentively. The thanks of the House were after- wards voted as a matter of course, but when the sermon came to be seen in print by the members, they were very indignant, and it was moved to expunge the vote of thanks and carried by a large majority. An attempt was afterwards made to do away with the observance of January 30, but this was negatived. — Parliamentary History, xvii., 312-321. f Parliamentary History, xvii., 441. A somewhat different THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 427 which he warmly supported the cause of the Dis- Chap.XLIII. senters, that Lord Chatham gave utterance to his ' 77 2- » 800. famous aphorism that " the Church of England was Popish in her Liturgy, Calvinistic in her Articles, and Arminian in her clergy." ''A shallow witticism," says Mr. Gladstone, " little worthy of so illustrious a man." * The Bill was rejected in the Lords by a large majority, and the unrea- sonable and indefensible burden of subscription to the Articles was thus entailed upon the Dis- senting ministers for a few years longer. But another effect besides the foregoing was Movement produced by the petition of the clergy for relief ^l^^^"^^-^^"^ from subscription. Many of their brethren, who revision of were unwilling; to lend themselves to so monstrous ;he formu- l3.rics a proceeding as to desire to be relieved from an engagement which they had solemnly taken and by virtue of which they held their benefices, were, nevertheless, desirous to see tdterations made both in the Liturgy and the Articles so as to render subscription in their view an easier and more simple matter. This object was put forward by Mr. Wollaston, Rector of Chislehurst, in Kent, in a short pamphlet. In which he recommends that an appeal should be made to the bishops. " Let us entreat them," he writes, "that we may no version of" this is given in A Letter to Bishop Barrwgton, by a Petitioner (Marlborough, 1774). " Quotation followed upon the heels of quotation till Chatham himself cried, Oh ! Some will have it that he was astonished at your powers like the rest of your friends; while others declare he was tired and only let slip a senatorial gape." — p. 7. * Lord Mahon's History of EnghinJy v., 304 (ed. 1858). 42 8 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIII. longer have a set of Articles which aggrieve our- 1 772-1 800. selves, though we have no objection to subscribing fairly such a reasonable form as shall be thought necessary to secure a Protestant Church against its being committed to the care of the Papist or the Unbeliever. That our Liturgy, though now so excellent, may be rendered yet more pure, by correcting every remaining blemish, and removing or leaving indifferent all we can that gives offence to others. That our Church may thus become a pattern to all Churches. And that if those who now dissent from us will not then accept of our terms or imitate our example, we may, however, have the satisfaction of having done our duty, by yielding, on our parts, all that in prudence we may." * These proposals attracted considerable attention and enlisted, among others, the support of Drs. Percy and Porteus, both well known afterwards as eminent bishops. We learn from Dr. Porteus's own statement, that the point prin- cipally aimed at in the proposed alterations, was a revision of Article XVII., in order to render it " more clear and perspicuous and less liable to be wrested to a Calvinistic sense which has been so unjustly affixed to it." f A private application was first made to Archbishop Cornwallis, who received the applicants favourably, J and promised to consult the bench of bishops on the matter. On February 11, 1773, the Primate returned * Address to the C/ergy, by F. Wollaston (Lond., 1773), p. 22. I Hodgson's Life of Porteus, p. 39. X Appendix to Wollaston's pamphlet. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 429 them this final answer: "I have consulted severally Chap.XLIII. my brethren the bishops, and it is the opinion ^ 772-1800. of the bench in general that nothing in prudence can be done in the matter that has been submitted to our consideration."* In this decision (we are told by his biographer) Dr. Porteus and those who acted with him entirely acquiesced. That it was a wise and prudent one few will be inclined to doubt. A revision of the Liturgy — dangerous at any time — at that period, when Church feeling and veneration for antiquity were so rare, would have been especially perilous. The wave of excitement and trouble which had passed over the Church was thus beginning to sub- side. Several of the clergy who had adopted Unitarian views now quitted their posts. In 1774, Mn Lindsey resigned the living of Catterick, and became the minister of a Unitarian congregation in Essex Street, Strand. About the same time Mr. Jebb resigned the benefices of Homersfield and Flixton, in the Diocese of Norwich, and having adopted the medical profession, soon rose to emi- nence in his new sphere.t Gilbert Wakefield, him- self a Dissenter from the Church on these grounds, says, in his Memoirs : '' At the conclusion of this year, 1776, my most respected friend, Mr. Tyr- whitt, resigned his fellowship from a dissatisfaction at the doctrines contained in the Articles and Common Prayer of the Church of England ; and it was generally understood that Mr. Bralthwaite, another of our Senior Fellows, refused all college * Life of Porteus, p. 40. f Lindsey 's Historical View, p. 483. 430 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. livings upon the same conscientious scruples. Mr. 1 772-1 800. Xylden also, my contemporary in college, a most amiable person and an excellent scholar, suffered a family living to devolve on his brother, in prefer- ence to an acceptance of anti-Christian confessions of faith, as the condition of the tenure."* Some of the But there were others of not so tender a con- Unitarian science who still continued to cling to their pre- rcsignation. ferments, though cherishing Unitarian opinions. " We are called upon," writes one of these clergy, " inhumanly enough by the adversary to retire ; that is, to make room for those who regard only the loaves and fishes with which they hope to feed themselves or friends. Liberal minds will pity, not reproach us. This call we despise as it deserves ; but we cannot despise the voice of con- science within, wh'ch bids us deliberate coolly whether it is more likely to promote the ends of true religion ; divesting ourselves of all interest in our respective congregations, and of all influence in future applications for redress, or continuing with prudence and caution in our stations, where, though our ministry is greatly impeded, it may produce some good; where, though we are exposed to the bitterest reproaches of bad men, yet candour will make reasonable allowances, and perhaps find something to commend. "f Such is the sophistry with which men too often delude * Wakefield's Memoirs , i., 116. t Letter to Mr. J ebb {London, 1776), p. 19. Archdeacon Blackburne was one of those who decHncd to resign his position in the Church, but it is due to him to say that he always pro- fessed himself not to be an Unitarian. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 431 themselves, when self-uiterest Intervenes in the Chap.XLirr. deHberatlon. 1772-1800. But now, after the frustration of the attempt at Spirit of rehef and the cession of many of her ministers, antagonism •^ , to tlic great the Church might expect fiercer attacks than ever doctrines of from the side of Socinianism and infidelity. Her the faith. hold on the great doctrines of faith was shown to be more tenacious and firm than some had sup- posed. There was no general or wide-sp'-ead desire among her ministers to see any change. The bishops remained steady, and denounced Unita- rianism in their charges. The formularies of the Church stood yet intact and inviolate, witnessing to the ancient faith. But the enemy was not subdued nor silenced. The faith itself might be made the object of attacks. If Christianity were imperilled, the Church might gladly accept a compromise. Could those zealots who contended so eagerly for the outworks, defend the citadel if It were once vigor- ously assailed ? It was not worth while any longer to dwell upon minor points ; it was better to apply all energies to the destructive attack. Once sap the foundations of the faith, and anything would be possible to those who desired the humiliation of the Church, and the overthrow of orthodoxy at any price. The year 1776 brought a great and unexpected aid to the sceptics. In that year came Gibbon's forth the first volume of Gibbon's great work on XV. and the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire^ contain- ^^^^^ ' ^^" ing in Its XV. and XVI. Chapters that bitter, sar- castic, and elaborate attack on Christianity which the great talents of the writer and the surpassing 432 rHE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. excellence of the other part of his book made espe- 1772- 1 800. cially dangerous. But the popular effect of this attack was happily modified by the work of a cham- pion who was found on the side of truth, and who, if his work does not agree with the standard of our days, was yet eminently successful in adapting himself to the taste and influencing the belief of those of his own time. Dr. Watson, then Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, had met with Gibbon's work in the relaxation of a long vacation, and at once determined to answer the obnoxious Watson's chapters. His Apology for Christianity was, as he Apology for ^^jj^ ^g ^^^j ^ month's work: but it met with a Chnstia?nty. r 1 1 • 1 very favourable reception, and came most oppor- tunely to the aid of religion. The professor's treatment of his adversary was so candid and com- plimentary, that it elicited a letter of thanks from the great historian, which produced a polite reply from his opponent.* Dr. Priestley. The next great attack upon the Creed of the Church of England came from a man who was opposed to Gibbon in his views, but who was also a far more dangerous adversary to the Catholic doctrine. This was Joseph Priestley, who had risen into great distinction as a discoverer and phi- losophiser in physical science, and who, after having lived some years with Lord Shelburne, as his friend and librarian, had settled at Birmingham as the pastor of a large congregation of Dissenters. Dr. Priestley had adopted in philosophy the notions of pure materialism, and the homogeneity of man's * Watson's Autobiography ^ i-, 98, loi. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 433 nature, and in religion came forward as the defender Chap.XLIII. of the most complete Unitarianism. But he endea- »772-i8oo. voured to establish his views by a method different from that which had been adopted by some of the writers who had preceded him. The deduction of Unitarian views from Scripture was a task almost hopeless in the face of anything like criticism or a knowledge of the ordinary laws of interpretation. Recourse was therefore usually had by Unitarian writers to a priori reasonings as their mainstay, which they propped up as they could by a few texts distorted from their fair meaning. But Dr. Priestley took different ground. Like Zwicker and Simon Episcopius, whose arguments had been demolished by the matchless talent of Bishop Bull, Dr. Priestley endeavoured to establish an historical foundation for Unitarianism. In his book, called The Corruptions of Christianity, he undertakes to prove " That the doctrine of the Trinity as it is now maintained is no older than the Nicene Council. That it is the result of a gradual corruption of the doctrine of the Gospel, which took its rise in opinions first advanced in the second century by certain converts of the Platonic school. That before these innovations the faith of the whole Church was strictly Unitarian. The immediate disciples of the Apostles believed our Saviour to be a mere man. The next generation worshipped Him, indeed, but only as a highly-exalted creature. The Platonizers invented the doctrine of the Trinity."* This was the subject of Dr. Priestley's celebrated * See Horslcy's Charge to the clergy of St. Albans, p. 6. VOL. III. F F 434 THE HIsrORT OF Chap.XLIII. book, and the ability with which he handled the 1 772- 1 800. subject, and his apparent familiarity with the early Christian writers, made the attack dangerous. But Dr. Priestley laboured under one great and crushing disadvantage. He was going over the very ground and handling the same materials which had exercised the learning, the genius, the perse- verance of Bishop Bull, and he was doing it in profound ignorance of what Bull had urged against men of the same views as himself. It is scarcely credible — but we have his own word for it — that Dr. Priestley, when he wrote his treatise, had never seen the Defence of the Nicene Creed^ or the Primi- tive and Apostolical Tradition of Bull.* But to the opponents of Priestley, at any rate, the writings of the learned bishop were of the highest value. Bishop Dr. Horsley, Archdeacon of St. Albans and after- Horsley. wards Bishop of St. David's, undertook, in a Charge to the clergy at St. Albans, to refute the reasoning on which the Corruptions of Christianity is founded, and to show the unfair use which had been made of the primitive writers. Horsley was a man of a masculine mind, great learning, and quick intelli- gence.-]- He was also master of a clear style and * See Horsley's First Letter in Reply. j" Gilbert Wakefield, who never spared any champion of orthodox views, thus writes of him : " It is most sincerely regretted by me, that the dispositions of Bishop Horsley should have been warped either by pride, ambition, or selfishness, to such an excessive obliquity as displays itself throughout his writings. The native vigour of his faculties, his various know- ledge, his elegant and nervous style, and his ingenuity of invention might have been happily employed to the advancement of science, and to the confirmation and recommendation of the Christianity of the Scriptures," — Wakefield's Memoirs, i., 285. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 435 much power of logical argumentation. His attack Chap.XLIII. upon Priestley was a very damaging one. He » 77 2-1^00- exhibited mistranslations and false Inferences, and wrested the argument from the practice of the earliest ages from the application to which It had been forced. But Priestley was not a man to be easily subdued. His acuteness quickly saw the weak points In his own statements, and he defended them with great dexterity. Growing more learned in the subject as he proceeded, and taught much by his adversary, he contended with him with his own weapons, and elicited the delighted applause of his Unitarian friends. The controversy between these two able champions lasted for several years, and extended through a long series of letters, until the wild excesses of the French Revolution caused so violent a reaction in favour of orthodoxy, that Dr. Priestley, brought into danger of his life, was obliged to fly from the fury of the excited popu- lace of Birmingham. Out of the dregs of the polluted waters of the Thomas French convulsion, there arose another attack upon ^^^^^'^ ^^^ Christianity in this country, the last which it will be necessary to mention here, which was also the most popular, and perhaps the most mischievous. Thomas Paine, who had been dismissed for 111 conduct from the situation of an exciseman at Lewes, had emigrated to America, and in the con- vulsions attending the separation of that country from England, had gained notoriety as a writer of pamphlets. Attracted to France by the license of the Revolution, he obtained some notice there, F F 2 436 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. and, in 1790, published in London, in answer to 1772-1800. yi^^ Burke's Reflections, a work called The Rights of Alan, which was eagerly circulated in this country by the infidel clubs which then abounded. This, and the prosecution which followed it, were sufficient good services to recommend Paine to the French people in their state of wild excitement, and he was chosen a member of the National Con- vention. Robespierre threw him into prison, but having escaped the guillotine, the ordinary way of deliverance at that time, Paine was able, in 1794, to publish in London his Age of Reason, perhaps the most blasphemous and mischievous book that has ever issued from the English press. Unrestrained by any limits of religion, morality, or good feel- ing, the writer loaded the Holy Scriptures with " scurrilous abuse," and in a manner so adapted to please the vulgar taste, that a " torrent of irreligion was excited by his writings."* Happily, a bishop „r , of the Church, who also had the skill to catch the Watson s ^ Apology for niasses, came forward with a ready answer, and by the Bible. his Apology for the Bible, Bishop Watson again did good service to the cause of religion. Vast num- bers of this little work were printed by philan- thropic men, and distributed gratuitously among the working classes, and the bishop records with a commendable pride the testimonies to its usefulness * Watson's Autobiography , ii., 27. "It was addressed to the multitude," says Bishop Porteus, ** and most dexterously brought down to the level of their understandings. It compressed the whole poison of infidelity into the narrow compass of an essence or an extract, and rendered irreligion easy to the meanest capa- city." — Life of Porteus, p. 126. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 437 which reached him from numerous quarters.* Chap. XLIII. Another writer, whose works are now much better 1772-1800. known than Watson's, also came into the field to ^rchdeacon ralcy. combat the mischievous tendency of the Age of Reason. William Paley, who after a brilliant career at Cambridge, had now settled in the north as Archdeacon of Carlisle, published at this time one of the cleverest of his works, the Evidences of Christianity . This treatise has held, as it deserves, a prominent place ever since as an educational work. Paley and Watson were men of the same school, and the writings of both bear the charac- teristic marks of the theology of that day — clear but shallow. Of this school. Tucker, Dean of Gloucester, is perhaps the best example. Black- burne Is less clear, though possessing the other characteristic to perfection. Of the other answerers of the Age of Reason^ the most distinguished was the learned Gilbert Wakefield, who, though he held Unitarian opinions, was a zealous advocate for his own view of the Scriptures. The prosecution of Paine's work, and the verdict obtained against the publisher. Is said to have effectually put a stop to its sale ; f but other causes were now at work^ which were happily leavening society with a more religious spirit, and the beginnings of that work were already apparent which has culminated so successfully In our own day. * ** I received many pleasing letters from individuals acknow- ledging the benefit they had derived from the perusal of" the Jpo/ogy ; nor was its utility confined to Great Britain, as may appear from the following letters from America and from Ireland." — Autobiography, ii., 27. t Life ofPorteus, p. 129. 438 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIII. In the year 1778, were first heard in the British 1 772- 1 800. House of Commons the words of fair and just Relief to the consideration for the lonor-oppressed and persecuted Romanists. . 1 1 t j • i. Romanists. Near a century had elapsed snice the Revolution, and that great and much -vaunted Inauguration of liberty had brought no liberty to them, but only an Increase of bitter tyranny. The most disgraceful Act ever passed against them dated from the eleventh year of King William. By this It was enacted that any priest or Jesuit who should officiate in any religious service in this country should be Imprisoned for life. That any young man of the Romish faith who should be educated abroad, should forfeit his estates to the next Protestant heir. That the son of a Romanist becoming a Protestant might dispossess his father of his estates and become during his father's life the real proprietor, and that no Romanist should be capable of acquiring legal property by purchase. It was well said by one of the speakers on the occasion when the repeal of this Act was moved, that "in repealing It they were not so much employed In conferring favours on the Catholics as in rescuing the Statutes from disgrace." * Yet so long-continued and so bitter had been the vindictive feeling against the Romanists, that It reflects great credit on the Parliament of 1778, not only that a measure of relief should have been carried for them but that It should have been carried in both Houses without one dissenting voice. The only bishop who spoke on the occa- * Parliajfientnry History, xix., 1142. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 439 sion (Hinchcliffe, of Peterborough), said, "I cannot Chap.XLIII. but disapprove of all laws which arc calculated to >77z-»8oo. oppress men for their religious persuasion ; and to tempt any one with views of interest to trespass upon his duty and natural affection by depriving his father of his estate, or supplanting his brethren, is a policy in my judgment inconsistent with reason, with justice, and humanity."* The first instalment of justice being thus done Protestant to the Romanists, it was evident that the Pro- ^Jf'^^^^"? ^ . relieved from testant Dissenters, against whom there had never subscription existed the same violent prejudice, might expect to the similar measures to be conceded to them. Accord- ingly the next year (1779), the same motion which had been made in 1773 for relieving them from the subscription to the doctrinal Articles, was again brought forward. The debate in the Commons turned not upon the question of abolishing the subscription (all being agreed upon that), but upon the point whether a declaration, proposed by Lord North, should be required of the Dissenting ministers in lieu of the subscription, t Upon this occasion, the blasphemous demagogue, John Wilkes, delivered one of his most remarkable speeches : " I would support the sublime dome * Parliamentary History y xix., 1 143. f The Declaration was as follows : " I, A. B., do solemnly declare, that I am a Christian and a Protestant Dissenter, and that I take the Holy Scriptures both of the Old and New Testa- ment, as they are generally received in Protestant countries, for the rule of my faith and practice." — Parliamentary History, xx., 308. This was substantially the same Declaration which the Dissenters themselves had proposed in 1773. 440 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIII. of St. Paul's;' he exclaimed, '' but I would not 1772-1800. destroy a beautiful Pantheon. I wish to see rising in the neighbourhood of a Christian cathedral, near its Gothic towers, the minaret of a Turkish mosque, a Chinese pagoda, and a Jewish syna- gogue ; with a temple of the Sun, if any Persians could be found to inhabit this island, and worship in this gloomy climate the god of their idolatry."* But the majority of the House were not so advanced in their views as the popular orator, and the declaration was carried by a considerable majority. In the House of Lords, the Bill was passed, strange to say, without debate. " It was a measure," says Bishop Porteus, " generally approved as wise and just, and no less consonant to the principles of sound policy than to the genuine spirit of the Gospel." f "NoPopery" But it was soon to be shown in a painful manner riots. |;hat the social and moral improvement which, without doubt, had begun at this period, had not as yet extended far or penetrated deep. The legislators were greatly in advance of the people. The just concessions which had been made to the Romanists, represented by artful and wicked men to be the abandonment of Protestantism and the formal apostacy of the nation, became the cause of frightful tumults and hideous excesses, and for many days the metropolis of the nation was in the hands of a savage mob, who murdered, robbed, and burned in the outraged name of religion. This violent outburst of the " No Popery " spirit * Parliamentary History ^ xx., 312. f Life of Porteus, p. 57. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 441 took its rise In Scotland, the native home of Chap.XLIII. intolerance, and was excited there by the bare ^772-1800. anticipation of the same relief being granted to the Scotch Romanists as had already been given to the English. The Presbyterian clergy everywhere raised the alarm, and the General Assembly even passed a vote that any alteration of the penal laws against the Papists would be dangerous to civil and religious liberty.* The infatuation rapidly spread to England : a Protestant association was formed, having for its head a crack-brained young nobleman named Lord George Gordon, and a petition was presented to Parliament by the Com- mittee of the society, at the head of a mob of 150,000 people. f Lord George Gordon moved that the petition should be taken into immediate consideration ; but the House, true to its dignity in the presence of even this great danger, nega- tived the proposal by a majority of 194 against 8. Then ensued a period of frightful outrage and riot. For several days the mob held possession of London, and burned, robbed, and destroyed at its pleasure. Romanist chapels, the dwelling-houses of those who professed that creed, and of any Protestants who had shown any consideration for them, were ruthlessly demolished; and a terrible menace was exhibited against those who should venture to plead the cause of these injured and oppressed citizens of the State. From this it may, perhaps, have arisen that when * Life of Porteus, p. 59. f Lord Mahon's History of E?igland, vii., 23. 442 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. the next attempt was made to relax the restrictive 1 772- 1 800. la^s connected with religion, the Romanists were Motion to carefully excluded from any share in the proposed pTradon^and benefit. The Protestant Dissenters, keeping Test Acts in steadily in view their right to admission to the ^"^ ^* complete privileges of citizenship, in the year 1787 made another determined attempt to obtain the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts. But in the course of his very able speech to the House of Commons, their eloquent advocate, Mr. Beaufoy, argued that this repeal would not affect the position of the Romanists. He would not interfere with the oaths nor with the declaration against transubstantiation, and he argued, " If the oaths and declaration against an essential doctrine of the Roman faith have been found sufficient, without the Sacrament, to exclude the Catholics from situations of legislative power, can there be a doubt of the efficiency of the same means to exclude them from the humbler offices of executive authority?"* But this one-sided attempt at enfran- chisement was not destined to obtain a greater amount of success than those which had preceded it. In vain did Mr. Beaufoy argue that every citizen of a state has a right, not actually to be employed, but to the capacity of being employed by the sovereign. In vain did he prove that opinion was no proper subject for punishment. In vain did he set forth in words of great power and truth the grievous hardship which the operation of these Sacramental Tests entailed upon the ministers * Parliiunentary History^ xxvi., 804. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 443 of the Church of England. " By the duties of Chap.XLIII. his function, by the positive precepts of his reli- * 77 2- iHoo. gion, the minister is enjoined to warn from the sacred table all blasphemers of God, all slanderers of His word, all adulterers, and all persons of a profligate life, yet to those very persons, if they demand it as a qualification, he is compelled by the Test Act to administer the Sacrament. Sir, if there be anything serious in religion, if the doctrines of the Church of England be not a mere mockery of the human understanding, then it will necessarily follow that no pretexts of State policy can justify this enormous profanation of the most sacred ordinance of the Christian faith, this monstrous attempt, as irrational as it is profane, to strengthen the Church of England by the debase- ment of the Church of Christ." * To this Lord North replied by referring to the general wish of the clergy themselves not to repeal but to preserve these laws, and by declaring that any clergyman who refused to administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to law would be justified by the law. The Test Act, he said, was " the corner stone of the Constitution," and should not be interfered with. The cry of the " Church in danger " was as dangerous as the " No Popery " cry, and the barrier which had hitherto guarded them ought not to be thrown down.f Mr. Pitt argued the question more philosophically. " There must be," said he, *^ restrictions of rights in all societies, all modes of representation must include * Parliamentary History, xxvi., 815. f Uid., xxvi., 823. 444 'I' HE HIsrORT OF Chap.XLIII. or render necessary some mode of qualification. 1 772- 1 800. 'YYiQ alliance between Church and State was founded on expediency, and this restriction was the price which the State paid to the Church for it. He could not see that this regulation was any more a mark of infamy to the Dissenters than any other distinction which upholds political govern- ment." ^ The motion for the repeal of the Acts was negatived by 176 against 98. But though Mr. Pitt, as Prime Minister, defended on grounds of political expedience the retention of these obnoxious laws, he would have been willing, if the dignitaries of the Church would have sup- ported him in it, to have advocated their repeal. It was with him a question to be referred to the judgment of the Church. Did the bishops con- sider the Sacramental Test a necessary safeguard for the Church of England? Then it must be maintained. Did they judge that the Church would not be endangered by its abolition ? In that case it might be abolished. With this view, soon after the rejection of the motion for a repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts in the House of Commons, Mr. Pitt requested the Arch- bishop of Canterbury to call a meeting of the bishops at the Bounty Office to consider the question. Archbishop The See of Canterbury was then occupied by Moore. Y)v. John Moore, who had been appointed to succeed Archbishop Cornwallis in 1783. He had probably been recommended by his business-like * Parliamentary History, xxvi., 825. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 445 habits and affable manners as it does not appear Chap.XLIII. that he possessed any special literary or theological '772-1000. claims. In his case, at least, there was no ground for attributing his advancement to strong family interest, for, like many of our great prelates, he was of humble origin. The son of a grazier at Gloucester, he had graduated at Pembroke College, Oxford, and then became tutor to the sons of the Duke of Marlborough. He acquired, pro- bably by the interest of his patron, a prebendal stall at Durham ; from thence he moved onwards to the Deanery of Canterbury, and from thence to the See of Bangor. At the death of Archbishop Cornwallis, the first thought of the King was to select the most distinguished scholar on the bench of bishops for advancement to the Primacy. Accordingly, this high honour was offered to Dr. Bishop Lowth, then Bishop of London, whose great work Lowth. on the prophet Isaiah and whose profound know- ledge of Hebrew well entitled him to distinction. But the Bishop of London was then bowed down by severe family affliction and by the infirmities of age, and he declined the honour. The offer Bishop Hurd. was then made to Richard Hurd, Bishop of Wor- cester, who had been tutor to the Prince, and whose elegant scholarship and stately manners the King greatly admired. The Bishop of Worcester, chiefly from his connection with Warburton, enjoyed high reputation in his day, but he was emphatically an over-estimated man, and though his manners were courtly and dignified in the presence of royalty, they were extremely cold and 446 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. proud to those whom he considered his inferiors. 1 772- 1 800. Some Hterary claims indeed may fairly be allowed him. His discourses on Prophecy are still known and valued. But the stately prelate was happy in the comparative retirement of Hartlebury Castle, and busied in the formation of his splendid library, and he declined to undertake the burden of the Primacy. The two prelates to whom the offer had been made concurred in recommending Bishop Moore, and on him accordingly the promotion was conferred. The bishops In accordance with the desire of the Prime declare Minister, the archbishop now summoned a meeting against repeal - , , . , ^ . , . . , ^ of the Test ot the bishops to ascertam their views upon the Acts. Corporation and Test Acts. Ten prelates were of opinion that the Acts ought to be retained, and only two. Bishops Watson and Shipley, were in favour of their repeal.* Renewal of Under these circumstances, when the motion for the motion |.|^g abolition of the laws was brought forward ^* again in 1789, Mr. Pitt opposed it as before. His speech, indeed, savoured of the weakness of his cause. He contended that the repeal of the laws would be a danger to the Church establishment, but he hardly attempted to show in what that danger would consist. As to the shame and degra- dation inflicted by these laws upon the Church of England, there was not, as there could not be, any reply to the indignant eloquence of Mr. Beaufoy. " If it be thought requisite," he exclaimed, " that Dissenters should be excluded from the common * Autobiography of Bishop Watson, i., 261. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 447 privileges of citizens, why must the Sacrament be Chap.XLIII. made the instrument of the wrong; why must the *772-i8oo. purity of the temple be polluted ; why must the sanctity of the altar be defiled ; why must the most sacred ordinance of the faith be exposed to such gross, such unnecessary prostitution ? Is it possible that you can permit an ordinance so entirely abstracted from all temporal pursuits, to be condemned to the drudgery of the meanest of human interests, to be subjected to the polluted steps of the lowest avarice, and of the most despicable ambition; to be dragged into the service of every insignificant stipend, and of every con- temptible office, and, as with a view to its utter debasement in the minds of the people, to be made a qualification for gauging beer-barrels and soap- boiler's tubs, for writing custom-house dockets and debentures, and for seizing smuggled tea?"* The division on this occasion, though still in favour of the maintenance of the Acts, yet showed so consi- derable a decrease in the majority, that the friends of the Dissenters took heart, and determined to renew the struggle with increased vigour. But the time was unfavourable for their attempts. And in 1790. The country was appalled and horror-struck by the excesses of the French Revolution. Men liberal at other times, suddenly became intensely conservative. The cry of the " Church in danger" The "Church was raised, and meetings were held by alarmed ^" 397- X Par/inmejitary Historyy xxix., 113, i 19. G G 2 452 THE HISrORl^ OF Chap.XLIII. ject. Of the four VIcars-ApostolIcal in England, 1772-1 00. |.|-jj-gg WQVQ strongly opposed to the terms of the New Oath, and published an encyclical letter against it, while, on the other hand, the members of the '^ Catholic Committee" who were engaged in promoting the Bill exclaimed against this as an extravagant stretch of authority, and charged the stricter professors of their faith as inculcating prin- ciples hostile to society, Government, and the British Constitution.* It was clear, therefore, that the passing of this Bill**would not content the whole body, and on this ground the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of St. David's objected to it in the Lords. Both prelates, however, ex- pressed themselves strongly against the retention Bishop of the penal statutes. " My lords," said Bishop Horsley s Horsley, " I persuade myself that the long wished- * for season for the abolition of the penal laws is come. Emancipated from the prejudices which once carried them away, the Roman Catholics are led by the genuine principles of their religion to inoffensive conduct, to dutiful submission, and cordial loyalty. My lords, I quarrel with this Bill for the partiality of its operation. It is to relieve Roman Catholics from the penal laws, under the condition that they take an oath of allegiance, abjuration, and declaration, the terms of which oath the Bill prescribes. Now, my lords, it Is, I believe, a well-known fact that a very great number of the Roman Catholics scruple the terms in which this oath is unfortunately drawn, and * Bishop Horslcy's speech. Parliamentary History y xxix., GjG-J. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 453 declare they cannot bring themselves to take It. Chap.XLIir. My lords, if your lordships should be moved to >772-iHoo. reject this Bill, rather than that the Roman Catholics should be finally unrelieved, I would pledge myself to your lordships, to the Roman Catholics, and to my country, to bring in a Bill early in the next Session, which should not be pregnant with the mischiefs which seem to me the certain consequences of this Bill."* Such language was somewhat new in the mouth of a prelate of the English Church. In effect, the intention announced by the bishop was carried out when, in Committee of the whole House on the Bill, he moved that the oath, as it stood, should be expunged, and in place of it another oath sub- stituted almost exactly similar to the one drawn up for the Romanists in Ireland in 1774. By the passing of this Act, the Romanists in Religious England in 1791 stood apparently very much in ^jberty prac- the same position that the Protestant Dissenters ^^^^jj'^^^ had occupied in 1689. ^7 ^^^ repeal of perse- cuting and vexatious laws, they had at last reached toleration, though in a maimed and imperfect form. The restrictions which still remained may be re- garded as parallel to the obligation on the Dis- senters to subscribe the Articles which continued upon them for near a century. Practically, how- ever, the two great divisions of separatists from the Church of England stood now nearly alike as regards religious liberty. The principle upon which persecuting laws had been founded and * Parlidmentary History, xxix., 668-679. 454 'I'HE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIII. defended being generally abandoned, it was evident 1 772- 1 800. ^i^^^ whatever laws of this description still remained must shortly disappear from the Statute book. Meantime, as to operation, they would remain a dead letter. But the question of civil disabilities still remained. In this it might seem that but little progress had been made since the Revolution. The last majority against the repeal of the Test Acts had been greater than the one which sanc- tioned their continuance under the administration of Sir Robert Walpole. Nevertheless, thinking men might easily discern that these obnoxious laws also were doomed. It was clear that the last division in their favour was taken under entirely exceptional circumstances. Men voted blindly and in a panic. The unanswer- able eloquence of Mr. Beaufoy and Mr. Fox must continue to work its way. Soon all men would be convinced of the unreasonableness of exacting religious Tests for the enjoyment of civil rights, and of the scandal and the shame which were entailed upon the Church by obliging her to degrade her Sacraments. Had it not been for the all-absorbing interest of the great European war, the Corporation and Test Acts could not have survived almost to our own day, nor would Roman Catholic emancipation have waited to be extorted from an unwilling Government by the fears of a civil war.* * The Act for the Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts was passed May 9, 1828; the Act for giving rcHef to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, commonly called Catholic Emancipation, April 13, 1829. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 455 CHAPTER XLIV. Commencement of a more religious tone — The growth and Chap. XLIV. development of Wesleyanism — Appointment of preachers — 1772-1800. Excitement studied by constant change — The Bands and Leaders — Causes of the success of the Methodists — The Con- ference — The declaration about good works — Mr. Fletcher of Maddeley — Settling of chapels — The administration of the Sacraments in chapels — Mr. Wesley's bishops — George Whit- field — The Countess of Huntingdon — Mr. Bcrridge — Rowland Hill — The Serious Clergy — Bishop Porteus — Sunday schools — The religious laity — ^John Thornton — William Wilberforce — Hannah More — Samuel Johnson — George III. — The great orators in Parliament — Simoniacal practices abated — Increase of missionary efforts— Society for the Propagation of the Gospel — Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge — Mr. Wilberforce's attempt for India — Foundation of the Church Missionary Society — Development of religious life. T has been said that the worst Commence- period of the reHgious history of ^^^"^ °^,.^ more reli- England is to be found about the g^o^s tone. middle of the eighteenth century. This is the period of the greatest neglect among the clergy, the greatest Latitudinarianism and contempt of solemn engagements, the greatest spread of the pestilent heresies of Arianism and Socinianism, and the greatest danger of Christianity degenerating into a vapid philosophy. It was also the period of least 456 rHE HISrORT OF Chap.XLlV. zeal and earnestness among the Dissenters, whose 1772-1800. teachers, compelled to take their tone from the spirit of the age, had generally become philoso- phical moralizers instead of Christian ministers. It was the period when the lower orders exhibited the most brutal manners and loved the most brutal amusements. It was the period when the gentry- were most ignorant, most licentious, and most tyrannical. The period of bull-baiting, cock- fighting, habitual drunkenness and open profanity. By what steps, and by what agencies did the country and Church emerge from this degraded state into the higher and better life of the nine- teenth century ? There can scarcely be a doubt that the chief and most energetic cause of this improvement was the growth and spread of Methodism.* It was this which awakened life in the Church ; it was this which quickened the dormant zeal of Dissent. The increase of the serious or Evangelical school among the clergy was distinctly due to the revival of subjective religion by Wesley and Whitfield. The substitu- tion of the Methodists in place of the older Dis- senters in the affections of those who were alienated * " The gay and busy world were almost ignorant of Chris- tianity, and lukewarmness and apathy possessed the very watch- men of the faith. A vast population was springing up around our manufactories, but there was no thought of providing for them Church accommodation. Non-residence without cause , and without scruple was spreading through the Church, and all the cords of moral obligation were relaxed as the spirit of religion slumbered. Against this universal apathy, John Wesley had recently arisen with a giant's strength." — Life of IVillum Wilber- forcc, by his Sons, i., i 29. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, ^si from the Church, was equivalent to the substitution Chap.XLIV. of a form of dissent full of religious zeal for those '772-1800. whose religion consisted in a carping cynicism and a dry morality. It becomes, therefore, now part of our subject to notice the growth and develop- ment of that system of Methodism whose origin and early progress have before been delineated. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, with The growth all his eccentricities and puerilities, was a man in ^" '^ rw^' ^ ' ment of Wes- whom there was much that was great and noble, icyanism. He cannot, Indeed, be ranked with some of those apostles of Christianity whose single object was to do good. He loved excitement, power, and praise.* He allowed himself to think that he was the constant subject of miraculous interpositions, and that when his horse fell lame, or his head ached, a special interposition was wrought in his favour. f He believed that people could be con- verted in dreams, or by visions to their waking senses,:]: and that erring and fallible mortals could attain sinless perfection in this life. He seemed to suppose himself to have the power of healing diseases by faith and prayer ; and though St. Paul was obliged to see Epaphroditus " sick nigh unto death," yet that the health of his friends was a matter he could boldly claim of God. He allowed himself to fall into the foolish and reprehensible practice of divination and sortilege, and to enter- * " I find there is no stronger temptation to vanity and self- love than what a travelling popular preacher meets with." — Henry Venn's Journal. •j- Wesley's Journnl, ii., 10. Southey's Life 0/ fFes/ey, 11., ^i^. I Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 187. Southey's Lifcy i., 255. 458 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIV. tain the absurd notion that every sort of diversion 1772-1800. was sinful.* He was inconsistent in his teaching, holding at one time that men were justified by faith, '' including no good work;"-}- and at another, that " repentance and works meet for repentance " must go before faith. J But though inconsistencies may be found in his teaching, and littlenesses and follies in his conduct, yet Wesley was essentially an honest man, who laboured almost beyond example for the good of his fellow-creatures. For fifty years he continued his unabating, ungrudging toil, and the results were enormous. At his death, the members of his flock in England exceeded 71,000, in America 48,000, and he had 500 travelling preachers under his control. § This had been the work of his devotion, his talent for organization and his power of influence. The machine which he contrived and set in motion has gone on with undiminished vigour ever since, only it has long since quitted the course which he marked out for it, and now contends in rivalry against that Church which Wesley honestly designed to serve. || * Southey's Life of Wesley ^ i., 239, 504. t jfournaly i. 224. X Conversations in Conference (Con. I.), Coke's Life of Wesley y p. 269. For an elaborate and unsparing attack upon the strange enthusiastic statements in Wesley's fournal, see Bishop War- burton's Treatise on Grace, b. ii., ch. iv.-xii. § Lord Mahon's Hi story , ii., 256. A lively and generally accurate sketch of Methodism will be found in this most agreeable work. II Wesley's constant attachment to the Church of England, even to the last, and his earnest wish that his followers should not rim CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 459 It appears to have been Mr. Wesley's hope Chap.XLIV. originally that he should find sufficient clergymen ^772-1800. of the Church of England like-minded with him- ^PP^'"^."^^"^ -....., or preachers. self to assist him in his itinerant labours. But in leave it, arc well known. The following passages from his Journal set it forth : — 1. In the year 1747. One of his questions " to distinguish the precious from the vile " among the members of his Society was, "Does he go to Church /"' — Vol. ii., p. 12. 2. 175 1. "I read prayers myself, and found an uncom?non blessing therein" — p. 198. 3. 