Church; its authority had afterwards been equally extended and abused; it had taken upon itself, with questionable legality, to impose fines, and that authority having been used more frequently and more heavily after the fines had been granted by the King in aid of the reparation of St. Paul's, (a national and necessary work upon which Laud was earnestly intent,) it had become peculiarly obnoxious. But the aim of the ruling faction was destruction, not reformation; and by the same act which suppressed an arbitrary tribunal, all wholesome ecclesiastical discipline was in fact destroyed.

The House of Lords meantime appointed a committee for religion, consisting of twenty Peers and ten Bishops, who were to inquire into doctrines as well as ceremonies, and a sub-committee, consisting wholly of clergy, to prepare matters for their cognizance. The members of the latter were chiefly doctrinal Puritans, a few were rightly affected in all things to the Church whereof they were members, a larger proportion were zealots in the popular cause. Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, formerly Lord Keeper, and soon afterwards Archbishop of York, was President of both committees; he was a person of great erudition and abilities; but animosity against Laud had tempted him first to actions ill-according with his station and his duty; and resentment for a persecution, which if not originally unjust, had been inordinately severe, betrayed him now into a more inexcusable course of conduct. The Primate in his imprisonment apprehended from this committee great dishonour to the Church, and illimitable evil. How far, indeed, Williams might have gone with the Calvinists, and what concessions he might have made to the Root and Branch men, whom no compromise could have conciliated, cannot be known. Their brethren in the Commons were too eager for triumph, and too sure of it, to wait the slow proceedings of these committees, and they brought in a bill for the suppression of deans and chapters. The arguments for this spoliation were such as base and malicious minds address to the ignorant and the vulgar, when they seek to carry into effect, by means of popular clamour, a purpose of foul injustice. They were refuted with great ability by Dr. Hacket, who was admitted to speak before the House in behalf of the dignified Clergy; by Sir Benjamin Rudyard, one of the most cloquent men in that

best age of English eloquence; and by Sir Edward Dering himself, who, when he had discovered too late at what the reformers were aiming, came forward manfully, and proved the uprightness of his own intentions, by atoning, as far as was in his power, for the errors into which he had been beguiled.

The party were not disheartened, though their measures were sometimes defeated in the Commons and sometimes rejected by the Lords. As the slightest introduction of morbific matter into the human system suffices to induce disease or death, so when destructive opinions are once avowed in a legislative body, they continue to work till the crisis is produced; the very strength of evil consisting in its restlessness and activity. The puritanical members were always at their post, always alert, and on the watch for every occasion; their opponents too often absented themselves from the House, wearied by pertinacity, or disgusted by violence; many fatally persuaded themselves that their individual presence would contribute little to the preservation of government; but advantage was taken of their absence, to carry the most mischievous questions; thus a handful of determined Rooters, first by address and vigilance, then by intimidation and the help of the mob, succeeded in making Parliament speak their language; and many of the best and noblest members sacrificed at last their fortunes and their lives, defending unsuccessfully in the field that cause which, if they had never relaxed from their duty in the senate, would never have been brought to the decision of arms.

The Root and Branch men, feeling now that audacity insured success, and that every success increased their numbers and their strength, moved that there might be liberty to disuse the Common Prayer, by reason that in many things it gave offence to tender consciences. The majority at once rejected the motion, well knowing that "if that which offends the weak brother is to be avoided, much more that which offends the strong;' and they voted that it should be duly observed. But on the very next day, in violation of all parliamentary rules, the Puritans, finding themselves masters of a thin House, suspended the yesterday's order, and passed a resolution that the communion-table should be removed from its appointed place, the rails which enclosed it pulled down, and the Chancel levelled, and that no man

Sir Edward Der

should presume to bow at the name of Jesus. ing, who now on all occasions stood forward in defence of the Church, opposed this last infamous decree with great feeling. "Hear me," said he, "with patience, and refute me with reason. Your command is that all corporal bowing at the name Jesus be henceforth forborne.

"I have often wished that we might decline these dogmatical resolutions in divinity. I say it again and again, that we are not idonei et competentes judices in doctrinal determination. The theme we are now upon is a sad point. I pray you consider severely on it.

"You know there is no other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. You know that this is a Name above every name. Oleum effusum nomen ejus; it is the carol of his own spouse. This Name is by a Father styled mel in ore, melos in aure, jubilum in corde. This it is the sweetest and the fullest of comfort of all the Names and attributes of God, God my Saviour. If Christ were not our Jesus, Heaven were then our envy, which is now our blessed hope.

