The HIS T 0 R Y of the PuRITANS. VoL. H. King Il unh.Jerjal toleration in defpite of the church, and at their expence. The Ja~~·6. ' cruelty of the church of England was his common fubject of difcourfe; ~ he reproached them for their violent perfecutions of the difTenters, and And brings faid, he had intended to fet on foot a toleration fooner, but tbat be was ~berty to the reflrained by SOME OF THEM wbo bad treated ~vitb bim, and bad un- !lfmtm. dertaken to jhew favour to tbe papijls, provided tbey might be /lilf foifered to vex the df!Jenters ; and he named the very men, though they thonght fit afterwards to deny it : How far the fact is probable muft be left with the reader. By v;~tue of It being thought impracticable to obtain a legal toleration in the prefent tlte d'.Jperjir.g • ft f h . I . . ft d . d . power. c1rcum ances. o t e natiOn, liS maje y etermme to attempt 1t by the Burnet, p. difi;enjing power; for this purpofe Sir Edward Hales a popilh gentleman 66g. of Kent, was brought to trial for breaking through the tefl aEf, when Sir Edward Herbert lord chief juf'rice, gave judgment in his favour, and declared the powers of the crown to be abfolute. The other judges were clofeted, and fuch difpl~ced as were of a different fentiment; and the king being refolved to have twelve judges of his own opinion, four had their quietus, and as many new ones advanced, from whom the king ex– acted a promife, to fupport the prerogative in all its branches. There was a ne~v call qfferjeants, who gave rings with this motto, DEus, REx, LEX, God, the king, and the law; the kmg being placed before the law, The privy council was new modelled, and feveral declared papifh admitted into it; two confiding clergymen were promoted to bifhoprics. Parker to Oxford, and Cart~vright to Chdfer. Many pamphlets were writ and dif– perfed in favour of liberty of confcience; and Sir Roger L'Ejlrange, with Welw. other mercenary writers, were employed to maintai n, that a power in the Mem. P· king to dijjm?fe witb the laws, is law. But the opinion of private wri- ;;;t;,h is de-ters not .being thought fufficient, it was refolved ~o .have. t?e determination dared /egc.l of the ;udges, who all (exce.pt one) gave it as tne1r opmwn; I. '!bat the by the judgcs.laws qf England were the. king's laws. .2. 'That it is an inflparable branch Non-conf. care/fed by the court, p. 672. if the prerogative of tbe kilz~s of England, as of' all other Jiruereign prin– ces, to difpenje with all penal laws in particular cqfes, and ou particular oc– cqjions. 3· 'Ihat of' theft reqfons and necifjity tbe king is foie judge. 4· That this is not a trz!fl now invdfed in, and granted to tbe pnfent king, but the antient remaim qj tbe Jovereign power of' the kings of' England, wbicb was never yet takenfrom them, nor can be: Thus the · laws of England were given up at once into the hands of the king, by a folemn determination of the judges. This point being fecured, his majefty began to carefs the non-conform!fls; " All on a fudden (fays bifhop Burnet), the churchmen were difgraced; " and the difTenters in high filVour. Lord chief jufl:ice Herbert went " the weftern circuit after 'Jifferies, who was now made lord chancellor, '' and
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