1752. Wesley thus quotes the death-bed declarations of Katherine Whitaker : " Desire them all to go to Church. When I was most diligent in going to Church, I always found the greatest blessings. ^^ — p. 222. 4. 1 76 1. "I heard two useful sermons at our parish Church; one upon 'Follow peace with all men, and holiness;' the other on * Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.' * 1 pity those who can learn nothing at Churchy^ — Vol. iii., p. 48. 5. 1 76 1. "I then met the Society, and came just in time to prevent their all turning Dissenters, which they were on the point of doing, being quite disgusted with their curate, whose life was no better than his doctrine." — p, 59. 6. " In Swaledale I found an earnest, loving, simple people whom I likewise exhorted not to leave the Church, though they had not the best of ministers." — p. 59. 7. 1768. "We are in truth so far from being enemies to the Church, that we are rather bigots to it. I dare not, like Mr. Venn, leave the parish Church where I am to go to an indepen- dent meeting. I dare not advise others to go thither rather than to Church. I advise all over whom I have any influence, steadily to keep to Church." — p. 329. 8. 1770. "We had a poor sermon at Church. However, 1 went again in the afternoon, remembering the words of Mr. Philip Henry, * If the preacher does not know his duty, I bless God that I know mine.'" — p. 390. 9. 1772. " I attended the Church of England service in the morning, and that of the Kirk [of Scotland] in the afternoon. Truly * no man having drank old wine straightway desireth new.' How dull and dry did the latter appear to me, who had been accustomed to the former." — p. 448. 10. 1773. "They told me another congregation was waiting, 46o THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLTV. this expectation he was soon disappointed. It 1772-1 00. |3g(.^j^g therefore necessary to provide teachers to carry on the work while he was absent. Certain persons were selected whose office was '^ to meet the society at the usual times, to pray with them. so I began preaching without delay, and warned them of the mad- ?iess which was spreading amojig them, namely, leaving the Church. Most of them, I believe, will take my advice." — p. 481. 11. 1776. At St. Neot's. "Understanding that almost all the Methodists, by the advice of Mr. had left their Church, / earnestly exhorted them to return to it.^^ — Vol. iv., p. 62. 12. 1778. At Liverpool. ** I was much refreshed by two plain, useful sermons at St. Thomas's Church, as well as by the serious and decent behaviour of the whole congregation. In the evening, / exhorted all of our Society who had been bred up in the Church to continue therein. ^^ — p. 113. 13. 1785. At Bristol, " Finding a report had spread abroad, that I was just going to leave the Church, to satisfy them that were grieved concerning it, I openly declared in the evening, that / had no more thought of separating from the Church than I had forty years ago." — p. 311. 14. 1786. "Our Conference began. On Thursday, in the afternoon, we permitted any of the Society to be present, and weighed what was said about separating from the Church ; but we all determined to continue therein, without one dissenting voice." — P- 335- 15. 1787. "I went over to Deptford, but it seemed I was got into a den of Hons. Most of the leading men of the Society were mad for separating from the Church. I endeavoured to reason with them, but in vain ; they had neither sense nor even good manners left. At length, after meeting the whole Society, I told them, if you are resolved, you may have your service in Church hours; but remember, from that time you will see my face no more. This struck deep ; and from that time I have heard no more of separating from the Church." — p. 349. 16. 1 79 1. As Wesley had thus ever declared his attachment to the Church whilst he lived, so, on his death-bed, almost the last connected words he uttered were, " We thank thee, O Lord, for these and all thy mercies. BLESS THE CHURCH and King ; and grant us truth and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, for ever and ever." — p. 494. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 461 and to give them such advice as might be necdfid."* Chap.XLIV. The giving advice of course soon became preach- '772- 1800. ing, but this Innovation was acquiesced In by Mr. Wesley with great unwillingness. f Having, how- ever, been once induced to allow lay preachers, Mr. Wesley's acuteness easily perceived what effec- tive advantage might be taken of this agency. He also determined to make use of a principle in pro- viding ministers for his flock, of which he knew well the Immense power. This principle was the love of novelty. He had frankly avowed in a letter to Mr. Walker of Truro, that were he him- self to preach for a year in one place, he should preach himself and all his congregation asleep, J and what he could not do, he supposed that others with less gifts could not do. As the very soul of Excitement his system was excitement, it was absolutely neces- studied by • J . 1 ^ . constant sary to provide excitement by constant change, change. On this ground regular Circuits were mapped out, in which the preachers (called Helpers) were to itinerate, while the general inspection of each cir- cuit was to be under an Assistant^ whose duty it was *^to see that the other preachers in his circuit behaved well, and wanted nothing;" also to admit or expel members, take lists of the societies at Easter, hold quarterly meetings, visit the classes quarterly, keep watch-nights and love-feasts, and regulate the whole business of the circuit. By the time of Mr. Wesley's death, there were seventy- * Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 219. t Ibid.y p. 220. X Ibid., p. 325. Southey's Life, ii., 207. 462 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIV. two circuits in England, three in Wales, seven in 1772-1800. Scotland, and twenty-eight in Ireland.* But excite- ment was not only studied by changing preachers, but by many other means. Besides field-preaching, and the violent style of address which was used on those occasions, an organization within the society provided for the constant discussion of feelings and emotions, and the action of one excited mind The Classes upon another. The members of the society were and Leaders, (jiyijed into Classes, which were bound to meet weekly, being presided over by one chosen from themselves, who was called a Leader, At their meeting they were to speak " freely and plainly the true state of their souls, with the faults they had committed, and the temptations they had felt since the last meeting. The Leader was to speak his own state first, and to ask the rest in order as many and searching questions as may be concern- ing their state, sins, and temptations." f The Helper was to meet the Classes weekly, and also to meet the Leaders weekly, and it was part of his duty to preach every morning and evening. J Thus excitement was carefully provided for, and taking into consideration the strength of that motive, of the love of novelty, and of the desire of distinction, it is not to be wondered at even on the * Southey's Life of Wesley, ii., 201. Coke's Life, p. 286. t Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 237. The Classes were divided into smaller divisions called Bands, in which the members con- fessed to one another their inmost thoughts and temptations. The objectionable character of these meetings is well pointed out in Southcy's Life of Wesley, ii., 213. X Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 284. Southcy's Life, ii., 209. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 463 most ordinary grounds that Methodism grew so Chap.XLIV. fast. But other causes also favoured its increase. 1 772-1 800. The Methodist preachers were often persecuted, ^^"^" ^^ ^^c , 11 rr ^ ii-iiii success of the and generally scoffed at and derided by the pro- Methodists, fane. They were subject to bodily ill-treatment by the rabble, and to unjust usage before magis- trates. All this would endear them to the people. They spoke also of those high hopes and blessed tidings of the Gospel which had been but coldly dwelt upon in too many pulpits, and of that inward spiritual religion which had been generally ignored both by clergymen and Dissenters. They seemed to preach another Gospel, so different were their animated appeals from the dry sermons of the day, and thousands, catching the excitement one from another, rushed to hear them wherever they ap- peared.* Even the considerable number of itine- rant helpers could not satisfy the requirements of the rapidly-extending sect, and thus a large number * It is interesting to trace contemporary opinions of the Metho- dists, particularly among those who were of the Latitudinarian and anti-subscription school in the Church. We shall find them generally hostile and contemptuous. The Methodists were strongly in favour of the doctrine of the Thirty-nine Articles. Archbishop Herring writes, " Whitfield is Daniel Burgess redknvus, and to be sure he finds his account in his joco-serious addresses. The other author (J. Wesley), in my opinion with good parts and learning, is a most dark and saturnine creature. His pictures may frighten weak people, but I fear he will make few converts except for a day." — Herring's Letters to Duficombe, p. 171. Gilbert Wake- field, a clever but acrimonious man, writes in his Memoirs, " I went to hear Mr. Wesley preach. There was nothing in his dis- course either to admire or despise. The familiar address after the sermon contained admonitions or censures of the audience, remarks upon the state of their particular congregations, and short histories of his own exploits." — Life of Gilbert Wakefieldy i., 244. 464 THE HISrORT OF The Con- ference. Chap.XLR^ of what were called Local Preachers came to be 1 772-1 800. appointed, who were to supplement the regular Helpers, and to be a body of probationers out of which they might be chosen.* The regular or upper body of ministers soon began to meet Mr. Wesley every year in what was called a Confer ence.-\ In this synod questions of doctrine as well as disci- pline and organization were discussed. As he went on in his work, Mr Wesley very greatly modified his original views about justification, and came strongly to insist upon the necessity of works as the expression and evidence of faith. The Conference went with him as a matter of course, and in 177 1 was published their famous declaration on the necessity of works, which scandalized all the ^' serious clergy" of England, who were generally Calvinists. Many of the pens of the upholders of those views were set in motion against the Metho- dists. J Of these writers Mr. Shirley, chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon, the great patroness of Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Toplady, vicar of Broad Hembury in Devonshire, Rowland Hill and his brother Richard, were the most conspicuous. § But Mr. Wesley's theology was not left without The declara tion about good works. * Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 289. Southey's Lfe, ii., 211. f The first Conference was held in the year 1744; after which it was held annually. — Southey's Lfe, ii., 164. \ Coke's Lfe of Wesley, p. 353. Sidney's Lfe of Rowland Hill,Y>. 105. § Mr. Southey is very severe on these controversialists. **It would scarcely be credible that three persons of good birth and education, and of unquestionable goodness and piety, should have carried on controversy in so vile a manner, and with so detest- able a spirit." — Lfe of Wesley, ii., 374. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 465 a champion. A divine came to his assistance whose Chap.XLIV. character and story have much in them of the most '772-'8oo. attractive and interestinc: kind, and the record of ^'■•^^^^^^^'' 1 1 1 J 1 ■ • • •, , , . , of Maddclcy. whose holy death it is impossible to read without emotion. John William Fletcher, a Swiss by family and birth, was educated at Geneva, and afterwards entered the military service of Portugal. Having, however, soon quitted this, he came to England, and having acted some time as a tutor in a private family, obtained orders in the English Church. He was then connected with the Calvinistic Metho- dists, and became superintendent of Lady Hunt- ingdon's College at Trevecca, but being rejected by them for Arminianism, he was presented to the living of Maddeley in Shropshire. Though edu- cated at the head-quarters of Calvinism, his theo- logical views were strongly opposed to that system, and when Mr. Wesley was hard pressed by his Calvinistic assailants, he came readily to his assist- ance. " In all the controversies," says one of Mr. Wesley's biographers, " in which Mr. Wesley was hitherto concerned, he stood alone. In this he had but little to do. He went quietly on in his labours, happy in being succeeded by so able an auxiliary."* There were now chapels belonging to the society Settling of in most of the towns of England, and the question chapels. as to the settlement of the property in these build- ings naturally arose. In order to create a body which might legally be the- holder of their property after the death of himself and his brother, Mr. * Coke's Life of Wesley, p. 354- * VOL. Ilf. H H 466 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. Wesley named a certain number of ministers as 1 772- 1 800. ji^g Conference, to which body the chapels were conveyed, and the deeds enrolled.* He took this step with reluctance, as it had the appearance of setting up a body antagonistic to the Church, but there appeared no other way of meeting the difficulty. One speciality of the services carried on in these chapels was what were called love-feasts and midnight-watchings. These, under proper control and inspection, might be harmless contrivances for keeping up the all-important excitement, but they often degenerated into scenes of senseless enthu- siasm, those present howling, shrieking, and falling The adminis- down in fits. That the chapels, however, should tration of the be used for the administration of the Sacraments, inVhT^"^^ and that the lay-helpers should take upon them- chapcls. selves to baptize and celebrate the Lord's Supper, was a thing never contemplated by Mr. Wesley, but openly condemned by him. Here too, how- ever, his system proved stronger than himself, and he had to witness the commencement of this schis- * The plan of having the property of chapels vested in certain permanent local trustees, as was done by the Dissenters, Mr. Wesley thoroughly disliked. He saw the abject state of servility in which such an arrangement keeps the ministers. " He would not dare," said he, " speak the full and the whole truth ; since if he displeased the trustees he would be liable to lose his bread, nor would he dare expel a trustee though ever so ungodly, from the society." — Southey's Life of Wesley, ii., 218. The persons named as 7 he Conference were in number 100, "being preachers and expounders of God's Holy Word, under the care of and in con- nection with the said John Wesley." They were to meet yearly at London, Bristol, or Leeds, to fill up vacancies in their body, to admit preachers, and to transact all matters connected with the sociAy. — Southey's Wesley y ii., 491. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 467 matical practice. In those cases, indeed, where the Chap.XLIV. Sacraments of the Church were denied to his fol- » 772-1 ^00. lowers, as In Scotland in 1785, and in America after the war and the general departure of the clergy of the English Church from the country, Mr. Wesley, assisted by some other Presbyters of the Church of England, set apart certain preachers for the work of ministering the Sacraments. For America, he and his coadjutors even ordained Mr. Wesley's superintendents or bishops, with a view to provide bishops. a Church government.* But these extreme cases did not affect the position of his English preachers who ministered among a people where the Sacra- ments might be had from the regular clergy ; and for them to intrude into the priest's office was still. In the view of their founder, a sacrilegious and unjustifiable act. The Wesleyan Society thus gathered form and substance, and penetrated throughout the land, leavening the neglected poor and the commercial classes, rousing and stimulating the clergy, and. In spite of the eccentricities and enthusiasm which it developed and encouraged. Implanting a large amount of Scriptural religion in the country. We turn now to trace out the labours of George George Whitfield, after he had separated from the Wesleys. Whitfield, * Coke's Life of Wesley, pp. 417, 458. That this proceeding was not justifiable on any ecclesiastical grounds is plain enough. But Mr. Wesley actually sought to justify it on Catholic prin- ciples, holding the opinion that bishops and Presbyters were the same order, and consequently that Presbyters had a right to ordain. This opinion has been held by some divines of the Church of England. H H 2 468 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. The chief scene of those wonderful triumphs of 1772-1800. eloquence and zeal which attended his work was laid in America. To the English colonies there Mr. Whitfield paid four or five lengthened visits, and each time with increasing success and popu- larity. But his zeal was displayed not only in America, but also in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. In the latter country, his work is inti- mately associated with the name of a noble lady who, having received strong religious impressions from his preaching, thenceforth devoted her influ- ence, her wealth, and her labour to uphold the cause which was so dear to one whom she so much ThcCountcss valued. Selina, daughter of Earl Ferrars, married, of Hunting- -^^ j^^g^ Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon, and was early left a widow by him. The loss of her husband turned her thoughts to devotional sub- jects, and she gladly welcomed the strong impulses which the earnestness of Whitfield and Howel Harris, a famous Welsh preacher, produced on her mind. In 1748, Whitfield became her chap- lain, and she appears at this time to have formed the plan of spreading spiritual religion in England by building chapels and employing selected clergy- men to ofiiciate in them, whom, it was thought, her privilege as a peeress would protect from the jurisdiction .of the ordinaries. This, however, was found not to be the case, and those clergy who acted with her, as Mr. Shirley, Mr. Romaine, and others, soon began to draw back, finding them- selves exposed to censure for violating the law. But such considerations as this had long ceased THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 469 to have any weight with George Whitfield. He Chap.XLIV. accounted himself as an apostle, with a special * 77 2- 1800. message to preach the Gospel to all the world, and in full faith in his divine commission he was ready- to trample down with contempt all the ordinances and laws of men. In vain did bishops try to inhibit him, in vain did informers put the law in force against him. He broke through all restraints, despised all obstacles, laughed at all dangers, and continued to the end of his life a spirit-stirring preacher of the Word. His influ- ence was exercised and felt in the most dissimilar places and upon the most opposite characters. In the drawing-room of Lady Huntingdon's house in Ashby Place, he spoke the Gospel message to large parties of the nobility and the fashionable world. Among his audience were the polished and heartless Chesterfield, the infidel Hume, and the scoffing and licentious Bolingbroke. The latter was one of his hearers again and again, and condescended to say that supposing the Bible to be true^ he thought Mr. Whitfield's doctrines unanswerable.* But these fashionable audiences were not after Mr. Whitfield's heart. He loved better to confront the more open licentiousness of Bartholomew Fair ; to raise his wonderful voice in Moorfields so as to be heard by 20,000 people at once ; or on some wild spot in the mountains of Wales or Scotland, to roll the peals of his eloquence over crag and moss, while the rough people stood entranced to listen. It is remarkable * Philip's Life of Whitfield, p. 353. 470 THE HIsrORT OF Chap.XLIV. that though Whitfield was more of an enthusiast 1 772-1 800. than the Wesleys, the same convulsions and ecsta- cies do not seem to have attended his preaching as almost universally followed upon theirs. Whit- field assumed a much more hostile attitude towards the Church than the Wesleys did, and is even reported to have said that were his ordination to come over again, he would not for a thousand worlds be ordained by a bishop.* This was pro- bably due to the very violent attacks made upon him by the bishops. Bishops Gibson, Lavington, Gooch, Smalbroke, and Warburton, had most strongly condemned both his conduct and his doctrines. Neither was Whitfield acceptable to the old Dissenters. The famous Dr. Doddridge of Northampton was indeed inclined to favour him, but he was rebuked by the trustees of his chapel for allowing Whitfield to preach there, and Dr. Watts and other leading Dissenters openly opposed him.f It was no part of Whitfield's ambition to found a society. J He repudiated the notion and reproached the Wesleys for self-seeking in doing it. Yet the zeal and wealth of Lady Huntingdon continually procured the erection of new chapels, and her connection assumed a distinct form with a seminary to provide " serious ministers " for its use, the whole being due to the impulses given by Whitfield. At the death of this lady, in 1791, sixty-four chapels had been built and endowed by her, and the sect which she founded still survives * Philip's Life of Whitfeld, p. 47 3 . f Ibid., ch. x. \ Ibid.,^. 353. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 471 as the Calvinistic Methodist connection, though Chap.XLIV. not comparable for vigour, numbers, or popularity » 772-1 800. to the sister society of the Wesleyan Methodists. The itinerant method adopted by Whitfield and the Wesleys had some zealous imitators among the clergy. Mr. Berridge, Rector of Mr. Ber ridge. Everton, near Cambridge, was stirred up by John Wesley to become a travelling preacher, and made for many years a regular circuit through the counties of Cambridge, Essex, Hertford, Bed- ford, and Huntingdon, " preaching in farm yards and fields and wherever he could collect a congre- gation." * A still more famous itinerant was Rowland TT-11 Rowland Hill, one of the most remarkable men of the age, and a distinguished instrument in awakening the religious spirit in the country. The son of a Shropshire baronet of old family, and sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, as a Fellow- Commoner, Rowland Hill, like Wesley and Whit- field, began even as an undergraduate to visit the prisons and preach and pray in the villages round Cambridge. With dauntless courage he braved the scoffs, insults, and persecution which this strange behaviour brought upon him, and believing it to be his duty, persevered unmoved in his work. He appears to have been treated leniently by the authorities of the University, and was allowed to take his degree undisturbed, after which, without waiting for orders, he became an itinerant preacher throughout England. His father opposed his eccentric course, six bishops refused to admit him * Sidney's L^e of Rozvland Hill, p. 48. 472 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIV. to deacon's orders, yet, acting on the injudicious 1 772-1 8co. advice of Mr. Whitfield, he still persevered, preaching indifferently in the open air, in chapels, or in barns, as he could get the opportunity. At length. Dr. Wills, the aged Bishop of Bath and Wells, consented to ordain him deacon, but his itinerant habits being still continued, he could not get admitted to the priesthood. As a preacher he was almost as popular as Wesley or Whitfield, and so highly was he valued by many that large chapels were built for him at Wotton in Glou- cestershire, where he had a house, and in London. The latter was well known as Surrey Chapel, and was the principal scene of his ministrations for many years. Rowland Hill was remarkable for a vein of humour which often broke out strangely in his sermons and not unfrequently set his audience in a state of merriment. He was, how- ever, an eminently devoted man, and up to the age of eighty-nine years continued to labour with unceasing energy in the cause of religion. His voice, like Whitfield's, was very powerful, his delivery impressive, his matter plain and simple, and his power of illustration by simile and metaphor almost unrivalled. The Liturgy of the Church was always used at his chapel, but ministers of all denominations were admitted to the pulpit, and he thus occupied a sort of middle place between the Church and Dissent.* The serious Side by side with these energetic champions of c/ergy. religion, whose efforts were somewhat irregular, a * Sec Sidney's Life of Rozvluud Hill. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 473 constantly increasing number of the clergy were Chap.XLIV. learning, in their separate parishes, to emulate their 1772-1 Boo. zeal. When Mr. Wesley, early in his career, addressed his circular letter to the clergy whom he considered as true ministers of the Gospel, the names were not more than thirty. By the time of his death, the serious clergy (as they were generally described) numbered some hundreds. The zeal of the Methodists had " provoked very many." From them numerous pastors in the towns and villages of England had learned new secrets of influence and usefulness, and were earnestly busied in applying them. These clergy spoke the same language, kept the same sort of journals^ taught the same doctrines as either Wesley or Whitfield, according as their pre- possessions were towards the Arminian or Cal- vinistic school. They magnified like them the importance of feelings and inward impressions. They explained, described, and mapped out the state of their minds in their daily journals or voluminous religious correspondence. They drew a distinct line between things worldly and things religious. Against the former they declaimed with a more than Puritanical asceticism. The latter they con- sidered to be the only fitting business of life. Even the beauties of nature or the remains of antiquity were, in the morbid view of some of them, objects u'* .worthy of regard. " I want," writes Mr. Cecil, *"' to see no more sea, hills, fields, abbeys, or castles. I feel vanity pervading every- thing but eternity and its concerns^ and perceive 474 "THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. these things to be suited for children very little 1772-1800. oi^ei- than my own."* The whole of conversa- tion was, in the judgment of these zealous men, to be seasoned with Scripture phraseology. The whole of time to be spent in directly religious labours. They sought to improve every circum- stance of life, even the most trivial, by making it illustrate some religious truth. All that they saw, all that they heard, suggested to them the great doctrines of the Gospel. According to the scheme of subjective religion which they had embraced, there was a precise day and hour in the life of each when an all-important inward change had taken place. The beginnings of the religious life were clearly and distinctly defined, and with a view of rendering these beginnings more apparent, previous irregularities were often greatly magnified and invested with the character of heinous sins.-f They loved, like Wesley, to surround themselves with an atmosphere of the miraculous, and to be able to trace the distinct workings of special pro- vidences about them. They desired to be separate and apart from those they considered their worldly neighbours, but they were all known to each other and greatly valued the privileges of Christian friendship. They formed as it were a distinct class among the clergy which was generally recog- nised. Circulars were addressed to them as the Serious Clergy , and they were careful to show by outward marks that they owned the responsibilities * Cecil's Remnifis (loth ed.), p. 88. t See Simeon's LifCy by Carus, p. 4. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 475 of a peculiar position. The phraseology which Chap.XLIV. they used sometimes bordered upon the familiar ^772-1800. and profane,* but it was always bond fide intended to express religious feelings, for these men were sincere and in earnest. The labour which these devoted clergymen went through, often for very small remuneration, is astonishing. Mr. Cecil preached eight or ten times a week in several large churches in London, and Mr. Conyers at Helmsley is said to have preached for many years, in different places in his large parish, twenty-one sermons every week.f One of the earliest and most influential of these clergy was Henry Venn, Vicar of Huddersfield. His labours, his success, his influence have been recorded by his son, and they are well worthy of record. The son, John Venn, Rector of Clapham, followed closely in his father's steps, and was a distinguished and influen- tial divine of the same school. Joseph Milner at Hull is described by Mr. Venn as " by much the ablest minister he ever heard open his mouth for Christ." J John Newton at St. Mary's Wool- nooth. Dr. Knight at St. Sepulchre's, Mr. Cecil at Bedford Row, Mr. Simeon at Cambridge, Mr. Scott, Mr. Unwin, Mr. Shirley, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Romaine, and numerous others, were, towards the end of the eighteenth century, the centre of a * As, e.g., Mr. Venn, writing to a friend, says, " I was glad you spoke for our dear Almighty friend in the coach." — Memoirs y 108. Numerous extracts from their journals might be given, but it is perhaps almost as objectionable to quote as to write these expressions. f Memoirs of Rev. H. Venn, p. 94. \ Ibid., p. 171. 476 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. vast and spreading influence which was gradually 1 772- 1 800. affecting all ranks. It was no small work which these clergy, in conjunction with the leaders of the Methodists, did for their Church and country. They evangelized the Church and they saved the nation. They arrested the progress of Socinianism, the natural product of a Latitudinarian careless- ness, and they checked the flood of infidelity which poured into this country from France. Though insisting so strongly on inward religion, they were not opposed to ordinances. They defended sub- scription to the Articles, and honoured and loved the Liturgy.* Narrow-minded, perhaps, they were, and deficient in practical wisdom, but they were the bold and unwearied champions who, at a critical moment, did good service to the Faith. Bishop At their head was a bishop who, though not ortcus. adopting all their views and phraseology, was nevertheless working with them in the same paths and displaying the same zeal. This was Beilby Porteus, first Bishop of Chester and then of London, a prelate of a truly religious spirit, and who did good service in his day. At that era profanity and licentiousness had reached a fear- ful height. On the Sundays there were regular meetings called Promenades, in which the most * *' On Saturday I dined with our bishop. I find he has no objection to a revisal and alteration of our Liturgy. This will one day take place, and then the measure of our iniquities will be full when we have cast the doctrine of Christ out of the public worship." — Venn's Memoirs, p. 175. Mr. Cecil was almost as great a stickler for order as a modern Anglican. Mr. Rowland Hill defended subscription. — Sidney's Life of Hill, p. 54. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 477 immoral conduct was openly carried on, and Chap.XLIV. debating societies in which Scripture was formally » 77 2- 1800. attacked and ridiculed. To repress these, Bishop Porteus brought a Bill into the House of Lords, which was carried without much opposition ; and he afterwards lent strenuous assistance to Mr. Wilberforce and others in supporting the society organized to check vice and profaneness.* Another agency also strongly patronized by the Sunday Bishop of London, was, perhaps, still more calcu- s^^^^*^^^- lated to keep up the spirit of religion in the country than penal Statutes and the censures of the magistrate. It is surprising that till nearly the end of the eighteenth century, the simple expedient of inviting the children of the labouring classes to school on Sunday should not have occurred to any of the more active clergy. Yet Sunday schools were unknown in England till the year 17 81, when Robert Raikes, a printer and publisher in Gloucester, in conjunction with Mr. Stock, a clergyman in that town, put out a scheme for their management. Bishop Porteus was then at Chester, and at first hesitated as to the prudence of the measure ; soon, however, he gave it his hearty support, and it rapidly spread throughout England.f Around the Bishop of London, and as assistants The religious to him in his works of Christian benevolence, ^^^^y- were grouped a body of religious laity, some of whom were distinguished in the worlds of com- merce, of politics, and of fashion. The most * Life of Porteus, pp. 71, 100. t ^^^^^-^ P- 92. 478 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. notable of these were John Thornton, the banker, 1772-1800. wilHam Wllberforce, and Hannah More. The John Thorn- character of the first is thus sketched by his friend ton. , , ^ J and relative : " His character is so well known that it is scarcely necessary to attempt its delinea- tion. It may be useful, however, to state that it was by living with great simplicity of intention and conduct In the practice of a Christian life, more than by any superiority of understanding or of knowledge, that he rendered his name illustrious in the view of all the more respectable part of his contemporaries. He had a counting-house in London and a handsome villa at Clapham. He anticipated the disposition and pursuits of the succeeding generation. He devoted large sums annually to charitable purposes, especially to the promotion of religion both in his own and other countries. He assisted many clergymen, enabling them to live in comfort and to practise a useful hospitality. His habits were remarkably simple. He generally attended public worship at some church several evenings in the week, and would often sit up to a late hour engaged in devotional exercises. He died without a groan or a struggle and in the full view of glory." * William ^^ that high-souled and devoted philanthropist, Wilbcrforce. William Wilberforce — whose name no Englishman can hear without emotion — a man brilliant, elo- quent, fascinating — at whose feet the world was ready to worship — yet, who gave himself with all his great powers to serve the cause of truth and * Wilbcrforce's Journal. Life, i., 283. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 479 religion — It Is difficult to speak in adequate terms. Chap.XLIV. Such a man, of so high, so winning a character, was '772-i a mighty power in himself to reform society. He carried his pure principles, his religious views. Into the cabinets of ministers, the counsels of the land, and he purified the nation at its fountain-head. Every good and holy thing found a ready patron and supporter in him. The first to hold out the hand of succour to the wretched negro ; the bold and vigorous advocate of the duty of England to uphold Christianity in India ; he was also the earnest and untiring helper of those around him, and the leader in every useful scheme for reforming the manners and instructing the minds of the pro- fane and ignorant people. Licentiousness and blasphemy had reached such Society for a pitch of daring, public opinion was so cowed by . Reforma- them, and the ordinary way of repression was so Manners. powerless to meet them, that Mr. Wllberforce per- ceived clearly that something extraordinary must be attempted. " The barbarous custom of hanging," he writes, " has been tried too long, and with the success which might have been expected from it. The most effectual way to prevent the greater crimes is by punishing the smaller, and by endea- vouring to repress that general spirit of licentious- ness which is the parent of every species of vice."* For this purpose he set himself to organize a society on the model of the Reformation Societies which had existed in the reign of King William, and obtained a Proclamation from the King against * Life of Wllberforce, by his Sons, i., 131. 48o THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. vice and profanity. The Archbishop of Canter- 1772-1800. i^yj-y ^^^ |-j^g Bishop of London entered readily into his views, and he himself took a tour through England to consult the other bishops at their epis- copal residences. The society was soon in active operation, and did much good. Bishop Porteus was one of its presidents. It obtained many useful Acts of Parliament, and greatly checked the publi- cation of blasphemous and licentious publications. Among other good works it was instrumental in the prosecution of Palne's Age of Reason, and obtained a conviction against the publisher.* Hannah But to attempt the regeneration of society merely More. ^y repression and penalties, was not the thought of a man so enlightened as Mr. Wllberforce. He desired to strike deeper and to eradicate the evils that abounded, by Improving the education and early training of the people. Sunday schools were then only beginning, and very few and far between were any efficient and well-conducted day-schools for the working classes. The labours of the Chris- tian Knowledge Society had done much, but local effiDrts were generally wanting, and many districts were in a complete state of ignorance. Such, in an especial degree, was the state of that district in the neighbourhood of the great western road from Bristol to Exeter, and round the foot of the huge mass of the Mendip Hills. In this, one of the most picturesque districts of England, mining had long been carried on, and a population had grown * Life of Wllberforce ^ i., 129, 138. Life of Porteus, pp. 125, 128. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 481 up, coarse, brutal, ferocious; utterly neglected by Chap.XLIV. their clergy, without any means of education or 1772-1^00. hopes of improvement. But to the appalling task of attempting this improvement, a noble soul set itself with resolute determination. Hannah More, the daughter of a humble schoolmaster near Bristol, had very early distinguished herself by the compo- sition of plays, which had merit enough to recom- mend her to the notice of Garrick, and Johnson, and Burke, and Reynolds. Introduced into London society, and much courted and caressed, she yet soon learnt to despise the hollowness of the fashion- able world, and retired into Somersetshire, intent only upon doing good. To this she applied herself especially in two ways. She composed books cal- culated to give a religious tone to the upper classes of society, which were both highly valued and eminently useful in their day, and she gave up a great portion of her time and labour to founding and supporting schools in that neglected district where she had fixed her abode. In this philan- thropic work Hannah More and her sisters went through a vast amount of toil, and were subjected to the grossest insults and the most resolute oppo- sition. The state of the country gentlemen and the clergy in the district seems to have been almost below that of the labourers. Yet, cheered by the support of the good, encouraged by the frequent visits and ready alms of Mr. Wilberforce, by the approval of Bishop Porteus and those of the clergy in the neighbourhood who had any notion of the responsibilities of their office, she VOL. III. I 1 482 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. persevered. Gradually throughout a large and 1 772-1 800. populous district a work of reformation was effected, the good of which remains even to the present day. While by one class of writings Miss More may be said to have educated the fashionable world, by another — her admirable and unequalled Tra^s for unlearned readers — she gave the first example of that sort of publication which has had so great an effect in promoting a religious spirit among the poor.* Samuel While here and there throughout the country, Jo nson. i^y ^1^^ labours of zealous clergy and philanthropic laity, a better spirit and a greater knowledge of the truth were being fostered; in the metropolis, at the head-quarters of the literary world, among those who thought and wrote, the ponderous genius of Samuel Johnson was ever found upon the side of Christian truth, and the vigour of his intellect, the overwhelming torrent of his argument awed the shallow free-thinker into a trembling silence. f The improvement in the tone of the latter part of the eighteenth century may not unfairly be esti- mated by comparing the writings and conversations * An excellent account of the great work carried on by Miss Hannah More and her sisters in Somersetshire, will be found in a little book called Mendip Annals. See also Life of Hannah More, by Roberts (4 vols). Life of Ditto, by Rev. H. Thompson. Wilberforce's Life, l^c. t " If it be asked who first in England at that period breasted the waves and stemmed the tide of infidelity, who, enlisting wit and eloquence together with argument and learning on the side of revealed religion, first turned the literary current in its favour, and mainly prepared the reaction which succeeded, that praise seems most justly to belong to Dr. Samuel Johnson." — Lord Mahon's History of England ^\\., 313. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 483 of Dr. Johnson with those of the famous novel- Chap.XLIV. writer and Hterary man, Henry Fielding. An >772-»yoo- interval of about thirty years separates the two chronologically, but morally they are separated by an enormous interval ; and the generation which could read and appreciate Dr. Johnson and Hannah More had made a great step in advance of that which enjoyed the prurient licentiousness of Fielding. But in any estimate of the causes which were George III. working for good towards the close of the eighteenth century, it would be impossible to omit the cha- racter of the King. The two earlier Georges had been rather German than English sovereigns, and their characters, in themselves presenting little that was commendable or noble, had but slight influence on the English Church or nation. But George III. gloried in being an Englishman. He took a lively and eager interest in all the afl^airs of the country. He loved and valued the English Church, and exerted an influence over its appoint- ments as far as the political necessities of his minis- ters would allow him. His bold and undaunted sense of duty, his regard for morality and religion, his orderly Court and decorous way of life were great helps in the way of improvement. Neither must the efl^ect of the discussions in the The great Legislature be left out of account among the causes 0^^^°^^ ^" which were gradually educating the public mind to a higher standard. Those noble harangues in which Mr. Wilberforce pleaded the cause of the oppressed Africans were the most effective of sermons, and I I 2 4^4 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIV. the high principles which are encased In the splendid 1772-1800. ornaments of Mr. Burke's oratory were not without their weight upon the opinions of the country. Simoniacal In matters directly bearing upon the administra- practices ^j^j^ ^^ ^|^g Church, some useful decisions were made at this period. In the year 1783, came on, in the House of Lords, an Appeal from Lord Loughborough's judgment as to the validity of general bonds of resignation. An iniquitous traffick- ing with their patronage had long been used by laymen having the rights of presentation to livings. This had been strenuously opposed by Bishop Stillingfleet, by Archbishops Sharp and Seeker, and many other prelates, but was too convenient an arrangement to be abandoned by unprincipled patrons without actual legal compulsion. A general bond to resign when called upon by the patron, was in the habit of being given by the clerk pre- sented to a living, which not only (as was well observed by Bishop Watson) " put the clergy who submitted to them into a state of dependence, awe, and apprehension, inconsistent with their stations as ministers of the Gospel,"* but also frequently * " The true meaning of a bond to resign, is to enslave the incurnbent to the will and pleasure of his patron, whatever it shall happen at any time to be. So that if he demands his legal dues; if he is not subservient to the schemes political, or whatever they are which he is required to promote ; if he reproves such and such vices ; if he preaches or does not preach such and such doc- trines ; if he stands up for charity and justice to any one when he is forbidden, the terror of resignation, or the penalty of the bond may immediately be shaken over his head." — Seeker's Charge to the Clergy of Oxford. Works, v., 361. " Suppose," says Bishop Watson, '' a living to be now vacant, the value of the next presentation to be ^5,000 ; the patron by the 3 i Eliza- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 485 involved a simoniacal contract, being a means to Chap. X LI V. enable the patron to obtain money for the presen- » 772-1^00. tation to a benefice actually vacant.* Lord Lough- borough's judgment that these bonds were good in law, was now (1782) reversed by the decision of the House of Lords, and the practice thus received a death-blow. Some years afterwards (1800), another simoniacal practice was put an end to by the spirit and energy of Bishop Porteus. A custom had grown up of purchasing the advowson of a living, and then taking a lease of the tithes, glebe, house, &c., for ninety-nine years, at a pepper-corn rent, and entering into immediate possession of the premises and all the profits, just as if there had been an a6lual resignation. The bishop could refuse to accept the resignation of a living if he thought it made from improper motives, but this method entirely defeated his authority. Bishop Porteus therefore refused to institute a clerk who had taken a lease of this description, and after a long and expensive contest against one who was backed by the highest interest, he carried his point.f The abatement of these evils was the first breaking in upon that great crust of abuses which had been long hardening around the Church of beth cannot sell this living ; the clerk by the 1 2 Anne cannot buy it, but by the magic of a general bond of resignation, both the patron and the clerk are freed from restraint. The clerk in consequence of his bond, gets possession of the benefice which he could not purchase, and the patron by suing the bond gets pos- session of his money." — Watson's Autobiography, i., 195. * Life of Bishop Porteus, p. 84. Autobiognipby of Bishop Watson, i., 181, sq. f Life of Bishop Porteus, p. 42, sq. 486 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLIV. England. Other assaults were soon to follow 1772-1800. yyhich should gradually remov^e the evil accumula- tion. The commencement of the next century- witnessed an attack upon the monster evil of non- residence and pluralities, the first of that series of Acts of Parliament which have produced the exact observance of the present day. Increase of Meantime, it was to be expected that the begin- cftbrtT^^^^ nings of returning life in the Church should stimu- late that great expression of it — missionary labours for the heathen. Society for For a century the Society for the Propagation of tion of^the^" ^^^ Gospel had feebly contended against the pre- Gospel. vailing apathy, its revenue consisting of a few thousands, its labours almost confined to paying a small band of clergymen in British America. The best of the bishops had always supported and recommended the Society, but even among pro- fessing Churchmen it had met with but cold support,* and had attempted but little. In 1752, the Society sent a missionary to the negroes in Guinea; in 1765, a native African, after having been educated and ordained in England, was sta- tioned on the Gold Coast ; and a catechist at Sierra Leone in I787.f But at this time the Society was disgraced by a reproach which made its mis- * Thus Bishop Watson writes : " Ever since my election to the Professorship of Divinity, I have resolutely refused contribut- ing anything to the support of the Society, because I always believed that its missionaries were more zealous in proselyting Dissenters to Episcopacy, than in converting Heathens to Chris- tianity." — Watson's Autobiography, i., 105. t Account uf the Society for the Fropagution of the Gospel, p. 6. