) % » f A fc Large Review OF THE M M A R Y FIE W, O F T H E ARTICLES Exhibited Againft the Bp. of St. David's, And of the Proofs made thereon. J*L Quis ilk tarn confidens, aut i ant is cervibus, qui audeat I* Hiftoriam ufquequaque veram Scribere. Lift. Lib. 5. Epiit. Epift. 11. and as the Poet faith, Vbi UU fimflUim cujus non audeo die ere nomen, Juvcn. Cocas magnum ahenum.mmdo fifvet, pgulh t&tfutdt trua. Titin. Printed in the Year 1702. % i \ To the RE A D,E R. O Man ought to be Surpriz'd, to find % ^S this Difcourje, m winch the Bijhop of X. David h is fully Vindicated from what Jtper the Author of the Summary View ha* fJiarg d him with, extended to the Leneth* *nd arifcft to the Bulk, it is, and doth See | as more Dirt may be thrown upon anv jrrfon ,n a few Minutes, than k is poflffi w Ac beft Artifls m the CleanfingT ade f> t h W°Ut' ^ ^ off in fo™ Days ' ' I t1 5?/. fcIf.°W'gd,- not only to Tuft ' ins Lordhp with refpeel: to all the p3 f his Epfcofal Conduct, but to make Si ixpnials on his Enemies, as may make them fceary, as well as- Aftam'd, of A&S **«// could not (on hi having departed from; and acted contrary to | it) skreen him from being Try'd as a Crimi^!^ nal, nor prevent his undergoing the Juft de- I merit of his Villanies ; it is to be hop'd, that in a Cafe, whereas no Law had Vefted fome:' People, with an Authority for what they Clamfd a Right of doing ; fo their whole/ Procedure therein (lands liable to many and weighty Exceptions ; but that his Lordjhip of St. David s; will obtain the Juftice of having the Caufe Reexami?id before fuch who fliall.. " both underftand Affairs of that kind better, than they who. Aflum'd the Cognizance and Juridical Power of them, appear to have done, and who in their fitting Judicially upon it, will Govern themfelves by other Principles, than thofe of Paflion, PrepofTeflion, Picyie and Revenge., And To the %eader. And as the Bifhop of St. Davids, is willing to fubmit to all the Reproach, as well as the Lofs and Damage, he (hall be found Legally Obnoxious unto, provided he may have but a Fair and Impartial Re-hearing; fo I do So- lemnly promife, that if he be Convicted Guilty of any one thing, for which he hatji been Defamed by many, as well as Sentence! by his Grace of Canterbury to ftand Depriv'd; I will not only beg the Forgivenefs of all thdfc, of whofe Perfons and Actings I have given the Characters and Reprefentations, I have done ; but I will turn Partisan againft the Bijhop, inftead of being an Apologifi for him. But after a very diligent Inquiry into, and a very critical Examination of v/hatfo- ever was in Proof Pro and Con in his Lordfhips Cafe, and what was Alledged and Offered in his Favour and Vindication, but refufed and rejected ; as I am as fully afcertain'd, as Religion Law, and Reafon can make me, that he will be Declar d to have been very 111 and Partially treated ; fo I am in no ap- prehenfion of being blam'd my felf, for fet- ting things in the light I have done, nor am I . in the leaft dread of its turning to my In- convenience, that when this Province nemini Terent, obtrudi poutit, itur ad me. In the manage f which, how I have acquitted my . felf, mud be To the %eader. be left to the Judgment of the Reader, whofe Favour I will no farther crave, than as it is more the refult of his Underftanding, than of his Affe&don, and the being Juft to himfelf, rather than to me. However this I dare with great fincerity, as well as confidence affirm, that as I have endeavour'd to Write with that Unbiazdnefs, which every Honeft Man ought ; fo my defign hath been, at the fame time I have been Vindicating an Injurd and Opprefs'd. Prelate, to prevent the World's being Troubled for the future, with a New Set and Gang of Lucys, Meyric/^s, and Au- thor s of the Summary Views, &c. and have purfu'd the Advice, (as well, and as fan as Seafon and Circumftance would allow) given ;^r;# 3* me by the Orator, Vnjus aut alterius improbi fupplicio, multorum improbitatem coercere. The Reader might very juftiy expert, I fhould have given him feme Remarks on the Conduct of Dr. Oxenden in the Proceedings againft the Bijhop of St. Davids, (and the ra- ther in that I had promis'd to do it) and that I fhould have alfodeclar d diver fe tilings with lefs referve, and more fully, than the State of Affairs would admit me to do, while part of this Review was Printing, and where- of I could therefore only venture to give •fhort Hints, and darklnformar ions; But m^ tendm5 To the "Reader. tending to Publifh veryfpeedily \Tratt, which is to ferve as an Appendix to this • I fhall both Adjourn the discharging what I a9fi debted to that Doftor until! then, when 1 do affure him, that he fhall not only have tntWr eft Paid for, and with the Principal., but a very large Gratuity made him for Continual iion j and I will alfo forbear untill then., the affording the Reader that farther and arapfer detale of Per f on s and things, which I am in a condition to Entertain him with. When and where I do undertake to make fuch a com- penfation for all defedts of that kind, as fhall Sufficiently Attone for Omiffions now. And with refpeft to the foremention'd Doctor, as it is Morally impoflible, the World fhould be altogether unacquainted with his Cha- racter, and thereupon not much allarnf d at any part of his Behaviour towards the Bijhop of St. Davids, if they will but allow themfelves the comparing his Congratulatory Poem on the Birth of the Prince of Wales, with the Man- ner and Methods of his Treating him fince the Revolution, and how Grateful he hath been in Words and Adtions to that Prince s Father, the Late King James, who being as Gracious as any Sovereign ought or could well be, and withall more credulous and eafy of Belief, than turn d eventually to his Safety, To the Trader. Safety, did on that alone motive, not only overlook and pafs by all his ARual Tranf- greffions, as well as Pardon the Guilt which he had deriv'd ex Traduce, but took him in- to his Royal Favour, and Preferr d him. Which I take to be not unworthy of Her prefent Majeftys Confideration, forasmuch as it will not only give Her Advert 'fement, how far She may rely on the Prcfeffions of fu ;h an Individual Gentleman -, but how little She is to Truft to the Proteftations of too many of a certain Party. - AN i ^■lilliiyiiiBWttWK^w^t^<».'VKyJWfta. aaw,WBiihop for tak- ing the Money from his Servants which they received as Gra- tnicies from pprfons Ordained, proved to be both falfe andfrivo* Joust p. 3o,Sf,82. The Auchor of the View feverely r^buked^ for havh g L::lummated that Prelate, with the doing an act of In- . .?, in cider to the gaining a Groat, pi 83-/0 p. 87. His ^p^fiiip Vindicated from the Defamation of having opprefled cme Peter Lewis, with Reflections on the Writer of the View ■ nd Others, p. 87. rep. 95. The Bifhop proved Innocent in all the, INDEX. the parts of his Condud towards Thomas Powel \ and the Au- thor of the View Chaftifed anfwerably to his demerit, for having ftandered, as well as injured his Lordlhip in reference to that af- fair. With a Propofal, how all the Eccleflaftical Livings in Eng- land, may be made worth 70 /. per annum, without Lofs to the Crown, or a Tax on the Kingdom, p. 95. to 109. The Bifhop neither G 'nitty of undue behaviour, towards fuch as appeared Wit- nefles againft him \nor of mjuftifable method's for gaining per- sons to Depofe for him ; accompanied with Reflections on diverfe. p. 109. r Excbs&* p. «;. 1. 1 1. r. i^fee. ibid. 1. i3. r. HJlike. ibid. 1. 19. r. ftrickt. p. 7. I. 1,6. x.faflning. ibid. 1. 33. r. pontificale — Regale, p. 8. 1. 13. r. dragged, ibid. 1. penult, r. intefiine. p. 9. I.21. \-.pnr fhing. ibid. I.38. r. dernier, p.i 1. 1. 1 3. Migijtratu. ibid. 1. 34. r. w<; Ptf/tf^ o/ .ft. DavidV. p. 22. I. 37. i^/ore Harmen, rtSaint. p. 2$. 1. 15. for ^r?. ibid. 1. 29 r. Stayno. p. 15. 1. p$ntik.i% Edmond. p. 2Q. 1. 28. r. Penbpir. p. 27. 1. 1$. r. antecedently, p. 29. 1. 2, 3. r. for owe 0/' rk Barons, &c. r. owe? 0/ mv fafiices of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, ibid. 1. 23. r. fradulency. p. 30. 1. 23. Go '.Is. p. £1,1. & for *»;. p. 39. 1. 4. r. ZV- 7?m. p. 5 1. 1. 2.x.fubferviently. ibid. 1. 35. r. preferred, p. 5 5. 1. 6. r. Radnor. p. 56. 1. 2.r. Delegates, p. 57. 1. 24. for: Brecknock r. St. David's, ibid. 1.25. x.lrefunny. p. 64. I. 31 r. */:> 0/ Auguft ibid. 1. i-.r. 169^. p. 315. 1. 29, 30. dd who paid the j aid Mot y. P« 3*o. L35. for //ewr; r. Thomas, p. 321. 1. 5. del. Procurations or Indu . 323. 1. *<,. r. belief, p. 32-5. 1. 37. x.finifrrudus. p. 326. 1. 34. r. Genius, p. 331. 1. 19. r. velut utilitas. p. 333. 1. 25. x. Huxley.' p. 334. 1. x. principals, p. 337. 1. »4«r- 2i j^n-. p. 348. 1. 1. r. znrer Reos. p. 3 $ 1. 1. 1 $. r. Arch-Deacon, ibid. 1. 18. r. Artillery, ibid. 1. 3 r. for Collating, r. bringing, p. 362. 1. 14. for ie/'ere, r. after, p. 365. 1. antepenult, for Collating, x. Prefenting. p. 369. 1. 1 7. for two x.fome. p. 384. for Collation r. Prefentation. p. 409. 1. 34. del. roteftion 0f the Government. So that we are not to y>. ??<. wonder, to find the Biflwp of St. Davids, againft wliom a Procefs hath been carried on, and a Se ntence denoune'd, expos'd to the world in the ridiculous and Scandalous manner, in which the writer of the Summery1 View, for the gratifying and ferving of a Party, hath had the unmanerlinefs and Injuftice to rcprefent him ; feeing neither the Learning, Innocency jior Emnient Piety of fuch, who refufe coming into the Fa- ctious Meafures of a certain Tribe of Ecclefiafticks, are fuf- ficient to fecure and cover them from being Ignominioufly Black'ned, and Slanderoufly Treated, and from being Draged by a fet of Men (who that ; may ufe Tacit hs's phrafe) Aliisin- famiam par ant, nt Gloriam Jtbi acquirant, raife infamous re- proaches upon others, that they may pwrchafe credit themfelves ) to the Tribunals of thole cloathed with Judicial power, to be made publick Victims of. And all who are unprejudiced and Impartial, may ealily afcertain themfelves, upon what chief Motives and Inducements the faid Bifhop hath been fo diftinguifhingiy, and without Example or Precedent, Profe- cuted and Depofed, If they will but fabmit to the Trouble, Firft, of remarking in what Difmal and HideousColours,//* and Others of his Political and Ecclefiaftical Principles and Con- See Ap- dud, are Painted forth by Dr. Wake, of being engaged in a peal. Ep. different Inter eft from the Civil Government, and of complying with ■DeL the pre fen t Church, ?iot out of Conference to their Duty, or any love they have for it ', but becaufe they cannot otherwife keep their Prefer- vifcourf- ments ^ And Secondly, of confidering to what kind and degrees of " rdserm rig°rous Punifhment, the Bijkop of Sarum would have fuch to Append. ' De adjudged, namely that they flwuld neither meet with Mercy nor N. 1. Juftice; and that the Popiflj Priejls jhould be Treated with more Lenity than they. Upon which not only unchriflian but inhu- mane reprefentations of their Bretheren, and as well enflamed defires, as unmanly and brutal endeavours, of rendring them obnoxious to the wrath of the Government, and of getting them to be made the Subjects of the utmoft feverity; all the Reflections i will make at prefent, (hall be in the' Words of the Hifiorian, that as in relation to the begetting and foment- . ing of mteftins mifunderltandings and Civil diflentions, peffimo 1 * cnique pUirima vis, the worjt men are ablefi to do mofi ; in that pro- (9) projections of fuch mifchievous tendency, can neither be en- tered upon, nor carried on' per bonus artes, by fair and honoura- ble means ; fo we do always find, that fuch who Promote and hope to find their Intereft in National and Church Divifions and Animofities ; Eorum caufc acriores, quia luiqiKeft their Al- **; ^id. legations and Afperfions are the more virulent and Brutal ', in that^*' l' the maters for and unto them, are groundlefs and unjuft. However it is fome comfort to them, who are thus traduc'd, calumniated andmark'd out for Punifhments} that they who were both See icor. greater and Holier men, than they have the Vanity to defire 4. 10. to be accounted, have been Detracted from, defpifed, and20""* "• brought into Sufferings by fuch as laid Claim to no mean Sta- x6' tions, and aflumed no fmall Characters in the Church. And it is enough to beget a jvery Jfuft prejudice againft all the proceedings in the Cafe of the Bijhop of St. David's ; and to] raife a well Grounded diftruft of the Truth of all the Al- legations upon which he-is reprefented fo Scandaloufly in the Summary View &c. if men would but allow themfelves, to com- pare the paffionate manner of Acting towards, and the rigo- rous Sentence againft the Bijhop of St. David's, with the tem- perate and gentle Methods of perfuing, and the Trivial and Slight Punifhment inflicted upon the Bijhop of St. Afaph. For nor to bring at prefent into debate, whether He, who fingly and alone Ajfumed the Sole Juriditlive Tower in each of their Cafes, preclufively not only of a Convocation, but of the very Comprovincial Bijhops, as to any Authoritive and Judicial Right acknowledged in them, in relation either to the Cognizance of the Caufes, or the Definitive Sentences, which were reflective- ly pronounced, hath not ufurpeda Juridical Right, which nei- ther the Canons of the Church, nor the Laws of the Land, do admit, feeing as the Determination with Refpectto the Former^ muft ftand referred to the Judgment of the Clergy Legally Aflembled, and fufFer'd to Act with Freedom •, fo the deciding with Reference unto the latter, remains depending in one of the Weftminfler Courts, waiting the Opinion and Sentence of thofe who fit on the Exchequer Bench, and may poffibly at laft come before,and befinally adjudged by the high andSupream Judicature, which is the dennier Refort for all Caufes $ all that I will now infill upon,and recommend to theReaders observation is, that whofoever lays Claim to the Title of a Judge, and takes upon turn the Execution of the Office- of one/ ought in all C Caufes, ( io ) Caufes, and in relation to all perfons, to behave himfelf Equal- ly and Impartially. And that I may -not enter upon a Province, which doxh not properly and dire&ly belong unto me :, nor appear to break in upon the Prerogative of thofeof the Cle- rical Order, in calling upon the great Metropolitan, and thofc Ecclefiafticks who approve his Conduct in the foremention'd Caufes, to the Remembrance of the Commands and Rules, en- joyned and prefcribed in the Scripture, for the Government of fuch, who are Cloathed with, or that do affume unto them- Exoi. 23. £ives a Judicial Power, namely that they [hall not Wrefi Judg- Dent. 16. ™efit, mr Refietl Perfitis ', but that in Righteoufnefs they Jh a 11 Judge 19, 20. their Neighbor ', and whatfoever is altogether Just, that Jhall they follow, for as much that the being accurately converfant in the Bible, is by reafon of their Character in a moft/ fpecial man- ner incumbent upon them}. I (hall ' therefore content my felf with giving the Sentiments in this matter of one out of many, who was altogether a ftranger to the Divine and Revealed Laws. For even fuch, whofe unhappinefs it was to be left and abandon'd to the Dictates of meer natural Reafon, have ne- verthelefsby hearkening to the Reafonings of their own Minds, from and upon the felf Evident Principles that men were made for Society, and that we enter into Communities for the obtaining of prote&ion, and the Prevention of being In- jured j and that as wichout the Granting unto, and the plac- ing a Legiflative and Judicical Power in fome, thofe Ends can no wife be compafled ; fo none^can be fafe, where Laws and Juflice are negledted, or perverted by them, who areChofe and Ordain'd to Execute them; acquir'd fuificient Light and Conviction for telling us that in all Caufes whatfoever, Judges CtyrOm. are to proceed and Determine, Sine amore, & fine cupiditate, pro Mr. £~ rurfiis fine Odio & Juvidia, without. Biafs and affettion, and Marcel. w-lty,it Envy, Viqucjor Hatred-. And that in their Judicial Capa- id.'Om. cities, they are to confider, Quiddeceat, & non folum qnid pof- prj C. ^z- fint, What in point of Equity, Hone fly, and 'Right becomes them bir_ pofok. t0 do ; and not what might and power may carry them forth with Impunity in the perpetration of -, and that the firft and maTn thing requir'd in fuch, as would approve themfelves Up- right Judges, is that in their going upon the Trial of thofe i*l> °IXr\ w^° ftand Accufed and Arraigned, Ne quid pr&judicati affe- rant, fed ex ipfis caufis Judicent, neque ad caufas Judicia jam faff a dorno defer ant, They may not all under the Influence of Pre- judice fro A. Cht mm, c m ) judice and Prepojfejfton, nor hring Foreftalled Opinions, taken up and entertained upon Vulgar and Common Fame , to Benches and Tribunals with them. And as Ambrofe exprefles it, Ne quid pa- ratum domo defer ant, That they bring not Refolutions concerted and agreed upon, in Cabbals, and in Clofets, to Judicial Seats, but that they do wholy layafide, not only the PrepofTeffions and Pre- judiced of Enemies, but all thofe human Affe&ions, by which they are liable tobeBiafs'd: In that, they of the exacleft In- tegrity, will find it a matter of great difficulty, to avoid the having their understandings, and thereupon their very Juridical Sentences, influenced by the meekeft paffions, and the minuteft Intereft. And as Livy words it, Suas fmultates, pro Lib. 59. Magistraut exercere, non boni Exempli effe ', *(hat it is of perni- cious example, and may be of fatal Confequeuce, for Perfons in the Exercife of Judicature, to AH in the Vertue either of Piques, or of meer Jealoufies ; fo the fame Author hath left it as an In- famous and indelable Brand upon the Names and Memory of the Decemviri, That Hominum, non caufarum toti erant, apudjj\jt *■> quos Gratia vim aqui haberet ', & quod Judicia Domi conflabant, qua pronunciabant in foro ; They confider'd Only Men, not Caufes ; Favour with them Vfurping the place of Jujhice ; fo that the Sen- tences they Pronounced, when atling in their Judicial Capacities, were fuch, which a RefpeB for Parties and FaBions, and a con- cern for their own Private and Perfonal Interests, had corruptly fwafd them, frevio/ly to the hearing of Caufes, to Rejolve upon at home. Thefe were the Reflections that the very Heathens made, in purfuance of the Rules, by which They, as well as all o- thers lince, do account them oblig'd and confin'd to Ad, who Hand intrufted with a Power of Judicature. And there- fore they not only Painted Juftice with a Ballance wherein to Weigh Caufes and not Men -, but they likewife reprefented her Blind, that Die might not difcern nor confequently RefpeB perfons. Accordingly thofe Judges fo much renouned among the Grecians, who mete in the Areopagus, were wont to lit at Midnight fs> intimate that no knowledge ofybr reguard for Per- fons was to Influence them in the Judgment they were to gives " but that they were to pronounce Sentence anfiverably to the alone Merit, or the Demerit of the Caufe as it appeared un- to them upon a full and impartial Hearing. For Judges being Viva tex, they ought to be like the Law it felf, which is with out Pailion and Partiality. So that they, who do not only C % pro- (12 ) profefs themfelves Chrifiians, but are exalted to the Dignity and Office of Biflwps in and over the Church, do by their de- parting from the Lines and Meafures, accorded among, and" Eflablifhed by Pagans, all that lies in them, for bringing fuch a reproach upon Revealed Religion, that it were better, If I serm. en may be allowed toufe the words of Dr. Tillotfon when Dean the $th of 0f Canterbury, that humane Nature Jhould be left to the- Conditt? of Novem. }ts own Principles and Inclinations, than be ABed 'by a Religion,- which prompts men ta Supplant Moral Rightcoufnefs, and which is made a* Band of Confpiracy for en flaming their Tempers to Fircenefs, againfi Juch who cannot think and fay as they do. Which many or the moft Learned, Virteous and Judicious of the Kingdom, do not forbear affirming t0 have been pra&is'd and done in the Virulency and Partiality of the pretended Juridical pro- cedure againfl the BiJJwp of St.Bavid's, compared with the man- ner of dealing withthe Bijlwp of St. Afaph, whofe Enormities of grofs Simony, were numorous, flagrant and alfo uccontrover- tibly atteited and proved ; whereas that whereof the Bifhop of St. David's was accufed, as well as all the other Offences al- ledged againfl him, had only fome weak and flight Appearances in them of the Crimes, they were malici- oufly and envioufly ftiled ; and none of them ( as fhall be . Evidently demonflrated in the following Sheets) made Legally out by any Witnefles, whofe Teflimonies fliould have been admitted. So that whereas both the Bijlwp of London and the prefent Bijlwp of Coventry Dr. Huff, who were Affcjfcrs to the Arch-Bijlwp in the Tryal of the Bijhop of St. Afaph, gave their opinion that he was Manifeftly Guilty of Various and heynous Simonies ;thc Former of thefe two Right Reverend Prelates, as alfo the Right Reverend the Bijlwp of Rochefier, who had bore the fame Character to the great Metropolitan in the proceedings againfl the Bijhop of St. David's declared it as their avoued Sentence, after a full hearing of all that was brought in proof of what he flood Charged with, that he could not be held Legally and Juridically Convitled either of Simony or of any of the punifhable Offences, whereof he had been accuf- ed. And thatforne other of thole Prelates, who were like wife Ajfeffors to the Arch-Bifliop of Canterbury, in the Trial of the Biflwp ot St. David's, gave a more fevereand rancorous Opinion of his Cafe, -we fhall the lefs wonder, if we 'do but vouchfafe to confider in how many Caufes Judically before a more Hono- rable ( i3 ) rableanda Supreamer Court, they have not only Harangu'd and inveighed againlt perfons, upon the fingle fcore of Political difference, but have given their Verdict according to what they apprehended the Men to be, without having the leaft regard to" the Juftice and Equity of their Cafes. Whereof, if any fhall be deiirous to know the many and Remarkable Inftances, I do promife, that upon demand, and the allot- ment of a fafe Stage, they fhall be abundantly furnifh'd with them. And as upon Preconceiv'd and Pretended Induce- ments and Motives of that kind, the Bijhop of St. David's had frequently rendred himfelf Obnoxious to the Pique, Indigna- tion and Revenge of fome People ; fo the Biflwp of St. Afaph, thro' hearkning unto them, as fo many Oracles, and falling implicitly into their Sentiments, and caufing no difcord in the Mufick of a certain Bench, had deferv'd their Favour and Grace, tho' to the wrong, and at the Expence of Juftice. And indeed, his being the day before he was to undergo the Sentence of his Metropolitan, one who in concurrence with the Majority of the Bifhops, efpecially with the Plurali- ty of thofe, that had been Selected and Appointed to be aC the Hearing of his Caufe, a not Guilty and Abfolving Spi- ritual Peer of thofe Lords who flood Impeached by the Ho life of Commons, did both fufficiently attone for all his Crimes, and qualify him for the mercy of being meerly Sufiended, and that for ajhort time-, whereas the Biflwp of St. David's, whofe Tranf- greflions, had they been Prov'd, bore no Proportion to his,, had upon fome Mens remembrance of his often fpoiling the Harmony of their Votes in the upper Houfe, and particularly by giving his Dijfent to the Attainder of Sir John Fenwick,' . been mot only Depofed ab Officio, from the Order, Dignity and Office of aBijl]op', but jhut out and Excluded a Beneficio from all his Temporalities, and from the Honours he had Right unto per Servitium BaronU. Surely as they did not in thefe"lrreconcile- able and Contradi&ary ways of proceeding, Try fo much Caufes, as they did Men ; fo they feem to have too much for- gotten, that the Fun&ion of Judges is Sacred, and that God Pr 82# stands in the Congregation of fmh ; and that they Judge not fori. Men,, but for the Lord, who is with them in the Judgment ; to Re- 2 Chron, ward them if they Judge Rightly, and to Punifh them if they **• 6* do otherwife, arid in both Cafes, watchfully to obferve them. Further, ( 14 ) » Further, the whole Proceedings againft the Bijhop of St. Dd* vid's, cannot efcape the lying open to a great deal of SufpU tion and Prejudice^ nor mifs falling under very fevere Cenfures -9 if the Characters of the Promoter, and of thofe who were the Principal Witneffes, be but duly enquired into, and ferioufly confidered. And therefore that they may be fet in a Light, wherein they may ftand fair to an impartial View, and ap- pear reprefented in thofe proper Colours, which may con- tribute both to the preventing fuch, from being impofed up- on, who are defirous of obtaining that Information which may Jufliry their continuing with a Perfevering ftedfaftnefs in the Belief of the Bijhop Innocency \ and likewife to the un- deceiving and Rectifying the Judgments of thofe, who upon the Faith of Uncredible Witneffes, and the Authority of Irrecei- veable Teftimonies? have fuffer'd themfelves to be milled into an Opinion of His being Guilty, of all that was Articl'd, and Depofed againft Him ; I fay that I fhall therefore briefly call over the Qualifications, which are indefpenfably required both in them who are the Firfi Accufas, and to whofe Province it belong'd to be the Searchers out, and Mull erers up of Evidences, whom in Procejfes in EccUfiafikal Courts, wc commonly ftile Promoters-, and alfo in fuch, who are to be held Tefte s idonei & habiles, Witneffes offujficient Reputation and Crtdit, for the having their Tefiimony admited and relied upon. And forasmuch as Tefiibus, nanTeftimoniis Creditur,That no Depofnions are to bejudi- cially received and proceeded upon, becaufe of their being made and Sworn unto \ but becaufe of the Opinion and belief enter- tain'd of thofe who are the Witneffes ; thence it is that all who have Written concerning the Proceeding and Adting Judicially upon the Evidence and Authority of humane Tefti- monies, have Univerfally accorded on fome certain and pecu- liar Moral Difpofitions, Qualifications and Perfections, re- quired in fuch as are to be efteemed Good and Legal Wit- nefTes, and accounted Entitled to the having Faith giving un- to what they Swear ; and have alfo laid before us,-for what Crimes, Enormities, and forefignified perverfe Propentions, and ill Inclinations of mind, Perfons appearing in the form of Witneffes, are to be precluded and debarred from having Cc L"b tne*r Depofitions Credited. Nor will 1 carry it fo far in that *». in-yer- natter, as the Roman Orator did, that they, qui ab altero ratio- rsm, nem vita repofcunt, legem Jibi indicent JnnocentU virtutumq -, om- nium ( 15 ) ninm, They who take upon them to fearch after Mifcarriages and Faults in the Lives of others,and to accufe them of Criminal and Venal offences, be not only Guiltlefs themfelves, but adorn' d with all Moral and Social Vermes : But I will content my felf with the Ex- acting of much lefs, and onlyfrequire that they be not Chargta- bie with Faults and Enormities, which do either render them Infamous, or which upon other accounts make their Teftimonies al- together unworthy of being Credited. For as Infamia notatisin Judic'o loqui non licet -, fuch as are declared, or held to be Infamous, are nor. to be»allow1d for Testes probi & Legales, Good and Legal Wltntffes -, in that they are fuch (if I may ufe an Expreffion of Cicero's) Quos focios ad Epulas nemo habere velit, Whom none would phMpp, *, choofe to Eat with, or admit for Companions at an Entertainment ', So it is not unworthy of Remark, that the. Civilians do alia- . gree, that there is a Twofold Infamy, whereof they flile the one ^j^. Infamia Juris, and the other, Infamia FalH, and that they do tenu' Lib. withall lay it down as a Rule to be attended unto, in all Judi- 5. cial Proceedings, that altho' fome may not be Infamous in the FirH fenfe, as not being Branded for fuch by any Juridical Sentence, yet that they may be, and often are fo in the Latter ; ^ A £/; and that being fuch, there is not that Belief to be given unto vfr ^ their Teftimony, as is due to the Depofition of Virtuous sponfaU Men. And therefore it is, that fo many Provifions 'have been if- *■ Univerfally condefcended upon, as needful to be required in Cap* *■ all fuch, as fhall be admitted for Lawful and Competent Witmff- es, of which it will not here be amifs to mention fbme : Namely, that they be not fuch, who fin Tacmsh Phrafe) are An% Lib' pramiis illefti, Gain'd thereunto by Antecedent Bribes, or by Fro- ^' mifes of future Rewards. For whofoever under the influence of either of thefe, lhall be made appear to depofe in any Caufe, they are in the opinion of all Civilians, to be rejected from be- ing Competent Witneffcs, even tho what they Ihould Swear were True. Yea fo fevere are the Civilians in that Cafe, that they ?"'• c]iu will have the very attempting to Bribe and to Suborn 0^^fJi:linu to be fufficientto render the Depofitions of all others in that qbiLM* Procefs, infignificant as to the making Proof of what they dit: p. Swear unto. Nor are they to be held Good and Legal Ji7f- 34<$- nejfes, who come within the Circle of thofe whom Cicero dc-^*'^' fcribes, when he tells us, That Teftibus Cupidis, Iraiis, Conju- ratis, 0" ab Rel/gione Remotis, non eft Credendum, No Credit is to be given to thofe, who upon Pretence of having been Injured, have thereupon w ( 4t) thereupon entertain' A Wrath and Hatred, fo as toexprefs a defire and purpofe of being Revenged. For avowed Enemies, are by Civi- Vid. Ma- Hans neither allowed to be Relevant Accufers, nor competent {ear de Witneffes. And whofoever they are, that do firft induftriouf- probat. iy and publickly Defame, and then afterwards, come Judicially L°™ ' either to Accufe, or to Depofe againft thofe, whom they had Calumniated, they are to be look't upon as perfons Acting too much upon motives of Enmity and Revenge, to be Believ'd in any thing they fay. For were there even fome Truth in what they pretend to give either Information or Proof' of yet the Hatred and Revenge by which they are Influenced and Hurried thereunto, do render them altogether unquali- fied to be Believed. Yea, it is further provided by fuch who have written concerning Judicial Proceedings in Criminal Caufes, that Ne Teftium ftudium cum Accufators^Sociatum fit CtcenOm. Witneffes be not apparently engaged in a Combination and Confpiracl pro tmc jpjthfijg Accufor or Promoter. And as the Civilians tt\\ us that whofoever undertakes to be zWitnefs, thro having been Pre- vioufly Advifed or Councelled thereunto, is to be accounted as One that is Subornd ; fo they do farther add, that the bare . Representing unto any of what Advantage it may be unto Him to cZfilwJ™ ^f^nony againft fuch a Perfon in this or that Procefs, is plain- ly and direttly to be a Suborner. *And that as thereupon the Ac- cufationsofthQ One, and the Dtp fit ions of the Other are to be no otherwife efteem'd, than as Invented Slanders and ftudied Fajhoods ; fo the Learned Authors who have laid us down the Rules, by which Courts of Judgment are to be Governed in Ju- dicial Proceedings, do unanimoufly agree in the Excluding thofe from being LegalWitneffes, againft Tp/*w»fchath been in Proof that they had been Advifed and In ft igated thereunto. But with all, while they Debar them from being Competent Witneffes in" the Cafes of thofe, againft whom they are Produced- the V do neverthelefs allow their Depofitiom and Teftimonies to be Good Vidp.C V. Depofition of the fame things. So that Teflium numerus, ^en'tenu eorum defectum non fupplet, licet quidam Teftes non omriino\Repel- ub. %. Ai- lantur ; let there be never fo many Witneffes brought in Proof ofdit. ad the fame Accufations and Articles, and fome of them pojfibly notQ2eft' 24« apparently Obnoxious to the Exceptions, by which others of the fame Tribe, ft and Excluded from the having Faith given unto their Depositions, yet even the former are not to be Believed, by reafort that the latter are found to be altogether Vncr edit able, if not Infa" mous. Nor may it be here amifs to fubjoyn unto what I have obferv'd to be Univerfally agreed upon, not only by Chriftian Civilians, but by Heathens who were guided by meer Natural Light, and who Ading under the fole and alone Conduct of their Reafonable Faculties, fell into, and united in the Max- ims related for the Government of our Belief in reference to the Teftimonies of Witneffes \ I fay it may not be amifs to add hereunto, what I find Declared and Recorded in the G?- non Law, as Incapaciating and Difabling Perfons from being admitted Witmjfes againft a Bijhop, and for excluding and fhut- ting out their Depofitions from being receiv'd and believed, fo as to be Judicially Relied upon in the pronouncing aCondem- natory Sentence. Namely, That Qui Jnfidiator extiterit, non Part 2* fit recipiendum Teflis contra Epifcopum, He who hath Malicioufly and cap, £. D Treache- ( 18 ) Treacheroufty endeavoured to enfnare and fupplant a Bifliop, fhalt not be allow* d for a Legal and Creditable Witnefs againfi him. And that Clerici Confpir antes, & qui funt Confpir it ores contra rejected from being Cap. 109. t\jat £ aradu [no propio abjiciantur, They are to be _ degraded from their Priefily Order, and Depofed from their Ecclefiafiival Functions. And that they who are found to be Detractores, Sunt etiam Decret. a Teftimomo fubmovendi *, Defamers jhall he accounted unqualifi- Var.i. eii for md fljall (land rejected from being Witneffes againfi a Cap. 8. Bifkop, in reference to whom it hath been in Proof, That. they have labour' 'd to, detract fro. n his Reputation, and have fought by clandefiine Averfions to beget an Hi Opinion of him, among fuch who knew nothing of him, five what was Ho-nourable and worthy of Praife. And twill here take the liberty to fay, that in this Cafe, more than in any other whatibever, the Rule and Mea- fure agreed upon by Civilians, mould be allow'd to take place and obtain •, Namely, That when Talis Infamia Fatti, as the See $ul. Calumniating and Defaming of a Bifiwp, is found to be Publica^ CUr. Sen. ^ yHynce fparfa & clamofa, Publick and Vniverfally vented and <5Wp 72.fprea^-> That then Non indiget -probatione, There needs no formal '.Evidence for Convicting thefe who have been guilty of it. But to proceed, it is alfo further provided for, and Ordained in the Ibid. Cap. Canon Law, That foimici & trail non poffint ejfe Teftes, nenoce- 3. £«. 5« re cupianty& fe nicifci velint ', Declared and Avowed Enemies, and Cuch who out of Pique, or becaufe of Injuries fufpofed to have been done them, have thereupon conceived Wrath and Hatred againfi a Bifiwp, fijall not be admitted Witneffes in any thing that may affect him ; in that it is likely, they will be inclinable and forward to Dcpofe any thing whieh may defame and hurt him, provided there is any hope they may thereby avenge themfelves. Moreover, it ibid. Q»- is exprefly appointed in the Canon Law, That Quando ab accu- JO« fat or tb us mult a Crimina objiciantur, & unumde quo prius egerint ■probare non valuerint, ad c&tera probanda non admittantur, Upon Witneffes failing in the Proof of any one things wherein a Bijhop had been Calumniated, and whereof they had accufed him, theyfhall thereupon be rejected from giving lefiimony againfi him in every thing elfe. Finally, it is likewife Ordain'dln the Canon Law, That ( *9 ) That Q&non fmt bona Converfationis, aunt quorum vita eft ac- ju-j cufabilis fub move ant ur-, They (efpecially if of the Clerical Or- der) whofe Lives are fcandalous, and their Conver fat ions famyd to be Impious and Immoral, flail be debarred from being accounted Good and Lawful Witnejfes again ft a Bifiop. Nor are we to won- der, that Civilians, Canonifts, and all who have written concern- ing Judicial Proceedings upon Penal and Criminal Laws, mould befo Critical, as well as particular, in the Limitations, and Reftri&ions, which they prefcribe unto and fet on Wknefles, as fo many Qualifications and conditions indifpenftbly requir- ed in and of them, antecedently to the having their Depoliti- ons and Teftimonies admitted for Good and Legal -, in that notwithftanding of all the Lights and Meafures agreed uponj for the deftru&ion of thofe who fliall dare to Swear Falfely, and alfo notwithftanding all the Punifhments, to which they who do fb, are made Liable and Obnoxious } fuch is the Corruption, Wickednefs and Malice of .too many People of all Ranks and Conditions, who upon Motives of Profit and Reward, and who for the Gratifying of their Wrath and Ha- tred, and the cornpafling of their Revenge, will ventue on the Perjurioufly Depoling of Fi&ions and Lies , and that with fuch an AiTurance, accompanied alfo many times with fuch a Confiftency and Co-herence in the things they Swear, that neither the moft Circumfpec\ Difcerning and upright Judges, can penetrate into the Treachery ; nor the Accufed, tho ne- ver fo Innocent^ can be cover'd from and Efcape the Infamy, damage and Mifchiefs, which thefe Mifcreants have plotted and Confpired to bring upon them. So that the Righteous Admini- ftration of Juftice in Communities and Kingdoms, without which Societies can not Subfift, nor the Reputations, For- tunes and Lifes of Men, be fo fecure and fafe, as they would in hrobb's State of Nature, depending fo much, if not intirely, on the Authority and Teftimony of Witneffes, we ought to have the Memories of thofe in Honourable Efteem, who have been both fo Wife and fo Charitable, as well as of that Integri- ty and Uprightnefs, as to give us Dire&ions and Rules, whereby to Govern our Belief in reference to Informations, arid Depofities, tho Solemnly made and Sworn unto. And forafmuch as the only pretence left to our great Metropolitan, for "palliating fand exculing his Sentence againft the Bijhop of St. David's, from having been not only exorbitantly Severe, but alfo from being altogether Groundlefs, and confequently D 2 Un- ( 20 ) Unrighteous and Unjuft, is and mufl be flngly Superftru&ed and Built upon the alone Faith and Credit of thofe whofe De- pofitions were received in proof of the Articles, whereof the faid Bijkop was Accufed -, I do therefore hope, that they who fhall vouchfafe to perufe thefe Papers,will not think I have gone beyond, or departed from the Subject of them, in the bringing fbme of the Witnefes againft the Bifwp of St. David's, to the. Tefl and Ballance of the foremention'd Provifwns, Characters and Aiaxlms. And this I fhall briefly apply my felf unto, with all the re- gard and Tendernefs imaginable to the Fame of thofe, whom I fhall beNeceflitated to Name. And as for theavoding the mak- ing this Difcourfe too long, I fhall at prefent mention only two Witncjfes ( together with the Promoter ) and they Ecdefiafiich whofe Office gives th'em a Right to a diftinguifhing fair and gentle Ufage, I fhall therefore not only Speak, with all the Lenity and Retentivenefs I can, of their iord Imperfecti- ons, Defects and Offences, by reafon whereof they ftand Vn- qudified for the having been accounted Competent Witnejfes in the Cafe of the Biftop of St. David's ; but I fhall likewife take fpecial care of making fuch a Separation of the Whncjfes from the Function y and of fo Diftinguifhing and Alienating the Men from the Vriefts ; that whatfoever ill Reprefentation or Character do fall upon their Perfons, yet the Sacerdotal Office fhall be brought under no Contempt ; but the Latter fhall ftill remain Sacred and Honourable ; while They who in the Cafe before us, thro having A&ed Vnfuitably thereunto, ma^ come to be fo Difgracefully thought of, as that their very Oaths mould have rather been efleemed Perjuries, than have been held Sufficient Motives and Legal Reafon s^ for the Giving Faith unto, and the pronouncing Sentence upon their Depofnions. And that the Defign intimated in the Preface, of a Full and Volumnious Hlftory to be given and publifh'd hereafter ( when the Sentence Decree'd againft the Bijhop of St. David's, fhall have not only paft under the Re- view, and have received the Judgment of the Court of Exchequer, where it is now depending j but "fhall have alfo come under the Cognizance and have obtain'd the Terminative and final Decifion of that mofl Honourable Judicature where the Dernier, Refort in all Cafes lies,) of all the proceedings, even to the' minuteft Circnmftances, againft the faid Bijhop, may not in this particular which refereth to that Character of the WitneiTes, » upon ( 21 ) upon whichthey fhould have been held unqualified for Depofing Legally ; be render'd altogether needlcfs ; nor fuch an Oce-m of matter Lanched into, as would neceflarily Enlarge this Difcourfe beyoud the Bulk, to which I am both obliged and refolved to Confine it ; I (hall therefore under the prefent Head, inftead of bringing alfthefeveral and many WitnefTefs under that particular Scrutiny with refpect to the Immoral Qualities, and Legal Offences, for which they were to have flood Vn- cafficiated for being Believed, and fhould have had their Tefii- monks Refufed and Rejected ; I fhali I fay reftrain my felfto an Inquifition after, and a compendious Reherfal, of what was either wanting in the Chiefefl ofaqdmoft efteemed among them, towards the rendering them Credible perfons at any Tribunal ^ or what lays and renders them under the Accufa- tion of being Guilty of thofe Crimes, for which they fhould have been accounted difabled from being Lawful and com- petent Witneffes. And to begin with Robert Lucy Efqulre, who in the whole Procefs againft the Bijhop of St. David's appear'd and Acted in the Quality and by the ftile of Promoter, z&d whom the Author of theSummaryf^iew, fin order I fuppofe that theArticles which at the Promotion , and by the Malicious Infligation of the faid Lucy, were Exhibited, and unto which theBijhop was called toAnfwer, might feem introduced with the greater Pomp and Solemnity ) describes unto us both by the Heraldry of his Defcent and Birth, as a Son of a former Blfliop of that Dlocefs -, and by the Pa- gentry and Trappings of being Dignified with the Office of Regi- ster of the faid Bifhoprick. But by neither of which in my Opinion, will any part of the Proofs ftand the more recom- mended to the Belief of thofe who are impartial. In that his Father tho having Continued Bijhop in that Sea, about the fpace of 1 8 Years, did not only fuffer the Collegiate Church of Brecnock, and the Palace of Abegvcllly to fall into Decay and Ru- in but alfo Lived in a woful and Culpable Omlffon of many of the direct and important, as well Sacred as other Duties of his Office, thro' negle&ing during all that time to Require and oblige the Cannons Refidentiaries of the Cathedral Church of St. David's, to keep and obferve fix Mounths Yearly Refidence on their Canonarles, as by the Statues of the faid Church is Provided and Ordained^nd more efpecially by his having whol- ly and' altogether Forlorn and forgotten the Calling any of 1 thofe ( 22 ) thofe placed under his Epifcopal Care, to a Renewal of their Baptifmal Covenant, and confequently having never Admini- ftred the Ordinance of Confirmation. Which, (without the mentioning feveral other things in that Bijhops Prelatical be- haviour and conducl, that yvould.be more detractive from the Good efteem which Humanity, as well as Chriftian Chari- ty, do teach Pofterity to preferve for thofe Deceafed, that bore his Character ) do fo far at leaft Darken, if not Sully the Glory and Splendor of his Memory, that Robert Lucy upon the be- ing Recorded for his Son, will not either have his Reputation in the Quality of Promoter in the Procefs againfl Bijhop Wat- fon thereby much Encreafed; nor they who Hand unprepof. fefTed and indifferent Vmpiers and Arbiters in reference to thatCaufe, be greatly tempted by that piece of Blazonry, to the giving the readier and more Credit to the Articies, which he FramM and gave in. And then as to his being by the Author of the Summary View, inftalled in the Office of Promo- ter, with the glittering Tinfil about him, and wearing that Fiocco of Regifter of the Bijhoprick of St. David's, he will not even with that Ornamental Title, be reckon'd the more Veracious in what he hath Articulated •, nor will any that are not previoufly Prejudic'd againfl; the Bijhop, believe him affe&ed by thofe Articles, upon the motive of being Accus'd by one that lays claim to the Dignity of Regifter. And that be- caufe as his Title to that Poll, is liable to very juft excep- tions, and the Patent by which he pretendeth to hold it, hath been Queftion'd by the Bijhop ; fo it hath been in Proof, that in the Adminiftration thereof, he hath demanded and ex- acted Arbitrary, 'exceffive and Illegal Fees. Nor can it be reafonably thought, that he fhould have carried himfelf Inno- cently and Uprightly in the Execution of the place of Revi- fter, againfl; whom there are fo many well attefted Infor- mations, of his having during the being Secretary to his Fa- ther, Taken and Received Bribes of and from fuch, who were then Advanc'd to Spiritual Preferments, particularly of Mr. Powel of Gtasbwy the Summ of Twenty Pound, as alfo the like Summ of Mr. Williams of Harmen. Neither can there be any thing more Fully and Legally Proved, than that it was. upon the Provocation, of the Bifhop's having Queftion'd his Patent for Occupying the place of Regifier, and for the ha- ving not only Charg'd him with, and Threatned to proceed Jurif; C *3 ) Jurifdi&ively againft him, for the Extortion of Exorbitant Fees, but for having in punifhment thereof, Sufpended his De- puty, that he the faid Robert Lucy grew fo Incenfed and En- raged'againft the Biflwp, as to become his moft Malicious and Revengeful Enemy. And thereupon, in order to Efcaping, what he knew himfelf Obnoxious to the having Inrli&ed upon him for his own Crimes, he fell upon Recriminating by Accu- sing his Diocefan. And this, he was the more Encouraged un- to, becaufe of the Pique which he knew fome of his Lord- ship's own Order had conceiv'd againft him. So that he doubted not the divertiug a Storm from himfelf, by railing a Tempeft againft the Bifhop. Whereunto might be added, the Anger and Indignation, which he had entertain'd againft the Bifiop, upon his L&rdjhip's Requiring the Refidentrary Canons of the Cathedral CYmrch of St. David\, whereof two are Brothers to Robert Lucy, to Rejide Annually upon their Refpective Cannohries the full time of Six Months, to which the Statutes of that Church do oblige them, and to the Performance whereof they are bound by the Oath/they have Taken, for the Keeping and Obferving of thofe Statutes. For the Bifhop having found them to Live in an open and avowed Breach of their faid Oaths, did thereupon in a Confcientious Difcharge of the Duty of his Place, Firfi Calmly and Temperately advife them to Rejidence, telling them that he would exped it from, and Exad it of them ; and upon obferving them to continue ftill in a negled thereof, and confequently in a Scandalous and£ri- minal violation of their Oaths, he there upon at his Viptation, Anno 1688. Proceeded to . the Sufpending Mr. Thomas Owen and Mr. Thomas Stegnoe, end to the Admonishing ol the Heft. Where- of I dare fay, he is neither afham'd, nor doth in the leaft re- pent, on the Foot of any Moral delinqulncy therein, tho' he cannot avoid being fenfible, that from chence arofe that Ma- lice of Lucy, and of the Cannons againft him, which both gave Tho.Phill. Provocation to the Invention of all thofe Fabulous and Wa-cffi. mous Reponsjby which he hath been defamed, and Occafion'd el>^ 2?e/>c- the Conspiracy of thefe men, and of fuch others as they could fit. Suborn, to Commence the Procefs, on which his Lordjlnps Me- tropolitan, to the Amafement of all the Unbias'd part of man- kind, hath ventured to Depofe him from his Spiritual Office, his Dignity of Baron, and from all the Temporalities, to which ' he flood thereby Entitled and had a Legal Right. Nor are tha ( H ) the things I have mention'd, the only matters £hat have been in proot againft Robert Lucy, for the bringing a jufb Sufpition , .- of Forgery and Falfehood on whatfoever was Articulated at his £«*«. Promotion, there having Probation againft him been further Of- 1699.' fer'd, that he hath ftood publickly Fanfd for the having L*- ved many Tears in Adultery with another Man's Wife. Which tho it may not be efteem'd inconfiftent with his Title of Ffquire, nor fo Detractive from the Veracity of thofe that go under that Denomination, as to render either their Teftimonies wholly Refufable,or altogether to Exclude them from the being admitted Profecutors in Judicial Proceedures, Efpecially confi- dering that a certain perfbn, who fat lately in the Higheft place of Judicature of the Kingdom, for the Adminiftring. Juftice andEquity to theSubje&s, hath been and Hill isReported Guilty of Adulterous, as well as of Common UncleanefTes : Yet it might very well have been Expected, that in a Procefs againft a Bifoop, and efpecially in an Ecclefaflical Court, and before One called a Judge Spiritual, it fhou'd at leaft have had that Influence and Operation, as to have renderM both Him that claimed the being Veiled with the Judicial Power, and Thofe Selected to be his Afftffors, to have been very Tender and Circumfped, how they Decided and Decreed in a Caufe, un- to which a perfon Smutted and Branded with fo horrid a Crime, had not only given the firft Commencement, but had afTumed the whole Conduct and Management of it. Yea there are fuch other Crimes in Proof againft the faid Robert Lucy, ( and thofe attefted by Witmffes, who would have been held unexceptionable in Weftminfter Courts ) that have ftood always accounted to imprefs and leave that difgraceful and Infamous Charader on whomfoeAer they have been Faften'd, that what- foever by the means of thofe men hath been brought under juridical Cognizance, or whereunto they have been found to lend any Support, it hath Immediately ftood Refufed aud Re- jected, upon their appearing Concern'd and Interefted in it. Now the Ignominious Crimesrof this kind and Tintture, where- with Lucy hath been Charged, are, That he hath been Guilty ,T,ho« -of Bribing and Suborning feveral Perfons in this Caufe, to Dc- 2. e'pofe3ind Swear whatfoevor he thought fit to Suggeft and In- ch.' Price timate to them ^ and that he hath Threatened to Ruin fuch as j?epofit, had the Integrity to Refufe to do it. As likewife his having himfelf not only both Adually Received Money, and had Pro- ' mifes (25 ) mifis made Him of further future Rewards, for the undertak- ing the Province and Office of Promoter -, but that likewife di- Verfe Surnms have been Demanded, Collected and Paid unto Him, for the Suflalning and Defraying the Expences of the Profecution. Whereby as vvhatfoever hath been done at his Promotion, either in the Procefs, or in the pretened Judicial Sentence againft the Bi(hop of St. David's, upon any Depofitions made by Witness of his Procuring and Producing, is thro interfering with the Maxims, and the being Irreconcilable to the Rules, which we laid down as Universally agreed upon, to be Indifpenfably Required, become Obnoxious to a very fevere Conftruttion and Cenfure ; fo it is to be hopM that few Perfons will venture to Juflify what the great Metropolitan hath done, after they have Perufed this fhort Detail of the feveral Infamous Crimes, that have been in Proof againft Robert Lucy the Promoter in the fore- men tion'd Caufe. So that having with all the brevity, that the variety and Importance of the things, which I have Named, would admit, made an Inquifition into the Character of Lucy the Promotor ; I fhall in the next place proceed to a detection of the Immor- ral Qualities, and of the blackning and Infamous Crimes, which have been in Proof againft thofe, who were the chief and principal Witnejfes produced for Convicting of the B.fhop of St. David's. And upon the weighing of them in the Scales, Or- dained and Adjufted by thofe, who have Written concerning Judicial Proceedings, and of what is to be Required in fuch, whofe Teftimonies are to be Receiv'd, and for and by reafon of what Deficiencies, or of what Faults and Enormities, either in thofe who Depofe, or in their Depofitions, the Oaths they fhall have Taken, fhall be accounted no otherwife of, than as fo many Perjuries ; and the Informations, they fhall have given upon them, be held and efteem'd no better, than as meer Slaunders and Forgeries -, I fay that upon the weighing of them in thofe Scales, I do not doubt, but that both They, and their Depofitions, will not only appear to want of the Purity and Weight, Required to the rendring either of them Paffable; but that there will be found fuch a Safe and Corrupt Alloy in each, as mould have hindred their Currency and Receivablenejs at any Impartial Bar. And the Firfi of thofe, whofe Character I fhall look into and Examine, fhall be Edward Meyricl, in that he hath not only been brought to Swear in Proof of all the pre- E tended ( 2< ) tended 0 fences and Crimes, whereof the Bijlwp was Accufcd^ but in that he Hands Introduced and Adorned, by the Writer of the Summary View, with the Stile and Title of being Trea- fiirer of the Church of St. David's. And tho' I will neither queftion, nor detract from the Dignity, to which, by Virtue of that Appellation, he may lay claim ; yet I think it no wife either Juft, or Reafonable, that his Depofaions mould have been the more Implicitly Believed, becaufe of his having been Ad- vanced unto, and of his {handing PofTeft. of the foremention'd Office. Seeing I do find in a very Unqneftionable and Authen- tick Record, that a certain Per/on calVd Judas Ifcariot, who by carrying the Bag, was in the Poft and Quality of Treafurer in the Family and Church, over which our Lord Jefus Chrlft, Perfo- nally and immediately Prefided and Govern'd ; and that yet, notwithstanding of the laid Character, he not only Betrafd his ZW and Mailer, but had become Difpofed, and was hurri- ed to the doing it, by the inordinate Love of Money, which he had Contracted, and was grown habituated in, thro' the be- ing in that Place and Employment. And it ought to have Raifed and Eftabliflied a ftrong Sufpicion, that whatever Meyrick took upon him to Depofe in the Brocefs againfl the Bifap of St. David's, was only Calumniouily and Falily In- vented, in order to the Revenging himfelf upon his Diocefan, for the having Admonijhsd him to the Refidence, which the Statutes of the Realm, as well as the Canons of the Church of England, do Require and Oblige unto. For tho' he hath flood pollefs'd within the Bijhoprick of St. David's of the Reclory of Penh air, and of the Vicarage of Langivid, and of the VrecontoY' Pip of ChrifP s*College in Brecknock, as well as of the Treafurer- flup that we have juft now mention'd ; yet he hath not only Shamefnlly and Scandaloufly Omitted the Refiding upon any of them, but hath chofen to Live at Carmarthen for feveral Years, without Vifuing his Cures, unlefs upon motives of In- terefi, more than of Duty. It being enough for one of his Ec- clefiaftical and Political Latitude,toReap the Profits and Emolu- ments, to which the Law of the Land gives him a Right, up- on his having the Titles of Reclor, VicPr, Precentor, and Trea- furer, without the being any ways Confciencioufly careful to perform what is Incumbent upon him by the Obligations of his Sacerdotal Office. And as by thefe Negletls he hath (hewep! himfelf a Priefi on whom the Commands hnd Injunctions of our C 27 ) our Lord Jefus Chrift, have very little Influence and Power, and whofe Word and Oath mould therefore be had in fmal] Efteenij fo the continuiug in the forefaid Omrjfions, after his having been Admonijljed to Refidence by his Diocefan, hath rendred him Guilty of the Breach of his Oath of Canonical O- bediencc, as well as of his Oath of Refidence ; and fliould have confequently made his Swearing of no fignificancy or weight, in any Judicial Court whatfoever. Efpecially it fliould have caufed the great Metropolitan, and thofe who were Affeffors unto him in the Procefs againil the Bijhop of St. David's, to have Refufed and Rejected all the Informations, ('even had the things informed of, been in themfelves truej that were brought before them upon his Teftimony. But pofllbly there are fome people, who thro' being Confcious, how tRat antecedently to the Superceding and Abrogating of certain Oaths by any new Laws, they themfelves had lived and A&ed, not only in negledl; of thofe Duties, to the per- formance whereof they had folemnly Swore ; but had been openly and avowedly Guilty of the Perpetration of things, at leaft Conftrudtively Repugnant to the Obligation of thofe then unabolifhed and undifcharged Oaths ; may have thereupon preferved a favourable opinion of Meyrich Reputation .and Credibility, notwithftandingof the Accufation that was brought in Proof againil him, of his having lived in the Breach of his Oaths of Canonical Obedience and of Refidence. Whereas as I think there mould a mighty difference be put, at leaft in point of Infamy, between the Breach of the Oaths ( which I have barely intimated, and that with all the Modefty and Re- fervednefs imaginable, ) and the Violation of thofe, whereof Meyrick hath been no lefs Scandaloufly, than Criminally Guil- ty. For tho in order to the preparing Men for the being qua- lified to be forgiven and accepted of God, it may be needful to invite and call fuch to Repentance, who are thought to have taken His name in Vain; who will not hold them Cniltnefs that do it-7 yet neither Divine, nor Humane Laws do exact of us, that we mould account of them as perfons become too Infamous to be Believed at Juridical Tribunals. In that there may have been fuch Proviflons made in the Fundamental Rules of Agreement, upon which Communities came to be Eftablifhed, as in the Opinions of fome ( efpecially when under the power of Angry Refentments for fuppofed Illegal Wrongs and In- E 2 juries ( 28 ) juries done unto them ) may ferve in certain particular Cafes, to give a Difpenfation to thofe who are Ruled, from the Du- ties that would be other wife Incumbent upon them to fuch as are their Rulers. And tho' in the Claming of this A6fo- lution from the Offices of Fealty and Loyalty, which the Laws feem to require of them, they mould be known to have grofe- ly Miftook and Erred, thro' fuffering their Lulls and Pafficns to impofe on their Underftandings, and Debauch their Con- ferences \ yet it wou'd be of too fatal Confequcnce both to Civil Conftitutions, and to the Adminiftration of Juftice in Nations and Kingdoms, to have all fuch brought under that degree of Infamy, as to be held Sequeftred and difabled from being Legal and Competent Witneffes. So that as I do not by the forgoing Obfervation, intend in the leaft to detradt from the Veracity of his Grace the Arch-Bifoop of Canterbury, in what he mail either Affirm, or Deny, whether in Common Converfation, or on his Judicial Seat} fo I am far fromdefigning to fa/ten an Univerfal Imputation of Jnjufike upon his Juri- dical Acts } but the whole that the foremention'd Reflection is Calculated for, is only, to intimate, that it is not impolfrV ble for perfons of Integrity and Uprighnefs who under the Influence of Principles , and in order to Ends, which Honeft Men may have imbib'd, and think they do not amifs in pur- fuing have Lapfed into Failures, to be therupon carried to Judge too favourably of grofs and flagrant Crimes, meerly becaule of their having fome remote and faint Alliances, with the Trefpaffes, which themfelves had fallen into. Even tho? thereby noExcufes or Palliations are at hand for extenuating' the Guilt of the latter ; whereas there may be falfe Colours in View, wjiich may in fome mealure cover the Criminalnefs of the former. But if what I have already faid, be not fuf- ficient to Blafl the Reputation and Credibility of Mcyrick, for the being accounted a good and Legal Witnefs in the Cafe of the Bijbop of St. David's; I have that further to offer and re- prefent concerning him, which according to all the Provilions and Rules Eftablilhed in Civil and Municipal Laws, in refer- ence to Perfons bearing that Character, muft render him too Infamous to be Believed in any thing he fays or Swears ata- ny Tribunal whatfoever. And that is, its having been ten- der'd in Proof againlt Him, that in an Anfwer upon a ^judicial Oath to a Bill Exhibited in the Court of Exchequer againlt him Anno 1 69 5 j ( *9 ) Anxoi69$,he did then and thereFortfwear himfelf 'before Sirjohn joh. f- Bowel, who was at that time one of the Barons of the faid vans De- Court. Of which Perjury of Meyrkk\ tho' the full Hiftory^' . , muft be Adjourned ,untill all the Proceedings againft thcBiJhop of p]f0ft^' St.Z>Jhop of St. David's he took upon him to Swear, that the faid Bijhop had Simoniacally preferred his Nephew Mr. John Adedley to diverfe Ecclefiaftkal Dignities and particularly to the Arck-De- conry of St. Davids, yet that he the faid Meyrick, hath in a Letter or Paper, which he deliever'd to the Bijhop Written with his own Hand, plainly Contradi&ed and renoune'd whatfo- ever he hath Depofed upon Oath in that matter. The Memoire whereof in brief is this, that Meyrick had not 'only Snggefted to one John Cutlyn, who was then Chaplain to the Bifiop that his Lordflnp was a Simonifl, and had Simoniacally preferred Med- ley, hoping thereby to have begotten in Catlyn an unworthy Opw+ • ( 3i ) Opinion of his Matter, and thereupon to have drawn him to unite and Co-operate in the GtM-axy, that had been reveng- fully contrived, and was malicioufly Carrying on againft the Bijhop of St. David's) but that he the faid Meyrick hath alfo Judicially Dcpofed upon Oath, that he Believes it" to be True, that the Bijhop dkt Collate Mr. Medley to the Ank-Deacdnryof St. Da- vid V, for his the faid Biflwfs oven advantage, in that and Bifiop, his Agents, or Colletlors, did for fome con- Jiderable time, both Receive the yearly Rents, of the Corps of the faid Arch-Deaccnary, and alfo the Lidutlon Fees, and the Procurations due from the Cte gy thereof \ and that he alfo Believes it to be 'True that the Bificp took a Bond of 200 /. from John Medley at the time of his Collation to the faid Arch-Deaconry ; and that he lihwife fur- ther Bclkves, if Mr. Medley had received the prvfits of the Arch' JDeconry, he would have been in a better Condition, than ever he appeared unto him to be : I lay that notwithflanding of all here recited, which Meyrick hath Depofed upon Oath, yet he hath in a Paper Written with his own hand, Dated May 21, KJ91 and deliver'd by himfelf unto the Bijhop pofitivly Declared as in the pre fence of God, that he knew of no Bonds given by Mr. Medley unto his Lord flip, either by reafon of that Preferment or up- on any other account whatfoever, but that as he had Recommended Mr, Medley, to his Lordflrips favour for the Arch-Deconry of St. David's, believing him to be capable of the faid Dinnity ', Jo hisre- Jpetts to Mr. Medley, were everfutable to that opinion of him } and that he hop'd no honesl-man 4>r Chriflian would believe him Guilty of fuch bafe Scandals and Slanders upon, and againjl his LordJItip, Which tho the great Metropolitan, as well as fome who were Affeffors unto him in the Proceedings againft the Bijhop of St. David's have plainly and undeniably done ; yet I will no ways by reafon thereoffventure to faften the Imputation upon them, of being neither Honcfi nor Christians, tho Meyrick doth what lyes in him, for expoflng them to that reproach. However I cannot upon this occafion forbear faying, that I am the lefs furprized, that One of thofe Right Reverend Affeffors, mould preferve an Opinion of the Credibility of a Witnefs, trio' ap- parently Guilty of Swearing, as well as of Declaring Contra- dictions , in that He himfelf (without Prejudice as he hopes to his Veracity) hath taken the liberty both of Speaking and of Acting Contradictor aly in a matter and Cafe of a verfgreat Impor- ( 3* ) tance, and in which plainnefs and Integrity ought to have been ufed, and were accordingly Expected. That which I am about to fay is, that whereas Dr. Burnet ( who is now Bi- Jlwp of Sarum J in a Letter from, the Hague, bearing date June 20. 1687 to my Lord Middleton, did as a Prieft, and bycon- ftru&ion in verbo Sacerdotus, folemnly promife and Declare, That he would to the la ft moment of his Life, yay all Duty and Fide- lety to his MajeHy King James 2d. Yet that he hath fince the Revolution, not only avowed, but gloried in it, that he was both at the time of the date of the faid Letter, and had for a confiderable feafon antecedently thereunto, been Employ'd in Perfwading the then Princefs of Orange to Confent to the In- vafion of the King her Father s Dominions, and to the Defofing him from his Royal Dignity and Throne. However notwithstanding either the Honourablenefs of that Precedent, or Meyrick's having had his Tefiimony Received and Allowed, after that the foremen- tion'd Contradictions, had been Offer'd in Proof againft him ; yet I will take the boldnefs to fay, that upon his liablenefs to that Exception, his Depofition both fhould, and would have been Refufed, in any Impartial Court whatfoever. Seeing that as it is altogether impoffible, that Both Parts of a Con- tradiction mould be True ; fo it hath been always agreed upon, and common Senfe Teacheth it, that he who in a matter of Fad doth equally both Affirm and Deny, is to be BelievM in reference to neither, but as I faid before in the words ofCiceroy is to be held Pro Teftimonio ejfe Mentitum. So that having Reprefented Meyrick as well as his Qualities and Practices, for adapting him to be a Legal Witnefs, would give me leave, and having left him with a Tekel upon him, and fhew'd him to be altogether Incompetent for the having Faith given unto his Depofitions ; I am in the nex* place to proceed to the bringing one more of that Scandalous, as well as nu- merous Herd and Gang, to the Scale in which I have Weigh- ed the Former, and if J-ck> not greatly miftake, he will be found to want not only Grains but Ounces, to the rendring his Tefiimony Current and Receivable at any Judicial Tribunal. And the Perfin whofe Character! am to give, for Difablinghlm from Defofwg in any Caufe whatfoever, and for making him appear Unqualified in Law for the being Believed either upon his Word or Oath, is One Jeremiah Griffin an Ecclefia/lick j who ftands Cloathed with many Spiritual Titles, ariiing unto him from ;- (33) from his great variety of Church Preferments. For befides his Diminutive Appellation of being Mafer of the Free-School of Brecknock, by vertue whereof, he not only Enjoy'th a confider- able Eftablilhed Salary -, together with the ufe and Benefit of a convenient Houfeto Dwell in -, and is alfo a plentiful Gainer by the Penlions and Gifts, which Liberal and Generous Gen- tlemen, who are Parents or Guardians, to the Youth placed under his Care and Education, do beftow upon him ; (and whofe Children, or pupills, I hope he doth better Inflrud in the Ac- cidencc and Syntax, than he proveth Excmflary unto them in Morals) he is likewife both Rettor of Dijferth, and Vicar and 2V,s Converfation. Forafmuch as it hath been offer'd/Vz proof againft him, that he hath not only and that of late years, been often fc en fliamc fully Drunk, to the great reproach and difgrace of his Charatler, as well as of his Perfon, among Country people who are not fo good Logicians as to diftinguijh between the Pricft and the Man, but that he hath alfo been^ and ftill is, generally Sufpcded, and publickly F 'am' 'd to be guilty of the horrid and abominable Crime of Adultery ; which is both fuch a heynous enormity in it felf, and of that mifchievous confeqnence to Families and Inheritances, that upon fuch mens being guilty of it as have mini/hed at the Altar, the inferiour and unthinking multitude of all Religions, have been tempted to thing the worfe of the very worfhip and ordinances of God. ' Nor is it unworthy of remark, that as the only perfons made obnoxious to death, by the Divine Laws given to the Jcu.fi} Republick, as well as Cl:urch, for iingle Fornication, were they who were the Daughters of Pri efts-, fo the only Reafon afligned for the Sub- jecting of them, in contradiitincrion from others, to fo fevere a punifhment as not meei ly to be Executed, but to be Burnt evit' with Fire, is becaufe that thro profaning themfclves, in playing the Harlots, they had thereby likewife profarPd their Fathers , whereof the natural Interpretation and paraphraie is, that they had info doing expofed the Perfons and Office of their Fathers to contempt. Nor may it be amifs, upon this oc-. cafion to fay, that as the Law given immediately by God to the Jews, whofe Government was a direct Theocracy, made ■all perfons convitled of Adultery; fubjetl to death ; fo both the Civil .( 35 ) Civil Law, and the eftablifhed Cuftorn among Barbarous Nations Lib. $«. which was equivalent to Law ( as particularly among the Quamvis Vandals) made thofe who were proved Guilty of \ that Crime, S*1, c* liable to the fame penalty. And that it is not fo by the je ^'J,"/ 'Municipal Laws of Nations profefling Chriftianity, made Julius Clarus fay, that eft urius ex abuftbus, in quibus Christiana Refp. Lib. <;. indiget Reformat ione, It is one of thofe evil Omlffions and neglects, dement, which Christian Kingdoms and States ought to Rectify and Redrefs. -Adulter. But tho at prefent, Adultery by our Laws be neither punifhable with Death, nor lay Perfons who are notorioufly known to be Guilty of it, accounted to become thereupon Infamous-, yet one of thofe who were Affffyrs to the Afetropolitan in the proceedings againfl: the Bijhop of St. David's might have not only known, that as by the Laws of his own Country, namely of Scotland, no Infamous perfons are admitted ' to be either Sum. Acrufcrs or iVitncffes ; but have been likewife InformM that MDuim Adulterers are both reckon'd among thofe whom their Laws, \'u *fy account' Infamous, and who arealfo expreflly difabled from being sut. %>v. received as Legaliyitjuffefs. rAnd moreover tho' it be other wife i.Cap. w among us, and that Lay perfons notwithstanding their being Charged with Crimes of that kind, are neverthelefs allowed to maintain their wonted and refpe&ive Figures in the World, and to preferve that Reputation among men, as to have Faith given unto their Teftimouies, yet it might very well be ex- pected, that if one who is a Priest and Called to Ministry a- bout holy Things, {hall not only be publickly Fam'd, but have it Offer' d in* proof against him, thatheliveth under the imputa- tion and Scandal of fuch a Crime, he Ihou'd immediately, especi- ally in an Ecclefiaslical Court, and before a Judge Spiritual, be held and accounted too Infamous to be Believed in any thing he fays or Swears. Nor would it in this Cafe have been un- worthy of their Remembrance, that even Pope Sixtus Quintm For preferving the honour of the City of Rome, did Anno 1 586 publifh an Ordinanc or Bull by which Adulteries commit- ed in that City, were Punilhed even with Death. For as Acti- ons Morally Evil, receive their Aggravation from the Objects, and the Relation that Offenders itand in towards Them; fo that what is but AfTault and Battery upon an Ordinary Perfon, is Treafon on the Prince ; and th.it from thence arifeth the In- finity of the Guilt of Sin, and the Demerits of Eternal punifh- meat, becaufe of its being commiued againfl One of infinite F 2 Being ( 3* ) Being and Perfe&ions, and who is withall our Creator, Owner, Benefa&or, Father, Lord and King,whereby itacquireth ■a Moral Infinity, tho' it do ftill remain Entitatively and Phy- fically Finite^ fo the nearer that any do Hand unto God by reafon of their Fun ft Ions, the more Infamous, as well as Crimi- nal do they become, by the having it tendered in proof againft them, that they Live inGrofs and Scandalous Olfences. And tho' their Crimes do no ways detract from the Dignity and Honourablenefs of their Sacred Office, yet they themfelves, are rendered more obnoxious to juft contempt and Infamy, than others accufable of the fame Crimes would be. And that the Quality of perfons by reafon of their Functions, doth not only always give an Aggravation unto Crimes, but is often allowed, to Change ( as it were ) the very nature of them, fo as to make that for example a Capital offence in One ; which is only punifhable with Fine and Imprlfonment in an other ; is re- ceived and eftablifhed every where for fuch an univerfal Mea- fure of Juftice, that what by our Laws is called only a Mis- demeanour in private Perfons, is in diverfe Inftances made Treafon in fuch as are Veiled with Judicial Authority, or who are En trailed ( as we commonly ftile it ) with the keeping of the Confcience of their Soveraign. Upon which we do not only frequently meet with it in the bell Authors, but in the very Imperial Laws, that what is meerly Furtum in aliis, Bare Theft in others, is Latrocinum in Judicibus, Buglary and the worft of Robberies, in thofe who are Judges. But if all hitherto men- tion'd, be not more than enough for rendering this Griffith unworthy the having been admitted for a Creditable and Le- gal Witnefs, I have that further to add for Blading his Reputa- tion, as an Evidence, that even the Author of the Summary View^ will hardly afliime the confidence to vindicate him, and to affirm him qualified to Depofe in a Juridical Court. Tho' I per- ceive that Writer, to be a perfon of more than ordinary im- pudence, as well as of Chicanery, being in all likelihood one of them, ( which I do not intend as any Refle&ion on the many Learned and Virtuous men of that noble Science and profeffi- Amu Lib, on ) of whom Tacitus fays, nee quldquam publico mercls tarn v not only meer Inventions and forgery ^but that the feid Meyrick himfelf had by word, writing, and Oath Renounced and Contradicted it in every Van, Branch and Article the:- rof. By which as Meyrick appeareth to bean In- famous and Perjur'd Slanderer ^ fo we have thereby fully ma- nifefted and Confirmed unto us, that all the Proceeding againft the Bijhop of DaoU\ were founded in a Confpiracy, that had been Form'd and Concerted for the Difgracing and Ruin- ing-of him. Towards the further proving of which, I fhall go on to the Producing of an other Wanefs whom there were not only Endeavours uied to Suborn and Bribe, to Depofe and Teslify, againit the Bijhop, but who was likewife Menaced and Threat- md for Refupag to Swear to what they had Dictated unto and and in effedt drawn up for him. The perfon I am to men- tion, is one Mr. Thomas Williams, Vicar of St. Harmon in the County of Radnor and Diocefs of St. David's, whom they not only accofted and attacqu'd upon the Intention, and to the End I have Suggefted, but on whom they were fo Succefsful as by thefe Villanous means to Prevail with him to Write and Subfcribe a Paper Anno. 1694. in which he Accufed the Bifhop of divers Corrupt and III Practices -, but who coming afterwards to be convinced of the great Sin he had committed againft Cod, and of the horrid Wrong and Injuflice which he had done the Bifiop, did thereupon not only Confefs and Declare unto his ( 48 ) his Lordfhif, how heynoufly he had Injured him, begging with earneft- nefs and Humility that he might be Forgiven ', but he likewife by repeated Depofitions upon Oath, both accquited and Vindicated the Bifhop from being Guilty of the Offences, with which upon the impertunity and Subordination of ether s, he had falfely as well as Seandaloujly Charged him ; and withal Sacredly ajfirm'd and De- clared, that he Beleved his Lordjhip to be of a Uriel and So- ber Life, and t« have Liv'd regularly in his Family. Adding alfo thereunto a Difcovery and Dete&ion both of the Men and of the Method?*, by whom and which he had been drawn to the perpetration of the abominable Crime of Accufwg the Bifhop no lefs unrighteoufly, than Scandaloufly. And feeing a brief Relation of what Williams hath Sworn to the foremen- tion'd purpofe, may ferve both to Let the Reader into a ful- ler Knowledge of that Myftery of Wickednefs and injuftice, which hath been carried on againft the Bifhop of St. David's, and alio give a further difcovery, of the Confpiracy that hath been Entred into againft his Lord/hip, I (hall therefore Indea- vour to give it as Compendioufly as I can. Nor will it be neceflary to Premife any large account, how Thomas Williams had become provok'd againft the Biflwp, and thereupon came to be thought hy the Confpirators to be a proper Perfon for them to Apply unto, in hope of Enveigling him to Turnfuch a WHnefs againft his Lordjhip, that in order to the being re- venged, he mould be ready to Depofe any thing that fhould be Dictated unto him; in that the wThole needful to be faid for our being fufficiently enlightned ^therein may be reduced into a very narrow Room. Namely, that his Father, who had been Vicar of Lanarenvour in the County of Brecknock, coming to Die, he the faid Thomas Williams did thereupon apply unto, and follicite the Bifhop, for the obtaining his Lordjhip's Grant of that Living, being withall countenanced and fupported in his Requeft by the Recommendations of fome Noble Perfons, who Interceeded in his Behalf -, but that the Bijliop having not only previoufly Promifed it to another, in cafe it fhould become void in his time ; but having likewife obliged himfelf to a Gen- tleman of the Parifh, not to Collate the So», if the Father died he ftood thereby,and was there upon fo preingaged and bound up, that without the Confent of both thofe Parties, it was not in his Lordjlrip'sFower either to GranfyW;lliams,ov to Comply with the De fires of the Noble Perfons who had Interelted themfelves in (49) in his Favour. And both the Two foremention'd Panics in- filling on the Promifes that had been made unto them, and Mr. Howel Griffith, to whom the Biflop had given his word for Collating him unto it, Challenging his Lordflips Performance there- of, he^was indifpenfably obliged*to CW/*w him, and accord- ingly did. At which Williams growing fo Provoked and En- raged, as not only to oppofe and keep out the Bi flops Clerk, till the Law removed th» Impediments, but to take all occasions of exprejfwg how much he thought himfelf injured by the Bl- ' flop, the Conspirators thereupon took the Advantage of Williams's Paflion and Anger ( under the Power of which as Cicero fays, nihil retle, nihil confiderate fieri poteft) and flattering themfelves Offic. Lib. with hopes that he might be made Minifterial unto them in '• the defign in which they were Combined againft the Biflop, they applied themfelves unto him to Suborn him. In the ma- nagement whereof they made it their firfb bufinefs to Calum- nate and Defame his Lordflip, and having as they thought fuf- ficiently Blacken'd him, their next was by Promifes and Threat- ning to prevail with Williams to undertake the Swearing of thofe things againft him, which they had Invented and Forg- ed . For Williams hath not only Depojed upon Oath, that Lucy Williams Revrefented the Biflop unto him, for a Swearer, an Extortioner', the Bp's and the being fuch a Villain and Monfler in Nature, as that he was wo 41, Witn. ways fit to be a Biflop, and that he had fever al Perfons to produce, who could give fuch Informations againfl him, as would caufe his being Turn'd out oj% his Bifloprick } but he likewife Depofeth how that, the faid Lucy in conjunction with Jeremiah Griffith had perfwaded and Suborned him to fay, that in order to his prevailing with the Biflop to Collate him to his Father's Living, he had left with and Given unto him the Sitmm of 8 /. And that by way of Encouragement unto him^ to faflen the having delivered the faid Sum into the Biflops hand, they not only njfured him of being, both protetled from Swearing it, and covered from all the Jnconveniencies, which he might fear the being made obnoxious unto, upon his accufing the Biflop with the Receipt of of it ; but that he flould acquire great Friends, and be fpeedily raised to preferments. And that accordingly Lucy and Griffith, upon his the faid Williams1* application' unto the m, for the having theRetlory of Cregrian in the County of Radnor bejiowd upon him, did by their writing to Dr. Oxenden in his behalf, obtain for him both a Sequeftra* tion of th^t Rectory, and a Licence to jerve the Cure. But that his the faid Williams'* Information againfl the Biflop before the Com- H mijfioners (■<*> •■>•. m'ljfioners for v> firing the Diocefs of St. David V, not coming up to et pofitive 7 a fining of the forementiorPd Summ upon his Lordfhip ; Lucy had therefore not only denied to deliver unto him the Infir anient s for the Sequefiration and Licence, tho' the Fees for them had before been atlually Paid ; but thrufl him out of his Office when he went to de- mand them, telling him that he fiiould have neither, untill he drew a:ing and Argumentation, as the Conjuration againft the Bijhop remains Declared and demonftrated, beyond thepofll- bility either of Evafion or Reply \ fo we learn from feveral x>f them, by what means and Methods, and in what manner, the Confpirators came to mufter fuch a Troop of Witncffes a- gainft his Lordfljip. And as the Promoter and his principal Agents, upon what hath been faid, cannot efcape falling under the Character of being Infamous wretches, as well as a fet of Mifcreants, againft whofe malice and Conjuration none can be cover'd and fhelterM by their Innocency •, fo we have a very odd Idea not only given us of fome perfons, whom I forbear to name, by reafon of their having dipt and been involved too far, in diverfe of thefe unrighteous and Scandalous facts and Methods, but that even they who did either take upon them to A& Jurifdi&ively, or Judicially to affif% in a Procefs which had been contrived, and was fupported in the manner and by the means, that I have Related, ought not to be offended, for having their proceedings Reflected upon, with more than or- dinary Severity. But tho the Combination againft the Bijhop *of St. David's, may by moft of thofe who fhall read this Difcourfe, be thought to be more than fufficiently demonftrated ; yet when I both confider of what pernicious Confequence, all Confpiracies ( what- soever they are) may prove to the peace and fafety of Man- kind ( 57 ) kind in general ; as well as to the Reputation, Fortune, and Life of this or- that Man in particular -, and that as falfe Accufers are Germs homirmm publico exitio repertum, & panis nuncjttam fatis Tacit- Coercitum, A foi t of Mi fori ants fram'd and prepared for the i?itro~ An* 4- during and caitfvng of publick Ruine, and whom no Enatled PmmJIj- ments have been effectual enough to deter and refrain ; and that this alfo is mos vulgo, quamvis Falfis Reumfubdere, ufual for the herd Td.cit.HijL and Bulk of the People to believe fuch to 'be Guilty as are Accufed, lib. 2. tho Charged never fo Wrongfully, and that they who Calumnioufly defame and afperfe them are commonly ea duritia osis, ut de- Senec u pudere di dicer int, of fuch a Brazen Countenance, and feared Confcience SereK' that they can neither outwardly Blu(h, nor inwardly be aflyamed; I fay that on the confideration of thefe things, I fhall afliime the Liberty of purfuing this Article a little further, in mowing how the Confpirators had been guilty of the Villany and Im- pudence, both of getting the Biflwp Accufed of Crimes, which were acknowledged afterwards in effedt to have been mecrly Invented and Forged ; and alfo of Suborning thofe for Witneffes to Swear unto the Truth of them, whofe Depofit ions they were in a little time forced to abandon and give up as the meer Perjuries of infamous Rafcals. And hereof I fhall give two no lefs undeniable, than remarkable Inftances. Of which the firft is, that one William Perkins was Suborned to Swear at the Metro- political Vifitation' held at Brecknock, that having obtained from Bijliop Lucy Predeceffor to the prefent Bijlwp a Leafe for 3 Lifts of certain Tenements of l,ands calVd the Treafury near St. Da- vid'-f.' And there being One of the Three (whofe Name was in the Leafe) dead, that he the faid Perkins, had thereupon, Repair d to Biflwp Watfbn, for the Renewing of the Leafe, with the Addition of another Life in it ; and that having unto that End, put the Leafe Granted by Bifiop Lucy, into the Hands of Biflwp Watfon ', How he the faid Bijhop Watfon, inftead of Granting unto him what he defird, had not only affirmed it to be a void Leafe, and accordingly put it into his Pocket, and detained it from Perkins, but had Granted a Lfafe of 'the forementiori 'd Tenements, to another, viz. to one William Williams. Whereof, cou'd the Bijhop have been prov'd Guilty, all Men muft have acknowledg'd it to have been, as well an Ad of Fraud, Treachery, and Injuftice unto, as of great Oppreflion upon Perkins. So that it was no Mervail, that the then Bijiiep of St. Afaph, (now of Worcefier) who was one of the Vifitors, fhould have declared it to be the worft thing I alled£d ( 58 ) alledg'd at that Vifitation, againft the Bijhop of St. David*/. And therefore, as the Confpirators had defign'd it for one of the moft Material Articles, upon which they had Combined to get the BiJJoop Convi&ed and Deprived ; fo not only Edmund Merrick, William Ford, and Peter Lewis, prevoufly endeavour'd, through SseibtAn- becoming Vouchers thereof, to fupport Perhnsh Veracity and Hail Th." Credit, in the having Depofed and Sworn it: But Lucy, the Roberts, Promoter, made it alfo, one of thechiefelr, and moffc princi- *wiHen. pie Interrogatories, upon which in the courfe of the Procefs, Harris, ^feveral were Examined. But the Bi Jhop having not only been Inter. 6. f0 fortunate, as both to Recover the old Leafi, of which he was accufed to have Defrauded and Robb'd Perkins ; but alfo to find, that it had on a valuable Confideration, been AJfignd by Perkins himfelf, unto Williams: and having been likewife Thomas inabled to prove the Truth and Reality of the faid Ajjignation, Roberts, ^ jiverfe reputable Witneffes; the 4 Promoter and his ^Agents, ulJur- were thereupon, "fore'd to abandon, and forbear the Infilling upon it, as an Article in the Accusation, on which the Bijhop came to be Sentenced. .However, I have not only reafon to hope, but I may challenge it as a Juftice from Mankind, that having heard all that hath been Related of Perkins** Informa- tion againft the Bijhop, and "by whom he was both gain'd unto it, and who were the Vouchers thereof, as well as of his Cf edit, they mould after that, give no Faith to any thing whatfo- ever, which the very bell of the Confpirator\ WknefTes have been brought to Depofe and Swear in his Defamation, and to his Prejudice. For as we have declared before from the Civi- lians, that the Reputation of every Witnefs who hath appear'd in that Cawfe, is greatly detracted from, and the Truth of what they Depofed, become juftly fufpefted, and made very queftionable, becaufe of the Subornations ufed towards, and by reafon of the undeniable Perjuries, whereof fome of that Number are found Guilty : So no Faith ought to h'ave been given to the Teftimony even of fuch, upon whom the like Villanies, neither are, nor can be evidently faflned ; it being enough to invalidate their Evidence that nofcuntur ex Sociis. But there remains yet a Second Inltance, both of the Malice and Impudence of the Confpirators, and of the certainty of a Conjuration that had been concerted and form'd, for Dif- ■ gracing and Ruining the BJhop-, and that is. the having af- perfed him with, and accufed him of Capital, as well as of In- famous ( S9 ) famous Crimes, which coming to appear to be their own meer and audacious Forgeries, they were likewife forc'd to relin* quilh the infilling upon, and the great Metropolitan necefli- tated alfo, to Omit the mentioning of them, among the Of- fences he was pleasM to aflign, as the Reafonsof his Decretory Sentence. And as the Relating of theF*ff, cannot fail of raid- ing Indignation againft the Promoter and his Agents, in the Minds of all who are Upright and Impartial ; fo it will be im- poffible, but that they who deferve thofe Characters, will find themfelves oblig'd to believe, That nothing fave the Confi- dence, which the Confpirators had of the Prepoficflion and Par- tiality, as well as of the Favour of thofe, before whom the Trocefs was to -lie, could have given them the Boldnefs of Calumniating the Bifhop, with fuch horrid Crimes, which at the fame time that they accufed him of them, they knew to be falfe, as having themfelves invented them. In the giving an Account whereof, I fhall be fo Candid, as to take it from the Interrogatories, which were agreed upon, and appointed to be made to fuch, as were producM for Witness in the Precefs, and who were brought .to Depofe in Favour of the Bifhop. Namely, That one Constable, a Servant of the BifhopV, of whom his Lordfoip had borrowed Money, and had given a Bill, Note, or . Bond, for the Payment thereof: Coming to fall Sick at St. David'/, Anno. i<588, the Bifhop thereupon, and while his Servant was in that Condition, did take away the faid Bill or Bond, and ufed that Violence in the doing of it, as to have bothfo Kicfc't and Kneeled up- on him, that the poor Man did not live long after', and that in the Interim during his Sicknefs, the Bifhop took no Care of him, nor either left, or ordered any Money to be disbursed for, and about him. The plain and natural Meaning of all which, and the evident Defign of the Confpirators therein, was not only the getting the Biflwp Defanfd, as one guilty of Murder^ as well as of Robbery, but to have brought his Life into Danger, if they could have procured WitneiTes for the proving of thefe Crimes upon him. Whereas, inftead thereof, it is Depofed and Sworn by John Hall, one of the Vicars Choral of St. David 'j, That the ie^ I9< faid Conftable having fallen Sick at his Ho'ufe, was removed to the ad Interr. Houfe of one Elizabeth Parry, where, by Venue, and in Purfuance of an Order given by the Bifhop to David George, another of the Vi- cars Choral, of the fame Cathedral, he was through the Inftruclion, Care, and Command of the faid George, well and tenderly looFt I 2 after. (*o) after. And that as the Diflemper whereof he Died, was a Feaver ; fo whatfoever Money Con (table had, it was left, Bequeathed, and Given by himfelf, to the forementiorfd David George. So that from what hath been now Related, we have all the Evidence before us that the Matter will bear, That there had been a Malicious Conspiracy form'd, and enter'd into, both for the Difgracing of the Bijhop of St. David's, and for the getting him Deprived. And as that alone, is fufficient for begetting an ill Opinion of the whole Procefs, and enough to render all the Proceedings againft him obnoxious, to a very fevere'Cenfure; fo I am forry to be forc'd to add, That fuch who had not only failed in the Proof of the Crimes I have mcntioued, with which they had both publickly afperfed thai Prelate, and had caufed diverfe Perfons to "be judicially examin'd, in order to the faftning them criminally upon him, fhould neverthelefs, preferve that Efteem with, have that Influence upon, and ob- tain that Credit to be given unto them by the Grand Metro- politan, as to be able to draw him to the pronouncing fuch a Sentence againft a Comprovincial Bijhop, as he hath done. Where- as, upon the Ankle that I lafl mention'd, the Promoter and his Agents, would both by the fudaick and Roman Laws, (and the Want of the like Provifion, is a Defed in ours) have been punifhed inftead of the Bijhop, and have had the Penalty In- flicted upon them, which by accufing his Lordfhip of the fore- nam'd Offences, they had endeavour'd to bring upon him. Bent. 19. Seeing it (lands not only ordain'd in the Divine Law, That if 1 l9' one hath Teflified falfiy again fi his Brother, it pall then be done un- to him, as he thought to have done unto his Brother: But it was alfo appointed by the Lex Rhemia among the Romans, ut qui crimen intenderet, quod pfobare non poflet, poenam ferret, quarri laturus erat Reus, (i convictus fuiflet ; That, whofoever charged another with Crimes, whereof he could not prove him to be Guilty, how in that cafe, the Accufer jJoould be made obnoxious to the fame Punifiiment, which the Perfon accufed,' would hav. been ly- able unto, had he been legally and judicially convicted of them. And therefore 'there are Two Remedies provided in the Civil Law, for hindering Perfons from being caufelefly and unjuftly profe- euted:, whereof as the Firfi is, That the Profecutor Jhail find Sureties for his carrying on, and making good the fever al Articles Lib. ?. H. charged upon the Party whom he Accufeth. So the Second was,- That de Acmf. ad Talionts pcenam fe obligabat in cafum calumnise ; in cafe of his ( 6i ) his being found to have calumniated him, he Jljould fiand oblig'd to undergo the fame Pun/foment, which he whom he had Accufed, if' Conviiled, would have been fubjetl, and obnoxious unto. And as we have in the foregoing Inftance, an Example Revived unto, and fet before us of the antient, villainous Delatores Falfe Informers, on whom the Hiftorian (as I Paid before) hath left the infamous and indelible Brand, that they were Ge- nus hominum' publico exitio refer turn, a Sett of Aiifcr cams, en- 'tacit. An. couraged and made ufe of, to the Difgrace of Juflicc, and the Sub- Lib. 4. verfion of the End of Laws, as well as in order to the Deflroying of the mo ft- Innocent, Virtuous, and the Beft Men: So it can give no juft offences upon this occafion to add, That they always brought and left a Reproach and Infamy, upon the Reigns and Adminiflrations of thofe under whom they were fuffer'd} where- as the caufing them to be punifhed in the fevereft manner, is made the Honour and Glory of the Governments and Domi- nations of fuch, as order'd them to be fo Treated : Whereof we have Two Illuftrious Examples. The Firfi under Titus Vefpafian, and the Second, under Trajan, and both of them im- proved, and applied by fuch as writ either their Lives, or their ways of Ruling, to the lingular Commendation of thofe Emperors. Namely, That as Titus, after they had been fla- „ . gellis et fusiibus c&fos, et traduttos per Amphitheatri arenam, partim J1-* ' fubiici in fervos et vemire imperavit, partim in afperrimas Infulas avehi ', publichly Scourged, and ignominioujly drawn through the Amphitheatres, as an opprobrious Spetlacle : He caufed fome of them to be Sold for Slaves, and others of them, to be Baniffd into defolate Iflands. SoTrajan, quaflls navigiis impofitos tempeita-^ p tibus abforbendos, aut in defertos fcopulos impingendos attri- Wt^.'Cap. bllit ', caufed them to b e Ship"' d and fent to Sea in Leaky and Rotten 3^ Veffels, to be Swallowed up by Tempefiuous Waves, or to be thrown upon Rocks in defert Places. . Whereunto I do crave Liberty fur- ther to Subjoyn, before I fliut up 2nd go off from the fore- going Article, That as the Allowance granted by the prefent Arch-Bijhop or Canterbury, as well as by the former, for making Inquifition after Crimes, which could be profecuted only be- fore a Civil Tribunal, (and with which their prefuming to Meddle, was an Ufurpation of a Power and Authority, which - neither the Laws of the Land, nor the Canons of the Church, had veiled in them) doth fhew with what Prepofleffion, Pre- judice, Pique and Hatred, they gave way unto, and enter- taki'd (.62 ) tain'd the Procefs againft the Bifloop of St. David's : So it is too apparent from the Condud and Behaviour of the Metropolitan, and thofe who were his Affeffors, that during the whole time and courfe of the Proceedings, there was more Favour exprefs'd to the Promoter and his Inftrumems , than mould have been exercifed toward thofe whom they found to be the Bifiwfs Malicious, and Revengeful Enemies -, and alfo more Credit gi- ven unto the Teftimony of the WitnefTes produced by Lucy, than was confident with Juflice, to give to the Depofttions of a Tribe of Men, againft fome of whom, it was prov'd beyond poflibility of Evafion or Denial, That they had been Suborned and Brib'd. For befides that the admitting any Inquifttion what- foever, to be made into, and after the Fads that have been mentioned, did declare a greater Partiality in Him, and Them, who pretended to a Jurifdidion for taking Cognizance of the Caufe, than became either their Charader, or their Duty -, fo by their Countenancing the Continuance of that Inquifttion fo long after the Commencement of the Procefs, they manifefted themfelves to be either very ignorant of the Civil Law, or very carelefs in the Regulation of their Proceedings by it. In that as it is an eftablifh'd Rule in the Civil Law, That ubi incipit accnfatio deftmit Inquifitio ', whenfoever the Procefs begins, no Inqui- fition is to be allowed afterwards : The reafbn whereof is, becaule that the Defign of a Procefs, is not to find out Offences, but to prove thofe already deteded, and of which the Party IndiBed, or ^mV#/*if ^/againft, ftands previoufly, and a£tua\\y Accufed. Yea, it is further provided for, by the Civil Law, That if the Judge, as well as the Informer, have not a reafonable Ground upon which to bottom their Inquiry, they mall be punifliable for putting a Perfon to an Inquifition, for any Crime. For if it were other- wife, and that they mould, have an Arbitrarions Liberty grant- ed them in that Matter, it would be in their Power, to De- fame the Belt and moft Innocent Men at their Pleasures. And a little Acquaintance with that Heathen Writer Cicero, would have taught them to put a Diftindion between Accufare, et Male dicer e, whereof the Fir ft is in or dine ut rem definiat, ho- Crxi. pro minem ut notet, argumento probet, tefte confirmet ; to afftqn the M. Ccelio- Crime, name the Perfon articled againft as guilty of it, and to prove it upon him by undeniable Arguments, and by the'teftimony of Good and Legal Witnejfes. Whereas the Second, nihil habet propoftti, prater contumeliam, aims at nothing five the Calumniating and De- faming faming of the Man. And I cannot forbear faying, That I am the more furprifed to find the Arch-Blflwp of Canterbury fo ob- noxious, to be Refledted upon (as he too juftly is) for the not having Govern'd himfelf in his Judicial Proceedings, accord- ing to the farenaention'd Rule and Axiom of the Civil Law \ When I confider that as a little Converfation with Seneca, would have taught him, That latiores funt Norma morum quam RecruU Juris, the Moral Meafutos whereby we ought to Govern our Selves and our Aft Ions, are far Larger, and more Ext en five, %an any Injunctions and Rules given unto, and fet us by* Human Laws, are, or can be : So a little Familiarity with the Bible, and Re- vealed Religion, wouTd have abundantly Inftru&ed his Grace, That Rellgio ampliora et exaftiora Ojficia, quam Civiles Leges exi- git; Christianity doth require of, and obligeth us unto further Degrees, and a more exaft Performance of all Duties, whether Social or Per- fonal, than the Laws of Nations were ever made, or intended for. Nor will I enlarge either this Paragraph, or that Part of this Difcourfe, which I had defigned for a General Inquiry into the Proceedings againfl the Bijhop of St. David7s any farther, fave to obferve that the Partial Favour. Jhew'd all along to the Promoter and his Complices, and Fellow Confpiraiors, who plain- ly appeared to be Ejus InnocentU mails artibus inftnfi, on Mo-tiicit.Hift, ■ fives of Malice atid Revenge, and upon Profpctts of Gain and Pre- Lib. I. ferment, as well as from Hopes of being Connived at, and. Indulged in the Practices of Extortions, and the other Irregularities, which his Lordjhip had Threatned to Ccnfure them for his Declared and Avow- ed Enemies. Save I fay to obferve how that by reafon of that unequal Favour fhew'd unto them, and becaufe of the forward and eafie Belief, which the Metropolitan and his AJftjfirs, ex- prefled themfelves ready to give unto whatfoever they faid : Lucy and the reft of them, grew thereupon the more Auda- cious, both in the Forging of Crimes againft him, and in Procuring of Witneifes by Promifes and Menaces, to Swear unto them. For as nothing is more certain, than that as aditum nocendi perfido pr aft at fides, the giving Credit* to any Tre- Senec.Qed. cherous, Revengeful, or Perjurious Rafcal, doth embolden him fir ft to Invent, and then to Depofe with the greater Impudence. So it will always obtain and -be found true, That if they who pre- tend to be vefted with a Judicial Power, fhall behave them- felves in this Partial Manner, that thereupon, fuch called to Inform and Depofe againft thofe Arraigned at their Tribunals,, will ( H ) will take the Liberty of Swearing, without the leaft Regard to Truth or Juftice ; as being allured, that in fuch a Cafe, r . „.n minor e met it, et majore pramio peccatur, They jhall net only he out \'h I ' °f a^ danger of being Pitniftid, but in a probable and fair way of being Rewarded. ± So that having difpatched all that the Brevity of the pre- fent Difcourfe will allow me to Obferve, and Reprefent in General, with Relation to ^proceedings againft the Bijlop of St.+David's, and may I hope, prefume now to affirm, That all who are Unbiafs'd, mult thereby come to be potted with other . Sentiments of that whole Tranfaclion and Procefs, chan thofe, which fome out of Ignorance, and others through Prejudice, have entertain'd : I fhall in the next place, apply my felf to the Difcharge of the Second Part of that Province, which I have undertaken to perform. And that is, to call a certain Writer t to an Account, by Reviewing what he faid in a Scurrilous and Virulent Pamphlet, Stiled, The Summary View of the Articles . Exhibited againft the faid Bijhop. And though I have already put it beyond Contradiction, That the Author thereof, who- foever he be, hath obtruded upon the World, a very Unfaith- ful (becaufe a Partial) Relation, of that whole Proceedure, yet I fhall endeavour in the few Sheets which are flill to follow, to fhew further, how unlike a. Gentleman, a Schollar, and much more in a way unbecoming a Man of Probity, and efpe- cially a Chriftian, he hath behaved and acquitted himfelf in that Matter. But it will give the lefs Amafement, to find the Publijlier of thofe Proceedings, to have fb fignally and wilful- ly forgot the Rule (which I formerly mention'd) prefcribed to all fuch Writers, ne quid Falfi dicant^ et ne quid Veri non di- cant ', That they jhall fay nothing that is Falfe, nor omit the faying every thing that is True: Seeing his. Grace of Canterbury, (whole Mercinary Tool, this Drawer and Divulger of Views appears to be) and diverfe of thofe who were AJJeJJirs unto him in the hearing of that Caufe, have no lefs egregioufly forgotten the Ctcer. 2. Rule prefcribed unto them, ne iifdem de caufis, allii PleSlantur, de Ojfic. allii ne appellentur quidem ', That fome fli all not be Puniftfd on the Score m of Offences, for which others are not fo much as Accufed ; or if they be, come to be Acquitted, which is worfe. Whofoever- will but vouchfave to look into the Difcourfe of which I am to take a Review, cannot avoid obferving, how this Author, inftead of a&ing the Part of a True Hiftorian, in the Record- ing ( *5 ) ing and Communicating the Memories of that Caufe and /Vo; to/SW aes-sov * y$>l& 'Q&Jkziciv Frugality is the great Prefervathe from the being wrought upon to be a Rogue or Tray* Plutarch tor) which Prodigality and waftfuluefs do expofe others un- m Lycur^' to \ fo the being reduced thro7 Squandering, and by reafon of other Vices to a Penurious condition, difpofeth men to run into all Crimes, from the Perpetration whereof they have a Profped of being relieved, and of becoming Gainers, For as . inopia even privato non eft toleranda, Great neceffity and pinching H-n ',-, Want, can hardly be Submitted unto by the Meanefl ; fo the pro- lm viding againfl: it, doth no lefs draw forth the vices of foine, than it excites the virtue of others. Nor hath any thing that power over ill men in Transforming them into all Shapes, and cauling them to fay and Swear whatfoever one has a mind to, like the promiiing toSuccour them under theirPoverty.lt is nei- ther Principles, nor the purfuing of Publick good, that draw men into Factions, but the Expectation of making their Falling into a Party advantageous unto themfelves. And in- deed the Profperous and opulent condition, to which the Bi- fhbp had attain'd by his Induftry and Frugality, without ha- ving had recourfe to any Siniftruous or unlawful ways and means, have very much fecured him againfl the prevalency of thofe Temptations, to which too many of the Sacred Order, K have 2, q ( « ) have been both Obnoxious, and overcome by them. Nor hath any either of the Sacerdotal, or of the Epifcopal Functions, given more fignal proofs of Liberality and Generofity, than he hath, when there were occafions offerM for the exercife and exertion of them. And were I not acquainted with the reafons of it, which it is not needful to name, I fhould be furprized that while fome Ealefiafiics have acquired the Reputation of be- ing Charitable, from their having been entrufted with, andim- ploy'd in the Diftribution of the Charity of others, this Pre- late who has difpofed fo much of his own, fhould undergo the Cenfure of being OpprefTive, as well as Covetous. And tho he hath hitherto been willing to have his Charity and Generofity concealed, in Obedience to the directions of ourLord Mm. 6. Jefiis Chrift, who not only enjoyneth that they Who give Alms, Jhall not Sound a Trumpet before them, when they beflow it ; but that their Left hand, Jhall not know, what their Rigljt doth, i. e. • They fhall neither boaft of, nor hope to Merit by it : Yet it is now become necefTary, as well for the Honour of Religion, as for theVindicating of hisLordfhip from Calumnies, that fome of his Chirities and Beneficences, which otherwife would have remain'd Secret, mould be publiuYd. In the giving an account whereof, as all his private Bounties, (which have been many, and fome of them very remarkable ) fhall be ftill concealed -, fothofe which I am to mention fhall be fuch, as may ferve to provoke thofe of the Spiritual Order, to Exchange their Enmity againn: him, into Emulation. And it being the duty of every Chriftian, and much more of Clergy-men to ex- tend and exert their Liberalities in the firft place, and that Seafonably, to their indigent Kindred and Relations -, it will not be amifs to affign fome Inftances of his Bounty ( as their Circumflances called for it) to his, without procraftinating them to Legicies at his Death, as moft men ufe to do. And befides what he both disburfed in the Education of feveral of them, and doth daily allow towards the Maintaining fome of them, he not only gave to a certain Relation (°whom he would not have nam'd ) the Summ of 600 I. but he alfo gave the like Summ to his two Neices Mr. Medlefs Sifters ( beyond what Medley undertook to reimburfe him) 'and like- wife 100/. to one Brother of his own, and 600 to an o- Tacit Vit.t^r' But whereas fais Liberality to thofe, may not in fomepeo- ' pies opinion, entitle him to the ftile and Character of a Cha- ritable perfon, in that Cuique profmquos fuos natura carifimos efe Agric. ( *7 ) cffe vohut^ Nature wfpireth men with A tendernefs for, and in- firutleth them to be Beneficent to Kindred and Relations j I fhall therefore fubjoyn diverfe other Inftances of his Bounty and Liberality. Nor ought I to leave out of that number ( tho with Refpeft to fome degree and meafure, they fall within the Qircle of Duty) his having laid out above 500/. In Build- ing and Planting at his P arfonage-Houfe and Church in Cambrida- Jhire0 and the having alfo Expended above 600 I. in Reparing the decay'd Palace at Abergilly, and the Houfe at Brecknock 7 efpecially confidering, that not only too many Ecclefiafticks, but even his own htePrcdeceffbrs in the Biflioprick ofSt.havid'sy and alfo fome Biflwps in other Diocefles, will be found liable to be accufed of and charged with the Offence of Dilapida- tion. But that I may not! be thought to call thofe Disburfe- ments Ads of Charity, which Laws may be faid in any fenle, or to any Proportion to have required ; I (hall add a Lift of fome Fads, and that without Expatiating upon them, which are capable of being no otherwife accounted of, than as Ex- erciles of Mercy and Generality, viz.. $0 /. to the Building of St. Paul's: 20/. to the Building Trinity Colledge Library; 10 /. to the Repairing of Catharine-Hall \ 10 /. to the Repairing of Langiwdock Church \ 600 I. to St. John's Colledge in two perpetu- al Advorvfons, 50/. to the Printing Prefs at Cambridge } 50/. to two Schollers there \ 60 I. to two Widows 0 50/. to the Building St. Mary^ in Hull \ 50 /. to the EreBing of a Work-houfe there j 400 /. to Trinity Houfe at Hull, and that only in order to further Charity. To which fhould I add his Private and Secret Boun- t'es to Indigent Schollars, and to necefiitous Gentlemen ( which in the whole would amount to more than the Largeft of all the particular Summs which I have mentioned ) \ I ihou'd be thought to do it not fo much in order to the Vindicating him from the Imputation of Covetoufnefs, for which he hath been defamed, as with a defign both of upbraiding moftof his Bre- thren, who can no ways pretend to equal him in acts of Bene- ficence, and of detracting from, and lefleningthe Efteem which fome few Bifhops have obtained, tho not fo much becaufe of any extraordinary Liberalities, as by rcafon of fome little mean arts of Grimace, and wheedle towards the Mobb. For to ufe an expreffion of Pliny\ T ant as vires habet Frugal- itaSj lit tot impendiis^ tot Erogationibus^ vel fola faffciat^ whofosver is Frugal^ can by and in the Venue and Power of K 2 that ( m ) • that alone, become both ftored for ample disbitrfments, and in- Med to the exercife of great Liberties, However I doubt not, but that from the many foregoing Inftances of the Bijlwp of St. David's Charity and Bounty, it may very reafonably be inferred, and as juftly concluded, that he cannot be fuch a Lover of Money, as the Writer of the Nummary View hath endea- vour'd to repefent him, and that all his ^Economy and Fru- gality, are only Reftrictions of fuperfluous Expences upon himfelf, that he may be the more Liberal and Generous towards others,, wherein it is to be wiflied that thofe of his own Or- der would imitate him, inftead of Traducing him for it. And that in the place of encouraging, as well as giving way to the having that Prelate afperfed, for the being either op- preflive, or Scandaloufly Parcimonious, they would ftudy to Furnifh the World with as many Examples of their being themfelves fignally Charitable, as have been given by him of his Mercy and Liberality. And were it not out of a refpeft to our Religion, and from that Deference which I pay to the Order of Epifcopacy Eflablifh'd in the Englifh Church, I mould think it no difficult undertaking to make fevere Re- prisals upon fome of our prefent Bifiops for the Piracies, which by vertue of Letters of Mart Emitted from them, have been committed upon the Reputation of the Bijlwp of St. Da- vid's. And if a ftop be not given to the Bandlti Trade, which hath been fo much evercifed of late upon the Credits of the mofb Vertuous and Innocent of all Ranks and De- grees in the Kingdom, I know not how far I may be Pro- vok'd both to Retaliations at large, in giving thofe accounts of the Oppreflion and Rapine of diverfe of them of the Laical 'Tribes of men, as will not be either for their Honour, or for the- Commendation of the Wifdom of the Govern- ment, to have publihYd ; and alfo to the making fuch Re- captures in particular on thofe of the Prclatical Order, by di- vulging fuch Memoirs both of their Luxurious Indulgences to- wards themfelves, and of thofe feveral not very juftifiable Methods purfued by them, for the railing Eftates and For- tunes for their Children, as will be more difgraceful to Chriftianity, as well as more Reproachful co their High and Sacred Function, than any, or all cf thofe pre- tended Scandalous things are, for the Calumniating and de- faming the Bijhop of St. David's with, their have been fo much Induftry and Arc as well as Malice exprefTed. But ( 69- ) But to proceed to the Second thing which I undertook to Premi fe,namdy that it is a Rule EflablifhM in the Civil Law that Bona fama in ' genere, debet Super are Mai am in gen ere, whenfo- ever the qood Report which obtaineth of any Perfony beareth pro- portion to the 111 that is [aid of him ; and whom with Refpett to his Moral Behaviour in any one particular, there be as many and. they . of equal Quality and Reputation, who fpeak of him to Commenda- tion and Advantage, as they are, who take upon them the divulg- in roe are allowed juftly to f-fpetl every Man to be fuch, as all men report that he is; yet we are Hill to be careful, that we Enter- tain not an 111 opinion of any upon the Teftimony of a few ; efpecially when either the firft Authors, or the Induftrious Spreaders of the Ignominies and Reproaches, are fuch as are, or may known to be Enemies. For the Heathen Hiftorian hath obferved, and all the reafonable part of Mankind have fallen into his opinion, that Quis Innocens effe poteft, ft accu- ^™lein' fajfe fifftciet, Few or none will have the Happincfs to be thought u^ \\_ Fnnoccnt, if the being slccujed by this or that F erf on, be admit- ted as fitffcient to prove them Guilty. And there is the more reafon, for not being too Credulous in reference fo Scanda- lous Reports, of things invented by Enemies, which having obtained Credit at firft among a few that were weak, and of eafie belief, come afcerwards to fpread further and lo be Generally received ; becaufe it is fo natural to moft Men, (by reafon of their own Vitioufnefs, and the Inclinations chey have of being wicked themfelves, as far as they have Pro- fpetts of finding their Intereft in it) to be much readier in the giving Credit unto the 111 that is fpoken of their Neigh- bour, ( ?o ) ■-■bour, than in believing the good that is faid of him. Which depravation of mind, I do take to be both the Caufe, why too many Quoquomodo audita pro comptrtis habent, entertain Tacit. An. eVery thine for True, that canto be told them *, and that Quan- mUj'(\'rhX0 magis falfa, tanto Vlur a f octant ^ they do the more firmly 2?«- i '*' l ' lieve them by How much they are the Falfer. Nor will any man that is wife appear too much concern'd, at his being Slander'd and Reproached, if he do but allow himfelf to confi- der, that the being fo, is to put it in the Power of every Knave and Fool to defturb his Peace and tranquillity. Jror as it is enough on the oae hand, to deferve praife, tho he doth not obtain it ; fo the beft fecurity againft the being inwardly perplexed becaufe of Calumnies forg'd and Spread of him, is to have the Teftimony of his own Confcience, that he hath done nothing Villanous and unjuft, whereby to have given ^ioJo* . :?o- occafion for them. For as he faid, vis nunquam trifiis ejfe, w([. Lin. y^^ i)ii)e, whofoever would avoid the being difiurbed by reafon of the\ oblequies of others, he is only to take care to live uprightly and. well. Nor will that of Seneca be found otherwise, than unchangeably true, Quamvis id agas, ut ne quis me- rito te oderit, erunt tamen femper qui oderint, Let one do whatfoe- n p ver he can, that he may neither adminijler Caufe for the having Vi,^ Enemies, nor for the being hated, yet he cannot efcape the meet- ing with fome that will prove the f'■ ■> j Ai • i 1 r r digan Efq.51. Witn. Walter Loyd of ^accordingly deliver d their Belief of Longillo ibid. Efq, 25. Witn. Henry his Lordfbip to be, that he was and is a Per- Took of theCounty of VembrockClerk fon of a Sober andflrffi Life and Converfa- &c. 26. Witn. Walter Watkins Vicar tion, and very Regular in his Family, and a very Con ft ant Obferver oftheRules and Dif- ciplineChurch ofEnghnd'^nd that' they had heard him often Declare his abhorrence of Simony, and alfo deliver it as his Opi- nion, that the being Guilty of it, was Dam- nable. And that as he would never give any Preferments ' to fuch, by or for whom he nor, 41. Witn. Hen. Vowel Vicar of Jhould be applied unto, and Solicited upon Langadock in the County of Carmar. yromifes of Reward, fo that he had fever e- ly RebulCd Mrs. Eliz. Hide, for interceed- ing with him to beftow the Church of St. David's to one Lloyd, and the Trea- furerjhip of ChrifrVs Colledge Breck- nock, to one William's, who had promifed her feveral Hundred Founds, in Cafe foe could procure them ; and had alfo Pofitively Charged her never to inter pofe or meddle in fuch matters, in that he Hated of BegniUo in the County of Radnor, 27. Witn. Ed. Gwyn Vicar of Breck- nock j 3 1. Witn. fho. Griffith of Clo- row in the County of Radnor Gent. 32. Witn. tho. Philips Rcclorof^- erdow in the fame County •, $5. Witn. Hoelius Griffith Vicar of Lanavan dit- to; 40. Witn. Tho. Williams Vicar of St. Hermans, in the County of Rad then, 15. Witn. Soloman HendenSfxCAX of Lawhaden &c. 10. Witn. Eli\. Hide, 23. Witn. (73) Hated allfuch Practices ; and would never Collate any to places up~ on applications of that kind. And that he broke of a Match be- tween Mr. Henry Povvel and his Necce Mrs. Eliz. Medley, in that it was propofed as a condition of the faid Match that the Bi- fliop Jlwuld Collate Powel to a Certain Benefice in his Lordfhips Gift, that was then Vacant. And that the faid Prelate, hath been fo far from Ex ailing Excejfive and Exorbitant Fees, either for Orders or Inflations &C. That he hath fometimes freely remitted what he had a Right to demand. Now as the Teftimony of fo many Perfbns, of diverfe qualities and conditions, in Vindication of the Innocency of the Bifliop of St. David's, fhould have been more effectual towards his Justification, than all the Depoii- tions againft: him ought to have been for his Convi&ionj fo the leaft effed it can have upon thofe who are defirous to have men and things reprefented unto them in the befl and trueft Light, muft be the poffefling them both with an odd opinion of the whole Pracefs againft: him, and the beget- ting a more favourable Opinion of that Prelate, than what ei- ther the Sentence pronounced, by the great Metropolitan, or the Difcourfe called the Summary View, have given us of him. The only Exception againft the preceding Teftimonies is, that in relation to fome things, the Witnefles do only de- clare that they believe fb and fo, which inftead of diminiihing either from the Truth, or from the weight of what they fay, doth in my opinion add much unto both. For as-there were many things whereof no man can politively, pronounce that they are True, or that they are Falfe, but that in his opinion they arc the one, and not the other ; fo it is worthy of Ob- fervatnn, that among the Romans no man ever depofed other- wife fave by the Term Arbitror I do believe. And the more cicenOrat. we inquire into the probity of thofe Witneffes, who inform'd proM.Fonu in the Bifhop's favour and behalf ; and compare them with & Lib. s. the Scandalous and infamous Grew brought to Swear agaijijt dcafom. him, the more we fhall find our felves in juftice obliged to entertain a better and more honourable opinion of his Lord- fhip, than his Adveifaries, will either be pleafed, or find it for the credit ot their Juridical proceedings, that we fhould- And though I have all the Venerable Thoughts of every Bi- fiop of the Church of England, which the high fbation, to which he is advane'd, requireth me to have;, yet I much queltion, were fome of them attacqu'd in the manner the L Bijhop (74) Bijhop of St. David\ hath been, whether they would find fo many, and fuch creditable and conflderable vouchers, either for their Virtue and Piety or for their being exad obfervers of the Rules and Difcipline of the Englifh Church, as did ap- pear in giving Commendation, as well as for juftifying of that Prelate. But having both reprefented and difpatched the twothings, which I craved liberty to Premife; I am now to apply my felf to a clofer and a more particular Examination of the Of- fences and Crimes, with which the Bifljop of St. David's is fo Vi- rulently afperfed, and whereof he is fo Unju Illy Accufed by that Author of no confideration (unlefs for Infolence and Im- pudence) in his Difcourfe, Stiled the Summary View, &c. And tho' after what hath been already faid, in reference to the Commencement, and the Management of the Procefs againir. .that Bifiop, what were the Motives for Beginning it 5 UDon whofe Promotion he was Articulated again!! it ; what ftrange Irregularities^ as well as grofs Partiality were fhew'd and practis'd, in and thro' their whole Procedeurj and what kind of Perfons they were, upon whofe Depofitions the Decretal Judg- ment pafs'd j I fay that tho' every thing further, which lhall be ofTer'd after this, may feem altogether Superfluous, as well as UnneceiTary j yet I hope the Diicreet Reader lhall not have caufe to blame me for this Labour and Work of Superero- gation. In that albeit, it may not be needful to the fetting him Right in his Opinion concerning the forementionM Pro- cefs-, yet it may be of fome Service and life to the Re- buking, not only of an Author, who is no lefs Trifling and Impertinent, than Malicious and Revengeful •, butlikewife to the Difcovering the Mifchiefs which enfue upon, and do ac- company the being Embarqu'd in Parties and Factions, that are frequently no lefs, than the very Sacrificing of Laws and Juflice to Pique and Anger, as well as of Chanty to Refent- ment. And the Firfi^ thing for which I intend to call him him to an Account, is, that after having charg'd the Bijhop Summary f°r tne Havwg fad at his firfi going down to St. DavidV, that View.]). 1 >tt was a poor Bijlioprick, but that he was refolved to get Money one way or other , he adds, that it was a Rule which the Tutor had long purfued, and that the Bijljop fo refolutely adhered to it, that its pernicious EjfeBs appeared iu every part of his Epifcopal Admi- wftration. In which no lefs Foolifh than Partial and Inve&ive Re- (75) Reflection, we have not only a Calumnious Afperfion faftnecl up- on a Bijliop on the Teftimony of One Witnefs, which is dire&ly contrary to the Divine Rule declared by St. Paul, that an Ac- citfation Jkatl not be received again ft and Elder, fave before two l ' 5* or three Witnejfes , but that Witnefs alfb of fuch a mean Sta- ?* tion and Rank, being only a Vicar -Choral, that it is no ways probable the Biftwp would make him of all men, either his Confeflbr, or his Confident. And as the Bifhops flay and a- bode at St. David's at his firft going down, did not exceed the fpace of Four days, Two whereof were fpent in his Confirming vaft multitudes, occafion'd by other Biftwps having omitted to adminifter that Ordinence fince the Reftoration, whereby his allowing himfelf a loofe in fuch kind of Talk, as that charg'd upon him, is rendred altogether unlikely j fo the whole time he could fpare from the Exercife of his duty, having been either employ'd in the receiving Crowds of Vifuors, or particularly taken up in Converting with, and fpent in the Company of Four of the Canons of that Cathedral, it would feem morally impofllble, but that fome either of them, or of thofe many who came to fee and falute him, fhould have rather heard the foremention'd words, than one of Peter Lewis's inconliderable quality aud Figure. And as it feems to approach to a moral certainty, that thefe words were never fpoken by the Bifiiop, but meerly forged by Lewis in order to the recomending him by an Invented Lie to fome peoples favour, whofe kindnefs he forefaw would be needful to the fupporting him in a certain Villainous defign which he had projected ( whereof we mall have occaiion to make men- tion hereafter ) and which it is likely Lucy the Promoter had given him afliirance of, provided he would make the foregoing Depofltion \ fo it is as demonitrable as a matter of Fat? is ca- pable of being, that the Author of the Summary Fiew, hath re- ported Lewis's Depofltion fradulently and imperfectly. In that what he fwears unto, is that the Bijhop fhould have faid, that the B^hoprick of St. Davids was a poor Bijliopr ick, and that See Lew;s he would not be Bijhop to Fuine himfelf but was refolved to get pepofit. Money one way or another. Now as he who in Reporting a Te-41. Witv. ftimony in a criminal procefs detrað from it, by omitting any material part of what was Depofed, efpecially that which would have been as a Key to the opening the meaning of the whole, is no lefs Treacherous than if he fhould have added L 2 unto (70 unto it } fo it is plain that in cafe the B'flwp fhould have faid what Lewis Swears (which he never did ) yet that with the including the Words ( omitted by the Writer of the Summary V*ew ) he would not be Bijhop io ruine hlmfflf, the whole Extr ef- fort is capable of a very fair and justifiable Conflruttion and/y- terpretatiort. Namely that he neither did, nor could intend any thing elfe by it, than that becaulc his Epiflopal Revenue could not be great, by reafon of the Poverty of the BiJJmrick^ he was therefore refolved in order to the preventing his being Ruitfd by it, to get Money in the way and by the means of Living frugally and of obferving a good Oeconomy. Nor is it poffible to have a more convincing proof of his having node^ fign of becoming Rich by that Biihoprick, and efpecially by illegal and oppreflive method's, than that antecedently to the reception of any of the Emoluments and profits which were to arife unto him from and in the Virtue of his Title and Dignity, he had entred upon large Disburfements in Rebuilding of the Decayed P^oro/Aberguilly. To which may be added that no 2te//>/oughtto have been given to any thing, that Le- wis either faid or Swore ; Forafmuch that it was fulTy proved againfi: him, that he had perjured himfelf in an other particu- lar, which he took upon him to Depofe. But which I fhall decline enlarging upon at prefent, being to unfold and to fpeak of it in a more feafonable place anon. However I ought not to omit obferving, that whenfoever men are re- folved to purfue little and mean Interelts, they do rather en- deavour to cover themfelves from being fufperf upon the Tefiimony of one Witnefs, can be flighted and SacrihVd J< by fome People, who arecalPd not only Chriftians and Priefts, but Bifhops, in order to their exprefling their Spleen, and the compafling of their Revenge ; fo I am heartily troubled, that the matter (under this Head) in Proof againfl the Bifiopot St. David's, is his not having Treated all his Servants, in the fame manner he is faid to have done Douglas, in relation to the Money Receiv'd by them in that way. For Douglas him felt Depofeth, that the other Servants kept fuch Money for their own ufe, as had been given them in Way of Gratuities, with- out being made to account to th? Bifiop for it. So that his Lord (hip ading thus diftinguifhingiy towards him, in what he made him to account for, was not from a Principle of Co- vctoufnefs, but upon Tome other weighty Motive and Induce- ment. And as every Malted who hath Servants, is to have it fubmitted to his Underftariding and Judgment, which of them in his belief and efteem do behave themfelves with moft In- duflry and Fidelity in their refpedive Imployments ; fo it muft be acknowledged to be not only his Right, but an ad of Prudence and Wifdomih him, to preclude the Undeferving and Lazy from a fhare in the Beneficences, with and by which he is willing to Encourage and Recompence the Affiduity and In- tegrity of others. Andthat thro' its not being in hisPower to do it,by abridging from theWages which he hadCovenanted to give, the only method left wherein he could perform it, was by withholding thefe Gratuities from them, to which by Contract and Bargain they could pretend no Legal Right. Nor is the Pradice of the Bijhop in this matter diflbnant from the be- haviour of all Mailers whatfoever, who would be reckon'd to demean themfelves towards their Servants with Underflanding and Difcretion. But to advance to the Third Ace uf at ion entred againft the Bijhop, under the Head of Offences of many kinds, which is, his being Tempted to an Ad of Injuflice for the gaining of a Groat. Whereof the Invedive and Falfe Account given by the Author of the Summary View, is as followeth. Namely, That one Lewis Thomas Paid unto him Three Shillings for Procurations M 2 for ( 84 ) , - for a Vicarage in theArch-Deaconry o/Carmarthen^^mw in truth' i uprt. t^e vpere y£ rfwo §ymngS An£ Eight pence,aswas made appear by the Book of Procurations exhibited by the Promoter, which had been Tran- fcribed from an Old Bosk of the Regiflers. To which Accufation, feveral things may be eafily Replied. As (i .) that the hunting after fuchmean and triffling matters, whereby to get the -B//J; t^lan ne ought. to have done, his Lordfhip feib. 15. freely forgave Five Shillings, which he might have Lawfully Ex- acted ^ and for that, this unthankful Man hath thus Villanonfly ( s5 ; rewarded him. Which as in referrence to Thomas, it brings into my remembrance a faying of Tacitus, That Plurafepe pec- eantur, dum nemereneur, quam dum Offendimus, & quadam vir- tutes odiofunt ; There are fome People whom roe do more offend by Alls of Goodnefs and Merit, than by our being Wrongful and Inju- rious, in that there are certain Vertues which are more hated by them, than Vices are ; fo with refped both to the Au- thor of the Summary View, and to diverfe others of a greater Figure; I cannot omit taking notice of an other Obfervation of the fame Hiftorian, namely, That Reperies qui ob fimilitudi-4n*th- nem morum, aliena Male fall a fibi objetlari putent, etiam Gloria^*' 4* ac virtus infenfos habet, ut nimis ex propinquo diverfa arguens • There are thofe who by reafon of their own ill Difpofitions and Man- ners, never fooner hear others traduced for fome fort of Offences, ■ but they do immediately think themfelves Accufed and Convifted as Guilty of them ; for. even thofe Qualities and Aftions which are mofi Honourable, and Worthy of Praife, do meet with fome, who upon that ver^ account, are the greater Enemies unto them, becaufe that what is Difgracefid and Infamous in themfelves, becomes the more condemned as well as detetled, by being confronted with what is Virtuous and Commendable in others. Nor do I (sly-) find that the Bifap received any more from Lewis Thomas, than Two' Shillings and Four pence, at the time that he Depofeth he Paid him Three Shillings. For as 2. s. and 8. d. is the whole entred by the Bifhop in the Book, wherein he ufed to Write down and Regiiter whatfoever he Received ; fo if Four pence more was then Paid, it ought to be taken for granted, and would have been fo by fuch as were Juft and Impartial, that it was to, and in behalf of the Clerk for the Receipt and Acquittance. And as this was but what the Law allow'd to. be taken on that account \ fo the Biflwp without doing Injury to his Servant, whofe Right it was to demand and receive it, could not oblige his Clerk to remit and forgive, nor confequently cover and difcharge Thomas from Paying it, unlefs he mould i himfelf have undertaken ^to Account for, and make it good. Which as he had no reafon to do, fo the making fuch a Pre- cedent, tho but in trivial matters, would not have been a- greeable to the common Rules of Prudence and difcretion. But ( 4/y ) that I may both fhew the Ingratitude of this Lewis Tloomas, and withall give an undeniable proof of the BiJIwps kindnefs unto, as well as of his averfion from exacting mote of. ( '*6 ) of him than he had a juft and legal Title to, it will not be amifs here to obferve, how that according _ to Thomas\ own Dep option, the Btfiwp did not only Order his Servant Powel to deliver him his feveral Instruments for Institution, Induction, Difpenfation for non Refidence, and Certificate of Subfcription &c. when he was not in a condition to have paid for them, with- out the allowing him Credit for Forty Shillings ; but that his Lordjhip alio freely and generoufly forgave Eight en Shillings and four pence which he was to have paid for a Licenfe to ferve a Cure. So that unlefs Charity be Transformed into Covetoufnefs, and Liberality into Oppreffwn, the Bijhop's condud towards Lewis Thomas, ought not have been perverted to his Defama- tion and Difgrace, but fhould have been mention'd to his commendation and praife. And infallibly it would have been fo, had it not been the Bijlwph misfortune to have the Tacit. Vrocefs againft him lie before fome Men, to whom that »"of Hift. Lib. t|ie Hiftorian \% too applicable, namely that ob virtutes certijfi- mum exitium, fuch are most liable and fure to be ruirfd, as are found not only leafi obnoxious to ace u fat ions for penal Crimes, but moH Vertuous and besl Entitled to Rewards. However the Bifhcp may both comfort himfelf in the being Treated in fome mea- sure as his Lord and Mailer the Blefled Jefus was, and may alfo with refped to the Dirt thrown by reafon of his carriage^ toward Lewis Thomas, make ufe with modefty of the Words $oh. 10. fpoken by our Saviour, when the Mobb were about to Stone him, viz. for which of my goed works do you thus unto me. And I dare fay, that fome who have aded Juridically againft liim, fhould it come to be their Lot to be profecuted with the Violence, that he hath been, would with far lefs reafon and Juflice make that plea, than he may: 'Tistrue they will have one advantage ( in cafe they come into troubles ) which he had not, to wit, that they will meet with few or none, who upon motives and principles of ingratitude will appear to be their Enemies ; or who becaufe of having no mind to acknowledge courtefies, do therefore declare hatred and wrath againft fuch as had Tacit, obliged them. For I doubt not but that there were fome in Hift. Lib. the Co mmijfwn againft the Bifhop of St. David's, who as they 4* know that proclivius est injuria, qmm bencficii vie em exfolverc; quia Gratia oneri, ultio in qu&fiu habetur, it is more natural to most people to revenge an Injury than tc recompence a kindnefs, in that for Men to think themfelves indebted for a courtefies is a kind ( 87 ) hnd of mortifying confidcration, whereas it adminiflers fatisfc.fcon and pleafure, to be of a perfuafion that they, owe an other an ill Turn and that they are in condition to fay it j fo by what I am able to judge of thefe Great men from their pradice, they are not much inclined to make themfelves any Enemies, thro' the ha- ving been over-kind and Generous. And they being withall fully couvinced, that Beneficia to ufque Uta fort, dum videntur exfolvi pajfe, but that ubi multum antevenere, pro gratia, odium1* [Annul, redditur ; Friendjhips received are only fo long pleafivg, while they ' 4* may be eafily recompeiiced, but that when they come once to exceed the power of being requited, they do then for the mofi part prove an occafion of averfion and hatred, rather than a motive to love and gratitude :, I fay that they being convinced of this, do there- upon what they can to avoid obliging any one beyond what he will be able at all times to over recompence and reward. So that were I to pafs a Cenfure in reference to any part of the Biflwp of St. David's behaviour towards Lewis Thomas,, it would be, that he wonderfully miftook in the objedof hisCharityand Liberality when he gave thofeTeftimo- nies of them which he did to him. And indeed its a faileur I have oftener obferved in him than once, that tho' he knows how to be free and bountiful, yet he is not fo happy as his Friends could wifh, in giving Proofs of good Judgment and Prudence in the choice of thofe on whom he exercifeth them. And were I therefore capable of giving that Prelate Advice, it fhould be not to narrow his Charity, but to exercife more difcretion (than he hath fometimes done) in the fingling out of thofe, on whom he beftows it. For tho' whatfoever lie giveth from a good Principle, and for a Merciful end, will meet with a fure and Bleffed reward from God, yet to have the misfortune of extending his Liberality and Be- neficence to unthankful and ill Men, may expofe him to thofe Inconveniences in the World, which even Sandified Wifdom will allow him to avoid. So that having difpatched what I had to Reply to the foregoing Accufation againfl the Bijhop, I am next to inquire into the Fourth pretended Offence, with and for which the Summary Author of the Summary View hath taken the liberty to Afperfe*7"^ P- and Arraign him. Namely, for Injuftice unto,and Oppreflion of5' 7' oiizPeter Lewis^ who is introduced, Depofing as followeth. That having been two Tears a Tenant to fame hands belonging to the Bi- Jhoprtck (88) fioprick, of 1 1 . 1. per Annum, he waited on the Bifhop at hit comina to the Diocefs, to make him a Complement, and that whilft he was with him, the Bifhop told him he mufi take a J,eafe of thofe Lands, and give him Ten Pounds for a Fine for them ; to which Lewis Anfwring, that they were at a rack Rent \ the Bijhop reply d come you mufi give me Ten founds for a "Fine, others have o'reen fo much to other Bijhops, and J will be kind to you. And that thereupon Lewis, the Biflwp ft ill promifing to do him a kindmfs did offer to pay the Bifliop the Ten Pounds, viz. Nine Guin- neas in Gold, and the reft in Silver; but the Bifliop feeing that, f aid he would have Lewis make it up Ten Guineas, and he fhould find him his Friend,which he accordingly did, and had a Leafe Granted for Twenty one Tears : And that at tha fame time, but after the pay- ment of the Ten Guineas, the Biflwp jherv'd him a Book of the Benc<* fees of his Diocefs and bid him chafe or pitch upon one that he litfd; and that thereupon Lewis de firing he might have the Vicarage of Laurain when it was void, the Bifliop fiiid he would remove the Incumbent, which he Accordingly did within the fpace of a year, and Collated Lewis thereto. So that from this Information uponjthe lewis tfe.Oath of Peter Lewis, the Author of the Summary View^ hath in promoters reiat;ion to that Tranfaclion between the Bifhop and him, ven- ntfsT1*' tur'dto charge his Lordjliip with three very Scandalous and abominable Grimes. Whereof the firft is, as he is plaafed to ftile it, with fordid injuftice, in that after he had agreed and con- traded to Grant Lewis a Leafe of the foremention'd Lands, up- on his paying a Fine of TenPounds, he exacted fb much more of him, as the current value of Ten Gnineas arifeth beyond that Sum. And of which the Second is even worfq namely high oppreffion , in that his Lordfhip not only required and took a Fine of Ten Gnineas for a Leafe of the Palace Lands, for which no Fines had been ever either demanded or paid before, but but that he required and exacted it, when the faid Lands were at a. full Rack Rent. And for both thefe not only the Tefteme- , y^t„ ny of Edmond Meyrick ( whofe Character hath been already rick pro- inquired into) is alledged, who Swears that as he never knew mot. 31. nor heard that thofe Lands were Leafed or Fined for ; fo alio that Witn. they were then Let at a full rack Rent ; but as to the firft of them there is likewife brought the Depofition of one William Ford who Swears that he had been Twenty four years Steward to the Bi-^ fhop of St. David V, and had often fet thofe Lands, but never knew any Fine given for the Leafe of them. Finally the Third Offence with (*9) with which the Biftiopftandsafperfed and charg'd in relation to the foremention'd Tr an faction with Lewis, is his becoming thereupon involved, and his having by occafiou thereof rendred himfelf Guilty of the Sin of Simony. For not only Meyrick Swears, That the Fame was, that the payment of the Ten Guineas by Peter Lewis, was the motive of the B (pop's Collating him to the Vicar age of Lanrian^ but the Writer of the Summary View doth pofitively afTert that the faid Atlion of the Bipop's carries a Simoniacal Air in it. In reference to all which Accufations, I doubt not but that I (hall be able to give filch Anfwers, and to make fuch Re- fletlions upon thofe, whofe Informations gave rife unto, and ad- immured occafion for them, as mall not only fully Vindicate the Bipop from all guilt and reproach by reafon of them, but which fhall alfo effectually Cover them with Shame and Confufwn\ who either admitted thefe things to come into proof againfl him, or who gave credit to the Depofitions of thofe who falfely and perjurioufly Swore them. And the Firfl thing that I am to obferve by way of Reply to what this Peter Lewis, ( on whofe Teftimony, the Bipop is accufed, that after his having Contracted with the faid Lewis for a Fine olTen Bounds, he mould have extorted from, and Exacted of him the Sum of Ten Gui- neas ) hath depofed and Sworn, is, that being evidently perjured in one material part and circumftance of his In formation, he ought not therefore to have been believed in reference to any other particular of it whatfoever. For as we have taken no- tice before, how it is received as an Univerfal and eftablim'd Rule in Law, that he who in the giving Evidence doth appear to have Forfwom himfelf in one thing, is to have Credit given unto him in nothing he Depofeth ; fo I cannot forbear account- ing it very infamous m Judges called not only Chrifiiaus but Bi- pops, to have a&ed fo dilfonantly from that Rule as they have done. Seeing the very Heathen Orator, would have taught them to have acted more conformably to it, if they had but confulted him. For he lays it down as a Maxim, that ubifemel quis pe fir aver it, ei credi, pofiea, etiam fi per plures Deos juret, non Ctcer' °~ oportet ; He who is once, or in one thing Forfwom is never to have faith rc 'JJl:k given unto him in any thing, let him Swear by whom, and as much p0ftt as he will. Nor can any thing be plainer, than that this Lewis is liable to have this Exception made to his Depofition, and this Reflection upon himfelf. Forafmuch that having Sworn, that the Tranfa&ion between the Bipop and him about the Pallace N Lands, ( 5>® ) Ldndsjms at the time when theBiflwp camefirft to theDiocefs,when neverthelefs it doth evidently appear from the very Date of the Leafe Granted to Lewis, that the giving it to him, was neither Treated of, nor Executed untill the Tear after. And if the miftaking in a Day, and much more the Erring in a Week, and more ftill as to a Month, in point of time, when a thing inform- ed of, is Sworn to have been done or tranfacled, hath been held always enough, both to deted the Perjury of the Depo- nent, and to invalidate and overthrow the whole of his Depo- fition; How much more ihould an undeniable Error and Falfe- hood as to a whole Tear, have been efteem'd fufficient for fub- verting the Validity of Lewis's Depo/ition in every particularand circumftance, wherein he is contradi&ed by him againfl whom he Swears? And therefore the Ififhop being pofitive, that there was never lefs in Treaty for the Fine, than Ten Guineas-, the In- formation of Lewis, that the whole demanded at firft was only Ten Founds, ought not to have been recited, nor to have had Credit given unto it. And by confequence, the fordid Jnjufiice whereof he is Accufed, by reafon of his exacting Ten Guineas s after the having Bargain'd for Ten Ponnds,{houl& have been both accounted and rejected as an Invented and Slanderous Defa- mation. Nor has the -Author of the Summary View, &c. dif- cover'd either Wifdom, or JuRice, in mentioning it among the Offences, with which he hath a/Turned the liberty of a- fperfing the Bifliop ; but inftead thereof, he hath only pro- claimed his malice againfl him, and his ignorance of the Rules and Meafures, which ought to be inviolably and facredly obferv'd in all Judicial Proceedings. Neither in the Second Place, is it only with reference tonne Time of having Treated about the Leafe, that Peter Lewis hath apparently Forfvcorn himfelf, but there is alfo an other particular in his Dipofition, wherein it can be evidently demonftrated that he is likewife perjur'd. For whereas he Swears, that the Lands of which he had been Two Tears a Tenant, and for the Granting unto him a Leafe where- of the BiJIwp demanded a Fme, were at his Entrance upon the Tennancy of them, Set at a Rack Rent, the contrary hereof is both Apodi&ically evident, and uncontrollably certain. In that it is not only in proof, that at the time when the forefaid Tofcn Hall-^/7'7^ were Leafed by the Blfoop to Lewis, Mr. John Hall one ifc Bijhop's of the Vicar Ckarals of Saint David\, ( who having been once 19. mm, ^Tenant to thofe Lands, had reafon to know the value of them) would would have willingly given both the Fine that was received of Lewis, and alfo have paid the very fame referved Rent that Le- wis was to pay ; but that it is alfo in proof, that Mr. Charles Prife Precentor of the Church of St. David's, &c. hath declared upon Oath, That he knoweth the worth of thofe Lands fo well, that even after the Expiration of Eight years of LewisV Leafe, he would for the Remainder of it, have given to Lewis ( and offered fo to do ) tfaB25 the Ten Guineas he had disburfedfor the Fine, and have alfo paid the *. Wiln referved Rent of Eleven Pounds per annum. So that whereas Ed- mond Meyrick hath likewife Sworn to the rachiefs of the Rent, at which thofe Lands were at firlt fet to Lewis, inftead of thereby vindicating Lewis from Perjury, he hath only fhew'd his own Villany, by proclaiming how ready he was willfully to Forfwear himfelf in order to the Faftning a reproach upon his Diocefan. And by Mcyrich chiming in reference to one particular with Lewis in perjury I am made inclinable to fufpecl that Lewis was fuborn'd by him to the Depoftng of the whole wherein he is Forfvom. And this I am the readier to believe, becaufe of what I am to fay in the Third Place, by way of juftifying the Bijhop from Opprejfwn in his demanding and exa&ing a Fine of Lewis for a Leafe of Lands, for which as Meyrick as well as Lewis do Swear, there had none been ever Required or Taken before. For whereas Meyrick hath positively Depo fed upon Oath, that he never knew, nor heard, that thofe Lands had been either Leafed^ or Fined for ; it is plainly impoflible, but that he muft have both known and heard, that they had been as well Fined for, as Leafed. Forafmuch as that it is in Proof that Bijhop Lucy had Granted a Leafe of the faid Lands to one Henry Williams late of St. David *J Gent, for the Term of three Lives; and that the faid P1* Rryfe Bijhop Lucy being afterwards defirous to leave thofe Lands in Leafe e Jp0^ s to one ofhes Sons, was after a Suite at Law for obtaining the Surren-' derofitfrom Williams, upon pretence of breach of Covenant in <^'- Hen. Har- lapidating the Palace and the faid Lands, forced at laft to Give, orris the to For vive ( which is equivalent ) a loo /. to the faid Williams for Bijhop' s 21 the Refgnatlon of his Leafe. Yea it is alfo further in proof that wiw' Bijhop Thomas did alfo Grant a Leafe of the faid Lands to Mr. John Hall, and that for and in confideration of the Sum of 10 /. or 10 /. 