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Untitled Article
sisting on conformity *'—a thing , by the bye , which he more than once denies Laud to h ? ive been guilty of at all , his remedy against schism being asserted to be " not by compelling meri to adhere to the church , but by observing those who still adhered , and who were notwithstanding undermining its constitution . " But then comes the usual balance : " in Laud ' s conduct
there was both reason and prudence ; " what he did was not " the result of a spirit of proselytism , " but " resulted from his love of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation . " If these foreigners were driven out of the country , " one thing at least , " he observes , " is certain , that they did not leave the kingdom until they had been enriched by successful trading "—a pleasing consolation for the country , which lost the benefit of their industry , and for themselves , who were driven from the scene of their successful exertions !
Scotland was the next chuTch which was to be " troubled with Common Prayer , " in the matured policy of bringing all to the English standard . " The necessity of a Liturgy is , " we are told , " plain and obvious , and besides it is sanctioned by the church of the Jews , by the practice of our Divine Saviour and his apostles . " " The public devotional services of the church are far superior to any sermons or lectures , however excellent ,
because they are all grounded on the canon of inspiration , and in reality inspiration itself . " " In fine , " it is objected to " the public worship of Dissenters in general , " that " there is no essential difference from the Church of Rome ; with this qualification—that the former are at one extreme , and the Papists at another" ! In the proceedings to establish the new system , we find Laud ( then Bishop of London ) most active , and preaching zealously to the Scotch < 6 on the utility of -conformity and reverence for the institutions of the church . " It will be recollected that we have our author ' s admission
that what James attempted ( though not half so bold as the new adventure ) was " hardly prudent . " His favourite ' s share in the transaction now renders it a fit subject for unqualified approbation . We now reach Laud ' s installation into that station , the functions of which he had long virtually enjoyed by usurpation . And here the first bud of promise opens and discloses that most notable of all devices for goading a
nation into strife—the authoritative repetition of King James's foolery in " the book of sports . " A madder piece of folly can hardly be imagined than this wanton insult to the precise clergy , followed by the summary expulsion of those whose consciences rebelled against such an injunction . Mr . Lawson has already ( in speaking of King James ' s proceeding ) described it as " dangerous to morality , and inconsistent with religious truth . " " It was a dangerous expedient , " he avows , «« to allure the Romanists . " Yet this
virtuous indignation dwindles in a few sentences down to a €€ doubt whether it was altogether prudent to revive the book of sports . " And as for Laud personally , " no man better understood the duties of a Christian Bishop , " and «« he conscientiously believed that he was doing his duty . " We next come to the savage prosecution and punishment of Prynne for his bulky volume—offensive , very likely , from its scope to players , and from its length to any one who was bound to read it ; but certainly a singular
subject to move 3 n Archbishop ' s indignation , and a still more curious crime to visit with pillory , fine , degradation , imprisonment for life , and mutilation . " Perhaps , " our biographer cautiously insinuates , •« the punishment exceeded the offence . " Judge Cottington , to be sure , had no such doubts : " Shall not all who hear these things , " said his Lordship , think that it is the mercy of the King that Mr . Prynne is not destroyed ? Have we not lately seen men condemned to be hanged and quartered for far less mat-
Untitled Article
486 Life and 'limes ofArchbishop Laud .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1829, page 486, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2574/page/38/
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