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 487 slonary work an absurd anomaly. It was a large Chap.XLIV. slaveholder itself. On an estate whicii had been '"7 2-1 00. bequeathed to it by General Codrington, in the Island of Barbadoes, it had a considerable number of slaves, and when Bishop Porteus, in preaching before the Society in 1783, strongly advocated the duty of its managers at least to give these slaves Christian instruction, the recommendation (incre- dible as it may seem in the present day) was actually, after a full discussion, declined ! Well might the Bishop say, " If this example be not set, if this attempt be not made by a Society whose professed purpose it is to propagate the Gospel in foreign parts among infidels and heathens, by whom is there the least probability that it can or will be undertaken?"* The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Society for had done far more in the missionary field than its p^j°"^°-"J^^ sister Society. In the year 1709, it began to take a Knowledge. part in the mission in India maintained by the King of Denmark, and, in 1750, the illustrious mis- sionary, C. F. Schwartz, sailed from London for Tranquebar as one of the Society's agents, j- His great success in preaching the Gospel in Southern India, his exemplary labours for a period of halt a century, have for ever signalized among missionary agencies the Society for which he worked. The condition of India without any fitting attempt to evangelize the natives who had become subject to * Life of Bishop Porteus, p. 89. ■|- Past and Present of the Society for Promoting Christiati Know- ledge, p. 19. 488 rHE HISrORT OF Chap.XLIV. the English Company, was a standing disgrace to 1 772-1 800. ^j^g English nation. Deeply impressed with this, force's ' ^' ^^^^ great and good William Wilberforce urged the attempt for Subject upon the consideration of Parliament. The India. House of Commons accepted his resolutions, that it was their bounden duty by all "just and prudent means to promote the religious improvement of the native Indians;" but the East India Directors immediately took alarm, and their influence was suflicient to get the clauses which had been inserted struck out of the India Bill (1793).* Foundation The disappointment which Mr. Wilberforce had of the Church ^hus experienced in a matter which was very near Society. ^^^ heart, led him to join readily in a scheme which now began to be entertained of forming a society, to be supported by voluntary contributions, for spreading Christianity in Africa and the East. This institution, which has long been honourably distinguished by the name of the Church Missionary Society, took its rise under the following circum- stances : — A sum of money, amounting to j/^4,000, had been left by Mr. Jane, to be laid out for " the best advantage of the interests of true religion." Mr. Pugh, Rector of Rauceby, In Lincolnshire, being charged with the execution of this bequest, had called a meeting of some of the best known zealous clergymen to assist him with their advice. Fourteen met at his house at Rauceby, Mr. Knight, of Halifax, taking the chair. It was the general opinion of the meeting that the object * Life of Wilberforce y by his Sons, ii., 25-27 ; and Appendix, vol. ii. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 489 of the bequest would best be carried out by sending Chap.XLIV. out missionaries. The subject was afterwards more '772-i8oo. fully discussed at a religious society in London, called "The Eclectic," when Mr. Simeon advo- cated with great earnestness the Christian duty of sending missions to the heathen. Out of seven- teen members of the society present, however, only two or three agreed with him in his views. Not discouraged by this, Messrs. Venn and Simeon again brought forward the subject at the Eclectic in 1799, ^'"^^ found on that occasion a more general concurrence in their desires. A public meeting was held at the Falcon, in Aldersgate Street, on April 12, and in a small assembly of sixteen clergymen and nine laymen, the plan for the society was agreed upon and the work com- menced.* The society thus founded has done a great work and deservedly prospered, but it has ever borne distinctly impressed upon it the peculiar characteristics of its originators. It is rather a society within the Church of England than a society of the Church of England, it cherishes too much the symbols of party, and sets too high a value upon a standard of its own creating. The party of zealous men who found in this Development and similar labours a congenial expression for their °^ ^^^ Evan- . , , . 1 . . , , i[c/ica/ party. earnestness, quickly received a surprising develop- ment, and by various channels and means exerted vast energies in the cause of religion. Their * Life of S'uneon, by Carus, pp. 107-111, 167-170. Some earlier attempts to send missions to India will be found mentioned in Simeoii's Life, p. 75, sq. 490 THE HISTORY OF Chap.XLIV. missionary triumphs in India and Africa, their vast 1772-1800. organization for the spreading of the Bible, their schools, and churches, and charitable devotion were conspicuous, but together with these eminent merits they also had great defects. The necessary external accessories of religion were neglected, the great doctrines of the efficacy of the Sacraments were repudiated, while the universality of divine grace and love was obscured by the arbitrary dogmatism of Calvin, the theologian most in repute with those who now assumed to themselves the title of the Evangelical party. A still greater defect was the Sectarian tinge which ceased not to mark all their work, and to brand as worldly and unscriptural all views not cast precisely in the same mould as those which they had adopted. Their teaching excited great enthusiasm in a certain class of minds, while to others it was repulsive and antagonistic. They could only set the example and point the way, they were not competent in themselves to procure a genuine revival of the Church of England. A union of opposing elements combined with the characteristic of this age, which is energy and vigour, has happily inaugurated this revival ; but before this is more fully dwelt upon, it will be needful to take a survey of Church history in Scotland and Ireland, in both of which countries some peculiar features present themselves for our examination. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 49 CHAPTER XLV. SCOTLAND. The Scotch clergy adhere to James II. — Rabbling of the clergy in the West — Episcopacy voted a grievance — King William p, yrv inclined to favour the bishops — Danger of such a policy — He ^^* accepts the Crown with the condition of abolishing Episcopacy — The persecution of the clergy — Change in the Established Church Government — Further ejectment of the Episcopal clergy — Proceedings of Presbyterians disliked by the King — Jacobitism of the Scotch Church the great difficulty — Some concessions made by Presbyterians — History of the Scotch Church henceforth not connected with the Establishment — The outed ministers prohibited from exercising their office — The accession of Queen Anne brings no relaxation of legal disabilities — New bishops consecrated — English Book of Com- mon Prayer generally used — Case o^ Mr. Greenshields — Passing of the Toleration Act — Question as to the validity of Presbyterian baptism — Severe measures passed against the Church — The question of the Usages — The College dispute — The Canons of 1743 — Revision of the Communion office — Consecration of the first bishop for America — Repeal of the penal laws. HERE was a moment before the The Scotch great event of 1688 when, after dcrgy adhere . ^ ^ ^- L 1 to James II. the most eager expectations nacl ■' been excited with regard to the Prince of Orange, men's views underwent a sudden change. His fleet which had put to sea had been dissipated by a storm, and was forced to return, considerably damaged, to Holland. This was a critical and 492 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. trying time. To those who were undecided and doubtful it gave a treacherous temptation to declare on behalf of the ruler whose chances of success seemed for the moment to revive. To the sincere partizans of James, who had been awed into a prudent silence by his danger, it gave a dangerous opportunity to speak out in a tone of triumph. This was the case with regard to the clergy in Scotland. On November 3, the bishops addressed a letter to King James, the tone of which certainly goes far to justify the harshness with which their order was afterwards treated. " We prostrate ourselves," they write, *^ to pay our most devout thanks and adoration to the sovereign majesty of heaven and earth for preserving your sacred life and person, so fre- quently exposed to the greatest hazards, and as often delivered . . . We pay our most humble gra- titude to your majesty for the repeated assurances of your royal protection to our national Church and religion as the laws have established them, which are very suitable to the gracious countenance, encouragement, and protection your majesty was pleased to afford to our Church and order whilst we were happy in your presence among us. We recognise the divine mercy in blessing your majesty with a son and us with a prince, whom we pray heaven may bless and preserve to sway your royal sceptre after you, and that he may inherit with your dominions the illustrious and heroic virtues of his august and most serene parents. We are amazed to hear of the danger of an invasion from rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 493 Holland, which excites our prayers for an universal Chap. XLV. repentance from all orders of men, that God may yet spare His people, preserve your royal person, and prevent the effusion of Christian blood, and give such success to your majesty's arms that all who invade your majesty's just and undoubted rights, and disturb or interrupt the peace of your realms, may be disappointed and clothed with shame, so that on your royal head the crown may still flourish. As, by the grace of God, we shall preserve in ourselves a firm and unshaken loyalty, so we shall be careful and zealous to promote in all your subjects an intrepid and stedfast allegiance to your majesty, as an essential part of their religion and of the glory of our holy profession ; not doubting but that God in His great mercy, who hath so often preserved and delivered your majesty, will still preserve and deliver you by giving you the hearts of your subjects and the necks of your enemies.'' * *^' This letter," says Bishop Kennett, " was fatal not only to the Scotch bishops but to Episcopacy itself in Scotland." It certainly was calculated to alienate the Prince and to exasperate the populace. The latter spoke first. Immediately on William's Rabbling of landing in England, the people all through the jjj^ ^^<-^^jy ^^ western counties rose in bands to prosecute the congenial pastime of " rabbling the King's curates." The unfortunate Episcopal minister was dragged to the churchyard, or to some other conspicuous spot, and there exhibited to the people as a con- * Kennctt's Complete History, iii., 519. 494 ^^^ HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. demned malefactor, forbidden, under pain of death, to preach agani in that parish, and ordered instantly to remove to some other quarter. The ceremony was concluded by tearing his gown over his head, and burning the English Prayer Book if they could discover it in his possession.* '^ They forced themselves into ministers' houses," says a writer who had experienced their attacks, " where they with tongue and hands committed all outrages possible against the ministers, their wives, and children." f In an instant, as it were, the face of religion was changed throughout the south- west. From a position of security and ease, the Episcopal clergy were driven forth as beggars and outcasts^ and in the Kirks' Sessions of 1689 are to be found entries of a few pence given to a '*^ poor curate's wife " to save her from starvation. J The clergy, in number about 200, thus mal- treated and expelled, naturally looked forward to compensation and restitution when Parliament and the Courts of Law should have their case brought before them. They were destined, however, to be miserably disappointed. The Convention of Estates which met, as in England, in the summons of the Prince of Orange, made use of the fact of their lawless expulsion to deprive them altogether of their benefices ; designedly extending their pro- tection only to such ministers as were actually in possession of their benefices on April 13, 1689. § * Case of the Afflicted Clergy of Scotland ( 1 690), pp. 5-6. f lb. \ Cunningham's Church History of Scotland, ii., 261. § Skinner's Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, ii., 531. rilE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 495 Neither had even these who had escaped the Chap. XLV. danger of rabbling much cause to congratulate Episcopacy themselves on their position. In their Claim ^/-^^^^Jagncv- D • ; 1 A -1 1 ^ ancc. Right, agreed to on April 11, the Convention of Estates declared, " That prelacy and the supe- riority of any office in the Church above Presbyters IS and hath been a great and insupportable grievance and trouble to this nation and contrary to the incli- nations of the generality of the people ever since the Reformation, they having reformed from Popery by Presbyters, and therefore ought to be abo- lished."* " It was an absurd thing," says Burnet, " to put this in a claim of rights, for which not only they had no law, but which was contrary to many laws then in being, so that though they might have offered it as a grievance, there was no colour for pretending it was a national right." f It was not, however, now a time for logic. The King William Presbyterian party, long depressed, was again upper- helmed to most. The bishops and their adherents had left bishops. the Convention. It was determined to strike down the hated form of Church government, and that without scruples and without delay. The best hope of the Episcopalians lay in the Prince of Orange. Had the Scotch bishops been willing at this moment to have taken the oaths of allegiance to him, he would in all probability have supported their cause. The bishops had shown themselves tractable agents for the Crown and Prerogative ; the Presbyterians had ever been difficult to manage. This would have been sufficient for the politic * Skinner, ii., 526. f Ozvri Time, p. 538. 496 rHE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. William, had the bishops been willing to transfer their services to him, and had there appeared any probability of the nation acquiescing in the conti- nuance of their power. It would appear that on this latter point William was sufficiently sanguine to induce him to make the offer of his protection to the agents of the Scotch bishops who had been dispatched to London. Bishop Compton was in- structed to say to Dr. Rose, Bishop of Edinburgh, " My lord, you see that the King, having thrown himself upon the water, must keep himself a swimming with one hand : the Presbyterians have joined him closely, and offer to support him ; and therefore he cannot cast them off, unless he could see otherwise how he can be served. And the King bids me tell you, that he now knows the state of Scotland much better than he did when he was in Holland ; for while there, he was made believe that Scotland generally all over was Presbyterian, but now he sees that the great body of the nobility and gentry are for Episcopacy, and it is the trading and inferior sort are for Presbytery. Wherefore he bids me tell you, that if you will undertake to serve him to the purpose, that he is served here in England, he will take you by the hand, support the Church and order, and throw off the Presby- terians."* Danger of That this offer was sincere, may be inferred from such a pohcy. ^|^g consideration that the policy of supporting the Scotch Church would have been eminently useful * Keith's Catalogue of Scotch Bishops (2nd cd.), p. 6^^ sq. See Burnet's Ozvn Titney p. 538. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 497 to William In England, where a dangerous amount Chap. XLV. of Church feeling was sure to be evoked by the patronage of the Presbyterians. Yet in spite of the admissions of even Presbyterian historians that Episcopacy was not distasteful to a majority of the people,* there is good reason for believing that such a policy would have ended in nothing less than a civil war in Scotland. The threatening masses of Cameronians, men of stubborn spirits embittered by a long course of cruel persecutions, would never have tamely submitted, after a revival of hope, to so cruel a disappointment. The eager zealots of the west would have been ranged in arms against the north, which, though contented with Episcopacy, was yet without the intense earnestness for it which was displayed on behalf of the Covenant. English and Dutch troops might have turned the balance in favour of the bishops, but no security or peace would have been produced by their triumph. It is perhaps fortunate, therefore, that the Epis- He accepts copal deputies in London declined to pledge them- ^^^e Crown selves in any way for the allegiance of their condition of brethren, and that, on May ii, William and Mary abolishing received the Crown of Scotland with all the condi- P^^^^P^'^y* tions of the claim of right attached to it.f Could the Presbyterian party have refrained from the grossest injustice in the hour of its triumph, all might have been well. The Church had certainly suffered in character from its connection with the * See Cunningham's Church History, ii., 271. f Skinner, ii., 530. VOL. III. K K 498 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. State ; a loss of secular power and privileges mighf have been a useful discipline for it. The persccLi- But it was the desire of the Presbyterians not tion of the qj^j ^^ ^.^1^ ^^^ Church of its establishment, but of clergy. . -^ its very existence. For this purpose they pro- ceeded by a series of measures of startling injustice to procure the ejection of all ministers who were supposed to be favourers of bishops, as having been ordained by them and lived under their rule. Having, on April 1 1, voted that William and Mary should be King and Queen, on the 13th the Con- vention issued an edict that " all ministers of the Gospel within the kingdom publicly pray for King William and Queen Mary, as King and Queen of this realm ; requiring likewise the ministers within the city of Edinburgh, under pain of being deprived and losing their benefices, to read this Proclama- tion publicly from their pulpits upon Sunday next, the 14th instant, at the end of the forenoon sermon; and the ministers to the south of the Tay to read it on the list, and those on the north of the Tay on the 28th, under the above pains." A flagrant piece of tyranny was perpetrated by this edict. The clergy were allowed in some cases only a few hours,* and in others only a few days, to decide on the important point of the transfer of their allegi- ance. More than this, they were required to pray for William and Mary as King and Queen, when as yet they were not crowned, nor in any sense legal sovereigns of the country. The clergy in * It was not published in Edinburgh until seven o'clock on Saturday night. Case of the Afflicted Clergy of Scotland, p. 1 1 . THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 499 England were allowed at this time nearly a year to Cliap. XLV. make up their minds, in Scotland a few hours were thought sufficient to intervene between malicious vengeance and its gratification. Again, in 1662, after the long provocations of the Rebellion, the Presbyterians were allowed in Scotland four months' delay before the provisions of the Ejecting Act came into force. In England, the Act of Unifor- mity was passed on May 19, three months before St. Bartholomew's Day (August 24.), at which time compliance with its provisions became imperative. But now any minister who hesitated to pray to order was at once ejected from his cure. And this first blow was immediately followed up by a second of a still more objectionable character. When the Parliament had adjourned, the Privy Council issued an order "allowing and inviting the parishioners and hearers of such ministers as have neglected and slighted the reading of the Proclamation, and have not prayed for King William and Queen Mary, to cite such ministers before the Privy Council." At the same time warrants were offered for citing and adducing witnesses to prove the same, and it was ordered that public proclamation be made of the order. This plan, which appears to have been imitated from the proceedings of the Long Parlia- ment in 1641, proved extremely effectual. "It drove out," says the Episcopal historian, " most of the parochial clergy in the Merse, Lothians, Fife, Stirlingshire, and Perthshire, besides some in Aber- deen, Moray, and Ross, who had been particularly K K 2 500 THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLV. Informed against."* Another persecuting measure was quickly taken. An order was given to observe a solemn fast-day on Sunday, September 15, and the order was conveyed in a proclamation which plainly implied that the toleration of Episcopacy had been one of the great and crying sins of the nation. Those who refused to read this self- condemnatory proclamation, and to observe this irreligious fast, were ejected. I Under these dif- ferent acts of persecution a large proportion of the clergy south of the Tay were deprived of their benefices within a few months of the change of Government. But in the northern half of the kingdom, the state of things was very different. Here the people were generally contented with Episcopacy, and ill disposed towards the faction which was now dominant. But few attempts, there- fore, were made to deprive ministers in the north, and the old incumbents continued to officiate in the churches, in some cases after a Presbyterian minister had been appointed to the cure, who could not obtain possession owing to the resistance of the people.;]: Change in The Parliament of 1689 had formally voted, on the hstab- j^jy ^2, the abolition of Episcopacy, and had Church declared that their Majesties, with the advice and Government, consent of their Parliament, would " settle by law that Church government in the kingdom which * ^\C\nn(irs Ecclesiastical History of Scotlandy ii., 534- Case of the Afiicted Clergy of Scotland, p. 15. t Skinner, ii., 535. \ Cunningham's Church History of Scotland, ii., 288, 298. Russell's History of the Church of Scotland fn., 374. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 501 Is most agreeable to the inclinations of the Chap. XLV. people."* It was soon, however, proved that it is more easy to destroy than to construct. The first sketch of Church government offered by the Crown, contained a clause which made it lawful for the King always to have a Commissioner present in all Provincial and Presbyterial Assem- blies, and gave him power to " inhibit and d?s- charge" these meetings from proceeding in any matter which he conceived to be trenching upon State affairs. This was scouted as a "mangled and mongrel Presbytery," scarcely superior to Episcopacy itself, j- In the new Session of Parlia- ment it was determined to go greater lengths in deference to the Presbyterian scruples. The Asser- tory Act was repealed, the ministers deprived in 1 66 1 were replaced in their kirks, and the Church government was given to them and to such minis- ters and elders as they should appoint. It was declared that all the churches which were deserted (that is, where the minister had been driven away by the rabble) should be considered void, and that the Presbyterian ministers who were then exercising their ministry in those places, should be made incumbents of them ; and full power was granted to the restored confessors of Presbytery " to try and purge out all insufficient, negligent, scandalous and erroneous ministers by due course of eccle- siastical process and censures." J This was an Act devised to gratify the utmost vindictiveness of the Presbyterian zealots. About sixty of the deprived * Skinner, ii., 530. f Ibid., ii,, 542. \ Ibid., ii., 547. 502 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XLV. ministers of 1661 still survived. They were gene- rally men of the extreme Remonstrant party, whose tempers were soured by a long course of what they held to be unrighteous persecution, and who were eaeer to show that time had not modified their impracticable views on religious questions.* Even those who had been deprived by their own judica- tories were not excluded from the power and favour conferred by this Act, whereas it was clearly shown that no place was designed to be reserved for the Episcopal clergy, however willing they might be to submit to Presbyterian government, and to acknowledge the new dynasty. In vain did the Duke of Hamilton protest against making sixty Presbyterian bishops in place of fourteen prelatical ones ; in vain did he expose the gross injustice of treating those churches as deserted where the incumbents had been driven away by the lawless rabble ; in vain also did the Earl of Lin- lithgow bring forward a proposition to allow a tole- ration to the Episcopal clergy similar to that which had just been conceded to Presbyterians in England. The heat and bigotry of the Parliament, seconded by the partisan zeal of Lord Melville, the King's Commissioner, had full scope. f The Presbyterians indeed aimed at having the King's supremacy and the right of patronage taken quite away, but in these latter points they were not gratified to the full. The Royal Commissioner was still to be supreme in the General Assembly, and a law was passed to * Russell, ii., 371. "I" Skinner, ii., 549. Burnet's Otu?i TimCy 539. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 503 regulate patronage, which provided that in the Chap. XLV. vacancy of any church, the Protestant heritors and elders should name a minister to the people, that if they disapproved of him they were to give in their reasons to the Presbytery of the bounds who were to decide. " In recompence of which right of presentation, the heritors of each parish are to pay the patrons 600 merks against a certain time and under certain propositions."* This was a skilful attempt to adjust the difficult question of patron- age between those whose rights were concerned, though it was despised by the more zealous Pres- byterians when they remembered the complete liberty allowed them by the Act of 1649. And now full power having been given to the Furthcreject- old Presbyterian ministers to eject and deprive all S^^!^^ ° , scandalous and erroneous clergy, they proceeded clergy. eagerly to this work. It is said that it was con- sidered sufficient proof of a minister being erro- neous if he could be shown to have recommended ScongaVs Catechism, or approved l^he Whole Duty of Man, and it was never neglected to put into the libel against an accused clergyman that he had entered on his living by presentation from a patron and by ordination and institution from a bishop. The proceedings before the Presbyterian Com- mittees recall vividly the times of the Triers and Mr. John White's Committees of religion. Their actions were unscrupulous, short, and decisive. Before the General Assembly met, on October 16, 1690, the greater part of those: incumbents in the * Skinner, ii., 560. 504 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. south who had survived the former seasons of trial were expelled from their livings. Proceedings It was well known that King William was much of Presby- opposed to all these violent proceedings, and that tcnans dis- .^^ ,_.^,, °' liked by the It was his Wish that the Episcopal clergy who were ^'"g- ready to conform should be retained in their livings. With this view he addressed a letter to the General Assembly on its meeting, desiring them " to be very moderate in their proceedings and not to do anything that might offend their neighbour Church."* An attempt, however, was at once made to vote Presbytery to be of divine right, a point which even the Long Parliament in its most Presbyterian days had never admitted ; and when the appeals from the incumbents who had suffered under the persecutions of the Committees were brought before the Assembly but little considera- tion was shown to the ill-used Episcopalians. Bishop Burnet says, " In their General Assembly, the Presbyterians did very much expose them- selves by the weakness and peevishness of their conduct. Little learning or prudence appeared among them, poor preaching and wretched haran- guing ; partialities to one another, and violence and injustice to those who differed from them, showed themselves in all their meetings. And these did so much sink their reputation, that they v/ere weaning the nation effectually from all fondness to their Government ; but the falsehood of many, who, under a pretence of moderating matters, were really undermining the King's Government, helped * Skinner, ii., 563. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, s'^S m the sequel to preserve the Presbyterians as much Chap. XLV. as their own conduct did now alienate the King from them." * The real difficulty, in fact, was the determined Jacobitism Jacobitism of the Episcopal clergy. This i^aturally ^j^yj!|,j^^j.*jl^^^^ incensed the King against them and obliged him great diffi- to tolerate, more than his sense of justice could ^^^^Y- approve, the harsh proceedings of the Presbyterians. Thus he could scarcely be expected to oppose an Act which made the taking the oath of allegiance and the promise to pray for King William and Queen Mary a necessary condition for a deprived minister to exercise any part of his ministerial function. Again, when the Oath of Assurance, as it was called (which asserted that William and Mary were both de jure and de facto King and Queen), was artfully devised by the lay Presby- terians j- as the condition for the ministers Epis- copally inclined retaining their livings, William could hardly espouse the side of those who refused thus to qualify themselves. The Presbyterians were able to play the political alienation of the Episcopal clergy against their own litigiousness and waywardness, while the scheming Jacobites were on the watch to use any favour shown by the King to the old form of religion as a means to * Burnet's Ozv?i Time, p. 568. f The Presbyterian ministers objected to this oath. It was at first imposed upon all, but Principal Carstairs, who was ^ William's most trusted adviser in Scotch matters, managed to induce the King to alter the order just in time, it is said, to save a rebellion among the Presbyterians. — See McCormack's Life of Car St airs, p. 57. 5o6 THE HIsrORT OF Chap. XLV. exasperate the Presbyterians against him.* Under these circumstances, advances towards the Epis- copal clergy on the part of the Government were made extremely difficult. Some con- Yet the circumstances of the country obliged cessions made the dominant Presbyterians to a certain amount tcrianT ^" °^ compromise in their legislation. The King was not a little exasperated by their stiffness in oppos- ing so obstinately the claims of the Episcopal clergy. -t" North of the Tay their cause scarce had any footing, and it was practically impossible to eject the old incumbents, however erroneous, and to supply their places with men of the new stamp. From this half of the country not a single deputy was sent to the first General Assembly, and only five to the Assembly of 1692. J Even south of this great line of distinction, many churches which had been vacated were again filled with Episcopally ordained clergy, where the proprietors of the soil were most inclined to these views. These clergy the Presbyterian Assembly was compelled to accept when they were willing to qualify themselves by taking the oaths. Hence an Act of Parliament was passed in 1695, declaring that all '^ such as shall come in and duly qualify themselves, and shall behave themselves worthily in doctrine, life, and conversa- tion, as becometh ministers of the Gospel, shall have and enjoy his majesty's protection as to their re- spective kirks and stipends, they always containing themselves within the limits of their pastoral charge * Burnet's Ozvfi Time, p. 567. f Ibid., p. 575. \ Cunningham's Church Iliitory of Scotland, ii., 288, 298, 311. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 507 in their said parishes without offering to exercise any Chap. XLV. power either of licensing or ordaining ministers or any part of Government, &c., unless they be first duly assumed by a competent Church judicatory." In order to obtain this assumption, the minister was to make an address to the General Assembly, offering to subscribe to a confession of faith and to acknowledge Presbytery to be the only Govern- ment of that Church, with a promise to submit to it, upon which, within a fortnight, if no matter of scandal were alleged, the Assembly was to admit him. " This," says Burnet, " was a strain of moderation the Presbyterians were not easily brought to ; a subscription that owned Presbytery to be the only legal government of that Church, without owning any divine right in it, was far below their usual pretensions." * The Episcopal clergy who would consent thus History of to take office in a Presbyterian Church would soon ^^^ Scotch be absorbed into its system, and even in the henceforth antagonistic north the party which held in its not connected hands the power both in Church and State would, g^^^f-^u after a few years, be able to secure its establish- ment. ment. Our concern henceforth, therefore, is with the " outed " clergy, who had either been actually deprived by the Presbyteries, or had themselves resigned as being unable to accept what they con- sidered as heresy in the Church and usurpation in the State. The Church of Scotland of the eighteenth century is essentially a Nonjuring * Burnet's Ozvn 7"/;//^, p. 597. Skinner's Ecclesiasticid llntoryy ii., 586. 5o8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. Church, and all its subsequent history is marked by this characteristic. The "outcd" All the bishops and a large proportion of the ministers clergy had declined to qualify themselves for the lVo°in cxcr- ^^^ settlement, but it did not necessarily follow cising their from this either that they should be ready to office. abandon their ministerial office, or that the Govern- ment should interpose to prevent their exercising it. In England no attempt was made to prevent the Nonjurors from holding their Assemblies, though but few Assemblies were held because the nonjuring laity were almost a nonexistent element. But in Scotland toleration was still regarded as a deadly sin. The Presbyterians, having reached the vantage ground, felt it both a duty and a pleasure not only to humble their opponents, but, if possible, to silence and extinguish them. Bitterly had they themselves been per- secuted, bitterly would they now retaliate. In 1690, the " outed " clergy were ^Mischarged" from exercising any part of their function in churches or elsewhere, and soon afterwards some of them who ventured to officiate in private houses with open doors were proceeded against and punished.* In 1695, a ^^ore stringent law was passed. This " strictly prohibits and discharges any outed minister to baptize any children or solemnise marriage betwixt any parties, in all tinie coming, under pain of imprisonment, ay and while he find caution to go out of the kingdom and never return thereto." f Henceforth those of the * Skinner, ii., ^(ji. ■\ Ibid., W., 593. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 509 outed ministers who were zealous enough to Chap. XLV. exercise their office did so at the imminent risk of imprisonment and exile. This necessitated the use of much care and concealment, and subjected them to many annoyances, fears, and dangers. It is true that King William was opposed to per- secution and did not favour the intolerance of the Presbyterians. Yet if the King disliked Presby- terian rancour, he did not the more favour Epis- copalian strictness. He might shield the deprived clergy from any excessive outbreak of persecution, but no real sympathy or care for their office was to be expected from him. The laws would not be strained to shield them, neither would their freedom to exercise ministerial functions be held of sufficient importance to procure an interposition in their favour. When, therefore. King William died and was succeeded by a Princess whose Church views were known to be decided, the Epis- copal clergy might well rejoice in expectation of an immediate improvement in their condition. In answer to an address sent up to Queen Anne The acces- from the ejected ministers, they were assured by ^|°^ °^ S^^'^^'^ .1 111-1 • Anne brings her majesty that they should enjoy her protection, no relaxation while the Presbyterians were exhorted, in a letter of legal dis- written by the Queen to the Privy Council, to live ^ in charity with their brethren. But these expres- sions of favour, even though qualified and ordinary, were enough to excite the jealousy of the Presby- terians, which was further aggravated by the project of a union between the two countries. They dreaded lest their form of Church Govern- 5IO THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. ment should be imperilled by English influence and the Church feeling of the Queen, and this excited them to an eager demonstration against Episcopacy in Scotland in the Parliament of 1703. It was now made treason to contradict the proposi- tion that " prelacy was an insupportable grievance," and the draught of an Act for indulgence to Pro- testant Dissenters met with so violent an oppo- sition, that the Queen's ministers were obliged to withdraw it without a debate.* This feeling, indeed, was so strong, that it became necessary for the Government to humour it unless they were prepared to abandon all hope of the Union scheme passing the Scotch Parliament. An order was therefore issued for shutting up all the places of meeting which the deprived clergy used, and although the more keen-sighted on both sides must have seen that this could not be intended as a real termination of the connivance which the Episcopalians had lately enjoyed, yet it must needs have been a bitter disappointment to many who had anticipated a great increase of favour upon the Queen's accession. New bishops In spite, however of the continuance of legal consecrated, disabilities and discouragements, the clergy did not neglect to take all the necessary measures for up- holding their order. On January 25, 1705, John Sage and John Fullarton were consecrated bishops, tliough for prudential reasons it was thought inex- pedient that they should be appointed to dioceses, the whole administration of the Church being * Somcrvillc's Ouec/i An)u\ p. 169. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 511 settled to remain In the hands of the old bishops, Chap. XLV. so long as any of them survived.* Two more were added to their number in 1709 ; and, in 17 1 1, Archibald Campbell and James Gadderar, who were destined to take a very prominent part in the disputes which soon afterwards convulsed the Scotch Church, were advanced to the Episcopate, f The new bishops were to form a sort of College to assist the Church with their advice and counsel, and ensure the continuance of the succession. The notion was at first sight a promising one. But the ancient and prudent arrangement of diocesan Episcopacy could not be set aside with impunity. The college of bishops became a hotbed of intrigue and contentiousness, a focus of Jacobite plots, a fomenter of frivolous disputes about points of ritual observance. The English Book of Common Prayer was now English Book generally used in the Scotch " meeting-houses," o^ Common and large numbers of copies were sent to Scotland ^IyIy used.'^^" by the charitable care of some English Churchmen. The Presbyterians took alarm at this. Any ap- proximation of their opponents to the English Church, whereby English influence might be enlisted in their favour, was a danger to them, and calculated to excite their jealousy. To this may Case of Mr. be in great measure due the violent outbreak Greenshields. against Mr. Greenshields, a clergyman, ordained indeed by a Scotch bishop, but who had officiated many years in Ireland. This gentleman had taken the oaths to the Queen, and opened a chapel in * Skinner, ii,, 603, 608. 512 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLV. Edinburgh in 17 lo, where the EngHsh Prayer Book was used. For the mere performance of divine service according to the usage of the Church of England, Mr. Greenshields was ordered by the Presbytery to be thrown into prison, and the order was actually executed by the magistrates. Thirteen other meeting-houses of nonjuring Episcopahans were left unmolested, but this particular one, which desired to submit itself to the law, was assaulted, evidently because of the jealousy and fear enter- tained towards the English Church. The Com- mission of the General Assembly approved of the Act of the Edinburgh Presbytery, and exhorted all other Presbyteries to follow their example. Passing of the It was high time therefore for the Legislature to Toleration interfere. So gross an insult to the Church of Eng- land could scarcely be passed by with impunity. Presbyterians enjoyed a complete toleration in Eng- land : was it equitable or defensible on any ground that a loyal clergyman, using the English service, should be imprisoned and punished in Scotland ? The feeling of Parliament was therefore strongly expressed. Mr. Greenshields was ordered to be dis- charged from prison, and, on May 3, 17 12, was passed in the united Parliament an '^ Act to prevent the disturbing of those of the Episcopal communion in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, in the exercise of their religious worship, and in the use of the Liturgy of the Church of England, and for repealing an Act passed in the Parliament of Scot- land, entitled an Act against irregular baptisms and marriages." This law assured to all such of the THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 513 clergy as were willing to take the oaths of allcgi- Chap. XLV. ance and to pray for the Queen a complete tolera- tion, while to the determined Nonjurors it assured immunity from disturbance in religious worship, though leaving them still exposed to the civil penalties of refusing the oaths.* By this Act toleration may be said to have been at last obtained by the Episcopalians in Scotland. If, after this, nonjuring scruples still held them aloof from the Government which had shown itself ready to attend to their just claims as a religious body, there was no real ground for complaint if an imperfect pro- tection only was secured to them by those authori- ties whose legal status they habitually ignored. Yet even the nonjuring congregations which formed the great majority of the Church were protected, if not by the connivance of Government, yet by the fear of the Presbyterians, lest '^ by harassing them too much, they should be driven to take advantage of this toleration, and to put it out of the power of their enemies to hurt them."j- Peace therefore virtually reigned between Presbyterians and Epis- copalians during the latter years of Queen Anne, and the rapid increase of " meeting-houses" testi- fied to the vigour which still remained in the Church. About this time the question of the validity of *, Skinner, ii., 609. Lockhart Papers, i., 378. Mr. Lockhart gives an amusing account of the machinations of the Presbyterian party in Parliament to defeat this Act. By their intrigues the clause rendering the Abjuration Oath a necessary condition for enjoying the benefits of its provisions was inserted. f Skinner, ii., 611. VOL. III. L L 5H THE HISTORT OF Chap. XLV. Question as to the validity of Presbyte- rian baptism. Severe mea- sures passed against the Church. baptism not administered by a canonically ordained clergyman began to engage the attention of the clergy in Scotland, as it was also doing at the same period in England. This was connected with an attempt to revive Confirmation, which appears to have fallen into complete disuse in Scotland. The point to be decided was, whether those baptized by Presbyterians were to be admitted to Confirmation without any attempt being made to supplement the supposed defects of their baptism. The Scotch bishops, afraid to commit themselves, answered doubtfully, and the point appears to have been left unsettled to the private judgment of the clergy.* The death of Queen Anne destroyed the security enjoyed by the Church in Scotland, and the Jaco- bite rebellion which immediately followed could not fail to bring down the vengeance of the new dynasty on those whose sympathies were so clearly shown to be with the proscribed family. A Pro- clamation was issued by the Whigs for putting the laws in execution against all " Papists, Nonjurors, and disaffected persons;" and, in 1719, a law was made to inflict six months' imprisonment on every clergyman who had not taken the oaths and did not pray for King George by name. At the same time an " Episcopal meeting-house" was defined to be any house where nine or. more persons besides the family should be present. f It is acknowledged, indeed, by the Scotch Church historians, that the * Skinner, ii., 612, sq. f Ibid., ii., 620. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. s'S harsh provisions of this Act were not enforced, and Cliap. XLV. that considerable external tranquillity prevailed for the Church until the date of the second Jacobite rebellion in 1745.