10 s,Fine, and 10 /. referved Rent payable every year. And that John Hall meeting with interruption in his poffeffion of them from the Tenant s± who were then in the occupation of thofe Lands, did af- fignone Moiety of them to one Henry Harris of St, David'* for N 2 and (92) and in confederation of 5 /. 5 s. Vine, and of '5 /. 5 j. Annual referred Rent', and the other Moiety thereof to Mr. Thomas Roberts like- •wife of St. David'.*-, upon t he confederation of$l. 15 s- Fine, and the John Hall, ^ayment 0-f ^ I, or 5 /. 5 s. yearly Rent, during the continuance of 10 vritn. th* fa^ Alignments to each of them reflectively. Yea it hath Hen. Har-been alfo further in proof, how that Bifliep Womack, had at the ris the Bi- Infeiaation of this very Meyrick, been prevailed upon to void the flop's 21. Leafe made by Biflwp Thomas of thcfc Lands, and to Let them upon cT'prvfe a certa^n confederation to his Nepherv. And as he cannot be faid 'to have been exacted upon, and much lefsopprefled, in whofe power it not only was to have refilled to comply, but who knew that there were others ready to have given what was de- manded of him -, fo inftead of having thereby caufe given him by the Bifhop of complaint, he had matter afforded him for being thankful. And which he would have thought it his duty to have been, had he but had the vertue of the Roman Cicer. 0- Orator, who tells US, that non folum is Grains ejfe debet, qui ac- . rat. pre cept benefcium, verttm etiam is, cui potcflas accipiendi fuit, provinc. j^e not Qn[ ought to be grateful, who hath received a " ' kindnejs, but likewije he to whom one was offered and in whofe power it was to have obtain d it. So that it being altogether impofli- ble, but that Meyrick muff, have both known and heard, that thofe Lands had been as well Fined for, as Leafed ; his Swearhg there- fore that he neither did, nor ever had, doth only fhew with what little relu&ancy of Confcience, he could premeditately and wilfully perjure himfelf} and that he is a very likely perfon to draw others into the perpetration of the fame crime. And as I have not been fcvere in my Reflection on Afcyrick by charg- ing him with willful perjury ; fo I fhould not be injurious to William Ford, in pronouncing him to be no lefs evidently For- fwom in what he hath Depofed. For whereas he hath Declared upon Oath, that tho he had been twenty four years Steward to the Bijhop of St. David's and had often fet thefe Lands, yet that he never knew any Fine given for the Leafe of them : he can be no lefs than wilfully perjured in Swearing fo, In that not only moft'of the Foremention'd Tranfacfions, were during the time of Ford's- ftewardfidp, and particulary the Suite at Law between Biftop Hen,j ^ai" Lucy and Mr. Williams ; but becaufeit hath been alfo in proof B%op''s ' fc°w tnat ne being Steward to Bifiop Thomas, when Harris ii.Whn. took Hall\ Alignment, called him Fool for doing fo ; telling him at the fame time, that the faid Bijhop Thomas, without hhtak- : tither the forefaid Ajfgnmmt, or the paying the foremention'd Fine, .(P'3) Would have given him no diflurbance in the occupation of the fremi fi- fes. Nor will it be here either undecent or immodeft to In- quire, why it fhould be criminal in the Bijl.wp of St. David's to Leafe out the Palace Lands of that Bifhoprick and to receive a Fine for doing it, more than it is in other Bifoops, who are known to have done, and to continue ftill to do the lame. And I would willingly be made to underftand, why it mould be ac- counted, not only;///?, but good Occonomy in the Arch-Bifio'p of Canterbury ', to Grant a Leafe, and to receive a Fine for the decvi}'d Palace of Canterbury both which ( as 1 have been told) have been done; and yet to be held injufticeand oppreflion in the Bifiop of St. David's for acting conformably to the Precedent fet him by his Metropolitan. But among the many other un- happy effects, which proceed from mens being embarqu'd in different Parties and Factions, cfpecially amongj thofe of the Clergy ( who as they are too many of them the moft bigotted and furious of any, ih they claim a peculiar Right both of Sanctifying whom and what they like, and of Reprobating whom and what they diflike ) this is one, and that not the leaft per- nicious, that perfons become not denominated Good or Bad from their Actions, but that Actions receive their fpecifica- tions of being Virtues or Vices from men, as they are found to be of this or that herd and combination. So while OneTacjt. Anicjtias meruit magis, quam habuit, deferred friendfliips, but jjjft t £jb; could neither obtain them nor jufiice ; another is treated with that 3. favour and partiality, that it becomes undeniable, quod Amid sLienu ^n° fecus, quam honeilis utuntur; that they are confide'/ d by them notm ' as being hone ft men, but oa thofe for whom the other have diftinguiJJi- ' ing hndnefs. And in cafe any thing come jndicatty before fuch as are engag'd and wrapt up in Parties, they fail not to declare whom they efteem their Friends, and whom their Foes, utendo imperio, cum legibus cgi debet, by exerting their Authority and Po- j-ac'it Tver instead of Adminifring Jufiice according to the Tenor of 'the Annal. Laws ; that I may allude to a pafTage of the Hiftorian. But Lib. 3. in the Fourth place, that I may Reply unto, and Juftify the BiO;op from the afperfion of Simony, faftned upon him by rea- fon of his Collating Peter Lewis to. the Vicarage of Lanrian, after the having received from him Ten Guineas for the Leafe of the Palace Lands ; I would fain know what pretence they can have from that for the foremention'd Defamation. Seeing that as both the demanding, and the taking of the faid Guineas, ap- pear ( 5>4 ) pear to have meerly on the confideration of Granting untoLewis aLeafe of thofeLands \ and that as they were paid by him only in the way of aftW,fo that they in regard to the value of theLands, amounted but to very moderate one. And therefore that his Lordjloivs Collating Lewis afterwards to Lanrian, was but what he might very Lawfully and innocently do. For as when- fbever Clergy men come to be Tenants to any Bijhoprick Lands whafcfoever, they thereupon acquire a Right of being preferred, ceteris paribus, before others, to fuch Livings, as fall under the difpofal of 'their refpe&ive Diocefans-, fo the Biftwp of St. David's, in the Collating Lewis to Lanrian, did nothing, fave what he was obliged unto by the Rules of common Juftice. So that whereas his having done it, is cenfur'd by the Au- thmr of the Summary View, as carrying a Simoniacal Air in it; I will be bold to affirm, that his having omitted to Collate him either to that place, or to fome other for which he was quali- fied, would not only have carried the Air of Vnrighteoufnefs, but have been down right Jnjuflke. And confequently the only refle&ion, which the Bijhop can be obnoxious unto upon that account, is not that therein he did an unlawful or an ill thing -, but that he did a good and Legal thing to an ungrate- ful man ; from whom ( according to the faying which I have mention'd before ) pro gratia, he met with odium. And as Le- wis'* deferving the chara&er of a molt unthankful perfon, can give no reputation either to the promoter in his producing him for a Witnefs againlt the Bifhop, nor put any lingular e- fteem upon the righteoufnefs and wifdom of thofe who be- lieved his Teftimony ; fo it can be nodi/grace to the B.'pop to have been calumniated by a Fellow, guilty of a crime, which is even to a Proverb accounted the worft of any ; and is therefore ac- companied with that Infamy, which the greateft Villanies fcarcely are, viz.. that ingratum fi dixeris, omnia dixeris, if yon call a man unthankful, you call him every thing that is bad, in filling himfo. Whereof the very Heathen writer by the alone light Cieer. of Nature doth aflign us the reafon, in. telling us, that Grati- Orax. pro tl4j0 vera^ njn folum maxima virtus eft, fed etiam mater omni- n.p mci9. Hm vinmum reliquarnm, Gratitude is not only the chief eft Vertue but the Aiother and Root of all other ; fo that where that is wan- ting, neither Truth, nor probity, nor any other Vertue are to be look't for. So V (95) So that having fufficiently (if I do not greatly miftake) ac- counted with the Author of the Summary View, &c. For the Fourth Accufation, wherewith, (under the Head of Offences of many kinds) he had charged the Bijlwp of St. David's, I hope that I may now fafely Proceed to Encounter that Writer upon the Fifth Afperfion of the fame fort, with which in Slandering of the faid Prelate, he hath no lefs difcover'd weaknefs and want of Judgment, than Impudence and Infolence. Now the Of- fence, to be taken into prefent conflderation, wherewith he hath Indeavour'd, as well to Defame, as to Smut and Blacken him, is that the Bijlwp was not very nice and fcrupidous what he did, in order to fave a little Money, And of this he brings in Proof, how that the Bijhop not only Employed one Thomas Pow el, summary who had been Convitled, even before himfelf, of Forging of PrieftsVicw, p. Orders, to be his Curare at Burrough-Green, (the Rettory whereof 6> 7> the Bijhop held in Command) Bet that he wo: Id allow him only 25 L per An. for his ferving of that Cure. So that hereby the Bijhop ftands Accufed of being Guilty of Two very great and Scanda- dalous Offences, of which as the one is, That he gave Bowel fo narrow and -fcanty an Allowance for ferving of the foremention'd Cure , fo the other is his having Employed a Perjon to be his Curate, who had not only Forged his Orders of Priejlhood ; but his having done it as it would feem, without any previous Inquiry^ whether Powel had any real Orders of Priejlhood, or not, And that it jvas very probable he had not, in that having {as Powel him- j-^q. p0 9 felf Swears') Forg'd his Orders about the Month of March itf8£. wel Prom* he was taken into the Bijhop' s Service, and admitted to be his 46, Wim > Curate at the for ef aid place, on the nth day of December 1690, To both which Accufations, I fhall endeavour to give fuch An- fwers, as fhall abundantly not only Vindicate the Bijliop from Reproach, as well as from Guilt, but which fhall render the Writer of the Summary View, &c. the Scorn of Honeft Men, and - the Jeff of thofe that are Witty. And as to the Fir ft, which is The Bijhop' s having taken one to be his Curate, who had been Con~ vitled (and that even before hirnfelf) of Forging Priefis Orders, and the having alfo done it without previous Inquiry, whether he had any real Orders or noc; I have diverfe Replies to give there- unto, and feveral Rejletlions to make upon the Btjhop's being Articulated againil upon that Information. Whereof the Firfi^ fhall be, That even by the acknowledgment of the Author of the View, The Bijlwp upon Powell being Convicled of that Crimey ( pO had not only Sufpended him from the Performing any Miniflerial Office for two Months ', but had alfo made him confefs his Offence and his Sorrow for it, on the fame day he hired him. Where tho' I am bound to' do that Writer fo much right, as to own his having by this Conceflion Reported the matter truly, as to the moft momentous and considerable particulars of of it :, yet I can not omit obferving his having grofly, and I fear willfully, prevaricated in feveral lefTer things relating thereunto. For whereas he hath declared Powers being fent to Burrough-Green in the Month of December 1690. which he VT}w \o was not untiU tne Month* of January following, as appears by merrogat. PowePs own Depofition ; fo inftead of the Two Months, where- 10. July in that Writer admits Powel to have been Sufpended, it is moll 169 5- certain, that ne flood Sufpended by. the Biflwp for Three , . c Months, or very little lefs, viz.. from the end of September, pra! writt ^e llt^ °f December, as the faid Powel doth alio De- pofe. And tho' thefe may feem unto fome to be but fmall and triffling miftakes in the Writer of the Summary View, yet they do no lefs fhew the infincerity of that Author, than if his Mifreprefentations of that affair had been in more ma- terial Points. It being not only required of an Hifiorian Ne . A quid falfi dicat, And that whatsoever he Writes, it be Sine S° Lib!" ira & °^° h But that he be exactly careful, Ne Veritas Jit: 1. Hi ft. pluribus modis infract a, That the Truths which he reports, be not Lib. 1. voeakned and difparaged by a mixture of Falfehoods with them. For whereas falfe Reafoning doth only leave a Reflection upon a Writers Vnderftandiwg, or at moft doth but expole him to cenfure for want of Difcretion, thro' engaging upon a Subject, [for which he was not Qualified and Adapted by Intellectual Accomplishments, whether Natural, or Acquired : It is univerfally acknowledged, that the Reporting matters of Fact with the leaft variation from what they wen?, mult direct- proceed from a Fanltin the Author's Will, and muftconfequent- ly declare him to be a perfon void of honefly, and of a de- praved Confcience. Whereunto I will in the Second phce Subjoyn, that the Biflwp of St. David's hath acted more agree- ably to his Spiritual Dignity and Office, by his laying Powel under a Sufpentiort, and in bringing him by that exercife of Chriftian Difcipline to a Confeffton and Recantation of his Offence under his Hand and Seal, and fo far as could exteriourly ap- pear, to Contrition and true Penitence for it j then fome other 1 JBijlwps ( 91 )' Bifliops claiming an Authority to Ceafure him, have thcm- felves, done in reference, to perfons proved Guilty of the like Crimes. For tho' I cannot fay, that the perfon notoriously known to have offended in the fame manner (whom I have in my Eye ) doth Hand at prcfent preferred to any Ecclefiafti- cai place ( for which there is this reafon to be afligned, that his Penfions are greater, than any Church Living for which he is either qualified, or doth pretend, could amount unto ) yet he is one of the particular Favourites of the Sub'limeft of our Clergy, and has Tailed of their molt diftinguifhing and An- gular Bounties upon occailoiis. For I fuppofe few are Igno- rant, how that one {tiling himfelf Dr. Kmgfton notwithstanding his having Forged Fnefls Orders^ was neverthelefs not only efteemM wortlry to be fet up as a Witnefs in reference to the Lancaflnre Plot, but hath been honour'd and employ'd fince to be an Eminent Writer of Narratives and Histories, and is laid to be plentifully rewarded, for impofing Fables upon mankind, inftead of furnifhing them with true matters of Facl. But Thirdly, that I may anfwer more directly to the foregoing Ac* enfation, I do fay that as the Bijhop could not upon PowePs re- pentance and recantation of his Crime deny him Abfolution ; ib the ancient Rigours of the primitive Difcipline being wholly fuperceded and become obfolete ( whether in conformity to the Laws of our Holy Religion, or in diflbnancy from them, I will not determine ) it was not in the Bijhops power to debarr him from the Exercife of the Officer of a Clergy man, provided he was really in Orders, of which more anon. And ifPorvel flood entitled to the Difcharging the Duties of a Priest ; I would fain know why the Bijhop of St. David's, might not, without becoming obnoxious to blame or Cenfure, Employ him in the Exercife of the Offices of the Sacerdotal Fun&ion. Yea it was molt proper for him of all men to do it, in that he had not only Abfolved him upon his recantation and repentance, but becaufe during the time of Bowels being under Penitence, the BiJJwp had pbtain'd oportunities and advantages of arriving unto a knowledge both of his Intellectual and acquir'd parts, and of his Minillerial Abilities. And it can not but furprife every thinking man, if he be but withalla Perfon of Honour and Probity, that it mould come to be imputed to the Bi- jhop of St. David's as a Crime, that having Abfolved Powel, he mould afterwards ufc him for his Curate j when not the leaft O re- (98 ) ' reproach falls to the fhare either of the Great Metropolitan, or of the prefent Bifhop of Norwich; for fuffering him to continue in the full Exerctfe of the Sacred Mmiftry -r as he doth at this time in the Bijhoprick of the -latter, and that without the having received any other Vrieftly Orders, fave what .he really and actually had, when the Bijkop of St. David's took him to be his Curate. Which leads me to the Fourth Reply which I am to make to the foremention'd Accufations, Name- ly, that whereas it hath been more than fuggefted by the Au- thor 6f the Summary View, that the Bifliop previously to his fend- ing Powel to ButTOUgh Green, did neither how, nor Inquire, whe- ther Powel had real Order s, or not ; I do affirm that the BiJIiop had both Inquired after his Orders, and did find and know them to be real, antecedently to his fending him thither. Nor is it pofiible, that the Author of the Summary View &c. could be ig- norant of it, it having been declared upon Oath by Powel feimfelf and that in the very Depofnions, whence the faid Wri- ter hath borrow'd and taken all the Afperfions, with which he hath prefum'd on Towel's evidence to flander and Calumniate the Bijhop. Whereof it will not be amifs to give a fhort, but a more faithful Account, than that difhoneft and fabu- lous Author hath been pleas'd to vouchfave us. Namely, that as Powel had at firft Forged Pr lefts Orders in and about the •ue po- month of March 1688 •, fo he had- received Full and True Or- vieVsAn- ders from Herbert Bijhop of Hereford on the Fifth day of June fwer to hi- Y69o. And that whereas he was not fent for by the Biftjop of tsrogdt. gt> David's, nor Examined by him about his Orders, untill the xoS •* y litter end of September, or the beginning of Otlober 1 69 1 -, fo that 1 ^' he had then, and upon that Examination, produced and Exhibi- ted his True Orders to his Lordflup. But that the faid Bifhop having both charged him with the Forging of former Orders^ and with the having ABed Ministerially for fometime in the ver- tue of Forged Orders, he the faid Powel had with all humility acknowledged it, and was thereupon Sufpended by the Bijhop,, for the time which we have already mention'd. So that as it fhews the great partiality, unfaithfulnefs, and even effrontery of the Author of the Summary view, to have charged that as a Crime on the Bijhop of St. David's, for which he neither thinks the Arch-Biftwp of Canterbury, nor the Bijhop of Nor- wich, to deferve fo much as a Reprimand -, fo it doth give hs but a very odd Character both of the great man at Lam- beth ( 99 ) beth, and of feveral of his Comprovincials, that they would al- low that to come in proof againft the Bijlwp of St. David's as an Offence, under the guilt whereof ( if it was one) both his Grace, and the prcfent BiJJiop of Norwich, are fo deeply Involved. But it is the misfortune of that Prelate reum fuiffe fe, tantum - *&na e Xpert wr to be made fenfible only by his pum 'foment, that hewas^z\t.An accounted Criminal ; while they who made this to be one reafon nxL Lib* of their proceeding with fo great feverity againft him, muftre-15* main transferred over to an other Tribunal, in order to its be- ing known, who they wtre, and if they are not mere remarkable Tranfgrellbrs in that particular, than the BiJJwp of St. David's was. However we can not have a greater evidence of the Jlkgallity ( I am loath to fay of the Vnrighteoufnefs ) of the Judi- cial procedure againft that Prelate, than that as the Arch-Bijhop had at Lambeth reje&ed the Motion, for the Bijlwp of St. Da- vid\ bringing into Proof, that Powel had real and true Orders of Priesthood, when he received him to be his Curate } fo the Delegates did abfolutely refufe the admitting its coming into Probation before them. Seeing no other Reafon can be fo much as imagin'd why either They, or the Metropolitan, mould have denied his Lordjliip a matter of Common Justice, and to which he had a Right by the ■ Laws of God, and of Nations^ but that they knew he could prove Powel to have been in full and Lawful Orders, previoufly to his Employing him, and that thereby and upon it he would have ftood Vindicated from a . Defamation, and Justified as Guiltlefs of an Offence, that they had a mind to have him blackned with, and Cenfur'd for. But I muft proceed to the encountring the Writer of the Summary View, in relation to the Second Offence, whereof the Bijhop ftands accufed by him for his behaviour to the foremention'd Thomas Powel, viz.. that he allow 'd him no more than 25/. per annum in confederation for his Undertaking to Serve the Cure of Burrough-Green. And to this I have alfo feveral things to Reply, and fuch ( if I be not deceived ) as fhall make both that Author, and fome Others, wifh it had never been mention'd. And tho' diverfe of thofe ( whom the Refledions which I am to make may poffibly affect ) as well as that Writer, are of fuch a- Complexion of Mind, as alfo of Vifage, that let them be never fo juftly and criminally expofed, they neither know how to' be ajliam'd, nor to blujl), yet I doubt not but that by what I am to fay, the Reafonable jjart 0f mankind, will be led to O 2 judge I 100 ) judge lefs favourably of them for the future, than they have heretofore feenfd to have done. And the firft Reply which I intend to make, fhall be that it is matter of amafement to me, how one that is an Advocate and Partisan for the Metropo- litan of Canterbury, and for fo many of his Comprovincial*, fhould have the impudence, as well as the indifcretion, to Accufe the Bifloop of St. David's for allowing but 25 /. per Annum to his Curate ; when he cannot but know, that there are very many Church Livings in England and Wales, which do not amount to fo much, and that neither his Grace of Canterbury, nor any of thofe who were Ajfejfors unto him in the Trocefs againft the Bi- jhop of St. David's, have ever in the leaffc endeavour'd to get them Raifed and Augmented -, tho it hath been in pheir power, and ftill is, to have obtain'd and effected it. For as it is a moft doleful obfervation, that among the 8348 Spiritual or Church preferments in England and Wales of Ancient and New Foundati- ons, there are above 4359. which are not worth 30/. per Annum, and many of them not worth 20 and feveral of them not worth 10 /. Annually ^ fo it is too«undeniablc,that thefe Scan- dalous Livings ( as one who was often heretofore a Metnber of the Houfe of Commons, as has often faid it within thofe Walls ) do make Scan dalons Minifiers. In that they whofe misfortune it is to be Incumbents upon them, not receiving whereby to maim- tain themfekes, and much lefs 'their Families, do unavoidably fall under fuch necefllties, that by reafon of them they are led into thofe Temptations, which carry them to the doing things, that are both fcandalous and mean. Seeing as the common laying is, neceffitascogit ad turpia, necejfity compells men to do that which is both evil and dijgraceful, and as Tacitus exprefTeth it, ejuibus ob egefatcm p,eccandi necejfitudo, are forced jo offend by Amu]. reafon of .their indigency. For. befides that it doth deprefs. Lib. 3. mens fpirits, that they can not arife to that conliderablenefs in the Church, which their natural Parts had adapted- them for, in that haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obflat, res augufia See hisLet-domi, they whfl are Jlraitncd at home, will hardly ever come to be t:r to the valuable in the World ; fo to fay the truth of it, .they who are King, in Jaiiy toftudyhow to live, will ( as my Lord Bacon phraz'd it ) tkScnrua^^ yHt y^y nttie -time to live to Study. And yet tho' this be ere^eian^the Cafe of many hopeful and very good men of the Minifiry m Cab;>la, England, never thelefs I do not find, that any of our prefent p. 104, Bijhops, have fo much as made it any part either of their Care, or Cioi ) or their Endeavour, to get thefe fcanty and difgraceful Lwingi- augmented with refpect to the profits and Emoluments of them. Tho1 they are thought to have had an advantage for doing it, which their predeceflbrs ( even by their own conceflions ) were not furflifli'd with. Seeing their Lot is fallen to be Pofted in the high places of the Church, under a Prince who (as is to be fuppofed ) would have hearkned unto, and complied with any propofal and motion,which mould have been made unto him of that kind. For he having declared, that the Javing the Pro- t eft ant Religion, was the great End of his coming hither -, and it being upon that profpeci, that he was Exalted to the Throne ', it ought not to be queftion'd, but that he would have both fallen in 'with, and have taken pleafure in promoting, what would have not only been for the Security, but fo much for the ho- nour of our Religion as , that, would have been. For I dare fay, that our Religion is not only greatly difgraced by fovaft a number oi beggarly Church Livings, info opulent a Kingdom, . as this is j but that it is thereby left more expofed to the be- ing Overthrown, than ever it could be by all the Plots and £onfpiracies of the Papifts for the Subverfion of it, which to prevent and cover it from, the Nation hath run into the Ex- pence of fo many Millions, as it hath done. And their Lord- flips the BijJjops, might with the more aiTurance,liave-promifed themfelves the being gracioufly hearkned unto, in any Appli- cations of that nature, which they mould have made unto the Throne, in that his Majesty was Born and Bred in a Country, where as all the. Afinifters of the Golpel are comfortably pro- vided for while they live ; fo there is fpecial care taken by thofe in the Government there, for the Sub t.Taul'mis,Epipha- nins and others,who being received intoEcclefialtical Orders &c. abandon'd their Temporal Hereditary Eftates, and gave them up ( l03 ) up to the ufe and Benefit of the Church, and to the Relief of the Poor, and to works of Mercy and Charity ; all I would therefore either defire, or expecl from our Bifktys and Defied Clergy, is only that they would be more forward, than they are, to allow fomething out of their own great plenty and abundance, for and towards the raffing a Compe- ttncyx for their poor Brethren ftiled the Inferior Clergy. Anc\ be- cause I know not how even to hope for that,c either from their Generofity, or from, the admirablenefs of their Piety, or in the leait believe that they will be perfuaded to do fo' no- ble and exemplary a thing, I {hall therefore beg the pardon of the Bijlwps, and of the Superiour Clergy, for afTuming the liberty of fhewing .how all the Church Livings m England and Wales may be brought to a Competency, without the Raifing a Tax upon the Nation, either for the Buying in of Impropriations, or for the pmcbafing of other Lands, fufficient to give every Cleray man a convenient Livelihood for himfclf and his Family. In order to the explanation and proof whereof, I need do no more than to obferve, that whereas all the Spiritual Preferments in England and Wales, whether upon the Old, or the New Foundations and Enablements, do Dy and according to the Va- luation 26 Hen.8. amount only to 162433 /. 14/. 6 d. per an- num ; that by and according to the New Valuation they do come and arife to the yearly Value of 1399470 /. 6 s. 6 d. Whereof mould only the Firfi Fruits and Tenths, which will amount to 2500025/. 3 s. 10 d. come to be jhared and divided among the [mall Benefices they would thereby be inweafed and augmen- ted each of them to about 70 /. per annum, which would give a competent Maintenarce to all the Infer iour and poor Clergy. And the providing forfo many neceffitous Minifers- by this mews and after this manner, would not only have this advantage attending it, that it would be without any damage or lofs to the Kings of England, in that the full old Rent for Tenths and Fir ft Fruits, would ftill remain to be paid entirely to the Crown, as it was formerly -, fo it would be the likelieft method I can think of, for diverting the Houfe of Commons ( whatfoe- ver ftraits they may be reduced unto for the Raifing of Mo- ney) froril making the improved valuation of Church Lands a- bove what it was 26 Hen. 8. a Fund for the Borrowing, and for thejtaying of Imereii for a vafi Sum. And as this is an Over- ture and^Propofal, which I can hardly think that any of the prefent . ( i°4 ) prefent Bijhoos, or of the Super iour Clergy, WiW have the wicked- nefs and barbarity to give oppofition unto (and dare undertake that the Bijlwp of St. DaviePs will not, notwithstanding all the mifreprefentations made of him as a Penurious and Cove- tous man ) fo it is not to be queftion'd but that both the Kind and the Two Houfes, will readily concurr in it, if a Bill to fo merciful, as well as to fo honourable an End and purpofe, fhall by any one. or more Members of Parliament be fet on foot and purfued. Nor can his Grace of Canterbury, who pretends to have fo great an Influence, ( as he doth ) on the Diflblving and Cal- ling of Parliaments, as well as of precluding fome from being and of preferring others to be Chofen Members of the Houfe of Commons, be without an Interefl in diverfe great men i for the preparing, introducing and carrying on of fuch a Bill! However as to my own part, I have for the honour of our Re- ligion, the credit of the Kingdom, and for the relief of poor . Miniftersof the Gofpel, who if they be not ready to ftarve do at beft live precarioufly, contributed thereunto all that I can, by fuggefting what I have faid. And confidering what provocation moft of our Bi flops, and many of our Super iour Clergy, have made it a parr of their Fun&ion of late to give to the Houfe of Commons, to whom alone both the Right of Granting Money, and of Appointing in what ways and by^what means it fhall be Raifed, doth not only originally, but peculiarly belong ; I fay, that confidering this, it is very likely, that their falling in with the Propofitl I have ventur'd to make, would be the wifeft thiqg they are capable of doing, for preventing that Storm from overtaking them, to. which, by their indiscre- tion in medling as well with things that did not belong to them, as from which they are precluded by a Vote of that Houfe, they have made themfelves juftly obnoxous. Efpecially if they will likewife obferve, that as 250025/. 3;. \o d. which the Tenths and Fir ft Fruits do by the new Valuation yearly amount unto, above what they did arife unto by the old, and that the being Appropriated by an Act of Parliament for the Borrowing Money upon it, will make a Fund for the foment either of a perpetual Inter -eft, or untill fuch time as# the PrmcL pal (hall be Repaid, for a much Urger Summ, ttian was, ever Granted to the Crown in and for one year ; fo it is not altogether unworthy of being Remark'd,thatifthe foremention'd Annual Product of 25002s /• 3 s. 10 d. fliould not be fumcienfc for . ,. Raifing ( i°5 ) Raifing fo much Money upon, as will be Needful for the Support of the War, into which our Clergy are more Zealous than others to kave us immediately pmbarqtte, that there may be found away of eocreafing it, by a Newer Valuation of Church Li- vings, fthan what hath been already made) and which the old Acl of 25 Hen. 8. gives the King a Power from time to time to make. And as this is the Firfi thing I had to Reply unto, or rather to offer by way of Reflection on the forefaid Accufation of the Bi- Jhop of St. David's, for allowing Powel only 25 1. per Ann. for be- ing his Curate at Burrough-Green ; fo mould it be mifconltru'd beyond what is intended, as to be thought defigned to affect fome People in their Copy-hold, and Secular Intereft, more than they do conceive will be for their Profit and Advantage •, I have this to fay in way of Apology and Juftification, that it lay fo fair in my way, that I could not without great Su- pinefs omit it, and that they have none to complain of but them- felves, for obliging me to it. And it is neither accounted Illegal, nor a breach of the Laws of Civility in this Kingdom, for one that always wears a Sword about him, to Draw upon thofe who lift Canes againft him, and if they have been fo Brutal as to Strike with them, to return Stabs for their Blows. My meaning is, that thofe Banditi who Unite and Combine to Plunder fuch as are Innocent and Vertuous of their Credit and Reputations, are to be no lefs vigoroufly purfu'd, nor more gently dealt with, than common P adders are, who Rob upon the Roads of Traflick and Commerce. And had fome People remember'd the Spanijh Proverb, That they who dwell in. Houfes of Glafs, ought not to be the firfi at Throwing of Stones; They would have been *moie temperate and fparing in their Publickly Afperfing and Defaming of others, than they have given Proof of lately to the World. But to pro- ceed to the other Anfwers, which I have in readinefs to give to the foregoing Accufation -, wherein I fhall endeavour to be very brief, and thereby to make a Compenfation to the Rea- der for my prolixity in that which hath been already of- fer'd. The Second Reply that I am therefore. to make, is, That as over and above the 25/, per Ann. which the Bifrop of St. David's gave Powel, he did alfo allow him both all the Eafier Reckonings, and the Surplice Fees, which made the place more valuable unto him, than any one of half the Ecclefiafiical P Livings (106 ) Livings in England would have been ; fo the above 25 /. /w >4w7. which the Bifliop had undertaken to Pay him, was the gi- ving Powel more for performing the Offices of that ©ne fin- gle Curacy, than the faid Powel had receiv'd for ferving of the Two Curacies of Amroth and Crunwars, in the County of Rem- broke, where he had Officiated previoufly to his having been fent by the Bijhop to Burrough-Green. Nor is Lewis to be imagin'd to have been fo carelefs of his Worldly concerns, as to have left the two former, for the latter one, but that he found he was to mend his Temporal condition by it So that tho' the Bijhop gave him but 25 /. per Ann. Yet inflead of Pavel's being thereby wrong'd or injur'd, he was benefited, and had a fpecial favour therein done him. Indeed could Powel have truly Depofed upon Oath, that the Bifliop having promifedto give him 25 /. per annum, had never paid him Fifteen or Twenty, he had then and thereby Charged him with great Injuftice; but his Lordfhip having by PowePs own acknowledgment, paid him to the! utmoft Farthing what he undertook to give him, there was no room left for a criminal Accufation of the Bi- fliop, and the railing one upon that fcore and foot, doth only fhew the inveterate Malice, and the weak but violent Revenge of thofe concern'd in the Procefs againfl that Prelate. For as it hath been always received for a common Maxim, that vo- lenti non fit injuria, ll^hatfoever a perfon doth voluntarily confent and agree unto, in reference to a matter that is fully in and under his own Power. That therein there is noplace remaining for com- plaining of an others injitftice, but only of his own indifcretion ', So I will take the freedom to fay, that mould Tranfattions of that kind be admitted to be brought unpler a Criminal Procefs, there would not only be a Door open'd for innumerable Accufati- ons, but the Kingdom of England with reference to its Judici- al Courts, would juflly become the Subjetl of the Lampoon and Ridicule of the World. Which I do believe, there will ne- ver be occafion ad mini fired for, in that thofe venerable Perfons who Fill the Benches of Wcfiminjter-Hall ( and Trom whofc Juridical proceedings, the Nations about us do Form their Opinions of the Wifdom and Equity manifefted in England, in the Exercife of Judicature ) do adt with more Impartiality, Prudence and Jujtice in all the Caufes that come before them, than the Great man at Lambeth, and the Majority of thofe who were Affjfors unto him in the Cafe of the Bifliop of St. Davids, are (lQ7) are found to to have therein fhew'd and Exerted. Whereunt© in way of a further^fo/>/y to the foremention'd Accufation, may be $dly, added, that much about the time or very little before the BijJiop's having contracted with Powel for 25 /. per Annum to be his Curate at Burrough Green, how that the faid Vowel had rh ofFer'd to be Curate to Edmond Meyrick for 12/. or at molt™, ™* for 16 I. by the year. For as Meyrick himfelf confefleth, thatwitn. Powel came to him to defire to be Imploy'd as his Curate -, So had the Bijhop been admitted to have brought into proof either at Lambeth, or before the Delegates, what he had to alledge in his own vindication from what he was Accufed of in reference to Powel, he both could, and would have fully proved, that the faid Powel had ofFer'd to have ferved Mcyrick in the forefaid Station, for the Salary which I have mention'd. Nor indeed did Meyrick ufe to give any greater Annual allowance to thofe whom he Imploy'd as his Curates-, and thereof no better evi- dence need be afligned, than that the Bijhop had given Meyrick Admonition upon it, as being therein and by, Guilty of a very fcandalous offence. So thatMeyrick thro being one of the Conspi- rators for getting the Bifhop accufed of Giving no more than. 25 /. per annum, to Powel for the being his Curate at Burrough Green, is guilty of a worfe Crime than what the Satyrical Poet fb juftly and feverely Refle&s upon, when he fays, Cloditts'accufat machos, Catilina Cathegum. ##v«/. But I have flill to fubjoyn as a Fourth Anfwer to the fore- faid Accufation, that the Bijhop in Giving 25/. per Annum, to Powel, for undertaking to be his Curate at Burrough Green, did therein allow him the fame Salary, for which Dr. Harrifon pre- bend of Ely had ferved in the fame Station before as Lewis's predecelfor. And as it could be no Injuftice in the Bijhop to Give, nor any Difparagment for Powel, to receive, no more, than what a perfon of Dr. Harriforfs Figure and Merit had been contented with ; So it may with great probability be faid, that, the Bijhop, after the having deducted the 500./. which he had laid out in Building the Parfonage Houfe, and in Planting about it, was not very likely in a conliderable time to be any great Gainer from and by that Parfonage. To which I may further annex as a Fifth Reply to the foregoing Accufation\ that the Curacy of Milden Hall in the County of Suffolk, whither P 2 Powel ( io8 ) Towel went, when be left Burrough Green, and where he ftill continues to ferve as a Curate, is not worth more Annually un- to him, than what the Bijhop gave and allow'd him. And there- fore as he himfelf hath ConfefTed and Depofed upon Oath, that the reatbfl why he left Burrough Green and went to Milden Hall, was not becaufe he had had fo little given him yearly at the former, and was to have fo much more paid him annually at See his the latter' but becaufe he had heard that the Bijhof intended Jnfwer to t0 difcharge and difmifs him. Whereunto I might yet more- lmerrog. over tmny gc\c\ as a Sixth Refty to the foremen tion'd Accufaitbri, l% July that there are many Curates in England, and efpecially in Wales, 1 9*' to whom the Parfons and Incumbents who Imploy them, do not al- low fo much fer annum, as the Bijhop of St. David's gave to Thomas Towel for the being his Curate at Burrough Green. But that being too invidious a Sbbjcd to enlargfc upon, and there being few of any great ac'quairitaace~.ambng our Dignified El- clefiafiicks and our S periour Ctergy,and Plitralifts, who need the being informed of it, I (hall therefore leave it with the bare intimation that I have given. And the rather, becaufe as I would not be of the number of the Delatores, whofe builnefs it is to find out, and to inform of perfons, who may either be made liable to Reproofs and Admonitions, or againft whom a Criminal procefs may be Commenced ; fo I would be loath to be the publifherof that to theWorld,which would be both an Infamy upon the Church of England, and a Reproach to the Kingdom. So that having finifhed all that I do think fit to be Replied to the Fifth Accufation mufter'd up againft the Bijlyop of St. David's by the Author of the Summary FieW, I think that upon the review of the whole, I may modeftly fay, that a great deal' of the matter of the Procefs againft that Pre- late is an Original, and of the Erst Imprejfwn ; and that he was criminally Articulated againft upon feveral particulars, which our Laws do neither make punifhable offences, nor ad- mit the Smutting and Blafting of a Biflwp's Reputation becaufe of them.*! But whether it do' proceed from 'its being a Part of the Epifcopd Office to Expound the Divine Law, that they Claim fuch a Power over Civil, Canon, and Common Laws, as to make them ferve the deligns they have a mind to pro- mote, and to become Minifterial to their Piques and Revenges, I will not Affirm •, however I will take the Liberty to fay in Reference to* too many Spiritual Perfons challenging a b, (io9) Juridical power, more than of any others, Regi Lege*, now Re - gere, that they Govern the Laws, inftead of being Governed by them : L™' ^J and as he faid, a w.i* t§* j»8^w^ etA\* n&i tuv v'o[jlm a,$x°v > 10' that they do not Ride by the Laws, but over-Rale them. Plutar. in And indeed much of the Procedure againft the Biflwp ofviu Flam. St. David's feems to me to bear a refemblance, to two odd Inflances of the perverfion of Juftice among the Romans, where- of the one was in the Cafe of a Daighter of Sejanus, who when thro being a Virgin, could not criminally be put to death, a carnifice laqueum juxta comfrcffam, they caujed the Ex- Tzc]t.An- ecuticr.er firft to deflower her, and then to Execute her', and the77^. Lib. other was in the cafe of a Youth, whom when the De- 5« cem'i'/ii by reafon of his Infancy could not deftroy, they Ordered the Toga Virilis, which was the Badge of arri- Liv' val at Manhood to be put upon him, and then had him cut of: So it having been Refolded that the -Bijhop of St. David's fhould be Difgrac'd and Ruin'd \ it became neceflary in order to the better covering, or at lead the palliating the Severity and Injuftice of the Sentence, which fome Peo- ple-had decreed to pronounce againft him, that thofe things fhould be made heinous Offences, and worthy of deprivation, which no Laws had ever declar'd to be fuch. But to advance to the Sixth Accufation, under the Head of Offences of many kinds, by which I find the Bijhop of St. Da- vid's Afperfed -by the Writer of the Summary View, &c. Name- ly, That his Lordjhip having very many Preferments in his own n. Q# IO«. Gift, had thereby advantages again fl the Promoter in this Gaufei and how he manag'd himfelf by means thereof, in the difcour aging a^d taking off oj Whneffcs, that Author endeaVoureth to Prove by three feveral Jnfiances. Which before I enter upon the particular Examination of, or do proceed to the calling him to an Account, in reference to thofe Individual Perfons, whom he produceth for the fnpport of his Accufation^ I fhall Pre- mife Three or Four things, which fhall be in the nature of a General Anfwer and Reply to that Invidious and Calumnious charge. Whereof the Firfl fhall be this, That I do the lefs wonder, that the Author of the Summary View, mould iufpeft the Bijhop of St. David's to be capable of being Guilty of fuch a thing, in that the faid Writer doth fo weil know, after what manner of Rudenefs, Menace, OpprefTion and Barbarity, fome other Bifhops who are his very right Reverend Fathers in God, (IIO) God, and lingular Patrons, do treat thofe, even of the moft Learned and Worthy among their Clergy, who but dare ei- ther to Contradict them in any of their Dogmatical Di&ates, or to differ from them in their little and narrow Politicks, and efpecially if they ihall venture to fpeak in the leaft Di- minatively of them. And of that, I who am not fo Con- versant with and among the prefent Toeing and Ruling Bi- fliops, nor fo well acquainted (as I believe that Author to be) with the Language, in which they ufe to entertain thofe of the Sacred Funilion, who prefume either to differ from, or t6 difpleafe them in any thing, could give him both many and very aftonilhing examples ; but that for the avoiding the drawing this Difcourfe to too great a length, I lhall content my felf with refrefhing his memory with one or two, and both relating to the Moral and Civil behaviour of one Prelate. Whereof the Eirft fhall be gather'd from a Dialogue that pafs'd between the prefent Bijhop of Salisbury and Dr. Beach 4 Sept. 1690. For the faid Doctor being one who thought he had reafon to forbear the falling into all the Sentiments, and the running into all meafures of the faid Bijlwp, and having withall refufed to tell his Lordjhip, whether he had taken the Oaths to the prefent Government, which he was not thea and there oblig'd by any Law or Canon to do j thereupon the foremention'd BiJJjop, without any other Provocation whatfb- ever given uuto him, (the Doctor being a Perfon of lingular Piety, and of very great Learning, and extremely Confcienti- ous, ftri&and regular in performing all the Offices and Duties of a Prieft of the Church of England, which I am loath to lay, was his chiefefl Crime) the Bjhop thereupon did not only threaten to Profccute him to the iitmcft extremity, and nei- ther to pew him Mercy nor Juftice; but he alfo upbraided him for being a Haughty andlnfolent Man, and that he would believe no one word he faid, menacing to Excommunicate him, and to (five In- fiitution to an other into his Living, and that he would Jhew mere Mercy to a PopiJJj Prieft, than to him, or to any of the De- fSSr prived Englifi Clergy, and that as he hotfd before Chriftmas 16 91. by Funeral fo Jee none of them left m the Kingdom, Jo he was refolv d to Serm. p. make him an Example, Sec. In relation to which inhumane 15. and as Well as utfgentile behaviour of the faid Bijhop to the fore- ^/>/>e?nf. mention'd Doctor, all I will now fay is, that as nothing Pa- ^ ' ralel, or of Alliance unto it, either hath, or can be charg'd upon Difconrfes Cm ; upon the Bijhop of St. David's towards the meaneft, and the very mofl: difrefpe&ful and ungrateful of his Clary, fo it is not likely that the Author of the Summary View, would have fuppofed him capable of being guilty of that, with which he chargeth him towards thofe that had offended him, but that he knew it pra&is'd by others of the Epfopal Order, towards fuch of whom they entertain'd that opinion \ and that being to Draw the Picture of the B'jhop of St. David's, he might very Lawfully Copy it from fuch Famous Originals, or at leafl put fome Lines and Strokes into it, which he had noted and ob- ferved in the Faces of other Prelates: Some may poffibly won- der, that after my having reported fome part of the Un- chriftian, as well as Ungentleman Language, ufed by that Bijhop to Dr. Beach, I lhould omit taking notice of the Complaint of the Poet, Tant& animis cdeflibus ir.t ; but I muft Fay, feven tho' I have Quoted it) that I think there is a certain reafon, why ic is not very applicable to him. And as for the Second Example of the like behaviour of the fame Bijhop, which I promis'd to give ; tho' it was not to one aftually in Sacred Orders, yet it was not only to a Student of Divinity, and who was a Candidate for, and had defigned to Enter into the Minifiery, but it was exercisM upon Motives, that will give both an odd, and a very mrprizing Idea of that Bijhop. The Story whereof in fhort is this, That a certain Young Gentleman of the Scots Nation, and of his own Name ("being call'd Burnet) who is faid to be one of the molt promiung and hopeful, with refpeel: to the Advancements he had made, and was farther likely to make, in all parts of Learning, of any whom that Kingdom had produced in a great while, being in his Principles for Epifccpacy, and wholy averfe to the taking Preferment in a Church, where Bijhops are laid afide as ^Limbs of Antichrift, and that thereupon having left his Native Country, and come hither in expectation of being Received and Encouraged ; and in order, thereunto having Addrejfed his Country-man and Namefake the Bijhop of Salisbury, (to whom alfo he had been recommended by Letters) for his Lordjhip's Favour and Affiftance •• How that the faid Bi- (Iwp, inftead of Treating him Civilly, and much lefs of promi- sing to Countenance him, did not only mofi opprobrioufy ^Reproach him for declining to fettle in a Church whence Epifcopacy was Ba- wjl>d, md where the Tune begun of Swearing to Extirpate it Root ( 112 ) • Root and Branch, but the faid Bijhep likewife pofitively Enjoyned him to go home, and thankfully to fit down under the Presbi- terian Government ( which he withall Angularly Commended and praifed ) which was there EftabliftYd. At which the young Gentleman becoming ftrangely amazed, in that he found a Bt- flwp of the Church of England prevaricate fo egregioufly in re- ference to his avowed Principles, as tofhew himfelf a zealous Advocate for, and a great Patron of Presbitery-, and "withall finding that there were no hopes left him of obtaining Pre- ferment unlefs he would be falfe to his own Confcience and Renounce Epifcopacy, which he was refolved not to do, whatfo- ever the prolpefts of Gain might be upon the one hand, or the apprehenfions of want and penury on the other. How- ever which was worfe, and which I add with forrow, the young man begun thereupon to entertain an ill opinion of the very Protcftant Religion, and grew Tempted to think, that we were no more fine ere in the Belief of the Articles of Faith, wherein we pretend to Differ from the Church of Rome, than he experienced fome to be in thefe Difcipllnary Points and Dotlrines, wherein by Oaths and Subfcriptions they have decla- red rthemfelves to differ from the Churches of Scotland' and of Geneva. And in confequence hereof, he moft unfortunately fell under the Power of the Temptation of Abjuring the Pro- teslant Religion, and of Going over to the Church of Rome, which he accordingly did, and is now among the Jefuits at St. Omers, From whence as it it is too probable that we may hear from himfelf in time, and that in a way which will neither be for the honour of the foremention'd Prelate, nor for the Credit of our Religion ; fo I doubt not but that the Jeftites are very fen- fible of the kindnefs done them by this Bfiop, in being, if not the Caufe at leaft the occafion of their acquiring fuch a Profelite. And whether the many prevarications in his pretended Expofition of, and Paraphrafe upon our 39 Articles, may not be a means of helping them to more Aposlates from our Re- ligion-, and Converts to the Romijh, mult be left to future difco- very ; tho' I can not omit fuggefting my Fears, that that Book of the faid Bifuop is no lefs calculated to do us a mis- chief of that kind ; than the Letters he writ to Mr. Papin were, wherein the Licentioufnefs, as well as the Latitude of Belief for which he pleads, is turned into a pretence by the faid Papin for hlsgoing into the Church of Rome, and as he phrazeth it, to avoid .( "3 ) avoid tlie Scepticfm, which thefe Letters directly led into, by seeVab'm't taking Soffiltfary in the Authority of the Romijh Church. But UTolercna it is high time to proceed to what I am to premife in thtj? Pme- Second place, in the way of a general Anfwer to the foremen--' p" tion'd Accufuion and Charge. And that fhall be this, namely, JJp' JJJj that the Advantages which the Bijhop is fuppofed to have had, 421J 422! for difcouraging and taking off the Witmjfes, which were to have been produced againft him, bore no proportion to the*5. Advantages which the promoter had in procuring fuch to be Witneffes, who mould be ready to fwear whatfoever he had a mind they mould, nor were the means ufed by the Bijhop for preventing mens Calumniating him, of any_ reiemblance to the ways taken and purfued by the Promoter for the proving him guilty of the offences, with which he had defamed him. For how little was the BiJJiop's Authority and how weak and nar- row his Intereft ^ either to deterr men from depofing againft him, or to give them hopes that the declining to do it would turn to their profit and advantage in comparifon of the power of Arch-Bijhop Titlotfon, and of Arch-Bijhop Tennijon^ and the many opportunities, and the vaft means, which their Graces, and his Lordlhip's many other Enemies, ftood fur- nilhed with, and poTeifed of, for the Rewarding of thofe, who mould mew themfelves zealous in Informing againft him. For not to iniifl upon his being Branded for a Jacobite^ and that fome of the chief Crimes with which he was calum- niated, were the omitting to Require the OatWs appointed to be ta- ken to the Government ; and that he was an Enemy to King William, and he not only often omitted to pray for him , but Drunk to his being Dethroned; for no lefs than that is imported in his drinking to the Re f; oration of the Late King James, with which he hath been afperfed \ all which Reproaches upon him, as well as many more of that kind, may be very reafonably ac- counted proper and effectual means both for the tempting fuch as were either Mercinary, or who thought they could -never teftiry Hatred and Wrath enough againft thofe conceiv'd Dis- affected to the prefent Eftablifhment, to lift themfelves Wit- nefTes for the getting fo Dilloyal a Man, as the Bijhop was 1 eprefented to be, Punifhed \ and alfo for the frightning ho- neft, but timorous Perfons, from venturing to appear for him, tho they knew him Innocent of, and could have Vindicated him from the Crimes, whereof he was Accufed. Nor do Q. there ("4) there want Examples, even in this Kingdom, where pre- tences of providing for the fafety of Princes on the Throne, and for the Security of Governments then in being, have prov'd fufficient and efFe&ual methods for Procuring and Muttering up Troops of Witnefles, to the Swearing the molt Criminal things imaginable againft thofe, of whofe being Guil- ty of any Fadl, that was Legally Punifhable, they knew no- thing. And as in thefe cafes, and where Perfons ftand thus Tacit. Calumniated, Sive bene five male fall a, premunt, Wbatfoever they Bifi. V^i. fay or do, whether it be Good, or whether it be Evil, is pervert- *• ed and applied to their Prejudice ; fo their Enemies in the want of matter wherewith truly to accufc them, can Adulations Id. Anml. fngere, fecnri de facilitate credentis, Boldly invent, being as it Lid. jo. were ajJ}ire^ tfat tfoey foan ye believed in whatfoever they fay. And as it was from and thro' a belief of thefe things, and by reafon of the Pique, Hatred and Revenge conceived a- gainft the Bifhop of St. David's on thofe accounts, that the Metropolitan, and diver fe of the Comprovincials who were Af- fejfors unto him in the Procefs againft that Prelate, became influencM and hurried to Aft with fo much Severity towards him, when they proceeded fo gently againft the Bifhop of St. Afaph (as I have faid before J whofe Crimes were not only more Scandalous and Heynous, than thofe were with which he flood charged, but fully and evidently proved, which thofe againft the Bifwp of St. David's never were ; fo we may very reafonably conclude, that molt of the Witneffes who appear'd againft him, were both drawn in and fway'd, and madePee- vifh, Angry and Revengeful in their Depoftlons, upon and becaufe of the fame Inducements and Motives. Moreover we have already fhew'd and prov'd beyond poflibility of be- ing rationally contradicted, by what Promifes of Per. ads and Preferments, as well as by whom propos'd and made, diverfe were Gain'd, Brib'd and Suborn'd, to come in and appear as Witneffes againft the Bifiop of St. David's. And how that fuch, who could not be prevail'd upon by Flatteries, Ca- reiles, and AMurances given them, either of receiving Recom- pences in Money, or of being Collated to Church Livings, provided they would Inform againft the Bifhop, were Menaced and Threat-aid, in order to the Frightning them to do it. For as Self-Love and Self-Fear, are "the two Wards in the Loch of Mens $ouls% by the framing of Keys unto which, and the (»5) the skilful and artful Turning them, mofb People become biaz'd and determin'd unto whatfoever they do ; fo it hath been already evidently demonflrated, that all the ways and methods imaginable, were taken and purftfd for the working upon the Love and Fear, which Men have of, and prefcrve them' felvcs, in order to the gaining them to Depofe as Witness againfl the Bifiop of St. David's. But to Reply farther in general to the foregoing Accufaticn, I do "thirdly fay, That the Bifoofs Rebuking of Perfons, for having Caufelefly and Unjuftly de- famed him, was fo far from being a Fault, that to have o- mited it, would have been to have neglefred the Duty of an Honeft and Innocent Man, and much more to have been wanting in the difcharge of the Office of a Chriftian Bijliop. For if it , . be incumbent upon every one, in any wife to Rebuke his Of- £- l^' finding Brother, and not to fujfer Sin upon him ; and that if one Trsnfgrefs againfl an other, he to whom he hath been Inju- liows^ jhall Rebuke him, in order to Ahe bringing him .to Rep en- Luke. 17. tame, and the preparing him to become thereby a meet fub- ?• jed for Forgivenefs *, much more are thefe required as Duties in a Biflwp. Nor will the Author of the Summary View dare f I hope) to charge it as an Offence upon our Lordjefus Chrifi, that knowing Judas to have Betrayed him, he not only pro- nounced a woe againfl him, faying, Wo to that Man by whom the Son of Man is Betrayed ; but he farther told him, as well as the refl of the Difciples, that it had been better for him never Marh 14^ to have been Born, than to have been guilty of fo great a Wick- ax. ednefs. Surely this Impertinent Writer could not expect, that the Bijhop mould have commended thofe, who had Malicioufly and Falfely Accufed him ? And that inflead of Rebuking them for their Defamations, he fhould have praifed them for the having PerjurM themfelves in Swearing to Invented and Forged Crimes againfl him. For if it was a Difhonour to in Pagan Emperor Tiberius, to be fo far Contemptor fu& fam tnat **eem§ becaufe of tbe Combination and Conspiracy of «. ' our Enemies, and by reafon of our being afperfed and calumniated rvith Forced Crimes, there is neither room left for ajferting the Truth, nor for Juftifying our Jnnocency -, we will therefore adu- Jd.Ammh l^tione querere remedium, feke to relieve and fecure our f elves by Lib. 4. praifmg of our Adverfaries and by writing panegy rich on thofe who falfely accufe us of Scandalous and pun ifa able Offences. But fi- nally by way of a Fourth General Reply to the foremention'd Accufation,I do fay that theBiflwp is no ways to beblamed,either for excluding thofe from his familiarity and friendfhip, or for denying them the Courtefies which they had the impudence to demand whom he knew, aud could likewife prove by o- thers, to have wilfully perjurM themfelves, in order to difgrace him, and to do him a mifchief. For tho it be the the Duty of every good man both to pray for his Enemies, that they may repent of the evils they have done him, and to par- don them in Cafe they do •, yet no one is bound to reward and prefer another, beeaufe of his having defam'd, and en- deavour'd to ruine him. And in my opinion, the Author of the SummaryVievo, might have held himfelf fatisfyed, that diverfe of the Witnefles againfl: the Bijhop of St. David's, have been fo liberally paid and recompenced for their Depoftions by tfcofe, who fought the getting that Prelate charged with offen- ces, by reafon whereof they might have a pretence admini- itred unto them, of wrecking their malice and revenge upon him -, and he ought not to have made it the Ground of fur- ther reproaching and alperling of the laid Biflwp, that he had not made it his bufinefs to beftow Ecclefiaftical Benefices on. thofe, who had become unjuftly and wrongfully Informers, for the gteting him degraded from his Dignity, and turn'd out of his Bijljoprici. So that the foregoing criminal Refledion of the Author of the Summary View, upon the Bijhop feemeth to me to bear the greateft refemblance imaginable to thejln- folence Effrontery of C. Fimbria in his accufing of Scavola. For Fimbria having at the Funeral of C. Marms endeavour'd to have killed Scavola and having then actually wounded him, had not only the impudence on Scavola\ recovery of his wound,, publickly to accufe him, and to have him brought as a ( m ) a Criminal, judicially before the People, but being ask'd what he had to fay againfl: fo Innocent, Vertuous, and Worthy a Man, durft aiTume the Infolence of anfwering, quod farcins te-v l hum corpore recepifs et, That it was becaufe of his not having m.m. Lib. receiv'd the Thruft of the Weapon fo fully into his Body, as 9. to be Kill'd and MurderM by it. So that having faid whatfoever I thought either needful, or convenient to be Replied in General, to the foregoing Ac— cufation faftned on the Biflwp, I am now to proceed to the Confederation of the feveral Inflames, brought in proof of them by the Author of the Summary View. Whereof the FirSt is, That one James Harris, a Witnefs produced by the Promoter, hath Strom, That when he was Ordained, neither the Bijhop, nor any other Per [on, did adminifter to him the Oaths by La:? required', though it was certified in his Orders, under the B, flop's Hand and Ep. !fcopal Seal, That he the faid Harris, had taken the Oaths in that Behalf, necejfary and required. And how that thereupon, this Harris, summary after his Examination in July, 1697, waited on the Biflwp, to de-yiew, p. fire a Licenfe to ferve the Cure o/Trallong, carrying a Certificates, 9. with him from the Pariflwners, That he had Served them Two or Three Tears before, to their Content ; but that the Bijhop would not admit him into his Prefence, until he fliauld give fomething under his Hand, to fhew his Sorrow for what he had Depofed as afore faid. And that he the faid Harris, having waited on the Bijhop Twice af- terwards, to pray his Licenfe for Serving the fore faid Cure, the Bi- fbop fill inffied, That he would have him own his Mistake in what he had Depofed ; but that he not only refufing to do it, but withalr , telling- his Lordflnp, That his Depojition was true : The Bifliop there- upon grew Angry, and having faid that Harris had made him a Lyar, he both called him Impudent Fellow, and Forbid him either to Officiate in the Cure, or to Teach School. All which, as I mall endeavour carefully to examine ; fo I hope to give thofe An- fwers unto, and make fuch Refle&ions upon what is from Harris's Teftimony here charged upon the Bijhop, that if I do not very much miftake, the Writer of the Summary View, may come to wifh, he had never heard of Harris; and moreefpe- cially, that he had never made ufe of his Information. And therefore, what I have in the Firfi place to offer by way of Anfwer, and to propofe in the nature of a Refleclion, is, (that when we come hereafter, to call this Writer to an Account about the Crimen falfi^ whereof the Bifhop was accufed) it {hall cm) fhall then be demonftratively proved, that Harris did plainly, and dire&ly For/wear and Perjure himfelf in Depofing, That when he was Ordained, neither the Bijhop, nor a»y other Perfon, admini- ftred to him the Oaths by Law required. But though I be there- upon, obliged to adjourn untill then, moll I have to produce in confirmation thereof j yet I cannot at prefent, omit the mentioning of one thing, which is of it felf alone, fufficient to prove beyond all Poffibility of Excufe, or Evaiion, That he PcrjurM himfelf in the making of that Depofition. And that is, that he did, and hath therein, dire&ly, and in exprefs Terms, Comraditled himfelf. So that unlefs the Two Parts of a Contradiction can be reconciled to one another, and made at the fame time to be equally True, it will be impoflible, ei- ther to cover, or to vindicate this James Harris, from Perjury. For whereas he has in one Part of his Depofition pofltively Fromot Sworn,"- That neither the Bijhop, nor any other -Perfon, did Admi- M.Witn. nifier to him the Oaths by Law required; he doth in an other fart Anfw. to of it Swear with the fame pofitivenefs, that there was at his Or- Imerrog. din at ion an Oath Written in Scripts of Paper adminifired unto him^ but in which the Names of King William and Queen Mary '(were not. For as it rs mofl certain that the Oath of Supremacy lis not only one of the Oaths requir'd to be taken at thofe times \ 'of thofe who are to enter into Holy Order, but that it is the UnlyOath that can be Regularly and Legally Adminifired in the * Office of Ordination ; in that the other appointed to be given to fuch Perfons, which is the 'Oath of Allegiance, being Enacled to fbe Taken in Court,, and therefore not Adminiftrable Regularly to any on a Sunday, or the Lord's-day (which was the day of the Ordination) as not being Dies Juridicus, or a Law day, fb I fhall need to fay no more in Proof that the Names of King William and Queen Mary, were not in the faid Oath of Supre- macy, but barely to repeat it. Whereof, by the All fince the Revolution, for Efiabliflnng -the Ne w Oaths, both the Tenor and Words are as do here follow. Namely, / A. B. do Swear, that J do from my heart abhor, detefi, and abjure, as Impious and He- retical, that damnable Doctrine and pofition, that Princes Excom- municated, or deprived by the Pope^ or any other Authority of the See of Rome, may be Depofed or Murther'd by their Subjects or any ether whatsoever, &c To which is fubjoyn'd the Decla- ration, viz. That I do Declare, that no Foreign Prince, Per/on, Pre- late, State or Potentate, hath, or ought to have any any Jurif- dittior, ( II* ) diction, Power or Superiority, Prehemmence, or Authority, Ecclefi- afiical or Spiritual within this Realm ; fo help me Cod. Nor doth the faid Oath of Supremacy,-'™, this New Edition and Eftablifh- mento^it, differ in this particular from what it was before, (tho' in fome Phrazes and Expreflions it be fomewhat abridged and made fhorter) in that never any of our Kings were men- tion'd in it formerly by Name. And then as for the Oath of Allegi- ance, tho' the Bijhop did not Adminifier it to fuch as were to be admitted into Orders in the Office of Ordination, as well for the reafon I have already given, as becaufe he had been other- wife advifed and dire&ed by that Learned Judge the late Sir John Vowel; yet he never omitted the Adminiflring'w. to every fuch Perfon in Conn the day before. Whereof ( tho' it may feem an anticipating of what I have further to fay, when I come to Examine what is alledged by the Author of the Sum- mary View in reference to the Crimen Falfi, of which the Bijhop is accufed J I fhall here offer one proof and Confirmati- on, by prefenting the Reader with a Certificate of a very up- right and credible perfon one Richard Davies Clerk, ( who was ordain'd at the fame time with the aforefaid James H«r- m)giveu under his hand 11 Apr. 1701. before John Lewis Efq ; a Juftice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the Coun- of Cardigan j and before Ch, Price Retlor of Lanarth ; and Sa- muel Williams Vicar of Llandegrig ; and Walter Jenkins ; who do all Subfcribe unto the authentieknefs of it, and atteft it as Witncffies. Which Ceetificate is in the Words following, viz* This is to Certify whom it may concern, that I Richard Davies Clerk, together with William Herbert,* and James Harris, and others, were Ordained by Thomas Lord Bijlwp of St. David"V in the Chap- pel of St. John Baptifl in Abergwilly the 24th of Sept. 1693. And that after my Examination in the foregoing Week, I was Re- quired to take the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary inthefe words following, (Which by the way, are the ve- ry words it is Ordained to be taken in by the new Adt ) viz,, / Richard Davies do Jincerely fromifc and Swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to their Majefiies King William and Queen Mary. Whereunto in the faid Certificate he further adds, that having taken the Oath of Allegiance the 23d. of September aforefaid, how that upon the Ordination Sunday, which was the 24th of the fame Month, He the faid Richard Davies, together with the faid Wifliatn Herbert, James Harris, and ' ( 120 ) and others] did. within the time or Office of Ordination take the Oath of Supremacy, as' Fnjoyned by an AH: of Parliament made in the fixth year of King William, and Queen Mary, the fame having been tendred unto them upon a Script of Taper &c. From all^vhich, as it plainly appears, that Harris hath in his foremention'd Depo fit ion, forfwom and perjur' dhimfelf *, fo we may from thence alfo difcern the wonderful Effrontery of the Author of the Sum- mary View in daring upon his Testimony to accufe the Bifiwp of St. David's of having Omitted to Adminifter the Oaths by Law required to Harris and to thole who were Ordained with him. Nor can I here neglect obferving, with what Equivoca- tion and Sophifiry the faid Writer hath both Blackned, and Dark- tied that whole affair, thro' concealing the Bijhop's giving the Oath of Allegiance on the Saturday, wherein the Name of King William was mention' 'd and the bearing faithful and true Allegiance to him, and to the late Queen, were promifed and Sworn, and by taking notice only of the Oath Adminifte^d in the Office of Ordination on Sunday, which being that of the Supremacy, it was impoflible there fhould have been mention made in it of King William, in that there was no fuch name there. And tho' I doubt not, but that the faid Writer, both greatly valued him- felf, and was very much efteem'd by his Eminent Patron, for that peice of Deceit and Legerdemain, efpecially confidering the humour and genius of the prefent Age, wherein more than TH». Lib. ever, decipere, pro moribus temporum, prudentia eft, to be skilful 8. Epift, fa decei>ving^ is to be accounted wife ; yet I fhall think him at leaft, whatfoever I do them, to be a perfon- of a Itrange For- head, if upon his being thus dete&ed and expofed, and his finding that doli non funt doli, nifi aftu colas, that tricks and ar- tifices lofe their credit, unlefs they be more craftily managed, than they have been by him, he can avoid being aftiam'd, as well as blufhing. But that I may go on, I do fay in the Second place, that the Bijhop knowing Harris to have Forfwom himfelf, and being likewife able to have proved it by the Teftimonies of very many perfons of lingular Vertue and Probity, he would have not only a&ed very unfuitably to his Office and Chara- cter, but have made himfelf a heinous and a wilful Tranf- greflbr, fhould he have granted fuch a perjur'd Fellow a Li- cence to Serve a Cure. For how could fuch a one be held qua- lified to Officiat at the Altar} Of whom there were many proofs, that he had Forfwom himfelf at a Bar, And to have autho- (121 ) ra'd fuch a Perfon's taking upon him the Conduct, and Cure of Souls, would have been in the Bijhop, to have acted repug- nantly to the Apofiolick Rule, which requireth, That fuch as are admitted to be Minifiers of the Sacred Gofpel, be not only Blamclefs, Sober ', and of Good Behaviour, but that they have a Good i Tim. Report of them which are without, left other wife, they fall into Re- 2> 7* proach. And it doth greatly concern thofe who are Bifiops, to be the more Careful in this matter, in that the chief Topick from which the profane Wits of this Age do bring their Sur- al fms and Raileries, for the Ridiculing, and Lampooning Re- ligion it felf, is. That too many ftiled Priejls, and Perfons in Spiritual Orders, inftead of being Patterns of Vertue and Piety, are but little lefs Guilty even of fome Scandalous Vices, than thofe of the Laity. And it is to be feared, That the Immora- lities and Practical Atheifm of fuch, have too much, both Pa- ved the Way, and proved a Temptation to the Speculative Atheifm of fo many of our Nobility and Gentry, with whom, to the Difgrace of this pretended Reformed Kingdom, as well as to the Difhonour of Chriftianity, the Nation aboundeth. Yea, they who are Bifwps, mould be the more Strict and In- flexible in that matter, in that they who Dijfent from the Nati- onal Church, are thought therefore to Increafe, and Grow the more Numerous, becaufe fuch who take upon them to Preach, and to Adminifter the Ordinances of the Gofpel, in thofe Separated (and now Tolerated) Meetings, are Vulgarly be- lieved (though in no one thing is the World more Univerfally, and Wofully Miftaken, than in that) to be as well more cir- cumfpedt and Regular in their own Lives, as they are more Lowd, if not Zealous, Declaimers againft Publick Vices, than the Eftablifhed Clergy are accounted generally to be. Nor in my Opinion, could the Bijhop of St. David\ forbearing the further exerting of his Difciplinary Power, and Epifcopal Jurifdi&ion towards, and againft Harris, than in meerly re- fnfng him a Licenfe to Serve a Cure, have been eafily vindica- te from the being a Fault of too much Remifnefs in the Performance of the Duties which were incumbent upon him, as he was a Bifhop ; But that as his Authority had been not only eclipfed, but reftrain'd by his Metropolitan -, fo by the offering to have carried things further againft Harris, he would have been thought, rather to have purfued his own Re- venge, than to have fingly, and fincerely intended the punifli- R ing ( 122 ) ing of Harris for his Offence and Crime. And that his LorA- fhip would have thereupon, become Obnoxious to the Cenfure faftned on the Church of Rome, (and I wiih it could be charg'd no where elfe) That (he more feverely punifheth them who break in upon her Grandeur and Dignity, than She doth thofe who Live in an avowed Breach of all the Laws of God. However, the Bijhop of St. David's, in allowing Harris time from July 97, until the September following, for the recollect- ing himfelf, and further retracing and repenting of his Fault, mult be acknowledged to have therein, acted both with great Prudence, and with lingular Lenity. But in Anfwer, Thirdly, To the foremention'd Allegation : I do fay, That it was not becaufe of Harris's having Depofed as aforefaid againlt the Bijhop, that his Lordfhip denied him a Lkenfe to Serve the Cure QiTrallong-, but it was becaufe he the faid Harris, flood Com- plained of unto, and accufed before his Lordfhip, of being Guilty of other very Scandalous Offences. As particularly, That the Jlkfdt. la& Saturday of July, 1693, be had been fo Drunk, as that he Given by could not Walk ', and that on the Fryday following, he had fit up the Bp. Drinking in an Alehonfe in Languedock, until after Midnight. 27. July, By reafon whereof, however well quallified he might have 1 9 ' been for the being a Prieft in the Temple of Bacchus ; yet he was in no wife to be admitted to be a Minifer of the Gofpel -, it being ordained by an ApoBolick Rule, That whofoever is allow- 1 Tim. 3. ed to be fuch, fitajl be one not Given to Wine, i. e. He (ball 3. neither bear the Character, nor lie under the Accufation of be- ing a Tipler or Drunkard, let the Liquor be what it will. But if any would now inquire, Why the Bifiop did not bring thofe Scandalous Offences and Crimes into Proof again ft Harris, the Anfwer thereunto is both ready and eafie, namely, that his Lordjljips^s Motion for it at Lambeth, was Resetted, until the Arch' Bifliop had Concluded the Caufe. It being then and there told him, That neither any Exceptions he had to make, nor any Allegations he was in a condition to bring, could be admitted or received, until the Caufe came to be brought before the Delegates. And alas, when that was, even there alfo, and by them, was that common Juftice, by a Majority of Votes, denied unto him. Notwithstanding that my Lord Chancellor (as I have faid before) had Declared in the Honfe of Veers, that the Bijhop mould have Liberty granted unto him by, and before the Delegates, .-ion probata probandi, ct non allegata allcgandi: Whereof having already ( 123 ) already made mention, and withal beftow'd fome Reflexions upon it, I fhall not therefore here infill upon it again. But fhall proceed to the Second Infance ailed ged by the Writer of the Summary View, in proof of the aforefaid Afperfion and Accufation. And that is That one John Scurlock (ftiled by that Author, one of the Bifhop's own WitnefTesJ Sweareth, That when a certain Ptrfon called William Harris, came to the Affiles at Carmarthen, Anno, 1697, to prove Simony againft Mr. Medley Arch-Deacon of St. David'j, how that he the flid Scurlock, tock'd him up in a Room, and prevented his going to aive Evidence for Mr. Bowen, the Kings Prefentee to the Arch-Deacon ary aforefaid, and that for this Service, he the faid Scurlock, had Thanks given him summary by the Bijhop. Whereunto, , before I come to the giving of Par- view, p. ticdar Anfwers, I cannot omit, in the way of Premife, obfer- 9> li- ving, how that of all Men whatfoever, in whofe Writings it hath been my Fortune to become a little Converfant, this An~ thor is the moft unhappy in his Choice of Topich of Argu- mentation, and in the pitching upon Medium\ for the proof of what he aflerts. But whether it proceed from his being na- turally a Weak and Impertinent Man, or be the EfFed of an accidental Darknefs, which his Rage againfl the Bijhop, hath brought upon his Underftand.ing, (iracundia being alwife, iiti- mica concilio) I will not take upon me to determine ; but this I will take the Confidence of affirming, That he is a Writer, who neither knows how to diftinguifh between what is Per- tinent, and what is Impertinent, with refpecT: to the Defign in which he was embarqu'd '-, nor is he able to difcern between what would ferve him, and what would diflerve him. But poflibly it is neither from a Defeft of Parts, nor from his be- ing under the power and Influence of Pique and Revenge againfi the BiJJjop, that he fo fhamefully trifleth with, and fo contemp- tuoufly Treateth his Readers in the Allegations, which he brings \ but that it arifeth from the Scorn which he entertains of the Intellectual and Ethical Endowments of moft men, and that Grounded upon the Experience he hath had of the Un- derftandings and Morals of diverie of thofe, before whom the procefs againft the Bijkop lay, thro' their admitting the many weak and foolifh, as" well as falfe Informations alledged againft that Prelate, to be Legal proofs and Irrefragrable Evidences. But to proceed to the giving more particular Replies unto, and more diftind Reflections upon, what the Author of the R 2 Sum- ( "4 ) Summary View, hath inferred from Scurlock's Depofition,' and charged upon the Bijhop. And the Firfi thing 1 have to An- fwer and obferve is, that I do not find any thing in the faid Depofition, whereby it is fo much as infinuated, that the Bijhop did in the leaft know, what Scurlock intended to do for pre- venting William Harris Retlor of Gladejlry in the County of Rad- ner and Brother to the aforefaid James Harris, by Locking him up in a Room, previoufly to his doing of it. And much lefs doth it any way appear, nor indeed is it charged upon the Rifhop, that he fhould have either advifed, or encouraged Scurlock there- unto, antecedently to his having done it. So that 1 cannot underftand, how this Prelate mould come to be criminally af- fe&ed,by that Fad of Scurlocks in KmdringHarris from appearing to give Evidence at the Ajfizje at Carmarthen thro* Locking him up in a room. For all the feveral ways afllgned either by Divines or Civilians, m which one man becomeih involved un- der the Guilt of a Fact perpetrated by another, are either by the having Commanded, and Encouraged it, and the having formally or at leafl; conftrucYively ajfifted towards the doing it, or the not having hindred k, when it was both his du- ty, and in his Power to have done it. From all which ways of acceflion to that pretended OfFcnce and Crime of Harris the Bijhop being wholly and intirely Innocent, I think it will naturally follow, that this Writer by his Accufing the Bifiop as Guilty of a henious Fault on that account, doth only fhew his Malice, and withal difcover his Impertinence, and the want of good Senfe. And for my part, I mould be inclinable to be- lieve, that che doing thereof by Scurlock, was rather in order to the laying a deflgu of dilTerving the Bijlwp afterwards, than the performing a iervice then which he hop'd would be Benefi- cial to him. For as the Hiftorian obferves, That lefimum Ini- . micorum genus, laudantes, They whofeemto be the moft forward in Vit Aer f^e ¥raifin& °f others, are ufially their worfi Enemies ; fo wheilfb- ever I do either find, or hear, that little and mean people ( which are for the molt part mercinary ) are officious in per- forming fervices to and for their Superiors which they were neither invited, nor defired to render, I am apt to conclude, that latet unguis in herba, There is a Snake in the Grafs, and that under the pfetence of Serving them, they do meerly feek to ferve themfelves upon them ; or which is worfe, to make way for ferving of their Enemies, by betraying them unto them; fl25 ) them. And therefore it is not only faid, but laid down for a Rule in the Civil Law, that Me hoc ipfo fitfpe&us eft, qui n operam fuam ingerit invito-, Whofoever intrudeth hirnfelf i//,o bu- jg' ]'torf finefs, which he is not called unto, is' to be fufpefted of carrying '$' Curat* on feme difign of his own. And in the prefent cafe I do plain- £• 25. £>.. ly reckon, that Sim lock by the Locking tip of Harris, did ei-de prom-} ther thereby intend the fpunging of money from the Bijhopratm as a recompence and reward for it, or if his Lordjhps In- nocency, Integrity and Probity would not allow him to give any (ask appeareth he did not) to turn and improve the feeming fervice, which he would be thought to have done for the Bifhop, into an Advantage and mean of becoming reconciled unto, and meriting from his Enemies, byflander- ing and defaming of him. Wherein as I (hall ihew anon, he had the luck not to be miftaken, and the fortune to be fuccefsful. But then. I have a further Anfwer to give in the Second place, which fhall particularly relate to what it is pretended that William Harris (whom Scurlock accufethhim-j-^ tj,e felf to have lock't up, and thereby to have hundred him from Bp's exA giving Evidence at the Carmarthen j4jfiz.es, fo that Bowen neither ceP& *n& could, nor did go on with his Trial ) had to Inform and Depofe ^fe^d!' 8 againft the Bijhop. And my Reply thereunto fhall be, how that l6^ " it was offend in proof, that he the faid William Harris, had fe- rioitfly faid and declared, to and before fever al per fans, that he knew nothing that was ill of the faid Bifhop, and that he had nothing to fay againft him. And that indeed he had nothing whereby his Lordfh'.p could become affe&ed with the guilt of any offence or Crime whereof to accufe him in reality and truth, is plainly demonftrable from hence, namely that Bowen hath defpaired of Reviving that Suite fince, notwithstanding his having now got- ten Scurlock to favour him, as well as he had William Harris be- fore. For his Lordfnps Enemies, even after all their fuccefs a- gainft him before the Metropolitan, are more wife than to bring his having Collated Mr. Medley Simoniacally to the Arch-Deacon- ry of St. David'*, to be Tried in our Courts of Common-Law, tho7 they know that the Getting a Verditt and Sentence in Con- firmation of that, would both immediately difpofTefs Medly of that Dignity, and let Bowen the Kings Prefentee into it. Nor do I blame their Policy and difcretion, feeing they can not avoid being fenfible, that our Judges at Common Law, are perfons both of more Knowledge, and of greater Integrity, than to be either iin- ( m ) impofed upon and deluded by falfe Colours, or perverted by undue Motives, from adminiftring Juftice equally and imparti- ally, between all perfons,and in allCaufes that come before them. However notwithstanding both that William Harris knew no- thing of the Bijhop that xvas ill, and had Declared fo much to di- verfe ■, yet upon his coming to Carmarthen, and falling there in to Converfation with Edmcnd Meyrich, and other Enemies in confederacy againft the laptop, he was by him and them drawn in and Suborn'd,(as many more had beenjto become a witnefs a- gainft his Diocefan.But to proceed to a third Anfaex, which lhall dire&ly and particularly referr to the Bifhops having Thank'd Scurlock, for his Locking up of Harris &c. and I do in way of Reply thereunto affirm, that in cafe the Bijhop didfo, (for which there is no other Evidence, fave ScnrlocVs ownTeftimony alone ) he had all the reafon imaginable for doing it, without the being rendered thereupon obnoxious, either to Cenfure, or to any un- decent and finiftrous fufpition. Seeing that every man who finds himfelf profecuted at Law, notwithftanding the aflhrance he may be pofTefed of, both of his own Innocency, and of the Good- nefs of his Caufe, will be glad to be deliver'd from the trouble, and eafed from the Expence, which will necefTarily attend his defending himfelf, and ought therefore to be thankful to whofoever ( without Villany and Injuftice* ) have contributed towards it. Yea abftracting from that, and the rather becaufe it is probable, that it was not chiefly becaufe thereof, nor on that reafon efpecially, that his Lordjhip thank' d Scurlock for Locking up of William Harris -, I therefore add that his doing it was juftifiable, in that the great motive upon which he Thank'd him for fo doing, was for his having thereby prevented the a- forefaid Harris from giving a Falfe Teftimony, and hindred him from Perjuring himfelf. And thereof I do undertake to give hereafter abundant demonftration, namely, that all thofe were plainly and directly Forfworn, who Depofed to Medley's being Simonically prefer'd either to the Arch-Decomy of St. David's, or to any other Ecclefiajlical Dignity whatfoever. And there- fore not to infill at this time any further upon this Reply, I do proceed to the Fourth and Laft Anfvoer to the forefaid Afperfion on the BiJItop : Which is this, That never any thing was fo Weakly and Impertinently Alledged, as that in proof and con- firmation of the Bijhop' s great Advantages over the Promoter, in Procuring WttneJJes for himfelf, and in difcouraging and drawing of thofe, whom the Promoter provided againft his Lordflip, he ihould ( 127 ) fhould Name, Produce, and give Inftance in a Pet-fin, whom the Promoter had gain'd off from being a feeming and pretended Friend of the Bijhofs, to turn his real and pro- feiled Enemy. So that inftead of Informing in favour of the BL* fliop, as he had faid, he both could, and would do ; he became a Malicious IVitnefi agamft him, and Depofed (and that withall Falfely) in his prejudice. And as this Seurlock, by his appear- in^./? jw* the Bifiop, and then againft him, without afljgning the caufi why, or the means how he had been formerly milled to De- pofe fini&ruoufly and corruptly \ and afterwards enlightned and reformed to the giving an upright and fincere Information, doth proclaim his having always been, and that he frill more and more is, a wretched Man, and a very mifcreant -0 fo we have all the afTurance and adminiftred unto us thereby, that either wife or honeft Men can defire, that it was not thro' any Unrighte- ous methods ufed by the Bljhop, that he was Infiuenc'd to ad once in his Lordfhifs favour ; in that we find nothing of that in the Depofitlon he hath fince made to that Prelates difadvantage -, which we moll certainly fhould (could there have been any co- lour found for it) as well as we are told of the Bifliofs having thank'd him, for Locking up of Harris. But tho' this Prelate, neither would, nor could be Guilty, of any bafe or difhoneft thing, either for the procuring, or for the preferving Seurlock to be his Friend •, yet we know, who were Guilty of very 111 things, for the purchafing of this Seurlock to be the Bijhop's Ene- my. Nor can any wife or honeft Man believe, that after what Seurlock had both laid, and write, of what he could and would Depofe in the Bijhjp's behalf ; he fhould fo foon alter his Tone, and change his Story, as without the being Brib'd as well as Su- born'd thereunto, to -flart up an Informer againft his Lord flip. Neither are we Ignorant either of the price and rate, at which this Mercinary Shop-keeper Seurlock, made Shipwrack of Con- ference, and forfeited all Claim and Title to the being account- ed a True and an Honeft Man ; or to whom in conlideration of it, he fold himfelf to be Tool, Seeing in a word, the Purchafer of him, was Edmund Meyrlck, and the Price at which he was Bought, was Mtyrickh promifing to Lend him fuch a Sum of Mo- ney, as fhould fufficiently ferve him for the Buying the Receivers Place of South-Wales. So that having faid whatfoever I do ei- ther intend, or think needful in reference to Seurlock, who is the Second Inflahce given by the Author of the Summary View, of the Advantages the Bijhop had above the Promoter, both for pro- curing Cf|8) curing Wfitnejfes for himfelf, and for corrupting and drawing off the Promoters ; I mould come now to confider the Third hftance, which the fame Writer hath been pleafed to give us of that kind, and to the foremention'd purpofe, which relates unto, and is of one Thomas Williams, who had Wrote and Subfcribed a Paper, wherein he Accufed the Bi[hop ofrmmy III Pratlicej ', and who yet be- came afterwards aWitnefs for him, and both gives him an excellent Character, and with all declares, that what he had before Wrote a' gainfi the Bijhcp, was drawn from him by Menaces and. Perfwafioss. But having already faid fo much under a former Head, in refe- rence unto, and concerning Thomas Williams, as I think will be accounted enough, not only for the Anfwering of all that he is mention'd for upon the prefent occafion, but Tor the covering the Bifhop^s Enemies with Ignominy and Confufion, becaufe of the ways, means and methods, taken and ufed towards this Williams, for the Gainingznd Suborning him to be a Witnefs againft the Bijhop of St. David's, I fhall therefore even in pity and compaflion to them, as well cs in tendernefs, and out of rc- fpecl to other Perfons, who may poffibly come to Read this Difcourfe, add nothing here and ia this place, about and con? cernfng him. So that without the Interrupting my felf any further in re- ference thereunto, or the enlarging any more in realtion to the Sixth Accufation faftned on the Biflwp under the Head of Of- fences of many kinds, I fhall immediately advance and proceed to the Examination of what, under the fame Head, is charged up- on him in the Seventh place by the Author of the Summary View ; which is, that notwithstanding the 31. Canon Anno. 1603. De- er eeth, that no Deacon or Minifler be made and Ordained, but only on the Sundays immediately following the four. Ember weeks ; yet that Summary the Bijhop did very frequently Ordain at other times. WhereUntO Vitro, p. j^ adds, that it is not indeed proved that the Biihop had extraordi- nary pay, to encourage him in this pratlice, tho in the mean time he affigns an Inftance, of which he fays, that if it be throughly conftdered, ''tis to be vehemently fnfpetted he had. Now in An- fwer to this, whereof the Bijhop is here accufed, I cannot omit in the way of my Firfl Reply the ulhering in what I have to fay afterwards, with a Refictlion on the partiality, infidelity, and malice of this Writer. For inftead of Confining himfelf to the relating of matters, as they were received upon the De- fofitions even of fuch, as appeared plainly to have been fu- born'd, SI ( **9 ) born'd# and to have forfworn themfelves; he endeavoured* by malicious/w7««MfoV, and by the fuggeftion of his own wrath- full and ill nature'd Jealoufies, to faften the reproach and infamy of a crime upon the BiJIiop, of which (by.his own acknowledg-. ment) there has no proof been made. Whereas not only re- vealed Religion, mould have taught him to charge no man with an offence, whereof he had not full Evidence that he was guilty ; in that Charity, which is the Epitome of Chriflianity, and the Badg of aft fincere Chriftians thnketh no evil of anyone:, but r Cor. 13, the very light of Nature might have Intruded him, to have 5- avoided thofe fufpitions of others, which he would not have them to harbour of him. And by the obtruding his own malignant Jealoufies upon us, inftead of giving us the true Narrative of things as they were \ he hath not only offended . again ft the Laws of God j but he hath alfo tranfgrefTed all the Rules laid down and prescribed by the very Heathen, to^>e obferved by fuch who take upon them to be* Writers of Histo- rical Memoires. Whereof, tho* I have faid enough before, and have alfo declared it to be a duty incumbent upon all, who undertake the publifhing Narratives of Tranfa&ions and Fads, that they mould not only do it fine ira& odio, Without being T .f under the imprejfion and influence of anger and hatred, but that Annal. they mould eorum caufas procul habere, Preferve t hemfelves from Lib. 1. falling under temptation and provocation to either ; and tho' I have likewife given timely and fufficient warning, what a Partial and Faithlefs Writer, we fhould find the Author of the Summary View to be -, yet I cannot here forbear adding, that I am the lefs furprized, to find that Writer entertaining us with groundlefs Jealoufies, which do meerly arife from his hatred of, and his indignation againft the Bifliop of St. David's , feeing that the perfons, whom our Advocate doth Court and Worfhip as his Patrons, and whofe juridical proceedings againft^the a- forefaid Prelate, he takes upon him to vindicate and juftify, did in whatfoever fell within their Province, betray their ha- ving been themfelves under the power of the like unreafonable Jealoufies, and that in all the courfe of their Judicial A&ings, they did fufter themfelves to be fo far over-ruled by Wrath and revenge againft the Bifiop, that the very Sentence which they pronounced againft him' was founded upon meer Suipi- tions, Innuendo's, and Illogical, as well as Illegal Inferences, and not upon Competent Proofs and Legitimate Teftimonies. S And (no) And as thefe unhumane as well as unchriftian Jealoufies and and the many other unruly and vicious Pafllons, whereof I have given fuch undeniable and fenfible difcoveries, both in thofe Perfons and in this Writer, do proclaim the ill Effects of the Nations Handing thus divided fas it is*) into Fadions and Parties •, and do with all mew, what Bigottry and Revenge, under the ftile of Religion and pious zeal, will tranfport and hurry men to be guilty cf, fo as fully to come unto, and to Anfwer the complaint, and reflexion ofthe-JW. quod f&pins £»«?*• Rclligio peperit fc.eL.ofa atqite impia facia. And that T ant urn RePgio fotuit Sukaere motor urn. So I cannot omit expreilmg the fear and dread I am under of the injury and wrong our Pofterity is in danger of ha- ving done them, by and frcr! the fabulous Nam#tives, and Ro- mantick Hi fortes, which molt of the writers f of a certain Set and Tribe men ) now living, are preparing to tranfmit and Convey down to them. For thro: a caufelefs and unjuit hatred of fome, and a partial and withal] ill grounded love of others, we may juftly in reference to them who in this Age pretend to write for the Information and Inflructioa of Ages to come, both complain and lament in the words of that wife Heathen^ how that libidne affientandi, et odio, pofteritatis nulla- cur a, inter in- Ifff'i ., fenfos et obnoxios ; thro' being given up to the flattering of fome, tlJ ' 'anp infected with a hatred of others, men are become fuch im- placable Enemies of thofe of one fide, and fueh blind and fervile admirers of thofe of the other, that few or none are careful to have things tranfmitted faithfully toPoflerity. For thro' having made themfelves of a Party, they are become fo partially Biaz'd and Interefted, either by difcontent or by obligation , that none of them are thoughtful how Pofterity mall come to be truly Informed. But to proceed to a Second Reply unto what the Bifhop^ ftands here charg'd with by this Writer, which fhall be like wife in the way of a Reflexion, calcu- lated to the Reprimanding a very fcandalous Cuftom, kept up and practiced by thofe who come to be advanced to the high- eft Office and Dignity in the Church, and that upon the oc- cafion and motive, as well as at the time of their Co?jfecration9 which is, That after the having fpent the Morning in Ads of folemn Devotion, and in the ExerciJfe of the Office of Confccra- tion ; ( i3i ) thn; the reft of .the day, tho' a Sunday is wafted in Luxury and Riot. Not that i do altogether blame a free and liberal Entertainment atthofe Seafons, of fuch, who have either af- fifted in the performance and Admiiiiftration of the Outies and Offices then required and obfe%ed, or who are by their prefence defirous to teftify their Friendmip and refped to thofe ' raifcd to the higheft Ecclefiaftical Orders provided that all things be managed with Sobriety and Modefty, and without exceeding the bounds of Temperance; but to have thofe times turn'd into feafons of exceflive as well as extraordinary Yea- fting, is fo fir from being laudable, that it hath given both great and univerfal offence. For it hath been obferved, that on the days of the Confecration of Bijhops, the folemnity of Entertainments, and the Sumptuoufnefs, yea the Luxuriouf- of Feafting, do more approach unto and refemble the Saturna- lia and Bacchanalia of the Pagans ; than the Agap& of the Primitive Cbriftian Church. And that tho' the ancient Cuftom and Ceremony of Reading a paflage of the lyh Chapter of the Alls of the Apoftles (in which mention is made, How that the Difciples who were at Antioch, did Faft and pray before they laid hands on Paul and Barnabas, and fent them forth ) be yet ftill retained and continued ; the duty of Fafting therein recom- mended, is not only funk into Contempt, as well as wholly grown into 'defuetude; but the Rules of Eating and Drinking with Sobriety and Tenfparance, are both neg- lected and violated. And as I am fure, that from the beginning it was not thus-, fo I think, that the rectifying this abufe, and the taking care, that for the future Sundays for Confecration of Bijliops, (hall not be thus Prophan'd, would be more to the cre- dit of the Metropolitan, and of the Comprovincials, eoncern'd in the procefs again ft the Bijfjop of St. David\ than they can hope it will be, that they made it fuch a heinous Offence in that ' Prelate, to have Ordained Priefts at other times, fave on fuch and fuch Sundays. Nor ought either his Grace, or their Lordftnps, to take it amifs, to be put in remembrance, that in thofe Entertainments, ( which are ufually made and Celebra- ted in their Epifcopal Palaces ) they ought to behave them- felves as Cbriftian Bijhops, and not as Apicius, Sardanapalus, or as Lncullus did, when he gave notice to his Servants that he would Dine or Sup in Pamajfus. And as both for my felf and many of the Laical Tribe, I dare confidently fay, that we S 2 mail 9 ( n* ) fhall be much the readier in juftifying their exa&ion of Con- formity to the Canons of the Church, when we come to find that they themfelves pay that refpecl: and obedience to the Laws*of God, which they mould. But to proceed to the Third and laft Anfwer, wtiifb I have to give to the foregoing Accufation, which is this , namely that as I have all the refpetS imaginable for the Canons ordain'd and appointed for the better Government of the Englifh Church -, lo I do heartily wifh, that all the Members of that great Body, from the Metropolitan's to the meanefi within the Communion thereof, as well Laich, as Ecclefafticks, would better comply with and obferve, and behave and conduct themfelves more according to them, than many do. For as the Liturgy, Rnbrick, Arti- cles^ Homilies, and Canons, are defigned and intended to be Rules and Meafures of our Credenda in DoBrinals, and of our FaciendaAn. IVorfhip and. Difcipline ; fo whofoever are in- conformable to them, either. in way of defect or excefs, are therein Dijfenters from the Church of England, as it is by Law Eftablifli'd. And for the Canons in particular, they are in my opinion, the fame to the Church in- things Ecclefiafiical^ that Laws are to the State in things Civil. Nor is it lefs un- comely, or will it in the event be lefs dangerous, for a Church to'want and be without Canons, or fome Directions and Regula- tions Equivolent to them:, than it would be for a Political Society to be without Bows and Editls. For as the Latter do ordain, both the Duties and the Meafures of the Obedience, which we are to render unto the Sovereign ; and do prefcribe the mutual Offices, which one Subject isto perform to an other; declaring what is punifhable, and in what manner, and to what degree, whereinfoever we either offend our Prince, or are Injurious to our Neighbour ; fo the Former, do ferve not only as a Directory of the feveral and reciprocal Duties of Bifiops, Presbyters and People ; but they are alfo inftead of Li- mits and boundaries to all of them. And efpecially as they are Reftraints upon and Circumfcriptions unto Bifiops in their Ex- A&ions of Compliance and Obedience from Priefts and Dea- cons, by reafon of the obligation they come under by the Canonical Oath -, fo they are a kind of Kubrick and commentary or, and as to whatj the Bijheps are to render to their Metro- tans, hy vertue of the Qath impofed upon them to the ••:-E/tf» i$ in the Office of Ce.Qtrst ion. But as in confequence of ( i?3 ) of what I have faid, I cannot avoid highly approving of that 31. Canon, made in the Year 1603. Yet I can no ways find that the bijhop of St. David's is liable to the leafr. Cenfure, by reafon of any pretended Information againft him, of his ha- ving tranfgrefs'd it. In that notwithstanding of its being provided for and ordained -by the aforefaid Canm that nulli in poflernm presbyter I ant Didconi ordinentur, nifi in diebus Domi- nicis immediate fequentibus jcjnnia ^uatuour Temporum, vulgo Sep- timanas Cinemrn ; No Pr lefts or Deacons Jhall after that be Ordain- but only on the Sundays immediatetly following the four Ember weeks : Yet the Ordination Kubrick ( which is of as good Authority as that Canon ) doth Grant a Difpenfation and Liberty to every B/- See ^ fiop to Ordain at other times, in cafe it be judg'd necerfary. Kubrick in The Words of the Kubrick being as followeth, that if one the form who is a Deacon, be found faithful and diligent, he may be ad- an^ ™m~ mined by his Diocefan to the Order of Priefthood, at the times ap- ™r °j^u" pointed in the Canon -, or elfe on urgent Occafwns, upon fomt other mffr Sunday, or Holiday. Which Privilege being Granted fo to every Bijhop, that he, and he alone is left fole Judge, when it may be cither necejfiry or convenient to Ordain at Other Times,' fave on the Sundays after the Ember Weeks ; the Metropolitan could neither juftly take Offence at the Bijhop of St. David's for having done it, nor be difpleafed that the aforefaid Prelate, had not antecedently thereunto, ask'd a Licence from his Grace for t-he doing of it. Tho' in all probability, that was more provoking, than the bare Conferring of Orders on other days than on the Ember Sundays would have been. For it is ufual for them, who are not likely to Gain much honour by con- fining themfelves to the duties and offices of their Places and Stations, to endeavour to make themfelves remarkable, by the grafping at more Power and Jurifdidtion, than by the Laws do belong unto" them. And they, who becaufe either of na- tural Imperfecfions,or thro' want of acquiredAccomplifhments, ought to be the leaft prefuming, are neverthelefs, and that for thofe very reafons, found to be commonly the more Alteer, dogmatical and domineering, which made the Wife Hislorian fay of that fort of Peopfe, Ouibus ingenium & Tacit. audacia eft, qua natura denegaviffet, per artem tentare, That dumh from a temper of genius and humour, and thro' a boldnefs Llb> 'S* ■ arifing from Ignorance and want of Wifdom, they endeavour1 to gain ami compafs that by means of Fraud and Ufurpation, which -( i34 ) which neither Laws had Entitled them unto, nor either Natutf , nor their own attainments, had adapted them for. However we have here an other Inftance and Proof, either of the Agre- gious Ignorance of the Writer of the Summary View, or of his grofs Unfaithfulnefs in the Reporting and Reprefenting of things. And as in cafe, that his impoiing upon his Readers, doth proceed from the Fir ft, he deferveth to be the objeft of every Man's contempt and Ridicule, for undertaking to Write on a Subject wherein he had not previously thereunto been Co Converfant as he fhould and ought to have been ; fo if it do proceed from the latter, he is to be no otherwise accounted of hereafter, than as a Fourb and deceiver, whofe word is not to be depended on in any matter of Fa& he Relates. In brief, either his Ignorance is Unpardonable, or his Infidelity: and he muft be acknowledged, either to have been ill prepar'd to Write on this Subject ; or to have manag'd it with great In- sincerity. , But to go on to what is further, and in the Eighth place Charred upon theBiJhop, under theHead faid to contain Offences of many kinds. Which is, that notwithstanding the 34. Canon provides, That no Bijhopfijall Ordain a Deacon, except Viceftmum tertium annum compleverit, he be Twenty Three Tears Old ', nor a Summary j>riejl^ HrJlefs Twenty Four Tears compleat ; and that tW by the \\°\x' StatHte 13'Eliz. C. 12. It is Enacted, that no Man flail be ad- mitted to any Benefice with Cure, except he be of the A?e of Twenty There Tears at the leafl ; yet that the Bifoop did Ordain one Thomas Morgan fir ft Deacon, afterwards Priefi, and after that, Inftituted him to the Retlory o/Landetty, he being then not above Twenty Tears of Age, and prefented thereunto by his Father ; and that the Bifiiop difpatch^d all this in the fp ace 'of two Months, viz. between July and Michaelmas 1691. Now in Anfwer to this, I have feveral things to fay, partly in way of Commentary upon that part of the aforefaid Canon ; partly in way of Reflection on what this Author hath led me to examine, and partly in the way of a direft Reply to that, whereof the Bifiwp is Accufed. The Fir ft thing I lhall therefore take occafion (from this Author, mention- ing of the aforefaid Canon) to fay, mall be, that I do not only greatly approve of it, but do very much commend the Wif- dom and Juftice of thofe who made it. Seeing in my opinion, it is not only confonant to all the Rules and Meafures of Reli- gious Prudence j but it is dire&ly grounded upon that Directi- on C'35) Oil of St. Paul to Timothy that a Bijhop, and by conference as x ^m# , well as accommodation, whofoever is admitted to be a Mini- 5. Iter of the Gofpell, //» nhipvTw {hall not be a Novice. For » tho' I know that the word there ufed, is taken and expounded by molt, to llgnify a Perfon newly Converted to the Chiiitiau Faith, as Teriulian ufeth the Phraze, Novitiolam paratmam, in reference to fuch as were but newly became Chriftians:, yet I do take it to be not only very applicable, but to be chiefly in- tended in relation tothe^s receiving a Certificate before he would admit him in- %nfy™to t0 Orders. And it is "not unworthy of Obfervation, how this Hun ogdx. Griffith even previoufly to the B.'Jlwps receiving of the faid Cer- 23. tificaie not only gave a Tefiimonial of • Morgans parts and mo- Barn. $. rais^ qualifying him for entring into holy Orders, but was alfb JJ?' Importunate with the Bifhop to Ordain him. Nor can I here jnterrogat. ormt tne obferving further how the aforefaid Hugh Bowel de- \%. pofeth, That he could neither fay Morgan was under 23 years old, .Anfvo. to when the Bifiwp Ordained him Deacon ', nor that the Bijhop knew any imerrognt. tyin^ 0j- fa yei„g m^er ^6m ^nd therefore as the Author of 23' the Summary Fiew, -hath difcover'd both the greatefl malice imaginable againfl; the Bifiiop, and the utmoft infincerity, that Summary can ^e ^oun<^ *n anY Writer lil ^y'mE>i ^at it did not appear^ View p. whether the Certificate was brought to the Bifiiop, before he Ordained' 12. and Jnfiituted Morgan^ when by the Depositions of Three of the Promoters own Witnejfes, it hath been in Proof, both that the Bifiiop positively refufed to Ordain him, untill he mould firft receive fuch a Certificate, and alfo that he had One accord- ingly brought and deliver'' d to him antecedently to his doing it. And whereas that faithlefs and malicious Writer, doth with JhiL an Impudence peculiar to himfelf, further add, That It is pro- f. 14. bable the Bijhop had no fuch Certificate before his Ordainino- Mor- gan, in that Hugh Powel who ajjifted at the Ordination, was -not ex- amined by the Bifiiop in reference to that Article, which ( as he fays ) doubtlefs he would have been, could he have fworn up to it: it doth evidently fhew us, that this Author takes pleafure in reporting matters of Fad both treacherously and unfaithfully, and that he writes (.Hi ) writes with a defign of deceiving, not informing his Readers. Seeing it was not only in proof, that this very Vowel had fo- emnly Sworn, that the Bijlwp bjdrcfvfed to Ordain Morgan, untill heJJjould recelvs a Certificate of bis Age ; (which made it fupernu- ous as well as unnecefiry toExaminePowol afterwards in relation thereunto ) but it is alfo further both evident and certain from Towels own Depofition, that upon his being Interrogated, whe- ther the aforefaid Certificate, was to keep the- Bijlwp karmlefs; or toPovreYs fatisfy him, or both -, He had anfwer'd upon Oath, that he believed AnfA n it was to Satisfy him -, which I am fare it neither would,- nor could l7,terrol and that the Bifhop could not but know him to be under the age"' ' aualified for Orders, having feen and taken notice of him at School within ayear of his Ordination; I mail thereunto return this fhort, but withall full and fatisfa&ory Anfwer. Namely, That as the whole which either pertinently or in conilftence with Juftice, ought to have been Enquired into, was of what Age Moroan had ( 144 ) been Certified to the Bijljop to be, and not of what years in reality he was; fo I cannot forbear adding, that Sandy\ tho' a Prebendary, is -not of Reputation and Credit with me, nor can he be fo with any, who will take the pains to know his Character, as that 1 is Belief either in reference to this, or any thing elfe, fhouid be accounted a reafon and Mo- tive, for the influencing the Belief of others. Seeing as he was One of thofe, whom the Bifiwp had laid under Monition for not having Refidcd on his Cures according to the Canon, and that thereupon he had enter'd into a Combination and Con- fpiracy with Lucy, Meyrkk and .others, to be revenged on his cl Lordjhip ; fo it hath been in proofs that he was not only one Price'/ of them, who had affifted in drawing theArticles againfl him,and Deptf. the who had follicited many tojoyn with him and his fellow Con- Bp's 44. fpirators in the profecution of the Bi(l)op',and that he had particu- Witn. larly addrefs'd the late old Earl of Macclesfield to that purpofe, for which the faid Earl fent his Secretary John Williams to Hen. Po- reprimand him feverely, becaufe of fuch his malicious practices wel, the againfl: his Diocefan -, but there hath been a Letter even un- Bp's 15. der Edward Meyrick's own hand produced and that dire&ed to wim' the Bijhop, wherein he the faid Meyrick tells his Lordjhip, That he would hear, of the Malice of Lucy and Sandy'/ and that the former had undertaken to profecute, and the Litter to Swear. Nor ^hT^d ^° we nee(* t0 *°°k furtner> in order to the being convine'd, by the Bp. w*tn wnat Malice, and how much at random, Sandy's hath ven- Nov. 10. tur'd to Swear againft the Bijhop, than meerly to obferve how, 1597. from the Bijlop's having had a tranfient View of Morgan at School, within a Tear before his Ordination^ he takes upon him from thence Solemnly to Depofe, that his Lordfhip could not chufe but know him to have been under Age qualified for Orders. For as neither the Lownefs of ones Stature, nor the Touthfulnefs of ones Countenance, are Infallible Indications of his being under the Age of 23. fo no Man, who is either Wife, or Con- fcientious, will dare to Swear (which mould 'never be done, except on grounds of certainty) upon Reafons and Induce- ments, which will hardly afford a foundation for a meer Guefs or Conjecture, For in this, as well as in other things, frontl nulla fides, there is no determining with any certainty of a Per- fons Age, by exterior appearances. And could we, with lefs obnoxioufnefs to the being miftaken conclude from ones grouth, and looks, what the number of his Years may be j yet it is highly ( H5 ) highly probable, that the fight which the Bljkop might have of Thomas Morgan, was both fo flight and tranfient, that it was imj oTible for his Lordfirip from thence to form an Opinion, and much lefs a Judgment of his Age. Efpecially when his feeing of him, was upon no previous delign, of making a con- jecture, of vhat Years he might be thought to be. And as nothing can more difcover the Impudence ©f Sandy\ than that upon fo weak and frivolous a ground, as the Bijlwfs ha- ving feen Morgan within a Tear of his Ordination, he fhould dare to Swear with the utmoft pofitivenefs, That he could not chufe but know him to be under Age qualified for Orders ; fo it doth likewife fhew both the Indifcretion and the Infidelity of the Author of the Summary View, in endeavouring from thence to pcffefs his Readers with an Opinion, of the Blflwfs being Confcious that Morgan was not 23. Tears,when he Ordain' d him, feeing the faid Writer, either did know, or at leaft mould have known, how it had been in Proof, that Hugh Vowel, Retlor of The Pr»- l,anfanfread, who had often feen Morgan, and affifted at h\sm0U 2- Ordination, had neverthelefs Depofed upon Oath, that hewJ^^ t0 could not fay, that the faid Morgan was under 23 Tears, at j,l't^roRAtt his being Ordain d. And as to what the laid Author doth more- 23. over add, for the further faftning of an Offence, as well as Reproach, on the Bijhop in this matter, viz. How that one Daniel Price Gentleman had Depofed, that when one vbl JuPra' Mr. Hugh Powel, came and defired him the faid Price to get a Certificate, that Thomas Morgan was of Age, that he the afore- faid Daniel Price had anfwer'd, that if he had fuch a one, it would fignify nothing, becaufe every body, or moft that knew the faid Morgan, knew he was not of Age, I fhall only need in way of Reply to make this fhort return ^ Namely, That what pafs'd in Conference between thofe two, ought not to be conftru'd, to have any ways affected the Bijhop. Seeing that as there are very few things, in reference to which it may not be faid in Tacitus\ Phraze, Multus variufque rumor, That the Opinions of People are no lefs different, than their dlfcourfe is free ', fo^aClt* it is againft all the Rules of Juftice, that when one is im-L^^ pleaded before a Judicial Court,* it fhould lie ( that I make ufe of an other Expreffion of the fame Hlfiorlan) ^a"jmajt liorum Judlcio quails habeatur, in the power of others, togetLjk \lt him thought of and efteemed, according as their Gueffes and Conjectures are in relation to the matter, whereof he is ac- U cufed. ( *# ) cufed. For ^ the fame ^W both mentions and commends one 'for having faid, That ex rumor e non ftamendum, That nei- ?T1' ther Terfons, nor Thing- s, are to be judged of by and from loofe and L h \Zm%*w«'\ So^fhould that once be allow'd, it would come to be in the power of every medling and impertinent Fellow by the alone means of his idle Twattle, to get thofe who are Innocent to be both fufpefted and taken as Guilty, and them who are Guilty to be thought and pronounced In- nocent And as the very Writer of the Summary View, by his declaring, that tho Daniel Trice in his Anfwer to Hugh To- wel had mention'd every Body, yet had added, or moft that knew Morgan, knew he was not of Age, doth not only thereby Intimate, but in erfed acknowledge, that there might be fome, who knew him, that might believe him to be of Age •, fo why may it not be very reafonably thought, that the Bijhop might be one of thofe few ; and the rather becaufe we find, that Hugh Towel himfelf was of that opinion, as clearly appears by and from his Defpofition upon Oath. And I am fure nothing can be 'more unreafonable, than that the Bifhops Knowledge, or his Ignorance of a Perfons Age, mould be determin'd and concluded, by what others did either pretend to think, or to know of it. But that I may haften to the fhuting up of what I had to Reply to the aforefaid Charge againft the Bi- Jhop I mail only defire the freedom of making Three fhort Reflections before I do it. Whereof the Firjl fhall be, that it looks very odly, and makes all the Proceedings againft his Lordfaiv, to be greatly fufpedted of having .been Commenced and carried on, upon Principles^ and Motives of Revenge, that two of the Principal WitneJJh to many of the Articles a- gainft the Bifiop, and one of them particularly to the Article wherein he is accufed, for having Ordained Morgan before he was er tj..e j$ae, which the Canon required; fhould have had it in proof againft them, that they were Perfons, who had no re- fneft for the faid Canon. For as Edmond Meyrick, who depo- fed both to the moft, and to the worft things, whereof the Bifho* was Accufed, hath had it tendered in Evidence againft him that he had advifedthe Bifliopto Ordain Morgan, previoufy 10 his doing of it ; fo it hath been Swum againft Jeremiah Crijfth, who was Witnefs to many of the Offences and Crimes mentio'n'd in the Articles for which the Bijhop was brought un- der a Judicial Procedure, and particularly to his having Or- ddmd Morgan, e're he had attained to the Agt of 23 years, how (H7 ) how that he thefaid Griffith, had perfwaded Charles Price (now Vicar of Lannerth ) to have gone into Orders before he was iprJ « ■ ,> years of Age, telling him that he had known the Ufa done beflrt t"m9 ^„fw, t0 t. ■'/■■' - 'aid Charles Price did not then endeavour it. Now isiutem it both declared the Malice of thefe two Men againft the Apr- lo» Bifjop, and did fhew the. Aflurance they were pofleffed with l62%- that the great Man before whom the Procefs was to lie, would Act more upon Principles of Pique and Revenge, than of Juilice, in that othenvife they would not have dared to Charge that for an Offence upon the Bijhop, which they knew themfelves Obnoxious to be accufed for being Guilty of ; fo we have herein an other Inftance of the partiality of the Me- tropolitan, that he would make that a cenfurable Tretpafs in a Comprovincial, for which he did not think fit to Reprimand two of the Inferiour Clergy. And as the foregoing Reflection, hath been1 with Reference to the Partial and unequal Procedure ufed towards fuch as had violated One and the fame Part of the Canon ; fo the id. fhall referr to the different manner of Proceeding againft the Bifliop, for a pretended Breach of one Tart of the 34 Canon, in comparifon of the way of Acting towards thofe, who had Tranfgrefled anther Part of the frme Canon. For whereas it is likewife provided for, and Or- dained in the 34 Canon made Anno. 1503. that nullus Epifco- pus in facros Or dines quenquam cooptabit, nifl vet ex altera, &c. vel nif Liter as (quas vocani)Dimijforias attuUrit ab Epifcopo,&Q. No Bifliop Jljall admit any Verfon into Sacred Orders, which is not of his own Dioccfs, except he be either of one of the Vniverjities of this Realm, or except he Jljall Bring Letters Dimijfory (fo termed ) from the Bifwp, ofwhofe Diocefe he is; yet no Cognizance hath been taken of, nor any Cenfnre inflicted upon Lucy the Pro- moter, tho it hath been tendred in Proof againft him, that he had violated that Part of the Canon. For notwithftanding it be Particularly appointed by the aforefaid Canon, in that part which I have cited, that none fave the Bijhop alone frail give Letters Dimiffory ts any ; neverthelefs Lucy, together with ^ B ?s ethers, hath or have taken on them, to Grant Letters Dimijfo- Allogat. ry to fever al Perfons within the Diocefs of St. David's, and]zn. ip. particularly to John Walheffe of the faid Diocefs, with l$97' out the knowledge, Privity, or Confent of the Bijhop. But tho1 the Metropolitan's declining to take notice, of what Lucy was, accufed to have been herein guilty, doth both Ihow with what ,j partiality his Grace hehaved himfelf in his Acting Judicially,'' U z and ( i4« ) and ferveth likewife to beget in every thinking and Honeffc man, a very odd and Siniftrous opinion of the whole Pro- cedure againft the aforefaid Bifhop; yet the Reader will be the lefs furprifed to find Lucy acting in the forementioa'd Cafe, after the manner I have declared, wholly connived at by the Metropolitan if not alfo Juftified ; if' he will but vouchfafe far- ther with me to obferve, how an Other of the Witmjfes againft: the Bifiop of St. David's, hath efcap'd without the leaft Re- buke or Cenfure, tho complain'd of, to the Arch-BiJJjop of Canterbury for having Offended againft the Rub-rick, ( which is at leaft of equal Authority with any Canon) in a matter therein exprefly provided for, Regulated, and Ordained. For whereas it is poiitively Ordered and Appointed by the Ra- il hick for brick, that when any Perfons, as are of Riper years, are to be Bap- tbe Mini- tizjed, timely notice jhdll be given to the Bifliop, or whom he fhall firxtionof Appoint for that purpofe, a Week before at the leaf &c. that fo due Baptifm, Care may be taken for their Examination, whether they be Suffici- to juch as gmjy fnj}riiftul in the Principals of the Chrifiian Religion-, yet it p?r %m. nath keen offer'd in Proof, that Jerimiah Griffith a Pretended, Witnefs again f ihe BiJJiop of St. David's, did on or about the 16 Seethe °f Qdober 1690. Baptize John Griffith his Brother, who was an Bp's AUe- adult Per fon, and that not only in a Place no ways feparated or fet gut. Jan. apart for Adminif ration of Publick Baptifm, but that he alfo did 19. \&9 9' it, without giving Notice thereof to the Bijhop , or to any appoin- ted by him. So that by the Metropolitan^ different proceed- ing in one Cafe, and towards one Party ; from what his beha- viour was in an other Cafe, and towards an other Party , as we have all the Evidence Imaginable, that it was not becaufe of a NegleB of the Canon, that his Grace was fo much incen- fed againft the Bijhop, as he appeared to be^ feeing if that had been it which had given him Provocation, he would have been equally ( and ought to have been more ) Offended with Griffith, for having moft notorioufly Tranfgrefled againft the Ruhick ; fo we are thereby likewife further Convinced, that his Graces bufinefs and defign, was not to Try Caufes bin Men -, and that his intent was to punifh Perfons, rather than Offences. But that I may haften to a Conclufion of what I had to fay on this Head, I fhall only add a 3^. Refletlion, which fhall be Levell'd particularly to the Rebuking of the Author of the Summary View. Who inftead of approving him- felfa Perfon, who knew what it was to write either with Can- ( 14? ) Candor, ot with the leaft Reguard to trutfr, hath not only given Malicious turns to whatfoever he mentions, whereby he hop'd to get the Bifhop to Hand the more Criminally afle&ed and Reprefented under the greater Ignominy and Reproach ; but in that he hath likewife interpofed and added meer Fi- ctions and Forgeries of his own, with his Pretended bare re- lations and Naked reports of Sole and alone matters of Fa&. And thereof we have a remarkable Inftance, in Reference to the matter Articulated againft the Bifiiop, which we have been Difcourfing about. For as if it had not been enough ( and all a Faithful Hiflorian could have allow'd himfelf, or would have prefum'd to do ) to have acquainted us with the Bi- fhop*s having been Accufed for Ordaining Morgan, when he was not Qualified by the Canon for being admitted into Orders j he hath with an Effrontery, as well as an Infincerity peculiar to him- felf, ventured both upon the. Defaming the Bifhop, and the deceiving the unwary and Credulous part of Mankind, by an Innuendo that his Lordfhip had been either Antecedently Brib'd to Ordain him, or that he did it upon the Profpeftof a future Reward. And this Injuftice and implacable Ma- lice therein to the Bifhop, are the more Confpicuous, and be- come the more Aggravated, in that Immediately after he had acknowledged, that it was not Proved that the Bifhip had Ex- tra din ary pay to Encourage him to Ordain fave only upon the Sun- days next after the four Ember Weeks ; yet he hath been fo Guile- ful and unrighteous as in the very next words to Subjoyn, that in the Inflame of Ordaining Morgan, 9tis vehemently to be Suffered that he had. However tho I have all the advantage here gi- ven me, I could wifh, both for Expofing the Folly, parti- alty and Infidelity of that Writer, and for treating him with the feverity which he deferves j yet I fhall out of Refpedt to my felf, forbear the faying that of him, which fome, up- on fo jure an occafion, and fo provoking a Motive, might and expert I fhould* And as I think him too defpicable a Writer, fo-r any one who lays Claim to common Senfe, to feek Credit by infulting over him, fo it is my Opinion, that mould I give way to Ralleries upon him Anfwerable to his demerit, I mould be Tempted to fay thofe things, which neither in confiftency with Virtue or good Breeding, would become me. So ( »So ) So that being refolved to fay no more in reference to the foregoing Accufation, I fhall now proceed to confider and ex- amine, what under the Head faid to contain Offences of many kinds, the Bifiop is in the Ninth and Laft place further Charged with. Namely, That He hath neglecled to keep any publick Re- Summxry ^er^ or any Authentick Atts of his Inftitutions and Collations. And to p. 14, fatten this upon him, the Author of the Summary View, tells us, 15. That Thomas Powel hath Sworn, that the Biflwp very ^frequently difpatched\ In fit ut ions and Collations, without calling him the faid Powel, who was Deputy Regifier, and a publick Notary, or any other Notary fublick ; and that his Lordfkip would not fuffer the aforefaid Powel tokeep any Rcgifter, tho he had both often acquaint- ed the Bijhop with the nec»ffity thereof and had alfo to that purpofe brought a fair Book from London } and that by reafm of the faid neqlell, occajion had been given to fame to have ill Thoughts of the Bifliop. And which this Writer fays, they might very juftly havey becaufe that under this fecret practice, all manner of irregularities mioht be committed, and that for want of proper Witneffes to attefi fitch Alts \ Clerks may be Collated and Inftituted without making Shbfcrip- tions, and without taking the Oaths either of Simony, or Allegiance. In my Replying whereunto, tho' occafion be adminittred. for faying a great deal, I fhall neverthelefs endeavour to be very fhort. Becaufe, that fave the neglecting to keep a Regifter, whereof the Biflwp is directly accufed, whatfoever elfe he hath thereupon been afperfed with, or had in any way alledged againft him, it is all founded upon bare and naked fuipition. Nor would a modeit and fincere Writer, and much lefs an im- partial and upright Court of Judicature, have afligned that^or have fufferM ic to be given, as the reafon for, and motive to the faid Omiffion, which there was not any thing brought in Evidence to juftify and prove. However fome Anfwers fhall be made to the aforefaid Charge, and thofe fuch, (if I do not miftake ) as fhall not only fully Vindicate the Bifiop both from offence and reproach in that matter -, but which fhall fatten In- famy as well as Malice upon fome, for their conduct and beha- viour towards his Lordflup upon than account. And the Firfi thing I have to offer by way of Anfwer to the Author of the Summary View, in referance to what he chargeth the Biflwp with of having negletled to keep a fublick Regifter of his Infiituti- ons and Collations, fhall be to obferve, that whereas the 21 Arti- cle cle exhibited by the Trsmoter, wherein the Bijhep is accufed of having been Guilty of that Offence, was founded uponthe 123. Canon mate Anno. 1603. The faid Cmton is not fo much as Mention'd by the Writer of the Summary Veiw, as the Ground aud Foundation of the Sfaid Charge and Accufation. For which, tho I do not Charge that Author forith Folly, yet lean not omit the Accuflng him of Infmcerity, which I take to be a worfe Imputation upon him. Seeing that he having under- taken to give a Relation of what things had been Articulated againft the Bijhop, and upon what Grounds they had been rec- kon'd to be, and had beeniaid againft him as Offences, he ought not to have concealed, how this Pretended Offence of his Lordflrip in not keeping a public}. Regifter, had been Founded againft him by the Promoter upon the foremention'd 123. Ca- non. But fome People think it lefs difgraceful to be Knaves, than to be accounted Fools: And they will rather chufe to be Guilty of an Immoral and ill thing, than of an indifcreet and Silly one. And as by comparing the aforefoid Canon, with the Promoters 21 Article, it will appear that the Promoter is an Ignorant ( but Malicious) Fellow 5 fo by comparing the View, which this Writer affirms his having given us of the Ar- ticles Exhibited againft the Biflwp of St. David's, with this 21.^ ty Article in particular, as it was Laid againft his Lordjhip by Title Page the Promoter, we fhall find this Author to be a Perfon of no of his Integrity. And that what I have faid of the Promoter's being Bw*« an "ignorant Fellow, may not be thought a Detraction or Slan- der, but appear an undeniable Truth, I fhall both call over the 123. Canon, and alfo the 21. Article, upon which the Promoter founded the Offence therein contained, with which he Charged the Bifliop. And as the Terms of the Canon are as follow viz, that nullus cancellarius &C no Chancelor, Commiffary, Arch-Deacon, Official, or any other Perfon ufing Ecclefiaftical Ju- rifdiftion whatfoever, fhall Speed any Judicial Atl, either of Con- tentions or voluntary Jurifditlion, except he have the ordinary Re- gifter of that Court, or his Lawful Deputy : Or if he or they will not, or cannot be prefent, then futh Perfons as by Law are allowed in that behalf to Write or Speed the fame, under pain of Sufpcn- tion ipfofatlo : So the WOl'ds of the Promoters 2 1 Article againft the Bifliop, are as do hear enfue, viz. That we ohjetl to you the B/Jlwp of St, David's, that by the 123. Canon it ts among 0- pber things Ordained that no Perfon ufrg Ew.kfiafticaljuridiclhn &c. Ttt ( is*) Yet you u/ing Ecclcfiafiical Jutrifdittion in your own Per/on, take upon you notwithflanding the Prcmiffes, to difpatch and exe- cute Institutions, Collations, and diverfe Juridical Ails both of Contentious and Voluntary JurifdiSlion, without the Lawfull Regifer, his Deputy, or any other publick Notary being prefent, whereby it cannot appear that all things are rightly done, and the Oaths taken as the Law requires. Now as Bijhops are not fo much as once named in the Canon -, fo it is known to be a Rule in Law, That wherever there is an Enumeration of Perfons or Particulars of feveral Ranks and degrees, which goes downward, be- ginning with the Higher, and ending with a Lower, and at laft there is a General expreflion of others to be added andjoyned with them, that then thofe others, are not to be of a Higher nor Superiour degree to that Perfon or particular, who or which are laft Mention'd, but either of the fame degree, or of a Lower and Inferiour. This Sir Edward Cook declares to have been and adjudged Cafe oftener than once. And therefore h« having before him the Confideration of the Sta- tue of Weflminfter the Second C. 4.1. Which faith, Si Abba- tes, priores, Cufiodes Hofpitalium, & aliarum domorum Religioft- rum &C. If Abbots Priors, the Governours of Hofpitals, or of other Religious Houfes &c. He doth thus Comment upon it, that fee- ing the Ad begins with Abbot* s &c and concludes with the Go- verners of other Religious Houfes, therefore Biflwps are not Com- prehended in it, becaufe they are Superiour to Abbots, and that the words other Religious Houfes, (hall extend only to Houfes Inferiour to them, which were mention'd before. Yea the fame Sir Edward Cook hath declared himfelf further to the fame parpofe in the Arcb-Biflwp of Canterbury* s Cafe, ad efle Second. adjuge que Evefques ne font include deins le Statute 1 3 . Eliz. c. 1 o. ipt /$l it hath been adjudged that Biflwps are not included in the Statute 13. Eliz. c 10. Which faith, that Colledges, Deans and Chapters, Parfons, Vicars, and concludes and others having Spiritual Promotions, that thefe laft words cannot include Bifhops for reafons given before/*., upon the Stat. 31. Hen. 8. And the Author of the Summary View, being it feems fully lenfi- ble of the truth of what I have laid down in this Anfwer, did therefore rather chufe to Prevaricate as an Hiftorian, and to report things partially and unfaithfully, than to be Guilty of the miftake and Ignorant blunder of the Promoter, in founding the 2 1 Article againft the Bijhp of St. David's, upon ( *53 ) upon the Hundred Twenty Third Canon. But in the Second Place, I have this further to anfwer, That whereas it is made a Crime in the faid Bijliop, that he Kept not a Registry of what pafs'd his Hand, it was no part of his Duty to do it, nor was it required of him by any Canon. I do find it Provided for, and Ordained, That there fhall be Regifters and Registries \ and the Hundred Thirty Fourth Canon doth particularly P'refcribe and Appoint, how Regifters, their Deputies or Subftitutes, (hall be Troceeded againft, and Punifhed, in cafe of their being Guilty of any Faults and Offences there mention'd : But I do no ways find it required, That B/Jhops themfelves fhall Keep Registries, or in the leafl: Ordained, That upon their not do- in it, they fhall be Obnoxious to Ecclefiaftical Cenfures. So that if the aforefaid Bijlwp was liable to aw Blame for any Negled in that matter, it mult have beeF for his not ha- ving the Regifter, &c. with and by him, when he difpatched hftitutions and Collations. And this being the Offence, where- of he is accufed by the Author of the Summary new, I fhall therefore in the Third place endeavour to to give a Full and Satisfactory Anfwer to that. Namely, That whereas Thomas Vowel is reported to have Sworn, That the Bijliop very fre- quently difpatched thofe things, without the calling him who was Deputy -Regifter, &c. I do in Reply thereunto fay, That the Bijhop was not obliged to Call him, but that it was his Duty upon all fuch Occafions, and at all fuch Seafons, to have At- tended- Had this Bowel Depofed, That he had waited on the Bijhop at all fuch times, and that he had ofFer'd to perform whatfoever was incumbent upon him as Deputy -Regifter, but that the B'fhop would not admit him to be prefent, and had commanded him to withdraw *, he had then Sworn fomething that might have given a very juft Sufpicion, That Matters were not to be fairly managed aud tranfa&ed. Whereas by his having only Depofed, That che Bijhop did not always call for him -, he ought to have been no otherwife accounted of, than as a Fellow, who fought to excufe his own Failures and Negle&s, by charging Omiffions on his Diocefan and Lord. And this we have fufficient Ground of Moral Cer- tainty, as well as of Probability for, in that Vovoel, from 1688, to 1695, having been not only Deputy-Regijler, but al- fo his Lodrjkip's Secretary, and as fuch, and in that Quality and Station, having drawn and prepared all the Inpumms X of ( i54) of every kind, which the BiJJjop, during that whole time, had occafion to caufe Make, and to Grant, he might likewife have feen them Executed, if he had pleafed. Nor could Powefs abfenting himfelf, either throw his Attending on his own private Bufinefs, or throw his being hindred from being prefent, by reafon of Sicknefs, have juftified the Bijhop in omitting to difcharge the Duties of his Epifcopd Office, or have warranted his putting off, and adjourning the doing of thofe things, which by Virtue of his Function and Character, he ought to perform and execute. And how unaccountable would it have been, both before God and Men, for the Bi- jhop to have refufed to perform and difpatch what his Office obliged him unto, becaufe Towel, the Depity-Regijler, either would not give attendance, or was not in a Condition to do it? Nor can 1 here forbear to add, how that becaufe of the Profecution which had been commenced againft the Bi- jhop, and by reafon of the Power, Authority, and Iiitereft of thofe that were embarq'd in, and who gave Countenance un- to it, diverfe of the Bifbop's Servants, became not only back- ward in obeying him, but fell into all the Indecencies, Mif- behaviours and Practices whatfoever towards him ; by which, through exprefling either their Contempt of, or their En- mity to his Lordfoip, they might court, and hope to gain the Favour of the .Great, as well as of the many who had confpired together to Ruin him. Neither is it unworthy of Remark, that this very Towel, was one, whom the Bijhop's Adverfaries had fo far prevailed upon, and drawn into the Combination with them, that his Lordflrip thought himfelf concerned both in Prudence, and in Subferviency to his Safe- ty, to difmifs and turn him away. By reafon whereof, the laid Towel becoming Provok'd, becaufe as he thought, he was difobliged, he was the more ready to run into all the Mea- fures of Lucy, the Promoter. So that coming entirely un- der his Influence, Direction, and Conducl, and being withal, animated by a Principle of Revenge in himfelf, he undertook to De?ofe (without having the lean: Regard, whether what he Swore, was true or fake) whatfoever either Lacy or him- felf, could hope to get the B-fh-op to be mod Criminally af- feded by. But though I fhall hereafter, (where 1 mall have a more proper occafion for it) not only fully lay open the Villany of this Tcird^ . but dernonftratc his having TojH-Sd himfelf ( i55 ) himfelf in feveral Particulars of his Depofuions \ yet it will not be amifs here, and in this place, in a few words, to {hew both how unqualified he was to have been admitted .for a competent Witnefs in any Cafe or Matter whatsoever, efpecially wherein the Bijhop was concerned; and with what hafty and inconfidtrate Forwardnefs and rafn Zeal he Swore, in reference to the Matter we are now diicoiirfing of, and how grofly he prevaricated in his Depofition about it. And as it is very reafonable to believe, That he who would not do what was both Juft, and what his Station and Office obliged him unto, unlefs he were hired and brib'd, propor- tionably to the Extravagance of his own Defires, to the do- ing it; would be one who on the Provifion and AfTurance of being plentifully Rewarded, would not decline the do- ing things that were Evil, and which he ought not, in that Men are no lefs Offenders in the Sight and Account of God, by their Omiflions of Duty, than their Commiflions of Wick- ednefs •, fo through our having Inltances given us of his Guiltinefs in the former way, we may without breach of Charity, be allow'd to fufpecl:, he wou'd not be very fcru- pulous in becoming criminal in the latter. And it was" of- rer'd in proof, That as he had been guilty of diverfe enor« mous Crimes, and among others, of the Crimes of Extortion from diverfe Perfons, and on feveral Accounts ; fo that he had particularly opprefled one David Evans, firlt in the wreft- ing Money extortionally from him, and then in being the Caufe of his leaving the Country, (which was to do all he could to the ruining him) becaufe the Man had not enough for the anfwering Powers unjuft and exorbitant Cravings and Demands, in extorting from him what he would. Whereof the Story in brief is this. Namely, That one David Evans, of the Dioeefs of St. David's, having been Sufpended for a Clandeftine Marriage, in or about the Year 1691, and after- wards acknowledging his Fault, how that thereupon, the Chan- cellor of the faid Dioeefs, or his Surrogate, declared himfelf willing and ready to Abfilve the faid David Evans, provid- ed that this Thomas Vowel, who then aded as Deputy-Regifter, see the was fatisfied, and would confent thereunto. And that Powel Bp.V All*- being both thereupon applied unto, and having alfo extort- |^f,March ed from Evans Fifteen Shillings in Money, and a Tfreat which • 1(^97- colt Sixteen Shillings, as a Bribe for the giving his Confent X z that ( 15* ) that Evans might be Aofolved; yet that he the faid Thomas Towel, refufed to give his Confent that Evans mould be Ab- solved, unlefs he would give him Twenty Shillings more, which Evans not being in a Condition to do, he was forc'd to for- fake the Country, and accordingly did fo. And as this Thomas Powel, was not quallified to have been admitted to be a Wit- ness in any Cafe, or againft any Perfon whatfoever, becaufe of his being one that was Mercinary ; and who, provided he were fufficiently Brib'd, would do what he ought not, as well as be obftinate in refufing to do what he fhould, in cafe he were not hired thereunto ; fo he was lefs qua- lified for the having been allow'd a Witnefs againft the Bifiof of St. David's, than againft any other whofoever -, in that as he reckon'd himfelf difobliged by his Lordjhip : So it is plain from the whole Tenor of his Demolitions, That what he Swore, was in Revenge. Nor can any who are not ill Men themfelves, have that Partiality in his Favour, as to think he did not Swear very much at Random, and wil- fully prevaricate in giving his Information, if they will but allow themfelves to confider, how he hath Sworn, That he brought a Book from London to have ferved for a Regiftry ; when it was moll certain in its felf, and known to mod of thole who knew him, That he had never been at Loidon, during the time hcllved with the Bijhop. And though I will not from thence conclude, That he did therein wilfully Perjure himfelf, in that it may poflibly be alledged in his Behalf, that though he did not bring it, yet he had it brought by fome other Perfon : Yet I will claim the Liberty to affirm, That by fuch a Miftake in the wording of his Depofition, he cannot be thought to have Sworn confiderately, and in Judgment, but with an unbecoming Rafhnefs, if not a cri- minal Sophiftry. Therefore feeing there may be fome, who do think that all which can be fairly inferedj from thence, is only that he Swore inadvertently : I fhall therefore fub- joyn another Obfervation, with Reference to that Part of his Dcfoftion, which we are difcourfing about; by which it fhall appear with an Evidence that will admit no Contra- diction, that he Swore Malicioufly, if not likewife Falily, as well as Indifcreetly. In that having Sworn in particular, to his not having been called to attend Mr. Medley's Infti- tntlon and Collation to the Aych~Deaconary of St. David's, he further ( 157 ) farther adds Upon Oath, That he believes there was no other The Tro- Verfon frefent to fee it. Which as it was in him the Depofing JJj?' 2?