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gress: the mass of the people remaining papists, regarded the Protestants as oppressors; and the rulers of the Irish church in general were little inclined to vital godliness, while much perplexity prevailed in determining the titles to the great landed estates, which had been confiscated through the rebellion.

Evangelical piety in this distracted period scarcely had an existence, except in the north of Ireland, among the Presbyterians: “who," as Burnet remarks, "adhered stiffly to their first education in Scotland." Religion seems to have been advancing among these "Scots," enjoying their Bibles and their Scriptural worship, having in 1688 ninety congregations, which were progressively increasing under the faithful ministration of their pastoral bishops.

Queen Anne's tory ministers and prelates laboured in contriving their exclusive policy as the means of persecution in Ireland, and discontents continued to prevail through the behaviour of the trustees to the great estates. In 1703, the ruling powers passed an act concerning the papists, "for breaking the dependence on the heads of families: for it was provided that all estates should be equally divided among the children of papists, notwithstanding any settlement to the contrary, unless the persons on whom they were settled, qualified themselves by taking the oaths, and coming to the communion of the church."

As the bill passed through the English parliament, a clause was added, "to this purpose, that none in Ireland should be capable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy in any city, who did not qualify themselves by receiving the sacrament according to the Test Act passed in England, which before this time had never been offered to the Irish nation *."

Prelatical bigotry was almost incessantly active; and, with many, clerical hatred to the Toleration was implacable. According to Burnet, in 1705, "the new heat among the Protestants in Ireland, raised in the earl of Rochester's time, and connived at if not encouraged by the duke of Ormond, went on still; a body of hot clergymen sent from England, began to form meetings in Dublin, and to have emissaries and a

* Burnet's Life and Times, vol. v, p. 168.

correspondence over Ireland, on design to raise the same fury in the clergy of that kingdom against the Dissenters, that they had raised here in England: whether this was only the effect of an ill-governed heat among them, or if it was set on by foreign practices, was not yet visible *."

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Various efforts were made to perpetuate strife in religion, by the Irish clergy. The English convocation was called, but it was not allowed to sit: by the queen's writ it was prorogued. 'By this, a present stop was put to the factious temper of those who studied to recommend themselves by embroiling the church. It did not cure them: the same ill temper began to ferment and spread itself among the clergy in Ireland: none of those disputes had ever been thought of in the church formerly, as they had no records nor minutes of former convocations. The faction here in England found out proper instruments to set the same humour on foot during the earl of Rochester's government, and, as was said, by his directions so the clergy were making the same bold claim there, that had raised such disputes among us. The secret encouragement with which they did most effectually animate their party was, that the queen's heart was with them, and that though the war, and other circumstances, obliged her at present to favour the moderate party, yet as soon as peace arrived they promised themselves all favour at her hands. It is not certain that they had any ground for this, or that she herself, or any by her order, gave them these hopes; but this is certain, that many things might have been done to extinguish those hopes, which were not done; and indeed it was but too visible, that the much greater part of the clergy were in a very ill temper, and under very bad influence, enemies to the toleration, and soured against the dissenters +."

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Burnet's testimonies, thus candidly given, concerning the hierarchy in Ireland, might be abundantly confirmed by other writers of high authority but these are enough to show the deplorable effects of substituting human laws or authority in religion, besides the holy, benevolent, and peaceful statutes of Christianity, contained in the New Testament.

* Ibid, p. 271, 272.

† Ibid. vol. vi, p. 15, 16.

CHAPTER V.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND UNDER QUEEN ANNE.

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HIGH

Anne's character Her ministers Her principles Dissenters persecuted Burnet's testimony - Bill against occasional conformity - Convocation CHURCHMEN LOW CHURCHMEN Queen Anne's Bounty High church illiberality Church abuses-Bill against Dissenters - Good prelates-Tory prelates Dr. Sacheverel His inflammatory sermon - Bill passed against Dissenters Schism bill Religion in Anne's reign-Character of the clergy --Of the people - Arianism.

ANNE, second daughter of James II, and wife of prince George of Denmark, succeeded to the throne of England, on the demise of William III. Being a princess of amiable manners in private life, she was beloved, and generally called, "The Good Queen Anne," and being favoured with statesmen and commanders of vast abilities, trained under her magnanimous predecessor, her reign was prosperous, "a continued blaze of public glory.”

