Chap. I. The HISTORY of the PURITANS.. 423 " His majefty acknowledges the roman church to be his mother church, Rïngames I. " though defiled withTome infirmities and corruptions. That his mind was i6o3 " ever free from perfecution for matters of confcience, as he hopes thofe Rapin, " of that religion have proved fence his firft coming. He pities the p. z6r. " laity among them, and would indulge their clergy if they would but " renounce the pope's fupremacy, and his pretended power to difpenfe " with the murder of kings. He wilhes that he might be a means of uniting the two religions, for if they would but abandon their late cor- " ruptions, be wouldmeet them in the midway, as having a great veneration for antiquity in the points of eccléfraftical policy. But then as to the " puritans or novels /is, who do not differ from us fo much in points of " religion, as in their confufed form of policy'and purity ; thofe, lays he, " are discontented with the prefent church - government; they are impa- " tient to fuffer any fuperiority, which makes their felt infufferable in any " well governed commonwealth. The bifliops and their adh°rents were pleated with this fpeech, becaufe Remarks: the king feemed refolved not to indulge the puritans at any rate ; the ca- Rapin, tholicks did not like his majefty's diftinction between the laicks and clericks; p' 275 but the puritans had molt reafon to complain, to fee fo much charity expreffed towards papifis, and fo little for themfelves. All proteftants in general heard with concern the king's offer to meet the papifts half-way. What does he mean? fay they; is there no difference between popery and proteftantifm, except the pope's authority over princes? Are all other doc- trines to be given up ? Are the religions the fame ? And is this the only point upon which we feparated from the church of Rome? Thus unhap- pily did this pretended proteftant prince let out, with laying the founda- tion of difcontent among all ranks of his people. His majefty made frequent mention in his fpeech, of his hereditary HIS arbitra- right to the crown, and of his lineal defcent; that he was accountable to sy8avern- none but God; and that the only difference between a rightful king and mene. a tyrant is, that the one is ordained for preferving the profperity of bis people, the other thinks his kingdom and people are ordained tofàtisfy bis un- reafonable appetites. Further, his majefty altered the writs for eleftingRapin, members, and took upon him to defcribe, what fort of reprefentatives P 252- fhould be eleEted, not by way of exhortation but of command, and as Coke, p, Ss indifpenfable conditions of their being admitted into the houle, and which were to be judged of and determined in the court of Chancery. He threatened to fine and disfranchife thofe corporations that did not choofe to his, mind , and to fine and imprifon theirreprefentatives if they pre- fumed to fit in the houfe. When the houle of commons met he inter- rupted their examinations of eleí" lions, and commanded the return of Sir Francis
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