4

forbid) to introduce superstition in England. more generally, by several persons nominated I speak no more than what I have heard from ¦ and authorised by him, being learned in the 'themselves, whilst I have observed their for- ecclesiastical laws of this realm, in those several ◄wardness to offer double, according to an act' places whereunto they are deputed and apof parliament so providing; yea, to profess, pointed by the said archbishop which several that they would depart with the half of their places, as we are informed, they severally hold goods And how, or why can this forward- by several grants for their several lives; as ness be in them, but in hope to cast the impu- namely, sir Henry Martin, knight, hath and tation of forwardness upon us? And so to holde th by the grants of the said archbishop, them, that which the Jesuit will not suffer the offices and places of the Dean of the Arches, them to be, loving and loyal subjects.' and Judge, or Master of the Prerogative Court, Also the said Sermon holds forth, That the for the natural life of the said sir Henry Martin. prince, who is the head, and makes his court-Sir Charles Cæsar, knight, hath and boldeth and council, it is his duty to direct and make laws. Eccles. viii. 3 and 4, He doth whatsoever pleases him. Where the word of the king is, there is power, and who may say unto him, What doest thou? And in another place he saith, If princes command any thing which subjects may not perform, because it is against the laws of God, or of nature, or im'possible: Yet subjects are bound to undergo the punishment, without either resisting, or railing, or reviling, and so to yield a passive ' obedience where they cannot exhibit an active one. I know no other case,' saith he, but one of those three, wherein a subject may ex'cuse himself with passive obedience; but in ' all other he is bound to active obedience.'

The COMMISSION to sequester Archbishop Ab

bot from all his Ecclesiastical Offices. Archbishop Abbot having been long slighted at court, now fell under the king's high displeasure, for refusing to licence Dr. Sibthorp's Sermon, as he was commanded, intituled, "Apostolical Obedience;" and not long after he was sequestered from his office, and a commission was granted to the bishops of London, Durham, Rochester, Oxford, and doctor Laud, bishop of Bath and Wells, to execute archiepiscopal jurisdiction. The Commission was as followeth :

CHARLES, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, de

fender of the faith, &c. To the right rev. father in God, George, bishop of London; and to the right rev. father in God, our trusty and well-beloved counsellor, Richard, lord bishop of Durham; and to the rig t rev. father in God, John, lord bishop of Rochester; and John, lord bishop of Oxford; to the right rev. father in God, our right trusty and well-bel ved counsell r, William, lord bishop of Bath and Wells, greeting;

"Whereas George, now archbishop of Canterbury, in the right of the archbishopric, hath several and distinct archiepiscopal, episcopal, and other spiritual and ecclesiastical powers and jurisdictions, to be exercised in the government and discipline of the church within the province of Canterbury, and the administration of justice in causes ecclesiastical wit in that province, which are partly executed by himself in his own person, and partly, and

by the grant of the said archbishop, the places
or offices of the Judge of the Audience, and
Master of the Faculties, for the term of the na-
tural life of the said sir Charles Cæsar.-Sir
Thomas Ridley, knight, hath and holdeth by the
grant of the said archbishop, the place or office
of Vicar General to the said archbishop.—And
Nathaniel Brent, doctor of the laws, hath and
holdeth by grant of the said archbishop, the
office or place of Commissary to the said arch-
bishop, as of his proper and peculiar diocese of
Canterbury.—And likewise the several Regis-
ters of the Arches, Prerogative, Audience,
Faculties, and of the Vicar General, and the
Commissary of Canterbury hold their places by
grants from the said archbishop respectively.
"Whereas the said Archbishop, in some or
all of these several places and jurisdictions,
doth or may sometimes assume unto his per-
sonal and proper judicature, order, or direc-
tion, some particular causes, actions, or cases
at his pleasure. And forasmuch as the said
archbishop cannot at this present, in his own
person, attend the services which are otherwise
proper for his cognisance and jurisdiction, and
which, as archbishop of Canterbury, he might
and ought in his own person to have performed
and executed in causes and matters ecclesi-
astical, in the proper function of archbishop
of that province: we therefore, of our regal
power, and of our princely care and providence,
that nothing shall be defective in the order,
discipline, government, or right of the church,
have thought fit by the service of some other
learned and reverend bishops, to be named by
us, to supply those things which the said arch-
bishop ought or might in the cases aforesaid to
have done, but for this preseut cannot perform

the same.