* and Swearing Maliciously, in that through not being there jn^'rog him (elf, he could not for that very Reafon know, but that 21. others might j fo it fhews in thole who took upon them the Juridicial Power in the Procefs, a ftrange Departure from all the Rules and Meafures agreed upon, and eftablifhed to be obferved in Judicial Proceedings, That they would allow a Witnefs, to Swear not only to Inferences, which the Pre- mifes could not fupport, but admit him to Depofe his Opi- nion and Belief, in the way of legal Evidence, and in the way of Knowledge and Certainty. For if Mens Belief and efpecially that of Enemies, come once to be received in the room of legal Proof, there is not that Man in the World, though never fo Innocent, who may not be convicted of being guilty of the greateft, and moll capital Crimes. And fhould this Method of witnefling, be allowM in England at this time, there are Hundreds of the Greateft and Bell Men in the Kingdom, who muft expect to be condemned upon the Slan- derous Acculations of fuch, who are fo wickedly Impudent, as to declare it to be their Belief That they are in a Com- bination and Confpiracy, to Betray and Sacrifice the Nati- on to France. For as a certain Faction of Men, have joyn^ ed and united in a Conjuration, to alperfe and calumniate a vafl: Number of People, (who are the bell Subjects, as well • as the truefl Englifh Men of any in the Nation) for being Traitors to the King and Kingdom, there remains nothing further needful, for introducing the Profcription of Sylla, and for turning the Nation in a common Shambles, but to pro- cure the having fuch to be veiled with a Judicative Power of Trying thofe Pillars and Partizans of our Rights and Lir berties, and Patriots of our Church, as it is by Law efta- blilhed -7 who will admit and receive the avowed, as well as pretended Belief of their Defamers and Accufers, for good and legal Evidence, upon which to condemn them. And in. that Cafe, it would be all one with Refpect to the Iflue and Confequence, whether they who do thus Slander, and di- vulge this as their Opinion of them, do really Believe what they fay, and publickly Report and Print of them, or notv feeing by the Precedent fet us in the Cafe we are difcourfing about, it will have and produce the fame EfFec\ if they do but ( i58 ) but affirm that they Believe it, though in reality they do not. Nor caa there be any other Difference between thofe of the one fort, and them of the other, fave that they who pre- tend to Believe what they do not, are the greater Villains } while they who take up a Belief without Ground or Reafon, are only weak and credulous Fools, though pernicious ones. But whereas in reference to Towel's Teftimony againft the Bijhop of St. David's in the foregoing matter, it may be al- ledged, That in the Depofing his Belief to be fo and fo, he ~Vbl fupra. alfo afiigned the Reafon of it, namely, That bis Lorfoip on a Tryal at the j4Jfiz,es held at Carmarthen, where he flood Indit- ed for Collating Mr. Medley to the Arch-JDeaconary of St. DavidV, without adminiflring the Oaths, unto him, which the Law requires', having no Witneffes to produce, for his having Given, and for Mr* Medley'* having Taken the faid Oath, was forced to vindicate himfelf, as to the one and the other, by his own Perfonal Oath : To which I fhall at prefent return a very Short, but I hope a Satisfa&ory Anfwer. For being obliged to fet the whole Proceeding of the Bijhop's Collating Mr. Medley hereafter in full and true Light, and not being willing to anticipate my felf therein here, I fhall therefore in this Place, only fay, That as notwithstanding all the Malice of his LordJJnp's Ene- mies againft him, there is not fo much as one fingle, or in- dividual Inftance affigned, or brought into Proof, of his ha- • ving Difpatched any lnftitution or Collation, where fome quali- fied in Law, were not prefent, to Atteft, and to be Wit- neffes of, and unto it •, fo I may venture to add, That the Bifliop's having "Depofed upon Oath, and his being frill ready to do the fame, That there were never any Siniftrous Practi- ces at the times of Jnflitutions and Collations, nor the Admi- niftration of any Oaths omitted, which the Law Required, ought, and fhould have been of more Weight and Credit be- fore any Impartial Court, than the Depofitions to the con- trary, of Twenty fuch as Vowel, upon Surmife, Inference, and pretended Belief, would have flood allow 'd to be. And as it not only too evidently declares, but fhamefully pro- claims, with what Indignation fome Men were poffeffed againft the Bifiop, and upon what Principles of Pique and Revenge they purftfd him, that contrary to all the Meafures of Juftice, he fhould for one and the fame pretended Offence, be at the fame time, Profecuted both in a Civil Court, and in an Ecclefia- ftical ; ( *$9 ) flical: So it can never redound to the Credit of the Ach- Blfiop of Canterbury i and of thofe who were AJfcjfors to him in the Proceedings againft the Bifuop of St. David's, that his Lordjhip's being acquitted in the Firfi, mould be of no Avail for covering him from the Violence of the Second $ and that what our Judges at Common Law, received and accepted as fufficient Reafon and Ground for his being acquitted at their Tribunal 9 Should have had no Influence upon his Metropolitan, " and his Comprovincial BIJJjops, neither for the abfolving him at theirs, nor for the moderating their Wrath againft him. On which, all the Reflection I will make at this time, fliall be this, That as Theologorum odiafunt acerbijfima, Divines are of all Men the moft Wrathful and Implacable towards one ano- ther ^ So lllor urn odiorum* caufoe funt acriores, quia funt. iniqtiA.^iClt'^ml And with this I put an end to what I had to fay in way of Llb' *' Reply to the Author of the Summary View, with reiped to the feveral Scandalous things, whereof the Bljlwp ftands ac- cused, and with which he is afperfed by that Writer under the Head, faid to contain Offences of many kinds. So that I do now proceed to an Examination of what hath been publifhed by the Author of the Summary View, in rela- tion unto, and concerning the next General Crime charged on the Bifoop, which is his having demanded and taken from the Summary Clergy of his Diocefs, excejfive and illegal Fees for Ordinations,View<. Collations, and Procurations: And that this Pr alike of his, was^' !5« fo general and notorious, that by his own Acknowledgement, he was Jnditled i?i the Temporal Courts for it. And before I enter up- on the Survey and Detail of the many Accufations of that kind laid againft his Lordflrip, or do apply my felf to the vindicating him from every one of them in particular, I mail premlfe feveral things in general ; which fhail not only ferve to the bringing the Reader into a more diftinct and full ac- quaintance with this whole matter -, but fhall carry in them, enough both to juftifie the Bljhop's Innocency, as to thofe pretended Offences, with, and for which he hath been afperf- ed and caluminated, and be fufficient to convince all who are not under the Power of PrepofTeffion and Prejudice, that no- -thing fave Malice and Revenge in the Promoter and his Agents, and Pique in him who aflumed the jurifdidtive Power, could from thence, and from the Bljhop\ fuppofed Guiltinefs there- in, have either found matter for the forming and prefering of ( ««° ) of Articles, or for the making it a Part of the Ground and Foundation of the Sememe that was pronounced againft him. And the Fir ft thing which in order thereunto, I am to pre- mife and obferve, is how that in all the feveral Cafes and Particulars, wherein the Bifliop hath been accufed for exact- ing excejfive and illegal Fees, there was both by Law and Can- en, a Right veiled inland a Liberty granted unto him, for the demanding and taking certain Fees ; and that fuch Fees have been (and ftill are) claimed and received by all other Bijhops whatfoever, and even by his Grace the Arch-Bijhop of Canter- bury, from the Clergy of their feveral and refpe&ive Diocejfes. Nor was this ever queftion'd, and much lefs denied, with re- ference to any of the Cafes, wherein the Bijhop of St. David's, hath been accufed for exacting more than by Law, Canon, or Cuflom, was due -, fave in relation to the Adminiftring of Sacred Orders. And as the Bijljop^s being Articulated againft, for demanding and taking excejfive and illegal Fees, carrieth in it an Acknowledgement, That he was allow'd to take .certain Fees, but that they were to be fuch as were not exorbitant and oppreffive •, fo in. the fingle and alone Cafe, wherein the receiving any Fees, feems by the Canon, to be wholly prohi- bited : There is neverthelefs upon that Occafion, and with relation even to that Tranfaction, fomething admitted to be taken, though not for, and by reafon of the Sacred Attion of Ordaining Priefls or Deacons. For tho' the Hundred and Thirty Fifth Canon, upon which the Promoter founded his Eighteenth Article againft the Bifiop, doth (as there recited) Provide and 135 Cm- Ordain, That no Fee or Money JJiall be received either by the 0m, An. Arch-Bifhop, or any Biiliop or Suffragan, either direclly or in- ^°>- direclly, for admitting any into Sacred Orders : Yet that very Canon doth neverthelefs admit the taking of certain Fees for things which are upon that Occafion, and in Confequence of the Admifllon of Ferfons into Sacred Orders, needful to be done, and doth accordingly limit what thefe Fees fhall be, in Pro- viding and Ordaining, That no other Pcrfon or Ferfons, under the faid Arch-Bifhop, Biihop or Suffragan, fo all for Parchment, Writing, Wax, Sealing, or any other rejpetl thereunto appertain- ing, take above Ten Shillings. For as the Ordaining a Perfon tcT be a Priefi or Deacon, is not only diftincl:, but vaflly dif- ferent from the Giving him Letters or Infruments, by which his having been regularly and legally Admitted into Holy Or- ders, ( I* ) ders, is Certified and Declared ; fo both the Lcotj of the King- dom, and the ta and Conftitutions of the Church, do al- low that to be juft and expedient, as well as lawful, for, and becaufc of the lattery which, with relation unto, by rea- fon of, and upon the Score of the former, they make and declare, to be Simoniacal. So that how flricr. foever, either the Laws of the Realm, or the formention'd Canon of the Church of England, are againft the Taking of Money, either for Ordination, which is quid Spirituale ; or for a Presentation to an Ecclefiafiical Benefice, which in the Church of England, (where there is no Ordination of any Man allow'd fine Titnloy the^ Officium being made and declared infeparable a Beneficio) is held quid Spirituals annexun ; and whatfbever Cenfures or Penalties, they do render' thofe obnoxious unto, who fhall be legally convi&ed of being Guilty of the one or the other j yet it fo is far from being either prohibited, or made punifhable, to take Money for thofe Writings or Infimments, which are called Letters of Orders : That the Sum, which may, and fhall be Taken, is exprefly defined and limited. And as the Bi- fhop of St. David's, was never guilty of the former in any In- ftance wbatfoever, (how much foever he hath been afperfed and caluminated, and from all which Afperfions and Calum- nies, he mall hereafter be fully vindicated) fo he neither e- ver took any Money himfelf for the Lnfirnments Certifying Or- dinations; nor did he allow- his Servants to receive any more, than what was permitted and directed by the Law and Can- on ; as (hall be likewife made evidently appear, when I come particularly to juftifie his Lordfiup from all whereof he "hath been accufed in the matter about Ordinations. Having therefore faid enough in the way of my Firfi Pro- mife, I do now proceed to a Second, which fhall particularly refpeft and bear a Reference to the Fees, which may be de- manded and taken for Inftitutions and Collations. And that which I have to obferve concerning them is this, that there being neither Law nor Canon, that Appoint and Determin the Proportion, in which thefe Fees fhall and may be claim'd, and receiv'd in all, and . in every Diocefs of the Kingdom ; that' therefore the Meafures, Degrees, and Rules, in, and ac- cording to which they may be demanded and taken, muft be accounted to ftand Regulated by the Cufiom, which hath ob- tained, and been ufed in this or that Diocefs, refpe&ively Y and Lib. 2. c.and federally. And as in- Cafes of that kind, confuetudinls, qua fit ufttfcjHC lofiaavi non vilis efl author it as ; the Authority of long and long; conf-cwftanl Prattice, is always held to be of great Weight and Mo- calUJirAt. ment . And that in ambiguitatibus qua ex legibus proficifcuntur, fa leg ' confuetudo vim legis obtinet ', wherefoever either through want of Laws, or by re af on of fome Obfcurity in them, Difficulties and Un- certainties are occafion'd, and do arife ', thaf then, there, and in all fitch Cafes, Cuflom fliall be allowed to have the Power and Force of Law : It will both ferve to the juftifying the Biflop, with relation to all the Fees of thofe kinds, which he required and received ; and will alfo vindicate him from all whereof he hath been accufed \ provided it can be made appear, (as it fully fhall in what is fpeedily to follow) that he entirely Go- verned himfelf in his Demands and Receipts of thofe Fees, by, and according to the Practice of his PredecefTors, and what had been the Cuflom in the Biflwpricli of St. David's. Nor need I here to infill" much in observing, That as the Laws, by which we in England Hand Govern'd, are fuch, ei- ther by Vertue of AUs of Parliament, or that they are fuch^ which by reafon of antient and long Cuflom, have acquired the Name of Common Law, and which in all Matters and Cafes, where Atts of Parliament have not interpofed, and concern- ing which there are no Enabled Laws, are of the fame Au- thority, that the 'Statute-Law is -, only it will not be amifs to take notice, That -as there *are Cufloms which ar,e National, and which extend unto, and obtain through the whole King- dom', fo there are certain Topical Cuflomj, which though they are not of that extent as to reach the whole Nation, and to have the Force of Laws in all Parts of the Realm ; yet they have Rich an Authority where they 'have been received, That both the Practices of Men, and the Judicial Procedures of Courts of Judicature, in thofe Places, and with Referen- ces to Tranfattions within thofe Circuits, ought to be Regu- lated and Govern'd by them. And therefore, as that which had been the Cuflom, with refpedt. to the foremention'd Fees, in the Diocefs of St. David's, and what had been there jufti- fied, as well as the common Pr alike of the belt of his Pre- deceffors, was to be the Meafure and Standard by which Bi- Jhop Watfcn ought to have Guided himfelf in that Afiair , fo I will take th^ Liberty to fay, That it would in Jufticc have become them who claim'd ajurifdiftionin relation tothe/V*- "fe9 { i63 ) cefs, that bad been commenced againft that Prelate, to have: made this the Ride, by, and according to which, they mould have judged of his Lordfnfs Behaviour in that matter. Nor can I avoid believing, but that when it is undeniably made Good, (as in what remains to be faid on this Head, it un~ queftionably will) that in his demanding and taking ofthofe Fees, lie never exceeded what had been Cufiomary in that Bi- jhoprick, but that thereupon, inftead of his continuing to be ac- counted fo heinous an Offender, as the great Metropolitan hath by his Sentence declared him to be -, his Grace's Judicial Proceed- ings, will come to be not only lefs Honourably efteemed, bud to be refleded upon with greater Severity, than his Friends could have wifh'd he had adminiftred Occafion for. But I defire to be allow'd to premifi further in the Third Place, That in no Diocefs of England whatfoever, are the Fees for Infiituticns and Collations more moderate, than they are in the Bijhoprick of St. David's. And if his Grace of Canterbury, do make what is taken in that Bijhoprick^ to be an extorting of excejfive and illegal Fees ; I would fain know what words of Difgrace and Infamy, he will find, by which to call the exor- bitant Exatlion ofthoje Fees, as they are Claimed and Received in- other Diocejfes. And were not feme Men readier to fee a mote in their Brother s eye, than a beam in their own, his Grace might have obferved fomething more criminal of this kind, at Lam- beth and Dotlor*s Commons, as well as in other Bijhopricks ; than ever was in Bijhop Wat fins time pra&ifed at AberguUly, or St. David's. But I am not willing to lay open and expofe, the Weaknefs, if not the Fault, chargeable upon the Arch-Bijhops and Bijhops of the Church of England, by reafon of the Fees of the foregoing kinds, which are by them Claimed and Recei- ved ; and mail therefore confine my felf to the oblerving, how in the very Diocefs of Canterbury, the aforefaid Fees, do far exceed what they are in the Diocefs of St. David's. And though I could eafily carry the Inquiry and Companion further, as for Example, That whereas the Fees for a Licenfi in the Bijhoprick of St. David's, are only Thirteen Shillings and. Four Pence, tliere are no lefs Fees demanded and taken for the fame, in the Eijhtrrick of Norwich, than Three, Four, or Five Pound: Yet I will" not only reftrain rny felf to the giving an Account of the Difference and Difproportion of thofe Fees in the Diocefs of Canterbury, from what they are in the Bijhoprick Y 2 of (i6A) of St. David's, but I will alfo be very Brief and Compendi- ous in doing it. Being one who not only out of Companion to fuch as come to be admitted into Holy Orders, but who by reafon of the'Regard I have for the Honour of the Church of England, do heartily wilh, that thefe Fees might be every where' reduced from what they are : And that as the Standard for exacting them, might be Uniform, and one and the fame in all Diocejfes, fo that alfo lefs might be made payable every where, on thofe Accounts, than the loweft Demands do in any place at prefent, arife unto. Whereas then, the Fees in the Bifioprick of St. David's, are Four Found One Shillings for In- ftitution ; Six Pound One Shilling, for a Collation -, Thirteen Shill- ings and Four Pencey for Sequefiration, Relaxation^ and a^ Li- cenfe -, and Five Shillings, for Subfcripion • therehath been De- manded and Received at Lambeth, and at DotloSs Commons, above Seven Found, for a bare Inftitution; and above Ten found for a Collation. Which is both the more to be won- dred at, and to be held for the greater Offence, in that it is not only an Innovation from what was practiced in Arch' £ijl)op Laud's time, but an Exaction of very much more, than was under him, Demanded and Paid. But as the Bijhop of St. David's, hath not in the leafi: departed from what was the Rule and Cuftom obferved before in that Bifioprick :, nor hath not in any one Inftance, exacted more, than what the belt of his Predeceflbrs Demanded and Received : So it may be Matter of Aftonilhment, how he comes to be Deprived for that, for which others were never complain'dof. Seeing though the prefent Bificp might (to his own Lofs) out of Compani- on to fome, and Friend fhip to others, have abated of what was Payable by the Cuftom of the Diocefs, yet without the be- ing Injurious to thofe who mould fucceed him in the Epifco- pal Dignity, and Office in that Place, he could not make an Univerfal Innovation in the aforefaid Matter, by the Reducti- on of thofe Fees, to leiler Sums and Proportions, than what has been antiently and cuftomarily Paid. Nor could he ima- gine himfelf liable to Calumny and Cenfure, when in no In- ftance whatfoever, had he ever exceeded what had been ufii- ally Required and Received. Whereas therefore a certain Great Perlbn, hath forgotten the ufual Saying o&fttirpe Docloria, cum culpa redargult ipfum. I thought it not amifs to give him a ihort Practical Commentary upon the words of Solomon j He that Ci*5) ^hat isfirfi in his own Caufe, feemcth Jufi, but his Neighbour com- j>rQV, ^ cth and fear cheth him. 17. But to. proceed to that which I have to premife in the Fourth Place, Namely, That fuch was the' Bifiop's Care he might not exceed either in Demanding or Taking more than had been cultomarily Paid, that he applied himfelf both with Induftry, and as foon as poflibly he could, to the getting a Table of thofe Fees from fuch, as he had reafon to believe were ablefl; to give him one. Whereas, had he intended to exact above what was legally due, he would have chofen, as well for the covering himfelf from dayly fcnblick Reproaches, as for the avoiding the Rebukes of his own Mind, to have lived in a profound Ignorance of that Matter, though it had been an affe&ed one. But to have been both inquifitive what he might legally Require and Receive, and alfo to have Ordered that the Fees, which by antient Cuftom, were to be Demanded and Ta- ken, fhould be openly Declared and Signified, and yet to have been either inclined unto, or have practifed the taking of more, was fuch a Contradiction to common Senfe, that he muft have been a Fool, inftead of being a Knave, that could have done fo. For as they whofe Deeds are evil, do always hate the Light, fo they are feldom thought difpofed to perpetrate, either what is Treacherous, or Oppreffive, who are willing to have thofe Rules which are appointed for the-Mea- fures of their Behaviour and Conduct, to ftand both in their own* View, and of all Men elfe, with whom they have occafion to be concerned. Nor can we have a more convincing Proof of the Bijhop of St. David's having firmly refoved from his firfi: com- ing into that Dioce/s-, to Govern himfelf in the Exaction of thofe Fees that fhould be Demandable for hflruments of any kind, by the Cuftom and Practice of fuch who had been his PredecefTors in that See, than that Mr. Slingsby, who was then his Secretary, did by his Lordfhip's Order, require from, and had accordingly delivered to him by Mr. Lucy, (who is now the Vromoter) a particular and exact Account of the feveral Fees Payable for Infiruments, viz. Four Found One Shilling, for In- fthutions ; Six Vou.id One Shilling, for Collations } and for Se- cjueft-rations, Relaxations, and Cmificate-Licenfes to Preach, Thir- teen Shillings Four Pence, for each Instrument, And as Mr. Slings by hath bepofed this upon Oath before a Mafter of Chan- cery, (not having been admitted to do it elfewhere) and with- all, / aft, that he accordinly, by vhis Mafters Authority, and for his life, Received them in the Proportions mentioned : So he hath alfo Sworn, That it was the Bijhop's Exprcfs Command to him, That he mould neither Demand, nor Receive above the Rates which have been Specified. Yea, fuchwashisL fhifs Care, there might be no Miftake in that Particular, That he caufed him to Search both the Regiflry of Canterbu- ry, and that of his own Diocefs, in order to have found whe- ther there were any Authentick Tables, directing and limit- ing the feveral and refpe&ive Sums, in which the aforefaid Fees were Payable -, but tjgt finding none in either .of thefe Regiflries, he was forced t$ acquiefce in what had been cufia- marily Paid in the Bifioprick of St. David's, as the only Rule that was left for his Guidance and Conduct in that matter. And that he might not through Ignorance, either lofe what he had a Right to Demand and Take, nor Exact, more from his Clergy than what by antient llfuage and Cuftoms, they were bound to Pay, he not. only fent to George Lucy, thei?*- gifier, to know what the ufual Fees were, who return'd for Anfwer to his Lordfoip, that the Fees were as I have above mentioned -, but he like wife wrote to Willi am Wi Hams of Breck- nock, Gent, to Inquire of Mr. Robert Lucy, (the Promoter) what the Legal Fees had ufually been ; who having made the faid Inquiry of Lucy, in the Prefence of Thomas Vowel Deputy-Re- oifter-, and being informed by both of them, that the Fees were as have been already Specified, he the faid Mr. Williams^ Tranfmitted an Account thereof, by Letter to his Lordjhip^ who was then at London. Nor is it unworthy of Remark, (as WmWil- being that which ought to vindicate the Bifhop from all Sui- liams, tkpicion of having ever had the lead Inclination of acting ex- Bp.'* \6. tortionally in the matter of Fees) how that being furpriz'd lVl,tn'Ar.c to find the Fees for Collations, fo far to exceed the Fees for 'irS?™ Fnflitutions, he thereupon endeavoured to inform himfelf, whe- ther that was peculiar to the Bijhopnck or St. David's, or whether it did not alfo obtain in other Dioceffes. And as upon a very little Examination thereof, he found the fame Difference', if not a greater, obferved in other Dioceffes, be- tween the Fees Demanded for Collations, and thofe requir'd for Inflitutions, than ever was pra&ifed in the Bifl>oprick"bt St. David's : So it is exprefly Depofed by Mr. Charles Price, That he had not only been allured, That in the Dioceffes of Wor- cefter, ( 1*7 fr afler, Winchester,, and Oxford, the Fees Taken for Collations, 7fo Bp.'s were double to thofe taken for Infiitutions ; but that he tiie48.^^- faid Charles Price, having, during the Vacancy of the Biftoprick ■*"■(' *° In' of St. David's, become Entituled to the Vicarage of Bough-. o&?\7 rood in that Diocefs, paid almofi: twice as much at Dotlor's 1698. Commons for his Collation Fees, than he paid for Inflitution Fees at Lambeth. Whereunto, I defire Liberty here to add, That as the Bijlw'p took all imaginable Care for being informed, what the Fees for the feveral and refpe&ive lnjlrumeiits were, which according to Cuftom, might be lawfully Demanded and Taken : So he was always no lefs pofitive and uniform in his Directions and Commands, given to thofe whom he Autho- riz'd and Entrufted to Receive them, that they fiiould not Claim nor Take above what had been the wonted and ufual Rates and Proportions. For even 'Thomas Towel, one of the rrmoter Promoters chief WitnefTes, and who had been Secretary to the 29. witn, ' Bifhop after Mr. Slingshy, hath Deposed upon Oath, how that the faid Bifhop in a Letter to him, bearing Date Dec. 22c!. 1688, had Order'd and Directed him the aforefaid Towel, to Require and Receive thofe Fees, after the Rate of the Sums following. Namely, 3 /. \6 s. for every Inslitution, 5 /. 16 s. for every Collation, 5 s. for every Subfcription ; and for Seque- strations, Relaxations, and Other Injlruments, 13 s. 4 d. for each of them : Which by^ the way, was lefs, than according to Cuftom, his Lordflnp might have caus'd to have been Demanded. And accordingly^ Robert Dowglas, alVitne/s for the Biflwp, hath r, , likewife Sworn, That while he ferved his Lordfiip, he did by47* ^^. his Command, Demand and Take 4 /. 1 s. for every Inflituti- Anf.toin- on, 6 I. 1 s. for every Collation ; and for Sequeflrations, Relaxa- terrog. ad lions, and Certificate-Licenfes to Preach, 13. /. 4 d. for every ^rtu' I2« one of them. Moreover, Welfray Tenement, Gent, hath alfb-j^"* lh Depofed, That the Bifhop of St. David's, ufuaily took 4 1.$£s'a6. 1 s. for Institution, and for Collation, 40 s. more than for In- witn. A»f. flitution -, and for the other foremention'd Infiruments, 1 3 /. toimerrpg. 4 d. for each. Finally that I may conclude this Premife, I am aci Amc' only to take notice, That Charles trice hath Depofed, how that Thomas Powd, the Deputy-Regifter, had not only told and afTu- rhe B?:'s red him, that there were 40 s. more due for a Collation, than ^nroto- for an In flitution-, but that the Bijlwp in his Taking of Fees, terrog. kept conitantly to the Rules which have been mention'd : And Oct. 10. that he never exceeded the Rates that we have been fore'd fo **ps. \ often ( i«8 ) often to repeat. All which being duly confider'd by Men of Probity, and fuch as are Impartial, mult .undoubtedly influ- ence them, if not to have a much better Opinion of the Bi~ (loop, than either the great Metropolitans, or the Writer of the Summary View, will be well pleafed to have them entertain, at lead to fhfpend condemning him upon the Allegations pro- duced by that Author, until I come particularly to examine, and to give an Anfvver to them. And without departing from the Rules and Meafures, either of Modefty or Truth, I may venture to fay, That upon the Propolitions and Principles al- ready laid down, I fhall not only find an eafte Task of it hereafter, to fet afide moft of the Complaints againft the Bi- flop, in Reference to his having exa&ed illegal and exceflive Fees •, but fhall alfo have whereby to fhew and expofe this Au- thor, as the moft trifling and impertinent Writer, that ever put Pen to Paper : And that in moft produced by him on that Head, he hath no lefs Pabliihed his Weaknefs, than this Ma- lice againit the Bijbop. And therefore I will now go on*to what I have in the Fifth Place further to Premife -, Namely, That the Bijhop of St. David's, having been both Inquifitive into, and after the Exa&ion of Illegal and exceflive by others, and having en- deavour'd by Rebukes and Cenfures, as well to prevent, as to correct, that Enormity, may, and doth give us juft Ground to believe, that he never intened to be •Guilty of .that Crime hifmelf. And whereas the Author of the Summary View, hath p. i, in way of Raillery and Reflection on that Prelate, been plea- fed to tell us, That he was once an Univerfity Tutor, (which by the way, is fo far from being a Difparagement to any Man, that many of our Bifhops heretofore, have not only had their having been fuch, mention'd to their Honour, but have therein laid the firft Foundation of their future Elevation to the highelt Dignities of the Church) "that Writer might have alfo remembred, That through his having been fo, he mull needs have become acquainted with the vulgar Saying, That qui alterum incufat probri, feipfum intueri oportet, Who accufeth another of an Offence or Crime, ought to be jure that he is Inno- cent thereof himfelf Nor could his Lordjhip even fiy reafon of that Employ, have been ignorant of what the Roman Orator Cicer. «5 ^e^s us> ViZ" That non modo accufator, fed ne objurgator quidem i Collation from the fame Bijhop, had not only paid 7 /. 10 *-l9W^ to the faid Robert hit Son, but that Robert alfo demanded, 2 and (i7o) . and would have had Evans to have promifed him 4 /. more. As likewife that Samuel Jones, for a Collation from Bijhop Lacy, Zfe*Bf>.'j paid 8 /. to the aforefaid Robert his Son, befides 20 s. for a 37 Whn. Licenfe to Preach: And that the fame >»w, for a Collation jinf.tolnt. from ^^p Thomas, paid 10/. to Jo/;# Thomas, who was Sow „. ' of the faid Bifhop *, and that for his Letters of Orders from i?*(k^ Z/flcy, he paid between 30, and 40. s. to Nicholas Davies, Tk Bp 's wno was SecretAry t0 the faid Bifhop. That ivz/rf# James, for ,2% wit*, a Collation from 2?i/Jwp Thomas, paid 8 /. and upwards, to i(t/p. ad 3^;* Thomas his Son ^ and that for Letters of Deacon's, and Anic. 12,. fov Letters of PrieJFs Orders, from Bifiop Lucy, he paid 15./. ct 20. £or eacj1? t0 ^fr/- Z,#f)', who is now the Promoter in this 7fo Bp.V Caufe. And that ;M« Davies for a fingle Collation from the 39 jf/w. foremen tion'd ^//Jwp Thomas, paid 9 /. 0^/ Shillings, to the ■£*/?• ad aforefaid John Thomas his Son and Secretary ; and likewife T^V^ *4 s' ^0l a Licenfe to 7W& a ScW/. As alfo that Howel LoWitn* Griffeth, for a bare Collation from the fame 2?//fco/> Thomas, £efp. ad paid 7 /. to John Thomas -, and that withal, over and above, Anic: 12. fje paid Fw for a Sequeftration. Likewife that David Davies, 7heur^/s for a Collation from 2?//fof Thomas, paid 7 /. to &"c* Oirw, Tk Bv.'s wno was ms Secretary. As alfo that Francjs Beal, for a G?/- 35 J'F/w. lation from Bijhop Lucy, paid 10 /. to his Son Robert, theFro- 7»e Bp.'.? wo/fr in this Caufe. And that Thomas Herring, Vicar of Abe- 29 i/7w. rjsfojr9 for an Inftitution from Bifhop Womock, paid between T/'eBp.'j 7 and 8 /. to Thomas Powel, who was lately Deputy-Regi- 53 jr/m. Iter, and a Malicious Witnefs againft the prefent Bifhop. As likewife that another Thomas Herring, who is Vicar of Mer- thir, having been Ordained by BiJJiop Lucy, paid 33 s. to his AUegat. gon R0ycrti) for his Ordination Fees. And that Nicholas Roberts, 1607 f°r an Iuftitmion from ^^o/> ^«g^ and for the Inftruments thereunto appertaining, paid 12/. to the foremention'd Robert 49 Witn. Lucy his Son. And that Lewis Goz.e, Vicar of Brarrod, being jg/p. ad Ordained by 2?//Z?op £«/> Art.zc.rn. Lucy, or his Secretary, 2.1. 3 s. ^ d. for his Ordination Fees, 28 Witn. And that Leoline Powell, for an Inftitution from 2?//7?. ad' feid ^//fctf/> ^"9S f°r hi3 Letters of Orders, and for a Licenfe 4n.iQ.iuU) Baptize, and one to ferve a Cwr, paid 2/. 3 j» to M6m demanded more. *m '*£• But to enlarge no further in the giving Inftances of the ex- orbitant Fees, which were Demanded and Taken formerly in the Bijhoprick of St. David's, under the Guilt of many where- of Robert Lucy appears to have been involved \ I ihall only add Two Inftances of the faid Lucy\ Criminalnefs, in the way of Bribery. And the Firft Ihall be that which we have Depofed by Thomas Williams, Vicar of St. Harman\ Namely, j]?e Bp.'i How that William Williams, Father to the faid Thomas, for 41 Witn. the obtaining a Difpenfation from Bijhop Lucy, to fucceed his Af» to In- Father, who was Grandfather to Thomas, in the Vicarage of La- ^^.Z' navonvour, paid 20 /. as a Bribe to Robert Lucy, the Bijhop's Son j and yet, how that notwithftanding of the Payment thereof, the Difpenfation was by him never actually procu- red : As may be be feen, together with a great deal more of the faid Lucy the Promoter's Villany's, in the aforefaid De- pofition of Thomas Williams. And for the Second Inftance I have promifed to give of that kind, it Ihall be taken from the Depofition of Mr. Thomas Griffith, of Clirow, in the County 7^ ^s of Radnor, Gent. Who Swears, how that one Thomas Powel, 32 witn. who was Brother-inLaw to him the faid Griffith, having a Dlf-Avf.tofo- ference with another about the Right of Prefenting to the terr0&* I2* Vicarage of Glasbury, gave 20 /. to Robert Lucy, for to gain the Bijhop his Father, to decide the Controverfie in Favour of Powel -, and that for, and in Confideration of the faid Sum, he undertook the doing of it, and accordingly did •, as may be likewife feen, and alfo more of the faid Lucy's Roguery, in the Depofition which I have mention'd. Now if any of the Clerical Tribe ihall be offended at my having detected fo ma- ny fcandalous Practices of former Prelates,' and of their Ec- clefaflical Officers ; I do affure them, that I have done it, nei- ther out of Prejudice to thofe of the Spiritual Orders, nor to detrad from the good Fame and Reputation, which thole Bi- JJiops whom I have mention'd, may have left behind them : But it is what I could not avoid, without being extremely Z 2 deficient C 172 ) deficient in the Performance of that which I have underta- ken. And if any Infamy redound to the Memory of fome who are Dead, or Difgrace fall upon others Alive, by it, they who have forced me unto, and have extorted it from me, mull bear the Blame. Seeing that otherwife, I could neither have done the Bijlwp of St. David's the Right, which in Juftice I owe him , nor fo fully have laid open the' Unrighteoufnefs, as well as the Partiality of fome People in their Judicial Pro- ceedings, which for the Satisfaction of unprejudiced Readers, I am obliged unto. And when I confider the juridicial Pre- cedent^ firft of Blackning, and then of Depriving the Bijhop of St. Davids, for Offences, of which there was no Legal Evi- dence fufficient to convid him -0 while at the fame time, his Enemies (though proved undeniably Guilty of the Crimes, with which he was barely afperfed) were CarrefTed and Recompen- fed : I am the lefs'furprifed, to find that Original tranfcribed and imitated in fo many Copies. And that fo many Ver- tuous Perfons in the Nation, have of late, been branded with the Crimes, which are peculiar to them who have accufed and libelled them. Nor is it unlikely, but that the Quality of thofe. concerned in the Firft, gave Encouragement to fuch as have been engaged in the latter. And that the Noife of Stop Thiefy which has rung through the Kingdom, was be- gun by the Pick- Pockets and Robbers, in order to their own efcaping the being purfu'd and taken. So that it is not on- ly come to the cafe, That profperum fcelus, virtus vocabur ; but that the Criminals who have the Impudence to Calum- niate and Defame fuch as are Innocent, inftead of being thought Punilhable, they are by thofe of a certain Faction, held to be the Men of all others, who deferve to be Trufted and Prefer ed. But to proceed to a Sixth thing, which I am yet further to obferve in way of Premife, viz. That the Bifiop of St. Davids forbearing in diverfe Cafes to exact what was really dm to him, and his having never Sued, nor Commenced an Action at Law, againft any who were in Arrear to him for Fees, (as feveral are) may abundantly convince all that are not obfti- nately prejudiced, (and for the Conviction of fuch, no Means whatfoever will be fufficient) that he is neither the Covetous Wretch, nor the Heinous Extortioner, which he hath Hood reprefented, and accufed to be. Nor is it credible, That he who ( «fej ) who fhould either omit the Demanding what the Law had entituled him unto, or decline the profecuting of thofe, who had not paid it, could be a Perfon, who would require and cxaft more of any, than he had a Right to claim. And for- afmuch as there are many Inftances both of the one, and the other, it .will not be amifs to fay fomething in reference to each of them. And as to his omitting in feveral Cafes to Require and to Receive, what the Law had given him a Pow- er to Demand and Take, I fhall uncontroulably prove it from, and by the Teitimonies of thofe, to whom he had been thus Merciful and Indulgent. For Mr. Henry Vowel, Vicar of Lan- The Bp.'j gadock, hath Depofed upon Oath, That the Bijhop having be- * "> Wiw- flowed feveral Ecclefiaftical Preferments and Benefices gratis upon y^' at him, neither did, nor would Receive fo much as the Fees, forfome of the Collations. Nor is it unworthy of Remark, how that by the Confeffion of the Bijhop's moft Malicious Enemy, Mr. Edmond Meyrick, (who befides the many other Crimes, which he hath charg'd upon his Lordfoip, hath alfo particularly ca- luminated him with the taking of Illegal and Fxcejjive Fees') the Bijhop forgave unto one Howel, the Sum of 3 /. that he might have legally exa&ed. The Story whereof in brief is this, viz.. That a certain Perfon named Mr. Walter Howel, ha- ving obtained a Collation from the BijJiop, for which 6 1. 1 s. became payable as the cuftomary Fees, and which the faid Howel accordingly gave to the foremention'd Meyrick, to be by him deliver'd and paid to his Lordfhip, how that upon1 MeyricVs having brought and tend red it, but withal having reprefented HowePs Neceffitous, Circumftances and Poverty, the Bifhof with great Cheer fulnefs, and no lefs Companion, return- ed 3 /. of the Money tq^ Meyrick, to be given back by him ta Howel. Whereunto may be added, That Solomon Henden, Vi- jnfa. in- car of Lawhaden, hath Sworn, how that he upon his being Ordain' d terrog. 12. Prieft by the faid Bijhop of St. David1*, had his Letters of Order j Oft. 1698. given him gratis. And the like is alfo Depofed by John Gwyn, lhe B >s namely, That he having been like wife Ordained Priefl by th\ rl2mtK. fame Bifhop, his Lordflnp would take nothing of him for the In- Anf. to In' firumcnts, which certified his being received into Holy Orders. Andtenog. then as to the Biflwp's forbearing to Profecute any that are in Arrears to him for Fees, we do need only to look into his Book of Procurations, for proof of it. For as it doth there- by appear that there is above 50 /. owing unto him for the Two ( '74 ) Two Vifnat'ms \ fo it is mod certain afld indubitable, that notwithstanding thereof, he never Cited, and much lefs com- pelled any one Perfon to pay rah at he owed him of that kind. By which few Infhmces in both the foremention'd ways, they who are either Men of good Senfe, or of common Juftice, muft find themfelves if not obliged, at leaft prepared to Be- lieve, That he who out of Mercy and Generofity, could for- bear cxa&ing what he lawfully might, is not like to have been one, who in any cafe, or towards any Perfon, what or whom- foever, would be oppreflive. For though it is poffible, that Tacit, (as the Hiftorian faith) one may be pecunia fua parens, et alien* ■HifiAib.l. avarus, frugal in the difpofal of his own Money, and yet covetous of other Mens : ^Neverthelefs it is next to a Contradiction, that one and the fame Man, fhould be ready to exercife CompafTion, and yet addi&ed to opprefs ; or that he fhould be forward to remit and forgive what he could legally claim, and at the fame time, be a common Exa&er of what no Law hath gi- ven him a Title unto. And as the Bijhop was one, that could be Liberal to fome, without the needing to feek to reimburfe himfelf by opprefling of others, in that he was both a fingle Man, and a Perfon that had a Plentiful, Temporal Eftate ; fo I may venture to fay in the words of M&cenas to Auguflus, J.pud Di- That the Wealth which he had acquired, was not tarn mul- on. hb.Ul, ta caf,iendo^ qitm hand mult a perdendo ', by getting much, and lefs by getting it unjuflly^ but by wifely managing what he got and had, and by his being no Prodigal Squanderer of it. Finally to come to the laft thing, which is the Seventh that 1 have to Premife, I cannot omit obferving, how upon the firft Commencement of the Procefs, the Bijhop freely and franckly ofFer'd in Writing, That if more Fees of any fort or kind, had been Received, than according to Law and Cuftom, ought to have been paid, he would readily repay and reftore it to thofe, of whom it had been Demanded and Taken. Which in my Opinion, fhould both in Reafon and Juftice, have fuf- ficiently vindicated him from the Crimes of Extortion, and ought to have fatisfied his worlt Enemies, that if any great- er Fees, had been claimed, than fhould, it was through Igno- rance, or Inadvertence, that it was done, and not from a Principle of Covetoufnefs, nor out of any oppreffive Deiiga. And whereas the Author of the Summary Vim, has had the p* *?• Impudence e 175 ) Impudence to fay, That though the Bijhop had made fuch an Offer, yet that during the Dependance of the Caufe, for Three Tears and more, he the faid Bijhop had not proved, that he had attually reflored one Farthing : I fhall take the Liberty to tell that Wri- ter, that as it is a direct Falfehood to affirm, and no lefs than plain Sofhiftry to infinuate, That one Farthing had not been re- fiored ; fo the Reproach and Shame of his Lordfnifs not having proved the Restitution and Repayment of fuch Monies, mull ' fall upon others, and not on the Bifhop. For as his making of that Offer, zt the beginning of the Procefs, was not as that Author malicioufly conflrues it, a Confejfwn as it were, of his be- j^a ing Guilty, but was meerly made on a Suppofition, That ei- ther the Registers, and others, whom he had confulted about the Knowledge of the Fees, might have misinformed him, or that they whom he had entrufted to Demand and Receive them, might have required and taken more, than they were ordered to ask, or ever accounted for to him. And accord- ingly, no fooner did it appear, that any more had been claim'd and taken, than Law and antient Ufuage gave a Right unto, but that immediately he took care to have it reflored to thofe, of whom it had been exacted. And therefore as he pofitively averrs, that he never knowingly took greater Fees of any Perfon, or Perfons, for this, or for that, than what he had been told was legally due, and had been cufto- marily paid ; fo he no lefs facredly declares, that how foon foever he underftopd, that either through Ignorance, or by reafon of Misinformation, or becaufe of fome one Miftake, or another, more had been exacted of a few Perfons for Pro- curations, than ought to have been, but that he caufed it to be Reflored and Repaid unto them. So that in the Tear 1696^ he fent to Mr. William Lloyd, Mr. George Williams, Mr. William ■ Thomas, Mr. David Jones, &c. whatfoever through the Mi- flake of the Receiver, or by reafon of any other Occafionj or Means, of his becoming milled to exact it, had been De- manded and Received, beyond and above, what was rightful- ly due. And that this &ime not into proof, proceeded from no Neglect or Fault in the%//%>, but it is to be entirely afcrib- ed to the Arbitrary Will, and Defpotical Pleafure of the Delegates, who would not admit the Receiving and Hearing of the BiJhopr$ Allegations, when tendred unto them -, wherein not only all this£ but a great deal more conducive to his Juftifica- ( i'7* ) Juftifkation, would have been found both fully laid open, and undeniably confirmed. Which in the Opinion of all 'Impar- tial Men, muft not only be accounted a Arrange Precedent, the like having been fcarcely ever heard ot in any Court, or in reference to any Caufe whatfoever, but it muft be alfo held to be a direct Breach of mv Lord Chancellor's Promt fe in the Houfe of Peers, that the Bijhop by, and before them, mould have Liberty granted him, Allegandi non Allegata, et probanda non probata, as I have oftner than once repeated before. So that upon the Whole, I may venture freely to fay, That the Author of the Summary View, fliewcth but little Wit, and lefs Honefty, in his endeavouring to impofe upon the World, that the Bijhop had not proved his having reflored one Farthing, when the fole Reafon thereof, was his not having been al- low'd, or admitted to do it, when he was both ready to have done it, and beggM the having that Right, as well as Fa- vour granted to him. Nor can I here forbear obferving, how much fome late Scribling Libellers, are obliged to the Author of the Summary View, becaufe of his having given them fuch a Copy to imitate, and write after. For by his making the Bifliop of St. David\ to bear the Reproach and Infamy of the Fault of the Delegates, he hath taught our Modern Defa- mers, to Father their own Crimes, upon the belt Men, and the greatcfl Patriots of the Kingdom ; and to feek the cover- ing themfelves from the Punifhments due to their own Crimes, by faftning their Offences and Villanies upon thofe that are Innocent. For as according to the old Adage — Hebraus nihil He- brao, catalina Cethego, Complices in Knavery, are always ready both to excufe, and to juflifie one another ; fo the Very Religion, as well as the Politicks of many of our great Pretenders, no lefs to -Godlinefs, than to Civil Wifdom, is all come to be wrapt up in that of the Lyrick Poet, utilitas juFli prope mater et aqui ; eve- ry thing is Lawful and Honefi, which can be made Profitable, and rendred fubfervient to a Defign. And though the realbn of the late Emijfwn of fo many Defamatory Libels againft Worthy Men, by Men Worthy to be —is obvious enough to every one, who is not under the Power of Famous Principles, and will but allow himfelf the Liberty of thinking, without PrepofTef- fion and Prejudice, I fhall neverthelefs both chufe to give it, and that likewife rather in the words of another, than in my Crtpiirn, own. Namely, that fceleratis ingeniis, et pins quam civilia agi- tantibuSj Sum.Vkw. ( 111 ) tantibus, fion Dominari, tnflat fervit/ais es~i; to fuch as are ill Aden, and withal embarqi? din Conspiracies arrainfl the Constitution and State, not to have the Governing Authority and Power , is hi their Opinion to be reduced to the Condition of Slavery and Bon- dage. So that having difpatched all thofe things which I had to Tremife, and thereby (as I hope) have not only difcovcrd the Frivoloufhefs and Impertineticy, but have in effecf, laid afide and 1hut out, mofl of the Accufations brought againft the Bijljop for faftning Extorcion of undue Fees upon him : I am now particularly to examine the feveral Allegations produced by the Author of the. Summary View, in proof of his Lord- firifs having been Guilty of Extorting Illegal and Excejfive Fees. And in my Entrance upon this, I cannot omit the taking Notice, how that Writer ufhereth in his Hiflory and Me- moirs of thofe Accufations, by telling us, That the Bijhofs De- manding and Taking of fuch Fees, was fo General and Notorious, p# that (by his own Acknowledgment in one of his Allegations) he was Inditled in the Temporal Courts, for Extorting undue Fees for Inftitutions and Procurations. Which I wonder the faid Author fhould have ventur'd to mention, feeing the Proceeding at once in two different Courts againft the Bifhop^ doth not only fhew the Injuftice of thofe who were his Profecutors ; but laid him under no Convi&ion of being guilty of the Offences with which which he was afperfed. So that were not this Writers Wit little, and his Malice great, he would have omitted the naming a thing, which inftead of cafting any Reproach upon the aforefaid Prelate, doth only leave the Metropolitan, and thofe who being his Tools, adted under him, and by his Or- ders, Obnoxious to no lefs fevere, than juft Reflections. And fuch (if I miftake not) every impartial Reader will be both inabled, and rendred ready to make, when they have confi- der'd the few following things, which I am about to recom- mend to their Obfervation. Firfl, That the Bijlwfs extorting Illegal Fees, can no otherwife, nor in any other Senfe, be faid to have been Notorious, fave in this, that they who had Ma- licioufly and Slanderoufly Forged the Accufations, had alfo as Induftrioufly divulged and fpread them. For as in many other Cafes, Stories as well of Perfons, as of things, come to be Notorious, i. e. publickly talk'd of and reported, without its being poflible, until after great Inquiry, an exact Exami- A a nation, ( 178 ) nation, to kiiow whether they are Notorious Truths, or No- torious Falfehoods 5 to it was plainly in the Cafe before us, where a Fame of the Bi /hop's having taken exceflive Fees, ob- tained among many, by reafon of, and upon the Authority, of its being affirmed by fuch and fuch, who had villainouily invented, and calumnionfly fpread it. And all that hath been of late, not only difgracefully fpoken, but Printed of, and concerning his Excellency, the Late Lord Lieutenant of Irc- land, as well as of, and concerning many of the Greateft, and moft Deferving Members of the laft Houfe of Commons^ (and whofe extraordinary Worth, and lingular Fidelity to their Country, have procured their being Chofen again into this) may be called no lefs Notorious wizh refpect unto them, than what the Author of the Summary View, lays of the Bi- ffiop of St. David's taking Illegal Fees, was in relation to him. And as no Wife, nor Honeft Man in England, doth now fo much as queftion, but that all the ill and blackning things, laid, and written of thofe Admirable Perfons, are all Noto- rious Lies, firfl Forged, and then Publifh'd by a Sett of Facti- ous People, for the Defaming of thofe, whofe Oppofition of their wicked Defigns, they do no lefs dread, than they are allured of it : So I have made it fufficiently evident in the foregoing Sheets, as well how, and upon what Motives, as by whom, the Bijhop came to be Calumniated with the tak- ing Undue Fees, and with many other Offences, of which he was altogether Innocent. Nor do I doubt, but in what ftill remains further to be faid, I fhall abundantly vindicate him from the other Crimes, whereof he hath been accufed. And I hope I may very reafonably expect, tfoat none who are Wife, will be Influenced as to their Belief, by the Opinions which either the Mobb, or People engaged in a Faction, do Tacit, entertain of Perfons and Things. For as the Hiftorian lays Hift. Lib. of the former, That plebi non judicium, non Veritas^ That the '* Vulgar and Alajority of Mankind, have neither a Regard for 71 jdAnnal. ^Qr judgment to difcern what is fo ; but that quoquomodo audita ■ ' pro compertis habent, whatfoevcr they hear, efpecially if confidently told, is received by them, as an indubitable Certainty: So he dot h likewiie allure us, concerning the Utter, that with them, m- )d Bill, bilitas, opes, omijfi gefique honor es pro crimine, et vb virtutes cer- ** ** tijfum exitium, it is a Crime for others, to have either generoufy Vefpifcd, or to have honorably Difcharaed V laces and Offices of Fowir ( i75> ) Power and Triijl , and that they arc Firlt to be Defamed, and then Sacrificed, bscaufe they are Viruous. And Secondly, Whereas the Writer of the Summary View, tells us, that by the Bifhcp'i own Confeffion, he was Inditled in the 'Temporal Courts, for extortincr Undue Fees for Inftitutions and Procurations, I have this to re- turn thereunto, that his confeffing it, was only that he might complain of it as an Injultice, as well as Grievance. For as it is an eitablinVd Maxim in all Laws whatfoever, That Suits are not to be Vexatious, nor Expcnces Increafed, and much lejs Punipments Alultiplicd, by bringing an Offender before different. Jurifdiftions, for one and the fame Crime ; So it is agreed un- to by the Civilians, That when Courts of different Kinds, have an equal and competent Authority, to take Cognizance of an Offence, and to proceed jurifdidively againfl an Offen- der, and the one hath anticipated and prevented the other, in the calling the TranfgreiTor for the Tranfgreffion before them, that in that Cafe, the other fhall not interpofe its Au- thority, until the Matter be adjudged by that Court, where it came to be firlt lodged. Yea, whenfoever Two Courts vett- ed with a Lawful Power for Proceeding in the fame Caufe, but with this Difference, that the one is Superior to the other ; it is by all Men confeffed, that as foon as the Superior af- fumeth to its felf, the Right of interpofing judicially therein, that immediately thereupon, the Procedure of the Inferior Court, becomes Superceded. So that the Citing of the Bi- fhop of St. David's into a Spiritual Court, and the Inditling him at the fame time for the fame Offences in a Temporal, inftead of leaving any Reproach, or of faftning a Sufpicion of Guilt upon that Prelate ; it doth only ferve to Publiffi the Malice of the Promoter, and to give us further Evidence of Pique, Wrath, and Revenge, which they, who could Coun- tenance and Encourage fuch Unrighteous and Illegal Practi- ces, mult have previouily thereunto entertained againft him ; and how unlikely thereupon, they were to be Impartial Judges in relation to the Offences, whereof he ftood accufed. And if we do but allow our felves withal to confider, that the Cog- niz.cmce of Illegal Fees for Infiitutions and Procurations, did at leaft primarily, if not folely, belong to Spiritual Courts ; we cannot avoid the entertaining a very harm Opinion of thole that Authorized the Indicling the Bijhop in a Temporal, for that which properly fell under an Ecclefajlical "jurifdittion, A a 2 and ( i8o ) and which to fliew that their Jundicial Power extended un- to, they had caufed it to be brought judicially before them, at that very time. So that what the Bijhop of St. Davidh is fa id to have confefled in an Allegation of his being In di tied in a Temporal Court, at the fame time when there was a Pro- cefs depending againfl him in a Spiritual, for the fame Offences, was not only (as I have faid) a Complaining of the Wrong and Injuftice, which were done him ; but it was an Expref- fing of his Zeal and Care, for the having the Right and Cre- dit of the Ecclefiafiical Jurifdi&ion preferved. And there- fore his Lordfhip in the Allegations which he gave in July 29. 1695, did no lefs Juftice to the Church of England, than to himfelf:, in faying that the Promoter by caufing him to be/«- ditted at Carmarthen SeJJlons, when, and while he flood Cited before an Ecclefiaflical Jurifditlion, had atled in derogation of the Spiritual Court, as well as vexatioufly towards him. And by fome Mens Readinels, either through Ignorance, or out of Treachery to the Church, to have given up the Jurifdicli- on of the Spiritual Court, to the Temporal in the aforefaid Particular, I am the lefs furprized at the Sacrifices they have made fince, of other Ecclejiafikal Rights to the Regal. But Thirdly, I cannot avoid obfcrving, how much the Btjiwp of St. David's is obliged to the Author of the Summary View, that when he tells us of his having been Jnditled in a Tempo- ral Court, he doth not withal fay, that it was for Treafon againft the King •, or for the having aflerted that the Kingdom of England is become of late, a Conquer'd Nation } nor for the having kindled and fomented Diviilons and Strife, in Church and State ; nor yet for having fupplanted any Great Man in his Amours and Familiarties with a celebrated Female. For though thefe things, and many more of that kind, fuch as the encourgaing the utmofl Difgrace of Mankind, Fuller, not only to give the diredt. Lie to all the People of Quality, who have given their Depofitions in a certain Cafe in the Court of Chancery, but even to His Majefty himfelf ; who has to God, as well as to Men, declared contradictorily to what that Varlet- and Mifcreant would Bubble the World into a Belief of. I fay, though thefe things would have been pro- perer to have been brought before a Temporal Court, than what the aforefaid Prelate is reported to have been Indited for, yet as it was not in the Power of his Enemies, not- with- ( !8l ) withftanding_ of all their Malice, to fatten fo much as a Sbfpi- cion upon him, of his being guilty of Crimes of that Na- ture } fo the Writer of the Summary View, has had the Dif- cretion not to lay the Bijl.wp of St. David's under the Im- putation and Infamy of Matters, from at leafl Part of which, Tome of that Author's great Patron\ as well as his darling Favourites, have endeavour'd to acquire Glory, and have furnihVd future Hiflorians with Fads, whereby to convey their Names under indelible Chara&ers to Pofterity. But then Fourthly and Finally, I crave Liberty ftill to add, (which will be. but very little to the Reputation of fome People) That though the Bijhop was Indicled in a Temporal Court, yet I do not find he was ever there adjudged guilty of the Of- fences of taking exorbitant Fees, of which he is laid to have been accufed. And whereas the Author of the Summary flew, is pleafed to tell us, That Welfray Pyemont, a Witnefs pro- v. 15, 16. duced by the Bifhop to that Article, faith, That he had heard the Indictment was found ; I have feveral things to Reply there- unto, and to obferve thereupon. After I have fir fb adver- tifed the Reader, That whereas what the Bijhop confeffed in his Allegation, of his being Indicted in a Temporal Court, doth refer to the Proceedings againft him at the Sejfions at Carmar- then, in Auguft, 1695, lt muft naturally follow, that what the Writer of the Summary View, pretends to- tell us from Tyemont's Depofition of an Indictment being Found, mull refer alfo to the Proceedings at the aforefaid Time and Place,, or that elfe the mentioning of it, is altoghether Impertinent* Which having obferved, I do proceed to the giving the An- fivers which I have promifed. As (1.) That by this Writer's feeking to difgrace the Bijhop, and to obtain his being thought guilty of the Extortion of "Undue Fees, from, and by the men- tioning a thing Depofed only upon uncertain Report, and Bear-fay, the unprejudiced Reader may become ftill more con- vinced, how Malicious, as well as Partial, the whole Proceed- ings againft his Lordjhip were. For as no Righteous Court whatfoever, doth in any Cafe admit that for Good and Le- gal Evidence, which a Witnefs doth only Swear that he hath heard, without his declaring alfo that he knows it to be fo \ fo an Author who pretends to give an Account of a Procefs^ and of the Proofs produced for the Convi&ion of a Perfon that hath been Accufed and Indicled, to tell us only that a. certain certain Witnefs did Swear that he had heard fo and fo, is in effed, to allure us, That Informations, which were Imper- tinent and InGgnificant, had a Strefs and Weight laid upon them, which became neither Wifdom nor Juftice. And had this Author been acquainted with Cicero, he would have found, it laid down by him as a Rule and Maxim to be obferved Out. pro in all Judicatures whatfoever, That vox vulgaris Audivi ne Ctt. plane. ^14 ge0 Jnn0cente noceat ; no Man who is Accufed or Inditled, jhall be accounted to be any ways criminally ajfecled, by another s faying he hath Heard him reported guilty of that with which he hath been charged. (2.) From this Writer's reprefenting it as an Evidence of great Moment for faftning Extortion on the JHJhop, that Tyemont mould have Depofed his having heard that the Indictment laid againfl: his Lordfnp for it, was found ; we may conclude that no fitch Indictment was ever found. For it being as eafie to have faid, that it is in Proof that fuch a one* knows of the Finding of the Inditlment, in cafe it had been fo, as that another had meerly heard it was Found : It is impoflible we mould believe, that an Author of any Senfe or Judgment, who takes upon him to give the Hiftory of a Tranfa&ion, fhould have wholly omitted the former, and have only infifted upon the latter. And forafmuch as that Writer en- deavours to get it believed, that the Bijhop was guilty of the Offences whereof he flood Inditled, becaufe of Tyemom\ De- posing, That he had heard the Inditlment was found ; I hope I mav be as well allowed the declaring his Lorjhip Innocent the Bp.'j of tnem, becaufe it is Depofed by Mary Owen, Relid of 17 Witn. George Owen, that though fhe knew of the Bijhcp's being In- fe"rol0l"& titled at Carmarthen Stjfwns, for taking Illegal Fees, and for Anick 5. Slmoniacally prefering Mr. Medley, yet jhe had never heard, that thefe things were proved aqainfi him. Nor can I (3/y.) forbear reflecting on the Folly^of the Author of the Summary View, as well as of complaining of the Injuflice done by him to the Bifliop, in that he fhould have wholly omitted the taking No- tice of what Tyemont hath Depofed in his Lordjliip's Vindica- tion, and fhould have only mention'd a Particular, that he hop'd might conduce to his being thought Criminal, and of which Particular, Tyetnom knew nothing, fave, That he had heard it faid. Nor ought I therefore to be wanting in lay- ing before the Reader, what that Writer hath been fo Un- faithful as to conceal. Namely, That this Welfray Tyemont, from ( 183') from whofe Declaring, That he had heard an Indictment had been found againfi the Bifhop of St. Davids for. exatling Undue Fees, this Author endeavoureth to expofe his Lordfiup, as not only Blackned, but in effect, as Convicted of having been Guilty of that Offence : I do fay, That this very Pyemont, hath folemnly Depofed upon Oath, and that not on the Re- port of others, but upon his own Knowledge, That he having the Bp.'.» Lived near Six Tears with the Bifhop, found him during'all that ±6 Wim. time, to be not only a Perfon of a very Stritt and Sober Life ^nJw' t0 and Converfation, and very Regular in his Family ; but that he ad^*f-* was one who had often expreffcd his Abhorrence of Simony, and 2m. 12 ml who had [aid he thought it as bad as the Sin againfi the . Holy 20 m. Ghofl \ and that he could not without the fliewing Anger and In- die nation, hear that any for the obtaining EccUfiafiical Preferments^ fliould have dared to yrom'fe Rewards to any of his Lordjhifs Re- lations. And that as the faid Bi/hop at all times when Pyemont was prefent at Ordinations, did confiantly Adminifier the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, to fuch as were Ordained and Infiitn- ted ; fo that he never allowed him, who was his Servant, and the Receiver of his Money, to require or to take Fees for any thing, or Instrument, or upon any Occafion whatfosver, fave fuch as have been mention'd and Specified before, and which by J-aw, Ca- non, and the Ufuage and Cuftom of the Diocefs, it was law- ful to Demand and Receive. So that inftead of having any Reproach faftned upon the Bifhop, by what Pyemont Depofed upon Hear-fay, as to any kind of Offences -, we have his Lord- fhip, on this very Pyemont's perfonal and pofitive Knowledge, fully vindicated upon Oath, from all the great Crimes of every Sort wherewith he hath been Defamed. And had the Writer of the Summary View, been a Perfon of Sincerity, Jultice, or Honour, he would have been fo Equal and Impartial, as to have acquainted us with what Pyemont hath Sworn in Jufti- fication of the Bijhop's Innocency, as well as he had ftudied to miflead us into a Sufpicion of his being Guilty, from, and by what the faid Pyemont had Depofed of his having heard of the finding of an Indictment againfi him. Nor can it be taken amifs by any, who maintain a Refpect for Truth and Juftice, that I have laboured to do that Prelate all the Right I could, by the very fame Hand and Mean, that the Author of the View had endeavour'd to do him Wrong. And have withal, fhew'd the Author whom I am Encoimtring, that it is poflible in other Cafes ) ( i84) Tacif./fo- Cafes, befides thofe of War, vert ere damnum tid Gloriam, t» 71&I.LV0.6. yaife Glory as well as Advantage, from that whence both Da- id. Arttial. mage anc( Jnf^my were to be feared : Yea, even aflus hosiium in i$ forum perniciem vertere, to turn the very Fraudnlency, as well as the Craft of Enemies again ft themfeh.es. But (4/y. and Laftly^) I defire it may be farther obferved, that whatfoever Credit hath been given to Lucy the Promoter, in the Spiritual Court ; yet that nothing was Believed in the Temporal Court, which he either faid or fwore. Which as it fheweth, with how much more Prejudice and PrepofTeffion, they who a (Turned the Judicial Power in the Former, a&ed againft the Bifhop, than they who were Judges in the Latter: So it is fufficient to afftre us, That the Sentence which was Pronounced againft his Lordftrip -in the Ecclefiaftical, was not fo much on the Foot of his being guilty of the Offences whereof he was accufed, as on the Provocation and Motive of Pique and Re- venge, in that the Temporal did not think it confiftent with Juftice or Equity, to have the Bill of Indictment, preferred in their Court againft him, to be fo much as Found, though both laid for the very fame Crimes, for which his Grace of Canterbury condemned him, and alfo fupported with all the Evidence upon Oath, by which Lucy could enforce the Bill, in his D6pofing fully, and Swearing pofhtively to it. For 7foBp.'s ]y[r. William Willams of Brecknock, Gent, and Notary Publick, ^rwT atn not on^ Depofed very largely in Vindication of the Interrqg. Bfftop from Simmony, and from the extorting ofVndue Fees; and ad Anic hath withal informed, how being prefent at one or mor-e 2 m- Conferences, in which Lucy, Jer. Griffith, and Dr. Faulcohbridg, had both Spoken Vnchil and Vndecent words againft the faid Bi- Id. a Ar- fjj0p^ an£ foaei threatned to have him Kick'd out of his Diocefs -, (which plainly declares the Confpiracy that was againft him, and that the whole Profecution of his Lordftnp, was founded in Malice and Revenge, and carried on in the Strength and Vertue of a Combination) but the fame Williams hath parti- cularly Depofed further upon Oath, That having been at Car- marthen Sejftons, in, or about the Month o/Auguft, 1695 h w^m U ad Ar- m^ wijere^ Mr, Robert Lucy, the Promoter, did Prefent and Pro- *" m' fecute Three or more Indiclments for Extortion againft the Bifhop, he did then and there, hear the faid Lucy Sworn to give Evi- dence to one or more of them ; and that one of the Indiclments, was for the having extorted fetch Fees from one Mr, William Lloyd : Notwith- ( 1 85 ) Notwithstanding whereof, as I ant to add, no one Indiilmem was Found. Which as the Failing to do, mud have either been becaufe of the Frivoloufnefs of the Fads alledgcd in proof of the Indiclments ; or by reafon that no Credit was given to Lucy's Teftimony, from an Opinion that he was a Man of no Faith, and that he had Sworn out of pure Ma- lice ; fo we are furniftYd with one thing more in the fore- faid Mr. Williams's Depofition, which will incline, if not oblige us to be of that Sentiment. Namely, That he the [aid Williams, had as a Notary Publick, fpeeded out an Act ofId- ad I*' Sufpention pronounced by the Bijhop, whereby the for emeriti on* d Pro- Urr0!LAU moter, Lucy, was fufpended from his Office of Register of the Dio- cefs of St. David'.* ; And I may be allow'd to add, not with- out great and jufl; Caufe, as hath been fully manifefted in the foregoing Sheets. Nor ought I to be thought too cen- forious, if I further fay, That had Lucy been as well known at Lambeth and London, as he is in the Bijhoprick of St. David's, he would have been no more Believed in Surrey and Middle- fex, than he was in Wales ; nor have had more Credit given to his Dcpofitions and Oaths in the former, than was in the latter, unlefs the vulgar Adage of quod .valde vohtmus, facile^ credimus, what we eajily defire, we earneftly believe, fhould be acknowledged to to be further verified in reference to fome Mens Eafmefs of Belief, than it ought. But it is now fortu- nately come to pafs, that Lucy is of late, grown as well known, and underftood in this Part of the Kingdom, as he was formerly in another. For by reafon of the Triifi repofed in him, of Collecting the Rents of the Diocefs of St. David's, fince the Bijhop's pretended Depofition from his Dignity and Function •, he hath given his Patrons and Friends Opportu- nity and Occalion, of becoming as well acquainted with his fcandalous Morals in General and with his Infidelity in Par- ticular -, as they fome time ago were, to whom he hath pro- ved a mofl Malicious and Bitter Enemy. And as the Lords Commijfioners of the Treafury, do juftly complain of his not having paid the Rents of the faid Bijhoprick into the Exche- quer, where they are Order' d to be Depofited and Lodged, until it (hall be determin'd either by our WeftminBe? Courts, or by the Judgment of the Houfe of Peers, unto whom they legally belong ; fo I am very well allured that the Lords Com- mijfioners of thp Treafury, will have caufe ere long, to pro- B b ceed ( i%6 ) cecd Qtherwife againfl Lucy, than meerly by Complaints. For as I am fully informed by them who perfectly -know it, that he hath waftfully and luxurioufly confumed the greateft Part of thofe Revenues, which he was only entrufted to Receive, in order, to their being paid into the Exchequer'1, fo it is not much to be doubted, but that as Malice againfl the Biflcp, was the firfl Motive to his profecuting of his Lordfhip, in the Manner, and under the Character he hath done -, fo that he had likewife in his View and Aim, the getting into the Em- ploy of the Collettorjhip .of the foremention'd Rents, and there- by of ferving his Lifts and Riot upon the Government, as he had done his Hatred and Revenge, on the BiJIiop. And if I do no*t miftake, he hath by this time, given fome People Tacit. An- exemftnm fr*caveridi, qromodo fraudibus involutes, aut fiagitis pal. Lib. commaculatos ; fc facie bonarum artium falfos, et amicitia F.d- 16. laces are to be trufied unto, and relied upon. So that having fully examin'd whatfoever the Author of the Summary View, hath faid by way of Preliminary, to his giving the Detale of the Bifiop's Exatlion of undue Fees • I fhall now apply my felf to the Confideration of the various and feve- ral Inftances, given. by that Writer in proof of the B /flop's pretended Guilt in that matter : And I do not queftion my being able to vindicate bis Lordjhip, from the having been cri- minal in, or- with refpedf. to any one of them. And feeing SunuVkvt t^]e ^^ Author, diftributes thofe grievous Exactions (as he is p. 16. * pleafed to call them) into Three feveral Kinds, I fhall attend upon, and follow him, in his own Way and Method, and fhall both take a Survey of, and give a Reply unto every thing that hath been alledged againfi the Biflop, under all, and each of the Heads of thofe different kinds. And jlijl, forafmuch, as he begins with the Excejfive Tees taken at Or- dinations, I fhall likewife begin with the Confideration of the Teftimonies which he hath produced in Confirmation there- of. Only I muff, crave Liberty to put the Reader in mind, That i-have in a great Meafure already, not only anticipa- ted my felf, in what would otherwife be now needful to be faid-, but have alfo abundantly Juftified the Bifhop of St. Da- vid\ from the Accufation of having offended againfl the Hundred Thirty Fifth Cannon, in, and by which, every Bifhop is abfolutely prohibited from taking any Fee or Reward to himfeif, diretlly or indiretlly, for admit wg any into Orders. And there- fore ( i87 ) fore refer ing the Reader to thofe foregoing Articles and Pa- ragraphs, in which this was created of, and where he will find, that enough hath been faid to this purpofe; thewhoie now incumbent upon me, will be to '(hew, how that none of the Depoftions, produced in proof of the Bi flop's taking Ex- cejfive Fees at Ordinations, do in the leafl, or any ways, crimi- nally aftedt him. And there being nothing faid by the Au- thor of the View, with reference to the quantum, or the Pro- fortiori of the Fees, required of, and paid by fuch as were ' Ordained, by which, Guilt can be faftned on his Lordjhip, in that no more was ever Demanded or Received, than what the Law, the Canon, and the Cuftom of the Diocefs, had made Due, as well as rendred Lawful : the only thing that remains to be inquired into, is whether fome Share or Part of the Fees then Taken, which the Biflwp flood prohibited by the Ca- non from medling with diretlly, or indire&ly, was not paid for, ap- plied unto, and appropriated unto his own ufef And as his moft malicious Enemies mud be fore'd to Grant, That fome Pro- portion of the Fees then payable, was entirely and folely to come to himfelf j fo I hope to make it clear and evident, that as to his own proper and perfonal Ufe and Advantage, he medled not with, nor pofiefied himfelf of any more. Where- fore, as I have no Controvefie with that Writer, either about the full. Sum or Total of 33 s. and 4 d. then Demanded and Paid ; nor concerning the particular Things, Matters, and Instruments, for which the various Proportions confuting of the faid Total, were Required and Received, viz.. 5 s. for Examination to the Chaplain, 5 s. for Subfcription ; 10 s. for Orders, or rather for Letters of Orders, and 13 s. 4^. for a Licenfe to ferve the Cure, to which the Party Ordained, had a Title : So that very Author, how much foever inclined to afperfe and defame the Bifwp, yet he hath not dared to charge him with the having been Guilty, either as to the Matter of Requiring and Receiving, or as to the manner of applying any of the foregoing Quotas or Sum", fave only that he accfifeth him, of having contrary to t\ -Canon, ta- ken and appropriated the 10 s. for Letters of- ders, to his own life. And as I am to examine, whether \ .■;*. hath been, or can be faftned on his Lordfljip, by all, or ? ." -of the De- positions, produced to that purpofe by the W, er of the View ; ib previously to my entring on that Inquifition, I defire it B b 2 may (i88) may be obferved, how innocently and confcientloufly the pre- fent Biflwp behave^ himfelf, in the Demanding and Taking Fees from fuch as were admitted into Orders, beyond what fome f of bis Predecfffors, and 'particularly the Promoter's Father, Bi- fiop Lucy, had»done. Of whofe exa&ing not only exorbitant Sums for admitting Perfons into Orders, but of his having likewife taken FeA from the fame Perfons for granting them Licenfes to Baptize, I have given already more than fuffici- •eat Evidence, by, and from the Depodtions upon Oath, of fcveral Witnefles of unspotted Credit, and of indifputable Reputation. And if the preventing of Simony, be the rea- fon of prohibiting Bfhops to receive Fees for the conferring of Sacred Orders, and if they who do fo, be accounted Simonifts, and made obnoxious to Cenfures and Punilhments as fuch, it is then moft certainly both a more uncontrovertible, and a far more heinous Degree of Simony, to exact Fees for a Licenfe to Baptize, from thofe, who by being Ordained Mi- nifters of the Sacred Gofpel, and thereby Authorized to Preach, are ipfo fatlo Empower'd to. Baptize. The Perform- ance and Discharge of thefe Two Parts or Offices of the Evangelical Miniftry, being united and made infeparable, by the Ordinance and Command of our L«rd Jefus ChriuV, the Tenor of whofe Commiflion to all admitted into the Mi- Mmh. nifh'y, is, Co teach ail Nations, Baptizing them, &c. And from s8- l9- the prefent Bijhop of St. David\ having preferved himfelf from all Guilt of that kind, (of which neither the Author of ' the Viev>, nor any other of his moll malicious Enemies, have dared to accufe him) though both tempted to it by the Ex- ample of his Predeceffor, Bifiop Lucy, and encouraged there- unto, by the Immunity of that Prelate, in the Practice of it : I may now proceed with the more Confidence to the in- dication of his Lordjhip from having taken Fees for Orders, in any other Meafure, for other End and life, or becaufe of any other Reafon, than* the Canon doth allow. In order to the better acquitting my felf wherein, and for the fuller Sa- tisfaction of the Reader, I fhall call over the feveral Depofi- tions produced by this Author, in proof of the Bijbop's having, contrary to the Canon, taken Fees for admitting Perfons into Or- ders. Namely, That Thomas Powel hath Depofed, That be- Summary i^£mj,l0y^ i„the Tear 1688, by the Bilhop as his Secretary, 16. ' did at Two Ordinations, receive from every one that was ordai'n- ( i8P ) ed, 10 s. for Letters of Orders; and that he did account with the * Bifhop for the faid Fees. And that Robert Douglas, who lived ML f. 17. with the Biihop a Tear anA a Half, Swears, That during the faid time, the Bifhop took 1 o s. for all Letters of Orders. And that Welfray Pyemont, who rvas a Servant of the Bifhop\r for the ^^' fpace of Six Tears, Depofeth, That for that whole time, he Recei- ved for Letters of Orders, 10 s. Now thcfe Three Depofitions, • being all that the Writer of the View, hath thought fit to men- tion, and from which (as a very ill Logician, but as a bold Calumniator) he hath aflumed the Impudence to fay, That it evidently appears, that the Bifhop, either took the Fees for Or- dinations himfelf, as Douglas Swears ; or that others received the Fees, and accounted to him for them, as Powel and Pyemont both Depofe : I Ihall by way of Anfwer and Reply, not only ihew how irrelevant. Weak, and Inflgnificant, thefe'Depoii- tions are, for the being admitted and accounted legal Proofs, of the Bifiop^s having tranfgrefTed the Hundred Thirty Fifth Canon -, but I lhall alfo lay open the Impertinency of the Au- thor of the View, in making the Inference from them, which he doth •, and withal, ihall further detect the Treachery, as well as the Infidelity of that Writer, in his giving us the Hiftory ot the Frocefs, upon which the Biflwp was Sentenced, and his having taken fuch Fees, made a Part of it, and align- ed as one of the principal Reafons and Caufes thereof. Nor fhall I here repeat what hath been already faid for difcredit- ing the Teilimony of Thomas Towel, but (hall remit the Reader to the forgoing Sheets, where he will find it made fufficient- _ ly appear, that he is one, to whom no Faith ought to have been given in any thing he Swore againft the Bifhop of St. David's. But I ihall take no Advantage from that at this Seafon, (though I could not well omit the mentioning of it) there being nothing in his Depofition, that can prove the Bifhop Guilty of the Crime; for the probation whereof, it is produced by the Writer of the View, and was out of Revenge and Malice, given by Towel. Neither ihall I infill upon the Injuftice of this Author in Citing out of large Depofitions. of WitnefTes, only what he conceives to be fubfervient to the Defaming of the Perfon in whofe Prejudice he"writes, and at the fame time, forbearing to mention thofe things iworn unto in the fame Depofitions, which do not only confequential- ly, but even dire&ly vindicate him from whatfoever is al- ledg'd (*9°) V ledg'd from thence to his Difadvantage. Only f may be al- lowed to fay, That how well foever fuch a Pra&ce and Be- haviour, may become a Mevcinary Lawyer, and a Chican Plead- er at the Bar, (where though not very approvable, it is ne- verthefefs the more tolerable, becaufe fubjed on the very Spot, to the Animadverfion and Corre&ion of thofe who are Coun- cil on the other fide) yet it is altogether inconfiftent with the Duty and Character of an Hiftorian, being repugnant to all the Rules agreed upon, and prefcribed to be obferved in the Recording and Conveying Matters of Fad, and Memoirs of Perfons and Things, to the World. For as both Douglas and Vyemont gave upon Oath, That the Bifwp was free from Simony and Extortion, and that he was a Perfbn of a Sober, Regular, and Confcientious Life, &c. fo each of them Swore, , That he never furfer'd more to be Demanded or Taken as to wit S ^ees for Letters or Infruments of any kind, than what either Mr. Anpw. ad Robert Lucy, the Promoter, or Mr. Thomas, Son to the late Bi- Imerrog, Jhop Thomas, informed and declared, to have been cuftomarily Ta- 12 m, ken, and by Vfuage to be Due. But not to infill further on any of thofe things, I have feveral Obfervations to make, and to lay before the Reader, which, if: I do not greatly mi- ftake, will not only ferve as fo many formal and direct An- fwers and Replys to what this Writer would infer from, and eftablifh upon the foregoing Depoftions ; but which will both fufficiently expofe this Author, and alfo leave fuch Reflections on the Proceedings againft the Bijhop of £t. Bavid\ as I wilh there had not been occafion given for. And the Fir ft fhall be, how that this Writer, either out of fhameful Ignorance, or from great Infincerity, hath only taken notice of what the • Canon prohibits, viz,. That no Fee or Money (l)all be received, &C. for admitting any into Orders-, but he hath wholly omitted the mentioning the 10;. which the fame Canon allows to betaken for Parchment, Writing, Wax, Sealing, i. e. for the Letters Cer- tifying their Orders. And as the admitting any into Orders, and the giving Letters, declarative of their being admitted into them, are two very different, as well as diflinct things ; fo to have mention'd them as fuch, and to have told, that tho the Canon forbiddeth the taking any fort of Fee, by reafon of the former; yet that it alloweth a Fee of 10 s. to be taken for the latter; would, if not have prevented all the Obloquy and Reproach, to which the Bijhop has been expofed, for the having (1*1 ) having permitted the faid Fee to be taken -, have at leaft (hew- ed the Malice, as well as the Injuftice, of defaming him on that account. But when Pique and Revenge, have pnt Peo- ple on the doing un justifiable things } Fraud ulency and Trick mult be ufed, for the concealing and covering the Wrong that hath been done. For in all fuch Cafes, that Qf the Co- mical Poet will obtain, fcthts feeler e tegendum, nepe; plant. Here- Thuu unto let me add this further Obfentatmi, which I defire may be received as my Second Reply, to what the Writer of the VitWj hath advanced againft the B/Jhop of St.- David\ from, and upon the foremention'd Depofitions. Namely, That what the very Witneffes, whom he produceth, call by the Name of Fees for Letters of Orders, he through an Infidelity, fufficient to difgrace any Man that prcteudeth to Learning, aud much more to blaffc the Reputation of one who undertakes to write Hiftory, hath transform'd and alter'd Lfto the Stile and Ap- pellation of Fees for Ordinations. And in order to the fatte- ning this Infamy of Treachery, as well as of Infincerity up- on him ; I (hall need only to call over the Words of this Author, and to compare them with thofe of Powel, Pyemont, and Douglas. For whereas the faid Writer affirmeth, that the Bijhop bimfelf did take Money for admitting Perfons into Orders ; Sum.View, and that this fiands abundantly proved by the Testimonies upon^' l^' Oath of thefe Three Perfons, every one of them in particular depofeth, That it was only for Letters of Orders ; the words of Porvtl being, That the Sum for Letters of Orders, taken and Vromot.19 received by the Biihop or his Servants, was 10 s. and the Ex- Wit??. An f, preflion in which Pyemont depofeth, being that he as the Bi- ad Imu fhop'j Secretary, whilfi he lived with hi?n, received for Letters ofj^'e g >5 Orders, 10 s. as likewife that the Tenns in which Douglas ^ wim. Sweareth, are, That the Bifhop, during the time that he lived J??fxv. ad with him, took for every Letter of Orders, 10 s. And where- faterrog. as it were to account this Writer more Ignorant than we2°: ,m can allow our felves to fuppofeheis, to think he fhould notrF;w> ac| underftand the difference between the demanding and the re- inwrog. ceiving Fees from Perfons for their be'mg admitted into Orders, 20. ■and the requiring and taking Fees, for Letters, Certifying their having been admitted into Orders : We may very well conclude, that his having endeavour'd to get it believ'd,*r.h-tt the Fees which the Bijhop fuher'd to be taken for the Utter, were re- ceived for the former^ was both an effect of his Malice, as he is ( *5>2 ) is the B flop's Enemy, and of his Infincerity as he is a Wri- ter. And his fanning aa Accufation upon his Lordlhip in words of fo difparat, and different an Importance, from thofe in which the Deponents whom he produceth, deliver'd their Evidence, was not fo much either from Ignorance, or from Inadvertence, as from Infidelity and Treachery, we have this undeniable Proof, viz. That notwithftanding his having Sum.View, not oniy begun his ilanderous Charge, in faying That it flanks £• abundantly proved. That the Bifhop him/elf took Money for ad- lbl^ %1jniiting Perfons into Orders; but his having alfo fhut it up, in "« ' ' affirming that from the Proofs which he had .mention' d, it evident- ly appears, that the Bifhop either took Fees for Ordinations, or that his Servants received them, and accounted to him for them} yet that in his reporting every one of the Depofitions of the aforefaid WitnefTes, he cites thofe feveral Deponents, declar- ing exprefly, That the faid Fees were for Letters of Orders, llp- il'iil. p. 1 6. on wjjlcj^ all theRefle&ionl will make, fhall be in the words of the Poet, Quo teneam nodo, mutantem protea vultum. But to proceed to another Obfervation, which I intend as a Third Anfwer to the Calumny faftned on the Bifhop, becaule of his having permitted the foremention'd Fees to be taken. Which is, That the Writer of the View, doth with the utmoft Chi- canery and Fraudulency, imaginable, fo word and exprefs the iaid Bifhop's allowing thofe Fees to be Taken, as if he would lead his Readers into a Belief, that his Lordlhip wa? the alone and only Prelate in England, who fuffer'd the faid Fees to be demanded and received. Tor as all the words which the faid Author ufeth in his reporting the Bifhop of St. Da- vid's fullering fuch Fees to be required and received, do clear- ly import that he was fingular therein, and that in doing fo, he did that which was. done by no other Bifhop-, fo un- lets the begetting fuch an Opinion in his Readers was his IDeiign, he is not only the moll impertinent Scribler, that- ever put Pen to Paper, bit he hath as much calumniated all the Bifliops of England, as he has done the Bifhop of St. Da- vid's. Seeing that all and every one of them, do no lefs al- low the Taking fuch Fees, than the Biflwp of St. David's did, either they mult be accounted as Criminal, as he is faid to have been*, or elfe he muffc be acknowledged to be as In- nocent, as they are held to be. Now it hath not only beea ia Proof, that his Predeceflors fuffer'd fuch Fees to be de- manded ( l93 ) manded and received for Letters of Orders, and that under fome of them, they were required and taken in the fcanda- lous and illegal iMeafures, which I have lately declared ; but it- is too well and notorioufly known to admit a Denial, That Fees for Letters of Orders, are warranted, as well as fuffer'd to be Taken, by every Bifhop of the Church of England, and even by his Grace of Canterbury himfeif. Nor is the permit- ing it, a Reproach unto, or to be held for a Crime in any of them, in that their doing it, is allow'd by the Hundred Thirty Fifth Canon ; and the Sum which they are to fuffer ta be Taken, is therein alfo ftated and determin'd. Hereunto in the Fourth Place, I defire to add another Obfervation, viz. That the Author of the View, hath mofl falily as well as ma- licioully, interpreted the Bifiop's fufFering thofe Fees to be Taken, to fignifie his having applied them to his own fecular and perfonal Ufe, which no one of the Witnejfes have pofitive- ly and directly Sworn unto. For it is left altogether indif- ferent, who do receive thole Fees, provided they be received in Confideration only of, and for Parchment, Writing, Wax, Sealing, or any refpetl relating to the Speeding and Certifying ofc.ij. man, yet he was by Agreement, to have 20 /. per Annum } fart of which he was to receive out of the Secretary's Fees : And if ' they fell jlwrt of that Sum, the Bijhop was to make it up. And whereas the faid Writer hop'd to aggravate the Bifhop's Guilt in Reference to thofe Fees, by telling us, that it is proper to /^.paIj, obferve, that the Bijliop continued to receive the fame Fees at an Ordination in June, 1 696, which was one time, after the Promo- ter's Articles were given in ; I will prefume from thence to draw a contrary Inference, and for that very reafon, to con- clude him innocent. For as his Lordfhip's continuing to ex- act them fo long after the Commencement of the Procefs, doth demonftratively allure us that he thought it lawful to demand and receive them -, fo I hope enough hath been faid, to juftific that neither he, nor they with whom he adviced about that matter, were therein miflaken. And the Metro- politans having made that not only a Crime in him, but fuch a Crime, as to make it one of the Grounds of the Sentence, which he afTumed an Authority of Pronouncing againft him -, doth inltead of making the faid Bilhop guilty, Only declare that fome People were very Ignorant, as well as Malicious, C c 2 Unrighte- ( 196 ) Unrighteous and Revengeful. Now towards the winding up of this, I have Two fhort Reflections to add, which will be found to affed more Perfons than it is needful to name. Whereof the Fir ft is, That as all the Depofttions, which were either brought before the Metropolitan, or that are mention'd by the Author of the View, in proof of the Bijhop of St. Da- vid's having taken Fees for admitting Verfons into [acred Orders, Tacit.yJw- are at thebefr, fpeciofa verbis, gather'd meerly from fome Terms wtf/.Lib.i. anc| \yorcjs? 0f which only malicious Enemies can moke Ad- vantage to the defaming of him, and to the mifleading of ignorant People into a Belief of his being guilty, but are re inania ant fnbdola, altogether infignificant to that End and Pur- pofe^ and only fraudulently wrefted and mifapplied thereun- to: So by their expounding the Hundred Thirty Fifth Canon, as to make it miniiterial to the Juhrification of their Proceed- ings againft the faid Prelate, they have rendred themfelves 0#fe.Lib.I both guilty of giving (what Cicero calls) callidas et malitiofas juris interpret ationes, falfe as well as crafty Interpretations of Laws } Tacit. f« and of doing what the Hiftorian ftiles, injur ias interpretendo ac- vit&Agtic. cendereii the agravating and enhancing of Crimes through pretend- ing to comment upon them. • And hereunto I will briefly fubjoyn as my Second Reflection, that admitting the Canon to bear the Senfe which fome would put upon it, namely, That it inhibiteh every Bijhop from taking Fees for Letters of Orders, himfelf, and appointeth their being received only by their Servants ', (though I have clearly fhewed, that this can neither be the Meaning of the Canon, nor was ever intended by it) yet that notwitftanding of that Expofition of it, the worft which the Bijhop was accufable for, even in cafe it fliould be allowed, that he had fometimes received thofe Fees himfelf, was that he had therein adted imprudently and indifcreetly, but that he had not thereby done any thing that was finful and crimi- nal. And confequently that the great Metropolitan, and they who were AJJejfors with him in the Procefs againft the faid Prelate, have rendred themfelves Obnoxious to the Cenfure, which the Hiftorian faftneth upon the Confid C. Pompelns, of whom, being chofen to correct what was amifs and incon- venient in the Manners of the Citizens of Rome, he fays, that Tacit. An- Gravior erat remediis, quam dclitla erant ', he was more guilty VAtrl-)J 1' through the Grievoufaefs and Atrocity of the Puniftments, which he inftitled , than they wfom he chaftned, were becanfe of their Offences. And ( l97 ) And by that, as well as by many things elfe, I am ftill fur- ther confirmed in the Belief, That all the Proceedings againft the Bijhop of St. David's, fprung from meer Pique, Anger and Revenge, otherwife they who afltimed to themfelves a Right and an Authority of being his Judges, would have reckon'd it, melius fanare vitiofas partes, quam excacare, better to Cicer. U heal a Member which they thought fomevoh at corrupted, than to cut Attic! it off: Whereas as the fame Perfon tells us, Irati ad pcenam qui accedunt, nunquam mediocritatem illam tenebunt, qua eft in~l-u jT* ter minium et far urn, That they who proceed judicially againft others, upon Principles and from Motives of Anger and Indignation, will never either under ft and, or obferve the Mean between the eking too little or nothing, and the doing too much. But I go on to the Encountering the Author of the View, concerning the Blfaofs taking exceffive Fees for Collations, which is the Second thing whereof he accufeth him under this Head. And he chargeth thz Bijhop to have been more Arbitrary in thofe, than in the former ; and that he did not keep to any ft eddy Mea- fnre of bijuftice therein, though he will have all the Meafures he obferved in that matter, to have been unjuft. And in proof hereof, upon, and againft the faid Prelate, he begins with the telling US, how the Promoter exhibited the Copies ofsum.View% Two Tables of Fees fubferibed by the Deputy-Regifter, and by Two p. 18. Publick Notaries -, and that as the Subfcriptions were confeffed by the Biflwfs Protlor, fo the Subfcriber to one of them, Swore it agreed with the Table of Fees, which many Tears hung up in the Regiftry °, in which the Fees for a Collation, are [aid to be only 2o s. And in the other, reduced to be lefts, and declared to be no more than 1 8 s. and 8 d. Whereunto I have Two things to Anflver, whereof the Firft mall be this, That even fuppofing and admitting thefe Copies of of the Two Tables of Fees to be Genuine and Authen- tick, yet inftead of conducing to the proving the Bijhop guilty of the Commidion of any Offence in that matter, it ferveth only to the demonltrating that the Promoter is an egregious Villain : And that upon a double account. Firft, in that du- ring his Father's having been Bijlwp of that Diocefs, and he the faid Promoter his Son, having been his Secretary, he had all along demanded and received Fees for Collations, tar above" the Quantum, Proportion, and Stint, mention'd in the Copies of thofe Tables. Whereof having given the Reader more than fufficient Evidence already in the preceding Sheets, I will nei- ther ( i>8 ) ther weary him nor my felf, by repeating the fame things over again here. But though that be my Firft Reafon for my calling the Promoter a Villain, becaufe of the Method and Means he ufed for proving the Bijhop guilty of ex Ailing exceffwe Fees for Collations ; yet it is not the only Reafon for my ftiling himfo on that account. And therefore mySwww/isthis, ra* That among others, this very Lucy the Promoter, was one who affured the Bijhop, that the Fees for Collations, ^ were 6 1. is. and that both his Predeceffbrs had always required and recei- ved ; and the Clergy of the faid Bilhoprick, had antiently and cuftomarily paid fo much. Which being the whole that his Lordjhip ever demanded as Fees of that kind, it naturally fol- lovveth, that if he exceeded therein, by taking more than he ought to have done, it was through Lncf% having treache- roufly misinformed, and through his having villainoufly milled him. And having like wife given undeniable Proofs of this before, I mall not again call them over, but remit the Rea- der to what hath been already faid. Only I cannot here avoid the making this Reflection, though poffibly it may by fome, be elteemed fevere \ namely, that there needs no more to the difgracing the whole judicial Proceedings againfl the Bijhop of St. David\ than that fb fcandalous and impudent a Mif- creant, and fo treacherous and notorious a Villain, as Lucy appears to be by whac I have faid and proved, mould have been felected to be the Promoter in that Caufe. But Secondly, there remaineth Hill another Anfwer, which I have to make with relation unto, and concerning the Copies of the Two Ta- bles of Fees exhibited by the Promoter, and faid to be Copies of the Table of Fees due to the Bijhop for Collations', which Ml brief is this, That they are no fuch thing as is pretended, nor do they in the leaft relate to what the Bijhop hath a Right to demand and take for Collations. So that as Lucy doth ftill ma- nifeft himfelf more and more a Villain, by his exhibiting them for that, which he very well knew that they were not ; fo the Author of the View, difcovereth himfelf to be neither a Wife, nor an Honeft Man, by obtruding that upon his Rea- der as a Truth, which is a meet Fable and Fiction. For as in inoft, if not ail Jnflruments^ ijfued out, and executed by Bi- Jhops, befides the Fees that arife unto, and are made payable to them, there are alfo fome fort of Fees to be paid to Cban- uilors, Officials, Fcgifters : (in the Exaction whereof, they are v too ( *99 ) too often very exorbitant) It was therefore ordained by the Arch-Bifliop, Bijhops, and others of the Clergy in the Convoca- tion held at London, the 25th. of Otlober, Anno. 1597, That there fliould be Tables of Fees made and hung up in every Confiflorial Court, declaring the Fees that were due unto, and to be taken ab Epifcopo, Ordinario, Archidiacomo vel coram Mi- Conflitut. n' fir is, et quod neque alia, neque major a Feoda, ab Us ullade EccMiaft, c.iufk percipi antur, quam ea qua ineunte hoc Rega nunc ■Maje-jp1'*?7' fiate percipi folebant ; by the_ BiJJwp, Ordinary , Arch-Deacon, or &cf° '* by Officers under them, fave fuch as ufed to be received at the be- ginning of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. And from thence it came to be Appointed by the Hundred Thirty Fifth Canon, Anno 1 503, That no Bijliop, Suffragan, Chancellor, Commiffzry, Arch-Deacon, Official, nor any other exercifing Ecclefiaflical Jn- cm rifditlion whatfoever ', nor any Regijler of any Ecclefiaflical Court, An.' 1 <5o2, nor any Minifcer belonging to their fever al Offices, JJiall Take or Re- ceive any or greater Fees, than fuch as were Certified to the moil- Reverend Father in God, John late Arch-Bijlwp of Canterbury, in the Tear of our Lord, 1 597 j and were by him Ratified and Ap- proved. But that nothing in all this, either did, or could affect the Bijhop of St. David's, Co as to render him Obnoxious to be criminally proceeded againft, will plainly appear, if we do but allow our felves to confult another Claufe in the fame Ecclefiaflical Conjlitutions of the Tear 1597 ', in, and by which, an Indulgence and Latitude is granted for Demanding and Receiving larger Fees, provided that ufus frequentior ab eo tem- un fnprA9 , pore annis monflraverit atque approbaverit, Cuftom from, and after the time there refered unto, hath jherv'd and approved the doing of it. And that long and conftant Ufuage during the time of the Tredeceffors of the Prefent Bijliop, had warranted the De- manding and Receiving of 6 I. 1 s. for every Collation, (which was • the mofl that his Lordjhip ever took) we have already fully pro- ved by Authentick Teftimonies. And particularly not on- ly by the Teftimony of Fowel the Deputy-Regijler, but by the Gonfefllon of Lucy the Promoter, who had both taken fo much, (not to repeat here, what we have before demonftrated, that he had taken frequently, more)' while his Father was Bijhop of that Diocefs, and had alfo by himfelf, as well as by others,, informed and allured this Bijhop, that fo much, and no lefs, was due for every Collation. So that I may with very good Affiirance infer iit& conclude? -from what hath been laid, That there ( 200 ) there was no jufl: Ground for proceeding criminally againft the Bifirop of St. David's, becaufe of the Fees he bad received for Collations ; and confequently that his having been profecuted in the Manner, and fentenced in the Degree he was, arofe from Pique, Enmity and Revenge, inftead of having been founded in Juftice, or having fiow'd from a Zeal of main- . taining the Authority of the Conjlitutions and Canons of the Church of England. Whereunto may be further added, That had the Bijhop of St. David's offended in his Requiring and Receiving 6 I. i s. for every Collation, yet the Proceeding againfl; him with the Severity and Vigour, which the Grand Metro- politan, and fome of thofe who were Affeffors unto him, did, was both an A& of great Unrighteoufnefs in it felf, and a wilful, as well as a diredt Trefpafs againfb the .exprefs words of the , Hundred Thirty Fifth Canon of the Year, 1603. For whereas upon their Declaring, that among other things, whereof the the Sen: faid Bijhop was accufed, he had been proved Subditos fuos flu- .tenet De- rihis Exatlionibus iniquis pr&gravaffe, vexajfe, et opprejfijfe pro Col- H0*n(i f'lationibus, &C. to have grievoufly Burthen yd, Vexed, and Oppreffed Bp. of St. hi* Subjetls the Clergy, for Collations • the Metropolitan thereup- D. ' on, proceeded to the Pronouncing and Sentencing the faid Bijhop, Ab omni honore, Dignitate, et loco Epifcopi Ecclefia Me- nevenjis, cum fuis juribus & pertinent iis Vniverfis, et ab omni Offi- cio et adminiftratione Epifcopali, et ab omni Beneficio Ecclefiaftico, Deprivandum, amovendum, et Deponendum, To be Deprived, Re- , moved, and Depofedfrom the Honour and Dignity of being Biihop of St. David'-f, and from all the Rights and Appurtenances there- unto belonging ', and from his Epifcopal Office and Adminiflraticic, and from all his Ecclefiaftical Rents, Profits and Revenues : The whole which the aforefaid Canon admiteth and ailoweth to be done, in cafe of any Bijhops, &c. being Convi&ed Guilty of the foremention'd Offence^ is only that every fuch Judge, Offi- cer, or Mini ft er offending therein, fliali be frfpended from the Ex- ercife of their fever al Offices, for the fpa.ee of Six Months. And that it was not through the Metropolitan's being Ignorant either of the Canon, or of the true Intent and Meaning of it, but rthat it was purely out of Spleen and Malice againfl: the Bi- fhep of St. David's, that his Grace proceeded to the Depri- ving of the faid Prelate, and to make his Tiaving taken fuch Fees for Collations, both a Reafon and a Part of the Sentence • wJiich he denounced againfl himj doth undeniably appear from ( aoi ) from his. having meerly Sufpended the Bijhop of %.Af-ph for fuch a time, notvvithftanding that an Accufation of that Bifiops being guilty of the faid Crime ( as well as of worfe ) and tbaC in a more Scandalous manner ( than had been Charged upon the Bfiopof S. David's) had both been againft him, and had been more Fully and Uncontrollably proved. Moreover to all that I have already faid for the Vindication of the Bijhop of S. Da- vid's, as well from having offended in the Exacting of Illegal andOpprefive Fw/tfr Collxtions, as from havingTrefpafs'd either againft the Ecclefiafiical Confiitutions of i§97-, or 135 Canon, of 1603, upon which whatfoever was pretended to Hand pro- duced for his Convi&ion, by the Exhibition of the aforefald Copies of Tables of Fees, was founded ; I have one thing ftill further to fubjoyn in his Lordjliifs Juftification, from all where- of he was Criminally accufed in that matter, and taken from the 135 Canon it felf, which after all that it hath forbidden in the words lately cited, doth neverthelefs make this Provifion at laft, viz.. That thofe Fees jljall be held for Lawful, which the Canon Arch-Bijhop of Canterbury for the time being, jljall under his hand I35* approve. I take Ixis Grace's Conftant practice in his Arch-Biflwp- rick, to be not only an Example fet and given to his Comprovin- cials of what they may Lawfully and innocently do, but to be as Authentick and Authoritative, for warranting them in the imitating' of him, and doing the like, as if he had approved it under his Han A. And efpecially feeing every Arch-Bijhop, is as much retrained by the Canons and Confiitutions, as the meaneft Bijlwp of the- Province is. For whatfoever Rules are made and Ordained for the better Government of the Church in Exter- nals, and in reference to Ecclefiafiical Proceedings of any kind, muft be acknowledge to be intended to afFect all, who are veiled with the fame Power, and Equally alike within their feveral and refpedlive Juridiclions ; and they are not to be interpreted as allowing that to Senpronius, which they deny to Tit ins. And that the Fees for Collations, have been, and ftill are as great ( if not greater ) in the Diocefs of Canterbury, as they were in the Bijhoprick of St. David's, is' not only notorioufly known, but it hath been in Proof, and was particularly con- firmed by the Depofition of Mr. Charles Price. Nor is it un- worthy of remark, that the Innovation in the quantum of thofe Fees, from what they were not only more Anciently, but from what they were in that Viocefs,ia the time ofArch-Bijlioo Lawd, is D d con- ( 202 ) confiderably greater, then what is in the Biflwprid of St. Da- vid's, from what they were when that very Learned and truly great Prelate Sat in that See. And tho' I will not fay, that the orefent Metropolitan, hath raifed thofe Fees, above what hi found them, when he was advanced to that high Station : Yc» if his Grace have thought it Lawful to continue to take then; in the propportion they were paid, before his Elevation to thatSupream Dignity of the Englifh Church, I cannot under ftand with what either Juftice, Equity, or Prudence, he hath proceeded Judicially and Criminally againft the Bifhop of St. David's, for his taking thofe Fees for Collations, which he found to have been paid for them, before his time, to his Predeceflbrs. Nor mould I do the Bifiop of St. Davids the Juftice and Rigte which I ought, without acquainting the Reader 5 that it was the Bifhop himfetf; who both caufed the Searching out thefore- mentioir d Tables of Fees, and Order'd Copies of them to be hung up in the Confiflorial Conrt at Brecknock, in order to the infor- ming the Clergy and others, what they were to pay for all In- ftruments, and as the Legal Fees of whatfoever was Tranfa&ed in that Court. And as the many Complaints, which had ar- rived with his Lordfhip, of the Exceffive and Exorbitant Fees demanded by the Chancdlonr, Regifler, and other Officers of that Court for Jnjtitutions, Collations Adminiflrations &C.CAnd for which he had both Admonifhed Lucy the Promoter, and had Sufpend- ejd his Deputy ) was the motive unto, and the Caufe of his Lorcfhip's doing it-, fonoman can believe the faid Biflwp would have been foProdigioufly Silly, as to have Caufed the hanging up thofe Copies oiFces in theForemention'd place,had he been either Confcious of his own having in any Cafe extorted more for Ftes, than was rightfully due, or had he purpofed to demand above, and beyond what in all Cafes was by Ufage and Cuftom payable unto him. Seeing that had been the Adminftring an advantage to his Enemies for Afperfing, Defaming, and Judi- cioufiy accuiing him, which (Suppoiing him to be a Perfbn of Common Prudence ) we muft next to the preventing the Extortion practiced by the Officers of the aforefaid Court, think it was directly Calculated and deligned to have obviated ► But whereas his Adverfaries have Malicioufly perverted the hanging up thofe Copies of Tables of Fees, to an end and ufe Diamatricaily oppofice to what his Lordfbip^s defign therein was,, it may not be amifs to give the Reader a brief account, how they ( *°3 ) iTiey grew provoktd thereunto, and that they Confprred to the doing it, upon the Motive of becoming cover'd from Pro- secutions, and Cenfures themfelves becaufe of their many and HeynoHs Extortions. For it hath been in Proof that the Bi- ftiop having in a Fifitation at. Brecknock in the beginning oi Octo- ber 1 69 1 received diverfe Complaints againfl Robert Lucy ( the late Promoter ) and others, of their demanding and taking il- legal and Excefllve Fees, and particularly, that one Thomas Price cou'dnotget an Adminiftration, from LucyV Office, until he had^'Tricc, paid 3 /. 7 s. for it ; for which his Lordjliip not only Threatened, to ** ?£.s' have the faid Lucy Punffid, but Adjourned the Court, meerly for a ' Anf. u' few days in Order to the doing it. And that thereupon Lucy, Sandys, Aetic. 3. and Griffith, became fo Incenfed, that the fame Night, or the next Morning after the faid Adjournment, they Met, Contrived and Combined to divert the ftorm that Threatned themfelves, by the Commencement of a Profecution again]} his Lordflrip. And it hath been alfo further in Proof, from a Letter under the faid Robert Lucy's orvn hand, bearing date 10 Oct. 1691. which he Wrote to his Brother George Lucy, wherein he tells him, that as fomething mufl be Immediately done againfl the Bifhop ( whom he therein fliles the Grand Conftftorial Vifitor) fo he would not fpare anything to Profecute him, and that he would go very fpeedily for London in order thereunto. And whereas I have not only laid, but have in efFeft proved, that the Copies of the Tables of Fees, which were produced, do no ways affed the Bijhop, fo as to render him Guilty of having taken Illegal and exceffive Fees for Collations, in that they do no ways relate unto, nor declare what the Fees payable unto him w?re, but only what might be demanded by other Officers, I mall neverthelefs fubjoyn one .other Evidence thereof, which as it will bean undeniable De- monstration of it, fo it will ferve to cover fome People with Shame for having admitted, and to Cloath the Author of the View with Confuilon, for having alledged the aforefaid Copies, to the fattening the Crime of Extortion in this matter on the Bi(hop. For as the word Judia annexed to every quantum and particular Summ, mention'd in thofe Copies of the Tables of Fees, doth uncontrollably declare them to referr to fuch Fees as are payable in the Con f ft trial Court, and to the Officers thereof, and not to the Bifhop •, fo it will appear in the fulled Light, we can defire, that they do only relate to the Fees, which are to be paid in the faid Court, to thofe there who have a Right to re- D d 2 ceive ( 2°4 ) ceive Fees, and not at all to the Bifhop, if we will but allow our rowel the felves to obferve, that as the Fees for the Letters of Orders, of a Promst 29. Deacon, are there reduced to 3/. 4*/. fo the Fees for the Letters Whn. An, 0jr Qrciers 0f a preifi, are brought down to, and fixed at 6s. Sd. torn!™'' Wnereas in ^0!:n tne^s Cafes, the very Canon allomcs the 135." Can ^eei pay-die to the Bifjop to be 10 s. From all which, as I may An. 1603. now very fafely conclude, that the whole advanced by x\\z Au- thor of the View, on the Authority of thofe Copies of Tables of Fees, is nothing but either Grofs Equivocation, or down right Sophiflry, in thit the making thefe Copies to be declarative, of the Fees, which the B.'Jhop hath a right to require and re- ceive is meer Fiction and Fable ; fo I may from thence alfo very confidently add, that admitting all to be true, which hath been brought by the Writer of the new, in Proof of the Bifljop's having taken 6 L is, for every Collation; ( tho' he himfelf owns, that Thomas Powel the Diputy Regifter dcpofed, that the Bifliopgaze VUte, pf him Orders to receive only pro ColLitione 5 /. 1 6 /.) Yet it is 18. _ both impertinent and infignificant as to the fattening any guilt in that matter upon him ; feeing he pleads a right for doing it , and confequently owns, that tho' he had done it, he is ne- verthelefs therein altogether Innocent. So that having no further occa lion, either to encounter the Author of the View, on that head, or to juftify his Lordfhip's having Practiced, what the ufuage and Cuitom of the Diocefs of St, baved's abundantly Warranted him in, I may now proceed to the Examination of what is faid by that Writer of the Bi- flrp^s not having alway's confined himfelf to that Summ, but that he had often Exceeded it. In the Anfwering whereof, I doubt not the making that Author appear a very weak man, or fomething worfe. And I wilh that Reflecting on his In- relletluals, could excufe and cover his Morals from being Re- flected upon : And that the Expofing his Vnder Han ding, could fave him form being too jufliy Chargeable with guilt in his Will. And feeing he begins with Peter Lewis, of whom he not only fays, That he paid to the Bijlwp for his Collation to Lanrian Tiew v. ^' I4-J-4^- but adds that he Prcfumes the Reader has not for- 1 ?. ' g,ot uPn w':at ^rd Terms he got the Promife of that Vicar a? e j I Anil alfo begin with it, and as to the Terms upon -which ht^got the Promife of the faid Vicarage, do refer my felf, to what I have faid in the forgoing Sheets, wherein I have fo Vindics- ted the Bijkop from all Obnoxioufnefs, to blame in that mat- ter ( 205 ) tcr, as both to Lodge great Ingratitude upon Lewis, and to fhew the teeble Malice of thofe who accufehh Lordjhip, of ha- ving done any thing in that Tran faction arid, affair* which was either unjuff, or unbecoming his Character and Dignity. But wherasthis Writer accufeth the Biflwp with the having receiv- ed 8 /. 1 4 s. 4 d. for Collating the faid Lewis to the Vicarage of Lanrian, I mu ft not only Charge this Lewis with downright Perjury, as well as with the having Contradicted himfelf, in that particular; but I muft alfb accufe the Writer Oit\\Q View, of being Guilty either of great Supinefs, in not comparing One part of Lewis's Depofition, with an Other Part of it 5 or of great Infidelity in concealing fome of it, and thereby of Mifreprefenting it, and of impofing on his Rea- peter ders. For tho1 Lewis in his Anfwer to the ^th. ffflerrogatmtrLems, the had pofitively Sworn, tl:at for the Fees of his Collation toLami-rrmot: an, he had Faid to Air. Slingsby the Bijhop's Sncmaty theSumm6*1' Wixn° of % I. 1 4 j. and q.d. Yet in his Anfwer to the zoih. Interroga- tory, he acknowledgeth upon Oath, that che faid Summ, was. paid not barely for his Collation, but for the Inflruments of Jn- ftitution, Sequefation, Relaxation, Licenfe to Preach, and Dijpen- fation for Non-Refidence. % Whereby as Lewis, in his Anfwer upon Oath to one Article, hath palpably contradicted what he had Sworn in his Reply to an other, and thro' his doing fo,hath not only (hewed, that he Depofed with great Carelefnefs and Inadvertence, but that he had undeniably Perjur'd himfelf; fo I cannot omit charging the Author of the View, with great infincerity, both in his making the Summ of 8/, 14*. and $d. to have been paid for one lnftrnment viz. that of Collation, which had been paid for Several more in Conjunction with, and as well as for that, and like wife for the having upon that Falfehood and Mifreprefentation, dared to Alfume the Impu- dence, and to exprefs the Malice of Afperfing and Defaming the Bifjop, with the taking above 6 I. is, for every Collation. Nor can 1 forbear adding, that his Lordjlnp, inftead of having extorted more for .all the aforefaid Infruments, than he had a. Right to demand and receive, he took Confiderably lefsfrom that ungraceful man, than what by ancient Ufage and Cultom he might ha^e Ciaim'd. And tho' I fuppofe the Reader will now eafily4ifcern, what an advantage I have, of being (evefe upon iheA/ahor of the View, for his Shameful Prevaricatio is,and Loathfome Inlincerity,in the repoting the foremention d Qepo- fitiaajai: L«wijy yet feeing the being fo on him, would Necef- faiily Tacit. Annri- Lib. 3 Liv. Tacit. Amu], ( 206 ) iaiily lead me to fpeak of others with lefs Civility, than I am willing, I mall therefore forbear the faying any thing, ei- ther of them, or of him, fave that as the Bijhop was, by rea- ibn of the Pique and Revenge of fome Men, felecled to be Confpir atione inimicorum, & invidia falfi criminis oppreffus, to be ruin'd by means of the Confpir acy of his Enemies, and thro' the Loading- him with Forged and Feigned Crimes', io every thing was to be taken hold of, that was, Augend*, InfamU compofi- U. Antiil.tum, any why's Coudueeable to the rendring him Infamous; or that Lib. 1 5. collld be Wrefted or Mifapplyed, Suggerendofiammam invidU, to the Augmenting the Flame, and Blaz.e of Envy againft him : Of all which the Writer of die View, was the raoft capable Perfon imaginable, tor giving' us the Memoires in the way and manner,which would beft agree with thofe Villanous method's, as being qualified by his long Pra&ice, in the Art and Trick of Chicanery, intcndendo vera, & adgerendo falfa, vanis mod'ts criminari. by fir etching what was true, beyond what it could amount to the Vroof of, and by the adding of Falfehoods to perverted Truths^ to Calumniate in and after Various and different way's. But to proceed to the Examination of what the Author of the View, hath further advanced in^Proof of the Bijhop's not confining himfelfto the taking of 61. is. as Fees for every Col- lation, which is that John Barnet hath Sworn, that he Paid 9 I. or is. more or lefs, for Collation Fees, and that Dining with the Bi- jhop about a week after the Collation, the Bijhop told bim one thing was forgot, namely the not taking out a Licenfe to Preach in his Diocefs,fo that Barnet was oblidged to take out one, and Pay 13/. $d. for it. In my Anfwering whereof, I have feveral things to lay, whereof the Firft fnall be, that this Writer, with his wonted Malice, as well as well as infincerity, hath reported this Depofition of Barneys in fo Fraudulent and Equivocal a manner, as if he would have the Reader believe, that the fore- mention'd Su-mm, had been Paid immediately to the Bijlwp himfelf, when indeed Barnet Depofed no fuch thing, yea De- pofed that which was vaftly different from it. The words of his Depofition being, that having Received a Collation to the Vicarage o/Clirow formerly Bljlwp in the Tea* 1688, he paid for the Whn. Anf. Fees thereof to Mr. Slingsby , the Bijhop*s then Secretary about 9 /. ad Artie, it being either 2 i. over or 2 s. under. So that were all true, which *3> Ht >5- Barnet hath Depofed, yet it neither doth, nor can affeft the Bi- fiop, unlefs it could be proved, that either Mr. Slingsby had taken Summary View p. The Pro- C 207 ) taken fo much by the Bijhops Order, or that he had accounted for fo mqft to the Bjhop. And as neither of thefe, ever came into Proof; fo it is pofitively Sworn by Slingsby, that he never accounted to the Bijhop for more received of Barnct for Collation Fees, than for 61. is. And fhould we therefore ad- mit that Slingsby had taken 9 1. &c. as Fees for Collation to the aforcfaid Vicarage, it would only fallen the offence of Deceit, and the Crime of Extorfion on Slingsby, but could not Lodge an Imputation, of the lea ft Guilt on the Bijhop, he having been neither Acceffory unto, nor fo much as Confcious of it. But then ily. Mr. Slingsby hath directly Contradicted Bamet'm the matter of his Payment of 9 /. and hath Depofed upon Oath before a Mafler in Chancery, that the whole which he received of the faid Barnet, was only 8 /. is, And upon his firfl hear- ing of himfelf Accufed for the having taken 9 /. he offer d to have Sworn before the Arch-Bijlwp in Lambeth- Hall, that he had neither demanded, nor received more, than 8 /. 1 s. But his Grace did not think fit at that time, either to admit his Depoiition, nor fo much as allow him to be Examin'd in Re- lation to that Affair. For tho' by the Rules of Juftice he ought to have done it, yet thefe were to be neglect ed, and de- parted from, in Subfervency to Pique and Revenge. And all the meafures of Equity and Righteoufnefs, were rather to be Sligh- ted, and Broken through, than that a Witnefs againfl the BiJIwp of St. David's, fhould in the beginning of' the Procejs^ have been fo Affronted in his Graces Pallace, and in his Pre- fence , as to have it Proved upon him, that he had Perjur'd himfelf. But that no fuch Regard was had for the Credit of the Bijhop appeared afterwards, when upon the Arch- B flop's offering to have Slingsby heard and Examin'd, and the Bijhop of St. David's anfwering, that he could not be found, fo as to be produced, his Grace, ( in hope both of fattening a Lie on the Bifhop, and alfo of getting it believed, that is was becaufe, of his not being able to lay any thing in his LordJhip*s Jultification, that he was not brought to appear in Court ) was pleafed publickly to fay, that Slingsby was frequently at Lambeth-Honfe, or at Chamberlan's Bank. In the declaring whereof, that his MetrofoUtanfo'.p, both exprefled too little Refpeft £0 Truth, and betray'd too much Indifcretion, is made more Evident, than I wifh it were, by the forementi- on'd Depofition of Mr. Slingsby before a Maftcr in Chancery. Where- ( 20 8 ) Wherein he hath pofitively Sworn, that he had not been at Chamberlain's Bank, as an Officer mice the 23 of (MUbcr , 1697, nor but onee at Lambeth iince that timea until ms Curiollty carried him thither, to hear the Biflwfs Trial. But whereas 8/. is. as Fees for a Collation, was to much to have been taken on that account, I do therefore Anfwer 3/y. that it was not for the Fees of a Collation alone, that the faid Summwas Re- See the ceived, but it was for Fees for SuJfcription, Sequeflration, Relaxa- Bp's. Al- tl0riwi arj a Lice-nfe to Preach, as well as for Collation. And that kgat. 10. %armt paid no more for all 'thefe, than 8/. is. was fo far 1697. from being an Exa&ion of more from him, than was Legally due, that he was Favour'd in having hadfo little demanded and taken. So that inftead of Bifhofs being Criminally af- fected by any thing in Barnefs Depoiltion, we have a further Difcovery given us of the unequal and unaccountable Pro- ceeding of the Metropolitan againft his Lordjhip, in allowing what the faid Bamet Swore, to be of any Significancy, to the proving him Guilty of having Exa&ed Excefllve Fees, and alfo of the Malice of the Author of the Flew, in Defaming the Bijhop in Print, upon fo Falfe, as well as fo Impertinent an Al- legation. And as all the Reflection I will make at prefent, on the Former, fhall be only to obferve, how that by reafon Tacit. of being Embark'd in a Party and Fa&ion. Non mos, non Jrmdl. jus, neither Jujlice, nor Ancient Methods are attended unto, but Lib. 3. deterrima qu&que impune, & mult a honejfa exitio funt ', The worft Crime efcap Vnpuniflfd in feme, and the moft Innocent Aclions are H Annd. perverted into occafions of>Ruinirg other s\ fo that which I will at this Llb# 5* " rime fay in Relation to the latter, fhall be that cut ira violenn- or, to a Man transported by Anger and Hatred, any thing will ferve as Materia Criminandi, for the Calumniating of him, againft whom he is enraged. But to proceed to the next Inflance, alledged by the Au- thor of the View, in proof of the Bi^wp's having taken Excejfive Stimw&ry Fees for Collations, viz. That he had done fo of one John View, p. JJoyd, which he fays, he could, not omit the mentioning of becaufe it 2°* is attended with apleafant circumflance. Which by that time I have inquired into, and have examin'd, I queltion not the making that Writer to lofe the pleafure of having named it, unlefs he be one, who is both avidus maU fama, ambitious of being accounted himfelf an infamous perforfQ and con- (emptor fu& injami<& that doth not value himfelf the lefs for being ( 20? ) fi, which if wc may believe Tacitus, others have had deferred- . ly faid of them. Only I think it needful previoufly thereunto, ^fb 8 to call over, and to make fome Reflection on what he hath in the way of a Preface to it, Namely, That as it would be endlefsvbi rupr4t to run thro' all the particular Inflances of the Bijhofs Exactions of that kind j fo it is nee die fs confidering how many are crowded into Mr. Powell laft invocated Depofition. And the Firfl Refle&ion I would make upon this is, with how much Artificial Gunning he feeks to cover a Suborn* d Depofition, under the fbile of an Invocated one. For as Vowel courted Lucy to Bribe him ; fo Lucy hired Towel to become a Witnefs againft the BiJIiop, i . e. in thisGentleman'sModernPhrazes, they mutually Invocated one an other. For this Writer was not Ignorant, that the generali- ty of Mankind, do more mind the Names by which things are Stiled, than the things themfelves which are couched under them ; and that they are therefore to have Matters and Fads, which would be abhor'd, mould they be difclos'd in Words and Language expreflive of them, as they really4are, to be re- prefen ted in Terms, which the People can both allow, and are fond of. Which as the Wife Hiftorian hath laid before us in mnny Inftances, as in telling us of fome, that miferam fervitu-T . te m, falfo pacem vocant, they call intolerable Bondage and Slavery ^at \-u by the Name of Peace ; and that ubi folitudinem faciunt, tpacem ap- i, pellant, by making Countries Dcfolate, they pretend to have Efta-Id. in Vit* blifhed them in Qnietnefs : So he gives us one Inftance thVeof, in A&ric' a matter Parallel to what we have before us, of which I mail therefore prefume to put this Author in mind in the Words of that Hiflorian, Quit alii feeler a, hie remodia vocat, what others would Stile Villianies and Crimea he calls Methods of Difcovering L71 V -w Offences, and means forgetting them Punijhed, Dam falfis nomini- I# bits contumdias, difciplinam appellat, which he by and under falfe Names, Stileth the Calumniating a Perfon, and the Accufng him of Forged Crimes, the Promoting of Articles, and the Commencement of a Legal Procefs. And whereas the faid Author would have the Reader believe, that the reafon why he gives no more Inflances of the Bijhop's Exactions of that kind, is btcaufe smmtry it would be endlefs to go thro1 all of them, and that only inopem co- view. p. pia fecit, his naming fo few, proceeded only from his having *o. it in his power to have mention'd many ; I mull in the Third place make this Refledion upon it, that no Man ought to be- lieve him therein, if he will confider either with what Ran- E e cour ( 210 ) corn- and Malice, he hath endeaTour'd thro' his whole Pamph- let, to Defame the Bifliop, and to render him Infamous, as welt as to Expofe him to be Laropoon'd andRedicul'd, or how ma- ny, not only Trivial and Infignificant, butapparantlyFalfe and Forg'd Stories, he hath put into his Memoir's, and account of the Proofs of the Articles Exhibited againft the Bifiop of St. Da- vid's, by which Title he Stiles his Book. But as it is neither my bufinefs, nor agreeable to thofe Rules of good Manners and Bienfeance, by which I govern my felf, to encounter a HujfaXid Bully, who only Struts and Hectors, becaufe he dare not be a fair Duellifl, nor give the length of his Weapon, or declare in what manner he will Fight, I ihall therefore take no further notice of the foregoing Rodoma^tod, fave meerly to tell him, that if the end of his Intellectual Senfe, as well as of his Mo- rals, lay not within view, and under a narrow extent, and very near the beginning of them, he would never have thought of perfwadiag. his Reader, he had omitted any thing that could Criminally affed: the Bifhcp, becaufe it would be endlcfs to repeat it. Seeing he hath given fufficient Evidence, that as his hatred of this Prelate beareth equal Dimenfions >with the Wrath and Revenge of the Confpirators againft him, fo that he can alfo enlarge his own Inllncerity in Reporting, propor- tionably faeth to their Romanticknefs and Fabuloufnefs in Depofingj and their Perjurioufnefs in Swearing. And that this Autmr had nothing further to Alledge, which he could hope, that either the molt credulous of his own Friends, or of the Biihop's Enemies, would give Credit unto, beyond and befides what he hath produced, will fully appear upon an Examination of what he hath faid about the Eifrofs having both Exacted exceflive Fees, and tlnrighteouily Extorted Money without any Valuable confideration for- it, of, and from one John Lloyd, to which I am now to addrefs my felf. And this Author's account of it (according to the manner of Luciatfs Writing True Hifiory) is that in the Year Summary 1690. the Bifhop Wrote a Letter to Mr. Meyrick, to fend one View, p. John Lloyd to Burrough-Green in Cambridgeshire to be his ao* Lordfhip's Curate there. And that Meyrick frying him with Money, Lloyd went, Mounted on a Coach-Horfe of the Bijhop's, as the Letter dwelled. But that when he got down to Burrough- Green, the Bijhop told him he was provided of a Curate, and \trfwaded him to accept of a Conation to the Vicaraoe of Lanrian i fupra. a very [mall Vicarage , I do thereunto Allfwer. That as Lloyd's being difappointed of that Curacyy proceeded not from any fault or unkindnefs of the Bijlwp's, but from his own ha- ving not only neglected to come fo foon as he mould and might, but thro' his having alfo omitted to write to his Lordjloip that he intended to come, by reafon whereot the Bifiwp became o- bliged in the interim, to provide himfelfof an other to be his Curate, who proved to be no meaner a man than Dr. Harrijon, whom all people mufl acknowledge to have been much pre- ferable to Lloyd, fo how fmall foever the Vicarage was to which Lloyd was Collated, yet it was of a double value to the Curacy which he had before in Wales. Nor can we, without the being at enmity with common Senfe, queftion, but that Lloyd would have chofen rather to return to his former Cura- cy, than to have accepted a Collation to the Vicarage of Lan~ rian, unlefs he had believed that the Latter would be more profitable to him, than the former had been. And as it was in great companion to Lloyd, and in way of recompence for his having been difappointed ( thro' his coming too late) of the Curacy of Burrougb Green, that the Bijhop Collated him to the aforefaid Vicarage ; fo this Lloyd had reafon to be alio thankful for the having been fo kindly entertain'd by hi3 Lord- ( 214 ) pip, dining the time he ftay'd at Burrough Green. But Fifthly, whereas not only Meyrick thought fit to put it into his Depo- fition that Lloyd had gone to Bnrrough Green on a Coach Horfe of the Bijkop\ in hope that he fhould thereby Ridicule his Diocefan :, but this Writer hath been pleafed alfo to mention it as a Raillery on the Bifhop, and hath therefore both changed MeyricFs words and exprefTed it in Terms of his own, that he might be the more fityuant on his Lordfhip, and give the more pleafanery to fuch as fhould read his Pamphlet, namely, That he went thither mounted on a Coach- Horfe of the Bi- Jhop's ; I do thereunto lay, that this Author, as well as Meyrich, have therein only ditcoverM their own Folly, and their malice againft the Biflwp. Seeing it is no fuch unufual Spectacle, to fee a greater man than Lloyd mounted on a Coach Horfe, nor is it accounted fuch a difhonour to be fometimes no better ac- comodated, that any, fave very weak and foolifh people fhould make fport of it. And as nothing doth more betray a defi- ciency of Underftanding, and the want of good Senfe, than for men either to indulge themfelves in the making of little Jefls, or to find relifh in them when made by others } fo it interfereth dire&ly with the Apoftolick Command of avoid- in& ieft'ing-> efpecially that which comes within the circle of Eph. <, foolifi) Speaking. And as all fort of Buffoomy, or Drollery, doth 4. very much unbecome fuch as would be thought men either of Learning, or of probity and Vertue^ fo whatfoever is either petulant, or derifory, is to be held for Buffbonry. Nor is eve- ry Speaker or Writer qualified to be Jocofe, there being but very few, who do weVl underftand the difference between urbanitas^ which is harmlefs and innocent pleafantry of Wit^ and Convicium, which is Slandering and Defaming. And as the two Perfons whom I have named, do in reference to what I have mention'd them for, come direftly under the Chara&er, Tacit which the Hiflorian gave of one, Namely, that he did famam Bib. Lib. urbanitatis per lafciviam querere, feek after the Reputation of 3. being efteemM Divertive and Pleafant, by the being Petulant and Infolent ; fo all the Refte&ion I will by reafon thereof make upon either of them, fhall be in the Language of the fame Hi- florian, in bringing one to fay of another, that epetnlantia per- U Hijt. fdiam fufpeBabat, that from their ntdenefs, we may havemore than a bare Jealoujy of their Infidelity and Treachery. And as it was out of great Companion to Lloyd, and by way of Recom- 1 pence Lib. a. ( 215 ) pence for his having been difappointed (thro' his coming Coo late) of the Curacy of Burrongh-Green, that the Bijhop Collated him to the aforefaid Vicarage •, fo Lloyd was very kindly enter- tain d hy his Lordfhip, during the time he ftay'd there with him. Finally, and in the Sixth place, whereas not only Aity- rick but the Writer of the View, make and reprefent Lloyd's eOink thither on a Coach-Horfe, as a pleafant and divertive fpe&acle ; I dare fay, that the Biftop, inftead of having mat- ter and occafion for delight given him by it, he had catife adminiftred unto him of trouble and regret. For the Hmfe having been Spoil' d by Lloyd in that Journey, his Lordjhip was forc'd both to leave him at London, together with a Servant to look after him, and alfo to provide an other Horfe for his own Coach, when he went down foon after to his- Dlocefs. Nor do I wonder there are feme who take plea- fure in the Loft and Dammage, which befall thofe whom they hate, when there are fo many, who (that I may ufe the words Tacit of the Hiftornin) are mails pnhlicis titt? delighted with the Mife- Hift. Lib, • ries which overtake their Country. 3* But to proceed to what he further Accufeth the Bifiop of, in his bavin? ratfd together vafi Summs of Vnjufi Gain, by the taking of exorbitant and illegal Fees for Collations, which Summary he fays may in fome meafnre be conceived from what Walter P'ffW» Watkiris. not Countenance a Poor man in his Caufe. That is, they fh ill not 3. confider the quality, or the conditions of Men ; but what the Law hath appointed, in relation to all matters and Cafes, which are brought before them. Tis true, that every one may Remit of his own Right, when the doing fo, will neither hurt the Publick, nor Prejudice thofewho may afterwards come in- to the Place and Station, that he poffeffeth ; but then it mould be with this Provifo, that he tell them, what by Law and Uf- age he hath a right to Claim, and that it is meerly out o.c Compadion and kindnefs, he abates of it. And were it not fo in the Cafe before us, it would be in the power of every pre- fent BiJhop( which however lam not much in fear they will be Guilty of) not only to wrong thofe who fhall fucceed them, but to impoverifh and ruin the Church. Wherefore as our NAncefl:ors ftated thofe Fees to be payable in fuch a Proportion, without allowing, unto Biflwps a Latitude of demanding, what they mould think fit, on pretence that a Benefice was of fuch or fuch zValue ; fo it ought not only to be hop'd, bat believed, that Bijhcps are Perfons of that compaffion as to know how to Re- mit of their very Legal Dues, when thofe Collated to Livings, are ci^cr Levit. ( 221 ) either in themfehes very Poor, or the Benefices, [matt and Meat. ' For as the Law in all Cafes whatfoever, is. the fame with rela- tion to all Faffs of the fame Species and kind, and the Liberty of Executing it in the Vigour, or of Moderating the Execu- tion of it, is entirely left unto, and entruited with him or them, in whom the Judicial Authority is veiled, to A& as the quali- ty and condition of. the Perfons, and the Circumftancesof the Facts will admit, fo it is altogether needful, that it mould be thus, in whatfoever Rules, Provifions, and Efhblifhments, are madefor and about Eccleiiaftical Tranfa&ions. And I beg the Liberty on this occafion to fay, that it were to be wilhed that Bijliops were under Regulations and Confinements with Refpe&to fome other 'things, as well as with Relation to the Fees, which they are to demand. And that I may Inftance in one, it would certainly be better, for all thofe who are Tenants and Lejfees, under the prefect Bifirfs, and more efpecially, it would be to the advantage of fuch, as fhall hereafter be advanced to the Dignities which they do now pofl'efs, if the Space and Term of Tears, in which thofe Leafes ax q to be renewed, were fixed to a definite Time, and not left to the Pleofitre of every Ru- ling Prelate, who may thereupon ( as fome of them aSu dly do) make the Leafes they Grant, to be of a very fhort Continu- ance. By which as, as the Lejfees are made uneafie, thro' their being obliged to frequent Rennals, und thereby liable to the often Payment not only of Fines ( which I will fuppofe to ba in proportion to the time and number of years, for which the Leafes are granted ) but alfo to an often and repeated payment of certain Fees, which amount to as much for a Leafs of a Few years , as they would on the obtaining a Leafe for more} fo it is too obvious, to need being infifted upon, that this Practice, will come to be very Prejudicial to fuch, as (hall come to fucceed to thofe Bifhops who do it. Nor is it with- out caufe that I mention this, in that whereas Leafes of that kind, ufed not heretofore, to be- Renewed for fewer Tears, than Seaven at leaft ; ( and continue ftill to be fo in diverfe Viocejfes, and was particularly done by Biflwp Watfon, in the Bijhoprick of St. Davids) yet the prefent Bijhop of Salisbury, hath reduced and abridged the Term that he Granteth Leafes for to Four Tears. Which as it is a departure from what was for- merly the conftant Vfage in that Diocefs ; fo it fheweth what great Inconveniencies may infue upon Biji hop's haying a Lati- tude ( 222 ) • tide allow'd them in aay part o: their Epifcopal Tr An factions and Admlmftrations. But they who have afTumed a Liberty in the vertue of their Sacred Charafler, of Paraphrasing away the Dotlrincs, and who have been Endeavouring to Introduce Inno- vations into the IVorJhip and Difcipline of the Church of England, may be permitted to challenge a power of making what Alte- rations they pleafe, in thofe matters and things which belong to to them pr Baroniam, and by reafon of thofe Tenures, which are Veiled in them by Secular Laws, Tho' nothing is more a- bominable in it felf, o.r more inconfiflent with the welfare and fafety of mankind, than to give fuch an allowance to thofe in Dignity and Power, as that Sycophant faid belonged to Cara- Spart. in Calla, that licet, fi fibet, every thing was lawfufj, for him to do, V it. Anton, which from whatsoever Principle, or on whatfoever motive he had a mind to do. And as Laws refpeft not Perfons, but Things and Fa&s ; fo we may bid adieu to Juftice, and to all Equality in Juridical Proceedings, when a Judge not only Imm. Pendere Jufta Lib« B' Incipit Weigheth matters in other Scales, than thofe of the Law J but is permitted to do it. Whereupon I Anfwer -Thirdly, that as it was not the prefent Bijhop of St. David's, who Or- dain'd and Setled the Proportion and Quantum of what Fees ihould be Paid for Collations, Inflitutions, or for any other h- firuments, thefe having been all appointed and fixed, long be- fore he came to be Advanc'd to that Bijhoprick, and Received accordingly by his Predecejfors ; fo there is nothing in Proof, of his having either demanded, or taken more, than what had been appointed in that Diocefs, and Paid unto former Dme- fans. Yea inftead of that, it doth not only appear by what we have formerly faid, that he always took much lefs, than feveral of his PredeceJTors had frequently exacted ; but it hath been likewife fhew'd in various Inftances, that he frequently Abated in what he might Rightfully have Claimed, and con- tented himfelf with fmaller Fees, than ought to have been Paid by thofe who were Inflituted and Collated. Nor can I here omit obferving how Ridiculous the Author of the View makes himfelf, thro1 his having endeavour'd to fallen the exaction of Illegal and Excejfive Fees on the Bijhop, by and ; ( "3 ) and from ^ the Aflignment and Allegation of an fofimc^ wherein his Lordflnp took leffer Fees, than by the Ufage and Cuftom of the Diocefs he was Entitled unto. Seeing that in the room of 6 1. 