A short view of the life and reign of King Charles (the second monarch of Great Britain) from his birth to his burial.

1633.

Nor did he meet with any check in his Prosperity till the year 1633. at what time the Coles of Faction and Sedition, which seemed for some years to have been raked up in the ashes of content∣ment, kindled the next combustible

matter and brake forth again to the in∣flaming of both Kingdoms. Scotland burneth first, and takes fire on this oc∣casion.

In the minority of King James, the Lands of all Cathedrall Churches and Religious Houses which had been setled on the Crown by Act of Parliament, were shared amongst the Lords and great men of that Kingdome, (by the connivence of the Earl of Murray, and some other of the Regents) to make them sure unto the side. And they be∣ing thus possessed of the said Lands, with the Regalities and Tithes belong∣ing to those Ecclesiasticall Corporati∣ons, Lorded it with pride and inso∣lence enough i•• their severall Territo∣ries, holding the Clergy to small sti∣pends, and the poor Paisant under a miserable vassalage, and subjection to them.

King Charles ingaged in War at his first coming to the Crown, and ha∣ving

little aid from thence for the main∣tenance of it, by the advice of his Coun∣cil of that Kingdome, was put upon a course of resuming those Lands, Tithes and Regalities into his own hands, to which the present Occupants could pre∣tend no other Title then the unjust usur∣pation of their Ancestors. This he en∣deavoured, first by an Act of Revocation, but that course not being like to speed, he followed it in the way of a legal processe, which drew on the Commis∣sion for surrendering of Superiorities and Tithes, to be retaken from the King on such conditions, as might bring some profit to the Crowne, some Augmen∣tation to the Clergy, and far more ease and benefit to the common people. But these proud Scots chuse rather to expose their Countrey to the danger of a publick Ruine, then to part with any of that power (it might be cal∣led a Tyranny rather) which they had exercised on their Vassals, as they commonly called them; and thereup∣on conspired together to oppose the

King in any thing that should be offered in the following Parliament, which had relation to the Church or to Church-affaires.

But because Religion and the care thereof, is commonly the best bait to catch the vulgar, they must find out some other means to divert the King from the prosecuting of that Commission; then the consideration of their own per∣sonall and private interesse; and they found means to do it on another occasi∣on, which was briefly this.

King James from his first coming to this Crown, had a design to bring the Kirk of Scotland to an uniformity with the Church of England, both in govern∣ment and forms of worship. And he proceeded so far as to settle Episcopacy amongst them, naming thirteen new Bishops for so many Episcopal Sees as had been anciently in that Church; three of which received Consecration from the Bishops of England, and confer∣red it on the rest of their Brethren at

their coming home. Which Bishops he armed also with the power of an High Commission, the better to keep down the insolent and domineering Spirit of the Presbyterians. In order to the other, he procured an Act to be passed in the Assembly at Aberdeen, Anno 1616. for composing a Liturgy, and extracting a new book of Canons out of the scattered Acts of their old Assemblies. At the Assembly held at Perth, Anno 1618. he obtained an Order for receiving the Communion kneeling, for administring Baptisme and the Lords Supper in private Houses, in ca∣ses of extreme necessity, for Episco∣pall confirmation; and finally, for the ce∣lebrating the Anniversaries of our Sa∣viours Birth, his Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, and the coming down of the Holy Ghost. All which he got to be confirmed in the following Par∣liament.

So far that wise King had advanced the work of Uniformity, before his engaging in the Cause of the Palati∣nate.

His Breach with Spain, and the War which did insue upon it took off his thoughts from prosecuting that de∣sign, which his son, being more intangled in Wars abroad and Distempers at home, had no time to finish till he had setled his Affaires, and attained to some measure both of Power and Glo∣ry. But being it was a businesse which was to be acted leisurely and by de∣grees, not all at once, he first resolved upon passing of an Act of Ratification of all that had been done by his Father, and then to go in hand with the intro∣ducing of a publick Liturgie. In the ef∣fecting whereof, at such a time as he went into Scotland to receive that unfor∣tunate Crown, he found a stronger op∣position in the Parliament of that King∣dom also, about the passing of that Act of Ratification, then he had reason to ex∣pect: But carried it at last by a far major part of that Assembly.

This gave him the fist taste of their disaffection to his Person and Govern∣ment;

but he went forward notwith∣standing in pursuit of those purposes, which he brought thither with him. For not long after his return into Eng∣land, he gave order to the Dean of his Chappell Royall in Edenburgh that Pray∣ers be read therein according to the English Liturgie; that a Communion be had every moneth, and all Com∣municants to receive the Sacrament on their knees; that he who officiated, if he be a Bishop, perform it in his Rochet and other Episcopall Robes; and that he do it in his Surplice, if a common Presbyter; and finally, that not onely the Lords of the Council, but the Lords of the Session, and as many of the principall Magistrates of that City also as could conveniently, fail not of their attending the Divine Service there on Sundayes and Holy-dayes: For by this means he gave himself no improbable hopes, that the English Liturgy passing a probationership in the Chappel Roy∣all, might find a plausible entertain∣ment in the Churches of Edenburgh,

and be received by degrees in all the rest of the Kingdom.