* It was probably held by the statesmen of this latter period, that the Episcopa- lians were utterly incurable in their Jacobitism, and that they must be exterminated. Hence the pecu- liar and searching severity of the laws which were now enacted. First it was ordained (in 1746), that " every person exercising the function of a pastor or minister in any Episcopal meeting-house in Scotland, without registering his letters of orders, and taking all the oaths required by law, and pray- ing for his Majesty King George and the royal family by name, shall for the first offence suffer six months' imprisonment, and for the second, be transported to some one of his Majesty's planta- tions for life." Every assemblage of more than^i;^ besides the family was now made to constitute a meeting-house, and the laity who attended were made subject to fines and penalties if they neglected to give information to the authorities. But a still heavier blow was inflicted in 1748, for, it having been found that some of the clergy who had pre- viously stood aloof now qualified themselves for toleration, another Act was added, which seemed to shut up all the avenues of escape, and make the position of a clergyman ordained by bishops in Scotland an utterly untenable one. By this Act it was ordained that " no letters of orders >70t granted by some bishop of the Church of England or Ireland * Russell's Church History of Scotland, ii., 398. L L 2 5i6 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLV. should, after September 29, be sufficient to qualify any pastor or minister of any Episcopal meeting in Scotland," and that all registrations of any other letters of orders should be null and void. This was an Act of proscription, and its injustice was keenly felt by all impartial men. In the House of Lords, even amidst the excitement against Jacobitism then prevailing, several of the English bishops denounced. In no measured terms, this attempt to exterminate a sister Church. By another Act passed at the same time, the proscription was made still more complete. It was enacted " that any person being, or pretending to be, in holy orders of any denomination whatsoever, other than the ministers, elders, or preachers of the Estab- lished Church of Scotland, who shall preach or perform any divine service in any house or family of which he is not the master, in the presence or hearing of any other person or persons, whether of the family or not, shall be deemed to be one who exercises the function of a chaplain," and as such be amenable to the law, subjecting any unqualified person acting as chaplain to the penalty of im- prisonment.* The dispute These severe measures came upon the Church about the ^^ Scotland at a time when she had recovered from usages. the damaging effects of her own internal contests, and was showing renewed signs of life and vigour. From the death of Bishop Rose, in 1720, to the signing of the Concordate, in 1732, a miserable dissension had reigned amongst the Scotch prelates. * Skinner, ii., 664, 669. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 517 The quarrel had been upon two mani grounds — Chap. XLV. one ritual, the other disciplinary — but political intrigues had had much to do with embittering the dispute. The ritual question is generally described as the question of the usages. Those of the Scotch bishops who were intimate with the English Non- jurors, had imbibed from some of them, principally from Hickes, Collier, and Brett, a strong predilection for certain usages in celebrating the Holy Commu- nion, which though retained in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI., and adopted from that into the Scotch Prayer Book of 1636, had been excluded from the last review. The English Nonjurors, considering themselves freed from the obligation to use the authorized form of the Communion office, had adopted the first form of it, and some of the Scotch clergy in imitation of them, pre- ferred to use the Book of 1636. The points in which this was supposed to be superior to the modern form were four, viz. : i . Mixing water with the wine. 2. Commemorating the faithful departed at the altar. 3. Consecrating the elements by an express invocation. 4. Using the oblatory prayer before distribution. The authority of Bishop Rose, exerted in favour of peace, had kept the dispute quiet during his life-time, but at his death it broke out with much acrimony. Bishops Camp- bell and Gadderar being the chief contenders for the usages, and Bishop Irvine their most active opponent. In 1724, a compromise was effected, any clergy who liked being allowed to use a revised form of the Scotch Book, while those who 51 8 THE HISrORT OF Chap. XLV. did SO, undertook not to introduce any usages not ordered by this into their ministrations.* The College Xhe Other cause of dispute arose out of the ispute. circumstance under which the first bishops after the Revolution were consecrated. It has been already said that they were not appointed to dioceses, but made to constitute a college for the general direction of affairs, with one of their number chosen to be Primus or chief. This was productive of many inconveniences to the clergy, and was a plan very liable to generate and uphold disputes. Accordingly, many of the more eminent of the bishops began to favour the diocesan scheme, and several of them were appointed to dioceses on the election of the clergy. The college plan was, however, vigorously upheld by the agents of the exiled royal family, as offering obvi- ous advantages for the purpose of their intrigues. More than this, the Pretender endeavoured to obtain the right of appointing the bishops, though this was strongly withstood by some of the wiser among them. A concordate entered into in 1732, finally overthrew the college plan, and settled the question in favour of diocesan Episcopacy.f TIic canons In 1 742, the Church was once more regularly ^^'743- organized under six diocesan bishops ; and in the following year, desirous of reviewing their discipline * Skinner, ii., 653. Lockhart /'/7/^rj, ii., 95. Lawson's ////- tory of the Scotch Church, p. 231. f Skinner, ii., 646. Full accounts of the College disputes are given in the Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. Mr. Lockhart was the Pretender's agent in Scotland, and much interested in trying to uphold the college plan. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 519 and making new arrangements, the six bishops Chap. XLV. constituted themselves into a synod, with Bishop Keith as Primus, and passed a number of canons. These canons provided for the election of one of the bishops as Primus, " who shall have no other privilege among the bishops but of convocating and presiding only," and that under certain restric- tions. The Primus was also liable to be suspended or deprived by the votes of the majority. Each of the bishops was to appoint one of his clergy to be dean, who was to represent the clergy in any Synodal meeting. The subjection of Presbyters to their diocesan bishop was carefully provided for. The clergy were bid to apply themselves " dili- gently to the study of the Holy Scriptures and of the fathers of the apostolical and two next succeed- ing ages, and to take all proper opportunities in their sermons and otherwise to instruct their people in the truly Catholic principles of that pure and primitive Church."* The prospects of the Scotch Church were thus at this moment in the highest degree hopeful. Many of the clergy must have contrasted their own condition favourably with that of their sister Church in England. The blight of Latitudinarianism and secularity was settling down upon the Church favoured by the State, whereas in the purer regions of the north there still re- mained a zeal for the faith once delivered to the saints. But these pleasing thoughts were quickly dispelled by the bitter persecution which followed the Jacobite rebellion ; the effect of which was to * Skinner, ii., 655, 660. 520 THE HISTORY OF Chap. XLV. drive great numbers of the clergy from their native land, and to send them to the North American Colonies, there to exercise their ministerial office. When Archbishop Seeker pleaded the unpopular cause of consecrating bishops for the American Colonies, one of his topics was, that the majority of the clergy were Scotch Jacobites, and needed a careful supervision.* Some of the Scotch clergy, deeming all hope shut out to them, even abandoned their office altogether and adopted secular employ- ments, while many of the influential laity, seeing that their attendance on the services of the Church which they preferred was accompanied with so much civil mischief, gradually abandoned the use of public religious services.f Those few students who still desired to enter the ministry, generally endeavoured to obtain orders from English or Irish prelates, and thus to evade the rigour of the law. Hence arose a breach of ecclesiastical order, the effects of which are felt even in our own time. These dark days continued till the accession of George III., who was known to be more favour- ably disposed to the Church than his grandfather, and in whose time also the danger of Jacobitism had passed away. Now, again, did the bishops and clergy in Scotland show signs of life, young men again sought the ministerial office from the Scotch prelates, and, in 1765, the revision of the Communion office, and the publication of an * Portcus's Life of Seeker. The same fact is also mentioned by Bishop Sherlock. Doddridge Correspondeuee, v., 200. •j- Skinner, ii., 671. Revision of the Commu- nion office. rHE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 521 amended form, testified to the existence of the chap. XLV. ecclesiastical spirit. The principal alteration which was now made in the Scotch Communion office was the change in the position of the Invocation. This was now restored to its original place after the oblation, instead of standing as it had done before the words of institution. Nothing now hindered the growth and develop- Consecration ment of the Church in Scotland, and, in 1784, an ^^J^ ^^^^ event happened which is generally thought to have America. been of substantial benefit to it, by bringing it into notice and regard. This was the consecration by the bishops of Scotland of Dr. Samuel Seabury, as the first bishop for America. The ceremony took place at Aberdeen, on November 14, 1784, and was performed by the Bishops Kilgour, Petrie, and Skinner. The lack of bishops in the American Colonies had long been a disgrace and a scandal to the English Church, which divers of the best English prelates had tried to remove. The autho- rity of the Bishop of London exercised through commissaries was but a poor shift even for enforcing discipline, while for confirmation and ordination it was useless.* The result was, that but few of the colonists thought of taking orders, and the minis- trations of the Church were very poorly supplied by chance recruits from Scotland, and a few mis- sionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the * " For a bishop to live at one end of the world and his church at another," writes Bishop Sherlock, "must make the office very uncomfortable to the bishop, and in a great measure useless to the people." — Sherlock to Doddridge. Doddridge Correspondence, v., 199. See above, cli. xlii. 522 THE HtsrORT OF Chap. XLV. Gospel. But even the commissaries had ceased to have power to act after the War of Independence, and the separation of America from the mother- country. The Bishop of London had now no more authority than any other bishop, and the American clergy must now find a bishop of their own, or quite abandon the character of their Church. Under these circumstances the clergy of Connecticut chose Dr. Seabury, a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and sent him to England to be consecrated. Delays and difficulties naturally enough arose in England, and, as the affair was urgent, Dr. Seabury applied to the Scotch bishops, and was at once consecrated by them.* Repeal of the The death of Charles Edward, in 1788, destroyed penal laws, ^^g j^gt pretext for nonjuring peculiarities, and for the retention of penal and persecuting laws. The Scotch bishops, assembled in Synod at Aberdeen, unanimously agreed to submit to the Government and pray for the King by name in public worship, and four years afterwards (1792) an Act was passed to repeal all the harsh and persecuting laws, and to grant a complete toleration tcj the Church in Scotland. It is provided by this Act that each pastor or minister shall take the oaths of allegiance, abjuration, and assurance, and shall also subscribe a declaration of his assent to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. A provision, liowcver, is appended to the Act which appears * Skinner, ii., 686. WiVoQvhrcQS History of A?neric^n Church, ch. vi. THE CtlURCH OF ENGLAND. 523 essentially unjust, to prevent any clergyman in Cliap. XLV. Scotch orders from holding a benefice or even serving a curacy in England.* There needs only the removal of this anomaly for full justice at length to be done to a faithful, zealous, and con- sistent branch of the Christian Church. * Russell's History of the Church of Scotland, ii., 409. 524 THE HISTORT OF CHAPTER XLVI. IRELAND. Chap.XLVI. The Irish Church favours the Revolution — 111 requited by the Government — Bishop King — The Presbyterian interest — Im- provement in the beginning of Queen Anne's reign — Meeting of Convocation — Indifference of the Upper House — Attempts to address the natives in the Irish tongue defeated by the Bishops — Irregular ordinations — General neglect of duty — Promotions of Englishmen in Ireland — The " English interest" — Primate Boulter — Character of the English clergy promoted in Ireland — Bishop Rundle — Union and disunion of parishes — Attempts to procure glebes — And enforce residence — Philip Skclton— Bishop Clayton — The Ess^y on Spirit — Proceedings taken against the bishop — Bishop Berkeley — Dean Swift — — Paucity of great divines in Ireland — Apathy and carelessness — The Church made to suffer for all the grievances of the people — Outrages upon the clergy — Relaxation of penal Sta- tutes — The Rebellion of 1798 — The Act of Union — Question of the Irish Convocation — Benefits of the union — Revival of energy in the Irish Church. The Irish Church favours the Revolution. ONG before the landing of King James in Ireland to make his last feeble stand for the throne which he had so justly forfeited, the Protestant clergy had almost disappeared from the country. The terrors of the outbreak of 1641 were still fresh in their memories, and it was feared, not without good reason, that another Protestant THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 525 massacre might be attempted by the ever hostile Chap.XLVI. Romanist influence. The long list of names of those proscribed by order of the King represented but a small part of the clergy who had fled to England to avoid the pressing danger. The Archbishop of Tuam was almost the only bishop who ventured to stay in the country during the crisis, and every clergyman who could command sufficient funds to travel with, quickly disappeared.* Acts were at once passed in the Parliament to transfer the tithes to the Romish priests. It is said that Galway was the first place to have a legally beneficed Romish clergy, the inhabitants having an old privilege of electing a warden and vicars for their town.-f The Romanists, however, enjoyed but a short season of triumph. The vigorous measures of King William quickly broke the last stronghold of the influence of his father- in-law, while the well-known heroism of George Walker, Rector of Donoughmore, in his defence of Derry, well represents the spirit in which the contest was regarded by the clergy of Ireland. While, in England, nine bishops and nearly five hundred clergy refused to take the oaths to the new dynasty, in Ireland there were but two Non- juring bishops and a very small number of clergy, t Yet for this entire devotion to the Interest of * A True Narrative of the Murders perpetrated on the Pro- testants in Ire/and {hondon, 1690), p. 17. f Ibid., pp. 7, 10. ui ceo lint of the Transactions of the late King James in Ireland (1690), p. 5, sq. X Mant's History of the Church of Ireland, ii., 27. 526 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XL^T the new monarch, the Irish Church received a 111 requited miserable return. The impoverished clergy were by the refused the grant of the impropriations which had Government. . „ . f , . r i ^ ^ j fallen into the hands or the Crown,^ and at once after the Revolution, began that system under which the Irish Church in the eighteenth century suffered to an almost incredible degree — the plan, namely, of thrusting men into preferments in Ireland who were considered unfit for England, while their claims were too strong or their im- portunity too sturdy for them to be altogether passed by. Bishop King. At this period, the Irish Church was fortunate in possessing one prelate of high ability and an independent spirit — King, Bishop of Derry. This prelate " knew the temper, disposition, and genius of the nation most exactly, was remarkably happy in a quick and clear conception of things, and a marvellous sagacity and readiness in properly executing business of the greatest importance." f Dr. King had boldly written against Popery in the time of King James's power, and when the Revolution struggle was in actual progress had refused to quit his post as Dean of St. Patrick's. He was twice imprisoned in Dublin Castle, but as soon as he regained his liberty undauntedly returned to the performance of his duties, and at the conclusion of the struggle was fitly rewarded with the See of Derry, which had been destined for George Walker, who was killed at the battle of the Boyne. But though Dr. King was pro- * Mant, ii., 65-6. f Harris's IV^ire's Irish Bishops, i., 368. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. s^-l moted by the Government wliich he had so greatly Cluip.XLVI. served, his spirit was too independent and his con- scientiousness too great for him to be bought or silenced, and in the mass of his correspondence (which has happily been preserved),* abundance of bold and indignant protests against the scan- dalous ill-usage inflicted on the Church of Ireland during his time are to be found. " More care," he writes to the Bishop of Worcester, " seems to be employed towards settling a Jewish synagogue than a Christian Church." To the vindictive laws against Romanists he was steadily opposed, and after contributing zealously to the defeat of an attempted measure charged with penalties more than usually savage, he writes to Bishop Burnet, " \¥e have too many such laws already, and, with God's help, shall never have any more as long as I or my friends can help it. If one should measure our temper by our laws, I think we are little short of the Inquisition." Yet of many of the bishops and clergy he complains that " all they thought of was passing penal laws." " My brethren," he writes, " have generally other thoughts and views than I have," and in a de- sponding tone he utters what was only too true a prophecy : " I suppose all our preferments, civil and ecclesiastical, will hereafter be filled from England." f * Archbishop King's MSS. arc in the library of Trinity Col- lege, Dublin. They are largely quoted by Bishop Mant in his second volume of Church History, to which the references are here made. t Mant, ii., pp. 80, 94, 96, 97, 101. 528 rUE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. The Presbyterian interest in Ireland, needed as The Prcsby- a set ofF against the Romanist, could not safely terian in- ^^ offended by the English Government, and terest. jo ■' hence no Toleration Act was passed at the Revo- lution. It was preferred by the Nonconformists that penal laws should remain on the Statute book, which were practically uninforced and obso- lete, rather than that a new law should be made enforcing the Sacramental Test to which they were strongly opposed. Yet to the endurance of this objectionable burden the Presbyterians of the north were soon afterwards ready to submit when it was made the condition of the infliction of vexatious laws upon Romanists. In the Parliament held at the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, an Act was passed from which the Protestants hoped great things in " weakening the Romanist influence." This Act provided that the estates of all Romanists should be equally divided among the children, notwithstanding any settlements to the contrary, unless the persons in whose favour the settlement was made qualified themselves by taking the oaths and coming to the Holy Communion in the Church of Ireland. This was to hold out the most seductive inducements to the landed gentry for apostacy from their faith, and was considered a masterpiece of that kind of legislation. The English Privy Council, however, did not regard the Act with favour, and not knowing well how to get rid of it, they hit upon the device of tacking to it a clause enacting the Sacramental test for all public servants and civil magistrates. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 529 They supposed that this would be so violently Chap.XIA I. opposed by the Presbyterian members, that the whole Bill would in consequence be abandoned. The contrary, however, happened. The Bill was thought so valuable that even the obnoxious Test was recommended by it, and, for the first time, this became the law in Ireland.* These facts well illustrate the difficulties with which the Church had to contend. The spirit which dictated vexa- tious onslaughts f on the private and family rela- tions of the Romanist ; the strength of the Presbyterian and Nonconformist influence to which the Government was forced to truckle, were both hostile to the development and efficiency of the Irish Church. At the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, improve- through the excellent promotions made in advanc- J^^^"^ ^} ^'^^ ing Archbishop Marsh to the Primacy and making QueenAnne's Bishop King Archbishop of Dublin — by means reign. also of several Acts passed by the Parliament for the building of churches and the better provision of incumbents, some progress was made. The two newly promoted archbishops were both munificent builders and endowers of churches. Primate Marsh repaired at his own expense many that were in ruins, and bought in many impropriations and restored them to the Church. J Archbishop * Burnet's Ozv?i 7hne, p. 739. ^ Shortly after the passing of the law mentioned, it was enacted that all persons going on pilgrimage to St. Patrick's Pur- gatory in Lough Deary, should be publicly whipped. — Mant, ii., 139- \ Harris's Ware's Bishops, p. 367. VOL. III. M M S3^ THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. King, besides extensive restorations which he pro- cured, was able to accomplish the erection of nine- teen new churches, and to provide glebes for them by making use of the provisions of a late Act of Parliament, and also by using for this object his own power as a granter of leases. " When a lease had run out," says Dean Swift, " for seven years or more, he stipulated with the tenant to resign up twenty or thirty acres to the minister of the parish, where it lay convenient, without lessening his former rent and with no great abatement of the fine."* The same excellent prelate boldly contended against the evil of nonresidence. " That humour," he writes, " of clergymen living near Dublin, and declining remote and barbarous countries, as they call them, is by no means to be indulged ; for 'tis plain that this is to prefer the clergyman's ease to the salvation of the people, and 'tis just as if one should refuse to send a good physician into a city because there were many sick in it. In short, the world begins to look upon us as a parcel of men that have invented a trade for our easy and convenient living, and till we show the world that we seek their good more than our own advantage, we are not like to wipe off the aspersion." f Meeting of Had the Irish Church possessed more such Convocation, prelates at this time, a great advance might have been made, but, unhappily, the majority of the appointments made since the Revolution had been of the lowest order, practical proof of which was * Swift's Works (cd. 1850), ii., 227. f Mant, ii., 155. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 531 now to be given to the Church. On the accession Chap.XLVI, of Queen Anne, in Ireland, as in England, the Convocation of the clergy was allowed to meet and act. This, as regards Ireland, was something of quite a novel character. The Synod of the clergy had not sat since 1666, when it assisted to pass the Act of Uniformity ; neither, indeed, had it as yet ever met as a strictly ecclesiastical assembly and on a similar footing to the Convoca- tions of Canterbury and York. Before the Refor- mation the Irish clergy were summoned under the premonentes clause to a parliamentary attendance, a practice which was stopped in Ireland, as in England, during the reign of Henry VIII. In the former country, this was equivalent to stopping altogether the meeting of the clergy, as the practice had never obtained of issuing provincial writs to the archbishops as had been done in England. Hence no Synod assembled in Ireland till the year 16 1 5, when that meeting of the clergy v/hich passed the Irish Articles was held, having been summoned under the premonentes clause, the action of which was revived. Again, under Lord Staf- ford, in 1634, the clergy met in the same way, and again at the Restoration. Forty years had now elapsed since this last meeting, and during the late reign the premonentes clause had been omitted from the bishops' writs of summons to Parliament, and no machinery existed for calling a meeting of the clergy. A petition was now addressed by the deans and archdeacons to the viceroy, praying that they might be summoned, M M 2 S31 T'HE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. and this having been favourably received by the Queen, the premonentes clause was again inserted in the bishops' writs, and by virtue of this and the bishops' mandate thereupon, an assembly of the clergy took place in Dublin on September i, 1703. It had been decided by a committee of bishops, to whom the matter had been referred by the Lord Lieutenant, that the Convocation of Ireland was a national Synod, and that all the Bishops were to sit together in one Upper House, all the clergy in one Lower, that they were to be governed by the common rules of Synods, each House acting and adjourning by itself. The clergy, however, were not satisfied in Ireland to owe their Synodal position to the force of the premonentes clause, and were anxious to repudiate the very thing which many of their brethren in England were zealously contending for. " We conceive," say they, in an address presented to the bishops, " that the clergy of this kingdom, when met in a perfect and entire Convocation, do assemble in two distinct capacities, namely, in a civil and in an ecclesiastical capacity. In the first, we apprehend ourselves to be called together by her majesty's writ in the clause premo- nentes^ and that in virtue of this we have a right to be formed into a regular body to be attendants upon and counsellers to the Parliament in whatever may relate to the temporal rights of the Church as interwoven with the State. In our ecclesiastical capacity, we look upon it as absolutely necessary to be summoned by the provincial writ and your grace's metropolitical authority consequent upon THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 533 that writ which forms us into a national and truly Chap.XLVl. ecclesiastical Synod to frame canons, to reform discipline, censure heresy, and to exert that juris- diction which belongs to us in conjunction with your lordships as the representative members of a national Church." In compliance with the prayer of this petition, the provincial writs were applied for from the Queen, and were at once sent. The fact Is worth mentioning, because in this we see the Irish clergy deliberately recording their judg- ment against the views of Atterbury, Binkes, and others, who were clamouring In England for the revival of the Parliamentary summons of the clergy.* The Convocation being thus met and allowed IndifFerence to frame canons, some effect might naturally be °^ ^^^ Upper expected from their deliberations. Now, however, ^°^^^' was demonstrated the inefficient and careless cha- racter of the men who had been thrust into the episcopate during the previous reign. Archbishop King writes, " I understand by several letters that the Lower House of Convocation have sent up several messages with ample matter for canons that would tend greatly to the reformation and restoration of discipline, but to the day of their adjournment they never had any answer from the bishops, or could find that they had taken those or any other affairs for the good of the Church into their consideration." In another place, he complains that they were only occupied about " the secular profit of the Church," and expresses great * Mant's Church History, ii., 157, sq. 534 'I'HE BISTORT OF Chap.XLVI. apprehension lest some members of the Lower House should do as they had threatened, viz., print a plain account of the proceedings. This, he says, " he is sure will not be for the honour of the Upper House," but will " do mischief to the whole Church," so gross an amount of indifference to the best interests of religion had the bishops shown.* It appears that one of the matters recommended Attempts to by the Lower House to the consideration of the address the Uppgr was the employment of preachers in all nstives in the x x ■' i j x Irish tongue the dioceses of the kingdom to address the people defeated by \^ the Irish tongue. Some attempts had lately ops. 1^^^^ made at this and with considerable success. The bishops, however, were indifferent about it. " We think it useful where it is practicable," they answered, and so the matter dropped for the present. At the meeting of Convocation, in 1709, it was revived. The Lower House then came to a series of resolutions recommending the printing of the Bible, the Liturgy, and some religious books in the Irish language, and the employment of Irish preachers. Arrangements were made in Trinity College for having the Irish language taught to the students. A memorial was addressed to the Lord Lieutenant and the Queen. The English Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge gave ready assistance, and the opportunity seemed pecu- liarly favourable in many ways for accomplishing something. Again, however, the bishops marred the project. They could do nothing, they said, till Parliament and Convocation had deliberated on * Mant, ii., 177, sq. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. S3S the matter ; and when Convocation had met, the Chap.XLVI. bishops, by means of adjournments and manoeu- vres, were able again to shelve the business. This would be almost Incredible had we not the express statements of the Archbishop of Dublin In his letters to Dean Swift. He complains that " a precipitate adjournment of five bishops lost all the time of a recess." That " they loitered and did nothing," that they " neglected and refused to concern themselves in the matter." Again, he says, " If the bishops of Ireland had heartily and unanimously come into this work, and the Govern- ment had given it countenance, certain methods might have been taken that would have had great effect towards the conversion of the natives."* But not only did the Irish bishops of that day decline to inaugurate or attempt any reform in the Irregular Church. Even their ordinary and routine work ordinations. they could not carry on without grievous scandals and abuses. A custom had become prevalent among them of ordaining almost any persons that applied to them without seeing that they were furnished with titles, or had any of the necessary qualifications. " A thousand," writes Archbishop King, '^ have been ordained since the Revolution, and all the livings in Ireland will not employ 600." There were certain bishops known by the name of ordainers, '^ not," writes the archbishop, '^ with a design to honour them, for, commonly, the refuse of the world creep into orders by them." f * Swift's Works (cd. 1850), ii., 473, 475-6. t Mant, ii., 200, 201, 202. S36 THE HISTORY OF Chap.XLVI. Such unfortunately were those placed In prominent General positions in the Church at the time of its greatest neglect of opportunity ; when the fostering care of the Queen " ^ ' had displayed itself in remitting to the clergy the twentieths and first-fruits, as had been done six years before in England,* and when Convocation was furnished with a license to act, that it might repair the broken discipline and remove the crying scandals of the Church. All that was done in Convocation was the making a few canons about the proceedings in ecclesiastical Courts, and con- structing two services for prisoners in gaols. And the favour of Government towards the clergy, instead of being made available by them towards useful purposes, appears to have rather encouraged them in negligence. Archbishop King, at the con- clusion of the reign of Queen Anne, laments that they had actually lost ground. '^ The diligence, piety, humility, and prudent management of the clergy when they had nothing else to trust to, proved much stronger motives to gain the people than the favour of the Government, which put the clergy on other methods which made them odious to their people." -f It is an unwelcome subject to dwell upon; but if ever any set of men placed in a position of much possible usefulness, and with * This matter had been long promised and delayed, and was at last procured by Dr. Swift's influence with Mr. Harley, the treasurer. The clergy were altogether excused from the payment of the twentieths, and the first-fruits were given to certain com- missioners to be employed towards the purchase of glebes, the building of houses, and buying impropriations. t Mani, ii., 270. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 537 great responsibilities belonging to it, grievously Chap.XLVI. neglected their duties, this charge is true with regard to the Irish bishops of the eighteenth cen- tury. Most of them spent their time in England, hanging about London or Bath, and soliciting translations to more lucrative Sees. Bishop Pooley during the eleven years he was Bishop of Raphoe, hardly resided eighteen months. Ashe, Bishop of Clogher, was many years absent from his See. Kilmore and Ardagh were for sixteen or seventeen years without the visit of a bishop. One gentle- man was recommended to the Episcopate because of his skill in painting in water-colours, and was so much taken up with the fine arts that he could never find time to visit his diocese.* The bishops neglected their cures without scruple and without conscience, and of course the inferior clergy imitated them. And hence the monster grievance of the Irish Church was countenanced and extended. If the Promotions appointments to Sees were to be mere sinecures to ^^ Enghsh- , , . . . . J ,. men m Ire- enable men to mix m good society and to hve \^^^^ comfortably, the English ministers might well be excused for treating them as convenient pieces of patronage. If the minor preferments were to be regarded mer'ely as so much yearly income after the necessary deduction for a curate, why not confer them on their importunate dependents in England? A nonresident Irishman was of no more use to his parish than a nonresident Englishman. Hence we can scarcely wonder at the practice which grew up with regard to Irish preferments, though * Mam, ii., 250, 274, 282, 283, 285, 366. 538 rHE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. taken on its merits, It seems sufficiently atrocious. '^You make nothing in England," writes Arch- bishop King, " to order us to provide for such and such a man £100 per annum, and when he has it by favour of the Government, he thinks he may be excused attendance. But you do not consider that such a disposition takes up perhaps a tenth part of the diocese, and turns off the care of the parishes to one curate."* It was an understood thing that the chaplains brought over by the Lords Lieutenant were to have the refusal of any bishoprics or deaneries which might fall vacant during their stay in Ireland, and as the viceroys were being constantly changed, this furnished a large number of alien candidates for Sees. Gradually during the reign of George I., this grew into a regular system. It was determined by the English Government that the bishops of " the English The "English interest" should always be at least in a majority over interest.'* the bIshops of " the Irish interest," and that the Primate should always be an Englishman. By this means, it was held that " his Majesty's service" would go on smoothly in Ireland, and the Govern- ment be always able to carry its measures in the House of Lords, an attendance in which Assembly formed a chief part of the Episcopal duties. In the year 1724, Hugh Boulter, Bishop of Bristol, Primate an active and intelligent man, was sent over to be Bouher. Archbishop of Armagh, and the head of the " English interest." Between him and Archbishop King, who was regarded as the great champion of * Mant, ii., 288. I' THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 539 the Irish interest, a strife immediately ensued. Chap.XLVI. Archbishop Boulter has left us abundant memorials of his views and tactics in his Correspondence, and it is extremely curious to observe his notions of the duties of a Primate of a Church, and of the special objects for which he was to labour. " If I am not allowed," he writes, soon after his arrival, " to form proper dependencies here to break the present Dublin faction on the bench, it will be impossible for me to serve his Majesty further than in my single capacity." Again, " It will be impos- sible for me to do according to my wishes if the English interest be not thoroughly supported from the other side." " The English interest," he says, " had been much neglected." He " desires his authority /^r no other end but to serve his Majesty,'''' " I am certainly of opinion that the new archbishop ought to be an Englishman, either already on the bench here or in England, as for a native of the country I can hardly doubt, but whatever his behaviour has been, and his promises may be, when he is once in that station, he will put himself at the head of the Irish interest in the Church at least."* The system thus inaugurated by Primate Boulter was steadily pursued throughout the century. Of forty bishops made in the earlier part of the reign of George III., twenty-two were Englishmen. All the Primates appointed during the eighteenth cen- tury were natives of England. Of eighteen arch- bishops of Dublin and Cashel, during the same period, ten were Englishmen. * Boulter's Letters, i., 14, 17, 19, 24, 157. 540 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLVI. Character of the English clergy pro- moted in Ireland. Bishop Rundle. If, indeed, the English clergy preferred in Ireland had been a fair selection from the ranks of the English Church, there would not have been so much cause to complain, but it is notorious that the very reverse to this was the fact. " You recommend," writes Archbishop King, " cast clergy- men whom you are not willing to prefer in Eng- land."* Any character was held good enough for Ireland, and the amount of orthodoxy which was not considered sufficient for England, was deemed abundant to qualify for the best bishopric in Ire- land. This was strikingly exemplified in the case of Dr. Rundle. This divine had been recom- mended by the influence of Lord Chancellor Talbot, for the bishopric of Gloucester, but when his name was mentioned to Bishop Gibson, who had the chief control of preferment under the Walpole administration, the Bishop of London objected. The proposed bishop, he said, was nothing more nor less than a Deist. This being held to be a disqualification, the bishopric of Gloucester was otherwise disposed of, but the next year the rich See of Derry was conferred upon the disappointed Deist, who does not appear to have been held in Ireland exceptional in the matter of orthodoxy. f Of such preferments Dean Swift says with admir- able irony, " It is much to their commendation that they have condescended to leave their native country merely to promote Christianity among us ; and therefore, in my opinion, both their lordships and the many defenders they bring over with them, * Mant, ii., 289. f Disney's Life of Dr. Sykrs, p. 196. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 541 may justly claim the merit of missionaries sent to Chap.XLVI. convert a nation from heresy and heathenism."* Compared with this monster grievance of faulty preferment, which effectually barred all attempts at substantial improvement, other grievances appear insignificant. Yet a very palpable and serious drawback to the efficiency of the Irish Church in the eighteenth century, was the prevalent custom I-^^^JlDn^of of union of parishes. Doubtless from the extreme parishes. impoverishment of the benefices, this was in some cases necessary, but it was often sanctioned by the bishops, who had the power of uniting during one incumbency as many benefices as they pleased,f simply for the purpose of providing comfortably for a friend. Hence the beneficed clergy in Ireland were said by Dean Swift to be in the enjoyment of incomes considerably larger than their brethren in England, these incomes being made up by a large aggregation of pluralities, if Even a still less scrupulous method indeed was used in some cases. Primate Boulter found, on his coming to Ireland, a custom which surprised him much. This was the habit of Presbyters holding several benefices by commendam without institution or induction, or even taking out a faculty. § During the reign of George I., several acts were passed to facilitate the permanent union of parishes, and to enable parish churches to be pulled down and erected on sites fitted for the new area of the parish. No less than 109 churches were changed during the century * Swift's Works (ed. 1850), ii., 222. t Mant, ii., 299. \ Swift's Works, ii., 223, 225. § Boulter's Letters, i., 28. 542 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. under the provisions of these laws.* But in some instances there was not needed a power to unite parishes, but rather to divide them. This was the case in those districts of the north which had been colonized under James I., when large tracts of unreclaimed country had been thrown into parishes, which the industry of the inhabitants had now fertilized and made profitable. In these ^^ the value of tithes has increased so prodigiously," says Swift, " that I confess several united parishes ought to be divided ; the revenue would be sufficient to maintain two, or perhaps three, worthy clergymen with decency."! Accordingly, the same Act, passed in 17 16, which facilitated the unions of small parishes, provided also for the disunion and divi- sion of the larger ones, and in thirty-four instances at least its provisions seem to have been carried out. J Attempts to A great practical obstacle in the way of the resi- T^w"'^^ dence of the clergy on their cures in Ireland, was the almost universal lack of glebe lands. These had been very generally lost in the various convul- sions through which the country had passed, and though in many cases the original grants were still preserved, yet the lands could not be recovered. § The Irish incumbent, in settling upon his living, had to settle in the midst of a population often hostile in religion and race, and in some cases too poor, even if disposed, to furnish the supplies necessary for his household. Hence the almost * Mant, ii., 307. t Swift's Works, 223, 226. X Mant, ii., 205. § Swift, u.s. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 543 absolute necessity, if he was to reside upon his Chap.XLVI. benefice, of a portion of glebe land which he might farm for himself. Impressed with this, Archbishop King had been very solicitous to procure glebes for the livings in his diocese, and the corporation which administered the twentieths and first-fruits, was directed to employ its funds for this object. But the very same reasons which made those who wished well to the Church in Ireland anxious to procure glebes for the incumbents, made their parishioners indisposed to sell them. " A great many," writes Archbishop King, " are unwilling the clergy should have any glebes ; for, say they, they will then live in their parishes, and have a place to draw their tithes to, and then we shall not . have them at what rate we please."* " A great part of our clergy," writes Primate Boulter, in 1727, " have no parsonage-houses nor glebes to build them on. . . . All agree no clergyman in the country can live without a moderate glebe in his hands. We have therefore been framing an Act to empower those who are under settlements (which, it appears, at that time most of the estates in Ireland were) to give a glebe at the full improved rent to be settled by a jury. . . . Having endea- voured to provide glebes, we oblige all future ^ , , ^. . ^ . 1 ,^ , ., , And enforce incumbents, havmg convenient glebes, to build, residence. All are allowed three-fourths of what they lay out, but we see nothing but force will make them build."t The clergy themselves, indeed, seemed by no * Mant, ii., 353. f Boulter's Letters, i., 169. 544 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLVI. means eager to second these efforts of the bishops to procure their residence. A Bill was brought into the House of Lords in 1732, to enable the bishops to enforce it, and to compel the erection of glebe houses in that part of the glebe which they consi- dered suitable. It is amusing to read the excessive ferocity with which Dean Swift attacked this Bill. It is a measure, he says, " for enslaving and beg- garing the clergy, which took its birth from hell ;" the bishops were trying " to make the whole body of the clergy their slaves and vassals, under the load of poverty and contempt." It would oblige the clergyman to give up his pluralities, and thus reduce him to the miserable pittance enjoyed by . the clergy in England, and as every clergyman thinks himself well treated if he only loses a third of his legal demands, it would " be forcing the starving vicar to build his house with the money he never received." The dean does not ^' conceive the crying sin of the clergy to be nonresidence, unless (as he somewhat strangely adds) the posses- sion of pluralities may pass under that name."* The opposition brought to bear against this Bill procured its rejection in the House of Commons, but three years afterwards an Act was passed which greatly facilitated the building of glebe houses. f It must be confessed that ruined churches and hostile or utterly ignorant parishioners offered no great inducements to an incumbent to reside on his * Considerations upon two Bills y ifSc. Swift's Works, ii., 224. See also Letter to the Bishop of Clogher, ii., 709. t Mant, ii., 549. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 545 cure in the absence of higher motives. That some- Chap.XLVl, thing, however, might be done with a population apparently most hopeless and degraded, was proved by the success which attended the labours of the Rev. Philip Skelton, at Monaghan, in the Diocese of Clogher. Mr. Skelton is best known as the author Philip of a work of considerable power against infidel ^'^*-'^'^°"- opinions, called Deism Revealed^ but his labours and success as a parish priest, in a time of such general neglect, deserve commemoration. The in- habitants of his parish were given over to drunken- ness and brawls, and as ignorant as heathens, but are said to have been greatly impressed and improved by the vigorous efforts which he made for their instruction.* The diocesan and patron of Mr. Skelton was Bishop Bishop Clayton, who became conspicuous even ^^^y^^"- in those days of Latitudinarianism and Arlanism for the publication of a treatise formally arguing against the doctrine of the Trinity. This work The Essay was called by the rather singular title of An Essay °^ ^P^^^t- on Spirit. The writer argues that '^ as the pre- exlstent cause of whom are all things can alone be properly called God, when the title of God is given in Scripture to any other being than the Father we are to understand this only as the expression of some Godlike power which hath been given or communicated to that being by God the Father . . . This secondary essence is called the image of God, which also is the expression used of Jesus Christ in Scripture . . . The pre-existent spirit of * See Burdy's Life of Philip Skelton. VOL. III. N N 546 rHE HISTORY OF Chap.XLVI. the Logos entered the womb of the Virgin and became man, by this he emptied himself of his glory and became liable to all the infirmities of our nature. Hence He was always, while here, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit ... It was not till after His ascension that He obtained power over the Holy Spirit . . . From the consideration of the nature of Spirit by the light of reason, it appears there can be but one God, that is, one supreme intelligent agent, which one God may, however, create an infinite series of spiritual agents in subordination one to another, some of which may, by an authority communicated to them from the supreme God, act as gods with regard to those inferior beings which are committed into their charge . . . Upon these grounds, he calls upon the Protestant prelates of Ireland to answer how they can enforce the use of the Athanasian Creed."