The life of the Most Reverend Father in God, James Usher, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Armagh, primate and metropolitan of all Ireland with a Collection of three hundred letters between the said Lord Primate and most of the eminentest persons for piety and learning in his time ... / collected and published from original copies under their own hands, by Richard Parr ...

LETTER CLXXXIV. A Letter from the most Reverend William Laud Arch-bishop of Canterbury, to the most Reverend James Usher Arch-bishop of Armagh.

Salutem in Christo.

My very good Lord;

I Thank you heartily for your Letters, and am as heartily glad that your Parliament and Convocation are so happily ended, especially for the Church; and that both for the particular of your letting Leases, which is for Maintenance, and for the quiet, and well-ordering and ending of your Book of Canons. I hope now the Church of Ireland will begin to flourish again, and that both with inward Sufficiency, and outward Means to support it. And for your Canons, to speak Truth, and with wonted li∣berty and freedom; though I cannot but think the English Canons entire,

(especially with some few amendments) would have done betterly yet since you, and that Church, have thought otherwise, I do very easily submit to it, and you shall have my Prayers that God would bless it. As for the Particular about Subscription, I think you have couched that well, since as it seems, there was some necessity to carry that Article closely. And God forbid you should, upon any occasion, have rouled back upon your former Controversy about the Articles. For if you should have risen from this Convocation in heat, God knows when or how that Church would have cooled again, had the cause of Difference been never so slight. By which means the Romanist, which is too strong a Party already, would both have strengthned, and made a scorn of you. And therefore ye are much bound to God, that in this nice and picked Age, you have ended all things cano∣nically, and yet in peace. And I hope you will be all careful to continue and maintain that which God hath thus mercifully bestowed upon you.

Your Grace's very loving Friend, and Brother, W. Cant.

Lambeth, May 10. 1635.