But whilst the distinctions and abatements which I have just made are demanded with a view to some accurate conclusion, it is to be borne in mind that the whole body of Nonconformist ministers, including the ejected, the candidates for the ministry, and all who had been accustomed in any way to preach the Gospel, were silenced by the Act. They could no longer any of them preach in a place of public worship. Therefore if we include the silenced, I should think that Baxter is rather under than above the mark in saying, “When Bartholomew Day came, about one thousand eight hundred, or two thousand ministers were silenced and cast out.”—Life and Times, ii. 385. After all, no bare statistics, no enumeration of figures, can ever represent the amount of trial, sorrow, and loss inflicted upon conscientious men at that lamentable era in our ecclesiastical history.
Palmer, following Calamy, gives a large number of names of clergymen who “afterwards conformed.” It may be inferred that amongst these were not a few who passed through considerable conflict of mind before they did so.
What was the exact number of the clergy just after the Act of Uniformity I cannot ascertain. Chamberlayne says, in his Present State of England, ed. 1692, that there were 9,700 rectors and vicars, besides dignitaries and curates—p. 189. In another place, he says:—“The whole number of the clergy of England are in all, first, two archbishops, twenty-four bishops, twenty-six deans of cathedral and collegiate churches, 576 prebendaries, 9,653 rectors and vicars, and about so many more, with curates, and others in Holy Orders.”—Part ii., 19. But this estimate must be greatly in excess of the actual number.
The communication from Dr. Swainson is as follows:—
“Let me inform you that I have found a book in our muniment-room which to a certain extent supplies the place of the Episcopal Registers of Henry King, who was restored to his see with the Restoration. The Registers, you know, are reported as lost. This book is the book of subscriptions to the three articles of the 36th Canon, and the declaration against the Solemn League and Covenant. With the assistance of a friend I have analysed the former, and the enclosed paper contains the result. But I must notice that it gives no intimation as to the number of clergymen who returned to the livings from which they were banished during the Commonwealth, nor of the Presbyterians and others who were then ejected from their homes; it only gives the livings into which new incumbents were installed; and I think you will agree with me that the number is very small. At the same time my attention has been drawn to the large number of ordinations of deacons in the first two years after the book commences. My impression is that a Presbyterian or Independent minister in legal possession of a living might retain it by the Act of Uniformity, if he accepted deacon’s orders. Thus we should have in the first three years twenty-three more vacancies than in the last three of the period before us; and in the first three years one hundred and eight men ordained deacons, in the last three fourteen or fifteen. I infer that, of these one hundred and eight a large proportion conformed and retained their preferment. My friend notices a large ordination in 1673. Eighteen priests and sixteen deacons on Trinity Sunday; eight priests and eleven deacons in Advent.” The enclosed paper states, “The book of subscriptions commences on 2nd November, 1662, and the last subscription is dated on 22nd September, 1678, thus it includes a period of sixteen years. I have no reason to suppose that it is imperfect. On analysing it, the subscriptions describe, that the subscriber is about to be admitted (1) to some rectory, vicarage, or cure of souls; (2) to a prebend or dignity in the cathedral; (3) to ‘Presbyteratus ordinen;’ (4) to deacon’s orders. There are a few who are about to be licensed to preach, and about four in the sixteen years who come to qualify themselves to keep school. The number of vacancies in rectories, vicarages, and places with cure of souls thus indicated in the several years are:—
| November 1, | 1662 | to October 31, | 1663 | 19 |
| „ | „ | 1664 | 26 | |
| „ | „ | 1665 | 14 | |
| „ | „ | 1666 | 16 | |
| „ | „ | 1667 | 18 | |
| „ | „ | 1668 | 20 | |
| „ | „ | 1669 | 12 | |
| „ | „ | 1670 | 10 | |
| „ | „ | 1671 | 20 | |
| „ | „ | 1672 | 13 | |
| „ | „ | 1673 | 16 | |
| „ | „ | 1674 | 16 | |
| „ | „ | 1675 | 9 | |
| „ | „ | 1676 | 8 | |
| „ | „ | 1677 | 15 | |
| „ | „ | 1678 | 13 |
making a total of 245 in 16 years, or an average of 15¼ per annum.
“The number of vacancies in the first three years is thus fifty-nine; in the last three, thirty-six. Taking the last figures as representing the number from ordinary causes, we have an overplus of twenty-three due to extraordinary causes, i.e., nonconformity, in the first three years. The number of men ordained deacons in the first three years was one hundred and seven; in the last three years, fifteen. Therefore the overplus of ninety-two ordained in the first three years was due to extraordinary causes; the question is what these causes were?
“N.B.—Eighty-three men were ordained priests during the same first three years. The number of benefices in the diocese of Chichester is now (1869) 330.”