* Proceedings This audacious attack upon the fundamental taken against doctrines of the faith is said by some not to have op- J3g£,^ composed by the bishop himself, but only to have been adopted by him from the composi tion of another, and given to the world under his name. The original authorship is an unim- portant matter. The bishop approved the views contained in the Essay^ as he soon afterwards showed by moving in the House of Lords (1756) that the Nicen^ and Athanasian Creeds should for the future be omitted from the Liturgy of the * Clayton's Essay on Spirit (2nd ed.), pp. 89, 91, 109, 11 2, >'3- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. s^l Church of Ireland. Another attack made by lilm Chap.XLVl. the following year on the doctrine of the Trinity at length convinced the authorities of the necessity of attempting some censure of this dangerous and obtrusive heterodoxy. The Lord-Lieutenant was ordered to proceed. A meeting of the bishops was held at the house of the Primate, and the Bishop of Clogher was requested to attend. The excitement, however, which these proceedings pro- duced brought on a nervous fever of which Bishop Clayton died, February 26, 1758. But if the Irish Church was disfigured at this Bishop time by the heresies of Bishop Clayton, it was no Berkeley, less adorned and enriched during the same period by the virtues and talents of George Berkeley, one of the most beautiful characters of the eighteenth century. Berkeley, like Clayton, was a native of Ireland and a Fellow of Trinity College, and very early showed great ability in mathematical and physical studies. His Theory of Vision was pub- lished in 1709, and in the following year came forth the first of those metaphysical treatises by which he is now principally known as a writer. Swift describes him as the founder of the sect of the Immaterialists, and his fanciful theories denying the existence of matter attracted much attention and gained some converts.* But it is not as an impracticable metaphysician that we are here con- cerned with him, but as an eminently practical Christian philanthropist. In those days of cold- * " Dr. Smalricige and many otlicr eminent persons were his proselytes." — Swift to Lord Carteret. Swift's Works. N N 2 548 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XL\'I. ness and apathy, of wavering faith and flagging zeal, when it was thought a mark of a mad enthu- siast to speak of converting the heathen, George Berkeley was not only bold enough to advocate this unpopular notion, but earnest enough to dedi- cate to it his talents, his fortune, and his life. Having been promoted to the Deanery of Derry, the best preferment in Ireland under a bishopric, he at once published his Proposal for Converting the Savage Americans to Christianity by a College to be erected in the Summer Islands. He offered to resign his deanery and to devote himself to this work at a salary of ^loo a year, and so great was the influence of his enthusiastic spirit, that he persuaded three Fellows of Trinity College to join him at salaries of ^^40. The English Government guaranteed a grant of ^20,000 for the object, and on the faith of this promise being kept, Berkeley and his assistants sailed for America. For three years they continued at Rhode Island waiting for the promised grant, and employing themselves in Christian labours, while all the time Sir Robert Walpole was laughing at their credulity, never having seriously intended to send them the stipu- lated funds. The money, in his opinion, was better employed in bribing unprincipled members of the House of Commons to support his profli- gate administration. The Christian missionaries therefore had to abandon their project, Berkeley having first generously given his house and library to Yale and Harvard Colleges. He now applied himself again to literary labours, and, in 1732, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SMJ produced the most famous of liis works, yllciphron; Chap.XLVl. or, the Minute Philosophery which, in the form of dialogues, is a clever and spirited attack upon the sceptics. This work brought him into notice with Queen Caroline, the great patroness of literary merit, and he became a frequent guest at her cele- brated parties. Hoadly was jealous of the favour with which the Queen listened to him, and the royal regard soon brought him the promotion to the Bishopric of Cloyne. Here, for twenty years, he laboured with great assiduity, scarce ever quitting his diocese, and giving a bright example to his brother prelates of true devotion to his work. In 1752, feeling his health failing, and desiring to reside at Oxford, where his son was being educated, Berkeley endeavoured to resign his See. The King would not permit this, though he readily allowed him to quit residence. At Oxford he only lived a few months, dying peacefully as he lay on his sofa, while his wife was reading the lesson in the burial service of the Church.* If we except Bishop Berkeley and the brilliant Dean Swiit. but eccentric genius of Dean Swift, the Irish Church of the eighteenth century has not much to boast in the way of great writers. Swift, after having performed for his fellow-Churchmen the valuable service of procuring by Lord Oxford's means the long-delayed grant of the twentieths and first-fruits, was made Dean of St. Patrick's in 17 13, the Queen having proved inexorable as * Life of Bishop Berkeley, prefixed to \\\s Works. Wilbcr- force's History of Ajneriaui Church (3rd cd.), p. 155, sq. 55< THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. to rewarding his great services as a political writer by high English preferment. From this period till the end of his singular life, he resided for the most part in Ireland, and rendered signal service to his country by the famous Drapier's letters directed against the introduction of a debased copper coinage. The strange moral perversion which tainted the character of this wonderful man was apparent also in his views and conduct as to ecclesiastical matters. He resented most violently any attempts made to procure ecclesiastical reforms, defended nonresidence and pluralities, and was ever ready to employ his dexterous pen in opposi- tion to a bishop. It would be absurd to regard Swift as a theological writer, though he composed numerous works on subjects more or less religious. As the greatest master of satire, irony, and humour who has ever written in English, perhaps also the keenest antagonist in the strife of politics who has ever wielded a pen, his fame rests upon quite different grounds.* Paucity of Dean Swift's death preceded that of Bishop great divines Berkeley by a few years, and during the latter in re an . ^^^^ ^^ ^j^^ eighteenth century there was scarce any Churchman of great reputation or remarkable talent to attract attention to the Irish Church. The Primates were distinguished, if at all, by other than ecclesiastical merits. Primate Hoadly, who succeeded Boulter in 1742, was famous for his devotion to agriculture. Primate Stone, who followed in 1747, was remarkable as an active * Roscoc's Life of Dean Swift. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 551 Secretary of State, but is only known in the literary Chap.XLVI. or theological world as the doubtful author of one visitation sermon.* He was succeeded, in 1764, by Primate Robinson, whose fame appears to rest on the magnificence of the state which he main- tained, and the buildings which he erected. f Meantime, the attempts which had been made Apathy and earlier in the century to procure reforms and carelessness, improvements, had been in great measure aban- doned. In 1775, i^ ^s recorded by an intelligent visitor that in the Archiepiscopal city of Cashel there was not even a roofed church, and that the service was performed in a sorry room where country courts were held. J An apathy and care- lessness equal to that which prevailed in England, and displaying itself by more unequivocal outward signs, oppressed the Irish Church. The great revivalists, Wesley, Whitfield, and The Church Rowland Hill, all visited Ireland and obtained ^"^^^^ ^^^ ^,j considerable success there, but the mass of the thcgrievances people, devoted to their old superstitions, were not ^^'^^^P^^P^^- moved by their appeals. John Wesley notes in his journal the hopeless nature of the case when " the Protestants can find no better way to convert the Papists than penal laws and Acts of Parlia- ment." § The laws, the language, and the religion of England were still sojourning as in a strange * Mant, ii., 602. f See Cumberlarid's Memoirs, quoted by Bishop Mant, ii., 632. '\. Campbell's Philosophic nl Surz'cy, p. 129, quoted in Mant, , 583. § Wesley s Journal, ii., 68. 552 THE HISTORT OF Chap.XLVI. land, with but little to recommend them to a people smarting under a sense of inferiority and conquest. In their minds, the Church was asso- ciated with all that was repulsive to their old traditions, their pride, their affection for home and country. While it came armed with the weapons of the law, they could not perceive that it breathed the spirit of the Gospel. While it enforced a homage to its legal status, they were blind to its characteristics of purity and primitive truth. They knew that it distrained for tithes, while they also knew that those who were compelled to contribute towards a system which they hated were not exempted thereby from irritating disabilities and an unrelenting penal code. Not only were the Romanists interfered with in the exercise of their religion, but their civil privileges, the tenure of their estates, their succession to property, the education of their children, were menaced. By the unreasoning common people all the evils of the persecuting system were naturally connected with the Church which was upheld by it, and no matter what was the particular cause of grievance the first object of vengeance was the Protestant Church and clergy. The series of outrages which culminated in the terrible insurrection of 1798 began about 1760, and the weight of them was everywhere felt by the clergy. The Oak-boys, Steel-boys, Right- boys, and White-boys, all had this common object of attack. Roving bands threatened and intimi- dated the clergy, pulled down or nailed up THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SS3 churches, and everywhere administered an oath to Chap.XLVI. the occupants of the land that they would not pay tithes. Throughout the counties of Limerick, Kerry, Cork, TIpperary, Waterford, Clare, and Kilkenny, It became necessary for the Government to provide compensation for the clergy, so far had the organized system of defrauding them of their tithes proceeded.* Meantime, a more enlightened spirit began to Relaxation prevail In the Legislature, and the mischievous °^ P^"^^ penal Statutes against Romanists began to be repealed. This work, commencing In 1774, had, by the year 1795, so far advanced that the Par- liament at that period made a grant for the building and supporting an educational college at Mayriooth for the maintenance and Instruction of 200 students Intended for the ministerial office in the Romish Church. It was unfortunate for the advocates of these The rebel- conciliatory measures that within a short time after ^^°^°^^798' the first grant of public funds for the support of the Romish religion had been*made, the disastrous and savage rebellion of 1798 broke out. This insurrection, greatly due as it was to French intrigue, did not take, it is true, the form of a religious war, but in Leinster, where it most pre- vailed, the outrages of the rebels were studiously encouraged by their priests, were chiefly directed against the clergy and their families, and were accompanied with the demolition and burning of churches and glebe houses. The immediate efl^ect * Mant, ii., 713. 554 THE HISrORT OF Chap.XLVI. of the Rebellion was to bring about that great and wise measure — the complete union of England and Ireland. The Act of By the Act of Union it was settled that " the Union. Churches of England and Ireland, as now by law established, be united into one Protestant Epis- copal Church to be called * The United Church of England and Ireland,' and that the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the said United Church shall be and shall remain in full force for ever as the same are now by law estab- lished for the Church of England.'' The Irish Church had already by its own act surrendered its original Articles and adopted those of the Church of England. It had retained, however, its own distinctive Canons, which by this Act it now Question of surrendered. It would appear also that by pledg- thc Irish iiig itself to the doctrine, discipline, and govern- * ment of the Church of England, it also surrendered its right of holding a Convocation or having any direct voice in enunciating doctrine and regulating worship, discipline, and government. If this be so, it certainly appears to be an arrangement much to be regretted. Under the very different circum- stances of the two countries, it would seem to be in the highest degree important that the Irish Church should preserve its individuality and be able to legislate for itself in matters of discipline. A Church cannot be in a state of vigorous life without having a voice and a power of expression, and though it may be true, as Bishop Watson largucd, that a united Convocation would be suffi- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SSS clent for the Churches of England and Ireland, Chap.XLVr. " both at present and as to all future changes, if it should ever be thought expedient to make any,"* yet as the machinery for holding such a Convo- cation does not exist, it is unfortunate that any- thing should have been done to impair the use of the National Synod. It was decided in 1703 that the proper Convocation of Ireland was a National Synod in which all the bishops sat in one Upper House, all the representatives of the clergy in one Lower, the whole under the presidency of the Primate. Such a Convocation, if still allowed to meet, might effectually co-operate with the Convocations of Canterbury and York, while a sufficient opportunity would be afforded for bring- ing forward matters of local importance and even for making canons of limited application. But if the union inflicted a blow on the nation- Benefits of ality of the Irish Church, it conferred great benefits ^^^ Union. upon it in other ways. The Irish House of Lords being composed in so large a proportion of bishops, the Government had always looked to the spiritual peers, whom it was easy to oblige by translations and advancements, for carrying its measures and supporting the English interest. The effect of this was to secularize the bishops, to impair their inde- pendence of character, and to take them away from residence and the care of their Sees. With the Union all this ceased, only four representative bishops being admitted to the Imperial Parliament. Gradually, also, as public opinion was brought to * Watson's Autobiography, ii., 92. Ss6 THE HIsrORT OF Chap.XLVI. bear upon the Church in Ireland, the mischievous system of foisting Enghshmen upon it has been discontinued, while the complete repeal of all civil disabilities on account of religion has taken away the chief cause of reproach and discontent, energy in the The vigour of the nineteenth century has been Irish Church, displayed in Ireland as in England by a general revival of life and energy. The great and long- standing difficulty of the Church — its isolation from the majority of the population — is now being met by well-directed efforts to reach the natives in their own language. It is attempted, with success, to convince them, in a method not repul- sive to their ancient prejudices, that the Church which is established by law among them, is not only the Church of the Scriptures but the true ancient primitive Church also — the Church of their venerated St. Patrick — with far greater claims to their allegiance than the mediaeval barbarism and superstition of Rome, which has ever displayed in their island some of its most offensive charac- teristics. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SSI CONCLUSION. HE Church history of the nine- Conclusion, teenth century must hereafter be treated as a whole, and no part of it can be written adequately by one of this generation. The object of the present work is to bridge over the interval between the period of the Reformation and the thoughts, feelings, and interests of the present day, but not actually to enter upon the details of modern times. It has noted the rise of the Anglo-Catholic school of divines and their deterioration and loss of influence through secular tendencies, misuse of power, and contempt of popular feeling. It has exhibited the saturnalia of a triumphant Puritanism, and the disgust and weariness with which the nation at length threw off its yoke and welcomed back the old faith. It has recorded the natural but reprehensible vin- dictiveness which prompted to persecution after the period of rebellion was passed, and spoken of the great divines who adorned the restored Church. It has narrated the triumphant popularity of the Church during the reign of James II., and its trials and dangers at the Revolution. It has told of its 55^ 'I'HE HIsrORT OF Conclusion, opportunities under the good Queen Anne, and the neglect, contempt, and indifference which weighed it down under the earlier kings of the House of Hanover. It has shown how often it has escaped the dangers of compromises and the assaults of Latitu- dinarians, and how, towards the end of the eighteenth century, many causes combined to stimulate its energies, and give promise of future success. In the nineteenth century that promise has been abun- dantly realized. In a comparison of the state of the Church of to-day with that of the Church of a century ago, the most astounding contrasts deve- lope themselves. At the former period there was but the bare continuation of life, and that from the inherent virtue of the system, not from the per- sonal energy of those who administered it ; at the latter, the system is scarce full enough to give expression to the life and earnestness of the men who are engaged in working it. A hundred years ago the Church was saved by the apathy of its enemies and the universal coldness of religious impressions ; to-day it can meet and triumph over the awakened and vigorous impulses of all its adversaries of every kind. Then it was the mere performer of a routine service of which the lowest standard was generally the most acceptable ; now it educates the nation, preaches in every corner of the land, and goes forth to the heathen with the words of hope and promise. Then not a single bishop beyond the limits of Great Britain and Ireland owned communion with the See of Canterbury; now nearly a hundred prelates in all parts of the globe THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 559 glory in their apostolical succession transmitted Conclusion. through the English Church. Then the efficacy of the Sacraments was held to be a superstitious doctrine, and, by consequence, the temples where they were administered were allowed to lie in un- sightliness and decay ; now Christian privileges are everywhere appreciated, and English churches shine with a more than mediaeval richness of deco- ration and embellishment. The vigour which now shows itself in the work of the Church is evidenced partly by the vast sums eagerly contributed for building churches and schools, educating the poor, and supporting foreign missions ; it is proved even more by the altered tone of society, the ascendancy of high and disinterested principles, the general reformation of manners. The Church is every- where established in the hearts of the people, and though wielding now no weapons of secular power, though protected by no civil disabilities, she ad- vances by her inherent strength and life towards a certain victory over all obstacles which yet oppose her. The two great measures of the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts and Roman Catholic Emancipation, removed finally and for ever some of the main impediments which retarded her pro- gress. The mistaken zeal of the friends of the Church long battled for these restrictions which were considered to be the last great bulwarks of the position of the Established Church.* Against * Even in 1843, ^^ intelligent advocate of Church principles could write that the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts was " a cutting away from the Church of England one of its ancient 56o THE HIsrORT OF Conclusion, them, however, that enlightened sentiment which perceives that unjust favours are, in fact, the highest injuries ; that faith in the heavenly mission of the Church which knows that she does not need the feeble props of a partial legislation ; that religi- ous feeling which shrinks from the desecration of the highest mysteries, happily prevailed, though in union for the time with many influences hostile to the Church and to religion. Never have Church- men since that period had reason to lament that the Sacraments have been freed from a great dishonour, or their cause relieved from the reproach of stand- ing between citizens and their legitimate rights. The Church of England does not ask of the State, as a condition of her establishment, that any exceptional civil or social rights should be reserved for her members, she demands only a respect for her sacred constitution, and that no partial and unfair burdens should be laid upon her. She demands that her voice should not be silenced through an unjust suspicion, nor her activity cramped by an unreasonable timorousness. These fair claims which are now beginning to be generally recognized by all who aspire to the name of states- men, when once fully admitted and acted upon, will ensure a further development of that mar- vellous strength which a union of Scriptural doc- bulwarks," and that Roman Catholic emancipation was '* a mea- sure which scattered to the winds public principle, public mora- lity, public confidence," and affected with "deep consternation and almost despair the friends of order and religion." — Narrative of Ez'cnts connected zcith the Public atmi of Tracts for the Times ^ by Rev. W. Palmer, p. 2. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 561 trine and apostolical order must needs produce, Concli there is nothing unaccountable, nothing which need cause doubt as to its power of duration, in the revived energy of the Church of England. Rather that which needs an explanation, and of which an account has been attempted in the preceding pages, is that dwarfing, and cramping, and deadening of its inherent power which was witnessed in the eighteenth century. The awakening might seem waiting to come of necessity with the removal of the causes which opposed it, but an impulse was also needed, so long had been the torpor, so entire the forgetfulness. This impulse was furnished in part, as has been already said, by the zeal and earnest- ness of what was called the Evangelical party. Taking their inspiration from the labours and suc- cess of the more irregular revivalists Wesley and Whitfield, a large band of clergy, many of whom were labouring in the more populous towns, began to move the heart of the country by their eloquent sermons, their frequent and zealous ministrations, and the devotion of their lives to the work of reli- gion. But their influence, as has also been indi- cated, was necessarily a limited one, as their system was only a partial embodiment of truth and right. Something more was needed, which they, from the peculiar bias of their judgments could not supply. In their hands the Church did not assert her apostolical claims, her vast privileges as the dispenser of the Sacraments, the instrument of covenanted blessings. With them no appeal was made to primitive order and ancient tradition, nor VOL. III. o o c,6i "THE HISTORT OF Conclusion, were art and science summoned to perform their appropriate work as handmaids to rehgion. The majority of this school committed themselves to the hopeless paradox of verbal inspiration of the Scriptures^ and thus took up a position antagonistic to the learned labours of scholars and critics. They were not prepared to admit the rights of scientific investigation to establish laws which appeared to be at variance with Scripture statements, and thus they isolated themselves from the great world of the philosophers. They had a nervous horror of anything which had been touched by the polluting hands of Papists, and thus they failed to conciliate the lovers of ancient ritual and mediaeval decoration. For these reasons the influence of the Evangelical school was partial, and had it not been supple- mented, might easily have died away. Happily, however, for the Church of England, it was sup- plemented by a movement of which the principles, the characteristics, and the results were all in strik- ing contrast to the Evangelical features. Of things so entirely within recent memory it needs but to speak generally, and scarce any English Churchman will now refuse to accord to the exertions of the Oxford Tract party the praise which is here claimed for them. By their learning, eloquence, and zeal, they restored the almost forgotten study of primitive antiquity. They taught men to regard their Church as of divine original, and endued with the blessings of apostolical order and privileges. They showed how her children were admitted into covenant, how she could dispense strengthening and THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 563 refreshing powers; that there were other divine Conclusion, ordinances besides that of preaching, and that it was possible to convey the most ardent devotion in the words of ancient hturgies. They showed also how art could minister to devotion, and how a more extended circle of sympathies could be reached to draw men within the influence of Christian truth. Taken together with the Scrip- tural expositions of the Evangelical school, the writings of these divines furnish a broad statement of doctrinal truths for the use and advantage of those of the present day. The errors into which they were led by their too great reverence for the fathers, the puerilities of which they were guilty in the revival of mediaeval superstitions, can now be seen in their proper light, not as impairing the value of much that their system contained, but as warning against the danger of pushing any system into reckless extremes. Both these schools have now almost disappeared as parties, but the present generation is reaping the fruit of their labours, and the two together have certainly produced what may fitly be described as the revival of do^rine in the English Church. The practical revival, the life of devotion, of alms-giving, of care for the weak the suffering the sinful, of manful attempts to grapple with the evils of the day, of a true recognition of Christian brotherhood, this is in a state of far less advancement, as having far more sturdy foes to grapple with. Yet so much has been effected that the best hopes may be cherished for the future. Of one thing, indeed, we may be almost confident, 002 564 "THE HISrORT OF Conclusion, that DIssent is no longer formidable to the Church of England. Doctrinal differences will continue, but not entertained with an earnestness sufficient to animate a formidable phalanx of opponents, while that body of separatists which is at present most numerous, as they avowedly stand aloof from the Church only because of her alleged apathy and coldness, will, with the ceasing of these causes, be gradually reabsorbed into her ranks. If she con- tinues true to herself, scorning the feeble props of partial laws, accepting the broad principles of jus- tice and freedom, conscious of her divine power, and taxing her energies to the utmost in the service of her Master, a glorious destiny is before her — the nurse of truth, the evangelizer of the heathen, the mother of Churches, the benefactress of the world. y1ppe7idix A, A TABLE OF THE SUCCESSION OF ARCH- Appendix A. BISHOPS AND BISHOPS FROM 1685 TO 1800. Canterbury. 1691. John Tillotson, Dean of St. Paul's. 1694. Thomas Tenison, translated from Lincoln. 1 7 15. William Wake, translated from Lincoln. 1735. John Potter, translated from Oxford. 1747. Thomas Herring, translated from York. 1757. Matthew Hutton, translated from York. 1758. Thomas Seeker, translated from Oxford. 1768. Hon. Frederick Cornwallis, translated from Lich- field and Coventry. 1783. John Moore, translated from Bangor. York. 1688. Thomas Lamplugh, translated from Exeter. 1 69 1. John Sharpe, Dean of Norwich. 17 13. Sir William Dawes, Bart., translated from Chester. 1724. Launcelot Blackburne, translated from Exeter. 1743. Thomas Herring, translated from Bangor. 1747. Matthew Hutton, translated from Bangor. 1757. John Gilbert, translated from Salisbury. ( s^^ ) Appendix A. 1 761. Hon. Robert Hay Drummond, translated from Salisbury. 1776. William Markham, translated from Chester. London. 1 7 13. John Robinson, translated from Bristol. 1723. Edmund Gibson, translated from Lincoln. 1748. Thomas Sherlock, translated from Salisbury. 1761. Thomas Hayter, translated from Norwich. ^ 1762. Thomas Osbaldeston, translated from Carlisle. 1764. Richard Terrick, translated from Oxford. 1777. Robert Lowth, translated from Oxford. 1787. Beilby Porteus, translated from Chester. Winchester. 1707. Sir Jonathan Trelawney, translated from Exeter. 1 72 1. Charles Trimnell, translated from Norwich. 1 72 1. Richard Willis, translated from Salisbury. 1734. Benjamin Hoadly, translated from Salisbury. 1 76 1. John Thomas, translated from Salisbury. 1 780. Hon. Brownlow North, translated from Worcester. Durham. 1722. William Talbot, translated from Salisbury. 1730. Edward Chandler, translated from Lichfield. 1750. Joseph Butler, translated from Bristol. 1752. Hon. Richard Trevor, translated from St. David's. 1 77 1. John Egerton, translated from Lichfield. 1787. Thomas Thurlow, translated from Lincoln. 1 79 1. Hon. Shutc Barrington, translated from Salisbury. Chichester. 1689. Simon Patrick. 1691. John Williams, Prebendary of Canterbury. 1709. I'homas Manningham, Dean of Windsor. 1722. Thomas Bowers, Archdeacon of Canterbury. 1724. Edward Waddington, EcUow of Eton. ( S67 ) 1631. Francis Hare, translated from St. Asaph. Appendix A. 1740. Matthias Mawson, translated from Llandaff. 1754. Sir William Ashburnham, Dean of Chichester. 1797. Charles Buckner, Rector of St. Giles's, London. Lichfield and Coventry. 1692. William Lloyd, translated from St. Asaph. 1699. John Hough, translated from Oxford. 1 7 14. Edward Chandler. 1730. Richard Smalbroke. 1749. Hon. Frederick Cornwallis. 1768. John Egerton. 1 77 1. Hon. Brownlow North. 1774. Richard Hurd, Archdeacon of Gloucester. 1 78 1. Hon. James Cornwallis, Dean of Durham. Ely. 1 69 1. Simon Patrick, translated from Chichester. 1707, John Moore, translated from Norwich. 1 7 14. William Fleetwood, translated from St. Asaph. 1723. Thomas Greene, translated from Norwich. 1738. Robert Butts, translated from Norwich. 1748. Sir Thomas Gooch, Bart., translated from Nor- wich. 1754. Matthias Mawson, translated from Chichester. 1 77 1. Edmund Keene, translated from Chester. 1 78 1. Hon. James Yorke, translated from Gloucester. Exeter. 1689. Sir Jonathan Trelawney, translated from Bristol. 1707. Offspring Blackball, Rector of St. Mary, London. 1724. Stephen Weston. 1743. Nicholas Claggett, translated from St. David's. 1746. George Lavington, Canon of St. Paul's. 1762. Hon. Frederick Keppel, Dean of Windsor. 1778. John Ross, Prebendary of Durham. 1792. William Buller, Dean of Canterbury. 1797. Henry Reginald Courtney, translated from Bristol. ( 568 ) ^PP^'^^'^^- Gloucester. 1690. Edward Fowler, Prebendary of Gloucester. 1714. Richard Willis. 1 72 1. Joseph Wilcocks, translated from Rochester. 1 73 1. Elias Sydall, translated from St. David's. 1734. Martin Benson, Prebendary of Durham. 1752. James Johnson. 1760. William Warburton, Dean of Bristol. 1769. Hon. James Yorke, translated from St. David's, Samuel Haliflix, translated from St. Asaph, 1 /Ul. OtllllUV,! LXCilllc 1789. Richard Bead on. Hereford. 1691. Humphrey Humphreys, translated from Bangor. 1 7 12. Philip Bisse, translated from St. David's. 1 72 1. Benjamin Hoadly, translated from Bangor. 1723. Henry Egerton, Canon of Christ Church. 1746. Lord James Beauclerk, Canon of Windsor. 1 78 1. Hon. John Harlcy, Dean of Windsor. 1788. John Butler, translated from Oxford. Llandaff. 1707. John Tyler, Dean of Hereford. 1724. Robert Clavering, translated from Peterborough. 1729. John Harris, Prebendary of Canterbury. 1734. Matthias Mawson, translated from Chichester. 1740. John Gilbert. 1748. Edward Cresset, Dean of Hereford. 1754. Richard Ncwcomc. 1 761. John Ewer. 1768. Jonathan Shipley, translated from St. Asaph. 1769. Hon. Shute Barrington. 1787. Richard Watson, Archdeacon of Ely. Lincoln. 1691. Thomas Tenison. 1694. James Gardiner, Sub-dean of Lincoln. ( S69 ) 1705. William Wake, Dean of Exeter. Appendix A. 1723. Richard Reynolds, translated from Bangor. 1740. John Thomas. 1 76 1. John Green, Dean of Lincoln. 1779. Thomas Thurlow. 1787. George Pretyman Tomline. Norwich. 1691. John Moore. 1707. Charles Trimnell, Prebendary of Norwich. 1 72 1. Thomas Greene, Archdeacon of Canterbury. 1723. John Long. 1727. William Baker, translated from Bangor. 1732. Robert Butts, Dean of Norwich. 1738. Thomas Gooch, translated from Bristol. 1748. Samuel Lisle, translated from St. Asaph. 1749. Thomas Hayter, Prebendary of Westminster. 1 78 1. Philip Yonge, translated from Bristol. 1785. Lewis Bagot, translated from Bristol. 1790. George Home, Dean of Canterbury. 1792. Charles Manners Sutton, Dean of Peterborough. Oxford. 1686. Samuel Parker. 1688. Timothy Hall. 1690. John Hough, President of Magdalen College. 1699. William Talbot, Dean of Worcester. 17 15. John Potter, Canon of Christ Church. 1737. Thomas Seeker, translated from Bristol. 1758. John Hume, translated from Bristol. 1776. Robert Lowth, translated from St. David's. 1777. John Butler, Prebendary of Winchester. 1788. Edward Smallwell, translated from St. David's. 1799. John Randolph, Canon of Christ Church. Peterborough. 169 1. Richard Cumberland. 1718. White Kennet, Dean of Peterborough. 1728. Robert Clavering, translated from Llandatt. ( 570) Appendix A. 1747. John Thomas, Canon of St. Paul's. 1757. Richard Terrick, Canon of St. Paul's. 1764. Robert Lamb, Dean of Peterborough. 1769. John Hinchliffc, Master of Trinity, Cambridge. 1794. Spencer Madan, translated from Bristol. Rochester. 1713. Francis Atterbury, Dean of Christ Church. 1723. Samuel Bradford. 1 73 1. Joseph Wilcox, translated from Gloucester. 1758. Zachariah Pearce, translated from Bangor. 1774. John Thomas, Dean of Westminster. 1793. Samuel Horsley, translated from St. David's. St. Asaph. 1692. Edward Jones, translated from Cloyne. 1704. William Beveridge, Archdeacon of Colchester. 1708. William Fleetwood, Canon of Windsor. 1 7 14. John Wynne, Principal of Jesus College. 1727. Francis Hare, Dean of St. Paul's. 1 73 1. Thomas Tanner, Canon of Christ Church. 1736. Isaac Maddox, Dean of Wells. 1743. John 7'homas, Dean of Peterborough. Ibid. Samuel Lisle, Archdeacon of Canterbury. 1748. Robert Hay Drummond, Prebendary of West- minster. 1 76 1. Richard Newcombe, translated from LlandaiF. 1769. Jonathan Shipley, translated from LlandafF. 1789. Samuel Halifax. 1790. Lewis Bagot. St. David's. 1686. Thomas Watson, deprived for simony. 1705. George Bull, Archdeacon of Llandaff. 1 7 10. Philip Bisse. 1712. Adam Ottley. 1723. Richard Smallbrook. 1731. Elias Sydell. Ibid. Nicholas Claggett. ( 571 ) 1743- Edward Willis. Appendix A. 1743. Richard Trevor. 1752. Anthony Ellis, Prebendary of Gloucester. 1761. Samuel Squire, Dean of Bristol. 1766. Robert Louth. Ibid. Charles Moss. 1774. James Yorke. 1779. John Warren. 1783. Edward Smallwell. 1788. Samuel Horsley. 1793. William Stuart. Salisbury. 1689. Gilbert Burnet. 1 7 15. William Talbot, translated from Oxford. 1 72 1. Richard Willis, translated from Gloucester. 1723. Benjamin Hoadly, translated from Hereford. T738. Thomas Sherlock, translated from, Bangor. 1748. John Gilbert, translated from Llandaff. 1757. John Thomas I., translated from Peterborough. 1 76 1. Robert Hay Drummond, translated from St. Asaph. Ibid. John Thomas H., translated from Lincoln. 1765. John Hume, translated from Oxford. 1782. Shute Barrington, translated from LlandafF. 1 79 1. John Douglas, translated from Carlisle. Worcester. 1689. Edward Stillingfleet, Dean of St. Pauls. 1699. William Lloyd, translated from Lichfield. 1 7 17. John Hough, translated from Lichfield. 1743. Isaac Maddox, translated from St. Asaph. 1759. James Johnson, translated from Gloucester. 1774. Hon. Brownlow North. 1 78 1. Richard Hurd, translated from Lichfield. Chester. 1686. Thomas Cartwright. 1689. Nicholas Straftbrd. ( 572 ) Appendix A. 1 707. Sir William Dawes, Bart. 1 7 13. Francis Gastrell. ijlb. Samuel Peploe. 1752. Edmund Kcene. 1 77 1. William Markham. 1776. Beilby Porteus. 1787. William Cleaver. Bangor. 1689. Humphrey Humphreys, Dean of Bangor. 1 701. John Evans. 1 7 15. Benjamin Hoadly. 1721. Richard Reynolds. 1723. William Baker. 1727. Thomas Sherlock. 1734. Charles Cecil. 1737. Thomas Herring. 1743. Matthew Hutton. 1747. Zachariah Pearce. 1756. John Egerton. 1768. John Ewer, translated from LlandafF. 1774. John Moore. 1783. John Warren. Bath and Wells. 169 1. Richard Kidder. 1703. George Hooper, translated from St. Asaph. 1727. John Wynne, translated from St. Asaph. 1743. Edward Willis, translated from St. David's. 1774. Charles Moss, translated from St. David's. Bristol. 1689, Gilbert Ironside, Warden of Wadham. 1 69 1, Joseph Hall, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford. 1 7 10. John Robinson. 1 7 14. John Smalridge, Dean of Christchurch. 1719. Hugh Boulter. 1724. William Bradshaw, Dean of Christchurch. 1732. Charles Cecil. ( 573 ) 1734- Thomas Seeker. Appendix A, 1737. Thomas Gooeh. 1738. Joseph Butler. 1750. John Conybeare. 1758. John Hume. Ibid. Philip Yonge. 1 761. Thomas Newton, Dean of St. Paul's. 1782. Lewis Bagot. 1785. Christopher Wilson, Canon of St. Paul's. 1792. Spencer Madan. 1794. Henry Reginald Courtney. 1797. Tolliot Cornwall, Dean of Canterbury. Carlisle. 1702. William Nicholson. 1 7 18. Samuel Bradford. 1723. John Waugh, Dean of Gloucester. 1734. Sir G. Fleming, Bart., Dean of Carlisle. 1747. Richard Osbaldeston. 1762. Charles Lyttleton, Dean of Exeter. 1768. Edmund Law, Archdeacon of Carlisle. 1787. John Douglas. 1 79 1. Edward Vernon, Canon of Christchurch. Appendix B, Appendix B. NOTE TO CHAPTER XL., ON THE CON- NECTION OF BISHOP ATTERBURY WITH THE JACOBITES. It is asserted in the text that there can scarcely be a doubt that Atterbury was not guilty of the charge on which he was tried. This may be thought a bold asser- tion in the face of the revelations of the Stuart Papers^ and the general conviction of his complicity with the Jacobite plots which has followed thereupon. To say nothing of Lord Macaulay, who would not require a great force of evidence to make him set down a Tory as guilty of any crime imputed to him, Earl Stanhope appears also to be convinced of Atterbury's guilt, and takes the occa- sion of his mentioning it to pen a graceful and very just apology for Jacobitism in general. After a careful examination, however, of the whole case, I am convinced that the bishop was not guilty of the charge on which he was tried, that is to say, that he did not write the three letters which formed the chief accusation against him. That he had been for years more or less in correspondence with the exiled family and their friends, and that he was a hearty well-wisher to their cause, it is not, of course, attempted to deny. I conceive that there was no crime in this, if he did not endeavour by any illegal act to over- set the Parliamentary settlement of the throne. It was ( 575 ) certainly free to every Englishman to use any honest Appendix B. means for this object. If, however, Bishop Atterbury did write the three intercepted letters on which he was tried, it would be impossible any longer to defend him as an honest man, seeing that he strenuously and solemnly denied their authorship in his defence. For the following reasons I believe that his denial was true : — 1. It is not to be denied that Walpole found the Bishop a most dangerous political antagonist, and that it was greatly for his interest that he should be removed from the House of Lords. 2. Neither is it to be denied that Walpole was utterly unscrupulous about employment of means, seeing that it is well known that he had half the House of Commons in his pay. 3. The means for the ruin of this dangerous antagonist were ready and obvious. It was known that the bishop was a devoted Jacobite. What more simple than to prove him in correspondence with the Pretender for treasonable purposes ? 4. The instrument was also ready. Philip Neynoe, a Jacobite, in the secret of all the intrigues, was, according to the sworn deposition of one of his friends, bribed by Walpole to write certain letters imitating the hand- writing of Kelly (who could be proved to be a trusted friend of the bishop) and purporting to be dictated by the bishop. 5. These letters when written were put in the post^ though the Jacobites never used that method of convey- ance, and though one of the letters itself contains a warning against it, were intercepted and copied, and then forwarded to their destination. 6. Immediately after their dispatch. Colonel Churchill is sent by Walpole to Paris, to see Lord Mar, the Pre- tender's secretary, who was bitterly hostile to Atterbury, and who was in the pay of the English Government. Straightway Lord Mar writes a letter to Atterbury, acknowledging the receipt of the (supposed) forged letter, and this letter of Lord Mar's being intercepted also, is the only available evidence to connect the bishop with the writing the letters. 7. That the letters were forged we have George ( 576 ) Appendix B. Kelly's strong and emphatic assertion as well as the bishop's, and this is confirmed by the following : — 8. The letters are not preserved among the Stuart Papers. But if they were genuine, and reached their destination as pretended, why are they not to be found with the other similar documents so carefully preserved? 9. Bishop Atterbury, after his banishment .^ still speaks to the Pretender of the letters as false, and accuses Mar of plotting his ruin. But if the letters were genuine, he would rather be likely to plead writing them as a merit. 10. The decipherers of the letters were not allowed to be cross-examined by the bishop. The interpretation of the difficult ciphers is so accurate, and the small mis- takes made (according to Mr. Glover, the Editor of the Stuart Papers) so evidently a blind, that it is almost demonstrably true that the interpretation was furnished by the same hand which wrote the letters in cipher ; that is to say, that Neynoe did both the one and the other. 11. The point of the mention of the little dog in the letters, which appears to have convinced Earl Stanhope of their genuineness, has no significance if we suppose that the letters were forged by Neynoe, who was in the confidence of Kelly, and knew that he had received this little dog from France. For these and other reasons, I am induced to believe the bishop's assertion to be true, and that he did not write the letters in question, but that they were forged at the instance of Sir Robert Walpole, as a convenient instrument to ruin a troublesome political antagonist. It may be asked, then, what was the exact amount of the connection between Bishop Atterbury and the exiled Court at the time of his arrest ? It was as follows : — In the beginning of 1722, there was without doubt a settled plot of the Jacobites to attempt the restoration of the exiled family. The leaders of this were five (Lords North, Lansdown and Strafix)rd, the Earl of Arran, and the Duke of Ormonde). This plot altogether miscarried, principally, as was thought by James and Lord Mar, from the mismanagement of their friends in England. On this ground James, on April 16, i 722, wrote to Atterbury to endeavour to bring about a union between him and Lord Oxford. He says, " I am confident if you two ( 577 ) were to compare notes together, you would be able to Appendix B. contrive and settle matters on a more sure and solid foundation than they have hithe7-to becri.^' ^ The matter had been previously mooted to the bishop by Kelly, who carried him a letter from Lord Mar, and, on April 13, the bishop had sent a message to Mar, saying that he was well inclined to entertain the matter of a closer union with Lord Oxford. The three intercepted letters are dated April 20. In them there is no mention whatever of the proposal to unite with Lord Oxford, which we know from the evidence given above to be that which was principally occupying the bishop's mind at the moment. On the contrary, many allusions are made to the late plot and its failure, with which (so far as it appears) the bishop had little or nothing to do. Between the inter- cepted letters (dated April 20) and the bishop's arrest (August 24), a period oi four months^ there is no trace of any correspondence between Atterbury and the foreign Jacobites, which would be singular indeed if he were in the thick of all their intrigues in the way which is indi- cated in the intercepted letters. * Stuart PaperSy Appendix, p. 7. VOL. III. P P \ Index. ^BBOT, Archbishop of Canterbury, Prolocutor of Convocation, i., 1 78 — letter to him from King James, iL — assists Lord Dunbar in Scotland, 190 — made Primate by his influ- ence, lb. — his character, ib. — his flattery of King James I., 191 note — his opinion of Archbishop Neile, 205 — his remarks upon Sutton's bequest, 209 — called upon by the King to act against the Puritans, 210 — his influence in the marriage of Princess Elizabeth, 214 — credit due to him in Lady Essex's case, 215 — his account of the case, ib. — out of favour with the King, 220 — recommends the bishops to sub- sidise the King, 227 — doubtful whether the King intended to re- move him to Winchester, 240 — forbids the King's Book of Sports to be read at Croydon, 260 — his letter advocating assistance to Elec- tor Palatine, 280 — his influence at Court declines, 283 — he kills a keeper at Bramshill park, 292 — the question as to his canonical incapa- city, 293 — his letter explaining the King's directions, 299 — his letter to King James L on occasion of the Prince's journey to Spain, 309 — omits mention of Puritans in for- warding the King's directions, 340 — Dr. Sibthorp's sermon brought to him to license, 357 — his refusal to license it, 359 — his deprivation of the Primacy, 3 6 1 — is summoned to attend Parliament, 389 — his death, 460 — contrasted with Laud, 461-2. Abbot, Bishop Robert, made Divinity Professor at Oxford, i., 191 — Bishop of Worcester, 192. Abjuration, Oath of, its ill eff*ect, iii.. Abridgment, the, of the Lincolnshire ministers, i., 132. Absolution, question of, i., jt,, 88, 89, 104. Adams, Mr., his sermon at Cambridge on Confession, i., 559. Aldrich, Dr., opposed to change in Prayer Book, iii., 37 — withdraws from commission, 39. Ales (Clerk-ales, Church-ales, Bid- ales) in Somersetshire described, i., 465 note. Anabaptists, the, their origin and tenets, ii., 192 — their address to Charles IL desiring his return, 270. Analog-i, Butler's, its pubHcation and character, iii., 357. 