CHAPTER XVIII.
Proposals were still going on for a Treaty of Peace between the King and the Parliament. His Majesty, from what he heard of dissensions in the popular party, felt encouraged to hope for favourable terms. He had also an idea that the House of Peers, and some in the Commons, really wished for a reconciliation.[518] Laud's trial was at the time in progress, and the sympathies of the Royalists, of course, were with the prisoner. Accordingly, overtures were forwarded, from Oxford to Westminster, and, in return, Commissioners were despatched from Westminster to Oxford.[519] Their treatment, however, on reaching the latter city, was not such as to inspire much hope of a prosperous issue. The people reviled them as traitors, rogues, and rebels, and threw stones into their coaches as they rode to the quarters appointed for their entertainment at "the sign of the 'Catherine Wheel,' next St. John's College"—"a mean inn," as Whitelocke describes it, only a "little above the degree of an alehouse."[520] The conduct of Charles in sending a sealed reply telling the Commissioners they were to carry what he pleased to place in their hands, although it should be but the Song of Robin Hood and Little John, certainly did not tend to an amicable adjustment of affairs; and his duplicity in calling the Lords and Commons at Westminster a Parliament, whilst he entered upon record in his council book that the calling them so did not imply that they were such, proves that his only object was to pacify his opponents for a time, that he might do what he liked with them whenever they should be again within his power.[521]
1645, January.
Treaty at Uxbridge.
At length, the preliminaries of a treaty were arranged, and a meeting was fixed to take place in the town of Uxbridge in the month of January, 1645. The propositions of Parliament related to religion, the militia, and Ireland; and the Commissioners were instructed to stipulate that the subject of religion should be considered first, on the ground of its supreme importance.[522] When they assembled, the town, selected as the theatre of their negotiations, was divided into two parts; the north side of the main street being allotted to the Parliamentarians, the south side to the Royalists. So crowded was every corner of the place, that some of the distinguished personages were, as Whitelocke informs us, "forced to lie, two of them in a chamber together in field beds, only upon a quilt, in that cold weather, not coming into a bed during all the treaty."[523] The house chosen as most convenient for deliberation was Sir John Bennet's residence,—a picturesque building at the west end, still in existence, containing a "fair great chamber," with curiously wainscotted walls. Courtesies were exchanged between the diplomatists, but it soon plainly appeared that two hostile camps had pitched within the precincts of this little town. On a market day, just as the business of the treaty was about to commence, a lecture had to be preached in the parish church, according to established custom. Christopher Love, a young Presbyterian divine, full of fervour and zeal, happened then to be officiating as chaplain to the garrison at Windsor, and he had just travelled to Uxbridge in order to perform there this popular service. Farmers who came to sell their corn, and even persons in the train of the noble visitors from Oxford, contributed to increase the congregation which crowded the church. The preacher's discourse was reported by certain hearers to the authorities on the south side of the High Street as being of a seditious and intolerable character. On the following morning a paper was handed over to the party on the north side of the street, complaining of the sermon, and alleging that the preacher had gone so far as to declare that the King's representatives had "come with hearts full of blood, and that there was as great a distance between this treaty and peace as between heaven and hell." They therefore desired justice might be executed upon this fomenter of strife. The same day saw an answer returned, to the effect that Love was not included in the retinue of the Commissioners from London; that they wished all causes of offence to be avoided; and that they would report the circumstances which had occurred to the Lords and Commons, who, they were quite sure, would consider the matter "according to justice."[524] So the matter dropped.
1645, February.
It is curious to find Clarendon lamenting that Uxbridge Church was now in the possession of the Presbyterians, and that, according to the ordinance just issued, the Directory had there taken the place of the Prayer Book. The King's Commissioners, therefore, who would willingly have gone to church, were restrained from doing so, and had to observe days of devotion in "their great room of the inn," where, as the historian states, many who came from town and from the country daily resorted.[525] The tables were turned; Episcopalians and Presbyterians had changed places; and his Majesty's followers found themselves at Uxbridge in the ranks of dissent.
