A Letter from a gentleman in Grayes-Inn, to a justice of the peace in the countrey explaining the Act of Uniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers. 1662 Approx. 12 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A26499 Wing A7 ESTC R12369 11692331 ocm 11692331 48215 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A26499) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 48215) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1:3) A Letter from a gentleman in Grayes-Inn, to a justice of the peace in the countrey explaining the Act of Uniformity in that part which doth concern unlicensed preachers. F. A. [2], 6 p. s.n.], [London? : 1662. Signed at the end: F.A. Page 6 misnumbered 4. Reproduction of original in Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Preaching -- England -- History -- 17th century. 2006-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-12 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-02 Robyn Anspach Sampled and proofread 2007-02 Robyn Anspach Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A LETTER FROM A Gentleman in Grayes-Inn TO A Justice of the Peace in the Countrey : EXPLAINING The Act of VNIFORMITY In that part which doth concern UNLICENSED PREACHERS . Printed in the Year , 1662. A LETTER FROM A Gentleman in Grayes-Inn TO A Justice of the Peace in the Countrey . Explaining The Act for UNIFORMITY in that part which doth concern Unlicensed Preachers . Honoured Sir , YOurs of the 20th . instant , I did receive ; I am glad to hear of your welfare , and cannot but be most ready to gratifie your desire in any thing within my power ; you are pleased to require mine opinion concerning that part of the late Act for Vniformity , which doth impower Justices of the Peace to commit Preachers unto Prison upon the Certificate of a Bishop . Sir , my private opinion can be of little weight ; yet , your Request is to me a Command , and my Conjectures may point you unto more convincing expositions on the Act. This Statute doth assign Imprisonment in two Cases , Vnlicensed School-Masters , and unlicensed Preachers ; the last is that concerning which you do enquire , and the branch of the Statute doth run thus : And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid , That if any person by this Act disabled to Preach any Lecture or Sermon , shall , during the time that he shall continue and remain so disabled , Preach any Lecture or Sermon , That then , for every such offence , the person or persons so offending , shall suffer three months Imprisonment in the common Gaole , without Bale or Main prize ; and that any two Iustices of the Peace of any County of this Kingdom , and the places aforesaid , and the Maior or other chief Magistrate of any City or Town Corporate within the same , upon Certificate from the Ordinary of the place , made to him or them 〈◊〉 the offence committed , shall and are hereby required to commit the person or persons so offending to the. Gaole of the same County , City , or Town corporate accordingly . I shall not insist on the hardness of the Case , that men should be sent to Prison on a bare and blind Certificate , without any due and fair Conviction , or ever being heard in their own Defence : But on the serious view of this Clause , and consideration of this Act , mine opinion is this : The Subject of this penalty , is not every Unlicensed Preacher , but only an unlicensed , and therefore disabled , Lecturer : Men might Preach as Parsons or Vicars , any constant or cursory occasional Sermon , and not be lyable to this Penalty ; and if any of the Bishops shall make Certificate against any man so Preaching , the Justices have no Authority to commit them , or him , to Prison ; but if a Justice of the Peace , or Maior of any Corporation , shall commit any person on such Certificate , the Prisoner may have his Habeas Corpus , and remedy against the Maior or Justices . Sir , That my opinion may not come to you naked , and without proof , be pleased to observe the reason on which I ground mine opinion . The person shall be committed to prison for doing that which he was disabled to do ; but the person is only disabled to Preach any Lecture or Sermon , ( i. e. ) Lecture-Sermon . Sir , This Law doth resolve a threefold disablement upon Ministers . 1. Such who are not Episcopally Ordained , and do not in all things conform , are disabled to hold any Living or Ecclesiastical promotion . 2. The not Episcopally Ordained , consecrating the Lords Supper , are disabled to be made Priests for one whole year after . 3. Lecturers not Licensed , as is directed , are disabled to Preach any Lecture or Sermon ; and the doing this after disablement , is that which is punishable with Three months Imprisonment . Now , Sir , that you may see Lecturers , Preaching , fixed , stated Lecturers , are the only persons disabled , and to be punished , observe . 1. Ministers , in all other Capacities , are compelled to Conformity by other pains ; and their non-preaching is provided for by other Remedies : The law prescribeth not two punishments for one offence ; but there being a sort of Ministers under the notion of Lecturers , not barred by any prescription to Parsons or Vicars ; the Law maketh special provision against them , and this penalty compels them to Conformity , or puts them to Silence . 