ness and sufferance of Almighty God, with plenary, whole, and entire power, pre-eminence, authority, prerogative, and jurisdiction, to render and yield justice, and final determination to all manner of folk, resiants or subjects within this his realm, in all causes, matters, debates, and contentions, happening to occur, insurge, or begin within the limits thereof, without restraint or provocation to any foreign princes or potentates of the world; the body spiritual whereof having power, when any cause of the law divine happened to come in question, or of spiritual learning, then it was declared, interpreted, and shewed by that part of the said body politick, called the spirituality, now being usually called the English Church, which always hath been reputed, and also found of that sort, that both for knowledge, integrity, and sufficiency of number, it hath been always thought, and is also at this hour, sufficient and meet of itself, without the intermeddling of any exterior person or persons, to declare and determine all such doubts, and to administer all such offices and duties, as to their rooms spiritual doth appertain, for the due administration whereof, and to keep them from corruption and sinister affection, the king's most noble progenitors, and the antecessors of the nobles of this realm, have sufficiently endowed the said Church, both with honour and possessions; and the laws temporal, for trial of property of lands and goods, and for the conservation of the people of this realm in unity and peace, without rapine or spoil, was and yet is administered, adjudged, and executed by sundry judges and ministers of the other part of the said body politick, called the temporality; and both their authorities and jurisdictions do conjoin together in the due administration of justice the one to help the other (14)."

The first statute of the first year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and which by judicial (15) authority has been declared to be not a statute introductory of a new law, but declaratory of the old, after reciting that in the time of the reign of King Henry VIII. divers good laws and statutes were made, as well for the utter extinguishment and putting away of all

usurped and foreign powers and authorities out of this realm, as also for the restoring and uniting to the imperial crown of this realm the ancient jurisdictions, authorities, superiorities, and pre-eminences to the same of right belonging, revived the former statutes of King Henry VIII. which had been repealed by an Act of King Philip and Queen Mary, and abolishing all usurped foreign powers and authorities, restored and united all jurisdictions, privileges, superiorities and pre-eminences, spiritual and ecclesiastical, to the imperial crown of this realm.

After the dangers which had again threatened our Church in the reign of King James II., the Coronation Oath, of which the maintenance and protection of the rights of the ecclesiastical order had already (16) been a part, was altered to its present form by the first Act of the first year of the reign of King William and Queen Mary, whereby the king or queen is "That he will, to the utmost of his power, maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law, and will preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of this realm and the Churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them.'

to swear,

And, lastly, by the Act of Union passed in the fifth year of the reign of Queen Anne, whereby the succession of the monarchy of the United Kingdom is limited to your Majesty's Illustrious House, a former statute of the same session is confirmed, by which the royal successors of Queen Anne are "to take and subscribe an oath to maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof as by law established."

Since the passing of the last of the above Acts, two changes in the administration of the affairs of the Church have taken place, deeply affecting her liberties and welfare, as guaranteed and protected by kings and parliaments, namely, the virtual (17) extinction of her ancient (18) Legislature (19) and Council (20), the Convocation of the Clergy, and the placing in

the hands of the Ministers of State the privilege of selecting her bishops, instead of their being, as formerly (21), really chosen by the Crown, under the advice and recommendation of the spiritual rulers of the Church.

To us it appears that the suppression of the Church's voice in Convocation, where it is constitutionally (22) required for the assistance of our legislators in matters of spiritual concern (they also being no longer necessarily members of our Church), is in direct derogation of the above-mentioned statute of King Henry VIII., which declares "That the spirituality always hath been reputed and found of that sort, that both for knowledge, integrity, and sufficiency of number, it hath been always thought, and is also at this hour, sufficient and meet of itself, without the intermeddling of any exterior person or persons, to declare and determine all such doubts, and to administer all such offices and duties as to their room spiritual doth appertain," and incompatible also with the aforesaid statute passed by Queen Elizabeth, which forbids "any matter or cause to be adjudged heresy, but such as (among others) thereafter should be judged or determined to be heresy by the High Court of Parliament of this realm with the assent of the clergy in their Convocation." Consistently with which spirit, in the reign of King William III., a Bill being brought into the House of Lords for the comprehension of Dissenters in the Church, the Commons threw it out, and addressed the king, requesting him to leave the subject to the Convocation (23) "to be advised with in ecclesiastical matters."