1 /. as Fees Payable to him for the Collating of Edward Gwyn to the. Prebend of Bowlftwrd, he took (by this Writer's own Acknowledgment,) but 5 /. 1 1 s. andinitead of 61. is. for his Collation to a Gttrfal Prebend in the Chi rch of St. David's, his Lordfiip ( by this very Author's confcffion) re- cieved no more than 3 /. S.o that the Bifiop might both with very great Modefty and Justice tz\YGwyn, that he had ufedhim kindly, without the having it mentioned in the way of Irony by this Writer^ in order to.theexpoling his Lordfbipto Lampoon, as well as to Reproach. Moreover I have in the way of a Fourth Anfwer this further to add, viz.. That the Author of the View, hath moll Egregioujly Falfified and Prevaricated, in faying that the 5 /. 11 s. was only as Fees for Collation to the former prebend ; and the 3 /. as Fees for the having been meerly Collated to the latter ; feeing Mr. Gwyn himfelf hath Depofed upon Oath, that the faid 5 /. and 5 /. were not only Paid as the Fees for Collations to. the aforefaid Prebends, but likewife for diverfe other Pnftruments. Seeing that as Instruments for Collations, are feldom or never granted without other fnfirw- ments (nor is it well poffible they fhould) fo Edward Gwyn hath owned in the very Depofition, (out of which the Author of the View hath brought the aforefaid Allegation in Defamation of the Bifhop) that he was not certain whether he had not more j}lfat A& jnftruments with thofe of his fever al Collations. But finally, \ Anic. 35, have ftill to fubjoyn in the way of a Fifth Anfwer to the fore- mention'd Slanderous and Reproachful Accufation of the Bi~ fijop of St. David's, in relation to the matter we are upon ; that whereas this Author affirms the value of the one Prebend,, to be only 40 s. per Annum, and the Value of the other, to be mt above Seven Nobles per Annum, he huth in both thefe particulars, betray'd the greateft Treachery and Falfehood imaginable, and given us a further evidence, that his defign was not truly to Inform his Reader, but to Impofe and Miflead him. And that in his being the Cook of this Ra- pouft for thofe Guesls, whom the Metropolitan thought to entertain, he hath mixed Ratesban with his Viand's, in order to- Poyfon them with an iVl Opinion of an Innocent Pre- late. Seeing how fmall foever thefe Preferments are, with refpect ( 224^ refpeft to the Referred Rent, yet they are conftdcrable Benefices by reafon of the Profits annexed unto, and of the appurte- nances which do attend and accompany them. And had not the% Malice of the Author of thePHew againft the Bifhop of St. David's, extinguifh'd in him all Principles of Honour and Vir- tue, he would not have Bubled and Sham'd his Readers, with a bare and naked report of the foremention'd Referved Rents, but he would alfo have told them, both of the Value of the Corp of the Prebend of Bowjhard, and of the Value as well as the Privilege of being a Curfal Prevent in the Church of St. David's, which render thole Preferments very defirable, and of Advantage to thofe on whom they are beftow'd, how fmall and contemptible foever the Referved Rents feem to be. Wherefore I may now very juftly fay, that the Account which the Author of the View hath been pleafed to give us of this matter, doth only ferve to tell us, that he knows how fervire fcent, as alfo how utiForo. For having not only ver fa- tile ingenium, Intellectuals qualifying him for all undertakings and defigns, but being likewife one of thofe, of whom Pliny fays, Lin. 3. Pauci Confcientiam vereantur, few are careful of maintaining a 1 good Confcience, I dothelefs wonder to find him guilty of the fault, which the Hlfiorian hath expreiTed'in the words follow- ing, Namely, Tint quemadmodum vis morborum pretia medenti- bus, as the malignancy of difeafes bringeth gain to the Phyficians ; Sic Fori Tabes pecuniam advocatis ferat, fo Corruption in Juridical Proceedings, doth adminifler an Advantage to Advocates of get- ting into places both of Honour and Profit. But how either Enriching, this unfaithful Relation of Matters of Fad, may have prov'd to this Mercinary Writer, or how Grateful it may have been to the Metropolitan, becaufe of its harmonifing fo well with the manner of his Grace's Jurifdidive Proceedings ; and tho' pollbly they two may be fufficiently pleafed, in the being able to fay, Satis magnum alter alteri Theatrum fumns ', yet it mufl needs greatly provoke as well as offend thofe, who expeded a true Narrative of what had been in Proof againft, and for the Bijlwp of St. David\ but inftead thereof, have Lies and Falfehoods obtruded upon them. And how much foever this SubftraBing from, Adding unto, and Perverting of Depofitions, may be not only connived at, but commended Lib 9 ' ky fome callmg themfelves Chriftians -, yet the old Heathen c. 2. ' Romans, who Condemn'd one of Theft, meerly for the Riding his ( 225 )__^ his Neighbour's Hoffe a little farther, than he had ben lent unto him for ; would^ have put a very ievcre conflruction up- on this unfincere anci deceitful manner of Writing Judicial and Publick Tranfa&ions. /But I mull goon to the next Inflame, given by the Author of the View, of the Bijlwfs having no reguard (in his Exatlion of Fees for Collations) to the [mall Value of the Preferments which were beftow'd, Namely, That the Bijhop having Collated Jeremiah Sumhiry Griffith, Anno 1691 to a Vicarage, (HiUi. That of Lanftfread in viiW* the County of Radnor") for which he made him Pay 6 I. and f aid ^' 22' he would fland to it ; did at the fame oblige him to take a Col' lation to a Prebend, for which he the faid Griffith {receiving and faying all that belongs to it) has hitherto been Four Pence out of Pocket every Tear, be fides Procurations • and that there is no man- ner of expectation that ever it will be otherwife, there being no Corps belonging to the faid Prebend ', and yet that he the afore faid Griffith was obliged to Pay for that Collation 6 1. is. and at the fame time to quit a Beneficial Prebend, otherwife the Bijlwp would not have given him the Vicarage. Now tho' I might in way of Reply to this, entirely refer the Reader to what hath been faid in Anfwer to the immediately foregoing Allegation, much of that being here applicable* and equally ferving to fhew the Infignificancy and Impertinency of whatfoever is here further A Hedged, as particularly, chat according to Ancient cuftom and ufuage in the Diocefs of St. David's Fees for Collations were 6 1, is, and that the Bijhop could not make lefs to be due and demandable on that account, tho* he might remit and abate of it, when it was Paid to himfelf : Yet I fhall not think it amifs to make fome particular Returns, to ^/hat is here Pioduc'd and Related by this Writer, from and upon Griffith's Deposition. And the Firfi thing I would fa^Ai- Anfwer there- unto, (whereof ibeg the Reader to be mindful) is, that the Perfon who Swears to all this is Jeremiah Griffith, who, by. the Chara&er which hath been given of him before, will appear to be one who ought not to be Believ'din any thing, which he either Says, or Swears. For befides that it hath been made evident, that he is the BiJhopJs Declared and Avow'd Malicious and Revengeful Enemy \ and that therefore by all Rules of Law, his Teftimony is lhut out from being Receiva- able againft his Lordjhip -, it hath been alfo demonftrated, that he is a Perfon upon many other accounts too Infamous Gg to C 226.) to have had Credit given to him either againft any Verfon, or in any Court whatfoever. And that no wrong was done to Grif- fuh,(\m\eR it be accounted one to have Reprefented him as he is and deferves ) nor the^foWfr impofed upon by the Cha- racter, which hath been given of the Former to the Latter, will be ftill more apparent, after we have obferved what he hath Sworn, in that Article of his Depofition, which relates to this that we are now Difcouriing of. Wherefore my Second, Criificli dnfiver fhall be, that whereas Griffith hath Depofed upon Oath, tbePromot. That the Biflwp obliged him to take a Collation to a Prebend, which 8. Whn. is rather an Incumbrance, than an Advantage*to him ; he hath *d Artie, therein Sworn Falfely, becaufe to a thing altogether impra&i- 13' ,4> cable. For as it was not in the Bijlwp's power, either to make him Refign one Prebend, or to force him to accept a Collation to another, without his free and voluntary Confent -, fo Griffith doth too well underRan^.what is for his Advantage and In- tereft in this World, (how little foever he may mind the next) to have ever complied with, or have fubmitted thereunto, had he not previoufly known how Gainful it would be to him, fo to do. And he was alfo much better acquainted with, ancl had a more perfect knowledge of the intrinfick Value of all the Livings and Preferments in the Bijhoprick of St. David's, than to fuffer himfelf to be fo Impos'd upon T>y the Biftop, as to be drawn to part with what was Beneficial^ for that which would be a Lofs. Nor will any Man be furpriz'd at Griffith's having Per* jur'd himfelf in that particular ; if they do but obferve with vki fupra. wnat Impudence he hath Sworn to another moll Notorious ad Interog. Falfehood in the fame Depofition, Namely, That he was fo far 38. from looking upon Lucy the Promoter to be the B flop's Enemy, that he doth believe he has been one of his befi Friends, and that he had never ■ be &■■/>•■'.. b.im ufe any Scurrilous Language towards the JBijIiop, as he can remember. Whereas not only Lucy's Enmi- ty againft the Bijhop, had been openly declared, and was publickly known ; but his having alfo fpoken all the ill things imaginable of his Lordjhip, by which he could hope to render him Infamous, hath been fully in Proof under the Teftimony, and on the Oaths of many QVitneJfes of unque- ftionable Reputation. But the Mifiery of all this will be eafily unravell'd, and alfo the Sordid Coueteoufhefs of Griffith, ( inftead of the Bijhop' s ) made apparent, if we will be fo juft to our felves, as to obferve one particular more, in that very ArtkU ( 227 ) Article of his Depofitiom Namely that he was obliged to.quit a uu jupr&. Beneficial Prebend, for one that is rather an Incumbrance, than an Advantage to him, otherwife the Biflwp would not give him the Vi- carage of LI an ft [read. And as this dp th Lead me to a id. An- Jwer -, fo it wi!l give me an occafion of Difcovering, how Grif- fith as well upon this, as on feveral other accounts, came to be fo Malicious and Revengeful an Enemy of the Bifoofs. For whereas upon his Lordfnifs Collating Griffith to the Vicarage of Llanflfread ( which was done upon Griffith's own earneft^and importunate defire, and Solicitation ) he obliged him to Refign the Preband, whereof he was polfefled before, I do fay that inftead of having therein done any thing that was unbecoming his own Epifcopal Cbarafter, or Oppreffive of Griffith, he did that which fhewed him to be no lefs a good, than a wife and a juft Man. And it. would have been to have adted very dif- agreably to his own Duty, and very unkindly towards di- verfe Worthy men of the Clergy, to have permitted Griffith, to Engrofs to himfelf alone feveral of the Richeit Benefices of the Dioccfs, (efpecially when he never performed in any one of them, what his Office required of him)} fo it difcovered both very great Difcretion in the Biflrop, and what lingular Care he took to have all things in his Bifiioprich managed to the Credit and Benefit of the Church, that he made Griffith Refign a Prebend, that was remote from the Vicarage to which he was Collated, for One adjacent to it. And if Griffith would not be fatisfied, without his obtaining the Vicarage of Llanfl- fread, he fhould fee contented with the Prebend belonging to the fame place, where the faid Vicarage lay. Nor can other reafon be afligned foroGriffith's complaining of the Blflwtfs ma- king him Refign One Benefice, when he beftow'd Two upon him ; unlefs it be that his Lordfiup would not allow him to Mono- polize all the Confiderable Preferments of the Diocefs . Which as he was Covetous enough to defire and Aim it j fo he rs fufficiently Luxurious, to wafl: Riotoufly on himfelf alone, what many would be thankful, to have divided to, and among them, as a competent Maintenance, And confidering what other Places andjBenefices, befides the Prebend of Boughrowd^ as the Retlory of Jjtferth, and the being Mafter of the Free-School of Brecknock &c. Griffith enjoyed Previoufly to his being Collated to the Vicarage of Llanfanefread,\t was in my opinion, a Fault ia the Bifiofto beftow that upon him, without making him G g 2 Refign ( 228 ) Refgn more of them, than that one Prebend. Nor can I here forbear faying, that it is a fliame that Plurality of Benefices, and Nonrefidency, that is the unavoidable confequence of it, which were condemned as Scandalous Crimes by the very Coun- cil of Trent, mould be fo much allow'd, and Encouraged as they are in Church of England. But to decline infilling upon that at this time, more needs not be faid for Juftifying of the Bijfiof in the matter before us, than that as he would not feparate the Vicarage of Llanftfread from the Prebend there- of, fo he would not permit him, who was to have that Vi- carage and Prebend, to continue in the PolTeiTion of an other Prebend, when there were fo many more, and they very defer- ving perfons, within the Diocefs of St. David's, to be provided for. And therefore to proceed to my Fourth and laft An- fever to the aforefaid Afperfion upon, and accufation of the Mijhop, which is, that I have reafon to believe, that the Pre- bend of Llanfadefread, is worth much more per Annum, than Griffith hath Sworn it to be. For in that I do neither find the great Tub's anexed to the Vicarage, nor have^heard of their being Impropriated ; I cannot otherwife conceive but that they do belong to that Prebend. And I am the more confirmed in this Opinion, upon my perufmg and obferving, in what Terms, and after what mannar, Griffith expreffeth himfelf in Vbi fupra. his Depofition about the Small value of the faid Prebend, Name- ly, that whereas he Swore there are no Crops belonging to it, he Jnf-w. ad addeth not a word about the Great Tith's of the Parilh, nor j'*''*13, whether by Vertue thereof, he be, or be not Entitled to them. > And fuppofing it fhould be otherwife in reality and fad, than I have intimated ; yet if the Bijhop had ground of fupfe&ing thofe Tittfs to belong to "the faid Preband, (as he thought he had, and ftill doth ) it will fully juftify his Lordjhip's making Griffith Refign the other Prebend, upon his being Collated to it, and the Vicarage. So that I may upon thefe Anfwers very Confidently affirm, that there is no Exaction of Illegal and Exceffive Fees for^ Collations, without the having a Regard to the [mall Value of the Preferments, which the Bijliop be- Jlow'd, faften'd on his Lordjhip by and from Griffith's Depofuion -, but that the impertinency and Folly of me' Author of the Tacit. V*™* as weH as feverall Villanies of the faid Griffith, are ftill xiji-/ further Detected thereby, and made more apparent. And that Lib. i. as in reference to the Defjftr, the obfervation of the Hiftorian ■ is ( 229 ) * € s fully verified, viz* That pejfimum veri afleftus ve neum fna hi que utilitas, the Love which Men have to their own Profit and Gain, doth fo Poyfon and Infect them, that they have no concern for Truth, or Probity ; fo I need not go Further, for the finding of words, wherein to make a Reflection on the Relater of that Depofition, than to the fame Hiftoriav,when he fays of a certain Perfon, that he was one who did vera in contrarium vertere,I/'h^nmI' turn Truths into Falsehoods, and extract Lies out of Verities. Nor * fhall I be Injurious either to the Foremention'd Witnefs, or to Id A the Writer of the View; in faying of both of them, that the Lib. ""* chief thing which they feem to have deiigned, was contumelia, iras accendere, by their Slandering, and Defaming of the Bi- p)op, the more to provoke the World, as itel as to Incenfe the Metro- politan againjl him. But feeing the Author of the View hath thought fit to telt us, that he cannot feijh this Head of the Bijlnp's Exacting Ex- cejfive Fees for Collations, till he hath acquainted the Reader with y^Ar^ two more ft range Extorfions of his Lordjhip, in matters incident rop, a2', 2?, Collations ; I am bound to wait upon him, and further to ex- pofe both his Weaknefs and his Infidelity. Now the Firs! Depofition to this purpofe which he produceth, is, that of one David Lewis, who Depofeth, that about the Tear 1690, the Bi~ Jlwp Promifed to Collate him to the Vicarage of Treleach BettUS, being then void; and ordered him to provide Six Pounds to difcharge , "~ the Fees of it ; which when he had done, he went to the Bifhop% who jewing him a Petition from one who was Curate in that Vi- car a i^97* pretence of making him Pay for Exhibition Fee.. But Lucy by being engag'd in fo Meritorious a Service, as to become Pro- moter m the Proccfj againft the BijJjop, was not only to have his Crimes Corinived at, but the Bijhop muft likewife bear the Reproach, and be made fuffer thePunifh: nt of his Villanies. Nor is it without Precedent, (tho' the Ixample be fet us by one, who deferveth the Name of a Tyrant, inftead of. a Juft Prince) to have fome People in Power and" Authority, to chufe Tacit. rather ut jura tortus ffyVctt&eitt^ quam Cujtodes eorum amove- Annul. rem, to have all Laws and Juftice overthrown, than that fuck a Lib. 4. JMinijler to their Piques and Revenge, foottld be discountenanced. Yea there Itift are, as well as formerly there have been fome, of whom it may be faid in the words of the fame Hijhrian, fbeaking of Sejanus, ad quern adit us, nifi feeler e querebatur, that the way of getting into their EJfeem, and of obtaining their favour, is thro'* being Notorioufly Villanous. And hereof (to omit other Inftances) we have lately had a very remarkable one in that Mifcreant William Puller, who by daring to be Im- pudently Slanderous beyond the rate even of the worft of Varlets, became the Darling of too many of the great, as well as the Idol of the Populace and Mob, of thofe of cer- tain Fadion. But then in the Second place, I have this further to fay by way of Anfwer to what hath been Alledged againit the Biflop, by the Author of the View, from the Depoftion of libi fupra, David Lewis, Namely, That whereas the faid Lewis hath ad Interro- Sworn, That the BiJJicp ordered him to provide, and 4old him he gxt. 13, rnlij} pay ^0 St for a Difpenfation for non-Re fdence, for the Twelve J4; l5- Months that the former Curate was to continue in the Vicarage, to 'which Lewis had obtain'd a Collation; he hath therein directly Forefworn and Perjur'd himfelf, unlefs Thomas Powel, in whofe Hands, (as Lewis himfelf confefleth) the Inftrumcnu for Colla- tion were lodg'd untill the Fees of$Difj>enfation for non-Refdencc, fhould he Paid, did both egregioufly defraud, and heinoufly op~ ibid. prefs him. For as thzBiflwp fpoke nothing toZ^w about zDifpen- fation for non-Rcfidence, untill the faid Lewis (as himfelf declares) had complied to let the former Citrate continue in the forementiorfd 'Vi- carage, and to ferve the Cure for Twelve Months ; To the whole which his Lor dflup gave Powel 111 charge to dcmand,and to receive for the faid Difpe? flit ion, was only 1 3 s. and 4 H. Nor did Powel ever Ac- ( 231 ) Account to the BiJIiop for more. And as 13/. and 4 d. were by Ulageand Cuftom, the Stated and Legal Fees, which were to be Paid in the Diocefs of St. Vavid\ to the 2?//7;0/> for a Vifpenfation for non-Refidepce, and that consequently the pre- fent J?///wp could be guilty of no Extortion/ becaufe of his appointing fo much to be required and taken -, fo we may hold our felves fully afilired, that had Thomas Powell accounted to his Lord(hip for more, than for the faid 13 s. and 4^. it would on'Jiis appearing fo malicioufly and revengefully againft the Bi- fiop ( as he did) not have efcap'd the being Depofed and Sworn unto by him- And therefore whereas the Sum (whatfoever itwas) paid by Lewis for his Letters of Difpenfation for non-Re fidence was (by his ownconfeflion)paid to Vowel, and not to the Btfhop, him- felf 5 and forafmuch as Vowel hath not in the lealt accufed the . Bifiop; either of having order'd him the find Vowel to take, or of his Lordjliifs having received more than t 3 /. and ^d. from him on that account *, we may from thence demonftratively conclude the Biflwfs being altogether Innocent of what he was calumniated with, in reference to fir ange Extortions, w mat- ters incident tojColUtions. And that as Lewis thro' his having Sworn he had paid 40 s. to Vowel, is evidently Guilty of Per- • jury, in cafe that the whole he paid to him, was only [3 jr. and 4 d. fo on the fuppofal that he ihould have really paid 40 s. to Vowel, and that he the faid Vowel did only account to the Bijhop for 13 J", and 4 d. Vowel is thereupon thefole criminal, "and that thro' his having both opprefTed and cheated Lewis, and thro' his having been the caufe of the Bijhop's being Slan- der'd and Defamed. So that by Lewis and VowePs interfering with, and their contradicting of one another, the Bijlwp ought to have been declared Innocent of, and to have been held fully vindicated from whatfoever he was accufed ot in Lewis's De- pofition. For as the Teftimony of every Jingle Witnefs ( when- foevcr he gainfays himfelf ) becometh invalid as to the affeding of thofe againft whom he teftifieth ; fo when two Witnejfes De- poilng in the fame caufe, fwear repugnantly to one another -7 the whole which either of them faith, is for that very reafon to be disbelieved. And tho' the Metropolitan's acquaintance with Civilians, is in all likelyhood too little for his receiving Inftru&ion by them y yet had he but look't into his Bible, in which we are to fuppofe him converfant, he* 'would have found, that they who Teftiiied againft the Bleffed Jefus, are called Mirk ,, falfe Witnejfes^ becaufe their Witnefs agreed not together. For tho" 56. the ' the Teftimony of different WitnefTes, wlien gi\ren in the fame Terms and words, and as Civilians exprefs \t per pr&mcditatum fermoncm, thro* a previoufly premeditated and converted Speech be- tween them, is by the Rules of Law to be greatly fufpecled of being Falfe, and of having been Forged in the Venue of a Conjuration and Confpiracy ; yet it is an eftabliih'd Maxim among Lawyers of all kinds, that when the comra- rity between IVi'nejfcs, is in Matters which are Subflantial, that fuch Witness are to be held to have proved nothing. Not but that I Grant, that whenfoever they sre found to agree in whatfoever is Materfal, and do only difcr in fome extrinfek • Circumfances, that then, and in fuch a cafe, it is provided for by Civilians, that verba funt improprianda, ut Teftes cencor demur, the 'words in which they Depofed, fhall be .admitted capable of receiving fuch a fuppletive Interpretation, as may ma*ke the Witneffes to agree, and render their Teftimonies concordant. But the difference between Lewis and Vowel in their Depofittons relating to the Cafe before us, being in the very material and Substantial part of what they Swore unto ; in that Lewis fwears ^H fuvra ^lS being Order* d to provide 40/. for a Difpenfation for non-Re fi- Xhc pro- ' dence ; whereas Vowel informeth upon Oath, that the whole mot. 2$. which the Bifoop Ordered him to demand and take for fuch Inftru- Whn. ad tnents, was only 13 x. and ^ d. ic folio weth naturally from thence Amc' x3»and -with an undeniable evidence, that the Biflwp was not to 4' *' have -been accounted affe&ed by what Lewis faid. So that the .B'flwp being fully vindicated from the acculation and calum- . ny, of having received from David Lewis 40 s. for a D'.fpenfa- tion for r.on Refidcnce, tho' it might be indifferent to me, whe- ther the crimes of falfehood and perjury fall on Lewis, for his having Sworn the payment of 40 s. to Vowel for the~i?j- foefs ufe for the faid Difpenfation, when in reality he only paid i 3 s. and 4 d. or whether the offences of Extortion and De- ceit, fall on Vowel, for his having exacted 40 /. from Lewis when he was order'd to require and receive only 13/. and 4 d. and never accounted to the B (hop for more ; yet in juftice to myfelf, as well as to mankind, I do hold my felf oblig'd to add, that how villanous focver I take Vowel to be, it is ne- verthelefs my opinion, that it was Lewis who Depofed falfely and perjurioufly in ,tfois matter, and not Vowel thata&ed frau- dulently and opprerrively in it. And the re'afon of my opini- on is, becaufe that befides Lewis's having received DifptnCatioa for C 233 ) . for non Refidcnce, he had alfo Inflrument s of Sequcfl ration and Relaxation, and that it was for all of them (and not meerly the 'Difpenfation ) that he paid the aforefaid 40 s. to which the cuftomary Fees thereof amounted. But it being none of my buiinefs to be Arbiter hujfts litis, Umpire between them in that matter, nor to decide whether (according to Tacitus\ diikm6tU _pe Mori- on of offences) the one of them be guilty of the Scelus, or the bus, &c. other of them of the Flagitium, I fhall forbear inditing further Germ. upon it. And (hall therefore proceed to the Second flrange Extortion cfth: Bifhofs in matters incident to Collations, whereof he is accu- fed by the Author of the Viexo which is, that one William Lloyd bath Sworn that he being prefented to two Livings, went to the Bijhop Summary for Inflitution, who [aid they were lapfed to him, but offered toview> collate Lloyd to one of them, and at lafl by the interceffion of a^'2^ *' Friend, promifed to beflow both on him. On which the faid Lloyd- moved that they might both he comprehended in one Inflrument as they' had formerly been, leafi the fir 'it might be void upon the Colla- tion to the other ; but that the Bijhop would not comply therewith, faying, he would contrive a way, and give Lloyd an Inflrument to fecure him in both , and that accordingly after Lloyd had re- ceived two Collations, the Bifliop gave him an Inflrument of Vnion, to hold both with more fafety. And that the faid Lloyd having not money with him to pay the Fees, took down the particulars of them, from I the Bifhofs own Mouth, viz. for two Collations 1 1 /. 1 2 J. Two Subfcriptions 1 o s. Two Sequeflrations and Relaxations 53 s. 4 d: A Licence 13/. 4 d. The Vnion 1 3 s. 4-^. in all \ 6 /. 2 s. which he the faid Lloyd foon after paid. In the examination whereof, as I fhall be as particular, as the matter of which the Bijhop, is here accufed, required? I ihould -, fo Ifhallbe careful to give thokAnfwers thereunto,aswii] both fully vindicate his Lord- Jhip, from all obnoxioufnefs to defamation on that account, and alfo faften further inimcerity upon this Writer. The Firfl thing therefore in way of Reply that I am to obferve, is, that whereas this afluming and cenforious Author, who is no lefs unacquainted with the Graces, than he is a ftranger to the Mufcs, hath given fuch a Report of Lloyd's Depofltion, as to en- deavour to miflead his Readers into a Belief, that the Bijhop's faying the Two Livings (whereunto Lloyd being prefented, came to demand Inflitution') were Lapfed, was only a pretence far ex- H h cufing • • ( 234 ) cufing himfelf, from the performance of his own duty, and the doing Juftice to Lloyd, C*?is Writer is therein equally injurious to his Readers, and Slanderous of his Lordjhip. And this will ap- pear demonstratively evident, by the bare calling over that part of Lloyd's Depofition, which referreth to the time of his Preferment to thofe Livings, but which this Author hath molt treacheroufly omitted the making any mention of; in order the better as well to conceal his falfely impoiing on the World, as to cover himfelf from reproach and ceufure for having de- famed the Bfiwf. For as Lloyd hath exprefly declared upon Oath, that it was not untill November 1690, That he obtained lie Tro- by the Mediation of Friends, a prefers at ion from Sir William Ru£ mot. 23. fe]7 to the Vicarage of Laugharn, and fta/tofory o/Llanfdurnon, Whn. ' yeing both then vacant, by the. Deprivation of Mr. Michael Owen * J?' ft for not taking the Oaths-, fo it is from thence uncontrollably 24, i<. certain, that the laid two Livings were before that time Luffed into the B {hop's hands. Seeing that as it is exprefly 13 Elix- provided for by diverfe Statutes, and therein Ena&ed, that all c. z. Livings becoming vacant, either. by the Demife, or by theXte- 31 Elix. privat;on of thofe who had been Incumbents, fhall within the term and fpace of Six Months, have others pre fented to themby the refpective proper, and Legal Patrons, or otherwife to be held Lapfed; fo it is but to look into the AB of the Con- vention Parliament anno 1 689, by which the Oaths to the pre- fect Government were appointed and Ordain'd, and it will from thence uncontrollably appear, that the foremention'd Mr. Michael Owen had flood a&ually Deprived in the year 1689. And confequently that the aforefaid Livings, mull have been Lap fed before Lloyd's being pre fented to theni- by Sir William Ruffel which by Lloyd's own cohfeffion, was not until the No- vember 1690. For the words of the faid Adfc are, That whofoe- Primo Gii- ver having any Ecclefiaftical Dignity, Benefice, or Promotion, helm. jhould negletl orrefufe to take the Oaths, before the fir ft day ofAu- Mar. c. gU£. j 6g^ That every fuch perfon or perfons, fhall be fufpended from' the Execution of their Office by the fpace of Six Months, to be accounted from the fir ft of Augufl ; and that if the faid perfon or perfons ([fo having negletled or rcfufed) ft) nil not within the faid fpace of fix Months, then he or they Jhafl be ipfb fa&O deprived, of his and their Offices, Benefices &c. And therefore, as the Bi- fi)cp might very juftly fay, that the faid Lloyd had no Title to thofe Livings by the foremention'd Prefentarion, in that it . ( 235 ) it was granted and obtained pofteriorly to their being Lapfed, and after that the Patron ftood by Law divefted of all Power of beftowing them ; fo it was an ad of great Condefcefttion and Goodnefs in the Bifiop, to have fo far departed from what was become his Right, as to have at firft ofler'd to Collate Lloyd to one of them, and to have fuffer'd himfelf to be prevail'd upon afterwards to Beftow them both upon him. Efpecially if we do but confider, how that on the Lapfe of the faid Livings into his Lordjhifs Gift, he had promifed to Collate a Nephew of Sir John Powell's to them, and had there- by (as is the effect of all Promifes, where there is no ■ mention of a previous condition) fo transferred all his Right to the Tromifee, as that without Sir John's i eleafing him from the faid Promife, he could not beftow them upon any other} fo it was both an Ad of Kindnefs and Generofity in Sir John Powell, that (on Sir Sackwell Crew's, both foliciting the Bifiwp in fa- vour of William Lloyd, and his Writing alfo to. Sir John him- felf, to defire he would difingage and acquit the Bijhop froni his promife) he fnould have fo readily, (as he did) releafed and abfolved the Bijhop from the obligation which ne had laid him- felf under, of Collating his Nephew to t\\^Livings. By all which procedure of the Bijhop's, as we haveWevidence of his Probity, Truth and Juftice towards Sir John Powell, thro' his adhering to the Promife he had made him, untill Sir John Re- leafed him from it, and of his kindnefs and favour to Lloyd, in conferring thofe Benefices upon him, which he might have rightfully beftow'd on whornfoever elfe he pleafed, who was qualified for Ecclefiaftical Preferments ; fo we have hereby a mameful Proof given us of William Lloyd\ Ingratitude to the Bipop, in the making him fo Villanous a return, as he hath done, for his lingular Favour and liberal Bounty. And to put it be- yond all difpute, that Lloyd had no pretence or Aadow of claim to the aforefaid Livings, by what he calls a Prefentation to them from Sir William Rnjfell; and that the Author of the View hath groily prevaricated, in telling us of the faid Lloyd's being prefemed to two Livings-, we are only to remark, that both Lloyd, and the Writer of the View, have exprefly owned, that it was upon the Bijhop's fole and alone Collation, that Lloyd came into the poiTeiTion of thofe Benefices. Which as we may be affured the firft would not have accepted, nor the fecond H h 2 have ( 23* ) .- have acknowledged, (in that the doing thereof would have been a prejudice to Sir William RuJftiPs Right of Patronage) had not Sir William by Law been divefted of all Power of bellow- ing them, and the whole Authority of Collating to them transferred to the Bijlop (thro' their being lapfed) antecedent- ly to Sir William's having Granted the aforefaid pretended Trcfentation. And as it is a delufive and treacherous mifapply- ing of words, to ufe them in the expreffing of a matter, which they were never Inftituted and Ordained to fignify ; fo the Author of the View, hath Falfely, as well as Sophiftically Im- pofed on his Readers, by faying, That Lloyd being prefented to' two Living*, went to the Biffiop for Inflitution, when at the fame he knew, that Lloyd neither was, nor could according to Law- have been prefented to them, more than one can have an Eftate or Inheritance, bequeathed and convcy'd to him by a perfon, \ who hath antecedently Forfeited all his Title in and unto the faid Eftate. But to proceed to a Second Anfwer, which fhall be •in Reply to that part of Lloyd's Depofition; wherein he ac- cufeth the Bifliop of havins refufed to comprehend the Collations of the "two Livings 9. one Inflrument, for which his Lordfhjp ought *^i*iy opinion to have been commended, in- flead Qi: being Senfured. But there* are fome people of all Ranks and Orders, who are of the like Morals with the Athenian, who gave his Vote for the Condemnation of Ariflides^ becaufe of his having the Character of being Jitft. And as I am not furpriz'd, at Lloyd's complaining, of the Bifhop's deny- ing to comprehend two Livings in one Collation, feeing he therein minded his own advantage, more than that of the Church -0 fo I am the lefs aftoniih'd that fome other Perfons encou- raged the having his Lordflnp Judicially Accufed for it -, as being fully fatisfied that the principle on which diverfe a&ed againft the faid Prelate, was that of Malice and Revenge, rather than of juftice. And therefore that tho' he had been a Seraphim, he was to be Painted in the Colours of a Belzebnb, whilit Lucy9 Meyrkl, Griffith, and feveral others who appear'd againh: him, were notwithstanding their refemblance to Lucifer thro'. Ly- ing and Hatred, to be drawn by our Bifioriographer as Angels of Light. And to fpeak with all the modefly imaginable, I cannot avoid faying, that the making the Rtfujaloi that, to have been a Crime in the Bijlop, Which the Law of the Land, as well as the Moral obligations which he was under, by reafon of his Dignity ( 237 ) Dignity and Character, made an Indifpenfable Duty, does ftill give us a very odd Idea of the whole Procefs againft his Lordjhlp, and feemeth plainly to intimate, that previoufly even to his being Articled againft, it had been agreed upon and re- folved, Si fit Innocents, fiat Nocens. For whereas the Statute, which granteth the greateft Liberty of any, for the Vming of Churches, permitteth, That in Cities and Towns Corporate, where the Jetted Maintenance belonging to Parfons, Vicars, and27>CA\ 2. Incumbents, jhall not exceed the Summof 100/. per Annum, itc' 2* fin all be Lawful to do it; nevertheless it is provided for in the fame Atl of Parliament, That no Vnion of the Parifijes. or Places, Jhall even Commence there, or be Effectual in Law, untill it be Regifier'd in the Regifler Book of the Bijhop of the Diocefs. For as much therefore as the Retlory and Vicarage, to which the Bifijop reftifed to give Lloyd a Collation in one Infirument, were neither in any City or Town Corporate, nor Regifler^d as V-. nited in the Register Book of the Bifiiop of St. David'/, I may freely fay, thatlinftead of any Guilt or Offence, Chargeable upon his Lordfinp on that account, that both they who gave way to the Accufing him thereof as a Crime, as well as he, who in his Summary View- hath labour'd toAfperfe and De- fame him for it, were efther grofly Ignorant of the Laws of the Realm, or avowed t Contemners and Defpifers > of them. Whereunto I am more efpecially oblig'd to add, that in reference to all other Churhes, Chappels, and Livings, it is particularly Ena&ed, That as there Jhall be no Vnion or Confolidation of two Churches in one, or of a Church and Cbap-zj. Hen* fel in one, fave where the Value of one of them, is not above 8« cip. the Tearly Value of 6 1, as Rated to the King in his Court of firft21. Fruits and Tenths ; Jo it is exprefiy Provided for and Ordain d, that no fuch Vnion Jhall be admitted, except where the one is not diflant from the other above a Mile. But as it was neither the diftance of the two Livings, the one from the other, nor the Amual worth of the Vicarage, as it was Rated in the King's %ooks by the Old Valution, which the Bijhop was to confider ; but what it was now really and iiitrinlically Worth, and might be Rated at by a New Valuation; fb it would have been no left, than to have a, of the Land hath not fuperceded, and difcharged the Canon Law^ it is the belt Rule and Standard,. we can have recourfe unto, for the Guidance of our Judg- ments in and about Ecclefiaflical Affairs -, I fhall therefore give a brief account account of what is appointed and declared, there, in reference to the Union of Churches and Benefices. And this I fhall the rather do, in that ( in my Opinion ) all deliver'd there on that Head, is not only very agreeable to the Prin- ciples of Reafonand Religion, but alfo extreamly Confonant to the Laws of England, fo far as that matter hath fallen un- der Parliamentary Cognition. Namely, that as no Two or more Inflhut. Livings, fhall be Vnited in One, fave either upon Caufe of Ne- far. Ca- cejfity, as when the Annul Profits of them Seperate and Divided, rm* Tlt* are fo [mall, that fever al Incumbents can not Subfifi on them ;9' or becaufe the Benefit and Advantage of the Church may re- quire it, as may at fome times fall out, by a total Extirpation in one of them of thofe profiling Chri(iia??ity, or by their Re- duction to fuch a Paucify, as that they cannot make a Congrega- tion, nor Confiitute an Ajfembly for Wotjhip -7 fo all Vnions of that kind, are declared Null and Void, where the Confent of the B,i- fhop of the Diocefs, and in fome Cafes of the Metropolitan, hath not been previoufly obtained. And if any Patron, or others^ fhall take upon them to Vnite Churches, it fhall be in the Po- wer of the Bijhof to Control and Difilve thatVnion. Yea even in I i Cafe C 242 ) # Cafe 'that a Precedent Bifliop, hath concurred vnrh a Baron to the Vniting two Churches into one, yet a Sabfeq/'-mt Bifiop jfhall have a Ri 'ght of ' Dijfolving that Vnion, if he fee caufe for the doing it. But to go on to a 3d. Anfwer, which (hall likewise be to that part of Lloyd's Deception, wherein the Bijlwpfe acenfed Vbt fupra. of having Refufed to Include the Collations, to the aforcfaid Vica, re, and ReElory in one Inftrument. Which lhall by this, viz.. That his Lordfnp haying heard of an Addition of 80 /. per An. to the. Vicarage, it would not only have been againfl all the Rules and Meafures of prudence, but a direct violation of the Law of the Land, to have made lb confiderable aVicarage,as that is become, (and efpecially in Wales, where Incumbents may live upon lefs, than they can do in moll parts of the Kingdom) an appendage unto, and a dependent on the ReElory. In that it is 27. Bin. exprdly ordain'd in the Statute, which we have lately mend- 8. cap.21.onM, that no Vnion of Livings lhall be admitted, f*tve where the maintenance ariiing from them is mean and little. Which is otberwife here, in that the Impropriation being fetled upon and belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Winchifter, and being held by Leafe from them, they (as not only the Bifmp of St. Da- vfrfs,but many others alio have heard)JiaveGranted Sol. per An. as an Augmentation to thefficarage, Whereby as it is become too valuable a preferment, to be made ail Appendage to the Rettery; fo the Biftop did nothing, fave what was wife, juit and Legal, in his Refufing to Include them in one Inftrument of Collation. And had he done other wife, than he did, he would have thereby adminiftred ground for a pretence of faying they were Vnited and Confolidated. Which as heretofore they never were \ fo it is now become* lefs fit than it formerly was, that they ihould ever be United hereafter, becaufe of the Augmentation, that I have been Speaking of. So that after my having given the foregoing Anfwer ty. and withall Juflified their being both Pertinent and Solid ; I lhall now proceed to the \th. Reply, which I have to make to the foregoing Allega- tion. "Namely that admitting what Lloyd Sweareth concerning the Fees; which he paid for Collations and Inflituthm &c. To be true, yet the Bijhop of St. David's, was far from being Guilty of f range Extortion, thro"* his Demanding and Receiv- ing them. Nor need we have recourfe to any thing eife,for his Lordjhifs Justification in that matter, than to Lloyd's own vbi fupr4. Depofition, and to the account he therein giveth us, of the Re- ( H3 ) Refpe&ive Fees required of him, as (lie fays ) t them down from the Bijhiops own Mouth. Whereof the feveral parti- culars, are as they do here follow, viz.. For two Cellations 1 1 /. 1 2 s. Two Subflriptions 10 s. Two Sequcfirations, and two Relax- ations 53 s. Afd. A Licenfe 13*. 4;/. An Infirumem of Vnion 13/. qd.in all 16 1, is. In the whole and in every particular of which, as the Bijhop exacted no more, fave what he Legally might y and what . by ancient Vfage was payable on thofe ac- counts in the Bijhoprick of St. David's ; fo I ought not to o- mit obferving how his Lordfinp abated unto, and forgave him part of of his Collation Fees. In that whereas, by and accor- ding to the Cufiome of the Diocefs, they were to have been 1 2 /. is. bis Lordfinp only required and received, by Lloyd's own Confeffion, the Summ of 11/. 12/. So that if the Bijhcp was therein Guilty of any Crime, it was not becaufe of his having exacted more than he ought, Legally to have Claim'd and Received, but for his having Remitted of what he might have Juftly demanded and taken. But whereas he may feem in- volved under fome Umbrage of offence, by reafon of the 13s. 4^. which he made Lloyd pay for the Infix mnent of Vnion, gran- ted to him, for the Holding the aforefaid Vicarage and Re- Hory; I mall therefore 5/y and in the lafl Place, give a par- ticular and diftintt. Anfxoer to that. Namely, that it was fo far from being a Fault, that it was an Acl of great kindnefs in his Lordjhip, firffc to advice Lloyd to it, and then to give it him. And the reafon, by which it would not only have ftood juftified, but have been accounted Companionate and Friendly, would have appeared obvious to any one, fave to the Ignorant, or to the Prepoffefied and Prejudiced, is this. In that it is exprefly appointed by the Statute, that the fir ft Benefice of 8 /. per Annum, is Immediately to be Void, on an In- g^ao. U. fiitution, or Induction into, a Latter, And as both Lloyd and the Writer of the Vkw, do appear to have been fenfible thereof, 7,^ prG- thro' their aligning that as the Ground of Lloyd's having mot. 33. moved that the Collation to the two Livings, might have been com- Whn. &l pvehended in one Infirument ; fo they have thereby fully Juftified Imr[°-f' the Bijhop, in his Refufing it ; in that it was a thing, which ^^™ the Law had made impracticable. Seeing that as the Statute, view, :h makes one Bene fee void, on an In fiitution or Indutlion to a p. 23. Latter, is only when, and in Cafe of the Firfis being worth 8 /. **• ■£&*•• fer Annum.-, fo it as pofitively Enacted in an other Statute,®' c- I5' I i 2 that ( 244 ) ,. that there Jhall be no Vnion, or Confolidation of two Churches in One, j^'cap^i. or °f a Church, and Chappel in one; fave where the Yearly Value of one of them, is not above 6 1. By which as the Bifitofs denying to Include the Collations, to thofe two Livings in one Inftrument, is by the very Confeffion and acknowledgment of Lloyd, and al- io of the Writer of the View, admitted to have been juft,and th&Rtfufal ^thereof to have been Confonant to Law ; in that there neither was, nor could be any pretence, for Moving to have them Comprehended in one Inftrument, In a Cafe, where the doing it was pofitively and exprefly Forbid by Law ; fo I may be allowed without giving Offence, to fay, that the Metropoli- tan's fuffering the Bijhop of St. David^s to be Accufed of, and Articled againft for that, did fhew his Grace to be either very Ignorant of the Laws of the Realm, or to have greatly defpi- ced them, as well as to have forgotten, and departed from the Rules and Meafures of Juftice. Finally the Fees paid to the Bifiop for the Inftrument of Vnion, having by Lloyd's own Con- feflion, been only \$s. 4^. that can neither in Juftice, norE- cjuity, be cally a ftrange Extortion ( whatfoever the Author of the View, may have thought fit to ftile it ) in that as it was what had been Anciently and Cuftomarily paid in the Diocefs of St. David's, for every Inftrument. of that Kind; fo it was much Lefts, that what ufeth to he Paid in Other Bijhopricks, and par- ticularly in that of Norwich, where 3. 4. or 5 /. are demanded and taken, for every fuch Inftrument. So that having now finifhed the whole, I had to fay, in Vindication of the Bijhop from the Afperfions and Defamation, faftened on him by the Writer of the View, from the Depofttion of Lloyd, I begin to be afham'd of having been fo Prolix, in the Examination and An- fwering, of what that Author, hath from thence, and there- upon ailedged towards the Smutting and Expofing of his Lord- fhip, and 1 have only this whereby to juftify my felf to the Rea- der, that as how Triffling and Impertinent fo«vcr his Reflccli- ens on the Bijhop were, yet that thro being pretended to be made in reference to Offences, bearing the name of Strange Ex- tortions, in matters Incident to Collations, as they were not to have been fufler'd to efcape the Animadverftons, which I have made upon them ; fo I have (as occaiion hath been adminfter'd) Endeavour'd to interpofe fuch kemarks in reference to feve- m ral things, wherein the State, as well as she Church, are con- cern^ as may at leaft in fome Mcafure, excufe the ha- C^45 ) ving drawn things to the Lcnth I have done. And I may upon the whole prefume to fay, that admitting all that was Depofed againft the Eijhop of St.David's in Relation to Collations, to have been not only True ( which we have fhew'n no one thing was ) But to have been alfo as Heinous Offences, as Ma- lice and Indignation could ftile them, ( whereas wc have made them appear, to have been rather Adb of Wifdom and Ju- ftice, and frequently of Friendfhip and Mercy ) yet the Me- tropolitan in the Punilhment, which he inflidted, was not only Cravior remediis,quam delitla erant ; but he did that which boreTacfo a Refemblance to the cruelty of Knocking one in the Head, Annul. under the pretence of killing a Fly on his Face. And the Be- Lib. 3. priving of the Bifljop of St. David's upon fo Trivial' Allegati- ons, -would make an unbiaz'd man fufpe£i, that tho\ thofe Offences, were affigned as the Caufe of it, yet that the true reafon thereof, was his fo often Diflenting from, and Oppofing of his Grace, and of fome others ( who are called r'ai. M&*. Spiritual Lo«"ds ) in the Houfe of Peers. And therefore, that Llb* 9« as the Athenians, ferved the Age am ( who were their Chief Ri-C* a* Vals at Sea ) in Cutting off the Thumbs] and Fingers, of their Touth, that they might neither be in a condition to manage Oars, nor to Wcild Weapons -, fo it was refolved, to have the Bi- fljop of St. David's Depofed from his Epifcopal Dignity, and con- fequently degraded from, his Baronage, that fo he might there- by be difabled from, and rendred uncapable, of Contradi&ing them in Parliamentary debates, and of difTenting from them In, and by his Vote. But to proceed to the next thing, wherein I am to Encoun- ter the Author of the Fiew, which is his having Mifreprefen- ted, and Calumniated the Bifhop, for the having Ofprejfed his Summary Clergy, in demanding, and tak'ng from them , Exceffive Frocurati- ieWi one. Whereof, as he pretendeth to give Three Inflances, fo I fhall carefully examine every one of them, and do hope to give thofe Anfwers to them, as nSall make him Ridiculous to others, tho he hath a Priviledge Communicated to him, by One who, was an Affffor to the Metropolitan in the Procefs againft the 'fit- jhop of St. David's, that he cannot Blujlj. Nor am I now to be furptiz'd either at the inimcerity, or at the Infolency of . this Writer, when I confider that he is not only the pifciple, but the Partizan of an Ecclcfiaftick, who would have L k tea jhe Vwhtcr of a perfoa where he had an Intereft and Au- tnoritys ( H* ) thority,and turn'd herFather out of hisPlace and Employ,becaufe the Daughter had Chaftity and Virtue to abhor his Sollicitations. And who afterwards upon the Young Woman's upbraidirfg him, and Threatning to Divulge the way's and method's, he had ufed for Corutpting her, did not only both get the Father to be Reftored to his place, and reimburfed him whatfoever he had loft, during the time of his difpofleffion, but moreover Plentifully Rewarded him. Which as it makes fome to Fear, there was too much Truth, hi what a certain Peer faid to a Gentleman, viz,, that if it were not for the Biflwps, [they of the Temporal Bench fhould be able to fave the Church of England), fo a great many are'ready to fay, that were it not for the Vices of diverfeof the Spiritual Orders, we fhould have lefs difficulty in preferving the Chriftian Religion, than we are like to have. But in order to to the opening my way to the Examination ' of the Three Instance's, given by this ffnwr, of the Bifhop^s op- fr effing his Clergy in demanding and taking from them Exceffive Procurations ; I cannot omit obferving, how Malicioufly he in- troduced! and ufhereth them in, by a Depofition of one William Jones, which he both Fraudulently Reports, and hath moffc injurioufly wrefted and perverted into a pretended Proof of that which by no Logick whatfoever can be inferred from it. And that his Infidelity as an Hifiorian, and his Sophifiry as £ Logician, may the more FuVIy and Evidently appear, I fhall* here tranfcribe it, in the very words in which he hath deli- vered it, without the adding to, the Detracting from, or the altering of them. Namely, that Mr. William Jones Swearsy that at the Bi (loops Triennial Vi fit at ion in 1 69 1 , he Collected a are at Summary „ • r / t> 1 1 • 1 1 ^ r 1 ir &,., View many Procurations by a Book, which he 1 r an J owe a from one, which p. 24. the Bijhop delivered to him, the faid Jones for that purpofe • and that there were fever al Alterations of Figures or Summs in that Booh which the Bijhop fo Delivered to Jones ; and that upon the faid Jones demanding the Procurations, according to the Tranfcribed Book, the Clergy complained they were higher and greater, than they were be- fore. Upon which before I come to make the Rejletlions, defign- ed for the expofing of this Author -, I may hope be allow'd to fay fomething, that will extreamTy take off from the Credit of the Witnefs. Namely that this William Jones, had not only been the Bifljop^s Servant, and who having been Difcharged by his • Lordjliip, may very well be fuppofed to have Entertained thofe Angry and Revengeful refentments ( as indeed by the whole* Ten ( 247 ) Tenor of his Depofition it appeareth he had) that hhTefiimony in whatfoever he faid or Swore againft his Lorr'jli'p, mould have been held of little validity ; but that he being alio a per- fon, who hath Sworn contradictorily in a certain cafe to oneand the fame thing, he ought thereupon to be no ottierwile accoun- ted of than as a perjur'd wretch, to whom no Faith fliould be given in any thing he Swear eth. For whereas in his Anfwey1 to the Third Article, he hath Depofed upon Oath to the Execution The Pro- of a certain Bond, about June or July \6$i for the payment of icoL'moJ- 4* by Mr, John Medly to the Bijhop ; he the fame Jones, at a Trial1^1^ ai at Carmarthen Affile 1695 did 'Judicially and in Court Sn-ear,Se:,C'ti}' that the faid Bond had been Sealed and Executed on the t his Vicarage of the Hay, and hew he\the faid Barnet being inform'd^' 2*' *** that no more than 5 s. 6 d. were due for that Vicarage, went to the Bijhop himfelf and reafon d the thing with him, upon which the Bijhop told him, that 5 s. 6 d. were his fwgle Procurations, but he mufi Pay 1 1 s. for dmble Procurations, becaufe, tho* this was his Triennial Vi fit at ion W refpeft of other Clergy-men, yet it was his primary Vifitation in refpetl of Barnet as Vicar of the Hay j to which Barnet anfwer'd, that he had Paid Procurationsat the Primary Vi- fitation for his Living of Clyrow, and therefore hop' d to be excused from Paying double Procurations then, but the Bijhop would not exm cufe him. In my giving Arfwtrs whereunto, as 1 have feveral things to fay, whereby the Bijhop will be fully Vindicated from the Crime here ChargM upon him, of having. Ofprefed John Barnet, in taking from him Excejfive Procurations •, fo two of them will ferve as Replies to all the Depofnions concerning Ex~ ceffive Procurations. And therefore in the Firfi place to begin with that, which particularly afFefts Barnet, and that is, the reminding fuch as fhall take a view of thefe Papers, of what we have already declar'd for difabling him, from being ac- counted aO edible Witnefs in any thing whatfoever, which he either Says or Swears. In that thro' his having Depofed upon Oath, That he had Paid 9/. 2 s. over or under to Mr. Slingsby the BiJhop\ Secretary, for his Collation Fees to the Vicarage of Cly- row, he hath therein Perjured himfelf, forafmuch as is posi- tively Sworn by Mr. Slwgsby before a Mafier of Chancery, $ee iecQr& that as the whole which the faid Slingsby received of him, was under the ovly 8 /. 1 s. fo tbat the faid 8 /. 1 - was not demanded, nor tam Head, of hen as the meer zndfingle Fees of his Collation, but as the Fees ^e"for likewife for Subfcripion, Sequeftration, Relaxation, and a Li- ° Unons* cenfe to Preach, all which (hould have amounted to more Kk 2 than ( 25 2^ than was either required or received of Bar net. Secondly, That which I am further to Reply in the next place, is, that whereas the Bifliop might have either upon Misinformation, or thro' a Miftake of the Senfe and Meaning of the 137. Canon* have demanded and taken at his Triennial Vifuation, la-ger Pro- curations, than he mould (for there are no Complaints againfl him for and becaufe of the Procurations he receiv'd ac his primary Visitation) yet his having not only offer'd to Repay whatfoever had been taken above what was Legally due, and had been Paid formerly to his Predeceffors, but his having alfo a&ually done it, (as hath been fhew'd in diverfe Inftances before) was enough to have Vindicated, him from having will- fully Offended, (and would have done fo before any Unpreju- die'd and impartial Court; and have rendred any fuppofed excefles of that kind he had been Accufed of, to have been accounted Faults occafion'd by Miltake^ Inadvertence, and not the effects of choice and defign. ^nd upon ■? perufal of the 137. Canon, I d) not fee, bnc that the Bfhop at any Triennial V fitation, had a Right to demand full Procurations of every one admitted to a new Living, notwithstanding that the fame Perfon had at a Primary or at a former Vifi- tatiox, Paid /*// Procurations for fome other Living, of which he w'as then pofTelfed. At leafr, I am fure the words of the Canon are fo Ambiguous, and that matter fo darkly and doubtfully therein expreiTed, that any other Biflwp, as well as he of St. David's, might have put luch a conftru&ion upon it, without being thought iufluene'd to the doing it by Cove- toufnefs and Inordinate Love of Money. And that what I have here fuggefled, may appear in the clearer ^ight, I mail tranferibe the very words of the Canon. Namely, Cum non minima fit Vifuationis caufa & cjfeclus, &c. For af much as a chief and principal canfe and ufe of a Vifuation, is, that the Coujhmu jgijijg^ Jrch-Deacon, or ethers Affigned to Vifit, may get foms ■/"hfiift. good knowledge of the State ^Sufficiency, and Ability of the Clergy, and 1600. ' ' other Perfons whom they are to Vifit : We think it convenient, that evety Parfon,Vicar, Curate, Schoolm after, or other Perfon Licevfd whom- ever, do at the Biflrfs firft Vifitatiov, or at the next Viiitacioa after his Admiffion, [hew and exhibite unto him his Letters of Or- ders, I nfit in ion and Induction ,, and all other his D-ifpenfations, Li- cenfes or Faculties, to tie by the f aid Bifhop either allowed, or ( if there be jufi caufe}dij allowed and re jetted; and being by him approved, to ( 253 ) to be, as the cuflom is, figned by the Regifler :, and that the whole Fees accuflomed to be paid in the Vi fit at ions in refpetl of the Premif- fes be Paid only once in the whole time of every Bifljop, and af- terwards, but half of the fiid accuflomed Fees, in every other Vifi- tation during the f aid B, (hop's Continuance. Nor do I now doubt but that every unbiaz'd and impartial Reader, will after his having carefully coniider'd the aforefaid Canon, be fo far of my mind, as to think it very capable of having that Senfe and Interpretation put upon it, which the Bijhop did. Seeing tho' it be faid, That full procurations fhallbe paid only once in the whole time of every B'.fliop, yet it being therein alfo provided, that if the faid procurations have not been paid at the Eiftofs fir ft Vifi*. tation, they Jhall be paid at the next Vi fit at ion after the Par fan's Cu~ rate's, or Vicar's Akmiffion; it is thereby undeniably left very doubtful, whether the paying full procurations but once, doth re- ferr to him who p3yeth them, or to the Living or Bene fie: for which they 'are paicf And that the words "ought to be conftru'd rather with refpecr. to the Preferment, than to the Incumbent, doth feem moft probable, if not altogether evident, in that they are to be paid, on the Parfon*s, Curate's, or Vi- cars &c. (hewing and exhibiting his Letters of Orders, or. of Institution and InduBicn, at the next vi fit at ion after his admiffion, and the getting them figned by the Regifler. Whereof as neither can be done previoufly to ones being Collated and Inft'tuted to a place, fo a very wife and good Man may therefore very reafbnably from thence conclude, that admitting a perfon, ou the (hewing his Letters of Orders, and of lnftitution and Inducti- on to one Living, hath paid once full procurations ; yet that ne- verthelefs on his being preferred afterwards to another, and upon his Exhibiting his Letters of lnftitution and Indutlion thereunt; he is again to pay alfo full procurations. And the Bifiop of St. David's not only a&ed with that fairnefs and candor in the faid matter, as to produce and read the fore- mentionM Canon to his Clergy, upon which he grounded his demanding full procurations a this Triennial Vifttation, from thofe who fince his primary Vifitaf'on, had come into new Livir.gs, tho' ftch procurations had been paid by the fame perfons before in refpeft of other Livings-, but like wife antecedently to his Lordfhip's taking them, he had the confenu and approbation of the wifeft, as well as of the molt of his Clergy, that, he had a Right given him by the fold Canon for his requiring and re- ceiving them. But then Thirdly I ijave Hill this farther to Rc- ( 254 ) fly, which is not only an Anfwer to Barm's Depofition, but to the two following ; via. That it ought to be accounted an undeniable Evidence, that his Lordjhip was far from defigning to opprefs his Clergy in demanding and taking from them excejjive Procurations ; in that notwithstanding it appeareth by his Book, of Procurations, that there is above 50 /. owing to him for thofe Fees ; yet he hath never Sued any perfon or perfons, nor hath ever Cited them into any Court for the payment of them. So that we may allure our felves, that he who could fo tamely di- geft, and even difpence with, the being defrauded of what was legally due to him, would never be an oppreflbr of any, by taking from them, what he had no Right to claim. It being as impoflible that the companionate and merciful, fhould be cruel and unjuft, as it is to reconcile contradidtons, and to unite things that are inconfiftent one with another. And tho' it hath been charg'd upon the Bijhop, that he had in thofe ways ratfd together vaji Sums of unjuft Gain ; yet upon the belt inquiry I have been able to make into his whole behaviour and conduct in thefe and the like affairs, I think I may truly affirm, that he is become fo rich, as he is faid to be, nontam multaca- piendo, quam haudmulta perdendo, not thro' his having been rapacious and oppreflive in the way of getting, but thro' his having been temperate and frugal in his way of fpending, as was alfo intimated before. Fourthly, I have this further to Anfwer to Barnet's Depofition in particular namely, that as the whole which he alledgeth he paid at the Triennial Vifita- tion, was only in. fo it is to be obferved, that admitting he had paid fo much, yet it was not (as he Sweareth ) for Pro- curation Fees fingly and alone, but it was likewife for the Fees of Exhibition. Which as the very Canon makes to be Due at all Vifitations, fo they are more especially and undeniably due, when Letters of Jvftitution and Induction to a new Living were to be Exhibited, and thereupon to be figned by the Regifter, as at the faid Vifitation, it was neceflary they fhould, in refpect of Barneys Vicarage of Hay, to which he had been Collated, Inftitu- ted and Inducted flnce the primary Vifitation. But Fifthly and Laftly, I have this moreover ftill to add in way of Anfwer to the foregoing Depofition, viz. that Bamet had remained fo much indebted to the Biflwp fince the Primary Vifitation, when he was to have paid full procurations for his Living of Clyrow, as made the Sum at the 'Triennial (even upon the fuppoiition, that ^ he ( 255 ) he was 6n no fcore whatfoever, to pay above half Procurations then) amount to the 1 1 /. which he fays, was demanded and received of him. Nor is it fo unufual for WcIJIj Parfons and Vicars to be in arrear to their Diocefan that any man of Senfe will be furpriz'd at Barneys having been fo far Indebted to the Biftop for former Fees, as mould make the Summ required from him at the Triennial Vifitation, arife to it/, tho only half Procurations had been then demanded of him. And we may be fure, the Bijhop of St. David's, would not have 50 /. frill owing to him for Procurations, if he had not been fo mer- ciful, as to give his Clergy credit, for their paying him when they could bed do it with their conveniency. So that having not only abundantly vindicated the Bijhop from the Calumny of opprejfing his Clergy in demanding and taking from them excejfive procurations, which the Anfwer of the View hath endeavour'd to fatten upon him from and by reafon of Borne? s Depofitionj but having alfo juftified his Lor JJh:p m a great meafure, from whatfoever can be thought to affed him, by the two other 'Depofitions which the faid Writer hath produced, I fhall now proceed to the examining them, feperately from and fuccef- ilvely to one another, as having fomething to fay particular- ly (tho it fhall be but very little ) by way of Anfwer to each of them. And to take them in the order which the faid Author hath thought fit to give them, I fhall begin with that of Mr. Jeremiah Griffith, who Depofeth that at the Bijhop'' s Triennial Summitry Vifitation in l6"pi, double Procurations being demanded of him, wl as being newly made Vicar and Prebend o/l.anfanfraid, he went p' and fpoke to the Bijhop about it, who told him that all who were admitted Jince his primary Vifitation ought to Pay, and did Pay double Procurations ', and that Griffith thereupon avowed upon ac- e I0' count with the Bijhop double Procurations, both for the Vicarage y,fVtU a^ and Prebend, viz. 15 s. for, the Vicarage, and 9 s. for the Pre- jrtjc, 24, bend ^ the Jingle Procurations for this being but 4.S.6 d. and of that but 7*. 50 we have lately delivered in reference to 1 37 Canon, upon which the Bijhop Grounded his demanding double Procurations, from fuch as had been admitted to new Benefices, fince his primary Vifitation. But then Thirdly, I have further to add, as a full and direcl Anfwer, to what Griffith hzth. Depofed, that tho' the Bifiop had a light of requiring at the Triennial Vifitation^ double procurations from him, both for the Vicarage and prf- bend of Lanfanfread, and might accordingly fpeak the words, and ufe the expi eilion, which Griffith depofed ; yet that in reality, he the laid Griffith neither paid double procurations, as he was become Vicar, nor as he was become Prebendary, feeing tho it mould be allowed, that he paid 9 s. for the Prebend, when they/^/r procurations were but 4. s.6 d. yet it is to be obferved, that there had been 4 s. 6 d. in arrear for the faid Prebend fince the primary Vifitation ; which as the Bijhop might lawfully de- mand of him vvhofucceeded to it, fo Griffith had no injufticc done him, in his being made to pay it. Nor would any one have complained of, or have grudged at that onus or burden, # which accompanied and attended fuch a beneficium. And then' whereas the faid .Griffith hath depofed, that he paid 1 5 s. as procuration Fees for the Vicarage, I. do " fay, that he therein fwore falfely, in that a part or the 1 5 s. was for Fees of a Refgnation, which he was owing to the Biflwp. So that in- ftead or" his Lordflnp's being proved guilty of Extortion by any thing in that Depofition, we have only further evidence given us, as well of the malice of the Writer of the View, as of the Witnefs. And whofoever inquireth narrowly into this, as well as into other branches of the Juridical procedures againft the Biflwp, will be ftill further convinced, that fome people thought it no part of their duty, to examine whether tie things, whereof he was accufed, were true} but whether they would ferve to afperfe and Blacken him. For as they knew, that calumniate audacler, et aliquid femper adherebit, defame boldly, and fomcthing will always flick, is a maxim which will constantly ob- tain*, fothey were not ignorant, that both maleditta feint ira- rumfela, Slander tngs are the Weapon's of Wrath and Revenge. And Salv'iti ed t"iat *n Enen'*es? Detrakcndi libido, termimim non habct, the GuJbernaf. pleefure, which thiy take in calumniating, faoweth no bounds; and Dei. Lib. therefore fuch who had vowed Revenge againfl the BlJI;opt 3° (as Griffith particularly had) were encouraged in faying all the ill of him they pleafed, without being in danger of meeting with rebukes for their lies and perjuries. But * ( 257 ) But to go on to the Third and laft hiftar.ce given by the Author of the View, &C. of the Bijhop' sOpprefting his Clergy, in de- Summsry manding and taking from them ExceJJive Procurations, which is ofvkvo, one Henry Rogers (ftiled by this Writer, one of the Bijhop's own p. *5, ij. Witnejfes) who Swore that a little before the Bi(lwp's Vifitation in ■ 1 69 g, he waited on his Lordjhip to defire to be excufed his Attendance there at. And that the Bijlwp then told the [aid Rogers, that he was to Pay 4 /. 5 d. for his Trennial Procuration, and that his Vifuation being thefirft, fnce Rogers had the Living of Lanbadaraevaur, he was to Pay double Procurations, and that thereupon the faid Rogers by the Bijlwp's order, Paid to his Servant 9 /. Now in my giving Anfwers hereunto, I muft in the Firfi place, ftill put the Reader in mind, of what has been faid in reference to the 147. Canon, by Virtue whereof, the Bijhop fuppofed he had a Right Veiled in him, of requiring double Procurations of thofe who had come into new Livings, fince his Primary Vi fetation. But then Secondly , I have fomething to acquaint the Reader with from this Rogers's Depo/ition, which as I do take it to be very worthy of Obfervation, fo it will ferve to detract from the Validity of all the Depofitions given againft the Bifiop 0f St. Da- vid's. And it is, how that Rogers hath not only therein Sworn to Lucy the Promoter's having endeavour'd at the Metropolitical Vi fetation at Cardigan, Anno 1694, to Suborn him to be alVit- nefs againft the Bijhop, by telling him that his Living of Lan- darnevaur ivas fmall, and that as he needed not efieem himfelf en' debted to the Bijhop for fo fmall a matter : So that the Arch- Biftwp would take notice of fuch as would inform againft his Lord- jhip ; but he hath likewife Sworn, that Lucy had in effed me- naced him to Depofe againft the Bijhop, by faying that feeing 5xfmi««t he the faid Lucy, could not receive fatisfatlion there, they who oft. l7f would not then declare the Truth, of what they Paid as Fees for their \6$%. ai Jr.ftruments of one kind and another, jhould have a Journey roLondon Antic. 11. af fine as God was in Glocefter. Wherein befides the Evidence given us of Lucy's being an Irreligious as well as Silly Fellow, thro' his ufing fo Prophane and Senfelefs a Proverb, we are aboundantly inftru&ed, whatWay's, Means and Methods were taken, both for the getting Perfons to Depofe againft the Bi- Jlwp, and for the gaining them to Swear to whatfoever, the Promoter had a mind they mould. For tho' the Word's he ufed in way of Carefs, were only that the Arch-Bijhop would take no- tice of fuch as would inform againft the Bijhop \ and tho' the L 1 Term ( 258 ) ' 'Terms in which he Thrcatned, were meerly, that they who would not Declare the truth at Carmarthen, foould have a Journey to London \ yet his meaning in both is fo obvious, that no Man of Senfecan mifs Difcovering, that his delignwas, the mutte- ring up of WitnefTes,by Fair means, and by Foul: And that they who would not be decoy'd and Suborn'd by Promifes to be fuch, were to be He&or'd and Frighted into the becoming fach by Menaces and Threats. But then sly. I have this fur- ther to fay in way of Anfwer to the Allegation of the Author of the View, from Rogers\ Depofition, and which I mail alio raife from the very Depofition it felf. Namely, That if more had been demanded and taken from him for hkProcurations,thanthere ihould, that there were offers made him of having it repay'd. . . For he therein pofltively Swears, That one Mr. Powel had or- Jnte'rrof.2. ^r'^ Mr. Price to tell him, that if any more had been received of him for Procurations, than what he ought to have Paid, that it fiould be refold him. Which as it fheweth how fincere the Bifiop was in the offer he made at the beginning of the Procefs, name- ly, That tho^ he had never demanded nor taken higher Fees of any hind than as he was Informed by his Regifer, he Legally might ; yet that in cafe he (Ijould by the faid Information have been mis- led, to' the claiming of greater Fees than he ought to have done, he would be ready to make full Rcftitution to every Perfon, of what- foever had been received of them, above what they were obliged by Law and Cufiom to have.t Paid. So his having actually done it to feveral, (whom I namM before) and his having by Rogers own Confeflion, caufed him to be told, that the like ihould be done to him, ought to have been accounted (and would have been fo at any Impartial TribunaljJ a full Vindi- cation of his Lordjhip, from having ha* any thought of Op' freffing his Clergy, by taking from them excejfive Procurations. So that from Rogers'*?, having never come to demand the Repay- ment, of what he pretended to have Paid for Procurations at the Triennial Vifitation, more than he mould, I am lead to the Fourth and laft Anfwer, which I intend to give to the afore- faid Allegation, produced by the Author of the new, from aiid upon Roger s*% Depofition, wt That the^. w7hich he Paid at the Triennial Vifitation, was the Procuration Fees, which he flood Indebted, and was m Arrear for from the time of' the Pri- mary, when by Law and Ufuage, fo much was to have been. demanded and taken of him. Nor neither did he in itfpi, (nor (nor hath he fince) Pay the Procurations which were due at, the Triennial. So that it proceeded neither from Rogers'% felf- denial, nor from hj| modefty, nor yet from any refpeel: and deference, which he ought to have had for the BiJhopr by rea- fon of the Favours which his Lordjhip had done him, that he forbore requiring the being reimburfed, what he Alledged his having Paid, above what was to have been taken of him i, but it arofe from his being Confcious,that inftead of having any thing returnable to /?/>/?, he was to have advanced more to the BiJJwp. And what I have now fuggefted, doth undeniably appear from the Bifiop's Book of Procurations; which tho'it be not RegifteSd^ yet it ought to be of more weight with all Men of fenfe and probity, than any thing Depofed by Rogers fhould be. So that having now Examin'd with all the Induftry and Accuracy I could, whatfoever hath been Alledged againft the Bijhopoi St. David% with refped to the Crimina minora^ leffer Offences^ whereof he was Accufed \ I hope that I may not only fay, that he ftands fully Vindicated from the foregoing Afper- *&** iions which were call upon him, and that in reference to all of them, it is made demonflratively appear, that the rea- fon of his being Cenfur'd, was not his being prov'd Guilty, but that he was Confpiratione inimicorum, & invidia falfi Cn'-xacit. minis opprejfus, and becaufe that vent at i & Innocentia ejusy nuf- Annd. quam locus erat, before fome People; and how that, thereupon Lib- 3* having fet the foremention'd particulars, in an other, and a much truer light than they were, I may now fafely go on and proceed, to an Inquiry into thofe major a Crimina^ greater Crimes, which have been Charged upon him. And as in the performing hereof, with that exa&nefs which I ought, I fliall have now and then oceafion of dipping more into fome parts of Learning, than I have hitherto had ; »fo it fliall be my particular care to manage the whole with all the referved- nefs, modefty, and temperance, which the cafe and matter will admit. Nor fhall I allow my felf to make any Re- flections, which may be thought to favour of feverity, pro- vided they can be avoided without Prejudice to what 1 am to Difcourfe about. However it will, I fuppofe, give fur- prize to few, to find the Metropolitan fbmetimes reprefented as Offending againft the Rules and Meafures of Wifdom and Juftice, if they do but obferve, how in, by, and from feve- ral Papers lately Printed, his Grace is fet forth, as having L 1 2 Afted ( *6o ) Acted not only very Arbitrarily, as well as Haughtily towards the Majority of the Lower Moufe of Convocation, (and who were they to be weighed, as well as numfcred, ought to bear the Stile, and to be allow'd the Authority of that Houfe) and being the Reverendijfimus, hath behaved himfelf with great' partiality, and as one entirely devoted to a Party and Faction, and that for the very fake of Faction -, and that as he hath not carried towards the greater Body of that Aflembly, with the Wifdom and Juftice which might have been expected, fo he hath" been too regardlefs of Truth and Veracity, in what he condefcended to fpeak in the Jerufalem Chamber, Feb. 19. 170J, and whereof he hath honourM the Nation with a Copy in Print, and that not in Latine, which fetting afide other reafons, we are beholding to him for, in that it is become the Language of the Bcafi. The next thing then that I am to encounter the Mithor of XkzVitvo about, is the Sin of Simony, which he fays, was not on- Simmary ^ charged, but proved againfl the Bijhop, to have been committed f. "27. h b'm %n rnany faflances' Which before I will inquire into, or proceed to an examination of, there are feveral things, very proper to be offer'd by way of preliminaries-, whereby we fhall both come the better to underftand the nature of that Crime, and likewife know, what provifions have been made in all Ages for preventing It, and how, and after what manner, Juch as were found guilty of it, have by the Laws ef Chriftian Nations, as well as by the Canons of the Churchy been order'd to be punHhed. And the Firft Thing to be ob- ferved is, that as the Sin of Simony, received its denomination from Simon Magus, fo that the nature thereof mud confift in fome thing or fact, which do bear analogy unto, and are of alliance with the Crime, whereof he being guilty, the Jpofile St. Peter, did not only pronounce that very fevere denounci* ation againft him, of his being in the Gall of bitternefs, and in Ails s.2^t he bond 0f foiqtfjy^ km intimated it to be a crime of fo hei- nous a Nature, that he leaves it doubtful, whether it was upon any terms pardonable. For no lefs is imported, as well as infinuated in that of St. Peter to the faid Simon, Repent V. 32. therefore of this thy IVickednefr^ and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. Which feemeth to me to be a threatning, which approacheth very nearly to the Commination of Sfc Paul, in reference to thofe, who did wil- fully ( *6i ) fully and totally apoftatize from, and renounce the ChriiHan Faith, after they had embraced, made profeflion of, and felt feveral of the effeds, and tafted diverfe of the Comforts and Refrefhments of it; Namely that it was impofjible to re-fe^6* new them again to Repentance. For tho' all Sins, be by the Covenant of Grace, made and pronounced pardonable, upon fincere and unfeigned Repentance; yet there may be, and there are Sins, upon which they who have committed them, ftand precluded from all the auxiliaries of Grace,wbkh are pre- vioufly needful to their Repenting of them. Which 'as the Apoflle St. John calls Sins unto death, ( in contradiftin&ion from thofe offences, which he it ileth Sins not unt o death) for the Re-*l^»5«- million whereof, he faith we are not to fray ; fo the Very Jewifh ,6, matters do generally agree, That the Gate of Repent once, was par^. {hut againfi fome fort of Tranfgreffons. And by reafon hereof Child, in it was, that moft of the Fathers of the Primitive 'Church, or- Cant. <><,* dained, that they who (after their having made profeflion of ^ ad the Chriftian Faith, and their having been Baptized) ^mould^'p}.);. be found to have perpetrated fome certain horrid Grimes, deAUigpr. mould not be reftored to the Communion of the Church, nor Maimm.- be publickly pray'd for. Not that they thereby defigned,the^^i- excluding them wholly and altogether, either from the Grace Unu of Repentance, or from the^ poflibility of being Forgiven ; but all which they thereby intended, was, that according to Revealed Rules, they had no aflurance of the one or t'other. And that whatsoever Grace God might difpence, or mercy he might fhew in way of prerogative to fuch Offenders ; yet by the promifes made in the Gofpel, ( which are the only mea- fores, which the Church is to attend unto in all her Difciplp- nary actings ) they had no ground of confident hope, either of the Repentance, or of the Forgivenefs of thofe who had per- petrated fuch and fuch Sins. But tho' I have given the Rea<- fon, why the Crime we are to inquire into, and difcourfe of, comes to be called Simony -, yet I would not be lb underftood, as if I thought it a Tranlgreffion of the fame Species or kind with that of Simon Magus. Seeing his Crime was, the offering to have bought the power, that he on rvhomfoever he laid AH $ 8. hands, jhould receive the Holy Ghofi ; Whereas that which is now l8> in- come to be (tiled Simony, is only the Buying, or the Selling, a Pre Cent ation, or a Collation to. an Ecclefiatial Benefice; which is SL ( 2(^2 ) a far different Crime, from that of Simon Magus\ And there- fore as what is now called Simony , is only improperly fo, and at mofc fas I faid before ) beeaufe of fome analogy it hath to his Grime i fo the Fad which cometh -neareit to the Sin of Simon Magus, is the felling of Holy Orders, or the ordaining perfons to be Priefis or Deacons, upon the motive and fcore of Money. But as the admitting men into holy Orders, is not only different, but feparable, from the prefenting, and the collating them to Benefices ; and accordingly peribns may be admitted into Orders^ with refped to their being fent to - preach the Gofpel, where there is not fo much as aChriftian •*i-' "■•Church, and much lefs any Ecclefiaftical Benefice, and in di- verfe cafes are fo •, fo there is a very great difference between the Nature of the Mimftry, and the Exercife of it in fuch a , , Place, with the having a Right given to fuch a Maintenance. Urn of ^ or by tne* being admitted into the Miniftry, the man becomes Ecclefutft. Confer ated to God, and to his Service in Holy Things-, where- polet. as by being authoriz'd to the Exercife of it, there is only to- Lib. <. get her with a Title given him to the performance of the §• "So. W0Yk of his Function, a Powervefted in him for demanding and receiving the Temporal profits, of fuch a Redory or Vica- rage &c. Yet beeaufe it is appointed by the Laws of our Church, that Oijicium is infeparable f .Benefcio, and that there fhall be no .faga Mini fieri a, or ftliniiters fine Titulo, allowed among us \ therefore the Giving, or the Taking Money, for a Prefentation, or a Collation &c (Tave what is appointed to be paid as Fees for Inftruments ) is with us called Simony, and made punifhableas fuch. In that, as I have faid before, tho' it be not the Buying or felling of a Spiritual Gift ; it is ne- 'fljerthelefs the Buying and Selling of that which is Spiritual* mnexum. And as -matt ordinary cafes, there is great reafon for prohibiting the Ordaining of any man to be a Minifter fine intuitu ad locum, without his being called to a place, where he is to Exercife his Miniflry, and fine jure conceffo ad ■Bencfcium, without his obtaining in the method's of Law a Right to the Temporal ties feparated and alloted there for his maintenance j fo , there is fomething deliver'd in the very new Tefiament, which feemeth to authorize, as well as to lead to this practice. For if we do but look into the Alls of Acls 16. the Apofiles, we fhall there find, that Paul and Barnabas ha- ving converted many in feveral places to the Chriftian Faith, they (263) they thereupon Ordained them Elders in every Church. And ac- cordingly it hath been the practice of the Chriftian Church in all Ages (fave in the cafe which I have mention'd J to allow none to be Ordained, except thofe who were called to the Ex- ercife of the Miniftry, in fome on« certain place, or another. So that it not only came to be Eftablifhed in Provincial Synods, Cm 6 but it was actually enjoyned by a Canon of the Council of Chal- cedony That noperfon whofoever fiwuld be Ordained, unlefs he had a previous Vocation to fome particular Cure, where he might perform the Offices of his ¥ miction. And therefore as it had been made a ftanding Rule in the Canon Law, that no Place Ihould be fe- parated, or fet apart for the Celebration of Chriftian Worfup, ex- cept there was an Endowment made for the maintenance of fuch, as ihould be appointed to Offciate in it -, fo it is alfo particu- ^^cl- larly appointed in the Canon Law, That whenfoeuer a Presbyter nm\ jfa is Ordained fine Tit ulo, t^eBtfUspusho admitteth him ir.no holy Or- t8. ders,Jhallbe bound to Maintain him untill he is otherwife provided. Grit. i. Nor hath the Church of England omitted the taking very fin- D.f; ?°' gular care in this matter, ia that fhe hath exprefly appointed, mt!crt exhibit to the Bijhop of whom he defireth Impojition of hands, a An. 1503. Prefentation of himfelf to fome Ecclefiaflical preferment then void,C&u 33. &c. By all which, as we find what wonderful care, the whole Chriftian Chnrch in general, and the Church of England in particular, have taken for preventing the Scandals^ which would unavoidably arile by and from Vagrant Mimfiers, who thro' having neither fixed places of abode, where their beha- viour and condud might be under Infpe&ion •, nor any ftated provifion made for their Subfiftance \ but thro' being left to an ubiquitary and wandring Life, and withal under a neceffi- ty of living precarioufly -, would not only have opportunities adminiftred to them, of practifing undecent and ill things, un- der hopes of concealment, as well as of impunity •, but who becaufe of their being necelfitated to live precarioufly, would be tempted to too fervile an obfervance of the humours, if not to fall intora compliance with the lufts, of fuch as mould re- lieve and maintain them j fo ,it proceedeth from this, that be- tp.ufe C a*4 ) caufe no man is to be Ordained, unlefs with rclpeft to fome certain place, where he is to refute and to Officiate, that there- fore the Buying and Setting of Prefentations, or of Collations &C. to Benefices, are declared to be Simony, and made punifhable as fuch. * Which leads me to the 5«W Preliminary, which I propofe - to /*y down. And that is to inquire, how, and in, and after what manner, they in Ecclefiafticai Tower, in all Nations where Chriftianity hath obtained, have appointed Simonifts to be Cenfured, and what Punilhments they have ordained and appointed againft Simony. And whofoever hath vouchfaved to look into this part of Learning, will find that the Chri- ftian Church from the beginning, even before fhe had Kings to be Nurfing Fathers, or Queens .Nurfing Mothers to her, did by and in the vertue of the intrinfick power veiled in her by our Lord Jefus Chriit, proceed with all the feverity (he could, againft fuch who were found guilty of Simony. For fhe rec- kon'd it to be no lefs her duty, than her glory, to fufTer none to come into the Sacred Miniftry by the way of merchandife and purchafe, which made Tertutlian fay, when he was fpeaking of Chriilian Aflemblies, prafident probati quique Senior es ,honorem ijfumnon pretio,fcd tefiimonio adept i, neque et/tm pretio ulla res Dei Jpmo og. corf^at^ i\]C Bijhofs who do there pre fide, and have Authority over till the faithful committed to their Charge, are perfons who have not acquired this honour by bribes, but by theTcfiimonies given of their good Lifes by thofe whom they are to condnil ', for in the Church of God, nothing is done by the allurement of Gifts. Accordingly in the Canons, which are called Apoftolical, (that are indubitally very ancient, tho' probably, as I have faid before, not made by the Affiles themfelves ) it is provided and ordained, that c whofoever cvme by the means of Money, to be made Bifiiop, Presby- 3c" ' ter, or Deacon, fhall not only be immediately Depofed, but they Jhall alfo be Excommunicated, and caft out of fellowjhip with the Church. Nor are the Canons either of General, or of Provincial Councils afterwards more indulgent and favourable towards thofe, who by fuch means come to be admitted into Holy Orders, or to be preferred to Ecclefiafiical Dignities and Benefices. See- ing they have not only appointed, that fuch perfons ihould be vid.Conrii. Depofed and Degraded, but they very often denounced an Brxcxrenf. Anathema tarn danti, quam accipierti, againft thofe^that either 2. cm. 3. gave, or received Money, Gifts, or Bribes upon fuch accounts. But ( ^ ) But for as much as this is a fubjedl, in reference whereun- to, we have rather a plenty, than a penury of Ecclefiaftical Conflitutions and Decrees, I (hall there- vUL ComiU G™' 4- fore wave the giving a deduction and detale of fil\i^2%%l^lt them at length, and (hall only make fuch a refe- AreUtmfi% Cm. u rence to fome few of them in the Margin, that Condi Met. 4. Can. the Reader may know whether to have recourfe «0».4>wrf. tyvexfariett. for his fuller fatisfadion. However it may not £"£• *' c^tf'J0!^ 8; be amifs to obferve how very fevere the C*»«* c^' 3I'6j0?7a ' * '' Z,*n? is in this particular. For it doth not only place Simony inter crimina major a, among the vc orfl Crimes, that any one can be guilty of} but it declareth every Simonift un- capableof Saying Map, or of performing any part of the Office Infth.Jur. of an Eeclefiafick; from the doing whereof, they who ar&CM0M- guilty of other very heinous fins are not by that Law debar- hl-t' *' red. Nor doth it meerly appoint, that whofoever either11' 5" Simon ically Ordains, or Collates, tkc. or who is Si monk ally Ordained ox Collated, fhall be Depofed ; but it exprefly alfo enjoyneth, that every Laical Perfon, who either having they™ GrtLm Patronage of a Living, fhall take a 2?Wfo for a Prefentation, or t/i. 2. who on the fcore of a Reward fhall intercede to get one Or- q. 1. daitfd, fhall be Excommunicated. Neither are the Reformed Churches (as it might be fhewed out of all their Confejftons) lefs vid. Con- fevere in this matter, than that of Rome is. And the ChurckJefs. HeU of England particularly, hath both taken all imaginable care^'^0*'8, to prevent £imony, and hath likewife, if perpetrated, made itj^',,, feverely Punifhable. And therefore as in order to the obvk- tingit, file hath Ordain'd, That before any Perfon fhall be Admit- conftiu ted, Jnftituted, Collated, &C. to any Ecclefiaftical Ennclion, Dig- Ecckfiaft. vity, Pi emotion, Place or Benefice, &C. he jhall in his own Per- An. 1605. JIk, and net by a Proclor, Swear that he hath made no Symoni~Cdn' 4°- Cf.l Payment, contrail or pewife, diretlly or indiretlly, &c. fir cr concerning the procuring and obtaining of the faid Ecclefia- fiical Dignity, Place, Preferment, Office or Living ; fo fhe hath* Ordain'd that all fuch mall be deprived, who fhall be prov'd Guilty, of that execrable Crime, and that they may not efcape being detected, it is made one of the Articles to be Inquir'd after at every Vilitation. I might hereunto add, how they in Civil Power in and over Chriftian Nations, have at all times fhewed themfelves extremely rigorous, in the Punifh- mentsthey have Ena&ed againft the Crime of Simony, and that particularly they have done fo here in England. And thcre- M m fore ( ^66 ) fore as it was one of the Injunctions, which (being grounded on . the Laws of the Land) Queen Elizabeth emitted in the Firfi AnTi<\o ?<^r°f her Reign, viz. That all fu ch Per [on s, as Buy any Bene- 'injuml. fees, or come to them by fraud or deceit, Jhall be Deprived of fuck 26. Benefices, and made unable at any time after to receive any other Spiritual Promotion ', and that fitch as do fell them, or by any Co- lour do befloxQ them for their own gain and profit, Jhall lofe their Right and Title of Patronage and Prefentment for that time, and, the Gift thereof for that vacation, fiiall appertain to the Queens Majefty • So there have been diverfe Laws Enadted fince that 2T. Blh. time againft the Crime of Simony, and particularly one in the cap. 6. 31 of £lit. in which feveral Penalties are ordained, for the punilhment of thofe, who mall be found guilty of it ; namely That he who takes Money for prefenting, fiiall forfeit double the va- lue of one years profit of the Living ; and that he who Ordains for Money, Jhall befides the being otherwife cenfurable, forfeit alfo the Summ of 40 /. and that as whofoever obtaineth a Prefenta- tlon to a Benefice by Money, in order to the getting himfelf Or- dain'd, fhall over and above his undergoing other Cenfures, Forfeit 10 I. But there is yet a 3^. Preliminary, which I have to lay down, and that fhall be as well in relation to the Various Per- fons, who may be, and are ufually Guilty of the Crime of Si- mony, as in Reference to the Several ways and different Man- ners, in and by which it is faid to be "Committed. And as the Perfons moft liable to the Sufpition of becoming Guilty of Simony, are either the Patrons or the Prefentees ; or elfe the Collators and Jnflitutors, or the Collated or lnftituted, or fome Relations or Friends interpofing, or acting Refpedtivly for them; fo there is Provilion made by Laws as well as by Canons, t how they fhall feverally and differently bePunifhed. Tho'it muft with all be Dolefully acknowledged, how that too often by means of fome Diotrophes in the Church,and oftner hy reafon of the Grandure, aud Power of thofe who are Lay Patrons, all thefe Frovifions, whether made, or ordained by Laws or by Canons, either for the preventing, or for the Punifhing of Simony^ Jhave alway's been, and ftill are, very much frnftrated defeated and rendered inefe&ual. But then forasmuch as Simo- ny-, is fuppofed to be Pra&ifed, as well as it is Practicable, by all, or by any of thofe whom I have Mention'd, in and after diflerent ways and manners, therefore they who have written on on this Subject, have been very carefall and craft, in diftin- guifliing, and in explaining thole Ways, feveralfy and diftincl:- ly to us. Namely, that the dims of Simony, may not only be Seg z D Committed, by the taking of, or by the contracting for Money, c,et. 'cM\ or fomcthing Gainful, and Equivalent given or Promifed ; i. Infiitm. but that it may be likewife Committed, on the Motive of a .?'""• c*~ Service, which either hath been done, or is Expe&ed to be vw' ..(Lib' done •, or either in recompence for a Peice of Flattery, or on Bochih' the Profpedl: of bringing one into an undue or implicate de^necret. pendance. For befides the Abominable method's purfued by Eccicf. fo many Lay Patrons, of putting off thofe Women, whom G Words forced to acknowledge, that all the Simonies, whereof p* 27* the Bijhop is fo much as accufed, do either relate to the Prefer' j^ ments to which he Collated his Nephew Mr. John Medley ; or to the Retlory 0/Burrough Green in Cambridge-fhire, which was held in Commendam by the Bijhop. So that tho' it were too much to have his Lordjhip proved guilty of Two Simonies-, yet by no Arithmatick which I am acquainted with, can two Inflances, be (tiled many. And mould I admit, that Two may be called a Number; and that whatfoeveris beyond an Unite isfo*, and that an Vnite is with refpeft to Number, what a Point is to a Line, yet it will no ways follow that Two may be ftiled Many. And therefore as our own Law, will not fufFer that to be ftiled a Riot, where there are not Three Per- fons at lealt, if not more, becaufe Two cannot come under the denomination of a Multitude or of many; fo even the Sycophant Camnifls of the Church of Rome who would have the Pope fi'igly and alone believed to be the Church, yet it is with (270) -with this abatement and diminution, that he is to be thought only virtually fo. But whereas before he comes to fpecify the Proofs in reference to the Fir ft, he thinks it may not be amifs to premife fome things by way of Intro duction to them ; I fhall fo far comply with him, as both to hear what they are, and to make thofe obfervations on them, and fuch Reflections on him, as I find matter adminiftred for. That which he then Premi- ,., feth is, That Mr. Medly was in the year 1687. when his Vncle p. 17 *x8. was made Bifljop of St. David V, poffefs^d of a fmall Curacy in Yorkfhire, of about 30 /. per annum ; but that before the end of the year 1688, he was Collated by the Bifliopto Two Rectories and two Prebends ; to which the Biftwp added in the year 1 69 1 . the Archdeaconry of St. DavidV, and the TreafurerjJu'p of the Collegi- ate Church of Brecknock. That it would be imagined that this Ac- Gumtdation of Preferments, fljculd make the Torkifh Curate appear gay and cheerful, and put Money in his Pocket, but that on the con- trary the proofs affix e us, that tho* he continued a Batchelor, and kept neither Man nor Horfe, and tho'' for near two years he was lodged and dieted at 10 /. per annum, yet he was always com- plaining for want of Money ; nay that William Harris Swears, he heard Mr. Medley wijh he had never come to be preferred, but had fiaid at his Curacy in Yorkfhire ', and that Wilfray Pyemont fwears, he was fo difturbed and melancholly, that he had refufed to go to Church, and that when the faid Pyemont preffed him to goy Medley anfwered he could not pray. Whereunto before I give thofe direct Anfwers, which I have in readinefs to offer, I fhall crave the Liberty likewife both to premife two things which fhall very much weaken, if not entirely discredit all the Depofuions brought againft the Bifiop, of his having Simonia- cally preferred Mr. Medley ; and alfo to make Two Reflections on the Author of the View, which fhall effectually fhew him to be neither a man of Senfe, nor of honelty ; but th.it his Intel- lectuals and morals are of the fame complexion and dimenfion, the latter being no lefs depraved and impure, than the former are fhallow and weak. And the Firft thing I have to premife is, that it doth fully appear by the Teftimonies upon Oath 9 of many WitnefTes of unqueftionable reputation, that the Biflwp did not only on all occafions declare his abhorrence of Simony ; but that he did both rebuke fome of his Relations for making a Propofal to him, which had a vergency that way ; . and that he alfo refufed a very advantagious Match for One of ( 27i ) of his Neices, becaufe there was fome thing Overtur'd in order thereunto, which might beconftru'd to have. carried a Simonia- cal Air in it. Whereof having intimated fomething before, I ihall therefore be the fhorter, in what I am now to add. Namely that as it hath been Depofed by diverfb, that as his Lordjlnp did freely and frankly befiow fome Preferments on them, without fropofng to have any reward or acknowledgment whatfoever ™Yn* either direlJly or indirectly ; and that they had on all occafons heard j^q^ p-njj* him declare his deteflation of Simony; fo it hath been Sworn by lips 36. Thomas Griffith Gent. That having upon a Treaty of Marriage Geo.Wat- between Mr. Henry Powel the faid Mr. Griffith'* Nephew, and^'ms> 27- Mrs. Elizabeth Medley ( new Mrs. Price ) the Bfiop's Niece, p^J;^ en* prcpofed to his Lordjhlp, th&t as an encouragement to the faid match, , - ( ypitn% he would Collate the for ementi on1 d Mr. Powel to the Retlory of Abe- The Bp's redow then vacant, how that his LordjJjip not only refufed it, bat Z 2' Wan. told him after an Angry manner, what ? will you make ms ouilty of Simoniacal Contrails ? And that thereupon the Match broke off. All which is not only confeffed upon Oath by Mr. Powel himfelfj rkr Bp's. who is Vicar of Langadock, but he addeth farther, that as 15. Wim. His the faid Mr. Powell Mother, thro* her being diffatisfied with his Lordjhifs refufal to Collate her Son to the foremention d Retlory (as an augmentation of Portion) broke of the Match, tho the Articles of Marriage, were drawn, and ready to be Executed ; fo that the Bijhop both expreffed his abhorrence of fuch a thing, and faid he had wherewith to Portion his Niece, and to give her a Fortune, without ufmgfuch indirect means. Yea it was in. proof, how that the now named Thomas Griffith of Clirow in the County of Rad- nor Geht. did Depofe, that upon his aforefaid Nephew's (Mr. Hen. Powel ) coming afterwards to Marry Mrs. Hannah Medley, another of his Lordjhip's Neices, he the faid Thomas Griffith ap- plied to and befought the Bijhop, that he would thereupon beftow fome Preferment on his Nephew, but that the Bijhop ^hi B£s- denied to do it, faying he Jhould not make him Guilty of Simoniacal ^ in' Contrails on that account. Moreover it is Sworn by diverfe, Mr. Hugh that they had feen Letters Written to Mrs. Hide the Btfiop's powel, tic Sifter, wherein feveral hundred pounds were offered her, in Bp's 42- cafe ( as hath been declared before) flie could prevail with thc^"Mp?^" Bijhop, to give the Church of St. David'* to one Lloyd, and the 4fwitn, ' TreafurerjhipofChrift's Colledge Brecknock to one Mr. Williams ; Mrs. Hide and as Mrs. Hide Swears, She having fhevcfd them to his Lordjhip, 23. Wim. he not only feverely rebuked her, for daring to meddle in fuch matters, but told her, That as he abominated fuoh practices, fo he would ne- ver (254 ) ver prefer' any, for whom applications JJwuld be made in that way. Further it was Depofed by Mr. William Williams of the County of Brecknock Gcat. that he had feen a Letter bearing date Otl. 1690 which had been fent to the aforefaid Mrs. Hide, and that therein a promife was made to her of a 100 Guinea's, on The Bps. condition me could get the B if wp to beflow the Prebend of Lan- 4§. whrt. gamarch in Chriit's-Colledge Brecknock, on a certain Perfov, And that the faid Mrs. Hide had told him, how upon fiewing the Letter to his Lordfhip, he was very Angry with her, and decla- red his ab'jorrency of fuch a thing. From all which I may very juftly inferr, how repugnant it is, not only to all the Rules and Meafurcs of Religion and Charity, but to all the Lines and degrees of Reafon and good Senfe, to believe, or fo much as think, that a perfon who abhorred the being guilty of $i- moniacal contra&s with Strangers, mould be capable of Com- mitting that Crime in Tranfatlions with a Nephew, and one whom lie fo entirely loved, as he did, and doth him. So that notwithftand the Credit, which hath been given by fome to calumnious Act ufations of that kind, yet I am not afham'd to declare my felf of the fame mind with the many perfons of condition and probity, who have Sworn John Lewis Efc\ ; the Bp's. that they believe his ^Lordfhip would not be 24. Wita. Walter Lloyd Efy ; «Muty 0j t}JS Sin of Simony, and do alfo &"& *&T V.? • S: "'ken that the faid Bfo fpoke with great Giiffith, 2i. Wim. Mr. ch. imcenty, when he faid fas was like wife m Pryfe, the Bp'i. 44. Wun.Mrs. proof) that neither his Relations, nor any 0- Eliz. Hide 2 3. Wim. thers, Jhould by involving him under the Guilt of that Crime, bring a Curfe updn him ; and withall added, that none who encouragd the Sin of Simony, would ever thrive. But to proceed to the 2d. thing, which I undertook to Pre- mife, and which being duly conlider'd, will ferve not only to Blafr. the Reputation, and to fatten an indelible Infamy on thofe who Depofed, but to leave an Imputation, either of Great weaknefs, or of fomething more blameable, on fuch who gave Faith to what was Sworn, in relation to Mr. John Medley' 's having been Simoniacally Preferred. And that is, that the laid Mr. Medley, is a Perfon of fuch Remarkable, and known Vertue, Probity and Piety, that he would have Chofen rather to have Starved, than have come iuto any Eccleiiaftical Benefice, by ways, means and Methods, which were Sinful and «* (273) and Criminal. »Nor is it only by Perftns, whom the Bijhop pro- duced for Witnejfes, that fuch a Character is given him, for ferious Religion, and ftric"t Godlinefs, as ought to have co~ ver'd him from the very Sufpicion, of being thought, and much more of being believed, capable of Commiting, fo Ig- nominous and Punifhable, as well as fo Abominable a Crime, as Simony both is, and (lands accounted ; but fo much alfo h depofed concerning his being a Sober, and Confcientious* Man by them, who were the Promoter's Witneffes, as will amount to a Demonftration, that he would not be Guilty of that Offence. For as Simony , is a Crime of that Nature, that it is not Pra&icable by one Man alone, and Single, without the In- tervention and Concurence of an other ; becaufe in every Si mony, there rauft be a mutual Contract and Stipulation, which doth at lealt prefupofc two, if not more to be Accelfory unto, and concerned in every Simcniacal Tranfa&ion \ So there beina; no Perfon fave Mr. Medley himfelf, with whom it was poflfible for the Bijhop of St. David's to make a Simoniacal Con- tract, it will undeniably follow, that if Mr. Medley was one of that fevere Vertue, as not to be Ingaged in a Tranfa&ion. of that kind, it was impoffible the Bijhop, mould have been Guilty of Simony, in his conferring Dignities and Benefices pon his Nephew Medley. For what is fome where faid in the Canon Law, De Simoniacis Simoniace a non Simoniacis Ordinatis, i. Decreu & de Simoniacis non Simoniace a Simoniacis Ordinatis, of Si- c'laP« *• monifts Simonicaliy Ordain' d by fuch as were not Simonijl s ;Jj ' u j?\ and of Simenifls not Simoniacally Ordained by fuch that were Si- cmo'h' monijls, it is, if not direct Nonfenfe, at leaft altogether unin- Lib. 4. telligible, unlefs either the Simony lay between the Patron -and Tit. 1. the Prefextee -, or that there were more Perfons capable of interpofmg, befides the Ordainer, and the Ordained. And in- deed in all cafes, wherein and when, Parents, Relations, or Iriendsare the Simoniacal Tranfactors, it is but juft, that the Guiltiefs mould be diftinguifhed from the Guilty, and that the Collated ox Ordained who are Innocent, mould both be al- lowed to vindicate themfelves from all concernment in thofe abominable tranfa&ions, and that their Reputations mould neither be blafted, nor anyways diminifhed, becaufe of the faults of others. But forafmuch, as nothing of that kind ei- ther could, or is pretended to have interveaned in the cafe of the Bejhop of St. Davidh promoting Mr. Medley ; I {hall therefore (hew from the Depositions of the Witneffes that there • N n have (274) have been thofe Teftimonies given upon Oath, concerning Mr. Medley's Vertue and Piety, as do render it impoflible he ihould have been acceflbry to that Crime. And as I will be- gin with what hath been Sworn by the Bijhsfs Witneffes • fo I fhall in the next place take notice, of what hath been owned upon Oath to the fame purpofe, by the Promoter's. And the firft Depofitionthat I will produce in proof of Mr. Medley's Joeing held for a very Religious man, fhall be that of Mr. James Footman Minifler cf Languillo in the County of Radnor, with whom Mr. Medley having lived for about Three Quar- ters of a*Year, immediately or foon after his coming into the Diocefs of St. David's, he mult needs in that time have fully obferved his manners and behaviour. And he Depofeth con- 7le Bp's. cerning him, That he verily believes the aforefaid Mr. John Med- 30. Wnn. jey t0 ye a ygyy Confcicntious man and a perfon of a flrickt and fiber Life and Converfation, and no ways addiiled to any vice, and one that would not be guilty of any notorious crime, especially that of Simony ', and that he is commonly accounted, reputed and taken to be a perfon of the Charatler predepojed in all the Parifies when he hath lived in Wales, and alfo in the Neighbourhoods, and That he is held to be very Charitable. Whereunto the next Depofnion I will add, fhall be that of Mr. Henry Powel Vicar of Langadoch in the County of Carmarthen, who having declared that he had not only known Mr. Medly for fix years, Iht Bp's. but that he had been throughly acquainted with him by means of 1 5. Wim. the faid Medley 'j having lived and dieted with him Powel for a* bout 1 8 Month's, doth Swear that he hiows Mr. Medley the Arch- Deacon of St. David'/ to be a veryjonfeientious man, a perfon of a firikt pious and fiber life and converfation, and that he is no ways addiiled to any Vice, nor would be guilty of any notorious crime, efpecially that of Simony. To thefe 1 might fubjoyn many more, of which diverfe do carry his Character, much higher, and wherein the Deponents do all of Mr.Pryfe, 44. Wiw. Willfray Pyemount them Swear tQ their Mief and 46. Whn Ji Ann ^and 6« R°b^ ^w- feyeral of h their Aflual s \*>Ai.Witn* ad Arttc. 4. ueorge Lewis 5 1 . Witn ? Thomas Phillips j6. JPzw. ad Artic.4. and Perfonal Knowledge, of Mr. Franc.Beal35.ww;. ad Artie 4. Tho. Grif- Medley's Sobriety, Godlmefs, fith 32. Whn. ai Artie 4. Eliz. Hide and Piety, and that he would lvmm. ad AnU. 1 and 4. ^""' *!'• not be Guilty of Simony, or of Prvfe 11. Wmi, ad Artie. 4. Hoell Grit- x T . „. . '* fi h %! Witn, ad Artie. 4. Will. WiilUms any Notorious Sin whatloever. Cent. 43. Whn. ad Artie. 5. Bat that this Difcourfe may not be • ( 275 ) te-^oo much extended, nor fwell to an exceflive bulk, I /hall inflead of calling them diftinttly and feverally over, content my felf, and I hopefatisfie the Reader by referring unto them in the Margin. And as tbefe Witnefles are fome of them of quality and condition, and all of them of reputation and pro- bity, above and beyond thofe who appeared on the otrTer fide and on that account fliould have been fooner credited, than they ought to have been} fothe number of thofe who Swore to the Vertue and Piety of Mr. Medley, and that he would not be guilty of coming into any Place or Preferment by Simony ) being far greater, than that of thofe, who either accu- fed or fufpected him of it, the Sentence, in every Court whatfoever, fhould have been given in favour of the Accufed, and not of the Accufrr. In thatbefides what I have before declared as well out of the Civil as Canon Law, both that Tefti- bus, non Teflimoniis credendum. We are more to conlider, who they are that Swear, than what is Sworn ; and alfo that when Dc- pftionsfor and again]} one are equal, the Sentence then ought to be' Abfolvatory and not Condemnatory ; there is a Rule laid do wn and prefcribed in a Book written and publifhed by Royal Au- thority here in England, and that in relation to, and for the Government of, Ecckfiaftical Caufes efjjecially, in and by which it is exprefly Ordained, That fi tefies atiqui faciantfro bona fa- ma feu innoccntia alicujus, ac rurfus alii fro-. mAo fama, feu noxa, voluntas quod p'faferantur hi qui pro innoccntia fecerint^ tf the Witneffes, who Vindicate the Innocency, and Jnflify the good Fame of a Perfon, beA equal for Number and Credit, to thofe who Vepofe to his being Criminal and Infamous, that in all fuch ca- fes, the Tefiimonies of the former, fljall be received before thofe of the Utter, and the Party Accufed and Defamed thereupon Acquitted. Whereof the Reafon there given, is confonant to the meafures of Natural Juftice, and to the Laws of Nations, and more particularly agreeable to the humanity and temper, as well as the good Senfe of the People of England, viz. Quia ad abfcU Reformat, vendum, potius quam ad condemnandum, promptiora funt jura no- Leg,. Ecck- ftray becaufe our Laws are more framed and deflgn d for the ab-^' Tit:' folving of Men, in all cafes, where the Crimes are not fully and evi- isTtfiib' dently proved, than for the Condemning of them. And as we have ' heard, what an excellent Character as to Virtue and Piety hath been given of Mr. Medley, by many of thofe Witneffes which were produced by the Bijhop -, fo I fhall not in the next place N n 2 think ( n& ). think it amifs, nor can it be unacceptable to the Reader, that V give Come fhort account of what diverfe of the very Promo- ters Witmjfes have been- forc'd- to acknowledge upon Oath, concerning Mr. Medley's being believ'd, and known to be a very Sober, Confcientious, and Good Man. Thedetale where- of is as# folio weth, bit. That William Jones Gent, hath Sworn, Th Pro- That he has known Mr. Medley ever fmce he was Collated to the mot. 4. Arih-Deeonry of St. David\r, and that tho? he was not very in- Witn. ad t;mate w;(y kim^ yet he hath been Informed, that he is a Man of a The Pro- ^sr Life and Gonverfation. And that John Barnet hath Depo- " met. 1. led, his having known known Mr. John Medley for about Seaven or Witn. ad Eight Tears, and that he- had been very well acquainted with him, .hitenog.i. £nd thafr he believed him to tea very honefl Man. As likewife tl?e Pro- that Thomas Williams did Swear, that he had known the faid mot. 9. Mr. Medley about Five or Six years, and that to the befi of his Wim. ad knowledge, he is a man of a Sober Life and Converfation, and is lmerrog.2. accounted for a very honejt man.- Moreover that Walter Watkins hath Depofed his having known the aforefaid Mr. M;My about The Pro- pjve years^ and that he had never- heard any thing to the con* wlrn l "lid trary-) }°m t>,}at ^ *s a mAn °f a fir^f of their natural Conftitution, are lefs Gay and cheerful, than others are *, yea and that while fome are NatijralJy inclined to pleafantry, others can hardly avoid the being at all times bordering upon melancholly. And if the difference with re- fpe# to the Intelletlual Sagacity of one Man from another, doth entirely proceed and arife from the diverfity of their Complexions and Conflitutions, and from the difcrepancy that is between them in their Humours and Spirits, and from that-dif- ference which is between them in their whole Bodily Machines -, and not from their.having Souls, of fo much as a Gradual, and much lefs of a f\ecifcal difference ; furely much more do the Tempers, Inclinations, Affellions and Pajfions of men, depend upon our external, and efpecially upon our internal Corporeal Frames. Seeing in thefe we are far more liable to the im- prejjions and Energies of what is Material about us, than we are in the Operations and Exercifes of our Minds. And had the Author of the View confulted fuch as have written as Na- tural, rather than as Moral Philofopbers, concerning the Taffions, he might have been not only Inflruded, how much we come to differ from one another, with refpedt to the variety, as well as the degrees of them, but how, and after what manner, and in what ways, our feveral Paflions are excited and modified, by the influences and imprefllons of our Animal Spirits, Corpo- real Humours, and of our whole mechanical frames. And they mult be very ill Philofophers who from one mans not being fo pleafant, and jocular, as his Neighbour, do take upon them to inferr and conclude, that the former doth live loaded with O o aa ( 282 ) an apprehenfion and fenfe of Guilt, which the latter doth not. Secondly I do not find, that this being Gay, is one of the qua- lifications required in thofe, who are admitted to Holy Orders ; but inftead of that, I do meet with fomething not very re- concilable to it, ordained to be inquired after in all fuch, as i fimotb. are called to be Minifters of the Gofpel ; Namely that they be 3. 2. ani Soyer an(j Grave. For tho' the being either four, morofe, or in. 1.8. affe(f^ec31y referved and auftere, be no commendable qualities in any mm whatfoever, and as little/if not lefs) in Ecclefia- fticks, as in others -, yet the being Gay or Light, as they are far from being laudable perfe&ions in any (unlefs it be in Buf- foons ) fo they do very much unbecome perfons in facred Orders. And by what I have either read, or obferved, a ftudied fpruce- nefs in Habit and Attire, and a Jollity in Converfation, have been always accounted great indecencies in fuch, as are fet a part and Confecrated to Minifter unto God in holy things. To whom it is more efpecially enjoyned, than it is to others, Plyil. 4. 8. that they do not only mind whatfoever things are lovely and of 1 Jim. 4. g00cl report ; but that they be Examples to their Flocks HQfrheir l2' Conversations. But feeing the Author of the View, will have *ia'5' Gaiety, under the prefent Metropolitan, to be an indifpenfable qualification in a Friefi or Beacon, I /hall lefs wonder, than I ufed to do, why fo many of our Ecclefiaflicks, ftudy to appear fuch Beaux and Drolls as they do. Nor fhall I be fo much amazed, as I have been, why fo many of our Nobility and Gentry m their choice of their Chaplains, do prefer thofe who are adapted to divert them, and to make them fport, before fuch whofe endeavour it would be to render them Chaft, Tem- perate, Jult and Religious. Thirdly, that Mr. Medley was noC fo Gay m his humour, as the Author of the View would have had him to have been, and as he knows Meyrick and others of the Promoter's Witneffes to be, may be afcribed to Mr. Medleyh temperate way of living, in comparifon of theirs. And par- ticularly to his not being fo frequent a Gueft at Taverns and Tiling Houfes,**nor fo liberal a Drinker of Wine and Strong Beer, as the other Gentlemen allow themfelves to be. For as fome of very extraordinary parts, both natural and acquired, dpi feldom arife either to ftrength or vivacity of Thought on any fubject whatfoever, without taking a liberal Dofe of the generous Liquor, which both made Meymburgh furnifh himfelf with a Veffel of Champaign againft his beginning of every new Book ; (4&) B09I ; and caufeth a certain very learned, and withall a very fober and vertuous Divine now in London, to drink more Wine on the Saturday when he ftudies his Sermons, than he doth all the Week befides^ fo it is very well known, that diverfe who art perfons of the moll, fpritely and facetious Wit§ in the World, do appear notwithstanding to have no Gaiety of humour, nor are they able to come up to Airinefs and brisknefs of Converfation, until they have firft viflted and borrowed fome affiftance from Bacchus. So that even that prodigy of Senfe and Wit Butler, who wrote that ad- mirable Poem, which is never to be equalled, and much lefs excelled, Huidibrafs, appeared but a very ordinary man, and far from one of Gaiety and facetioumefs, untill he had drunk fo plentifully of the generous Juice, as would have drowned the Senfes, and opprefs\I the Underftandings of other Men. Which makes it no wonder, that Mr. Medley, who ufed little of what was prehed from the Grape, mould be thought by the Writer of the View, to have been lefs Gay, than himfelf and others, ( who are not fo abftemious in that matter, as Mr. Med- ley is; would in his circumftances have been. But then to attribute the want of that Gaiety, to a dread Mr. Medley mould have been under, becaufe of his having been Guilty of Simony, when it might have been refolved into, and afcribed to his Temperance, argueth this Author to have ^exchanged the charity required in a Chrirtian, for the malice, which Devils as well as the worft of men are reprefented and chara&er'd from and by. Fourthly and laftly, there werefuch ** other Reafons and Caufes given in proof, for Mr. Medley's -having at that time been Melancholly, that no honcft and up- right man would have dared to pretend it to have proceeded from his having been Guilty of the Sin of Simony. For as Mr. Charles Fryfe Swore his being morally affured, that the Me- Uncholly into which Mr. Medley "fell for fome time, proceeded t£ jjj^ from a caufe very forreign to that of Simony -, fo Mrs. Elizabeth adArtic. 4. Hide depofed politively upon Oath, That his Melancholly was oc- Ike Bp'.s. cafioned by the death of a Gentlewoman, whom he had entirely loved 23« ^zt"- md intended to have Married, and that it was thro' grief and [or- ™ArUc^- row for her JDeceafe that he became fo, and not becaufe of any Simonical Tranfattions he had been drawn into. Nor will any be furprized that this mould have been the reafon of it, if they will but allow themfelves to obferve how many they O 0 2 have C 284) have heard of, and poffibly may have known, who have not only grown Melanchotty upon the death of thofe, whom they have Angularly and afTedionately loved, but have become di- ftra&ed. Whereof they who at any time vifit Bedlain, wilt find too many deplorable inftances. And as it is matter of great thankfulnefs to God, that he wasfbfoon reftored*to a pcrfedt ferenity and tranquillity of Mind -, fo his fpeedy reco- very to his wonted compofed and fedate frame, is an in- fallible argument that his Indifpofition, Grief and Difcom- pofure, had proceeded from another caufe, than an apprehen- fion of his being obnoxious to the Wrath of God, for the having been guilty of fo heinous and infamous a fin as that of Simony. For as a Spirit wounded thro' fenfe of Guilt, is Frov. 18. the mod infupportable load, that any perfon can come under y »+ fo Terrours railed in the mind and Confcience, upon Con- r g vi&ion of fin and Judgment, are Darts and Arrows which £ £ ' ftick fatter, than to be foon pulled out. And as thofe wounds pierce deepen: in Confidences that*are tender } fo they are feldom known to be healed, without Confeflion of the Crimes that occafion'd them, as well as folemn Penitence for them, And as none acquainted with the Confcientioufnefs, and fcrupulous tendernefs of Mr. Medley^ will believe, that in or- der to his obtaining peace with God, and in himfelf, he would have been defective in any of the Parts of Evange- lical Repentance, had his Grief and difturbance of Mind arifen from his being Guilty of the Sin of Simony • fo his "* never having either acknowledged the commiflion of that offence, nor declared his Repentance for it, may fatisfy his very Enemies, that his MelanchoUy and difcompofure did proceed ( as Mr. Try ft exprefled it ) from a Caufe very Foreign to that, and that they were occafion'd by what I have mention'd. And whereas it is faid by the Author of the Vim s mmttrv uPon C^e Teftimony, and from the Depofition of Wilfray Pye- Visw mom, That Mr. Medley voasfo diftnrPd and melancholy, that he re j>. 2&. fnfed to go to Church, and that when Pyemont freffed\him to go, Air. Medley anfver'd he could not Pray -, I have two things to Reply thereunto, whereof the Firfi fhall be, the Expoling and Re- primanding the Infidelity and Treachery of this Writer, for misapplying and perverting that part of PytmontS Depo- fition, to a fenfe, defign and end, dire&Iy oppofite unto, as well as different from thofe, which that Deforest intended it ', for. (285 ) for* Seeing tho' Tytmm Depofed in the words related by the Author of the View ; yet he was fo far from faying, that Mr. Medley 's refufing to go to Church, proceeded faom his being Melancholy ', by reafon of his having been guilty of the Sin of Simeuy, that he not only in that very Paragraph Swears, to his neither , knowing, nor the having ever heard what was the occafion of A/r.Med- J j£- s* ley's beingMelancholy, but he pofitivelyDepofeth in an other part \ijn%™' of hisDepofition, that which is directly contrary to his having rogat. 3. been Melancholy, becaufe of his haying committed the Sin of Simony ; namely, that he believeth the faid Mr. Medley, to be a ibid, ad very pious, fiber and confcientious Perfon, andfuch a one, as would w4r»ir> 4" •not be guilty of the Crime of Simony, or of any other notorious Crime. Now as no Reader of common fenfe, can avoid from what I have here delivered, the making his own Reflections on the infincerity of the Author of the View, I (hall therefore forbear the making any, and the rather leaft I mould be car- ried to treat him with the fe verity, which would not become me to exprefs, how juftly and much foever be deferveth it. But then I have Secondly this flill farther to reply to- what is produced by this Writer of Mr. ^Medlefs having been fo dh jlurbed and melancholy, that he had refufed to go to Church, and had faid he could not Pray, Namely, that as nothing doth more than grief and forrow diforder the mind, and put it out of frame for a right performance of any part of Religious Wor- ihip, and efpecially of fervent Prayer, which requireth both union of thoughts, and intenfenefs of defires ; fo it is cufto* * mary for perfons of tender and fcrupulous Conferences,5 as Mr. Medley is known to be,, to forbear Religious Duties, when they find themfelves indifpos'd for the performing them as they would and ought. Which tho' it be their infirmity, yet it fheweth them to be far more Confcientious than fuch are, who provided they can be but prefent at the publick exercife of Worfhip, are wholy carelefs as to their own joyning and bearing a part in it, in the manner and with the fpiritua- lity and fervor they mould. And therefore from Mr. Medley's refufing to go to Church, and from his faying he could not Pray -y I (half draw an Inference, dire&ly oppolite to that which the Writer of the View hath uncharitably and maliciouily dedu- ced for it : Namely, that I do take it to be morally impomV ble, that that man ihould wilfully commit fuch_ a heinous Sin, as that of Simony is, who was afraid to engage in the per- formance- ( 286 ) formance of a holy duty, when he thought himfelf fo much difcompos'd and difturb'd, that he mould fail and offend in the manner of his performing it. And whereas tht Author of the View, hath further Reported in his foremention'd Tremifey Vbi fupra. t}lat WMiam Harris had often heard Mr. Medley wijh that he had never come to be Preferred, but had ftay'd at his Curacy in York- mire \ I do thereunto make this Reply y viz. That as it was fpo- ken by him, during the time of his being difcompos'd and di- fturb'd in his mind, thro"* grief and melancholy, when as none ** 0 who are cither WifeorHoneft, will lay much ftrefs upon what is faid by a man in that condition, and much lefs conftrue it to the prejudicing him in his Fame aud Reputation -y (b a reafon may be very eafily affigned for Mr. Medley's having ufed that expreflion, viz,. That by his having continu'd in Torkjhire, he Jhould have efcap'd the becoming Enamoured with that GV«- tlewoman, whofe Death had occafion'd his disturbance and me- lancholy. To which may be further added, that as in the circumftances and condition he then was, the thoughts with which he moft frequently entertained himfelf, were fuch as reflected upon the comforts he had poflMed, by his en- joyment of and converfation with his Mother, Relations and Friends, while he had liv'd in York/Jure among thera^ fo it is not to be wondred that in the ftate of forrow and difcompo- fure of mind which he was fallen into, he mould wifh himfelf again with thofe, in whofe Company, and from whofe kind- nefs, he had a tranquility and pleafure adminiftred uuto him, whereof he was unhappily then depriv'd. And forasmuch as this Author, in order to the faftning Simony upon him and the Bijhop, hath taken upon him to tell us further in the aforefaid Ibid. Premifes, that Mr. Medley notwithstanding the accummlation of Vbi fupra. Preferments upon him, was always complaining of want of Monoy ', I have this brief, bat full and fatisfadrory Anfwer to give unto it. Namely, that as thofe complaints of Mr. Medley for want of Money, was foon after his having been Collated to his Bene- fices, fo there were diverfe reafons, why it fhould not have been thought he could fo fpeedily as then, have attain'd to any great Plenty. Nor would any who confider the Expences which are unavoidably incident to Jong Journies and Removes, and alfo the Charges that do riece Rarity attend Mens coming firll into Preferments, by reafen of Fees, Tenths, Flrft Fruits, &c. have ( 2§7 ) have been furprized at his faying he wanted Money, and much lefs would Perfons of^the lead probity, have refolved his com- plaints of that kind, Tnto his having been guilty of Slmoniacal Contracts, and the having fuffer'd his Vncle the Bijhop, Simoni- acally to enter upon, and to gather the Rents of his Benefices. Befides Mr. Medley had been previoufly fo far in Debt, and which he (being an honeft Man) was willing to deliver himfelf from, and as foon as he could, that it was no marvail he fhould for fbme time labour under a fcarcityof Money : Nor ought it to have given furprife to any, that he fhould have complained of the want of it. And as I am to give an account very fpeedily how he came to be fb much in Debt as he was, fo all that I will here further add, by way of Anfwer unto, and Refiedion upon this part, as well as the whole foregoing Pre- mife of the Author of the View, is that he hath mevved Jihnfelf to be both a Difingenious and Calumnious Writer, thro' endea- vouring inthewayof Confequence, Deduction, and Inference, to fatten fo horrid and penal a Crime, as that of Simony upon a perfon, inftead of having confinM himfelf to the doing it, by and from pofitive and direct Proof of Fads, as he ought to have done. For the Writer of the View, efpecially he being a 'Civilian and an Advocate, mould have known, that as there are received and Handings/win Law, That in Pcenalibus cau- Jts benignius Inttrpretandum, in Venal Caitfes we are always to put the tnofi favourable Interpretation upon things that we can -, and th£t in dubiis benignibra funt . praferenda, in matters which are uncer- tain and doubtful, we are to take them by the coolefl handle, and to tut the mildeft expofition upon them, which they are capable of admitting m0 and that cum funt partiumjwa obfcura, Reo favendum eft potius, qptam Aciori, In all Profecutions, where the Evidence is not full arid clear, we are to favour the Accufed, and not the Accufer^ fo it is not only the general oppinion of the Dotlors of the Civil Law, that Probations in Criminal Cafes mould be infallible and certain, and that none fhall be held Convitted upon naked Preemptions, and much lefs upon far fetched and w relied Inferences ; but they do alfo declare, That when either Judex, the Judge ; or the procurator fifci, the Pro- moter, fhall be found to be affettato confequentes crimen, ujing crafty and artful ways, (as thofe both of Rhetorical Declaiming, and of pretended Logical deductions are) to fajlen a crime up- on a perfon, that in fuch a cafe the very Judge as well as the Pro- C 288 ) Promoter, funt extraordinaric puniendi, are to be extraordinarily and feverely punijhed. Now having called this Author to an account, for what, previoufiy to his entring upon the Proofs of the Sin of Simony againfl the Bijhop, he was pleafed to premife, I fhall proceed to an examination of whatfoever hath been alledged and produ- ' ced by him, for rend ring his Lordjhip guilty of that crime, by Summary reafon of the Simoniacal frailty, which had accompanied Mr. View, Medley's Collations to the fever al Preferments, to which the Bijhop p. »8, ap. Collated him. And as I do find my felf abundantly provided, for Vindicating the Bijhop of St. David's, from all and every iniquous and Simonical thing relating to thofe Collations, where- of he was accufed, and for which he was not only defamed by the Promoter and his Complices and fellow Confpirators ', but hath been Judicially Cenfnred by they great Metropolitans ; fo I do forefee that in the performing of it, I fhall have too much occafion adminiftred to me, of being more than ordinarilly fe- vere, both upon this Writer, and upon diverfe others. And with what the Author of the View begins, I fhall alfo begin, Name- ly, That Mr. Thomas Powel depofes, that in the Month of May Vbi fupra, 16*88, the. Bijhop Collated Mr. Medley to the Prebend of Clyddy, p. 29. and that he continued Prebendary thereof three Tears, during which time, he the faid Powel, by the Bijhop's Order and directions given as well in Writing as by word of Mouth, received the Rent thereof, being 1 5 1. per annum, and paid it to the Bijhop. And that the .Bifiop de fired the faid Deponent to enquire into the real value of the Corps of the Prebend, and how many years of the Leafe thereof were expired ; and that Mr. Meyrick Tenant to the fame renewed his Leafe, and brought 1 5 1. part of the Fine fet thereon to the Pijhop's at Abergwilly, which he would have paid to Medley but the Bijhop forbad it, and ordered it to be paid to him the faid Thomas Powel, and that he accordingly received the fame, and did afterwards paid it to the Bijhop. In my giving Anfwers hereunto, I have diverfe things to lay, whereof the F/V/? fhall be, tobefeech the Reader, that he would be fb juft to bim- felf, as to remember the account and Chara&er which I have already given of this Powel, in that he will thereby be both preferved from entertaining an ill opinion of the Bijhop, by reafon of any thing that the laid Powel either faid or Swore againft him •, and will alfo be the better prepared, for recei- ving what I have to offer in.juiiification of nis Lordjhip from * what ( **9 ) what that fellow depofed for the blackning of him. And whofoever doth but allow himfclf to obferve, how this Powel dire&ly forfwore and Perjured himfelf, in that very part of his Depofition, which the Author of the View, as I have juft now tranferibed it from him, hath been pleafed to give us, will be not only confirmed in his belief of the foremen tion'dC^- ratler of Powel that hath been given \ and withall convinced that he was too infamous to have been admitted for a Witnefs againft the Sijhop \ but it will alfo give us a new difcovery of the infincerky and infidelity, as well as of the weaknefs and impertinency of the Author, in offering to afperfe and defame the Bijhop, upon a Depofition which he could not $ fcape the difcerning to be fraught with Contradiction and Perjury. For whereas Powel Depofed upon Oath, that Mr. Medley continued Prebendary of Clyddy three years, and that during that time, he the faid Powel by the Bilhop's Order received the Rents thereof, the Firft Part of this is altogether Falfe, and con- sequently it is impoflible that the latter mould be True. And whofoever will but vouchfave to look into Powers Depofition, or into the Account given from it by the Author of the View, will at once difcover how Powel both eontradicled and forfwore himfelf, and alfo fee with what impudence as well as weakneis, this Writer hath endeavour'd to obtrude undeniable contradic- tions and Perjuries upon the World, for authentick Teftimo- nies, and Legal Evidences. For it being directly and pofitive- ly Depofed by Powel, That the Bifliop Collated Mr, Medley to the The Pro- Prebendvf Clyddy in the Collegiate Church of St. DavidV inthemo}- 29- Month of May 1688. and that the faid Bijhop Collated the aforefaid^"^ "g Mr. Medley to the Archdeaconry of St. David'* about MichaelmaJs an^ 7. ' 1690. by reafon whereof the foremention'd Prebend became id. ibid, immediately actually voided •, and it being likewife acknow- <** Art'u- ledgedby this Writer, that it was in May 1688. When the Si-*'2'!**' pop Collated his Nephew to Clyddy ', and that it was about Micha- y™™*' rj/ elmas 1 690, when he collated him to the Arch~Deacwry of St. Da- p. 1$. vid'j, it demonftratively followeth from what the former Depo- Jbid.^u fed and from what the latter hath confejfed, that it was abfo- lutely impoffible either that Medley ihould. have continued Prebendary of Clyddy for three years, or that Powel Ihould for the fpace and during the time of three years have received the Rents thereof and have paid them to the Bijhop. All which as that Fdlow fworc, and thro' doing it hath Perjur*d as well as P p contra* ( *90 ) contradicted himfelf •, fo the Author of the View, thro' his having taken upon him to declare and Report it for what was True, as well as Confident, hath betray'd not only great inadvertence, but as Great impudence. For as I hope there is no need of my telling men, that no fewer than 36. even filar Months, are required to make up Three Tears ; fo I take it for granted, that none, who have not either thro' the violence of their malice, or becaufe of fome diftemper affecting their heads, loft their fenfes, but do fufficiently Underftand, that there neither are nor can be more, than 2%th Month's between May 1688 and Michaelmas 1690. which inftead of amounting to Three years, do only make Two years and a little absve a quarter. But admitting that Mr. Medley was not Collated to the Arch- deacomy of St. David's untill the latter end of Otlober, or fome- time in November 1 690, as I have reafon to think he was not, becaufe of MeyricVs not renewing his Leafe untill Ottober, and that when he did it, Mr. Medley^ was prebenda- ry, which he could not have been, had he received his Collation to the Archdeaconry the Michaelmas before, nor was it indeed poflible he mould, in that Dr. Owen the former Arch- deacon was not then Dead ; yet even on that fuppofition and allowance, the longeft time Mr. Medley continued Prebendary of Clyddy, was only two years and a half, which doth no lefs evidence both the contradiction and Perjury which were in Powells Depofition, and alfo the inconfiftency with Truth in the Report and ftory given us by the Writer of the View, than if Mr. Medley had been Collated to the Archdeaconry at Michaelmas. Nay thro" allowing this to be a true account of that matter of Fad ; yet inftead of thereby either relieving Powel from his having Contraditled and for [worn himfelf} or of vindica- ting the Author of the View from having Repotted things with lefs fincerity and exal~lnefs,than any man of ordinary prudenceand probity would have done, we have a frefli proof aflborded us, how inadvertently and how much at random, the one Wrote, and the other Snore. But then Secondly 1 have this further to Anjwer and particularly to that part of Powers Depolition, •/ his having been Ordered by the Bijhop to receive the Rents of the frebend o/Glyddy, and of bis having Paid them to his Lordjhip ', namely, that as this doth not in the leafl amount to a proof That they were received for the Bijhop* s ufe-, but doth only (hew and cxprefs the care, which the Vncle had, that his Nephew ( 29l ) Nephew might neither be defrauded by cunning meiyior coien'd with falfe Money. To both which, a perfon who fo little either knew the World, or underftood Coin, as Mr. Medley did, may very well be conceived to have been liable. And that the Rent of Clyddy by whomfoever it was received, or to whomfoever it was by the faid Receiver paid, was neverthe- lefs applied to Mr. Medley's, ufe, appeareth not only by di- ver fe Depofitions upon Oath before the Metropolitan, but be- fore a Civil Judge at the Ajfizjes at Carmarthen. Moreover I have this Thirdly to Anfwer, and particularly to that of the^'Sr§ ) teflified upon Oath. Forafmuch as there is nothing in his whole Depofition, that amounteth to a proof of Simony, there being only fome fads and occurrences in his Lordjhip's behavi- our affigned, from which his Enemies might have the malice to raife a fufpit ion of it. But if Perfons come once to be condemned for things, which do at the moft only adminifter ground of jealoufy to fuch as hate them, that they may have offended ; we may then bid adieu to Juftice in the World, and to take it for granted, that all the fecurity which men can have for their Reputations, Eftates and Lifes, will be meerly precarious: and that they who are moil Innocent, mutt in whatfoever is valuable, (land expofed, 3nd be made obnoxious to the lofs and forfeiture thereof, upon the opini- on of thofe who bear enmity to them. Whereunto I have this Fourthly to add, that the Bijhop's known circumfpe&ion in the conduct and osconomy of his affairs, fo as not ealily to fuffer himfelf to be defrauded or cheated, may abundant- ly convince us, that his Lordjhip would never have agreed to fb foolilh a Bargain, as Mr. Medley had made with Meyrick. about the Fine for the Leafe of the Corp of the Prebend of Clyddy, had the dammage been to have centred and termina- ted in himfelf, efpecially feeing it had been provided by an Endorfement on the back of the Agreement, that the Contratt JJwuld not be good, unlefs the Bifhop Jhotrid approve thereof. And a weak, if not a foolifh Bargain, I may furely call it,- becaufe in the judgment of diverfe perfons, the Fine, inftead of having been concerted at z%L mould have arifen to near 50/. and there were feveral who would have given confiderably more, than what Meyrick, as in Trufi for Dr. Jones, had agreed to pay. Nor ought I here to omit the giving an account, what the Bi° flop faid upon his confenting to Mr. Medleys accepting the 25 /. that he had Contracted with Meyrick for, namely that tho' Mr. Medley had made a Bargain contrary to his advice, yet he would not endeavour to break his foolijh Bargains. This I do acknowledge Meyrick hath forbore taking 'notice of in his Depofition, (and thro' negle&ing to do it, hath fhew'd his being too Faithlefs as well as Partial, to be efteem'd a Compe- tent Witnefs) bu> inftead thereof hath only told us, that the reafon why the vifiiop gave his Confent to the taking 25 /. was becaufe he the faid Meyrick wonldnot advance more* Neverthe- lefs, (296) lefs, as I do pofitively affirm the Biftofs having fpoken the words I have now reported, and his having given what they imply for the reafon of his agreeing to Mr. Medley's taking the 25 /. So from his Lordjhip's having fpoken thus to Meyrkk, and on the defign, and to the purpofe I have mention'd, I may not only very reafonably conclude, that the whole concernment of the Bijhop in that affair, was the preventing a Xoung Man who was his Nephew, from being Bubled and Cheated, by fuch an old Sharper as Meyrkk, acting ia Truft for Dr. Jones, was too well known to be -, but I may alfo very confidently inftrud the Reader, upon what motive Meyrkk omitted inferting thofe words of the Bijhop into his Depofition. . Namely, becaufe in cafe he had done it, the whole which he Swore, would have had an other View and Afpeft, than he intended it mould -7 and inftead of leading Men into a belief, that the Right to the Rent of the Prebend oi Giddy, and to the Fine arifing by the Leaje of the Corps thereof, was in the Bifiop, it would have given them to underftand, that the Bijhop own'd the whole Right and Sole 77- tie to that Prebend, and the full Power and Authority of Depo- flng about and concerning it, to have been Legally in Mr. Med- ley alone*, and that whatfbever his Lordjlnp took upon him to do in relation thereunto, was by way of Councelling and Ad - vicing a Relation, who had but little knowledge of, and lefs experience in the affairs of the World. But then Fifthly, I have this further ftill to fay in way of Anfwer to what is Alledged by the Writer of the View, for faftning Simony on the Bijhop by and from MeyricJCs Depofition, namely, that his Lord" Jliip^s permitting Meyrick, to dedutl the l o /. (which he hud Lent to Mr. Medley) out of the 25 /. which he was to Pay for the Fine fet on the Leafe granted on the Corps of Clyddy, may fully fatisfie all that are not ftrangely prepoflefled and prejudiced, that as the Right and Title thereunto belonged entirely to Mr. Medley , fo it may alfb abundantly convince them, that the Bijhop did not further interpofe in that matter, than what was ■ Needful as well as Lawful for a Wife man to do, in order to the hindring fo near a Relation as Mr. Medley is, and one whom fo affectionately Loveth, as he doth him, from being impos'd upon and cozened. Moreover I have that 6ly, to add, which will at once both inform us,why the Bijhop ftood concerned to advice Mr. Medley, to get as high a Fine as he could for the Renewal of the Leafe of the Corps of the Prtbend of €lyddy7 and wifl alfo r*- ( *97 ) alfo give us an indifpu table ground of afTurance, thac the pro priety of the Rents of that Prebend was folely and entirely in Mr. Medley. And it is this, that Mr. Medley having in the Month of May 1688, been Collated by the Bifliop to the Prebend of Clyddy, did not only on the 24th of January following Borrow of one Mr. Rowlands the Sum of 77 /. giving him a penal Bond of 160 /. for the payment thereof ; but he did likewife make over and convey to the faid Mr. Rowlands, wzSeetkeDc* further and real Security for the faid 77 /. a Right and Titled*' rf in way of Mtngage to the Prebend of Clyddy and to whatfoever UVJ"01 mould arife to him the faid Mr. Medley by and from the Corp 2$. j^^\ thereof. Wherefore as he would not, nor could have done *i Artie. the latter, had the Bifoop, by means of, and thro' any Simoni- 8- ani of cpl Contract, had any Right, claim, or Title thereunto ; fo Mr. £• Duu&- Medley's being fo much in Debt to Mr. Rowland's as he was, ^?w*7 ' and upon the Security I have named, might very well both Juftify the Bifbop in adviflng Mr. Medley in the year 16 qo to infift on the getting^ as high' a Fine, as he could, for the Re- newal of the Leafe of the Corps of the faid Prebend \ and may alfo let us into the Reafon, why the Bifbop called Mr, Med- ley'j agreeing to take 25 /. <* foolijh Bargain, when he might have had more, and likewife very much needed it. Seventhly, Whereas it is not only alledged againlt the Bifbop, That when Meyrick was about to pay the remaining 1 5 /. 