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A63246
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The speech of Charles Trinder, recorder of Gloucester at his entrance upon that office, January the 8th, 1687/8.
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Trinder, Charles.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing T2283; ESTC R37902
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12,670
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19
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their matter For in the 31st of his Reign it is Enacted That If any hold that in the Sacrament of the Altar there is not present the Natural Body and Bloud of our Saviour born of the Blessed Virgin or that any substance of Bread and Wine romains after Consecration he shall be Burnt and otherwise forfeit as in case of High Treason If any hold Communion under both Kinds necessary or that Priests or Religious may Marry or oppose private Masses or deny Auricular Confession or if a Priest or Religious Person Marry they shall suffer Death and forfeit as in the case of Felony And by these Antiprotestant-Tests very many well-meaning persons no doubt were violently hurried out of their Lives and Fortunes with as much I would say with as little Reason and Justice as they have been of late For setting aside on which part the Truth of those points did lie men being left to their own private Interpretation of Scripture exempted from all Authority of the Church how could they ever bring themselves to believe what they could not find in their own Sense of Scripture-Words or why should they be forced to become Hypocrites and pretend to believe what they did not Again by a Statute of 32 of Hen. 8. it was Enacted that all Decrees and Ordinances which according to God's Word should be ordained in matters of Faith and Religion by the Bishops and others thereto appointed by the King's Letters Pattents should be obeyed and believed by all the King's Subjects The King in whom then rested the final result of all Controversies in Religion would no doubt ever Judge all his own Decrees to be according to God's Word So here was an Implicite Faith to be yeilded not onely to what the King then had but to whatever more he should hereafter decree A Burden sure too heavy for any man that had any sence of any Religion at all In the 24 and 25 of the same King it was Enacted That all English Bibles of Tyndal 's Translation and other English Books of Faith Religion or Scripture contrary to the Doctrine set forth since 1540. or to be set forth by the King should be Abolished None should deride or despise such Doctrine none shall retain Books for Maintenance of Anabaptism or other Books supprest or to be supprest by the King's Proclamation The Bible shall not be read in English by the common People Nothing shall be taught contrary to the King's Injunctions By a Statute of the 37 of the same King it is declared That the King hath full Authority to Correct all Heresies and Errours and to exercise all other manner of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and that the Archbishops Bishops and other Ecclesiastical Persons have no manner of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction And if so then they derive no more from Christ than what is common to the meanest Mechanick By a Statute of the 35 of the same King Power is given him to name sixteen Spiritual and sixteen Temporal Persons whom he pleased to establish all such Ecclesiastical Laws as he and they thought fit So Volatile and Floating was Religion in those days and yet every change under great Penalties to be obeyed And thus did this poor unfortunate Prince weary out himself in difficulties most insuperable to constrain by cruel Laws the Belief of his own tottering Doctrines after he had driven his Subjects from all reliance on those Established by the Church But such doings against Nature and Reason can have no longer duration than either Violence does compel or Interest bribe Obedience and therefore notwithstanding all those costly Baits of Church-Lands with which he had drawn the Nobility and Commons to a Compliance notwithstanding those many hideous Executions with which he had terrified Dissenters during his life lastly notwithstanding the careful choice and rigorous charge given to those to whose Government he committed by Testament the Minority of his Successour he is no sooner laid in his Grave but all he had done is overthrown and buried with him All I say except the Supremacy that is the Source and Fountain of all the Miseries which had already befallen the one Party and a Power of making as much Havock upon the Souls Bodies and Fortunes of the other when time should serve And accordingly by an Act of the 2 and 3 of Edward 6th reciting That the King who was then a Child had appointed certain Bishops and Learned Men to make an Vniform Order of Common-Prayer and Sacraments which says the Statute by the aid of the Holy Ghost they had done Thô very incoherent with any thing done by Henry 8. who no less pretended to the aid of the same Holy