And if by such an indifferent Conference as is here tendered, we shall not make it as clear unto your Majesty as the sun at noon-day, that the Government of the churches of Christ by pastors, teachers, and elders, is much more agreeable to the state of a Monarchy, than is the present government by archbishops, bishops, archdeacons, commissaries, and the rest of that Romish hierarchy, let us then find no favour in your Majesty's eyes." And further on, they write, "Oh that this should be said or written in succeeding ages, That in the reign of noble King James, whose name shall live among men when he, having finished his course, shall sleep with his fathers,-so many painful preachers of the Gospel,-even three hundred, or thereabouts,-have, in one year and a little more, been turned out of Christ's service, only for refusing such Ceremonies as have their life, breath, and being from Popery; and such a subscription as the like, for aught we know, hath never been urged upon any church of Christ in any age, under a christian magistrate!" This dedication is signed, "Some of the late silenced and deprived Ministers."

Sixteen "propositions" are laid down, all of which these self-constituted, or perhaps selected, disputants offered to maintain. The eighth and ninth run thus, "The Pastor alone ought not to exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction over his church, but others ought to be joined in commission with him by the assignment of the same church; neither ought he and they to perform any main and material ecclesiastical act without the free consent of the Congregation.”—“ The presbytery which is desired, is not Lay,' as they call it and the churchwardens and sidesmen here in England, being joined as assistants to the ministers in the oversight of the several parishes, are a resemblance of those governing elders which are desired."

The like number of "conditions" is submitted, for the mode of conducting the disputation; and twenty-two "considerations" are stated, "moving the Ministers to make this offer." How far their confidence exceeded their discretion; or how far the openness of their avowal obstructed their project; let this declaration accompanying such a challenge show," Only the Prelates, having many voices of their own in the Upper House, have by their gross flatteries and feigned promises to them in chief place, ever crossed the holy endeavours of the Parliament for the removal of these burdens, grievous both to church and commonwealth."

"a

They say, "It is a shame of shames to the doctors of Oxford, who provoking those whom they call theorists,' in their Answer to the Ministers' Petition, and being challenged of dishonesty and injustice,' in an Answer thereunto, have not in all this time justified themselves, and answered that which the other say in their own defence."b

To meet the case by anticipation, they remark, "In their objections to the Ministers, the Conference at Hampton Court, they object to them, as it were, that which is non ens: none of them knowing what it was; nor any other, save a few that were present, whose reports thereof are so divers, that one spoils the credit of another. And that which is set forth as the true report of it being published only by the

prelates, who are partial, without the knowledge, advice, or consent of the other side, deserves no credit; the rather, considering that Dr. Morton hath been allowed to call some part of it into question, even some speeches fathered upon his Majesty, which he was fain to confute as unsound and contrary to divinity. Wherein, sith the King's own speeches be, as it seemeth, grossly abused by the author, it is much more likely that speeches of other men are abused."a

The grounds of supposed "opposition" are twelve: in reply to the eighth, it is met by the avowal that, "It is now made manifest to the whole world, that there is no hope of freedom from the spiritual bondage of antichristian traditions, so long as the Prelates sit in their thrones ; but a more direful expectation of greater slavery and servitude than ever before, as may appear by their late Canons and their other proceedings. And, therefore,.. they think themselves now bound in conscience, by all honest and good means, to seek to be freed from that estate; which cannot, as it appears now to all the world, uphold itself but by the ruin of the Gospel and exaltation of antichristianism. For they that plead for their government and traditions are driven to hold these impious and irreligious absurdities, That Christ is not the Lawgiver of His Church ;' that, 'It is a virtuous obedience, to rest as well in that which the Church commandeth unto us, as in that which God commandeth to his Church;' that, The Church is ruled by the spirit of Christ, who is the Truth; and therefore her Traditions are holy and true;'d that, 'God alloweth men to do that which in their private judgment it seemeth, yea and perhaps truly seemeth, that the Law doth disallow, that, 'Unwritten ordinances, as well as written, are divine and apostolic in the constitution of the chiefest office and ministry of the church.”— They do no further desire their freedom from the Prelates, and from that power which they have, than they shall be able to prove that it is lifted up against the doctrine and kingdom of Christ our Lord. They leave their overthrow to God and the King; and do only, by these premises, labour that that Truth which hath been amongst us long suppressed and afflicted, may come to light, and may be so honoured and freed at last, as God requireth that it should be."s

с

What we have just related, is matter of history; as are the provocations and justifications of either party. The "overthrow" contemplated here was brought about, by the permission of Providence, within the date

& P. 28.

