Chap. I. The IH S T ORY 1the PURITAN$. 427 " Furthermore if thefe men, being divers hundreds, fhould forfake ngia esl " their charges, who I pray you, fhould fucceed them : Verily I know 3604' " not where to find fo many able preachers in this realm unprovided for ; but fuppofe there were, yet they might more conveniently be fet= " tied in the feats of unpreaching minifters. But if they are put in the " places of thefe men that are difpoffefl'ed, thereupon it will follow, " r. That the number of preaching minifters will not be multiplied, " 2. The church cannot be fo well furnifhed on a fudden ; for though the new fupply may be of learned men from the univerfities, yet will " they not be fuch ready preachers for a time, nor fo experienced in pallo- e' ral government, nor fo well acquainted with thomanners of the peo- " ple, nor fo difcreet in their carriage, as thofe who have already fpent " many years in their minifterial charge. " Befides, forafmuch as in the time of the latearchbithop ofCanterbury, CC thefe things were not fo extremely urged, but that many learned preach- " ers enjoyed their liberty conditionally, that they did not by word or " deed openly difturb the Efate eftablifhed, I would know a reafon why " they should now be fo generally and exceeding ftraitly called upon, " efpecially fence there is a greater encreafe of papifts lately than here- " tofore. " To conclude, I with, that if by petition to the king's majefty there " cannot be obtained a quite remove ofthe premifes, nor yet a toleration " for them, that are of more ftaid and temperate carriage, yet at leaft " there might be procured a mitigation of the penalty." Thebithops of London,Wincheer,Elyand Lincoln, anfwered the bifhop of St. David, but when his lordfhip would have replied, he wasforbid by the prefident, andfubmitted ; affirming that as nothing was more dear to him than the peace of the church, hewas determined to ufe the belt means he could to draw others to unity and conformity with himfelf, and the reft of his reverend brethren. And thus the debate ended. The book of Canons found an eafy paffage through both houles of con- vocation, and was afterwards ratified by the king's letters patent under his great feat, but not being confirmed by all of parliament, it has feveral times been adjudged in the courts of Weßmin,/ier-ball, that they bind only the clergy, the laity not being reprinted in convocation. The book contains one hundred forty one articles, colleted out of the injun&ions, and other epifcopal and fynodical as of the reigns of king Edward VI. and queenElizabeth, and are the fame that are now in force. By thefe we difcern the fpirit of the church at this time, and how freely the dif penfed her anathema's .againft thofe who attempted a further reformation. Ìii2 The
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