CHAP. III. Or, on the other hand, did the church consider her own act 1560 ceeds upon her own inherent to in framing a system of policy for her own government so 1567. inept and incomplete, as to be dependent for its validity on the ratification of the civil power? Neither supposition finds a vestige of support in history; or, rather, history emphatically contradicts them both. The civil power limited itself strictly to the withholding of its sanction from the church's Church pro- deed. The church, on the other hand, hesitated not an instant as to her perfect competency to proceed, indepenauthority. dently of state sanction altogether. In other words, their bearing towards one another was that of two co-ordinate and mutually independent bodies; each entitled to have its own. judgment on every question touching an alliance between them; but neither entitled to dictate the terms of that alliance authoritatively to the other. And what, accordingly, took place on the occasion to which reference has now been made? The state simply remained apart from the church; withholding from her that countenance, and those immunities, which it belongs to the civil power to confer. But while the church was thus, for the time, denied a civil establishment, she went on without a moment's pause to organize herself as a spiritual institution, by virtue of her own inherent Reformed authority alone. Nor was this period of separate action tinued un- either so brief or so unimportant as to leave to the two parties concerned no opportunity practically to follow out this theory. The period embraced seven years; and in the course of it the church held at least fifteen meetings of her supreme court, her general assembly; and exercised, and that in the gravest matters, all the functions, legislative, judicial, and administrative, which belong to the christian church. It was during this period she recognized and sanctioned the office of ruling elder-originated kirk sessions, for the spiritual oversight of particular congregations-and appointed provincial synods; thus filling up and maturing Church con established for seven years. 1560 the mechanism of her presbyterian government. 1567. Nor was CHAP. III. and vigour Church's to the church less resolute in enforcing than in framing her Impartiality laws. Her discipline was put in rigorous and impartial of the operation against all offenders within her pale; suspending Discipline. and deposing unfaithful ministers, and expelling from her communion unworthy members. Nor were these things done in a corner. Her censures fell with as unsparing strictness on those who were high in place and power, as on the humblest of the people. And so far from being afraid to confront the state, whose sanction was still withheld from her constitution, scarcely one of her assemblies passed without making some formal communication to the governing authorities of the kingdom,-now complaining of the countenance given by the queen and council to popery, now urging the settlement of important questions of jurisdiction, of the reparation of kirks, of the support of the ministryin a word, conducting her proceedings with all the openness and fearless intrepidity of conscious rectitude and independent authority. But while these proceedings cannot but be regarded as sufficiently decisive as to the church's own views of her intrinsic authority in matters spiritual, an important question remains,—Was her judgment on that fundamental question acquiesced in by the state at the era of her civil establishment? The state did not intermeddle with the jurisdiction which the church assumed and exercised prior to their union; but what occurred when their union actually took place? Did the church receive her establishment on On what the footing of a surrender of her self-governing power? the Church Was this the price paid for state alliance and support? Did she become, to use a modern phrase, "the creature of the state," possessing only a delegated jurisdiction, and that too defined, measured, and regulated by an order of the queen and council, or by act of parliament? The bearing terms did receive her establish ment? to CHAP. III. of this question on the recent conflict must be at once 1560 apparent; and for the answer to it, nothing is needed but a simple reference to the facts of history. Proceedings of the State ing the Church. In the month of December, 1567, the parliament of Scotin establish- land at length resumed the consideration of ecclesiastical affairs, and adopted those measures which brought the church into immediate connection with the state. Having first re-enacted those memorable statutes of 1560, by which the papal jurisdiction had been abolished, the national sanction withdrawn from the church of Rome, and the doctrines of the reformation approved-by which, in a word, Scotland. had formally, and in its national capacity, renounced the Romish and adopted the Protestant faith-the parliament proceeded to take direct cognisance of the reformed church. "The ministers of the blessed evangel of Jesus Christ, whom God of his mercy has now raised up among us," and The State recognised as an