1 0 Mr. Medley, his Lordfln'p forbad it, and ordered Mr. Powel to receive it ; but it is alfo brought as a Proof of a Simoniacal Contract between the Vncle and Nephew in relation to the Prebend of Clyddy ; there needs no other Anfwer to be given thereunto, nor is it neceflary to fay any more in vindication of his Lordfliip, and of Mr. Medley, from the calumnious afperlion and defamation, raifed and inferred from thence againft them ; than what both Meyrick confeUed upon Oath, and the Writer of the ^>n> hath reported out of his Deposition, as the Reafon given by the Bifijip, for his forbidding the one, and ordering the tother, viz. That Air. Medley could not count Money. Nor ought the Vnde\ declaring his Nephew, as well unskilful to reckon Mo- ney, as unqualified to diftinguijb bad from good, give furprize to any, who will but allow themfelves to obferve, how many there are of all Ranks and Conditions, whom the fame im- perfections do 'accompany. And were it a reproach to a Cler- gyman, that he is neither ready and exaft in Telling Money, Q.q nor C 2*8 ) nor skilful and accurate in difcerniHg between what is pure, and what is embafed ; there are many other Ecclefiafticks, liable to Have that ignominy charged upon them, as well as Mr. Medley. And mould no one be accounted to have a Claim and Right to Rents and Payments, fave fuch ftho adult) as can avoid being impofed upon, in their receiving them ; there are many both of very good fenfe, and of large Fortunes, whofe Titles to Eftates, and unto Debts ovying to them, would be very much weakned, if not wholly overthrown. And whether the Metropolitans admitting fuch allegations as thefe, to come into proof againfl; the Bifhop of St. David's for convi&ing him of Simony, do molt refled upon his Underftandiug, or his Confcience, I will not take upon me to determine ; tho' I cannot forbear faying, that it hath given the World a flrange Idea of his Grace, as to the one, if not both of them. Finally, and in the Eighth place, I am yet further to add, that there had been thofe Legal and withalJ Innocent Tranfa&ions be- tween the Bijhop of St. David's and Mr. Medley, that his Lordjhifs having had the Receiving the Rents and Profits of fome of Mr. Medley's Benefices, made over and convey'd to hiTi for fuch a certain time, that all things fhould have been loqnidated between them, ought not to have -undergone the lead mifconftrudtion, nor fhould it to have rendred the Bifiwp ob- noxious to a fufpition of being guilty of Simony. And be- caufe a due unfolding of this, will wonderfully conduce to the fetting thefe matters in fuch a light, as that all impartial men mull be forced, both to pronounce the Bifiop Guiltlefs of this Crime, whereof he was accufed, and for which he was cenfured \ and likewife acknowledg with how much hatred and malice, and with how little regard to the Rules and. Meafures of Righteoufnefs and~ Juftice, fome people behaved themfelves in the management of the Proccfs againlt him ; I fhall therefore apply to the doing it with all the accuracy and perfpecuity I can, and that in a Paragraph by it {elf. Arid I do here before my entrance upon it, folemnly promife to Go- vern my felf with that alienation from men, and with that fmgle refpeft to Truth, which ought to be expedted from every Writer, who would not offend and provoke God ; de- .file and dilliononr himfelf; nor deceive and.impofe upon the World. / And ( 299 )■ And in order to the rendring what I have now declared un- deniably certain, and demonftratively evident" ; I defire it may in the Firft place be obferved, how it ftands Depofed by many Witncjfes, that the- B flop's intermedling with, and his receiving the Rents of fdme of Mr. Medley* % Benefice s, was not by reafon of any Simoniacal Contracts between them but in conOderation of Snmms of Money, which had been really Lent and Laid out by the Bflop unto and for him. For befides the many Teflimonies produced before, whereby it hath been made appear, that Mr. Medley was held and elteem'd for a Perfon of fuch Virtue Tho. Griffith Gent, the Bp's. and Piety, that he would not be guilty ?*• wixn- Will. Williams Gent. of any notorious \ Offence, and much lefs T *?'*' 43- mm. ch pryre ci. of the Crime of Simony h it was pofltive- $?£ $f$,™/Z *£ ly and exprefly Sworn, that the Bflop Eliz.Hide, theBps. i^witn. ' had feveral times for Mr. Medley\ ufe and benefit, and often at his entreaty and defire, disburfed Summs of Money for him ; and that the faid Mr. Medley being thereupon become bona, fide indebted to his Lordjhip, had not only given and executed Bonds for the Repayment of the laid Sums j but. that as foon, \ as thro' his having been pro- moted to fuch and fuch Ecclefiaftical preferments, he was in ' a condition liberandi fidem, et folvendi debita, of performing his engagements, and of paying his Debts; he had immediately Granted a power and Authority to the Bflop, for the Gathering and receiving fuch and fuch parts and proportions of the Rents and Emoluments of fome of his Livings, as might be for and towards his Lordflip's being paid and reimburfed, what he had Lent unto, and difpofed in behalf of Mr. Medley, and for his ufe. Nor with men of good Senfe, will any thing more acquit and Juftifie both the Vncle and Nephew, from the having been Guilty of any Simoniacal Tranfaction ; than that all this was done with that opennefs, that it was ; and that fo little circumfpection was ufed, for the concealing and covering it from their worft Enemies. See- ing in all Cafes whatfoever, wherein men come to ad criminal- ly, their care is to have'matters managed with all the dark- nefs that is poffible. And it is as evident to me, as any pro- pofition in Euclide can be, that had the Bijhop of St. David's been confeious of any ill thing between him and his Nephew Mr. Medley, he would have behaved himfelf mofe covertly in Q.q 2 that ' C 3°° ) that affair, than he did. So that I campt avoid affirming, that what his Enemies made the Ground of accufing and Cenfuring him, ought to have fully vindicated his Innocency .• and will undoubtedly do fo with all fuch who are perfousof Judgment and probity, or who are not ftrangely prepofTefTed and prejudiced. Whereunto let me fubjoin in the Second place, that their neither was, nor could be, any collufion or deceit between the Vncle and the Nephew, either with refpeft unto the Summs, faid to have been Lent unto, and laid out for Mr. Medley ; or with relation to the Bonds, which had been Given by him to the Bifhop \ but that all concerning and relative to the one, and the tother, was in reality and truly fo in Facl, as was af- firmed. Nor was this only made demonftratively apparent, - and undeniably certain, as well both by and from the Bifoop's Exhibits, and Bonds Signed, Sealed and Executed before com- petent WitnefTes by Mr. Medley to his Lordjhip ; but the whole was like wife Sworn unto and confirmed by feveral perfons of unquestionable reputations. In giving the Relation and Qe- tale of all. whereof, as I fhall begin with the B flop's Exhibits ; .fo it will from them not only plainly appear, what the fe- veral Sums were which his Lordflnp had either expended upon and disburfed for ; or had Lent, or procured the Loan of to Mr. MeMey -, but it will be made alfo manifeft, upon what occafions, and to what ufes and purpofes the faid feve- ral and particular enfuing Summs, had been Lent or Disbur- fed by the Vncle unto and for the Nephew. All which ha- ving been reprefented to the Metropolitan in Two Schedules marked A. B. I ihall here annex them in the Order that they had been ftated and Setled between the Biflwp and Mr. Med- ley. And lhall therefore begin with that which was adjufted the Fifth of Auguft' 1691. which is as followetlu Schedule 6*4 00 CO 5 00 00 i8 00- 00 6 00 00 45 19 ir 1 °5 00 10 •00 00 6 02 06 (.301 ) Schedule A. I. s. d. Impr. A Bond of 80 /. for payment of 40 /. 1 and Inter eft from May 1681 *. Item. Lent him for Journeys to Bugden and~l Peterborough for Orders. ■ — > For his Mr. of Arts Degree and Gown— Paid for his Board for Six Months. • for the payment of the Firft Fruits of his Living \ and tPrebend. ■ — — & Paid to Mr. Douglas by Mr. Medley'/ Order. — Paid to Mr. Lambert at Hull by h'is Order. — Paid to his Taylor's Widow. Paid to Mr. Rowland upon a Bond of nn I. andZ Q, \ r T a r T wjo ? 00 OO 00 for Inter eft from Jan. 2. 1688. *— «* Total 242 07 05 The Second Schedule which is that B. and had been fetled the 21 of Sept. 1595. is as folio weth. /. s. d. Paid in his behalf for Tenths. ; 4 14 01 Paid to himfelf at fever al times. — ■ — 59 03 04 Paid to his Mather by his Order. 122 05 10 Paid for the Firft Fruits of his Arch-DeaconryZ ©„ and Prebend. JS 82 J7 °2 To his Brother Pryfe as part of -Sifter's Portion 100 00 00 To his Bro. Powel as part of his other Sifter's Portion 1 24 00 00 Indebted for Synodals. — • — — 5 00 00 For a Cloath Gown and Cajfoch—— 7 15 00 505 15 oS 242 07 0% Total 748 02 10 Now (3*2 ) Now it cannot but give great furprize to all perfons, who are impartial and unprejudiced, that Credit fhould not have been given to thofe Exhibits of the Bijlwp; and the rather if we do confider that all the particulars therein raention'd, were Stated and Sctled between the Bijhop and Mr. Medley be- fore ufficient 'and legal Wimeffes. For not only Mr. Vryfe Precentor of the Cathedral Church of St. David's fweareth the Bp's. to his belief, of Mr. Medley'.? having been Indebted to the Bijhop, 44. iVitn. in and for the fever alSumms named in theTwo Shedules A. andB. *d Alf' (^h is alf° SrPor* h Mrs- Elizabeth Hide ) But Wilfray Pye- lie Bp's. mont hath Depofed pofitively upon Oath, both to his know ti*Wim\ ledge of Mr. Medics' hand, and that the Schedules marked A. B. ad eofd. were totally written and fubferibed by and with the proper hand- Artie. writing of the faid Mr. Medley; and hath likewife dire&ly , Sworn to the Stating and Setling the accounts contained in 46 \vitn. t^le *"a"* Sc^ules? and that as that in the Scedule A. was adjufi- ai Artie.' e^ an^ prfetled in the pre fence of him the faid Fyemont, and of 6. and ad William Jones, and of Walter Watkins ; fo that that in the Interrog. Scedule B. was tranfatled and dsne in his own and Mr. David Ro- The Pro- fortfons prefence. And how that thereupon, as William Jones alio MtnXd who *s one °f tne pfomoters Witnefles, Depofeth, Mr. Medley Artie. 3. gave Bonds to the Bifliop for the Payment' of the feveral Summs, ' therein mentioned to his Lordfnp. Further I delire it may in the Third place be carefully obfer- ved, that there is no one thing in the foremention'd Exibite of the Bijhop'' s, which was not either admitted by the very Metropolitan, or which hath not been fully andnndeniably pro- ved by Authentick Witnefles. For as his Grace of Canterbury, with the approbation of thofe who were Afftjfors to him, did allow the Payment by the Bffljop in Mr. Medley's behalf, of the Firfi Fruits, Tenths and Synodal.*, which are mention'd in the two aforefaid ScW#/*.f, fo all the Particulars before, that are there- in named, have been Sworn unto by diverfe perfons of un- queftionable Reputation. And that fome of them ftand Related to the BiJJiop and the Arch- Deacon, either in the way of Col* fahquimty, or of Affinity, fhould have been fo far from having been accounted to Detract from the Truth and Validity of their Tefllmcnics, that it ought to have been efteemed to have added very much to the weight and credit of them. In that none can be fuppofed to know fo much, or with that certainty, of Tranfatlions between an Vnch and a Nephew^ as they who are Kindred^ ( 3°3 ) Kindred, Relations and Friends, of the one and the Mother. And as fuch(allowing them to be perfons of Probity and Virtue,as thofe whom I fhall.have'occafion to mention, uncontrolably are) as • they ought to have been believed in whatfoever they Depofed preferably to all others ; fo every thing which they Swore un- to, ought to have been the more readily received, and the more fully relied upon, becaufe of its having been confirmed and attefted, as well as confeffed, by fuch who were the Bi- foofs and Arch-Deacotfs known Enemies, and who had ncver- thelefs gotten into an acquaintance with their affairs. Nor need I do more towards the fetting all this in a full and clear light, fave to call over a few Depofitions, out of many, to this purpofe. And Mr. Medley^ Mother being the fitteft Per- • fon of any, not only to Depofe what had'becn remitted and Paid by the Bijliop, on her Son's deflre, and by his order, either to her felf, or to Mr. Lambert ; but what had been Advan- ced and Paid by his Lordf.iip, in behalf of, and at her Son's requeft, on diverfe other accounts ; I fhall therefore begin with her, and out of many things Jhe hath Sworn unto, relate fuch, as I tnink are molt needful to be laid before the Reader. Namely, that fhe Snfannah Medley Mother of the Arch-Deacon, hath not only Sworn to whatfoever was exhidited by the 2&- fiop in the Scedules A. and B. as Paid by his Lordflup to her, and to Mr. Lambert at her Son's entreaty, and by his appointment ; bvitfte hath alfo Sworn both to the ioo /. which her Son was to The Bp's. Pay to Mr. Pryfe^ in part ofhisSifteV^EXvLzhtttts Marriage Portion, x4- ^»»« and alfo to the 200 /. which her Son had likewife undertook to Pay to Mr. Powel, in part of the Marriage Portion with his Sifier Han- nab, and that her Son not being in a condition to raife and pay the faid refpetlive Summs, fo foon as they were to have been paid j how that the Bishop thereupon had at her Sons requeft, advanced and paid the Summs mentioned in the aforefaid Schedules, as paid to and for the faid ufes and purpofes. Yea further lhe the faid Sufanna Medley Mother to Mr. John Medley doth not only Swear poil- tively to her Sons being indebted to the Bifiep, for Moneys paid by his Lordjhip on his account to Afr. Rowlands but She hath like- wife depofed upon Oath, how that on her asking of her Son ' concerning his Uncles behaviour towards him, and in what condition matters food between them, that her\Scn had both told her, how ve- ry jit ft his Lordj})ip had been to him, in giving him an account what Rents and Profts he had received out of and from his the faid ( 3°4 ) faid Medley'/ preferments, towards his JUrdjhip's reimburfement of thofe Sums, which he had Lent unto, and laid out for him ', and that he had likewife declared unto her his Mother, that he was fiill in the Bijhop's debt. Whereunto it will not be amifs to fubjoyn what hath been Dcpofed by Mrs. Elizabeth Hide, who thro' living with his Lordjhip, and by being fo nearly Related both to Him and to Mr. Medley, as fhe is, was the more likely to be acquainted with Tranfa&ions and Concerns be- tween them, than it was probable that others lhould -, and who ought accordingly to have had a diflingui(hing belief and credit given to what (he faid upon Oath, elpecially being a Gentlewoman of great Virtue and Probity. Now this Mrs. the Bp's. Hide doth not only Swear to the ioo /. Paid by the Biihop for 23. Witn. Mr. Medleys Mr. Charles Price, as pan of his Sifter's Eliza- beth'/ Portion, and likewife to Mr. Medley'/ having promifed to Pay 200 /. towards a Marriage Portion with his Sifter Mrs. Han- nah Medley to Mr. Powel, (without faying how much of the faid 200/. the Bifhop disburfed for Mr. Medley) but lhe alfo Sweareth pofitively (as doth alfo Mrs. Elizabeth Pryfe, the Bi- jhop's 1 6. Witnefs, and Mr. Walter Watkins, the Bifbrfs 27. Wit- nefs) both to Mr. Medley'/ being Indebted the Summ of 40 /. to the Bijhop, for what he had Expended upon and Disburfed for him, in and towards his Education at Cambridge, and likewife to the Bifhop '/ having Paid 6 1.2 s. 6 d. for Mr. Medley'/ Board, when he fcrved the Cure of Weftwattin, and to his Lcrdfhifs having gi- ven to Mr. Medley the Gown -and Caffock mention' din the Schedule B. and that the faid Gown and Caffock had coft the Bifhop 7 /. 1 5 s. Yea fhe the faid Mr. Elizabeth Hide hath further Depos'd, her having heard Mr. Medley confefs and declare, that all the Summs comprized in the Schedule A. and faid to have been Paid by the Biflwp for Air. Medley, were fo Paid on his account. And all this fhe Swears her believing to be true, in that Mr. Medley had no other Friend that could or would ajfift him in fuel) concerns and exigencies, five his Lrrdjhip. Hereunto may be added the Dcpofition of Mr. Charles Pryfe Precentor of the Cathedral Church fhe Bp's. °f St. David's, who not only Swears to his Btlief, of Mr. Med- 44. Wixn. ley7/ having been Indebted to the Bifliop, the fever al Summs men- tioned in the two Scedules A. and B. and particularly the 7 /. 15 j. for the Gown and Caffock', but exprefly Depofeth to Mr. Medley % being Indebted a 1 00 /. to the Bijhop, for and in conf- ederation of fo much disburfed by his Lordjhip, for and by the order ( 3°5 ) order of Air. Medley in fart of a Mortage Portion with his Si" fier Elizabeth to him the faid Mr. Charles Pryfe. The latter, part whereof is alfo Depofed upon Oath by an other Mr. ^ -,c Charles Pryfe, who is Vicar of Lannerth. To which I will muS,ivi(^. the next place annex the Depofition of Mr. Henry Vowel Vi- car of Langadock, who pofitively Sweareth to the payment of the 124I. (mentionM in the Schedule B.) by the BiJIwp to him^, B^s the faid Mr. Powel,/ &e?etere Teftes fu- !Lib. 2. per omiffu,. To give a Rehearing to Witncffcs, in Reference to Tit. 14. things, which either thro* their own Forget fulnefs, or becaufe of their not being aslCd about them, they had omitted to Depofe. But to proceed to a Fifth Obfervation, which /hall be this, yiz. . that it was in Order to the payment of the forementi- on'd Debts which we have fully arid clearly proved Mr. MedUy to have been Owing to the Bifhop, that he the faid Mr. Med- ley, after his having been, without the lead fraud or collu(iona and much lefs any previous Simoniacal Bargai^ or Contract, Collated to fuch and fuch Benefices, did make a ReCignation of i ' the . ( 309 ) the Rents of them to the Bijhop, and by his Letter of Attorney-, did Authorife and Empower his Lordjhip, to gather and receive them, untill fuch time, as he Ihould be reimburfed thofe Summs of Money, which in the foremention'd ways, and upon the foregoing accounts, Mr. Medley was Oip/»^ to him. Nor was the 5//Jw/> defirous of making a Secret, of his being Entitu- led to the receiving of the Profits arilingfrom his Nephew's Ecclefiaftieal Benefices ; in that he both knew, and was able to make appear, tjiat it was upon very legal and juftifiable grounds, that he isad a Right given him unto them. And therefore, as he made no Mi fiery of the Bonds, which he took from Mr. Medley, but had them Signed, Sealed and Executed, in the prefence of fufficient and "proper VVitnejfes , he was likewife fo far from being careful to conceal or fmother the Power given unto him, for the Collecting of the aforefaid Rents, that not only Wilfray Pyemont Svveareth, his having been a Witness, to Mr. Medley\ Executing an Ajftgnment or Letter of, ^ s* Attorney to the Bijhop, for the Rents of Medrim for two years,6' towards the reimburfement of the lool. which his Lordflnp at Mr. Medley'^ defire, and in his Name, had paid to Mr. Charles Pryfe, as Mr. Medley'^ quota or part of his Sifters Portion ', but Mr. Pryfc Vicar of Lannerth, hath fworn to his Lordfiup^s having been empowered, by reafon of and upon the aforefaid Confiderations, ^e BP s* to receive the Rents which accrued from feverkl of Mr. Medley'** J *^m* '" Benefices and Preferments. And as there was nothing in all 6. this, that bore any affinity in it to Simony, or that had the leaft colour or tin&ure thereof; fo none but fuch, as a&ed from prejudice and malice, could upon that account, have thought, and much lefs have Sentenced the Bifhop of St. David's as a Simonift. For as every Ecclefiafiical Perfon, upon his ha- ving been legally Collated, Inftituted, and Induhedt, into one$ or more Church Livings and Preferments, hath thereby a free- hold given him in them for Life, and may accordingly difpofe or Convey a Right unto whomfoever he pleafeth, for the Re- ceiving the Rents arifing from them, either during the whole, or part of the time of his Natural Life ; fo it hath, been al- ways unexceptionably, as well as commonly practiced. And as the Granting fuch a Power to any one, by reafon of, and for and towards the payment of a jufl Debt, is both the moll valuable and juftifiable motive, that can be alledged or affigned for the doing it ; fo nothing but Wrath and Revenge, would have ■' 3-i° ) have influenced and over-ruled Men to account that Simony in the Bifiop of St. David's and in. Mr. Medley -, which all the World doth allow to be Legal, juffc and Innocent in others. In * reference to which ftrange procedure of fome people, towards and agaiuft the Bijhop of St. David's, tho I have both ail the advantage, as well as provocation, for making very fevere Reflections t, yet all that I will admit my felf to fay, fhall be in a very few words, and thofe alfo borrowed, from fome of the wifeft and belt Authors I know. Namely, odium et in- Tacit. vidiam apud multos valere, That hatred and envy do with and before *♦ Amixl. fome People, fupply the room of all fort of proofs; who do there- Lib. 3. fore fHas fmultates fro magiftratu exercere, make their magiftrati- Ltvy Lib. ca£ ane{ juridical Power, Miniferial to their animofities and Piques. Annim. ^nd that becaufe, quicquid quorundam implacabilitati fedijfet, id " Marcelc velutijus fafque wrgebatur, what foever fell in with fome mens ha- Lib. 14. tred, wtis received as Law and Right, as well as urged as fuch ; how that thereupon the malice and revenge of the Bifhop's pjl „ Enemies, were fingulare & unicum crimen coram, qui crimine my.' vacahant, in the room and fie ad of a crime for the convicting and Condemn ino- thofe, in whom no crime had been, or .could be found. Finally, it may not be amifs in the Sixth place, to recommend this further obfervation to the Reader, namely, how That after all which trfe Bijhop hath received out of the Rents ari- iing to Mr. Medley by and from his Ecclefiafiical Preferments^ there is of that, which Mr. Medley was owing to his Lord- Jhip a very confiderable Summ remaining ffcill as a Debt un- paid. For whereas the whole either owned by the Bijlop himfelf to have been received by him, or fo much as pre- tended to have been proved by the Promoter's WitnelTes, that he had received, by and from Mr. Medley's Benefices, amounteth only to 531 /. viz. Summary Out of CVfddy, prebend three years Rent, at 2 View, *5^ per Annum 15/. Pine, in all. S p. 16. Out oj the' Archdeaconry, ■ — Out of the Trccifiirerpip.- 1. s. d. 60 O0 CO 156 CO CO 315- -CO 00 Inall#53i 00 00 — . — 1 It (3») It hath not only made appear by the Bijhop's Exhibit's, and alfo confefTed by Mr. Medley, but it hath been likewifq prov'd by the Teftimonies upon Oath, of many Witneffes of unqueftionable Credit and Reputation, thaf Mr. Medley was Debtor to his Lordfiip in *no lefs Snmm than 747 /. 1 2 s. 10 d. So that after all which hath been received by the Bifhop out of his Livings, there doth remain ftill Due by Mr. Medly to his Lordjhip the Surnm of 224 /. 2 s. iod. to and for the Bal- lancing of the Account. Nor ought it to efcape oar Obfer- vation, that 7. 1. 10 s. is to be dedu&ed out of the 531 /. charged upon the Bijhop, as received by him out of Medley's Rents ; feeing the whole which his Lordfliip ever had from them was but 525 l. \os. And tho' the taking notice of this may feem Triffling and below a man of iQiiib, yet it could not be well omitted, becaufe it doth further difcover unto us, both the malice and the infidelity of the Author of the View, who deferveth the more to be rebuk'd for the one and the tother \ in that had he carefully perufed, and faith- fully reported, what was in proof, as well againft, as for the Bijloop, he would fravq firit found, and then flood obliged to relate, how it was made appear both by the B flop's Allegati- ons and Exhibits, and by Mr. Medley's Confeffions, and ac- knowledgments, laid before the Aah-Bifiop of Canterbury the 27 th of May 1596, That the Bifiop of St, David's, had not received the Bents of Giddy, fave barely for Two Tears and a half; and that thereupon inftead of his being charged with the receipt of 60 /. out of Cliddy Preheqgl, his Lordjhip mould have been accufed of receiving no more than 52 /. 10 s. But not to. infill further upon what I have here offer'd to the obfervation of the Reader, unlefs to inferr from thenar that the Bijhop inftead of being conwited of Simoviacal Jjkt'tt- tra&s with hh Nephew, he is in the quality of a fair Dealer, a great Lofer hitherto by him. And had not his Lordjhip afted with greater circumfpection in his Tranfadtions with others, than he did in thofe with Mr. Medley, he would not have had the Character in the World, which he has, for the being either a prudent, or a wealthy man. 'Tis true, he might very juftly have obtained the being accounted a kind and ge-. nerous Vncle, by reafon of his Expences upon his Nephew's Education, an4 the great disburfements he had been at for, and the feveral Summs he had lent unto him \ but he could never ( 312 ) never have been efteemed, either provident or difcreet, (hould he have either omitted the making pro virions for his being entituled to Repayment, in cafe Mr. Medley came to be able j or forbore the demanding the bein^ reimburfed and repaid, when the faid Mr Medley was arrived to a condition of doing it. And his Lordjhip might with the more juftice require, as well as expect this from Mr. Medley, In that he had diverfe Female Relations, and among thofe feveral of Mr. Medley^ Sifters to provide for, of and from whom, he could neither defire, nor hope for any Returns, fave thofe of duty and gratitude. And how diftinguifhing and lingular his Lordjhifs care of, and bounty to them hath been, doth undeniably appear from his having allowed fuch Summs out of his own pocket towards the V onions of Two of them, and his having thereupon Married them fo comfortably, as he hath done. And upon what the Biftisp is ftill a Lofer by Mr. Medley, by reafon of what he had disburfed upon, and for, or Lent unto him- felf ; I may confidently fay, that were his Lord/hip to fall as fhort in his Repayments by and from others, for whom he may have disburfed, or to whom he may have Lent Money •, as he hath done by and from Mr. Med- ley, whatfoever he hath acquired in Lawful ways, and by means of frugality and good Oeconomy, would be foon waft- ed and fquandred away through his credulity and indifcre- tion. Which no doubt his Lordjh'fs Enemies do very much defire, that thereupon, as he is the Object who gives them Envy at prefent, Ad who thro his juft refentments of the injuftices, wrongs, and Villanies they have done him, may give them dread hereafter , he may become the fubject both if their contempt and of their ridicule. lit whereas the Writer of the View, is pleafed to tell us, that the Bifroph Exhibits of the Accounts between Him and his Summitry JSIephew, are at firfi fight Snfpitious ; he dotft in his affirming Wt'w> fo, difcover his impudence, as well as his malice. Seeing p' ^' that as feveral of them (which we have fhew'd before) were allowed even by the Metropolitan; fo the reft of them have been uncontrollably proved by JVitmJfes of undoubted Vertue and probity. And the Rcafons by which the Author of the View doth endeavour to fupport his opinion, that the Exhi- bits of thofe Aa ohms #re fufpitious, do only maniilft that his de- fects- C 313 ) fe&s in his Intelle&uals, bear proportion to his Corruptions in Morals } and that he is no lefs a weak, than he is an ill man. For whereas the fir& argument he brings towards the rendring the Exhibits of thofe Accounts fufpitions, is That they ^ fu^r£t were of fo long a Banding before they were Setled: viz. from 1681 to 1696 ; he hath therein betray'd his want of Senfe, whicji is the being a Fool ; as well as his want of Integrity, which is the I being a Knave. Seeing that not only the Bond of 80 /. for / the payment of 40/. with Intereft granted in May 1681, , and the Disburfments for his Degree of Matter of Arts, and for his Journeys for Orders, and for his Board for Six Months^ as well as diverfe other Exhibits mention'd in the Scedule A, were adjufted and Setled the Fifth of May 1691, which1 is very far antecedent to 1696: but likewife the Bond of 160 1. for the payment of 77 /. given by Mr. Medley to Mr. Rowland, in January 168S. the Signing, Sealing, and Executing where- of, I take to have been undeniably proved, was a long time before 1690. And whereas in further confirmation of that Writer's Sufpltlon of the foremention'd Exhibits, he is pleafcd to add, That the accounts concerning them, weee fetled at fo crlti- fta, cal a time, viz.. a little before Michaelmas 1695. which was ay. 36, 37. little after the Vrocefs was perfonally ferved upon his Lordflnp, to anfwer to Articles of Simony ', I have Two Replies to make there- unto. Whereof the First is, that nothing can be either mors • illegal, or pernicious in the Onfequence of it, than from that upon which an Enemy may pretend to raife a fuipition ; to conclude that the fufpe&ed perfon is thereupon to be ac- counted Guilty. And I fhould have thought, that in a Na- tion, and at a Seafon, when no perfon can be fdzeti and committed to Prifon by our very Secretaries of State, meer- ly on a fufpition, even of the heinous Crime of high Treafon, but that he is ipfo faclo to be admitted to Bail} that either a Metropolitan, or a Mercinary Advocate ftart up as his parti- san, durft have obtruded upon the people of England, that the pretences advanced by ill men for their fufpitions of thefe whom they hate, fhould be allowed for proofs, that fuch are to be held criminal of what thofe have the malice to fufpeft them. For there are few in the World, how vertuous and innocent foever they be, whom fome people, thro a malignity of Na- ture, do not fufped very ill things of : and very often their fufpitions of them, have no other foundation, bit that fuch of S f whom (3i4) whom triey entertain finiftrous and difgraceful opinions, are not fo debauched and difloyal, as themfelves are. And were my fufpitions of fome men, (which I do allure my Reader are much better grounded, than thofe of the Writer of the View concerning the Bijhop of St. David's being guilty of 5/- mony) fit to be received at the Council Board, or before Courts of Judicature; I could aflign reafons for the believing them, to have been not only embarqu'd in Counfels and Pro- jections, for putting the prefent Qiieen by the Succeffion to the Crowns of great Brtttairt\ but that they are ftill railing and fcattering thofe jcaloufies of her Majefiy, as they both hope and think may undermine Her eflablifhaient. And fee- ing I may be allow'd to fufpeft, as well as others are permitted to do it, I will venture to fay, that I am not without my fufpicions, that fome who flile Her Nurfing Mother, do it not only in order to the Sucking Her Breafls, but to cover them- felves the better in the deiigns they are promoting in favor of the Prince of Hannover, for Supplanting Her Throne. But in further Reply to the Author of the View, I deiire to beg of all the fenllble part of mankind, whether they can think it was convenient, and much lefs neceilary, that private Trans- actions and^ Accounts between an Vncle and a Nephew, mould have been brought publickly upon the Stage, until the co* vering themfelves from the calumnies and defamations, which their Enemies out of malice and revenge, had endeavoured to load them with, made it indifpenfably needful. For what had the World to do in reference to Lending and Borrowing, &c. between the Bijhop of St. David's and Mr. Medley ? It being more* than enough, that their neareft Relations, and moll inti- mate Friends, flood acquainted with what had palled betwixt them in thofe ways, and that whatfoever was 'in Law requilite either towards the expreffing the Debt of, or for fecuring the Payment of it by the one to the t'other, had been declared and executed in the ufual Forms. And the Author of the View's Snmmari ^aYmS t^lat t0 f rove ^:e -^Cl0!ints thus made up, to be true the View, Bijhop had Examined J ever al of his Relations and Servants, who p. 37. Swear no more, than that Mr. Medley owned them to be true ^Accounts, and that it is no wonder he Jhould, being particeps Criminis -, doth only mew that Writer's want of Senfe, as well as of Honefty. For not to infill upon it at prefent, that if fome People were not Aclors, as well "as participes Criminum, of more pernicious confequence, than either the Bijlwp or Mr. Medley are (315 ) arc of Simony, neither Church nor State would be in the con- dition, which they now are ; nor would the greatefr, wifeft and belt men of the Kingdom, have been fo traduced and Larnpoon'd, as they have been ; and much lefs would her prefent Majefiy ; be made the Subjecl of fo many difloyal Re- flections, and fuch which tend to Rebellion, as She is. I will only fay, that none can be fuppofed fo capable as Rela- tions and Servants, to be let into Tranfa&ions of that Na- ture, or fo ready at hand, as they muffc be thought to be, for appearing as Witnejfes to Signing, Sealing, and Executing of Accounts, Bonds, Bills, and Alignments between them, and from the one to the tother. And mould all Deeds and Af- lignments, to which Relations and Servants are Witnejfes, be upon that account,and by reafon thereof, held for feigned and Collufory, it would overthrow the Titles of many perfons to their Inheritances and Eftates, as well as preclude vafl: num- bers from profecuting fuch as are Debtor's to them. But befides, it is a direct and an egregious falihood, that none fave Relations and Servants were Witnejfes unto, and had at- tefted Tranfa&ions of that fort between the Bijhop and Mr. MeMey, feeing not only the Articles, by which Mr. Medley became bound to give 2oe /. to Mr. Rowel, in p art of a Mar- riage Portion with his Sifter Hannah, ( whereof the Bijtpof in Mr. Medlefs name, and at his defire paid 124. befides what he undertook to pay himfelf, which upon the confurumatioa of the Marriage he immediately paid; are politively Sworn the Bp's. unto by Mr. ffl. Williams Gent, and who as a Notary ptblic'k drew 42. whn* them. But Mr. Medley'* Bond of i6al. for the payment of 77. *i* Anic* is attefted alio upon Oath by Mr. Henry Rod ( who paid the *^ wi faid Money) and was neither Relation, nor Servant of the Bi-Ui: Artie! flop's. And forafmuch as the Author of the View, doth in. far- 6. ther evidence of his malice againft the Bifiop, and of his own Corinthian for head, endeavour to impofe upon our belief, That the Bond and Indenture made and given to Mr. Rowland/^ the Summary payment of 77 /. principal Debt with Inter eft, and wherein Air. Med- Vlirv> ley demifed and Leafed to him the Tithes of his Re&oryofhl&h-^' 3 ' ^ vaugh, and the Rents of hisPrebends o/Cliddy and Clirow,HWf not on the account of any real debt due to J% 5?* the Indent hre Demifed by Mr. Medley to Mr. Rowland, went to the ( 3*9 ) the Bifiotfs ufe, as well as the Profits of Cliddy Prebend, which were Demifed in the fame Indenture, or elfe that Mr. Medley could not have been fa needy of Money, as had been Depofed was. Seeing that as other Reafons, and thofe fuchas arc very Juftifiable, and which ought to give fatisfa&ion to all Men of probity, have been afligned, how Mr. Medley came to be needy of Money ; fo there was not one Depofuion in the whole Caufe and Procefs, by which it Was either Pretended, or Attempted to be Proved, that the Bijhop had Received the Profits of the Rettory of Blethvaugh. Whereupon as this Author's Accufing his Lord- Jhip thereof, doth (hew him to beaWriter of his own Dreams and Pillions, inftead of his giving US a True Relation of Matters of Fatt , fo his referring his Readers to Meyrick's and PoweVs De- pfitions, for the Juftifying him in that Afperfion on the Pre- late, doth only ferve to manifeft his Impudence, as well as his want of Integrity. In that there is not one word Depofed by either of them, concerning the Biflwfs receiving the Profits of the Retlory of Blethvaugh -7 the whole which they Swear unto, re- lating to Rents arifing from other Places and Preferments, to which Mr. Medley had been Collated. Wherefore having with all the Truth and Uprightnefs I can, and at the fame time with all the brevity that the matter would admit, laid open and declar'd how, why, and upon what reafons the Bijhop of St. David's came to have a Right and Power Granted unto and Vefled in him, of Demanding and Re- cieving the Profits and Rents accruing from fuch and fuch of Mr. Medleys Ecclefiaftical Dignities and Livings for fuch a time j I am now both at leafure and prepared for Encountring the Writer of the View, in what he hath from thence further al- ledged, for proving the Bijhop to have been Guilty of Simony. And that which 1 am firft to Examine in this Author, is what hath been produced by him for the faftmng that Crime upon his Lordjhip, thro* and from Mr. Medley'^ preferment to the Archdeaconry of St. David'-f. In reference whereunto, as he hath brought the Depofitions of Two feveral Witnejfes , fo I fiiall both conlider what thefe have Sworn unto in them ; and give fuch Anfwers thereunto, as fhall fully Vindicate the Bi- jhop, from having any ways offended either Simonically or cri- minally in that matter. And as our Author begins with what was Depofed by Mr. Thomas Powd, fo he tells us that this Mr. Powel Swears, that Mr, Medley was twice Collated to the Arch- Ibid. ( 320 ) Arch-Dedconry of St. David V, the fir fl time about Michaelmas Vkw^ i6"9°5 '**& a&Ain ^1691. And that the faidPowel had known by p. 31*, 32. the Bifhofs Letters and Difcourfes, that he intended to held the Arch-Deaconry in Commendam, and that after it wits void he [aid he would fo hold the fame. And that he faid Powel is Tenant to the Worps of the Arch-Deaconry, and did Pay the firft Rent due at St. JamesV-Tide 1691. being 52/. to the Bifinp, who gave a Difcharge for the fame. And that he the faid Powel likewife Paid to the Biflwp the Rent for the Years 1692 and 1693, amounting in the whole three Tears to the Summof 156 /. and that Mr. Medley never asked Powel for the faid Rents, but once, viz. about two Months after Powel had Paid the Bi- fr.op the firft Tears Rent, and that Powel having made Anfwer to Medley, you know I have Paid my Rent, and to whom, how Medley thereupon replyed, ay, my Lord faith, I o~ve him an hundred found but I do not know, I hope it will be off at Michaelmas next and that then he mould have it himfelf. By which Powel ap- prehended the 100 1, would be paid off by Michaelmas then fol- lowing, which was Michaelmas 1692. That the faid Powel recei- ved fome procurations, and. all the Induction Fees belonging to the Archdeaconry, which he paid to the Bijhop : and .that the Bifrop in Augult 1 694. wrote aLetter to Powel, wherein he faid, he was to have the Induction Fees till Michaelmas upon a Bargain. And that the faid Powel further Swears, how that about Michaelmafs 1692. Accounts were paffed between the Bifiwp and him, wherein Powel charged himfelf wish the Rent of the Corps of the Archdeaconry for two years, as received for the Bifuop. And that another Account being Jtated between them in September 1693. and the Rent of the Corps of the Archdeaconry being iucluded, as in the Accounts for the two preceeding years ; the Bijhop ordered Powel to flrike it out, becaufc ( as he then told Powel) he would not have Mr. Medley V Rent feen among his Acsounts : and that Mr. Powel did flrike the fame accordingly out', but that the 52 1. fo jlruck out, was afterwards really and truly paid by Powel to the order of the Bijliop. Now to this long Depofition of Henry Powel, brought by the Author of the View, for proving the Bifjop of St. David\ to have been guilty of Simony, in his Coilnting Mr. Medley €0 the Archdeaconry of St. David's ; I fhall need to give but a very few, and thofe fhort Anfwers, for the vindicating his Lordjhip, even from the fufpition of that Crime, in bellowing the faid Dignity upon his Nephew. For having already ( 321 ) already fatisfied every impartial and snprejudiced Reader, how •and upon what accounts, the Bifiop came to be Entituled for fometime, to the Receiving both the Rents of the Corps of that Archdeaconry, and fuch Fees as arofe from thence, either for Procurations or Induclions-, and having fully fliewM that the Greunds, upon which that Right was granted unto him, were no lefs legal, than they were weighty -, it would be to treat my Readers with rudenefs as well as with injuftice, to bur- den them with thofe Replies, which would oblige me to the repeating of thofe things again. And as the plain Relation, which I have given of that matter, needs only to be Review- ed, towards the rendring it demonflratively evident, that there is nothing in this Depofition of Powel's, that can affect the Bijlwp with Simony ; In that the whole that is Sworn unto ill it, is only that his Lordjhip had hnermedled with fuch Rents and profits as has had accrued from the Archdeaconry; for his doing whereof, there have already been very juftifiable rea- fons afligned. And as none, fave they who are either very ill men themfelves, or the Bijhoph profefTed Enemies, could raife a fufpition of Simony, from and upon what is Dcpofedbj Towel ; fo it ought not efcape our obfervation, that the Au- thor of the View, inftead of endeavouring to fallen that Crime upon his Lordjhip, from plain and open Simoniacal Falls and Tran[aBlons,cX\xz&\f therein Sworn unto; hath only attempt- ed the charging that Crime upon him, by means of Inferen- ces and Dediittions, which in Cafes of a Criminal nature, are never to be allowed. Nor is it ever permitted in any righte- ous Courts of judicature, that men fnall be held convicted as offenders, by indirect, as well as weak, and therefore uncon- cluding arguments. But the proofs which are indifpenfably required, towards the fupporting of every .Criminal Accufa- tion, are either direct: 'Xeftimonies of FaEts, and that upon Per- fonal and Pofitive knowledge ', or they are Mediums, Reasons and Premifes, that fuch a Conclnfion, and no other, mull una- voidably be inferred from them. Whereas therefore the Bi- jltop of St. Dauid'f Receiving the Rents of Mr. Medley's Ecclefi- afiical Bent fees, might proceed from an other Caufe (as we have alfo fhew'd it did ) than from a Simoniacal Contrafl or Bargain ; it ought not to efcape the being cenfured, as an ef- fect of malice and injuftice, that his Lordjhip fhould be firffc accufed, and then Condemned for a Simomfl, upon that meer T t and ( 32* ) snd fingle Allegation, For as we may hold our fibres affured, that had there been more produceable for Convicting the Bijhop of St. David's of Simony upon the fcore of bellowing the Arch- deaconry of that Cathedral upon his Nephew , than what I have mention'd; fuch was Powel's malice to, and revenge againft his Lordflnp, that he would not have omitted the naming of, and the Swearing home to it •, fo we may account our felves fully convinced, that the Metropolitan had information of no more, than that, againft his Comprovincial Biftjop, in relation to his having Collated Mr. Medley to the faid Archdeaconry, feeing this is the whole Reported to us by his Graces Partisan the Author of the View, of the Proofs of the Articles Exhibited againft the Biftjop of St. David's as to that matter, who un- doubtedly would not have foreborn the Relation of any thing, by which he could think his Lordftvp would be Criminally af- fe&ed. But tho' what I have already faid, be enough, both to take off" all the ftrength and validity ofPotrePs Deposition, and to make it ludicrous, as well as altogether impertinent, with refpeft to the defign, for which it was made by him, and is Reported by the Author of the Flew ; yet there being feveral things.in it, as produc'd by the faid Writer, which do no lefs ' give a Representation of the Injuftice of others in the whole Procefs againft the Bijliop of St. David's, than of as well the the enmity and rage, from and with which Powel appear'd for getting his Lordjhip Coudemn'd, as of the rancour of this Au- thor againft the Bijhop, and of his infidelity in reporting mat- ters of Fad ; I fhall therefore both take notice of, and make fome Obfervations and Refiedions upon them. And whereas Summiri in tne &r& place5 we are t0^ DY tms Writer, that Powel fljould View ' have Srvorn, that the fir ft time Mr^. Medley ro as Collated to the p. 31. Arch-Deaconry of .St. David's, was about Michaelmas 1690. he hath therein not only obtruded an impoffibility, as well a falfhood, upon his Readers, but he hath departed from and contradided the very Deposition of Powel, which as an Hifto- rian he took upon him' to recifee. For in that Dr. George Owen, who had been the former Archdeacon, did not Die,- un- tiil about -Michaelmas 1690. And that the Bijhop held the faid Archdeaconry for fome time in Commendam, before He Colla- ted his Nephew to it •, it doth from thence undeniably follow, that what this Writer tells us of Mr. Medley's having been Collated thereunto, muft be an Impoffibility as well as a Lie. Nor ( 3*3 ) Nor had Foivel Sworn any fuch thing, as that Mr. Medley had been promoted to that Dignity about Michaelmas 1690. but in the room thereof he had Depofed otherwifc, namely, that the , Archdeaconry of St. David ys being void about Michaelmas 1690. mlt,^l' by the death of Mr. George Owen, that thereupon Mr. Medley Witn. ad tvas the firft time Collated to it, about the March following. But Artict 2, this Author is fo accuftom'd to fiarbery, as well as given up *> *• to inadvevtance, that he knows not how to report the Tefti- monies of the Witnefles on the fide for which he himfelf writes, with the uprightnefs { that he mould. And as his mifre- porting that part of PowcPs Depofition, fheweth both his care- leflhefs and his infincerity ; fo he deferveth to be the more feverely reprimanded for them, becaufe that Mr. EdmondMey- rick, hath not only fworn the fame in this particular which Towel did, but hath declared his having had the Information 7%e 1>r»- t hereof both from the Members of the Choir of St. David's, and™*' 2?"' from the Chapter Clerks Book. But whereas in the Second place, Artie. 2 Powel both Swears, and this Writer upon his pepofition Re- 3, 4.' ' forts, that the Bijliop, as well before the vacancy of the Arch- deacomy, as after it, had declared he would hold it in Commen- ^i fupn. dam ; and that their defign therein, mufl: have been, either the faftning tlfurpation as well as Covetoufnefs upon the Bi- fhop, in pretending to hold that in Commendam, which he could not Legally and Lawfully do -, or elfe (and as I rather think) to gain Men over to a believe, that his declining to do fo, Proceededfrom fome Vnrighteous and Criminal Inducement, and that his Lordfhlp^s forbearing it, was the refult of a Si- moniacal Contract and jBargain between Him and his Ne- phew. I do thereunto fay, that Powel as well as this Wri- ter, are not only fhamefully miftaken in both thefe Clan- deftinc Insinuations, but that they are likewife grofs Ca- lumniators. For as the Bijhop might by a Faculty duly Granted, have both held that (which he accordingly did for fome time, tho' for a reafon already afligned, he gave back whatfoever had arifen to him from it to Mr. Medley, af- ter the faid Mr. Medley had been Collated thereunto ) and the Treafurerfiip of ChrifPs -Church in Brecknock, without the comming to be accounted either an Ufurpihg, or an Ava- ricious Prelate ; fo his conferring thofe two Preferments upon his Nephew, and alfo the RetJory of Aberedow upon an other Perfon, ( which he both might, and had likewife faid, he would T t 2 hold ( 3*4 ) held in Commendam) fheweth that he was neither the Cove- tous Perfon he hath been reprefented to be, nor that tic was one likely to be guilty of getting Money in a way of Simony. Seeing it feemeth morally impoflible, that a Perfon, who in the vertue of his Faculty, could have held thefe three Preferments entirely to himfelf, and have Reciev'd the Profits and Hents of them, both to his own alone and (ingle uf?, 2nd for as long time as he -pleafed, would have bellowed them 'Simoniacally upon others, on a Bargain of having for a little time, the Emoluments which fhould arife from them. ' And whereas both PowePs Swearing to Mr. Medley'* having been two [tiered times Collated to the Arch-Deacoirry, and alfo the Author of the View's Reporting it, feems to be purpofely done, in or- der to the getting the fiifiop believed guilty of fome Simoni- acd Tranfa&ion with his Nephew, and that the Second Collation was either to cover the Simony which had been committed on the Firfi, or that the Bijliop having fcru'd up Mr. Medley after his being gotte^n into- the Arch-Deaconry, to give and grant un- to his Lordjhip a Right of Receiving the Rents thereof for a longer time, than he could be brought to fubmit unto at firft, had thereupon Collated him again ; I (hall give that Reply there- unto, (tho' it be but a meer and vain furmife) as fhall both fet that affair in its true light, and alfo clear it from having fo much as a Simoniacal air in it. And this I mail the rather da, in that the Collating a Perfqn twice to one and the fame Living, being unufual and very feldom practiced, this of the Bifiop's Collating Mr. Medley two fever al times to the Arch-Deaconry of St. David's, may be thought to carry fome Mifiery in it. Nor is to be denied, but that whenfoever any thing out of view and myflerious is apprehended to obtain in human Tranf- a&ions \ fuch Tranfactions do thereupon become obnoxious to Jealoufies and Sufpicions, and are often unkindly Reflected upon, and unduely Cenfured. In brief then, the fole and alone caufe, as well as occafion of it was, that Mr. Medley thro' being Ignorant of our Statutes, and of our Municipal Laws, having omitted the taking the Ttfi, within the time ap- pointed and limitted by the Att, and thereby made himfelf obnoxious both to the Forfeiture of his Arch-Deaconry, and to a Penalty befides, and the Bifiop getting Intelligence thereof at his Vilitation i5pr. his Lordjhip immediately thereupon, fbut without noifej fox covering of his Nephew from whatsoever he ( 325 ) he might by reafon of that neglecl, have become liable unto-, did Collate him a Second time to the faid Arch-Dcconry. In the doing whereof, as I am fure there could be no air of Simony, fo there was no affront done thereby, either to the Law, or to the Government, in that Mr. Medley's having, after his Firft Collation, omitted to take the Tefi, within the prefcrib'd com- pafs of time, proceeded not from any diilike of, or averllon to it, but was entirely to be afcribed, either to want of thought, or to fuch an unacquaintance with the Laws of the Kingdom, as very Learned, as well as Loyal and Good Proteftants, may be found chargeable with. Nor is either Mr. Medley the firflr, and much lefs the only Perfon, accufable of this negled, nor the Bifiop of St. David's the alone Man who applied to the like means and expedient, for preventing of fuch Inconvenien- cies, as would upon omiflions of that kind haveenfued. See- ing even in reference to Civil Offices, for the holding whereof^ the taking the TV/?, is made a' qualification ; diverfe have been both guilty of the like omiTfions, and for the obviating of the Penal confequences, to which thereupon they lay open, have betaken themfelves to the defence and relief of obtaining- frefh Grants of their places-. Nor have I found, that fuch as were Veiled with a power of granting new Commijfiom to them, were ever thought to have been either injurious to the State, or guilty of any Moral offence, becaufe of their having be- llowed them. However fhould it be admitted, that the Bi- fiop did in that matter commit fome kind of Trefpafs, yet as it could not be accounted Simony, no more than be pro- nounced Sodomy; fo I am fure that the Cognizance of it, could not be brought legally before any Ecclefiaftical Court. And as only malice unto, and revenge against the Bijhop, could make his Enemies fufpedt fome Simonlacd Tranfa&ion be- tween Him and Mr. Medhy, becaufe of the One's being two fever al times Collated by the tothsr to the Archdeaconry of St JDavld\ ; fo I hope upon my having thus unfolded and de- clared the reafon of it, that not only the upright and im- partial part of mankind, will acquit his Lordjhip, from ha- ving been any ways accufable of Simony on that account} but that even his worlt adverfaries, will be afham'd of the fi- liniftrous and ill grounded jealoufie, which by reafon there- of, they both entertained of him themfelves, and endea- VQur'd to beget in others. • And whereas the Author of the View Ct*« ) View in order and fubferviency to the fanning Simony on the Biflwp, in his Collation of Mr. Medley to the aforefaid Archdea- conry, hath Reported as OUC of PowePs Depofition, that an Ac- Swmiry comt being Stated between the faid Fowel and his Lordjhip in Sep- *~L -3. tember 1693. and the Rent of the Corps of the Archdeaconry for that year being included therein, as it had been for the two pre~ ceeding years ', how that the Bijhop ordered Powel to ftrike it out, becaufe (as this Author affirms, he then told Powel) He would not have Mr. Medley'* Rent feen among his Accounts fand as the faid Writer further adds) which tho' Powel accordingly did, yet that the 52 /. fo ftruck out, was afterwards really and truly paid by him to the Order of the Bijhop. Now in return here- unto, I have two things to fay, whereof the Brfi fhall be in the way of Reflection upon this Author ; and the Second as a formal and direcl Reply to what (in cafe it were true) he hath taken upon him to Report from PowePs Depofition. My Reflection then upon this Writer is |fcis, that thro' his endea- vouring to impofe this for a Truth upon his Readers, and to gain them to a belief of it, he hath difcover'd great unfaith- fulneft, as well as fhameful Sufinenefs and Jnadvertance. ■ In that there is not one Word in. all Powers Depofition, of the Bi- jhop's having at any time Ordered Powel, to ftrike the Rent of the Corps of the Archdeaconry, out of the Accounts ftated between Powel ^nd his Lordfiif, for the year 1593. But the whole thereof, is the meer Fitlion and Forgery of the Author of the Hew. For which he deferveth not only to be held for a Calumniator and Defamcr of the Bijhop of St. David's, but to be accounted one ftartup for a Writer, in order to themiflead- ing and decieving of mankind. And tho' I will not fay, that this Lie and Falfehood was emitted under the stamp of his Grace of Canterbury's either Difpenfation, or Authority ; yet I will venture to fay,that it is not for theCredit andHonour of the faid Metropolitan, that the Historiographer of his Archiepifcopal and Juridical Alls and Proceedings, is a Perfon of that Romantick Genious, and of fuch open and avow'd Infidelity, as the Wri- ter ot new, hath herein made himfelf appear to be. But then Secondly I have alfo fomething to fay in the way of a direct and formal Anfwer, to the aforefaid pretended Allegation out of PoweVs Deposition, viz.. admitting all that were true, which .- is Reported by this Writer from thence, and that the Bifljop had fpoken thofe words, which are Charged upon Him, (which it doth (327 ) doth not appear he ever did) yet there is nothing in them, that can fo much as confequentially, and much lefs directly, fa- tten any Simony, or the lea ft thing that hath an Alliance to it, upon his LorJJliip. For as it dependeth on every Man's will and pleafure, how and after what manner, he will have the feveral t Rents, which he hath a Title unto, and whereof he hath ap- ' pointed an other to be Collector, to be entrcd into Accounts, and brought before him. to be pafTed } fo no Perfotfs Right to fuch a part of thofe Rents, is either to be ejueftion'd, or his Claim thereunto, to be held to proceed and arife from a Criminal Tranfac"tion, becaufeof his Ordering it to be S et led feparate and diftincl from his other Rents. Nor could there be either a more juftifiable, or a moreneceflary Reafon, than there was, for the Bifltop of St. David's enjoyning, that the Rents which arofe to him out of, and from Mr. Medley's Ecclefwftical Benefiscs, upon a Demife made of themttnto him, for the Payment of jufl Debts, mould be kept diftincl and apart from the Rents and Pro/fo which accrued peculiarly to himfelf, as he was Bijhop of St. David's. In that P& was to Reckon with Mr. Medley for the former, but in no ways, nor upon any fcore whatfoever, to Reckon with him for the Utter. And the only Indifcretion, I would charge on his Lordjlrip, in the conduct of that affair, is his having fuffered Powel to bring them intermix'd in the Year 1691, and 1692, and that he took not care to have them preferved di- ftinft and feparate, untill September KS93. Nor do I doubt, but that upon his Lordjlup^s adjufting matters with Mr. Medley^ and in his Difcounting with him, how much of the Debt, which had been owing unto his Lordfhip by Mr. Medley, was come-to to be Paid > thro' his having Reciev d the Rents of fuch and fuch of his. Nephew's Benefices for two 7 cms, he thereupon came to percievcand underfiand the InconveJtience of having the two aforefaid Accounts, Interwoven and joyned one with an other. And that it Was from thence, and by reafon thereof, and upon no other motive whatfoever, that at laft he appointed them to be kept diftinft. Not (as I have faid already,) that it appears by and from Powers Depofnion, the Bijhop ever did fo, but meerly to fhew, that he would have adted as became a Pru- dent Man, had he from the beginning order'd thofe fo much differing Accounts, to be difpofed and Hated apart. Nor need 1 to fay any more, for Vindicating the Bijhop, from the being liable to any )uft fetfpition of Simony, becaufe of his having ufea the ( 3** ) the foreraention'cl words, f had he done it, whereas he did not) feeing the very Writer of the View, how either Corinthian he is, or how venturous foever to make Jllegical, as was as unjnfl De- ductions, from Premijfes which do neither lead to, nor can fup- jport them, yet he hath not been fo daring, as from the fore- mention'd Expreffion, (tho' forg'd by himfelf, and undoubted- ly to a very ill purpofe) to infer and conclude his Lordfyifs ha- ving been guilty of Simony , in his Collation of. Mr. Medley to the Arch-Deaconry of St. David'*. And therefore I (hall attend upon this Author, to his next (which is his laft) Allegation, in reference to Mr. Medley** ha- Sumnury ving been Simoniacally Collated to the Archdeaconry of St. David's. view, And concerning this Allegation he faith, That that which fully P< 33. makes out the Simony in this cafe, without the need or help of Prefumption is what William Harris Swears, to one of the Bi- (Iwp's Interrogatories, viz. that he the faid Harris was with Mr. Medley, when he was admitted to the Archdeaconry of St. David'/ in 1691. and that the Bifhop then told Mr. Powel, who was Te- nant to the Corps thereof, that tho Mr. Medley was made Arch- deacon yet he mufl not pay him the Rent thereof, but his Lordfhip ; and that Medley being then preftnt, did confent thereunto. In my giving Anfwers whereunto, as I have feveral things to offer, fo the Firft (hall be, to obferve what an ill, and unconfeiona- ble man, this Writer mult be, who own's his afperflng and de- faming a Prelate of the Church of England, upon prefumption, with the being guilty- of the Crime of Simony. For thro' fay- ing that what he hath produced from the Teflimony of William Harris, will fully make cut the Simony in the Collation of Mr. Medley to the Archdeaconry of St. David\ without the need or help of Prefumption, is a plain and formal acknowledgment, that whatfoever he hatf thitherto faid, either from Powers Depofition upon Oath, or in way of Argumentation himfelf \ did at mod only amount to a bare and naked prefumption. Upon which, as I cannot forbear taking notice of the barbarous, as well as inhumane licentioufnefs, which they of a certain Faction ( by their own confeflion ) do allow themfelves, of pro- nouncing and recording men guilty of fcandalous and penal Crimes, upon Preemptions -, fo I cannot avoid bewailing the misfortune of fuch, againft whom they of that party have a pique, who tho' never fo vertuous and Innocent, muft never- Dhelcf^ be both accufed and condemned as the word of cri- minals ( 3*9 ) minals, whenfoever thofe of the Faction, do think it fubfer- vient to their Intereft, to Prcfume them to be Co. And were it not, that I cannot promife to govern my felf with that tem- perance and decency which I think it my duty to do ; that Ex- frejfwn of this Writer, hath raifed fuch Indignation, as well as Refentments in me, againft a certain fort and Tribe of People, that I mould carry my Refle&ions both further and higher, than I will at prefent venture to do. And therefore I will proceed to the Second thing, which in way of Anfwer to this Author1* Citation from Harris's Depofuion, I have further to obferve. Which is the giving the Reader a frefh Inftance of the Infidelity of the Author of the View, in what he undertakes and pre- tends to give a Report of.. For whereas Harris in an Anfwer to an Interrogatory, Depofeth upon Oath, That the words which the JSijfjop then [poke to Powel, rvtre, that he Jl;oi/ld not Pay Mr. j^ - Medley, the Rents of the Arch-Deacomy, but mttfi P ay the fame -mt. 16. to the Bifhop, until] [further orders from the faid Bifhop, tbiswitn. ad Writer according to his wonted Infincerity, hath omitted intcrrog&t. the mentioning the -words, until] further Orders from the 3* faid Bifhop. And this Omiflion of them, deferveth to be the more feverely Rebuked, as it ought to be more carefully the obferved ; in that the Reciting of them would have both afcertain'd the Reader, how the Bijhop was become Entituled to the Recieving them only for fome certain time, and would have alfo contributed to the inftru&ing him, that it might be upon a Juil and Legal confideration, that they were for a fea- fon Demifed unto him. And as he is accounted a Ealfe and Perjured IVitnefs, who Swears lefs, as well as he who Swears more than the Truth ; Co he is as much to be held a Faithlef Writer, who in the Reporting aTeflimony, leaves out any thing that was Material, as he that adaith thereunto. But thenThirdly, I have this further to obferve in way of Reply to the Allegation, brought by the Author of the View, from Harris's Depofuion, that he hath flrangely betray'd his Weaknefs and Folly, in daring to fay, that the Teftimony of Harris, did fully make out the Simony in the Bilhop?s Collating Mr. Medley to the Arch- Diaconry of St. David"/. In that this William Harris ('from whofeDepofition, he would Impofe the Belief of fo Heinous and Scandalous a Crime upon his Reader, in reference to a Chriftiaa, Proteftant, and Church of EngUnd Bifhop) is known to be r"> Infamous a Perfon, and to have that little regard for Uu aa , ( 33° ) an Oath, that mthc Neighbourhood where he Lives, and among fuch as are Acquainted with him, no Credit whatfoever will be given to any thing, which he either Says, or Swears. Of whofe unqualifiednefs to be held a Witnefs for rendring a mat- ter of Fadr. fo much as probable, and confequently altoge- ther unworthy, and wholly uncapable in Law, of being ac- counted one, whofe fingle Teftimony fhould be reckon'd fufficient, to make a matter fully out, having faid enough be- fore, I will therefore add no more here, but remit the Rea- der to what he will meet with in the foregoing Sheets. And this I will the rather do, in that what I am in the Foirrrh place to fay by way of Anfwer to the Allegation out of the faid Harris's Depoftion, will render it demonftratively evident, that inftead of theforemention'dS/w^/^Vj being wade fully out from and by it, there is not the leaft 'probability, that what the faid Harris Swore unto, fhould be True. In that had the Bifljop fioken the foregoing words to Powel, which Harris Depofeth, that in his hearing he did ; it is morally impoflible, but as Powel himfelf . would have ronembred them , fo he would like- wife (confidering with what Malice and Revenge, as well as Forwardnefs and Zeal, he appear'd againft his Lordfhip) have aiven and repeated them in his own Dcpofition. Which under all his Wrath and Rage againft the BiJIwp of St. David\ he not having done, may uncontrolably allure us, that his Lordflnp never faid any fuch thing. And we may be the more afcertain'd of it, forasmuch as Powel would never have conceapd a Truth, by which either in his own, or in fome other Mens opinion, he or they, could have thought the Bi- foep might be Prejudic'd, when at the fame time, thro' his own Forgery, and under their direction, he not only Swore (as we have evidently and undeniably proved before) to diverfe known and palpable Falfehoods, but to Phyftcal, as well as to Moral Jmpojfibilities. So that without venturing either on Preemption (which I leave to the Author of the new as a Prerogative peculiarly due to him) or without exceeding the bounds, within which an honeft and modeft Man fhould con- fine and circumfcribe himfelf, I may now appeal to every Impartial and Ingenious Reader, whether from any thing Alledged by this Writer, with refpeel to the Bijbop of St. David's Collating Mr. Medley to the Arch-Deaconry of that Ca- thedral, his Lorcifbip hath been proved Guilty of Simony, or of any (mi.) any Crime, which hath the leafl: affinity with it ? And I do will- ingly fubmit it to the judgment of every upright and under- {landing man, who deiires to be truly informed about the proceedings of the Metropolitan , againft the faid -Prelate, on that account^ whether I have not both made it evidently ap- pear, that as the Witneffes, on whofe Depofitions, his Grace took upon him to Sentence his Comprovincial Bijhop, were not fuch, (that I may ufe a phraze of Cicero's) who ex fraude, fallaciis, ont. pro mer.d.tciis con flare toti vi demur, flood campounded of fraud, falla- Rofe. com' ties, and Lies } and whether his Metropolitanflup, in his con- demning the Biflr.p of St. David's, on the Ttflimonics of fuch Witmjfes, did not (as the Orator faith in the fame place ) ex opinione, non ex veritate judicare, a£l rather from an opinion, of what he would have things to have been, than according to what in reality they were ? Nor upon a review of the whole procefs, can I a- void faying, that as the principle and inducement, on which" the IVitneJfes Swore fo much at random, and to fuch downright falfehoods, againft the Bijlop of St. David's, as they did, was, that quicquid qnorundam implacabilitati fedijfet, id velutitas juf- * ,. que perpenfum urgebatur ; fo that his Grace in decreeing the eel. Lib. Sentence, he did, again!! his Lordjhip upon their Teftimonies, 14. hath both fhewed himfelf too much ntmorum avidus ; and that T . he had exrreamly forgotten that of Tiberius to the Senate in j^a\ ^ the Cafe of SiUnus, von ex rumor e flatuendum, nee objetla cri- j, mina,pro approbatis accipienda. But there are fome people in Hem. An* the World, liable, when in power, to fall into thole faults, »*/.Lib.$. which the fame Hiflorian calls Dominationis fiagitia; and whOj^**' do not Co well remember, as they ought, what is faid by iiv. Lib. another Hiflorian, viz. injuria licet jufla, minime t amen in M*gi- 42. firatu cxercenda. All which, I do, for certain reafons, forbear to tender into Engliih. So that having mat up my rancounter with the Author of the View, in reference to Mr. Medley's Collation by the Bifliof to the Archdeacon-ryot St. David's ; I am now ready to pro- ceed, to an Examination^ of what he hath endeavour'd to ob- trude upon his Readers, about Mr. Medley's having been Si- moniacally Collated by the Bijhop, to the Treafurerfljip of Chrift's Church in Brecknock. And forafmuch as this Author, hath labour'd to prove it, by Three feveral Depofitiens, I mall with all the care I cau, both hearken to what he alledgeth from every 025 of them, and fiiall withallmake thofe Anfwersand 11 u 2 Replies Simmy ( 332 ) Replies unto him, as that a man of good fenfe, and re- gardful of his Reputation, would rather chufe to fall under the chailifernent of Jack Ketch, than of that which I fhall be unavoidably obliged to give him. Now the Fir ft Witnefs, whofe Lepofitien he pretendeth to give us, is one{ Griffith Da- C\Ut*"J V** who as he tells US, Swears, that in the year 1694.. Mr. Med- p. 23. ley Granted a Leafe of the Corps of tins Dignity to the Principal Fellows and Scholars of Jefas Co Hedge in Oxford ; and that he the [aid Griffith Davis, did pay the Fine for the renewing the Leafe thereof^ beina 75 /. to the Bificp of St. David'j about the Month of January i&9-\- and alfo 90 1. Arrears of Rent due from the [aid College. And that he believes, the Blfljop has received the Rent ef the TreafiirerfJjip, being 60 1. per annum, everfir.ee Mr. Med- ky'j Collation thereto. Now the First thing, I have by way of Anfwer to Return unto this, is to Remind the Reader of what hath been declared at Length before, namely, how and upon what conilderations the Bljlwp came to be Entitled to the Receivi?ig both the Rent of the faid Tteafuftrjhip, and alio the Fine for renewing the Leafe of the Corps, to the Fellows &c. of Jcfus Colledge in Oxford. And as his Lordfcip, hath owned the Receipt thereof in his Exhibits; and fhewed both, upon what account he came to have a power Granted unto him for the receiving of them ; and how upon the receipt of eve- ry Samm, which was to arife to Mr. Medley from his Ecclcii- aftical Benefices, ins Lordfljip had difcounted to Mr. Medley for fomuch of the Debis being paid and difcharged, in part of the whole which he had been owing to him. And if the Writer of the View, were not- a fenfelefs, as well as an un- thinking man, inftead of endeavouring to prove the Bijhop Guilty of Simony, by and from any thing in Davits Depofition ; he would from chence have concluded it impoflible, his Lord- (hip fhould be chargeble with the lead thing in that affair, which fhould be found capable of having a Simoniaval Con- duction put upon it, by either wife, or honell men. For to think, that the Bijhop from the firft ; and when he might have concealed the declaring it ; would have required the Fine, and alfo order'd the Rent to be paid directly and immediately to himfelf ; muff; either be to take the Bijhop for a Fool, or to believe the Author of the View to be one, unlefs his being fomewhat worfe, will excufe him from that. For this I am fare of, that either that which they call an Lifi Understandings or (333 ) or a certain Outlandifb Confcience, muft fall to fomc performs fhare. But then Secondly, in anfwer to the forefaid Allegati- on, produced by the Author of the View, I defire ic may be obferved, that to whomfoever the Rents of the Treofnrerfiip, were dire&ly and immediately paid-, yet this very Griffith Da- rhe Pr^ vies doth acknowledge upon Oath, that he hath feen diverfemot, ,'." Receipts to jefns College Oxon fttb fcrib ed John Medley, for theWivn. ai t).iyme?.t of the fame. Which as it fheweth that whatfoever Art'lc- 2- was paid to the Bifhsp, arifing in any way from the faid Trc,«fire>jhip, was received by his Lordfi'p in Mr. Medley** Name, and for his ufe^ fo I cannot forbear acquainting the Reader that this Writer's omitting to take notice of it, doth proclaim him to be a pcrfon of great infidelity. For as no- thing could have more afceftaiifd all mankind, that it was upon the fole and alone fcore and foot of Mr. Medley's being i/dibted to the Bijhop, that he the faid Mr. Afedlcy had De~ mifed the Rents of feveral of his Benefices to his Lordjlup, to- wards his being reimburfed and paid \ fo Mr. Medley's Sab- fcribing his Name to the Receipts of Money paid either by the Tenants, or by the Lejfees, is an avowed acknowledgment and declaration, that whatfoever his Lordfiip did receive, was on- ly upon Mr. Medley's account, and for his ufe. Nor ought a worfe conftru&ion to have been put on the Bifl)op\ receiving the Rents of Mr. Medleys Dignities and Livings, than on Griffith Davics, and Timothy Henley's (in the quality of Buf- fers) receiving the Rents of Jeftts College. Seeing it was fully in proof, that his Lordjhip received the former by the Order, in the Name, and for the ufe of his Nephew ; as thefe two did the Latter by Authority from, and for the ufe of the Col- ledge. And were it not, that I am unwilling to leave more lafling marks on the Memory of the Writer of the Hew, than Ketch would upon his moulders, were he whipp'd from New- fate to Tyburn ; I could fatten thofe brands of infamy, as well as of infincerity upon him, for this Omiffion ; that he ihouid be alhana'd of being known, cither by his name, or to be a Knight. But then Thirdly, I have this more to fay in Anfwer to the forgoing Allegation of the Writer of the View, name- ly, that the Bijhop's receiving the Rents of the Treafurerfhip of Chrj$*s Church in Brecknock, was not Evidence in Law, for the proving Mr. Medley to have been Slmoniacally promoted to that Dignity, did fufficiently appear by and from the Iffiie and event ( 334 ) event of a Trial at Carmarthen Affiz.es. Where upon onsAr* nold BowerPs pretending a Title (as the King's Prefentee) to the Arch-Deaconry of St. David's) the whole matter of Mr. Medley's having been SimoniacaUy Collated to the aforefaid Trea- fitrerflnf, was alfo brought upon the Stage. But tho' all, which was either Alledged before his Grace of Canterbury, or that hath been Related by this Writer, was then and there Depcfod and Sworn unto •, yec the Court neither did, nor would allow that there had been any Simony in the cafe. Which as it fhew- eth, with what Juftice, as well as Moderation, matters are Tried and Decided in Civil Courts, beyond what they are in EcclefiaFlical ; fo it is not very much for the honour of the great Metropolitan, to have made that in a Comprovincial Ei- jlmp, a Crime- of Simony before him ; which our Judges at Common Law would not admit to be fo. And as it is not unwor- thy of remark, then even under the late Reign, when the mewing Pique and Revenge againlt the Bijhop of St. David's, was held a piece of fafhionable Courtfhip ; yet the Judges in the Court of Exchequer, could not be prevail'd upon, to Jufii- fy and Confirm the Sentence of Deprivation, pronounced againlt that Prelate by the Arch-Bijhop or Canterbury, fo foon as feme People expe&ed they mould have done it} fo it is to be hop'd, that under the Reign of Her prefent Majefly, when not only Tacit, in Libertas & principitatus, res olim dijfociabiles, mifcentur, the \it.Agnc. prer0jrative of the Crown, and the Priviledges of the People, are be- come happily united; but when we neither need to have any ap- Id Ann al Prehenilon, minuijura, qnia glifcit poteflas, that Justice and Right Lib. 2. ' ' ™M ^ overthrown, by reajon of an Vfurpation andexcrcife of an Ille- gal and undue Poxoei ; nor to fear that Delati magis inter damnatos, Id. Annul, quam reos, funt habendi, fucb who are Accujedr jhaH be cer- Ll l6, tainly Condemned, tho? they cannot be Convicted ; \ do fay it is now to be hop'd, that the Bijhop of St. David\ may both get hisCaufe brought under a Review, and have it Judged with lefs prepoiFefllon and prejudice, than it formerly was. And that as fuch as Lucy the Promoter, Edm. Mcyrick, Jer. Griffith, and Tho, Powel, who were the principal Witncjjes, and who were evidently proved to have been engaged in a Con- [piracy againft his Lorojhip, and who had combined caUmnias infant i ad fie ere, to afperfe an innocent Prelate, with crimes, which were as much forged, as they were Scandalous, fhall not have that implicite Faith given to their Pcpofitions, as was by the Afc- tropolitan ; mi an (335 ) tropolitan '0 fo that they who are Erudi tores fa Hi ad mtendum, A.m -per ciandefiims verfutofque rumigerulos, become ski I fid in inju- Marcel, ring others, by means of clan define and crafty whiff erers of Lib. 14. Falfehoods and Lies, fliall not have Interelt and Authority for misleading thofe, before whom the Re-examination or' the £ flop's Caufe mail come, as fome of them had, when they fat at the hearing of it, as AJfJfors to and with his Grace of Canterbury.. Whereunto I may in the Fourth place, be allowed to add as a further Anfwer, to what the Writer of the Hew, hath endeavour'd to obtrude the belief of on his Readers' by and from Davies's Depofition, of the intervention of feme Simoniacal Tranfadion, in the B flop's Collating Mr. Medley to the Tre afar cr flip of Chr i ft s- Church in Brecknock ; Namely, that were this Author impartial, candid and ingenious, he would find caufe, for charging his Accufations of Simony upon other Prelates^ inllead of faftning them on the Bijhop of St. David\. For befides, that they who were Intrufted and Empower'd by the late King William, to Difpofe of the EcclefiaFrical Livings, which were in the Gift of the Crown, did for the molt part apply and exert the Authority that was lodged in them, to the introducing and advancing thofe to the bell: Church Pre- ferments, who were of raoft Latitudinarian principles, with refpecl: to the Doftrine, as well as to the Difcipline of the Church of England, and who were accounted readied, to be- tray not only the Privilidges of the Lower Houfe of Convo- cation, to the Vf per ; bwt the very Bights of the Church to the Regal-, I do fay that befides this, in the doing whereof, (if we may believe fuch as have Written belt concerning Simony) they a&ed %.%%Simoniacally, as if they had promoted thofe Perfons upon Contracts and Stipulations of Receiving Gifts and Bribes \ there are other, things importing politive and dired Simony, fpoken too publickly of fome of them, who were in that Commiffon. And were I as ill natur'd as to harken unto, and as uncharitably- credulous, as to be- lieve. Reports concerning fome Br elates, as this Author hath fhew'd himfelf to be in relation to the Bijhop of St- David\ I could give an account of diverfe things very broadly talk'd of, which would fatten afperfions of matters tha> have great affinity with Simony, upon thofe whom I forbear t(r name. But I being one, who can neither allow my felf tr give credit to every defamatory ftory, that is raifed of thoft ia ( 33*) in the higheft Dignities of the Church ; and who much lefs dare be fo malicious as to fpread it ; I fhall only beg of the Writer o£ the V'aw, that he would do that office of Friendfliip for a certain Prelate, as to Vindicate him from the Scandalous Imputation cafl upon him, of having had a Bed worth fever al Hundred Pounds, prcfented to my Lady his Wife, for the having procured a rich Dotlor of Divinity, to be made a W. P. And tho' I will not fay that it was fo much as upon the former ac- count, and much lefs upon any inducement which carries the leall alliance to the Latter, that diverfe of thofe, who had been veiled with the Authority, I have mention'd, have been very delirous to get the faid Comiffion Renewed, and the like Faculty granted unto them, by Her prefent Majetty ; yet I dare fay, that all, who are either zealous for having the Queens honour preferved \ or that do wilh, the Church of England^ may be kept on the Bottom, upon which She is by Law^EFca- hlified, are not only wonderfully pleafed in themfelves, but firft thankful to God, and then to Her Majesty, that (he would not fuffer Her Self to be prevailed upon, to allow that Power in any Hands, fave Her own. For tho' it is not to be que- ition'o^but that her Majesty, will inviolably continue the Li- berty Granted by Law to Dijfenters, provided they do fo be- have themfelves, as not juftly to forfeit it ( the laft whereof I heartily pray they never may) yet Her Majesty hath more of a Church of England Confcience, as well as She hath more of an Engl (li Hart, than to Transferr fuch an Athority to any of doing thofe tnings in and about Ecclefiaflical affairs, and Church Preferments; which we are not to wonder at the having feen warranted, as well as connived at, by a Prime, who was as much Hugonet and Presbyterian at the Hague, as he was Epfcopal at Kienfwgton, Hampton -Court, and White- Hill. But it is more than time, that I fliould attend on the Author of the Vfiew, to the next Dcpofnion produded by him, for provsng that the Bifiop had Simoniacaliy Collated Mr. Medley to the foremen tion'd Treafurerfiip, which is that of one Timothy Huxly, who Dcpsfed, That face November ltf95, he had received 'cvcral importunate Letters, fubfcrih'd Da. Robertfon; intimating 'iatthe Biihopof St. David \ hadocvafion for the half Tears Rent ''!.c, from the Corps of the Treafurerfnip, at Michaelmas 1695. iiid thnt his Loydihip fmuld difappoint j'everd perfqns in London, I . if, ( 337 ) if that Rent were not fpeedily Paid. And that thereupon he the j.ud Huxly, procured a Bill from Mr. Porter of Oxon, to a Goldfmith in London, to Pay to the Bifhop '30 /. which Bill was Paid accord- ingly. In the giving an Anfwer whereunto, I do not think it needful, (nor will any one of common fenfey accompanied with a little mare of probity,believe there Ihouldj fay any thing more, than what has been already offer'd in Reply to the fore- going Depoftion. For as the whole Sworn unto by Huxly , doth only amount to a proof, of the Bifliotfs demanding and re- cieving the Rent of Lungamarch, whereof the Fellows and Scholers of Jcftts -College, Oxon, had obtain'd a Leafe from Mr. Medley (to whom as Treafurcr of ChrifFs -Church in Brecknock,- the granting of one upon a Fine and a refer ved Rent, did right- fully and Legally belong) for 31 Tears, at the Rent of 60 I. Yearly, and the Payment of a Fine of 75 /. fo I defy all man- kind, to inferr and conclude any thing from thence, in the way of fair Reafoning, that hath fo much as the umbrage or air of Simony in it. And (which hath been intimated before, but whereof the Reader, in order to his difcerning the impo- tent Malice of fome People, cannot be put often enough in remembrance) as the Bijhop made no Secret of it, in that he was able to Juftify to the World, (as hath been fufficiently done) upon what Lawful and Valuable confiderations, he was become Entituled to the doing it. And his Lordfliip being fo well known, to be both a Man of great Prudence, and one who bath been always very ^regardful of his Reputation \ we mayalfureour felves, that he would have ufed all thelnduftry and Artifice imaginable, for keeping it conceal'd, had be been confeious of any thing therein, by which he could have been Criminally arre&ed. And if the Author of the View will give me as good Reafons, either according to the Rules of Divinity, or oi Law fox a certain Prelate 's allowing hhlVifeto Receive the Rich Bed, which I lately mention'd •, as I have given for the B;(hop of St. David's Receiving for a few Tears thzProfits of fome Mr. Medley'; Ecclefiaflical Preferments ', I do promife that I will render to the faid Author my molt folemn and diftinguifhing thinks, and that as well by reafon'of the fihgular deference, which I do maintain for them of the fupream Order, as be- caufe of the refpect that I pay to the Clergy in general. But as I do own my telf fomewhat heated againft this Writer, for having flievv'd fo much Malicious, and yet at the fame time, X x fuch ( 33« ) fuch weak and feeble Hatred againft the Biflwp of St. ihtl vid's, in Slanderoufly pefaming him with Simony, for Actions which are of no Alliance thereunto; fo that Author is to afcribe it to the contempt,, which I have for his Under- Bandivg, that on this occafion I treat him not with the feverity that I otherwife would. For as no Credit can be acquir'd by Triumphing over a Writer of his mallow Intel- lectuals, fo .nothing could have recommended him, to be imploy'd in Juftifying the Proceedings of the AfetrcpcUtan, in the Cafe of the Bijhop of St. David's, lave his Infolence, his Sophiftry, and his being altogether Mer chary. And his Ar- guing with fo much Haughtinefs, ( and at the fame fo very Inconsequentially, from Huxly's Depofkion, is an undeniable evidence, that with a Hackney Pen in his Hand, he hath a foft place in his Head. For if from the Antecedent, of the Bifl)op' *s having Received the forenamed Rents, it be a go©d Confequent , and Logically drawn, that they were properly and entirely for his own and fole ufe, and becanfe of a Right he claimed in and to them, no otherwife than for the Pay- ment of a Juft Debt-, we may as well conclude, that what- fbever either a Steward CollelUth and Receiveth of the Rents of his Lord or Mafler ; or that whatfoever is returned out of the Country to a Goldfmith, or Banker in London, and Received by them, is all to be held and accounted their own, and to be entirely theirs, and not to belong unto, and to be for the ufe of thofe,' in whofe behalf, and by whofe authority it was Collected, or in whofe names, and for whofe fervice and benefit it was Returned. In a word, the Vulgar Fable of Goodwin Sands being caufed by Tenter den-Steeple, may by as Logical an Inference, be affirm'd for an Apoditlical Truth; as the Bijhop of St. David's being Guilty of Simony, can be afTerted, from his Lordjlup's having Received the Rents of fuch and fuch of Mr. Medley's Church Benefices. So that in my opinion, the whole or that Afperfion caft upon the .Bijhop, is to be refolved into this, namely, That fome Peo- ple, having (for reafons not fit to be publickly owned) a- greed to opprefs him, were therefore in order to the ef- fecting it, to get him Calumniated and Defamed. Wherein they a&ed much after the manner of the Souldier, who ha- Ting delign'd to Plunder a Countryman, charged him with the having ( 33? ) having Whiflled Treafin. For as they of the Musket, when- soever they have a mind to perpetrate an Injuftand Injurious thing, aflume the Ktzjor of Zealots for the caule, in which they receive Pay ; fo the Men of the Ecclefiafiical Gown, at what time foever they think it their Interefl: to get one Ruin'd, they put on the Mask of Religion, for the doing it the more effe&u- aLly, as well as plaufibly. And tho' I am forry to fay it, yet I - cannot omit doing it, that as Religion was never made fuch- a Skre-en and Stale for Villianies of all forts, as it hath been for a- bove half an Age in molt parts of Europe,' and particularly in theKingdom of England and Scotland ; fo I am fore'd to add, that it was never pretended unto, and made a Plea for worfe purpofes (which fhews Hypocrify to have attainM to its Zenith) than it hath been of late. When not only many others, as well as our Legionmongers, have been endeavouring both to fully the Honour^ and blacken the Reputations of the greateft, as well as the belt Men of the Nation, and likewife to ftir up the Mob to Run at Muck upon all who were not. of a certain Fadtion, (that had molt unjuftly alTumed the Stile of Partisans for the Proteftant caufe) but when even Ecclcfaslicks have grown enrag'd as well againft thofe of their own Orders, as of their Communion, and have made fuch as are avow'd Adverfa- 1 ies to both, their Favourites and Confidents, and that upon no other account whatfbever, fave that the latter run in with them into their little bigotted and violent Projects, when the former thro1 their being true EngliJI) Men, and of Church of England Principles, neither would nor could do fo. But of all thofe Pra&ice,s, both againft the Bijhop of St. David's, and ethers, I hope the Nation will now come to have an other Sen- timent and Idea, than fo me weak and deluded Perfons, were prevail'd upon to entertain and have *, in that asmoftMertare hoth more enlightned and awak'ned, than tofuffer a Company of Factious, as well as Party People, Scelera nuper reperta,Tac\t. jrifcis verbis obtegere, To put Ancient and Legal Terms and Names ^nnal. upon Crimes which they have meerly as well as newly Forged, in order to procure thofe, whom they accufe of them, to be the more eafily ruiTdown and ruin'd ; fo we may a/fure our felves, that nullum nunc mendacio pretium, there will be no ^ ^a. more Pen/ions Granted and Paid out either of the Treafury, Lib. 4. ' or the Privy Purfe, to your Tom. Doubt's, or to any fuch, who have both valued themfelves, and have been in favour X x 2 with ( 34°' ) with others, for their skill an'd Impudence, in Inventing and Spreading Fi&ions and Lies, towards the defaming Vertuoth and innocent perfons, and the getting them opprefled. A if any Money fhall flow out of private Pockets, for encourag- ing the Coyners and Minters of fabulous and ilanderous fio ries, or for recompensing the Hackney Writers, and the Mei- cinary Pedlers,who fcatter and difperfe them j as I fhall leave the Utter to feed the pride and Ambition, and to MinHler to the Envy and Revenge of the former • and alio thofe to whofe paflions and defigns they make themfelves thus fuo- fervient, to lavifh away as much as they pleafe, in gratifying the Covetoufnefs of the others, and in feeding them in their Riot and Luxury ; lb I (hall likewife leave them both to Nabb one another, while they lift their Heels againft and kick, as well as Bray at every oneelfe. And I (hall now proceed to the Examining of what hath been produced by the. Author of the View, out of and from the Depofition of Jeremiah Griffith, which is the laft: he brings, to- ward the proving Simony on the Bifiop of St. David's, in his Collating of Mr. Medley to the aforefaid Trefurerflnp. And that Summary which he tells the Reader, is, that Griffith Depofes, that there View, yas yeen a general Fame, amongfl the mojl intelligent and reputa- 34> 35- hie perfons, that the Bifliop Collated Air. Medley to this Treafu- rerfhip Sirnoniacally and Corruptly, and that he believes there is good cround for fuch a Fame : For upon the vacancy of that Dignity, he the faid Griffith making application for it, received a Letter from the Bifhop himfelf wherein he told the Deponent, that he had a Power to hold Three or Four Benefices in Commei^dam, and that He would not pretend to fuch afelf denial, as not to gratify himfelf at that time. And the faid Deponent, as an other ground of his belief of this Fame, farther Depofes, that Air. Medley being In- debted to the faid Deponent in the Summ of 8 /. he wrote to, ayd tailed upon him for it, but could get no Money, and that upon Mr. Medley'.* complaining of want of Money, the Deponent de fired him to fend an Order to the Tenant of the Corps of his Treafnrerfiip ta to Pay if, but that Mr. Medley fen t an Anfwer to the faid Depo- nent, that he dursl; not for the Bifhop meddle with that Rent. Now in my giving Anfwtrs hereunto, as I have diverfe things to offer, fo I fhall endeavour to be as ihort, as the matter will allow. And the Firfi thing I would fay, is to befeech the Reader, P (34i ) i&cjtf, to call to his remembrance, what hath been already reprefented at length, ,visu how and upon whan grounds and conflderations, the Biffiop had the Receiving of the fud Rem Vemifed and made over by Mr. Medley unto him for Tome' time.. For thereby it will appear to the fatisfaftion of all that are unprejudiced, that there is nothing in all this pro- duced by the Writer of the View out of Griffith's Dep-ifkion, which can any ways criminally affect his LorSffiip, and much lefs faftcn Simony upon him. But then I am alfo in the Se- cond place farther to beg of the Reader, that he would allow himfelf to Review, and ferioufly to confider, the Ciiaracjer, that hath been given of this Griffith in fome of the forego- SUcts. For by that he cannot avoid being convinced, that the faid Griffith is one of fuch an infamous reputation, as by no Law whatibever, can he be accounted TejHs Uonem, a qualified and competent Witnefs. There being not fo much as one Exception, affigned either by Civilians, by Canonijis, or by Cafuifts, for difabling and precluding a perfon, from gi- ving Teftimony in any Cauje, or before any Court whatfoever- which- we have not fully proved to obtain and to be in force againft this Griffith. So that to have it told us, the Bijhop of St. David's was convicled and Condemned upon his Depofuion ; is in effect to be told, that he was unrighteoufly and illegal- ly Convicted and Condemned. Nor could the Writer of the Vjerv have either faid more in Vindication of the BijJjcp,ftom the crime whereof he was Accufed ; or have faftned greater reproach and ignominy, on the proceedings of the Archbiffiop of Canterbury againft his Lordffiip •, than to acquaint us, that it was upon Griffith's Swearing to fuch and fach things ; that the former, was laid under a Sentance of Deprivation, by ,the latter. But then Thirdly, I do moreover defire it may be obferved, how that in the very foregoing Allegation, cited by the Author of the View out of Griffith's Deposition, there is fomething affirmed, aj well as confelFed, to have been Sworn unto by him, which it is morally impefllble mould be true. For whereas it is faid by this Writer, that Griffith de- clared upon Oath ( as indeed he did ) his having received a The Ere- Letter from the Bijhop, wherein his Lordffiip told him, that he had mot. 8. a power of Holding Three or Four Benefices in Commendam-, Witn.ji he the faid Griffith, muft undeniably have therein Sworn, to ArT' 6' ■ a Grofs and notorious falfcbeod. In that as the Bifficp, was an 7* by ( 342 ) by his Faculty, allowed only to Hold two Dignities, and two Be- nefices -, fo it is not to be fo much as imagined, by any man of Common Senfe, that the Bifiwp mould write to Griffith, that he had a Tower to hold Three or four Benefices. And we may reckon our felves fully allured, that the Bifhop never wrote fo to Griffith, in that his Lordfhip could not but underftand, that Griffith knew (as well as himfelf did) that He had no Rich Tower by Virtue of his Faculty. Nor is it to be thought, but that Griffith, would immediately have at leaft told his Lord- flip of his miftake, if he had not likewife upbraided him, for pretending fuch a Sham, as well as ungrounded Excufe, for denying him the Treafurerfljip, for which he had made applica- tion unto Him. Efpecially when. Griffith had fo fair an occa- lion, and withall fo provoking a motive for doing ic, as he fwears he had, both with refped to thejone, and to the tether. But as the Bifhop of St. David's, never laid claim, to the Holding more by. reafon of his Faculty, than two Dignities, and two Benefices \ fo he was always at that diftancc from the co- vetoufnefs his Enemies charge upon him, that he never Held but one Benefice at a time in Commendam, and two Dignities. And as He not only Refigned the two Dignities within Six months after He held them, but alfo gave back to Mr. Medley (on. whom he beftowed them) all the profits, which had arifen to his Lordflup from them in that' time ', fo he Refigned the Bene- fice, which he held in Commendam, a great while ago. So that from Griffith's depofing upon Oath, that the Biflwp had told him in a Letter, his having. a Tower to Hold three or four Be- nefices ; we may be abundantly fatisfied, how much this Grif- fith fworeat random, and how little regardlefs he is, whether what he Swears unto, be either true, or practicable And this leads me to what I am in the Fourth place, to Reply unto the aforefaid Allegation. Namely, that how falfe foever fome things in it are, and how impertinent, as well as inlignificant, the v, hole of it is, with refpccl to th# deiign, for which it was Sivom by Griffith, and is Reported by the Author of the View \ fuch is both the malice of the faid Author againft the Bifhop, and fo great is his infidelity and treachery. as a Writer, m the account he gives of the pretended Froofs of the Articles Ex- hibited againft that Prelate, that he hath dared, in reference to the very particular, I have been juft now chaftillng Grif- fith for, to put more into his Report and Hifiory, than was either ( 343 ) cither in Griffith's Depofiion, or in any IDepofition whatfoever. For whereas the whole which Griffith Swore unto, was only that the Bijhop had told him, that his JLordJhip had a power to Hold three or four Benefices in Commendam, but not that He actu- ally Held fo many} this faithlefs and fabulous Writer, hath had the impudence, to impofe this Lie as a Truth upon his Readers, viz. That the Bijlwp had refohedto hold both the Arch- Summary dczccnry of St. DavidV, and the Trcafurerfhip of Brecknock r'«^'n'» Commendam, and to Superadd them to the three or four Be-P* S"5* nefices held by his Commendam. For this Writer, is not on- ly fo grofly Ignorant of, and fo little acquainted with the Laws, concerning Ecdefiafiical Jurifdilli?n, and Church affairs, ( tho' by liis Station, and by reafon of the Pofi he hath been promoted unto, he ought to have been therein fully Inihuc~ted) as not to know, what Power a Bifiwp hath by his Faculty and what Power he hath not ; and that no Bijhop hath Tower there- by to Hold above two Benefices ; but he is likewife fo ihjincere in Reporting the Depofithns, which he takes upon him the giving the World an Hi'fiorical account of, as that from Griffith's ha- ving barely Sworn, that the Bijhop had faid, he had a Power to hold three or four Benefices; he doth poiitively affirm (and pretendeth to do it from thence) that His Lordjhip actually Held fo many. Nor do I fee, how it is poffible to excufe him in this, from having knowingly impofed a Falfehood upon the World, under the Name and Stile of a Truth • not- withstanding that I would be very willing .to do it, tho' it were at the expence of, and with fome Reflection upon his Un- derftanding. Neither will I take it amifs, if his Friends, for the vindicating his Confidence, ?nd the acquitting him from being one, who fcrupleth not firfl: to invert and mate, and then to Write and Publiih a Lie^ I fhall transfar the blame unto, and lay it upon his Intellectuals, as being of a fize, that leaves him under an Incapacity, of either diftinguifh- ing between Actus -and Potentiator between the Sign of a FmiireTenfc, and that of a Prater perfect. Nor can I in Fifth place omit taking notice, and that by way of Reply to the aforefaid Allegation, how both Griffith in his Depofit ion, and the IVr iter of the new in his. Report, ( not to mention at prefent the many other Rcafons, whereof I have alTigned feveraT before, why Griffith proved fuch a malicious Enemy of the Bijhop^s, as he appeareth to have been ) came to Swear fo Wrathfully, and ' with I hit. (344) with fo little regard to Truth, as he did, to the Bijhofi having Simoniacally Collated Mr. Meley to the Trenfurerfljip of Brecknock, viz. That this Griffith had folicited the having it be flowed on himfelf, and that the Bifhop had refufed to Grant it to him. And tho' his Lordftnp in denying to Conferr that Dig- nity upon Griffith, did what became a Good, Wife and Juft Prelate to do ; in that Griffith had more Preferments of one kind and another before, (as hath been fhew'd in fome of the foregoing Sheets) than he was either any ways worthy of, or took care to perform and difcharge the Duties Incu mbent on him, with refped to them, as he fhould have done ; yet it may not only be very reafonably fufpected, but may be affirmed with a Moral certainty, that it was thro* and be- caufe of the Bift>op\ denying to Collate Griffith to that Dignity, that he was fo furious as well as forward, in Swear- ing.to it's having been Simoniacally Conferred on Mr. Med- ley. For fuch was the Coyetoufnefs of Griffith, for Engrof- ilng all the moll beneficial preferments in the Diocefs to himfelf, that not to be complied with, and gratified, in the b€u\g Collated to whatfoever places, he had a mind to be poifeffed of, filled him with rage againft his Diocefw, and provok'd him to the revenging himfelf} Br ft in railing the calumny upon -his Lordjhip, and then in Swearing to it, that he had Simoniacally conferred the Treafurerjhip of Chrift-Church in Brecknock on Mr. Medley. And had the Writer of the View, been fo well acquainted either with Civilians or Canonifis, (not to fay with other good Authors) as one called a Dollar in the Civil Law and of Doffor's Commons, might have been prefumed to be,* he "would have found, that Griffith's pretend- ing' to the foremention'd Dignity, and the being refufed it, was a juft and a legal Exception, againft the validity of his Tcftimony, concerning its having been criminally bellowed on another. Seeing that as Cicero fays, Tefti irato non eft cre- dendum, one who is known to be angry, becaufe of a ftppofed of- fence done him, is not to be believed, in any thing he teftifieth againft the ferfon with whom he is Angry, efpecially about that, wherein he concciveth himfelf to have been Injured ; fo it is an eftablilhed Rule among the Dotlors, that no man is to be admitted a Witnefs againft: a perfon, to whom he beareth a Revenge, or in a caufe wherein he may hope to compafs it. And if both Civilian's and Canmift\ be agreed, that canfarnm Sol- ( 345 ) Sollicitatores-, in Mis caufisy e*uas follicitaffe twftuntttr, turn ftnt dd- Reform at. mittendi teftes, and that nan pot eft ejuis cffe t eft is in caufa, in quaLe2, Ecclc^ fait Advocatus, vel procurators fuch as have bun Sollicitors, oy 'J^I'l Advocates of and in Caufes, are not to be received as Witneffes t{1 fna't. in thofe Caufes-, we may fully afTuieour felves, that they whot«r*. fur. have been Suiters for fuch a place or preferment, and have Canon. been denied them, ought not be allowed for Legal Witneffes, u^- 3- towards the proving their having been beftow'd criminally Tlt* '*' upon others. But in the Sixth place, I have fomething yet further to fay, in Anfwer to the aforefaid Allegation of the Writer of the new, from and upon Griffith's Dcpofition, and ' particularly to that part of it, of their having been a General Su.mw.iry Fame, that the Biftop had Collated Mr. Medley to the Treafurer- View> fhip Simoniacally and corruptly: viz. That it is no wonder, P'-5*' fuch a Fame was become fo general, confidering how ma- ny had confpired, and combined together, (whereof we have given an account before) firft to Raife, and then to fpread it. Nor ought any Strefs to have been laid, either upon then- being fuch a Fame, or its being fo general. For was there ever a more General Fame of any thing whatfoever, not only through thefe Dominions, but through all Europe, than that the Earl of Ejfex had been murder* d in the Tower ', and yet nothing is more certain, (and which is alfo acknowledged by his own neaieft Relations) than that he was Feb de fe. And the Report of his having been murder'd by others, of which, thro' its being fo induftrioufly fpread, there came to be fo goneral a Fame, was only the malicious Fiction of a Republican and Phanatical Faftion, for the defaming of K. Charles Second and his Royal Brother the Duke of York, in order to the- fubverfion of the Monarchy. And if a Fame far more^we- ral, than that of the Bijhop of St. David\ having Simoniacally Collated Mr. Medley to the Treafuerftrip of Brecknock, were of any lignificancy, for rendring that true, of which there is fuch a Fame, or were fufficient for obtaining credit to be given to \t; the Duke of Monmouth, had been alive for feveral years, after fome thoufands had feen him Executed on Tower Hill. For I am not only very well allured, that there was a very Common Fame of his being fo ; but I am inclinable to think, it would have been kept up much longer than it was, if they who Raifed, Spread, and gave encouragement to the belief of it, had not found a Prince then a&ually Living, by Y y and ( 34* ). and upon whom they could better fcrve their ends and de- signs, than they could have done by that Fi&ion and Fable. Nor ought I here to omit taking notice of the Fame that hath gone thro' the Kingdom, of the late Hottfe of Commons, and of many of the moft honourable and worthieft members there- of, as that they were French Penfaners, and in a Confpiracy a- gainfl the Late King and the State -, when all Reported of them, was meerly Forged and Invented by a Party and Faction of Men who are neither Friends jto the Monarchy, nor to the Church of England, as it is by Law Efiablifhed. And m it may be very juftly believed, that all thofe Lies and Fables, which werefo in duftrioufly fpread,and too much believed, were Minted and Stamped, by the late Mafters, and the famous Coyners of new Politicks, in order to the getting a Fannatick . and Republican Houfe of Commons , fo it may be juftly feared, that what fome People had both in View and defign there- upon, was no lefs than the getting that Houfe to fall into meafures, for excluding the prefent Queen from Succeeding to the Throne, could the Late King have been either fo unjuft, or ungrateful, as to have defired it of, or accepted it from them. And were it not that the Writer of the new is won- derfully unacquainted with good Authors, he would have known, that nothing is more mendax, a Liar than Fama, Fame. Whereof, for the endodtrinating his plumbeous Cerebrofity ( if I may be allowed to ufe a phraze, tho' obfolete, of Sr. Phillip Sidney's ) I (hall give two or three Teftimonies out of a Writer, who always had, and ftill hath the reputation in in World, of having been a perfon of good Senfe. Namely, *j-acjt# that in Magnis mendaciis, credula Fama ; Fame doth foon ob- Jfiji. Lib. tain in reference to the greatefi Lies : and that thro' their very i. being lb, cunila (tit mos Fama) magis credit a, they are the more rea- A 7 *^ty an<^ firmb> believed, as is ufual in matters taken up upon Fame : •ybt g ' and withall that more Famt, tredentium otio augentur, after the manner of Fame, they become enlarged, thro> the LazJnefs of a credn- H. Ann&l. Ions People, to inquire into the truth of them. But then in the Jth Lib. 14. piace^ 1 have ftill further to add, in way ot Reply, to Griffith's having Sworn, and the Author of the View Reported, that fuck a Fame was amongfi the moft Intelligent and Reputable per- sons ; viz. that tho' they of thofe Characters could not avoid, hearing it, yet it is the impofing a direct and palpable falfe- hood upon the world, to fay that they ever believed it, where- of ( 347 ) of having given fo many Inffances before, both of Perfbns of better quality, and of greater reputation, who believed not a fyllable of it, than any of the Promoters Witmjfes were, I Jfhall not here infifl upoii it again. But inftcad thereof, lhall only put the Author of the View in mind, that as there are many things, which ill men invent and fpread ; and which they -who are either of a Faction with them, or are very weak, and thereupon extreamly credulous, do greedily receive and warmly believe-, which fuch as are of probity and good fenfe, do not give the teaft credit unto, tho' they can- not efcape the hearing of them ; fo I will venture to affirm, that they who believe' not a word of the Bijliof of St. Da- vid's having Simoniacally collated Mr. Medley to the Trcafurer- flip of Brecknock, or to any other Dignity, or Ecclefia(licd pre- ferments whatfoever, are both much the majority for Number, and far the more preferable for vertue, to thofe who took upon them to afperfe his Lordfiup with that crime. So that if ei- ther mtiltis Tefiibus, or non Tefiibus fed Tejlimoniis, efi creden- dum, Faith ought to have been given to the mofl Witneffes, or to the Teftimonics of thofe, who were of the befl quality, and of the grea- teft probity ; the Bifliop of St. David\ inftcad of being Condem- ed upon the Articles Exhibited againfl: him, and the Depofitions, which wc/e brought in proof of them, would in any impartial Court of Judicature have been acquitted, and declared a very Vpright and Innocent Prelate. But as it was his Lordfmfs mis- fortune, to be accufed by a fet of men, qui pari dolor e aliena commoda, ac fuas injur ias metiantur, who were equally offended at Tacit. kindneffes done to others, as at what they called injuries done to them" . .? jehes •, and who alfo knew ; that in order to the efcaping pu- nifhment themfelves, as well for other crimes, as for {ten- dering their Diocefan, fubfidium ab audacia petendum, they were to put on all the impudence imaginable in their Depofing againfl him j ,■ j , and it being likewife his Lordflnp^s unhappinefs to have the Lib. i5. ' Trial of his caufe come before fome, who both by reafbn of the pique born againfl: him, by fuch as they flood de- voted to ierve •, and their liablenels to the failure reprehend- ed by the Hiflorian, of being filch, qui omnem infima plebis ru- morem affettant, who are too much influenced by every little foo- lilh Story difperfed among and hearkned unto by the Ca- naille and Mob •, the Bifhop of St. DavitPs thereupon, came to be Treated as he was, and (as I faid before,) to be put inter Y y 2 Con* ( 348 ) CondemUatos, without much regarding, whither he was intercom' But frill further, I have this to add in the Eighth place, and that by way of Reply particularly to that part of Grif- fith's Depoftion, in which he Swears to his writing to Mr. Med- ley to defire him to Order the Tenant of the Corps of his Treajltrcr- Jhip,to pay him the [aid Griffith, the Sum of 8 /. which Medley was owing to him ', and that M*. Medley fent an Anfvoer to Grif- fith, th.it he durft not for the Bijhop medtte- with that Rent : name- ly that this inflead of implying, and much lefs of proving any Simoniacal Contract between the B-foop and him, it plain- ly fhewecb, that Mr. Medley was a perfon incapable of being drawn into, and involved in fuch a crime. In that it doth even thereby appear, that he was fo honejr. and upright a man, as not to break in upon thac, which he had Demifed to the Bijhop, towards the payment of a D.bt, which he the faid Mr, Medley was juftly owing to him -0 nor would fo far' depart from the Bargain, he had made with his Eordjlup, as to appoint the Tenant of the 0>ps of the Trefrre-fo'p, to divert any part of the Rent thereof, from the Bijlnp's ufe, during the time, that by reafon of the often foremention'd confideration his Lordfyp had a Right granted unto him for the receiving of. Nor indeed could Mr. Medley (had he even been to re- ceive the Rent of the Corps himfelf and had not transferred and made it over for fuch a feafon to the Bijhop) have fent fuch an Order to the Tenant \ forafmuch as he was not his Te- riant, but the Tenant of the Lcffces, or of the Fellows and Schollars of Jefns-Colledge Oxon. And as Griffith difcover'd himfelf to be a Knave, indefiring Mr. Medley, to fend an Order of that kind, to a perfon, who was no Tenant of his, but a Tenant to others ' fo the Writer of the f^ierp, hath fhcw'd himfelf to be both I very weak, and unthinking man, and a mofl impertinent Writer, in his prefuming to argue to the disadvantage of Mr. Medleys reputation, from his not doing a thing, which he neither ought, nor wTas in his power to do. Nor can any who are Wife, Juft, and Impartial, avoid obferving, how il- legally and unrighteoufly the Bijhop was proceeded againft when a Simoniacal Contract between Him and Mr. Medley in relation to the T> etfurtrfkif of St. Davia\ was admitted' to be proved by fo nonfenfical an Allegation, as Mr. Medleyh re- filling to do that, which he had no right or power to do • and which without tke expofing himfelf to be reckon'd for a Fool. ( 349 ) Fool, he could not have offer'd at the doing of. *Yea I may fay, th.lt from Mr. Medley's fending an An fiver to Griffith, that He could not for the Bifhop, meddle with the Rent of the Trea- fitrerjhip of Brecknock, all people who have not fornething very much amifs, either in their Vnder fan dings, or their Wilts, inftead of inferring from thence, that there had been any thing Simoniacal between them, in relation to the ones be- ing Collated by the tother to that Dignity, mull according to all the Rules and Meafures of Judgment and good fenfe, con- clude that it was morally Unpofllble, there mould have been any fuch thing. Seeing we may be allured, that had any cri- minal thing interveen'd between them, in that matter, and more efpecially had there been any Simony, in the Cafe, Mr. Medhy, in the room of publishing his Lordfirifs mcdling with that Rent, would have ufed all the artifice imaginable, to have Cover'd it. And this proclaiming it with that opennefs he did, doth abundantly demonftrate, that theBijhofs having had uRigk granted to him from Mr. Medley for the Receiving of that Rent, ihuft Nave been for andopon fach Confederations, as could neither bring fhame and ignominy upon them, nor give them any legal ground of fear and dread. Finally and in the Ninth Place, I have one thing moreover ft ill to 6bferve,by way of Re fly to the afore - faid Allegation, and particularly with refpect to two rude malici- ous and ground lets Exprcjfions of l\itWriter of the View. Whereof the one is, That the Bilhop having rejolvedto hold the Arch-Deacon- - ry of St. David V, and the Treafurerfhip of ChvifVs-Chnrcb iny^™*® Brecknock in Commendavn, did not hold them, in that it was a better^. 35. Device, to?ive them to Mr. Medley, and the Bifhop Receive the Rents of them, than if the Bilhop himfclj fjopild have held them •' And the other is, kho justly Mr, Medley was held by many People, /^t (as Mr. Harris Swears' hi was) a Perfon made ufe of by the Bilhop, to fill up places for himfelf to take the Profits. In my bellowing Reflections whereupon, I cannot forbear acknowledging, that I am put under great Temptations, of being very fevere upon ihhlVriter. And were it not, that I mould bethought, to whip others over his (boulders,! fiiould give him a much (harper Chaftifement, than out of deference to them I will. All I intend therefore to fay, is, that as the whole of thisjhath been already made appear to be meer Forgery, and down right Ficlion, and that the calumniating the Bifiop of Sc. David's, after this manner, doth not only both declare his own implacable Ma- lice ( 35 o_) liceagainfl that Prelate, and gives a pattern, as well as opens away, for Treating all them and of the Sacred Orders after a rate, that no wife Men would, nor good Men dare do^ but it proclaimeth this Writer to want common Senfe, and to he one of as great fcarcity of Brains, as he is of largenefs of Confci- ence, and of latitude in Morals ; that he can imagine the Bt- pop would Simonically bellow thofe Dignities on Mr. Medley, that he might under the -vail and cover of his 'Name, and in the virtue of a nominal andcollufory Right in him, take the Profits of them, when by reafon of his Faculty, he could open- ly and avowedly have held them, and have demanded and re- ceived the Rents, by a Right Veiled and Refident in himfelf. Nor do Men have recoutfe to crooked ways, or to what this Writer calls a^Device, but when they judge it impracticable to effeft their dellgns in the common and allow'd paths. Nor are there inftances to be found of perfons, who will prefer either hazardous methods to Jafe, when tbey are both equally before them, unlefs they be DislraEled, or Criminal means to Legal, when they are in a condition ofcompafling their ends, as well, yea better, by the latter, than by the former, unlefs they be egregious Knaves, as well as Fools. And for this Author to en- deavour to perfwade Men that the Bijhop of Sr. David's was capable of doing fuch a Ridiculous thing, and that he would have run himfelf into Pra&ices, for which he knew he made himfelf obnoxious to the Law, and would become very fe- verely and criminally cenfurable, (when all that his Lordjhip is faid to have propos'd to himfelf, by and from this Artifice, or as our Author Jdiles it Device,was attainable by and in the way of Legal means, for the ufing whereof, he could not have been fo much as Reproached, and much lefs upon exhibited Articles have been Criminally AccufedJ doth mew us, that either this Writer hath a very mean opinion of the generality of mankind, or that they ought to have a very contemptible one of him. And unlefs he intended- his View of the Proceedings, &c. againfi the Biftiop of St. David'/, both for a jLampoon on the whole Procefs, upon which that Prelate was Sentenced ; and for a Satyr on his Grace of Canterbury, for being as little acquainted with the Rules of Juftice, as he was a ltranger to Impartiality, would this Writer have ever mufter'd up things, Co plainly fubverflve of, as well as dire&ly inconfiftent with that, which he pre- tended to lafer from, and to confirm and eftablilh by them. Or if that I ( 35^ ) that Writer could be fo weak and unthinking a Perfon, as to hope this View would be efteem'd a J unification of the Juridi- cal Attings of the Grand' Metropolitan, againft his Comprovincial Biftop. 1 do fuppofe that himfelf, as well as others, by that time, he, or they, have gone thus far through thefe Papers, will be made fenfible, that it is not fo difficult a Pro vine* or Undertaking, as fome might have imagin'd to be, not only to Vindicate an Vncie and Nephew, from all Reproaches of, and Accufations for Simony, thrown upon, and advanced againft them, becaufeof all, or of any of the Benefices and Dignities, which the former Collated on the latter; and both minas hoftium, Xaciv° ^ in ludibrium vertere, to turn all the menaces of their Enemies G J ' into fcorn and ridicule, lllorum confilium, aftufque, in perniciem jj, Anna,}, ipfis virtere, to make all their Projections againft the Bijhop, and Lib. 2. the Arch-Deacomy of St. David'/, and the Tricks and Chicane- ® ™ Vl** ries which have been ufed for the gaining of Credit to their ^ric' Slanders, to rebound upon themfelves, and by turning and play- ing their own Artilly upon them, to repulfe them in their at- tacques and defeat them, but that this Author will underftand better hereafter, than he hath hitherto done, how that fraud* ;- nVs vifus agere, fita peremptus eft mercede, his fraudulency and de- ceit, in order to the Injuring others, have been applied and Improved to the faftning that Ignominy and contempt up- on himfelf, which if I do not miftake, he will not find it eafy to refcue himfelf from* So that having fully accounted with theWriterof the View, for and concerning every thing produced by him, in the way of pretended Proof, of the Simoniacal Tranfatlions between the Bijhop and Mr. Medley ; I am now to proceed to an Examina- tion of what is faid by this Author, for the faftning of Simony on his Lordjhip, in his Collating one Mr. Brooks to the Rettery of Burrough-Green in Cambridgjhire, which the Bijhop held in Com- mendam. And which the faid Writer, calls the other At! of Si- Summary many, alledged againft his Lordjhip, in the Promoter's Articles, Vie** and hath thereby proclaimed himfelf to be one who Writes ?• 4P' with great Thoughtlefsnefs and Inadvertency. In that where- as before, he had Charged the Bifhop with the deteftable Sin of Simony, committed by him in many Inflames ; he doth neverthe-p"ew lefs herein and by his calling this the other At! of Simony, con-p, a 7, fefs and acknowledge, that there were only two Atts of Simony alledged againft the faid Prelate ia the Promoter1* Articles. But having (3S2 ) having furftuentlyexpos'd him already for this, I will not here and at this time fay more, than that I could not omit obferving it, becaufe it Juftifieth me in all the Rebukes and Caftigation, which I gave him on that account? Now that the Reader may the more clearly and diftinctly underftand the whole affair, that f am to encounter the Author of the View about, and be the better prepar'd to difcern the Injury and Injuftice done the Biftopot St. David's, in charging him with, and condemning him for Simony, in relation to any Tranfaction with Brooks in his Settlement at Burro ugh Green, I mufl begg the Liberty to premife a few things, .which fhill alfo ferve both to the Mark- ing out the Ground, that this Writer and I am to fight upon ; and to the'meafuring and adjufting the Weapons, that we are to make uje of. Whereof the Firfi is, that the Bsjhq had held that "Re&ory for fome time in Commendam, and had at that time (provided he kept and employ'd one to Serve the Cure) a legal Title and Right to all the profits and emoluments of it, which were very conflderable. And as none of his worft Enemies have ever denied this, and. the very Author of the View, who is one of the moft wrathful and malicious of them, hath both frequently ConfefTed it, and taken occafion moft wrongfully to afperfe him, for the having treated fome of- his Curates there, otherwife than he ought, concerning which I have already called this Writer to an account ; ft I hope I need not tell Englifh men, that, his Lordjbip in the Vertue of his Faculty whereby he held it, had fuch a Freehold and He- ritage in it for Life, as not to be Ejected or difecized, with- out his own Refignation as well as Confent. Unlefs he had flood Convicted of Crimes, by reafon whereof he had in and according to Law forfeited his Title thereunto. But of be- ing Guilty-of any offences of that kind, He was not then fo much as Judicialiy accufed, much lefs pretendedto have flood Convicted. Whereunto let me fubjoyn this Second pretimina; y , as another 'premife, not unworthy of the being obferved. Namely that tho' his Lordjhip might have continued to hold it 11 ill in Commei?dam,and to have fupplied it by a Curate, as he had formerly done ; yet thro' his being both at fuch a diftance ( which as BJhjp of St. David's he was neceffitated unto) that he could neither readily nor perfectly know how his Curates performed the duties of their Function ; and thro' his having aifo apprehenlions, that becaufe of their being fomuch from un- der C 3S3 ) dor his immediate infpe&ion, as well as his Authority } and by reafon of their being at Liberty to leave their Station, and to remove elfewhere whenfoever they pleafed ; he might hear of things concerning them, which would no lefs give him greif, than difpleafure, (as even when he lived more ad- jacently to the faid Re&ory, he had met with complaints in reference to the behaviour and conduct of fome whom he had formerly Employ M as Curates in that place) he thought it would be moft for the Edification of the Parifiioners of that Reftory -, and alfo for his own honour, to fettle a Per- fon of good fame in it, who not only might, but f without the intervention of death J mould be obliged to Refide con- ftantly in it, during fuch a time as was like to be as long, as his Lordflrifs natural Life, beyond which he had no power to difpofe of it. And William Brook's being very much Com* mended to the Bijhop, as well for his fober and vertuous Con- vei fation, as for his minifterial abilities ; and being one, who had not only preached at St. Ann's with great ap- plaufc} but who wore the Badge of a Lord's Chaplain, and was generally taken for, and commonly owned as fuch -, his Lordfrip believed he could not exprefs either a more pafto- ral or an Epifcopal Care for thofe of that Parijh or Retlory, winch he held in Commendam, than to appoint and fettle the faid Brooks among them for the performing of all Minifterial Duties. In any part whereof, and particularly in this Brook's being qualified according to Law for the work and office of a Priejt, thro' his having obtained full Orders, if the Bijhop had been mifinformed, and thereupon came to be miftaken, it can only (hew his Lordjhip to have been too credulous, or at mofc to have been fomewhat deficient, in making thofe in- quiries after him, which he might ; (and with which defect and omiflion, other Prelates are no lefs liable in ibme cafes to be charged, as wc fhall fhew hereafter, than the Bi- jhop of St. David's) but it doth not in the leaft affect him with any puniihable Crime, nor render him any ways obnoxious to an accufation of Simony* But then farther, I would lay down as a a Other prelcminary, and would premife in the Third place, that as no Par [on or Rettor &c. who do even Refide on their Livings or Benefices, are obliged to hold the Tithes thereof in their otfn hands, or to Collect and receive them themfelves ; but they are at liberty to Leafe and Demife them to whom- Z z foever ( 354 ) fbever tliey pleafe , and cuftomarily do fo, to fuch as offer molt, provided they be elteem'd folvent , fo they who do not conftantly Refide on their Parfonages, or Retlories &c. but ftand Difpenced from it, are both, by Law allowed, and in common fraftke do tofe, to Lcafe out the Tithes and Profits of them. The wlnle, that is in thefe Cafes Required, either by the Statutes of the Realm jqv by the Canons and Confthuti- ons of the Church of England, is that they who are the Leaf- c&n. # fers, do take care, to have the Cures regularly and dulyy«p- Conftit. tiled by fuch as flail be able fufficiently to teach and infix utl the r\6°^' people. And as they who have a Faculty of Holding Benefices fn Commendam, are by no Law or Con flit ution whatfoever, bound to give the whole profits (which accrue from thence) to their Curates ; nor is it practiced by any, whom I have either known, or heard of ^ lb for any to hold Benefices in Com- mendam on thofe Terms, would be not only inconfiftent with the End, and repugnant to the motive and Reafon, for and upon which it is allowed, which are the rewarding of merit,, and the giving encouragement to diligent and laborious Stu- dying; but it would be a burden, rather than an advantage -, and a punifhment, inftead of a priviledge ; thro' involving and entangling fuch as Hold them, under a care and follici- tude, yea and refponfablenefs too, when others, and not they, were to reap all the benefit. Neither is it to be fuppofed, nor can it according either to our Municipal Lam, or our Ecclefiaftical Confutations, be fo much as queltion'd, but that they, who are allowed to Hold Benefices in Commendam, may both as Lawfully Leafe out the Tithes and Profits of them ; as Bijhop's, Beans, and Chapters, or Prebendaries, who have Ap- propriated Tithes belonging to them, do theirs ; and alfo do it, under the fame provilions, and with like limitations, viz. of having the Cures fupplied by perfons, capable of being Conftituted their Curates. Moreover, let me hereunto add as a Fourth Preliminary, or Prtmife, that it is the fame thing, both in matter of Jufike and Equity, and in the account and cfteem of the Law, whe- ther upon the Leafing out, and Demifing the Profits of a Benefice, for a certain Term of Tears, it be doneupon a Stipulation and Contract, of having fo much Paid Annually, as fhall anfwer the true Tenantry Value thereof, or be done on the confideratfon ©f a large Fine to be Paid immediately, and in hand, with the i referve (355) referveonlyof a fmall Yearly Rent. Nor is there anydiffe' rence between a Bargain contracted npon the former Terms, and an Agreement made upon the latter, why either according to Law, or Morality, the prfi mould be accounted Lawful, and the lafl pronounced Criminal. 'lis true, whofoever becom- eth Leafiee to fuch Tithes, is concern'd in point of Pru- dence, and upon the head of Wifdom, to take care that the Fine he is to advance, do not (either thro' his own death, or the death of the Leafier) arife above the Income which he is like to receive by the Leafe. And all the remedy, as well as precaution in that cafe, is caveat Contractor -, as in other cafes, it is caveat Emptor. And tho' it is not impoffible, but that fometimes, he who is the Leffer or Demifer of fuch Tithes, may be too cunning for the Lefiee, and may thereupon over-reach him, yet it is not only altogether impoffible, there mould be any Simony therein, but there is not fo much as any fuch Offence in it, which cither the Laws of the Land, or the Canons of the Church have made and declared Punijhable. But to proceed to an other Preliminary, which fhall comprehend what I have in the Fifth place to Premife, viz. that is as Lawful both by our Laws, and our Canons, for one who h a Legal Parfon, Rctlor, or Incumbent, So Leafe out the Tithes of his Parfonage, Reclory, or of any Euleftajlkal Benefice he is duely poflefled of, to a Clergy- man, as to a Perfon who is a Lakh Yea there are fome very Learned, as well as Wife Men, who are of Opinion, that it is both more agreeable to Reafon and Religion, and would be more for the Interefl: of the Church, to have thofe Tithes rather Leafed CO one of the Sacred Order, than to a Layman. And if fuch Tithes may be Lawfully Demi fed to an Ecclefiafikh, as undoubt- edly they may, it is not to be queftion'd, but that the fame Terms may be infilled upon, in the Leafing them to him, as might be ftood upon in the granting a Leafe thereof to a Lakh Nor do I underltand why Mr. Edmond Meyrick mould not only be accounted Innocent, but admitted to Glory, in his being Te- nant on a Leafe of the Corps belonging to the Prebend of Cliddy, and yet that the Bijhop of St. David's, mould be Accufed and y^iry Condemned as Guilty of a Crime, for making William Brooks a p. 29. Tenant. by Leafe of the Tithe s of Burrough-Green. Nor can any Man of Senfe comprehend, why it Ihould be no Offence in Mey- ihii rick to Pay a Fine of 25 /. for renewing a Leafe of the Corps of Cliddy, and be bound to Pay Annually a referved Rent of 15/. Z z 2 and ( 35* ) and that it fhould be Simony- in the Bijhop of St. David's, to demand and receive a greater Fine of Brooks, upon his becom- ing Lejfee to the Tithes, Glebe-Lands, and appurtenances of Bur- rough-Green, (which were far more confiderable, than the Pro- fits arifing from the aforefaid Corps) when the Yearly referved Rent,, was to be only 5 s. by the Quarter. And as nothing was ever required, and much lefs contracted for, by reafon, and in confideration of Brooks's being admitted and empower'd to ferve the Cure, but meerly becaufe of his having Glebe- Lands and Tithes Demi fed unto him, (there being a Surplufage, in the nature of a Salery, always referved, which would have accrued to him from thence, for all the Offices of his Spiritual Funtlion, beyond and above what his Lordflnp could have had one to be his Curate for, or had ever given to fuch a one, and yet the Bijhop have kept the Tithes of thatRe&ory to himfelf ) fo it is not un- worthy of our obfervation, that his Lordfiip had a much greater Fine (than Brooks Paid) offer ?d him, at the fame time by another, for what he gave a Leafe of, and Demifed to Brooks, and that the Perfon who made the faid offer, would have oblig'd himfelf under a Penal Bond, for providing one in Holy ^Orders, who mould have carefully and eonftantly have Served the Cure. But to go on to what I have to Premije in the Sixth place, which is, that it was Morally impofTible there fhou'd beany thing Simonia- cal, in the Contrail between the Bifhop of St. Davids and William Brooks, in that the Indenture relating thereunto, with all the Terms, Conditions, and Covenants, mention'd and lpecified therein, was drawn by Sir Francis Pemberton, who as he was an excellent Lawyer, was alfo a Perfon of that Probity and Righteoufnefs, and withall fuch a ftrid obferver of the Canons and Conftitutions of the Church of England^ that he never would have been accefTary to a thing, which was either Immoral, or Illegal, and. much lefs have prepar'd, as well as approv'd, a Leafe, Demife, or Deed, which was fo directly repugnant to the Statutes of the Realm, and the Ordinances of the Church, as this is Articled and Sentenced to have been. Nor is what I have laid of Sir Francis Pembcrton's Drawing, as well as Ap- proving, the Covenant and Bargain between the Biflwp of St. David's and Brotks, to be entertain'd as an evaflon of mine, invented and alledged, for covering his Lordjinp from the Crime and Infamy of Simony in the faid Tranfaction, but it was under undeniable Proof before his Grace of Canterbury, and -thofe (357) thofe he call'd to "be Affejfors to him, tho' neither with him, nor them, was any thing that could be offer'd, of the leaft fignifi- cancy, for the acquitting of a Perfon, they had a Pique a- gainft, and were in fubferviency to an other Intereft, than that of Chriftianity, refolved to condemn. But if I may give credit to the Reports of the Town, there is a Prelate of a much higher Station in the Church, far more liable to be Pro- ceeded againlt uponfome of the Articles Produced againft the Bijhcp of St. David\ than ever that Prelate was } which if I be not much mis-inform'd, as it will in due time, and probably very fpeedily come before a more competent Ecdefiaftkal Au- thority, thanthe Cafe of, and the Procefs againfl the Bijhop of St. David's did, fo we (hall then have a Proof how faithful a Friend, as well as how able and skilful an Advocate the Author of the View will approve himfelf, when he is to be upon the Defenfive, for his great Lord, Patron, and Benefactor. Where- in I mall not be troubled to find he acquits himfelf better, and do come off with more Reputation,than he is like to do in the Ojfencive againft the Bijhop of St. David's, in which he hath been (as they call it in the military Terms) not only a very (ignal party Man, but a very Maroder. And if my Underftand- ing, as well as my Intelligence, do not very much deceive me, he will find it a much more difficult Province to Vindicate a certain Great Man, (T mean whofe Titles and Dignities do make him fo) from having granted and given a Bribe of 10000/. for a Church Dignity, (and which I fear may be too legally and effe&ually proved) than he conceiv'd it was, to in- fult over, and trample upon the Reputation of a Prelate, who was therefore to be made Guilty, becaufe he was hated at Kenfmcton, , and thereupon at Lambeth, Salisbury, and di- verfe other places, • where the Mcredian of affairs was un- derftood, and the Zenith of power fo well known, as that the Clocks of thofe places, were fet to Chime and Strike accordingly. Finally, I have this in the Seventh place farther to Premi[e, that the difference between the Articles Exhibited firft againft the Bifltop of St. David's whereof the 12th. doth wholly relate to his LordJJnp's having Simoniacally Covenanted and agreed with William Brooks, in his Settling him in the Rcclory of Burrough Green ; and the Articles preferred after- wards againft the faid Prelate, doth plainly fhew, that neither the Promoter^ nor others, who fought for an advantage againft him C 358 ) ' him in that matter, knew how to find any thing Criminal in the faid Tranfa&ion, but that they were refolved to pitch upon fome one particular, or another, which they might a- mong the Ignorant, and before prepoflefled and prejudiced Judges, call by that opprobrious name'. Whereof that the Reader may have the clearer light, and be the more fully fa- tisfied, it will not be amifs, to lay the feveral Articles exhi- bited againft the Biflwp in reference to that affair, particu- larly and diftindtly before him. The Article which Lucy the Promoter did firfi Exhibit e againft his Lordfrip, was in the Article 12. yjQxfe following. Namely, rve do objecl to yon {he Bifuop of' St. David'*, that being Incumbent of Burrough Green, you did Simoniacully and corruptly Covenant and Agree with one William Brooks, that on the confideration of 200 Guineas to you to be paid, you would fettle him Curate in the faid place, and after- wards Refign the fame to him, when he flwuld defire it. Whereas the Articles Exhibited by the fame Lucy afterwards concerning the fame Tranfatlion, were in words of a perfect other im- Jriides portance. viz. That the Bijhop, having Covenanted and Agreed l> 2' with William Brooks, that for and in confideration of 200 Gui- neas, he would and (f)ould Execute a Leafe of the Reel cry of Bur- rough Green, and of all the Tithes and Ecclefaflical Rights and Emoluments unto the fame belonging, to the faid William Brooks, his Executors, Adminiflrators, and AJfigns for 3 1 years then to come (if the BiJJoop Jliould fo long live) How that inftead of Ex- ecuting of the faid Leafe, containing the mention of the 200 Guineas, as the confideration thereof, his Lordfrip would, and did only Give a writing Signed and Sealed, fignifyir.g that forafmuch as ih a Leafe Granted to William Brooks, he had promifed not to Refign or Surrender his Right and Title in and to the the Rectory 0/ Bur- rough Green, unlefs at the requefi of the faid William Brooks ; he doth thereby promife, whenever the faid William Brooks Jhall defire it, to Refign all his Title and Interefl to the faid Rectory. Nor can I now doubt, but that every man of Good fenfe, who fhall perufe thefc differing Articles^ will eafily difcern, how the additional or latter Articles, are both inconfifcent with, and do deftroy the firmer. Seeing in the place of Simony which was Articled in the Eirft, and .wherein the Bijliop is accufed to to be a Simonifi ', we' have only Fraud and Treachoy alledged in the Lateer, and his Lordjlrip therein Accufed of being a Knave. And I have the rather both added this premife, and him ( 3S9 ) Jo iccommcnA the condderation of it to ihcRea^er, in that ■ tho' after the Commencement of a Procefs ; Lawyers do allow the bringing additional and fublidiary proofs, befides thofe which might have been produced at fijrftj yet they will not admit the fuperadding of new Articles, beyond thofe which were at firfl: Exhibited} and much les will they fuffer the ad- vancing of fuch Articles, as fhal] not only vary from, but over- throw the former. For it is not only one of the Rules jn Law, that quod fimel placuit, amplius difplicere twn potefi, what hath been/^T. *.liu ence admitted, cannot be afterwards either rejecled or exchanged. 