and last parliament, after they had fat only seven days. As foon as his majesty got out of the house, he pofted away in all hafte to Windfor, as one that was glad he had got rid of his parliament, which was the last that he ever convened; though he lived three or four years after. And here was an end of the conftitution and liberties of England for the prefent; all that followed to the king's death was no more than the convulfions and ftruggles of a dying man. The king raised what money he wanted without parliaments; he took away all the charters of England, and governed abfolutely by dint of prerogative. April the 8th, the king published a declaration * to all his loving fubjects, touching the caufes and reafons that moved him to diffolve the two laft parliaments; and ordered it to be read in all the churches and chapels throughout England. It contains a recital of his majesty's condefcenfions for the fecurity of the proteftant religion, as far as was confiftent with the fucceffion of the crown in the lineal defcent; and a large rehearsal of the unfuitable returns of the commons. "But notwithstanding all this, (fays his majefty) let not "these men, who are labouring to poifon our people with commonwealth principles, perfuade any of our fubjects that "we intend to lay afide the use of parliaments, for we still "declare, that no irregularities in parliaments fhall make "us out of love with them; and we are refolved by the "bleffing of God, to have frequent parliaments;" although he never called another. Several anonymous remarks were made upon this declaration, to weaken its influence. But the court ufed all its intereft among the people to fupport its credit: addreffes were fent from all parts, thanking his majefty for his declaration, promifing to fupport his perfon and government with their lives and fortunes. Moft of them declared against the bill of exclufion, and for the duke's fucceffion+ (as has been obferved.) Some ventured to arraign the late parliament as guilty of fedition and treason, and to * It was obferved, Dr. Calamy fays, that "this declaration was known by M. Barillon, the French ambaffador, and by the duchefs of Mazarine, "fooner than by the king's council, and that it was evidenced to be of "French extraction by the gallicifms in it; and withal it had no broad "feal to it, and was figned only by a clerk of the council." Own Life, MS. ED. pray his majesty to put in execution the ftatute of 35 Eliz. against the non-conformists. The grand juries, the justices at their feffion, divers boroughs and corporations, the companies in towns, and at last the very apprentices, fent up addrefles. Those who prefented or procured them were well treated at court, and fome of them knighted. Many zealous healths were drank, and in their cups the fwaggerings of the old cavaliers feemed to be revived. One of the most celebrated addreffes was from the univerfity of Cambridge, presented by Dr. Gower mafter of St. John's, which I fhall give the reader as a specimen of the reft. It begins thus: "Sacred "Sir! We your majesty's most faithful and obedient subjects have long, with the greatest and fincereft joy, beheld "the generous emulation of our fellow-fubjects, contending "who should beft exprefs their duty to their fovereign at this "time, when the feditious endeavours of unreasonable men ❝ have made it neceffary to affert the ancient loyalty of the "English nation.-It is at prefent the great honour of this your univerfity, not only to be ftedfast and constant in our duty, but to be eminently fo, and to fuffer for it as much as the calumnies and reproaches of factious and ma"licious men can inflict upon us. And that they have not "proceeded to fequeftration and plunder, as heretofore, "next to the over-ruling providence of almighty God, is "only due to the royal care and prudence of your most facred "majefty, who gave fo feasonable a check to their arbitrary "and infolent undertakings.-We ftill believe and maintain, "that our kings derive not their power from the people, but from God; that to him only they are accountable; that it be longs not to fubje&is either to create or cenfure, but to honour "and obey their fovereign, who comes to be fo by a fundamental, hereditary right of fucceffion, which no religion, no law, no "fault or forfeiture can alter or diminish; nor will we abate of our well-inftructed zeal for the Church of England as by "law established. Thus we have learned our own, and thus 66 we teach others their duty to God and the king."-His majesty discovered an unusual fatisfaction on this occafion, and after having returned them thanks, was pleafed to add, that no other church in the world taught and practifed loyalty fo confcientiously as they did. σε 66 Ac As fuch abject and fervile flattery could not fail of pleafing the king, it must neceffarily draw down vengeance on the non-conformists, who joined in none of their addresses, but were doomed to fuffer under a double character, as whigs, and as diffenters. "This (fays bishop Burnet*) was fet on "by the papists, and it was wifely done of them, for they "knew how much the non-conformists were fet against them. They made ufe alfo of the indifcreet zeal of the high "church clergymen to ruin them, which they knew would "render the clergy odious, and give the papifts great advanG6. tage when opportunity offered." The times were boifterous and stormy; fham plots were contrived, and warrants iffued against the leaders of the whig party for feditious language; Shaftesbury, now called the proteftant earl, was fent to the Tower, and Stephen College, the proteftant joiner, was carried to Oxford, and hanged, after the grand jury in London had brought in a bill of indictment against him ignoramus. Witneffes were imported from Ireland, and employed to fwear away men's lives." The court intended to fet them to "fwear against all the hot party, which was plainly murder " in them who believed them falfe witneffes, (fays Burnett) "and yet made use of them to destroy others." Spies were planted in all coffee-houses, to furnish out evidence for the witneffes. Mercenary justices were put into commiffion all over the kingdom; juries were packed; and with regard to the non-conformifts, informers of the vileft of the people were countenanced to a fhameful degree, infomuch that the gaols were quickly filled with prisoners, and large fums of money extorted from the industrious and confcientious, and played into the hands of the most profligate wretches in the nation. 