CHAPTER XXXII. THE RESTORATION SETTLEMENT-THE REVISION OF THE 1660-1662. 1. The Presbyterians endeavour to make conditions at the Restoration. § 2. They find themselves without influence in the country. § 3. The concessions demanded by them. § 4. Richard Baxter. § 5. Joy of the country at the restoration of the Church. § 6. The Bishops who had survived the troubles. § 7. The new Bishops. § 8. The Worcester House Declaration. § 9. Character of the document. § 10. The Convention Parliament refuse to accept it. § 11. The Savoy Conference. § 12. Baxter's Reformed Liturgy. § 13. The petition to the Bishops, and their Reply. § 14. The viva voce discussion. § 15. Conclusion of the Conference. § 16. The House of Commons pass a bill for Uniformity, with the Prayer-Book of 1604 annexed. § 17. The bill sent to the House of Lords. § 18. The revision of the Prayer-Book in Convocation. § 19. The character of the work. § 20. The amended PrayerBook in the House of Lords. § 21. The Commons accept the amended Prayer-Book, and pass the Act for Uniformity. § 1. As soon as the country had unmistakably declared its resolve to have the king restored, the Presbyterian party endeavoured to take advantage of the situation, and to bring about the return of the king on terms favourable to themselves. This they probably might have effected had it not been for the adroitness of General Monk, who, though professing to act as their leader, nevertheless took means to assure Charles that he would in fact bring him back without conditions.1 On May 1 the Convention-Parliament received from Charles his famous letter from Breda, in which occurs the passage, "Because the passion and uncharitableness of the times have produced several opinions in religion by which men are engaged in parties and animosities against each other, which, when they shall hereafter unite in a freedom of conversation, will be composed or better understood, we do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in matters of religion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom; and that we shall be ready to consent to such an Act of Parliament as, upon mature deliberation, It was chiefly 1 "This was indeed the great service that Monk did. owing to the post he was in, and the credit he had gained."-Burnet's Own Time. It is needless to say that Monk was guilty of great duplicity. shall be offered to us for the full granting that indulgence." The Parliament decreed the king's return, and despatched commissioners to the Hague to conduct him back. Together with these went a body of Presbyterian divines, hoping even yet to bring about the Restoration on the conditions of Presbyterianism. The Scotch ministers addressed to Charles a letter to remind him of the Covenant which he had taken, and the English Presbyterians endeavoured to extort from him a promise not to allow the use of the Prayer-Book and the surplice on his return, even in his own chapel.1 As the king indignantly refused this, they perceived that they must lower their tone. They were willing now to tolerate a moderate Episcopacy so long as they themselves were left free without oaths or subscription; a liturgy, if they might use extempore prayers; and the use of the ceremonial if it was not pressed on them.2 Baxter, preaching before the Lord Mayor (May 10), said that moderate men would be easily satisfied. the doctrinal part of the Prayer-Book, he could accept it all.3 For § 2. But while the Presbyterian divines were talking placidly as to the terms which they would admit, it was suddenly discovered that they were not in the position to make any terms. They had absolutely no following in the country. James Sharp, employed by the Scotch divines as their agent in London, reports to his employers that their cause is altogether lost. "I know very few (he writes on May 29), or none, who desire Presbyterianism, much less appear for it; and whoever do report to you or believe that there is a considerable party in England who have a mind to Covenant uniformity, they are mistaken." "I find the Presbyterian cause wholly given up and lost." 4 The country, indeed, · was absolutely sick of all the grimaces of the modern systems, and thoroughly bent upon restoring the Church in its integrity. Soon the Presbyterian and Independent ministers, convinced of this painful fact, came to see that the question was not what terms they could dictate, but what considerate allowance they could obtain for themselves to stave off somewhat the impending ruin. On the restoration of the monarchy, and the replacement of law, the Church resumed as of right the position from which she had been thrust by a series of Acts, none of which had the force of law. § 3. But as peace was now desired on all hands, the intruding ministers were as yet gently treated. Nine of them were appointed chaplains to the king, and in this capacity had the opportunity of 1 Kennett's Register, p. 140; Stephens' Life of Sharp. 3 Kennett's Register, pp. 126-142; Baxter's Life and Times, p. 218. Stephens' Life of Sharp, pp. 49, 52. preaching before him, and having frequent interviews, in which they did not fail to urge their claims for consideration. The king declaring himself anxious to promote unity, desired them to consult together, and to specify in one paper the whole of the demands of concession which they had to make. Upon this the leading men among them met from day to day at Sion College, and in about three weeks' time completed a draft of the concessions which they desired. There was, however, among them one man, who, though in many respects admirable, was yet a hopeless impediment to every scheme for conciliation or union. § 4. This was Richard Baxter, one of the most singular characters to be found in the religious history of this or any other epoch. He was a man of great devotion, ample learning, ready power; but so completely self-reliant, so entirely possessed with the notion that he himself had grasped all truth, so determined in all things to take a line of his own, that it was almost impossible for him to agree with any other person on any subject. Thus he had opposed the Presbyterians, the Independents, and the Sectaries, as much as he had the Church; and though no man talked more of union, or seemed more ardently to desire it, yet when it came to discussing the terms of union, his only notion of these appeared to be that his opponents should concede everything that he asked, and require nothing of him in return. The proposals now offered by the ministers, as well as the propositions made afterwards in the Savoy Conference, all bear the impress of the wonderful tenacity and extraordinarily sanguine views of Richard Baxter, and were of course from that cause destined to failure. § 5. For the country was now resounding from end to end with joy at the restoration of the King and Church. An Act had been quickly passed to replace in their benefices all those incumbents who, having been illegally ousted in the times of the rebellion, still survived. Above a thousand were at once thus replaced.1 Those who had been irregularly appointed to benefices, the incumbents of which were dead, were allowed for the present to remain, though numerous petitions came flowing in from the loyal clergy praying for their removal as "fanatics." 