121. but it is likewife another of thofe Rules, that de qua re cognovit %■£• far- judex, de ea quoque pronunciare cogendus eft, rvhatfoever a ' indy cefs, there was never a Leafe Produced or Exhibited, but meerly 43' a Draught of one. And whofoever talks of Executing a bare Draught of a Leafe, and fuch a one alfo, wherein it is affirm'd by the Bifrofs Adverfaries, his Lordjhip had made feveral Alte- rations, difcovereth himfelf to have very little Underftanding, (to fay no worfe) in affairs of that kind. But I find that I may live and learn, in that whereas I ha#hitherto been .taught, , and was always accordingly firmly perfwaded, that no Court of Judicature whatfoever, could proceed to pafs Sentence in rela- • tion to matters which were only Ailedged, unlefs they were alfo Proved by good and legal Witnefles ; I have now feen, how under the Reign of the late King William, fuch as he had placed in the higheft Dignities of the Church, could venture to give Judgment againft a Brother, and a Comprovincial Bifhop, upon a noile and fuggeftion of a certain Leafe (fuppofed to have been Simoniacally Granted) which during the whole Trial, was fo far from being Prov'd, that it was never Produced. And whofo- ever have but ia the ieaft confider'd the Rules, which are ap- pointed to be obferved in all Judicial Proceedings, will find it is what both Divines and Lawyers are agreed in, Namely, that Jitdkes debent folum Judicare fecundum allegata & probata. So that there had been fomething Illegal, or even Criminal, in the Contracting and Promifing to Grant fuch a Leafe, (which I have already fhew'd, and mail more fully hereafter, there nei- ther was, nor could be, had the faid Leafe been really and for- mally Executed) yet no Perfbn ought to have been accounted and pronounced Guilty, upon the having meerly imagined the Granting fuch a Leafe, (and of which there was no more in Proof, than a rude and Interlin'd Draught^) it being a Maxim in Law, that as in all Cafes and Tranfadions of this nature, (whatfoever it be in fome others) affetlus non eft puniendus, fine ejfeftu ', the intention is not to be punifhed, where the effe& did not follow -, fo it is Univerfally declarM by all Lawyer?, That unumcjuodque eodem raodo dijjolvi potejl, quo colligatum ejt, " that every Bargain and Contrail, that is not Executed, may be dijfoh'd in the fame manner, that it was fipulated and con- A a a 2 certed ; ' ( 3*4 ) certed; and that What was only Conventionally agreed, may be Conventionally Annulled, And the very Author of the View, hath in effedt declared it to be his opinion, that the Bifhop of St. Da- vid's could not legally be found guilty of Simony, upon the producing an Interim* d Draught of a he aft, (tho' there had been foraething therein, which might have look'd Simoniacat) in that he recurreth to a Note, (whereof we fhall difcourfe a- non) whkh the Bifhop gave to Brooks, by the giving of which Note, he fays the Bifhop advanced as far he could, to Summary turn the Conventional into a Real Simony. Whereby as this Vkw, Writer hath plainly acknowledged, that abftracting from the P- 43-^ faid Note, there was^Rotbing either Produced of a Leafe, or Alledged from the Draught of one, which could any ways prove his Lordjhip to have been guilty of Real Simony ; fo I cannot hereupon avoid cenfuring the f aid Author, both as an Ignorant and 111 Man, who durft not only reprefent a Prelate for a SimoniSi, but take upon him the Juftifying his being Condemn'd as one, upon a F*cl, which by his own Confeflion, was not Real Simony. Moreover I have in the fourth place, this farther Anfvoer to give to-* the aforefaid Allegation, and particularly to that part of it, wherein Williams the Deponent Swears, that by the first agree- Tromeu mem, the often foremen tion'd Leafe, was to be determinable on- 48. Witn.ly on the Bifhop's Life ; but that he having received the greateft dd Artie. pArt. 0jr ffog 200 Guineas, refufed to fign it, utile fs it was alfo made Ymmari determinable on Brooks Lifer Namely, that as it was upon vkw, Brooks's applying to the Bijhop, and not upon the Bijbop's feek- p. 40,4i.ing to Brooks, that his Lordjhip came to Grant Brooks a Les.Je of the Tithes of Burrough-Green ; fo it was by this very Williams, that Brooks made his AddrefTes to his Lordjhip for obtaining it. He Bp's. For WUtfray Pyemont hath not only Depofed upon Oath, That *6- Wi**' while he liv7d with the Bifhop of St. David V, there was one * r l "• Williams came fever al times to his Lordjhip^ in behalj of one William Brooks, about the Rettory of Burrough-Green ; but e- ven Williams himfelf, hath likewife acknowledged upon Oath, VJ fupra.that at the requeft of William Brooks, he did go to the Bifhop and difcourfed him, about the Letting a Leafe of the Rectory thereof, to the faid Brooks. From which we may not only probably infer, but conclude with a moral certainty, that Brooks was more likely to be brought to fubmit to the Arti- cle and Condition, about the time when the faid Leafe fhould be ( 3*5 ) be Determinable; than the Bijhop would be to any Propofa!, which Ihould be made by him, in reference thereunto. And forasmuch as the Leafe which had been Treated about, was to been Granted for the Term of 31 Tears, in cafe the Bijhop and Brooks fhould live fo long ; there was no caufe for in- lifting, that it fliould not be determinable on Brooks's Life, who thro' his being a much Tounger Man, than his Lordjfjip, might* very well be fuppos'd, likely in the courfe of Nature to Out-live him. And that the faid Leafe was to be determina- ble on Brooks'/ Life, we have undeniable Proof given us by Mrs. Brooks. Whotho'a party, (thro' having been his Wife) and greatly Interefted, and who hath likewife Sworn to diverfe things in her Depoittion Falfely, (as fhall be made fpeedily ap- pear) yet even flic hath in reference to this, acknowledged upon Oath, how that on her difcourfing with the Bifhop about her Husband's taking a Leafe of the Tithes of Burraugh-Green, "fand that previouily to any thing's having been concluded about \t) and her having told his Lordfhip, Jhe was not willing premot. her Husband Jlwuld lay oat his Money on a Bar fan age, becaufe that *6. Witn. as it was fart of her Fortune, and was by Marriage Covenant ^to be a^ ^m'* laid out for a Maintenance for her after her Husband's death, fo that * a' her Husband was but a Sickly man ; and that the Bifhop had by way of anfwer, told her, that her Husband was as likely to Live as She was. Of which Confeffon of Her's upon Oath, I will ven- ture to fay, that it is enough to fatisfy all the reasonable part of mankind(tho' it may not the prejudiced.and obftinate,nor do. wife men expect fuch mould be over convinced, neither hath God appointed any means for their ConvidionJ that the Leafe, which was Granted by the Bijhop to Brooks, of the Tithes of the Reclory of Bunough Green, was to determine with the Life of the faid Brooks. Nor can any who have not either loft the. ufe of their Underftandings, %r have renounced all principles of Honefty, imagine that either Mrs. Brooks would have made. the Sickliness of her Husband, %n Exception to the laying out of his Money on fuch a Leafe ; or that the Bijhop would have. replied to Her, that her Husband was as likely to Live, as She was ; unlefs it had been concerted and agreed, that the faid ' Leafe, fhould be determinable on William Brooks^s Life. For had it been Stipulated, that the faid Leafe, was to be made and Granted, not only to him, but to his Executors Adminiflrators and dgignes, as it would in., that cafe have been impoflible, . that (3*6 ) that any prejudice would have befallen Mrs. Brooks t>y her Huf- band's Death ; fo it had been not only folly but madnefs in her, to have alledgcd her Husband's being a Sickly man, as an objection, againft his Laying out his Money, on a Leafe of the forementioned Tithes. Seeing had the Leafe, been Granted to his Executors &c. as well as to himfelf, all the dammage that can be fuppofed could have ari fen to Mrs. Brooks, would have been her falling under a ncceffity, of procuring and hi- ring one to perform the Pafioral duties of the place -, which would have fubjccled her to no expence or inconvenience, but fuch as fhe had fuftained before ; forafmuch as during the whole time her Husband rzhfe& there, after his entrance upen the Leafe of the faid Tithes, he neither himfelf did, nor could Serve the Cure, by reafon of his not being in fitlf Orders. For the Order of a Deacon, being the whole which he pretended unto, (and it being alfo queftionable, whether he had attained , thereunto, and was not a meer Layman) he could be in no ca- pacity, of performing the offices and duties of a Prieft -, but He was neceflitated to have the Cure ferved by two Maflers of Aits, fucceffively the one to the other. 'Tis true, the Bi- foop had been impofed upon, in being made believe Brooks had received the Order of Pi itflhood, when he bad not ; but his Lordjhip's being thro' miimformation deceived therein, could at moll be accounted an error proceeding from Supine- nefs and inadvertence ; whereas it was impoflible, according to Law and the Rules of Juftice, to make a Crime of it. And I am fure, that whatfoever offence, malice accompanied with ignorance, could afiiime the Confidence, and exercife the pique and revenge, to (Tile it, it was' wholly impracticable, without talking nonfenfically, as well as acting in contradidti- • on to all the Laws of the world, to render it Simony. Nor is the Bifiop of St. David's, the*lone Prelate, who hath been Impofed upon after that manner , feeing, (befides what I have been told of others J I have hfcard that the prefent Bijhcp of Ely Dr. Patrick, who is taken to beperfon of great circumfpecti- on, as well as fagacity, was once fo deceived in the fame way, as to give lnftitution to the Vicarage of Croyden, to a meer Lay- man, upon which the Patronefs for that time loft her Right of Collating, and one who was a Clerk, came to be Jnslituted, on ' the King's Prefentation. Nor can any who are impartial, think it ftrange, the Bifiof fhould have taken Brooks to be a Frieft, (3*7) PricB, (when he was not) if they will but allow themselves to confiderwhat we have faid before. Namely, how that he had not only preached at feveral places, ' and particularly at St. Am\ with great applaufe, but that he was alfo reckon- ed to be, and accordingly wore the Badge of ah Earl's Chap- lain. And fhould it be allowed, fas I will not claim it /hull ) that the Bijhop, previously to his Granting Brooks a Leafe of the Rectory of Burrough Green, knew him to be a meer Lay- may ; this inftead of making his Lordfliip obnoxious to an accufotion of Simony, will uncontrollably vindicate him from it. In that as Brooh, thro* Ms being only a Laitk, could not on any Terms or con ([deration whatfoever, have a Leafe of the Cnre made unto him -, it mud therefore on that fuppofi- tion be necefiarily from thence Inferred, that the whole which the Bijhop and Brooks, came upon conditions to an Agreement about, was only for the Glebe Lands, Tithes, and other Perquifues of that kind, but not for xht. Curacy it felf, or for any thing appertaining to the Prieftly Office, ov which *goes under the denomination of Spiritual. However the 2?/- Jhop's forelight and difcretion, are in this both remarkable, and to be commended, in that he made Brooks not only to Covenant, to do all the Miniflerial Duties and Offices in his own Summary P*erfon(\. e. in cafe he was qualified for, and licenced fo todo^ew> which the Bijhop on the information he had received, tookE' 4** him to be J but that if want of health, or neceffary occaflon did fo require for as is unavoidably to be iuppofed, if thro" want of Orders, he flood incapacitated and difabled by Law from doing it) he fhould provide a Lawful Priefi &c. In the obliging Brooks whercunto, his Lordfh p was fo far from doing any thing that was Shnoniacal, or which had the leaft air orfhaddow of it, that he aded both as a wife man, and a good Prelate. And I am fure, that therein he kept himfelf at a far greater di- ftance from Simony, than (if we may believe the Reports of the Town) a great Bijhop hath done, in his cauling his Sue- ccjjor to his former See, (and withall by making it die previ- ous condition of his promotion thereunto) to reimburfe him all the Expences, he had been at in Building and Repairing there, er'e he came to his more elevated and exalted Stati- on. And the Bijhop of St. David's inltead of being liable to blame, ought to be praifed, for his laying Brooks under fucm a Covenant, in that as Brooks himfelf never difcharg'd the C 3*8 ) the Offices and Duties of a Curate in the aforefaaid Rettery, (becaufe of the reafon already afligned) but was forced to , have them performed by others, viz.. firfl by one Mr. Burrel, 5/L BpS" and afterwards by one Mr. Jordan; fo fuch was Brook's neg- is Nov. left even in making provision at all times of a Curate, that 1^99. in July or Auguft 1694. the Biflwp of Ely, or his Chancellor, did fend out a Sequefiration of the [aid Reclory, for the want of one. But then Fifthly, I have this ftifl farther to add, in an- fwer to the aforefaid Allegation; that it is fo far from being any ways probable, the Bifli op mould have Granted zLcafcot the foremention'd Tithes, to Brooks's Executors &c. as well as to himfelf, under Covenant of providing one to ferve the Cure, that it is morally impoflible, coniidering his Lordjhifi principles, that he would, upon any temptation of Money, have dared to think of doing it. j Seeing as he could not avoid believing, that none fave Mrs. Brooks, who had brought her Husband a Fortune of 1000/. would be his Executrix-, fo his known zeal for the Worflup of the Church of England, as it is by Law eftablifhed, lay in a direct repugnancy to his commit w ting the providing for a Parochial Charge and Cure, to a Woman, who never came to Divine Service in her Husband's time. For tho* fuch Prelates, who ufe to employ all their In- tereft, to get Phanatich, rather than thofe who are Church 6f England men, cholen to be Members of. the Houfe of Commons ; ' might be ready and inclinable enough, to entruft Dijfcnters, and even the Bigotted Women among them, with the making provifion of perfons to officiate Minifterially in parochial Churches •, yet the Biflwp of St. David's could not a& fo dif- agreeably, either to his Character, or to his Principles, as to come into any Contract or Agreement, of which that might be the unavoidable confequence. Finally, whereas the Author of the View, takes upon him to Report, that Williams had Summary Sworn to Brooks's having been put to 30 /. Expence, in going- View, d0Vpn with the Biflwp to Burrough Greeny I have in way of lieprom. ■d"frver thereunto, two things to fay. Whereof the Fir ft is, 49! w-n'n. thatWUliams neveiDepofed any fuch thing upon his own know- ad Artie, ledge j but the whole, which he Swore unto is, he had been 12. Informed, that after the Biflwp, had put Brooks to About the Ex- pence of 30 1. in Going down with him to Burrough Green, he rcfufed to Sign and Seal the Leafe &c. So that this Author, ac- cording to his woDted faithlefs and treacherous manner of Writing ( 3*9 ) Writing, is guilty of no fewer than Two Falsifications ; in his giving the Relation of that one little particular. In that he hath both obtruded on his Reader, as if Williams had Depofcd that upon his own knowledge, which he only did upon Hear fay ; (and of which, thro' his not having been with them that journey, it was not poflible he could have any other knowledg, fave upon the Report of others) and alfo that inftead of ABOUT 30/. which was what Williams depofed he had been told, this Author' pofitively Reporteth him to have Sworn, to Brookes having been at the full and actual Expence, of 30 /. in that Journey. And this Writer, by his leaving out the word ABOUT, hath given us another frefli difcovery, both of his Infincerity ^s he is Relator of matters of Fact, and of his malice againft: the Bifhop.' Nor is it in the Second place true, that Brooks had been at the Expence of about 30 1. in that journey^ Seeing befides his Coach Hire, and his having brought and put into the Seat of the Coach two Bottles of Wine, and fome Papers of Fruit the whole Expence he was at in that jour- ney, was only 3/. 7 d. And whofoever can either make 30/. or about 30. out of what I have mention'd ; may very well lay claim to a Right of making Simony, of themoft vertuons, as well as of the moll legal Actions, that a man can do. So that having accounted with the Author of the View with re- flect to William's Depofition, and in reference to every thing he hath produced from it, except Brooks's having actually paid the Bijhop zoo Guineas, concerning which J (hall have a more convenient opportunity of difcourfing hereafter, I lnve only this to add towards the fhutting up the foregoing rencounter between that Writer and me, that as I have omit- ted nothing how either fubflantial or trivial foever, which he hath alledged \ fo I have in the whole management of the De- bate, endeavoured to follow Livys advice, Cafu oblata- fletle- re ad confilia, of making every thing faid by him, whether thro' Folly, or Inadvertance, fubfervient both to the expofing of this Writer, and to the Vindicating of the Bijhop from what he was accufed of. Nor can I upon this Author's relying, up- on fuch impertinent, as well as weak reafbns, as he hath done, thro' attempting to prove the Bijlwp of St. David's guilty of Simony, becaufe of the Leafe, which his Lordjhip had Granted to Brooks of the Tithes of the Reclory of Burrough Green, upon the Terms and conditions, which have been fpecified, avoid B b b the Tacit. Jnnd. Lib. 3 ( 37° ) the calling to remembrance a pafTage of Cicero's, neither can enu pro I forbear the applying it to this Author. Namely, that minus A. CIuent.jfultHs eft is, cm nihil in men tern venit, quam ille, qui, quod finite alteri in mentem venit, comprobat ; he islefs'a fool, who runs into an opinion, without ever thinking of any reafon, where- by to defend and juftifie it} than he who clofeth with and approveth afoolifh and nonfenfical reafon, as fufficient to e- rince and maintain it, and even fuch a one, as is directly re- pugnant to what it is brought to eftablifh ; meerly becaufe it had been afligned and fuggefted to him, by a weak and thoughtlefs man, whofe Talent lay more in talking confident- ly, than rationally. Which this Author's being cgregiouily guilty of, will give furprize to none who know him, in that illl ftudia ut pUna vecordit, as all his Studies have run after va- nities audtriffles, they could expect no other, than that all the efforts of them againft the Biftcp of St. David\, fhould be innania, in/ignificant & impertinent, and that nee quidquam grave caferium ex eo metuendum, nothing weighty or fur/gent, is to be dreaded to proceed from him. And upon the experience I have had already, that nothing is to be met With in and from this Author^ which may make' a very ordinary man affiaid to encounter him, or give fo mean a Writer, as I own my felf to be, any Great trouble in baffling, as well as in refuting, whatfoever he fays ; I fhall proceed to an Examination of thofe CUufes, which he pre-' tends to g'rSe out of the Leafe, and by Reafon whereof, the leafb thing he chargeth the Biftnop with, and alfo has the weaknefs to think he proves him guilty of, is a Conventional Simony. So much then of the Leafe (which he fays was mentioned in William' 's Difpoftion ) as he is pleafed to give US, is as foiloweth. Namely, this Indenture Dated day of December 1692. Eetween the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas Lord Bifoop of St. David'.? on the one part, and Willi- am, Brooks of the other part, witnefleth that the faid Lord Bljhop, for providing, Supplying, and difcharging of the Cure and Ministerial Duty and office, of and belonging to the Re [lory and Parifli, and Parifh Church of Burrongb Green, md for and in consideration of the Opinion and Efieem the faid Biftop hath of, and for the fyid William, and his Qualifications for the faid Office, and alfo for, and inconfiatrsnon, that the faid Brooks jha/l pro vide for and tntertain the Bijhops his Servants, Friends Svmmary View, P- 4i 42. Friends, and followers, with Horfe-Mcat, Mans-Meat, and alt Accomodations, end as long as he jljafl pleafe to live and remain in the [aid parfonage Houfe, and alfo in conjideration of the Rents and Covenants hereby refer ved and made °, and for other good and Valuable confiderations, has demifed, granted, fet, and to Warm let to the faid Brooks, his faid Redory with all Houfcs, Glebe- Lands, and Appurtenances, and all manner of Tithes of Corn, &c. and all profits whatfoever belonging to the fame, to hold to the faid Brooks, his Admir.fr ators, and Aligns for Thirty one Teats, if the Bipop Jhall fo long live, paying therefore a Quarterly Rent of 5. s. for the fame Brooks Covenants to Inhabit and re fide there, and not only to ferve, and officiate, and do all manner of Minifterial Offices and Duties in his own perfon, but if want of health, or necejfary occafion fo require, to provide a law- ful Priefl, &C. And the faid Bijhop Covenants, that he will not furrender or refgn the faid Reftory unto the Patron or Ordinary thereof, unlefs at the Requeft of the faid Brookf. In my Replying to which long Allegation, about and concerning Claufes, pre^ tended to be given out of the Leafe, there are feveral things, which I am prepared, and have in readinefs, to lay. And tho' what I have already declared, doth render whatfoever is there reprefented, wholly ufelefs and infignificant, as to the affe&ing the Bijhop with any crime, and much lefs with Simony -, and whereby I may be alfo reckqn'd, to have deliver'd my felf, from the neceffity, of giving any farther anfwer thereunto, than what an obfervingand impartial Reader, will believe is fully aid fatisfa&orily done -before} yet that neither the Au- thor of the View, may complain of my having negle&ed the confidering and examining of every thing, he hath faid (al- tho' never fo impertinently) nor the Reader be fomuch as put to the recollection of what hath been laid before him in the foregoing Sheets ; I mail make fome frefh obfervations upon, and give fome particular and diftinct Anfwers, to what the Author of the View, hath now recited, out of what ( with his wonted infidelity ) he calls a Leafe, Granted by the Bijhop of St. Dave's to William Brooks. And the Firfl thing, I will olier is, that whereas this Writer^ would obtrude upon the Reader, that thefe Claufes are given out of the Leafe ; he hath therein a&ed the part, of what the French call a Fourb, as well a Gucane. In that they arc only produced out of a rude and, imperfed Draught, which among the very Canaille and B b 2 vulgtts (372) vulgns of mankind, and much more with people of good Senfe, and efpecially before Courts of Judicature, never was admitted for a formal and Legal Leafe. Nor can any Writing of that nature, be allowed to be fo much as taken notice of in Weftminfler Hall, much lefs be received in evidence, either againft Plantif or Defendent. And as the calling a meer im- perfect Draught, (into which a Scrivener, could upon a fee of of 10/. have foifted in whatfoever had been fuggelled to him) a Formal and a Legal Leafe, fhews the Writer of the View, to be one, whofc Confcience and Underftanding, are of the Late Modern ftamp, and moulded in fubferviency to his Knight flu? and Preferment, to ferve any Projects or defgnes, with out coniidering whether they are either righteous or Legal. As others have been not only fan&ified, as, well as authoriz'd up- on certain Pleas and pretences to plunder and pillage the Nation, but encouraged in their undermining and fupplant- ing the Right of her prefent Majefy. And I hope the Rea- der will forgive me, if upon this provocation, as well as oc^ cafion, I do beg of the Writer of the View, that he would pre- pare himfelf to vindicate a great- Prelate of the Church, to whom he hath paid a wonderful devotion, ( I do not fay that hereafter he will ) from the Afperfion of having given a Bribe of 100.00 /. for his advancement to a certain Ecclefiafii* cal Pofi. Concerning which, as well for the preferving the credit of that Prelate, as for filencing the obloquies of Ta- verns and Coffee Houfes, I do fubmifllvely crave that Inquiry may be made inco and after it before a Convocation. And as I dare venture all that is valuable to me in this world, which is my Reputation, that it will be legally and undeniably proved ; fo I dare with all humble deference and fubmiffion, prefume to affirm, that Her prefent Majefy, hath too much of an Englijh Heart ; and is fo 'far an Englijh Quetn, as that She will not deny, the having it brought before that Eeclefi- aftkd AfTembly, which is the mofc Legal, as well as Supream, that we have of that kind in the Kingdom. And of which I muft bewail the depreflion of the efteem and jurifdi&ion -, whereof as I know where truely to lay the blame; fo I can the more eafily excufe the Late King's falling in to it4 becaufe of his being Bred in a Refublkk where the lending a Staff and a pair of Shooes to a Minifer's Door, without the giving him the leaft intelligence of what he is accufed, is accounted fuffi- ( 373 ) fufficient in Law for telling him he is to walk and be gone. But then Secondly, I would defire the Reader to obferve, that tho' both Williams, and the Author of the View, frcfm and upon his Depofetion, had pofitively affirmed, that the Leafehad been Granted on the confederation of 200. Guineas, which Brooks was to fay the Bifiop j yet there is not the leaft mention thereof, in any of the Claufes, which this Writer hath given us out of the Leafe. And as it is not to be imagined, but that if the payment of fo much money by Brooks to his Lord- jhlp, had been inferted into the Draught of the Leafe, as the- condition and confederation upon which the faid Leafe was Granted, this Author would have been careful not to have omitted the taking notice of it ; fo I may be allowed to lay, that it difcovereth great jnfincerity, as well as difin- genuity in this Writer, firit to Report that for a matter of Fad, whereof there was nothing in proof by and from the Leafe ; and then to argue from thence, to the faft- ning Simony on the Biflwp. Not that I would have the Reader believe, there was no money required as a previous Fine, for the Leafe of the Tithes of Burrough Green, (for I am< not of the Morals of the Author of the View, fo as either to deny a Truth, or aflert a Falfehood ) bat the whole, which I intend by this obfervatlon, is both to fhew, what little cre- dit is to be given to this Author in any thing he Reports -7 , and how his molt plaufible Reafbnings for afperfing the Bi- fhop of St. David?*, are fuperftru&ed upon meer Fi&ions and - Forgeries. Nor can it be, (as hath been faid before ) that the - expuncj-ng the mention of the 200 Guineas out of the Draught of the Leafe, was one of the Alterationsi which the Bijhop made in it, when brought to him to perufe j feeing there was not the leaft appearance in the whole Drrught, either from and by obliterating, or interlining^ that ever the 200 Guineas had been therein named. And therefore the Author of the View in his- obtruding upon us in the Report he gives of Williams's Depo- fetion, that the Bijhop particularly altered that part of the Draught Summary of the Leafe, which mention' d the ,200 Guineas, which were to be View, given for the confederation thereof ; and then by his giving US no P* 4°» Claufe (among the many he hath Cited out of the faid Draught) wherein there is the leaft mention made of 200 Guineas, to be faid for confederation of the Grant of the Leafe -0 doth Ihew both, how ( 374 ) how contradictorily to himfelf, as well as inadvertently, this Author writes, and that he is likewife as void of Good Senfe, as he is deftitute of Veracity. 'Tistrue, that to cover himfelf" from weaknefs and inconfiftency in this matter, he ibid, takes upon to affirm, that the Draught of the Leafe Exhibited by the Promoter, was not the fame Draught which the Bijhop altered. Which as it is a notorious falfehood; ferves only to convince us, of his being defirous to preferve the reputation of his Vnderftanding, at the Expence of his Conscience ; and that he preferred the being found one of ill Morals , to the being ac- counted to have (hallow bitelleQkuls; and that hechofe rather to be guilty of a plain and an avowed lie, than be charged with- Weaknefs. And yet fp filly and void of Judgement is he, that he .hath even ftrip't himfelf of that cover, and hath given Teftimony againft himfelf, in the very particular, which he ha*d feigned and betaken himfelf unto, for his defence againft the imputation, of being held an unthinking and foolifh Writer. For by his having exprefly and in terminis Ibid. p.43. declared, that Williams hath told us, the BijJwp altered the Leafe he executed, from the Drought above Recited; he hath plainly . thereby confefTed, that the Draught Exhibited by the Promo- ter, was the very Same, which the Bijhop altered. And I have both undeniably proved, and have ocularly mown, that there was not the leafl mention made of 200 Guineas therein. But to fet this which I have been reprefenting, beyond all pofli- bility of being Gainfaid, I fhall begg the Readers Patience, in the having laid before him, what Williams hath Sworn unto in this matter. Namely, that he having feen the Indenture Exhibited Williams yythe promoter, doth Depofe upon Oath, that it is the verj fan.e Wii7j0t'a I Draught, which was Drawn purfuant to the firfi agreement between Jrtic. i2.f'^ Bijhop and Brooks, and the fame which the Bijhop Interlined. So that I may from hence, not only venture to fay, tkat the Author of the View is one, who knows neither how to write with judgment, nor with fincerity ; and that he deferveth to have faid of him, what Tacitus both fays of one called Trioy Jmul. v'17- t,llat c'elebrc inter accufatores Trionis jugenium erat, avi- Lib. 2. dumq ; mala fama ; and of another ftiled Afer namely, that Ibid. Lib. capcffendis accufationibus,profperiore Eloquentia, quam morum fama- 4- fuit. Neither of which pafTages will I render into Englilh, as reckoning that the Writer of the View, doth fo far underftand Latine, as that without my Tranflating them, to be both fen- ( 375 ) fible of the chaftifement, which he lies obnoxious to have given him ; and become Inflrufted, as well as admonilhed, to write wich more regard to Truth, and more confidently with himfelf hereafter, than he hath done in his Summary view. Moreover I have this further to obferve in the Third place in way of Reply to the Claufcs pretended to be given out of the Leafe, that as it was meerly a Rude Draught of a Leafe, out of which (as I have already faid ) the forementioned Claufes were given, from which to allow any thing to be brought in proof, upon a juridical procefs, and before a Judicial Court, is dire&ly againfl all the Rules and Mcafures of Jufticej fo -the not producing the Leafe it felf which had been Executed, is a molt convincing Evidence, that the Bifitofs moll mali- cious Enemies, could find nothing in it, by reafon whereof his Lordjhip could be criminally afFedted. Nor need we go far- ther for obtaining adifcovery, how dhTonantlyfrom the Me- thods of Law, fome men, challenging a jurisdi&ive capacity, behaved themfelves in their proceedings againfl: the Bifiop of St. David's, than that inflead of calling for a light of the Leafe which had been Executed; and whereof alone they could either legally or righteoufly take cognizance ; they al- together confined themfelves to the taking notice of Claufes, faid to have been in an unperfe&ed and unconcerted Draught, which men either of honour or Juftice (abftrading from prejudice pique and revenge) would have accounted of no fignificancy, for the faftning a crime upon any Perfon. And this dtferveth the more to be taken, notice of, in that the Executed Leafe, was not only Extant, but might have been come by and produced more ealily, than an Interlined Draught, which had been thrown afide. WhichL#cy the promoter, feems to have been fenlible of, and therefore by taking fanctuary in a notorious Lie, hath endeavour'd to cover both himfelf from the V-iilany, as well as the abfurdity, of having Articled-, aid alfo the grand Metropolitan from the injuftice of having juridically proceeded, upon the Allegation of the Draught of a Leafe, which had been interlin'd £nd altered ; inflead either of the formers producing, or the latrerh calling for, the exhi- bition of the Leafe it felf, which had been Signed, Sealed and Executed. For that no lefs impudent, than malicious man . Lucy, hath in his additional Articles, made it a fpecial matter J^"1071" againfl Summary i 37* ) againfl the Bijltop, that inftead of Executing a Leafe, he only gave a certain Writing in the Nature of a Note, Signed and Sealed. In which he is not only contradi&ed, (and confequently de- clared a fhamelefs Liar ) by the Author of the View who Re- porteth that Mr. Williams has told us, the Bijliop altered the Leafe View"*' ke Executed, from the Draught which hath been recited ; but this p. 4> very Lucy himfelf, hath in the very next words of his own aforefaid 'Article, acknowledged that the Bijhop had given and Executed a Leafe to Brooks. For he there exprefly declares and affirms, that the Note or Writing Signed and Sealed, which . the Biflwp rave to BrookV contained in it, that whereas his Lord- Jhip, had in a Leafe to Mr. William Brooks, Dated March the. Sixth 1692. promifed not to Refign or Surrender &C. He doth by the faid Note or writing, promife &c. Nor is it altogether un- worthy of remark, that whereas the Draught of the Leafe, wherein the Bifhop made the Alterations, was prepared in De- cember 1692. how that the Leafe, which his Lordjlup came to agree upon, and adjuft the Terms and Conditions or, was not Signed, Sealed, nor Executed until] the Sixth of March follow- ing. In which Interval, as they had time enough to have all things maturely confidered , and mutually concerted ; fo I may boldly affirm, that according to the meafures, either of Law, or Righteoufnefs, no Writing whatfoever f antecedent to that of the Sixth of March ) relating to the faid Agree- ment and Stipulation, mould have been fuffered to be brought into proof Againfl the BiJIiop. However as we may indubitably conclude from what hath been declared, that there was a Leafe actually executed ( tho differing in fome things from the Draught, which had been brought to the BiJIiop to perufe and Examine, as is not only ufual, but for the molt part unavoidable in ail Cafes and Tranfa&ions of that natu're) fo in that neither the Metropolitan called for a fight thereof, nor the Promoter of- fered to produce it ; but that in the place of this, they Infi- lled and proceeded upon an Intcrliricd Draught; every man who is impartial, may thereby be fully Convinced, that there was nothing in the Executed Leafe, for which the Bijhop's greateft Enemies, could hope to get Him made any ways a Criminal and much lefs 4 Simonift. But that rather than his Lordfiip, Ihould efcape the wrath and revenge, of his Pro- fecutors, and of him who afftimed the fole Jurifdiclive power, xhey refolved to break thro' all the methods, and to trample upon ( 377 ) upon all the Rules of Law and Juftice. Moreover, tho' I have by the Anfwers already given, made the foregoing Claufes, recited by the Writer of the View, altogether ufelefs, as to the faftning any Crime upon the BiJIwp, and have alfo undeniably fhew'd, that they were both impertinently alledged, ' and unjuftly received and admitted in evidence againft, his Lordjlnp, and have thereby rend red it altogether needlefs, to add any thing in. way of Reply to this, or that particular claufe -, yet I will beg the Readers forgivenefs, if for the pre- venting complaints, of my having neglected the taking notice of every thing, produced and urged againfl: the Bishop by the faid Author, I do call over and make fome Reflexions on, as well as obfervations, in reference to thofe Claufes, which thro' his having put them in Capital Letters, he feems to lay great ftrefs upon, towards Convicting the Biflwp of what he itood accufed, with refped unto, and becaufe of the Leafe of the Retlory of Burrough Green, Granted by him to Brooks. And thefe Claufes are, that the Bijhop of St. David's for providing^ s applying, and D if charging of the Cure and Minifierial Duty and yiew Office, of and holonging to the Retlory aforefaid ; for and in confide- p. 41, 42. ration that the faid Brooks, Jliall provide and entertain the Bijhop &c. and for other good and valuable c on fi derations, has Demi fed,Gran- ted, fet, and to Farm let his faid Retlory with all Houfes, Glebe- Lands, and all manner of Tithes &C. Brooh Covenants ts Jnha- bite and refide there, not only to ferve and Officiate, and do all the Minifterial Offices and Duties in his own perfon, hut if want of health or neceffary occafion fo require, to provide a Law- ful Curate. In none of all which Claujes, is there any thing, that deferveth to be blamed or cenfured, and much lefs (had not fome people renounced Reafon, as well as have been at enmity with honefty and juftice) the leaft particular upoa which Simony can be grounded. And had not both the Au- thor of the View and others been as ignorant, as they are ma- licious, we mould have heard of noaccufation received againft bis Lordjhip, becaufe of what feems meant and intended in the foremention'd Claufes. And that it may the better ap- pear., how diffonantly to Rules of Law, his Grace of Canterbu- ry, as well as others, have acted againft the Bijhop in that mat- ter , I fhall lay before the Reader, fome of the Maxim's de- livered by the Doctors, thro' want either of acquaintance with which, or attendance unto them, not only tbis Writer, C c c but C 378 ) the great Metropolitans, and fome of his Affeffors, have made themfelves obnoxious to very fevere Reflexions, if I were at this time inclined to make them. Now the 'Rules, which I have 60 offer from Civilians, Canonifts, and Common Lawyers, are thefe that follow. Namely, that as nemo prafumitur de- %efs' liquiffe, no man is to be pre fumed to have offended, but ought an- tecedently to his being held Convicted, be proved guilty of fome Fad, uncapable of an innocent Interpretation. So in taudeB. yanniiljKs caufis, benignius interpretandum, in all criminal Cafes •*£&• Jur- tije ffjtfdfjl Anc{ moft favourable Conflriiflion of Words and Expref- fions,is to be recurred unto,and acquiefced in. And that as in. gei.e ra- ti concejfwne, non veninnt ea, qu& quis non effct vcrifimiliter con- cejfurus, nothing is to be reckoned intended or included in a gene- ral Grant, fave what it is probable the G ranter did defign to the Grantee ; fo that quando idem fermo duas fententias cxprimit, ca ibid, potiffimum accipiatur, qua ret gerenda aptiorcfl ', when one word or term may be made relative unto Sentences, exprejfive of different, as well as of difiintl things, it ft all only be applied unto, and con- firued to affeB that, to which it is befl agreeable, in fubfervienty un- to, and in confonancy with the defign of him, whofe meaning and fence isfaid to be expreffed by it. Whereunto let me add this, which is as much a Principle in Reafon, as it is a Rule in Law, that quando aliquid conceditur, omnia conceffa videntur, fine quibus hoc fieri nequit ; that when any thing is demifed or gran- ted, ( as the Lealing the Tithes of the Re&ory of Burrough ib'd Greerti t0 one believed in Orders was ) all things elfe, without which, that would not be ejfeclual muff) be admitted likewife to be granted. But that the Arch-Bijhop of Canterbury, mould be a perfect ftranger to this fort of Reading, or Learning, is no furprize to me, fince I grew into an acquaintance with his ability and skill in preaching, and in managing Common place Theological Controverfy, ( which are to be fuppos'd to have belonged to his Province, before he arrived at his Archiepifcppal Dignity) by his Sermon on the Late Queen Mary, and his Difputation with, and his Pamphlets againil a cer- tain Jefitite. But as I venture to fay this, with the premife of faving his Charatler as a Divine, which the very Italians ad- mit in reference to all perfons of Religious Orders, and are thereupon covered from all criminal profecutions ; fo I do it with all deference to his prefent Dignity in the Church, where whether in Fl. Sh. words, he makes a Pofi, or a Pil- lar, is indifferent to me. But that one who is a Civilian, and ( 379 ) and stn Advocate (as the Author of the View, is generally be- lieved to be ) fhould either know nothing of thofe Rules of Law, or if he do, ad very difagreeably to his knowledge, which is of the two the far more culpable, is what requireth the exercife of great Charity to forgive- However, the Reader will be fomewhat more prepared, than it is likely he was, for difcerning the weaknefs of this Author, in quot- ing the foremention'd CUufes, in order to prove Simony a- gainft the Biffidp, by reafon of the Draught of the Leafe, pre- tended to have been agreed unto by Him, for Setting to Farm the Tithes of Burrough Green to Brooks. In that the menti- oning thereof, and the Houfes Glebe-Lands, and all the appurte- nances, and Profits thereunto belonging, doth plainly ' fhew, that the Con filer ations, whereof there is only a General men- tion made in the faid Draught, do meerly refer unto and do folely afted, the Demife of thofe Houfes, Glebe- Lands, and Tithes &c. and do not in the lea ft relate unto, or any ways concern the Prieftly or Pafloral Office. Nor doth Brooks's Co- vcxanting to Inhabit and re fide there, and either to ferve the Cure h'nnfelf, (i. e. in cafe he were qualified and Licenfed fo to do) or elfe to provide a Lawful Prieft ; import any thing that in Law can be accounted and held criminal. For the whole, which even malice it felf, can either Graft upon or Colled from thence, can at molt amount but to this, viz.. that the Tithes &C. of the ReEtory of Burrough Green, being Demifed, Set, and to Farm Let to Brooks, he fhould thereupon take care to have the Cure ferved. Which leads me to that, which I have far- ther to add:, namely, that the Confi deration, on which the faid Tithes were Demifed to Brooks (even on fuppofition, that it had been his paying the Biflwp 200 Guineas') was fo amply accounted for, balla need, cor responded with, and compenfated, by the Annual Profits arifing from the faid Retlory -, that the faid Sum or Fine, was not only frugally laid out and difpofed, in order to his becoming Entituled thereunto ; but there was more than enough, left free and referved (even abftradr.- ing from what was to be the compenfation for the Fine) to- wards the providing and Hiring a Curate to ferve the Cure. In that Dr. Watfon , antecedently to his being £iJhopm of St. David\, and alfo after his Preferment to the faid Bi(liopric%, had diverfe times Leafed out the Tithes of the aforefaid Reclo- ■y for above too/, per annum. And that with a referve and C c c 2 provifion, ( 38° ) of having both his own and his mans Lodging and Diet free,- as often as he mould think fit to come and refide there, (which previoufly to his being made Bifhop, was frequently ' two or three days and nights in a week J as alfo the running and feeding of fome Horfes, during the whole Winter, as well as the maintaining,them whenfoeveir he lodg'd there in the Summer. All which, as by a very modefl computation, it may be reckon'd to have arifen and amounted to confiderably more, than what he gave and allowed to a Curate, (which if we may "believe the Author of Summary ^ pr-ew^ was ^ut 2<$ I. per annum) fo it file weth, what p^' an advantageous Bargain Brooks had, by the Demife and Leafe bf the Tithes &c. of Bmrough Green unto him, even ad- mitting it to have been done on the Confederation of the 200 Guineas &c. and alfo on the farther conditio?:, of the faid Brook's being obliged, either to Serve the Cure in his own perfon, or that he mould provide a Lawful Priefb to do it. So that having fet this matter in its full and true light, and made appear how impertinently the forementionM Claufes, were alledged by the Promoter, and are reported by the Author of the ^mr out of a pretended Draught of a. Leafe; and how wrongfully they were received and admitted by the great Metropolitane, for affecting the Bijbop of St. David's with Si- mony -, I fhall proceed in my attending on the Writer of the new, in examining of what he hath advanced in the next place, towards the farther blackning of the faid Prelate, m relation to the Tranfaction between Him and Brooks about the Refiory of Burrough Green. Only with this finifhing Re- flection on what I have been difcouriing about, before I go on, namely, that beiides the advantage, which the Bijhop of St. David's Enemies had againft him, by reafon of the pique, which his Grace of Canterbury, (who took upon him to be fole judge in his Lordfhip's Cafe) bore unto him, they had this alfo, Tacit. that apud infirmum et credulum, minore metn, & major e pramio Hifl. Lib. peccaretur ; before a perfon, who is not the fitted in the World '•■ for the adminiftration of Juridical matters-, and who is with- al extreamly credulous, with refpeci to all the ill things which are faid of thofe, whom he doth not love, they could alledge and affirm both all the falfehoods, and all ' the im- pertinencies, which they pleafed, not only with the lefs fear of being either rebuk'd, or chaftned ; but with the greater affurance .( 3»i ) afTuranceof being rewarded.. Nor ought any to be furprized, at his Graces depriving a Comprovincial BiJJjop, upon fbch in- fignificant, trivial and foolifh allegations •, if they do but al- low themfdves to confider, how that to get it into his power to condemn that Preljjte, be ufurped a Jurifdi&ion, which hath laid him u rider a pramanire. Which it is hopM, that in* o *df r to the doing Ju&ice toHer Majefty, and to theConftituti- of England, fome one Patriot, or another, will have the cou- rage to get it publickly ftaged, and Inquired into before a competent Authority. The next thing then, about which I am to encounter the Author of the View, is concerning a certain Note, which he fays, the BijJjcp mote himfelf and gave* to Brooks : which runs thus. Whereas I have in a Leafe to Mr. William Brooks Da- Summary tepl March 6th 1692. promi fed pot to Refign or Surrender my Right ^livov and Title into, and to the Rettery of Burgh, nnlcfs at the requeft^' 4^" of the [aid William Brooks .• / do hereby promife, whenever the fiid William Brooks fliall defire it to refign all my Right and Title in and to the f aid Rtttory. &C. By reafon of which Note, this Writer fays, the Bifliop advanced as far as he could to turn this Conventional, into a real Simony ; but that here he had not the Right of Patronage as in thofe Livings and preferments he gave his Nephew Medley. Now as in my Replying to this Author, in reference to the foregoing Note, I have diverfe animad- verfions to make, and thofe fuch as may render any man of Senfe alham'd to have laid ftrefs upon.it himfelf, and much more in giving the World to underftand, the influence it had on his Grace of Canterbury, in his Trial of the Bi- Jhop^S Caufe, and in his Decreeing a Sentence of Deprivation a- gainft him. Whereof the Firfl mail be^ that tho' I do not wholly juftify, and much leis greatly commend it, yet it is lb commonly practiced by Patrons, and that with a very ge- neral Allowance, to take Bonds from Prefentees for Refignations in lbrae certain Cafes, that the Bijhop of St. David's having given a Gratuitous Note to Brooks, whereby he promifed to furrender his Right and Title to fuch a Reclory to him, pro- vided he deflred it, and whereof he had previoufly Grant- ed a Leafe for 31 years in cafe the Lejfee lived fo long, . mould not only be made a heynous and a punifhable Crime, but declared to have been Simoniacal, mult needs give a very od Idea to the fober part of mankind, of all the pro- ceedings < 382 ): ceedings againfl that Prelate. » And this I do the more re- commend to the obfervation of the Reader, it that the very prefent Bijhop of Salisbury, who was the great Initigator to all the feverity againfl: the Bifliop of St. David's, is known to have taken Bonds from perfons, for the Refigning their Digni- ties upon fome certain conditions. And were there an in« quiry made into all the particular Cafes, wherein he hath done fo, it is to be feared, that he would not in fome of them, be found, to have a&ed with that Innocency, as the Bijhop of St. David\ did, in the Note he gave to Brooks. But d^. 19. as their are times, when, qui non punit Chriftum, non eft amicus 12. Claris', fo while Judicial power and Authority Hand veiled in fome people, we are not to be furprized, that, Dat v'emm corvis, vcxat Cenfura Columbas. And as the Proverb is, that the Mother would not have looVt for her Daughter in the Oven, nor have fufpected (he had been playing Tricks there ; nnlefs lhe her fdf had both been, and had aded criminally in the fame places foit is too cuftomary with many, to turn aceufers of, and to be forward in pafling Judgment upon others, on the foot of things they are afperfed with, (tho' only calumni- oufly and falfely) in order unto, and in hope of covering themfelves from the fufpitipn of being guilty of the like of- fences. Nor can I on this occafion, forbear bewailing the condition we were funk into (but out of which I hope we fhall fpeedily emerge j that when the Kingdom hath been filled with fo many groundlefs and foolilh, and yet clamo- rous complaints againfl; the Bijlwp of St. David's, that fome of our chiefelt Dignified Clergy, have thereupon appeared fo provok'd, as not only to put on the neal of Phincas, but too much of the .fury of thofe, who, long afterwards under the pretence of defending and faving the Temple, haftned both the deftruction of it, and the total and final Subverllon . of the State }!have neverthelefs have fhew'd themfelves ? Deaf to Accufations laid before them, of Blafphcmies againfl; the Blejfed Trinity. For to omit the mentioning Twenty In- formations of that kind, which have been given unto fome of them, upon none of which have they either appointed a Promoter, for Profecuting of the BUfphemers, nor taken care to have Articles Exhibited againfl; them ; yet I can- not avoid acquainting the Nation, as well as put- ting them in mind, how the Bp. of GL had been told by an C383 ) an Ear-mtmfs, and one who declared himfeif ready toDe- pofe it upon Oath, that the great Partisan of the Dirty next to Fuller , had faid in a publick Coffee- Hon fa that had he Three Sow, they would be as much a Trinity of Perfons as (Abfit Blafphemia ditto) the Father, Son, and Holy Ghofi are Upon which I hope ( there is fo much Chriftianityftill left in England) it will be no offence to make this jufir, tho' fevere Reflexion, namely that there are certain pepple in the world befides thofe whomTertiillian meant, qui cafarem pro jove habent aremore forward in being minifterial to the piques andEumities of fecular Potentates, than in vindicating the Honour of the Trinune God. But then Secondly, I defire it may be farther obferved, that in the Bijhop's giving the foremention'd Note to Brooks, there is not any thing of fo much as the leaft af- finity, with that common and allowed pra&ice, which I have mentioned.\ For tho' the Bifliop, would (may be) have aded as wifely in forbearing to give fuch a Note, as he did in giving it} yet when it was granted on no confideration what- foever, nor any thing'; demanded, or received, as the motive thereunto ; the whole, that malice it felf can fay concern- ing it, is, that the Bijl,op, was willing to gratify the requeft and importunity of a weak unthinking man, in promifing to do a thing for him, if he required it, which he knew that without Broocks's being both falfe unto, and facrificine his own Intereft, he never wduld, or could defire. For as there was not the leaft probability, that in cafe the Bifhop ihould have Refigned, Brooks would have ever been Collated by the Patron, but inftead of that, a moral certainty that he would have been Difeized of his Leafc; fo I take it for Granted that how indiferent fo ever a man Brooks was in the politicks' yet that he was farther removed, from the degree of a Fool' than to have required a thing fo much to his own lofs and' prejudice of the Bifiop, as his Lordjhifs Refoning would an avoidably have been. And as the 2?^ could not have" Reftgned to Brooks, ( mould both he have defired it and the Bijhap have been never fo ready to have done it) without the Confent of the Diocefcn;fo Brooks had not only the apprehefion fear, and Danger to conflict with, that upon the Bifljop's refc* natwn,the Fatrone would not have Collated him to the faid Retlo Cm' iS' ry5 but he was alfo by Reafon of a Legal defeftin himfeif ,6°3% thro his not being in Full Orders, altogether uncapable of (384) obtaining a Collation thereunto. Whereupon, the whole, and . the very worft, which either a prepofleffed and prejudiced Judge, or a Chicane Lawyer and a mercinary Advocate, can make of the aforefaid Note, or infer from the iijhop^s ha- ving given it, is meerly that his Lordflnp chofe to comply with the humour of a weak Man, in promifing to do a thing for him, if dehVd, which he both knew to be im- practicable in it felf, and that if required, it would be da- mageable to Brooks, rather than to mew him his fimplicity, correct his folly, and endeavour to teach him wifdom. Which at moft can be only accounted a gratifying a Vani- ty in Brooks, and a certain piece of inadvertent compla- fance in the Bifhop, but was no Offence either againfl Law or Canon, and much lefs had it any thing in- it of Simoni* acal corruption. And his Lordjhip being as fure, as reafon and good fenfe could make him, that Brooks would never defire him to Refign, his promifing to do it in cafe he were delired, was no more, than what St. Paul on fomc occaii- ons, and towards fome perfons, wifely as well as innocent 1 Co?-, o ty did, when to the weak, he became as weak. But then Thirdly, 22. I have this farther yet to fay, namely, that if his Lordjlup could have Refign'd, without the doing an Injury to Brooks, as he would therein have done a very wife thing} fo no one can fuppofe it is either a folly, or a crime, to promife to be ready to do that (if required) which the performing of, will get a Perfon the Character and Reputation of ha- ving a&ed wifely. Nor do I fear the being Redicul'd for exprcfling my felf in this manner ; feeing it is with me a Maxim both Reafon and Religion, th3t only to do an ill thing, is to do a foolilh one ; and that whatsoever is done wifely, cannot be done finfully or. criminally. For as by the Bifiop's Refigning his Right and Title in and to the Retloryot Bnrrough Grten He\vJow\c\ have been immediately releafed and difchared from the Cure-, fono perfon who either knoweth, the weight and care which lie upon him, with refpect there- unto, fo long as he remaineth Incumbent ; or the account he mud render to God, for the performance of all the of- fices andDuties of the Cure, during that time, would-be fond of retaining and keeping a Retlory, after he had Leafed out all the Honfes, Glebelands, Tithes, and Appurtenances thereunto belonging, for 31 years, in cafe the Lejfee, lived, fo long, which C385) .which Broekh was likely to do, in that he was not ranch above half the Bifoofs age. And that the Bifhop thought it a greater burden, (than may be fome would do ) to hold the Cure of a parifh, when thro' his diftance from it, he' could not have that watchful Inflection over his Curates, which he would, he hath given fufficient demonftration of, by his Refignation of that very Retlory foon after the death of Mr. Brooks, when the right of receiving all the profits and Emo- luments accruing from it Qphich when he Leafed it out amoun- ted generally to about 120/. per annum) was become rein- veiled in his Lord(lnp,by and upon the Expiration of Brooks's Leafe, which terminated with his Life. And this the Biflwp did notwithstanding that he could have had the Cure therefore ferved, for what he had given to fome of his former Curates in that place, which, if we may beiieve the Writer of the Vision was but 25 /. by the yean And as the Bijhop (in or- der to his delivering himfelf from the faid Care, the care whereof, by reafon of his great remotenefs from thence, thro' being Bifhop of St. David\ he found himfelf difabled from taking in. that degree he deflred) did Refgn it into the hands of the Diocefan the Bifhop of Ely ; So none of his moll wrathful or malicious Enemies, have been able to accufe him, of any thing that was either Simoniacal or Scandalous in his Refignation thereof, nor was it poffible there fhould, conlider- iug to whom he Reljgned it. And as he therein fet a Pat- tern, worthy to be followed by other Bifhops in the like Cafes ; fo he hath thereby given the World an undeniable proof, that he is . not the Covetous man, he hath been repre- fented to be : and that it is next to morally impoflible, that he, who upon fuch Chriitian motives, and after fo generous a manner, Refgn A the Retlory of Burrongh Green, when he might have legally held it, fhould be capable during his A* atmbency of committing the Crime of Simony in the difpofing of, and in Leafing out the Tithes thereof. Hereunto I might ftill. farther add in the Fourth place, that whereas the only A afMion, that it was poffible either for the Wit, or the rage of the Bijhop's Enemies, to ailed ge and advance Judicially againft him, upon and by reafon of the foregoing Note, could only have been that of Ealfehood and breach of promife^ in not Refigtiipg his Right and Title in and to the Re&ory of Burgh j when Brooks fhould have, and had defired it ; yet Ddd there V ( 3%6 ) there is not one fillable brought againft his£*r<^/fc//>, eitherin the Artides,OX in theDepo/itions o fchcPrometersWitneffes, or in theSum- mary View, that doth fo much as infinuate any thing of that kind. ' But inftead of his Enemies attacking him where he lay open, and had only his Innocence to defend him; all the Artillery which they have call and mounted, have been Levelled and fliot againft: him, where he was invulnerable. .And this the very Writer of the View, hath been forced to acknow- ledge, by owning that as the Draiqht of the Leafe (whereof we have faid enough already) did imply only a Conventional Simony, but not a Real, (whereof alfo from its importing of cither we have given full fatisfaclion before) fo he hath like- wife done it in declaring, that the very Note it felf, could not amount to the proof of a Real Simony, by reafon that the Bifiop had not the Right of Patronage of the Rectory of Bur- rough Green. From which I may be allowed juftly to in- vT™ry ferr, and (I will add) demonftratively conclude, that the whole p. 43. which the Writer of the View, hath taken upon him to fay fb clamoroufly of the Bifoop, becaufe of the forementioned Note, is by his own confeflion meer Slander and Calumny. And that by his endeavouring from thence to get the Sifnop be- lieved to be chargeable with Simony, he hath only difcovered himfelf to be a weak and impertinent man, and withall an a- vowed and egregious Defamer. And as that felf Contradict- ory Writer, hath in the words, I have cited out of his Viewi abundantly vindicated his Lordjhip, both from having been guilty of Simony, and from all poflibility of being fo, by rea- fon of the aforefaid Note; fo I think I may venture to fay, * his Lordfhip hath been fully juftified from all Imputations of that kind, m reference to thofe Livings and Preferments, where- of he was Patron and rohich he gave his Nephew Medley ; con- *;V. cerning which, this Author, (after all his feeble efforts on that head before) hath here and upon this occafion left an oblique and a malicious, but an impertinent infmuation againft his Lordfiip. So that having acquitted my felf, with refpeft to whatfoever would either admit, or bear Debate, about the forementioned Note; the whole, whkh I might farther claim a right to do, with refpeel: to that Branch of Accufation a- gainft the Bijhop, and that Topick of Contra erfy between the Author of the View and me, is to Ridicule and Expofe this weak (387") weak and mercinary, and therefore impertinent, faithlefs, and contradi&ious Writer. Which I fliall fpare my felf the doing, by quoting a paflage or two out of Authors of Wit and Senfe, who do it effe&ually for me. Namely, that in whatfoever I have on this Theam been calling him to an ac- count for, he hath not only made himfelf obnoxious to the Cenfure of Tacitus, that ignaviffimus quifque, nitmi verbis, lin- nift. Lib gu& feroces, it is becaitfe of his being extreamly ignorant, that he 1. hath [aid fo much fas he hath done) and with fo great bitternefs -, but that he hath alfo brought himfelf under the reprimand and correction, beftowed by that Hiftorian upon fome of this Writer's flze in their Intellectuals and prudentials, that ft quidjmiL in ipfis anthoritatis eft, crebris contraditlionibus deftruunt, by his Lib. 14. frequent contradicting of himfelf, he doth both detract from the credit of whatfoever he fays, and overthroweth, what he would be thought to eftablifh. Yea I might likewife add, that as this Writer, hath made it his endeavour Fonuita adcul-jniti^ pam trahere, to turn things which were tneerly cafual and acciden-Vib.j tal into projected defigns and ftudied Crimes, which (Tacitus fays) is mosyulgo, isthe property of the Mob ; fo he maketh that which in the Bijhop was only a facility of nature, and an eafinefs of belief, to have been a heinous and punifhable offence, where- as Cicero would not only have told him, that credulitas error £W?,Lib. mavis eft, quam culpa, Credulity is a miftake and weaknefs, rather 10. than a fault ', but that in optimi cujufque mentem facile irrepit, the Epift- 23. befi men are the moft liable thereunto. Nor ihould I be unjuft either to the Author of the View, or to them whole mercina- ry Tool he hath been, Ihould I apply to them as well as to him, an obfervation and Refledion of Salluji\ viz. uti eorum Al Cxfir. qui dominant ur fimultas atque arrogantia fert, itabonum malumve publicum exiftimant, that Verfons, Caufes, and things, are efteemed of, and judged by them, as the Smiles, or the Frowns of thofe on Thrones, give the Advertifement and Sign. Whereunto I will annex no more quotations of this kind, how much provok'd fo ever I am to do it, but will proceed to an Examination of what this Writer hath farther produced, in Order to the blackning the Biftwp, with refpedt to his Leafing the Tithes &c. of the Rectory of Burrough Green to Brooks, where it is likely I may have frefh advantages afloorded me both for Baffling and Infulting this Author. D d d 2 To C 388 ) To take his next Report then in his own words ; I fhal!" tranfcribe it f tho' it be fomewhat long ) as it is given us in . • ..the Summary View. We will fays he, take the whole Relation l'' 4 of this corrupt Tranfatlion ( i. e. concerning the Rct~lory o'i' Burgh) from one who has very great Reafon to remember it ; viz. the Widow of Air. Brook' 's who Swear s, that her Husband told her a noble Lord had fpoken to the Biflwp to give him the Retlory of BuiTOUgh, and that he had promifed that Lord he fhould have it. That her Husband often waited on the Bifiop about it, who told him there mufl he money in the Cafe, after which the Bijhop came to- the faid Deponents Lodging, and told her aboitp the Treaty that " had been between Him and her Husband about the Rellory of Bur- rongh ; and that the faid Deponent faying t» the Bijhop, fie was not willing her Husband ftould lay out his Money in a Bar fen age, the Money being to be raifed out of her Fortune, and that her Hus- band was but a fie My man ; that the Biftop told her, that 'it would be as (rood as a purchafe and Brovifon for her, not 'only for her Husbands Life, but herslihcwife (for fo it fhonld be, tho' this Writer has made it his) and that he was likely to Uve as long as the Deponent, tho' her Husband was not. That the Agreement the Bijhop and her Husband came to, was that he fliould pay the Biflwp 200 Guineas. That after 200 /. thereof was paid, She the Deponent her felf paid the other 20 1, to the Bjhop at the fame time when the Writings were Sealed, And that the faid Deponent then tellino the Bijloop, that fie thought it a hard Bargain, he anfwered fay no more of that, I have a Letter now in my pocket, wherein I was prof erred 300 L for it. And that the faid Mrs. Brooks farther Six ears, that her Huiband told her the Bijlisp would not have the Money menti- oned for the con fideration, for fear it fkould be Simony. To which Report of the Author of the View of this Depofnion, as I have diverfe things to fay, as well in the way of obfervation and Reflection, as in direcT Anfwers thereunto , fo I have chofen to tranfcribe it at the full length, in the very words he hath given it, that the Reader may the more readily juftific me, in the feverity I fhall be obliged to exercife towards him, in expofiug his Ignorance, folly, Treachery^ and incon- liftency with himfelf. And the fir ft thing, I have to fay, is, that whereas Mrs. Brooks had contended upon Oath, l,Brooks that the Leafe of the Tithes of Burrough Greer, was only *d Anis. Granted for the.Tm» of 31 Tears, provided that cither the *> h ■ Bijhop, or her Hmband Jhonld live fo long j this Writer thro' a weak- ( 3*9 ) weaknefs and infidelity peculiar to himfelf, hath afTured us, ^ that the Bijhep had told Mrs. Brooks, that the [aid Leafe, would be as good as a pur chafe and provifion for her, not only for her Hus- bands Life, but for hers Ukewife. 'Tis true, that this filly, In- terefted, and Bigotted Woman, had Sworn what the Writer of the Vitxo Reports, in reference to what She believed, had been agreed upon, and had accordingly been inferted in the firft and rude Draught ; but that doth no ways excufe, either the weaknefs, or the infidelity, of this Anther, in that, be- caufe of the many Reafons affigned before, it was wholly im- practicable, and alfo by reafon there was no fuch thing in- cluded in the Executed Leafe, (which was what was alone cog- nizable before a Court of Judicature, and which men of wifdom and integrity, mould folely have had a regard unto) but in- ilead thereof,, there was that, which was altogether irrecon- cileable with, and directly oppofite thereunto; which Part of Mrs. Brooks's Depofition this Writer hath wholly concealed ; and in fo doing hath difcovered great fraudulency and infi- delity. Seeing if he had either been an honeft man, or a candid Writer -he ought to have related whatfoever made for the Vin- dication of the Bifnofs Innocency, as well as what made to his being defamed for a crime •, and he mould have had more fenfe, than to venture his reputation and credit, upon the inconfiftencies and felf contradictions of a Woman, whofe - not only Intereft, but. the influences of others upon her, made her fwear, whatfoever either the Bifoop's Enemies could hope to get advantage by, or fhe could expect to receive profit from. Nor is it unworthy of particular remark, that as Dr. Fauconbridge who was the Metropolitan's lignal Advo- cate, and the B*j?«f's great and declared Enemy ( of whom we ' fhall either in a Preface, or in a Pofifcript to this Difcourie give a Character,) not only came to Mrs. Brooks, both to defire her to be a Witnefs againft the Bijkop of St. David's, and alfo to obtain of her, the delivering fuch Tapers, as he hop'd tof|7rr-, get his Lord(hip convicted of Simony by; But that even $hea™£^}r^ confefTed to Mr. Price, that not only Lucy the Promoter, but gat. It ' others alfo, would give her a good reward (as foe did apprehend) The Bp's. provided Jhe would deliver unto them the Note (whereof we ii*Witn* have already fully fpoken) concerning his Lordfilps promife, to Atrn' 5* Refign the Rectory of Burrougll Green to Brooke, when he defired it. Whereby we may fully underitaad, how malicioufly and re- vengefully ( 3*> ) vengfully the Bifhop was profecuted, in that not only a Hue and Cry was fent through the Nation ngainfr, and the poffe » Regni call'd to be in a readinefs to Defame and Run him down ; but that all which could be done, either in the methods of application, addrefs, and carefles, or in the way of fubor- nation and bribery, was practiced for the muttering up of Wit- nefies, to blacken and afperfe that Prelate. Hereunto I would add in the Second place, that as molt of what Mrs. Brooks Depofed, was upon hear fay, which (abftracting from her be- ing Mr. Brook's Wife, and thereupon concern'd in point of Intereft, fhould not have been received for a Legal Witnefs, . whereof more hereafter) ought to have rendred fo much of it wholly inlignificant, and would have done fo before all Men of Integrity and Juftice ; fo from the whole Tenor of that Depofition, it doth both appear, that the Money, (whatfoever it was) which her Husband was to pay his Lordjlup, was to be laid out on aParfonage, (i.e. the Leafe of the Tithes which with all Men of knowledge and fenfe, it was Lawful for the Bifhop, &c. to make a Demife of) but it was not by reafon of, and for a Curacy; and alfo that She, as well as her Husband, a- greed to the Payment of the faid Money. And as in all Cafes whatfoever, it is taken for a Rule, that volemtbus not fit injuria, no Wrong is done to them, who Agree and Confent ; fo the Bifhop deferveth in this to be commended, that/?* would notconfum- mate a tranfaction with Mr. Brooks, about an aflair which might affedfc his Wife, without acquainting her with it bimfelf, and having her concurrence unto, and acquiefcence in it. Which as he needed not to have done (and which fome Prelates, whom I could name, would not have condefcended unto) fo his repre- fenting to Her, what had been tranfa&ing between his Lordjhip and her Husband,doth plainly fhew, that there neither was, nor could be any thing in the Treaty between them, that could either Scandaloufly or Criminally affect the Bijhop. For if I be rightly informed of thatPre/*r4 ) fore the Commencement of his Leafe. And to put it beyond poffibility of denial, that Breoh was not fuch a Lofer by that Leafe, and becaufe of the Fine he paid for it, as he hath been reprefented to be •, it is not unworthy of observation, that the Com and Profits of the Retlory (during the time Brooks lived to have the Benefit of "his Ler.fejwhcn Seized Upon Execution, difcharged above 200 /. Debt, which Brooks had contracted and run into. Whereby as it fully appeareth, there was no caufe for the complaints, which have been made of Mrs. Brooks7*,- hjfts, thro' her Husbands having paid fu-ch a Sum of Money for the Leafe of the Tithes, of Bar-rough Greer, ; fo I cannot for- bear adding, that it ought to be matter of trouble to the Bifoop, that befides whatfoever the Corn &c. of the, Rcftory, when feized in Execution, could difcharge of the. Debts which Brooks and his Wife had there contracted, there were confi- derable LofTes fell upon diverfe of his Lordfhiph ancient neigh- bours and Friends in that place, thro' Brooks dying hfolvent to feveral perfons, in what he was ow'wag them. And as his Lordjhip can. not but bewail, that fo many of his friends, fhould be Lofers by a psrfon brought among them by his Leafing the Tithes of that Retlory unto him*, fo he hath been greatly prejudiced himfelf, and that in more ways and particulars than one. For befides that as Brooks never paid his Lordfhip one farthing for the Houfoould Goods (where of I lately made mention) which he fold him^ nor ever ei- ther paid, or caufed to be paid of the 200 Guineas, fiid to the Bps. j^yg been agreed Upon for Confideratlon of the Leafe, fave 1 20/. 17*:Nov'. and that at two payments. So the Bifiop hath been hkewifea i699- ' great Lo/er in his having laid out and expended 30/. in the re- paration of the Parfonage Houfe, and out Houfes &c. which His iff. £rooks during his being in poffeflion of the Rectory bf Burroughs Allegation' >ancj j^s pvejf(jcnce t}iere7 ilaci {offered to run into decay, and to become Dilapidated. Not to mention his Lordjh'p's being » • liable to pay above ic/. to Mr. Burrcl for his Serving the Cure in Brooks's life time ; or that otherwife the Gentleman muft lofe it. But finally and in the Sixth Place, I have this far- ther to add, th*t the admitting Mrs. .Brook's to be a Witnefs againfl: the Bifliop of St. David's,, was againfl: all Rules of Law, and his Grace of Canterbury, together with thofe of his Affef- fors, who in concurrence with him, laid weight upon her Teftimony, did thereby in effe& declare, their bufinefs was not ( 395 ) sot fo m«ch to Try his Z>$% as to condemn him. For be- fides, that~.it is generally agreed upon by the Doctors (and which the Writer of the View fhould have known*, jho' there might be reafons given, why the great Metropolitan, poflibly might not) that Crimen non probatur, nifi per teftes exception major es, Farm a H Jnnocentia vero pert eft es minus idoneos, no man is to be held con- 6%. n.42. vicled of a Crime, unlefs on the Depofitions of IVitneJfes who are Maft. is ' above being excepted again ft, whereas the Innocency of fuch as areConc^°^ accufed, ought to be efteemed, vindicated on the Teftimonies of thofe^'^f1^'' who maybe liable to objections', fo it is an eftablilhed Rule SL-pU™' mong Civilians, that qui in re fua teflimonium dicere conantur ' ' a teftimonio penitus arceantur, whofoever offer to Swear in refe- Xsfam. rene to a matter, wherein they are not only Inter efted and hope Lcg' de to be gainers if they be believed ; but who have alfo declared ff-fth themfelves injured, and that they were refolved to be re- cap. 17. venged,- how that all fuch are to be wholly ftmt out and debarred from being WUnejfes. Yea the Civilians are not only pofitive that confanguineos & adftnes in caufts criminalibus ne arJiendos Farin. in cjuidemejfe, et licet in Civil ibus audlri fojfint, non tamen plenum ?"• 4.77.5. fdem faccre; that Kinsfolk and Relations, are not fo much as to^ lu* 57« be heard in giving Teftimonies in caufes that are Criminal; and^ '£ that the? in. Civil Caufes they may be heard, yet that entire credit -fcTeftib is not to be given to. them in what they depofe: but it is alfo re- p. 73^. ' ceived by the Dotlors as a Maxim 2nd Rule in Law, that tho' ' ob inimicitias non repelli t eft em in caufts vivilibus, niftcapitales ftnt; F^im. in crim'nalibas repelli etft capitales non fint ; perfons avowing them-iu' 5?,7f* ft Ives offended, and who have thereupon fignified Anger and enmi-^'n^tx ty, may not be altogether excluded from being Witneffes in CivilnX caufes, provided they be r.ot Capital ; yet that in all Criminal cau- fes whatfoever, they are to be refufed and rejetled, tho> the Crimes rvhich are to come into proof, do no ways affect the life of the par- ty acenfed and to be Depofed againft. So that by this one !li- ftance of allowing Mrs. Brooks to be a good and relevant Witnefs againft the Bifhop of St. David\ we may plainly dis- cover, how much all the Judicial proceedings againft that Prelate, were contrary to the Forms and Rules of Law, and con- fequenily what unrighteous as well as fevere meafure his Lordftnp met with from the great Metropolitan. For as Mrs. Brooks's having been the Wife of the late Mr. William Brooks, and thereupon deeply Interefted and concerned in that pro- cefs, Ihould have been admitted as a juft and legal exception a- E e e 2 gainft (3*0 gainft the receiving of Her Teftimony, and would have btin fo in any impartial Court whatfoever^ fo it hath been made undeniably appear, that She not only became provoked to Swear againft the Bifrop, by reafon of an apprehenfion She had of a lofs that (he had fuftained, by the Payment of a Sum of Money, out of her Fortune for the Lcafe of the Tithes of Burrough Green, and whereof his Lordfhip denied to return her any.part on the foot of a Rightful demand and Claim ; but that She had been alfo tampered with and fubomedtobe a Witnefs ; and that me did hope for and expeel a good reward, for her becoming one, and for her giving up the forementioned Note, of which we have faid fo much alrea- dy. Yea moreover, as molt of what She Dtpofed, was meer- ly upon bare Hearfay, and not upon perfonal and aclual Knowledge •, fo none ought or would have allowed fuch things to have been mentioned, if they had not previously refolved, to condemn the party accufed, rather ttian. to judge the caufe-, and to pronounce him guilty, inflead of having him proved fo. . In that it is exprefly provided for in the Civil Law, that as they who are -admitted to give* Milel Teftimony, mu ft always render a fufficient can/a et ratio fit en- efCrimi- ' tido receive, or covenant to have* money given them, for the being either Promoter or Advocate ( fave what is their Legal Fees, and defrayeth their Expences) they are to be taken for, and punijhed as Balfarii: And that ft qui s contra fignum fuum dixit, i.e. con- Mafc&r tra fcriptitm teflimonium, quod figno fuo confirmaverat, if any do & probrt. ' either Article, or Depofe again fl a perfon, contrary to the informant <{ui. 5. w. ens they had given- under their hands (as Lucy did in rela-7u. tion to the- Fees due for Collations and h flit ut ions) they f jail yeF*rm* W~ adjudged Fa I far it : And that, fi qui s faljum dixerit, ant varum Matth.de' retieurit ', if any fhall either Judicially depofe, or Hiftorically Re- Crimin. port, that of another, which is falfe; or conceal that which theyTit.de Fal- knew to be true, they fhall be reckoned Criminal in that kind:Jocaf' '• And that fi quis ob t eft i mom urn dicendum pecuniam acceperit, if nd £' any fhall be hired to give teftimony, that both they, who bribed them, Falf$hood< and they who were bribed, fhall be liable to the pumfimsnts,. which the ('■&<) the Laws have appointed to be infiiUed on fitch as are guilty of the Crimen Falf. And how accufable moft of the Bijhop's Ad- verfaries arc, upon fome or moft of thofe accounts, and particularly the Writer of the View, becaufe of one or two of them, hath been fully declared, and uncontrollably proved al- ready. So that having finifhed thefe few Premifes, which I hope the • Reader will receive fome light from, towards his Judging the better between the Author of the View and me, in what he hath produced for the faftning of the Crimen Falf on the Bijlwp, and in what I have to fay in his Vindication from that Afper- fion and Calumny ; I am now at leafure to attend upon that Summary Writer, and to examine how that Crime fas he hath Audacioufiy View, faid) is prov ) d again 'ft his Lordfliip in the mofl ample manner. And p# 46, that I may deal by him with that Fidelity and Candor, which are Natural to me, and which ought to be Infep^rable from every Man pretending to Vertue and Probity, I (hall fas I have all along hitherto done) lay the whole, as well the Preface, as the Depoft ions, and his Reafonings upon, and Inferences from them, before the Reader, without the Addition'or Detraction yli fupra, of a Billable. Namely, That upon tbeioth of July \6q6, the ® P- 47* Vrollorfor the Promoter did Exhibit the Letters of Orders of Edward Williams and James Harris, who were both Ordained Deacons by tl. e Bifhop on tbe i^th of September 1693, and that the Procter for ^taBilhop, did in his Prefence confefs, that thofe two Letters of Or- ders, wcreSubfcriPd with the proper Hand-Writ ing of the Bifliop, and Seal'd with his Epifcopal Seal. And that the Letters of Orders of Edward Williams run thus. Nos Thomas Pcrmiflone Divina Menevenfs Efifcopus notumfacimusVniverfis, (for fo it fhould be, and not Vnhenfis, as in the View) quod 24 die Septembris Anno Domini 1693, in Capella infra ades nofiras,- &c. Edward um Williams Literatum, &C. (prtftitis frius per eitm fubfcriptionibv.s ac juramentes in hac parte neceffariis ac requifttis) ad facrum Diaco- natus Ordmem juxta morem ac ritus EcclefirQ. Swears, that he well knows the d.fference between the Arrogated and mot. 65. New Oaths', and that the New Oaths mention King- William andWitn. Queen Mary by Name ; and that he the faid Harris did not take the Oaths Enjoyed byAElo, Parliament, when he was Ordaiu'd Deacon by the Bifhop. Now thoM have not yet recited -all which this Author hath produced on this Head ; neverthelefs for the Rea- ders fake, whom I would not have put to too much recollection of the long and impertinent Report of this matter, and be- caufe 1. would. not have ttiisWrite/s Charges of, and Allegations againft the Bifjaop, and my Defence and Vindication of him, lie fo far out of v.ew, and at fuch a diftance, as that they can- not be eafily and readily comparedjl fhall thereforejnterupt this Author for a little while, and fhall endeavour to give thofe An- fvvers unto, and to make fuch Obfervations and Reflections, on what I have already call'd over out of the Summary View, as may not only render what that Writer hath farther to add very infignificant, but leave that opinion of him with all Men of Senfe and Probity, in reference to what he hath already faid, as fhall not be much for the Reputation of his Wit, nor for his Credit in Point of Honefty. And the Fir ft thing I would obferve, is his down right Chicanery and Egregious Impofture, in his confounding the Day of Ordination which is always Sun- I ( 4°8 ) day, with the Ember Week, or at leaft with fome few days of it wherein diverfe things then tranfa&ed, arc as commonly faid to have been done at the time of fuch a% Ordination, as if they had been performed and executed on the«very day, when the Sacred Orders were conferred. For inftead of this Author's acquainting his Readers diftin&ly, with what was done on the Twenty Fourth day of September which was Sun- day and the Ordination day, and with what had been like- wife done on the Saturday or on the Friday before ; and in the room of putting that diftin&ion and difference between what was tranfacled, and executed at the one time, and what had been performed and done at the other, (as every candid and faithful Writer and Reporter of matters of Fact, would have taken care to do) the whole which he lays before his Reader Summity (and thereby impofcth on him) is that at the time when Edward View, " Williams was Ordained, there was an Oath &x. And that on p. 47- the 24th of September 1693. when Harris was Ordained, inftead ibid. p.48. 0f tf:e Qat\j 0f Fidelity or Supremacy &c. Whereas, had this Can. e?carelefs as well as faithlefs Writer but confulted the very Confti:. Canons of the Church of England, he would not only' have -EcclnJUfl. found, that as no Deacons or Minifters are to- be made and Or- i6o^.Cav, darned, fame upon Sundays } fo he would have likewife have 2.1* learned from thence, that before any are to be admitted into Or- tf 26. ders, they are both to be diligently Examined ; and to Subfcribe to three Articles : and had the faid Writer compared what is ordained in thofe Canons, with the Form of Ordering Priefts and Deacons, appointed in the Church of England, he would have found, that none of all this was to be done or tranfatled on the Ordination day, (tho' every part of it was to be performed at the time of Ordination, i. e. a day or two before the actu- al giving and receiving of Orders ) and in order thereunto. So that this Writer, by his Omitting to take Notice of the di- ftintticn between the Atl of Ordaining, on the Ordination Sunday ' Morning, and what was then performed ; and the time of Or- dination which includes the Ember and Ordination week, or at leaft fome few days of it, hath difcover'd himfelf to be ei- ther a very Ignorant, or a very treacherous man. Seeing it undeniably appears from what hath been faid, that provi- ded he had any knowledge in matters of this nature, (and without which he ought not to have written about them) his Reporting of what we have been difcouding concerning, 0 in in the manner he hath done, was all artifice, trick, and jug- gle, tor the impofing upon and the mifleading and decei- ving of his Reader. But in way of farther Anfwer to his foregoing Allegations for proving the \BiJlwp of St. David's guilty of Crimen Falfi, I am in the 2d place to obferve, that the Author of the View, either by reafon of grofs ignorance, or egre- gious infidelity, hath confounded the time or feafon, when at Ordinations the Oath of Allegiance is to be given, with the time when the. Oath of Supremacy is then to be Adminiflred. For as by his producing Williams's Depofition, to prove that nei- Summary ther King William nor Queen Mary were mentioned in the Oathv*cro> Adminiflred in the Aft, or on the day of Ordination', doth un-P' 4 * deniably allure us, that he took the Oath of Allegiance to be then Adminiftrable; ( feeing in that Oath alone, and not in the Oath of Supremacy, were their Names ever mentioned, where- of more hereafter ) To by his quoting out of Harris's Depo- /W^ fition, that inflcad of the Oath of Fidelity or Supremacy menti- oned in the Office of Ordination, an Oath written on Scrips of Pa- per, in which neither King William, nor Queen Mary were named, was Adminiflred to the faid Harris ; this Writer hath not on- ly moft evidently affirmed that the faid Two Oaths were to be Adminiflred at the fame time and feafon, and in the ve- ry Office of Ordination, but he hath in efFecl: confounded thofe two Oaths, and as far as his word and Authority can do it, hath melted, call and moulded them into One. Whereas the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, are not only two feveral very Diflintl and very different Oaths, but as the adminiftring of them is required previoufly unto, and in order to Ordi- nation, th y neither are to be Adminiflred at one and the fame time, nor according to Law can they be. And had the Au- thor of the View, either, look't into the Form and manner of Ordering Deacons, or into » the Form and manner of Ordering of Priefh, as he would have there found that only the Oath of Supernal y is to be adminiflred in the Office of Ordination ', (tho' the Oath of Allegiance, is to be required of all who are to be admitted into Orders, antecedently to their being Ordained) or had that weak and unthinking Writer conlidered, that the Orth of Allegiance is never to be Adminiflred to Perfons who are to be Ordained, fave and unlefs in Curia -, he would thereby and from thence have Underftood, that it could not therefore be hdminiftred in the Office or Atl of Ordination, which is always on a Sunday: in that how ignorant foever Gg g he ( 410 ) be, yet he can hardly avoid knowing (efpecially being a Civilian') that Sunday is no Curial day. To fet this matter therefore in its true Light, and that the Reader may have it before him without artifice and dif^uife, as well as without frauduleiicy and deceit, I (hall briefly but very truly relate, how the /?.- flop behaved himfelf at the Ordination Anno 1693. in the Ad- mini ({ration of the Oaths to fach as were then Ordained. And as I do readily Confefs, that the Oath of Allegiance to Kma William and Queen Mary, was neither Admlmfired before the Bifiop in the Chajpd, nor in the Form of Ordination on the Lord's day, which was the 24/fe of September, (vnd that for the reafons which have been already affigned ) to I do molt pofitively affirm, that the faid Oath viz. of Allegiance, was Adminiflred in the £/*// of the faid Bijhip the *&ry fe wherein King William is not Named. And the Second is, that in their Depolitions, (which I am fure they «f themfeives had not wit to do) they confound, melt down, and and mould the two Oaths into one. As doth not only appear by Harris\ Depoiing, that inftead of the Oath of Fidelity or Supremacy, mention'' d in the Office of Ordination, an Oath Written in Scrips of Paper was Adminiflred, when no fuch Oath as that of Fidelity or Allegiance is there mention'd, or was, or could then be there legally Adminiftred ; but alfo by Williams7} Swearing, that neither KingWiUiam^ nor Queen Alary were mention* din the Oath Adminiftred in the Office of Ordination, which he believes was in lieu of the Oath mention' din the Form of Ordination then in force ; whereas as I have again and again (aid, that no fuchOatb could be then legally TendredorExacted. Now as I dtirifc venture thcRe-. putation of the littleSenfe Ido pretend unto,againftany who will flake equally with me,that thefe two young Welch Deacons, could never have drawn Depofitions, with fo much Artifice, Equivoca- tion and Sophiftry, aj theirs do plainly include and import, un- lefs they had been under the guidance of old» Matters of Leger- demain Trick, and Deceit, who Suggefted and Indicted to them what they were to Swear ; fo I will affirm with a confi- dence that is not ufual to me, that there is nothing in their Depoiitions, that doth, or can Criminally affect the Bifhop. And that thereupon, and confequently thereunto, the Author of the Vuw, is either a very weak, or a very ill man, in taking upon him from their Depofitions, to affirm with that alTurance and confidence he hath done, that the Bifhop of St. David's is guilty of Crimen Fdfi. But to proceed to the next AnfwenI am to make unto, and to a farther Obfervation I have to make on the aforeiaid Allegations of Williams and Harris, produe'd by the Author of the View, which is this and my Third, Namely, , That whereas not only both of them Depofe, that the Oath Adminifijed to them in the Office of Ordination, was Written in Scrip, or Scrips of Paper, but which the Writer of the/^np feems to lay weight upon towards the rendring the Biflwp guilty of the Crimen Falji ; his Lorcfh.p in that part of his conduct, acted not only the part of a difcreetand honed Man, but of a Judicious Prelate, and of one who was careful, that they, to whom he was then to Adminifter that Oatb,iihould be made fo acquainted with it, that they might Swear in Truth, Right eouf- nefs and Judgment, which God by the Prophet requireth, thate* very one mould do, who takes an Oath. Nor could they other- wife have underftood, whatthey were to Swear unco^ in that the New. Oath of Supremacy was not then Printed in the form cf Ordination ( 4i4 ) Ordinations of fricfts and Deacons, (nor do I know whether it yet is) and which they who were to be Ordain'd could not have known, without the B flop's giving it to them in Writing, which they call the Admintflring it in Scrips of Paper. And for any to think or believe his Lordflip fhould have done otherwife, is to wifh and defire, he would have made himfelf guilty or impoling another Oath, than the Act of Parliament doth ap- point. Which as his Enemies would have been both watchful and malicious enough to have taken notice of, (and thereupon have teftify'd their revenge againft him, for his having Voted ill oppofition to the Bill, for the Attainder of Sir John Femvick) fo the demerit of that would have been Capital, whereas his Pretended being guilty of the Crimen Faifi, made him only lia- ble to Deprivation, and according to La iv not to that. Nor is it to be imagin'd, that the Bflop fhould have Adminiftred the 0/^0*zr/?infi:ead of the New, as thofe/iro Witneffs do Swear, in that as the old one had been Abrogated in the jhft of William and Mary, fo his Lordjhip was neither fo weak, nor fo ambi- tious of being brought into Trouble, as to offer the old Oath in- ftead of the New. Yea were he a Jacobite, which I am to reckon no Man to be, who hath taken the Oaths fince the Revo- lution', yet the A 'dm in iftring the old Oath, initead of the New, would have been no fervice to thzlate King James, nor differ - vicc to the late King William. Seeing neither of them are men- tion'd in the Oath of Supremacy ; but all which is there Enacted to be Sworn unto, is only to him who is actually on the Throne, and isSworn unto him under theStile of Higjonefs. But then \thly, I have this farther to Reply to the for erne ntioifd Depofitiont of Williams and Harris recited by the Author of the View, and from and by which he endeavours toget his Reader perfvva^ed, that the Bflop of St. David's was legally prov'd guilty of the Crimen Falfi, namely, That whereas the whole of that Accufation of, and Charge againft his Lordflip, is founded in the words of his Letters o; Orders, which he gave to the J aid Williams and Har- ris, viz. That prxftitis jur anient is in hac parte ncccffariis & rcqui- Jitis, he had Ordain'd them Deacons, &C. there is not one word in either of their Depositions, inconfiftentwith, or that doth overthrow the belief,, that the idid Oaths were both requifita by his Lordfhip (as the Law had appointed J and Prajiita by them ; but the whole which they Swear unto is, that they were not required, of, and Admimjhcd unto them in the Of- fice and Ad: of Ordination. Which that of Allegiance, where- in (4i5 ) in alone King William and Queen Mary were named, could not Legally be. So that from thence fingly, without my ma- king other Reflections, it dotrr demonfttatively appear, how unjtrrtly the Bijlwp of St. Bavittk was proceeded againft. And that He who ufurped the Jurifdiclion of taking upon him the alone Judicial Authority in that pracels, in order to the depriving the Bifivp of St. David\ deliied nor. proof on which to condemn him, but only wanted and dclircd fbme- thing to Palliate and cover his procedure, which his Tools J might call Evidence. But moreover I have this in the 'Fifth place to fay, in Anfwer uhtO, and by way of ObfervationM^Oil the Allegations, which the Writer of the View hath produced out of the Depofitions of Williams and Harris ; Niinely, that it ought to give furprize unto, and to beget an opinion in all thinking men, that matters were not carried fairly and im- paitially in the procefs againft the Bijhop of St. David's, in that of all the 14 as Harris S\vtii$y or the 15 perfons, as Williams Depofeth, who were drained on the 24th of September 1693 only two fhould be produced by the promoter, and their Exami- nations exhibited before his Grace of Canterbury, as to the forementioned Mifkofs not having the Adminifired the Oaths which the Law required. And that thefe two likewife mould only be fuch as had b.en Ordained Deacons-, and that none or* the Presbyters who were then Ordained, fhould have been called upon (O Depofe in reference to that matter. Nor can any man who is wife, provided he be alfo honeft, imagine any other cajole or reafon tor the omitting to Summon and ex- amine more of thofe who were Ordaiaed at that time, fave W.liiams and Hams, but that it was both believed and known, they would have Sworn to the B;(hop'$ having then Adminifired, and to their own having Taken, the Q*thsy which the Law had appointed. And that they would have unqueftionably done io, we fhall give as well full, as undeniable proof, ve- ry fpeedily, from and by the Teilimonies of feveral of them, whereof fomc are under their hands, and others Depofed up- on Oath. And what a prejudice the omitting to Examine any of thofe who were then Ordained, except the afore- faid Two Deacons, might juftly beget againft the BiJIiop of St. David's being Sentenced as guilty of the Crimen tJji, the Author of the View, feems to have fufficiently uaderftood, and therefore by a very remarkable peice of Artifice and of down- (4o8 ) downright Chicanery, hath endeavoured not only to obviate it, but both to throw the blame on the Bijhop, that others who had been then Ordain'd were not examin'd, and alfo from thence to inferr, his Lord/tip's being guilty of the Crime, he had been Summary charg'd with. For fays he,the-fa^r willjoyn with him,in concluding, View, J that if the Bilhop could have proved he had given the Oaths neceffary P- 4p« end required at this Ordination in September 1 693 ? he might have produced fome of the remaining Twelve Perjons, who were then Or- dained with Williams and Harris ; but this, fays he, the Bifhop has not attemptedin the whole Caufe, tho"* he did undertake to prove it, and I aid it in the lift Article of the fir ft Allegation by him given. Which this Author would not have ventur'd to have faid, were he not a Perfon of wonderful Effrontery, of a down right Corinthian forehead , in that the Biflwp both defired of the Arch- Biftwp,^nd alfo of thel>f/f£^-f,that he might be allow'd to pro- duce fome of them, which he alfo offer'd to have done, who would Depofe and Attefl his Lordfiip's having A'dminiftrcd to them the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Qiucn Maty by Name on the 23th of of September, and that he had likewife Adminiftred to them the Oath of Supremacy on the 24th, and that as the Metropolitan had refufed to admit it, under pretence that it was then too late, and that the Proccfs had proceeded too far to have it then allowed ; fo the Dtlagatcs had likewife denied him that piece of Juftice, faying their bu fine fts was only to Examine what had been before his Grace of Canterbury, and that they were not to concern themfelves with new matters. But then Sixthly, I have this farther to fay by way of Anfwer unto, and Obferva- tion on the aforefaid Allegations of the Writer or" the View, out of, and from the Depofttions of Williams and Hams, namely, that it not only ought to be fufpected, that what they Snw^and this Author hath Reported 'was falfe ; but that it is Morally "cer- tain it muft be fo ; In that it had been in proof, how that the BiJJjop had both refufed to admit a certain perfon, (who was known to be learned and piousj into the Order of Dea- con, (tho' greatly importuned to it) meerly becaufe of his denying to tuke the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary ; and that his Lordftip had likewife refufed to give a Lkenfe to cne who was a Presbyter, (and withall, a man of lin- gular worth, and his own particular acquaintance,) for the fole caufe, and upon the alone motive of 4his being one of thofe. that are ftiled Non-jurers. So that from thofe two things ha- ving ( 4i7 ) ving been Depofed and, Sworn unto, fuch who confider things without prepofTeflion and prejudice, cannot avoid believing, that what was fworn by Williams and Harris mull be alto- gether falfe. And it would be furprizing fif any thing in fome peoples conduct could ) that his Grace of Canterbury, mould have given credit to two young and ignorant Deal cons againffc a Comprovincial Bijhop, and that in a matter of ib great moment, as his Lordjhifs being thereupon rendred guilty of the Crimen Falfi ; after his Grace, had not only had the two things, which I have mentioned, in proof before him, under the Teftimonies upon Oath of two credible Witnef- ^Sta* fes, but when it had been Sworn by them, that in both thefeo/ Geo. cafes the Bijhop had Declared, that the things which had Lewis, the been required of him, were fuch as he neither would .norB?.'s- .*i- could do, in that he was refolved to be juft tO" King William V™[*ni and to the Laws. Whereunto by way of farther Obfervati- uidel'is on upon, and in Anfwer to the aforefaid Allegations, let me *$. ivitn. add in the Seventh Place, that from its having been in Prsof, that the Bipop had Adminijlred the Oath of Allegiance at Other Ordinations, to fuch as had been received into Orders, it ought to have fatisfied his Grace of Canterbury (if he had been capa- ble either of underftanding what was Satisfaction, or of re- ceiving it) that the Adminiftration of that Oath had not been omitted at the Ordination in September 1693. And to pafs by the calling over diverfe Depositions, which are both full and pertinent to this purpofe ( becaufe I would not weary and * burthen the Reader, when my defign, as well as my bufinefs is, only fufficiently to inform him, and fet him right in a matter, whereof he hath had a very falfe account, and hath been greatly impofed upon, in the Difcenrfe called the Sum- mary View) I fhall therefore confine my felf to the mentioning of two} of which, as one fhall be the Depofitim of one of the Bfiop's Witnejfes -, fo the other fhall be the Depofition of a Wit- nefs produced by the Promoter. That then which was fworn un- to by George Lewis the Bifhop's Witnefs is, that he having been . at fever al Ordinations of the Bijhofs, he never faw any thing O- -^ wi\n*m' mined, either in the Service of Ordination, or in the per fans Ordain- ad Artie ed, that ought by Law to have been done on fuch oecafions. And2* agreeably hereunto, it is exprefly and pofitively Sworn by Jacob Wood, who was one of the Promoter's Witnejfes, that when he was Ordained Deacon anno 1691 and alfo afterwards when Hhh he (4i8 ) The Pro- ^e was Ordained Priefl, he both times took the Oaths required by mot. 6. Law, and particularly the Oath of Fidelity to King William and vvitw. Ad Queen Mary. And as it is ufual for fuch, as have fwallowed Artie. any fort 0f Oaths themfelves bow much foever they may have cither fluck in their Throats, or proved hard of digefticn, to be willing and defirous, (in order to their being the more and better juflified in what they have done) that all mould do accordingly as they have, and to grow even peevifh to- wards, and cenforious of fuch as do not, as reckoning them- felves upbraided by them -, fo it is altogether inconfiftent with, and irreconcileable to common fenfe, that a perfon a&ing in a publick capacity, and before many Spectators and Auditors, mould at one time not only adfc drfcordantly from, and in diredr oppofition to what he had done at another, when in the*difcharge and execution of the fame affair 5 but fo as to make himfelf obnoxious to the Laws, as well as to the wrath of thofe then in Power. But finally, and in the Eighth place, I have ftill farther another Anfwer to be given to the aforefaid Allegations of the Author of the View from the Depofitions of Williams and Harris, and which if I be not greatly miftaken, will not only undeniably mew them to have been Fore/worn, and to have perjured themfelves in what they Depofed, but which will likewife expofe this Writer^ either as a perfon of a very fhallovv Undemanding in believing, or of a moft profligate Confcience ( if he did not) in impofing thofe things on his Readers for Truths, which were meerly their own -Fidions, or which at the mitigation, and on the fubornation of others thefe igaorant and mercinary Creatures* contrary to their knowledge were gained *to Swear unto. And belides one Teftimony which I have already given in the 1 1 9 Page of this Difcourfe, of one Richard Davies, who is a very credible perlon, and which fince my reporting thereof, he hath fworn unto ; I fhall not only fubjoyn the Informa- tions and Teflimonies of two other Presbyters, who .were Ordained at the fame time with Williams and Harris, who tefti- fy in dircft oppofition to what thofe poor weak Deacons Dc- pofed ; but I fhall alfo annex the Informations and Depofitions of feveral, of more indubitableCredit,as well as of better judgment, than they, who were at prefent the Ordination in September 1693 and Ocul&ti and auriti tefles of whacfoever was then tranfact- ed. ( 4*9 ) ed. And the firft Teftimony of one, who was then Ordained, which I mail lay before the Reader, fhall be that of Jenkin Williams of the Pari ft) of Land red Clerk, who doth acknowledge and declare, that on the 24 of September 1693 hetogether with Ed- ward Williams, James Harris, and others, were Ordained in the Chappel of St. John Baptift in Aberguilly by Thomas Lord Bift)op of St. David V $ at which time, and during the Office of Or- dination, th'e Oath of Supremacy, which is enjoy ned by an Aft of Parliament of the Firft of King William and Queen Mary was admini fired to, and taken by him, and the reft, that were then Or- dained Deacons and Presbyters; and alfo that on the foregoing Saturday, being the 23 of the aforefaid September, the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, was tendredto,and taken by him and by the reft in the Hall of the PaUace of Aber- guilly, in the pre fence of the Biflwp, in thefe words, I Jenkin Williams do fincerely promife and Swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to their Maj/fties King William and Queen Mary. And as this is both full and in direct contra- diction to what was Depofed by Williams, and Harris, fo I may venture to fay, that it being both an affirmative Teftimony, and that alfo of a Presbyter, hi oppofition to the Negative Teflimonies of meer Deacons, more credit ought to be given unto it, than to theirs. To which never thelefs, and for the more confirmation of this which Jenkin Williams hath given under his hand, before David Lloyd and John Pryfe, two very good Gentlemen in Wales, and to which he is ready to Swear before any Court of Judicature whatfoever, I fhall add the Teftimony of another Presbyter Ordained at the fame time with the aforefaid 'Two Deacons, which is that of one Mr. Herbert M. A. who with the fame r3oiiti»; enefs, that Jenkyn Williams did, hath declared under his hand before feveral fubftantial Wicnefics, and is prepared to Swear it, whenfoever called thereunto, That having taken the Oath of Allegiance to King Wil- liam and Queen Mary, on the 23 of September, Admtniftredta him by the Biftop of St. David'* in the Hall of his Pallace afore- faid, that he had alfo adminiftred to him by the faid Biftiop, and that he likewife took tf>e new Oath of Supremacy in the Office of Ordination, on the 24 September, being the day en which he and others were Ordained. Yea there are diver fe others, who were then admitted into Orders, (provided this matter may come under review) that are ready to Depofe the Two Oaths required Hhh 2 by ( 4*o ) by Law, were Adminiftrcd to and taken by them, in Order unto, and at the time of the aforefaid Ordination, ( tho' not both on the fame day, nor in the fame place, as indeed they ought not to have been J whofe Informations, for the eafing of the Reader of what is fuperfluous, as well as unneceffary, I fhall at prefcnt in a manner, omit, and only allure the Reader, that both Mr. David Philips Retlor of White-Church, and Air. Atkin Williams Rettor of Llanwrinack, who were Ordain- ed on the faid 24 of Sept._ 1695. and are known to be Per- fons of good Senfe and ot great uprightnefs, have undertook (wherdbever called thereunto) to depofe upon Oath, that the Oaths by Law required, were then Admini 'fired unto them, and to all that wee Ordained with them. Yea I might even far- ther add, that I have feen an account under the hand of a very holy as well as Learned Divine in the Diocefs of St. David's, how that having fpoken even with the aforefaid David Williams, and on producing to him the Form and manner of Ordering Deacons, having Read the Oath of the King's Supre- macy therein contained, and ask'dhim whether he had taken that Oath? The faid Williams had thereupon corf (ffed and acknowledged to him his having taken the faid Oath ; And that his miflake in what he Depofed, proceeded from his having not before underitood, but that the King was in the Oath of Supremacy, mention' 'd and ex- preftd by name. But tho' I do now only intimate thefe things, as reckoning they may be better referv'd, at leaff. with refpe&to. a full account of them, till hereafter, yet I do take it to be in- difpenfably needful, and that, which without obnoxioufnefs to great blame, I cannot negled, to lay before the Reader the De«- clarations and Depofitions of fome that were prefent at that Ordination, and who as they perfectly underftood, what Oaths were at that time, and on that occafion to be taken •, So they have with all the Sacrednefs, as well as Po'iitivenefs imaginable afErirfd, that every thing was done and executed, which the Law had appointed and required. And forasmuch as the Author of the Fiew, hath only mention'd Dr. Francis Thomfon, as the alone perfon(for which I fhall Reprimand the faid Writer, and give him Chaftifement anon) who hath Sworn, that he had been View . prcfent at fever al Ordinations of the Bifhop of St. David'/, and Ai. 53. particularly at that of the 24-th of September 1 693, and that he cbferv'dthe Bifhop always Admini fired the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy to King William,.?? fuch Verfons as he Ordain W when the ( 4« ) the faid Deponent was prefent -, I fhall briefly acquaint the Reader, that befides my being informed of the Doctors having prepa- red, and that in due time he will publifh, fuch a justification of himfelf with refpedt to what he had Depofed, as will render the Author of the Fjw$ contemned and ridicufd by all, who do lay claim, either to wit, or to probity; I have had the advantage of feeing the following Declaration of the faid Dotlor concerning and confirmative of his former pepofuion, which the faid Writer, when he could not otherwife over- throw it, hath endeavoured to expofe, by his calling it 4 fi-vbifufra. mflnng fifjike^ and by his defiring the Reader to take particular consideration of it. Namely, that he the faid Dr. Francis Thom- fon doth averr upon his Knowledge and Cor.fcience, that Edward Williams, and James Harris, did take the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary by name, in AbergnilTy Hall September 23. 1693. in order to their being Ordained Deacons by the Biflwp of St . Davids the next day, and that on the 2j.th, they had the Oath of Supremacy Adminiftred to them in the Office of Ordination^ and that when in the taking the Oath of Allegi- ance, King William and Queen Mary came to be named, the Bifljop called to fome who [pake with a lower voice, to fpeak louder, And forafmuch as the Author of the new, hath been fo filly, as well as impudent, to Report, that-*/?* Biflwp out of about Se- venty Witntffes, had only brought one to fpeak to this Article, ¥&* fu$rli- I fhall towards the proving him no lefs an unfaithful than a fooiilh Writer, and alfo for giving him the reprimand and chaftifement, I have threatned him with, lay the Depofitions of fome others before the Reader, which were made in reference thereunto. Namely, that Willfray Vyemont, who lived with the Bifbop Six years as his Gcnlteman and Secretary, and who was with him in theY.eari<5Q3, doth Depofe,that at all times,when he the faid 7}e BP s° Pyemont was prefent, cither at Institutions or Ordinations (as we may AnfCt 2U juftly fuppofe he conftantly was, becaufe it was both his bufi- nefs to be there, and his intereffc alio lay in it) that theBifaop did always Adminifter the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, to fuch as were OrdairPd or Inftituecd, and that he never knew any Or- dained or Infiituted, without the taking the faid Oaths. Yea the s ,. faid Willfray Vyemont, doth elfew here farther Depofe, that having \Exmina- be en prefent at the Ordination 1C5P3, he faw the Oaths of Supremacy tion Odr and Allegiance to King William Adminiftred to the Perj'ons who 169S, ad were then Ordain' d. *And agreeably to what was Depofed by Jmerrc&au Vyemont '" ( 422 ) . The Bo's. TyririStit) hath ^ P49« required^ at his Ordination in September 1693. but that he was alfo guilty of the fame Omiffidn, at an Ordination on Trinity Sun- day 1691 which he faith, the Promoter hath proved againfl him, by Exhibiting the Orders of one Robert Owen, of the Tenor following. F~. G. Thomas permiffione Divina Menevenfis Epifco- pus notumf admits IJniverfis, quod'], die Junii anno Domini 1691. viz. die San fid et individux Trinitatis in Capella infra cedes no* flras, &C. Robert urn Owen &c. prtflitis prius per eum Juramentis & Subfcriptionibus de jure in hac parte requ'ifitis ad facrurh Dia- conatus Ordinem admifmus, txC in cujus Rei tcflimonium Sigil- Ibid* p.50. lum noflrum Epifcopale prafentibus avponi fecimus : Vat. die men- fis & Ano fupraditt: Tho. Mereven. To which this Author adds, that to prove the Omiffion of the Oaths in this Cafe; mid ff}cpr0w that thefe Letters of Orders are Subfcribed by the Bifiop, the mot. 60, Promoter did Examine Mr. Edmond Meyrick, who Swears thatWiw* he was trefent at an Ordination in the Bijljop's Chappel, and obfer- ved that the Oaths appointed in the Form of Ordination was Omit- ted (I give it as it is in the View, where the Nown is plu- ral, and the Verb Singular ) which the faid Meyrick rtmembred by this token, that at the time the Oath of Supremacy was ufually taken, Mr. Powel attending the Ordinatisn, brouakt the Book -of OrM- ( 4^4 ) . Ordination and Oath therein to the Bijhop, in order to be taken by the Perfons Ordained ; but the Bijhop told Mr. Powcl there was no need of it, and fo there was no Oath adminiflred to the perfons then Ordained. And that he the [aid Meyrick in another place more pofitively and particularly Depofes, that he was prefent at the Ordination on Trinity Sunday 1691. and that none of the perfons then Ordained, did take the Oaths apppointed to be taken in the Office of Ordination, or thofe to the prefent Government, Vbi fuprt, during the time of Divine Service ; and that the Letters of Or- p. 51. ders of Robert Owen/ Jhewen to the J aid Deponent Meyrick** his Examination) are ftbfcribed with the prober hand Writing of the Bifhop, with which that Deponent fays, he is well acquainted, and that Mr. Powel was prefent at the fame Ordination. Whofe Depofition therefore the Author of the View, hath given us in the Prom, the Words following, viz. That Mr. Tho. Powel Swears, he %2.Witn. was prefent at but one Ordination of the Bifiop^s that was in the Reign of King William and the late Queen ', That at the time in the Office appointed to take the Oaths from the Ordained, he the faid Powel ailing as Secretary, defigncd to hold the Book to them to" receive the Oaths by Law appointed, and in order thereto, moved towards them out of his Seat. But that the Bifiop beckoned to to him to withdraw, and fpoke fomething to forbid it. And that' the faid Oaths were not then taken, tho'' the Instruments were drawn full as ufual. Whereunto the Author of the View farther adds, that upon an other Examination, the fame Powel diretlly Swears, that he was prefent when Robert Owen was Ordained on Tri- nity Sunday 1691. and that he did not then take the Oaths of Fi- delity to King William and Queen Mary as the Law required. And that Mr. Meyrick was then alfo prefent, and that Owen'* Orders (now fhewn to the Deponent) are Signed by the Bifoop, and Sealed with his Epifcopal Seal. Now as I have diverfe Anfwers to give unto, and Reflexi- ons to make on the Depofitions of thefe two Witneffcs, as like- wife to and upon the Author of the View, with refpect to his Allegations from and out of them -, fo I will endeavour they may be fuch, as fhall fully fatisfy the Reader, that whatfoever they have Sworn, or he hath Reported upon their teftimony, is impertinent, fophiftical,and falfe; and that there is nothing fave a complication of malice and perjury in the former, and of effrontery and treachery in the latter, with relation to all that has been here called oyer. And the Firft thing, I am to beg of ( 425 ) of the Reader, is, that he would confider who thofe two Witwffes are and r.o recoiled the Characters, which have been given of them 'before. Whereby as he cannot mifs difco- ring them to jq perfons of that ill and infamous fame, that nothing which they fay or fwear ought to be believed ^ fohe will foon difcern them to have been fuch avowed and reveng- ful Enemies of the Bifoop of St. David\ that their Teftimo- nies would have been received againft that Prelate, before no Judges whatfoever, except fuch as only fought a pretence, ra- ther than to have matter legally proved, upon which they might condemn him. And that the Charatlsrs, how fevere they may feem, which were given of them, were below their demerit, and far more modeft of them, than they deferved, we fhall farther make undeniably appear, in what we are now proceeding to difcourfe about. In order whereunto, I do in the Second place, delire of the Reader, that he would be pleafed carefully to obferve, how and in what Terms, the 20th Article againft the Bijhop of St. David's Ruris. Namely, Item we object to you, the Bifloop of St. DavidV that when yon have Ordain' 'd, lnfiituted, and Collated fever al Perfons, you have certified under your Epifcopal Seal, that the Perfons fo Ordained, Collated, and lnflituted, have at the time ef Ordination, Collation, and Infitution taken the fevcral Oaths by Law required, when in truth no fuch Oaths have been offered by you, nor taken by fuch perjons. And particularly on the l/\th. day of September 1 693. yon Qrdained fever al Priefls and Deacons to the number of 15 Per- fons, and particularly Edward Williams, James Harris, and others, sind did not Adminifier, or tender te them the Oaths, or either of them, mentioned and required to be taken in an AiJ of Parliament, Intituled an Aft for Abrogating the Oaths of Allegiance dnd Su- premacy, and Appointing other Oaths. Notwithfianding which, you have certified,- that the faid Perfons had taken -the Oaths required. Nor can I upon my having recited this Article of the Promo- ter againft the Bijliop, be juft either to the Reader, or to my felf, without Relating in what words, both Meyrick and To- wel Depofed and Swore in proof of the faid Article, viz. That Aley/ick Depofed and Swore in reference to it as followed], That fome Ordination day fmce the Abrogating the Old Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy and the EfiablTfhing the new Oaths, he "°* Prt' the [aid Meyrick, happened to be prefent at an Ordination in ^wilru U Pijhdp-s Chapel at Aberguilly, and th*it he there did obferve7 that Artie. 2«* I i i t he (A2S) the Oath appointed in the Form of Ordination, was omitted to he given by the Bifoop to the Perfons that were to be Ordained: And which he the [aid Meyrick remembers by this token, that at the time the Oath of Supremacy was ufually taken, Mr. Powel a, publick Notary, attending the Ordination, brought the Book of Or- dination and Oath therein, to the Bijhop in order to be taken by the perfon Ordained, and that the Bifliop told the J aid Mr. Powel, there was no need of it ; and fo there was no Oath Adminijlred to the perfons then Ordained. Nor is the Depofition of Powel in proof of the faid Article, fo much difagreeable, either in ex- prcfiions, or in fenfe, from Meyrick\, but that men of Un- derftanding and probity muft conclude, they were in a Com- bination and Confpiracy for getting the Bijlnp Ruined, and had therefore concerted and adjufted together what they fhould Swear unto. Accordingly PowePs Depofition is, that he cannot The Tro- remember, that he was prefent at the Office of Ordination in the ■mot. 19. Bifhofs time but once, and that was in the Reign of his prefent Witn. ad. Majefty and the late Queen Mary, and ailing then as Secretary Artie. 20. t0 the faid Lord Biflwp, at the time in the faid Office appointed to take the Oaths from fuch as were Ordained, he the faid Po- wel defigned to hold the Book to them to receive the Oaths ap- pointed by Lawy and upon that account did move towards them out of the Seat in his Lordjhifs Chapel, but that his Lordfjip beckoned to him to withdraw and fpoke fomcth'ne to forbid it, which by reafon of the di fiance he was from him, he did not •well apprehend, and the faid Oaths were not taken. Nov? in re- flexion upon, and in Anfwer to all this, I have three things to lay before the Reader, which will both difcover the col- lufivenefs, as • well as the impertinence of their Swearing, and withall give too plain a view either of the iniquouf- nefs, or of the imprudence of the Metropolitan, who took upon him, ("as I have often faid without others, in whom the Canons and Laws in conjunction with him, had vefted, the Juridicative power over a Comprovincial Bijhop') to judge authoritatively and concluiively in that matter. Whereof the firfi is, that whereas the faid Aticle, hath charged the Bi- jhop7 with the Omitting to Adminifler the Oaths^ which the Law requires, at Collations and Infitutiorts, as well as at Ordi- nations, triers is not one fillable in their Depoftions, wherein they mention the Omiffion of them, at Collations and f/tftkmi- ons. Whereas if the Bifiop of St. David's had been fuch an Enemy ( \%n ) Enemy to his own requiring, and others taking of thofe Oaths, as fome men have calumniated and Slander'd him to have been ; it is much morejikely, he would, have omicted the tendring and exacting of them, at Collations and Inftitu- tions, where fewer Spectators were prefent, than at Ordina- tions, where a great number of Perfons, either to be Ordained, or to be afiifting at it, or to behold what was tranfa&ed, was always attending. And therefore having already given the Depofitions of feveral upon Oath, that the Bifiop did at all ■Collations and Inftitutions, Adminifter the Oaths, which the Law appointed, it not only leaveth a prejudice with all im- partial men, againft what Meyrick and Powel have Depofed, of his having omitted to give them at Ordinations ; but it giveth all men of good fenfe and probity a certainty, upon no lefs than Moral demonftration, that therein they [wore falfely and perjurioufly. But then I have yet a fecond thing to acquaint the Reader with, concerning the Depofitions of Meyrick and Vovoel in proof of the Promoter's 20th. Article againft the Bijhop, which will ftill fet it in a clearer light that as both thofe IVitnejfcs [wore fraudulently, and confequent- ly perjurioufly •, fo he who ufurped the alone and fole Ju- rifdi&ion in that caufe, a&ed againft all Fornx of Law, and thereupon very unrighteoufly, unlefs his Grace can be excufed from the latter, byreafon of fome qualities very pe- culiar to him, (which I (hall not name) viz.. That in the Depo- fitions of Meyrick and Powel, which I have recited, there is not the leaft mention either of time when, nor of Perfons towards ipkw^his Lordfljip was guilty of the faid omijfwn. And as there- upon their Depofitions, were fuch as before either a Wife or an \mpavthi\J uM cat ure, \wou\d have been accounted to have affected no iMan, fo the Metropolitans receiving them, and the Author of the VimU reporting them, fheweth us, that fome People are either very Ignorant thro' defe&s in their Vndcrflandmgs ; or that they are ftrangely tainted with faults in their Wills. For it is not only exprefly provided for, in the Rules laid down both by Civilians and Canonifts-, but it is likewife univerfally agreed unto by Common Lawyers, yea Snatled in the very Statutes of England, that all Crimes Alledged and brought into Procefs againft any one, mall be fixed to a certain time when they were committed, and the Perfons individually Named, in reference unto, againft whom, and upon whom they were Perpetrated. I i i 2 For (4*8 ) For as among the Ancient Romans, it was a Fundamental Maxim in their Adminiftration or Juftice, that none fhonld dare bring any one before the Pr&or, without putting it into his A ecu fat ion of him, Tale veltale die Mo, vel loco illo commi- 4 mf " fiffti That at [itch a time, and tn fitch a place, he had been guilty of fuch an Injurious or Criminal Fact, (to which, not Only all Civili- ans^ but the Canoni(ls,do unanimoufiy and entirely agree) fo it is exprefly Enadtedln the Statute of the 37. of Hen. 8. That ag-ainfi whomjoeiier an Indictment or Impeachment is laid, that the Day, Tear and Place, where the Wrong or Crime were committed, p} all be exprefly and deter minatly mention 'd. And were it not fo, it would be impofilbie for any Man, trio' never fo Innocent, to Juftify himfelf againil a calumnious and malicious Accufation. Into which fentiment, as a dogma for the Adminiftration as well of Juftice, as of Equity, between man and man, feeing they of molt vulgar Undet Handings (without the exception of any one) do entirely fall ; I mould reckon it a treating my Rea- ders with more difrefpedi: than I would be guilty of, to purfue this farther, or give ampler confirmation of it. Tho' I cannot avoid faying, that his Grace of Canta bury's admitting of fuch Depofitions, and the Author of the View's reporting them fo as to lay weight upon them, gives me a very odd, and a very mean Idea of cert iin people, who have had the fortune to be Advanc'd to very conliderable Preferments of one kind and an other. But then I have yet a Third Ri feel-ion to make upon the Lepofnions of Meyrick and Pcwel, in proof of the Promoter's 20th Article agamft the Bifhop, and which fhall ferveas a farther An- fwer to what the Writer of the^>n>, hath lrom, and out of them endeavour'd to impofe upon, and miflead his Reader fry, that the Bfiop, thro' having omitted to Adminifter the Oat hi at a certain Ordination, which the Law requires, and yet having ceitify'd under his Har.d ahd Epificpal Seal, that they who were Ordain d had taken them, was thereupon guilty of the Crimen Falfi. And my Rtf.cttions is this, namely, That where- as Powel Swears to Oaths in the Plural number, which were to have been Adminifired in the Office of Ordination, and that both Mty'i ick and Powel Depofe, that in the AH. oj Ordination, Powel brought the Book of Ordination, and the Oath therein, to the Bllhop, that it night be ghen to the Perfor.s who weretobe Ordain'' d, &C. it is moft indubitable in it felf, and worthy of the Readers ob- fervation, that as only one Oath was according to Law to be Ad" minijlred (*t*9 ) 'ired in the Office of Ordination, and not Oaths, and that ne- ver more than one Oath was in that part of the Book which ap- points and declares the Form andAianner of Ordaining Deacons end Pritfts ; fo the faid Oath being the new Oath of Supremacy, k was not then (nor do 1 know, as I have faid before, whether it yet is) Printed in the Book of Ordination. And COiifequently ?hat it was irnpoflible, that in bringing the Book of Ordination to e Bifhop, the faid Oath fiioidd be brought therein. Whereby ic deniably appeareth, that both theie Witnefles, not only /ore with great Inadvertence, and very much at Random, it that they plainly Depofed Fallely and Perjurioufly. Nor an any who fhall vouchfafe too look into thefe Papers, mifs aking notice what an advantage from hence I have afforded me, of being fevere on the Author of the f^iew, and alio on fome others, but the whole which I will allow my felf to fay on this occalion, is, that it mult have proceeded either from want of Judgment, or from want of Integrity, that Meyrich and Powei came to be believ'd in any thing they Said or Swore. And that tho' it hath been the Bijhop of St. David's misfortune, to fuffer upon, and becaufe of their Teftimonies, yet the Reproach and Difgrace muff, at laft fall to the mare of thofe, who have laid his Lorefhip under Sufferings upon their Depoiitions. But it is time I mould proceed to an other Obfrvation on the Promoter's loth Article againft the Bifhop of St. Da- vids, and upon -the Depofitions of Mtyrkk and Powcl in Proof of it, by which, if I be not greatly mi/taken, all the Proceedings againft that Prelate, will fail under wonderful Difparagement, as well as be liable to very fever y Cenfure. And it fhall be this, namely, how the Bifhop's Enemies, af- ter .the Procefs had held long and been far advane'd, being rendred fenfible, that neither that part of the zoth Article, to which Meyrick and Powel Depofed, nor their Depofitions in reference thereunto, could (for the reafons which I have already afligned) anyways Criminally affect the B.ftop:, they thereupon admitted Lucy the Promoter to bring in an Additional Arti- cle, and alfo allow'd Meyrick and Powcl to Swear to it. In which Article, and by which Depofitions, the Bifijop's Omijjiou of Adminiftring the Oaths at a certain ■ Ordinat.o-t, is felled to fuch a particular Ordination day, a'nd with reference to fitch an Individual vetfon. For having gotten the Name of one Robert ( 43° ) Robert Owen, a Deceased Kinfman of Meyrickh, who had been Ordain'd the "jtb of June 1691, which was Trinity-Sunday, and they having alio found the Letters of Ordders, in and by which the Bijlwp Teftiffd, that he the faid Robert Owen had at his Ordination taken the Oaths, &C. Thereupon both 'the Promoter frameth a new Additional Article, and the aforefaid two Collufive and Perjurious Witnclfes, take anoccafion of bringing an Infignificant and Impertinent General, where nei- ther time nor Per fin were mentioned, to a fixed day, and to an Individual Ai an. And having already given the Depofitions of thofe two Witnejfes in Proof of the 20th Article, wherein by Swearing with an AiTiirance and Impudence peculiar to the worft of Men,they had endeavour'd to fallen the Hiovefa'idOmiJfion on the Bijlwp of St. David's, I do think it needful to give the Promoter's faid Additional Article, in confirmation whereof, they were per- mitted to Depofe. Namely, that on the 1 5 of December 1697 he the faid Lucy the Promoter, doth annex and Exhibit the Letter; of Orders of Deacon of Robert Owen, and to all ejftcl in Law doth ailed g, that the faid Letters of Orders, were and are Jubfcribed by and with the proper hand writing, and Sealed with the Epifcopal Seal of the faid Thomas Lord Bijlwp of St. Da- vid V, and that the faid Robert Owen was Ordained Deacon on Trinity Sunday 16*91 &C. and that at the time of the Ordina- tion of the faid Robert Owen, the faid Robert Owen did not take the Oaths by Law required, as is certified in the faid Let- ters of Orders. In reference to which Article, and Meyrick's and Powers Depofitions upon ic, I beg the being allowed firff. to give both their Depofitions, and then to make fome Obftrvations upon them. Aicyrick then Swears in reference to this Additional Article ; That he was prefent at the Ordination The Pro- on Trinity Sunday 1691, and that none of the perfons then Or - ^W'n dair.ed, did take the Oaths appointed to be taken in the Office of Ordination or theft to the prefent Government, during the time of Divine Service &C. and that Air. Powel wat prefent. And ac- Tbi Fro- cordingly the faid Powel Dcpofeth, that he was prefent when Robert wot. 59 Owen was Ordained on Trinity Sunday 1691, and that he did Wiui, vox then take the Oaths of Fidelity to King William and Queen Mary as the Lavo required. And that Mr. Meyrick was then alfo prefent &c. In anfwer to which Depofitions, I (hall in thenext place obferve two things, whereby not only the Villany of the Bi- pwp*s Profecmors, but the imprudence (if not fomethiug worfe) of ( 43i ) of him who was his Judge, will become farther Detected and difplayed. Whereof the Flrfl is, that it is again ft Law, that after Articles have for diverfe years been Exhibited, and a Procefs upon them not only Commenced but almoff brought to a period, to admit the bringing in of Additional Articles. For I may fay, that all the Rules eftabliflied by the Dottors, do expreliy forbid and condemn it. Which the Author of the View ought not to have been ignorant of, nor to have given that countenance he hath done, to a practice directly repug- nant to the Maxims of the Civil Law. For which that I may as well reprimand the faid Writer, as (hew how illegal- ly the Bijhop of St. David's was proceeded againfr, I fhall call over, and acquaint the Reader with fome of them* Namely, that ubi incipit accufatio, defmit inquifitio, when a pro- cefs is once begun, all Inquiry after new matter ought to be at an End: And fehat in crimina libus, (as I have formerly faid ) non licet vagare ; in criminal Ace uf at ions, no wandrino- is to be allowed, from what w a* at $' ft Articled and Charged. And that as quod femel placuit amplius difplieere non pot eft-, whatfoever a promoter hath been fopleafed with, as to form it into ace ufation, he muft not afterwards either alter, or depart from-, fo that de qua re cognovit ^g- 3ur' j-tdex, de ea quoque promtneiare cogendus eft, whenfoever a judge hath a matter judicially before him, he is obliged to proceed to give fentence upon it, as it had been fated and laid. Whereunto I might add out of the Cannon Law, that in procuratoribus, alius pr*- vid\ in the Reign of the late King James, he never at that time Adminifired it to any whom he Ordained. And I do fup- pofe his moft malicious Enemies will notaccufe him, of be- ing guilty of any omiflion of Duty to that King of more blef-. fed than fortunate memory, which his LordJhTp was by Law obliged unto. And yet as he never forbore under that Reign to Adminifier the Oath of Supremacy in the Office of Ordination, (tho' he could not be reckoned to make his Court very much in fo doing, I mean if the Commentaries of a certain generation in that Reign may be admitted) yet that good and truely Englim, tho' unhappy Prince, never ei- ther rebuked him for, or difwaded him from it. So at his Lordjljip's Ordaining in the Fir ft year of King William and Queen Mary for the Bijhop of Ply in the County of Cambridge, he was punctual in giving the 04th of Supremacy to thofe whom he then and there Ordained: So that in cafe, he had Omitted at that time, in that place, and upon that occaflon, to Admi- nifier the Oath of Allegiance ( whereof there is not the leaft fyllablc in proof in all the procefs ) yet it could not be ac- counted a crime, and'muchlefs faid to have been dene dolo mclo, which fas we have intimated before ) muft always at- tend v 4*7 / tend the Crimen Falfi. And the utmctt -.jC malice it fetfi even when accompanied with ignorance, ("for thefe two are Allies in moft private Confederacies ) can make of it, (fup- pOfing it had been fo, which doth no ways judicially ap- pear ) was only that his LordJJnp had made a falfe ftep, be- fore he was well got into his New Tramels, and that he retained fomething of his ancient Mumpfimus, after the mo- dern Sumfimus was come into Falhion. And to cover the Author of, the View with indcliable ignominy, for the ha- ying taken notice of fuch an Omiffwn^ in the manner he hath done (even provided, as I have faid, it had been true, which doth not judicially appearj I fhall here acquaint the Reader^ that the prefent Bijhop of Salisbury^ who is avowedly more an Enemy of the Bijhop of St. David's^ than becomes a Prelate to be to any man, and much lefs to one of his own Ordery and efpecially to one who is his Comprovincial^ and who is not accounted the difcreeteft man in the World, how lear- ned foever he may be, and is withall held to be a very malicious Enemy towards thofe, againft whom he carrieth pique and re- venge, as is not only ufually incident, but for the moft part natural to fuch as are conltitutionally and coraplexionally Coiiards} yet that the faid Bifiop q{ Salisbury alter he had in the year 1 691, threatned the Bijhop of St. David's with an Information in the Kings-Bench, for not Giving the Oath of Al- legiance with the Oath of Supremacy , at an Ordination in the Diocefs of £/y, did never thelefs decline and forbear it thro"1 his own forefeeing, as well as becaufe of his being told by others, that it would only turn to his Lordjlips own reproach and Infamy. So that the Author of the View's venturing on this, after that Prelate had fuperceded medling in it, fhews that this Writer wanteth fomeof that Bijbops Intelletluals, tho' he may have enough of his excellent Moral qualities. For I may prefumeto fay, that whenfoever that Prelate had with- drawn himfelf from any farther concernment in an ill natur'd thing, and againfl one to whom he had enmity, that he muffc either be a very weak and unthinking man, who fubftituteth himfelf in his room, and undertaketh that province, or he mult hope to find thofe advantages, by it, as would both acco- modate his Govetoufnefs and gratify his Ambition. Bui v 43« ; But whereas this Congrefs, between the Author of the Viett and me, is now brought to an end, and all that remains is to call over the words in which he concludes, and to bid Adieu to him in the Terms he deferveth, I (hall do the firft in his Language, and the laft in my Own, or in making others fpeak in my behalf. The words then, in which that Author is pleafed to take leave of his Reader, are thefe that follow. Summry Namely, thws fitith he, I have briefly run through, what I at fiyfi Vievo, propofed ; not enlarging on the proof of the general Fame, which ac~ P- SI* . companied the fever al Enormities charged upon the Bilhop, but have confined my felf to the genuine Proofs of the FaBs themfelves, for which I have all along faithfully referred to the Depofitions. Where- unto I mall crave liberty to annex thofe in which I am to take my farewell of him. viz.. That I have made him appear, to be inftead of a true Reporter of matters of Fall, a very un- faithful and treacherous one ; and that in the place of his Relat- ing things impartially^ I have demonftrated his having only given what was faid againft the Bi/hopy without vouchfaving to acquaint his Readers with what had been faid and in proof for him '9 and I have likewife through this whole Difcourfe fhew'd that as when duo faciunt idem, non efi idem, fo multt committunt diverfo crimina fato. And I dare venture at our parting to tell him, that as I have upon thefe, as well as up- on other accounts fufficiently expofed him ; fo I may both ap- ply to him the old phraze, que m tua fimplicitas rifum vulgo mo- vent, and alfo remind him of the ancient Adage, non files te refptcere, cum dicis itijufte alteri. 'Tis poflible, fome may think, I have been now and then a little too fevere upon him , but I would defire fuch to confider, that upon finding him Tacit. to J)6 faciendis fceleribus promptus, audiendi qua facer et infolens, fju^'ti J knew not alitor tot fiagitiis ejus fubvenire potuijfe. And as I am not a perfon, whom either flattery or menace can make imprefTion upon, being altogether of the Poet's opinion j Ho rat. Falfus honor juvat, et mendax in f ami a tenet Epijh i<5. Ousw ? nifi mendofum et mendacem. Lib. i. ""**" So I would not have her prefent Majefiy, in a cafe of this importance, come under the unhappinefs, which the Hiftorian bewaileth in reference to Gordianus junior, when he faith mifer Capita, £jf imperator, apud quern vera reticentur. Nor am I without hope, that (439 ) that whereas fome time ago, only they of a certain party aad fa&ion could write fecurely, and which they did with an unprecedented in folence and impudence ; but that they of the t'other fide may now venture to (peak their minds, with a little more freedom, than they formerly durft,and that they (hall have no more occafion of complaining, of adempto per inejm/itiones tf Tacit, in loquendi. audiendique commercio. Nor will I fay more at this time*^' ^ru to the Writer of the View, lave that if he think fit to Re- ply, (which I heartily wifh he would, tho' I know he cannot do it otherwife, than in the manner and fafhionhe writ his Summary view, ut ran& in Umo veterem ceeinere querelam) I do here both folemnly promile to rejoyn upon him, being et cam are -pares et refyondere parati:, and do alfo undertake fo to do it, as that fome people mall not have caufe to thank him, for pro- voking, as well as giving me farther opportunity, of treat- ing them, as I feall be obliged. FINIS. o fl HI - ' ■ I ii. ? The Extraordinary CASE O F T H E Bp. of St Davids, Further Clear'd and made Plain, from the feveral VIEWS That have been made of it; Wherein the Articles againfthimare Cohfider'd; And his Lordftiip Vindicated from them. They have Fought agawft me without » ^aufe. Pfal iop *• Nemo fine Criminevivit, optimus tile qui minimis urgetur. Printed in the Year 1703. , and the Vicarage of Llancgwad, the Prascentorfhip of Brecknock, and the Treafurerlhip of St. Davietsi and yet lives at Carmarthen, and Scandaioufly omits to refide upon any of thefe Preferments, but being admonifrfd by the Bifhop to Refidence, in Revenge, he has Sworn againft the Bifhop and Perjur'd himfelf. 2. It has been tender'd in Proof againft him, that in an anfwer upon Oath to a bill exhibited againft him 1695, by three poor Car- penters ( whom he would not pay for work done by them, accor- ding to Articles) he did then, and there, For-fweav himfelf before y, 20, 3c; Judge Towel Deceas'd j the hiftory of which perjury the Large Re- view relates at large. 3. Whereas 5) ' 3. Whereas Merick took upon him to Swear, that the Bifhop had Simmonically prefer'd his Nephew Mr. Medley, to the Arch-deacou- ry of St. David's, &c. The fame Merick has ia a paper which he himfelf deliver'd to the Bifhop, written with his own hand, con- tradi&ed and renoune'd whatever he has finceSworn in that matter,de- claring it as in the Pretence of God, &c. Other particulars rela- P'5U ting to this man's Character, may be found difpers'd up and down the Book; but this lies altogether. ♦, Another Principal Evidence was one Jeremiah Griffin, the Abflradt of wliofe Character follows, 1. He is Re&or of Dijferth : 2. Vicar and Prebendary of Llanfan-' frede in the County of Radnor, without Refiding on any of his* Cures, notwithftanding hewasoblig'd by folemn Oath; He had fe- verai Monitions given him by his Diocefan the Bifhop of St. 'Ddvid\ • to oblige him to Refidence, which inftead of Obeying, he with Meyrick and others, who were under Monitions on the fame account, P* 33- Confpir'd againft the Bifhop, and enter'd into a Combination to af- perfe and defame him. 2. He is of a moft notorious evil Life, of a groily Scandalous and infamous Converfation ; for it has been ofFer'd in proof againft him, that he has not only been often fe^n fhamcfully Drunk, but that he 'is generally fufpecied, and publickly fam'd, to* be Guilty of the Abominable Sin of Adultery, which alone, before equitable Judges, p. 34^ would make him be accounted too Infamous to be belie v'd in any thing he Says or Swears. 3. The Large Review relates a very Remarkable Hiftory of the Tranfadtions of this Jeremiah Griffith, in a particular Cafe; where appears fo much Falfhood and Forgery, Treachery, Knavery, and to ufe the words of that Author ) fo many Premeditated and Com- plicated Villanies as would amaze any man to think any profefs'd Chriftian fhould be Guilty of them, and more that the Teftimony of fuch a Vile Wretch mould be admitted againft a Bifnop. It will not confift with the defign'd Brevity of this, to infertthe Hiflory at large here ; I ihall therefore refer the Reader to p. 37. and 41. of the Large Review, the Author of which, reckons thefe Characters of the Promoter, and two of the Principal WitnelTes ( accounted by the Arch Bifhop himfelf to be the molt Reputable of all thofe who Swore againft the Bifhop) to be a juft Prejudice againft the whole Pro- P**2* cedure againft the Bifhop of St. Davids. j4ccipc nunc Dai (turn infidifo, & Crimine ah mo Difce Omne$—~ — - The • (O The next thing bur Author confickrs is this,™*., that the whole defiga of falling on the Bifhop of St. David\ was the refult of a Confpiracy of a certain Party , and Faction of men, who upon Political motives and Inducements of Pique and Revenge, united and combin'd to dif- grace and Ruin him, or which he produces the following Evidence as clear and undeniable; and here he argues from, i. TheSiQms, or Hue and Cry, which his confederate Enemies fent through the whole Nation, to make inquisition into all the Stages of his Life, that the behaviour of the Tutor might prepare belief ( as the Summary View intimates) for the Afperfions caft on the Prelate; which method he declares to be cxtreamly unreafonable and repugHant to the Laws of God, and all Nations, and if it mould Univerfally take place, no good man cou'd be fafe from the Lam of k ; and the very repeating fomc of the Interrogatories, put to fuch as were examin'd for the Bifhop, to be a fufficient Evidence both of the Confederacy, and the bafe way of managing it, viz.. Whether the Bifhop did not ufe to quarrel with his Servants ? What Non- Ju- rors came to his Houfe ? Whether he drank King J*mes% health, or the late Queen's, or the Prince of Wales ? Whether he at any time fpoke difaflcctedly of Ring William ? &c. To which he adds, that a Great man encourag'd a fearch to be made, into all the paflages of his Private and Publick Life, and neither his difcourfes at his Table, nor Prayers at his Chapel, were left unexamin'd to find fome pretence againft him. This indeed is an Original, not fit to be Copy'd, nor brought into ?-45- Precedent and example, He obferves the ways and means that were taken firft to Debauch his Family, into an Opinion of his being Criminal, and then Suborning them to Swear againft him, and he gives two very remarkable Inftances of this. Que of which isMr. John Catlm, whom Meyrkk corrupted byLyes and Forgery, and falfe Characters of the Bifhop, and Promiics of procuring Letters Teftimonial for him, from the Chapter of St. David's, and . very powerful Recommendations to one of the Arch-Deacons of the Diocefs of 2V*, &c. all which is in full proof, and Depos'd at large well worth the Readers Perufal. The other of Mr. Thomas Williams, who by repeated Depoiitions upon Oath, has Vindicated the Bifhop from thofe offences, with which upon the importunity and Subornation of Lucy and Griffith before mention'd, he had falfly charg-d. him •, they proraifmg to procure him great Friends, and Preferments for fo doing. And though he made one Information againft the Bifhop , upon thofe in- ducements, and had a&ually paid the Fees for a Sequeftration, of a Living, and Licenfe, to ferve a Cure, yet Lucy the Promoter denied p. 46, 47 (7) deny'd thefe Inftrumenh to him, and thrufl bim out of his Office when he came for them, telling him that he fhould have neither, till he drew up another Information, more exprefly to charge the Bifhop, which in Lucy the Promoters Office he actually did, in the words they Suborn'd and menae'd him to do it in. This William's hath Depos'd' from the Powerful Imprefiions of Con- trition and Repentance, and the fenfe of his Guilt, begging pardon of God and the Bifhop, for the Crime thefe wicked men had engag'd him to commit -, The ftory is well worth Reading at large, and js p. 47, and to be found. 