statutes, established by King Henry, for the extinguishment of all usurped foreign powers, and for the uniting to the imperial crown the ancient jurisdictions and pre-eminences" were restored. Its most important provisions are the following, which still exist as fundamental principles of the constitution::

"No foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, spiritual or temporal, shall use, enjoy, or exercise any manner of power, jurisdiction, superiority, authority, pre-eminence, or privilege spiritual, or ecclesiastical, within this realm, or the dominions thereof.1

"Such jurisdictions, privileges, superiorities, pre-eminences, spiritual and ecclesiastical, as by any spiritual or ecclesiastical power or authority hath heretofore been, or may lawfully be exercised or used for the visitation of the ecclesiastical state and persons, and for reformation, order, and correction of the same, and of all manner of errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, contempts, and enormities, shall for ever be united and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm.”

"2

The sovereign was empowered to name and authorize commissioners, from time to time, to exercise and execute under him, all spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, within England and Ireland, or other dominions; and to visit, reform, redress, order, correct, and amend all errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, contempts, and enormities whatsoever. Under this law, Elizabeth constituted the High Commission Court; which remained a powerful instrument in the hands of the crown, until abolished by the Long Parliament, in the reign of Charles I., on the ground of “its great and insufferable wrong and oppression of the king's subjects."3

These laws or principles were embodied into an oath, known as the Oath of Supremacy and Allegiance, which remained unaltered till the Revolution. This oath was to be taken by ecclesiastical persons of every degree; by every temporal judge, justice, mayor, and lay or temporal officer or 1 1 Elizabeth, cap. 1, sect. 16. 2 Sect. 17. 16 Charles I., cap. 2.

1558.]

ACT OF UNIFORMITY.

207

minister, and by every other person having the queen's fee or wages. If refused, they forfeited their promotion, benefices, and offices. Any person affirming, maintaining, or defending any foreign authority, should, for the first offence, forfeit all his property, real and personal; and if it did not. amount to £20, should suffer imprisonment for a year; for the second offence, should incur the penalties of præmunire; and for the third offence, be adjudged guilty of high treason, and suffer death accordingly.

The Act of Uniformity, by repealing a statute of Mary, restored the book of Common Prayer of Edward VI., with its order of services, and of the administration of sacraments, rites, and ceremonies, in full force and effect.' It was ordered to be used in every cathedral, parish church, or other place within the realm; and if any parson, vicar, or other minister refused, or should wilfully or obstinately use any other rite, ceremony, order, form, or other prayers than those mentioned in the book, he should, for the first offence, lose and forfeit all the profits of his spiritual benefices for one year, and suffer imprisonment for six months; for the second offence, the imprisonment was increased to a year; and for the third, for life. If there were no spiritual benefices, the first offence was imprisonment for a year; the second, for life.

The laity were included in these obligations by an enactment that in any interludes, plays, songs, rhymes, or by any open words, to declare or speak anything in derogation, depraving, or despising of the Common Prayer; to compel, or procure any parson, vicar, or other minister, in any cathedral, parish church, chapel, or other place, to sing or say common prayer otherwise than according to the book; for the first offence, the penalty should be 100 marks; for the second.

1 "But with one alteration, or addition, of certain lessons to be used on every Sunday in the year, and the form of the Litany altered and corrected, and two sentences only added in the delivery of the sacrament to the communicants." The act is entitled, "An Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayer in the Church, and Administration of the Sacraments." (1 Eliz. cap. 2.)

offence, 400 marks; and for the third offence, forfeiture of all goods and chattels, and imprisonment for life.

Attendance at church was also enforced. Every person within the realm, having no lawful or reasonable excuse to be absent, should diligently and faithfully endeavour themselves to resort to their parish church or chapel accustomed, or if prevented there, to some usual place of common prayer, upon every Sunday and holiday, and abide there during the service, upon pain of punishment of the censures of the Church, and of forfeiting twelve pence, for the use of the

poor.

