The HIS T 0 R Y oj the PuRITANS. VoL. IJ, K. Charles I." lieves it to be .a prejudice to the public good; many of his fubjects hav. 16 47· " ing the benefit of renewing leafes at much eafier rates, than if thofe 1../'-v""-' " polldl1ons were in the hands of private men; not omitting the dif. " courgement it will be to learn ing and indulhy, when fuch eminent re- . " wards !hall be taken away; yet confidering the prefent di!lempers con. " cerning church-d ifcipline, and that the preibyterian governmen t is now " in practice, his majdl:y to avoid confufion as much as may be, and " for the fatisfaction of his tw'o houfes, is content, that the fam e govern– " ment be legally permitted to fiand in the fame condition it now is for " three years, provided that his maje!ly, and thofe of his judgment, or "any others who cannot in confcience fubmit thereun to, be not obliged " to comply with the preibyterial governmen t, but have free practice of " ou r own pofdl1on, without any prejudice thereby; and that free con. " fultation be had with the divines at Wejtminfter, twenty of his maje!ly's " nomination being added to them, to confider how to fettle the church · " afterwards, with full liberty to all thofe who !hall differ upon con– " fcien tious grounds from that fettlement; a! ways provided, that noth ing " aforelaid be underfiood to tolerate thofe of the popitb profeffion, or· «exempt them from penal laws , or to tolerate the public profeffion of " atheifm, or blafpherny, contrary to the doctrine of the apollles, the " nicene and athanajian creed; they having been received by, and had in " reverence of all chri!lian churches, and more efpecially th e church of " England iince the reformat ion ." This was infe rted to cajole the army, and was entirely reverfed by thejcots treaty five weeks after. Remarks, From. thefe inconfi!lent views of the contending parties, we may eafily difcern the precarious fituation of the public tranquil ity, efpecially as there was a general dit1rull: on all fides, and each party refo lved to carry their point without any abatements : Tbe king was held by ties of con– fcience and honour (,1s he faid) to preferve epijcopacy; the Jcots and wglijh prefbyterians, though divided at prefent, thought themfelves equal– ly bound to {land by their .folemn league and cownant ; and the army was under a folemn mgagement to agree with neither without a to/era• tion. If the king could have fubmitted to covenant umformil)', he might have been rell:ored by the preibyterians ; or if either king or parliament would have declared heartily for a toleration, they might have eftablilh– ed themfelves by the ailifiance of the military power; but his majefiy fcems to have been playing an unll:eady, if not a double game. The reader will judge of the equity of the fev.eral propofals, and of the pru· dential conduet of each party, from the refpective circumll:ances in which they fl:ood ; the ·kipg was a prifoner ;. the parliament in poffeilion of the whole legiilative authority; but the fword was in the hands of t-he. ar– my, who were determined not to !heath it till they had fecured to them· · 2 felve~
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