"And must I, Sir, hereafter do no exterior reverence, . . . none at all, . . . to God my Saviour, at the mention of his saving name Jesus? Why, Sir, not to do it, . . . to omit it, and to leave it undone, it is questionable, it is controvertible; it is at least a moot point in divinity. But to deny it, . . . to forbid it to be done! ... take heed, Sir! God will never own you if you forbid his honour. Truly, Sir, it horrors me to think of this. For my part, I do humbly ask pardon of this House, and thereupon I take leave and liberty to give you my resolute resolution. I may, . . . I must, . . . I will do bodily reverence unto my Saviour; and that upon occasion taken at the mention of his saving name Jesus. And if I should do it also as oft as the name of God, or Jehovah, or Christ, is named in our solemn devotions, I do not know any argument in divinity to control me.

"Mr. Speaker, I shall never be frighted from this, with that fond shallow argument, 'Oh you make an Idol of a name!' I beseech you, Sir, paint me a voice; make a sound visible if you When you have taught mine ears to see, and mine eyes to hear, I may then perhaps understand this subtle argument. In the mean time reduce this dainty species of new idolatry under

can.

its proper head, the second commandment, if you can: and if I find it there, I will fly from it ultra Sauromatas, any whither

with you.

"Was it ever heard before, that any men of any religion, in any age, did ever cut short or abridge any worship, upon any occasion, to their God? Take heed, Sir, and let us all take heed whither we are going! If Christ be JESUS, if JESUS be God, all reverence, exterior as well as interior, is too little for him. I hope we are not going up the back stairs to Socinianism!

"In a word, certainly, Sir, I shall never obey your order, so long as I have a head to lift up to Heaven, so long as I have an eye to lift up to Heaven. For these are corporal bowings, and my Saviour shall have them at his name JESUS!"

It is not by eloquence and reason that men can be deterred from factious purposes. The resolutions were passed and carried to the Lords, who receiving them with becoming indignation, both at the irregularity, and the intent of such proceedings, refused to join with the Commons, and directed an order made in full Parliament, seven months before, to be printed, enjoining that the divine service should be duly performed according to law, and that all who disturbed that wholesome order should be severely punished. But the Commons, now wholly under guidance of the Root and Branch men, commanded the people of England to submit to their direction and disregard the order of the Lords, trampling thus upon the privileges of the Peerage, as they had already done upon those of the Clergy and of the Throne. For the faction had now advanced so far, that they treated with contemptuous disregard the forms of law and the principles of the Government, except when it was convenient to wrest them to their own purposes, and then indeed they were insisted on with the utmost rigour of tyranny. In their spirit of contempt for ancient usages, when the house adjourned they appointed a Committee to transact business during the recess, which was, in fact, little short of committing the Government into their hands; and the first act of the Committee thus unconstitutionally appointed, was to exercise their usurped jurisdiction in ecclesiastical affairs, sending forth their orders to be read in all Churches, and authorizing the parishioners of any parish to choose a lecturer, and maintain him at their own charge. Immediately

the London pulpits, and those in the larger provincial towns, where the Puritans had obtained a footing, were manned with preachers, ministers, not of peace and Christian morality, but of hatred, violence, and rebellion, who, as if they studied Scripture merely to distort it, applied its denunciations directly against the Bishops and the order of the Church; and with scarce the semblance of a cover, against the King and the frame of the State also. They did this with the confidence of entire impunity, having now obtained that liberty of speech and of the press, which they desired, . . . that is, unrestrained license for their own party, and the power of punishing any who should speak or write against them, with a vigour beyond the law. They exercised this power in the case of Dr. Pocklington, one of the King's chaplains, who had written a treatise against that superstitious observance of the Sabbath, which the Puritans were endeavouring to enforce, and another, concerning the antiquity of altars in Christian Churches; questions which he had discussed with becoming temper and moderation, as well as with competent erudition and sound judgement. And for this he was, by sentence of the House of Lords, prohibited from ever coming within the verge of the King's courts, deprived of all his livings, dignities, and preferments, and disabled from ever holding any place or dignity in Church or Commonwealth. The books were ordered to be burnt by the hangman, and the author was saved from farther punishment only by timely death.

As soon as the order respecting the altar was issued, the Puritans broke loose; painted windows were demolished, rails torn up, monumental brasses stolen, tombs defaced and destroyed. It was now plainly seen what might be expected from their full triumph, when such was their conduct upon the first success. Wherever a few zealots led the way, a rabble was easily collected to bear their part, for the love of mischief, or the hope of plunder, the sectarians suffering and encouraging these outrages for the pleasure of insulting the loyal Clergy, and showing their contempt and hatred of the Church. The authority was in their hands now, and never had the High Commission Court, in its worst days, so tyrannically abused its power. If any were found virtuous enough to oppose them, it was sufficient to complain of such persons to the House of Commons for words of dangerous