Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

and both their powers uniting, the clergy were forced to fubmit to it. Next the bifhops were prevailed with, upon fome extraordinary occafions, to oblige their clergy to grant a fubfidy to the king, in the way of a benevolence; and for this, letters of fecurity were granted back by the king to them, to infure them that what they had done should not be drawn into example or confequence.

And these conceffions were fometimes made by the bifhops in the name of their clergy: but the common way was, that every bifhop held a meeting of the clergy of his diocefe. Then they agreed what they would do; and impowered first the bishops, afterwards their archdeacons, and finally proctors of their own, chofen for that end, to make the conceffion for them. Wake: ut Jupra.

4. Thus ftood this matter till the time of Edward the From Edw. 1. first; who, not willing to continue at fuch a precarious to Hen. 8. rate with his clergy, took another method; and, after feveral other experiments, fixed at last upon an establishment, which hath in fome fort continued ever fince. The method he refolved upon was this: viz. That the earls and barons fhould be called to parliament as formerly, and embodied in one houfe: and that the tenants in burgage fhould fend their reprefentatives: and that the tenants by knight's fervice, and other focage tenants in the counties, fhould also fend their reprefentatives; and thefe were embodied in the other house. He defigned to have the clergy as a third eftate; and as the bifhops were to fit per baroniam in the temporal parliament, fo they were to fit with the inferior clergy in convocation. And the project and defign of the king was, that as the two temporal estates charged the temporalties, and made laws to bind all temporal things within this realm; so this other body should have given taxes to charge the fpiritual poffeffions, and have made canons to bind the ecclefiaftical body: To this end was the pramunientes claufe (fo called from the first word thereof) in the fummons to the archbishops and bishops, by which he required them to fummon fuch of their inferior clergy to come with them to parliament, as he then specified and thought fufficient to act for the whole body of the clergy.

This altered the English convocation from the foreign fynods; for these were totally compofed of the bishops, who were paftors of the church; (for the clergy were regularly esteemed only their affiftants ;) and therefore the bishops only were collected to compofe fuch foreign fynods,

to declare what was the doctrine, or fhould be the dicipline of the church.

Edward the first projected, to have made the clergy one third eftate, dependant on himself; and therefore not only called the bishops, whom as barons he had a right to fummon, but the reft of the clergy, that he might have their confent to the taxes and affeffments made on that body.

But the clergy foreseeing they were likely to be taxed, alledged that they could not meet under a temporal authority, to make any laws or canons to govern the church. And this difpute was maintained by the archbishops and bishops, who were very loth the clergy fhould be taxed, or that they fhou'd have any intereft in making ecclefiaftical canons, which formerly were made by their fole authority; for even if thofe canons had been made at Rome, yet, if they were not made in a general council, they did not think them binding here, unless they were received by fome provincial conftitution of the bishops. And though the inferior clergy, by this new fcheme of Edward the first, were let into the power of making canons ; yet they forefaw they were to be taxed, and therefore joined with the bishops, in oppofing what they thought an innovation, and in the end paid no obedience to the pra munientes claufe; but the archbishops and bishops threatened to excommunicate the king.

He, and the temporal eftate, took it fo ill, that the clergy would not bear any part of the publick charge, that they were beforehand with them, and the clergy were all outlawed, and their poffeffions feifed into the king's hands.

This fo humbled the clergy, that they at last consented to meet. And to take away all pretence, there was a fummons, befides the pramunientes claufe to the archbishop, that he should fummon the bishops, deans, archdeacons, colleges, and the whole clergy, of his province. From hence therefore the bishops, deans, archdeacons, colleges, and clergy, met by virtue of the archbishop's fummons ; which being an ecclefiaftical authority, they could not object to. And fo the bishops and clergy came to convocation by virtue of the archbishop's fummons; they esteeming it to be in his power, whether he would obey the king's writ or not: but when he had issued his fummons, they could not pretend it was not their duty to come. But the pramunientes writ was not difufed; because it directed the manner in which the clergy were to attend, to wit, the deans and archdeacons in perfon, the chapter by one, and the clergy by two proctors.

So

So that the clergy were doubly fummoned; first by the bishop, to attend the parliament; and, fecondly, by the archbishop, to appear in convocation. And that the archbishop might not appear to fummon them folely in purfuance of the king's writ; he for the most part varied in his fummons from the king's writ, both as to the time and place of their meeting.

And left it might be thought ftill (of which they were very jealous) that their power was derived from temporal authority, they fometimes met on the archbishop's fummons without the king's writ; and in fuch convocation the king demanded fupplies, and by fuch requeft owned the epifcopal authority of convening. So that the king's writ was reckoned by the clergy no more than one motive for their convening. And if the archbishop in his fummons recited the king's writ, they protefted against it, because that was laying his authority on the king's writ, which the clergy would by no means endure; for they would not consent that the prince had any ecclefiaftical authority to convene fynods, but they allowed the king's writ to be a motive for the archbishop to convene, if he agreed in judgment with the king.