These were the principal acts of her first parliament, but there were, besides, two others,-one by which the queen's title to the throne was recognized by parliament, and the succession was settled according to the act of Henry;' the other restored to the queen and her successors the firstfruits and tenths of which it had been deprived by Mary.2

The clergy were soon tested by the oath of supremacy, and it must be remembered that they were, for the most part, the same persons as had adopted, or given their adherence to Catholicism, under the reign of Mary. All the bishops, except one, refused the oath. The general body of the clergy took the oath, with the exception of eighty reetors and vicars, fifty prebendaries, fifteen heads of colleges, twelve archdeacons, and as many deacons.3

The act of uniformity established the new religion, but it did not in express terms prohibit the old. It denounced punishment on ministers of the new establishment, who should use, and on persons who should compel them to use, in any of the national churches, any other services than those of the new book of Common Prayer; and it required all persons, without exception, to attend the established Church on Sundays and holidays. This marked an exclusive, if not a persecuting spirit; but provided there was conformity to that extent, to the established religion, worship 1 1 Elizabeth, cap. 3. 2 35 Henry VIII., cap. 1.

3 Hume's History, cap. 38, apud Camden, p. 376.

1558.]

LEGISLATION CONCERNING RELIGION.

209

according to the doctrines or forms of the old religion was not expressly prohibited, nor made subject to any penalty. This omission was, however, afterwards abundantly supplied. A course of legislation was entered upon which extended through nearly the whole of Elizabeth's reign,—not indeed rising in severity, for that was scarcely possible,—although the first statute in the future series refers to the previous laws as mild and merciful.

The legislation was at first directed altogether against the Roman Catholics, in order to counteract their efforts, open or secret, through the medium of the pope or of the Jesuits and priests, to retain the old religion and the authority of the pope in the affections of the people. At a later period the legislation was directed against the Puritans as a sect. A distinction must, however, be made between the followers of the two denounced religions. However likely it may be that the Roman Catholics would have been satisfied with reasonable toleration, yet they acknowledged a foreign power, and professed doctrines and opinions hostile to the queen and to the established religion. The Puritans, on the other hand, not only approved, but when their influence became extended, strongly urged, legislation against the Catholics; nor did they dispute the temporal authority of the queen, nor wish to separate from, although they wished to reform, the national Church.

It is essential to the understanding of our constitutional progress, to have some acquaintance with this legislation, which expresses a policy that was continued by the nation for upwards of two hundred years, and which strongly affected the civil, as well as the religious freedom of the people. Its successive steps, and general scope, will be brought into view by the following table.

The two first of these statutes have been already noticed. The object of the third was to extend the oath of supremacy over a larger number of the people. It refers to the "perils, dishonours, and inconveniences that have resulted from the usurped power of the see of Rome, and also to the dangers from the fautors (favourers) of that usurped power, at that time grown to marvellous outrage and licentious boldness, and then requiring more sharp restraint and correction of laws, than thitherto, in the time of the queen's most mild and merciful reign, had been had, used, or established." It imposed the penalties of præmunire on those who maintained or defended the authority of the pope within the realm; and it required that the oath of supremacy and allegiance should be taken not only by ecclesiastics, and temporal office-bearers, receiving the queen's wages, but by all other persons, in holy orders, or admitted to any degree in the universities; by all schoolmasters, and public and private teachers of children; barristers and officers of the inns of court, attorneys and officers of the law. The bishops were empowered to tender the oath to ecclesiastics, and the lord chancellor to appoint commissioners to tender the oath to laymen. The penalty of refusal was, for the first offence, præmunire; and if, after three months, there was a second tender and refusal, the offence was high treason. Every knight, citizen, and burgess elected to parliament, was obliged, before he entered the parliament-house, or had any voice there, to take the oath before the lord-steward Stat. 5 Elizabeth, cap. 1, "An Act for the Assurance of the Queen's royal power over all estates and subjects within her dominions.” (1562. ̧