David Carnegie Andrew Agnew

“ Many thousand English, of the poorer sort, shall miss their good masters that set them on work and paid them well, which will cause them to grieve at their departure, if not to murmur.
“And say a handful of aliens should remain to make up a poor congregation, where shall they baptize their new-born infants? if in the parish churches, then shall the strangers lose one of their sacraments; and if in the said strangers’ congregations, then it would be known when they shall be sent away to be admitted as natives in their English parishes. ”

“ That they would make common cause with them, “the quarrel of the enemy being not so much against the persons of men, as against the power of godliness and purity of God’s word wherever it is professed. The way and manner of your owning us we leave wholly to yourselves.” It is plain that, with regard to the British broils, two counteracting influences must have been at work in the minds of the Protestants of France. ”

“ Cardinal Mazarin, the Prime Minister of Louis XIV., who had been lukewarm in Charles’s cause, vehemently courted an alliance with Cromwell. France and Spain were at irreconcilable enmity, and England could not avoid taking a side in the contest. The advocate of Spain was a Frenchman, the Prince of Conde, who had withdrawn from allegiance to his native monarchy, and was living as a denizen in the Spanish Netherlands, having some French Protestants among his followers. He represented to Cromwell that the Huguenots might be willing to rise in France against the Crown ”

“ The French Protestants were quite disposed to take the Royalist view of English affairs, as far as their feelings were concerned. If the King of England had cordially held the essentials of Bible Protestantism, and had promoted tolerant proceedings towards all Protestant churches, the Huguenots would never have complained of his blustering adherence to his prelatical and sacerdotal predilections. His complicity with Archbishop Laud brought him into collision with the French Protestants. ”

“ A greater difficulty will yet arise about the English rites and ceremonies enjoined to such aliens as shall remain. For though they mislike them not in the English churches, unto the which, upon occasion, they do willingly resort, yet when this innovation will come upon them, it will be so uncouth and strange, as it is doubtful whether it or the separation of the natives from the aliens will bring the more trouble, and whether they will not both be followed (though not cequis passibus) with the utter dissolution of the congregations. ”

“ This change of attitude injuriously affected the relation of English Prelacy to foreign Protestantism. The Scriptural and evangelical fathers of the Church of England acknowledged the non-prelatic churches as professors of the same faith and religion as themselves. The one true religion was not an insular monopoly, but a European common property. It was reserved for William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, to repudiate this communion of saints. ”

“ The following is an extract from the second document, being Laud's reply:—
“His Majesty is resolved that his injunctions shall hold, and that obedience shall be yielded to them by all the natives after the first descent, who may continue in their congregations, to the end the aliens may the better look to the education of their children, and that their several congregations may not be too much lessened at once. But that all of the second descent born here in England, and so termed, shall resort to their several Parish Churches, whereas they dwell” . ”

“ Their families shall be divided, some going one way, some another, to their appointed assemblies — which may minister an unhappy opportunity of licentiousness to servants and children that are loosely minded. The alien strangers that shall remain, being not the fourth part of the now standing congregations (especially in this city) , for want of competent ability to maintain their ministers and poor, must needs be utterly dissolved, and come to nothing. ”

“ As, namely, that the parishes shall be needlessly charged with a great multitude of poor strangers, that are English natives. Many natives shall, ipso facto, lose the benefit of their toleration in exercising their manufactures, having not served their seven years’ apprenticeships, and be in danger of ruin or molestation. Many such also that understand not well the English tongue, shall be little edified by the English prayers and sermons which they shall hear. ”

“ Lastly, forasmuch as we have given no occasion of offence that might deserve the taking away of our former liberties, but have still demeaned ourselves peaceably and respectively toward the English discipline, neither do we harbour any factious English persons as members of our congregations — and also, that by two several orders of His Majesty's most honourable Privy Council, your Lordship and your successors have power to order the disordered in both the congregations, if any shall happen. ”

“ And thus I have given you answer fairly in all your particulars, and do expect all obedience and conformity to my injunctions — which, if you shall perform, the State will have occasion to see how ready you are to practise the obedience which you teach. ”

“ So the ancient and much renowned Asyla, and places of refuge for the poor persecuted and other ignorant Christians beyond the seas shall be wanting; whereat Rome will rejoice, and the Reformed Churches in all places will mourn.
“Many ministers (and those ancient) having no other means but their congregations, which shall then fail them, shall be to seek for themselves and their destituted families. The foreign poor will be added to the native poor, and increase the charge and burden of their several parishes, who will be to them no welcome guests ”

“ At the restoration of Charles II. he could not stay in London, the royalists being furious against him for having acted as a diplomatist under Cromwell. He hoped to preach in Canterbury unmolested, but was followed to that retreat. Among the records of the French Church of Canterbury Mr Burn found a document thus described:— ”28th August 1661. The king’s letter requiring the church not to admit or use Mr Stoupe as minister, but give him to understand he is not to return to this kingdom, he being a known agent and a common intelligencer of the late usurpers. ”