The HISTORY of the PuRITANs: VoL If. King " for the county, in open court ; upon forfeiture for every fuch offence Charles II. " f th r. f r d h' d h k' 1 6 65 . o e 1um o lOrty poun s, one t 1r to t e mg, another third to .~ " the poor, and a third to him that £hall fue for it. And it is further " enacted, that fuch as (hall refufe the oath aforefaid, !hall be incapable " of teaching any public or private fchools, or of taking any boarders " or tablers to be taught or inftructed, under pain of forty pounds, to " be diftributed as above. Any two juftices of peace, upon oath made " before them of any offence committed againft this ad, are empow– ,, ered to commit the offender to prifon for fix months, without bail or " mainprize." Baxter, part The earl of Southampton, lord Wharton, Ajhley, Dr. Earl bilhop of III. p. 3· Salijhury, and others, vehemently oppofed this bill, out of compaffion Burnet, p; to the non-conformifts, and as it enforced anunlawful and unjufl:ifiable 225 ' oath, which (as the earl of Southampton obferved), no honefl man could take; but the madnefs of the times prevailed againft all reafon and hu· manity. The promoters of the act were lord cha!Jcellor Clarendon, archbi– f11op She/don, Ward the new bilhop of Salijbury, and their creatures, with Baxtcr, p. all that were fecret favourers of popery (fays bia10p Burnet.) It was moved 15. that the word legally might be inferted in the oath, before the word com– mijjioned; and that before the words endeavoured to change the government, might be inferted the word unlauifully; but all amendments were rejected ; however, Bridgman chief juftice of the Commo11-Pleas, declaring that the oath mull: be fo undedl:ood, Dr. Bates and about twen ty others took it, to avoid the imputation of [edition; but they had fuch a lecture afterward$ from the bench for their fcruples, that they repented of what they had Some few done before they went out of court. Mr. Howe, and about twelve in Devon• taket~eoa:h·Jhire, and a few in Dorfetjbire, took the oath with a declaration in what Howe s Life. fenfe and with what limitations they underl1ood it. But the geneBut the body of 11on-conformift minifters refufed the oath, chooling 1·ality r,efufe rather to forfake their habitations, their relations and friends and all vilible abnd/f, 0 mtto fupport, than deftroy the peace of their confciences. Thofe minil1ers who an&umen • b f h . . d fi Baxter, part had fame little el1ate or fu fiance o t e1r own, ret1re to ome remote HI. p. 4• and obfcure villages, or fuch little market towns as were not corporations, Bu6n, P· and more than five miles from the places where they had preached; but 22 • in many counties it was difficult to find fuch places of retirement; for either there were no houfes untenanted, or they were annexed to farms which the minifters were not capable of ufing ; or the people were afraid to ad– mit the minifters into their houfes, left they !Pould be fufpected as favour~ ers of non-conformity. Some took advantage of the minifters neceffities, Baxter's · and raifed their rents beyond what they could afford to give. Great num– Life,partiii. bers were thus buried in obfcurity, while others who had neither money P· 15· nor friends, went on preaching as they could, till they were fent to prifon, '
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