But however great may be the departure from the principles of our constitution in the virtual extinction of Convocation, no change either in its nature or consequences appears to us so calamitous and degrading to the Church, as that of her vacant bishoprics having become places of patronage for the Ministers of State, whereby the Crown is spoiled of one of its most precious prerogatives, and the power which was committed to it as a sacred trust for the Church's welfare, is

diverted for the personal or political interests of a Cabinet Minister.

The result (23) of a careful investigation has shown, that, from the earliest ages of Christianity in England, down to the period of the papal usurpation, as well as since the time of the Reformation, until towards the middle of the last century, the king really as well as nominally appointed to ecclesiastical preferment, and that in the discharge of this sacred trust, the spiritual heads of the Church were habitually consulted on all important appointments. More particularly would we desire to bring before your Majesty's consideration the course adopted by your predecessor King William III., called in like manner as your Majesty's Iilustrious House to the throne of this nation, for the security of the rights and liberties of the Church of England; who, during the joint reign of himself and Queen Mary, having left the matters of the Church wholly in her hands, which she managed with strict and religious prudence, consulting chiefly (as History (24) informs us) with the Archbishop of Canterbury; after her death, by royal (25) commission reciting as follows:-"We being sensible that nothing can conduce more to the glory of God, our own honour, and the welfare of the Church, than our promoting to preferment therein the most worthy and deserving men according to their merits, and conceiving you Thomas, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, John, Lord Archbishop of York, Gilbert, Lord Bishop of Sarum, William, Lord Bishop of Worcester, Simon, Lord Bishop of Ely, and John, Lord Bishop of Norwich, to be proper and competent judges in such cases," did appoint them commissioners to consider of persons proper to be recommended to him to succeed to any bishopric or any other ecclesiastical preferments in England above the value of 201. in the king's books, which were in his Majesty's gift or disposal, and to signify under their hands the recommendation of such persons as they in their wisdoms should think most fit to be appointed by his said Majesty to succeed to any such vacant preferments. Which commission pro

ceeds further in these words:" And further, we do hereby declare our pleasure to be, that neither of our principal Secretaries of State do at any time, either when we shall be resident in England, or in parts beyond the seas, move us in behalf of any person whatsoever, for any place or preferment which we have hereby left to the recommendation or disposal of our said commissioners as aforesaid, without having first communicated both the person and the thing by him desired, to you our said commissioners, or so many of you as are hereby empowered to act; and without having your opinion and recommendation in such manner as herein before is directed. And if at any time we be moved in like manner by any other person whatsoever, our pleasure is, and we do hereby declare, that neither of our principal Secretaries of State shall present any warrant to us for our royal signature in such a case, until you, our said commissioners, or so many of you as are hereby empowered to act, have been acquainted therewith, and have given your opinion and recommendation as aforesaid."

It is the more remarkable that the duty of recommending to vacant bishoprics in the reign of King William III. was lodged in so decided and formal a manner in the hands of our Spiritual Rulers rather than of the Ministers of State, because in the political troubles of those times, strong inducements would have existed for strengthening the party in power by means of exercising this important privilege in the manner in which of late years it has been accustomed to be done.

We, therefore, seriously lamenting the present and long distracted state of the Church of England, occasioned, as we fear, in a great degree by the changes above referred to, do most humbly and earnestly intreat your Majesty, as the Defender of the Faith, the Supreme Governor and Protector of the Church, and having the eternal (26) as well as temporal interests of your people committed to your charge, to exercise your Royal Authority in our behalf; and as some of your most illustrious ancestors, at a time when the rights and liberties of the Church were encroached upon by a foreign ecclesiastical