396 The HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. VIII. El aorh ecclefiaftical courts ; a bill being brought in to examine into bifhops 150i. , leafes and to difable them from taking fines, another againft pluralities and non-re/dents; and another againft commiDäries and archdeacons courts. Proceedings Multitudes of complaints came to the houfe againft the proceedings of fá Ali theni the ordinaries ex mero officio, without due prefentments preceding, and fpirir al againft the frequent keeping their courts, fo that the church- wardens courts. were fometimes cited to two or three fpiritual courts at once; corn- L. plaint was made of their charging the country with quarterly bills; Si , P. 547 of the great number of apparitors, and pettyfummaners, who feized upon people for trifling offences ; of the admiflion of curates by officials and comm?äries, without the bifhop's knowledge, and without teftimonials of their converfation ; of fcandalous commutations of penance, and divers _Queen pro- abufes of the like kind ; but the queen would not fuffer the houfe to de- teas them. bate them, referring them to the archbifhop, who wrote to his bre- L. of Whit- thren the to endeavour as much as poffible to reform the above- 549 P 547' mentioned grievances, which lays he, have produced multitudes of com- plaints in parliament ; and had they not been prevented by great cir- cumfpeEtion, and promife of careful reformation, there might perhaps, have enfued the taking away of the whole, or molt of thole courts. " ° So prudently diligent was the archbifhop (lays Mr. Strype) to keep up the Jurifdi&ion of the bifhops courts, and the wealthy eftate of the clergy, by preferving non- re/idencies to them." Bill to pun&h There was another bill brought into the houle, to punifh voluntary ab- voluntary ab. fence from church : the forfeiture was to be twelve pence each funday, to fencefrom be levied by diftrefs, by a warrant from a jultice of peace ; but the bill was church. oppofed, becaufethere was a fevere law already againft reculants, of twenty poundsper month; and becaufe, if this bill fhould pats, a juftice of peace's houle would like- a quarter feffïons, be crouded with a multitude of infor- mers: It was likewife againft magna charta, which entitles every man to Ecd. Hi/l be tried by his peers, whereas by this act, two witneffes before a juftice of P' 667. peace were fuffrcient. The bill however was engroffed, and being put to the queflion, the No's carried it by a fingle voice;, upon which the rca's laid the fpeaker was with them, which made the number even. The queftion was then put whether the fpeaker had a voice, which being car- ried in the negative, the bill mifcarried. Proceedings The convocation did nothing but give the queen four fubfidies to be col- of convoca- k&ed in four years, and receive an exhortation from the archbifhop to "0n obferve the canons gaffed in the lait convocation. They met Gibber the 18th. and were diffolved with the parliament December the 19th following. This
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