2 Everywhere the ancient liturgy was again heard. The Universities were purged of their fanatical intruders; the Cathedrals, in the midst of their ruins, again re-echoed to the sounds of the chant and anthem, and the roll of the Episcopate was made complete by the addition of 1 Kennett's Register, p. 148. 2 Great numbers of these are preserved among the State Papers. - See Stoughton's Church and State, p. 79 some of the most honoured names from among those who had suffered in the period of troubles. § 6. Nine bishops had survived the era of the Rebellion. Of these, Juxon, though aged and broken in health, was of course advanced to the primacy; his position as Bishop of London, his high character, and, above all, his attendance on the martyred king at the last, clearly calling for his promotion. Besides Juxon there were also Wren and Pierce, who had survived the fierce enmity of the Puritans, which threatened to impeach them, and which had actually kept Wren a prisoner in the Tower for nearly twenty years; Skinner, Warner, and Duppa, all of whom had done good service for the Church during the troubles; Roberts, King, and Frewen. The latter was advanced to the northern primacy. § 7. Among the new bishops are found the names of Sanderson and Morley, Sheldon and Cosin, Walton and Gauden. All of these were distinguished men. Sanderson as a great casuist and an admirable divine; Morley as the friend of Hyde and the most dexterous diplomatist in managing Church affairs at the time of the Restoration; Sheldon as one who, in conjunction with Hammond, had done so much to support the suffering clergy; Cosin, as the special object of Puritan rancour, the laborious chaplain of the English in France, and the most learned liturgical scholar of his day. Neither could Bryan Walton be fairly passed over, who had projected and carried out during the period of distress the great work of the Polyglott Bible; nor Gauden, who had done such good service to the royal cause by the publication of the Eikon Basilike, and by his other works during the time of persecution-Hieraspistes, The Appeal to Cromwell, and the Sighs and Tears of the Church of England. To the list of bishops must be added Monk, who owed his promotion to the services of his brother, and Reynolds, the one Puritan who brought himself heartily to conform, and accepted a bishopric.1 Never, probably, at any period did the Church of England possess a more distinguished body of bishops than at the period of the Restoration. § 8. The list of bishops was not completed till the winter, and before that time the king had issued a very important Declaration in answer to the demands of the Puritan ministers. These demands had been of the most sweeping nature, the influence of Baxter sufficing to make his brethren ask for things which the better sense of some of them must have told them to be wholly impracticable. They had desired the limitation of Episcopacy by a 1 Sees were also offered to Calamy, famous for his preaching, and Baxter, but they declined them. 1 66 standing counsel of Presbyters; the abolition of oaths and subscription of ministers; the recasting of the Liturgy in Scripture phrase; the abolition of the ceremonies, including the use of the surplice, and a provision against future innovations. That is to say, they desired the concession of every one of the points on which Puritans had been contending with Churchmen ever since the Reformation. Naturally enough, when the king referred this modest paper to the Church divines they returned a biting answer by way of reflection on the paper of proposals which had been made to his Majesty."" The only point on which they declared their concurrence with the Puritans was the desirableness of a review of the liturgy. But this was not intended in the sense in which the other party intended it. With the Church divines the review of the liturgy was designed to improve it, perhaps to give it a more decidedly Catholic tone. With the Puritans the conception of a review was an entire change, the introduction of Scripture phrases, the sacrifice of the old liturgical forms. The "biting answer" of the Churchmen provoked the polemical spirit of Baxter. He drew up a reply in so fierce and insulting a spirit that his own friends persuaded him not to publish it. The quarrel threatening to become serious in the then unsettled state of public opinion, Lord Clarendon drew up, under the direction of the king, a Declaration, which it was arranged should be read to the two parties in the presence of the king, and after their comments were made, be altered in such manner as he should judge expedient, then to be issued as an authoritative settlement of the disputes. The reading and commenting upon this paper took place at Worcester House, where Lord Clarendon was then living, from whence it is generally known as the Worcester House Declaration. On one of the occasions when it was being discussed, Clarendon produced a paper containing a request from the Independents and Baptists to be admitted to toleration, and said that it was the king's wish that a clause should be contained in the Declaration, giving permission to all persons to meet for religious worship" provided they did it not to the disturbance of the peace." It was thought that a toleration to Romanists was intended by this, and Baxter felt himself called upon to contend against it, on the ground that some opinions were tolerable," some "intolerable." On October 25th the king's Declaration appeared. It referred to his manifesto from Breda as to "tender consciences," and to the evils of division; promised to promote godly ministers; to allow a large increase of suffragan bishops; 1 Calamy's Baxter, pp. 141-2. 3 Baxter's Life and Times. 66 2 Ib. i. 143. |