50. He coniiders ( in proof of the ConfpiracyJ what applications were made to feveral Perfons ( whofe Credit is beyond exception ) for Suborning them to Swear Crimes againft the Bifhop, which they had no knowledge of ; Of which he gives feveral very notable examples. Firft, Mr. Solomon Henden, Vicar of Lawhaddcn, has Depos'd, that he was importun'd, not only by Lucy the Promoter, but by Meyrick, and alfothe Commiffioners at the Metropolitical Vilitation held in theDiocefs of St. David's, 1.694. to declare things againfl the Bi- fhop, that would Criminally affect him. And the more effectual- ly to gain him to Swear to the Fi&ions and Forgeries, they had fuggefted to him, they told him he fhould be Recommended to the Favour of the late Arch-Bifhop of Canterbury, who ( as the Bifhop of St. A/aph affiir'd him ) would upon his and the Dean of the Arches Recommendation, undoubtedly prefer him. And befides Jeremiah Griffith, before mention'd, offcr'd him in his Letter by Dr. Oxendeni Order, the Prebend of St. Harmon, as a Reward for doing it, and the Do&or told him, that if he would do fomething hepropos'd, Lucy the Promoter fhould gratifie him for it. p' *** Secondly, Mr. Thomas Philips Rector of Abercdow, in the County of Radnor, was Sollicited, and importun'd by the laid Griffith and o- thers to Joyn in the Information againft the Bifhop, and Thirdly, Mr. Henry Rogers ^Vicar of ' Llannavonvaar, in theCounty of Cardigan, had many Promises made him to come in a Witnefs againft the Bi- fhop of fuch things, whereof he no ways knew him to be guilty, which particulars arc fully prov'd. ^ P- 55- He fays the Confpiracy may be farther prov'd ', in that Lucy^ Griffith, and others of the Confpirators, for the preventing the dif- covery of their Villainous Combination againft their Diocefan(and for the better concealing their Wicked Practices, in Suborning of Witnefles by promifes, and Threatening to Swear what they would have them) had hindered feveral Perfons from appearing to give Testimony in matters or the ereateft Importance in the Bifhon's Cafe, (8) •Cafe, to the Vindicating of his Lordfhip's Innocency and Honour^ and the Cioathing his Enemies with Infamy and Confulion: To which he annexes an account of the Payment, or Promife of Mo- neys to Lucy the Promoter, as well to reward him for, as to Encourage him in the purfuit of what he had undertaken againfl the Bifhop:, pjov'd by the Depofition of Mr. Charles Price, &c. Fifthly, and Laflly, In Confirmation of the Confpiracy j He adds, That many of the -Bifhop's Allegations, as well in proof of* his own Innocency, as for invalidating the Teftimonies of the Promo- ters Witnefles, were not only refus'd by the Arch-Bifhop of Can- urbuiy ( contrary to all Laws, and the Common Rules of Juftice, and Equity ) but rejected by .the Delegates too. And though the then Lord Chancellour declar'd in the Houfc of Peers, that when the BiPnops caufe fhould come to be heard by the Delegates, he mould have Liberty, Probands non probata, & alUgandi non allegata. -Such was the prejudice ( not to fay the Injuftice of Bijhops, Pa- trick, Moor, Williams, Dr. Wymy and King.) that they would not .admit his Allegations, which could and would have been prov'd upon Oath, by very Credible and Unqueftionable Witnefles, and Abundantly Vindicated him from thofe things whereof he was Accusal : By all which the Confpiracy is fufficiently Evidenc'd, and the means alfo by which the Confpirators came to Mu- Iter up fuch a Troop of Witnefles againfl: his Lord/hip. To which he adds, that the Confpirators had been Guilty of the Villany of getting the Bifhop Accus'd of Crimes, which were acknowledge afterwards in effect, to have been meer- ly Invented and Forged, and of Suborning Witnefles to Swear to the Truth of them whofe Depolltions they were fore'd to give up, as the Perjuries of Infamous Rafcals, Of which there *' ^' ■ are two very notable Inftances. The Firft, of one William Perkins, who was Suborn'd to Swear fuch an Act of Fraud, Treachery, Injufcice, and Oppreffion, againfl: the faid Perkins which if true had juftly render'd the Bifhop Odious, which Edmund Adeyrlcl, and others Endeavpur'd to fatten upon the Bifnop, and which the Confpirators deiign'd as one of the molt Material Articles on which they combine!, to get him de- priv'd , but the Bifnop being fo Fortunate as to detect and defeat the whole affair by unqueflionable Authorities, the Promoter and his Agents thought fit to drop that Article ; The Story at large p- 1'» which is worth confidering is to be found. The Second is more Horrid ; they would have reprefented the Bifhop as guilty of Murder, and fo brought his life into danger } which proving alfo to be their own nicer Forgeries, they were fore'd (9) forc'd to drop that Accufation alfo^ upon which our Author make* this Remark, that nothing fave the confidence which the Confpira- tors had of the prepofeffion, partiality and favour of thofe before whom the Procefs was to lye, could have given them the boldnefs to Caluminate the Bifhop with fuch Horrid crimes, which at the fame time, that they accus'd him of, they knew to be faife; as having themfelves invented them \ From whence he concludes that all who are unbiafs'd may make a title Judgment of the whole proceedings againft the Bifhop, which will not be very favourable to the Metro- politan and his partial and unjuft Afleilbrs, who appear to be but too deeply eugag'd in the Confpiracy. Thefe things premis'd, this Author applies himfelf particularly to confider a Scurrilous and virulent Pamphlet cail'd the Summary View, &c. The Author of which he fays, has obtruded on the world a very unfaithful Relation, and has behav'd himfelf very unlike a Gentleman ( tho' a Knight) a Schollar ( tho' a Civilian ) a Man of Probity and a Chriftian, tho' pretending to be both. In order to the more fully confidering and confuting of this Author of the Summary View, and anfwering all his Calumnies againft the Bifhop, he Premifes thefe two things. Firfl, that no man ought tObe Judg'd Covetous, much lefs an Extortioner, and Oppreffor for. being Frugal •, and the Bifhop having been cenfur'd on that account by thofe who were fhangers to his Liberalities, he fays 'tis now ne- ceffaiy that fome of his Chanties and Beneficences (which other- wife would have remaln'd fecret ) mould be publifh'd : And here he gives an account of about 2000 /. given in great Sums to his Rela- tions, befides what he has laid out in the Education of feverai of them, and does. Daily allow towards their Maintenance. In the next place about 1 200 /. laid out in building, for the Church on his Perfonage and Bifhoprick, and laftly about i^co/, beftow'd on Churches and Colleges, and other very Charitable and Pub- lick ufes} belldes, above 700 /. to indigent Schollars and rieceifitous Gentlemen \ in the whole above 5000 /. Whence he concludes, that the Bimop is not 'fuch a Lover of Money, as the writer of the Summary View has endeavour'd to reprefent him, and that his Frugality and Reftri&ions of fupernuous. expences on him- felf, that he may be thet more Liberal and Generous towards others, ought rather to be imitated than He traduced for them ; and were it not he fays, out of Refpect to Religion and Epifcojpacy, he could eafily, make fevere Rcprifals upon fome of our prefent Bifhops, for From p. the Piracies committed by them, on the Reputation of the Bifhop 6** cop. of St. David's. I *8- B The ( ro ) The Second thing he premifes is, a Brief account of tke good Opinion deliver'd of the Bifhop upon Oath, by perfons of far grea- P-75> 73-ter Credit, than any of thofe who Calumniated and Defam'd him •, and this Attefted and Sworn by near 20 WitnefTes. And thefe WitnefTes for the Bifhop, were futh who had known and been familiarly and intimately acquainted with him for many years. To which. he adds, that the more we enquire into the Probity of thofe WitnefTes that appear'd on the behalf of the Bifhop, and com- pare them with the Scandalous and Infamous Crew, brought to Swear aeainfl: him, the more we fhall find our felves oblmM to Entertain a more Honourable opinion of his Lordfhip*, then his Adverfaries will find it for the Credit of r.heir proceedings that we fhould. P* 74- . He proceeds then to confider particularly what the Author of the Summary View, has advanced againfl the Bifhop, and here he finds him reporting the firfl Depofition he mentions fraudulent- ly and imperfectly •, 'tis of one Peter Lewis, a Man of a mean Cha- racter and Rank, who pretends that the Bifhop {aid to him, that the Eifhoprick of St. ^Davids, was a poor Bifhoprick, and that he would not be Btfhop to Ruin hirafeif, &c To which he replys, Firfl, that if the -Bifhop 'did fay fo, there was nothing Criminal in the words, Secondly, he gives feveral realbns why it is very improbable } why he mould fay any fucb thing to this little Fellow, and laflly, that no belief ought to have been given, to any thing that Peter Lewis, either faid, or Swore, for as much, as it was fully prov'd againfl him, that he had Perjur'd himfelf in another particular, which he took upon him to Depofe, which indeed by the way, has been the fate f- I6- of moil, if not all the witneffes produe'd againfl the Bifhop. And now he fets himfelf to examine , that which the Au- ?* 1?J- thor of the SpmnMry View, calls his firfl head of Accufations againfl the Bifhop, and diftributes into Nine feveral diftin& Articles ^ All which though very minute and pitifull things, and if effectually prov'd V as they were not ) could ferve only to leffen the Bifhop, and make him fomewhat reflected on by nice and' exact Men, but could no wife render him -liable to any Ecclefiaflical cenfure, much lefs De- fromp-78 privation, yet hefpends Eighty Pages, in fetting every one of them t0 159' in a clear Light, and iliewing the Wicked nefs, Malice and manifefl Penary of the Perfons concern'd in charging him with thofe parti- culars. Nor, fays he, did the Metropolitan and they who were his AiTefTors act like Wife or Jufl men, by fufFering in a Criminal Procefs, Inquifition to be made after things, which had they been Legally' made out could have Juftified no Legal Sentence. I can- not but think it worth the while for any Reader, who has leifure to read the whole at large, which will be found Entertaining enough, though ( II ) . though I think it not neceflary to infift on thefe things here ( tho poffibly I may touch at them afterwards) but Proceed to thofe things charg'd on the Bifhop, which if true, would have Jnftly ex- pos'd him to Ecclefiaftical cenfure, before a proper Judge •, [ Which undoubtedly the Arch-Bilhop was not, as may Evidently appear to every one, who will read, and confider, the Poftcript to the Pro- ceedings againfl the Bifhop of St. Afaph^ not long fince publilh'd. 1 Now the Crimes laid to the Bilhop of St. David\ charge, of this nature, were thefe thr.ee, Extorfion, Simony, and Crimen falji. The Firft, the Author I am now Abridging begins to examine. It being charg'd on the Bifhop by the Author of the Summary View, ^' &c. That he has demanded and taken, from the Clergy of his Dio- cefe, exceffive and Illegal Fees for Ordinations, Collations, Inftitu- tions, &c Now before our Author enters upon the particular ac- cufations,of that kind, laid againfl: his Lordfhip, he premifes feveral things in General, enough to vindicate the Bilhop's innocency, and convince all - (^ who are not under the Power of Prejudice ) that no- thing but • Malice and Revenge, in the Promoter and his Agents, ( to fay nothing of him, who affum'd the Jurifdi&ive Power) could from thence promote Articles, or pronounce any Sentence againfl him •, and here he Premifes. Firft, that it is aiiow'd by the Canon, to take Fees even for Or- dination, which has Limited the certain Fees, to be taken on that ?• l6*> Head. l6u Secondly, that no Law but Cuflom, determines the Quantum for any or all Ecciellaftical Inftruments, which Cuftom ohtainsnot uni- versally but is different in different Diocefes. P- l62> Thirdly, that the Fees in the Diocefe of St. David's are lefs than l 3* in fome other Diocefles, particularly in the Diocets of Canterbury, Sarum, and Norwich ; in the latter of which, many Pounds are de- manded for the fame Internment which in the Diocefs of St. David's comes but to one Mark; and more particularly, Whereas the Fees for fnftitution in the Diocefs "of St. Davi4fi* are 4/. 1 r. and 61. is, for Collation, there has been demanded and receiv'd at Lumhetb, and Doctors Commons, above 7 /. for an Inftitution, and above P« lH* 10 /. for a Collation. Tiirfe eft Dottori cum culpa redurguit ipfum. Von, thly, that Mr. Slingesby the Bifhop's Secretary, has Depos'd up- on Oath before a Mailer of Chancery (he not being permitted to do icelfewhere, fo unjulbly was this Pi ion manag'd ) that the account of the Fees before mention'd, W£re deliver'd to him by Rob. L-cy the Promoter himfelf, when he went to him, by the Bifhop's B z order, , ( 12 ) order, to know thcCuftomary Fees. And that he receiv*d the fame Fees, and no other accordingly ; For it was the Bifhop's exprefs command to him, that he mould not receive above thofe rates : And that the Bifhop fearch'd both the Regiftries of Canterbury, and his own Diocefs, for Ta- bles of Fees, but finding none was forc'd to acquiefce in what had been •Cuftomariiy paid, and which Lucy the Promoter told Mr. Williams of Brecknock, Gent, in the prefence of Thomas Powel Deputy- Regifter, were the juft Fees, and tho'in the Diocefs of St. David's the Fees for Collation were but 40 s. above Inftitution Fees; yet Mv.Cbarles Price has exprefsly Depos'd that in the DiocefTes of Worccfier, Win- chefler, and Oxen, the Fees taken for Collations were double to In- ftitution Fees, snd that the laid Mr. Trice having ( during the vacan- cy of the Bifhoprick of St. David's ) been Entituled to the Vicarage - of Bonghrood in that Diocefs, paid almoft twice as much to the Arch- Bilhop's Officers for his Inftitution Fees, then was paid for Infti- tution Fees at Abergwllly ; nay Thomas Powel one of the Promoter's chief Witneffes ( and who had been Secretary- to the- Bifhop; after Mr. Slingsby ) hath Depos'd on Oath , that the faid Bifhop in a Letter to him Decern. 22. 1688. had order'd him to receive 3/. 16/ for every Inftitution, and 5 /." 16 s. for every Collation, which was lefs than according to Cuftorn his Lordfhip might have demanded; and Robert FoHglafs, and Wilfr&v Pycmont, Gent, have both Sworn to the Bimop's taking thefe Cuftomary Fees. And Mr. Price has farther Depos'd that the Deputy-Regifter, had not only told him, that there were 40 j. more due for a Collation than an Inftitution, but that the Bilhop in his taking of Fees, kept conftantly to the Rules that have been mention'd, and that he never exceeded the Rates i-»*7»t«S. before mentioned. Fifthly, He adds, that the Bifhop upon complaints made to him of the Arbitrary Exactions of Fees by Rob. Lucy the pretended F.egifter fwho is now the Promoter^ and other Officers of the Court of Becbwck, - for probats of Will's and of Letters Adminftration, &c. took care to have the Table of Fees'fet up in theRegiftry and Confiftory Cor.:: there, that none might deman'd,or ( through Ignorance,) pay more than what the Law and Ancient Cuftorn of that Place Authoris'd; So little was he a- Friend or Favourer of Extortion, unjuftly charg'd upon him. And belides he not only gave Monitions to feveral of the molt guilty, and particularly to Rob. Lucy, ( imce promoter ) * l69> but alfo actually fufpended the faid Lucy's Deputy ; And here ^7°' 171' adds a few Inftances out of many .which have been all actually prov'd of extravagant and illegally extorted Fees. To which, he adds the Hiftory at large, of the two Inftances *** of ( '3 ) •f Bribery before mention'd, in the Chara&er of Lucy the Pro *ioter. Sixthly, He premifcs that the Bifhop of St. David's has forborn in diveffe cafes to take what was legally his due, and never fued any who were in arrear to him for procurations ( as- feveral are to the value of 50 /. Which together with the Foregoing premifes, may abundantly convince all who are not obftainately prejudc'd,that . the Bifhop is neither tfce Covetous Wretch, nor the Henieus Ex- tortioner he has been accus'd to be. The Former is prov'd by Mr. Henry PoweL Vicar of Ll(ingxoAdocky ■ who hath depos'd upon Oath that the Bifhop having beftow'd fe- veral Ecclefiaitical preferments and benefices Gratis upon him, nei- ther did nor would receive fo much as the Fees for fome .of the Collations \ And by the confeffion of the Bifhops mod Malicious Enemies, Edmund Meyrkk, the Bifhop forgave to one Hovotl, the Summ of 3. /. that was legally due to him, Meyrkk having re- prefented HoweVs circumftances, the Bifhop with great Chearfullnefs, and no lefs Companion returned 3. /. of the Money Meyrkk had given or. Sent the Bifhop for fees due to him, to be given back to Horvel, And Solomon Henden, Vicar of haxchaden has Sworn that upon his being ordain'd Deacon by the Bifhop of St. David's, he had his Orders given him Gratis, and the like is alfo depos'd by John Groyn, Lewis Goz.e, &c. And then as to the Biihop's forbearing to Profecute any that are in arrear to him for Fees, we need only Look- into his Book of Procurations for proof of it ; For as it there- by appears that there is a great Summ owing to him, fo it is mod certain that he never fo much as cited, much kfs compell'd P- ]?4* any one Perfon to pay what he owM him of that kind. Seventhly, and laftly, he premifes that upon the Fird Commence- ment ot the procefs the Bifhop freely and frankly offered in Writing,' that if moreFees of any kind had been receiv'd. than ought to have been paid, he would readily redore it to thofe from whom.it had been taken-, which is a plain Argument (and might have fatisfied even his word Enemies J that if any greater. Fees had been claim'dthan fnould, it was either through Ignorance, or mis- information the Regifter^and his Brother, whom he confuked, having inform'd him, or they whom he -Intruded to receive them, might have taken more than they were order'd to ask, or ever account- ed to him for-, I fay, thefe appear to be the true Reafons and not that he A&ed out of Covetoufhefs, or any Opprefijve defign. Having 'premised thefe things and expos'd the folly and knavery, prom p. the little Wit, and great Malice, (as tie expreffes it, of the Writer 176, to p.. ©f the Summary Veiw, in what he had faid by way of Preliminary, 18& to his Proofs of the Biihop's taking undue fees ( Where the (h) the Header may find feveral things worth his Peurufal.) He proceeds to conlider the detail of the Bifhop's Exa&ion of undue fees, which the SnmmAry View diftributes into three feveral kinds ; of which the Firft is calTd, Exceffive Fees, taken at Or- dinatioiis. -For the Proof of which the View produces, three Wit- neflts. (\)Thomas Rowel the Bifhop's Secretary depofeth, that at two Ordinations in the Year 1688. He did receive from every one who Was OrdainM 10 s. for letteis of Orders, and that he did ac- count with the Bifhop for the faid Fees. ( 2 ) Robert DoHgUfs ( Swears that during the time he liv'd with the Bifhop ( which was a Year and half) the Bifhop took 10 s. for all letters of Orders. ( 3 ) Wylfray Vlemont, who was a Servant of the Bifhop's, for Six. Years together Depofeth, that for that whole time he receiv'd for letters of Orders, Ten Shillings \ To all which t he Author, I am now abridging has this to fay. Flrfl, In General, that he remits the Reader to the Foregoing Sheets for what he had faid there for difcrediting the Teftimony of Thomas " Powel, where he will find it made furficiently appear that he is one. to whom no faith ought to have been given in any thing he Swore againfl; the Bifhop CThe Reader may find the ?<5^i"<6. account °f him, Where many things are faid concerning his ' Malice, Perjury, and feveral other Enormous Grimes.]. Secondly, that the Writer of the Veiw is very unjulb in citing out of large Depofitions of WitnefTes, only what he conceives may ferve to defame the Bifhop, when at the fame time he forbears to . mention thofe things Sworn to, in the fame Depofitions, which 190! 9> d° dere&Iy Vindicate him from thofe things which were alledged againfl: him. For as botlr Dotiglafs, and Vyemont gave upon Oath, that the Bifhop was free from Simony and Extortion, fo each of them Swore that he never fufFer'd more to be demanded or taken as Fees for Letters of -Orders, or Inflruments of any kind, than what either Rob. Lacy the Promoter or Mr. Thomas, Son to the late Bi- fhop Thomas, inform'd and declar'd to have been Cuftomarily ta- ken and by ufage due , Thus in General ; But more particularly ' he obferves. Firfi, That the Bifhop was guilty of no fault in taken 10/. for Letters of Orders, which was all that was Sworn againfl him} For the • Admitting any into Orders, and the giving Letters de- clarative of their being Admitted into Orders are two very di- fferent and diftinft things, and though the Canon forbiddeth the taking ( 15 ) taking any fort of Fee by reafon of the former, yet it aUoweth a Fee of 10 s. to be taken for the latter, fo that here is no man- Ccnon 13s nerof Crime proved againft, or indeed charg'd upon the Bifiiop for he not only did nothing againft any Law, ( And where there is no Law, there is no Tranfgreflion ) but his Action w*s alfo JufHfied by the Exprefs Approbation of the Canon , but this is not all. Secondly, He replies that what all the Witnefles the Author of the Summicy Viciv produceth, all by the name of Fees for Letters . of Orders, he through an infidelity fufficient to difgrace any man that pretendeth to Learning and much more to blait the Reputa- tion of one who undertakes to Write hiftory, has alter'd into the ftile of Fees for Ordinations, intending no doubt to have it beleiv'd that the Bifhop took Fees, on account of the latter, which not any of the Witnefles fay, which our Author remarks as an Evident ef- fect of his Malice as he is the Bifhops Enemy, and of his infincerity p. 191,' as he is a writer -, of both which his Summary Vipvo furnifhes many l?2* . inftances. Thirdly, he obferves that the Writer of the View does with the utmolt fraud imaginable, fo word the Bifhop of St. David's allowing thofe Fees to be taken, as if he would lead his Readers into a be- lief that his Lordfhip was the only Prelate in England who fuffei'd the faid Fees to be demanded and receiv'd. Whereas all the Bifhop of England, do no lefs allow the taking fuch Fees, then the Bifhop of St. Davici's did, fo that he has as much Calumnated all the Bi- fhop's of England as him, fince they muft be accounted as Crimi- nal as he is laid to have been, or he muft be allow'd as innocent as they.* For it has not only been in Proof, that the Bifhops of St. David's Predeceflbrs in that fee, have fufFered fuch Fees, to be ta- ken for Letters of Orders, ( and fome of them in Scandalous and Illegal meafures) but it is too notorioufly known to admit of a de- nial, that Fees for Letters of Orders are warranted as well as fufler- ed to be taken, by every Bifhop of the Church of EnglMd, and even by his Gra e of Canterbury himfelf. To which our Author adds that, whereas this Writer of the View^ hop'd to aggravate the Bi- fhip's guilt by telling us, that it is proper to obferve that the Bifhop continued to 'receive the. fame Fees, at an Ordinatian u\J//ne 1696, which was after the Promoters Articles were given in, that from thence he will draw a contrary inference, and conclude the Bifhop Innocent. For as his Lordfhip's continuing to receive them folong after the Commencement of the Procefs, does Demonstratively aflure us, that he thought it Lawful to receive them, fo enough has been faid to Juftifiethat niether He, nor they, with whom he advis'd abouE that matter, were therein miftaken. And the Metropolitans having made. (i6 ) made that^ not only a Crime in him, but fuch a Crime as to make ic as I have heard, one of the Grounds of the Sentence which he alii m'd m Authority of pronouncing againtt him, doth inftead of making the faid Bifhop guilty, only declare that fome People were very Ignorant, as well, as Malicious, Unrighteoufs and Revengeful, which p' I9^' is another Juft refk&ion upon the whole Proceedings againlt the 19 ' Bifhop of St. David's The Second kind of Exceflive Fees, charg'd on the Bifhop is for Collations, and" the proof of it, orTer'd by the Writer of the Flew^ is this, that the Promoter exhibited Copies of two Tables of Fees, Subfcrib'd by the Deputy Regifrer, and twopnblickNotories, (which many years hung up in the Regiftery ) in which the Fees for a Col- . lation are faid to be only 20 s. and in the other, to be no more than 18 /. % d. To which our Auth&r has thefe two Anfwers to make. Firft, that admitting thefe Copies of the two Tables of Fees, to fee Authentick and Genuine, yet •inftead of proving any thing a- gainft the Bifiiop, they only ferve to demonftrate the Promoter ( to be an egregious Villain, and that upon a double account. Firfi, becaufe when this Lucy was Secretary to his Father, he receiv'd far above the propotion mention'd in the Copies of thofe Tables, as has been prov'd above. Secondly, becaufe this very Lucy fthe Promoter ) affiir'd the Bifhop, that the Fees for Collations were 61. 1 j-. and his Predeceflbrs al- ways receiv'd, and the Clergy Anciently and Cuftomarily paid fo much, fo that if the Bifhop took more then he ought to have done, it was through Lucys having Treacheroufly miilnform'd him* and Vil- lainoufiy milled him; which has been alfo provM in the foregoing Pages, Only he fays, he cannot here avoid the making this Reflection ( though poflibly it may by fome, be thought fevei'e ) that there needs no more to difgrace the whole Judicial proceedings againft: the Bifhop^of St. David's, than that fo Scandalous, and Impudent a fVlil- ereant,and fo Treacherous and Notorious a Villa in,asL.wy appears to be ( by what has been faid and prov'd of him ) mould have been fe- jc&ed to be the Promoter in that Caufe. Secondly, He Anfwers, that the Copies of the two Tables of Fees exhibited by the Promoter, -and fiid to be due to the Bifhop for Collations; are no fuch thing as is pretended, nor do they in the leaffc relate to what the Bifhop has a right to take for Collations, but only the 'Chancellour and Regifter, who. formerly had Fees out of almofl every Ecclefiaftical Inftrument, as well as the Bifhop: And this the Promoter, and the Writer of the View could not but know, and is therefore a frefli inftance of the ( i7 ) the Dlflionefty of both: For the Ecclefiaflical Coiiftitutions of 1597, to which the 135th Canon refers, do limit the Bifhop's Fees in every Diocefs, only by Cuftom and Ufage. And -that long and con- stant Ufage'had warranted the receiving of 6 /. is. for Collations in the Diocefs of St David's, has been already . fufficiently prov'd} from whence he concludes that there was no Jufl Ground of pro- ceeding againffc the Bifnop on this account, viz.. Collation- fees, and confequently his being Profecuted and Sentenced, as he' was the* effect, of Pique, Malice, aiid Wicked Partiality. p. 220. To which he adds, that if the fiifhop had been guilty of this . Crime laid to his charge ; yet his Deprivation on that account was very Unrighteous, and Unjuft, and a direct. Trefpafs againfl the 135th, Canon alfo. For all that the Canon ailows is, that the Offender be furpended from his Office for the fpace of Six Months ; To that the Metropolitan muft needs ACz purely out of Spleen and Malice, (very unfit qualities in a Judge,) as well Ulity, fince he only fufpended the Bifhop of St. Agap for Six Months, who had been fully prov'd Guilty of much greater Crime depriv'd the Bifhop of St. David's, who tho' never fo much accused, had nothing Cri- minal prov'd againfl: him. To which he yet adds, that the 135th. p. %ou Canon fays, that thole Fees fhall be held for Lawful!., which the Arch-Bifhop for the time being, (hall under his Hand approve ; And that he takes his Grace's conftant Practice, in his Arch-Bi- flioprick, to be not only an Example fet to his Corn-provincials, what they may Lawfully, do, but to be as Authentick for their i- mitation, as if approv'd under his hand, eipecially fince cv:ry Arch- Bi- >p is as much reflrain'd by £hg__Canons, and Conftitutions of the Church of England, as the meaneft Bifhop of the Province is -7 d that the Fees for Collations have been, and ftill are, as great ( if not greater, ) in the Diocefs of Canterbury, as they were in the Bilhoprick of St. David's, is not only Notorioufiy known, but it is in proof, and was particularly confirmed by ther'.Depo- :n of Mr. Charles Price -, Nay, they were more increas'd fince Bi- 1 Laud's time, in the Diocefs of Canterbury, then in the Bifhop- ck of St. David's, fince that great Prelate fat in that See. From *" "w2# whence we may fee the Juftice, Equity, and. Prudence too of the Great Judge of the Bifhop of St. David's ; And to do the Bifhop of St. David's, right, 'twas he chat causM r..hofe very Tables of Fees to be fe ireh'd out,andCopies of tl era to , ::d Cohliftorial Court at Btzcfaock, becaufe of the Complaints made to him of the ex 1. ions of the Chine er, &c. For Probates, rations, &c ( and for -which' he had'admoniih'd Lucy Promoter, and fufpended his Deputy, ) and furety none can Inuagi C the (i8) rhe Bifhop fb prodigioufly filly, as to caufe the hanging up the *aid Copies in the Court, had he been Confcious of taking more than his due, for the time paft, or ever intended fo to do, for the time to come.- But tho' it has been made appear already, that thefe Copies do not at all affed the Biihop, yet he adds Exa- buttdanri, as a farther proof of the fame, that the word Judici an- nex'djto every Quota, and particular Sum, mention'd in thofe Ta- bles of Fees, doth plainly declare them to refer to fuch Fees as are payable in the Conliftorial Court, and not to the Biihop, and befides . we may obferve, that the Fees there for Letters of Deacons Orders, are only 3 /. 4 d. and Letters of Priefts Orders 6 s. 8 d. Whereas in both thefe Gafes, the Canon allows the Fees payable to the Biihop to be iqs. from all which it appears, that the Biihop is entirely Innocent, and the Writer of the 'View has advanced nothing in this Head, but either grofs Equivocation, or down- right Sophiftry^ Here olfo he annexes an account how the Promoter, and others come firft to Confpire againlt the Biihop, which the Reader may find in Wo. 203. the L.trge Review. 3. 206, Ke proceeds to the Examination of what the Author of the View,, hath further advane'd in proof of the Bifhop's not confining him- felf to the taking of 6 /. is. as Fees for everyCollation,which is, thatjohn Bamct hath Sworn that he paid 9 /. 1 s. or 2 s. more or lefs for Col- lation Fees, &c. To which he anfwers. Firft, that the Writer of the View with lus wonted malice, as well as infincerity, has reported this Depofition of Barneth in fo Fradulent and Equivocal a manner, as if he would have the Reader believe that the forementibn'd Sum had been paid to the Bifhop himfelf, whereas the words of the Depofition are? that he paid it to Mr. Slingshyj the Bifhop's then Secretary ^ fa that if Bmnet had Sworn true, it would only faften Extortion on Mr. SJingshy, and not on the Bifhop, fince SUngsby 'has positively Sworn, that he never ac- counted to the Bifhop,^ for more receiv'd of Barnit for Collation- Fees then 6 I. 1 s. But then, Secondly, Mr. SUngsby has directly contradicted Bamet in this mat- ter, and hath Depos'd upon Oath before a Matter in Chancery, that the whole which he receiv'd of the faid Barnet, for all the Initru- ments, was only 8/. 1 .\ And upon his firit hearing of himfelf Ac- cus'd for. the taking o/. he offer'd to have Sworn before the Arch- Bifhop in Lambeth- Hall, that he had neither demanded nor receiv'd more than 3 /. 1 /. But his Grace did not think fit at that time either to admit his Depofition, nor fo much as allow him to be ex- amined in relation to that affair } For tho' by the Rules of jufrice lie ought to have done it, yet thefe were to be neglected and de- parted p. 20- (. 19 ) parted from, in Sabferviency- t:> Pique and Revenge. Aid all the raea&rcs of Equity and Righteoufaefs were rather to be flhhcedand broken through, than that a Witnefs againlt the Bifhop of St. Da- vid's; mould have been fo affronted ia his Grace's Palace, and prefence, as to have it proved upon him, that he had perjur'd himfelf. Thirdly, He fays, that it. was not for the Fees of a Collation a- lone that the faid Sam was recci/d, but it was for Subfc'ription, Sequeltration, Relaxation, and a Liceafe to Preach, as well as for Collation-, and t\\&x. Bzmet paid no more for all the fe, than 8 /. i s. was fo far from being an exa&ion of more from him than was Legally due, that he was favorir'd in having fo little de- manded and taken ; So that inftead of the Biihop 's being Crimi- nally t affiled by any thing in BArtrnh Depoiition, we have a far- ther 'difcovery of the Unequal and unaccou table proceeding x>f the Metropolitan againft his Lordlhip, in allowing what the laid Bat-* vet Swore to be of any fignifieaacy, to the proving him Guilty of. having exacted exceffive Fees, and alfb the Malice of the Author of the Vic-v, in defaming the Biihop ia Print, upon fo fajfe, as well as fo impertinent an Allegation .■ And this may Sufficiently ferve, In Aniwcr to John Bamei's Deposition. « 20S; The next Int'tance Alledg'd by the Author of the View, in proof of the Biihop's taken exceffive Fees for Collations is, that he had done fo of one John Lloyd; To which that Writer lays, "by way . of Preface, that as it would be endlefs to run through all the particular Infhnces of the Bi&op's Exactions of that kind, fo it is needlefs, confidering how many are Crouded into Mr. PopdlH laffc invocated depoiition; on which our Author makes thefe two Re- flections. Firft. He obferv^s with how much artificial cunning the Writer of the View feeks to cover a Suborn'd Depofition, under the ftile of an invocated one; for as Fowel courted Lucy to Bribe him, To Lucy hir'd Powel to become a Witnefs againft the Biihop, ( i. e. ) in this Gentleman's Modern Phrafe, they mutually invo- cated one another. Secondly, That no man ought -to believe this Writer, when he intimates that he could have brought more In- ftaaces againft the Biihop if he would, considering he has fhew'd IV much Rancour, and Malice againft the Biihop thro' his whole ■ Pamphlet .which he has fill'd, not only with Ti id Infigni- ficant, but apparently falle, and 'forged Stories, and would have them pafs for proofs of the Articles Exhibited againft' the Bifhcp ' of St. David's, by which Title he ftiles his Boole. Having faid this, He AddreiTes himfelf to the Examination of whi". the Vtfw fays about this John Lloyd; The Subftance of which p# 2:^, C 2 is ( 20 ) h this, that for the Fees of a Collation to a Living, and a Horfe not worth above 40 s. Lloyd gave the Bifhop a Bond of 13 /. or 14/. To which our Author replies, Firfl, That all he Alledges about Lloyd, is meerly on the Hear- fay. of others, and not upon the DepoHtion of Lloyd himfelf, and the Per fon upon whofe Depofkion this Story is grounded, is the Famous EdmmiU Meyrich, of whom enough has been faid before,- for [hewing that no Credit ought to be given to what either he §, or Swears -0 whofe Malice againlt the Bifnop, as well as his Veracity, will evidently appear here in this Article, by his Swe. ing £0 much at Random, that the Horfe was worth no more than 40 .f. when, the Horfe was really fold by Lloyd for Four Pound after a Journey on him, frQmCambridrfhire,toCarr?u:rtkenfilre : And befkks two WitnefTes Swear to the worth of the Horfe,one,that 5/. was offer 'd him a lhort time before the Bifhop's fold him to Lloyd, and the other, that if the Horfe had been his, he would not have fold him for 4 /. 10 s. Secondly, He replies, that the mentioning of the Bond by the p. si 1. \yrjter 0f the Vmv, is altogether impertinent, unlefs it be for the difcovering of McyrkJCs Malice, and his own Folly, feeing had the Bond been for 20/. yea for an 100/. no guilt could from thence be Lodg'd on the Bifhop,- unlefs it had- been Specified therein, or could be prov'd that ft was only for Fees for a Collation, that the laid Bond had been -given ; And befides it has been depos'd by yy WitnefTes, that 3/. of the foremention'd Slim had been lent by the Bifhop to Lloyd, and 4 7. more was for the Horfe's Price. Thirdly, He replies, that the remaining 6 1. 5 s. (the whole Sum ; 13/. 5-r. and not 14/. 5/. as Meyrick and the Author of 'Uiv would infmuate, ) which Lloyd gave Bond for, was not for Fees for a Collation, but alio for a Sequestration, Relax- ation, Difpenfation, and a Licenfe to Preach •, wherein as Lloyd in itcad of having been illegally exacted upon, .was confidently fa- vour'd by the Bifhop, thro' his not demanding more, .fo it may not be arnifs farther to obferve, that the fame Bond having been taken in the name of Thomas Poirel (and not in the Bifhop's own, ) the fiid Towel never paid nor accounted to his Lordfhip for it ; and this is the rather mention'd, becaufe as it Furnifhes us with a frefh Evidence, of the Fraud, and Vilany, of that kib'd, ( or in the Modern Phrafe invocated, )• Witnefs of the Promoter ; fo it doeslikewifeferve to vindicate the Bifhop from being that Covetous Ferfcn his Enemies have endeavour'd to reprefent him to be. Our Author makes yet a further Reply to this Article, but what has been already faid on it, may fuffice for this Epitome. He pro. ceeds. p. 212. ( 21 ) ceeds to what the Writer of the View farther accufes the JtJimop p. ai5 of, in his having rakM together vafl Sums of unjuft gain, by the taking of Exorbitant, and Illegal Fees for Collations, which he fays, may in fome Meafure, be conceiv'd from what Walter Wathns an- swers to an Interrogatory, viz.. That the Bilhop wfually remov'd feveral Perfons to feveral Livings upon the Vancaney of the Fir/t 9 to which our Author has feveral things to fay ; One is, That the Writer of the View has very Defectively,, and Treacheroufly gi~ ven us an account of Watfam's Depofition. For whereas, by his Rela- tion of it, the Reader might reckon that Waikins had Sworn, that the Bifhop ufually remov'd feveral Perfons to feveral Livings up- on the Vacancy of the Ftrft, in order to his Raking together vail. Sums of unjuft gain, (and without that, there would be nothing Criminal in it. ) Yet Wutkins Swore no fuch thing, but on the contrary, as de- clar'd exprefly on Oath, that he knew nothing of that, ( ■/. e. ) Whether the Bifhop's making thefe removes, was hecaufe of the Fees for Collations, which wotild unavoidably - come on that ac- . count. The next thing our Author obferves is, that the whole Allegati- on is wholly Romantick, as well as Impertinent, and inftead of Criminally affecting the Bifhop,- does only diicover the Ignoranc , and Malice of the Writer of the Viewffot winch he gives this undeniable reafon, Namely, that it never was, nor could be in the Bifhop's power to remove any perfon from one Living to ano- ther, except ei their on the Defire, or upon the Confent of that Perfon : And the Bilhop is politive that he never remov'd any* unlefs at the inftance of the Perfons, who for conveniency or • advantage delir'd it j And therefore he adds, that had not this Writer forfeited his Judgment, as well as Confcience, and renoune'd good Senfe, as well as Probity, he, would never have made ufe p of this, as an Argument for defaming the Bifhop. The Writer of the View goes on to charge the Bilhop on this Head, by giving one inftance of it, viz.. That upon his Collating Mr. Phillips to j4beredow, ( which by the way, the Bifliop did upon the Intevceflion of Sir Rowland Gwy^ who has fince rewarded him^ by doing him all the ill Offices he could,) he made the faid Philips refign two Benefices which he was then , pofTes'd of -? To which our Author fays, that Aberedow being the very belt Redory in the Bifhop's Collation, th; Bifnop did but his duty in this, and ought rather to be commended, than reproach'd for it \ And that the faid Phillips has depos'd on Oath, to his own voluntary refign- ins of the two Livings, one of which was (upon the Interceffion of - 7 ■ (22) -of the fore men tion'd grafcefull Sir R§m> (7n?y«,) confer'd upon #** remit!) Griffith (who in requital thereof, and of many other Offices o: Friendship, has declarM himfelf to be his Lordihip's molt Ma- licious and Revengeful! Enemy,) and the other, without any-Inter- celfion upon a Peribn who had no Benefice, ' but Judg'd every way qualified for the having one. To all which he adds, that the faid Philips, Rector of Ahtredorv, has ia a ' deposition of his own, given a Fair and Juft Character of the Bifhop, and therefore could not Harbour any ill thoughts of the Bifhop on this Score 5 But this ftill Ihews what an odd p. is 8. man, to fay no worfe, this Writer of the Viwe is. Who goes on to charge the Bilhop for not regarding the final] value of the Preferments he beftow'd, and leflening his Fees accord- ingly, which he proves by the Teftimony of one Edward Gwyt?, that for his Inftruments and Collation to a Prebend of about 40 s. fer Annuity refei v'd Rent he paid 5 /. in. And for fciftruments, and Collation to a Prebend of about 7 Nobles fcr Annum, he paid 3/. and that the Bilhop faid, he therein us'd the faid Gwyn kindly. Now tho' this appears at firft. light, to every man commonly % ill'd iffthefe matters, to be a very fenfdefs Accufation, and to have : nothing Criminal in it, and fa to need no anfwer, yet our Author iys feveral things to it, which I fhall briefly recapitulate. Firft, that according to- his ufual method of curtailing Depofitions, the Writer of the Kiev? has again Treacheroully omitted a Princi- pal part of this. For tfiisJjwyn has Sworn to the Character of the Bifhop; and particularly, that he believes the Bilhop would not be Guilty of Simony on any account whatfoever, yea moreover he Swears, that the Bilhop had Freely and Frankly beltow'd fome Prefermets on him the faid G&ykt without fo much as propoilng to have any Reward, or acknowledgment, either dire&ly, or indirectly, and that he had reafon to believe his Lordlhip had done fo by others, on whom he f. 219. fee confer r'd Preferments. Secondly, That the Writer of the Viwm this Allegation, betrays his Egregious Ignorance, as well as Ihews his wonted hatred and Malice, in that the meafure in which Fees are to be paid, is not ordaiii'd to be in proportion to the value of the Benefices, to which Collations and Institutions are Granted, but in conflderation of fuch and fuch Inftruments, be the value of the Livings more or lefs, and were itotherwife, it would be too much in the Powers of Bilhops to be as Arbitrary as they pleas'd in their demands and Exactions of that kind. 110. Thirdly, C'%) Thirdly, That' the Author *of the View makes himfelf Ridiculous, by endeavouring to prove the Bifhop guilty of exacting Illegal and exceffive Fees, by inftances which prove the Bifhop that took lefTer Fees than he was entituled to. For in the former inftance, as inftead of 5 /. i /. the cuftomary Fees, the Bimop took but 5 /. 1 1 s. So in the latter, inftead of 6 l. 1 s. the due Fees, the Bifhop took but 3 /. So that the Bifhop might both with £reat Modefty and Jnftice, tell G-vryn ( as the Writer of the View repots- it ) that he had us'd him very kind- ly, our Author adds alfo Fourthly, and Fifthly, two other particu- lars of this Writer's difrngenuity. and falfehood, to impofe on, and miflead his Reader, the laft of which is, that he has taken notice only of the referv'd Rents of thofe Prebends, but has faid nothing of the value of the Corps of the Prebent of Boi»ghro»d9 and of the value as well as Privilege of having a Curfal Prebend in the Church of St. David\, both which render thofe Preferments very defirea* ble, and of advantage to thofe who have them, how finall and con- temptible foevcr the Referv'd Rents feem to be. To all which he adds, that however enriching this unfaithful relation of matters of Fact, may have prov'd to this Mercenary Writer, or how great- ful it may have been to the Metorpolitan, hecaufe of its agreeing fo well with the manner of his Grace's JurifUictive proceedings, yet it rnuft needs greatly provoke, as well as offend thofe who expected a true Narrative of what had been in proof againft, and for the Bi- fhop of St. David% but inftead' thereof, have Lies and Falfehoods obtruded upon them. p. 224. The View gives another Inftance on this head, of not regarding fmall Livings, and, vii. That the Bifhop Collated Jeremiah Griffith to a Vicarage, and obliged him to quit a Beneficial Prebend,and take an- other without a Corps, ( for which he paid the ufual Collation Fees ) o- therwife the Bifhop would not give him the Vicarage." Now though the foregoing Anfvver may as well ferve for -this Inftance as the former, yet our Author has feveral frefh things to fay to this. Firftj He be^s the Reader to be mindfull, that the Perfon that Swears to ail this, is "Jeremiah Griffith, whofe Character has been given before, and who appears to be one who ought not to be believ'd in any thing he either Says, or Swears, as being not only the Bifhop's avow'd and malicious Enemy, but alfo on many other: accounts, too Infamous to have credit given him againft any PerfonD ■ or in any Court whatfoever. Secondly, Whereas this Griffith has Sworn, that the Bifhop oblidg'd him to take a Collation, &c. He hath therein Sworn falfely , ~as.it was not in the Bifhop's power, either to make him refign one- , PreScnd or force him to accept of a Collation to another, without. his. in-) bis own Gonfent, fo Griffith does too well underftand what is for his adVantage'tq have ever done ic, had not he known how gainful if vould prove to him j noBiffill any Man be furpriz'd, fays our Au- hor, at Griffith's having Perjur'd hirqfelf in that particular, if they do but obferve with what impudence he hath Sworn to another 910ft notorious the fame Deposition, viz.. That he was fo far from looking upon Lucy the Promoter to be the Biihop's En- emy, that he doth believe he has been -one of his belt Friends, and that he had never heard him ufe any Scurrilous Language towards the Biftiop, as he cm Remember, whereas not only Lucy's enmity againft the Bifhop had been openly dechr'd, and was pubilckly kir ing alfo fpoken aii the ill things imaginable of his Lordfhip, by which he could hope to render him Infamous, hath been fully pvov'd by the Teftimony and Oath of many WitnefTes of unquestionable Reputation. Thirdly, He fays the Bifhop befrow'd the Vicarage on Griffith upon his eari \unate deiire and Solicitation, and Griffith re- l'd a Prebend 1 c mo te from the Vicarage for one in that fame Parifh. And if Griffith would not be fatisfied without the Vicarage, he ought to . contented with the Prebend belonging to the fame place, where the faid Vicarage lay \ nor can any "other reafon be aflign'd ( lays our Author) for complaining of the Biihop's making him re- 1 one Benefit e, when he beftow'd two upon him, unlefs it be than tp would not allow him to Monopolize too many confider- able Preferments, which as he was Covetous enough to deiire and aim at, fo he is fufficiently Luxurious to wall Riotouily on btm- felf alone, what many would be thankful to have divided among them as a competent Maintenance-, and confldering that he enjoy'd befides the Prebend c: Bwgkrood, the Re&ory of Dijferth^ and the Free- School ot : :c. It was rather a fault in the Bifiiop to be- :> w another Living on him, without his reflgning more of his Pre- ferments than that one Prebend, and yet the parting with it appears to be one great cattle of his Malice againft the Bifhop. • Fotsrthiy, He fays, there's reafon to believe that the Prebend of Llanfm* fread is worth much more per ^nun^than Griffith hath Sworn, fince the "greatTithes are not annex'd to the Vicarage,nor otherwife impropriated, it cannot be conceiv'd, but they muft belong to, and be the Corps of Che Prebend, which however it be, the Bifhop had then ( and fliil has ) grounds to believe they are fo \ fo that nothing appears by this Inftance, but the impertinency and folly of the Author of the View, which we often meet with, and a new detection of the faid 228. Grtffoh. The Author of the View is pleas'd to fay that he cannot finim this head, till he has acquainted the Reader with two more ftrangc ( 25 ) ftrarige Extortions of his Lordfhip ; the Firft of which in fhorfc is this* That one David Lewis depofeth that he paid Mr. Towel 40 s. for the Bifhop's ufe for a Difpenfation for Non Refidence. — To which our Au- thor fays, FV/?, That David L?wis ought not to be credited in what hi hath here Depos'd, in that he Swore his having paid \$st 4. d. for pro- curations at the Triennial Vifitation, when in truth he paid not -*. one Penny to the. Bifhop, or for his ufe ; For though he had 13 s. ^d. Extorted from him, yet it is fit the Reader fhould know, that it was Lncv the Promoter who cheat«d hira of that Money, under the pre- tence of making him pay for Exhibition- Fees : but Lucy by being en- gag'd in fo meritorious a Service as to become Promoter in the Pro- eel's againft the Bifhop, was not only to have his Crimes conniv'd at, but the Bifhop mult likewifc bear the reproach and fuller the punifhment of his Villanies. Secondly. It appears by Thomas PoivePs Depofttion, that he account- ed with the Bifhop but for 13^. 4 d. the true Fees for a Difpenfati- on, and therefore if Lewis paid more, or ( as he Swears ) 40 s. for the fame to Pewel, 'twas Tewel cheated him, and not the Bifhop; But our Author fays, tho1 it may be indifferent to hira whether the Perjusry lies at.Z«p;Vs door, or the Extortion at Powefs (they being both Brethren in Iniquity, yet he declares he believes that in this cafe Lewis Swore falfely, becaufc Lewis had alfo Iaftruments of Sc- queftration and Relaxation, aud paid the 40 s. for them all, which was the due. Fee, however be it between them, the Bifhop is not con- cern'd fince he receiv'd but 13/. 4 d. for his difpenfation, p. t fc The next ffrange Extortion the Writer of the View makes fuch a pother about, is a wonderful one indeed, in fhort this. The Bi- fliop did not think fit to unite two Churches that were diftind, but made she Clerk pay for two Inftitutions as has been done before ( of which he gives feveral Inftances, three at lead ) and 13/. 4 d. for an Inftrumcnt of Union: Now this, I confefs is a very ftrange fort of a Crime : For our Author ihews at large that the Bifhop could not, and ought not to do any othcrwife then he did, and took lefs Fees of the Clerk than he might have legally demanded \ He mews al- fo at large how the Law Hands as to Unions, Confolidations, and Plu- ralities, and that the Bifhop took but 13 s.^% for that Inftrument, for which intheDiocefs of Norwich^ the Clerk pays 3, 4, or 5/. I ihall refer the Reader who would have a full and 'Satisfactory account of this m it! er to our Author who treats of it. from p. Upon the whole he prefiimes to fay, that admitting all that was 2Sh t© Depos'd againft the Biihop of St. David's was true ( which we have p' 24 *' Ihcw'd nothing was ; yet that would not have Juftiikd tke Arch- Bi- D ihop's ( **) &op1s Sentence of Deprivation-, And therefore the depriving of him on fuch trivial Accufations would make an unbiafTed man fufpeft that though thefe offences were affign'd as the caufe of it, yet the true • reafon. was, his fo often difTenting from, and oppofmg his Grace, and fome others calTd Spiritual Lords in the Houfe of Peers, and therefore 'twas refoiv'd.to have the Bifhop of St. David's Depos'd from his Epifcopal Dignity, and confequently Degraded from his Ba- ronage, that fo he might be render'd incapable of contradi&ing them in Parliamentary debates, and difTenting from them by his Vote. Manet aha merit e repofium Judicium. And a little after he takes notice of a very remarkable faying of a Temporal Lord, that if it were not for the Bifhop's ( i. e. the Ma- jority of them) they mould be able tofave the Church of England. The next thing the Author of the View Slanders the Bifhop for is, his having opprefs'd the Clergy in taking excefiive Procurations, of which he pretends to give three Inftances, which he introduces with the Depofition of one William Jones, a difcarded Revengeful Servant of j. 276. the Bifhop's, who is proy'd to have Sworn con trad idtorilyY in ano- ther cafe ) to one and the fame thing, and therefore our Author fays, ought to be look'd on as a Perjur'd wretch, to whom no Faith fhould be given in- any thing, that he Swears : and yet the Writer of the View hath both Fraudulently repoited, and injurioufly wrefled and perverted this Jones's Depofition. The purport of which is this, that the Bifhop deliver'd to him a Book of Procurations to Tranfcribe, in which there were feves al Alterations of Figures ; Nqw the Writer of the View would fain perfuade his Readers that the Alterations were greater, whereas Jones Swears no fuch thing, but on the contrary, that he could not tell whether the Alterations were greater, or lefTer, tho' it may eailly be Collected, that they were lefTer, becaufe the aforefaid Book, being a Copy of that which the Promoter gave to the Bifhop, at his Primary Vifitation, for his In- itruc"tion in the Procurations he was then to receive, and the Procura- tions at the Triennial Vifitation were only to be half fo much, it was neceffary and very prudent Conduct in his Lord/hip to have an Altera- tion made in theFigures,for thepreventing the taking more than was due. Having difpatch'd this introductory Depofition of Jones's, our Au- f • 449* thor examins the three pretended inftances of excefiive Procurations, of which the firft is. that John Barnet Swears that Mr. Jones, at the Vifitation 1691, demanding of him in. for his Vicarage of Hay, he told the Bifhop that but $s. 6 d. were his due, but the Bifhop "told him he mufl pay whole Procurations, fince it was his Primary Vifitati- on of Bawet as Vicar of Hay. To which our Author fays in General, that (27 ) that he has already in the foregoing papers difabled Bdriret from being a Credible Witnefs in any thing whatfoever, becaufe he Perjur'd him- felfina former Depofltion, But more particularly, * « 2,l( F*r/?, That upon a perufal of the 137^. Canon, our Author does not fee, but that the Bifhop at the Triennial Vifitation had a right to demand full Procurations of every one admitted to a new Living, notwithftanding the fame per fori had, at the former Vifitation. paid full Procurations for fome other Living, at leaft the Words, of the .:..--• Canon are fo doubtfully exprefs'd, that any other Bilhop as welt " as he of St. David's might have put fuch a Con (traction upon it, with- out being cenfur'd for it : And the Bilhop acted fo fairly as to Read M that .Canon upon which he grounded his demand, to the Clergy, and 2% 5P' before he took the full Procurations he had the confent and approbation • of the Wifeft, as well as of the molt of his Clergy. p. 255. Secondly, That it ought to be reckon'd an undeniable Evidence that his Lord (hip was far from designing to Oppfefs his Clergy by taking exceflive Procurations, in that it appears there is above 50/. owing to him for thofe Dues, and yet he never fued, nor fo much as cited any Pcrfon into the Court for the payment of them,fo that he who could difpenfe with the lofs of what was legally due to him, would certainly never ne an Oppreflbrof any} it being as impofliblethat the merciful fhould be unjuft, as it is to reconcile Contradictions ;' and though it has been charg'd on the Bifhop, that he had in thofe ways Rak'd together vaft Sums of unjuft Gain, yet our Author fays, that upon the belt Enquiry, he has been able to make into his whole Behaviour and Con- duct in thefe and the like affairs, he may truly affirm that the Bifhop did not become fo rich, as he is faid to be, by any oppreflive way of getiaga but awife andFrugal way of fpending,as has been intimated before, ThriMy, He fays, that the 1 1 s. which was demanded of Barnet was never yet paid, what ever he paid, or Exhibition-Fees, which as the Ca- non makes to be due at all Vifitatioas, fo are more cfpecially and un- deniably due, when Letters of Institution and Induction are to be ex- hibited the firft time, and fign'd by the Regifter which was Barneys Cafe with refpect to this Vicarage of Hay. Fourthly, He adds tjiat&w? was fo much indebted to the Bilhop P«*54- flnce the Primary Vifitation for Procurations for his Living of Clyr% as mule the Sum at the Triennial ( even upon ftppoflcion that he was not objjg'dtopay above half Procuration:, then.) a&ofrjt to the 11 s. which he doth fay was not receiv'd of ifttn.. And that it was ufuai with the Biihop to give his Welch Clergy credit for thefe Fees, and f ■ r them to be in Ancar, appears in that there1 is frill above 50/. owing to him on that account. Thefe Anfwers our Author gives to this firft Inftance of ExcefTive Procuration-, two of which he fiys D 2 win ( *8 ) p. itf. will ferve as replies to the remaining Depofition* 01 tbisHead. The next of which is. That the famous Jeremiah Griffith, Depofetfc that he paid at the . Trienial. Vifitation double Procurations for a p. 22?, Vjcafag'e and a Prebend. To which, ftrft, Our Author defires the Reader to remember what has been before faid to render this wicked man Griffith, a very incompetent Witnefs in tnis, tfl ariy other Cafe. Secondly^ a To to call to mind what has been newly laid of the 137^. Canon, on which the Bifhop grounded his demand; and he affirms. Thirdly, That Griffith in reality never paid full Procurations, as Vicar nor Prebendary, fince there had been one third of what he paid in arrears for the faid Prebend, fince the Primary Vifitation, and -as for the Vicarage, he Swore falfely in that part of the 15 s. he paid was for Fees of a Reflgnation, which he ow'd to the Bifhop; fo that in- flead of his Lordfhip's being prov'd guilty of Extortion by anything in this Depofition, we have only further Evidence both of the Ma- lice of the Witnefs and the Writer of the View? to which our Au- thor adds, that whoever enquires narrowly into this, as well as other Branches of the Juridical procedure againfl the Bifhop, will be flill fur- ther convincM that fome people thought it no part of their Duty to Examine whether the things whereof he was aecusM were true, but whether they would ferve to Afperie and Blacken him ; and there- fore fuch wh,o had vow'd Revenge againfl the Bifhop, ( as Griffith par- ticularly had ) were Encourag'din faying all the ill of him they pleas'd, without being in danger of meeting with rebukes,for their Lies and Per- The Third and laft Inftance on this Head is or one Henry Roger s^ who Swears, that he paid by the Bifhop's order to his Servant g /. whereas he ought to have paid but4^. 6 d. Now here our Author firfl refers Jhis Reader again to the Canon which allows it. But Secondly, he obferves that which he fays will 'detract from all the Depofitions given againfl the Bifhop of St. T)*vid\ and that is, that this Tery Rogers has Sworn to Lucy the Promoter's having Endeavour'd ( at the Metropolical Vifitation at Cardigan 1694. ) to Suborn him to be a Witnefs againfl the Bifhop, by telling him that his Living was fmall, and that as he needed not efteem himfeif, indebted to the Bifhop, for fo fmall a matter. And that the Arch- Bifliop would take notice of fuch as would inform againfl his Lofd- fhip \ and alfo that Lucy had in effccT: menae'd him, to Depofe againfl the Bifhop, by threatning that they who would rot then declare the truth, ihould have a Journey to London, as fure as God was in Glo- ceftcr, the meaning of which general words ofCarfling, and Menacing Is &> obvious, that no man of Serife can mifs difcovering that Lucys / deilga- ( s ) delign was the muftring up of Witneffes by fair means and by foji>, and thafthey who would not be Suborn'd byPromifes, were to be frighted with threats. Thirdly, He obferves that this Rogers himfelf Swears, that one Mr. Tovrtl was order'd by Mr. Prife to tell him, that if any more had been receiv'd of him, for Procurations than what he ought to have paid} that it mould be reftor'd him, which fhews how iincere the Bifhop, •was in the offer he made at the beginning of the Procefs, c that though 'Tie had never demanded, nor taken higher Fees, of any kind then as 'lie was inform'd by his Regifter,he Legally might, yet that in cafe * he fhould by the faid Information have been miflead to the Claim- * ing of greater Fees than besought to have done, he would be ready 1 to make full Reftitution to"every Perfon of whatfoever had beenre- 'ceiv'd of them, above what they were oblig'd by Law and Cuftom, * to have paid} which is a full Vindication of his Lordfhip, from having had any thought of oppreffing his Clergy, by taking from them Excef- ilve Procurations. ■Fourthly i He anfwers that the 9 /. paid -at the Triennial Vifltation, was the Procuration Fees that he was in Arrear for, from the time of his Primary Vilitation} when by Law and Ufage, fo much was to have bee*i taken from him, neither did he in 169 1 ( nor has he ever fince ) paid the Procurations, which were due at the Triennial. And thus our Author ends the Examination of thefe things ckarg'd on the Bifhop, and fays he has fully Vindicated himfrom all the fore- going afperfions caft upon him. p. 25% The next thing which falls under his Confideration is, the Sin of Simony — {PakIo Major'a canamm — ) Which the modefl Author of the Summary View is pleas'd to affirm was not only charg'd, but prov'd againft the Bifhop, to have been committed by him in many Inftances, which before our Author proceeds to Examine, he offers feveral things by way of Preliminaries, whereby we may come the better to under- ftand the nature of this Crime, and know what Provifions have been made in all Ages, for the preventing of it,- and how fuch who were found Guilty of it, have by the Laws of Chriftian Nations, as well as by the Canons of the Church, been order'd to be Punifh'd, which the Reader may find, which is all I (hail fay to it here, having a froni - mind to haften to the great proofs which are to be Examin'd. In the 260-to ji beginning of which our Author fays, the Writer of the View both 26? blunders and Fallifies, for whereas, he fays the Simony was commit- ted by tbe Bifhop in many Inftances, yet in the next words he is fore'd to acknowlege that all the Simonies whereof the Bifhop is fo much as Accus'd, do either relate to his Nephew Mr. Medley, or the Living he- held mCommendam in Cambridgfiire fo that though two are too much (3° ) much, yet thefe ean*t be properly faid to be many .* As to Mr. Medlty the Writer of the View premifes that though the Bifhop beftow'd on him many confiderable Preferments, yet he complain'd of wane of Mo- ney, and was diftrub'd and Melancholy, and heard to wifh he had ftaid at his Curacy in Tortjhire, worth about 30 /. or 40 /. per Annum, concerning ail which our Author alio Premifes. Firft, That it does .fully appear by the Teftimones upon Oath of many WitnefTes of unqueftionable Reputation, that the Bifhop did not only on all occafions declare his abhorrence of Simony, but that he did both rebuke fome of his Relations, for making Propofals to him that had a .tendency that way, and that he did alfo refufe an ad- vantagious Match for one of his Necies, becanfe there was fomething ove/tur'd in order thereunto, which mtght be conftrued to have car- ?. 271. rje(j. a simoniacai Air in it. Secondly, That the faid Mr. Medley, is a pcrfon of fuch remarkable . and known Virtue, Probity and Piety, that he would have chofen ra- ther to have Starved, then come into any Eccleliaftical. Benefice, by ways and .means that were Sinful and Criminal ; and this Religious Character of him, is given not only by thole whom the Bifhop pro- due'd for witnefles, of which there are at leaft 13, but alfo by many of he Promoter's Witnefles, as William Jones Gent. John Barnet, Walter Watlim,John Philips, Willi Am Harris, and even Jeremiah Griffith, who Swears him to be a man of a ftrid Life and Converfation, very Cha- ritable, an Honeft Man, and upright in his dealings, and a Man of |?47£ Confcience. Having premis'd thefe things, which he takes to be very Subfervient towards the Vindicating the Bifhop, from whatever he has been afpers'd with, by reafon of the Preferments he beftow'd on Mr. Medley, he bellows two Reflections on the Author of the View9 firlt to reprefent him as an ill Man, and unfaithful Writer, and the fecond to expofe him ?*28o' as one extremely Ignorant, and this he does. And then, he makes a diftinft reply to what the Writer of the View had before fuggefted, to infinuate Simony in Mr. Medley, that notwithstanding his- great Preferments, he was not Gay, but Melancholly, to which Fir ft, Our Author fays, this may be refolv'd into a Man's natural Conftitution, and they mufl be very ill Philofophers as well 2s no good Chriftians ) who from one Man's not being fo pleafant and Jocular, as his Neighbours, do take upon them to conclude, that the former is Loaded with an apprehenllon and Senfe-of Guilt, which hinders iiim from being Merry. Secondly, As to Gayety, our Author fays, he does not find that this is one of the Qualifications requir'd in thofe who are admitted into Holy Orders, but rather fomething notYery recourikable with it, for St. ( n ) St. Paul tells both* timothy and Titus, that the Minifters of the Gof- pel mould be Sober and Grave. Thirdly, That Mr. Medley was not fo Gay in his Humour as Mey-V' aSf» nV#, and others of the Promoter's WitneiTes, may be afcrib'd to Mr. Medley's temperate way of Living, in comparifon of theirs, and par- ticularly to his not being a Frequenter of Taverns and Tipling-Houfes, nor fo liberal a Drinker of Wine and ftronge Beer, as other Gentle- men allow themfelves to be. Fourthly and Laftly, it has been Depos'd by leveral WitnefTes con- cerning the true caufe of hisMelancholy, one of which affirms upon Oath that he's morally aflur'd the Melancholy into which Mr. Medley fell for lome time, proceeded from a Caufe very Foreign 'to Simony. And Mrs. Elizabeth Hyde Depos'd pofitively on Oath, that his Melancholy was occailon'cl by the death of a Gentlewoman, whom he had entire- ly Lov'd, and intended to have Married, and that it was through Grief and Sorrow for her Deceafe, that he became fo, and not- becaufe of any Simoniacal Tranfa&ions. „ Which plainly accounts for his wifhing he had fraid m Torkflnre, for by continuing there, he had not been acquainted with this Gentlewo- man, whofe Death had occafion'd his trouble and Melancholy. ' And q8 as for Mr. Medley's complaining of the want of Money, he anfwers p# 2 breifly, but fully, thatthofe complaints were made foon after his being Collated to hisBenefices which no man who conilders the unavoidable ex- pences incident to long Journies and removes, belides the charges rieceila- rily attending men's firft coming to Preferments, as Fees, Tenths, firlt- Fruits, &c can at all wonder at; belidesMr. Medley was much in debt before, as will be fhew'd hereafter. Our Author having difpatch'd thefe Premifes proceeds, to confider P* 28*° whatever has been ailed g'd by the Writer of the View for rendering the Bilhop Guilty of Simony :, and the firfl: thing offer'd is a Depoliti- on of Thomas- Towel y The Subitance of which is this, c That the Bilhop collated Mr. Medley to the Prebend of Clyddy, in 'the Month of May i683. and that he continued Prebendary thereof * three years, during which time, the faid Towel receiv'd the Rent of it * viz.. 1 5 Lperjinnum^xid paid it to the Bilhop by his Order, and alfb 1 5 /. c part of the fine paid by Edmond Meyrick the Tenant foi-j renewing f his Leafe. • la anfwer to all which our Author. Firft, Befeeches the Reader tobefo Jull to himfelf, as to call to mind the account and Chara&er already given of Towd by the Author, P*1 54*^ which is very much confirm'd' by his dire&ly For-fwearing and Per- juring himfelf in this very Depolition newly recited •, for there he Swears pofitively that the Bilhop Collated Mr. Medley to the Prebead of Clyddy in M*y_ 1688. and afterwards that Jie Coated' him to the Arch- Arch-Decoary of St. Ddvid's voided by death, afcer Mkhaelmdfs 1690; by reafon whereof the fald Prebend of Clyddy became a&ually void, by which it appears, that Mr. Medley continued Prebendary of Clyddy, ■ for only two years and a half, and yet Towel Swears he receiv'd the Rents for three years. Behold an Evidence ftuffd with Contradiction and Perjury! And what a Character does this give us, both of the Writer' of the Vim, and this Powel? This is a frefh proof how inad- vcrtenly,and how much at Random the one wrote, and the other Swore. ?• 2"' Secondly, Tho' Powel Swears that he paid the Money td the Bifhop, by his order, yet it does not amount to a proof that it was Re- ceiv'd for the Bifhop's ufe, nay that it was not applied to Mr. Medley's ufe, appears not only by diverfe Depofitions upon Oath before the Metropolitan, but alfb before a Civil Judge at the Afilzes st Carmarthen, to which he adds another reply. Tfc/W/y, That forasmuch as the Bifhop might know Meyykly to be fuch Sharper/ *'. e.) fuch a difhorieft Man, as -that he would be ready to cheat him, with refpeft to the quantity as well as the quality, ( Mr. Medley little knowing the .World or understanding Coyn) his Lord- p. igx. {hip therefore in great Prudence order'd Powel to receive it. To all which he adds another Inftance of the fraudulent Swearing of Powel, and the infincere writing of the Author of the VUw. But enough of that. The next Depofition is of Meyrlck himferf, to the fame flory of the Bifhop's ordering the Fine as above, to be paid to Powel ; now here. Firftouv Author reminds the Reader of the Character given of Mey- ric^ before which makes him too Infamous to have been admitted a Witnefs againfl any Perfon whatfoever, and more efpecially againft the Bifhop of St. David's. p. 42. Secondly, This very Depofition of his, is enough to give us fuller A £ furancc that no Credit ought to be given, to any thing that he Swears, in that, Whereas he has Sworn, that he was Tenant and Lcfiee to the Corps belonging, to the Prebend of Clyddy, it has been made appear by the Teftimony of his own accomplice and fellow Confpirator Tho- mas Pcwel, that he was not the Leffee or the Tenant, but that one JDr. Jones, wssfo, and Meyrick a&cd only in-truit. for the faid Do&or. Thirdly, There is nothing in either of thefe two Depofitions, of Powell and Meyrkk "that amount to any thing, like a Proof of Simony, ■JSut only fome A&ions of his Lcrdfhips are related, from his Enemies Malice, which rais'd the Sufpicion 'of it} but if Perfons be Condemn'd for 'things which do, at the moft, only afford ground of Jealoulie to -thofe thatHate them, or that they have offended, we may then bid Adieu to all Juflice in this World, and take it for granted, that ail ■the Security men can have, for their Reputations, Eftates, and Uv«» wiU (53) vritl be meerly Precarious, and they who are moft Innocent, mufl fuf- fer upon the Opinion of thofe who bear Enmity to them. Tiurtkly, Though Mtyirkk for Jones paid but 25 /. yet the renewing was worth a great deal more, but the Bifhop faid when he underftood Mr. Medley had made an agreement contrary to his advice, that he would not endeavour to break his Foolifh Bargains, which faying of the Bifhop's, Afeyrick very partially and Faithlcfsly left out of his Demolition, on this motive no doubt, namely, btcaufe, if he had in- ferted thofe words of the Bifhop, in his Depoiition, the whole which he Swore, would have nad another view and afped, than he intended it mould, and would have given men to underhand, that the Bifhop ovvn'd the whole Right and Title of that Prebend, and the full po- wer of Tranfacfting all things relating to it, to be in Mr. Medley, and whatfoever his Lordfhip took upon him to do in relation thereunto, was by why of Gounfelling and advifing his Nephew, who had to do with a Sharper and who himfelf had then but little knowledge of, and lefs Experience in the affairs of the World. To which he adds another reafon, by which it appears that the Bifhop did no more then was Lawful and indeed necefTary for a wife Man, and Friend, and to prevent his Relation from being Bubbled, and Couzen'd. And adds befides, Mr. Medley had Morgag'd his Prebend to one Mr. Rowlands, which is not only a farther proof of his -having a full Title to his Prebend, but alfo a good reafon why the Bifhop advis'd him to get as high a Fine as he could, and callM his agreeing to take 25/. for what was worth about 50/. a Foolifh Bargain. And again/ Afeyrick himfelf has upon Oath JuftiSed the Bifhop's order- ing the Money to be paid to Vowe\ upon this reafon then given, (con- sidering the then State of the Coyn ) Becaufe Mr. Medley could not count Money, which our Author takes to be no difparagement to an Eccleiiaftick,and after adds thefe very words-- And whether the Metro- politans admitting fuch Allegations as thefe, to come into Proof againft the Bifhop of St. f)avid\ for convidting him of Simony, does moft rerleft upon his underftanding, or his Confcience ^ I will not take up- on me to determine, though I cannot forbear faying, that it has given the World a ftrange Idea of his Grace, as to the one, if not both of them. And Laftly he comes to fhew, the Transitions between the P« -28. Bifhop and his Nephew, which were both ib Legal and Innocent, that all Impartial men muft be forced both to Pronounce the Bifhop guiklefs, of this Crime, for which he was cenfur'd, and likewiie ac- knowledge with how much Hatred and Malice, and with how little regard to the rules, of Righteoufhefs and Juftice, fome People have behav'd thertfelves in the management of the Procefs againft E hira (34) Km. And here our Author folemnly promifes, that in relating this matter, he will govern himfetf with that fingle refpeft to Truth, which ought to be expected from every Writer, who would not offend God, Difhonor hirafdf, nor impofe upon the World. And here, Flrfi, ( In order to the rendering this matter undeniable, and de- monftratively Evident ) he obferves, that it is Sworn by feveral Wit- nefTes, that the Bifhop's receiving the Rents of fome of Mr. Medley's Preferments was not by reafon of any Simoniacal contract between them, but in confideration of feveral fums of Money which had been really lent to him and laid out by the Bifhop for him, and having long before executed a Bond for part of the fame, after he waspoffefs'd of his Benefices, he granted to the Bifhop full power and Authority to re- ceive the Rents of fome of them for his Re-imburfment ; and all this was done with that way of dealing that is not proper for criminal matters which are ufually tranfadled in the dark. f. 300. Second. He offei s to view two Schedules, marked ji, and B. which were exhibited to the Metropolitan, and fworn to by perfons of unqueftlonable reputation, which are accounts of See the what, the Bifhop laid out for him. All the particulars of which AftenAix. were ft a tC(j and fettled between the Bifhop and Mr. Medley before fufficient and legal WitnefTes of whom' he there, mentions no lefs than Six, in the years 1691, and 1695. before the Profecution began. Thirdy He dellres that it may be carefully obfervM that there is no one thing in the laid exhibits or Schedules, which was not either admitted by the very Metropolitan, or which hath not been confeft, or fully and undeniably prov'd by Authentick witnefTes -7 and names fome few of them. Fir ft, Mr. Medley^ Mother, Swears to what was paid to her, and Mr. Lambert as her Son's entreaty, and to the 300/. part of his two Sifters portions, which the Bifhop advane'd at her Son's requeft ( he having undertook to pay the faid fums, but could not raife them at that time ) file Swears alfo to her Son's being Indebted to the Bifhop, for the Money paid to Mr. Rowlands, and befides fhe Depofes that her Son, told her how very Jnft his Lordfhip had been to him, as to the Rents and Profits his Lordfhip had receiv'd out of his Pre- frements- for his Re-imbrufement, and that he was frill in Debt to his Lordfhip. And, Secondly, Mrs. Elizabeth Hide, a near Relation of Mr. Medley, and therefore molt likely to be belt acquainted with his affairs, and a Gentlewoman of great Virtue and Probity, depofes to the 300 /. part of the Marriage-Portion of his two Sifters, and the 40/. the Bifhop expended on his Education in Cambridge, and the 6 1, paid by the Bi- shop for his Board, when he ferv'd the Cure at Weft-Waken, and . the ( 35 ) the 7 /. i $ s. for the Gown and Caflbck ; and that ifie has heard Mr. Med- ley confefs and declare, that all the Sums in the Schedule A. were fo paid on his account, and this Ihe believes to be true, becaufe Mr. Med- ley had no Friend, that could or would aflift him in fuch concerns, and Exigencies, fave his Lordfhip. To this purpofe alfo are the De- pofitions of Mr. Charles Pryfe, Prascenter of St. David's, and Mr. Charles Price, Vicar of Llannarth, and Mr. Henry Towel Vicar of Langaddock, Mr. William Williams, and Wilfray Piemont, &c to which I refer the Reader, * 3a* Fourthly, Our Author obferves that Mr. Medley, has own'd all the particulars in the two Schedules, to be exactly true, and he reckons it an injuflice done, both to the Bilhop and Mr. Medley, in refuting to hear Mr. Medley when he.offer'd to be Examin'd upon Oath. Be- fides many of thefe Debts were contracted feverat years before Dr. Watfon, was promoted to the I3ifhoprick of St. Davids ; where then is the Simony ? Fifthly, In order to the paying of the foremention'd Debts, which have been fully prov'd to have been owing to the Bilhop, Mr. Medley did pub- licity Authorife the Bilhop to receive his Rents,fmce upon veryLegal and Juftifiable grounds he had a Right to them} and as noSecret was made of the Securitys which were Executed before fbfficrent and' pro- per WitneiTes, fo Wilfray Pyemem Swears his having been a Witnefs to Mr. Medley's Executing an Alignment, or Letter of Attorney to the Bilhop, for xhe Rents of Midrtm for two years ; towards the Re- imbursement of the ioo/. which his Lordfhip at Mr. Medley's defire, and in his name had piid to Mr. Charles Pryfe, as Mr. Medley's Quotay or pare of his Sifters Portion:, fo Mr. Price Vicar of Llknarth "has Sworn to his Lordlhip's being Empower'd by reafon of the aforfaid Confi- derations, to receive the Rents, which accrued from Mr. Medley's Dig- nities and Preferments. And as their was nothing in all this, that bore any Affinity to Simony, or had the leait Colour or Tin&ure of it., fo none but fuch who adted upon Prejudice and Malice, could up- on that account have thought, and much lefs have fentene'd the. Bi- lhop of St. David's, for a Simonift. For it has been as unexceptionbly as commonly practiced for any Ecclefiaftical perfon, who is legally pot fefs'd of any Benefices, to convey a Right of Receiving the Rents to whom he pleafeth. And the granting fuch a power to pay a juft Debt, is the molt Jultifiable motive for doing it, and therefore nothing but Wrath and Revenge, or fuch like Paflions, would have influenced men to account that Simony in the Bifhop of St. David's and Mr. Medley^ which all the world allows to be Legal and Juft, and Innocent in others. E 2 Sixthly, - ■ . ( 30 Sixthly, And laftly, he obfcrves that after all that the Bifhop receiv'd out of the Rents of Mr. . Medley, Preferments, there was then a very conflderable Debt remaining due to* his Lordfhip. For the whole own'd by the Bifhop, or fo much as is pretended by the Promoter's Wi£- nefTes, amounts only to 531 /. viz.. out of Clyddly Prebend three years Rent, , /. s. d. At 15/. per Annum 45 OO 00 And in part of Fine, 15 — —00 00 Out of the Arch-Deacanry — 1 56 00 00 Out of the Treafurefhip 3 1 5 00 00 In all 531. co 00 And it has been made appear by the Bilhop's exhibits, and confefs'd by Mr. Medley, and prov'd by the Oaths of many WitnefTes of un- doubted Credit, that Mr. Medley was Debter to his Lordfhip in no lefs Sum than 748 /. is. 10 d. So that on the ballance of this account, there remains due to the Bifhop 217 /. 02 s. 10 d. And when we confider that 7 /. 10 .us to be dedu&ed out of the 531 /. charg'd above,(for the Bi- fhop receiv'd but 37 /. 10 s. for the Rent of the Prebend of Clyddy and not 45/. having receiv'd the Rents but for two years and a half J then there remain'd due to the Bifhop 224/. is. 10 d. fo that the Bifhop inftead of being convidted of Simoniacal contracts with his Nephew, appears upon the whole matter, to be a great loofer by, or Benefador to him. Our Author adds a great deal more for Forty pages together, con- cerning this pretended Simony between the Bifhop, and Mr. Medley, and gives full and clear anfwers to every particular Infinuation of the Writer of the View, and farther detects as he goes along the Per- jury and Contradictions of the WitnefTes, the Prevarication and Fraud of the Author of the View, and thcinjuftice and malice of the whole Arbitrary proceedings againft the Bifhop. But it would Swell this Epitome too much, to infift -on every particular; and befides, I think there is no need of if, For what 1 have already Collected out of our Author on this Head of Simony with M:. Medlty\ being a perfon of great Integrity Honefty, and Simplicity ( bis Adverfaries themfelves being Judges) isfufficicnt, I doubt not, to latisfie, all upright Judges that both the Bifhop and Mr. Medley have been very much abus'd f, 1 r to f to % tne leaft ) in tms Unjuft and falfe Charge \ I therefore leave this 35t. matter, and refer the Reader who defires to know more of it to our Author. Where ( 37) Where our Author proceeds to Examine, what is faid by the Wri- ter of the #7*ny for fattening of Simony on his Lordfhip, in his grant- ing one Williams or Mr. Brook's a Leafe of the Rectory of Bnrrokgh- Green in Cambridgjhire, which the Bifhop held in Commendam, and •which the faid Writer calls the other Aft of Simony alledg'd againft his Lord (hip, whereby he owns but two Acls of Simony, which yet he calls many^ which is faid withgre.it tboughtleffuefs and inadvertency, to fay the leaft it will bear. And now that the Reader may the more clearly and diflindiy un- derfland this whole affair, and be the better prepar'd to difcern the Injury and Injuftice done to the Bifhop of St. David's, in Condem- ning him for Simony upon this account, our Author fays, he mult beg the Liberty to premife a kw things, which may ferve both to mark out the Ground which this Writer and he is to Fight upon, and for meafuring the weapons they are to make ufeof ; Whereof the firft is,that the Bifhop had held thatRe&ory for fome time mCommendam, and had at that time a Legal Right and Title, to all the Profits and Emoluments of it, which were coniiderable, and confequently his Lord- flirp in the uimie of his Faculty, whereby he held it had a Free-hold and Heritagein it for Life. And, Secondly, That . though his Lordfhip might have continued to hold it ftill in Commen dam, and to have fupplied it by a Curate, as he had formerly done, yet through his being at fuch a diftance that he could neither readily nor perfectly know how his Curates perform'd the du- ties of their Function, he thought it would be for the Edification of the Parifhioners of that Rectoiy, and alfo for his own honout to fet- tle a Perfon of good Fame in it, who mould be oblig'd to refide conftantly in it, during fuch a time, as was like to be as long, as his Lordfhip1 s natural Life, beyond which he had no Power to Difpofe of it. And William Broths being very much commended, to the Bi* fhop as well for his Abilities, as Sober and Virtuous Converfation, who had not only PreacVd at St, Ann's with great applaufe, but who wore the Badge of a Lord's Chaplain, his Lordfhip believ'd he could not exprefs a greater Care of his Parifh than to fettle the faid Brooks among them- ?• 53: Thirdly, That all Parfons, Vicars &c. Refiding, or not Reading on their Cures, are allow'd by Law, and generall ufe to Leafe out the Tiths and Profits of them, and there's no doubt, but they who hold Benefices in Commen dam, may as Lawfully Leafe out the Profits of them, and under the Provifions and with the like Limitations as others, viz.. of having the Cures fupplied by Perfons capable of being Con- ftituted their Curates, ftunhlyl ( 38 ) ftnirMyn That 'tis the fame thing both in Juftice and Equity, and in the Efteem of the Law, whether the Profits be Leas'd out at a Rack-Rent, or a Confiderable fine be paid in. hand, with the referve of a final] yearly Rent. Fifthly, That 'cis as Lawfull both by our Laws, and Canons, for an Incumbent ttrLeafe out the Profits of his Living to a Clergy-man, as to a Laick ; nav there are fome very -Learned, as well as wife men, who are of opinion, that 'tis both more agreable to -Reafon and Re- ligion, and would be more for the Intereit of the Church, to have thofe Tiths rather Leas'd -to one of the Sacred Older, than to a P- S^' Lay-Man. Sixthly^ That it was morally Impoffible, there mould be any thing Simoniacal in that Contract between the Bifhop of 5c. David's tnaA William Brooks, in that the Indenture relating thereunto was drawn by Sir Vramis Fcmberton, who as he was an Excellent Lawyer, was alfo .aperfon of that Probity, and fuch an obferver of the Constitutions of the Church of England, that he would have never been acceiftry to a thing which was either Immoral or Illegal, and much lefs have prepar'd, as well as approved, a Leafe, Demife, or Deed which was fo directly repugnant to the Statutes of the Realm, and the Ordi- nances of the Church, as this is fentene'd to have been} And this was under undeniable proof before his Grace of Canterbury, and thofe hecall'd to be affcflbrsto him ; though neither with him nor theni was there anything that could beofler'd of the leaft fignificancy for the acquitting a Perfon they had a Pique againft, and were refolv'd to condemn *, and who was therefore to be made guilty, becaufe he was then hated at Kenfinoton, and thereby at Lambeth, Ely, Salisbury, and divers other places, where the Meridian of affairs was understood, and the Zenith of power fo well known, as that the Clocks of thojTc places ?^2^7" -were fetto Chime and Strike accordingly. 7 Seventhly, And Laftly, He Premifes that the difference between the Articles exhibited againft the Bifhop of St. David's at fir ft, and the Articles preferr'd afterwards againft the faid Prelate, doth plainly fhew, that neither the Promoter nor others who fought for an advan- tage againfl: him in that matter, knew how to find any thing criminal in the faid tranfaclion, but that they were refolv'd to pitch upon fome' one particular or another, which they might among the ignorant, and before prepoffefs'd and prejudiced Judges call by that Opprobrious Vid.p.358 name ; For in the firft Articles he is accus'd of Simony, and in the fecond only charged with fraud and deceit. And lie takes the Arch-Bifhop to be very partial and unjuftin ad- mitting thefe different Articles from the Promoter, efpecially fince he refus'd fome of the Bifhop's allegations on exceptions, that thefe con- trary ( 39 trary Articles of the Promoter were more liable to; Which, as well as many other parts of his proceedings are a fufficient Evidence, either that he did not underftand the Rules of the Civil and Canon Law, and the juffc practice in Juridical proceedings, or that in compliance with his defign of depriving the Bifliop right or wrong, he was ret folv'd to have no regard to them. Having premis'd thefefeven particulars, our Author undertakes to examine the Teftimonies produc'd by the Writer the of View on this Subje'£r,of which the Firft is, Of one John Williams the Elder, who de* pofed that about December 1692, the Bifliop and Mr. William Brooks came toan agreement in his prefencethat Mr Broth mould have[aleafeof the Recbry of Burrough-Grecn, and the profits determinable on the Bifhop's Life, he paying the Bifhop 200 Guineas for it, accordingly a Draught of a Leafe was made, in which the Bifhop aker'd feveral things, and would not allow the 200 Guinea's to be mention'd as the Confideration, and after he had received the greateft part of the 200 Guinea's he would have the Leafe determinable on the Life of Brooks alfo, which Brooks was glad to accept of the Bifliop giving him the Ncte exhibited by the Promoter, and Wrote wholly by him- ^. ^. felf } Now in anfwer to this, our Author fays, that he has fuch things to fay, which will not only fully vindicate the Bifhop, but al- io leave difgrace and Infamy on both the \yriter o^Vism, and the Deponent, as well as fome others. And the Firft is, That upon confulting the draught of the lieafe Exhibited by the Promoter, he finds the 203 Guineas are not -dfcrein. mention'd, or made a part of it, and confequently that ^B|iatevcr alterations his Lordfhip might have made in the draught of the Leafe when it was brought hfrii, yet that it waf*impoflible, his not admitting the 200 Guineas to-continue inferted in it, as the confldcr- .ation for granting, the Leafe, fhould have been, not only one of tQ^ alterations, but fin h a lingular one, as fliould deferve the naming with a particularly, For though things a&uaily inferted in draughts of Leafes., Indenturs, or Deeds, maybe either altered or wholly expung'd, yet it is importable to have that blotted out of them which never was there. And therefore 'tis ftrange liberty that fome . men af- fume of aliening and reporting thofe things to have been iri wricings, which were never in them. Which tho' fome men's conferences may allow them & do, yet common prudence and difcretion, one would think, flu on id re ft ram them from a thing wherein they are fo plain- ly and undeniably detected to have forg'd a falfehood in matter of5"' ? Ic fed, and obtruded it upon the world as a reality and truth. Secondly. Our Author adds particularly by way of reflection on the Author of the View^ That what John Williams ivvears to upon Hear- (4o) • H\\ this iaflucere and faithlefs Writer makes him to have depoVd on his own perfonal Knowledge For Williams only fays; That he had been inform'd &c. Which piece of Treachery and Falfificationin the Writer of the VUw, bears much affinity and alliance, fays our Author to the proceedings of a much greater man ( whofe Titles and dig- nities o^ly make him Great J agamic, the Bifliop of St. D*v'uT%\ For this Author has given us a Narrative of the Procefs agamft this Prelate, fill'd up with as much Chicanry and Fourbery, as he who took upon him to be fole Judge in this caufe, andfome of his alfeffors, difcovei'd Partiality, Pique, and Revenge accompanied with gro is, concerning a certain Note, which he fays the Bifhop wrote him- , felf, and gave to Brcoh's,yTOw\fmg, that he would Refign the Rectory, of Bvtrrduqh~Grem, whenever Brooks mould defireit; To which our Au- thor fay v Fir ft, that it is commonly PracTSc'd by Patrons ( though he does not Juftfie, ( much lefs greatly commend _ it ) and that with general allowance, to take Bonds from Prefentees for Refigmtion m fome certain cafes, and therefore it muft needs (bund odd in the ears of the fober part of Mankind, that the Bifhop's gratuitous Note to Brooks, ihouldbe made a punifhable Cr^me,aad much more Simonical:, And this is the more obfervable, in -that the very prefent Bifhop of Salisbury, who was the great Inftigator to all the feveritics ag*ainft the Bifhop of St. David's, is known to have taken Bonds from perfons for the reiigning their dignities upon fome certain conditions \ And were there an enquiry made into all the particular cafes wherein he hath done fo, it is to be fear'd that ke would not in fome of them be found to have a&ed with that innocency, as the Bifhop of St. David's did, in that note he gave to Brooby but while Judicial po- wer and Authority ftand veiled in fome people, we are not to be furpris'd, That Dat veniam Corvis vexat cenfura Columbas. Secondly, He fays that the Bifhop's giving the faid Note to Brooks, was not at ail like that practice of Bonds of Refignation before men- tion'd, fork was granted on no Confideration, nor any thing demand- ed or receiv'd as^a motive to it, fo that the whole that malice it felf can fay concerning it, is, that the Bifhop was willing to gratifie the requeft and importunity of a weak unthinking man, in promifing to do that for him, if defir'dj Which he knew that Brooks, without being falfe to his own intcreft never would, nor coald defire , For there was no manner of probability, that if the Bifhop had Religa'd the Pationefs would ever prefent Brooks to it, for feveral reafons, fo that all that even a mercenary Advocate can make of that Note is, that it was the gratifying a vanity and humour in fo weak a man as Brooks, and a certain piece 'of inadvertent compliance in the hifhop, but was no offence either againft Law or Canon, and much lefs had it any thing in it of Simoniacal corruption. Thirdly, He fays farther, That if his Lordfhip could have reftgn'd without doing any injury to Brooks, he had done a very wife thing, for thereby he would have been releas'd from the burden of the Cure, which that the Biihop efteem/d to be fo, he has given a fuificient demoa- Itiution E' 3°2« ('45 ) ftrationby his Refignation of that very Rectory, Toon after the Death of Mr. Brooks } when the right of receiving all the Profits ( which amonn- ted to above i oo /. per Annum) was re-invefted in his Lordfhip, upon the expiration of Brooks's Leafe, which terminated with his Life ; and as the Biihopdid refignit into the hands of the Diocefan, the Bilhop of Ely, fo none of his moft malicious Enemies have qgcii able to accufe him of any thing that was either Simoniacal^ or Scandalous, rn the Re- signation of it, nor was it poflible there mould be any fuch thing, con- iidering to whom herefigifd it ; and hereby he has given fthe world) an undeniable proof that he is not the Covetous man he has been repre- fented to be, and that it is next to Morally im poflible, that he who up- on fuch Chriftian motives, and after fo generous a manner, refign'd the Rectory of Bunough-Gw n, when he might have Legally held it^ mould be capable during his incumbency, of committing the Crime of Simony ' in the difpoiing and Leafing out tne Tithes of it. p. $3$ Fourthly % He adds, That as the Writer of xhtFiew has acknowledg'd that the Draught of the Leafe (whereof enough has been faid already) did imply only a Conventional Simony, but not a real, fo he has like- wife declar'd, that the very Note it fcif could not amount to the proof of a real Simony, by teaibn that the Bilhop had not the Right' or Pa- tronage of the faid Rectory -, from which, fays'our Author, i maybe ailowMJuftly to infer,and I will therefore demonltratively contlude,that the whole which the Writer of the Vuro hath taken upon him fo clamo- roufly to fay of the Bifliop, becaufe of the foremention'cl Note, is by his own Confeflion meer Slander and Calumny -, and that by his endea- vouring from thence to get the Bilhop believ'd to be chargable with Si- mony, he hath only difcoverM himfelf to be a weak and impertinent man, and -withal], anavow'd and egregious defamer, as alfo a merce- nary, impertinent, faithlefs, and contradictious Writer. p, ^te, The next thing confider'd, is a Depofition made by Mrs. Brooks, the p, 387. late Wife of Wdliam Broths, on which our Author makes many Re- flections, which (hew the weaknefs, fraudulency, and infidelity of the Writer of the Ktew, and the inconliltencies and felf-contradictions of a filly, interefted, bigotned, fanatical Woman, who was only tamper'd with, and fuborn'd to Swear what ihe did. For it is not unworthy of particular remark, that as Dr. Fthe Bilhop or St. DaviXi, but even (he confefs'd to Mr. Price, that not only Lncy the Promoter, but others alio, would give her a good reward, provided (lie would deliver to thesn the Bi- (hop's Note above mentioned, whereby we may underitand how mali- ciouily and revengefully the Bifliop was Profecuted, m that not only an Hue ( 4* > Hue and Ciy was feat through the Nation againft him, and the Vojfee Regn; callM to defame, and run him down, but all that could be done either in the methods of Application, Addrefles, and Carefles, or in the way of Subornation and Bribery, was pfa&is'd for' the muttering - gpo, up of Wirnefl.es to blacken and afperfe that Prelate. Our Author adds, that nioir. of what Mrs. Brooks depos'd, was on Hear-fay, which would riot have been regarded by men of Integrity and Juftice, and from the whole Tenor of her Deposition, it does appear that the Money iier Husband was to pay, was for a Leafe or the Tithes, and not the Curacy— And that there was nothing in proof of the full payment- of the 200 /. - # ■■ . ■ And what Mrs. Brooks Swore againft the Bifhop, was after her mak- ing Application to bis Lordihip, for returning part of the Fine which her Husband paid, and the Bifhop having den yM to grant it, on the the foot of right and obligation, tho' he offer'd to have given her Te- itimonies of his bounty, provided fhe would addrefs as a fupplicant *, ind as nothing can more evidently demonftrate that there was nothing in the Traniactions between the Bifhop and Brooks, by which his Lord- lip could imagine it was poflible Criminally to affect him, than that he deny'd to give her any Money on the foundation of a Claim, fo it (hews him to be more liberal and generous than his Enemies, have lepre- ?" S92, fented him, that he offer'd to be kind to her, if fhe would have thrown herfelf upon his favour and Charity. For the proof of wich, he pro- duces a full Depofition. And as to the Clamour which had bejgn fais'd of the lofs which Brooks and his Wife fuftain'd, by hisDying fo foon after he had the Leafe of the Tithes of Burrough-Green, our -Author makes it appear, that Brooh had a very Profitable Advantagious Bargain, and thatihe Bifhop alone wasdamagrd. For, Fhf, The Bifhop at Brook's requeft, bought for him Houfehold Goods to the value of above 50/. for which -his Lordfhip was never paid ; then" the Bifhop gave him freely the whole Years Rent, which was due from the former Tenant before the Commencemen of Brooks's Leafe, and befides, the Corn and Profits of the Rectory, when feiz'd upon Execution after Brooks's Death, difcharg'd above 200/. Debt, which Brooks had run into : Moreover it coft the Bifhop 30 /. toRepair theParfonage-Houfe, and out-houfes, &c. which Brooks, during his be- ing inPoffeffionofthatRe&ory, had fiiffer'd to decay, and dilapidate not to mention. Secondly, His Lordfhip's being liable to pay above 10 /. to Mr. Barrel, for fcrving the Cure in Brooks's lifetime, and laflly it appears in proof, the Bifhop receiv'd but 1 20 /. as a Fine for the Leafe, and that at two payments 5 all which particulars, when the Reader lays them together, wiH (47) will make it eaflly perceivable what a Loofer the Bifhop was by this bar- gain, and none but he has juft caufe to complain. Laftly, Our Author fays, That the admitting Mrs. Brooh to be a Witnefs againft the Bifhop of St. David\ was againfl: all Rules of Law ; (for which he Quotes the Books of many Civilians, as he does alfo in many other places) and the Metropolitan, together with thofe of his A(Teiibrs,who in concurrence with him, laid weight upon herTeftimony, did thereby in effe Law. And belides in this cafe the Witnefles againfl; the Bifhop Swear to a Negative, wfrerein many things, as their ignorance, inadvertence, and their being "unacquainted with the matters and forms, may make them bedeceiv'd,and miftaken in what they Sw'ear. Fifthly, That whereas the Writer of the View, the Promoter, a their Compiices,have Accus'd the Bifnop of Crimen falfi,thzy are the pei fons mofr/egregiouily guilty of it, and in more various fails and kin than could well he -imagin'd. • Having fminYd thefe few Premifes,our Author comes to confider the proof produe'd by the Writer of the r,en\ which in fhort is this. That Edwa\ ns and James Harris depofe that they were Qrdain'd Deacons by the Bifhop on the 24th of Spftember 1693. and that they then took an Oath Written on Paper, the words of which they can- not recoiled!, but poiitively fwear that King Witliamh and Queen Mary's haiwes were not mentioa'd plain and convi&ing reafons. 41 3* Fourthly, He obfervcs that there is not one word in either of their Depofitions, which, is incor.fiftent with the Bifhop's -Certificate -, for he only certifies that they took the neceflary Oaths, which they did at the proper times and places, as before mentioned, viz. on the 23d and 24th of September, fo that from thence fingly, and without making any other Reflections, it does demonflratively appear how unjuftly the Bi- fhopof St. David's was proceeded againft, and that the Metropo- litan who Ufurp'd the Jurifdidtion •by t-iking upon him the alone juridical Authority in that Procefs, in order to ; the depriving the Bifhop (49) Bifhop i of St. Davids did not deiire proof on which to cohdem him, but only wanted fomething to palliate, and cover his procedure, which his tools might call evidence. Fifthly, He adds, that it may wellfurprife and incline all thinking men to believe that matters were not carried very fairly and imparti- ally in the Procefs againft the Bifhop, in that of all the i4 0r 15 per- fons, which thefe Witnefles Swear were Ordain'd on the 24th of Sep* tember 1693, only two Deacons Ihould be by the Promoter and Agents , produe'd and none of the Presbyters then Ordain'd , mould be call'd on to depofeany thing in this matter, which looks as if it were believ'd and known, that they would have Sworn to the Bifhop's Adminiftring, and their taking the Oaths appointed by Law ; and this the Writer of the View feems to be fenfible of, and therefore endea- vours to throw the whole blame on the Bifhop, by faying, that he ne- ver attempted in the whole Caufe, to have any of the reft examin'd \ and from thence infers his Lordfhip's being really guilty of the Crime he was charg'd with} which fays our Author, this Writer would never have ventured to have faid were he not a perfon of wonderful Effronte- ry, and a down right C^W"'-*" foiwhcad^ in thai Uie Eimopdefir'd both of the Metropolitan, and the Delegates, that he might be allow'd to produce fome of them, which he alfo ofFer'd to have done, who would depofe and atteft his Lordfhip's AdminiflingtheOatrrof Allegiance to K.William and Q.Mary, on the 23d of September, and the Oath of Supremacy on the 24th j but he was deny'd by both of them. Sixthly, He Anfwcrs farther that it ought not only to be fulpeded that what Williams and H^rwdepos'd wasfalfe, but that it is Moral- ly certain it n\ufl befo, in that it had been prov'd that the Bifhop re- fus'd to admit a certain perfon (known to be pious and learn'dj into the Order of Deacons, though greatly importunM to it, meerly be- caufe of his denying to take the Oath of Allegiance to K. William and Q; Mary, and that his Lordfhip had likewife refus-'d to give his Licenfe or Connivence to one who was a Presbyter (and wit-hall, a man of lingular worth, and his own particular acquaintance) only becaufc of his being one of thofe (commonly flil'dj Non-Jurors -, which two things being Sworn to, They who confider things without prejudice, and prepofleffion, cannot but believe that the Promoters two WltnelTes fworefaliiy -, and it would be furprifeing (if any thing in fome peo- ples conduct could ) that the Metropolitan fhould render the Biiliop of St. David's guilty of this Crimen falft, upon the evidence of thefe two young and ignorant Deacons, when he had the two- things be- fore mentiofl'd in proof before him, on the Oaths of two credible Wicaefles, who alfo fwore that in both thefe cafes, the Biihop had G 4e: (pi) declar'd, that the things which had been requir'd of him were fuch as he neither would, nor could do, in that he was refolv'dto be juft to the truftrepos'd in him by the Laws. Seventhly, He proves by diverfe Depofitions which he men- v' tions, as full and pertinent to this purpofe, and particularly two Wit- nefles,-one of the Bilhop's, and the other of the Promoter's own, that the Bifliop had at other Ordinations Adminiftred the Oath of Allegi- ance to K. William and Q. Mary, and therefore it ought to have ia- tisfy'd the Metropolitan ("and if he had been capable either of under- Handing what was fatisfaction, or of receiving it) that it was not o- mitted Sep ember the 24th, 1 69 3 . if Eighthly and Laftly, The more undeniably to (hew thefe WitnefTes of the Promoter to be perjur'd and forfworn, and to ex pole the Wri- ter of the View, as a perfon of a very fhallow understanding in believ- ing, or a moll profligate Confcience (if he did not) in impofing thcie things on the Reader for truths, which at the Inftigation, and on the Subornation of others, thefe ignorant and mercenary Creatures, con- trary to their knowledge were ganrjd to fwear to : Our Author pro- duces the Teflimo'ny of feveral'nye and tmv wjfnpfTes, wVin fwear to the Bilhop's Adminiflring the Oaths on the days before mention'd. Firft, The Teftimony of one. Mr. Davis, a very credible perfon, which he has fworn. Then he fubjoyns the Informations and Teftimonies of two other - Presbyters, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Herbert, M. A. who were Ordain'd at the fame time with Williams and Harris, who. teflify in direct oppo- fition to what thofe poor weak Deacons depoa'd, and diverfe others who were then admitted are ready to depofe the fame, that the Oaths were p. 410, tnen adminiftred as above. To which our Author adds, that he has feen an account under the hand of a very pious and learned divine in theDiocefs of St.Bavufs, that he had Ipoke with the aforefaid Edward Williams the Promoter's Witnefs, agamic, the Bifhop, and produced to him the form and manner of "Ordering Deacons, and read the Oath of Supremacy there to him, and asking him whether he had taken that Oath, upon which v' 420, ' the faid Williams confefs'd and declar'd to him, that he had taken that Oath -, and that his miftake in what he had depos'd, proceeded from his not having before underftood, but that the King in the Oath of Su- premacy, was mention'd and exprefs'd by Name. " Then our Author lays before his Reader, the Declarations, and De- pofitions of fome that were prefent at that Ordination, and who as they perfectly underftood, what Oaths were at that time, and on that 'occafion to be taken, fo they have withal) the Sacrednels, as well as iitivenefs imaginable affirm'd, that every thing was dor^p and Execu- ; which the Lav/ appointed and- required j And here. . Firfi ( s* ) ' Pirft, He recites the Depofition of Francis Thompfon, D.D. who was prefent at thatOrdin,ation,SyLaw, on the Articled Ordination-day, viz,. Trinity-Sunday, 1691. And tho' the late Lord Chancellour Sommers, had declar'd in the Houfe of Peers, that the faid Prelate mould h*ve Liberty to prove, and alledge what was omitted before the Delegates, divers of thofe who were appointed Judges Delegates refus'd to admit his Allegations, or to examin theWit- nefTes his Lord flap oflfer'd to produce, to prove his Admjdi/tring the Oaths as aforefaid. ( 54 ) And now to draw to a Conclufion of this matter, and Sum tip the Evidence, on the one fide there is no Teftimony whatfoever,of Robert Oven, that he had not taKen the Oaths at his Ordination on Trinity- Sunday 1691. but the whole pretended to be in Proof is, that two known Sophifters and Juglers, and the Bifhops malicious and profefs'd Enemies, having found the Letters of Orders, granted by the Bifhop to the faid Robert Owen, the two aforcfaid men of Artifice and Deceit, did thereupon take an advantage of Forging Depofitions, wherein they affirm, that the faid Robert Owenr ( who was not Alive to con- tradict them ) had not taken the Oaths requir'd by Lav/, when he was Ordain'd. In Oppofition to which our Author declares. Fhft, That David Philip and Athn Williams, who were Ordain'd oil the fame Trinity-Sunday, with Robert Owen, have both pofltively brted, and offer d to Depofe upon Oath, that the Oaths which Hand Enacted by the Statute of the Firfb of William and Alary, were at it timeadminiftredby the Bifhop, and taken by them and alfo by, , to which he withal Subjoyns, > . The Teftimony upon Oath, of Samuel Williams a Worthy pevfon who was Ordain'd likewife at the fame time, by which all who are not through prejudice and Obftinacy uncapable of Conviction, may be fully afcertain'd, that Meyrick and Vowel Swore in Conftru&ion Perju- riouily, and with defign Sophiftically. And now the only thing left to be taken Notice of, in the Summary View is5 that the Writer of it declares, that the Bifhop told James Har- ris, that he* had never omitted the giving the Oaths but once, and that when he Ordain'd for another Bifhop. To which our Author Replies. Firft, That the faid James Harris has been made appear, to be too. Infamous for anyone of common Senfe to Itake his Credit, as an Hi- storian, upon any thing that Fellow Depofes. Secondly, That the time refer d to is, when the Bifhop of St. David's did Ordain in the behalf of the late Reverend Bifhop of Ely, Dr. Tur- r.er, whilft he was under Sufpenfion. And that it is a very Modern PracUfe to give the Oath of Allegiance at any Ordination whatfoever, for as the Bifhop of St. David's, neither took nor was requird to take the Oath of Allegiance,' at the Office of Or-' dination, when he himfelf was Ordain'd Deacon, Prieft, and Bifhop, fo during the time he was Bilhop in the Reign of the Late King James, he never Ad miniftred it to any one whom he Ordain'd. And 'tis reafonably fiippos'd that his moft Malicious Enemies, will not ac- cufe him of being Guilty, of any omiffion of Duty to that King, which liis Lordfhip was by Law oblig'd to j and yet he never forbore in that Reign to Adminifter the Oath of Supremacy in the Office of Or- dination, though in the Opinion of fome, he could not be reckon'd so make his Court by fo doing. Thirdly, ( 55 ) Thirdly, At his Lordihips Ordaining, in theFirft year of K. William andQ.Mkryy for theBifhop of£/y,in theCounty of Cambridge, he was pun- p. 43 *• dual in giving the Oath of Supremacy to thofe, whom he then and there Ordain'd •, fo that in Cafe he had omitted at that time,in that place,and upon thatOccafion toAdminifter theOath of Allegiance^ whereof there is not the lead Sillable in Proof in all the Procefs) yet it could not be ac- counted a Crime, and much lefs, faid to be done Doio malo0 which fas- has been Intimated before) muft always attend the Crimen falfi, and the utmofr. therefore that Malice it felf, even when accompanied with Ignorance (for thefe two are Allies in moft private Confederacies) can . make of it, (Tuppofing it had been fo, which does no way Judicially appear) was only that his Lordfhip had made a falfe ftep before he was well got into his New Trammels, and that he retain'd fomething of his Ancient Munrpfimus, after the Modern Sumpfimus was come into Fa fh ion. To which he adds a Remarkable Story of the prefent Bifhop of Sa- mm, which may be found, [To which may be added a Story of an- p# 437; other Nature, to be found. p§ 2], Out Aurfim u\jw bviu^ abouc to bid Adieu to the Writer of the andp.246 View tells his Reader, that he has made that Writer appear to be, in- ftead„of a True Reporter of matter of Fad f which he profefles to be) a very -Unfaithful! and Treacherous one , and that in the place of relating things Impartially, he has deraonftrated his having given only what was faid againft the Bi/hop, without vouchfafing to acquaint his Readers with what has been. faid, and in proof for him, and has likewife through this whole difcourfe fhew'd that. — ■ — -Multi ^ * Committunt' eadem diverfo Crimina Fato. p] lgt To which- he adds that if the Writer of the View thinks fit to reply,he here promifi&to rejoyn upon him, which is the laiVof his Book. And thus I have finfln'd this fhort Abridgment of the Large Review, which might have been fhorter yet, if I had not thought it Requifite in molt places to keep e :acT:ly to the Words of that Author. I think 1 have not Left out any Confiderable Paflage that was neceifary to he taken notice of ; Though there is enough left to Entertain the Inquiiitive Header. Upon the whole I doubt not, but what is Foiind here, will be fufficicnt to give all who Read it, .a Juit Idea of the Promoter, Witneffes, Judges, Aifilhirits, and every Perfcn and thing concern'd in the whole Procedure againfl the Bi/hop of St. David's : And if there has been any Wifdom, Jnftice, Honcfty, Integrity, common Decency, or common Humanity, made appear in the Managers, or Management of this Whole Procefs •, The Reader can't chufebut find it out, and know where, and upon whofe Score to place it. For nothing is more Reafonoble than that everyone fliould have their which therefore, at one time or another, will certainly be paid them. 25 .April 170;, H. Dens t ct0?em* *>> . (sO - Two Scdules of Accounts mentioned p. 34. and refefd to the Affendix following. Schedule A, fettled andpafl Auguft 5th, 1691. /. s. d. Impr. ABond of %ol.forPayment of^^ol.atndlntereft from") ^ May 1 68 1 . — ; " * "-— ■ — r J Item, Lent for Journeys to Bugden and Peterborough, fo? 7 q - Forhis Maftcr of Arts, Degrees, and Gown--* — —018 — 00 — 00 Paid for his Board Six Months — ■ ■— '- * ' " —006 — oo— oo Item, for firft Fruits of Livings and Prebends — — ■ — ■ — — — 045 — 1 9 — 1 1 Paid M\ Dowglafs by Mr. Medley'.? Order- -~ 001—05 — 00 Item, to Mr. Lambert ^Hull — ; — — — — 010 — 00 — 00 V aid his Taylors Widow '- 006 — 02 — 06 Item, Mr.Rovihnd's Bondof 77/. and Imereft from January ~\ , the id. 1688. — ■ '■■ 3 242 — 07 — 05 The Shedule B3 which was fettled Sept. 21.1695 jfoUotveth. I. s. d. Paid for Tent hs 004 — 1 4 — 08 To himfclfat fever al times — • 059- — 08—04 Paid his Mother by his Order— >— ■ — — ■ — 122 — 05 — IO Paid for the first Fruits of the Arch-Dcaconry and Prebend of 7 ^ Llanganamarch — — : 5 To his Brother Pryfe his part of his Sifters Portion -■ -■■ ■ — 100 — 00 — 00 To his Brother PowqY part of his other Sifters Portion 124 — 00 — CO Two Tears Synodal* — — — -co 5 — oc — 00 A CloathGown, Caffocl:, and Carrier -be x — 007 — 1 5 — co FINIS- 505 — 15—08 242 — 07 — 05 * 748 — 02 — 10 ERRATA. PA&e $. 1. 9. r. Gijfitb. p. 9. I. 16. r. Scholar. 1. 30. r. Parfonage. p. 13. I. 20. r. Llangaddch. p. 14. 1. 2. r. direttly. p. 15. 1. 35. r. Bijbops. p. 16. I. 11. r. Notaries, p. 17. 1. 8. dele as to. -p. 23. 1. 13.' r. Prebends. 1. 19. v.GratfuIl. 1. after, livings an, add Prebends, p. 28. 1. 37. dele as. 1. 43. t. Carejfmg. p 30. 1, 12, r. Nceces, p. 32. 1. ix. dele not, p. 47. 1, 13. for me. x.be. penult dele in. THE BISHO O F St. D A T H E A UTHOR O F EXPOS'D, His Pott -Script Anfwer'd, And the Letter to a Peer Defended. By way of Free Conference between Two Bold Britc is. In Five PARTS. xg» srcoi Toti cAjajSoAtfS" /uh dbo ctazrotv 'iya. yih coyxa^CtOiiiiv ivQ- S. Bafil. /l/oc quocjue difficile f Her it, fie de Mo mtntiri, ut aliquant veri faciem baberet Mendacmm. Erafm. Falfe Witneffes did rife up againft me, they laid to my charge things that J knew not . They rewarded me evil for good. Pfal. 35. Si, 12. LONDON: Printed in the Year 1705. E R R A T A's. PAg. 8. read jtfajta. p. 41. r. Prebendary, p. 59. r. 14/. p. 62, r. 40 s, f. his r. ftoy. t. Gym r. Gvoynn. f. **/& r. c It made me very uneafy, and in a Civil v/ay I muft have Satisfaction. LL Why then, the Matter, in fhort, was this 5 A Brother Clergy- Man called upon me juft as I was putting on my Spurs, and tho5 his Bufinefs was not great, yet I could do no lefs than offer him the Civility of my Home and Company-, had it been another Day, I fhould have importun'd him for more of his Converfation, but remembring our Appointment, I let him go upon the fir§: Mo- tion, and made as much haft toward thee, as if I had been Riding for Preferment. M. That's fomething of an Amends, but it would have teen kinder (till, if you had brought your Friend along. LI. It would not have done fo well as you imagine, there would fiave been no Mufick in fuch a Confort, for you and he would prefently have been jarring upon the old Thing, the Cafe of your fo much ador'd Diocefan. M. Nay, if he were a Zealot the other way, 'tis as well you fhook him off. Prithee who was it? LI You fhall know before we part, but for a certain reafon I won't tell you yet. /ft Well itf*. Well, what News did he give thee ? You have it all on p^R. j. your Side now. L^V^O LI. Not much, only he Lent me a Book which is new to me, tho' it has been fome time abroad. M. Some of the Works^ of the Learned ? Or fome of thofe 111 wrought heavy Pieces which are at once an intolerable Load and Scandal to the Prefs. LI. I don't know what you'll fay of it when you fee it ; but £b far as my Underftanding ferves me, 'tis clofely Writ : The Au- thor has always his Subject in his Eye, and makes out what he pretends to prove as plain as Demonftration. M. Then 'tis none of Dr. WaWs late Performances, nor the Handy-work of your Friend the Article Mender. LI. No, to flop your Mouth, 'tis Writ by a very Eminent and Learned Civilian, one that handles our Quondam Bilhop at ano- ther fort of a Rate than you or any Body elfe can prefiime to Manage ^ Mr. Dean, or the Rt. Rd. of S — -r — -wz, I have brought it along with me, will you give it the Reading? 31. With all my Heart, and if he fairly vanquifhes the Bifbop, I'll freely give him the better of the Day, and place my Canoni- cal Obedience elfewhere •, but as yet (under the Rofe belt fpoken) I could never hear either Law or Reafon for the Ufage v/hich that Prelate has had at Lambeth. LI. Then here is both, here is what will Convert thee, and make thee one of Us. M. What's this > Homer's Iliads in a Nutfhell > A Summary View of the Articles Exhibited againjl the BiJIwp of St. David'*, and of the Proofs made thereon. Sixty Pages in OBavo, in a pretty large Character, and a Margent as broad as one of the Flaps of my Band : If he fairly ftates the Cafe on both Sides, and upon full Proof leaves the Bimop under Condemnation, I mall own he has a very Concife way of Writing. LI What need is there of that> He only lets the World fee what was made out againft the Bifhop ^ you, or any of his Friends may anfwer it if you can. M. All in good time, Friend, all in good time; but had he impartially given the Subfrance of what the Bifhop's Witnefles Depofcd in his Lor cifhip's behalf, he might, have laved us the labour. 9Tis not my \v$.y to judge of Books before I read them ; but let me tell yon, this halfing of the Matter carries in it an Air of Par- tiality. B 2 U Then PAR. L ^- Then according to your Principle, read firft; unlefs you iS\~\>t meet w^tn *°me Stumbling Blocks, you may quickly run it over. .. My Friend and I- this Morning went thro' it diftin&ly in an Hour, and had many a piece of good Laughter as we palTed along. M. Prithee ftlew fome of thofe Comical Touches, that I may Laugh a little too, if there be any thing of a True Jeft. LL O, Sir, you have fuch a tendernefs for the Bilhop, that what moved our Rifibility, may put you upon the Grin another way : My Author is not very laviih of his Wit, but difcreetly inter- fperfes it here and there, as he fees occafion ; you muft take it, Sir, as it comes, by way of Refreshment j but if you are eager t Er*nt for a Taft, look over the Authority in the t Title Page, and iee %!a Kd'fZ now ne ^Msks your Curmudgeonly Bifhop, the Mifer hi the rcerumem. 1 lay. n'HmJ™' & M. Give me leave to read it before you make your Comment. E- uveritia. rant i7i eo viulta Vitia. I never beard, any one before that durji Tax H»ma™ f-» jjjs Morals. Sed fere eorwn omnium fons ■& f omentum Avaritia. As Z7c»nEiZ»- true as the former : No Man upon a juft Charitable or Pious Ac- Hemdumen- count being fnorc ready to part with his Money. Humana enim & Divi- l'iajri7- m cun&a^ ubi emolumenti ac rerum aliquid auferri potuit, contcmp- frrn tnmt, fa. According to this part of the Charge^ a Man would be apt to tmetyfir. £anCy tj1]-g fame j^0> Menev. to have been a down-right Church- Pirate : For had he feiz'd the Communion Plate belonging to his Cathedral, and Sacrilegiously perverted it to his own Ufe. Had he been the vileft Broker that ever made Bargain in, or had been Whipt out of the Temple. Had he Sold all the Livings in his Difpofal, at as dear a Rate, as a certain Prelate (not many Years ago J Farm'd that Sine Cure his Diocefs ^ What worfe cou'd have been faid of him > LL Go on, and you will find he has done full as Bad. M, If you won't think your Coleworts twice Boil'd too Courfe an Entertainment, you fnall take the Author and rehearfe out of him, and I'll either fairly Refpond or Yield. LL A Match, give me the Book, I'll be fo faithful I won't mils an Iota. M> You need not be fo very exact as to repeat verbatim, I doubt not but you fully underftand his Meaning, and I'm fure you know well enough how to Manage an Argument 5 wherefore give only the Subftance, unlefs where a Quotation at full length is neceflary. LI. So let itbe$ but I would gladly read the Preface to you, Word for Word, becaufe there is not a Line in it which is not worthy of your ferious Consideration. M. Read. ( 5 ) M, Read it then. fa&Z hi. So remakable an Ivjlavce of Ecclfiajlical Difcipline and Jurifdi- PAR. I. Bion, as the Deprivation of a Bijhop by his Metropolitan, has made ""^v^ the World, and my felf in particular, very much Inquifitive, and dffi rous to know what thqfe Crimes were which Jlmtild deferve Jo Severe a Punifimcnt. Having gratified my own Curiojity, I thought it would not he unagreeable to others, to give a prefent Satisfa&ion in that Particu- lar, till a more proper Time and Occajion fi?a!l require a more compleat Account of the whole Proceedings : For which reafon this Summary Vie* is made Publick, where are fairly reprefented the fever al Illegal Practi- ces wherewith the Bifirop of St. Davids was charged, and their refpe- tfive Proofs upon the clearnefs and flrevgth of which his Grace the Arch- Bijlmp of Canterbury. M. Hold a little, The Deprivation of a BiJ/jop by his Metropolitan, is jo very remarkable an Inftance of what he calls Ecclefiaftical Jn rifdidion, that we have not any thing like it ( approv'd of) in Church Hijiory ; and tho" your Author has fas he fays^) fatisfied his own Curiofity, yet there are t thofe, who it feems are much more Curious than his Worfhip ; who do in words at length boldly Af- J,dp0n- ferr, that his Grace has no fuch Power -, and therefore unlefs your/""' *• tht Champion can uphold, and does maintain his Grace's Jurifdidtion A&'fJfe. as to this Point -, I won't give a Fig for his Libel, let it be fraught ^ner to * never fo full with Articles and Allegations : For had very 111 Pecr' &c' things been prov'd againft the Biihop of St. David's (which by the way I do not believe ) yet if the Court where he was Con- demned has no foundation according to the Conftitution both in Church and State ; if there be no Law, Statute or Canon, no allowed Precedent for fuch a Procedure, why then this Dr. can- not give what he calls a prefent Satisfaction, to any duly in- cjuifitive Reader. LI. 'Tis a ftrange thing that thou wilt not hear me out. 'Twas not the Arch-bifhop himfelf that did it, but his Grace Aififted with feveral of the Bilhops of the Province, did on the 3d. of Aug, 1699, Pronounce a Sentence of Deprivation againft him. M. According to this Account of that Day's Proceedings, it looks as if all the Bifhops that Heard the Caufe, had concurr'd in the Sentence. LI Did they not ? M. No Sir. The Bifhop of Rochefter, when he faw what the De- flgn was, prudently withdrew : And the Biihop of London, tho' he ftaid it out, yet Declared that the Proof did not come up to the Height of the Accufation : but that fome other Sentence ought to be Infli&ed, and not Deprivation. LI. . T-heru C 6 ) PAR^I ^?" T^en Y0Xl 0wn ***** ^.^Hhop was Culpable, and Deferv'd 's^Y^i Punifhment, even in the Opinion of the Right Reverend Father in God that Favoured him. 31, Look you Friend $ tho' that fame Prelate is one of the mofi Apoftolick Men, that we have amongft the Mitr'd Fraternity, yet the Gift of Difcerning Spirits^ of feeing into and thro5 Men upon Occafion, is long fince extinct. The WitnefTes, as in NabotFs Cafe, had Sworn lewdly, and that Lord's Opinion might be grounded upon a Belief, that the greater!: Eart of what they (wore was true : Whereas, I" quejlion wot, but it will appear before you and I part, that Ireland, as Infamous as it has been for Rearing of WitnefTes, never Exported fuch a wretched Crew, as we ihall in this Cafe (with Shame be it fpoken) find in our own Country. But to go a little further with you. Had all thofe Bifhops whom his Grace call'd to his Affirtance concurr'd in the Sentence., yet by all the Stated Rules of the Chriftian Church, and the Practice thereupon, they were too few. The Bifhop of St. David's, had he been Guilty, ought to have been Sentenced, either in a full Na- tional Synod, or elfe 1 2 Biihops at leaf!:, ought to have fat along with his Grace, in Cafe that great Metropolitan had defign'd to proceed Regularly, and according to Primitive Laudable Examples. LI. And have you got hold of that Stale Notion, Broacrfd a- frefh by the Author of a Letter to a Peer, concerning the Power of the Metropolitans over their Comprovincial Biihops ? My Dr. accounts with that Pamphleteer by way of Pojf-fcript, and makes a very Afs of him. M. I rather fuppofe, that by medling with a Subject far above the Reach of his Underftanding, he himfelf will appear accord- ing to the old Adage, Afinus ad Lyram, But fince he pretends to handle that Point by its felf in the Clofe of the Book, we'll leave it to the laft, tho' it ought firfl: to have been made out and clear'd. LI. No. I have fomething more to fay on that Head : The Le- gality of the Bilhop's Deprivation : For this very Sentence denounc- ed by his Grace was on the 22th of February following, Unanimoujly Confirmed by a yery full Court of the King's Judges, Delegates, npon the Bifhop's Appeal. So that whatever Objections you may pertly ftart againft his Grace's Jurifdiction, yet their Authority was and is Indisputable. M, We do not find it fo. For tho' they declar'd his Lordfhip Depriv'd both of Spiritualties and Temporalties, yet he neverthe- lefs keeps to this day PofTeiuon of the Palace, Palace Lands, and College (7 )■' College near Brecon, and is in a very fair way of having the Le- PAR. I." gality of the one Sentence and the other Examin'd before that Ho- W^** nourable and Auguft AfTembly, where he once had the Honour to {it himfelf, and from whence he is not fo irrevocably Excluded, as you may fancy. That Grand point in this Controverfy is ftill in Debate, and therefore all that you can Infer from the Refolution of the Delegates is no more than this, that fo many Perfons were at that time of Day of that Opinion, who, upon a full Re-hearing of the Caufe and fecond Thonghts, may (as other good and wife Men have done ) think fit to alter their Judgment. LI. Never fo long as the Bifhop lies under the Weight of thofe many Scandalous Imputations, which this very Author fixes upon him. M. He fix ! How comes he fo intimately privy to the Affairs of our Diocefs, and the Biihop's Gondud. LI. Has he not already told you, that he was very Inquifitive to learn what the Bifhop's Crimes were •, And here he further In- forms and affures you, that in the following Account, he is not Confcious of having introduced any thing as Proof, but what is taken from the Depojitions of the Witneffes Examined upon their Oaths. M. He has already fhewn fo much Spleen and Partiality, that I won't take his "Word. I know what was depofed (perhaps) as well as he, and fhall admit of nothing hit Pojitive Proof. Ll. Wotft you allow him thofe few hiferences and Prefumptions which are Occaf.onally added ? He hopes they won't appear either Forc'd or Unnatural. M. "Lis downright Prefumption in him to offer it. He pretends in the Title to give Proofs, and let him keep to that Work : As for Inferences, if the Premifes be Sound and Firm, the Reader may eafily frame them to himfelf. sTis not His Bufinefs to Lead or Impofe. Ll. Tfjey were only defigtfd and thought Necejfary to eafe and refreflj the Reader under long Narratives of Matter of Fadt, to illuftrate and Correct, but not to Aggravate them. M. 'Tis much to be fufpecled that he has fome ill Defign, which had he Art enough, he would thus plaufibly cover. But as ill Luck would have it, the weaknefs of the Apology, is Betray'd by the very Book it felf; which isfo very ihort, that Refreshments of this kind muft be altogether Superfluous and Unneceffary, un- - lefs to weak and wandring Heads, that cannot beftow an Hour's Attention upon the molt weighty Subje&s. Then again. As for that other part of his Pretence, the illuilrating, of the Matter, there's as (8) PAR. I. 3s little Need of that, if the proofs be as they ought to be, plain «*~v~'~' and Convincing. Had he faid that his Narratives were dry, Infi- pid, frivolous, and remote from the purpofe : That they did not direclly, but by a long Train of Confequences affect the Bifhop, then to promife Diverfion and Illuftration would be no lefs than a wctffary Encouragement to the Reader, but to tell us of long Narratives in a Summary View, and Illuftrating proofs, is Solecifm and Non- Sen fe. LI. You're very Captious. M. Only Cautious, as a Man ought to be, who has fuch a Slip- pery Chapman to deal with. LI. If this be your Humour, I fuppofe you'll be further ftill from permitting him (without Difturbance) to bring in fome little Stories concerning the Bifhop, which, tho1 they do not carry in them any thing Criminous, yet Render the other things Alledged, more probable. M. Why mould 1 > Or why mould he attempt it > What Sig- nify little Reports of what he (aid, fhe faid, or the other faid or fwore, if not to the Purpofe : But let's hear in his own Words what he wou'd be at. LI. If, fays he, fome of the Bijhofs Anions herein fet forth, fhall feem not worth the remembring • M Then why fhould they be recited > LI. Be quiet,- — or not todeferve the Name of Criminous, yet even thofe will make the Proofs of the more Infamous Practices charged upon him, the more eafily believed. M. Not to infift at large upon what I juft now hinted, and what the World will expect in this Cafe, that the Proofs be in themfelves Plain and Convincing, and then there will be no need of little Artifices to make them pafs upon the Judgment and Be- lief of the Reader •, for what firmer Atteftation can we have of any thing in a judicial way than Oath and Depofitions ; or what can more eafily or firmly gain Affent than fiich Sacred AfTuran- ces; if the Deponents be Men of Credit and "Veracity, and Swear with any tolerable Appearance of Truth or Probability. Not to infift folely I fay upon the Strength of this Argument, which fufficiently expofes the Frailty of your Author's Reafon -, let me add ex abundantly that there's no Logick, no Chriftianify, in tin's Inference of his. We, if I miftake not, were Taught in Oxon, that a Minori ad Magis non valet Confequentia, and St. Paul tells us, + « c«r. f that Charity believeth all things for the Beft, fure not for the JVorfi, where there is room for a favourable Construction. — What then, if '3- 7 to if the Bp did make fome fmall Miftakes, or (who has not ) par i Tome perfonal Failings ; will the expofing of thofe, induce any vv-vj Good or Reafonable Man the more readily to believe thofe Heinous ~ Crimes whereof he is Accufed > Prithee lay afide Partiality and Prejudice, and give thy own Senfe in the Cafe. LI. Take his Reafon inftead of it : For, fays he, when People fee a Rich Man will fordidly Tranfgrejs for the getting a few Pence, they ivill naturally infer, that where there is a greater Temptation, he will hardly be Proof agahtft it. M. As for Inftance, fuppofe a Wealthy Tradefman takes the Advantage of my Ignorance or Credulity, and Sells me a Com- modity 1 2 d. Dearer than 'tis really Worth, therefore fhould he be Accufed cf Robbing upon the High- Way, Burglary, Sacrilege * I'd the more eafily believe him Guilty, tho' the Proof were not full againft him. There is, Friend, fuch a thing as Punifhment in this World, the Apprehenfions and Dread of which may deter thofe from the Commiffion of Heinous and Capital Offences; who yet may have no more Grace than to Play at the finaller Games of Commutative Injuftice, which bring them under no Tem- poral Penalty. LI. Is it fo, that you Defign to Defend your Bp againft Accu- sations of this fort > M. Miftake me not, good Sir, the Bp is no way concern'd in the Application^' I'm only Ilhjlrating the Fallacy of your Au- thor's pretended Reafon, and muft farther tell you, no one but a Hobbift, who believes that Men in a State of Nature hate one a- nother, would call his a Natural Inference. LI. The Dr. is oblig'd to you. M. And I'll own my felf very much oblig'd -to you and him, if you'll be pleas'd to inform me how the very fame things mould be Sordid Tranfgreffions, and yet not feem worth the remembring; -nor feem Criminous. According to common Uiage, and more particularly in a Religious Senfe, TranJgreJ/ions, and Sins, are Syno- nimous Terms ; and fure thofe that are fordidly fo, might well feem, and neceilarily muft appear Criminous to any one that is not Weak or Dark in his Underftanding. — How notable foever your Dr. may be at telling a Tale, or Tranfcribing, yet 'tis mani- feft his Talent does by no means lie in Arguing or Framing Con- clufions. I'll oft' hand give you one much Stranger than this you have produc'd , If I find an Author in the very Preface running contrary to the known Rules of Reafon and Chanty, tfrere is good Ground to conclude that the Book it felf is a Bundle of Ca- lumny and Falfe Confequences, C LI I PAR. I. M* I am i11^ entnng upon- it, and {hall convince you of the- Vy^V^sJ contrary. Jkf. Does your great Dr. condefcend to obferve any Method? LI O very nicely 5 but before he comes to lay down thofe fe- veral Heads which he powerfully enlarges upon, he by way of Ex- ordium or Introduction ihews you, that tho' your Diocefan had been inftrncted at his Confecration, that a Bp mould not be greedy of Filthy Lucre, but abhor Covetoufnefs ; yet at his firft coming down into the Diocefs, he Declared that it was a Poor Bijiwprick, but that he was refolved to get Money one way or other : So Peter Lewis, ihtvromc- one of the Vicars of St. David's teftifies, The Tutor had long purfned "? 44 Wlt ^at ^"fej a*/}d tbz Bp f° refohtely adhered to it, that its Pernicious p., t. Effects appeared in every part of his Epif copal Admhtiftration. M. Does Peter Swear all that > LI No, the Parallel betwixt the Tutor and the Bp, is an In- genious Stroke "of the Author's own Pen, whereby he prettily connects the fiibfequent Practife of the Prelate, with the foregoing Dilpofition of the Dr. M. Before we take the Depofition it felf into Confederation, pray tell me what Grounds he has for Defaming the Tutor > For by the Pernicious Effects of that Covetous Humour, which he reprefents as Habitual in the Bp j one would fuppofe Dr. Watfon, whilft in College, had been extreamly Avaritious and Mifchievous. LI That I prefume is To notorioufly known, that no body doubts of it. M. You prefume ! Ay, and this is one of that Author's Pre- sumptions, which he would excufe in the Preface ; but which has fo much Impudence, Falfehood and Malice in it, that fiich a Scurri- lous Scribler ought to be the common Scorn and Contempt of Mankind. Does the Reader fo very foon need a RefreJImmit ? litre the Dr. defign'd this Famous Tract for thofe that rejoyce in iniquity, and therefore begins with a Lye, LI. Do you think that he would have alledg'd any thing of ihis kind, if he had not good Authority for it. M. Authority for it ! Why I am Morally certain of the contrary: For tho' Dr. Tfatfon had a great many Pupils under his Charge, and confequently vaft Sums of Money pafs'd thto' lis -Hands (neither of which would have been entrufted in a well- gov rfd Society to a Notorious Knave, the Pernicious Ef- fects of \ nofe < Covetoufnefs were apparent) tho' during his long Cfintir uance he was twice chofen Steward, and thereby had the Manage- ■-( ■„ -) 'Management of the Money Concerns h yet it was never Charged parT I upon him that an Unjuft Penny ftuck to his Fingers, but on the ^ry^O contrary he fairly acquitted himfelf to the Good of Iiis Pupils, the Satisfaction of their Parents, and the Credit of the Society. LI How came you fo well acquainted with his Character, who never faw that Univerfity ? M. What if I did not > yet I have been well acquainted with Perfons of Worth, who were of the very fame Foundation with his Lordfhip, and they unanimoufly Reprefented him as one who liv'd creditably, entertain'd generoufly ^ a careful Inlpe&er into the Manners and Behaviour of his Pupils, and a conftant Reader to them in all the neceflary Part of Learning and Philofcpby 5 a faithful Accomptant as to their Difburfments, and what is more, that no one in thofe Days, fent forth a greater Number of Accomplifh'd Men to do Laudable Service, both in Church and State: And fince'I have the Teftimony of Two or Three Credi- ble Witnefles in behalf of the Bp, I cannot otherwife than in a juft Indignation, Tax thy Author as a Foul Mouth'd Calumnia- tor, and do Challenge you, him, or any Man of Reputation, to make out the Charge laid againft him in this Capacity. LI. Perhaps my Author might be mifinform'd as to the Tutor, but as for the Bp, he was the Sordid'ft Wretch that ever wore Lawn- Sleeves. What fay you to the Depofition ? That fhews his Lordfhips Refblution with a Witnefs ! M. Produce another to back his Teftimony. LI Whyfo? M. Becaufe a Canon in Scripture fo requires, Againft an Elder n»».y..io. receive not an Accusation, Unlefs it be tefiified by Two or Three at the leajl. EaTo? kt As the Learned Dr. Hammond unexceptionably explains thofe i^ri^vo Wot ds. The Privilege, and Equity and Authority of which Sa- w fti&v cred Rule I the more ftifiy infift upon in this placev becaufe both ^gry- in the t Title Page, * and here, as the Bp of Sarwn, one of the C&c- Afleilbrs, did ; you make Covetoufnefs the Root of thofe very 111 „*£;£- Things you pretend to Charge the Bp with. What tawis r*m fom & here Depofes, is by your Author look'd upon as a Fundamental^^" Article :, by the Strength of which 'tis defign'd to fupport the&c. Credibility of thofe Infamous Practices, wherewith you Scanda- nj*o %'J^, lize the Bp's Adminiftration and Conduct. Tis the great Cor- n^t^k in ner-ftone on which you pretend to Raife a weighty Pile, and there- J^£lf fore if you have any regard to the common Rules of Art, amd'^»««#r-- more particularly to the Canon of Holy Writ } this ought to be *»* &c- well fixt, otherwife the Foundation is naught, and you can ex- C 2 pea Stt Tjvj. Valid. PAR; J, pecT no other, but that what you build upon it will come about ^/YY. your Ears. LI You are out, grave Sir, in your Application, how true foe- ver 3'our Expofition of the Text may be. We. can prove a ioo- Inftances by 40 Witneffesi M. When you have done that, then Charge the Bp as fevere- ly as you pleafe but in the mean while this fingle Sufpicious Te- ftimony of Lewis's ferves for nothing, but to give your Author an i Opportunity of fhewing his Indifcretion in relying too much up- on it, and his Malice in improving- it, if he could, to the Difho- nouring and Defaming of the Bp> LI. Thejhing is true, tho5 it does not judicially affect hisLord- fhip, you have no Exceptions to Lewis's Veracity. M. Yes, that I have and very confiderable ones toa At what a ftrange Rate did he both Swear and Lye about the Palace Lands > What regard had he to his Oath, or the Ma jetty of the God of Heaven, when he ftands recorded to have Sworn Contradictions as 1 to the Fees paid for Collation, &c. Befides, were nothing more to be objected, what he Swears is fb very improbable, that no one who confiders all Circumftances throughly, can give Credit to it. LI How fo> M. The Bp at his coming down, tells Himy that it was a Poor Bifhoprick, and that he was refolved to get Money by i% one way or other. Was this fpoke in Publick pr in Private > LI. Publickly I fuppofe. M. if fo, how comes it to pafs no other Perfbn then prefent did hear it befides him ? LI The reft of the Company might not mind what his Lord* fhip faid. M. That's not to be fuppofed, for we all know how narrowly he was obferved, as being- a perfect Stranger. Can any Man be- lieve, that either thofe who came to Complement his Lordfhip, or to make their Remarks (as many did) would have fo little good Manners or Senfe, as not to, regard his Difcourfe, This Declara- tion that Lewis Swears to, was a very remarkable one, if true, and would have ftartled, if not offended, all that were within the found of it. If thou wilt not fuppofe with Charity, yet do it with fome {hew of Reafon, and a decent Refpect, to the Breeding and . common Underftanding of our Country-men. U. Perhaps then it was dropt by the Bp in fome private v. Talk betwixt them Two, ^.That's M. That's {till more incredible, for 'tis well known that the p^R. I. Bp, upon his firft Appearance at St. David's, the place of Lewis's ^v>J Residence, itaid there but Four Days, Two of which were moftly fpent in Confirming great Multitudes that Throng'd in upon him *, other Bps, his Predeceflbrs, having not been fo very diligent in that part of their Duty ( where, by the way, obferve that the Bp got nothing by that Performance, tho' your Author has the Face to fay that the Pernicious Effects of his Covetoufnefs appear- ed in every part of his Epifcopal Administration)' but to go on, Two Days, or the greater!: part being devoted to fo Solemn and Sacred an Office, and the Remainder of thofe and the other Two taken up in the Receiving, Entertaining and Difmiffing' thofe of the Gentry and Clergy that came to pay their Duty to his Lord- fhip, what Time or Room •, more particularly, what Temptation could the Bp be fiippofed to have,- privately to withdraw him- felf from all this good Company, to beget this wonderful Familt* arity with one of the Inferior Clergy of the Diocefs >' Did tha Bp, do you think, fall fb dotingly in Love with him at firft Sight, as to make him his Confident and ConfefTor immediately; or did Peter, above all the reft of the Brotherhood, carry in his Phiz fuch legible Characters of Wifdom, Policy and Fidelity, that the Bp could no otherwife then forthwith make him his Privy Councellor, and lay open to him a Secret of this Importance ? Could this Vicar ( little better then ) a Stranger to the Diocefs, as well as to his Lordlhip ; direct him to Ways and Meam how td bring about this Wicked Defign of Pillaging the Church and Cler- gy; and why then, or how fhould his Lordlhip be fo unaccount- ably free with him ? Credat Jud&us Apyella. hi. He Swears it. M Yes, and other Things, which have no more Truth in them than that groundlefs Suggeftion of your Author, that the Bp's Covetoufhefs appear'd in every part of his . Admini- ftration, tho5 neither he nor you can prove that his Lordlhip got any thing by Confirmation. L/. You're too Severe in your Remarks : If every Word is to be weighed fo Critically, no Man would Write. M. Every one that blackens the Character, and ftrikes at ; the ' Reputation of another Perfon, ought to have good Grounds for what he charges him with-, and fince the Honour of a Bp is at Stake, had your Author any Honefty or Modefty, he ought to Bluih for being Guilty of fuch a Notorious Calumniation ; but you do it for him, and fo go on. Lt How __ ( '4 ) PAR. I. &• Kour far your Exceptions againft Lewis hold good, we fhall {./"VN* examine by-and-by \ ihoiild you happen to ftop his Mouth, yet the thing itfelf ipeaks londly and fcandaloufty enough ; for the Bp's Covetoufvefs appeared not only in Jingle Injlances, but in repeat- ed Afts of Extortion, Simony, and other Crimes of the mojt Enormous Nature : As thefe were multiplied, fo the Fame of them encreafed tiU in the Tear 1694. it grew fo loud and univerfal, that it moved his Grace of Canterbury to vijit the Diocefs of &. David's by Commif- Jioners. ; . M. Whatever the WitnefTes may Swear, yet thy Author is fuefi an habitual Lyar, that he feems to abhor the way of Truth. 