exist tion, and as having in herent power. "the people of this realm that professes Christ as He now 86 That is to say, the church which, for seven years, had the Church been going on in the excrcise of its own divinely derived ing institu- and independent authority, framing its constitution, making and enforcing its laws, was hereby formally recognised, not as now becoming, by virtue of this imprimatur of the civil power, but as being, by virtue of what was inherent in itself, the true church" of Christ. Furthermore, in an act of the same parliament, "anent the jurisdiction justly appertaining to the true kirk," it was held "to consist and stand in the preaching of the true word of Jesus Christ, correction of manners, and administration of holy sacraments," and this jurisdiction the act accordingly "declares and grants." The state thereby affirming and pledging itself to respect 1567. 1567. 1560 and uphold that jurisdiction, not as a jurisdiction now, by CHAP. IIL to civil authority, bestowed upon the church, but as "justly appertaining to it." And to make this legislative recognition and pledge more explicit, the same act declares "that there be no other jurisdiction ecclesiastical acknowledged within this realm, other than what is and shall be within the same kirk, or that flows therefrom, concerning the premises." ment of the Church, and which it was the terms on conferred. There are, however, ordinarily two steps in the process of erecting a church establishment. The first and the fundamental one is, that of pointing out and defining the church which the state designs to acknowledge and countenance. The second is, that of endowing it: of providing, in other words, the requisite means for the temporal support of those who are to dispense its ordinances. It has been common The endow to assume that from this second step, the subjection of the spiritual to the secular power is inseparable. It has been even very confidently maintained, that any state would be guilty of a gross dereliction of duty which did not make the subjection of the church to state control the quid pro quo,— the acknowledged price of her endowment. What we have here to do with indeed, is not the question,-what the Scottish legislature ought to have done, but what it actually did, in establishing the reformed church. On that other question it would seem to be enough, in passing, to observe, that if it be the right and duty of the state, in certain circumstances, to endow the church of Christ, the church must be entitled to enjoy that endowment on terms consistent with her true and unqualified allegiance to her only Head and Lord. And if allegiance to Him implies and requires unfettered liberty to execute her high commission in preaching His word, administering His ordinances, and teaching men "to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded;" then, neither is the state warranted to The State not entitled to make the en dowment of the Church taking away her spiritual freedom. a ground for to CHAP. III. demand from the church one iota of subjection in any of 1560 those matters spiritual; nor is the church warranted to yield 1567. it to any power upon earth. the exami admission of ministers; and the exclusive jurisdiction in these mat ters which it The discussion of that question, however, is not relevant here. The sole question, as already hinted, wherewith we are now concerned, is one of fact,-Did the parliament of Scotland confer on the church the temporal benefits of an establishment, on terms subversive of her spiritual indeAct 1567, on pendence? The act of the Scottish parliament upon the nation and subject will furnish the reply. It is entitled, act "anent the admission of them that shall be presented to benefices having cure of ministry." To ascertain the actual position which this statute assigns to the jurisdiction of the church, declares to there are two points to be considered: first, to whom is the belong to the Church. power of admission granted; and second, in case of any dispute arising under the statute, to what court is the question to be appealed for final adjudication? On both of these points the act is quite explicit; as regards the former, "it is statute and ordained that the examination and admission of ministers shall be only in the power of the kirk;" and with reference to the latter, the provision made is not less unequivocal. "It shall be lawful to the patron," so runs the statute, "to appeal to the superintendent and ministers of that province where the benefice lies, and desire the person presented to be admitted, which if they refuse,-to appeal to the general assembly of the whole realm, by whom the cause being decided, shall take end as they decern and declare." If there be any meaning in words, the Scottish legislature, by this important statute, made over the entire subject of the settlement of ministers to the jurisdiction of the church. Instead of assuming, under the plea of regulating the title to the benefice, a right to control the church in the disposal of the cure of souls, the statute ordains that the church's decision on the spiritual question of the cure of |