easiness and remissness, received and proceeded upon; whereby great mischiefs in the church and scandals daily ensue, persons altogether undeserving, or at least not duly qualified, being too often, upon the credit of such papers, admitted into holy orders, and in consequence 5 thereupon thrusting themselves into employments of high trust, and dignity, and advantage in the church, and by their numerous instructions preventing and excluding others of greater modesty and merit: concerning all which, your lordship cannot but remember, how many 10 and how great complaints we met with both from ou brethren the bishops, and others, during the late session of parliament, and what expedients for remedy thereof were then under debate and consideration among us. Now, as the result of those counsels, and for the effectual 15 redressing of those inconveniences, and preventing the like for the future, (though it would be abundantly sufficient to call all persons concerned, on both sides, to the serious perusal of, and exact compliance with those excellent constitutions and canons ecclesiastical, made in 20 the year MDCIII. which have most wisely and fully provided to obviate all these evils,) yet because in the modern practice they seem not duly to be attended to, it is thought fit and necessary again to limit and regulate the grant, the matter, and the form of testimonials as fol- 25 loweth "videlicet," That no letters testimonial be granted only upon the credit of others, or out of a judgment of charity, which believes all things, and hopes all things, but from immediate and personal knowledge, and that owned and ex- 30 pressed in the letters themselves. That (as to the form of these letters) every such testimonial have the date, both as to time and place, expressly mentioned in the body of it, before it be subscribed by any, and pass also (as the canon requires) under hand and 35 seal; those namely from the universities, under the com mon seal of their respective colleges, attested by the subscription of the master, head, or principal person there, and those from other places, under the hands and seals of three priests at the least, of known integrity, gravity, and 5 prudence, who are of the voisinage, where the person testified of resides, or have otherwise known his life and behaviour by the space of three years next before the date of the said letters. And as to the matter of them, that they particularly To express the present condition of the person, in whose behalf the testimony is given; his standing and degree in the university; his place of present abode, and course of life; his end and design, for which he would make use of the said testimonial; whether for obtaining the order 15 of deacon or priest, or the employment of a parson, vicar, curate, or schoolmaster; and that the subscribers know him to be worthy, and in regard of learning, prudence, and holy life, duly qualified for the same respectively; and if he desires holy orders, his age too, if the sub20 scribers know it, or else that they admonish him to bring it otherwise credibly and sufficiently attested. Lastly, if such testimonial be to be made use of in another diocese, than that, where it is given; that it be by no means received without the letters dimissory of the bishop, or 25 other ordinary of the place, attesting in writing the ability, honesty, and good conversation of the person commended, in the place from whence he came. My lord, this is (I think) the sum of what was discoursed and resolved between us, when we were last 30 together. I therefore desire you, with all convenient speed, to cause copies thereof to be transcribed and transmitted to the several bishops of this province, and vice-chancellors of the universities respectively, and to be by them communicated (as soon as may well be) to as 35 many as are herein concerned, that they may not be disappointed by coming furnished with such testimonials only, as will not, nor ought to be received to such great purposes, for which they are so often made use of. Commending your lordship and your great affairs to the blessing of God Almighty, I remain, The archbishop of Canterbury's letter to the bishop of London about the augmentation of vicarages and curacies.-Ex autographo penes Tho. episc. Assaven. MY LORD, THE patrimony of the church (especially in the smaller vicarages) hath been so long and so often by unjust 10 customs and otherwise invaded, and by degrees daily more and mored iminished, and the little that is left of the old endowment, so likely by the same arts to be swallowed up and lost, that we have reason to bless God, who at the king's happy restoration put it into his heart 15 by his letters to command us, upon the renewing of church leases, to make further reservations beyond the The archbishop of Canterbury's letter] See No. CXLVII. D'Oyly's Sancroft, vol. i. p. 188. This letter is taken from the copy in the archbishop's handwriting preserved in the Tanner MSS. in the Bodleian, zo vol. cclxxxii. p. 115. old rent for the augmenting the livelihood of poor vicars and curates; which being done, he also past a law for the confirming and perpetuating such augmentations. After which pious care and provision, it would be an indelible 5 blot upon us, if we should be found to have finally neglected any act enjoined us by that statute, whereby the payment of those augmentations is directed to be evidenced and secured. And yet (with grief I write it) I think I have ground to fear, that what in obedience to 10 that excellent law ought to have been done by us above three years since, in order to so pious a purpose, is not to this day by us all universally performed. And therefore I desire your lordship to communicate this my letter to all our brethren, the bishops of this province, by them to 15 be transmitted to their respective deans, archdeacons, and prebendaries, strictly requiring them, upon receipt hereof, to have recourse to the said act of parliament, and forthwith, punctually, and effectually to perform what is therein enjoined them. And when that is done, to the 20 end I may be assured that at last it is done, that every bishop, dean and archdeacon send me a particular of all the augmentations respectively by them made or by their predecessor, with the names of the parishes, and the sum so reserved to the use of the incumbents, subscribed with 25 their own hands; that so I may know what hath been done herein throughout the whole province. My lord, I doubt not of your lordship's readiness to promote so good a work; which with your good lordship and all your great affairs I commend to God's blessing, and remain 30 Your lordship's most affectionate friend and brother, Lambeth house, Feb. 2, MDCLXXX. W. CANT. CLIX. Archiepisc. Cant. GUIL. SANCROFT 4. Anno Christi Reg. Angliæ The archbishop of Canterbury's letter to the bishop of London concerning prosecution of popish recusants, according to the canons of king James, LXV. LXVI. CXIV. Ex MS. penes Thom. episc. Assaven. Right reverend lord and brother, HIS majesty having yesternight in council (to the great satisfaction and joy of us all) declared his royal will and pleasure, that all papists and popish recu The archbishop of Canterbury's letter] The last parliament held in the 5 reign of king Charles II. assembled at Oxford on the 22nd day of March 1681, and was dissolved six days afterwards, the commons having given extreme offence by their vigorous proceedings against popery, and more especially by the bill, which the king had denounced in a former parliament, for excluding the duke of York from the succession 10 to the throne. On the 8th of April the king in council issued a declaration "touching the causes and reasons that induced him to dissolve the two last parliaments;" in which was contained the following memorable passage: "We are resolved, by the blessing of God, to have frequent parliaments, and both in and out of parliament to use our 15 utmost endeavours to extirpate popery, and to redress all the grievances of our good subjects, and in all things to govern according to the laws of the kingdom." It was at this council that the king expressed himself in such a manner, as to call for the gratitude of the archbishop and to give occasion for the present letter on the subject of recusants. 20 But we have the following and different account of the matter from sir William Jones, a less credulous authority. The declaration was not communicated to the privy council till Friday the 8th of April, when his majesty did graciously declare to them his pleasure to set it forth, without desiring from them any advice in the matter; but M. Barillon, the 25 French ambassador, did not only read it to a gentleman on the 5th of April, but advised with him about it, and demanded his opinion of it.” (State Tracts, p. 167.) "This declaration," says the writer of a letter |