* II. 1500-1603. to be short, she were a mere monarch, and not CHAP. a mixed ruler, you might, peradventure, make one to fear the matter the more, and the less to defend the cause. Such are the views of the English constitution which prevailed among Englishmen in the first early years of Elizabeth, and it will hardly be supposed that the more enlightened generation which had risen up before her closing years had arrived, were less sensible to the value of those unrivalled immunities which this noble polity had conferred upon them.† Harborowe of True and Faithful, &c. 1559. Mr. Hallam states that he iş indebted to Dr. M'Crie's Life of Knox, for his knowledge of this passage; but the attention of the public was called to it, soon after the appearance of Hume's History, by Dr. Towers. See his Tracts, I. 308–310. The pages of Hooker will also show how far removed from those imputed to them, were the real opinions of the most judicious and informed men of this period. It is thus he speaks of the constitution as it existed before the accession of the Stuart dynasty:-" I cannot but choose to commend highly their wisdom by whom the foundation of the commonwealth hath been laid; wherein though no manner of person or cause be unsubject to the king's power, yet so is the power of the king over all, and in all limited, that unto all his proceedings the law itself is a rule. The axioms of our regal government are these: Lex facit regem-The king's grant of any favours made contrary to the law is void;-Rex nihil potest nisi quod jure potest-what power the king hath, he hath it by law: the bounds and limits of it are known, the entire community giveth general order by law, how all things publicly are to be done; and the king, as the head thereof, the highest in authority over all, causeth, according to the same law, every particular to be framed and ordered thereby. The whole body politic maketh laws, which laws give power unto the king; and the king having bound himself to use according to law that power, it so falleth out that the execution of the one is accomplished by the other." See a passage precisely similar to this in Smith's Treatise on the Commonwealth of England, (p. 77,)—a work composed some half century before the Ecclesiastical Polity. CHAP. III. ON THE STATE OF THE ENGLISH CATHOLICS UNDER COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS.-CAUTIOUS III. Compara of Catholics CHAP. THE measures which have fixed so deep a stain. on the character of Mary, and on that of her 1558-1603. counsellors, could only have proceeded from parties tive strength conscious of power, and confident of retaining it.* and Protes It is probable that the Catholic faith was then adhered to by the majority of the nation; it certainly included some of the most considerable families, and the mass among the lowest of the tants at this time. * This confidence, however, was considerably shaken, after a while, by Mary's barrenness, and other causes; and many of the prelates, aware of the uncertain tenure on which they held their possessions, so far alienated them by means of long leases, as to leave their successors scarcely the means of subsistence. Burnet's Hist. Ref. V. 453, 461, 505. III. 1558-1603. 1558. Cautious of Elizabeth, people. But the middle class, though not the CHAP. most numerous portion of the community, was known to be the most formidable; and with them the temper of Protestantism evidently prevailed.* The Queen began with selecting a council, the elements of which suggested pretty accurately what proceedings her religious policy would be. It was not without some known partisans of the Romish doctrines, but with these, and with some who were little affected by any creed, much abler men were associated, whose discreet and fixed attachment to the general principles of Protestantism, would not fail to have a material influence on the measures of the new government. Accordingly, the Queen's first parliament vested her with supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs; restored the laws of Edward; and established the Book of Common Prayer-subject to certain modifications, which were expected to render it less objectionable to Catholic prejudice.‡ The bishops had some of them varied with the opposite changes of the two last reigns, and they were most of them seriously implicated in the recent persecutions. It is well to find that they did not become so odious as they might have been. With one exception only, they relinquished their station. Whether this arose from a consciousness that to have retained their office would have been to sacrifice the little reputation that might be left to them, or from some better motive, can only be Jewel describes "the inferior sort of the populace," on the Queen's accession, as "both ignorant and perverse." Burnet, Hist. Ref. V. 462, 472. Ibid. 461. Collier's Ecclesiast. Hist. II. 409. Parl. Hist. I. 642-660. 