Ghost you have a new Anticatholie Test Enacted That if any refuse or use any other or speak contemptibly of this the Makers it seems were very apprehensive of being laught at for their pains they should suffer the Deprivations Forfeitures and Imprisonments in that Act appointed And this was further inforced by a Statute of the 5 and 6 of Edw. 6. which obliges all to come to Church on all Sundays and Holidays And by an Act of the 3 and 4 of Edward 6. Cap. 11. The King had power to name thirty two persons to compile such Ecclesiastical Laws as he and they thought fit And Cap. 12. To name twelve to settle the Form of Making and Consecrating Bishops and Ministers The inferences from all these Acts are so natural obvious and easie that I shall leave every man to his own Remarks on them But this again held not long for by an Act of the 1st of Queen Mary all that was done before concerning Religion was again Repealed and the Sanguinary Severities of this Queen's Reign were no less ineffectual and deplorable than those of her Father and Brother They were indeed design'd to restore that Spiritual Church Authority which when submitted to can alone prevent or heal all Dissensions about Religion but they had a quite contrary effect and left those whom they pretended to reduce in a far greater degree of horrour and aversion from all Peace and Reconciliation than they were before To her succeeded Queen Elizabeth in the Throne as she did her Brother in the Supremacy For as he a Child so now she a Woman forbidden by God's Laws so much as to speak in the Church ascends the Chair and declares her self Supreme Governour of the Church of England And by an Act of the 1st of her Reign Power is given to her and her Successors to Reform Correct and Amend all Errours Heresies Schisms and Offences After this time such an Inundation of Penal and Sanguinary Laws to compel the Worship of this Idol so set up as would require more than this whole day to enumerate But I am the more willing to instance in some of them because it was she that began to employ her Two-edged Supremacy against all sorts of Dissenters as well Protestant as Catholick and from her too exemplary zeal for Uniformity have sprung all
Trains and Lines prepared for it These are a few of the many Instances I could give on this Subject I pray you then what Interpretation can be made of such Endeavors for Excluding and Wresting from his Majesty's Service and Presence and from his Counsel in Parliament so vast a Number of his Subjects more valuable than Forts or Ships of whose Fidelity and Capacity to serve him he has the utmost assurance Looks not this somewhat like taking him into their Power who thus Thrust others from him And who knows but in time to come the Number thus excluded may be ten times greater than now it is And who knows also but many of those who make no scruple of the Tests may yet pretend it or whether they pretend it or no may yet forbear them of set purpose to defert his Service till between such as cannot and such as will not take them under pretence of Conformity to Law we shall have at last a King left without one Subject to Counsel Obey or Come near him Under this Contemplation of what now really is and what hereafter may farther happen with what face can any but pretend to Loyalty and not to be open Enemies to their King their Country and the Publick Peace when at the same time they cling and hug themselves up in so Pernicious or perhaps Treasonous Interpretation of these Two Acts. And what Horror and Indignation against them must it needs create in every man that has but the least spark of Loyalty left in his breast Gentlemen My business is not here to declare what I take to be true or false in Matters of Religion nor to advance the one nor depress the other What I speak of is only in reference to the Publick Peace which as much as in me lies is my Duty to promote To this end it is that I have given you here for the Subject a very short tho' for our time too large a Scheme of many of the great Mutations in Religion here in England of late times by Publick Authority and of some few of the many sharp Laws from time to time invented by each prevailing Party to force the submission of others The multitude of Men and even of whole Families not only that have suffer'd but have been driven into Foreign Lands or ruin'd and swallow'd up by those Devouring Laws are even beyond account or any Man's power to number up Where by the way it must be observed that the very suffering is a clear proof of the sincerity and well-meaning tho' it cannot be always of the truth of the sufferer And after all this Havock where every little Knave receives encouragement to insult over and make a prey of his more worthy Neighbour at length up comes this Brace of Tests Midwiv'd into Acts by the aid of persons then fam'd indeed for Patriots but soon after Notorious in the ensuing Conspiracy succeeded as their Natural Issue by a Plot that is the Disgrace of our Nation or rather The Plot and later Tests Twinchildren of the first succeeded also by Votes for Excluding his present Majesty from his