Treaty at Uxbridge.
Three weary weeks of debate ensued; religion, according to the stipulated arrangement, coming first under discussion.[526] The four grand ecclesiastical propositions which were placed in the forefront by the Parliamentary Commissioners were the following: first, that the Bill for abolishing Episcopacy, which had passed the two Houses, should now receive the Royal sanction; secondly, that the Ordinance for the Westminster Assembly should be confirmed; thirdly, that the Directory, and the scheme of Church government annexed to it, should be enacted for the reformation of religion and the accomplishment of uniformity; and fourthly, that his Majesty should take the solemn League and Covenant, and concur in enjoining it upon all his subjects. Touching these several particulars, there may be seen in Dugdale and Rushworth a mass of papers, very dull and dry to all appearance now, but which had in them abundant light and fire, when they were exchanged and read in that large "fair room" at Uxbridge.
1645, April.
Before the debates on religion closed, the King made a very plausible shew of concession, by professing his willingness to allow that all persons should have freedom in matters of ceremony, and that bishops should be bound to consult their presbyters, and constantly to reside within their dioceses. He promised, too, that poor livings should be improved, pluralities abolished, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction reformed.[527] Yet, while making these smooth and pleasant offers—calculated, if not to induce the Parliament to come to terms, at least to raise the Royal cause to a somewhat higher position in public esteem—his Majesty wrote to his secretary, Nicholas, in the following style: "I should think, if in your private discourses, I no wise mean in your public meetings with the London Commissioners, you would put them in mind that they were arrant rebels, and that their end must be damnation, ruin, and infamy, except they repented, and found some way to free themselves from the damnable way they are in (this treaty being the aptest), it might do good."[528] This double dealing shews that Charles, in his negotiations with Parliament, fancied he had to do with creatures of a kind fit only to be inveigled into traps and snares; and it also shews that, at least, he had so much of Romish morality as consists in not keeping faith with heretics. His antagonists felt persuaded of this fact, though they could not put their hands so easily on the proofs as subsequent revelations enable us to do. But what they did actually discover made them very suspicious of his Majesty's proceedings, and induced them to act towards him sometimes in a manner which appeared not only ungracious, but inexpedient; we, however, now seeing the whole series of events from beginning to end, are enabled to discern in some of the most repulsive acts of the liberal and popular party the keenest foresight and the broadest prudence.
Debates about Ordination.
To return from Uxbridge to Westminster.
The Presbyterians, working with the best intentions, striving to reform the people of England and to drive out error and evil, had much trouble with other matters besides the enforcement of the Directory. Churches wanted ministers, for scandalous clergymen had been dismissed and aged clergymen had become incapable. Some too had died, and some had removed to take charge of other parishes.[529] The Oxford University, wholly in the hands of Royalists, yielded no candidates for the ministry, and Bishops would not ordain persons to serve in the new Establishment. In consequence of these circumstances vacancies were irregularly filled up, and uneducated persons were wont to thrust themselves into the sacred office. Amidst this disorder the Presbyterians, sorrowful on the one hand because of such destitution, and displeased on the other with the irregularity in such a mode of supply, and at the same time mortified by the taunts of Royalists and Episcopalians, vigorously devoted themselves to the business of supplying churches and ordaining ministers. In the month of April, 1645, Parliament ordered that no one should preach who had not received ordination in the English or some other reformed Church, or who had not been approved by the authorities appointed for the purpose.[530]
1645, April.
