CAWDREY. 441 of his office, which could not be before the commissioners. And if the cause were depending before his lordship, by virtue of his office, how could the judgment, said Morrice, be any other than his own ? And as to the sentence itself, the attorney held it to be contrary to law. For by law several other censures and punishments, as admonition, excommunication, and seques- tration, were to be inflicted previous to deprivation. But in Mr. Cawdrey's case, that sentence which is the most severe, and ought to have been inflicted last, was inflicted first. This, therefore, was contrary to the statute, and not warranted by any of the queen's ecclesiastical laws.. Thus Mr. Attorney Morrice endeavoured to make it appear, that the bishop's proceedings were illegal and oppressive. But the arguments of the learned barrister proved ineffectual. They were too weak to soften the mind of this relentless prelate. Mr. Cawdrey refusing to submit himself to the illegal and severe proceedings, was brought before Archbishop Whitgift and other high commissioners. He appeared at Lambeth, May 14, 1590; and after being severely threatened, he was degraded and deposed from the ministry, and made a mere layman. On this occasion, Whitgift urging him to conform, Mr. Cawdrey replied, saying, " I never refused to conform, as far as the law requires, and as a minister of Christ is in conscience bound." And one of the commissioners observing, that he was deprived for speaking against the Book of CommonPrayer, our divine replied, that is not true ; for it appears from my answers to the articles upon my oath, that it was for speaking against an inconvenience attending the book. If it were taken," says he, 46 as you have represented, and taken in the worst sense it could be, there was nodepriva- tion by law, for the first offence. And according to law, I should have been indicted at the next assizes following, but was not; therefore, I am clear by the statute."+ Upon these tyrannical proceedings, Mr. Attorney Morrice recommended the lord treasurer to make the Bishop of London feel his lawless severities; and, said he, happily some remorse of conscience may move him to be more favourable. Though it might be offensive, he observed, to find fault with judicial proceedings, there was no evil in seeking to help the injured, to maintain law and justice, and to make ecclesiastical judges more careful of their Strype's Aylmer, p. 131,132. 1. Ibid. p. 139, 140.
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