Part III. Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter. 57. England, and having fine the AR of Oblivion preached iá an unlawful Afiéin- bly : and alfo loath fo preached fine this Aft ; and hath not taken the Oath' here required, is proved by Oath to us to have been, or come finer Mar. 24. 1665. Within five Miles of a Corporation, or a place where he was an,incum- 'bent, or preached in a Conventicle, before this Aft finer the API of Oblivion-; and alto hath refufed before us to fwear and fubfcribe the faid Oath, frs. Now if this Mittimus. 1. Here is no mention that R. B. bath notfubferibedand declared already according to the Act of Vniformity ; pr is a Non-corformft ; nor vet that he is.*kr, ordained according to. the Form of the Church of -Eng- land 2. Nor is there any mention that he bath preached in an unlawful Asfenibly fnce the Act of Oblivion ; much lefs line this' Act, (whichmuff be Paid) 3. Nor that ever theyhad proof of his not taking the Oath before , or that ever he was Convia ofPreaching before he took it. 4. The Offence itfelf is not here Paid to be provedby Oath at all, viz. Coming or being within five Miles, c'ire. But another thing, viZ. his Preaching in an un- lawful Meeting is Paid to be proved by Oath, which this Act doth not enable them to take , proof of. . As for the Word in the Mittimus, [ where he now dmelleth ] it cannot be understood as a part of Depofition. 1. Becaufe it is expreffed but as the Jnflice's Afièrtion; and not fo much as an [and] or ConjunOlon put be- fore it to Thew that they had Oath made of it, as well as of Preaching. 2. Becaufe the Word [nom dmelleth] muit be takenfirictly or laxly ; if ftrictlly it referreth but to the time of the Writing of the Mittimus, which was two days after the Conffable's Warrant; and no Accufer, Witnefs, or other Perfon was fuffered to be prefent ; and therefore itmust needs be but the Juflice's own Words, or Aflertion, without proof. Or if [ now dmelleth] be taken laxly for a diftant time ; then note, that here is not any mention of Proof that there was any juft or confiderable diftance between his [Preaching] and his [ dwelling bere] but he mightgo away the next hour afterhis Preaching, notwitffanding any thing here mentioned. For any Man that Preacheth, is in the place where he Preacheth while he Preacheth ; and if he go away the next hour, it mutt be confidered in what time he' cango five Miles. But if [nom] be taken for the Wit- neffesWords, here is no intimation of the leaft diftance. And nonecan imagine that the Law tneaneth that the Preacher (hall be five Miles off the next Mi- nute, or Hour. And indeed, teeing no Man can tell how many hours muff be al-. lowed it -is plain that the AO meaneth that the Perfon muff be first legally Con- vict of Preaching in an unlawful Aflembly (and allo of not having conformedor taken the Oath) before the Oath is made of his not removing five Miles. 3. This Att, not at all enabling the Juftices to take Oath about the Cänven- tides ; but only about [notcoming within five Miles] and there being bitt one De- polition mentioned [where he now dmelleth] beinga very part of that one Teal- mony, if it be not the kill-ice's own Words ; it followeth that this Oath malt be made before theAO ageinff Conventides was expired; becaufe no other All enableth them to take Inch an Oath : And then the [nom dmelleth] will lignifie long ago, without any notified diftance from his Preaching. 4. If [wherehe nary dmelleth] bepart of the Depofition, then fo muff the fol- lowing Words [not having taken andfubferibed the Oath,) which Charity forbiddeth us to believe that they fwore, feeiug 'I was never accufed of it, and it's not ppf- fible that they, or any Man living fbould know that I have not taken it hereto- fore. 5.- Here is no Oath that Richard Baxter Preached in á Conventicle before tkit Aft, which is to beproved as well as that he did it after. The great difficulty in this AO is, whether the general Words [all filch Perfons as(hall take on them to Preach] be not to be taken as expounded in the Preamble limited to Nbsi.runformifls, and the un-ordained, as aforefaid. And it's plain, that it's not to be extendedto Conformifls. t. Becaufe the Law Toth not dishonour them fo faras to fufpeft themof poifonous Principles. 2. Elfewhat ruinwould it make in the Church, when every Pallor mull no more come within five Miles of his Charge (no not the dignifiedClergy) if any Enemy, fhalI, fecretly fwear that they once preached in an unlawful Aflembly; a. All the CofforiitäbÍe Clergy Hhhls
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=