It was specially enjoined that this rule should be put in force throughout the army, because in some regiments Presbyterian ministrations and worship were not held in high esteem; and the Lords, who cherished strong Presbyterian sympathies, also directed the Assembly to prepare a form according to which clergymen might be ordained without the offices of a diocesan bishop. Long and tiresome debates arose amongst the Divines in connexion with this latter subject;—Presbyterians, Independents, and Erastians differing from each other in the ideas which they entertained of what ordination meant. This controversy has been long since buried, and we shall not disinter it from amidst the dust of "old diaries" and "grand debates;" but the point raised by the Independents, who contended for the right of each congregation to choose its own ministers, has some vitality for people in these days. Of course the Presbyterians carried the question according to their well-known views, and after they had done so, Parliament, adopting the decision of the Divines, declared by an ordinance, that the solemn setting apart of presbyters to their holy office was an institute of the Lord Jesus Christ; that certain rules ought to be observed in the examination of candidates; that publicity should be given to the testimonial of the examiners; and that ordination should be performed by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, accompanied by a public fast. It was expressly stated at the conclusion of the ordinance that it should stand in force for twelve months, and no longer—a provision which stamped the arrangements with something of a tentative character. Until presbyteries could be duly organized, the duty of ordination was vested in the Assembly; and no wonder that Baillie, in a letter written from London in February, 1646, laments the onerous and absorbing engagements which this new law entailed upon the Divines.[531]
As the question of Presbyterian discipline came under discussion, the debates in the Assembly increased in energy, learning, and acuteness, as well as in prolixity. No person who has read Dr. Lightfoot's notes of the proceedings can deny the erudition and controversial acumen of the disputants on both sides; and all who have glanced over Baillie's lively pages will admit that this battle for great principles was waged with sincerity and earnestness. A very important point of enquiry arose in the month of April, 1644, Whether "many particular congregations should be under one presbytery?" The Independents pressed to be heard on the negative side, and spent twenty long sittings in advocating their opinion. Goodwin was foremost in the debate, but the rest of the dissenting brethren took their turns. The champions well acquitted themselves, their enemies being judges. "Truly, if the cause were good," wrote Baillie, "the men have plenty of learning, wit, eloquence, and above all, boldness and stiffness to make it out; but when they had wearied themselves, and over-wearied us all, we found the most they had to say against the presbytery, was but curious idle niceties, yea, that all they could bring was no ways concluding. Every one of their arguments, when it had been pressed to the full, in one whole session, and sometimes in two or three, was voiced, and found to be light unanimously by all but themselves."[532] There can be little doubt of this. The reasoning of the Independents would of course be found wanting when weighed in the Presbyterian balance, and the majority of the Assembly would naturally consider their own votes an ample refutation of their adversaries' arguments. "They profess," says the same authority in another place, respecting the Independents, "to regard nothing at all what all the reformed or all the world say, if their sayings be not backed with convincing Scripture or reason. All human testimonies they declaim against as a popish argument." The simplicity of the writer is perfectly amusing as he thus insensibly glides into the position of papal advocates, and tacitly acknowledges the authority of general opinion in the Church; on the other hand, the firmness and consistency of these genuine Protestants is truly admirable, as they resolutely adhere to the only invincible method of argument by which the cause of the Reformation can be defended.
Presbyterians and Independents.
1645.
While Independent principles favoured universal toleration, the Presbyterians, by advocating the establishment of classes, synods, and a general assembly, and by calling on the magistrate to enforce the authority of the Church, plainly interfered with the civil rights of the people. The thoughtful among the Independents therefore became more and more averse to the Presbyterian scheme; they saw that it would be fatal to those very liberties for which the nation had so valiantly contended in the field. Accordingly, we find that Philip Nye, in the March of 1644, boldly contended before the Assembly that a presbytery was inconsistent with the civil state. This was a galling accusation, and the Presbyterian party indignantly cried down the assertion as impertinent. Great confusion arose in the Assembly; but, undismayed by the combined opposition of a large majority, the champion of Independency on the following day renewed the impeachment. It was an aggravation of his offence in the eyes of his adversaries, that he took advantage of the presence that day of some distinguished noblemen and others to make his bold avowal. He would enlighten these personages on the great question. He repeated that the liberties for which the people fought would be unsafe if Presbyterianism were established. Again the Presbyterians endeavoured to silence him. The meeting was in a tumult. Some would have expelled him; but the Independents rallied round their intrepid friend, declaring their resolution not to enter the Assembly again if he should be excluded. Whether, after this scene of excitement, during which it is not improbable that Nye manifested some warmth of temper, he really became more calm in the advocacy of his principles; or whether it was a mere expression of triumph on the part of one who helped to form the majority of the convocation, and to overcome by clamour the voice of reason, we do not venture to determine,—but the Scotch Commissioner concludes his account of that memorable day's proceedings by observing, "Ever since we find him in all things the most accommodating man in the company."[533]
Committee of Accommodation.