2. The persons disabled , and work to which they are disabled , is best discovered by that appellation by which they are discriminated in the Statute , and that is not the name of Minister , Preacher , Parson , or Vicar , who were all provided against in the foregoing part of the Law ; but the name of Lecturer , which I observe , is affected , and all along this part of the Statute , is used to predicate the person to be disabled , and on doing what he is disabled , to be imprisoned : It beginneth , No person , shall be , or be received as a Lecturer , or allowed to preach as a Lecturer ; It proceedeth , every person licensed , assigned or appointed , or received as a Lecturer ; Again , so long as he continueth Lecturer ; Again , it shall be sufficient for the said Lecturer ; Again , the Lecturer then to Preach , this name doth note his office and work , to which he is disabled ( viz. ) not simple Preaching , but Lecturing , or Preaching a Lecture . 3. The Qualifications , for defect of which he is disabled can square to no kind of Preacher , or Preaching , but to Lecturers Preaching Lectures , for he must 1. Be approved , and thereunto Licensed ; Thereunto is a Relative , which hath for its Antecedent , not Person , Vicar , or Preacher , but Lecturer , and Lecture : this is not only plain by the Gramatical Connexion of the words , but also by the express tearms subjoyned ; Every person licensed , assigned , appointed , or received as a Lecturer , to Preach on any day of the week ; Now , Sir , he is only disabled to do that whereunto he is not licensed . 2. This person is required , the first time he preacheth , to read Common-Prayer , and to declare his assent and consent , and upon every first Lecture day of every Month , so long as he continueth Lecturer there , and for not doing the same he is disabled to Preach the said , or any other Lecture , or Sermon ; the work to which he is disabled , is a stated Service which hath beginning and continuance in return of time , not a cursory transient and occasional Act. 3. The Lecturer then to preach must be present at the reading Common-Prayer before he Preach his Sermon or Lecture . Now , Sir , if the defect of these Qualifications disable , and so dispose under the penalty , he that shall be thus punished must be a person capable of these Qualifications , and that is none but a stated Lecturer . Sir , I do not find the least ground for any Objection against my opinion , save only in this , that the word ( Sermon ) is used in the Statute : and in this provision of the penalty ; and unto this , I answer ; 1. Sermon is never used alone , and by it self , but ever conjunct with Lecture , and inclosed in the same Comma ; but when the Printers mistake is visible . 2. Sermon is joyned to Lecture with this discretive ( or ) not disjunctively , but exegetically , to explain the tearm Lecture ; and hereof there is good Reason ; for Lecture properly signifieth a Reading , but hath been in Vulgar accepceptation referred unto , and performed by , Preaching : That therefore the Law might not be evaded by an equivocal tearm , the vulgar appellation Lecture is explained by the mode of performance , Lecture or Sermon , and that Sermon is thus exegetical , is evident by these Observations . 1. The Preacher hereby disabled is throughout this part of the Law , praedicated a Lecturer , and not known by any other appellation whatsoever . 2. The qualifications before noted , do square with no kind of Preaching or Preacher , but Lecturer Preaching a Lecture-Sermon . 3. Preaching or Reading are expresly mentioned as the specifical Acts , of the Lecturers Lecturing . So in the first Clause which relateth thereunto , None shall be , or be received as a Lecturer , allowed to preach as a Lecturer , or to preach or read any Lecture , or Sermon , ( i. e. ) any way speak openly any Lecture-Sermon ; for Lecture is the Genus , existing in the Species of Reading or Preaching . 4. Preaching is often expressed to be the only act of the Lecturer , it may therefore well be called a Sermon : the Statute saith expresly , Every person licensed , assigned , appointed , a Lecturer to Preach , shall the first time he preacheth , so long as he continueth Lecturer or Preacher . 5. Lecture or Sermon are so conjoyned in the Qualifications prescribed , they must be Synonimous , and convertible , and exegetical , cannot be disjunctive , thus ; it is menoned , the place appointed for his Lecture or Sermon ; the reading Common-Prayer at the time of the day when his Lecture or Sermon is to be preached , and declare his assent and consent before his Lecture or Sermon : Now , Sir , they cannot be disjunctive in the disablement , which are apparently exegetical in the required Qualifications . 6. Preaching or Reading are expressed to be the different acts of Lecturing in Cathedral , Collegiate , and University Churches or Chappels , though Preaching is retained as the Lecturing Act in common and ordinary Lectures . So that there was great and just cause to connex Sermon to Lecture , in directing a Lecture-Sermon . Sir , These things considered , you cannot but see mine opinion is grounded on the plain and clear interpretation of the Law ; So , that if any Bishops Certificate reduce you into the Dilemma , you will hereby direct your course , to commit Preaching Lecturers , but pass by and leave at liberty all other Preachers whatsoever , as those ; for Commitment of whom you have no Authority . And so doing , which you cannot but be sure all the Judges will determin against you . I am Sir October , 30th 1662. Your Servant to Command F. A. Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A26499-e80 Pag. 87. Pag. 8● . Paeg. 8● ▪ Pag 85. Pag. 86.