"Know you therefore, That we reposing spe cial trust and confidence in your approved wisdoms, learning, and integrity, have nominated, authorized, and appointed, and do, by these presents, nominate, authorise, and ap point you the said George, lord bishop of London; Richard, lord bishop of Durhain; John, lord bishop of Rochester; John, lord bishop of Oxford; and William, lord bishop of Bath and Wells, or any four, three, or two of you, to do, execute, and perform all and every those acs, matters, and things, any way touching or concerning the power, jurisdiction, or authority of the archbishop of Canterbury, in causes or matters ecclesiastical, as amply, fully, aud

effectually, to all intents and purposes, as the
said archbishop himself might have done.
"And we do hereby command you, and
every of you, to attend, perform, and execute
this our royal pleasure, in, and touching the
premisses, until we shall declare our will and
pleasure to the contrary. And we do further
hereby will and command the said archbishop
of Canterbury, quietly, and without inter-
ruption, to permit and suffer you the said
George, bishop of London; Richard, bishop
of Durham; John, bishop of Rochester; John,
bishop of Oxford; and William, bishop of
Bath and Wells, any four, three, or two of you,
to execute and perform this our commission,
according to our royal pleasure thereby signified.
And we do further will and command all and
every other person and persons, whom it may
any way concern, in their several places or
offices, to be attendant, observant, and obe-
dient to you, and every of you, in the execution
and performance of this our royal will and
command, as they and every of them will an-
swer the contrary at his utmost perils.

place and years, who have done some service in the Church and Commonwealth, so deeply laden with some furious infirmities of body, should be removed from his ordinary habitation, and by a kind of deportation should be thrust into one end of the island (although, I must confess, into his own diocese) that I hold it fit, that the reason of it should be truly understood, lest it may someways turn to the scandal of my person and calling.-Which Declaration notwithstanding, I intend not to communicate to any, but to let it lie by me privately, that it being set down impartially, whilst all things are fresh in memory, I may have recourse to it hereafter, if questions shall be made of any thing contained in this relation.

And this I hold necessary to be done, by reason of the strangeness of that, which by way of censure was inflicted upon me, being then of the age of 65 years, incumbered with the gout, and afflicted with the stone, having lived so many years in a place of great service, and, for ought I know, untainted in any of my actions, although my master king James, who resteth with God, had both a searching wit of his own, to discover his servants whom he put in trust, whether they took any sinister courses, or no; and wanted not some suggesters about

whom they could misreport: yet this innocency and good fame to be over-turned in a month, and a Christian bishop suddenly to be made fabula vulgi, to be tossed upon the tongues of friends and foes, of Protestants and Papists, of court and country, of English and foreigners, must needs in common opinion, presuppose some crime, open or secret: which being discovered by the king, albeit not fully appearing to the world, must draw on indignation in so high a measure.

"Nevertheless we do hereby declare our royal pleasure to be, That they the said sir Henry Martin, sir Charles Cæsar, sir Thomas Ridley, and Nathaniel Brent, in their several offices and places aforesaid, and all other regis-him to make the worst of all mens actions ters, officers, and ministers, in the several courts, offices and jurisdictions, appertaining to the said archbishop, shall quietly, and without interruption, hold, use, occupy and enjoy their said offices and places, which they now hold, by the grant of the said archbishop, or any other former archbishop of Canterbury, in such manner and form, and with those benefits, privileges, powers, and authorities, which they now have, hold, and enjoy therem, or thereout severally' and respectively, they, and every of them, in their several places, being attendant and obedient unto you the said George, bishop of London; Richard, bishop of Durham; John, bishop of Rochester; John, bishop of Oxford; and William, bishop of Bath and Wells, or to any four, three, or two of you, in all things according to the tenor of this our commission, as they should or ought to have been, to the said archbishop himself, if this commission had not been had or made.

"In witness whereof, We have caused these our letters to be mate patent. Witness our self at Westminster, the ninth day of October, in the third year of our reign. Per ipsum Regem. EDMONDS."

For a Memorial of these Proceedings, the Archbishop left to posterity this following Narrative, penned with his own hand. ARCHBISHOP ABBOT'S NARRATIVE. Pars Prima.

It is an example, so without example, that in the sunshine of the gospel, in the midst of profession of the true religion, under a gracious king, whom all the world must acknowledge to be blemished with no vice; a man of my

I cannot deny, that the indisposition of my body kept me from Cout, and thereby gave occasion to maligners to traduce me as withdrawing myself from public services, and theretore misliking some courses that were taken; which abstaining perhaps neither pleased the king, nor the great man that set them on foot.It is true, that in the turbulency of some things, I had no great invitements to draw me abroad, but to possess my soul in patience, till God sent fairer weather: but the true ground of my abstaining from solemn and public places, was the weakness of my feet, proceeding from the gout; which disease being hereditary unto me, and having possessed me now nine years, had deliberated me more and more: so that I could not stand at all, neither could I go up or down a pair of stairs, but besides my staff, I must have the service of one, at least, of my men, which was not fit to be admitted in every place where I was to come.

And although I was oft remembered, by the wisest of my friends, that I might be carried as the old lord treasurer Burleigh was, yet I did not think my service so necessary for the commonwealth, as his lordship's, by long experience, was found to be. I did not value

myself at so high a rate, but remembered, that it was not the least cause of overthrow to Robert earl of Essex, that he prized himself so, as if queen Elizabeth and the kingdom could not well have stood, if he had not supported both the one and the other.

now earl of E. and had so treated her, that both for safeguard of her honour, blemished by him scandalously, and for her alimony or mainteDance (being glad to get from him) she was forced to endure a suit in the High Commission Court: So to strengthen his party, he was made known to the duke, and by means of a dependant on his grace, he got a letter from the king, That the commissioners should proceed no further in hearing of that cause, by reason that it being a difference between a gentleman and his wile, the king's majesty would hear it himself. The solicitor for the lady, finding that the course of justice was stopped, did so earnestly, by there was a relaxation of the former restraint, and the commissioners ecclesiastical went on: But now, in the new proceeding, finding himself by justice like enough to be pinched, he did publicly in the court refuse to speak by any counsel, but would plead his cause himself; wherein he did bear the whole business so disorderly, tumultuously, and unrespectfully, that after divers reproofs, I was inforced for the honour of the court, and reputation of the High Commission, to tell him openly, That if he did. not carry himself in a better fashion, I would commit him to prison.