1645, November.
As Presbyterians and Independents thus frequently came into collision at Westminster, at last a Committee of Accommodation was appointed, with the view of healing the differences betwixt these two parties. This committee arose out of a suggestion by Oliver Cromwell; and the Parliament who appointed it in 1644 directed the committee, in case union should be impracticable, to devise a plan for meeting the scruples of tender consciences. The committee selected six of their number, including two Independents, to draw up propositions for the purpose; from which it appears that the Independents claimed for their male Church members the power of voting upon ecclesiastical questions, and that they contended for the necessity of signs of grace as a qualification for membership. These positions were irreconcilable with the scheme of their opponents, which placed the Church under the power of presbyters, and admitted to communion all who were not scandalous in their lives. No method could be devised for combining the Independent with the Presbyterian scheme, although the Independents professed themselves ready to make the trial; for the Presbyterians determined in the first instance that their own form of Church government should be settled as a standard, and that until that was done the exceptions of the dissentients should not be taken into consideration. As the Presbyterians resolutely pushed forward the completion of their own model, the dissenting brethren at last abandoned all attempts at comprehension, and drew up a remonstrance complaining that they had been unfairly dealt with. In the month of November, 1645, the Jerusalem Chamber witnessed further debates between the two parties; but the question had now reached this point, how far tender consciences, which cannot submit to the established ecclesiastical government, may be indulged consistently with the Word of God and the welfare of the nation? The Independents pleaded for a full toleration, to which the Presbyterians would not consent, and the former could not without difficulty be brought to propose any measure of liberty to be enjoyed exclusively by themselves; yet urged by their opponents to state what they required in their own case, they replied that they did not demur to the Assembly's Confession of Faith, and that they merely sought liberty to form their own congregations, to have the power of ordination, and to be free from Presbyterian authority. "In our answer," observes Baillie, "we did flatly deny such a vast liberty." All the indulgence conceded was that Independents should not be compelled to receive the Lord's Supper, nor be liable to synodical censure; and this amount of freedom was made dependent upon their joining the parish congregation, and then submitting in all but the excepted particulars to the new ecclesiastical government. Baillie, who supplies some knowledge of party secrets, informed a friend that had not the Presbyterians allowed some indulgence, they would have brought upon themselves insupportable odium, and that in making their limited offer they were persuaded that it would not be accepted. The Independents of course were not content with the result of the controversy, and still sought the liberty of forming Churches of their own.
Committee of Accommodation.
The threadbare argument about the abuse of liberty and the opening of a door to all manner of sectaries was zealously urged against any such toleration as the Independents claimed. Altar would be set up against altar, it was said, the seamless robe of Christ would be rent, and the unity of the Church would be destroyed. At last, Burroughs rose and declared "that, if their congregations might not be exempted from that coercive power of the classes, if they might not have liberty to govern themselves in their own way as long as they behaved peaceably towards the civil magistrate, they were resolved to suffer, or go to some other place of the world where they might enjoy their liberty. But while men think there is no way of peace but by forcing all to be of the same mind, while they think the civil sword is an ordinance of God to determine all controversies of Divinity, and that it must needs be attended with fines and imprisonment to the disobedient; while they apprehend there is no medium between a strict uniformity and a general confusion of all things;—while these sentiments prevail there must be a base subjection of men's consciences to slavery, a suppression of much truth, and great disturbances in the Christian world."[534] The expression of such wise and beautiful sentiments closed the debates of this fruitless Committee.
