doth declare, that he will not give any man, beneficed in one diocese, a faculty to take and hold a benefice in another, unless the bishop, in whose diocese he is already beneficed, doth give him a fair dimission and testi5 mony, together with his express consent to that very purpose.

V. That they will admit none to holy orders but such as are presented to some ecclesiastical preferment then void in that diocese, or have some other title specified 10 and allowed in the 33d canon; among which a curacy under a parson or vicar, during his pleasure, is not to be accounted to be one, unless that parson or vicar doth under his hand and seal, and before witnesses oblige himself to the bishop both to accept that person "bona 15 fide" (when he shall be ordained and licensed by the bishop) to serve under him, and assist him, and also to allow him such salary, as the bishop shall approve of, so long as he shall continue doing his duty there; and lastly, not to put him out of that employment, but for reasons 20 to be allowed by the bishop.

VI. That they will ordain no man, who hath a title allowed by the canon, if the benefice, to which that title relates, lie within another diocese, except he exhibit letters dimissory from the bishop, in whose diocese his 25 title and employment is.

VII. That they will ordain no man, but upon the Lord's days, immediately following the "jejunia quatuor temporum," except he have a faculty to be ordained "extra tempora;" and such a faculty, the archbishop 30 declares, he will not grant, but upon very urgent occasion, as (for instance) if one, who is not in full orders, be presented to some benefice; for of it since the late act of uniformity he is not capable, till he be ordained priest.

35 VIII. That they will ordain no man (of what qualities or gifts soever) both deacon and priest in one day, nor

any man priest, until he shall have continued in the office of a deacon the space of a whole year, and behaved himself faithfully and diligently in the same. And if upon urgent occasion, it shall for reasonable causes seem good unto the bishop to shorten that time, yet even in 5 that case, there being four times of ordination in the year, he shall give the deacon's order in the end of one Ember week; and (if the case may bear that delay) the priest's order not till the next ensuing; or in the utmost necessity, not till the Sunday, or holy-day next following; and 10 that too not without a faculty. But in the same day none shall be made both deacon and priest, that some decent shadow at least, or footstep of so ancient and laudable a practice may be however retained and observed amongst us.

15

IX. That they will ordain none, but such as shall, a full month before the day of ordination, bring or send to the bishop notice in writing of their desire to enter into holy orders, together with such certificate of their age, and such testimonials of their behaviour and conversation, 20 as are above required; to the end, that the bishop may (if he think fit) make further inquiry into all particulars, and also give open monitions to all men to except against such, as they may perhaps know not to be worthy, as it is expressly required by that excellent canon MDLXIV. and 25 may be performed, as otherwise, so generally by affixing a schedule of the names of the candidates upon the doors of the cathedral, for as long time before, as they are given in: nor any, but such as shall also repair personally to the bishop in the beginning of the Ember week, or on Thurs- 30 day in that week, at the latest; to the end, that there may be time for the strict and careful examination of every person, so to be ordained, both by the archdeacon, and by the bishop himself, and such other as shall assist him at the imposition of hands, or he shall think fit to 35 employ herein; and that they may also be present in the

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cathedral, and observe the solemn fast, and join in the solemn prayers, which are at that time to be put up to God in their behalf.

X. Lastly, That some time in the week, after every 5 ordination, whether "intra," or "extra tempora," the bishop ordaining shall send a certificate under his hand and seal, attested by the archdeacon, and such other clergymen, as assisted at the ordination, containing the names and surnames of all the persons then ordained, the place of their birth, their age, the college where they were educated, with the degree they have taken in the university, the title upon which they are ordained, and upon whose letters dimissory, if they came out of another diocese; to which shall be subjoined a particular account 15 of all such as then offered themselves to ordination, and were refused, as also of the reasons for which the bishop refused them. All which the archbishop doth undertake and promise to cause to be entered into a lieger book for that purpose, to the end that it may be, as it were "ecclesiæ matricula" for this province.

20

W. Asaph.

W. Cant.

William Norwich.

Fran. Ely.

Tho. Bath et Wells,

CLXII.

Archiepisc. Cant. GUIL. SANCROFT IO.

Anno Christi
1687.

Reg. Angliæ
JACOB. II. 3.

King James the Second his gracious declaration to all his loving subjects for liberty of conscience.

IT

JAMES R.

T having pleased Almighty God not only to bring us to the imperial crown of these kingdoms through the greatest difficulties, but to preserve us by a more than ordinary providence upon the throne of our royal an- 5 cestors; there is nothing now that we so earnestly desire, as to establish our government on such a foundation, as may make our subjects happy, and unite them to us by inclination as well as duty. Which we think can be done by no means so effectually, as by granting to them the 10 free exercise of their religion for the time to come, and add that to the perfect enjoyment of their property;

King James the Second] The first open rupture between king James II. and the established clergy was occasioned by the energy and ability they displayed in opposing the growth of popery. The king had re- 15 published in the year 1686 the directions concerning preachers which had been issued by king Charles II. in 1662 (see No. CLI.), but under circumstances so different from those of the preceding reign, and with a purpose so hostile to the cause of protestantism, that no attention was paid to his directions, and sermons were preached and treatises 20 published, carrying the war against the church of Rome into every quarter of the controversy. The wrath of the king fell in the first instance on the bishop of London, for refusing to suspend Dr. Sharp, on account of some controversial sermons preached at St. Giles'; and the bishop was summoned before the court of ecclesiastical commission, 25 which had recently been restored in direct opposition to the law, and was himself suspended from his episcopal office. But having once de

which has never been in any case invaded by us since our coming to the crown. Which being the two things men value most, shall ever be preserved in these kingdoms, during our reign over them, as the truest methods 5 of their peace and our glory. We cannot but heartily wish, as it will easily be believed, that all the people of our dominions were members of the catholic church; yet we humbly thank Almighty God, it is, and hath of long time been our constant sense and opinion, (which 10 upon divers occasions we have declared,) that conscience ought not to be constrained, nor people forced in matters of mere religion: it has ever been directly contrary to our inclination, as we think it is to the interest of government, which it destroys by spoiling trade, depopulating 15 countries, and discouraging strangers, and finally, that it never obtained the end for which it was employed. And in this we are the more confirmed by the reflections we have made upon the conduct of the four last reigns. For after all the frequent and pressing endeavours that were 20 used in each of them, to reduce this kingdom to an exact conformity in religion, it is visible the success has not answered the design, and that the difficulty is invincible. We therefore out of our princely care and affection unto

clared his hostility to the established church, the king took measures 25 for increasing the number and strength of his supporters. He opened offices for granting dispensations and licenses to dissenters, in the hope that as they had obtained independence through his assistance, they would be induced by a sense of gratitude to promote his wishes; and to attach them to him the more completely, he determined to release 30 them altogether from the operation of the test and the penal laws. He accordingly issued his declaration for liberty of conscience, a measure, which, though it professed to have arisen from the most paternal and patriotic feeling, had slavery for its object, and made use of revolutionary methods in order to accomplish it. Kennet, vol. iii. 35 p. 486. Neal, Purit. vol. iii. p. 266. Burnet, O. T. vol. iii. p. 161. Baxter's Life, p. 375. Clarke's James II. vol. ii. pp. 91. 112. Lingard, vol. viii. p. 303.