58o INDEX. Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, dis- tinguished as a preacher, i., 45-52 — character of his sermons, 53, 85 — his sermon at Hampton Court before Scotch ministers, 145 and note — his views about consecration of Scotch bishops, 184 — is desired by bishops for Primate at death of Bancroft, 189 — compromised by his conduct in Lady Essex's case, 215, 217, 2 20 — his influence rises, 283 — his praises,/^. — his good con- duct in the matter of Archbishop Abbot's homicide, 293 — his death and character, 354. Anne, Queen, her accession an im- portant era to the Church, iii., 138 -wher attachment to the Church, 140, 150 — supersedes commission for Church preferment, 141 — in favour of the Bill to prevent occa- sional Conformity, 150, 151 — her speech in favour of the Church, 150 — her Bounty^ 154, 155 and note — becomes reconciled to the Whigs, 163, 169, 172 — false im- pressions of the clergy about her, 176 — her speech in opening Par- liament of 1705, 181 — her annoy- ance at being thought ill-disposed to the Church, ib. — her letter to Convocation, 190 — persuaded to assert her independence in Church appointments, 197 — her promotion of Blackhall and Dawes, 198 — moderate men promoted by her, 199 — attends Dr. Sacheverell's trial, 222 — turned against the Whigs, 224 — her illness, 257-265 — her death, 265 — great blow to the clergy, ib. Apochrypha, the, question of its use, i., 98, 105; ii., 329, 331. Apostates fromChristianity, form of re- ceiving back intothcChurchji., 563. Arminians, the, their disputes with Calvinists in Holland, i., 262 — their five points, 263 — their late arrival at the Synod of Dort, 268, 269 — their unfair treatment there, 269,270 — they give in their written opinions on the five points, 271 — design of the Calvinists against them, 271, 272 — they are dismissed from the Synod, 273 — their tenets con- demned, 274 — banished from Hol- land, 276. Arminianism, censured by King James I., i., 253 — its growth complained of by Parliament of 1628, 382 — spoken of in a Romanist letter to Brussels, 385 — attacked by Parlia- ment in 1629, 391 — described, ib. note — formally condemned by House of Commons, 396. Arminius, his career in Holland, i., 1 63 — succeeds to the Divinity chair at Leyden, ib. — his influence, 164 — and death, ib. Articles, the XXXIX., objections to at Hampton Court Conference, i., 9 1 — declaration prefixed to, in 1629, 389 — its intention, ib. — its impolicy, ib. ; their revision com- menced by the Westminster Assem- bly, ii., 103 ; question about sub- scription to them, iii., 417. Articles, The Irish, account of their formation, i., 238 — accepted by Convocation, ib. — repealed in 1634, ib., 483 — their distinctive doc- trines, ib. — folly of the compro- mise which is attempted in them, 239 — in no way bind the clergy now, 484. Articles, The Lambeth, i., 91 and note — embodied in the Irish, 238. Assembly of divines at Westminster, ordinance for its meeting, ii., 97 — powers given to it, 98 — its position INDEX. 5' of antagonism to the Church of England, 99 — its meeting and members, ib. — its character as de- scribed by different hands, 100, loi and note — its meeting not called for by the country, ico — used by Parliament as a political tool, 101 — begins with a fast, ib. — denounces the immorality and ignorance of the country, 102 — its power in enduring long devotional exercises, 102 note — fills up vacant livings, 1 1 o — its members appro- priate rich benefices, ib. and note — manner of their appointments to livings, 1 1 1 — its catechisms, 124 — its Confession of Faith, ib. — gradu- ally dwindles away, ib. — its slander- ous letter to foreign Churches, 138. Assent and Consent, Declaration of, discussed in Parliament, ii., 354. Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, his share in the Phalaris controversy, iii., 1 1 4 — in the Convocation con- troversy, 1 1 5 sq. — Prolocutor of Convocation, 242, 250 — his cha- racter, 251 note — made Bishop of Rochester, 260 — would have pro- claimed James III. at Charing Cross, 268 note — his English Advice to the Freeholders, 270, 272 note — opposes concessions to Dissenters, 310 — the great opponent of the Whig Government, 317 — his trial and banishment, 3 1 8 — his popu- larity, 319. gABINGTON, Bishop of Worces- ter, i., 85 — suffers alienation of Church property, 119. Bacon, Lord, his advice touching Mr. Sutton's estate, i., 208-9 — ^'^^ ^^^ conduct in Pcacham's affair, 226. Bagshaw, Mr., his speech at the open- ing of Long Parliament, ii., 7. Balcanquall, Mr. Walter, sent to Synod of Dort, i., 266 — his letters from thence, 268 — calls on Sir D. Carl- ton to interfere, 275 — made Master of Savoy, 278. Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, his controversial writings, i., 45, 46 — takes part in Hampton Court Conference, 84, 85, 93, 96, 97, 10 1, 102, 103 — brings book of Canons into Convocation, 120 — chosen Primate, 127 — his measures to enforce Conformity, 128 — his ArticuH Cleri, 139 — regulates the Church in Jersey, 158 — the effects of his administration, 160 — proba- bility of its complete success, 161 — his contests with the lawyers, 167 — cruelty towards Mr. Fuller, 168 — his schemes of power, 171 — his proposals for improving Church revenues, 172 — his letter to his suf- fragans, 174 — his views about the consecration of the Scotch bishops, 1 84 — his death and character, 1 86, 187. Bancroft, Bishop of Oxford, exacts promise to observe ceremonial from candidates for orders, i., 444 note — his report of having built the house at Cuddesden, 500 ; preaches sermon at opening of Long Parlia- ment, ii., 4. Bangorian Controversy, the, iii., 283. Baptism, private, i., 88, 89, 104. Baptism, lay, question of validity of, iii., 252. Barlow, Bishop of Rochester, his account of Hampton Court Con- ference, i., 83, 88 — his sermon before Scotch ministers, 145 and note. Barncvcldt, Grand Pensionary, i., 262, 265. Barrington, Bishop of Durham, speaks SS2 INDEX. against the Dissenters' relief peti- tion, iii., 426, Barrow, Dr. Isaac, his sermons, ii., 659 — his strange personal appear- ance, iL note. Bastwick, Dr., case against him in Star Chamber, i., 527 — cruel punish- ment of, 528 ; ordered by House of Commons to be liberated and to have compensation made him, ii., 10. Bate, Julius, Rector of Sutton, his statement of Hutchinsonian views, iii., 380 — stigmatized by Warbur- ton, 382. Bath and Wells, See of, spoiled of its property by Sir W. Raleigh, i., 1 19 note — inquiry made there as to the way of celebrating the village feasts, 465 and note — excitement about Book 0/ Sports, 469 — lecturers put down there, 487 — Bishop Pierce enforces the railing in of the Holy Table there, 495 — preaching inter- fered with, 518. Baxter, Richard, tumult excited against him at Kidderminster, ii., 142 — his plan for Church government, 246 — proposed by him to leading Church divines, 248 — adopted in Essex, 2/?. — his administration of the parish of Kidderminster, 249 — his opinion about the state of religion at this period, 250 — con- ferences with Church divines at period of Restoration, 279 — his sharp rejoinder to the Church di- vines, 290 — he attacks the Tolera- tion clause in the King's Declara- tion, 292, 293 — refuses the Bishop- ric of Hereford, 300 — his charac- ter and influence on the Savoy Conference, 318 — his Reformed Liturgy^ 326 — draws up excep- tions to the Book of Common Prayer, 328— answers the bishops' reply, 332 — his disputation on the lawfulness of commands, 335 — committed under the Five Mile Act, 384 — concerned in an attempt at Comprehension, 392 — takes part in Comprehension schemes in 1673, 408 — again arrested, 43 8 — brought before judge Jeffries, 473 and note — released from prison, 493 — his ' devotional writings, 670. j Beatitudes proposed to be substituted for Commandments, iii., 43. ' Beaufoy, Mr., his speeches against Test and Corporation Acts, iii., 442, 446. Beckington, Churchwardens of, ex- communicated by Bishop Pierce, i., 495. Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore, chaplain to the embassy at Venice, i., 147 — his zeal for the native Irish, 477 — his early life and writings, 639 — made Bishop of Kilmore, 640 — the loss of his MSS., ib.; opposed by Archbishop Usher, ii., 600. Behmenists, the, account of, ii., 196. Bentley, Dr. Richard, his Boy/e Lec- tures, iii., 87 — answers "Collins's Discourse of Freethinking, 319. Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, his writ- ings, iii., 547 — his missionary un- dertaking, 548 — his zeal as a bishop, 549- Bernard, Mr., Lecturer at St. Sepul- chre's, refuses to recant, i., 452. Berridge, Mr., of Everton, his labours as an itinerant preacher, iii., 471. Beveridge, Bishop of St. Asaph, de- clines to succeed Ken at Bath and Wells, iii., 62 — his promotion to St. Asaph, 177 — his sermons, 241. Bible, a new translation of, proposed at Hampton Court Conference, i., 96 — commenced, 149 — directions for the work, 150 — names of INDEX. 583 divines engaged in translating, ib. note — dates of previous versions of, 155 note — the new version finished and put in the churches, 199 — objections to it, ib. — its ex- cellence, 200 and note. Bilson, Bishop of Winchester, his flat- tery of King James, i., 29 — his treatise on Church government, 47 — his abilities as a divine, 84 — stigma attaching to him from Lady Essex's case, 215, 218, 219, 22c — his death, 240 — his ambitious projects, 241. Bingham, Joseph, his great learning, iii., 240 — his work on the A?iti- qidtics of the Christ inn Church, ib. Binks, Dr., elected Prolocutor of Con- vocation, iii., 170 — his character, ib. — elected a second time, 186 — summoned to hear the Queen's let- ter read, 191 — declines to appear, 195 — is pronounced contumacious and submits, 196. Bishops, their grand state, i., 27 — adu- lation used by them, 28 — constant translation of, an evil, 191 note, 240 — inconsistency in appointment of, 241 — their eager seeking for pre- ferment, 242 — endeavour to hold commendams with their Sees, 243 — their conduct in the matter of Archbishop Abbot's homicide, 293 — low character of, under James 1., 321 — injunctions of King Charles I. damaging to their character, 43 i — neglect of some of them in requiring titles, 464 — difference of opinion among them as to position of the Holy Table, 494 — begin to exer- cise jurisdiction under their own seals, 522 — general hostility against them in the country, 595 ; Bill to take away their right of voting in Parliament passed by Commons, ii., 44 — thrown out by Lords, 45 — conference on it between the Houses, 48 note — Parliament not against bishops as an order, 50 — attempts to intimidate them, 52 — desert their places in Parliament on the question of the attainder of Strafford, 59 — insults offered them in Parliament, 69 — violent threats of the mob against them encouraged by the leaders of Parliament, "j!^, J 6, 77 — they are not to be per- suaded to leave Parliament, yS — their great danger, 77 — escape from the House, 7 8 — their protest against the proceedings of the House in their absence, 78, 79, 80 — charged with high treason and committed to the Tower, 80 — Bill to take away bishops' right of voting in Parliament passed, 82, 83 — allowed to leave the Tower, 129 — danger lest the succession should be broken, 260 — difficulty of providing for it, ib. — names of those who survived the Rebellion, 303 ; summoned by King James II., iii., 4, 8 — their ten recommendations, 5 — in danger of losing their influence in the coun- try, 7, 8 — refuse to draw up a paper against the Prince of Orange, 1 1, 13 — their petition to James J I. to avoid effusion of Christian blood, 17 — attend meeting at Guildhall, 19 — pay their respects to James II. on his return, 20 — in favour of a regency, 23, 25 — some of them refuse to take the oaths to William III., 26 — in Convocation vote an address to King William III., 50 — after Revolution objects of dis- like to the clergy, 80 — difficulty of choosing successors to the Non- jurors, 83 — their unpopularity with the clergy at the accession of Queen 584 INDEX. Anne, 141 — their nonrcsidence on their Sees in eighteenth century, 397 — their want of orthodoxy, 398 — question of sending bishops to American colonies, 403 — declare against repeal of Corporation and Test Acts, 446. Bishops, the seven, meet at Lambeth on the Primate's summons, ii., 5 1 5 — draw up a petition to the King, 517 — present the petition, 519 — take measures to influence the coun- try clergy, 523 — called before the Privy Council, 525 — committed to the Tower, 528 — thronging of the people to visit them there, 530 — brought up to plead in Westmin- ster Hall, 531 — admitted to bail, 532 — their trial, 534 — the verdict of acquittal, 538 — great rejoicings at it, 539. Bishop, Dr. William, first Romish bishop in England, i., 313, 385. Blackburne, Archdeacon, writes Seri- ous Etiquiryy iii., 372 — is concerned in the calumny against Bishop But- ler, 374 — Defends Free and Candid Disquisitions J 375 — avows his ob- jections to the Church, 377 — pub- lishes the Confessionaly 408 — pub- lishes Proposals for an application to Parliament against subscription, 413 — procures meeting at the Fea- thers Tavern, 414 — draws up a petition for circulation, ib. — expec- tations from the petition, 416 — they prove fallacious, ib. Blackhall, Bishop of Exeter, his pro- motion and character, iii., 198 — controversy with Hoadly, 200. Blackwcll, George, Archpriest of the Romanists, i., 138 — refuses to pub- lish the Pope's brief, 147 — gives offence by defending Oath of Alle- giance, 156— is superseded, ib. — apprehended and examined, 157 — his letter enforcing allegiance, ib, Bogermann, President of Synod of Dort, i., 269 — his crafty use of the foreign divines, 273 — his vio- lent speech, ib. — his method of making canons, 275. Bolingbroke, Lord, publication of his philosophical writings, iii., 384 — Dr. Johnson's opinion of him, 385 — Warburton's answer to him, ib. Boulter, Archbishop of Armagh, his views of " the English interest " in Ireland, iii., 538. Bowing to the Altar, i., 444, 492 and note — defended by Archbishop Laud, 529 — by Bishop Morton, 581 — quoted as a grievance in Par- liament, 599 — ordained by canons of 1640, 603, 614. Boyle, Hon. Robert, remonstrates against persecution in New Eng- land, ii., 439 — President of the Corporation for converting the Indians, 441 — attempts to intro- duce Christianity into India, 443 — among the Malays, 444 — among the Turks, ib. — one of the founders of the Royal Society, ib. — his efforts to spread the Scriptures in Irish, 633. Boyle, Bishop of Waterford, his rapa- city, i., 479 note. Brabourn, Theophilus, writes on Sab- batarian controversy, i., 466. Bramhall, Archbishop, his letter to Laud about the state of the Irish Church, i., 478 — his endeavour to introduce the English Canons in Ireland, i., 485 — his vigour in re- dressing abuses, 486 ; his impeach- ment, ii., 598 — his exile and em- ployments in it, 616 — his letter to M. de la Millitiere, 618— the Just Vindication, 619 — Bramhall as a INDEX. 585 controversialist, 620 — compared with Usher, 621 — made Primate of" Ireland, 624. Bray, Dr. Thomas, his zeal and devo- tion, iii., 92 — procures foundation of Society for Propagation of the Gospel, il^. — his libraries, 93. Brett, Dr., his work on the Eucharist, iii., 340. Browne, Sir Thomas, i., 641, 642 — account of his Re/igio Medici^ 642 — his pointed style, 647. Brown, Mr., founder of a sect, i., i 3 — excused and promoted, ib. Brownists, the, punished, i., 13 — their strange proceedings in Hol- land, 133. Buck, Mr., his sermon in Westmin- ster Abbey, ii., 278. Buckeridge, Bishop of Rochester, his sermon at Hampton Court before Presbyterian ministers, i., 145 and note — put in as judge in Lady Essex's case, 218 — takes part in conferences at York House, 349 — joins with Laud against Archbishop Abbot, 360 — put into commis- sion for administering the Primacy, 362. Buckingham, First Duke of, his rise into favour, i., 239 — letter of Bishop Field to him, 242 — advice given to him by Williams, 288 — obtains the advancement of Wil- liams to be Lord Keeper, 289 — Williams fawns upon him, 290 — Laud in favour with him, 302 — goes with Prince Charles to Spain, 308 — breaks off the negociations for the Spanish marriage, 313 — makes dolorous complaints at death of James L, 328 — is attacked by Oxford Parliament, 336 — by Par- liament of 1626, 353 — by Parlia- ment of 1628, 382 — hisdeath,386. VOL. III. Bull, Bishop of St. David's, his prac- tice of using the Liturgy in the time of the troubles, ii., 1 19 and note — his administration of the parish of St. George's, 251 — his conferences, 252 — his Defensio Fidei Nicanay 662 — "Judicium Ecc/esio" Catho- licay 664 — Harmonia Apostolicny 665 ; his promotion to St. David's, iii., 177. Burgess, Dr. John, his sermon before James L, i., 130 — his deprivation and preferment afterwards, 131 — writes against the Puritans, 131, 132. Burke, Edmund, his speech on the anti- subscription petition of the clergy, iii., 419 — ditto on that of the Dissenters, 425 note — argues against repeal of the Test Acts, 4^9 — good effect of his oratory, 483. Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, accom- panies Prince of Orange, iii., 14 — his character, ib. — conducts ser- vice in Exeter Cathedral, 1 5 — made Bishop of Salisbury, 30 — in favour of Comprehension, ib. — his fair conduct as a bishop, 82 — charged with heresy in his exposi- tion of the XXXIX. Articles, 126 — his speech against the Bill to prevent Occasional Conformity, 151, 152, 153 — credit of origin- ating Queen Anne's Bounty due to him, 156 — accused by the Lower House of Convocation of a breach of privilege, 172 — his speech on the trial of Dr. Sacheverell, 219 — laments theprogress of HighChurch opinions, 227 — his death, 276. Burton, Rev. Henry, case against him in the Star Chamber, i., 527 — cruel punishment of, by ditto, 528 — ordered by Plouse of Commons 586 INDEX. to be liberated and to have com- pensation made him, ii., lo. Butler, Bishop of Durham, his early life, iii., 356 — publication of the Analog-^, 357 — promotion to Bris- tol and St. Paul's, 358 — translated to Durham, 369 — his charge to the clergy, 370 — attacked by Arch- deacon Blackburne, 372 — calumny against him, 374. Byam, Dr. Henry, his sufferings and exertions in the royal cause, ii., 309. Q ALA MY, Dr., offered and de- clines bishopric, ii., 300 and note — committed to prison for preaching, 365. Calamy, Dr. Edmund, junior, his des- pair at the progress of the Church, iii., 227. Caldwell, Bishop of Salisbury, his un- just dealing with Church property, i., 1 19 — his death, ib. note. Calvinism, prevalent at Reformation period, i., 21 — begins to decrease in seventeenth century, ib. — Bishop Bancroft argues against it, 93 — prevalent at Oxford, 192 — dis- couraged there, 248 — begins to be out of favour at Court, 281 ; falls into disrepute after Restoration, ii., 667. Calvinists, the, their disputes with the Arminians in Holland, i., 262 sq. — their unfair proceedings at the Synod of Dort, 269, 270, 271, 273, 274 — wish to avoid discus- sing Reprobation, ib. — their quar- rels with Arminians in England, 316. Calvinistic Methodists, the, their origin, iii., 471. Cambridge, University of, eclipses Oxford in renown, i., 194 — Puri- tanism there, /<^.— claim made by Laud to visit it as Metropolitan, 5 2 1 ; its visitation by Earl of Man- chester, ii., 174 and note — declares in favour of hereditary right, 426 — refuses to give a degree to Father Francis, 504. Camden, the historian, his character of the Puritans, i., 16 note — of Whitgift, 1 14 note. Canons, the English, of 1604, i., 122 — the Irish, of 1633, 485 — the Scotch, of 1635, 506 — the Eng- lish, of 1640, 609, 612 and note, 613; the Scotch, of 1743, iii., 518. Canterbury, Cathedral of. Church furniture in, i., 490 — statutes of, 508 ; defaced by Puritan soldiers, ii., 140. Carlton, Bishop of Llandaff, sent to Synod of Dort, i., 266, 635 — pro- tests against parity of ministers, 277 — his work against Montagu, 348. Caroline, Queen, her character, iii., 355 — fondness for controversial divinity, ib. — valuable promotions made by her, ib. Cartwright, Thomas, his death and character, i., 1 10, ill. Cartwright, Bishop of Chester, his scandalous character, ii., 480 — member of the Court of Ecclesias- tical Commission, 488 — flies to King James in France, iii., 58 — his death, ib. Cary, Bishop of Exeter, accused of simoniacal practices, i., 223. Casaubon, Isaac, comes to England, i., 231 — his preferment, ib. — his death and burial, ib. Catesby, Robert, organizes the Gun- powder plot, i., 136, Cathedrals, their peculiarities of foun- dation, i., 508 note — statutes pro- vided for, ib. INDEX. 587 Cecil, Mr., his ministerial labours, iii., 475. Chaderton, Mr., one of the divines at Hampton Court Conference,]., 86, 102, 103. Chancy, Mr., Vicar of Ware, cen- sured for his doctrine, i., 435 — emigrates to New England, 505. Chandler, Bishop of Lichfield, answers Collins's Grounds of the Chriitimi Religion, iii., 330. Chandler, Mr., endeavours to bring about a Comprehension scheme in 1752, iii., 376. Chapman, Dean, opposes Archdeacon Reynolds in Convocation, iii., 365. Chaplains, private, i., 8 and note — forbidden to those not qualified by law, 430 — the country gentlemen angry at not being allowed to keep them, 432 — injunctions against keeping them republished, 463 and note — Sir J. Cutts censured for keeping one, 593. Charles I., King, ridiculed by his brother Prince Henry, i., 213 — his journey into Spain, 308 — his firmness in the faith of the Church of England, 3 1 o — his accession to the throne, 328 — his character, ib. — negotiations for marriage, 329 — religious views, 332 — marriage, 334 — coronation, 341 — his notion of the divine right of kings, 366 — angry with the remonstrance of Par- liament against the Arminians, 384 —his answer to it, ib. — issues pro- clamations against Romanists, 385 — injunctions with regard to Church discipline, 428 — interview with Bishop Davenant, 434 — issues a commission for restoration of St. Paul's, 440 — generously disposed towards the Scotch clergy, 459 — orders publication of Book 0/ Sports, ^66 — his devotion to the inte- rests of the Church, 522 — his de- ference to Archbishop Laud, 530 — his ill feeling towards Bishop Williams, 532, 534 — determines to introduce a Liturgy in Scotland, 538 — disposed to grant liberal con- cessions to Romanists, 546 — re- strained by Laud, 547 — his double dealing with regard to the Glasgow Assembly, 570 — his ignorance of the state of feeling in the country, 595 — dissolves the Short Parlia- ment of 1640, 600 — suspends the Et Cetera Oath, 6 1 8 — obliged to call another Parliament, 620 ; makes a speech at opening of Long Par- liament, ii., 4 — his speech to the Parliament at the BanquettingHouse in 1641, 32 — the concessions he was ready to make, 33 — seeks ad- vice from the bishops about con- senting to the death of Strafford, 60, 62 — his sweeping concessions in Scotland, 66 — explanations given of them in England, 6"] — appoints eight bishops to fill the vacant Sees, 68 — consents to Bill for taking away bishops votes, 82, 84 — his impolicy, 83, 84, 86— attempt to seize the five members, ib. — his answer to the Remonstrance, 85 — warns the Scotch that the Parlia- ment is not in earnest in favour of Presby terianism, 94 — answers the Oxford propositions, 97 — his proclamation about sequestration of clergy, 131 — will not allow scan- dalous accusations to be made against the Puritanical party, 133, 135 — his fidelity to the Church of Eng- land, 160, 163, 165 — he disputes against Mr. Henderson at Newcas- tle, 163 — refuses to agree to a To- leration, 164 — his duplicity, 164, 58 INDEX. 165 and note — his views as to con- cessions in religious matters, 165 and note — he conducts the discus- sion at Newport, 167 — his trial and sentence, 168 — his pious pre- paration for death, 169 — his con- ferences with Bishop Juxon, ib.y 170 — his execution, 171 — funeral, 172. Charles II., King, accepts the Crown from the Scotch on condition of upholding the Covenant, ii., 207 — his treatment by the Scotch Pres- byterians, 208 and note — escapes after the defeat at Worcester, 2 1 2 — turns to the Romanists as allies, iL — his restoration, 280 — his in- famous character, 3 i 2 — gives Pres- byterians hopes o'l relief from Act of Uniformity, 360 — asserts his dispensing power, 367 — obliged to abandon it, 369 — proposes to sell Toleration, 381 — exasperated against the bishops, iL, 389 — his tortuous policy towards the Non- conformists, 399 and note, 400 — profligacy of his Government, 403 — his Declaration o^ Indulgence (1772), ik — he abandons it, 406 — publishes Declaration to explain the dismissal of Oxford Parliament, 435 — orders it to be read in churches, iL — another after the Rye House Plot, 437 — his death, 450 — character, 451. Chelsea, College of, founded for con- troversial divinity, i., 164 — failure of the design, 165. Chetwood, Mr., Chaplain to King James II., iii., 17. Chillingworth, Mr. W., his life at Great Tew, i., 413 — his charac- ter, 414 — his Religion of Protes- tnntSy ib., 415 and note, 562 — his views as to the interpretation of| Scripture, 628 — the excellence of his style, 647. Christmas, its observance forbidden by the Puritans, ii., 1 19. Christian Knowledge, Society for Pro- moting, account of its foundation, iii., 91 — its useful labours, 92 — its educational work, 133 — its mis- sionary work, 487. Church ornaments, demoHtion of, by Puritans, ii., 140, 141, 142. " Church in danger," cry of, iii., I 74 — debate on in Parliament, 182 — and in Convocation, 1 86 — in 1 790, 447- Church, High and Low, names of, iii., 135.^ Church Missionary Society, the, ac- count of its foundation, iii., 488 — its peculiar character, 489. Churching of Women, the, i., 99. Churchman, the New, a satirical bal- lad, i., 496 note. Clarendon, Earl of, draws up decla- ration to reconcile Presbyterians and Church divines, ii., 290 — pro- duces a proposal for Toleration, 29 1 — not sincerely desirous to make concessions, 302 — prevents penal- ties being inflicted on Puritan mi- nisters, 316 — supports Bill for Uniformity in Parliament, 352 — is obliged to attempt to procure its suspension, 360 — his influence begins to be weakened, 368 — im- peached and banished, 388. Clarke, Mr. Samuel, Vicar of Alces- ter, account of his life and charac- ter, i., 423. Clarke, Dr. Samuel, chaplain to Bishop More, iii., 261 — Boyle lecturer, ib. — his book on the Trinity, 262 — prosecuted by Convocation, ib. — his letter of submission, 263 — in- augurates third phase of the Tri- INDEX. 589 nitarian controversy, 264 — his Modest P/ea, 322 — other works in answer to Waterland, 323 — his views on subscription, 325 — on the Eucharist, 338. Clayton, Bishop of" Clogher, publishes Essay on Spirit, iii., 379, 545 — an avowed Arian, 398 — proceedings taken against him, 546 — his death, 547- Clergy, poverty of, at Reformation- period, i., 7 — want of learning among, 97 — wretched state of in the country under James I., 197 — hov/ far a "plebeian class," ib, note — their nonrc^idencej 198 — satirized by Wither,/^, note — grant large sub- sidies to King James L, 3 1 5 — Laud desirous to help them, 446 — SirB. Rudyer's speech as to their poverty ib. — begin to show more self-respect, 496 — assume a canonical dress, ib. — contribute liberally towards the benevolence for the Scotch war, 574 — sharply attacked by Mr. Waller, 598 — their character at the period of the Rebellion, 623 — not gene- rally distinguished for learning at this period, 644 ; determination to retaliate on them in the Long Par- liament, ii., 19, 28, 29, 30— they quail before it, 30 — injustice of summoning them to appear before the House of Commons, 32 — im- prisoned and ill-treated, 130, 131 — change in their position brought about by work of assembly of divines, 136 — their persecution by the committees of religion, ib. 137 — railing and abuse generally used against them, 138 — seques- tered without hearing of an ac- cusation, 145 — the greater part sequestered during Presbyterian as- cendency, ib. — substitutes unable to be found for them, 146 — reduced to the greatest poverty, ib., 147 — their petition to Sir Thomas Fairfax, ib. — neither of the con- tending parties show them any favour, 149 — reflections upon their sufferings, 181 — a few remain in their places under the Common- wealth, 222 — many in France, 224 — forbidden to perform any minis- terial act, or to serve as tutors and schoolmasters, 240, 242 — their great distress under the Protectorate, 257* 258 — ejected clergy replaced at the Restoration,302 — Church lands restored to them, 303 — their feel- ings at the Restoration, 309 — some of them deteriorated in character during the Rebellion, 311 — the greatbody learned and pious, 3 1 2 -—value of theF practical writings, 3 1 4— give up right of taxing them- selves, 377 — forced into an attitude antagonistic to Parliament, 436 — their hostility to physical science, 445 — send loyal addresses to James II., 460 — preach and write against Romanism, 478 — treachery of some of them to the Church, 479 — se- vere measures used against them, 48 1 — refuse to read James II.'s De- claration, 521, 524; difficult time for them at the landing of the Prince of Orange, iii., 1 6— their uneasi- ness after the Revolution settlement, 79, 80— the High Church be- come popular in the country, 203, 227— scantiness of their incomes, 230 — humble way of living, ib. — their advance in character, 231 — their pohtical combinations, 232 — abuses allowed by them in regard to the means of grace, 233 — de- fective education of, 235 — become tainted with Socinian and Pelagian 59° INDEX. views, 341 — their difHcuhies thro' the spread of Methodism, 352 — their carelessness and nonresidcnce in eighteenth century, 395, 399 — some of Unitarian sentiments resign, 429 — others of same opinions de- cline to resign, 420. Clergy, the London, defrauded of their tithes, i., 498 — assisted by Laud and Juxon, /<^. — seven of their body censured, 512; oppose Quakers' Affirmation Bill, iii., 316. Clergy, the serious, their character and labours, iii., 472. Coke, Sir Edward, his independent spirit, i., 204 note, 252 — defends the right in Peacham's case, 227 — satirized in Ignoramus, ib. — ques- tions the legality of commendams, 243 — writes to King James in the name of the judges, 244 — his bold answer to the King, ib. Collects, the, objections made to, ii., 328, 329, 332 — new ones com- posed, 344 — alterations in, ib. ; proposed change in, iii., 40. Collectors of St. Antholin's, attacked by Dr. Heylin, i., 417 — their ob- jects, ib. note — the amount of pur- chases accomplished by them, 448-9 notes — dissolved on the prosecution of Bishop Laud, 448, Collier, Jeremy, a Nonjuring bishop, iii,, 72 — his learning and high cha- racter, ib. and note — his conduct in the matter of the public abso- lution, ib. — is outlawed, 73 — consecrates successors in the Non- juring line, ib. — writes against the immorality of the stage, 87. Collins, Anthony, his Discourse of Free-thinking, iii., 329 — his Dis- course on the Grounds of the Chris- tian Religion, 330. Commendams, i., 74 — their legality questioned, 243 — pronounced law- ful by Judge Doddridge, 244. Commission, Court of High, i., 30, 100, 168, 169 — established in Scotland, 185 — said to be derived from Parliament, 394 — subsidiary to Star Chamber, 525 — denounced by Mr. Pym, 597 — obliged to be held at St. Paul's, 621 — attacked by the mob, ib, ; denounced by Mr. Bagshaw, ii., 7 — abolished by Act of Parliament, 52. Commission, Court of Ecclesiastical, of James II., its establishment, ii., 484 — its illegality, ib. — members of it, 485 — the prelates who were in it, 486 — Sancroft declines to take part in it, ib. — condemns Bishop of London to suspension, 488; dis- solved, iii., 7. Commission, Royal, for Savoy Con- ference, ii., 316; for Convocation of 1689, iii., 49 — to prepare mat- ters for Convocation of 1689, 36, 38 — Recommendations of this body, 39 — Dangerous nature of them, 45. Commission for administering Church patronage under William III., iii., 97 — its unpopularity, ib. Commissioners for ejecting scandalous ministers under Cromwell, ii., 235 — Parliament dissatisfied with them 236. Commissioners, the Scotch, their po- pularity in London in 1 640, ii., 20 — present a charge against Strafi^brd and Laud, 24 — arrive at the West- minster Assembly, 104 — their dis- appointment at refusal of Parlia- ment to vote jus divinum of Pres- bytery, 123. Committees of Religion, first heard of in Parliament, i., 347 — appointed INDEX. 59 in 1628, 377 — of the whole House, 392 — appointed in 1640, 595 ; in Long Parliament, act on ex parte statements, ii., 19 — their proceedings, 20, 128, 136, 137 — in House of Lords, 39 — charac- ter and proceedings of this Com- mittee, 40, 41, 42, 43 — it is aban- doned, 43. Commonwealth, low state of religion under, ii., 219 — no Church govern- ment, 221 — no ordination, ib, — no administration of Sacraments, ib. Communion, Holy, frequency in ad- ministration of, iii., 134, 135. Compendiums, of divinity in use at Cambridge, i., 195 — discounte- nanced at Oxford, 245 — con- demned by Richard Montagu, 246 — by Dr. Hammond, ib. — account of them by Dr. Eachard, /-^. — their character, 247. Comprehension, its mischievous effects, ii., 292 — King Charles IL not in favour of it, 301 — attempt at, in 1668, 392 — in 1673, 408; in 1688, iii., 29 — attempt to carry it by surprise, 30 — Bill for, in the House of Lords, 3 i — passed by the House, 32 — thrown out in the House of Commons, 33 — not brought before the Convoca- tion of 1689, 52 — scheme for, in 1752, 376. Compton, Bishop of London, opposes King James II. in House of Lords, ii,, 470 — ordered to suspend Dr. Sharp, 483 — tried before Ecclesi- astical Commission Court and sus- pended, 488 ; his suspension taken off, iii., 8 — his disingenuous con- duct, 10, 12 — the patron of the dissenting ministers, 30 — his reply to Dr. Jane, 48 — his ill-feeling to Tillotson, ib. and note, 49 — favours the High Churchmen, 136. Conference, the Hampton Court, i., 89-107. Conference, the Savoy, ii., 316-338. Confessional, the, its publication and character, iii., 408. Confirmation, i., 88, 89, 94, 104; addresses for, proposed to be in- serted in the Prayer Book, iii., ^+- . Conformity, occasional, begins under First Conventicle Act, ii., 379; iii., 143, 144 — Bill to prevent it brought into the House of Com- mons, 145 — conference upon it between the two Houses, 147 — thrown out in the Lords, 149 — revived, 151 — rejected a second time, 153 — attempt to carry it by a tack, 157 — the Lords reject it, 158 — the Bill passed, 254 — re- pealed, 3 I o. Conformist's plea for Nonconform- ists, ii., 433. Conventicle Act, the first, ii., 377 — its great injustice, 379. Conventicle Act, the second, its pass- ing, ii., 400 — its character, ib. — causes which contributed to its passing, 401. Convocation controversy, causes of it, iii., 108, 109 — Letter to a Convo- cation Man, 1 09, 1 1 o and note, 1 1 1 — Letter to a Member of Par- liament, 112 — Dr. Wake's Autho- rity of Christian Princes, ib. — Hill's Municipiufn Ecclesiasticum, 113 — Atterbury's Rights, Pozvers, and Privileges, 1 1 5 — Dr. Wake's State of the Church and C/ergy of England, 116, 117. Convocation of province of Canter- bury, meets March 20, 1604, i., 120 — expires, 177 — its work, ib. 592 INDEX. — meets in 1625, 337 — project for bringing the five Articles before it, 338 and note — meets in 1640, 600 — receives license to make canons, 602 — votes subsidies, 604 — not dissolved with the Parliament, 605 — opinion of the judges on this point, 607 — many of the Lower House protest against its continu- ance, 608 — change of name from Convocation to Synod, ib. — ca- nons made by it in 1640, 609 ; proceedings in 1 640 denounced by Lord Digby, ii., 8 — ditto by Mr. Grimstone, 9 — ditto by Sir E. Dering and Sir B. Rudyard, 22 — condemned by the House of Com- mons, 23, 44 — meets in 1641 but quickly melts away, 30, 31 — meets in 1661, 339 — appoints commit- tees for drawing up special services, 340 — commences review of the Prayer Book, 341 — completes the review in a month, 342 ; meets in 1689, iii., 47 — prorogued, 49 — Lower House refuses to agree to the bishops' address, 50 — dissolved, 52 and note — meets in 1701, 118 — Lower House resists the Arch- bishop's claim to prorogue, i 1 9 120, 12 1 — claims a free conference with Upper House, 122 — censures Toland's book, ib. — Upper House refuses to concur in censure, 123 — Lower House determines to sit on intermediate days, 124 — refuses to appoint a committee at suggestion of Upper House, 125 — charges Bishop Burnet with heresy, 126 — evades giving particulars of charge, ib. — dissolved, 127 — meets in 1702, its spirit, /^. — the phrase of proroguing, ib. — dissolved by death of King William IIL, 128 — meets in November 1702, 159 — disputes between Upper and Lower Houses, ib, — the declaration on the divine right of Episcopacy, i6c — Lower House petitions the Queen to hear the question about proroguing, 162 — the representation about scandals, 163 — Lower House asserts their right to be called under the Premo- nentes clause, 168 — prorogued with a speech from the Archbishop, ib. — meets in December, 1704, 170 — violent attack on the bishops, ib. — Archbishop reproves the lower clergy, 171 — anger of the Lower House, 172 — prorogued with a severe speech from the Archbishop, ib. — meets in winter of 1705, I 86 — the two Houses differ on the address, 187 — the moderate party in the Lower House protest, 188 — the letter to the bishops, 1 89 — the Queen's letter to Convocation, 190 — Convocation prorogued, 191 — meets in 1706, ib. — prorogued to prevent opposition to the Union, 192 — Lower House prorogued for three weeks, 193 — their angry re- monstrance, Z^^. — the Queen's second letter reproving their conduct, 194 — summoned to hear it read, 195 — not allowed to meet during first Union Parliament, 196 — meets in 16 10, 242 — preliminary arrange- ments, ib. — the Queen's license for business, ib. — the points to be treated of, 243 — disputes on the first topic, 244 — report of the committee on discipline, 245 — terriers of glebe lands, ib. — rural deans, ib. — Mr. Whiston's case, 246 — question of the jurisdiction of Convocation, 247 — opinion of the judges, 249 — Whiston's book censured, ib. — the sentence not ra- tified, ib. — Convocation fails to INDEX. 593 effect anything practical, 250 — House of Commons recognizes tlic claims of the Lower House, 251 — question of validity of lay-baptism, 252 — Lower House refuses to con- cur with bishops' declaration, 254 — meets in 17 14, 260 — Lower House chooses Dr. Stanhope pro- locutor, ib, — topics agreed upon by the committees, iL — prosecution of Dr. Samuel Clarke for heresy, 261 — its work stopped by the death of the Queen, 265 — meets in 17 15, 274 — license to transact business, ih. — draws up form for consecrating churches, 275 — makes recommend- ation about discipline, ib. — votes a loyal address to the King, 276 — changes in the Upper House, ib. — a committee of Lower House draws up a representation against Hoadly's writings, 288 — Convocation pro- rogued, ib. — traces o^ its action in 1741, 365 — in 1755, 366 — in iy6i,iB. Convocation of Province of York, ratifies Canons of 1604, i., 123 note — begins to consider Overall's Convocation Book, IJJ, note — meets in 1 62 5, 3 3 7 — meets in 1 640, and is continued after the Parlia- ment, 600 ; appoints proxies to act with the Convocation of Can- terbury, ii., 341. Corbet, Bishop of Norwich, his se- verity, i., 468, 499 — his death and character, 514 and note — anec- dotes of his facetiousness and irre- verence, 632. Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canter- bury, in favour of a revision of formularies, iii, 428. Cotton, Mr., Vicar of Boston, emi- grates to America, i., 504. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, his Dez'o- VOL. III. tions/\.y 361 and note — attacked in Parliament by Mr. Pym 392, and note ; attack made on him in the Long Parliament, ii., 11, 12, 13 — his energetic conduct as chaplain in France, 225 — his promotion at the Restoration, 307 — his munificence at Durham, 375. Country gentlemen, dissatisfied with the clergy, i., 432, 501 — their re- sort to London and Westminster, ib. — their dislike of Church disci- pline, 502 — Laud's strictness to- wards them, 503 — their spoliation of Church property, 564. Courts, Ecclesiastical, their severity checked, i., 142. Covenant, the Scotch, drawn up in 1637,1., 542 — sanctioned by King Charles L, 569 ; taken by the Westminster Assembly, the Houses of Lords and Commons, ii., IC5 — read in the London churches, ib. — exhortation published in favour of it, 106 — its frivolous contents, ib. — Fuller's criticism on it, 107 and note — Baxter's objection to it, 109 — made a convenient weapon against the loyal clergy, 109, iio note — thousands of clergy ruined by it, ib. — its mischievous effects on the clergy, 136 — denounced by the University of Oxford, 176 — declared unlawful, 357. Cowell, Dr., publication of his Inter- preter, i., 169 — his opinions, 170 — his imprisonment and release, 171. Cox, Bishop, accused of dilapidation and covetousness, i., 166. Crakanthorp, Dr. Richard, defends persecution of Anabaptists, i., 11, note — his character of Church of England, 22 note — his De- fcnsio E cede sice AngUcana, 52 note — his character of Dr. Rey- R R 594 INDEX. nolds, 154. — his opinion on the probability of the overthrow of the Puritans, 161 note — his exultation in the persecution of heretics, 202 and note. Crewe, Bishop of Durham, member of the Court of Ecclesiastical Com- mission, ii., 488. Crofts, Bishop of Hereford, publishes NiikciJ Trutby ii., 433 ; explains to Bancroft his reason for ordering publication of Declaration, iii., 3. Cromwell, Oliver, his first speech in Parliament on religion, i., 396; his hypocrisy, ii., 168 — his successes in Ireland, 207 — recalled to op- pose the Scotch, ib. — routs them at Dunbar, 209 — lectures the Presby- terian ministers, ib. — dismisses the Rump Parliament, 2 1 3 — ditto, the Barebones, 2 1 6 — appointed Lord Protector, ib. — his onesided tolera- tion, 217 — his corrupt principles, 218, 242 note, 243 — angry with the spirit of independence in his Parliament, 236 — dismisses it, 237 — issues the persecuting edict of 1655 — his military skill, 244 — im- morality of his administration, ib. — his death no immediate relief to the Church, 262 — false notions of his liberality, 266. Cromwell, Richard, his character, ii., 262 — his resignation, 263. Cross, the use of, in baptism, i., 73, 98, 121 ; ii., 298, 329, 334; iii.,40. Cross, in Cheapside, demolished by the rabble, ii., 139. Cudworth, Dr. Ralph, his Intellectutil Systerriy ii., 665. Cumberland, Bishop of Peterborough, his Treatise on the Luzvs of Nature^ ii., 666 ; his promotion, iii., 86. Cutts, Sir John, censured for ecclesias- tical scantlalbyBishopWren,i.,593. J)ANBY, Lord, policy of his Go- vernment, ii., 411 — proposes a new Test Act, ib. — favours the rebuilding of St. Paul's, 412. Davenant, Bishop of Salisbury, sent to the Synod of Dort, i., 266, 636 — promoted by King James I., 278 — summoned before the Coun- cil on account of a sermon preached by him at Court, 433 — active in his diocese, 498 — orders holy table to be placed altarwise, 581 — view of his writings, 635. Dawes, Sir W., Archbishop of York, his promotion and character, iii., 198 — opposes Hoadly in the House of Lords, 3 I o. Deanery oi Chapel Royal revived, i., 336 note. Deans and chapters, their negligence in eighteenth century, iii., 399. Declaration of the loyal clergy and gentry just before the Restoration, ii., 274. Declaration issued by Charles IL, to conciliate Presbyterians, ii., 293 — not bond-fdc, 298 — its reckless concessions, 299 — no attempt to make it law, 301. Declaration for liberty of conscience, published by James II., ii., 493 — some addresses presented favourable to it, 495 — clergy refuse to read it, 521, 524. De Dominis, Marc Anthony, Arch- bishop of Spalatro, his story, i., 303- Depopulation, i., 172 note, 502, 564, 593- Dering, Sir Edward, his attack upon Archbishop Laud, ii., 13, 14, 15 — his speech in presenting the Kentish petition, 29 — unintention- ally made to bring in the Root and Branch Bill, 46,47 — his speech INDEX. 595 upon bishops, 50 — against the order of tlie Commons as to ceremonial, 70. D'Ewes, Sir S., his account of the Norwich visitation, i., 533. Digby, Lord, his speech at opening of Long Parliament, ii., 7 — opposes the reception of the London Peti- tion, 36. Dilapidation of glebe houses and churches, i., 176, 439 note, 489, 564, 576, 503, 506. Directory, for public worship, drawn up, ii., 1 1 5 — charges in its preface against the Liturgy, 116 — the ser- vice prescribed by it, 1 17 — its cha- racter, 118 — not liked by any party, ib. and notes. Discipline, ecclesiastical, exasperating to the country gentlemen, i., 501, 502, 503 ; ii., 9, 10, 27, 28, 29, 30* 37> 38, 52; complaints as to want of, in the Church, in 1691, iii., 99 note — its defective nature in time of Queen Anne, 236 — practised in the Isle of man, by Bishop Wilson, 391. Dodwell, Henry, his Nonjuring prin- ciples, iii., 69 — his great learning, ib. — desires to terminate the Non- juring schism, 70 — his Case in VieWy ib. — his Case in Fact, Donne, Dr., his character as a poet, i., 647, 648 — his sermons, 648 — his death, 650. Dort, Synod of, summoned, i., 266 — English deputies to, ib. — their gra- vity and moderation, 267 — Synod opened, 268 — proceedings before the arrival of the Arminians, 269 — proceedings afterwards, 270, 279 — its Canons, 276 — its end, 279 — its decisions not binding on the English Church, ib. Dove, Bishop of Peterborough, i., 85. Dunbar, Earl of, manages Church matters for the King in Scotland, i., 146 — his policy in introducing Episcopacy, 181 — assisted by Dr. George Abbot, 190 — recommends Abbot for the Primacy, ib. Du Pin, Dr., his negotiations with Archbishop Wake, iii., 311. Duppa, Bishop of Winchester, takes part in measures for preservation of the Church, ii., 245 — trans- lated from Salisbury to Winchester, 304. j^ARLE, Bishop of Salisbury, his amiable character, ii., 383. Edward VL, his reign a great advan- tage to the Church, i., 14. Eikan Basilike, ii., 3 note, 161 note, 203 note. Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor, his pa- tronage, i., 97 — his promotion of Williams, 196 and note — is com- missioned to deal with the judges about the burning of heretics, 204 note. Eliot, Sir. J., his speeches in Parlia- ment on religion, i., 394, 397. Elliot, John, Apostle of the Indians, i., 504; ii., 441. Elizabeth, Queen, her death an epoch in Church history, i., 2 — her guilt in persecuting, 13 — her arbitrary rule, 14 — account of her death, 6"] — her Erastian views of the Church, 109 — her rapacious- ness of Church property, 166 and note. Elizabeth, Princess, her marriage to the Elector Palatine, i., 214. Emanuel College, Cambridge, its Puri- tanism, i., 428, 5 14 note, 593. Engagement, the, ii., 197 — accepted by some Churchmen, ib. — refused 596 INDEX. by others and the Presbyterians, 198. England, New, First emigrations to, i., 285 — settlements made there in 1620, 286 — ditto, in 1630, 436 — resort of Puritanical clergy to, 503, 512 note, 580 — atrocities practised there, 580. Episcopacy, by divine right, i., 19, 582 ; ii., 64 ; iii., 161. Episcopius, Professor, his speech at Dort, i., 269 — denounces the par- tiality of the Calvinists, 270 — wishes to oblige them to discuss reprobation, 271 — attacked by Go- marus, 272. Erastians in Westminster Assembly, their views, ii., 113, 121. Essex, Countess of, her divorce case, i., 214 sq. Eucharist, doctrines of, i., 22. Eucharistic controversy, the, iii., 338. Evangelical ^?iXX.Y, the, their character, iii., 489. Evelyn, John, his Diary during the time of the Commonwealth, ii., 223 — his account of the Edict of 1655, 241 — of the celebration of Christmas in 1657, 256 — of the rebuilding of St. Paul's, 413. Excommunication, by laymen, i., 88, 89* 99' 577,615. Exeter, see of, spoiled by Mr. Killi- grew, i., 119. PALKLAND, Lord, gathers a lite- rary circle round him at Great Tew, i., 412; defends the bishops in Long Parliament, ii., 37. Familists, the, ii., 194. Family prayer, disuse of, iii., 234. Feasts, village, forbidden by the judges to be held on Sundays, i., 464 — reported to be observed orderly. 