384 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. The witnesses against Mr. Hildersham affirmed upon their oaths, what all the parish knew to be notoriously false, and even declared by what motives he was actuated in what was charged against him. But upon this most glaring false witness, the court proceeded to censure him as follows :- He-was pronounced refractory and disobedient to theorders, rites and ceremonies of the church of England ; and a schismatic and schismatical person, and well worthy of severe punishment. Also, because he was deemed the ringleader of all schismatical persons in that part of the country, he was fined two thousand pounds, excommu- nicated, degraded from the ministry, ordered to be taken and cast into prison, commanded to make a public recanta- tion in such form as the court should appoint, and, to finish the business, he was condemned in costs of suit.. if any impartialjudge wereto form an opinion of Mr. Hildersham's crime from this heavy sentence, he would conclude the single sin of nonconformity, at least in the opinion of the ecclesiastical judges, to have been much greater than open drunkenness, swearing, adultery, or any such atrocious acts of immorality, which, though very common among the clergy of those times, were scarcely ever noticed. What a happy circumstance is it that we live in better days ! in which it is generally acknowledged, that, in religious matters, every man ought to act according to the persuasion mission court It appeared to the court, that the said Dighton and Holt, being laymen, had, in opposition to the state ecclesiastical, kept sundry conventicle, or exercises of religion in private houses, within the parish of Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; and held public disputations against the orders, rites and ceremonies of the church, and dissuaded others from conformity to the same. And because Mr. Racket their minister, (meaning the person appointed to the place,) was conformable, they have refused to come to church to hear him preach, or read divine service, or tobring their children to be baptized, or their wives to be churched ; but, leaving their own parishes, went to other parishes to hear unconformable ministers, and carried many of the parish of Ashby after them, to the great encourage- ment of schismatical and refractory persons; and, being often admonished in this court, they refused, and do still refuse, to join with the christian congregation in receiving the boly communion kneeling and having made common purses, and sundry collections, for maintaining, abetting, and encouraging such schisinatical persists in their obstinacy and disobedience to his majesty's laws ecclesiastical ; they are, therefore, pronounced schis- matics and schismatical persons, and worthy to be severely punished, and were accordingly fined a thousand pounds a piece, pronounced excommu- nicate, ordered to he publiclydenounced, to make their submission in three several places, condemned in costs of suit, and sent back to prison ; but bow long they continued," says our author, I am not able to learn." This is one instance of the persecution of laymen for their nonconformity.-, .111S. Remarks, p. 652. Clark's Lives, p. 118,,119.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=