" As the English parliament had now raised itself to
be a regular check and control upon royal power, it is evident that they
ought still to have preserved a regular security for their meeting,
and not have trusted entirely to the good will of the king, who, if
ambitious or enterprising, had so little reason to be pleased with these
assemblies. Before the end of Charles's reign, the nation had occasion
to feel very sensibly the effects of this repeal.
By the act of uniformity, every clergyman who should officiate without
being properly qualified, was punishable by fine and imprisonment: but
this security was not thought sufficient for the church. It was now
enacted, that, wherever five persons above those of the same household
should assemble in a religious congregation, every one of them was
liable, for the first offence, to be imprisoned three months, or pay
five pounds; for the second, to be imprisoned six months, or pay ten
pounds; and for the third, to be transported seven years, or pay a
hundred pounds. The parliament had only in their eye the malignity of
the sectaries; they should have carried their attention further, to the
chief cause of that malignity, the restraint under which they labored.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74