દ 3. "That they be not permitted to do any work, or any thing, to the open prophanation of the Lord's day, or chriftian fabbath. 4. "That they be not permitted to have any chriftians "dwell with them as their fervants. 5. "That they have no publick office or truft in this "commonwealth. 6. "That they be not allowed to print any thing in our "language against the chriftian religion. 7. "That fo far as may be, they be not fuffered to dif"courage any of their own from ufing any proper means, "or applying themselves to any who may convince them of "their error, and turn them to chriftianity. And that fome "fevere penalty be impofed upon them who fhall apoftatize "from chriftianity to judaifm." Mr. Archdeacon Eachard fays,* The Jews offered the protector two hundred thousand pounds, provided they might have St. Paul's Cathedral for a fettlement. And he adds the following malicious reflection, that "the money made his highnefs look upon it as the caufe of God, but that both the "clergy and laity fo declaimed against them, that the religious juggle would not take place." This the archdeacon himself could not believe, as being quite out of character, for he knew that the protector did not inrich his family, nor value money, but for the publick fervice. He concludes, that "the Jews could never be permitted to live long in a well-fet"tled monarchy." What then does he call the monarchy of England? where the Jews have been indulged the free exerçife of their religion, without doing any damage to the. religion or commerce of the nation for above fixty years. The protector's zeal for the reformed religion made him the refuge of perfecuted proteftants in all parts of the world. The duke of Savoy, at the inftance of his duchefs, fister to the queen of England, determined to oblige his reformed subjects in the valleys of Piedmont to embrace the Roman catholick religion or depart the country. For this purpose he quartered an army upon them, which ate up their fubftance. The proteftants making fome little resistance to the rudeness of the foldiers, the duke gave orders, that all the * P. 716. proteftant go into proteftant families in the valley of Lucern fhould banishment, which fome obeyed, whilft the reft fent deputies to the court of Turin, to implore mercy; but the pope, and the princes of Italy, advised the duke to improve the prefent opportunity for extirpating the reformed, and making all his fubjects of one religion. The duke accordingly fent exprefs orders to his general to drive them all out of the country, with their wives and children, and to put to death fuch as fhould remain. This was executed with great feverity, April 20, 1655. Those who escaped the fword fled into the mountains, from whence, being ready to perifh with hunger and cold, they fent their agents to the lord protector of England, and other proteftant powers, for relief. It was the beginning of May when his highness was firft made acquainted with their diftrefs, whereupon he appointed a general faft, and charitable contributions throughout all England for their prefent affiftance; and fuch was the compaffion of the people, that the collection amounted to thirty-feven thousand and ninetyfeven pounds feven Thillings and three pence. About thirty thousand pounds was remitted to their deputies at feveral payments, in this and the next year; but the confufions which followed upon the protector's death prevented the clearing the whole account till the convention parliament at the reftoration, who ordered the remaining feven thousand pounds to be paid. The protector applied to the proteftant kings of Sweden and Denmark; to the ftates of Holland, the cantons of Switzerland, and the reformed churches of Germany and France; and by his powerful inftances procured large contributions from thofe parts. He wrote to the king of France, and to cardinal Mazarine; and being glad of an opportunity to strike terror into the Roman catholick powers, he fent Samuel Moreland, efq; with a letter to the duke of Savoy, in which, having reprefented the cruelty and injustice of his behaviour towards the proteftants in the valleys, he tells him, "That he was pierced with grief at the news of "the fufferings of the Voudois, being united to them not 66 only by the common ties of humanity, but by the profef"fion of the fame faith, which obliged him to regard them as his brethren; and he should think himself wanting in "his duty to God, to charity, and to his religion, if he "fhould ** "fhould be fatisfied with pitying them only (whofe miferable "condition was enough to raise compaffion in the most bar"barous minds;) unless he also exerted himself to the utmost "of his ability to deliver them out of it." This awakened the popish powers, infomuch that Mazarine wrote in the moft preffing language to the court of Turin, to give the protector immediate fatisfaction; with which the duchefs reproached him, because he had made no terms, for the English papists; but his eminence replied, "We must leave to God "the care of defending the catholicks, whose cause is most juft; but that of the hereticks needs for its fupport the "clemency of princes." Upon this the perfecution immediately ceased; the duke recalled his army out of the valleys, and restored their goods; the poor people returned to their houfes, and recovered all their ancient rights and privileges. But to strike fome further terror into the pope, and the little princes of Italy, the protector gave out, that for as much as he was fatisfied they had been the promoters of this perfecution, he would keep it in mind, and lay hold of the first opportunity to fend his fleet into the Mediterranean to vifit Civita Vecchia, and other parts of the ecclefiaftical territories; and that the found of his cannon fhould be heard in Rome itself. He declared publickly that he