Inheritance by an Horrible Conspiracy against the Lives of our present and late King and by the Great and Dangerous Rebellion of England and now at last to the World's wonder and their own shame most closely and that in the worst sence adhered unto by such Vain Boasters of Loyalty as would allow no share of it to any part of the World but themselves thô by this very adherence their own share of it becomes far too little for any prudent Prince to rely on But at length God Almighty in his Mercy hath given us a King whose Heart he has inspired with Wisdom to discern the Imprudence as well as Injustice of all these Severe Laws with mildness to admit a general Abolition of them all tho' from many of them great Riches have been and might still be drawn to the Crown and with Fortitude to prosecute with an undaunted Courage as well as indefatigable Labour so glorious a Work tho' strongly encountred therein by Two sorts of men Both I confess too numerous and in their own Opinions very mighty and as many more as either of these are able to impose upon or deceive The one such as being unacquainted with the use of Reasoning or not liking the labour of it imagine Religion can be no longer kept up than it is Gig-like lasht into motion and yet themselves much too tender to bear the least touch And yet again thrô want of Thought expose themselves to the utmost peril not foreseeing that they cannot be sure to be always uppermost and when not so the Penalties they prepare or retain for others fall directly on their own heads The other sort such whose manner of life seems to indicate little other sense of Religion than a fear lest their vicious Customs should fall under some restraint by the Practice of it Right Religion consists not in Violence Noise or Tumult God was not in the Whirl-wind nor in the Earthquake nor in the Fire when he spoke to Elias but in the still small Voice Religion rather consists in Meekness long Suffering and doing as we would have others do to us We have our Saviour's word That a Kingdom divided cannot stand Now there are but two ways imaginable whereby such a Division among Christians can possibly be avoided as must else necessarily terminate in the utter overthrow of Christianity it self which is Christ's own Kingdom and which every Christian must needs abhor to think of One is by the general Submission of particular Christians to one common Authority which how much soever to be wisht for cannot now be supposed practicable and therefore no more need be said of that The other is by bearing with one anothers differences in Religion and in letting every man enjoy his own without offending or being offended at his Neighbour This later His Majesty has graciously chosen He has not only already granted a general Indulgence which yet can last but during Pleasure but he is also ready totally to dissolve our Bonds and set us so free that even his own or Successor's hands shall not be able to hurt us for matters of Religion And this by a Magna Charta as solemn and sacred as that by which we enjoy our Lives and Estates What then remains on our parts Must we always imitate the hardned Jews in murmuring against our most Benign Rulers against God himself and nauseate the Quails and Manna he sends us Must we always Slave-like hug the Chains which tye up both King and People not onely from restoring the Kingdom 's Glory abroad but even from its necessary Defence at home Or ought we not rather with united Hearts first offer up our Thanks and Praises to God in whose Hands are the Hearts of Kings for having put it into the King's heart to do such good things for his People Next to present our unanimous Thanks in an Humble Address to His Majesty and then with as united hands and with all the power we have to serve and assist Him Which at this time we can no ways better do than by employing our utmost endeavours to Find and Elect for Parliament when called such Members as we may be sure or reasonably hope will readily and chearfully joyn with His Majesty in this so Pious Prudent Charitable and kind Determination joyned with our hearty Prayers for the good success of it It remains now Gentlemen of the Jury that I Address my self particularly to you and that I give you in charge what Offences you are to make enquiry of for this present Sessions But I am sensible that I have already trespassed sufficiently upon the Patience of the Court and thô the importance of my Subject be really so great and considerable both for the Service of His Majesty and for the Welfare of us all that it does very well justifie the length of my Discourse yet that I may not render it tedious without necessity I shall wave at present all enumeration of such particular matters as make the usual and ordinary subject of a Charge You your selves Gentlemen are not unacquainted of what nature they are and Indictments and Presentments will be brought in to you for all such more urgent matters as shall need and require a more special Consideration and Redress FINIS ERRATA Page 4. l. 19. read need to fear p. 8. l. 21. after Jurisdiction 1. but by from and under His Majesty