465 — their different kinds in So- mersetshire, ib. note. Feathers tavern, the, anti-subscription meeting at, iii., 414. Featly, Dr. Daniel, a member of the Westminster Assembly, ii., 1 00; his ill-usage by the Parliament, 144. Fell, Bishop of Oxford, performs ser- vices of the Church of England at Oxford during Commonwealth, ii., 223 — his activity in Monmouth's rebellion, 467. Ferrar, Nicholas, sketch of his life and character, i., 406 — his esta- blishment at Little Gidding, 408. Field, Dean of Gloucester, flatters King James L, i., 29 — one of chief divines o^ his time, 45 — represen- tative of a school of theology, 47 — his Treatise of the Churchy 49 — at Hampton Court Conference, 85. Field, Bishop of LlandaiF, his letter to Buckingham, i., 242 note — con- victed of brokage of bribery to Lord Bacon, ib. 294 — ordered to be re- proved by the Archbishop in Con- vocation, ib. — his promotion, ib. Fiennes, Mr., his speech in opposition to Lord Digby, ii., 37. Fifth-monarchy Men, the, account of them, ii., 193. Fifths provided for families of ejected incumbents, ii., 147. Filmer, Sir Robert, his absolutist doc- trines, ii., 425. Five Mile Act, the, ii., 382 — opposed by Bishop Earle, 383 — Richard Baxter committed under, 384 — its cruelty, 385 — some Noncon- formist ministers submit to its re- quirements, ib. Fleetwood, Bishop St. Asaph, his ser- mons censured by House of Com- mons, iii., 256. INDEX. 597 Fletcher, Mr., of Maddclcy, his sup- port of Mr. Wesley, iii., 465. Foxe, John, the Martyrologist, his protest against the burning of here- tics, i., 12, 203. Fox, Charles James, his speech in favour of Toleration, iii., 450. Frampton, Bishop of Gloucester, his character, iii., 63 — a Nonjuror, ib. his letter to Bancroft, ib. — his con- tented resignation of his office, 64. Frewen, Archbishop of York, ii., 305. Fuller, Thomas, the historian, his re- marks on persecution, i., 207 — one of the Proctors in Convocation of 1640, 600. Fuller, Nicholas, defends Messrs. Ladd and Mansell, i., 168 — committed to prison by Court of High Com- mission, ib. — kept prisoner till his death, ib. Fundamentals, paper of, drawn up by a committee under Cromwell, ii., 236 note. QALLOWAY, Mr. Patrick, his ac- count of Hampton Court Con- ference, i., 83. Garnet, Father, i., 137 and note. Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, author of Eikon Basilikcy ii., 3 — his promo- tion at the Restoration, 308. George I., his accession, iii., 268 — his religion, 269 — his Declaration against clergy interfering in affairs of State, 273. George II., his character, iii., 355. George III., his good influence, iii., .483. Gibbon, Edmund, his attack on Chris- tianity in his XV. and XVI. chap- ters, iii., 431 — answered by Bishop Watson, 432. Gibson, Bishop of London, opposes Sir R. Walpole's policy, iii., 359 — his useful labours in his diocese, 360. Girardin, Dr. Piers, his negotiations with Archbishop Wake, iii., 312. Goadc, Dr., sent to Synod of Dort, i., 275. Godolphin, Earl of, his anger at the nickname of Volpone causes Sache- verell's impeachment, iii., 208 note. Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, his account of the sufix^rings of the Romanists at accession of James, i., 63 — of the conduct of the bishops in Lady Essex's case, 221 — his ser- mon before the Court, 352 and note — refuses to send report of his See, 550 — continues in the same temper next year, 565 — refuses to subscribe the Canons of 1640, 610 — is suspended by Archbishop Laud, 6 1 1 — punished by the King, ib. — his intrigue to obtain the See of Hereford frustrated, ib. — his conversion to Popery, ib. Goodwin, John, his peculiar tenets, i., 577. Gomar, Professor, leader of the Cal- vinists in Holland, i., 262-5 — ^is extreme opinions, 272, 274 — his attack on Bishop Carlton, 275. Gordon, Lord George, heads the *' No Popery" riots, iii., 441. Greenway, Father, i., 137 and note. Griffith, Dr., committed to prison for his sermon, ii., 273. Grimstone, Mr., accuses Laud of high treason, ii., 24 — his dispute with Seldcn in the House of Commons, 35' 36. Grove, Bishop of Chichester, his pro- motion, iii., 86. Gunning, Bishop of Ely, officiates under the Protectorate, ii., 257 — his great dexterity as a disputant, 322 — his writings, 661. 598 INDEX, f^ACKET, Bishop of Lichfield, labours in the restoration of his cathedral, ii., 374. Hale, Sir Matthew, his high charac- ter, ii., 396 — in favour of Com- prehension, ib. Hales, Mr. John, sent by Sir D. Carl- ton to the Synod of Dort, i., 268 — his letters from thence, ib. — his character, 566 — his interview with Laud, 567 — his tract on schism, 568. Halifax, Lord, his Letter to a Dissen- ter , ii., 499 note — his Reasons against Reading the Declaration, 523- Hall, Bishop of Norwich, parson at Halsted, i., 8 — his suit about the tithes of Wolverhampton, ib. — his letter to Mr. Smith and Mr. Robb, 133 — ditto to Mr. Molle, 159 — ditto to Mr. Sutton, 208 note — his opinion on the mis-education of the gentry, 248 — is sent to the Synod of Dort, 266 — preaches before the Synod, 269 — promoted to the See of Exeter, 369 — his views on the Apostolical succes- sion, ib. — accusations made against him to the King, 370 — observes his Majesty's instructions, 499 — writes in defence of the divine right of Episcopacy, 581 — submits the work to the animadversions of Laud, 582 — shows too great de- ference to his opinion, 584 — ex- plains the Et Cetera Oath, 6 1 7 — but does not enforce it, 618 — op- position made to him in the West, 621 — view of him as a writer, 629 — Fuller's character of him, ib. — Morton's ditto, /3.~the lasting popularity of his writings, 630 — his excellence in all subjects, ib. — the practical piety of his writings. 632 ; acts on Committee of Reli- gion in House of Lords, ii., 41 — writes in defence of Episcopacy, 64 — is answered by Smectymnuus, ib. — appeals to Archbishop Usher, 65 — translated to Norwich, 68 — his treatment at Norwich, i 29, 141. Hall, Bishop of Bristol, thought of for the Primacy, iii., 95. Hamilton, Marquess of, his futile ne- gotiations in Edinburgh, i., 569 — brings concessions from King Charles I., ib. — generally con- demned as a traitor to the King, 570 — endeavours to carry out his instructions, 571 — his conduct in the Glasgow Assembly, ib. — his supineness in command of the fleet, 586. Hammond, Dr. Henry, his life at Penshurst, i., 410; attends King Charles L as Chaplain, ii., 166 — his ill-usage by the Long Parlia- ment, 179 — his controversial writ- ings on behalf of the Church, 226 — his account of the proceedings at Richmond about disusing the Common Prayer, 245, 246 — his charity towards the suffering clergy, 258 — his care to preserve the suc- cession of the ministry, 259 — his death just at the Restoration, 274 — his influence, 642 — his writings, 643 — Practical Catechism, Par ane- siiy 644 — controversial writings, ib. — defects and merits of them, 645 — exegetical writings, ib. — his zeal and devotion, 647. Hare, Francis, takes part in the Ban- gorian controversy, iii., 308. Harlcy, Earl of Oxford, works down- fall of the Marlboroughs, iii., 197. Harrison, Mr. Thomas, his commit- tal for accusing Justice Hutton of treason, i., 575. INDEX. 599 Harsnct, Archbishop, excites the anger of the Commons, i., 224 — is in- duced to act mildly towards Mr. Ward of Ipswich, 301 — accusa- tions brought against him in the House of Lords, ib. note — con- suhs with Laud about measures of Church discipline, 427. Havcrsham, Lord, his speech on the trial of Dr. Sacheverell, iii., 218. Henrietta Maria, Oueen, negotiations for her marriage with Charles I., 329 — enmity between her and Laud, 547. Henderson, Alexander, helps to draw up the new form of the Covenant, i^, 543 — presides in the Glasgow Assembly, 571 — acts as adviser to King Charles in Scotland, ii., 6j — takes part in the Uxbridge negotia- tions, 161. Henry, Prince, supposed to favour the Puritans, i., 2 1 1 — his death, 212 — suspicions relating to it, ib, — his funeral, 213. Herbert, George, sketch of his life and character, i., 403 — publication of The Temple, 406 — character of his poetry, 647, 648. Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury, his exertions for the Government in Yorkshire, iii., 368 — made Pri- mate, 369 — his character, ib. — in favour of Comprehension of Dissen- ters, 376 — his opinion of Hoadly's Plain Account, 339 note — his Arianism, 399, 400. Heton, Bishop of Ely, his appoint- ment to the See of Ely, i., 166 — his death, 167. Hewit, Dr., execution of, ii., 261. Heylin, Dr. Peter, answers Bishop Williams's Letter to Vicnr of Grnfi- tham, i., 374 note — sketch of his life and character, 415 — he attacks the collectors of St. Antholin's* 417 and note — his works, 418 — writes on Sabbatarian controversy, 509 and note — discovers a libel in Prynnc's book, 526 — his account of the proceedings in Convocation of 1640, 600 note, 602 — has a principal share in drawing up the Canons, 612. Hickeringill, Mr., his scurrilous at- tacks upon High Churchmen, iii., 182. Hickes, Dean of Worcester, publishes Jovian, ii., 424; a Nonjuror, iii., 5 6,7 1 — publishes account of Bishop Thomas's death, 57 — consecrated suffragan Bishop of Thetford by Bishops Lloyd, Turner, and White, 65 — ^joins with the Scotch bishops in continuing the succession, 72 — famous as an Anglo-Saxon scholar, ib. and note. Hill, Rowland, his labours as a preacher, iii., 471. Hinde, Sir Francis, scandals committed by him, i., 594. Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester, his sermon before the Lord Mayor, iii., 185 — his skill as a controversialist, 186 — made Bishop of Bangor, 280 — his Preservative, ib. — his sermon on the Kingdom of Christ, 281 — extreme character of his views, 282 — gives a form and position to Lati- tudinarianism, 285 — his reply to Dr. Snape, 287 — his reply to the Representation of the Lower House of Convocation, 301 — dispute be- tween him and Bishop Nicolson, 307— his Plain Account of the Sa- crament of the Lord's Supper, 339 — never visits the See of Bangor in six years, 397. 6oo INDEX, Hobbes, Thomas, of Malmesbury, his writings, ii., 446. Holland, Professor at Oxford, i., 192. Hooper, Bishop of Bath and Wells, chosen Prolocutor of the Convoca- tion of 1701, iii., 119 — his pro- motion to Bath and Wells, 178. Home, Bishop of Norwich, his early life, iii., 380 — answers the Essiiy 071 Spirit, 381 — an admirer of Hutchinson, ib. — founder of the Scriptural school, 382 — called the best preacher in England, iL. Horsley, Bishop of St. David's, an- swers Priestley's Corruptions of Christianity, iii., 434 — controversy between them, 435 — his speech on the proposal of relief to the Romanists, 452. Hough, Bishop of Worcester, his spirited conduct as President of Magdalen, ii., 503 ; his promotion to Oxford, iii., 86. Houson, Bishop of Oxford, supports Mr. Montagu, i., 334 — takes part with Laud against Archbishop Abbot, 360 — is put into the com- mission for administering the Pri- macy, 362. Hume, David, his Essay on Miracles, iii., 388. Humphreys, Professor at Oxford, his wrong-headedness, i., 18 note — an open Nonconformist, 192. Huntingdon, Countess of, her religious zeal, iii., 468 — founds a '' co?mec- tion," 470. Hurd, Bishop of Worcester, offered the Primacy, iii., 445. Hutchinson, John, his opinions, iii., 380. Hutchinsonians, the, iii., 380. Hutton, Archbishop of Canterbury, a Latitudinarian in his views, iii., 400. 1 JGNORJMUS, Comedy of, acted at Cambridge, i., 227. Independents, their triumph over the Presbyterians, ii., 125, 126 — more indulgent to King Charles than Presbyterians, 149, 166 — their negotiations with King Charles I., 163 — they proceed to act openly against the Presbyterians, 168, 172 — account of their system, 191 — their mode of administering the Lord's Supper, 192 — construct their confession of faith, 255 and note — their toleration, i3. ; their union with the Presbyterians, iii., 106 — controversy between them, 107 — they separate, 108 — adopt the Cal- vinistic theology, i3. Independents in Westminster Assem- bly, their views, ii., 1 13, 1 15, 1 17, 1 20 note. Infidel writings, change in their cha- racter, about the middle of the eighteenth century, iii., 386 — the writers in reply to them, 387. Ireland, Church affairs in, i., 232, 471 ; ii., 589 ; iii.,, 524; devasta- tion of Church property, i., 233 — uniformity enforced, 234 — spiri- tual destitution of the country, i3. — Montgomery, Bishop of Clogher, 235 — Bishop Draper, i3. — planta- tion of Ulster, 236 — Puritanical clergy, i3. — no progress in convert- ing Romanists, 237 — the Irish Ar- ticles of 1615, 238 — folly of the compromise, 239 — Archbishop Usher, 472 — ruinous state of the Church, 473 — boldness of the Ro- manists, 474 — Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore, 477 — Bramhall's letter to Laud on the state of the Church, 478 — Lord Strafford endeavours to correct abuses, 481 — Convoca- tion summoned, 482 — it adopts the INDEX. 6oi English XXXrX. Articles (1634), 483 — Irish Articles thereby abro- gated, 484 — Convocation frames Canons, 485 — an improvement be- gins, 486 ; abuses attacked by Lord Strafford, ii., 590 — Royal Commis- sion to consider grievances, 592 — Act to enable impropriations to be given up to the Church, ib. — other Acts in aid of Church revenues, 593 — odium arising from these measures, ib. — Acts in the Parlia- ment of 1 640 in aid of the Church, 596 — sentence on Bishop Adair, ib. — sudden change in the Irish Par- liament, 597 — Bishop Bramhall im- peached, 598 — Archbishop Usher's slackness, 599 — his conduct to Bishop Bedell, 600 — dangers threat- ening the Church, 601 — hatching of the Irish Rebellion, 602 — it breaks out, 604 — fearful cruelties, db. — rebels pretend King's autho- rity and favour to the Church, 605 — soon declare against all Eng- lish Protestants, 606 — admirable conduct of Lord Ormond, 608 — a peace made but rejected by the Pope's nuncio, 609 — Dublin sur- rendered to Parliament, 610 — Common Prayer prohibited, ib. — the second phase of the Irish war, ib. — terrible reprisals, 611 — the state of the Irish clergy, 612 — cruelties practised on them by the Papists, ib. — triumph of Crom- well's forces no relief to them, 6 1 3 — some clergy refuse to abandon the Liturgy, ib. — suppression of the Irish Church, 614 — Jeremy Taylor brought to Ireland, ib. — composes the Ductor Dubitantiuniy 616 — Bishop Bramhall in exile, ib. — his letter to M. de la Millitiere, 618 — the Just Vindicatioriy 619 — VOL. III. Bramhall as a controversialist, 620 — death of Usher, 621 — Usher and Bramhall compared, ib. — dis- tinctive character of the Restora- tion in Ireland, 622 — Presbytcrian- ism in Ireland, ib. — the ministers petition against prelacy and ser- vice book, 623 — Church divines petition, 624 — the Sees filled up, lb. — Bramhall Primate, /^.—reve- nues of Irish clergy improved, 625 — obstacles of the Irish Church greater than ever, 626 — the Dis- suasive from Popery^ ib. — the clergy of Down and Connor, 627 — reordinations, 628 — depriva- tions, 629 — penal statutes never enforced in Ireland, ih. — Irish Act of Uniformity, 630 — more depri- vations under this Act, ib. — Non- conformists saved from persecution, 631 — Romish influence rises, 632 — measures of Ormond against the Romanists, ib. — Mr. Boyle's efforts to spread the Scriptures in Irish, 633 — the use of the English lan- guage an obstacle, ih. — ruined churches and scarcity of clergy- men, ih. — danger to the Church in Ireland from accession of James IL, 634 — lieutenancy of Lord Cla- rendon, 636 — he is removed, 6'},'] — Tirconnel's open attacks upon the Church, 638; the Irish Church favours the Revolution, iii., 524 — ill requited by Government, 526 — Bishop King, ih. — the Presbyterian interest, 528 — improvement at the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, 529 — meeting of Convocation, 530 — indifference of the Upper House, 533 — attempts to address the Irish in their own tongue de- feated by the bishops, 534 — irre- gular ordinations, 535 — general S S 6o2 INDEX. neglect of duty, 536 — promotions of Englishmen in Ireland, 557 — the " English Interest," 538— Pri- mate Boulter, ib. — character of the English clergy promoted in Ireland, 540 — Bishop Rundle, ib. — union and disunion of parishes, 541 — attempts to procure glebes, 542 — and enforce residence, 543 — Philip Skelton, 545— Bishop Clayton,/^. — the Essay on Spirit, ib. — pro- ceedings taken against the bishop, 546 — Bishop Berkeley, 547 — Dean Swift, 549 — paucity of great divines in Ireland, 550 — apathy and carelessness, 551 — the Church made to suffer for the grievances of the people, ib. — outrages upon the clergy, 552 — relaxation of penal statutes, 553 — the Rebellion of 1798, ib. — the Act of Union, 554 — question of the Irish Convoca- tion, ib. — benefits of the Union, 1^55 — revival of energy in the Irish Church, 556. JABLOUSKI, Dr., his negotiations with the English prelates, iii., 238. Jackson, Dr. Thomas, sketch of his life and character, i., 42 1 — the school of theology to which he belonged, 627 — his views of the interpretation of Scripture, 628. Jackson, Mr. J., Vicar of Rossington, publishes Waterland's Queries with answers, iii., 322 — his Reply to Water land's Defence of his ^leries, 323 — reply to Vindication, ib. Jacobitism, at Oxford, iii., 269 — at Cambridge, ib. — in the country generally, 272 — among the clergy, 365. James I., King, expectations formed of him by Puritans, i., 33 — his real views of them, ib. — his cha- racter important to Church, 35 — his writings, 36, 44 — his opinions and character, 44 — his progress to London, 70 — enters London, 79 — plot against him, ib. — his procla- mation for a Conference, 80 — his object in the Conference, 82 — his conduct in the Conference, 84-102 — his views of the Church, 109 — his speech to the Parliament of 1604, 117 — his design of intro- ducing Episcopacy into Scotland, 143 — he writes against Persons and Bellarmine, 156 — lectures the Par- liament (16 10), 169 — praises Dr. Cowell's book, ib. — his letter to Abbot about the Convocation, 178 — writes against Vorstius, 199 — argues with Bartholomew Legate, 202 — his gross injustice in Lady Essex's case, 2 1 8 sq. — his unpopu- larity 224, 252 — draws up a paper against Edmund Peacham, 227 — hears the comedy o^ Ignoramus at Cambridge, ib. — his accession wel- comed in Ireland, 234 — his sermon to the judges in Star Chamber, 25 i — his profusion, 252 — his petty tyranny, 253 — his interference on all subjects, 258 — publishes Book of Sports for the Lord's day, 259 — appoints preachers for Lancashire, 259 note — his instructions for the divines going to Dort, 266 — his directions to preachers (1622), 298 — favours Arminian views, ib. — sends chaplains to Prince Charles at Madrid, 310 — his directions for them, 311 — wants to seize upon the Charter House estates, 315 — his death at Theobald's, 319 — critical state of affairs at his death, 320 — his character, 322 — his reli- gious opinions, 324 — his funeral. INDEX. 603 331 — funeral sermon by Williams, 332. James II., King, proposal to exclude him from the succession, ii., 42 1 — injustice of it, 436 — his acces- sion, 455 — his character, 456 — his first Declaration, 459 — goes publicly to mass, 460, 461 — pub- lishes papers supposed to be written by his brother, 461 — puts slights upon the Church of England, 462 — his violation of the Test Act, 467 — his unpopularity increases, 473 — the prelates who favoured him, /^, — his dispensing power confirmed by the judges, 475 — openly promotes Romanists, 476 — sends an embassy to Rome, 490 — determines to favour Nonconform- ists, 491 — his Declaration for Li- berty of Conscience, 493 — his policy meets with little success, 499 — 8°^^ °^^ progress, 500 — touches for the evil, /^. — obtrudes a president on Magdalen College, 501 — determines to humiliate the Church of England, 511 — orders clergy to read the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience in their churches, 5 1 3 — his interview with the bishops atWhitehajl, 519 — has them committed to the Tower, 528; his infatuated conduct, iii., 2 — exer- cises dispensing power in the mat- ter of the living of Barking, i/>. — convinced of his danger, 4 — sum- mons the bishops to counsel him, 4-8 — accepts their proposals, 6 — desires them to draw up a paper of abhorrence against the Prince of Orange, 8, 11, 12 — his desertion of the kingdom, 1 8 — return and second flight, 20 — voted to have vacated the throne, 25. Jane, Dr., opposed to change in Prayer Book, iii., 37 — withdraws from Commission, 39 — refused Bishopric of Exeter by King James II., 47 — elected Prolocutor of Con- vocation of 1689, /Z'. — his speech to the President, 48. Jeffries, Judge, his bloody assize, ii., 465 — his infamous treatment of Baxter, 473. Jersey, the Church there regulated by Bancroft, i., 158. Jesuits, character of persecution of, in England, i., 10, 201. Jesus, bowing at the name of, i., 614 note, 626; ii., 19, 298. Johnson, Mr. Samuel, publishes Ju- lian the ApostatCy ii., 423 — his de- gradation and punishment, 482. Johnson, Mr. J., Vicar of Cranbrook, his Unb/oody Sacrifice^ iii., 340. Johnson, Dr. Samuel, his influence on the state of religion in his time, iii., 482. Jones, Bishop of St. Asaph, his trial for simony, iii., 10 1. Jones, Mr., Vicar of Alconbury, pub- lishes Free a?id Ccuidid Disquisitions y iiiM375. Jones of Nayland, assists George Home to answer the Essay on Spirit, iii., 381. Jovia?i, published in answer to Juliajiy ii., 424. Judges, the, decide that the King may enforce Canons, i., 1 29 — ditto that petitioning is illegal, 130 — issue prohibitions to ecclesiastical courts, i^p — accused by Bancroft before Privy Council, ib. — they defend themselves, 140, 142 — refuse to recognise ipso facto excommunica- tion, 167 — dealt with about the burning of heretics, 204 note — lectured by King James I., 244 — his sermon to them, 251 — their 6o4 INDEX. opinion about the Convocation being retained after Parliament, 607 ; affirm James Il.'s claim for dispensing power, ii., 475; ditto the power of Convocation to pun- ish a heretic, iii., 249. Julian the Apostate, publication of, ii., 423. Junius, Professor at Leyden, his con- ference with Arminius, i., 163. Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury, made Clerk of the Closet by Laud, i., 452 — made Lord Treasurer, 505 and note ; his honest advice to King Charles L in the matter of Strafford, ii., 61 — general respect in which he was held, 62 — assists King Charles in his preparation for death, 169, 170, 171 — made Arch- bishop of Canterbury, 304 — his mild character, 369 — his death, ih. J^ELLISON, Dr., his treatise on Church Hierarchy, i., 97 note. Ken, Bishop, his character, ii., 466 — succeeds to Bath and Wells, ib. — attends Charles IL's death-bed, 450 — denounces Popery in his ser- mons, 500 — witnesses a Romanist service in Bath Abbey, 501 and note — his bold sermon at White- hall, 510; his hesitation as to join- irg the Nonjurors, iii., 60 and note — is deprived of his see, 6 1 — retires to Longleat, 62 — his life there, ib. — disapproves of the continuance of the schism, 63 and note — his death 63. Kettlewell, John, a distinguished Non- juror, iii., ^1 — his writings, ib. — his scheme for making a public col- lection in aid of the Nonjuring clergy, 68. Kidder, Bishop of Bath and Wells, succeeds Ken at Bath and Wells, iii.. 62 — killed by the fall of a chimney in the palace, 63, 178 note. King, Bishop of London, i., 85 — his sermon at Hampton Court before Scotch ministers, 145 and note — holds a court upon Bartholomew Legate, 203 — credit due to him in Lady Essex's case, 215, 219. King, Archbishop of Dublin, his cha- racter, iii., 526 — his restoration and building of churches, 530 — his method of procuring glebes, ib. Kings, doctrine of divine right of, i., 39, 59 and note, 364, 365, 366, 613. Kneeling, at the Lord's Supper, i., 504,513,572,599; ii., 329, 334; iii., 40. Knewstubbs, Mr., one o^ divines at Hampton Court Conference, i., 86, 98, 99, 102, 103. Knight, Mr., his censure for preach- ing the doctrines of Paraeus, i., 299. LAIFIELD,' Dr., one of the trans- lators of the Bible, i., 155. Lake, Bishop of Chichester, a Nonju- ror, iii., 56, 57 — expresses his satis- faction on his death-bed, ^"j . Lamplugh, Archbishop of York, his time-serving character, ii., 541 note; flies from Exeter at the approach of the Dutch, iii., 15. Latitudinarians, rise of the school of, ii., 370 — destructiveness of their system, 372. Laud, Archbishop, opposes Calvinism at Oxford, i., 193 — made president of St. John's, ib. — his consistency of character, ib. — his habit of in- forming against those opposed to him, ib. note — begins to be a lead- ing man at Oxford, ib. — his rapid promotion, 196 and note — King James L distrusts him, 292 — his INDEX. 605 dispute with Fislicr the Jesuit, 302 — gains great influence over Buck- ingiiam, //', — danger to the Cliurcli from his favour, 324 — preaches at Whiteliall at time of James's death, 327 — Deputy Clerk of the Closet, 338 — takes principal part in coro- nation of Charles I., 342 — exercises censorship of press, 354 — practises "turning the pulpits," 356 — is made Dean of the Chapel Royal, ib. — institutes a reform in the service there, ib, — his conduct in the matter of licensing Dr. Sibthorp's sermon, 359 — Archbishop Abbot's account of his life at Oxford, 360 — put into commission for admin- istering the Primacy, 362 — trans- lated to London, 372 — virtually Primate, ib. — his sermon to the Parliament on unity, 377 — attacked by name by the Parliament, 382-3 — his absolute ascendency in civil and religious matters, 387 — opi- nions of his character, ib. — his eagerness to suppress books, 388 — threatening notices sent him, 398 — his declaration about the dissolution of Parliament of 1629, 426 — sets himself to reform abuses in the Church, 427 — presents paper of considerations to the King, 428 — is made Chancellor of Oxford, 432 — baptizes the infant Prince, 433 — the King's fondness for him, ib. — seeks to procure uniformity of doc- trine, 434 — objects to the wording of the brief for the ministers of the Palatinate, 435 — favours a system of espionage, ib. — his disregard of consequences, 436 — his energy dis- played at Oxford, 438 — begins the restoration of St. Paul's, 439 — con- secrates the Church of St. Cathe- rine-Cree, 442 — his extraordinary ceremonial on the occasion, 443 — his great impolicy, 444 — his desire to assist the poor clergy, 446 — his interview with Archbishop Abbot, ib. — he dissolves the Corporation of Collectors of St. Antholin's, 448 — his treatment of Mr. Henry Shcr- field, 450 — his speech in the Star- Chamber, 451 — his control over episcopal appointments, 452 — makes rules for the conformity of English settlements abroad, 453 — of foreigners settled in England, ib. — his advice to the King to intro- duce the English Liturgy into Scot- land, 454 — he disapproves of the Scotch Liturgy drawn up in the reign of James L, 458 — preaches before the King in Scotland, 460 — is made Archbishop of Canterbury, ib. — his character contrasted with that of Abbot, 461 — he republishes the disciplinary injunctions of 1629, 463 — is indignant with Chief Jus- tice Richardson for ordering sup- pression of village feasts on Sundays, 465 — assists Strafford in his work of Reformation in Ireland, 477 — renews the attack on the foreign Protestants in England, 486 — his first report of the state of his pro- vince, 487 — begins the work of Church restoration, 489 — repairs Lambeth Chapel, 490 — consecrates the Church vessels at Canterbury, 491 — orders the holy table to be placed altar-wise and railed in, 493 — second report of the state of his province, 498 — his strictness of discipline, 503 — his attempt to strengthen the Church by gaining for it secular power, 505 — approves of the Scotch Canons, 506 — frames statutes for cathedrals, 508 — sta- tutes for Oxford, ib. — his third re- 6o6 INDEX. port of his province shows him un- conscious of the prevailing discon- tent, 510— or wilfully suppressing all mention of it, 5 i 2 — his idea of an impossible Conformity, 519 — his advance of metropohtan claims, 521 — attacked by Bastwick and Burton, 527 — makes a speech in the Star Chamber in defence of his ecclesiastical administration, 529 — his unfair defence of himself by referring to the King, 530 — impolitic but not vindictive, 531 — his temper violent, ib. — his treat- ment of Williams not chargeable with vindictiveness, 532 — his part in the business of introducing a liturgy into Scotland, 543 — not justly chargeable with trying to in- troduce Popery, 544 — the offer of a cardinal's hat twice made him, 545 — opposes the residence of a Romish bishop in England, 547 — his fourth report of his province, 548 — signifies that the foreign Pro- testants have been reduced to con- formity, 549 — the trifling matters on which he reports to the King, 557 — his manifold employments, ib. — takes measures to meet the charge of his favouring Romanism, 561 — his book against Fisher the Jesuit, ib. — complains against Ro- manists at Court, 562 — his fifth re- port of his province, 563 — excites the clergy to a " benevolence " for the Scotch war, 574 — his sixth re- port of his province, 576 — his per- secution of Mr. Workman, 579 — temporary success of his measures, 580 — corrects Bishop Hall's work on episcopacy, 583 — the hatred of the laity towards him, 584 — his seventh report of his province, 590 — his policy towards the Romanists, 592 — makes a speech to the Con- vocation of 1640, 601 — his reason for obtaining a license to make Canons, 602 — his explanation of the reason why Convocation was not dissolved with Parliament, 605 — obliged to withdraw et ccetera oath, 618 — attack on his palace at Lambeth, 619 — his omens of the danger o{ Long Parliament, 620 — a munificent patron of learning, 646 — his benefactions to Oxford, ib. — his discipline inimical to learning, ib. ; ordered by House of Commons to pay compensation to Prynne, Burton, and Bastwick, ii., 10 — at- tacked by Sir E. Dering in Long Parliament, 13 — petitioned against by Scotch Commissioners, 24 — de- nounced by Mr. Grimstone, ib. — impeached of high treason in House of Lords by Mr. Hollis, 25 — his speech in the House, ib. — commit- ted to the custody of the Black Rod, ib. — his departure from Lam- beth, 26 — reflections on his fall, ib. — committed to the Tower, 39 — his last blessing to Lord Strafford, 62 — articles of impeachment exhi- bited against him, 150 — outrages upon his property, 151 — the hos- tility of the Scotch against him, 152 — additional articles exhibited against him, 153 — brought to trial, ib. — his defence of himself, 154, 155 — Bill of Attainder brought in, 155 — defends himself before the Commons, ib. — Bill of Attainder passes Commons, 156 — the Lords after long hesitation agree, 157 — his last speech, ib. — his execution, 158 — burial, ib. — iniquity of his treatment, 159. Law, William, his reply to Hoadly, iii., 303 INDEX. 607 Lay-baptism, question of its validity, iii., 252. Lectures, preparation for Lord's Su})- per, iii., 135. Lecturers, their influence, i., 43 1 — favoured by Archbishop Abbot, 432 — measures taken against them, 487, 499, 552 — their great num- bers in the diocese of Norwich, 552 ; Long ParHament encourages their appointment, ii., 132. Legate, Bartholomew, his character, i., 202 — dispute with King James I., ib. — his conduct before the Consis- tory of St. Paul's, 203 — condemned and burnt at Smithfield, 205, Leighton, Dr., his barbarous punish- ment, i,, 39 8 — account of it unfairly quoted from Laud's Journal, ib. note ; ordered by House of Com- mons to be liberated from prison, ii., 10. Leland, John, his writings in defence of religion, iii., 388. Lenthal, Mr., chosen Speaker of Long Parliament, ii., 4. Lesley, Charles, his Nonjuring prin- ciples, iii., 68 — his writings, ib. Lilburne, John, his barbarous punish- ment, i, 558; ordered by House of Commons to be liberated from pri- son, ii., 10. Lincoln, diocese of, scandals in, i., 499 — visited archiepiscopally, ib. and note — only one unconformable man there, 5 1 2 — Bishop Williams's report of it for 1636, 550 — juris- diction of, falls to Archbishop Laud, 565 — complaints of the poverty of the clergy there, 576. Liturgy, of the Church of England, alterations made in, after the Con- ference at Hampton Court, i., 104 — authorized by the King's procla- mation, 115; how far used during the earlier part of the civil war, ii., Ill — opprobrious names given to it, 1 1 2 — its use forbidden under penalties, 115 and note — defended by Hammond and Taylor, 116 — restored in Westminster Abbey, 278 — ministers punished for not using it, 3 1 5 — difierent views in which it was regarded at the Res- toration, 323 — alterations made in, in 1661, 342 — additions of great value made to it, 343 — the altera- tions in the Communion office, 345 — ditto for the ordinal for conse- cration of a bishop, 346 note — character of the review, 346 — some of the bishops dissatisfied with it, 347 — usefulness of the work, ib. ; attempt to introduce it in Prussia, iii., 237 — ditto into Hano- ver, 239. Liturgy, the Scotch, drawn up and approved by King James L, i., 457 — its use delayed, 458 — disap- proved by Laud, ib. — a new version of it recommended, 459 — its con- struction by the Scotch bishops, 538 — alterations suggested in Eng- land, ib. — ratified and confirmed by the King, 540 — attempt to use it at Edinburgh produces a great tu- mult, 541 — no minister dares to read it, 542 — abandoned by the King, 570. Liturgy, the Re/orMeJ, of Baxter, ii., 326. Lively, Mr., professor of Hebrew, i., 153. Lloyd, Bishop of Norwich, has me- tropolitan authority deputed to him by Sancroft, iii., 59, 64 — an ob- stinate Nonjuror, 64 — his charac- ter, ib. and note — consecrates clan- destinely Hickes and Wagstaffe, 65 — his quarrel with Bishop Ken, ib. 6o8 INDEX, — his connection with Bishop Tur- ner's intrigues, ib. note. Lloyd, Bishop of Worcester, becomes a partisan of the Prince of Orange, iii., 2 2, 25, note — charged with breach of privilege, 142. Locke, John, his philosophy, ii., 66^. Love, IVIr., his execution, ii., 210. Lowth, Bishop of London, attacked by the Warburtonians, iii., 384 — his Letter to Warburton, ib. — of- fered the Primacy, 445. MAGDALEN COLLEGE, Ox- ford, account of the outrage on, by King James II., ii., 501 ; fellows ordered to be restored by the King, iii,, 7. Mainwaring, Bishop of St. David's, his sermons before the King, i., 365 — charges against him brought in and voted by the Commons, 378 — prosecuted by Mr. Pym before the Lords, 379 — his sentence, ib. — his degrading recantation, 380 — his promotion, ib. — his book called in by proclamation, 38 1 — his ritualism at Worcester, 492. Major-generals, Cromwell's, their acts against the clergy, ii., 243. Manchester, Earl of, his visitation of the University of Cambridge, ii., Manton, Dr., presents an address of thanks to King Charles IL, ii., 404. Marriage of clergy, objected to by Queen Elizabeth, i., 7 — legitimated by repeal of a statute of Queen Mary, 120. Mary, Queen, declared Queen of Eng- land, iii., 26 — her death and cha- racter, 96— all Church patronage left to her, ib. Matthews, Archbishop of York, his elegant Latinity, i., 84 — thought of for the Primacy, 127 — his practi- cal jokes, 306 and note — his death and character, 372 and note. Maurice, Prince of Orange, at first favours the Arminians, i., 263 — his quarrel with Barneveldt leads him to oppose them, 265 — procures Synod of Dort, ib. — receives the English deputies, 267. Meath, diocese of, its wretched state, i., 473 and note. Mede, Joseph, sketch of his life and character, i., 418 — his defence of bowing to the altar, 444 note. Melvil, Andrew, at Hampton Court, i., 145 — his epigram on the Church of England, ib. note — his turbulent conduct and committal, ib. Molle, Mr., his imprisonment by the Inquisition at Rome, i., 159. Memorial, of Church of England, iii., 174 — its great effect, 176 — voted a malicious libel, 184. Methodists, origin of the, iii., 342. Mew, Bishop of Winchester, takes part in the battle of Sedgmoor, ii., 465. Micklethwaite, Dr. Paul, his views on the Sabbatarian controversy, i., 510. Milner, Rev. Joseph, his ministerial character, iii., 475. Milton, John, state of things at his entrance at Cambridge, i., 195 ; his part in the controversy on episco- pacy, ii., 66. Mocket, Dr., his book, i., 254 — con- demned and burnt, 255 — dies of a broken heart, ib. Monmouth, Duke of, his rebellion, ii., 464. Monk, Duke of Albemarle, procures restoration of the Long Parliament, ,ii., 263 — brings about restoration INDEX. 609 of the King, 273 — enables Charles II. to return without conditions, 275, 276. Monk, Bishop of Hereford, his pro- motion at the Restoration, ii., 308. Montagu, Bishop of Winchester, his flattery to King James I., i., 29, 241 — editor of the King's works, 85, 241 — of noble birth, 197 note — his translation to Winchester, 241 — of Calvinistic views, ib. — re- venges himself on Dr. Mocket, 254. Montagu, Bishop of Norwich, his opinions on Calvinists and Armin- ians, i., 2 1 note — his treatise against Selden, 256 — his disputes with the Jesuists at Stamford Rivers, 3 1 7 — his Nezu Gag for an Old Goose y ib. — censured by the Puritans, 3 1 8 — he publishes the Appello Casarem, ib. — attacked by House of Com- mons and protected by King Charles, 324 — three bishops exert themselves in his favour, 334, 335 — renewal of the attack upon him by Parliament, 347 — the House desires he may be visited with ex- emplary punishment, 348 — treatises against him, ib. — takes part in the Conference at York House, 349 — advanced to See of Chichester, 386 — his book called in, ib. — translated to Norwich, 572 — his conciliatory conduct there, ib. Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury, his rise to the Primacy, iii., 444. Moravians, the, their peculiar tenets, iii., 345, 349 — separation between them and the Methodists, 349. More, Hannah, her labours in the cause of education, iii., 480. Morley, Bishop of Worcester, his em- ployment to conciliate the Presby- terians, ii., 277 and note — his con- VOL. III. fcrence with Baxter, 279 — his character and promotion, 306 — his munificence, 376 — refuses to agree to a Comprehension scheme, 409 — returns to favour at Court, 411. Morton, Bishop of Durham, writes against the Lincolnshire ministers, i., 132 — advises King James I. to issue his Book of Sports, 259 — takes part in Conference at York House, 349 — considered among chief opponents of Rome, 561 note — defends bowing to the altar, 58 1 — account of his writings, 634 — complains of espionage practised against him, 635; acts on Com- mittee of Religion in House of Lords, ii., 41. Mountain, Archbishop of York, li- censes Dr. Sibthorp's sermon when Bishop of London, i., 361 — put into the Commission for adminis- tering the Primacy, 362 — promo- ted to Durham, 371 — his charac- ter, ib. Music, Church, objected to by Puri- tans, i., JT,. ]^^EGATIVE OATH, the, de- nounced by the University of Oxford, ii., 177. Neile, Archbishop of York, his rapid promotion, i., 191 note — his pa- tronage of Laud, 196 — his cha- racter, 205 — persecutes Edward Wightman, 206 — behaves badly in Lady Essex's case, 215, 219 — ex- cites anger of the Commons, 224 — humbly apologises, 225 — anecdote of him and Bishop Andrewes, 295 — encourages tale-bearing at Oxford, 360 — is put into the Commission for administering the Primacy, 362 — promoted to Winchester, 371 — attacked by Parliament of 1628, T T 6io INDEX. 382 — made Archbishop of York, 452 — his bad conduct towards the foreign Protestants, 487 — his death and character, 623. Nelson, Robert, his Nonjuring prin- ciples, iii., 69 — his devotion and charity, ib. Nettles, Mr., answers Selden's treatise on Tithes, i., 257. New England, persecution in, ii., 440. Newcastle, negotiations at, ii., 162. Newport, negotiations at, ii., 165, 167. Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle, dispute between him and Hoadly as to a question of veracity, iii., 307. Nonconformists, the, number of minis- ters ejected in 1662, ii., 36 1 and note — their exclusion justifiable, 362 — difference in opinion among them on the lawful degree of conformity, 364 — many of them thrown into prison, 365 — rise in popularity, 387 — favoured by Duke of Buck- ingham, 388 — hesitate to take ad- vantage of Charles II. 's Declaration of Indulgence, 404 — attempt to re- lieve them, 406 — severity towards them varies, 408 — increase of per- secution of, 409 — persecution of, during latter years of Charles II., 438 — their small numbers, 452 — hated by James II., 473 — his per- secution of them, 474 ; measures of relief for them, iii., 28 — Antino- mian controversy among them, 107 — relieved from subscription to the XXXIX. Articles, 439. Nonjurors, the, iii., 54 — their num- ber, 56 — great loss to the Church, ih. — divided into two parties on the question of the Usages, 73 — many of the later ones distinguished, 74 — their gradual extinction, ib. — mischief wrought by them to the Church, -j^^y jjy 78 — their negoti- ations with the Eastern Church, 74 note — their view of the state of the Church of England after the Re- volution, 75, 76. Norwich, diocese of, excitement there about the Book of Sports, i., 469 — much out of order, 5 1 4 — Bishop Wren's proceedings there, 5 1 5, 55 i — effect of his harsh measures, 556 — Bishop Montagu's conduct there, 572 — complaints of dilapidations and wastes there, 576 — favourable account of, given by Bishop Mon- tagu, 593. Norwich, Cathedral of, defaced by Puritans, ii., 141. Northampton, Earl of, his election as Chancellor at Cambridge, i., 195. Nottingham, Earl o^, brings in Bills for Comprehension and Toleration, iii., 31 note — brings the Royal Commission to Convocation, 49 — his management to procure passing of Occasional Conformity Bill, 255. QATES, TITUS, his infamous character, ii., 420. Oath, the ex officio, i., 75, loi, 168, 597 ; denounced by Mr. Bagshaw, ii., 7. Oath, the et cetera, enacted in Canons of 1640, i., 615 — account of the way in which it came to be thus drawn, 616 — excitement caused by it, ih. — Sanderson's letter to Laud about it, 617 — the King orders it to be suppressed, 618; denounced by Lord Digby, ii., 8-9. Oaths, of allegiance to James I., con- demned by Pope Paul V., i., 147 — enforced in Ireland, 234. Oaths, of allegiance to William \\\., ordered to be taken by clergy within a prescribed time, iii., 26, INDEX. 6ii 27 — the question of taking them, Obedience, passive, doctrine of, ii., 422,424, 458. Ordination, views of Presbyterians and Independents on, ii., 114, 115 — directory for, 120 — private, by bishops in the time of Rebellion, 259 ; conditional form of, pro- posed, iii., 44, 45 note. Osbaldiston, Mr., his letters to Wil- liams, i., ^T^6 — his trial, sentence, and escape, 537. Overall, Bishop, famous as a theolo- gical teacher, i., 45 — writer of part of Church Catechism, 85 — his Co7n>ocatmi Book, 170 note, 177; iii., 55 note. Owen, Dr. John, rescues Dr. Pocock from the Berkshire Commissioners, ii., 253 — his conduct as Vice- Chancellor at Oxford, 254 — his disputes with Richard Baxter, ib. — his views on Church govern- ment, il>. — his strange attack on the Polyglot Bible, 267 — answers Samuel Parker's book, 399 — pre- sents an address of thanks to King Charles II., 404 — his writings, 668. Oxford, University of, full of Puri- tanism, i., 192 — begins to change its character, 193 — directions issued by King James for studies in, 245 — elects Laud Chancellor, 432 — violent measures taken against Pu- ritanical views there, 488 — Laud makes statutes for, 508 ; its visita- tion by the Parhament, ii., 174, 178 — its protest against the Cove- nant, 176 — passes a solemn con- demnation of twenty-seven propo- sitions on the question of kingly right, 426 ; its decree in favour of passive obedience burnt by common hangman, iii., 221 — Jacobitism there, 367. pAINE, THOMAS, his character, iii., 435 — his Rights of Man, 436 — Jge of Reason, ib, Pakington, Sir J., his attack upon Bishop Lloyd, iii., 142 — his cha- racter of the bishops, ih. Palatine, the Elector, marries Princess Elizabeth, i., 212, 214 — favoured by Puritans, 279, 280, 281 — King James refuses to help him, 281 — is defeated and loses his dominions, 286 — his country ravaged, 297. Paley, Archdeacon, publishes his Evi- dences, iii., 437. Parliament, of 1603, restrains Crown from receiving Church lands, i., 1 19 — orders ecclesiastical processes to run in King's name, 120 — of 1610, angry with the ecclesiastical power, 169, 172 — refuses to enter- tain Bancroft's proposals for im- proving Church revenues, 174 — dissolved by the King, 177 — of 1 6 14, its indignant temper, 224 — its dissolution, 225 — some of its members committed to the Tower, ib. — of 1 62 1, summoned to assist the Elector Palatine, 2 8 7 — it attacks the monopolists, ib. — is dissolved by the King in anger, 296 — of 1625, petitions King against Ro- manists, 333, 336 — sits at Oxford, 335 — in bad temper with the King, 336 — dissolved 337 — of 1626, its temper, 351 — its dissolution, t^^t, — of 1628, eager to redress griev- ances, 377 — complains of the Ar- minians, 382 — its remonstrance to the King, 384 — is prorogued,/-^. — discussions in, on religion, 371 — great excitement in, 397 — dissolved by the King, 398 — nine members 6l2 INDEX. of, summoned to appear before the Council, ib. — a new one contem- phited, 588— the short Parliament of 1640, 595 — its temper on reli- gious matters, 596, 599 — confer- ence between Lords and Commons on religion, 559 — dissolved by the King, 600 ; the Long, meeting of, ii., 2 — day of its meeting thought ominous, 3 — unanimity of feeling in, 9, 1 5 — perilous nature of its proceedings, 26 — at first only op- posed to the excesses in discipline and ritualism in the Church, 27, 37, 38 — gradually led on by Pres- byterians, ib. and 41 — House of Lords orders the Church services to be regularly conducted, 31 — House of Commons appoints Com- missioners to remove "innovations," 33, 34 — full oi disciplinary not doc- /r///^/ Puritans, 37 — takes measures against the secular power of the clergy, 38, 44 — extreme party in, not satisfied with their progress, 44 — protestation taken by, to main- tain the true reformed Protestant religion, 45 and note — House of Lords throws out Bill for taking away bishops' votes, ib. — Root and iBranch Bill brought into the Com- mons, 46~Drs. Hackett and Bur- gess admitted to argue upon it in the Commons, 47, 48 — second reading of the Bill voted, 48 — committee on it, 49 — vote against deans and chapters, ib. — not against episcopacy, 50 — makes orders against ceremonial, 55, 56 — Lords refuse to agree with the Commons about the orders for Ceremonial, 56 — petitions sent to it in favour of the Church, 57 — the violent party gain ground, 71, 86 — begin- ning of open strife between it and the King, 88 — its declaration on religion, 89 — its nineteen proposi- tions sent to the King, June 2, 1642, 91 — declares against Episco- pacy in order to please the Scotch, 92, 93, 94 — passes the Bill for abolishing Episcopacy, 94 — not in earnest about this matter, 95 — sends propositions to the King at Oxford, 96 — its orders on religious matters, 139 and note— the Rump, 173 — dissolved, 213 — the Bare- bones, 213 — its attempts at whole- sale destruction, 214 — dismissed by Cromwell, 216 — Cromwell's first, shows spirit of independence, 236 — dismissed by him, 237 — Long, restored, 263 — shows a zeal for Presbyterianism, ib. — decrees its own dissolution, ib. — of 1661, dis- satisfied at the slow progress made in preparing the amended Liturgy, 350 — addressed by the King on the subject, 35 I — discussions in, on Bill for Uniformity, ib. — the Bill passed, 357 — House of Commons protests against King's dispensing power, 368 — House of Commons shows great zeal for the Church, 382 — patriotic spirit of the House of Com- mons, 405 — they oppose Charles IL's Declaration of Indulgence, 405 — pass the Test Act, 406 — attempt to relieve Protestant dissenters, ib. — Bill lost by the opposition of the Lords, 407 — of 1 679, shows violent opposition to the King, 429 — of 1680, its tone, 433 — the Oxford, 434 — first, of James IL, 463 — opposes his projects, 468 — its pro- rogation, 470; of 1688, Church spirit shows itself in, iii., 33 and note — recommends King William to call a Convocation, 34 — of 1 702, House of Commons of a violent INDEX. 