1558-1603. CHAP. conjectured.* About a hundred dignitaries folIII. lowed the example of these confessors. Among the parochial clergy, those who resigned their livings, and those who were deprived, did not exceed eighty. On these men pensions were bestowed by the government; a generous method of retaliating the deeds of Bonner and Gardiner.+ Acts of Su premacy mity passed. The Act of Supremacy, while it rendered Elizaand Unifor- beth the head of the church, required moreover that every beneficed clergyman, and every layman holding office under the crown, should renounce on oath all other jurisdiction within the realm of England, whether exercised by prince or prelate, and whether temporal or spiritual; and also declared it to be treasonable to insist on the lawfulness of any such jurisdiction, either in writing or otherwise. The Act of Uniformity forbade the performance of divine worship, except as prescribed in the book of Common Prayer; and the persons offending against this statute were liable to the loss of goods and chattels for the first offence, to twelve months' imprisonment for the second, and to confinement during life for the third. The * Elizabeth told them flatly, that "rather than abjure the pope once more, which they had often done before, they were resolved now to relinquish their bishoprics. It was plain they had no religion among them, yet now they pretended conscience-they were full of rage." Burnet's Hist. Ref. V. 477. ↑ Strype's Annals, p. 169. Burnet, ubi supra. 1 Eliz. c. 1, 2. The following is a copy of the oath of supremacy:—“ I, A. B. Do utterly testify and declare, that the Queen's highness is the only supreme governor of this realm, and all other her highness's dominions and countries, as well in all spiritual and ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal; and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm; and therefore I do utterly renounce and forsake all foreign jurisdictions, powers, superiorities, and III. 1558-1603. first of these laws, it will be perceived, called for CHAP. the renunciation of an article of belief, which was essential to the faith of Catholics, while the second was so framed as to proscribe the most secret exercise of their worship. The Act of Supremacy was of limited application, and was strictly enforced. The statute of Uniformity also was not unfrequently acted upon, even in the earlier portion of this reign.* Before the year 1562, several instances had occurred of persons being subject to fines and imprisonment as the punishment of privately con authorities, and do promise that from henceforth I shall bear faithful and true allegiance to the Queen's highness, her heirs, and lawful successors; and to my power shall assist and defend all jurisdictions, pre-eminences, privileges, and authorities, granted or belonging to the Queen's highness, her heirs and successors, or united and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm." A few months after this oath had become a law, an exposition of it was issued, the purport of which was, that the authority of the crown, though exercised thus supremely and exclusively with regard to ecclesiastical affairs, was not to be considered as a priestly authority, but still as strictly magisterial. The Catholics appear to have given out, that her majesty, to be consistent in assuming the title, "head of the church," should take her place at the altar, and enter upon all those functions which pertained to the pontiff, whose name she had thus appropriated. Some consequences of this sort, as involved in that designation, appear to have presented themselves to the apprehensions of the disciples of Calvin. With what conscience any Catholic could take the oath of supremacy, even when accompanied with the above exposition, it is difficult to conceive. It was taken, however, by many leading men of that communion, in this and the following century. Had not this been the fact, the Test Act could never have been required. See Somer's Tracts, I. 73. Butler's Memoirs of English Catholics, I. 157. Hallam, I. 120, 121. * The Act of Uniformity restored the church service which had received the sanction of parliament under Edward VI., with some slight modifications. But it moreover vested the Queen and her commissioners with power to "ordain and publish such further ceremonies and rites, as may be for the advancement of God's glory, and edifying his church, and the reverence of Christ's holy mystery and sacraments." No power was so much valued by Elizabeth as that which this imprudent statute conceded. The commons became aware, ere long, of this evil, and endeavoured to repair it, but in vain. It became the plea of those ecclesiastical interferences which vexed the life of Elizabeth, and led to more painful results in the case of her successors. |