Many of the most distinguished characters in philosophy and literature, flourished in the reign of Anne; and graced with the polished and profound writings of Locke, Flamstead, Addison, Newton, Clarke, Steele, Arbuthnot, Halley, Bentley, &c., this period has been called "The Augustan Age of Britain.”

Anne was a Stuart: and she inherited a measure of those lofty notions of the prerogative, entertained by that unhappy family. But though the constitution of England had been established by William, Anne became the dupe of the party who cherished those principles of bigotry, through which much vexation arose in the nation. Retaining for several years the great men who had been the wise counsellors of William, Anne made no infringement of the toleration through their moderation: still the restless bigotry of the tory clergy, hostile to the principles of the revolution, occasioned much hindrance to the progress of religion - tore the church with divisions and seriously alarmned the dis

senters.

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Anne had no sooner ascended the throne of England, than the violent part of the clergy, knowing the principles of the

queen, raised the cry of "The Church in Danger," which continued to be the watchword throughout her reign. Presuming on impunity, persecution was renewed by the zealots, and several meeting-houses of the Dissenters were pulled down by the excited mobs in provincial towns; but such proceedings had no sanction from the public authorities. In the first year of Aune's reign, attempts were made towards the subversion of religious liberty: nor were they laid aside until they partly succeeded.

Bishop Burnet's testimony will be regarded as most satisfactory as to the state of things at this period. He says, "A bill was brought in by the Tories, against occasional conformity by this bill, all those who took the sacrament and test, who held offices of trust, or were magistrates in corporations, and did after that, go to the meetings of Dissenters, or any meeting for religious worship, that was not according to the liturgy or practice of the church of England, where five persons were present, more than the family, were disabled from holding their employments, and were to be fined 1007., and 57. a day for every day in which they continued to act in their employment after their having been at any such meeting; they were also made incapable of holding any other employment, till after one whole year's conformity to the church. All the inferior officers or freemen in corporations, who were found to have some interest in elections, were comprehended in this bill.— All who pleaded for it, did in words declare for the continuance of the toleration, yet the sharpness with which they treated the Dissenters in all their speeches, showed as if they designed their extirpation. The bill was carried in the House Commons by a great majority. The Lords would not consent to the reviving of such penalties as the infamous methods of king Charles's reign. All believed, that the chief design of this bill was to model corporations, and to cast out of them all those who would not vote in elections for Tories: the toleration itself was visibly aimed at, and this was only a step to break in upon it *." William's moderate bishops still possessed considerable

* Life and Times, vol. v, p. 119, 122.

influence, though the generality of the clergy were opposed to the toleration, as is manifest by the temper of the House of Commons: but it was lost in the Lords, by a majority of only one. "This bill seemed to favour the interests of the church, so hot men were for it; and the greater number of the bishops being against it, they were censured as cold and slack in the concerns of the church. Angry men took occasion from hence to charge the bishops as enemies of the church, and betrayers of its interests, because," says Burnet, 65 we would not run blindfold into the passions and designs of ill-tempered men; though we can appeal to the worldand, which is more, to God himself that we did faithfully and zealously pursue the true interests of the church, the promoting of religion and learning, the encouraging of all good men and good designs; and that we did apply ourselves to the duties of our function and to the work of the Gospel *."

During this first session of parliament under Anne, in 1702, the convocation of the clergy was assembled, and a sharp controversy was carried on between the two houses. Burnet remarks, "The lower house finding, that, by opposing their bishops in so rough a manner, they were represented as favourers of presbytery, to clear theinselves of that imputation, came suddenly unto a conclusion, that episcopacy was of divine and apostolical right +." The lower house submitted a document to this effect for the bishops to adopt, which they declined, perceiving their design; when the parliament being prorogued, the ecclesiastical session ended, "the two houses being fixed in an opposition to one another."

"From those disputes in convocation, divisions ran through the whole body of the clergy; and, to fix these, new names were found out: they were distinguished by the names of HIGH CHURCH and Low CHURCH. All that treated the Dissenters with temper and moderation, and were for residing constantly at their cures, and for labouring diligently in them-and expressed a great zeal against the prince of

Ibid. p. 123, 124.

+ Ibid. p. 137.

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