And from henceforward, inftead of making one state of the kingdom, as the king defigned, they compofed two ecclefiaftical fynods, under the fummons of each of the archb fhops; and being forced into thofe two fynods before mentioned, they fat, and made canons by which each refpective province was bound, and gave aids and taxes to the king. But the archbishop of Canterbury's clergy, and that of York, affembled each in their own province; and the king gratified the archbishops, by fuffering this new body of convocation to be formed in the nature of a parliament. The archbishop fat as king; his fuffragans fat in the upper house, as his peers; the deans, archdeacons, and the proctor for the chapter, reprefented the burghers; and the two proctors for the clergy, the knights of the fhire. And fo this body, inftead of being one of the eftates as the king defigned, became an ecclefiaftical parliament, to make laws, and to tax the poffeffions of the church. Gilb. Exch. Ch. 4.

But although they thus fat as a parliament, and made laws for the church, yet they did not make a part of the parliament properly fo called. Sometimes indeed the lords, and fometimes the commons, were wont to fend to the convocation for fome of their body to give them advice in fpiritual matters; but still this was only by way of advice:

C 4

for

F

The act of fub

miffion of the 25 Hen. 8.

for the parliament have always infifted, that their laws, by their own natural force, bind the clergy; as the laws of all chriftian princes did in the first ages of the church. Gilb. Exch. 60.

And even the convocation tax did always pafs both houfes of parliament; fince it could not bind as a law, till it had the confent of the legislature. Gilb. Exch 197.

Even fo in the Saxon times, if the fubject of any laws was for the outward peace and temporal government of the church; fuch laws were properly ordained by the king and his great council of clergy and laity intermixed, as our acts of parliament are ftill made. But if there was any doctrine to be tried, or any exercife of pure difcipline to be reformed, then the clergy of the great council departed into a feparate fynod, and there acted as the proper judges. Only when they had thus provided for the ftate of religion, they brought their canons from the fynod to the great council, to be ratified by the king, with the advice of his great men, and fo made the conflitutions of the church to be laws of the realm.———— And the Norman revolution made no change in this refpect. Ken. Eccl. Syn. 249.

5. Thus the cafe ftood, when the act of fubmiffion, 25 H 8. c. 19. was made; by which it is enacted as followeth: Where the king's humble and obedient fubjects the el rgy of this realm of England, have not only acknowledged, according to the truth, that the convocation of the fame clergy is, always hath been, and ought to be offembled only by the king's writ, but alfo fubmitting themselves to the king's majefty, have promijed in verbo facerdotii that they will never from henceforth prefume to attempt, alledge, claim, or put in ure, enact, promulge, or execute any new canons, confiitutions, ordinances, provincial, or other, or by whatsoever name they fali be caled, in the convocation, unless the king's meft royal · affent and icence may to them be had, to make, promulge, and execute the fame, and that his majesty do give his most royal affent and authority in that behalf; It is therefore enacted, according to the faid fubmiffion, that they nor any of them fhall prefume to attempt, alledge, claim, or put in ure any conflitutions or ordinances provincial, by whatsoever name or names they may be called, in their convocations in time coming (which always fhall be affembled by authority of the king's writ) unless the fame clergy may have the king's most royal affent and licence, to make, promulge, and execute fuch canons, conflitutions, and ordinances, provincial or fynodal :

upon

upon pain of every one of the faid clergy doing contrary to this act, and being thereof convict, to suffer imprisonment, and make fine at the king's will.

Accordingly, T. 8 Ja. It was refolved upon this ftatute, by the two chief juftices and divers other juftices, at a committee before the lords in parliament; 1. That a convocation cannot affemble at their convocation without the affent of the king. 2. That after their affembly they cannot confer, to conftitute any canons without licence of the king. 3. When they upon conference conclude any canons, yet they cannot execute any of their canons without the royal affent. 4. That they cannot execute any after the royal affent, but with thefe four limitations; (1) that they be not against the prerogative of the king; nor (2) against the common law; nor (3) against any ftature law; nor (4) against any cuftom of the realm. All which appeareth by the faid ftatute: And this (Coke fays) was but an affirmance of what was before the faid ftatute; for it was held before, that if a canon be against the law of the land the bishop ought to obey the commandment of the king, according to the law of the land. 12 Co. 72.

And therefore by this act the clergy being restrained from making any canons or conftitutions in their convocations without the king's licence, the power as to this particular, which was before lodged in the hands of the metropolitan, is now put into the hands of the king, "who having by authority of his writ commanded the archbifhops to fummon them for ftate purpofes (as the tenor of his writ fhews), has it now in his own breaft whether he will let them act at all as a church fynod or no. They are a convocation by the writ of fummons, but a council properly fpeaking they are not, nor can they legally act as fuch till they have obtained the king's licence fo to do. Wake: ut fupra.

6. Only parfons, vicars, and perpetual curates, are Election. capable of giving their votes in chufing proctors for the diocefan clergy. Johnf. 150.

If any member of the convocation, who is a proctor, dies; the archbishop iffues his mandate to the bishop of that diocese to elect another; and this, by virtue of the power inherent in him to fummon his fuffragan bishops; who being to obey him in all things lawful and honeft, and the clergy their bifhop in the like manner, they by that command make an election to fupply the place of one of their proctors. Gilb. Exch. 58, 59.

[ocr errors]
« ForrigeFortsett »