would not suffer the proteftant faith to be infulted in any part of the world; and therefore procured liberty to the reformed in Bohemia and France; nor was there any potentate in Europe fo hardy as to risk his difpleasure by denying his requests. The charitable fociety for the relief of the widows and children of clergymen, fince known by the name of the Corporation for the Sons of the Clergy, had its beginning this year; the first fermon being preached by the reverend Mr. George Hall, fon of the famous Jofeph Hall bishop of Exeter, then minister of Alderfgate, afterwards archdeacon of Canterbury, and bishop of Chefter. The fermon was entitled, God's appearing for the tribe of Levi, improved in a fermon preached at St. Paul's, November 8, 1655, to the fons of MINISTERS then folemnly affembled, from Numb. xvii. 8. The Rod of Aaron budded, and bloomed bloffoms, and yielded almonds. The preacher's defign was to enforce the neceffity and usefulness * Burnet, vol. i. p. 108, Edin. edit. of of a fettled miniftry; and though there were fome paffages: that discovered him to be a prelatift, the main part of the fermon breathes moderation; "Let thofe ill-invented terms 66 .. (fays he) whereby we have been distinguished from each "other, be fwallowed up in that name which will lead us "hand in hand to heaven, the name of CHRISTIANS. If "my ftomach, or any of yours, rise against the name of "brotherly communion, which may confift with our feveral "principles retained, not differing in fubftantials, God take "down that ftomach, and make us fee how much we are "concerned to keep the unity of the fpirit in the bond of peace. Why fhould fome, in the height of their zeal for a liturgy, fuppofe there can be no fervice of God but "where that is used? Why fhould others, again, think their piety concerned and trefpaffed upon, if I prefer, and think "fit to ufe a fet form? There must be abatements and al"lowances of each other; a coming down from our punc"tilios, or we shall never give up a good account to God." From this time fermons have been preached annually and large contributions made for the service of this charity. In the reign of king Charles II. they became a body corporate; and their prefent grandeur is fufficiently known to the whole nation. * On the 21st of March this year, died the most reverend and learned archbishop Uber, born in Dublin 1580, and educated in Trinity-college. He proceeded M. A. in the year 1600, and next year was ordained deacon and priest by his uncle Henry Usher, then archbishop of Armagh. In the year 1620 he was made bishop of Meath, and four years after archbishop of Armagh; in which station he remained till the diffolution of the hierarchy during the civil wars. In his younger years he was a calvinist, but in his advanced It is a curious and fingular circumftance, that archbishop Uher received his first elements of learning from two aunts, who were both born blind, yet found out a method of teaching him to read English. These ladies had vast memories, and could repeat moft part of the fcripture by heart diftinctly and without mistake. When it was debated, whether Dr. Uber. fhould be nominated one of the affembly at Westminster, Mr. Selden is reported to have faid, "that they had as good enquire, whether they had beft admit Inigo Jones, the king's architect, to the company of moufetrap"makers." British Biography, vol. iv. p. 336, 350. ED. age age he embraced the middle way between Calvin and Arminius. He was one of the most moderate prelates of his time, and allowed of the ordinations of foreign proteftants; which none but he and bifhop Davenant, and one or two more among the bishops of thofe times, would admit. The archbishop having loft all his revenues by the Irifh rebellion, the king conferred upon him the bishoprick of Carlile in commendam. In 1643 he was nominated one of the affembly of divines at Westminster, but did not appear among them. As long as the king was at Oxford he continued with him, but when the war was ended, he returned to London and lived privately, without any moleftation. He affifted at the treaty of the Ifle. of Wight, but could do no fervice, the contending parties being then at too great a diftance to be reconciled. A little before the king's death, the archbishop was chofen preacher to the honourable fociety of Lincoln'sInn, preaching conftantly all term time, till his eyes failing, he quitted that post, about a year and a half before his death, and retired with the countefs of Peterborough to her house at Ryegate. The protector had a high esteem for this excellent prelate, and confulted him about proper measures for advancing the proteftant intereft at home and abroad: He allowed him a penfion, and promised him a leafe of part of the lands of his archbishoprick in Ireland for twenty-one years; but his death prevented the accomplishment of his defign. About the middle of February the archbishop went down to Ryegate, and on the 20th of March was feized with a pleurify, of which he died the next day, in the feventyfixth year of his age, having been fifty-five years a preacher, four years bishop of Meath, and thirty-one years archbishop of Armagh. The archbishop was one of the most learned men of his age; he had a penetrating judgment, a tenacious memory; above all, he was a most pious, humble, exemplary christian. His body was of the smaller size, his complexion fanguine, * *With his great and vaft learning," it is faid, "no man had a better foul and a more apoftolical mind. Paffion, pride, felf-will, or the love of the world, feemed not to be fo much as in his nature. He had all the innocence of the dove in him. But no man is entirely perfect. He was not made for the governing part of his function. His foul was too gentle to manage the rough work of reforming abuses; therefore he left things |