Now for me, thus enfeebled, not with the gout only, but with the stone also, and gravel, to wait on the king, or the council-table, was by me held a matter most inconvenient. In the courts of princes, there is little feeling of the infirmities belonging to old age, they like them that be young and gallant in their actions, and in their cloaths, they love not that men should stick too long in any room of great-petition, move the king, that by another letter, ness, change and alteration bringing somewhat with it. What have they to do with kerchieves and staves, with lame or sick men? It is certainly true, there is little compassion upon the bodily defects of any. The scripture speaketh of men standing before kings, it were an uncouth sight to see the subject sit the day before the coronation, when on the morrow I had work enough for the strongest man in England, being weak in my feet, and coming into Whitehall to see things in a readiness against the next day; yet notwithstanding the stone and gout, I was not altogether an inutile servant in the king's affairs, but did all things in my house that were to be done, as in keeping the HighCommission Court, doing all inferior actions inducing thereunto, and dispatching references from his majesty that came thick upon me.

These relations which are made concerning me, be of certain truth, but reach not to the reason whereof I was discarded.

To understand therefore the verity, so it is, That the duke of Buckingham being still great in the favour of the king, could endure no man that would not depend upon him; among other men, had me in his eye, for not stooping unto him so as to become bis vassal. I that had learned a lesson, which I constantly hold, to be no man's servant but the king's (for mine own royal master, which is with God, and mise own reason, did teach me so) went on mine own ways, although I could not but observe, that so many as walked in that path did suffer for it upon all occasions, and so did I, nothing wherein I moved my master taking place: which finding so clearly, as if the duke had set some ill character upon me, I had no way but to rest in patience, leaving all to God, and looking to myself as warily as I might. But this did not serve the turn, bis undertaking was so extraordinary, that every one that was not with him, was presently against him; and if a hard opinion were once entertained, there was no place left for satisfaction or reconciliation.

What befell the earl of Arundel, and sir Randal Crew, and divers others, I need not to report; and no man can make doubt but he blew the coals.

For myself, there is a gentleman called sr H. S. who gave the first light what should be fali me: This knight being of more livelihood than wisdom, had married the lady D. sister to the

This so troubled the young gallant, that within few days after, being at dinner, or supper, where some wished me well, he bolted it out, That as for the Archbishop, the duke had a purpose to turn him out of his place, and that he did but wait the occasion to effect it. Which being brought unto me constantly, by more ways than one, I was now in expectation what must be the issue of this great man's indignation, which fell out to be as followeth.

There was one Sibthorpe, who not being so much as a batchelor of arts, as it hath been credibly reported unto me, by means of doctor Pierce, dean of Peterborough, being vice-chancellor of Oxford, did get to be conferred upon him the title of doctor. This man is vicar of Brackley in Northamptonshire, and hath another benefice not far from it in Buckinghamshire. But the lustre of his honour did arise from the being the son-in-law of sir John Lamb, chancellor of Peterborough, whose daughter he married, and was put into the commission of

peace.

When the Lent assizes were in Feb. last at Northampton, the man that preached be fore the Judges there, was this worthy doctor; where magnifying the authority of kings, (which is so strong in the Scripture, that it needs no flattery any way to extol it) he let fall divers speeches which were distasteful to the auditors, and namely, That they had power to put Pollmoney upon their subjects heads, when against those challenges men did frequently mourn,

He being a man of a low fortune, conceived, that putting his Sermon in print, he might gain favour at court, and raise his fortune higher, on he goeth with the transcribing of his Sermon, and got a bishop or two to prefer this great service to the duke; and it being brought unto the duke, it cometh in his head, or was sug

Murrey. Secondly, The king saith, for the 2. Page 8. The king's duty is first to diwords, Habemus necessitatem vindicandærect and make laws.' There is no law made libertatis,' he taketh them to be for him; and till the king assent unto it; but if it be put he will stand on his liberty. Thirdly, For poll- simply to make laws, it will make much startmoney, he thinketh it lawful. Fourthly, It is ling at it. true, there was no such act passed, and there- 3. Page 10. If nothing may excuse from fore it must be amended (and yet in the printed 'active obedience, but what is against the law book it is suffered still to stand. Such slight, of God, or of nature, or impossible.' How and, I'may say, slovenly care was had by them doth this agree with the first fundamental posithat published this Sermon.) And Fifthly, Fortion? page 5. That all subjects are bound to that of Bohemia, he hath crossed it out of the Book.