b G. Powel, De Adiaphoris. 1606. pref.

e Dr. Covel, against "The Plea for the Innocents," p. 19.

d Dr. Hutton, Of the Cross, p. 3. 6. e Hooker's Eccles. Pol. Pref. sect. 6. Bp. of Rochester's Serm. at Hampton Court, p. 31.

f

P. 34.- -" All mankind then saw no less than three hundred Ministers, whom the most learned Parker compares to the three hundred soldiers of Gideon,' Judges vii. 7; all of them in one particular storm deprived of their ministry and their maintenance, because they could not Subscribe to some unlawful Impositions!" Eleutheria: Or an Idea of the Reformation in England: And a History of Nonconformity in and since that Reformation, &c. Lond. 1698. 12mo. p. 74.-Heylyn, Hist. Presb., lib. xi. sect. 10, adduces certain "rolls" brought in by Bancroft, to prove that but forty-nine were "deprived on all occasions." But Calderwood,-Altare Damascenum. Ludg. 1708 4to. pref. p. iv. -had more truly stated that "three hundred ministers were (1.) silenced, or (2.) deprived of their benefices, or (3) excommunicated, or (4.) thrown into prison, or (5) compelled to flee the realm."

another, about 'all' these actions, yet perform' them he cannot. And who but one stricken with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart,' as Moses did prophesy, to 'grope at noon-day, as the blind gropeth in darkness, Deut. xviii. 28, 29, could read this Scripture, Rom. xii. and the other places cited, and gather such a doctrine from them ?" a

Smyth's last part is, Of the Treasury. After his Preface, he says, "We hold, that in contributing to the church Treasury, there ought to be a separation from them that are without, and a sanctification of the whole action by prayer and thanksgiving." In the body of his Book, he says, "There ought to be a separation in alms and contributions to the Treasury, as well as in other parts of our Spiritual communion, Acts iv. 32. v. 13. 2 Cor. vi. 17. Acts ii. 42. Heb. xiii. 16. 2 Cor. viii. 7. Therefore they that are without, if they give any thing, must lay it apart severally for the Treasury, and it must be employed to common use. Matt. xxvii. 6, 7."-" Judas' wages," answers Ainsworth, "was the price of blood;' therefore they might not put it into the Treasury. This teacheth us, that goods gotten by violence, extortion, murder, theft, or other like evil way, may not be put into the Treasury, though the members of the church do offer them. But this is no more for those without, than for those within. And, for common use' of all unbelievers' gifts; I suppose this example will not bear it out. . . . For the manner of performing, as whether a special prayer is to be made before the contribution, and a special thanksgiving after; or, whether in the general prayers of the church, it is to be sanctified among other public actions; there may be some question, and I will not contend. Let every one use, herein, the wisdom that God giveth them. Only I do observe, how Mr. Smyth himself makes a query, At what time of the Lord's day, and after what manner, the Treasury is to be collected,' which showeth in him no certainty for the form of this business; and I doubt not, but as he, so we all, may be to seek for the most convenient manner and order of doing many things."

Fifteen pages are occupied by "A few Observations upon some of Mr. Smyth's Censures,' in his answer to Mr. Bernard." We find nothing but what relates to misconstructions which Ainsworth thought himself called upon to expose, and he concludes thus, "But for his injurious dealing with me, and persecuting this poor church, which deserved better of him, with his pen in public, as the world now may see he hath done in high measure, I leave him unto God for mercy and judgment; whose hand, as it is heavy upon him already, in giving him over from error to error, and now at last to the abomination of anabaptism, so will the same hand still follow him unto further judgment, if he do not repent. But I wish he may find grace in the eyes of the Lord."

CHAP. XI.

ROBINSON.—HE AND HALL, OPPONENTS.

THE next divine for whose memory the reader's sympathy and regard may reasonably be anticipated, Ainsworth enables us to introduce by the following remonstrance, which he took occasion to address to Crashaw. "If any among you, not meddling with the public estate of your Church, but feeling or fearing his own particular soul-sickness, do resort to a physician whose receipts are not after the common sort, for advice about his health, or of friendship and acquaintance to see him, he is subject to the censure and thunderbolt of your Church. Witness the late practice in Norwich, where certain citizens were excommunicated for resorting unto and praying with Mr. ROBINSON, a man worthily reverenced of all the city, for the graces of God in him, as yourself also I suppose will acknowledge; and to whom the care and charge of their souls was erewhile committed. Would any unmerciful man have dealt so with his bond-slave in a case of bodily sickness? But hereby all may see what small hope there is of curing the canker of your Church."a