But the Presbyterian Scots not ignorant of the Kings intentions, insinuated into the minds of the common People, that this was a design onely to subject that pure Kirk to the superstitious Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England, and therefore that it did behove them to stand together as one man to oppose their entrance.

The Lords and Gentry of that Realm, who feared nothing so much as the Commission of Surrendries before men∣tioned, laid hold on this occasion also: And they being seconded by some male-contented spirits of that Nation, who had not found the King to be as prodigal of his favours to them as his Father had been before, endeavoured to possesse them with Fears and Jealousies, that Scot∣land was to be reduced to the form of a Province, and governed by a Deputy or Lord Lieutenant, as Ireland was. The like done also by some Lords of Secret Council, who before had governed as

they listed, and thought their power di∣minished and their persons under some neglect, by the placing of a Lord Presi∣dent over them to direct in chief.

So that the people generally being fooled into this opinion, that both their Christian and Civil Liberty were in no small danger, became capable of any impression which the Presbyterian Facti∣on could imprint upon them. Which vi∣sibly appeared by a virulent and sediti∣ous Libel, published in the year 1634. wherein the King was not only charged with altering the Government of that Kingdom, but traduced for very strong inclinations to the Religion of the Church of Rome. The chief Abettor whereof (for the Authour was not to be found) was the Lord Balmerino, for which he was legally convicted and con∣demned of treason but pardoned by the Kings great goodnesse, and by that par∣don kept alive for the mischiefs fol∣lowing.

The fire thus breaking out in Scot∣land, it was no marvel if it had laid hold on England also, the Puritans of both Nations working themselves about this time into a Body, and from henceforth communicating their Counsels and de∣signs unto one another.

The King not long after his return thought fit to renew his Fathers Decla∣ration about lawfull sports on the Lords Day, the principall motives whereunto were, the increase of Popery in some parts of the Kingdome, occasioned by interdicting all honest Recreations on that day, and the rest of the Holy∣dayes; the tendency of the Sabbatari∣an Doctrine to down-right Judaisme; some orders made by some publick Mi∣nisters of Justice, for suppressing the Annual Feasts of the Dedication of Churches, commonly called Wakes; and finally, the bringing of Dancing, Running, shooting and other harmlesse Recreations, within the compasse of the Statute made in the first Parliament of

his Reign against all unlawfull exercises and pastimes; in which no such thing was ever intended. And though the Kings intention in it was onely to ease the people from that yoke of superstiti∣on which many of their Preachers had laid upon them; yet by the practise of those Preachers, it made more noise a∣mong the People, and wakened more to appear in defence of that which they call Religion, then all the Geese in the Capitoll.

Nor did His Majestie speed much bet∣ter in another of his pious intentions, concerning the Conformity of Paro∣chiall Churches to their Mother Cathe∣drals. The Dean and Chapter of S. Pauls (as Ordinaries of the place) had ap∣pointed the Communion-Table in St. Gregories Church to be placed Altar-wise at the end of the Chancel, where it had stood (and by her injunctions ought to stand) in Q. Elizabeths time. Against this some of the parishioners appealed to the Dean of the Arches, & the Dean & Chapter

to the King. The cause being heard be∣fore His Majesty and the Lords of the Council on the third of Novem∣ber, Anno 162••. it pleased his Majesty, having first shewed his dislike of all In∣novations, to declare that he well ap∣proved and confirmed the Act

of the said Ordinary, and also gave com∣mandement, that if those few parishi∣oners before mentioned, do proceed in their said Appeal, then the Dean of the Arches (who was then attending at the hearing of the Cause) shall con∣firm the said Order of the aforesaid Dean and Chapter.

On this encourage∣ment the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Metropoliticall Visitation, beginning in the year next following, and the Suffra∣gan Bishops in their severall and respe∣ctive Diocesses, did appoint the like, for the avoiding of those frequent incon∣veniences and prophanations which that sacred Table had formerly been exposed unto.

This made the Puritan Faction open wider then before they did, as foolish∣ly

afraid of the breaking in of Supersti∣tion, by this last Declaration, as of Pro∣phanenesse by the other. And that they might keep peace with the Scots in all particulars, they dispersed many scan∣dalous and seditious Libels against the Governours of the Church, and all that acted by and under their Authori∣ty, not sparing the king himself if he came in their way; most certain tokens and prognosticks of those great Com∣bustions which soon after followed in both Kingdomes.