613 Tory character, 143 — its dissolu- tion, 158 — of 1705, Whigs in the majority, 180 — of 17 14, passes the Schism Bill, 258 — of 1772, debate in, on the Anti-Subscription peti- tion, 417 — the petition rejected, 421 — of 1778, gives relief to the Romanists, 438 — of 1787, refuses to repeal Test and Corporation Acts, 442 — of 1789, ditto, 446 — of 1790, ditto, 447. Parker, Bishop of Oxford, his Ecclesi- astical Polity, ii., 397, 448 — his appointment to the See of Oxford, 480 — nominated President of Mag- dalen by James II., 502. Passive obedience, doctrine of, ii., 422, 424.458. Patrick, Bishop of Ely, his Friendly Debate, ii., 397 ; his learning and piety, iii., 82. Paul's, St., Cathedral of, its ruinous state, i., 439 — its restoration begun, ii. — munificent gifts of Sir P. Pin- der to it, 441 — scandals allowed in old St. Paul's,//^. — amount expended on its repair, 442 — proverb about this, ib. note; its rebuilding after the great fire, ii., 412. Peacham, Rev. Edmund, refuses to join in the " benevolence," i., 226 — is imprisoned and tortured, ib. — condemned to death, 227 — dies in prison, ib. and note. Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, answers Woolston's Discourses, iii., 331 — controversy with Dr. Middleton, 333- Pearson, Bishop of Chester, his learn- ing and candour, ii., 323 — his Treatise on the Creed, 66 1 . Penance, commutation of, iii., 237. Perkins, Mr., his Armilla Aurea an- swered by Arminius, i., 163. Peters, Hugh, his early history, ii.. 173 — threatens the London minis- ters, ib. — attacks the Presbyterians, 200 — his scheme for propagating the Gospel in Wales, 204 — fights with Cromwell in Ireland, 204, 207. Peterson, Dr., his ill-usage by the Parliament, ii., 147. Peterborough, Cathedral of, defaced by Cromwell, ii., 140. Petition, the Millenary, i., 71, 77 — of the Puritans to Convocation of 1 604, 1 2 1 — of the Family of Love, 1 25 — of the Lincolnshire ministers, 132 — of the ministers of Devon and Cornwall, 148 — of Right, passed by the House of Commons, 378; the London, presented by Alderman Pennington, ii., 21, 36 — of the seven bishops, to James II., 517; of the clergy against Subscription, iii., 417. Petitions, against the Church, pre- sented to Long Parliament, ii., 5, 7, 17, 19, 32, 44 — in favour of the Church, presented to Long Par- liament, 57, 84, 85, 90. Petre, Father, promised Archbishopric of York, iii., 15. Pierce, Bishop of Bath and Wells, his letter about the village feasts, i., 465 note — his activity in the matter of the holy table, 495 — his inter- ference with preaching, 518 — his report that all is Avell in his diocese, 549 ; attacked by the House of Commons, ii., 28 — impeached and committed, 53, 54 — survives to Restoration, 304. Pilloniere, M. de la, his part in the Bangorian Controversy, iii., 288. Pitt, Mr., his arguments in favour of the Test Acts, ill., 443, 446, 448. Plague, in London, at Coronation of King James I., 1., 79 — ditto of 6i4 INDEX. King Charles I., 335 and note; the great, ii., 385 and note. Plot, the Gunpowder, i., 136; the Popish, ii., 419, 428 — the Meal- tub, 430 — the Rye House, 437. Pocklington, Dr., censured by House of Commons, ii., 37, 38 and note. Pocock, Edward, made first professor of Arabic by Laud, i., 646 ; sum- moned before the Berkshire Com- mittee, ii., 253 — threatened with ejection for incompetency, ib. — rescued by Dr. Owen, ib. Porteus, Bishop of London, in favour of revision of the formularies of the Church, iii., 428 — his character and labours, 476. Potter, Bishop of Carlisle, his appoint- ment, i., 389. Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury, made Regius Professor by Queen Anne, iii., 199 and note — his early life, 360 — Treatise on Church Government, ib. — promotion to Primacy, ib. — value of his appoint- ment to the Church, 361. Powell, Mr. Richard, his accusation before the Court of Star Chamber, i-, 575- Prayer, before sermon, ordered to be confined to the directions of the 55 th Canon, i., 5 17. Preaching before the King, dangers of, i., 253. Premo7ientes Clause in Bishops' Writs, iii.. Ill, 115, 1 16, 1 17, 166. Presbyterians, their machinations in Long Parliament, ii., 27, 40, 41, 44, 46, 75 — their views in West- minsLcr Assembly, 114, 115, 117 note, 1 20 — their persecution of the orthodox clergy, 136, 137, 138 — recriminations between them and the Independents, 139 — ready to take part with King Charles at Uxbridge on certain conditions, 161 — their refusal to let the King be attended by his chaplains, 166 — their party in Parliament vote the King's concessions at Newport a sufficient basis of peace, 167 — coerced by the Independents, 168, 172, 174, 186, 200 — the Estab- lished Church at the period of the King's death, 191 — look to the Scotch for help, 201 — attempts of the Rump Parliament to soothe them, ib. — they will not be recon- ciled to the notion of toleration, 202 — endeavour to be instrumental in bringing about the Restoration, 275 — their impolitic bigotry, 276 — they show a more yielding tem- per, 277 — their unpopularity in the country, 280 — they abandon the work of the Westminster As- sembly, 281 — some o'i them made King's chaplains, 284 — their re- quests to the King, 282 — their re- quests treated favourably by the King, 284 — their proposals for- mally stated, ib. — character of them likely to exasperate churchmen, 286 — reply of the Church divines to them, 288 — conference before the King to discuss wording of a declaration, 290 — their terror at the proposal of Toleration, 291 — their joy at the King's declaration, 298 — attempts to entrap them, 300 — their temper in the Savoy Con- ference, 3 1 8 — their petition to the King at its conclusion, 337 — their anger at the passing of the Act of Uniformity, 359 — their attempts to stop the carrying out of the measure, 360; their union with the Independents, iii., 106 — con- troversy between them, 107 — they INDEX. 6.5 separate, 108 — adopt the Arminian theology, ib. Presbyterian, form of Church govern- ment, Long Parliament not favour- able to it at first, ii., 37, 44, 50, 54, 57 — driven by political motives to declare for it, 92, 93, 94 — voted in Westminster Assembly, 121 — nature of it, 121- 122 — voted by Westminster Assembly as of Divine appointment, 122 — House of Com- mons refuse to concur, 123 — how far it was established in the country, 125. Press, censorship of, i., 354, 388, 558,559,646. Preston, Dr., takes part in Confer- ences at York House, i., 349 — sketch of his life and character, 402, 403. Prideaux, Bishop of Worcester, Divi- nity Professor at Oxford, i., 601 note; his Eiichologia, ii., 227 — his death and character, ih. Prideaux, Dean, composes his Con- nection at Norwich, iii., 239. Priestley, Dr. Joseph, his opinions, iii., 432 — publishes The Corrup- tions of Christianity^ 433 — contro- versy with Dr. Horsley, 434. Propagation of Gospel, among native Americans, ii., 441. Propagation of Gospel, , Society for, its foundation, iii., 92, 93 — number of its chaplains in America in 1761, 403 — its work during XVIII. cen- tury, 486 — refuses to teach its slaves, 487. Protestant, the foreign Churches in England, attempt to reduce them to conformity by Laud and Neile, i., 453,486,549. Protestants, the French, relief afforded to them in England, ii., 471. Prussia, negotiations with, as to intro- duction of English Liturgy, &c., iii., 237. Prynne, William, his sentence by the Star Chamber for a libel, i., 536 — continues to write libellous books, ib. — summoned again into the Star Chamber, 527 — his second punish- ment, 528 — his statements about the case of Mr. Workman, 579 ; ordered by House of Commons to be liberated and to have compen- sation made him, ii., 10 — his malice, 26 — his bad conduct towards Archbishop Laud, 151, 152, 155- Puritans, the, factious and unfair, i., 16 — their controversy on Church government, 19 — object to their advocates at Hampton Court, 86 — despair of any more concessions after Hampton Court Conference, 116 — their character given by James I., 1 1 7 — some of their min- isters secede to Holland, 132 — the majority remain in the Church, 134 — their discontent under Ban- croft, 135 — their ministers in Devon and Cornwall petition, 148 — their views on Toleration and Separation, 161 — obtain credit through non-residence of clergy, 198 — their reappearance and in- crease under Abbot, 210 — satirized by Ben Jonson, ih. — their hopes from Prince Henry, 2 1 1 — greatly excited by the publication of King James's Book of Sports, 260 — in favour of helping the Elector Pala- tine, 280, 281 — their settlements in new England, 285, 436, 503, 580 — their anger at the favour shown to Romanists, 297 — their growth in power under James I., 320 — practical writers among them at this period, 326 — attacked in a 6i6 INDEX. sermon by Dr. Wren, 362 — abound in Leicestershire, 367 — their cha- racter given by Sir J. Lamb, 368 — severely persecuted by Laud, 436* 503 — ^^hcir objections to kneeling at the Communion rails, 513 — Bishop Williams's policy towards them, 534 — their unrea- sonable attacks upon Laud, 562 — gain the alliance of the patriots, 573, 622 — their clergy either re- duced or fled, 580; find free ex- pression for their views in the Westminster Assembly, ii., 100 — put into the vacant livings, 130 — retaliation upon them by the Royalists, 132. Pym, Mr., prosecutes Dr. Mainwaring before the House of Lords, i., 379 — declaims against the Arminians and Papists, 392 — his speech in Parliament of 1640, 596; im- peaches Lord Strafford of high treason, ii., 16 — his report to the Commons as to the working o^ the order against the Ceremonial, 70. QUAKERS, the, account o^ them, •^ ii., 195 — their sufferings under Conventicle Act, 380; Bill to alter the Affirmation required of them, iii., 315 — opposed by the London clergy, 316. Quarlcs, his character as a poet, i., 648. RAIKES, ROBERT, founder of Sunday Schools, iii., 477. Raleigh, Sir Walter, concerned in a plot, i., 79 — procures Church property from Queen Elizabeth, 119. Ram, Bishop of Ferns, his account of attempts to convert Romanists in Ireland, i., 237. Ranters, the, account of them, ii., 194. Recantations, forced, their cruelty and injustice, i., 254, 257, 451. Reformation in England, providential, i., 2 — its conservative character, 3, 15 — character of rulers not favourable to it, 4 — spoHation of Church at, 7, 125, 1 26. Remonstrance, the Grand, its draw- up, ii., 71 — its bitter tone, 74 — the King's answer to it, 85. Reordination, question of, ii., 352, 354- Representation, of Lower House of Convocation, on Bishop Hoadly's writings, iii., 289, 301. Resignation, Bonds of, their injustice and illegality, iii., 232, 484, 485. Resistance, question of lawfulness of, iii., 201. Restoration, causes which brought it about, ii., 264 — universal joy at, 270. Restoration of cathedrals and churches, "•. 373- Revolution, of 1688, character of it, ii., 545. Reynolds, Dr., i., 45 — at Hampton Court Conference, 85-103 — one of the translators of the Bible, 153 — his death, ib. — his character, 1 54 — his influence at Oxford, 192. Reynolds, bishop of Norwich, his promotion at the Restoration, ii., 300, 308. Reynolds, Archdeacon, introduces gravamina in Convocation, iii., 365. Richardson, Chief Justice, his pro- ceedings in the matter of Sunday observance, i., 464, sq. — rebuked by the Council, 466. Richmond, meetings at, to consider the policy of abandoning Book of INDEX. 6.7 Common Prayer for some other form, ii., 245, 246. Ring, in marriage, i., 73. Ripon, Chapter, foundation of, i., 125. Robinson, Bishop of Carlisle, i., 85. Robinson, John, his ministry at Ley- den, i., 133. Rochester, Earl of, his dismissal by James IL, ii., 489 ; pretends that the Church is in danger, iii., 181, 182. Romanists, the, tlieir hardships at acces- sion of James I., i.,62 — description of them by James L, 1 1 7 — severe persecution of, 135 — their great plot, 136 — severe statutes against, 139 — relaxation of their strictness, ib. — lose ground as a religious party, 162 — better feeling towards them begins, 282 — anger in the country at the favour shown to them, 296 — increased on account of the Prince's danger in Spain, 311 — first bishop appointed over them in England, 3 1 3 — accident to a congregation of them, ib. — negotia- tions with regard to their toleration on marriage of Charles L, 330 — order for proceedings to be stayed against them, 333 — prosecution of them again instituted, 340 — fury against them in Parliament, 351 — complaints against them in Parlia- ment of 1628,377 — their increased boldness in Ireland, 475, 476 — on the increase in England, 559, 560, 592; their intrigues to aggravate the wild notions of the Sectaries, ii., 196 — their rapid increase and boldness under James II. , 477 ; relief to them commenced in 1778, iii., 438 — riots excited by it, 440 — pro- posals for a further relief of them, 450 — Bishop Horsley's speech on, 452 — the Bill passes, 453 — com- VOL. III. plctc toleration of, attained, 454 note. Royal Society, its foundation, ii., 444 — jealousy of it among the clergy, 445- Rudde, Bishop of St. David's, i., 85 — pleads for Puritans in Convoca- tion of 1604, 121 — his death and character, 229 — anecdote of his preaching before ()uecn Elizabeth, 330- . Rudyard, Sir Benjamin, his speech on the poverty of the clergy, i., 446 — denounces disorders in religion, 596 ; his speech on religious sub- jects at beginning of Long Parlia- ment, ii., 5 — his speech in the dis- cussion on the Root and Branch Bill, 51. Rundle, Bishop of Derry, a Deist in opinions, iii., 599, 540. Rutherford, Mr., his attack on the English bishops, i., 1 26. Q ABB ATARI AN CONTRO- VERSY, i., 25, 73, 260, 464, 466, 509 and note. Sacheverell, Dr. Henry, his sermon at St. Paul's, iii., 204 — proceedings taken in Parliament against it, 209 — impolicy of prosecuting him, 210, 220, 224 — his trial, 211 — his defence, 215 — his speech, 218 — debate in House of Lords on the trial, ib. — voted guilty, 220 — his sentence, ib. — popular sympathy for him during the trial, 222 — rejoicings in the country at the light sentence, 223 — preferment given to him, ib. — effects of his trial, 224. Sahsbury, Cathedral of, ** pestered with seats," i., 498 ; preserved during the troubles, ii., 373 note. Sampson, Dean of Christ Church, his U U 6i8 INDEX. wrong-hcadedness, i., i8 note — Bullingcr's character of him, ib. Sancrott, Archbishop of Canterbury, his conduct as Dean of St. Paul's, ii., 413 — augments poor benefices, 415 — his elevation to the Primacy, 417 — exhorts the Duke of York to change his religion, ib. — suspends Bishop Wood for scandals, 449 — suspends Archdeacon of Lincoln for simony, 450 — attends Charles II.'s death-bed, ib. — publishes dis- ciplinary regulations, 474 — shows want of boldness in the matter of Ecclesiastical Commission Court, 486 — letters between him and Princess Mary on the subject of James's illegal acts, 504 — endea- vours to procure greater order in the Church, 508 — summons the bishops and London clergy to deli- berate about reading the Declara- tion, 514 — holds a meeting at Lambeth, 515 — draws up a peti- tion to the King, 517 — brought before the council, 527 — sent to the Tower, 529 — tried and ac- quitted, 534, 538— his admonitions to the clergy, 540 — his plans for Comprehension, 544; summoned by King James IL, iii., 4, 8 — Col- lects drawn up by him, 8 note — declines to draw up a paper of abhorrence of the attempt of the Prince of Orange, 9 — attends meet- ing at Guildhall, 19 — refuses to attend the second meeting of the Peers, 21 — excuses himself from waiting on the Prince of Orange, 22 — in favour of a regency, 23 and note — refuses to attend Parlia- ment,//^. — his conduct unjustifiable, 24 — gives commission to his suf- fragans to consecrate Bishop Bur- net, 37 — his vacillating conduct. 58, 59 — a Nonjuror, 56, 58 — retires to Fresingfield, 59 — dele- gates his metropolitan powers to Bishop Lloyd, ib. — encourages the continuance of the schism, ib. — his death, 60. Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, his life at Boothby Pagnel, i., 410 — made chaplain to King Charles I., ib. — his letter on the et catera Oath, 617 ; his practice of using the Liturgy in the time of the troubles, ii., 1 10 — King Charles I. consults him about cases of conscience, 166 — his share in drawing up the 'Judgment of the University of Ox- ford y 176 — his bold demeanour during the Oxford Visitation, 179 — escapes unmolested, ib. — pro- moted on the Restoration, 305 — his episcopate at Lincoln, 370 — his liberality in his diocese, 374 — excellence of his style as a writer, 647 — change of his views on Pre- destination, &c., 648 — his sermons, Saravia, Adrian, asserts divine right of Episcopacy, i., 19. Sarpi, Father Paolo, one of the Vene- tian Council of State, i., 147 — writes History of the Council of Trent, 148. Savoy Conference, the, names of Commissioners at, ii., 3 1 6 note — King's warrant for, ib. — character of, 317 — impossibility of agree- ment in, 323 — meets April 15, 1661, 326 — manner of it, ih. — exceptions to Prayer Book tendered by Puritan Commissioners, 328 — reply made by the bishops, 330 — Baxter's answer, 332 — vivd voce discussion proposed, ib. — three dis- putants selected on each side, 333 — Liturgy accused of defectiveness INDEX. 619 in eight points, 334 — manner of the discussion, 335 — termination of the Conference, 336. Schism Bill, the, passed by Parliament, iii., 258 — never came into opera- tion, 259 note. Schools, Charity, iii., 134. Scotch, the, first campaign against, i., 586 — their bad faith, ib. — their design for carrying on the war, 587 — take Newcastle, &c., 619 — their success in second campaign, 620 ; their influence strong against Episcopacy and Liturgy, ii., 91, 92, 95-97, 98, 100, 104 — impose covenant on Charles II., 207 — are routed at Dunbar, 209 — invade England, 211 — routed at Worces- ter, 212 — their discipline checked by General Monk, 213. Scotland, Church affairs in, i., 143, 181,454,506,537,569; ii., 207, 547, sq.; iii,, 491— King James I.'s design of introducing Episco- pacy into Scotland, i., 143 — Scotch ministers at Hampton Court, 144 — sermons preached to them, 145 — progress of the design for intro- ducing Episcopacy, 181 — Conse- cration of the Scotch bishops at London House, 1 8 3 — Court of High Commission established for Scot- land, 185 — the Five Articles of Perth, 456 — a Liturgy drawn up, 457 — King Charles I. in Scotland, 458 — the Canons for the Scotch Church, 506 — the completion of the Liturgy for Scotland, 537 — its introduction and use at Edinburgh, 541 — the solemn League and Cove- nant, 542 — King's Commissioners sent to Edinburgh, 569 — conces- sions to the Scotch, id. — the Glas- gow Assembly abolishes Episcopacy, Liturgy, and Canons, 1638, 571 ; Scotch makeconditions with Charles II., ii., 207 — Cromwell coerces the Presbyterian Kirk, 209, 213 — Resolutioners and Protesters, 548 — Mr. Sharp sent to London to watch over the interests of Presbyterians, iL — the accusation of treachery against him, 549 — causes of the animosity of the Presbyterians a- gainst Sharp, 550 — disappointment of the Presbyterians at the Resto- ration, ib. — had no right to com- plain of want of toleration, 551 — grounds of their fierce opposition to Episcopacy, 552 — their hatred of State control in matters of reli- gion, 553 — object to the oath of supremacy, 558 — to the restoration of patronage, 559 — James Sharp appointed Archbishop of St. An- drew's, 561 — Mr. Guthry's Sup- pUcation, 554 — his former offences, 555 — his trial and conviction, ih. — his execution 560 — letter of Charles II. to the Scotch Presby- terians, 556 — ditto declaring Epis- copacy restored, 563 — order of bishops restored in Scotland, ib. — question of their reordination, 564 — their consecration, ib. — arrive in Scotland, 565 — Act declaratory of their power, ih. — presentation and induction to Scotch benefices required by law, 566 — deprivations of ministers for not submitting to this law, 567 — minis- ters deprived in diocese of Glasgow, ib. — total number of those deprived, 569 — character of the opposition made to the bishops, 568 — perse- cutions under Charles II., 569, 571, 575 — indomitable spirit of the Covenanters, 570 — the Assertory Act, 572, 578 — indulgences offered to Scotch Presbyterians, 573, 575 620 INDEX. — character of Bishop Leighton of Dunblane, 564, 580 — his Compre- hension scheme, 574 — rejected by Presbyterians, 575 — his retirement, 578 — character of Archbishop Sharp, 576 — his murder, 577 — the Cameronians, 578 — indepen- dent spirit among Scotch clergy, 579 — conduct of James 'II. at Edinburgh when Duke of York, 578 — conduct of the Scotch at his accession, 581 — opposition to his scheme of abolishing penal laws against Romanists, 582 — his tyran- nical behaviour to the Church, 583 — change in his policy, 584 — his Declaration of Indulgence in Scot- land, ib. — his second Declaration, 586 — effect of his policy on the Church, 587; the Scotch clergy adhere to James at Revolution, iii., 491 — their letter to him, 492 — rabbling of clergy in the west, 493 — Episcopacy voted a grievance, 495 — King William inclined to favour the bishops, ib. — danger of such a policy, 496 — he accept the Crown with the condition of abolishing Episcopacy, 497 — the persecution of the clergy, 498 — change in the Estabhshed Church Government, 500 — further eject- ment of Episcopal clergy, 503 — proceedings of Presbyterians dis- liked by the King, 504 — ^Jacobitism of the Scotch Church the great difficulty, 505 — concessions made by the Presbyterians, 506 — history of Scotch Church henceforth Non- juring, 507 — outcd ministers pro- hibited from their office, 508 — accession of Anne, 509 — new bis- hops consecrated, 510 — English Prayer Book generally used, 511 — case of Mr. GrccUbhiclds, ib. — passing of the Toleration Act, 512 — question as to the validity of Presbyterian baptism, 514 — severe measures passed againt the Church, ib. — the dispute about the Usages, 516 — the College dispute, 518 — the Canons of 1743, ib. — revision of the Communion office, 520 — consecration of the first bishop for America, 521 — repeal of the penal laws, 522. Seabury, Dr. Samuel, his consecration as first bishop for America, iii., 521. Seeker, Archbishop of Canterbury, his character, iii., 400 — his attempt to plant bishops in America, 403 — violent opposition to it, 406 — procures answers to be written to the Confessional, 412. Sectaries, their increase, i., 591 — difficulty of dealing with them, ib. ; favour the Independents, ii., 187 — their spread and number, 188 — immorality of their tenets, ib. — Baxter's account of them, 189 — Romanist intrigues among, 196. Seekers, the, account of them, ii., 194. Selden, Mr., writes his Treatise on Tithes, i., 228 — answers to it, 256-7 — is censured, 257 — and recants, 258 ; puts down Mr. Grim- stone in the House of Commons, ii., 35-36 — perplexes the divines in the Westminster Assembly, 114 and note — account of his death, 238. Senhouse, Bishop of Carlisle, his ser- mon at coronation of Charles I., i-, 343-. Sequestration of Church property, ii., 129, 130. Shaftesbury, Lord, his Characteristics, iii., 329. Sharp, Archbishop of York, offence given by him to King James II. by INDEX, 6ii a sermon at St. Giles's, ii., 482; made Archbishop oF York, iii., 85 his character, ib. — leader of the High Church party, ib. — adviser of Queen Anne, 142 — preaches her coronation sermon, ib. — opposes promotion of Dean Swift, 229 — negotiates with regard to the intro- duction of the English Liturgy into Prussia, 238. Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, presents the Prolocutor of the Con- vocation of 1640, i,, 601 and note; attends King Charles I. as chap- lain, ii., 166 — his character and promotion, 307 — argues against suspension of the Act of Unifor- mity, 361 — the most active bishop against the Nonconformists, 369 — succeeds to the Primacy, ib. — his great munificence, 376 — upholds the Conventicle Act, 402 — his death and character, 415. Sherfield, Mr. Henry, his case and punishment, i., 450. Sherlock, Dr. William, publishes Case of Resistance, ii., 414 — severely re- proved for a sermon, 48 1 ; w^rites J Letter to a Friend against the proposed alterations in Liturgy in 1689, "i'j 26 — his argument about a de facto government, 55 note — his share in the Trinitarian contro- versy, 102, sq. Sherlock, Thomas, Bishop of London, one of the Committee to draw up representation on Bishop Hoadly's writings, iii., 288 — charged with inconsistency by Mr. Sykes, 301 — his reply, ib. — his share in the Ban- gorian controversy, 302 note — his Trial of the Witnesses of the Re- surrection, 331 — in favour of a Comprehension scheme, 362 note, 376. Sibthorp, Dr. Robert, his sermon at the Northampton Assizes, i., 357, sq. — attacked in Parliament, 377. Simmons, Mr. Edward, his ill-treat- ment by the Parliament, ii., 144. Smalridge, Bishop of Bristol, iii., 310. Smallbroke, Bishop of St. David's, answers Woolston's Discourses, iii., 331- Smart, Mr. Peter, his attack on Dr. Cosin, ii., 11 — his punishment by Court of High Commission, ib. Smith, Miles, Bishop of Gloucester, wrote the preface to Authorized Version of the Bible, u, 155. Smith, Dr. W., Bishop of Chalcedon, i., 385 and note. Snape, Dr. Andrew, his first letter in answer to Hoadly, iii., 286 — his second letter, 287. Societies for religious purposes, their origin, iii., 89 — their nature and proceedings, 89, 90 — their great success, 90. Societies for reformation of manners, formation of, iii., 88 — their activity, ib. note — their progress, 130 — objections made to them, 131 — their use, 132. South, Dr. Robert, his sermons, ii., 660; his share in the Trinitarian controversy, iii., 103, sq. Sparkes, Dr., one of the divines at Hampton Court Conference, i., 86, 103. Sports, Book of, for Lord's Day, first publication of, i., 259 — republica- tion of, in 1633,464 — the addition made to it, 467 — the perplexity of the clergy about publishing it, 468 and note — the punishment of those who refused to read it, 469 — its antagonism to the policy of the House of Commons, 470 — Bishop Wren revives persecution on ac- 622 INDEX, count of it, 555 — considered a ** grievance," 599. Spotswood, Archbishop, his consecra- tion at London, i., 183. Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, sits in the Court of Ecclesiastical Commission, ii., 487 — reads James II.'s Declara- tion at Westminster, 422 ; resigns office of Ecclesiastical Commis- sioner, iii., 3 — his explanation of his motives, ib. — his account of the interview of the bishops with King James II., 11, 12, 13 — declines to act on the Commission for prepar- ing matters for Convocation, 38 — a High Churchman, 136. Squire, Mr. John, Vicar of Shoreditch, his scandalous ill-usage, ii., 143. Stanhope, Dean, chosen Prolocutor of Convocation, iii., 260. Star Chamber, Court of, its nature, i., 524, 525 — its iniquitous sen- tences, 526, sq. ; abolished by Act of Parliament, ii., 52. Stewart, Dr. Richard, Prolocutor of Convocation of 1640, i., 601 ; takes part in Uxbridge negotiations, ii,, 162. Stillingflcet, Bishop of Worcester, publishes his Ire?iicum, ii., 292 note — his Treatise on Separation, 43 I ; his great learning and high reputation, iii., 82 — thought of for the Primacy, 95 — his ill health prevents his appointment, ib, Strafford, Earl of, goes to Ireland as Lord Deputy, i., 475 — his zeal for the Church, 476 — his letter to Laud describing the wretched state of the Church, 48 1 — summons Parliament and Convocation, 482 — his plan for securing the adoption of the English Articles, 483 — ad- vises the King to call a Parliament, 589 — called to take command of the army against the Scotch, 619 ; angry feeling against him in Long . Parliament, ii., 15 — his desire to be excused attendance there, 16 — King promises to protect him, ib. — impeached of high treason, ib. — Bill for his attainder brought in and passed, 58, 59 — his blessing by Laud and death, 62. Subscription, ex animoy i., 98, 122, 129. Subscription to Thirty-nine Articles, organized movement against, iii., 406 — petition against, debated in Parliament, 417 — Mr. Burke's speech against it, 419 — the peti- tion rejected, 42 1 — Nonconformist ministers seek to be relieved from, 422 — petition rejected in House of Lords, 427. Surplice, use of, i., 18, 73, 98; ii., 298, 329, 334; iii., 43. Sutcliffe, Matthew, Dean of Exeter, gives funds for founding a college at Chelsea, i., 164. Sutton, Thomas, founds the Charter House, i,, 208 — his character, ib. Swift, Dean, his character as a writer, iii., 229 — his promotion opposed by Archbishop Sharp, ib. — his life in Ireland, 550. Sykes, Dr., defends Arian subscrip- tion, iii., 327, 328 — writes against Waterland on the Eucharist, 338. Sympson, Mr. Edward, his sermon before King James, i., 253— cen- sure pronounced on it, ib. ^ABLE, Communion, commence- ment of the dispute about posi- tion of, i., 372 — its place altered at St. Nicholas's, Abingdon, 374 — at Alresford by Dr. Heylin, 375 note — order in Council deciding that it is to be set altar-wise, 470 INDEX. 623 — Archbishop Laud and others begin to enforce this, 493, 495 — objections of the Puritans to kneel- ing at the rail, 513, 551, 559 ; ii., 19 — Sir B. Rudyard denounces the injunctions about it, 5. Talbot, Bishop of Oxford, his speech on the trial of Dr. Sacheverell, iii., 219. Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, his practice of using the Liturgy in the time of the troubles, ii., 1 19 — draws up offices as substitute for Common Prayer, 246 — his coming to Ireland, 614 — composes the Ductor Dubitantium, 6 1 6 — brought to Dublin to defend himself, ib. — his Dissuasive from Popery^ 626, 657 — opposition to him in his diocese, 628 — his vast learning, 650 — his eloquence, ih. — his devo- tional feeling, 651 — his Liberty of Prophesying, 652 — Treatise on Repentance, 655 — Ductor Dubitan- tiutn, 656 — works in defence of Episcopacy and Liturgy, 657. Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury, answers Dr. Sherlock's pamphlet, iii., 26 — appointed to succeed Tillotson, 95 — his character, 95, 96 — attends Queen Mary on her death-bed, 96 — his letter enforcing the King's Injunctions, loi — his speech reproving the irregularities of Lower House of Convocation, 124 — procures Queen's letter to censure Lower House of Convoca- tion, 194 — pronounces Prolocutor contumacious, 196 — his speech on proroguing Convocation in 1704, 168 — gives Lower House a severe lecture, 171 — prorogues Convoca- tion with a sharp speech, 172 — his death, 277 — his legacy for bishops in America, 278. Test Act, the, of 1673, ii., 406 — another proposed in 1675 but not carried, 411. Test and Corporation Acts, motion to repeal them in 1787, iii., 442 — ditto in 1789,446 — ditto in 1790, 447 — their final repeal, 454, note. Thomas, Bishop of Worcester, his objection to the oaths to King William, III., and de^fh, iii., 57. Thompson, Mr., summoned before Parliament for a sermon, ii., 427. Thorndike, Herbert, his writings, ii., 661. Thornton, John, his character, iii., 478. Tillcsley, Archdeacon, answers Sel- den's Treatise on Tithes, i., 256. Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury, promoted by King William, iii., 30 — in favour of Comprehension, ib. — his views as to the changes to be made in the Prayer Book, 37 — proposed as Prolocutor for Convo- cation of 1689, 47 — his disgust at Convocations, 52 — made Arch- bishop of Canterbury, 83 — his character, 84 — violent attacks made upon him, 94 — his death, ih. Tindal, Matthew, his Christianity as old as the Creation, iii., 331. Tithes, disputes concerning, i., 141 — Selden's Treatise on, 228, 255 — Montague's ditto, 256 — Tillesley's ditto, ib. — Nettles's ditto, 257. Titles for ordination, insisted upon by Archbishop Laud, i., 463. Titley, Mr., Vicar of Grantham, commences the dispute about the holy table, i., 372. Toland, John, his book Christianity not Mysterious, iii., 123, 329. Toleration, recommended by Indepen- dents, ii., 255 — denied to the clergy of the Church of England, 624 INDEX, 240, 256 — proposed in King Charles II. 's Declaration, 291, 301 ; its necessity in 1688, iii., 28 — Bill for, in House of Lords, 3 i — carried in the House of Commons, 34 and note — great advantage of, to the Church, 35. Tory, origin of the name, ii., 430. Traquair, Earl of, his impolitic ad- vice aboi^ the Scotch Liturgy, i., 540 — a creature of Laud's, 543 — his ill-judged concessions, 587. Trask, Mr., takes part in the Sabba- tarian controversy, i., 260 — his punishment, 261 and note. Trelawncy, Bishop of Winchester, one of " the seven " bishops, ii., 514, 519; becomes a partizan of Prince of Orange, iii., 21 — a high- Churchman, 136. Triers, the, their appointment, ii., 230 — their strange method of ex- amination, 231 — directed against the Episcopalians, 232 — subjects clergy to great delays and expense, 233 — their examination of Mr. Sadler, ib. — the unpopularity of their system, 234. Trinitarian Controversy, begun by Dr. Wallis, iii., IC2 — Dr. Sher- lock's VindicatioJiy ib. — Mr. Fir- min's zeal therein, 103 — Dr. South's Reply to Dr. Sherlock, ib. — second writings of Sherlock and South, ib. and 104 — King's direc- tions to stop the Controversy, 104, 105, 106 — Dissenters take part in it, 106 — Dr. Samuel Clarke's book on, 262 — Dr. Waterland's share in, 322, 324, 325, 326 — its dif- ferent phases, 264, 321. Turner, Bishop of Ely, one of " the seven" bishops, ii., 514, 518 — refuses to yield to the solicitations of James II. to sue for grace, 533 ; will not be gained to the Prince of Orange, iii., 21 — consecrates clan- destinely Hickes and Wagstaffe, 65 — his active intrigues for King James II., 66 — his escape from punishment, ib, Twisse, Dr., chosen Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, ii., 102 — his character, ih. and note. ULSTER, Plantation of, i., 236. Uniformity, Act of, sent up from the Commons to the Lords, July 9, 1661, ii., 341 — discussed in both Houses, 352 — vindic- tive clauses in, 355 — passed in Parliament, 357 — receives royal assent, ib. — anger of the Presby- terians at it, 359 — attempts to stop it, 360 — its effects, 361 — well re- ceived in the country, 363. Union, with Scotland, supposed dan- gers to the Church from, iii., 191. Usages, the, the question of, divides the Nonjurors, iii., 73 — dispute on, in the Scotch Church, 516. Usher, Archbishop, promotes com- promise with Presbyterians, i., 237 — draws up Irish Articles, 238 — more of a scholar than a bishop, 47 2 — censured for his sermon against the Romanists, ib.- — absent for several years in England, 473 — made Primate of Ireland, ib. — does not go to Ireland for a year and a half afterwards, 474 — letter of Bishop of Kilmore to him, ib. — his speech in the Council Chamber recommending contributions for the King, 475 — opposes Bedell's plans for the native Irish, 477 — dislikes the introduction of the English Articles, 482 — accepts them without considering that the Irish Articles are repealed by them. INDEX, 625 484 — opposes introduction of the English Canons, 485 — his great learning and writings, 637 — his scheme of modified Episcopacy, 638 ; ii., 65, 687 — Acts on Com- mittee of Religion in House of Lords, 41 — advises King Charles I. to act according to his consci- ence in the matter of Strafford, 61 — his account of Strafford's death, 62 — writes in defence of Episco- pacy, 65 — made Bishop of Carlisle, 6'^ — retires from Oxford to Wales, 1 80 — made Preacher of Lincoln's Inn, ib. — visits Mr. Selden on his death-bed, 238 — his interviews with Cromwell, 239, 241 — his slackness, 599 — his conduct to Bishop Bedell, 600 — his death, 62 1 — compared with Bramhall, ib. Utrecht, peace of, its conclusion, iii., 257. Uty, Dr., of Chigwell, unfounded accusations made against him in Long Parliament, ii., 144. Uxbridge, negotiations at, ii., 161. 'y"ANISTS, the, account of them, ii., 193. Venetians, the, their dispute with the Pope, i., 147. Venn, Rev. Henry, his ministerial labours, iii., 475. Vorstius, Conrad, Professor at Ley- den, i., 199 — is attacked by King James L, 42, 199. WADHAM COLLEGE, founda- tion of, i., 222. Wagstaffe, Mr., consecrated suffragan bishop of Ipswich by Bishops Lloyd, Turner, and White, iii., 65. Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury, his share in the Convocation Contro- versy, iii., 1 12, sq. — his promotion VOL. III. to Lincoln, 178 — his speech on the trial of Dr. Sachevercll, 219 — his character and promotion to the Primacy, 278 — opposes repeal of Schism and Test Acts, 309 — nego- tiates with the Doctors of the Gallican Church as to a project of union, 311 — supports the Bill against blasphemy, 315 — opposes concessions to Quakers, 3 1 7 — his death, 360. Wales, superstition in, i., 500 — tres- passes on Church property in, iL — Laud's report of the state of the Church in, 549; "Propagation of Gospel" in, ii., 203 — ejection of the clergy, 205 — miserable state of religion in, 2c6. Wall, William, composes his work on Infant Baptism, iii., 240. Waller, Mr. J., his sharp attack upon the clergy, i., 598. Walpole, Sir Robert, his administra- tion of patronage, iii., 354 — brings in Quakers' Affirmation Bill, 358 — opposes repeal of Test Act, ib. Walton, Brian, Bishop of Chester, his Polyglot Bible, ii., 266 and note — his promotion at the Restoration, 308. Walton-on-Thames Church, scene in, ii., 198. Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester, his early life, iii., 334 — publishes j^IIi- ance of Church and State, ib. — the Divine Legation of Moses, 335 — attacks made on it, 336 — his de- fective scholarship, ib. — his great genius, 337 — his violence of lan- guage, 384 — answers Bolingbroke's View, ib. Warburtonians, the, their violence, iii., 383. Ward, Dr. Samuel, sent to the Synod of Dort, i., 266. X X 626 INDEX. Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, his resto- rations at Exeter, ii., 374 — upholds the Conventicle Act, 402 — enter- tains a scheme for Comprehension, 408. Warner, Bishop of Rochester, defends the bishops in the House of Lords, ii., 79 note — universally respected, ib. Warren, Rev. Robert, accused of Romanism, i., 351. Waterland, Dr., his Vindication of Chris f 5 Divinity y iii., 322 — his Queries y ib. — sermons at Lady Mover's Lecture, ib. — controversy with Dr. Whitby, 323 — Second V in die at ion y ib. — Further Vindica- tiony ib. — History of Athanasian Creed, 324 — Importance of Doc- tri?ie of Trinity, 325 — Case of Arian Subscription, 326 — contro- versy with Dr. Sykes, 327 — his Scripture Vindicated, 332, 334 — his part in the Eucharistic Contro- versy, 338 — his Review of the Doctrine of the Eucharist, 340 — his tracts on Regeneration and Jus- t if cat ion y 351 — his death, 352. Watson, Bishop of Chichester, i., 85. Watson, Bishop of St. David's, his scandals and deprivation, iii., loi. Watson, Bishop of LlandafF, his non- residence, iii., 397 and note — his views of Unitarians, 399 — defends nonresidence, 400 — his violent opposition to sending bishops to America, 406 — his Apology for Christianity y 432 — his Apology for the Bible y 436. Wesley, John, his life at Oxford, iii., 342 — his going to and return from Georgia, 343 — preaches in London, 344 — adopts Peter Bohler's views, 345 — founds a society, ib. — begins to preach in the open air, 347 — procures building of the first chapel. 348 — his doctrines, ib. — separates from the Moravians, 349 — from Whitfield, 350 — danger of his views, 351 — his eccentricities and fanciful notions, 457 — his great labours, 458 — his attachment to the Church, ib. and note — his appointment of preachers, 459 — ditto of bishops, 467. Weslcyanism, growth and develop- ment of it, iii., 457, 467 — excite- ment studied in it, 461 — classes and leaders, 460 — causes of its success, 463 — the Conference, 464, 466 — the Declaration about good works, ib. — the settling of chapels, 465 — Love feasts, 466 — administration of Sacraments in chapels, ib. Whately, Mr. William, Vicar of Ban- bury, his character, i., 422. Whig, origin of the name, ii., 430. Whiston, William, his expulsion from Cambridge, iii., 246 — publishes his Historical Prefacey ib. note — con- demned by Convocation, 249. Whitaker, Professor, procures the drawing up of the Lambeth Arti- cles, i., 9 1 note — upholds Calvinism at Cambridge, 195. Whitby, Dr. Daniel, publishes The Protestant Reconciler y ii., 433 ; takes part in the Bangorian Con- troversy, iii., 308. White, Bishop of Ely, sanctions Mr. Montagu's book, i., 334 — takes part in Conference at York House, 349 — writes on Sabbatarian Con- troversy, 466, 509. White, Bishop of Peterborough, con- secrates clandestinely Hickes and WagstafFe, iii., 65 — his death and burial, 6j. White, Mr. John, his mahcious pub- lication against the clergy, ii., 19 note, 133, 134 and note, 135. INDEX. 627 Whitelockc, Mr., speaks against jus divinurn of Presbytery, ii., 123. Whitfield, George, at Oxford, iii., 342 — his great success as a preacher, 343 — sails to Georgia, 344 — returns and joins the Wes- leys, 347 — his doctrines, 348 — separates from the Wesley s, 350 — his successful labours, 468. Whitgift, Archbishop, his great ser- vices to the Church, i., 5, 6 — his fears for the Church, 79 note — his obsequiousness to King James I., 28, 1 01 — takes part in the Hamp- ton Court Conference, 84, 100, 10 1 — his death and character, 1 12 — anecdote of him in connection with Bishop Rudde, 230. Wightman, Edward, his opinions, i., 206 — burnt at Lichfield, ib. Wilberforce, William, opposes repeal of the Test Acts, iii., 449 — his character and influence, 478 — supports the Society for Reforma- tion of Manners, 479 — good efl-cct of his speeches in Parliament, 483 — endeavours to promote Christi- anity in India, 488 — joins in founding Church Missionary So- ciety, ib. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, one of the founders of the Latitudinarian school, ii., 372 — his negotiations for a Comprehension, 393 and note — thrown into a Bill for Par- liament, 396 — withdrawn, ih. William III., Church divines begin to look to him for help, ii., 504, 506; prepares to invade England, iii., 3, 8 — his Declaration, 9, 10, 13, 15, 28 — his landing, 13 — attends service at Exeter Cathedral, 1 5 — complains of the coldness with which he is received, 1 7 — the peers met at Guildhall agree to apply to him, 19 — requested to take admin- istration of afl-airs, 20 — declared King of England, 26 — endeavours to bring about union of Protestants, 31 — determines to summon Con- vocation, 36 — his Commission for considering alterations in the Liturgy, 49 — his message to Con- vocation recommending modera- tion, 50 — his answer to their address, 51 — nominates fifteen pre- lates on his accession, 80 — his in- junctions as to discipline of clergy issued 1695, 98, 99, 100 — issues directions to stop the Trinitarian Controversy, 105 — his death, 128. Williams, Archbishop of York, comes into notice at Cambridge, i., 194 — his dexterity, 196 — his rapid promotion, ib. and note — his com- passion for the poorer clergy, 197 — his continued advance, 284 — his politic advice to Buckingham, 288 — is made Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, 289 — his conduct in that ofiice, ib. — made Bishop of Lincoln, 290 — his rapacity, ib. — fawns upon Buckingham, ib. — his power in conferring preferment, 291 — with difficulty procures the preferment of Laud, 292 — his mildness in Church government, 300 — dislikes the Court of High Commission, 301 — causes the Prayer Book to be translated into Spanish, 311 — opposes appoint- ment of Romish bishops in Eng- land, 332 — preaches King James's funeral sermon, ib. — dismissed from place of Lord Keeper, 339 — op- poses the forced loan, ■i^6'] — un- willing to proceed against the Puritans, 368 — is involved in dis- putes about the position of the holy table, 373 — his letter to the Vicar 628 INDEX, of Grantham, 374 — summoned to attend Parliament, 389 — sketch of his private life at Buckden, 400 — reversal of his decision about the holy table, 471 — his hit at Bishop Wren, 5 1 7 — character of his treat- ment by Archbishop Laud, 532 — his trial and sentence in the Star Chamber, 534, 535 — committed to the Tower, 535 — libellous papers found among his effects, 536 — strong suspicion that he per- jured himself, 537 — his second sentence, ib. — his report of his diocese for 1636, 550 — remarks of the King and Laud on it, 551 ; released from prison by order of the House of Lords, ii., 17 — re- conciled to the King, 18 — refuses to lend himself to the Presbyterian party, ib. — made chairman of Committee of Religion in the House of Lords, 40 — advises the bishops to decline to vote on Strafford's attainder, 59 — his base advice to the King to abandon Strafford, 60, 61 — his plan for a compromise with the Presbyterians brought into the House of Lords, 63, 64 — translated to York, 68— advises the bishops to draw up a protest, 78, 79 — general satisfaction at his being involved in trouble, 81, 82 and note — helps Parliamentary army, 181 — his death, ib. Wilson, Mr., his treatment by Arch- bishop Laud, ii., 13, 14. Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, his life and character, iii., 388 sq. — his enforcement of discipline, 391 — imprisonment, 392 — gradual relaxation of the discipline, 393. Witchcraft, King James L's Treatise on, i., 36 — Statute against, 249 and note — Mr. Roberts's Treatise on, 249 — numerous executions for, 250 — Mr. Glanvil argues for, lb. Wollaston, Mr., Rector of Chisle- hurst, organizes a movement for revision of formularies of the Church, iii., 427. Wood, Bishop of Lichfield, his in- famous character, ii., 449 and note. Woodward, Dean of Salisbury, chosen Prolocutor of Convocation, iii., 127 — his death, 128. Woolston, Thomas, his Discourses en the Miracles y iii., 330. Workman, Mr., of Gloucester, his continued persecution, i., 579. Wren, Bishop of Ely, his sermon before the King, i., 362 — promoted from Hereford to Norwich, 515 — his proceedings there, 516, 551 — great odium excited against him, 553 — enforces the Book of Sports, 556 — is troubled by trespassers on churchyards, 557 — translated to Ely, 571 — angry with his successor for concessions, 572 — reports wastes made by Bishop White, 576 — scandals attacked by him in the diocese of Ely, 593 — preaches before Parliament of 1640, 595 ; attacked by the House of Com- mons, ii., 28 — impeached and com- mitted to the Tower, 52, 53 — survives a twenty years' imprison- ment, 304. Wren, Sir Christopher, rebuilds St. Paul's Cathedral, ii., 413, 414. Wright, Bishop of Lichfield, scandals committed by, i., 550, 564, 577. THE END. GUI ur.iHiA ijrjivt H-,1 931A^ ^^A-^1 *Ae.vx-^i V . lXF TO,,:,r>^GiP' rvatio^ BR^.TLEDONOT PHOTOCOPY > < f. i H .... Jii