66

The affair alluded to, induced Mr. Robinson to repair, in 1608, to Amsterdam, with the remainder of the church left by Mr. Richard Clyfton, who had preceded them in 1606, and who had been their pastor from 1602. Robinson, at first a member, became pastor with Mr. William Brewster, who had been a fellow-student at Cambridge, for the ruling elder. Smyth was, probably, one of this party originally, which is inferred from an Epistle" addressed, by the pragmatical Churchman, Joseph Hall, then the poor Rector of Halsted, Essex, "To Mr. Smith [Smyth], and Mr. Rob[inson], Ringleaders of the Late Separation; at Amsterdam:"b After telling them, "You could not do a greater injury to your Mother, than to flee from her;" and having expostulated, "Your zeal of truth hath misled you, and you others: a zeal if honest, yet blindfolded, and led by self-will." Hall, besides other matters, thus remonstrates, "Either run out of the world, or your flight is vain. If experience of change teach you not, that you shall find your Babylon' everywhere, return not. Compare the place you have left, with that you have chosen let no fear of seeming to repent over-soon, make you partial. Lo there, a common harbour of all opinions, of all heresies; if not a mixture: here, you drew in the free and clear air of the Gospel, without that odious composition of Judaism, Arianism, Anabaptism: there you live in the stench of these, and more! You are unworthy of pity, if you will approve your misery. Say, if you can, that the Church of England, if she were not yours, is not a heaven to Amsterdam? How is it then, that our gnats

a Answer to Crashaw, p. 246.

b Epistles by Joseph Hall, 1608. 12mo. Vol ii. Dec. iii. Ep. i.-Whatever he were in his humble circumstances; he came to be styled "the moderate Bishop Hall," as by Dr. Zach. Grey, in his "Impartial Examination of the Third Vol. of Mr. D. Neal's Hist. Purit. 1737." 8vo. p. 82. Hall had experienced "Hard Measure" himself, which he complained of in his own adversity.

a

defence; we must first labour for food and raiment, for ourselves and ours, and then take some stolen hours, now and then, to do what we do this way.-8. To them, the Presses are always open and free ; but to us they are more than shut. For it is not safe for us once so much as to suffer the printers to know that we have any such copy to be printed.-9. The Stationers, at home, are ready to give them large moneys for their copies, and so undertake the printing and publishing thereof; we must, at our great charge and hazard, hire the printing of ours in some other land.-10. Open sale, in every bookseller's shop, is free for them; ours, if they be taken by the Bishops, are burnt, or otherwise utterly suppressed.-11. They have sundry loathsome prisons at command, whereinto they shut us up, even until we die sometimes, when by arguments they are not able to confute us; we have only bodies to be afflicted by them, and sure arguments unanswered.-12. They are, in their own causes, both parties and judges; and we, without help by any appeal to any other than the Lord Jesus, must, at their pleasure, abide their censures.-13. Their threadbare allegations of man's writings, is accounted deep and ancient learning; but our avouching the most clear evidence of the written Word of the Ancient of days,' is reckoned ignorant mockery.— 14. We challenge them to try it out in the open field by dint of the sword of the Spirit ;' witness, the Modest Offer of Conference,' the Humble Motion,' &c. and yet are blamed; they are praised, though they utterly refuse this way of trial, and war against us only with carnal weapons, as suspensions, deprivations, imprisonments, &c.15. Threatened dangers make men afraid to read our Books, though never so secretly conveyed unto them: theirs, all may most freely read openly, and with thanks and commendations.

"Now by reason of these, and sundry such like disadvantaging hinderances, this ensuing Treatise hath lain hid,-as many other the like, still do, never like to see the light for want of means of publishing them,—about fourteen years. For in the year of our Lord 1608,d certain Oxford-men having got into their hands a copy of a dutiful and pious Supplication' prepared to be exhibited to his Majesty for Reformation of certain corruptions crept into our Churches, or rather left in them by Antichrist at his extrusion, forthwith published the same in print, together with an Answer thereto, such as it is... Not long after, some of the chiefest Ministers, that were interested in the Petition, penned this discourse following, in defence of the said Petition and reply to the abovementioned Answer, which hath been obscured from that time till now, partly for the reasons above rehearsed, and partly because such is the woful coldness of these backsliding days, that even those which seemed heretofore most forward for Church-reformation are so declined, . . insomuch, that they are so far from being aiding and assisting to Christ in this his cause, either by labour or cost, that when books are printed in defence thereof for their information and instruction, they either neglect to buy the same, or having bought them cast them aside. . .

2 Thess. iii. 8.

b Dan. vii. 9.

e Eph. vi. 17.

d [1606.]