774The HISTORY of the PuRITANS . Vat. II. J King viewed, and fuch as would not promife to employ their interefis in the ames JI. " I f th I I ··r d d M- . jl d;rr; 1687 . repea o · e pena aws , were Clllcar e . any prote ant 0 entcrs ~'-.J were put into commiftlon on this occafion, in hopes that they would procure fuch members for the next parliament, as !hould give them a legal right, to what they now enjoyed only by the royal favour; but when the king prdfed it upon the lord mayor of L cndon, and the new aldermen, who were chiefly diiJenters, they made no reply. Reaflm. of The reafon of the dijfenters backwardnefs in an affair that fo nearly tbe dij!enters concerned them, and in which they have fince exprelled fa ll:rong a denotbezngfor fi h · fi l jl z· · d h · ,J; abrogatiM ue, was t etr concern or ttJe prote ant re tgzon, an t etr aver,;ton to potbe pmal. pery. The king was not only a rO!J1an catholic but a bigot; and it was laws at tlm evident, that the plucking up the fences at this time, mull: have made time. a breach at which popery would enter. If the king had been a proteftant, the cafe had been different, becaufe papffls could not take the oaths of allegiance and fupremacy, to a prince who flood excommunicated by the church of Rome; but now there would be no obll:acle, or if there was, the king would difpenfe with the law in their favour; the di/Jen– ters therefore were afraid, that if they !hould give into his m~jefiy's meafures, though they might fecure their liberty for the prefent, it would ll:and on a precarious foundation; for if popery came in triumph– ant, it would not only fwallow up the church of England, but the whole protefiant interell:. They chofe therefore to trull: their liberty to the mercy of their proteflant brethren, rather than receive a legal fecurity for it under a popiih government. Behaviour of According to this refolution, bi!hop Burnet obferves. that Sir J obn Sir J ohn Shorter, the new lord mayor, and a protejlant dijfenter, thought fit to Shorter tbe qualify himfelf for his office according to law, though the tefl was fuf1-i.fJ~~~;~r. pended, and the king had fignified to the mayor, that he was at liberty, Jlurnet, p. and might ufe what form of wor!hip he thought bell: in Guildhall, 718, which was defigned as an experiment, to engage the prefuyterians t.o make the firfi change from the ell:abli!hed wor!hip, concluding, that .1f a prejbyterian maycr did this one year, it would be eafy for a popijh ma)'or to do it the next ; but his lordlhip referred the cafe to thofe clergymen, who bad the government of the diocefe of London, during the bi!hop's fufpenfion, who affured his lord!hip it was contrary to law; fo that though the lord mayor went fometimes to the meetings of diffen– ters, he went frequently to church, and behaved with more decency 'lbe king ( ~ays his lord!hi~), than coul.d have been expeB:~d. This ?ifobliged the goes into rajh kmg to a very h1gh degree, 111fomuch that he fa1d, the dijjenters qe;ereml and violent iLl-natured fort qj people that could not be gained. mdeaJ:ue;r b{. This oppofition to the king, heightened his refentments, and pu!hed a vtce o 1 ms . . f1 d Prietis. him on to raili and vwlent meafures; 1f he had proceeded by ·ow egrees, ~· · · wd
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