4-58 :r'he HISTORY of the PuRITANS. VoL. II. Oliver no regard to ability in preaching, or fobriety in converfation. And Dr Protellor. W. lk h" k h fi ft d l ' . • 1 6 54 . a er t In s, t e eque ere ~ve CIJ clergy need no other vmdication ~ than to let the world know, that many of them were graduates in the zmi– verftty; as if every graduate muft of courfc be poffeffed of all minifterial' qualifications. There might poffibly be feme few pious and indufl:rious preachers among the ejeCled ~oelch clergy ; but they who will argue very Hrenuoufly in favour of the body of them, mufl: know very little of the country, or their manner of life. Their me– th•d of [up– plying the vacancies. Cal20my's Camp. P• 48. Petitions ngainfl the !ommif– jioners. It was not in the power of the commiffioners to find a fuccefiion of pi– ous and learned preachers in the welch language; but to remedy this in the befl: manner they could, they appointed fix itinerant preachers of uni. verfity education for each county, to whom they allowed one hundred pounds a year; befides which, they fent out thirty two minifl:ers, of whom twenty-four were univerfity men, and feme of the refl: good fcholars; but thefe were but too few for the work, though they were indefatigable. in their labours. To fupply what was further wanting, they approved of feveral gifted laymen, members of churches, to travel into the neigh– bourhood, and aflift the people's devotiom, and to thefe they allowed from feventeen to twenty pounds per annum. In an article of the fequeil:rators accompts, there appears threelhundred and forty poundsper annum diftribu. ted among godly members of the church of Lanvacles, and Mynthifi LO)'n, who had been fent out to exercife their gifts among the welch moun– taineers, and to help forward the work of the Lord. Many others of the fame quality were approved by the commiflioners, who went through great difficulties and hardihips in their work. Mr. Po7oel fays, that [ome hundreds, if not thoufands, had been converted and reformed by the propagators. After all it mufl: be confeffed, that at firft the number of itinerants, both fchobrs and otl~ers, was by no means equal to their work ; the parifhes in that mountainous country are large and wide, and there being but one itinerant to feveral of thofe parifhes, the people mufl: have been negleCl:ed, and their children too much without in{huc– tion ; but this was owing to the neceility of the times. When the commiffioners had aCl:ed about two years, a petition was prefented to the parliament by the inhabitants of South Wales, fi gned by above a thoufand hands, in favour of the old ejeCl:ed clergy, fetting forth the numbers that had been difpofieffed, and the want of a competent number of preachers in their places, upon which account the country was reduced to a very miferable condition. They therefore pray the houfe to take feme courfe for a future fupply of godly and able preachers ; and to call thofe perfons to account, who had received all the profits of Walker, church livings into their hands. The houfe received the petition, and reP· I68. ferred it to the committeefor plundered minij!ers, who were empowered to ex a~
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