66 the The juftices of Middlesex fhewed great forwardness, and reprefented to his majesty in December, "that an intimation "of his pleasure was neceffary at this time, to the putting "the laws in execution against conventicles, because when a charge was lately given at the council-board to put "laws in execution against popifh recufants, no mention was "made of fuppreffing conventicles. Upon this his majesty commanded the lord-mayor, aldermen, and juftices, to use * Page 306. ↑ P. 315. tr 66 .. their utmost endeavour to fupprefs all conventicles and unlawful meetings, upon pretence of religious worship, for it was his exprefs pleasure, that the laws be effectually put in execution against them, both in city and country. Accordingly the justices of peace at their feffions at Hickes's-hall, Jan. 13, ordered, "that whereas the conftables and church"wardens, &c. of every parish and precinct within the faid county, had been enjoined last feffions to make a return "the first day of this, of the names of the preachers in "conventicles, and the most confiderable frequenters of the "fame within their feveral limits; which order not being "obeyed, but contemned by fome, it was therefore by the justices then affembled defired, that the lord bishop of Lon"don will please to direct those officers which are under his jurifdiction, to use their utmost diligence, that all fuch perfons may be excommunicated, who commit crimes deferving the ecclefiaftical cenfure; and that the faid excom"munications may be published in the parishes where the perfons live, that they may be taken notice of, and be. "obvious to the penalties that belong to perfons excommu"nicate, (viz.)not to be admitted for a witness, or returned upon "juries, or capable of fuing for any debt." They further ordered at the fame time, " that the statute of the first of Eliz. "and third of king James, be put in due execution, for the "levying twelve-pence per Sunday upon fuch persons who "repaired not to divine fervice and fermons at their parifh "or fome other publick church." All which (fays Mr. Eachard) made way for all forts of profecutions both in city and country, which in many places were carried on with great fpight and feverity, where there never wanted bufy agents and informers, of which a few were sufficient to put the laws in execution; fo that the diffenters this year and much longer, (fays he) met with cruel and unchriftian usage'; which occafioned great complaints among the people, and fome fevere reflections on the king himself. 66 It was not in the power of the church-wigs to relieve the non-conformists, nor fcreen them from the edge of the penal laws, which were in the hands of their enemies. All that could be done was to encourage their conftancy, and to write fome compaffionate treatifes to move the people in their favour, by fhewing VOL. IV. . fhewing them, that while they were plundering and destroying their proteftant diffenting neighbours, they were cutting the throat of the reformed religion, and making way for the triumphs of popery upon its ruins. Among other writings of this fort, the moft famous was, the Conformifts Plea for the Non-conformists, in four parts, by a beneficed minifter and a regular fon of the church of England. In which the author undertakes to fhew, 1. The greatnefs of their fufferings. 2. The hardships of their cafe. 3. The reasonablenefs and equity of their propofals for union. 4. The qualifications and worth of their minifters. 5. Their peaceable behaviour. 6. Their agreement with the church of England in the articles of her faith. 7. The prejudice to the church by their exclufion; and then concludes, with an account of the infamous lives, and lamentable deaths, of feveral of the informers. It was a fenfible and moving performance, but had no influence on the tory justices, and tribe of informers. There was no ftemming the tide; every one who was not a furious tory (fays Rapin) was reputed a prefbyterian. * Moft of the clergy were with the court, and diftinguifhed' themselves on the fide of perfecution. The pulpits every where refounded with the doctrines of paffive-obedience and non-refiftance, which were carried to all the heights of king Charles I. No eaftern monarch (according to them) was more abfolute than the king of England. They expreffed fuch a zeal for the duke's fucceffion, as if a popifh king over a proteftant country had been a special bleffing from heaven. They likewife gave themselves fuch a loose against protestant non-conformists, as if nothing was fo formidable as that party. In all their fermons, popery was quite forgot, (fays Burnet) and the force of their zeal was turned almost wholly against proteftant diffenters. In many country places the parson of the parish, who could bully, and drink and fwear, was put into the commiffion of the peace, and made a confiding juftice, by which means he was both judge and party in his own caufe. If any of his fober parishioners did not appear at church, they were fure to be fummoned, and inftead of the mildnefs and gentleness of a chriftian clergyman, they ufually met with haughty and abufive language, and the utmost riRapin, p, 725. Burnet, p. 309. ** gour |