'Tis ftrange that he cannot hold out for one poor Page, without pre- varicating over and over, and that notorioufly. Have not you and I, Friend, liv'd in the Diocefs many Years > Did we hear a- ny thing of this Clamour, # that (as he would have it) offended the whole Country, and fpread fo far and fiercely, that it Hart- led his Grace at Lambeth} Was not the Inhibition a perfect Sur« prize to us both, and to the Neighbouring Clergy > Did we not enquire of one another what the meaning of it might be ? And was not the pretended Occafion or Caufe purely unknown, till Lucy and his Agents whilperid it about, that the Bp would be found Guilty of Extortion, Symony, and what not ? Was it not fo> LI We might know nothing of it, and yet the Leading-men in the Diocefs might fee juft Caufe for thus remonftrating againft the Bp, to his Grace. M, That they could not, if "they acted Confcientioufly •, for fup. pofe them to be never fo Politick or Learned above the reft, yet with all due Reverence be it fpoken, we might and ought to know as much of an Univerfal Fame as they. Lucy, Meyrick and Grif- fiths, that Triumvirate of Schifmaticks might perhaps endeavour to poffefs our Refidentiaries, and the Arch-bp, with a hard O- pinion of1 the Bp and his Adminiftration j but we fure have 1 Ears as well as they, and much better Title to wear them than they can pretend to, and yet we heard not a Syllable of this E- vil Fame againft our Diocefan. Confult thy Memory, and thou canft not but own that the Inhibition was Prior to the Fame, and prithee do not renounce thy Senfes or Underftanding in the De- fence of any Caufe whatever. LL Neither do you, Friend, let your Refentment difturb your Reafon. If the Arch-bp was inform'd that fuch a Rumour of the Bp's Corruption was Strong 1 and Univerfal amongft us. This Cm V J This was enough to juftify his Grace in granting "the Inhibition, 'PAR! I. and my. Author in Affigning this as the Caufe of it. And how many be they > L/. Here are Crimes enough, of a Monftrous Nature, but none of that ftanding, M. My Servants in the Yard, that are filling the Dung-Cart, have more cleanly Work than we. Nothing but Lyes and Slan- der. Shall we do with this Vile Libel, as the Parliament did by that other, the Fajloral Letter, Burn it by Confent > LJ. No, by no means. I promifed to reftore it to the Owner, and withal fhall acquaint him with thefe Exceptions of yours ; that fo in the next Voluminous Edition thefe Matters may be fully Ihfirated. M. Tell and welcome, and in order to help the Undertaker of that great Work, give him the true Account of the Rife of this Eccleflaftical Hubbub ; that fo he may begin right, and not like thy Author fall into one grofs Miftake after another. — Lucy be- ing Accufed to the Bp of divers Notorious Crimes, as Extor- tion ^ Vexatious Citations, Selling AbfoivXions, Commutations of Penan- ces^ &e. And withal the Learned in the Law being of Opinion that he had no" firm Title to the Regifter's Place : the Biihop was refblved, at a Vifitation he had appointed in 1694, to quefcion the aforefaid Lucy, upon the account of his falfe Title and fla- grant Crimes, 2. .Dr. Fakottberg, that Man with a great Name, little- - (,5 ) PAR. J, little Senfe, and lefs Confcience, was to be Admonifh'd for not reading in the Confiftorial Court as the Office of Chancellor, and the Ecclefiaftical Laws require. 3. Some of the Refidentiaries were to have been Examin'd why they take that Title upon them, and inarch off with the Profit, feeing they hate or fcorn to refide in our heretofore Venerable Cathedral. 4. Some Idle Clergy-men, who are much more intent upon Fleecing the Flock than Feed- ing them, were to have anfwer'd (if they cou'd) for the long and wilful contempt of their Oaths and Paftoral Duty, after frequent admonitions to refide. Some other Things-were alfo to have been ■let in order at this intended Vifitation ; but the Bp being too open in declaring his Refblutions, the Parties who were Obnoxi- ous, flily procured the Inhibition, and ferved him with it as he Entred the Diocefs : Thus hanging him upon the Tenter-Hooks, and laving their own Bacon. But, after all the Noife made at the Metre-political Vijitation aforefaid, when the Areh-Bp knew not what to make of that Bundle of Impertinencies, brought him up to Lambeth : The Bp upon that Arch-Bp's death, Re- afiiim'd the thoughts of inquiring into R. Lucy's 111 Management and Crazy Title, which when Robin was inform'd of, he loudly Swore that be would fpend the loft Groat upon the Bijlwp^ and thereupon en- tred himfelf Promoter ; and indeed, as to that Oath, tho5 a Rafh one, he has to a Tittle fulfilled it ; for every Body that knows him, knows with All, that he is not now worth a Farthing. LI So you fay ; but hark you, Friend, the Commiffioners be- twixt England and Scotland will fooner Unite the Two Kingdoms, than thou and I go over this fmall Book, if thou makeft thefe Ex- curfions. Liften to me and I'll tell the quite another Story. M. Do fo, and let the Impartial Reader judge which is the moft probable, mine can be prov'd. LL Take another time for that, and let me go on in my own way. A Procefs was taken out againft the Bp at the Promotion of R. Lucy j Efq; P. 2. M. What fort of Squire is he prithee > LI. He's the youugeft Son of a former Bp. M. That's no Foundation for the Title wherewith you Adorn your Hero : Had IWnte Fvyars flood, he might have been a Squire of Alfatia, but the Heralds, I'm fure, will never own him. LI. Let him be what he will, he has been too hard for the Bp. M. Do not Triumph before the Victory. LI. Let me give him Battle however. And thus I Range my Forces, or rather, his Crimes; which are followed and fupported by a Cloud of WitnefTes. ift, Offences (*7) I ft, Offences of many Kinds. 2dly, Illegal Exactions, 3dly, Mani- PAR. "I. fold Simony. 4thly, Crimen Falji. M. I'm forry, Dear Friend and Brother, thou fhouldft make thy felf fo Ignorant : Prithee who is to Difpofe of the Alms Of- fer'd at the Communion Table } LI. The Minifter and Church Wardens in . Parifti-Churches, to fuch Pious and Charitable Ufes as they mall think fit. See th% Rubrick. M. And what if any Diiference arife betwixt them, concerning the Diftribution > LI. Then they muft be Difpofed of as the Ordinary mail ap- point. M. Very well \ and why then mail not a Bp. have the fame Pow- er in his own Chappel, that a Minifter has in his ParinVChurch > Or why, again, ihould he J:hdt is by Aft of Parliament vefted •with the Power of Determining to what Pious Ufes Alms in Paro- chial Churches (hall go, when any Cbufcroveriy arifes, not have the .liberty of Difpofing as he fees Beft, what is given in his own Chappel, where there is no one to Contefl with him : Either he may Ailign them to what Pious or Charitable life he judges moft Expedient, or elfe he muft not meddle with them at all 5 a Reftri- ction which the meaneft Curate in the Diocefs is not under. LI. Notwihfcanding your forked Arguments, yet the Pretence of Fumifhing the Communion-Table with Plate, feems to be but a Fiction :, for if that would juftify the Matter, it does not by any Proof appear to have, been done. wt M. Six Pound Three Shillings, is the Sum Total Collected: What would this do towards the Purchaflng of Plate? LI However it looks 111 for him to keep the Money in his Hands. M. How To? There's never a Bp. in England whofe Word is better Security for 100 s. or iocos-, and fince he frequently and openly declared that he kept the Money for this Sacred Ufe : Since upon the firft Demand he was ready to give an Exact- Ac- count of each Days Oblations, and as ready to lay it out to the D ; Beft, r^ (l8> PAR. I. Beit; wnen a Efficient Colleaion had been made h where's the Ma- ^v~v lignity of all this? The Author is both Fool and K — ve to make this a Charge againft him. Ll. He'll be on with you immediately for'that. Now Exercife your faculty of Apologizing. 2. TheBjfs. Servants did not fare Jo well. M. As the Communion-Table, which as you would infmuate, was ftript of all. :_ Never did fo much Mal'ice and Dulnefs meet in One Man, as in this lame Author. Ll Give over Quibbling about Words, Phrafes, and little Nice- ties of Grammar, or 111 deftft. M. 'Tis a fad thing that we (hall neither have Truth nor Senfe. Come blunder on. LI The Subftance of the Article is, That the"Bp's. Servants Ji* 3. could not keep in their Hands v/hat was juftry their own Money. M. How do you prove it ? L\. Robert Dongfofs, who lived with the Bp. a Year and a Half, Swears that whatever Gratuities he Receiv'd at any time from Perfons Ordain'd, were accounted for to the Bp , and that parti- cularly at one Ordination, his Share out of the Money given to the Servants, coming to Four Shillings, the Bp. made him Account Hid. for it, and deducted it out of his Wages. M. Does he Swear that the Bp. made the like Dedu&ions from all his Servants \ L. N — ~o. M. Does any other of them Swear it ? LI Not that I can find. M. Why then your pretended Proof is Scandaloufly fhort, Dmiglafs fpeaks only as to his own Cafe, without Depofing any thing in relation to the Deductions made from others. Ll You may be fure they were all ferv'd with the lame Sauce. M. Js this one of your Author's Preemptions, or an Inference ? Ll. Sir, 'tis an Inference plain enough, feeing Douglajs was for- ce d to Account. M. Why then an Argument drawn a Particular} ad Univerfale, is Sound and1 Firm* and all the Logicians that ever were in the World have been miftaken. Here ought to have been an Induction of Particulars in this Cafe, to make out your Article, or at leaft One or Two more of the Servants Ihould have been produced, up- on the fame Head j which fince it is not done, notwithftanding all fche Vile Methods that have been ufed to induce his Lordfhips Do- mefticks to Betray ©r Accufe him. Ycu muft give me leave to'in- fer that this Article' was not capable of Proof, and therefore as It. {lands in your Author's Words it a downright Falfhood. LL ('i9 ) LI. But is not Doiighfss Depofition true > How do you excufe p^R j the Bp. as to that ? wv*v/ M. Very eafity •, You know, I queftion not, how common it is with the Servants of Great Men, to make an Advantage of intro- ducing Inferior Perfons to the Prefence of their Matters ^ the great- eft part of their Profit many times arifing from what they can thus levy upon, or Screw out of thofe who come to Petition for Favours ; wherefore the Bp, to prevent this foul Practice in his Family. Firft of all promifes Doitglafs, his Chief Servant mfficient Wages, and then to obviate and render Fruitlefs all Attempts that might be made by this his mofi: Immediate Attendant upon thofe who come to feek for Orders, the Bp Contracts with him j That what fhould be accidentally thrown him by thofe that had more Money than Wit, mould be funk in his VVages, fo that he was like to gain nothing, either by way-laying them upon the Stairs, or fol- lowing them with a wifhing, craving Countenance. - And it ap- pears by the trivial Account given by Douglafs, That the Bp's Stratagem had this Effect, 45. being all he had at one Ordination, and that too out of the Common Contribution made to the Ser- vants. Whereas, had Douglafs look'd out fharp for the Advan- tage of his. Mafter, he might without doubt have compafs'd a great deal more, but being not like to meet with any thing to his own Account in fuch a piece of Management,he let People freely pafs and repafs, and thereby left the Bp fo much the more his Debtor, who was willing thus to pay his Servants out of his own Pocket, rather than others fhould have it fqueez'd out of them under pre- tence of Fees or Gratuities. This, Friend of mine, is fb Far from being Criminous in the Bp, that 'tis to be wiuYd that all Bps would accept of, and Eftablifh the fame Rule in their Oeconomy, and thereby prevent that Scandal which is too often occafioned (un- •known to them) by the Greedinefs, Impudence, and Importunity of their Servants. Are thefe your tremendous Articles! Your mighty Proofs againft the Bp! LI. They are not Articles properly fpeaking, but only Colle- ctions made from the Ahfwers given to the Promoter's crofs Inte- rogatories. M. Very agreeable to the Title, and very Ingenious indeed ! The Bp produces Witnefles to Vindicate his Juftice, to give an Account of his Life and Converfation, and* your Scandal-Monger, like a-Bafe Sycophant catches at that paft of the Depofition, which was thus wrefted from them, and gives it a malicious Turn, in or- der to Blacken and Mif reprefent the Bp, without mentioning the leaft Particle of what was fo Solemnly averr'd in Teftimony of his Lorcffhip's Innocence and Virtues. D 2 LI Vir- > C 2o )■■ PAR I ^' Virtues, ^° y°u ^ay * ^ make a Devil of him prefently ^ ^^^y^J mind the next Article, and defend him if you can. 3. Lewis Tho- mas Clerk fwears,. That coming to the Bp' for Inftitution, the Bp told the Deponent, that if he would pay his Procurations for the Vicaridge, he might fave 4 d. which muft otherwifebe paid for the Receipt, telling him they were 3 s. which the Deponent paid into the Bp's own Hands, whereas in Truth they were but two and Eight pence. M. Parturieiit Mcxtes, vajchur ridiailus Mm. And now know all Men by thefe prefents, That this Prophecy is fulfilPd, the Lord Bp of St. David's cheated a poor Country Vicar of a Groat. Was it for this that Mr. Dean of the Arch's thruft his Nofe into the Affairs of the Diocefs ? Was it for the Spying of this Moufe that Commiflfioners afterwards came down with Beams in their own Eyes ? Might it not be a Miftake in his Lordfhip : Or the Miftake of him that" Tranfcribed the Book of Procurations. Can any body imagine that the Bp would be fo mean and bafe as to play at fo fmall a Game > LI. Do's not Lewis Swear it ? M. Ah, Friend, there has been fuch Swearing, that one wou'd be- lieve, that as the Papifts have Sunk the 2d Commandment, fo we had dropt the 3d What abominable Tricks have been plaid an order to draw People in againft the Bifhop? How was Tho.-WiU ■ iiams^ firft fubborn'd by Lucy^ to certify that he had given the Bi- fhop 8 1, for a Living, and then was ihuffled by Lucy in his own Houfe, turn'd out of Doors, and deny'd Inftruments that he had a Right to Demand, becaufe he feem'd to relent and to dread Set Tho. the going on in fuch a piece of Wickednefs. How was He?:~ B/Vloth''* den a Mailer of Arts of St. John's College, our Neighbour," tem- Wmj?. ' pted by Oxenden in his Vifitation to Accule the Bp of fomething Criminal, and afterwards promifed Preferment, if he would but Betray his Diocefan ? How were all thofe favour'd that would but Spit or Spurn at their Lord and Matter ? And what wonder is it if: this Inconfiderable Clerk (Thomas) was wrought upon by thofe Means > - LI Prove that he was, and then you do fomething. M. Tho5 I can't do it dire&fv, yet if I fhould fuppofe it for once, it would be much more Rational and Allowable, than any of .the Author's Prefumpl^ons. But to wave that Liberty, if I can make out that what he fwears is highly Improbable, then I •think it is no ftrain'd Inference to Affirm, That it is much to be fear'd. that he forc'd his Conference toierve a Turn. LI Ren- Ll. Render the Subftance of his Deposition improbable if you PAR. I* can. ^v\« M. That I will prefently. This fame Thomas, who fajrs the Bp wrefted from him a Groat more than was due, was not at that ve- ry time able to pay the whole Due for his Inftruments of Inftitution, &c. The Bp in Consideration of his neceffitous Circumftances gave him Credit for 40 s. and 'abated him 1 8' s. and 4 J. which he might legalty have taken of him. And was this a fit Perf&p to be prey'd s ■ r,„ ,„„ upon, or would he that gave him Shillings, at the fame time rob ur\ z9th him of Pence. He muft be all Faith and no Charity that can be- f'JL"'^1**- _,._.._ , . f. . ••« / _, is 1 nomas lieve it. Have you anything more to lay 111 this Four-penny ad inter. 8o.- 'Caufe? Ll. No. Ill ftick no longer upon it, becaufe I can Charge him Home with Pounds Opprdlively wrung from his Clergy. M. Do if you can. Ll. Peter Lewis fwears, That waiting on the Bp at his firft Ccm- ing down into the Diocefs, and being a Tenant to the Palace Lands at j*j St. David's at the rate of III. per Ann. The Bp told him he muft take a Leafe and give ic 1. Fine : but the Deponent replying that the Lands were at a Rack- Rent. M. Which was a Lye: I'll prove it. LI. Stay your time; And further aUedging, that -when a Tine was given, the Rent was lower ; to Screw him up the Bp promifed him a Kind- •nejs : Whereupon the Deponent offers to pay the Bp 10 1. Nine Guineas, and the reft in Silver -, but when the Bp faw the Yellow Boys, he would needs have the Deponent make them Ten compleat, uilng the Motive aforementioned over again. The Deponent accordingly made them up Ten, had a Leafe granted for 21 Tears, and at thefams time-, but after the Payment of the Money, the Bp Jbews the Deponent a Book of the Benefices in his Diocefs, bidding him Choofs one that he lik'd. The Deponent pitching upon the Vicarage of Llanryan when it ft)ould be void; The Bp faid. he would remove the Incumbent, which he accordingly did within theCcmpafsof a 7 ear, and Collated the Deponent thereto. jM. t can eafily Anfwer all this. LI. Hold a while yet, for I have fomething more to lay ; Ed- mund Jtfeyrick Treaflirer of St. David's, fwears, That he never heard that thofe Lands were Leafed-, and the Fame is that the Ten Guineas were the Motive to the Bp's Collating Lewis to LUanryan. And Ford who had been Steward to the Bijlwp fuccejjively for 24 lears, Swears- That he had often Let thofe Lands, but never knew any Fine given for the Leafe of them. This Aftion of the Bp carries not only a Symoniacah P- , . Air in it, but is a downright Piece of Sordid Injuftice, Now anlwer if you are able. M. Then C 22 ) PAR. I. '&• That I (hall. ili in fhort, by declaring all thefe Three Depoi (/Y\/' nents per jur'd, and then by proving that they are fa Ll. Vix credo Domhie. M. I can't help that j but to fallen the Guilt the more Effectu- ally upon All and Each of them, and to avoid Repetitions, I'll begin with him that is laft mention'd. Bp Lucy, one of his Matters, heretofore Bp of the Diocefs, had in his Time Leafed thefe very Lands to Henry-Williams Gent.; and afterward his Lor dfhip being defirous to re-affame them, Williams not confenting to it, a Law- Suit commenced, of which the whole Country rang. Thou and I who never trouble our Heads with AfFize Matters , heard of it more than enough -, and how was it poffible, or is it to be imagin'd, * that Mr. Ford (Mr. Steward for the time being) who liv'd here in the Country by us fhould be Ignorant of what every body knew ? But not to reft his Conviction on a meere Suppofal. It is in Proof * John Hail an(j cannot be deny'd, that John Hall * one of the Vicars of St. ,sp jip. it. £)av*^s^ naving Leafed thofe very Lands of Bp Thomas at 10Z. Fine 10 /. referv'd Rent; and he the faid John Hall, meeting with Inter- ruption in his pofleifion of the Lands, from the Tenants who oc- cupied them, did Affign one Moiety of them to Hen. Harris of St. David's for 5 /. 5: s. Annual Rent. He the faid Harris, being one of the Occupiers, who gave Hall Difturbance -, for he himfelf Depofes, That when he took HaU's AfTignment, Ford calVd him Fool for fo doing , telling him that Bp Thomas, without his taking the Ajjignment, would have given him no Difturbance in the Pojfeffion. So that in the Summary View, we have Ford Depofing, That he ne- ver knew«of thefe Lands being Leafed • and here it is prov'd upon him, That he knew of a Leafe granted by Bp Thomas, within the Compafs of his Stewardship. What think you of this Man of War of yours ! Is he not funk at Rights. LL No, only in danger of Foundering- * but (to purfue the Meta- phor) how do you Engage that mighty Second Rate, Edm. Mey- rick ? M. Partly with the fame, partly with frefh Artillery. Recol- lect what I faid of Hall's Leafe, and take this along with you; be- fides, Hall afTigns the other Moiety of his Leafe to Mr. Tho. Ro- berts of St. David's for 5: /. 1 5 s. Fine, and $ I. referved Rent : Ro~ berts finding the Sweets of it, and having a mind to the Remain- der, makes Application to Mr. Nicho. Roberts's Clerk to Affift him m gaining the whole •, Nicholas Roberts wifely applies himfelf to Edm. Meyrick -, wh6 was much in Favour with Bp. Womock (Bp. at that time of St. David's) good Mr. Meyrick promifes his Affiftance with a great deal of feeming Warmth and Sincerity, whereupon the ( *3 r tine whole Management is devolv'd upon him : Roberts upon fuch PAR. L Afiiirance being fecure of his Ends, as he thought, but Edm. knew ;/-y~0 better things •, for he procures the Lands for his dear Nephew and fellow Evidence •, Peter Lewis, leaving Roberts to Whittle, Rail, or do v/hat he would. Lh Whence have you this Account > M. From Nicb. Roberts his own Mouth, who is ready to Swear it before any Magiftrate or Court of Judicature. LI. Why did not the Bp. bring him in as a Witnefs? M. He luppos'd it needlefs, Williams, Hall and Harris as afore- laid, having Depofed fo fully as to Prior Leafes ; but fince things beyond all expectation are come to fb fad a Pals on his Lordfhip's Side : His Lordfhip is, I queftion not, forry for the Omiffion, fliould there be a Hearing before the Houfe of Lords, as to the Validity of the Sentence already Pronounc'd by the Dele- gates, and Matters thereupon Re-examined, or mould the Caufe be referred to a Provincial Synod •, this, and feveral other Particulars, would be made out to the full Vindication of his Lodlhip, and Confufion of his Enemies; not to fay the Shame of fome Body elfe: In the mean while, you and I, who know Nich. Roberts our Neigh- bour fb well, can no lefs in Juftice than believe him : Befides, can it be fuppofed that Meyrick, who procur'd thefe Lands for his Ne- phew, and vacated the Leafe by which the former Tenants held it, ihould know nothing of their Tenure, or a Prior Leafe ? LI. It looks Black on my Friend Edmund's fide every way, and Peter, I'm afraid, will come but bluely off, at this Rate. M. O Villainy ! He's Convict already, he cou'd not but be Con- fcious that all his Depofitions, fo far as he would have it affedt the Bp. was a Lye. For firft, as to point of Time, he is notori- oufly out in his Evidence -, he Swearing that this Leafe was taken • upon the Bp's firft coming down to the Diocefs -, whereas it appears by the very Indentures it felf, that it was the Year after. Then again, as to the Lands being at Rack Rent at 1 1 /. per Ann. when he knew they were worth more, as appears not only by the Strife there was about it, but alfo from the Oaths of John Hall aforefaid, a who Depofes, he was wiUing to have given the Fine and paid the Rent that Lewis Covenanted for. And Charles Pryfe late Chanter of St. David's, who declar'd upon Oath, That he knew the Worth of thefe Lands fo well, that even after 8 Years of the Ex- piration of Lewis's Leafe, he offer'd Lewis the 10 Guineas Fine, and take upon him the Payment of the Rent, So that 'tis plain his Confcience was upon the Rack all the while he Swore, and thafi the Lands were not, Which is manifeft Perjury, a horrid Crime, that ( 24 ) .PARTI. tnat can be fafbvd upon him in another Inftance, but I leave that VV^ to its proper place. LI. But what fay you to the Vicaridge given him after fuch a Sj^momacal manner > M. I anfwer in the Words of the Poet. - — Nee Lex eftjuftior ulla Gjhtam necis Jrtifices arte perive fna. For thos 'tis evident his Teftimony ought not to be receiv'd againft any Man, yet there's all the Reafcn in the World that his own Confelfion mould be Conviction enough againft himfelf 5 and much do I wonder that the Great and Severe Profecutors of Symony did not whip this Chapman out of the Temple. LI The Bp was the Game they had in Chafe. M. And pretty Beagles they had to Hunt him down. I have heard of thofe that lov'd the Treafon, but hated the Tray tor. In this Cafe the Obfervation is reverfed in part, the Tray tor Carefs'd and ftill encourag'd. LI. Prithee leave alone thefe Reflections, and tell me freely, Does it not feem probable that the Bp might prefer him upon the Account of the 10 Guineas, feeing his Promotion fo foon follow- ed the Payment of the Money. M. No Verily, not at all -, for fince he only gave the Bp that -Fine which others would have given, and which wou'd not be taken were the Leafe now void. Why mould fuch an AdVanta- gious Bargain on Lewis's fide be an Inducement to the Bp to do him further Favours upon that Account ? 'Twas Charity, meer Cha- rity that inclin'd the Bp to prefer him^ and if you won't believe along with me, yet you cannot in Reafon give Credit to what he urges againft the Bp, his laying and Perjury being fo flagrantly apparent. LI. I am weary of this Article, and therefore fhall not infift upon the fame attelted by Meyrick. M. No don't, becaufe there's another. Fame which would quite fpoil his Teftimony. LI. What's that > M. Why thus. If Meyrick barely fays a thing, it may be true, if he Proteft's it, 'tis doubtful; if he fays I proteft before God, 'tis certainly falfe. LI. Fy, fy, fy, I can't believe it of him. I aflure you he is a Confidcrable Witnefs againft the Bp, and great Credit is given to his Oath. M. If I don't, (befides what already has been urged) malce him appear one of the vileft Wretches that ever dar'd to kifs the Book, I'll give up the Caufe. LI When C*5 ) Ll. When you do it, I'll believe you, but let's haften forward5 PAR. I. that we may Methodically come at him again. (•$.) As the Bp could ufe indirect Means and Artifices to get a Tittle Money , fo he was not very Nice and Scrupulous, what he did to fave a little. Hence it was that he employ 'd one Tho. Powell to be his Curate at Burrough Green (a Re8ory he held in Commend am) taking him into his Service on the. llth of December 1690, tho' he was Convitied before the Bp. the O- dtober immediately preceding^ of Forging Orders for Prieftbood; but the Bp was to have a good Pennyworth -, for as Powell himfelf Swears he was to have but 25 7. per Annum for Serving the Cure : The Bp. indeed made PoWell confefs his Crime, and his Sorrow for it, on the fame day he Hird him ; but I do not find it proved that the Bp. made any previ- ous Etiquiry whether Powell had any real Orders or not. What fay you to this complicated piece of Wickednefs > M. Take it piece by piece in the Conftruftion 'tis capable of, and it makes for the Bp. and is a further Proof of this Author's deteftable Falfhood and Malice. LI. I'll as foon believe any of the Transformations in Ovid's Me- tamorphofis, as that fuch a Turn can be given to this Deposition. M. Do not give your (elf over to Prejudice, nor too implicitly and haftily believe your Dr. The Firft Part of this complicated Charge is, That the Bp. did not care what he did to fave a Little. The Proof , That he preferr'd this Unworthy Fellow, and gave him but 25 7. per An. Now if that be the fame Salary that theBi- ihop gave to Dr. Harrifon, heretofore to Mr. John Gwinn and others afterwards, and for which he might have had choice of Curates, at that very time when he accepted of Powell ; then the fending of Powell to Burrough muft be imputed to fome other Caufe, than meer- }y the fordid faving of Money •, which your Author, with equal Modefty and Veracity, charges him with. LI. But who is it that did or can certify that Dr. Harrifon and Mr. JohnGwynn, had no larger Allowance? M. I fuppofe they are both Alive, at leaft Mr. Gwynn is, and if ready to be Depofed on his part. Ll. Why was he not Examin'd as to this Particular ? M. Becaufe the gjhiota of the Salary was not* the thing alledged, but the fuppofed Incapacity and Unfitnefs of thex Perfon. We ihould have fad doing all the Kingdom thro, if rhofe Pluralifts who keep Curates, were to be Depriv'd, for not paying them more liberally than the Bp. did Powell : In my mind 'twas" more than he deferv'd, if we consider his Ingratitude to his Benefaclor. Ll. Nay I muft needs own the Bp. was extreamly kind and favourable to him, much above what he ought to have been ; for E who PAR. I. who but he would have Employed fuch a Mifcreant, that forg'd *=*"V>v Orders, and perhaps never had true and full Admiflioa into the Miniftry. M. Hear the Caufe out, and then call him what you will. 1 ell being a Curate (as you very well know) in this very County, and as Deacon being uncapable of performing all the Offices re- quifite in the Church, whether out of Idlenels, Lownefs of Poc- ket, or Diffidence of his Qualifications at that time, (moft aflured- ly for want of having the Fear of God before his Eyes ) did fo manage an old Letter of Orders that fell in his way, that with- out the laying on of the Hands of Bp. orPrefbyter, he dubb'dhim- felf a Prieft •, afterwards either out of Remorfe of Confcience or diflike of his own Handy-work, or fear of Difcovery, away he goes for Hereford^ and adtualfy was Ordain'd y but his Pretence to Secret Orders being publickly known, and his Errand to Hereford difcover'd, he was Accufed to the Bp, and by him not only Suf- pended, but fb feverely Reprimanded withal, that the poor Of- fender had in all appearance, a very deepSenfe both of his Punifh- ment and Guilt : For Three Months the Bp. keeps him under Cen- fure, and inftead of granting him a hafty Abfblution, which he frequently and paflionately dehYd, his Lordfhip did fb very often and fo very Pathetically reprefent to him the Heinoufhefs of his Crime, that a more deje&ed Penitent has fcarcely been feen in the Memory of Man :, whereupon the Bp. left he fhould fall into Def- pair, or change his Sufpenfion for a real Hanging, at laft promifes to Abfolve him, but upon this Condition, that he fhould humbly and -openly acknowledge his Offence : Accordingly upon a certain Day when feveral Eminent Clergy-men were at the Bp's, as alfb the Chancellor of the Diocefs, and the Deputy Regifter $ Powell in the Prefence of the Bp. and this Company, did in the midft of the Chappel, upon his Knees, with Tears running down his Cheeks, and thofe Tremblings of Body, which undoubtedly proceeded from the inward Agonies of his Soul, Read a Recantation or Confeflion, Penn'd by the Bp, in as Severe Terms as Juftice could require, or Charity would allow ; and afterwards very humbly and thankful- ly receiv'd the Comfort of Abfolutiori. Well, here's the Poor Pe- nitent fet at Liberty, but incapable of Officiating ( to any Ad- vantage J in the Diocefs, becaufe of the open Scandal there given. Was. it fit to turn him Abroad into the wide World, thereby to put him under the Temptation of falling into Courfes unbecom- ing the indelible Character of a Clergy-man ; fuch Cruelty to- wards a Perfon Pennylefs and Friendlefs, might have given the Sfedircer^of Mankindj tog Vantage over him -, wherefore the ( 2? ) ^ the Curacy of Burrougb being then accidentally Vacant, and the p^R j Bp. of Hereford by Ordaining him Prieft, having giver a fufficient wv~w Teftimony of his Qualifications, our Bp. alfo over and above hav- ing Examined him, out of pure Pity to a Prieft ready to Starve or run Diffracted, fends him to the place afore-mentioned ^ where his Crime being not known, the Scandal of it could not hinder the Efficacy of the Miniftry. What Flaws fome Rigid Canoniits may pretend to find in this Procedure, I won't pretend to determine -y but all Moderate and Charitable Men will be apt (I fancy) to be- lieve along with me, that the way of Diipofing of him was Pru- dent and Commendable. LI No, I won't yield to it •, but before we come to that Point, let me tell you that here's a long Story, but no body knows whe- ther there.be one Word of Truth in it, more than we have in the Article : Does it appear, anfwer me directly, that Powell had true Orders ? For tho' my Author owns a fort of Penance done by PoweU^ yet he queftions very much his being legally a Prieft: Firft, becaufe I do not find it proved, fays he, that the Bp. made any Previ- ous enquiry^ whether Powell had any real Orders or not. M. Wou'd thy Author Sit down in good Earneft, and pick Straws, he might do fbme good in the Common-wealth ; but ftu- dioufly to feek for a Knot in a Ball-rufh, is Contemptible Folly, and worfe than Idlenefs.. What was the whole Profecution,. but an Inquiry into this Matter > What the Motive for the Bp's Abfblv- ing him, but the Exhibition of the True, Authentick, Indifputable Letters, under the Hand and Seal of Herbert, Bp. of Hereford^ viewed and reviewed by the Bp, Meyrick, Tho. Powell, and others > Each, and every of which, could not but have Sworn to this Point, had the Bp. been queftion'd upon it. Can any Man that pretends to common Senie or Charity in the leaft Degree, fuppofe theBp. to be fuch a Ridiculous Fool and Knave, as firft to Punifh a Man for a Forgery, of this kind fo openly, and then as openly to fend him to another Dioceis •, where the Deceit, if Powell were not folly Ordain'd, muft of Courfe be difcovered before his Admiffion, his Fictitious Letters being taken from him and Cancell'd. LI Whatever became of them, yet 'tis very probable he had not real Orders.^ for this very Reafon, becaufe the time betwixt the Forgery and the Bp's. Accepting of him for his Curate, was lb very ihort, viz. from Mar. 169!. to Decern!?. 90. M. Thy Author, of all Mankind, ought never to be forgiven, fo far as to be Credited, for reading this as a Reafon 3 when he could not but fee in the very Depofition cited and referred from his Book, that Powell hirafolf Swore to the verv Time and Place t 2 of ( *8 ) PAR. I. °f his Ordination, viz. at Hereford, June the jffc, 90. where 'tis tyV^J ftill to be found upon Record, as thy Author ought to he, for a Sycophant and Xmpoftor. LI. Since you are fo Zealous againft thofe that are guilty of Falfe Practices, pray Chaftize him a- little that is the Subject of our Dilconrfe •, that Wretch whom the Bp. did not condignly Pu- nifh, which after all, is highly blameable in him. M. -If Powell had not his full Weight of Punifhment, Why do the Tormentors at Lambeth fuffer him to efcape fo eafily > You find they had him in their Clutches whilft upon Examination, and why did they not give him the 40 Stripes fkve One, or more if they pleas'd ? But the Swearing againft the Bp. was fo Meri- torious a Performance, that I fuppofe his Endeavour that way at" toned for all other Mifdemeanors LI. No, Sir, no Man ever got z.ny tiling by being Evidence a- gainft the Bp. ( j.) There he had the Advantage of the Promoter, as having Preferments in his Gifts, and how he managed himfelf hi this Particular^ an Jnjtance or Two will fiew. M. Your Proofs of his Mifmanagement, pray Sir. Ttttottr'i LI Why thus j James Harris Depofeth, That he, the faid Harris, 4. "«/• hfoixg Sworn that when he was Ordained, wither the Bp. nor mty . other Perfon did Adminifter to him the Oaths by Law required, tha? it was certified under the Bp*s. Seal, that he had. This Harris,' after his Depofiion, waited on the Bp. to defire a Licenfe to Jerve the Cure of Trallang, the Bp. would not fee him (as he lent him word) till he mould give him fomething under his Hand,; to Ihew his Sorrow for what he had Depofed, adding that he feared that the Deponent had forfworn himfelf -, for that fome Perfons had Sworn diametrically oppofite to what he had, and then the Bp. turn'd about and went from the Deponent. M. Pray do you turn about a little; and view what you have laid down as part of Harris's Evidence. Firft you reprefent him, as Swearing that the Bp. would not admit him into* his Pretence, and immediately without making any mention of the Bp's Ap- pearance *, or how Harris came to a fight of his Lor dfhip -, the Bp. lay you, turns about and goes from the Deponent -, Is not this a Contradiction ? LI Only a Miftake, the Printing for Brevities fake, the manner and time of the Bp's coming down to him; which Niceties and. Particularities you are not to expect in a Summary View. M. But where a Perfon is making a Narrative, lei: him be never . fo fhort, he ought to be confiftent with himfelf. Truth, we fay, will come out at-lafiy and Falfhood and Perjury are ever and a- aiDn Betraying and Confounding thernfelves, LI Li-, C *9 ) Ll Liften a little further^ and your Friend, the Bp, did allow PAR* L him afterwards at another time to make his Appearance. yy>J M That's nothing to the Diametrical Oppofition of one part V of this Depofition to the other. LL If you are fond of the Advantage, make your moft on't, whilft I go on. Harris goes again the next Month with the fame ke- quefl, at which time the Bp afk*d him if he had Recollected himfelf or not > To which the Deponent anfwering, that his former Depo- fition was true ; the Bp told him he was lure he never neglected the Oaths, but once when he Ordain'd for another Bp, and then faid he could not grant the Licenfe, but order'd the Deponent to come to him to Abergwilly. In September he went thither, and then the Bp lent him word he had rniflaid the Petition, that hemuft give him another^and that he would have the Deponent own his Miftake 5 which the Deponent refufmg to do, his Lordihip was angry, and' told the Deponent, he had made him a great Lyar, and in great Anger call'd the Deponent Impudent Fellow, and Forbid him not only to Of date in the Cure, but to Teach School lihwije. Was not here»fine Shuffling Work, keeping a poor Clergy-Man in Sufpence, and inftead of giving him a Licenfe, which he might lawfully re- quire, letting fly at him in hard Words, and fb far as in him lay, prohibiting him to go on in the way of getting Bread, and all this becaufe he would not renounce the Truth, and write him- felf Perjur'd. M. Your Author has writ him fb more than once ; for here again as before we have the Bp fending him Word, Cfc. which Implies I fhould think his Lordihip refus'd to Converfe with him, and yet prefently his Lordfhip without any thing of an Introduction, is represented as giving him foul Language face to face, calling him Impudent Fellow, forbidding him to Officiate, &c. What honefl Judge or Jury would lay Strefs upon the Evidence of a Man fo inconfiftent in his Story from one End to the other. Ll Yon are fo fond of this Hole, that you take a Delight in Creeping through it once and again. Come out in order to defend the Bp againft the Subftance of the Depofition, if you can, and do not Skirmifh about Circumftances which are not of the Merits of the Caufe. M. Tho' I do not quite relinquiih thefe Exceptions-, yet I will jovn Iflue with you upon the Matter of Harris s Evidence, if you will fairly Engage. But let me tell you (which I look upon as a very juft and neceflary Preliminary) that if you defign to make any thing of this Depofition, you ought in the firfl: place to jufti- fy the Truth of Harris's firfl: Depofition, as to the Bp's Certifying contrary < 5° ) PAR. j.con^ary to P*am P*^' For if I can prove (as I am (lire I can) that ^yy^Jwhat Harris fwore in that refpect was downright Falfe, then the Bp is fo far from being blameable for denying fuch a perjur'd Wretch a Licenfe to have Cure of Souls, that it would have been highly Culpable in his Lordfhip totruft fuch a Harden'd, Remorfc lefi, Impenitent Perfon, with the leaft part of the Minifterial Function. He rather deferv'd to be Excommunicated himfelf, than to give the Communion to others. LI. Still you're for flying off I find, and for raifing a Duff, that lb you may elcape. M. No, I am only for keeping my Ground, Wou'dft thou have me fuch a Fool, fo falfe to the juft Caufe I efpoufe, as to yield up the Veracity and Honour of my Diocefan, upon the lying Accu- fation of a perjur'd Coxcomb, who knew not what he fwore, and yet what he did flvear happens to be falfe. If your Au- thor had defign'd to deal fairly, he ought firft to have faften'd the Crimen faffi upon the Bp from Harris's Teftimony, and then (could that have been made out) the Bp's treating him at this Rate would have been truly Criminous. But to pre-fuppofe the main Matter, is a downright Impofition, a plain begging of the Que- ftion, which you {hall never obtain. LL If you can Invalidate Harris's Teftimony, you do the Bp no fmall Service. But becaufe I am unwilling to break from the Method my Author has laid down, this Depofltion of Harris's fhall be fuppofed to be of no weight till the other about the Oaths and Certificate be Canvafs'd and Adjufted., and then too will be the propereft place for Reckoning with the Bp for Omitting the Oaths when Ordaining in another Diocefs. M So be it. Who's the next falfe Witnefs? LI Do not befpatter a Man before you know his Name. 'Tis Mr. John Scurlock of Caermarthen : And thus he Swears, That when William Harris came to the Affixes at Caermarthen in 97, to prove .Symony againfi Medley the Arch-deacon of St. David's, 'I hat he the Depo?ie?it lock'd him tip in a Room, and prevented his going to give Evi- dence for Mr. Bowen the King's Prefentee, to the Arch-Deaconry, afore- faid, and that he the Deponejit, was thank' d for fuch his Service by the Bifiop. M. 'Tis to be feard there are mxay People in the World, that are ready to run the Rifqae of Damnation hereafter, in cafe they could but accomplifh their Wicked Defigns without fullying their Reputations ^ but I believe it has fcarcely been heard of, that a Parcel of Men mould Voluntarily and openly Difgrace themfelves for Ever, merely to Blacken an innocent Perfon > Meyrick, Ford, and C ?« ) arid Lewis have done it already, and here comes in Jack ScurlockVhK. 1 for a Fourth Man in the Black Lift. Sure the Devil ow'd thefe •W People a Shame, and being flow in paying them, they violently brought it upon themfelves? LI. Mr. Scurlock was produced by the Bp. in order to Swear in his Lordfhp's behalf, but being urg'd by the Promoters Interro- gatories, he could do no lefs in Confcience than make this Difco- very. M. Never talk of Confcience in this Cafe, for Scurlock, by his own Confeffion, has forfeited all Pretenfions to it *, for tho' Bow- en's Title was not worth a Half- Penny, and what Harris could Swear (with Truth) (till more Inconfiderable, yet to Kidnap and Sprite away a Witnefs after he was Subposna'd, and who was (as 'tis pretended ) fo eager of Swearing, that they were forced to Lock him up like a Madman, was fuch an uncommon piece of Ro- guery, that Knights of the Poft, and the Vileft Petty-foggers, tho* Sold to work Wickednefs, have more Modeity than to pretend to it. Befides, the Injuftice done to the Party (in Cafes of this Na- ture) who is thus defrauded of the AiTiftance he expects from his WitnefTes •, 'tis fucji a Villanous way of Concealing, and fo high an Affront to Authority, that I queftion not but our Laws are as Severe againft fuch Vile Practices, as Subornation it Self. LI Very well, and after all this Aggravation, what think you of the Good and Godly Bp, that by thanking of Scurlock, approv- ed of this Tranfcendent Piece of Villany. M. When any Credible Witnefs fattens an Acknowledgment up- on the Bp, then I'll yield his Lordthip to have been highly blameable in this Particular $ but no Man of Common Senfe or Charity, will give that weight to Scurlock's Teftimony, fince he declared himfelf in the former part of his Oath to have been (^lnafk'd without any apparent Temptation or Inducement^ a falfe and treacherous Rafcal. He has cut the Throat of his own Reputation,, by his own Confeffion, and thereby has Incapacitated himfelf to hurt any other Man's. Befides, confider Circumftances a little, and to an unprejudic'd Perfbn it will appear highly pro- bable, that Scurlock never did Coop-up Harris, as he pretends to have done. For can it be imagin'd that Bowen would tamely and quietly have undergone fiich an Injury? We all know what a trou- blefbme coftly Bufinefs it was to him to Manage this Affair, and withal how Eager he was in the purfuit of it. Why then did he not Complain to the Judges upon the Bench, and procure a War- rant for the Difcovery of this Conceal'd Witnefs ? Why did he not take the Advantage of the Law againft one that Difobey'd fc -Awful r^ ( ** } PAR. I. Awful a Summons, and thereby kid himfelf open to a juft and ^^y-^'fevere Profecution? Or, Why did he not Complain and Remon- ftrate againft the Wrong thur done him > Thefe are natural Con- fluences of fucha Difappointment -y but we heard nothing of his Refentments, nothing of this fly Stratagem, till Scurlock appears before the Arch-bifhop's Commiflioners, and thus Accufes himfelf in order to Traduce the Bp. Obferve withal (which I look upon as very Material) that when Bowen was to have a fecond Xryal at Hereford, where Harris appear'd, and was neither Fear'd nor Con- fin'd by any body of the Btfs Party •, Why did they not then go on with the Caufe, and produce this Material Witnefe, who by Declaring what he knew of the Symoniacal Contract, and parti- cularly by Difcovering the Trick put upon him at Caermartben might have powerfully influenc'd Judge, Jury, and All prefent to believe the Juftice of Boweifs pretenfions, and the Bp's Guilt but inftead of doing that, when Bowen, Lucy, and the reft of the Ma- nagers found Medley upon the Spot, and Ready to defend himfelf they Difmifs'd Harris and the reft of their Lame Evidence, pay- ing Cofts for their Prefumption, and fince that, have relinquifhed their Claim to the Arch-deaconry, notwithstanding the Judgment given at Lambeth, which (itfeems) will not hold good when brought to the Touchftone of the Law. So that from what has been laid, and which no body can gain-lay, . I do infer that it is highly pro- bable that Harris was not thus confin'd by Scurlock, and that there-* fore the former as well as the latter part of his Depofition, is a Lye. • LI. Since you are Co ready at unfolding of Myfteries, prithee tell why was Scurlock produced by the Bp ? What did the Bp. De- sign by it, or intend that he ihould prove > M. He had frequently and openly declared in Company, that jyill. Harris had own'd to him, that he could Swear nothing againft the Bp. or Medley, and that Lucy had been upon his Knees, pray-, ing him not to be a Witnefs ; Whereupon his Lordfhip ordered him to be Cited before the Commiflioners, to Invalidate Harris's Teftimony, and thus he ferv'd him -, for which I fuppofe I have paid him (in part) as he deferves, the reft I leave to the Court of Queens-Bench ; from thence if he efcape impunifli'd, 'twill be an Af- front to the Juftice of the Nation. LI. If you are fatisfied, we'll have no more of him. M. Only anfwer me this firft :How does it appear or follow from hence, had ScurhcVs Depofition been true, That the Bp. by having Preferments in his Gift, had thereby an Advantage againft *he Promoter ? For that's the Point your Author was to make out. Was (55) /.^ was this Jack of all Trades, this pitiful Retailer of Soap, Inckle, PAR. I. Candles and Moufe-Traps, capable of Church-Livings and Digni- M. Againft Both of them. Firft, as to Williams, there was a- bundance of previous Perfwaflons and large Promifes in private, in order to draw him in to accufe the Bp. A fly working upon his Neceflities, and the unreafonable extravagant Refentment he was under, becaufe of a Difappointment which he met with from the Bp. together with a horrible falfe Mifreprefentation of the Bp. For thus this very Williams has depofed upon Oath, and is ready to confirm it by the folemneft Atteftation, That Lucy reprefented the Bp to him for a Swearer, Extortioner, and that beiog a Mon- fler and a Villain (the two laft of which ill Terms, as far as I know any of the two Leg'd Species, belong and are proper to Lucy only quartomodo) he was not fit to be a Bp -, and that he the faid Lucy had feveral perfons to produce, who would give fiich Infor- mation againft him, as would caufe him to be turn'd out of his Bifhoprick. Further, he depofeth that Lucy and Jerry Griffith, in Conjunction with him, perfwaded and fuborned him to fay that, in order to prevail with the Bifhop to Collate him the faid Williams to his Father's Living, that he had left with and given the Bp 8 /. That by way of Encouragement to him to fallen the Receipt of the faid Sum upon the Bp, they not only aflur'd him of being pro- tected from Swearing it, and cover'd from all Inconveniencies, which he might fear the being made Obnoxious unto, but that he ihould gain Friends and Preferment thereby •, and that according- ly Lucy and Griffith, upon his Application to them for the Rectory of Cregrina (underftand during the Inhibition) did by their Writing to Dr. Oxendon, obtain for him a Sequeftration and Licenfe to ferve the Cure ; but that this the faid Williams^ Information againft the Bp F before e h> > PAR. I.before the CommiiTioners for Vifiting the Diocefs, not coming up i/Y'V to the faftning of the aforementioned Sum upon his Lordihip, Lu- cy not only deny'd to deliver the Inftruments, but Thruft him out of his Office, when he went to Demand them : telling him he mould not have them till he had drawn up another Information, wherein the Receipt of the 8 /. mould be exprefly Charged on the Bp •, and that he the faid Williams finding himfelf thusMenac'd and Threatned thereto, did in Lucy's Office, draw* a new Information, sps 41 mt. according to the Tenor and Words they Suborn'd him to do it. LI. Had this fame Depofition of Williams been accepted of in Court, it had been worth all that was given for it. M. Pray, Sir, what was given for it ? And by whom > LI. The Vicarage of St. Harman by the Bp a Tear after the former Sitbfcriptinn. or a little after the time that a Copy cf the Procefs taken ?. j 0. out agahfi the Bp^ was left with one of his Servants. M. And the making this Retractation was the exprefs Condition of that Promotion ? Ll. Yes unqueftionably. M. What Proof have you of it > - Ll. The thing proves its felf, for if the Bp had been difpos'd to prefer Williams out of pure Refpe£t to his Merit, or any allowable Principle of Kindnefs,Why did he not Collate him to his Father'sLiv- ing, whenilrongly Importun'd by Perfons of Worth and Quality > M. There were cogent Reafons, Good Sir, for the Bp's not Gra- tifying the Importunity of Williams and his Friends at that time^ viz. an Afmrance he had given beforehand to a Gentleman in the Parifh, that upon the Death of the Father, he would not Collate the Son * as alfb a particular Promife to Howell Griffith M. A. that he mould have it, if void in his Lordfhip's Time. Who both of them upon the Vacancy urg'd the Bp with his Promife. His Lord- fnip, I believe, could have wifh'd he had not thus pre-engag'd him- felf-, but his Hands being ty'd for this Turn, he was fore'd to wait another Opportunity for putting Williams into a Way of fiipport- ing his Mother, and feveral dilconfolate Relations left iri a poor / Condition* which his Lordfhip kindly did upon the Vacancy of St. Harmans. This is not only a plaufible, but a juft Account of the Bp's Procedure in this Cafe, and leaves no room for that fini- Her Conitru&ion which your Author would put upon his Charity. Can you fo much as prove that the Bp knew any thing of that Deed of Darknefs, the Information that Williams had fubferibed ? Did Lucy boaft of that keen Inftrument which he had got into his Hands, or brandifh it openly ? No, he kept it private to ferve his Turn, as there fhould be occafion ; for hereby he thought he had fe&ur'd one Witnefs, tho' when he came to be Depofed, it was to HJic/s Confufion. Ll Not C p ) LI Not at all. For upon Hearing of the Caufe} 'twas Rejected- PAR. I. M. For what Reafons > w-v5^ LI Hughes his Oath, Lucy's Oath alfb to. the contrary, and the inconiiftency of Williams with his prior Declaration, together with the Sufpicious manner of the Bp's preferring him. M. As to the manner and time of Williams's Preferment, that I think has been fairly accounted for. And as to Lucy's Oath, and Hughes's (his Servant at that time) if I ihould fay like Mafter, like Man, it would be Anfvver good enough. ' LI. I expect a Better. M. You mail have it then : And firft as to Hughs, he fwears that WiUiams wrote and fubfcribed a Paper An. 1694, wherein he Accufed the Bp, &c. ayid this he did, quoth he, voluntarily, and with a great deal of forwardnefs. Whereas Williams Depofes that he was Menaced to it, and denied the Licenfe and Sequeftration promifed him, unlefs he would mend his Bill, as we fay, and make his Ac- cufation againft the Bp more full, and to Lucy's Purpofe. And how is this confiftent with the Notion of a voluntary Action, when he was plainly forced to it ? Where was Hughs, when all the noi- fy Violence was ufed ? If in the Office, then his Depofition is a downright Lye ; for Williams fwears that Lucy thrurr. him from thence, and denied him his Inftmments, till he fubmitted to his Terms -, or if you kindly fuppofe Hughs to have come in after the Scuffle was over ; why then not being privy to the Violence fhewn to JFilliams, what feem'd to him to be a Spontaneous Subfcription w.as the Effect of Force and Threatnings ; and therefore he over- fwore himfelf, by attefting a thing of which he had not a fall and clear 'Knowledge. LI. All the while you rely upon the Credit of Williams's Oath, which is of no Validity, it being a downright Contradiction to what lie formerly had declared and fubfcribed, and which he can- not deny to be his own Act' and Deed. M. Ay, but he owns it with a great deal of Penitence and Sorrow •, and 'tis very odd, my Friend, that that Holy Court (which claims the fpecious Title of Spiritual) will not allow a Man the fame Liberty that God not only permits, but encourages. vh. That a Shiner fiould turn from the Evil of his Ways, and do the ihivjr which is Lawful and Ttight. LI But which is to be adjudged Right in this Cafe ? M. That which has the moft Solemn Atteftation, a Quakers Verily ^ if he, in the Prefence of God, Declare fuch a thing to be True, by a late favourable Ait of Parliament, that Declara- tion fhall be efceem'd Sacred 1 but in other Cafes, and according to F 2 the PAR. I. tne Word °* God, an Oath is appointed for Confirmation. Were «M«v"w tne wno^e Controverfy to turn upon this one Point, and the Bp's Abfblution or Condemnation to depend. altogether upon it, as ten- der as I am of his Lordfhip, I durft. refer it to all the Judicious Lawyers and Canonifts in the Kingdom, whether or no the Depo- sition ought not to take place of the Subfcription, efpecially fince it difcovers the Illegal Ways and Means by which the Subfcripti- on was gain'd > Whereas there cannot be, there is not the leaft proof, of any Sinifter Means ufed for the obtaining the Depofition.^ LI. But before you put it to this Solemn Reference, you ought to State the Cafe full}'-, and to add withal the Weight of Lucy's Gath, that the Subfcription, &c. was Voluntary. M. What fignifies his Oath, 'tis in his own Cafe > Which is ne- ver allow'd but by way of Purgation, when the Evidence on the other fide is not Pofitive or Full, which cannot be pretended in this Inftance. 'Twas News to me, that Lucy Ihould be thus In- dulg'd, and will appear ftrange (I queftion not) to all that hear it. LI I {hall not- yield this Point, whatever Conceffions I'have made hitherto. M. Why then go to any Eminent Man of the Long Robe, tell him mutatis mutandis, that John Do or Richard Roe did Subfcribe a Paper, but that now he is ready and refolved to fwear the con- trary, and to fet forth all the Artifices whereby he was drawn in- to that Subfcription •, and if the Counfellor do tell thee the Sub- fcription (however attefted by the Parties Impeach'd) will take place before the Oath, then come to me and I will give thee my Head for a Half-Penny. Nay, Difguife but the Cafe, and put it to thefe very Advocates that Pleaded againft the Bp, and if their Opinion be not contrary to what was the Practice of the Court in this Cafe, then may I (which is the greateft Plague on this fide Hell) fall into their Hands my Self. LI But hark you, Sir, are you not gone off from the Point ? Whe- ther the Oath or Subfcription ought to take place, was not the Queftion ^ . but whether or no the Bp did not make ufe of his Power of Patronage, to the Promoter's Difadvantage ? TFiUiams was ours intirely, till the Bait of a Vicaridge was thrown, and drew him, over to the Bp's fide. iJf.-'Twas your preferring the Subfcriptions above the Oath, and Hughs fervile Swearing to fupport his Matter, together with die heretofore unknown Liberty given this Squire of the Poft, to give Evidence in his own Caufe, that leads us out of the Way if we .he out,; But why, prithee,, the fame ftale Pretence over again, of ( n y of Williams being drawn over by Preferment to the Bp's Intereft > p^R. I* If his Lordfhips unexpected, undeferved Kindnefs to Williams did v*y*s* mollify his Heart, and fenfibly Demonftrate to him his Wickednefs, "" in engaging himfelf Co Spitefully againft one that had fuch a Pa- ternal Care for him and his Family ? Muit this Good Effect needs - flow from a Bad Caui'e > Or muft a Man, if he have made one Falfe Step, add Sin to Sin, till he go down Quick into Hell > 3Twas very happy _, I think, that the Means of Better Livelihood was in an Innocent way the occafion of his Conversion and Repentance. LI. When will he Repent of his getting Two Baftards ? M. Who charge* "him with it? LL My Author in the Name, and by the Oath of John B?twtne$, cvans. l0 5g ad M. Let me fee that PafTage, I befeech you, and how he brings Inter it in. LI Here take the Book, and look at the 10th Page. M. The Bp Pleads that he bellowed that Vicaridge on Wil- liams purely for Charity, becaufe he had a Numerous Family to Maintain , and Examined WitnefTes to prove the fame , &c. David Vaughan, Clerk, Swore, That he knew Tho. Williams^ 0&0b i ' mnd at the time the Bp Collated him to the Vicaridge of St. Harman, »8* he had a Mother, and a Numerous Family to provide for, and that he believes the Bp Collated him meerly cut of Charity, and no other Ac- count. Tho. Williams Depofed, That when the Bp Collated him to Decemb.58. the faid Vicaridge, he did not know of any Suit or Profecution Com- menced againft the Bp, nor did the Bp intimate any thing of it ; and he believes the Bp Collated him ( who had above 1 1 in Family to Maintain) purely out of Charity, 'as the Bp then Declared ; and yet we are told by one of the Bp's WitnefTes, that he believes this Williams is a Bachelor, and has forae Children, and particularly One by Car- rier ine Clement, Another by Margaret Davis, and that each of thefe Two Children are at leaft Eight Years Old. From whence I obferve, ift, That thy Author deals with thofe that are for his Purpofe, as the Devil does by his tjumble Ser- vants. 1/ makes Ufe of them, and then Delivers them U]) to Scorn and Infamy idly, That according to his Malicious Dif- cant upon Evans's Deposition, he endeavours to lead the Reader in- to an Opinion or Belief, that thefe Two Brats were the Children that Williams was to Maintain, or that if his Family were more Numerous, the reft muft be of the fame Illegitimate Strain, be- caufe he Remarks more particularly that he is a Bachelor ; where- as 'tis well known he had feveral Aunts, Brothers and Sifters (the honourable Product of the Marriage-Bed) who were in a very Ne- ceifitons C <8 ) PAR. I. ceffitous Condition, out of pure rity to whom, and a Difcon- s^v-w folate Widow their Mother (together with Charity to him, whofe Vices, if he were thus Wicked, were unknown to the Bi- fhop) his Lordihip gave. hi iu the Living — Is not thy Author a fpiteful Falfe K thus to attempt to Blacken a pure Act of Charity : This is Co horrid and fo apparent a Calumny, that all the World will fprgive me if I Proclaim him to be next and im- mediately under the De1 #, and Robin Lucy the moft Malicious Var- let that ever pretend e ro be an Accufer. LI. The Bp would be more obliged to you, if you'd fpend your Breath in Excusing him for Preferring fuch a Notorious Offender : He ought to be Punilh'd for fuch an Unwary, Scandalous Promo- tion. M. And what ought to be done with Lucy and Griffith^ that Re- commended him the Year before to Dr. Oxenden, and procur'd a Licenfe for him under his Grace's Seal? Xhefe Children (if there were any fuch) were Born then, and yet he was very much their Favourite notwithftanding. LI. They anight not know it. M. What, not Mr. Surrogate and Mr. Regijler ? The latter of whom lives, for the moft part, upon the Sins of the Diocefs^ but I fuppofe he had Commuted ( which has been, and is a great Trade frill in Robins Office) or el{e the Subfcription was a Sufficient At- tonement, upon Williams flying off, from which out comes the Se - cret, which the Bp never heard, or fhould have heard of, had it not been upon that occafion : And let me tell you, that poilibly Evans might believe too haftily, for otherwife,' if WiUiamss Crime be undeniably Apparent and Notorious, why do's not Lucy Profe- . cute him now, when he has the Power in his own Hand, and no Body to Controul him > LI. Perhaps he may do it yet. M. Let him do his Worft, that's nothing to the Merits of his Caufe, the Bp is clear •, go on to the next Article. Sum. view, LI. The Canon decreeth, That no Deacon or Minifter be Made *Ya' 6 m^ Oritfzw^J, but upon the Sundays immediately following the Em- ' ber Weeks : But that the Bp did Ordain at other times, appears from the Anfwer of his own Witnefs to the Promoter's ^tb Inter- rogatory. M. Where > When > And how oft were thefe Uncanonical Ordi- nations made ? LI. You are not to expect that he who only Writes an Epitome fhould be fb very particular in Specifying all Circumftances. Will you deny that the Bp was Guilty of thus Violating the Ca- non? .( 39 ) non > This fhort View is Defign'd to give a Prefent Satisfaction, PAR. I. till a more proper Time and Occafion ihail require a more Com- ..^^J pleat Account of the whole Proceedings. s« ■'<'< iw- ^Ji". Since thy Author is fb Fallacious in his Narrative, and fb f:ce' x fcandaloufly Weak in his Proofs, all thofe wlio are duly Affected for the Regular Support of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline, muft needs think it proper for the Bp's Adverfaries to fet out a more Com- pleat Account of the whole Proceedings, or elfe they muft have the liberty to judge, that the Bp of St. David's has been Op- prefled, and illegally Deprived. Your Author is already Convict of fo much Infincerity, that really, Friend, I cannot let this pafs as Proof, unlets that Proof, totidcm verbis, or in part be produced. LI. This muffling looks as if you knew the Bp to be inexcufable, and that therefore you would evade the Argument. M. I know nothing of the Matter I declare Bona Fide, nor do I think it fo very inexcufable, if the Bp did now and then, upon extraordinary Occafions, admit fome Perfons into Orders. LI. Is not the Canon exprefs to the contrary? M. As is not one part of the Canon as Sacred as the other > LI. Yes fure. M. Then why did they not qiieftion him for Ordaining in his own Chappel, feeing the Canon requires that the Cathedral or the Parochial Church mould be place of Ordination. LI. They fpar'd him in that. M. And themfelves too. It being a very common thing for Bps to Ordain in their Chappels, notwithftanding the exprefs Words of the Canon to the contrary. Lh And what do you gather from thence. M. That as for prudential Reafons, fome holy Fathers of the Church, now with God, have difpenc'd with themfelves as to the Circumftances of Place, and as others now alive; do it, I doubt not, frequently. So I know no Caufe why the Bp of St. David's might not take the Liberty upon extraordinary Occafions to vary as to the Circumftances of time. Befides, look into the Rubrickat the End of the Office for Ordaining Deacons, and there you'll find that a Deacon may be ordain'd Prieft upon fome other Sunday or Holiday, than that of the quatuor tetnporum, upon urgent Occafion, notwithftanding the Canon allows of no fuch thing. From whence I think a good Natur'd Man would allow one to infer, that as by theRubrick (which is of later Date than the Canon) upon extra- ordinary Emergencies a Bilhop may Ordain a Prieft contrary to the exprefs Words of the Canon 5 That therefore it can be no fuch heinous, intolerable. Offence, for a Prelate upon the fame Motives to--' ( 4o ) p^ j to Ordain a Deacon, even out of Ember Week. Or take it at the ^y^r\J worft, and fuppofe the Bp had not obferv'd the former part of this Canon any more than others have done the clofe of it -, yet by all that I can find, the Penalty, if you goto the Rigour, is only a two Year's Sufpenfion from Ordaining, and not a total Deprivation. LI No Sir, that Sentence has another Foundation of abominable Symony, &c. However you yield your Bp guilty of this Alle- gation. M. Hold there. I told you before, and fhew'd you good Reafbn that your Author is not to be believ'd upon his Word ; what I faid was only by way of Argument grounded upon a Suppofal, if it were fo : but that it was fo, I do gain-fay it, for I cannot Imagine what fhould induce the Bifhop to Tranfgrefs in this kind. LI. It is not indeed prov'd that he had extraordinary Pay to encourage him to this Practice, though in the following Inftance throughly considered, 'tis vehemently to be fufpedted that he had. M.'Let that Inftance be what it will, it fhall be throughly con- iidered ; and if upon fuch a Difquifition no Colour for that Scan- dalous Sufpicion appears, your Author muft forfeit all Bretences to Truth and Good Manners. P. •■*■• LI. Firft hear the Caufe. Notwithftanding the 34 Canon Pro- vides, TJjat no Bp fiall Ordain a Deacon, except he he 23 Tears Old, 3 3. £//«,, 12. nor a Triefl unlefs he be 24 compleat -, and thti it is E?ta&ed, That no Man Jhall be admitted to any Benefice with Cure of Souls, except he be 23 at leafi , yet the Bp did Ordain one Thomas Morgan, firjl Deacon, afterwards Priefi, and after that Injiituted him to the ReUory of Lan- detty, tho not of Jge, upon his Fathers Pr&fentation. M. Add withal, that his Father fent along with him a Certificate of his being of full Age, and then go on as faft.as you will. LI. That pretended Certificate was an intire Piece of Forgery, for Giles Bowen the Curate of the PariJ/j Swears, that he never Signed any Certificate of Morgan'.* Jge, hnd that he finds by the Regifler, that tho11 Morgan was born the 21th of January 71. (the Ordination, Sec. being difpatch'd in 91.) jind , as for Morgan Llewellin, and Walter John, wh'ofe Names are to it as Church. War dens -, 'tis prov'd that Walter John was not Church-warden at the time the Certificate was given, and Morgan Llewellin depofes, that his Name was Jet to the Certificate by Morgan's Father, who did not tell him the Contents thereof M. From all which it ftill follows that Morgan's Father fent fuch a Certificate, let the Contents be true or falfe. This prov'd upon old Mr. Morgan judicially, might bring him under a fevere Penalty, but can't affect the Bp, who was impofed upon by it. As much as I refpeft him. I do not fuppofe him Infallible. I?. No ( 41 ) LI. No he had a mind to be impofed upon, for if yon confider par, I feme few Circumftances which are prov'd, it will appear that the c^-ykj Bp either knew of this Forger}^, or at leaft of Morgan's want of Years; nay it will leave it very doubtful, whether or notheBp had the Certificate before he Ordain'd and Inftituted Morgan. M. Be fure the Circumftances be fuch, and fo fully made out, as that they may fix the Sufpicion upon the Bp. LI. They are home and pertinent, I allure you. Firft of all., Tbo. Sandys, a Prependary of the Collegiate Church of -Brecon, fwears, That he believes Tho. Morgan was not at the time of Ordina- tion above to Tears of Age, and that the Bifoop could net choofe but know him to be tinder Age qualified for Orders, having feen and taken Notice of him at School within a Tea- of his Ordination. M. As to the former part of Sandys' s Depofition, what he be- lieves, I have nothing to fay againft it. He liv'd within three Miles of Morgan's Father,and knew the young Man going to School in Brecon -y but as for Swearing that the Bp could not but know him to be un- der Age ; there I think Mr. Prebendary made a Stretch to ferve his Friend at a Bottle, Mr. Regifter, and to .be Reveng'd on theBp for denying him the Arch-Deaconry of St. David's. LI Why fo fevere upon an old Contemporary at Oxford > M. I favour no Man when he deviates from what is True and Right ; for him to fwear as to the Perfpicacity of the Bp's Under- ftanding in this Cafe, and more particularly as to the Tenaciou£ nefs of his Memory, is downright forcing his Confcience to ferve a Turn : Does not that Comical Divine remember out of one of his dearly beloved Minor Poets, that remarkable Fragment, r >Thus in all Shows, More Inow Jack Pudding, than Jack Pudding knows. This familiar Inftance I chufe to make ufe of, becaufe I know, • that even in the Pulpit, fome prefer a Jeft before a Text in Scri- pture, a folid Reafon or Teftimony out of the Fathers ^ fb that 'tis Argumentum ad Hominem, tho' I ought to beg the Bp's Pardon for the liberty of the Comparifon : But to be more Serious, What if the Bp did fee Morgan at School, as he few feveral other Gentle- mens Sons ? What if in a Complaifant way he took Notice of him, and gave him a Gracious Nod or a Bleifmg, as he did to many o- thers, Was he thereby oblig'd particularly to remember him all the Days of his Life? Ll. It feems odd, however, that at the time of Ordination he {hould not be able to diftingliiih betwixt a School-Boy, or one who had left School but a Year, and a Man of 24. G M. Does PAR. I. M. Does not thy Author, who pretends in the Preface to have v/'Y'N* taken a {hort View of the Whole Controversy, know that Mr. Hugh Powell pefitively fwpre that the Bp would not Ordain Mor« gait, till he had a Certificate of his Age ? And why fhoulcl the Bp have infifted upon it, unlefs he had Sufpicion of his Non-Age ? LI. But does it appear that the Bp had fiich a Certificate ? t promoter's M. Two of your own Party, t Jerry Griffith, and * Barnard te- ?' JJ2T>, ftify, that they heard the Bp had one, and fare you'll believe 5. wnnef. them. LI. If it were fo, it was only a Trick of the Bp's; to Indemni- fy himfelf. Tromottr's M. That's Falfe, for Mr. H Powell being Interrogated whether 2. mtnejr. the aforefaid Certificate, required by the Bp, was to keep him harm- lefs, or to fatisfy him or Both •, anfwered very diftinguifhingly, that it was to fatisfy him. LI I fay ftill, that the Bp might have feen thro' the Cheat if he wou'd. M As how > Is the Age of Men to be difcover'd as in Horfes, by their Teeth > If Co,- his Lordfhip was to Blame for not look- ing in his Mouth before he laid Hands on him; but fince our Years are not writ in our Faces, nor any Part of us. Certificates, v/hen any Scruple arifes, muft pafi, or elfe. 'tis very hard both on the Bp's fide, and alfo on the Part of thofe to be Ordain'cT. LI Ay, but Morgan's Youth was fo apparent, that 'twas vifible to any Body almoft ; for Daniel Pryce, Gent. Depofeth, That, when Mr. H. Powell came and defired him to get a Certificate that Morgan was of Age, the Deponent anfwer'd, that if he had finch a one 'twould figftifiy nothing, becaufie every Body, or moft that knew the fiaid Morgan, knew he was not of Age. M. Every Body, or moft that knew him; why then every Bo- dy that did know him, according to Pryce's own diftinclion, did not know his being under Years, and well might the Bp be miftak- — en, to whom Morgan was a perfed: Stranger. LI Don't Quibble* the Man's upon his Oath, and the Depofiti- on ought feriouily to be confidered. M. If you can make any thing more of it than I do, confider It as much as you pleafe : The more you Peel Garlick, the 'Strong- er it will Smell. LI, Since you are fo fhort, Sir, let me tell you, and I'll prove it too, that this fame Mr. H. Powell, whom you bring in over and over to falve up this Matter, is no Hbnefter than he fhould be -, for tho' Mr. Pryce told him that fuch a Certificate would fignify nothing* yet ke replyed 'tis no matter for that, the Bp. has promi- sed. ( « } fed to Ordain him, if he can but get a Certificate of his Age to ^«-pAR^9 dentmfy hhn, in cafe he Jlmuld be queftiotfd for it. How does this a- ^y\^\g gree with what Powell, as aforefaid has Depofed ? M. Prithee who is this Mr. Daniel Price, Gent, that fwears at this Rate } I know moft of the Gentry in Brecon, and yet I do not remember him. LI Tis Daniel Pryce the Mercer. M. A pretty Gentleman indeed; Why fhould H. Powell apply himfelf in this Affair to him ? Did he, amongft other Wares, Sell Certificates > LI No, Sir, but Powell thought him a fit Tool to his Purpo'fe, and therefore made his Addrefs to him. M. As probable as that the Moon is made of Toafted Cheefe j for look you, Friend, this fame Pryce is Son-in-Law to the Woman at the Bear, that is to fay, Married her Daughter >, if you don't un- derftand me, let me obferve to you further, that every Body that knows Brecon, knows withal that as Lucy upheld that Tavern by his profufe Expences ; fo all the whole Gang of them, long before there was an open Quarrel betwixt Lucy and the Bp, and afterwards fo long as Lucy was worth a Groat, were the eagereft People in the whole Diocefs for Lucy's Inter eft; and can it be imagined that Mr. Powell, a Man of Sharp Parts, and Clean Management, would be fuch a Fool as to confiilt Pryce in fuch a Cafe as this (after the Controverly was begun) who of Courfe could do no lefs than Be- tray the Secret ; prove that ever H. Powel did fuch a thing, filch a filly thing fince he had. a Gown upon his Back, and take the Caufe, but till then, do not offer fuch Nonfenfe in Proof, which is appa- rently Naufeous and Improbable. LI Thou doft run a perfect Indian Muck at every Body that I produce. Do you think that no Body is to be •believ'd but" thofe that fwore on your fide ? M. I don't fay fo, but none of the Vile Hackney Evidence as yet produced, can lay claim to Credit. Prithee let's Talk of fome Body, or fomething worth the Talking of: 'Tis a fign the Caufe went hard with Robin, when he was forc'd to call this Fel- low out of his Shop to fwear to a Matter he neither underftood, nor in all probability was ever privy to ; you knew H. Powell of old, in Oxo?/j and can you fufped him Guilty of fuch a piece of Weaknefs > LI I thought I had known him better than I do ; for here are very odd things urg'd againft him, and which militate againft the Bp too very powerfully. M. What are they ? G 2 LI Why, PAP** r. LI Whjr, tho' he affifted at Morgan's Ordination, as he himfeif ***wrw confefTes, yet being asJid by the Bp whether Morgan were of Age, he anjwered he could not tell. M. And where's the Harm if he cou'd not > LI. Not after his talking with Price. M. I no more believe he talkt with him about this Matter, than that he had n Dialogue with the Czar of Mufcovy : Compare the mining Character of Hugh Powell with the fmall Repute that Pryce is in, amongft all Honeft Men, and his neareft Neighbours; and you can never infer any thing from Pryce\ Evidence to the Difaavantage of Powell. LI. I wont Diigrace our old Contemporary fo far as to maintain- the Parrallel -, but notwithstanding 'tis very odd, that when the Bp Pleaded in his Defence, that he refnfed to Ordain Morgan without a Cer- tificate^ that Powell, who Solli cited for the Certificate, and ajifled at the Ordination, was not examined as to this Article^ which doubtlefs had he been, could he have fwom tip to the Contents of it. M. Tho' thou haft taken upon thee to Perfoliate the Author, yet do not let that Spirit of Nonfenfe and Impertinence feize thee, which has pofTefs'd him. What tho Powell did Sollicit for the Cer- tificate (which for the Reafons aforefaid, I do deny ) and tho' he did lay on Hands amongft the reft, yet why muft he needs be privy to the delivering the Certificate to the Bp. Tefti- monials of good Life and Conversion, Certificates, and Titles, are ofFer'd to the Bp, upon the Candidates feeking for Orders in private betwixt him and the Diocefan -, and 'twould be no left than Sawcinefs in any Prefbyter,- whatever his Share is in the Act of Ordination to pretend to infpect thefe Matters, the Bp himfeif is to do it at his Peril ; and fince his Lordlhip, in Proof of his Allegation, did exhibit the Certificate himfeif, to which Morgan Llewellin owns his Hand was put by old Mr. Morgan, and which Bernard and Griffiths fwear they heard was Deliver'd to his Lord- lhip on this occafion ; What need was there of further Witnefs ? LI. Time and a 2d Edition of the Bp's Cafe, muft clear up this and other Allegations ; in the mean while, I'll go on to the next Article. M. Take only this Remark along with you, that as Circumflan- - tio in tlie Comedy never came to the main Matter, fo your Fool, after all his Ambages, has forgot to make out ; either the Illega- lity of the Bp's Proceedings in this Cafe; or his gaining any thing extraordinary by it, £tiwd erat probandum. LI. Have a cave (as I hinted to you before) of an After-clap, and for the prefent anfwer me this. (9.) Why did tht By negW to keep ( 45 > hep any Publick Regifier, or any Authentick Ail of his Inftituiions and PAR. I, Collations. L/"WJ M. Since when was that the Duty of a Bp > ft u< LI. Ever fince the Confirmation of the 12? Canon, which Or- dains, That 710 Chancellor, Commiffary, Arch-Deacon, or Official, or any other 'Perfon vfing Ecclejiaftical Jurisdiction, fhall Speed any Judi- cial Jft, either of Contentions or voluntary Jurifdittion, without the lawful Regifier of the Court, or his Deputy. M. How does .this affect the Bp, fince thofe of that Order are not fpecified in the Canon ? LI. They are included neverthelefs in that general Term, of any other Perfon ufing Ecclefiaftical Jurifdiction. M. Very fine indeed ! As if the Right Reverend Fathers that Compofed'the Canons, were fo negligent of their own Dignity and Precedence, as to Nominate the feveral Subordinate Officers of their Courtsv according to their Stations, and yet to huddle themfelves up amongfl: the meaner! of their Officers. LI. Do not the Bps exercife Ecclefiaftical Jurifdiction, and con- fequently are Included and Comprehended in the clofe of that Pre- amble. M. You and I, Friend, might Wrangle long enough Pro and Con •, but this is a Law Point, and therefore without any further Syllogifing, thofe of the Long Robe, muft judge in this Cafe. LI. And what do they fay > M. Why 'tis a known Rule amongfl: them, that whenever there is an Enumeration of Perfbns, or Particulars of feveral Ranks and Degrees which goes downward, beginning with the Higher and ending with the Lower, and at laft by a General Expreffion, ad- ding others to be joined with them -, that then thofe others ate not to. be fuppofed to be of a higher Degree to that Perfon who is laft mention'd, but either of the fame Degree, or Inferior to him : for this, take the Authority of Sir Edward Coke, who is injiar omni- um, and who declares it to have been an adjudg'd Cafe oftner than once ; agreeable to which Affertion, he himfelf having before him the Confideration of the Statute of Weflm. 2 cap. 41. which faith, Si Ahbates^ Priores, Cufiodes Hofpitalium & Aliarum, Religiofarum Donto- rum, Sec. i. e. If Abbots, Priors, the Governors of Hqfpitals, or other Religious Houfes, &c. He doth thus Comment upon it, that feeing the Act begins with Abbots, &c. and concludes with the Gover- nors of other Religious Houfes, therefore Bps are not Comprehend- ed in it -, to the. fame purpofe is his reading upon 13 El c. 10. from which indifputaj?le Authority I infer, that fince there i§ no mention of Bps in that Canon, therefore the force of it does not (46) PART I.at all affeft them, and confequently what you urge againft the Bp W^srW of St. David's in this Particular, is of no Validity. LI. But might not the Bp have given Tom. PoweU, the Deputy Regifter, Room and Opportunity to enter his Lordfhp's Acls of this fort in the Book, which he fwears he brought down from London for that Purpofe. M. Why then did he not give his Attendance as fuch an Infe- rior Officer ought to have done > "Was it fitting that thofe of the Clergy, who came to be Inftituted to Livings or Dignities, fhould be kept in Sufpence till the Son of a Brecknock/hire Miller fhould find himfelf at leifure to mind his own and his Matters Bufinefs : For thy own fake do not thus Proftitute the Dignity of the Cler- gy, much lefs the Authority of thy Diocefan. LI. It had been well however, if the Bp would always have taken care to have had him prefent, Jince the dijpatching of thefe Af- fairs without him, has given occafion to fome to have IR thoughts of him, and that as my Author thinks very jujlly. M„ Some, we know, were very ready toflvearany thing againfl the Bp, and Some were as ready to believe without why or where-, fore. LI. You can't lay Co in this Cafe, for wider this Secret Pra&ice all manner of Irregularities might have been committed : For want of proper Witneffes to attefi fuch A&s, Clerks might have been Collated andPlnflituted without making Subfcriptions, and withoutXaking the Oaths either of Simony or Allegiance, if the Bp fiould think ft to fave them the Trouble. M. Does your Scandalous Author fuppofe that the Clergy of the Diocefs, who came^to the Bp for Preferment, thought it a Diffi- culty to fubfcribe to the Dottrine of the Church, or to fwear Al- legiance, or to take the Oath againft Simony ? Is it not enough for him to Villify the Bp, but he muft Scandalize the Diocefs too, and under the Pretence of being Witty or Wife, to bring fuch a Venerable Society of Men in Holy Orders, under the Sufpicionof ' being Heterodox in their Opinions, and Defpifers of Government ? Let him give his Name to the next Edition (you talk of) if he dares, or own this Scandalous Libel, this Midnight Work of Dark- nefs and Dulneft, and if no Body elfe will Chaftize him, I will. I'd have him and all the World know, that the Clergy of St. Da- vid's are and were as firm in their Loyalty, as Stanch to the Do- ftrine of the Church, and as great haters of Simony, as thofe of any other Diocefs wtiatfoever ^ he has flirr'd a Wafps Neft by Vil- lifying us, in order to Defame the Bp, and lhall hear of it over and over. LI How- C 47 ) LI However fpare thy Lungs, dear Brother, at this time, and PAR. I. referve thy Strength for Defending the Bp, whofe Honour I am wvv now ready to attack with frefh Accufations, under the 2d Gene- ral Head. M. Still I' defy -yon, and queftion not but by thus bearing the firft Brunt, and the Prime Effects of your Author's Malice, I fhall deal ivell enough with *he Remainder of your Forces. But what if before we enter upon another Argument, we mould Parly a while, and Refreih. So far as I underftand, neither you nor I are under a Vow, not to Eat or Drink before this Caufe is over. What fay you to a Cruft of Bread and a Bottle > Let us unbend for a while, and then as we were, if you're fo difpos'd. LI. 'Tis in my Mind, a very wholfome Motion 5 too much dry Talk is enough to tire any Body, begin the Treat as foon as you pleafe. M. Batchelours Treats, efpecially in their own Houfes, are ve- ry indifferent. Rnfticus eft Condon. LI. Nee Munera fpenrit Alexis. Give what thou haft, without a- ny more Ceremony. M. Have patience but a Minute, dear Lad, and thou fhalt have the Beft my Houfe affords : I'll only ftep out and call my Servant, and be with you again immediately. PART. II. The Bp of St. Davids Vindicated, &c. iJf.Qlnce your Author has thought fit to be extraordinary dull^ t3 therefore to prevent Infection, and to clear up our Spirits under that heavy Tafk we have taken upon us. I have brought thee a Bottle of the Beft that my little Cellar affords. LI. What is it prithee > M. Even right Good Claret 5 Part of a (mail Hamper beflow'd upon me this laft Summer by an honeft Sea Captain, that lay fbme- time in Milford Haven. My Service to you, 1*1* Mine PArTji ^' Mine *'° y°tt aSaul* 'v/-./'v' . M. Well, How do you like it? LI. The befc that I have tafted this many Years. M. Will you take the other Glafs ? ZJ. By and by. A Man muft not be too Free with fuch brifk Liquor. I would advife you Friend, not to meddle any more with it, during this Debate, for you are of y$ur felf abundantly too Hot. Whenever I produce an Evidence, Blefs me, how thou art Inflam'd ! This is a Lyar -, that Perjur'd •, the to'ther a Mercenary Hackny Evidence ! If you would be a little more Calm, the Bufi- nefs would go on much more eafily. M. What Man that has a Zeal for God's Glory ! Any Regard to HonehYy, Juftice, or good. Faith, can hear People wilfully Perjuring themfelves, and take it patiently. Nay to hear a Parcel of Rogues doing what they can to Damn themfelves, meerly to Defame the poor Bifhop, who has offended in nothing (quatemtsBp.) fo much, as in being too Kind and Indulgent towards them. Such Impudent Impiety and Ingratitude, is enough to provoke a Stoick, and make him quite renounce his Apathy. LI But remember that you're a Chriftian, that Meeknefs and Moderation are efpecially requir'd in the Difciples of the Blefled Jefus, and do not lafh-out fo Indecently. M. Thou talk'ft like fome that I have heard of, who are never for Moderation, Condefcenfion, &c. but when the Rites of the Church are at Stake, when the Subjedt Matter fo requires, I can (hew as much Tendernefs as any Man \ but when vain Talkers, De- ceivers' and Lyars advance their Heads, and think to bear down Truth and Innocency before them, fuch I believe may be Scour'd off, or elfe I am at a Lofshow to Interpret that Paflageof St. Paul ■%t. 1. 1 j. to Thus, wherein he requires us to rebuke -them Jfjarply. LI Can't you do it without ill Words and bad Names > M. If your Party-Men do i^ery ill Things, you can't blame me for giving Perfons and Things their proper Names and Colours. I only call a Spade a Spade. Demonftrate to me that I have wrong'd any one as yet produc'd, and I'll publickly beg his Pardon in all the Market-Towns of the Countjr. LI. Take your own way, for I fee you will have it. Some of , thofe that are now to come on, are the Btfs Friends, and tothofe I queftion not but you will be Civil -y the Reft are Perfons of that E- ftablifhed Reputation, that they fear no man's Cenfure. M. Then they may prove good Company. Let's hear what they have to fay. Your next general Head, as I remember, is Illegal •ExaSiofts, What Proofs have you ? LI. In (49 ) Ll. In the firffc place, the Bp's own ConfefTion. This Prafiice o/PAR.II. his, tfo Demanding and Taking exceffive and illegal Fees for Ordinations, gf^^f Collations, and Procurations, was fo General and Notorious, that as him- Article M. Nothing but only that this Author is one of the mofl: Spite- ful, Unfaithful Scriblers, that ever prefum'd to impofe upon Man- kind. LI. As how > M. Why in this very Particular. The Bp, as he very well knows, did in his Allegations reprefent to the Ecclefiaftical Judg- es, how that Robin Lucy, after he had entred himfelf Promoter before them, did neverthelefs Indict his Lordlhip in the Temporal Courts, for fome of thefe pretended Crimes which were then un- der their Cognizance 5 by which Plea the Bp fuppofed he fhould incline his Grace and his AfTeflbrs, either to leave thofe Points to be Try'd in the Kings-Bench, or elfe to take due notice of Lucy's Impudence, in thus notorioufly Affronting their Jurifdiction : This is the true State of the Cafe, and what I have faid of thy Author is true. > LI No, 'twas only my Miftake, I mifapprehended his Mean- ing. ' M. Then Conftrue his Words fome other way, and carry him clean off if you can. LI. This Practice of his was fo General and Notorious, that as himfelf alledged, he was Indicted -Umph Let me fee — O now I have it. My Author values not to what End or Purpofe the Bp fram'd this Allegation •, his Lordfhip owns the Indictment, and that proves his Illegal Practices to be general and Notorious. M. That I deny again , for a Man may be Indicted for feveral Crimes, fuch as Treafonable Words (fpoke perhaps in private) Theft, tho' committed very flily and cunningly, and Twenty Things more that I cou'd mention, which are neither General nor Notorious. Had the Grand Jury, out of a Senfe of the Strict- nefs of their Oath, and upon a general Fame, that the Bp was guilty of Illegal Exactions prefented him -, then that Prefentment. might have come up to your Author's Purpofe ; but to Argue that becanfe Lucy, and One or Two more that were in his Intereft, pxeferr'd Bills at the Aflizes againft the Bp, that therefore the H Bp's o ) PAR. II ^Ps Extortion was Notorious and General, is fuch a Conclufion as ^^Y^J'no Man would offer to draw, but one who has Sacrificed his Rea- fon to Falfnood and Malice. LI. 'Tis I eonfefs a little Sopliiftical. M. Thy Author has not (if we muft take it that -way) Brains enough to pretend to Sophifm : I wonder how, hi the Name of God, he came by his Doctorfhip > Sure he owes that Splendid, Empty Title to a Potent Mandamus, or elfe if he did Commence, he took his Degree per Sakitin, and left all his Logick behind him. LI. To take you off from your Raillery againft him, pray an- fwer me this, Is it not a heavy Scandal upon the Bp, that he ihould be thus Indicted ? M. Had the Crimes whereof he was Accufed been judicially prov'd againft him, 'twould have been as you fay -, but for Lucy and one or two more like himfelf, to pretend to begin a Procefs or Profecution in the Temporal Court, and afterwards, when by fwearing the}?- cared not what, they had procured* the Bills to be found, then to drop the Caufe, and appear no more in it, feems in my judgment 'to be a Trick put upon Authority, and a Malicious Abufe of the Bp. LI. There was fomething more in it. M. Yes, a Defign, thereby to give the greater Weight to the , Depofitions againft the Bp in the Court at Lambeth, and for any thing I know, the Stratagem took effect -, for otherwife, by all that I. can underftand, what was Swore in the Court of Audience was .not worth the Hearing. LI Sure you do not know what was prov'd; M. Perhaps I do not -, do you inform me. LI. So I will. Firft then as to exceffive Fees taken at Ordina- tions ; By the 135; Canon, A BiJImp is abjohtely 'Prohibited from tak- ing any Fee or Reward himfelf \ direBly or indirectly for admitting any into Orders ; but that the Bp himfelf did take Money for admitting Perfons into Orders, ftands abundantly proved : Ergo. ., v *s M. Nego Minor em. y>w"S LI. Then thus I prove it ; Tho. Powell Swears, That in the Tear 1688. he was Employed by the Bp as his Secretary, and did at Two Or- dinations receive the Fees for Orders and Licenfes ; thus diflinguifit, $ s. for Examinations, £s. for Subfcription, 10 s. for Orders, and 13 s. and 4d. for a Licenje to ferve the Cure, to which the Party Ordain d had a Title ; and that he, the Deponent, did Account with the Bp for the Fees of the Letters of Orders and Licenfes aforefaid. Then Robert Douglas, who livd with him a Tear and a Half, from Nov. 1688, Swears, That all the time he livd with the Bp, the Bp took iqs. for all Letters of Orders. 3dly, 'BthWiin. C 5' ) ^ 3r "PA&,H all that time he, this Refpondent, did receive the Secretaries Fees, viz- •sJr>ir*<] For Subfcription 5 s. for Letters of Orders 10 s. and if any Licenfe to B?,witnef. • Preach or ferve a Cure was granted, I 3 s. 4 d. more for that : And in another place we find that this Pyemont was not Secretary himfelf-, for there he Swears that he was the Bp's Gentleman, and was by A- greement to have 20 1. per Annum, part of which he was to receive out of the Secretary's Fees, and if they fellffiort of that Sum, the Bp was tc make it up. M. Prithee make haft, and come to the Point. LI. I am juft upon it. From all which Proof it evidently appears, that the Bp either took the Fees for Ordinations himfelf, as Douglas fwears, or others receivd the Fees, and accounted to the Bp for them, p as Powell and Pyemont both Depofe. M. All that I find prov'd is what I faid before, that thy Author is no Logician ^ knows no more how to Argue, than I do to Dance upon the Rope. LI. Can any Conclufion be Stronger than what you have now be- fore you > M. It fmells ftrong indeed of Malice and Ignorance, but there is not one Grain of True Reafon in't : The thing to be prov'd was, that the Bp took Money for admitting Perfons into Orders, contrary to the 1 3 $th Canon. Now inftead of proving this, the Sum and Subftance of your Evidence reaches only thus far, that after the Candidates were examined and admitted into Orders, then for cer- tifying their Ordination, for Letters of Orders, as the Witnefles word it, 10 s. was taken by theBp's Servants, and Accounted for j which falls Toto Casio, fhort of what you would fatten upon him. LI. I may now juftly fay, that this is diftinguiflring betwixt the iVeJl and South Weft fide of an Hair. If Thomas Aquinas or Duns Scotus were alive, they'd fcorn to infift upon fuch a Nicety, upon Nothing. M. Why then I mufl; tell you, that you Talk too faft ; for I'll maintain it, that there is a great and real difference betwixt tak- ing Money for admitting Perfons into Orders, and the taking Money for giving them a Teftimonial of their Ordination -, the One a Bp may not do, either diredly or indirectly, by himfelf or any other, ('twould be the greateft Symony if he fhou'd) the Other any Per- SeetheQa, fon or Perfons under the Bp may do, according to the exprefs words »«». of the Canon ^ only with this Limitation, that they receive not a- bove 1 oj. and fince you cannot prove that the Bp's Servants re- ceived more, you prove nothing. Is the i®s. a Fee for admitting into Orders, as your Author would have it ? Then all the Bps in H 2 England W* ) p^ ^England are Guilty of Simony, and the Canon it felf is Symonia- -yi/cal, which requires it fhall be paid to fome one or more of their Officers 5 but if it be only a juft and reafonable Reward for thole that procure Parchment and Wax, and who Write and Seal the* Inftrument, then your Author is (bmething I am unwilling to name, to endeavour to make that Criminal in the Bp, which is the com- mon Practice, and. allowed, nay, eftablifhed by the Laws of the Church. LI. Hold, Sir, mark a little more ftri&ly what has been Depo- sed, and youll find that the Bp in efFe£t had the Money thus paid, which, with your good leave, feems dire&ly contrary to that very Law, on which you rely for the Bp's Juftification, for Powell Swears that he did account to the Bp for the Fees of Letters of Orders. M. And upon the Ballance what did he pay ? LI. That is not mentioned 5 but without doubt the Bp had it, whatever it was, M. That's begging the Queftion -, and more than fo, 'tis the fupr pofing a.thingmot to be fuppos'd} every one that knew Tom Pow- ell, knew that he would ferve neither Qpd nor Man for nought, Witnefs the large Eftate he fcraped together, from a very bare and foeggerly Beginning, by being a Servant under Robin Lucy. He Accounted with the Bp, fo, did Pyemont^ who was to receive his 20 /.Wages out of the Secretaries Fees, if they amounted to fo much ; which they did not, and therefore the Bp was forced to make an Addition out of his own Pocket $ Here's an Account Stat- ed, without any Gain to his Lordfhip, Pyemont who perform'd the Office of Secretary, going off with the Fees $ and that Powell, did the, fame in this Inftance, is not to be doubted, becaufe had he a- dually paid the Money to the Bp, he would pofitively have fworn it, as being a Witnefs that had too much Spleen and Malice to conceal any thing that might tend to the. Difcredit or Difadvan- tage of his Quondam Lord and Mafter^ nay more, that PoweU himfelf does make this very diftinction betwixt Accounting with and p fl paying to the Bp, is evident from his own Words in another De- pontion or his. LI. But then Douglas fwears pofitively that the Bp took io$. for all Letters of Orders, during the time he lived with him. M. Thou catch'ft at every little Advantage, as if thy own Sal- vation depended upon the Condemnation of thy Diocefan ^ Does Douglas fwear that the Bp did, with his own Hands, receive the Money from the Perfons Ordain'd, and convert it to his own life > No, I dare fwear for him, he meant no fuch thing ; but only that ftb much was taken by the Bp's Order -, for otherwife how will Powell^ ( tf ) Powell's Evidence and Douglas's hang together ; Pcjrc// Deposing that PAR. II, he in 16&8. receiv'd the Fees at Two Ordinations, and Douglas UOTv (wearing that in 1688. he was the Bp's Servant. LI If there were fiich an Office as Execution-Maiter-General, thou wouldft carry it off from a Thoufand Competitors $ prithee exercife thy Faculty a little further, and tell me, Was it not Mean in the Bp to keep no Secretary, but thus to make up the Wages of his Menial Servants, out of the Fees belonging to that Office ? M. Let me but know by what Law Secretaries are eftabliih'd as necefTary Appendants to the Bps, and then I'll anfwer 3^011. The Canon which directs the Payment of the Fees, now under Consi- deration, mentions them not •, any Perfon or Perfons under the Bp, let them be who they will,, the Poor of the Parilh (if the Bp thought fit) might be the Men.-- — I can't but fmile at thee, to think that thou fhouldft propofe this as a Difficulty •, for my part, whatever their Lordfhips may do, for their Eafe or Grandeur, I no more think them obliged in Confcience to keep each of them a Secreta- ry, than they are bound to keep a French Cook, a Valet de Cham- bre, or Pojlilion. Pyemont you find, was Secretary in Effect, to all good Ends andPurpofes, only the Bp would not adorn him with the Title, left, like fome Pert Coxcombs of that Denomination, he mould pretend to top upon the Clergy, and come in for a Co-ad- 3'utor and Fellow Governor, as it was in diebus illis •, when Robin Lvcy, like Hopkins of old, ruled the Roaft, and did almoft what he would in the Diocefs. LI That's very trae I profefs. Thou haft pleas'd me fb well with that Anfwer, that I'll drink to thee with all my Heart. Here Friend, all Wrath and Bitternefs apart : My Service to thee' once more. M. Thank thee good Brother. LI But prithee let me beg one thing of thee. Don't Scoundrel my Dr. as thou haft done hitherto, I'll aflure you, I'm told he's a Per- fon of Figure, and ought to be treated with Refpect. M. Why did he not then put on- his Fiocco^ and appear in that Name and Title whereby he is Dignify'd and Diftinguifhed. If he be as thou woud'ft have him, a Man of Quality and Parts, Why does he thus engage Incognito} And what is more ftrange and un- common. Why does he keep his Reafon and his Honefty Incognito too > For I cannot perceive the leaft Appearance of either in this Narrative. LI Still at him — Well, I'll intreat no more, for I find it is in vain. M. Well Friend, rather than difoblige thee, I'll promife thee, Til give him no hard Words, unlcis he ihew himfelf intolerably Impudent C 5* ) PAR* II.' Isipiidelt or Falfe ; but if he does talk fillily, you'll now and then !L/"v"*lj allow me tne Liberty of my Rifibility, and give me Leave to Laugh at him. LI. Ay, thy Belly-full, if there be occaflon. M. Well go on. /What's that you're reading to your felf? LI. As it happens nothing that's Material, the Author fuppofing he had proved this Part of the Charge ver}r comprehensively. Tells us he will not trouble us with the numerous Depofitions of thofe feveral Clerks, who paid the Biihop himfelf or his Servants the 10*. Fee. M. But had he given us one or two out of that vaft Number (which he can no more do than a Gardiner can Raife Pike-men and Mufketeers out of a hot Bed ) We fhould have been very glad to have heard what they could have faid, and fhould have thought it no Trouble at all. LL Beware of the more Voluminous Account. M. Let thofe look to that who are to anfwer the Books writ after Dooms- day ^ LI. Say you fo. But what think you to this Remark of his, that the Biihop continued to receive the fame Fees at an Ordina- tion in June 1696, which was the time after the Promoter's Arti- -p. is. c]es were g{ven in. M. Only that in the Manner aforefaid, he will do fo again,. I hope in 1706. It is an Argument of his Innocency ; that he knew he could Juftify what he did, and therefore continued his Practice notwithstanding the Malice of his Adverfaries was broken out openly againft him. LI. So let it be. Now I'll pafs on to another Branch of the Charge. ExcefTive Fees for Collations. In thefe the Bp was more Ar- p. 18. bitrary, and did not keep up to anjr fteady Meafiire of Injuftice. M. If he were guilty at all, 'tis highly probable that fometimes he might be very Exorbitant in his Demands ; becaufe when a Man has once broke through thofe Bounds the Law has fet him, he him- felf knows not where he may flop : But prove firft of all, if you can, that the Bp did once Trangrefs in this kind. LI. That will foon be done. For the Promoter exhibited the Copies of two Tables of Fees, Jubfcribed by the Deputy Regijier and two Pub- lick Notaries. The Subfcriptions were confefs'd by the Bp's ProBor ; and the Subfcriber to one of them ( Tom Powell ) J wears that it agrees with the Table of Fees which hath many Tears hung in the Regiflry. In this the Fee for a Collation is 20 s. in the other 18 s. 8 d. The Bp obfervei neither of thew for the fame. Tho. Powell Deputy Regijier further de- pofesy that the Bp hi a Letter to him^ dated the 22, of Dec. i6BSt gave ^trt;^ tfo Deponent XnfiruBiom to receive pro Collatione 5 1. i6 s. pro PAR. II. Sublcriptione 5; s. pro aliis Inftrumentis Sigillatis 1 3 s. 4 d. Powell -^v*w goes on to name fever al Perfons from whom he. received Fees according to the Directions from the Bifiop, and then adds, that the Sums fo received, he the Deponent did account for, and pay to the Bp. M. Before I anfwer diredtly to this Charge, give me Leave by the way to obferve to you, the Difference betwixt the Clofe of this Depofition of Powell's, and that which we had p. 18. of your Book, and 8th of this ; there he tells you, that for the Letters of Orders he only Accounted here,, that for the Collations he Accounted and Paid the Money to the Bp*, from whence I think it plainly follows (as I there obferved) that he did not pay the Money for the Let- ters of Orders to the Bp other wife, as in this Cafe he would un- doubtedly have fworn up to it. / LI. That Matter is over with us, but how you'll get thro' this, I do not apprehend. If Law will bind you, I think I have you faft now. DTwas time there ihould be' a Reformation in the Dip- cefs, when things were come to this height. M. Nay let it be a through Reformation, and go over the whole Pro- vince. LI. What need is there of that ? M. Becaufe it is well known, that in fome other Dioceffcs the Collation Fees do exceed what is mentioned in thofe Tables. Particularly as to the Diocefs of Canterbury, it has been in Proof, and was particularly confirm'd by the Depofition of Mr. Charles Pryce, that the Fees for Inftitutions have been and- Mill are greater than in the Bimoprick of St. David's for Collations. U. That may be, and yet the Bp of St. David's may be Guilty. M. Is not that- which is Sauce for a Goofe, Sauce for a Gander > Or do not the Canons oblige other Bps, nay even his Grace him- felf, as well as our Diocefan. LI Perhaps not as to the ^iiantim in this Cafe -, for if you look into the Conftitutions Ecclefiaftical, made 15:97. de Foedis, &c. you will there find, that there is a Latitude granted for Demand- ing and Receiving larger Fees, provided that Ufus frequentior approbaverit. If Cuftom have approved the doing it. M. Thank you for that -, then will I prove in the Bp's Vindica- tion, that it has been all along ufiial to receive as much, if not more, for Collations, than ever he demanded ; So it was in Bp Lucy's time, who came in upon the Reflauration of K. Char. 2d. LI Unlefs you are refblved to Difgrace the Bp for ever, do not make Robin Lucys Pra&ife in his Fathers Days, a Prefident or Rule for what ought to have been done by your Bp. Bp Lucy was; ^^ (56) PAR. IL was a &00^ ^ld Man, but as you have hinted before, this Son of u"v~v k]S was tnen a Sad Lad : There's a Friend of mine that in thole Days went with 10/. in Pocket to Brecon, in order to be Collated, and was forced to leave every Penny of it in Robin's Hands, be- fore he mould have his Inftmments. M. Ay, and Nicb. Roberts, our Neighbour, for an Injlitution, &c. paid to the very fame Robin, 1 2 Z. compleat. Is not this a fine Fellow to be a Promoter, . who has been fo fcandaloufly Guil- ty of Extortion, that the Diocefs Groan'd under his Oppreffion? I could give you 20 Inltances of the like forts. LI. I know you may, none of the Old Clergy in the Diocefs can deny it -, nay Robin himfelf confefles it, and is forry for thefe indifcreet Practices of his Youth. But when he himfelf was wea- ry and afhamed of thofe Pranks, was it fit that my Lord Bp mould be no wifer nor Honefter than to play them over again, fince no Body elfe would do't : Robin makes fome amends to the Diocefs for his former Liberties, by thus preventing the Depreda- tions of the Bp. M. There you're out. For if the Bp did make any Miftake in his Demands of this kind, 'twas thro' the Mifmformation that Lu- cy himfelf gave him, and other Secretaries of preceding BiJImps. For it has been in Proof and ftill can be made out under Lucy's own Hand, and the Hand of Mr. Thomas (Son, and Secretary to the Bp who fucceeded Lucy's Father ) that 61. is. were the Stated Fees of of the Diocefs for Collations, and 135. 4 d. for every other Sealed Inftrument, fothey themfelves receiv'd, and whilft they did fo, no body that ever I heard of, grumbled at them. Mr. Thomas is dead, fo I have nothing to fay to him, but all the World muft needs look upon Lucy as a bafe and treacherous Villain. lit. To take thofe Fees himfelf in his Father's time, then to acquaint the Bp that fiich Fees were his undoubted Due and Right, and afterwards to- profecute him for A&ing purfiiant to this Information : Nay what is more, for acting agreeable to the Practice of Bp. Thomas and Bp Womock, who fucceeded that good Man, who was unhappily Jn« Tit-i. i2, ftrumental to the bringing of this evil Beaft into the World. LI. Never did any of the Mobb take, greater pleafure in bedaub- ing a poor Wretch in the Pillory, than thou doit, in Pelting Mr. Regifter. M. He very welldeferves it, and I hope 'tis but the Prologue to a Pillory-penance. LI. But hark you, Sir, fuppofe Lucy did give the Bp thefe In- ftructions, this Information, or what you'll call it ; yet the Bp did not ftint himfelf fo, 61 is. was not always enough for a Coll* < 57 ) '^J. Collation, for Peter Lewis paid for his Collation to Llanryan 8 /.PAR. II. 145. 4<7. wv%* M. We read of one Peter, that after he had done an 111 Thing went out and Wept bitterly, heartily Repented, and became a New Man $ but this Peter of thine continues the fame ftill •, Swears thro' and thro3, whenever he enters, as if he had been Hir'd and was Refolv'd to Forfwear himfelf at every turn. LI. Where lies the Falfhood of what he Depofes now > M. Why he had the Relaxation, and Sequeflratiott, and Licenfe to Preach, each of which, according to the ufiial Fees of the Diocefs, coft 13*. 4 d. and thereby added to 6 I. is. made up 8 /. 1 s. over and above which, he had a Difpenfation for Non Refidence, which unriddles the mighty Myftery 5 for, 13 s. 4 d. added to the other Sum, makes up jnft 8 /. 14*. 4 d. And tho' Lewis could not o- therwife than know the Sum he paid was fo much the greater, by Reafbn of thofe additional Inftruments, yet hoping to do his Be- nefactor and Patron a Mifchief, and fiippofing that what he thus Malicioufly Depofed, would have palled, he Swore at Adventures, but afterwards being crofs Interrogated, he Confefs'd he had feveral other Inftruments (as aforefaid ) in Consideration of that Money, and thereby own'd himfelf, as to the former part of his Depofiti- on, Perjur'd. LI For his own fake, I think, I mult- difmifs my Friend Peter, and mail trouble you no more with him. But what fay you to Mr. Barnet > Who Depofes, That he paid 9 I or 2 s. more or left, and that Dining with the Bifhop, about a Week after his Collation, the Bifhop told him one thing was forgot j namely, the taking a Licenfe to Preach in his Diocefs ; whereupon the Deponent was o- blig'd to take out one, and pay 1 3 *. 4 d. for it, over and above the 9 /. aforefaid ; fo that, according to your own Reckoning, here's above 32 s. cf filthy Lucre plainly. M. To whom did Far vet pay all this? LI. To the Bp himfelf, as I fuppofe. M. Then you're miftaken $ for if you look to his Demolition (I think he was the Promoter's Witnefs ) you'll find that the Money was paid to Mr. Slhgejby. LI. But lias not Slingejby fworn that what he receiv'd upon fuch Accounts he paid to the Bp t M. Yes, and the very fame Perfon offered to be depofed before the Arch-bifliop, that he receiv'd of Barnet but 6 /. I s. for Colla- tion, and 40 s. more (as ufual) for other Sealed Inftruments. But fuch a piece of crofs Evidence, would it feems have perplex'd the Caufe, and have hindred the Arch-bifhop from going on the Me- I thod C * ) p^RII thod he had refolv'd with himfelf. Neverthelefs to juftify his Lord ^^AJ(f° far as he could) Mr. Slbigejby did depofe before a Matter ixiCban- cery^ that he receiv'd no more of Bamet ^ than 8 1 1 s. and that he accounted to the Bp for no more. LI. There has been fad Swearing in this Cafe! M. So there has ! Bat God has appointed a Day wherein he will judge the World i'n Righteoufnefs, and then the Secrets of all Hearts fhall be difclofed, and every one rewarded according to his Deeds. If in the mean while his Vicegerent, our Great and Gra- , cious Queen, would be pleas'd to Order a fecond Hearing of this Caufe, here on Earth, I doubt not bat enough of tills horrid Con- trivance againft the Bp would be detected before Men, the Bp be cleared, and his Enemies cloathed with Confufion, as all Villains ought to be. LI. I do not care if for once I wifli along with you. What Mr. Slivgefiy fw ears does in part take away from the Credit of Bamet's Teftimony^ but what fay you to the. 13 s. 4 d. afterwards, when he came to dine with the Bp > M. That's more like a Lye than the former. 1. In that he is the only Perfon in the whole Diocefs that fwears the Bp forced a Li- cenfe upon him, or oblig'd him to take it. 'Tis convenient that every of us mould have one, becaufe we cannot ( in ftrictnefs of Law) preach in any other Church but that into which we are In- ftituted 5 and therefore for our Convenience, and to Qualify us to do a Neighbour in Sicknefs, or in his Abfence a good Turn j Li- cenfes are tendred us -, but it was a force upon Mr. Barney he fays, if any body will believe him. Now iince he fwears that he paid the 9 /. and upwards to Mr. Slwgejby upon his Collation, and 1 3 s, 4 d. afterwards, Would it not have been the nearer!: fureft way to have detected this piece of Roguery (wherever it lies) to have examined Slivgejby, as to thefe Receipts, and as to Particulars ©f his accounting with the Bp: then it would have been difcovered, whe- ther or no Bamet had not his Licenfe at firft, be according to Slivges- bfs own Confeffion, having then paid. And if upon enquiry, it mould have been found that he had funk the firft 13 s. 4. to his own ufe, or that the Bp exacted it twice over from Bamet. The right Horfe might have been Saddled, and ufed as he deferred. But Bamet had fwom it, and it was not worth the while to allow the Bpr the Opportunity of Clearing himfelf. Since he was ac- cording to that of J. Dry den (of Poetical Memory J doomed to Death. Yet (as I hope) Fated not to Die. LI. O Sir, the Tryal is not over yet by far. There are heavy things in Reverfion againft the Z?p, wliich will fink him in fpite of 09) r^ of Fate, and all your fond Hopes. It were endlefs to run through all p^R.u, the Particular Inflames of the Bp's exceffive Exactions in that kind, and y^y^j veeilefs too, conjidering how many are crowded into Mr. Powell's lafl In- vacated Depofition. M. 'Twill fignify not one Farthing, as has already been demon- ftrated. Your Author has too much Spleen againft the Bp, to omit any thing that might turn to his Difhonour or Defamation, and does apparently give every Paflage a more fpiteful Turn, than it will bear upon due Examination. Accufe him as much as you pleafe, I'll ftill defend him, and that with Truth, Law, and Reafon. What as your next Inftance. LI. Why, there's one behind not to be omitted, becaufe 'tis attend- ed with a pleafant Circwnflance. M. Let's have it by all means. For tho' your Author has a very ferious Matter in hand. Yet as his Brother Ignoramus fays. Licet fr anger e jocum quamvis fit fuper vitam hominis. LI. Remember your Fromife, and don't abufe my Dr. M. I won't. But fmce he's upon a merry Pin, why may not I jeil a little tco ? Come out with it. Stoppage of Wit may be worle than ffoppage of Malice. LI. Then thus it is : In 1690. the Bp wrote a Letter to Mr. Meyrick tojendup John Lloyd to Burrough-green in Cambridge-fhire, to be his Lordflnp\ Curate there. Meyrick J itpplying him with Money, Lloyd went mounted on a Coach- Horfe of the Bijlmp's, as the Letter directed. But when he got to Burrough, the Bp told him he was provided of a Curate, and \r:rfv;aded him to accept of a Collation to the Vicaridge of Llangan, of about 21 1. per An. For the Fees of Collation, and a Horfe not worth 4c s. Lloyd gave the Bp a Bond of it, 1. or 14 s. which Bond^ the Depor.evt (Edm. Meyrick) faw. M. Which of allthefe is the pleafont Gircumfbnce > LI. How ill-natur'd thou art ? Tis Lloyd's being Mounted on the JfyVCoach-Horfe. M. Had he rid him up in his Harnefs, 'twould have been a Quier fort cf a Spectacle, but as he was tolerably Equipt, and extraor- dinarily mounted upon a Gelding 1? Hands high and upward, and 20 Guineas Price. I think it was not half fo comical as if the humble Levite hadScamper'd through fo many EngliJI) Towns upon one of our own Country Titts. LI. Najr if you won't apprehend the Joke. The explaining or proving of, a Witticiun takes off all the Gaiety of it. To be feri- ous then, pray excufe jrour Bp in good Earneit if you can. Why ihould he fend for a poor Curate up, turn him off afterward, Joc- kying him with an old batter d Horfe, and making him pay fo dear for a little iman Living. I 2 M. No c 6° ) PAR II ^ ^° more Q.Lie^ons ^^ I nave arifwer'd fome of thefe. As for wvv ' the lip's fending for him up, I hope there's no Harm in that, Lloyd being Qualify 'd for. the Place, and Glad enough of the Advantage defign'd him. But not coming time enough, Dr. Harrijbn undertook^ the Cure. Wherefore to Recompence Lloyd for his Difappointment (how little foever he deferv'd it, becaufe of his Loytering too long) the Ep gives him a Vicaridge here in Wales j and yet, let me tell you, that however grievous it may be to a SCOT. Yet a true Briton never takes it ill to be Banifli'd into his own Country. But after that he had made that fuppos'd Raree-Show (as your Dr. would have it) of Riding up the Coach-Horfe to Burroughs that then he fhould^ give 4/. for another lefs Horfe. This is the Grievance or the greateft Part of it, if I underftand Mr. Author. LI. Mr. Meyrick fwears he was not worth above 40 s. M, That's Demonftration to me that he was certainly worth more. 1.1. How fo ? M. Becaufe according to the Obfervation aforementioned, when lie fwears he always Lyes. LI. This is Railery, not a Rag of Argument in it. M. Have you forgot how wretchedly he forfwore himfelf about the Prebendal Leafe, and here again we have him as faft as the De- 3/1 Wimf. vrl cou?d wilk For Mr. Job. Gwyn, who faw the Horfe, when fold to Lloyd has depofed, that to the beft of his Underftanding, he was worth 4 I. That he himfelf upon a Journey had 4/. ioj. offered for him. Mrs. Hyde fwears me had 5 /. offered for him be- fore Lloyd took him from Bit, rough, and to pin-up the Bafket, and to Nail down Edmund for a Perjur'd Wretch, the Horfe was after- ward in a fair way of Bargaining fold for 4 /. LI. Suppofe it, and fiippofe withal, that the Bp lent Lloyd 3 1. M. That's certain. LI. Let me go on to what I have to fay. Were itfb, or be it fo'; yet the Difappointed Curate paid very great Fees for Collation to a fmall Vicaridge. M. Tho5 your Author makes theBond to be for 1 3 /. or 145. yet the precife Sum was 1 3 J. 5 s. So that his Lordfhip, inftead of exact- ing upon Lloyd, as your Author would infinuate, remitted to him 1 /. 1 6 s. of what he lawfully might have demanded ; and tho' Mr. Dr. is pleated to ftile. Lloyd a difappointed Curate. Yet fince the Bifhop gave him a certain Being inftead of an Uncertainty, and that dou- ble the value of whatever he had before in the Church, unlets by the Power of Rhetorick or Sophiftry the can alter the Reafbns of things- and transform a Benefit into an Injury. Lloyd's Difappoint ment , ( 6, ) ment was fuch an one as he had great Reafon to be thankful for' PAR. II. At this rate a Man may be Blafphemed for doing good, and con- W~x> demn'd for Ads of Charity and Benevolence! Have you any thing more to fay in this Caufe ? LI. No. Ill prefently pafs on to another, only let me obfei ve to you, that if the Bp's Demands were not in themfelves unlawful, yet he had a very fly way of Raking Money together from his Clergy, in that he itjitally Removed feveral Perfons to feveral Livings vpon the Vacancy of the firft. So Walter Watkins, one of his own Wit- nejfes depofes in anjwer to an Interrogatory . p. 21. , M. Who is this W. Watkins that made this narrow Inflection in- to the Bp's Management of his Preferments ? LI. I can't tell you who he is, further than that I have beenln- form'd, that he is a Clergy-Man, and one of the Bp's Witnefles. M. Tis an odd fort of an Oath, for which I am afraid Watkins had not fufKcient Grounds. I wifh he were not enfnared by the fal- lacious wording of the Interrogatory tadepofe he knew not what. I -have takenNotice of moft of the Changes that have been in Caermar- thenjlme, Cardigan-Jlnre and Pembrook-JIme, and I never could obferve any thing of this Artificiil Circulation. If when a Perlbn of confi- derable Merit and Intereft prevails for an advantagiousRemoval,or another who has a mind to better himfelf, did file to the Bp to fuc- ceed in what was thus vacated by Cefiion, 'tis far from being Cri- minal in the Bp to Reward the Deferts of Both. Had his Lord- fhip, when a good Living fell into his Hands made a Practice of Removing and Tranfplanting his Clergy hither and thither to their Lofs or Difadvantage, Mr. Promoter might have made an Article of it, and produced his WitnefTes to prove it, which would have been a much more laudable way, than by acrofs Infharing Interro- gator}^ to delude an honeft, perhaps iimple Sort of Man, to anfwer in fitch a manner as the Bp's Friends cannot account for, nor his E- nemies make out by Proof. Why was not Tom Powell, Douglas, or Pyemont afk'd this Queftion who Speeded the Inftruments for the Clergy that were preferr'd. Or why was it not put to Mr. Hugh Powell, or fome other Eminent Clergy- man of the Diocefs, but this obfcure Perlbn Watkins muft be examined as to the Bp's Conduct. Powell could have given Satisfaction in the Point, and as it appears from his Inclination and Readinefs to fwear any thing to the Bp's Prejudice, would have been fpiteful enough in his Information, could he have faid any thing to purpofe. This Dr. will not leave his Tricks, tho' I have promifed to forbear Chaftifing him- IX There's no great Harm done on any fide. ' M. None . ( 62 ) PAR. II. M. None at all, God be thank'd. All that I can clifcover From t^VVJ this PafTage, is the Malice of the Promoter, who Betrays the Wickednefs of his own Heart, by endeavouring in vain to Scanda- lize the Bp. LI Let the Promoter be what he will, 'tis certain the Bp was too much intent upon getting Money, and if he did not make thofe political Removals to fill his Baggs, yet he had no Mercy on his poor Clergy, when they came within his Clutches. No re- gard to the final 1 Value of the Preferments he beftowed ; in that he wou'd not proportionably leffen his Exorbitant Demands. 'M. Don't call his Demands exorbitant till you prove therri fo. You have faiPd to do it as yet. LI Well then, fince you will, have it fb, he did not lefien his Demands proportionably to the fmall Value of the Preferments he beftovfd. M. Since when- was it Criminal in a Perfon not tobeftow a Fa- vour. But come fhew whom he has fcrew'd and tortur'd by demand- ing Fees, that in Equity (laying Law afide) ought not to be paid. LI. IVhy Edm. Gwynn, one of his own Witneffes to an Interrogato- ry, Swears, That for his Injlruments and Collation to a Prebend, of about 40 1. per Ann. referved Rent, he paid $ 1. II s. and for his Injirument and Collation to another Prebend, of about 7 Nobles per An. 3 1. that the Bp faid he therein ufed him kindly. M. And fo he did *, for he might have demanded 6 /. 1 s. for each. LI When will Ned Gwynn be a (aver by thefe Places? M. Never trouble your Head about that -, he was always a frugal Man, as we very well know, for 'tis not very long fince he left his Neighbourhood — But to the Bufinefs, as Defpicable as thefe Preferments are, according to your Author's Reprefentation ; yet with us they are very Honorary , and well is he that can thruft himfelf into either the Cathedral or Collegiate Church: He had a mind to have a Stall in Both, and becaufe of his long Handing in the University, his Learning, Good Life and Converfation, the Bp gratified his jure. Expectation. True it is, his Prebend in St. David's is but fmall, but then it ought to be confidered (befides the Honour of it) that it qualifies a Man for being Chofen into the Number of the Canons Refidentiaries, who have fweet and eafy Places : Then as for the other Prebend, in the College of Brecon, that tho' the Referved Rent be fmall, yet there is a good Corps belonging to it, which, upon the Renewal, brings in a handfome lump of Money ; and fince Ned Gynn was defirous to be thus Preferr'd, and very A- ble to go to the Charge of fuch a Promotion, 'tis beyond the reach of my Underftanding to conceive where the Hardfhip lies ; efpe- cially if it be confidered what large Abatements the Bp made of what he might juftly have demanded. lArNei ( «? ) ^ LI. Ned Gwynn undoubtedly thought otherwife, or elfe why did PAR. II. he give this in Evidence againft the Bp. **-v-*-* M. Don't Abufe him along with the Bp, 'twas none of his De- fign, nor had he any thing to fay that might tend to the Bp's dis- advantage ; his Buiinefs was to give a Teftimonial of the Bp's good Life and Conversation, of his Lordlhip's Hatred againft Symony * againft which Heinous Sin he had heard the Bp frequently declare, with a great deal of Zeal, his Abhorrence. This, and more than this, he frankly and fully attefted, as may be feen at large in his Depo/itions. But the producing of fuch an Elpghim of the Bp would no way anfwer that Author's Purpofe, wherefore he flily o- mits that, and brings in his Reply to crofs Interrogatories, urging him to declare what Fees he paid for his Preferments. This Mr. Dr. fuppofes might give an 111 Colour to the Bp's Management -, but obfervehow unlucky your Dr. is at chufing Mediums to ftrength- en his Accufation. Initead of proving the Bp to have taken Ex- orbitant Fees (a hard Word that he does not underftand it feems, tho5 he often makes ufe of it) it appears, (i.) That his Lor df rip did not take what he really might. (2.) That Mr. Gwynn'j Tejlimony taken either in parts or altogether, is by vo means to the Bp's Dif credit, but highly to his Honour and Commendation. And (3.) That thefe very Pre- bends, which your Author fets fo light by, are in themjelves dejirable^ tho* a Man were to have paid the utmofi Farthing that the Law allows and requires for Fees. LI. Well, fuppofe his Lordlhip's dealing thus with Ned Gwynn to be excufable, yet what fay you to Jerry Griffiths, his Meafiire was exceeding hard ; fo&the Bp obliged him to take a Collation to a Prebend, for which the Deponents (receiving and paying all that belongs to it) has hitherto been Four Pence out of Pocket every Year, befides Procurations, and there is no manner of expectation that ever it will be otherwife, there being no Corps belonging to it -, and yet the Deponent was obliged to pay 61. is. and at the fame time to quit a Be- neficial Prebend, otherwife the Bp would nat have given this Deponent a Vicaridge, which his Lord/hip then bejiowed on him, and for which he i2 . made the Deponent pay 6 1. more. Here is the very Summum jus, and according to the other part of the Maxim, the greater! Oppreflion. Clear this if you can. M. I'll do it prelently, only anfwer me thefe Two Queftions 5 Doft thou look upon Lucy the Promoter to be fo far from being the Bp's Enemy, that thou doft believe him to have been one of his Beft Friends, and that Griffiths never heard him ufe any Scurrilous Language towards the Bp } LI I ( *o p^jj^ ! Ll. I was preparing my felf to unfold fome mighty Difficult}^ ^v"^/' but inftead of that mall anfwer the Queries with Two other Que- ftions. Why doft thou afk me what every Body knows, who knew Lucy and his Converfation ever mice the Revolution > Or what is this to the Purpofe ? M. Only thus much, That Griffiths hath Depofed to the }8 In- terrogatory in the Affirmative as to tlie firfr, and in the Negative as to the latter : Whereas it appears not only from Williams's Te- ftimony, that thefe Two together, reprefented the Bp to the De- ponent, as a Monfter and a Villain ; but what is more, Mr. Tho. Phillips further Depofes, That he heard (fome Tears before he gave this Deposition) Lucy, Sandys, art d this very Griffiths Talk and Difcourfe very unfeemingly of his Lordflnp, declaring him guilty of Symony, Extor- tion, and other Crimes ; and I make no doubt but that the very fame thing might be proved as eafily by a Hundred WitnefTes, as that Lucy and Griffiths have been Drunk together a Hundred times. Ll. That's the Reafon then why Mr. Griffiths could not remember. M. Right. But how then will you reconcile the Title of Friend with the Chara&er of a Promoter., for whatever Severity may be allowable in the way of private Correction : Yet when a Man turns a publick and Ipiteful Informer, thefe two Parts are utterly Contradictory and Inconfiftent. Ll. But what's all this, as I faid before, to the purpofe > M No more than thus : That this Witnefs of yours, mould there be occafion, would be ready to fwear in behalf of the Devil that he is not the Accvfer of the Brethren, and may, ih.ould he be cali'd upon, give a Tejlimomal of Good-nature fp Abaddon that .he was not the Dejlroyer, Ll. Don't fay fo. M Has henot.fo far as Man can do it, given himfelf up to the Xntereftof Satan by thus {wearing a Falfhood, as Notorious in our Climate as that the Sun mines accidentally. Mr. Jer. Griffith has fhewn himfelf one of the Btfs beft Friends by Blafting his own Re- putation, and by taking off the Edge of his own malicious Evi- dence. Ll. I can't but wonder that he Ihould Swear at this rate. Nor can any body that has convers'd either with him or Lucy this ten Years believe it. But what he depofes as to the Prebend or Vica- ridge may be true. M. Nay examine that, and they are almoft both alike : Co far he is in the right, that the Bp gave him a Vicaridge, and that he took 6 I and faid he would ftand to it ^ and alfo that he gave him a Prebend, and receiv'd 61 is. for the Inftruments, But that there was ( «s ; W"as any thing of Force upon Griffiths to Refign (what he aalls ) PAR. II , the Beneficial Prebend, and that the; other is not worth a Groat , is a w«^ downright Fallhood, and taken altogether, is one of the BlackeftV pieces of Treachery and Villainy that will be Expofed in all this whole Controverfy. LI Lay open the Cafe, and then you do fomething. M. Then thus it was. Griffiths being poflefs'd of the Re&ory of Dyferth, Prebend of Boughr.ood, and the School of Brecon, given him by the Bp, upon the Vacancy of the Vicaridge and Prebend of Llanfmifried fthro' the Voluntary Relignation.of Mr. Tho. Phillips, who held them Both together^) Griffiths makes ftrong Application to the Bp to Collate him to the aforeiaid Vicaridge. His Lordlhip had a Defign to difpofe of it another way, but being overcome by the Importunity of Griffiths who bad a fort of Jppetitus caiiinms, and abundance of little Fawning Dog Trick , befides he .prevail3 d for it, in cafe he would comply to thofe Conditions which were • requisite upon fnch a Condefcenfion in the Bp. \ , LI. Ay. Now you come to the Point very prettity, and are like to. make a very fine Sett of it after all this Beating. The - Conditions -of that Obligation were fuch, I fuppofe, as I have men- tioned. M. Don't miftake your felf, they were both Honourable and jiifr, for the Vicaridge ancl the Prebend having gone together before, and it no ways appearing that the Vicaridge was endowed with all file great Tythes fandT think 'tis impolfible it Ihould) the Bp there- fore told Griffiths f- that to prevent all Difputes whic^ might happen .betwixt the Prebendary and the Vicar,in cafe thofe two Titles were feparated and given to' Two feveral P^rfons". He was refolv'd thety- Ihould go together folong as they were at his Difpofal 5 for then the Incumbent 'would1 Ira vie -all. Either qitatemis Vicar, or quatenus Prebendary, without,- any Ground or Colour for Difpute, unleis -Right and Left ihould quarrel about receiving the Profits, which were Considerable.- :4- ' * ■ • > ^ LI. O now you are..tackh% about.''-? ■■ M. Prithee be not fo Impertinently' Metaphorical I am going on in the right way of Truth and Juftice. The Cafe.-.heirig thus Stated to Griffiths, and he left to his Choice, whether he would take the Vicaridge upon thefe Terms or no, he well knowing the V3fc ke of the thing in Grofs, 'accepted of the ftp's Offer, wtoebytfie other Prebend he flood poffefs'd of, became voide No Brefbyter that ever Iheard of being allowed to have ;l./.o. Stalls m the fame Cathedral or Collegiate Church. Am pray- whefce is the mighty Force upon Griffiths, or how was fis ,Ben^ficr.U- %e- K bend r^ C66) PAR.II.-bend wrefted from him : Since it' Was manifeftly vacated By Mi* wV^w own voluntary Ceffion. Wou'd he have had the Bp to have given him the Vicaridge of Lhnfanfried^ and to have funk the Prebend, ! that it never more fhould have been heard of? Or was it fitting that he who was fo cramm'd with Preferment, mould run away " with all the Profits of lAanfinfried, and leave the Bp a bare empty Titles a Feather- 1 might call it, to dilpofe of y but -that according to Griffiths Depofition, would by its felf be a Burden^ This is the plain Truth of' the Matter, and; I think it apparent that the Bp ought to be commended for his Wife Conduct •, tho' your Dr. does all Jie can to afperfe him for it, by Wrefting the Fallacious Evidence • of this Ungrateful Wretch, who from hence forward muft be -rec* koned the Scandal of his Order. LU Naylafh him tilt you are tir'd, I'll never interpofe in the * foehalf of fuch Monftrous Ingratitude. In the Name of God how came it intovthe Heart of this Man, to rife upagainft the Bp > M. Juft in the fame manner that it did into the Heart of his * Brother Judas ; for as the One, after he had receiv'd the Sop, went .cut and Betray 'd his Matter -, fo this had no fboner got his Belly full of Preferments^ but he immediately began to attempt -the Ruin ' of his Benefactor. Ll The paying 61. is. for the Prebend, that helook'd up- on not to be worth aXSroat,. was, I fuppofe, the Thing that pro- vok'd him. M. But how can any Man conceive, that" the real value of the Prebend fhould be fo low, when the Tythes of the Place are fo Confiderable as 70 /. per Ann. at leaft. Were all the great Tythes lehngwg, to the Vicaridge^'it would of Courfe lofe that Name, and become a Reftory, whereas it ftill remains upon Record under the Title of a Vicaridge, and therefore de Jure there muft be a hand- fome Income due to theRe&or or Prebendaryv tho' Time and Negli- gence has made, it Difficult tot diftinguifh them : But if Griffiths be weary of the Prebead (as he very well may, in cafe he be fo much ( out of Pocket thereby every Year) I know One that is ready to accept of a Refignation of theDignity, and will find a Corps * to itb to hisSorrow. Ll. 'Tis pity but he fhould refign both Ms Preferment and his - Ears, I'm quite Sick of him. M. Settle your Stomach with another Glafs. Li. No, the belt way is to forget him. I wi(h I had finiuYd '• fchis Head, but I cannot do it with Juftice to my Author i till I imve produced One or Two more Inftances of ftrange Extoitions3 as be calls ihem3 and if true, they certainly are fo. C*7 ) M. Let that be examined "5 Which is the Frft ? ■ PAR.n, LI. David Lewis Depofeth, That about the Tear 90. the Bp. promi- i/yv fed to Collate him to the Vicaridge of Trolear Bittus, being then void, and ordered him to provide 61. to dif charge the Fees of it -, which when the Deponent had done, he went to the Bp, who fiew^d him a Pe- tition for one who was Curate in the Vicaridge, and the Bp would have the Deponent quit him of his Promife, but the Deponent injffting thereon, the hp told him, that he Jlmild continuethe Curate there Twelve Months, and that he mujf take a Difpenfation for Non Refidence, and provide and pay him 40 s. for it; and the Bp then gave Mr. Powell the Inftru- ments of Collation to keep till the 40 s. were paid, which the Deponent received from him fiortly after, upon paying the 40 s. for theBp's Ufe. • p. ««. M. If your Author has any Good Men and True to prodnce in Evidence, why does he not uncafe them, and give us (as tfrofe do who fell Rabbits) a Bad one and a Good one ? Why thefe Two" to- gether > LI. Upon what account do you Pair Lewis with Griffith i M. Firft becaufe he pofitively Swore th^t he paid 13 s. 4 d. for *>««»«. *r. Procurations at the Triennial Pt/itation; whereas he paid not one Far- f[',%'d'Ar~ thing to the Bp, uor any body for him. LI. What do you think himfucha Fool, that he knew not when, or how he parted with his Money ? M. So it feems. LI. How came he then to Dream of fuch a Thing ? M. Why thus j perhaps R.Lncy did (harp him out of the Sum a- forefaid, at a Triennial Vifitation, under the Pretence of Fees for Ex- hibitions \ now Lenwfomuch in haft, upon that Qccafion, and per- haps without knowing into whofe Pocket it was to_go ; but hearing afterwards, That to go to the Swearing Office, and to Depofeagainft theBp was the way to Preferment ; thereupon^ either thro' Miftake, or Malice, or Covetuoufhefs, which is afl one as to the Perjury, he tenders himfelf as a Witnefs, and Swore he knew not what, at leaft what was Falfe. LI. But he's pofitive, as to the 40 s. for the Difpenfation. M. And pofitively in the Wrong; for if you will Collect with your felf what the ftated Fees are for a Collation, &c. viz.. Si. is. and what Lewi s paid, viz.. 61. and 40/. afterwards, What Room or Reafon is tirere to believe that the Bp fhould Exact 40 s. under the pretence of giving him a Difpenfation, when that irery Sum was due with it, for other Seai'd-Xnitruments, viz.. Sequeftration and Relaxation ? What Truth there is in that part of the Story, the * Bp** compelling him to take a Difpenfation, 1 know not ; neither is it Material, Tetit be which way it will, feeingthat according to this ;K 2 very (63) very Account no more was paid ,for it than i$<, 4^. So that the :e of this Oath, fo far as he wcuici ham it Affect toe They prove the Allegation, tho' Jones had been filent. M. Who was it that heard them ? Were not you and I Both at ' Haverfordweft that Vifitation? Did we fo much as hear a Complaint whifper?d? Who is the Man > Or what is his Name, that was Op- preffed, either in our Archdeaconry or elfewhere > Sure if the Cler- gy in General had been *hu9 Do any of them come in to Back his Evidence ■? LI. No. M. Then this Fellow muft be look'd upon as one of that Forlorn Hope of Villains 5 who having not the Fear of God before their Eyes, but being lead by the Inftigation of the Devil, and his Ser- vants Robbi Lucy and Meyrick, thus Perjur'd himfelf to Pre-': the Bp. LI. But why were any Alterations made in the Book of Pre rations, if the Bp-de%ned nothing but what was fair > ■ M. Why then herein lies the mighty Myflery ; the Book fo al- ter'd was that whereby the Bp Three Years before gathered, the Procurations at his Primary Vuitation, when full Prociirations.were to be paid by all his Clergy :, but in 91, at his Triennial Vifitatiors, all of them (Tome few excepted who had come into new Prefer- ments) being to pay but half Procurations, there was need to alter the Sums to be required r, which the Bp accordingly did, with that Care and Juftice, that I defy 3^011 to produce any one Man wbjo paid above his ufual <^uota, thofe aforementioned only excepted. LI. You have rubb'd pretty well thro' this Difficulty, but you are fallen into another more Intricate and Dangerous •, for this my Author calls an Improving of the former OppreJJion^ by ?naluvg many Clergymen pay double. • . * . \-V* M. Let the Bp and other People Improve as much as .they wll}\ thy Author is full the fame Dull and Spiteful, Hot and Heavy^. LI. So you'll find him now to your Coft. ••• M. Bring on your Witnefles. Canvas the Matter fairly^ and do your worn;. LI. So I will. John Bamet fwears. M. Vous ave%. Mr. Bamet , are lou there again. I thought yoi% had had your Bellyful of Swearing the laft time. LI. If he were here, he'd reply to you. But -without fooling or jefting, Wipe off if you can the. Guilt which is faften'd upon the Bp-by this Depofition of his. M. His Credit is fo far loft already, that if the thing be not- Manifeft of it felf, no one is oblig'd to believe a Tittle of it upon the account of his Veracity. LI. Have patience to hear what it is, and then* make Exceptions if yolican. He fwears, That Mr. Jones at the Viftation 1691, de- manding of him 1 1 s. for the Procuration of his Vicaridge of the Hay, and and the Deponent being Inform d that no more than $ s. 6 d. were due FAR. II for that Vicarage, he went himfelf to the Bp, and R-afoyui the Thing v-y"-^' with him-, upon which the Bp told him, that $ s. 6 d. were his Jingle Procurations ; but he muff pay 1 1 s. for whole Procurations, becaitfe, tho* this was his Triennial Vijitation, in refpetl of other Clergy Men, yet it was his primary Vifitatlon in refp.ee! of the Deponent, a; Vicar of the Hay, to "which the Deponent Anfrver'd, That he had paid Procurations at the primary Vijitation for his Living at Clirow, and therefore hoped to be Excusdfrom faying the whole norv. But the Bp [aid he would not Excufe him. . M. And what then ? He paid none. LI. Then Mr. Griffiths like wife Depofeth. That at the fame Vhjtation whole Procurations were demanded of him, as newly made Vicar and Prebend- ary of JLlanfanfried ; whereupon, he went and fpoke to the Bp about it, who told him, that they who were admitted Jince his primary Vifitation, ought to pay, and did pay whole Procurations j and thereupon the Deponent paid them. p* 26' M. I can t underftand what thy Author means by all this, unlefs he havea defign to bring Barnet and Griffiths into Credit again, by making them for once fwear Truth. Sin is the Tranfgreffion of the Law, againit what Law is this Practice of the Bp's ? LU Doft thou doat upon the Bp even to blindnefs? Is it not exprefly againft the Canon ? M. I believe not? LI. Then my Memory and Judgment both fail me. M. To prevent Miftakes on both fides, I'll fetch the Book of Canons^ and thereby this Gaufe {hall be fairly Try'd and Determined.--- Here it is ; that which, I fuppofe, you infill: upon in this Cafe, Runs thus : For- afmuch as a Chief and Principal Caufe of Vifitation is, that the Bp, Sec. Cmm I'S7' may get fome good Knowledge of the State, Sufficiency and Ability of the Clergy, and other Pcrfons whom they are lo Pijit. We thinly it Convenient That every Parfon, Vicar, Curate, School- Mafler, and other Perfon Licens'd whofoever, do at the Bp's firfi Vijitation, or at the next Vifitation after his ■ AdmiJJion, (hew and exhibit unto him his Letters of Orders, Infiitution and Indutlion, and all other his Dlfpenfations, Licenfes, or Faculties what- foever, to be by the faid Bijhop either allow' d, or ( if there be jufi Caufe) dif- allow d and rejetled, and being by him approv'd, to be, as the Cujlom is, Signd by the Regifler. And thM the whole Fees accuftom'd to be paid in the Vifitations, in refpeU of the Premises, be paid only once in the whole Time of every Bp, and afterwards but half of the faid accuftom'd Fees in every other Vifitation^ during the faid Bp's continuance. LI. JTis direttly againft you. M. Read it over diftinftly, and you will judge cthsrwife. LI. To humour you, I'll try; Forafmuch, Sec. M. Well, Whatthink'ft thou now ? LI. The fame I did before ; that the Bp. violated this Sacred Rule of the Church, by Exacting whole Procurations twice of the fame Perfon. M Had it been for the fame thing, the very fame Benefice, you would fay fomething ; but as this Demand was made upon the account of New- Preferment, the Cafe alters mightily, and I dare be pofitive in it, that the Pia&ice is from this very Conftitution of our Church Juffifiable. t U Fray ( T* ) PAR; II. LL Pray explain your felf, before you go any farther, for I do not %S\/r>j we^ apprehend your meaning. M. Then take it thus > Had Burnet fwore, that at this Vifitation he had paid full Procurations, both for the Living of CUrow and the Vica- rage of the Hay, he had lworn fomething to the purpofe againli the Bp, but as the Bp receiv'd full only for the Vicarage of the Hay, into which he was Inftituted fince the Bp's primary Vifitation, that's no more than what the Canon allows. LK That I Deny. Ai. Will you yield that every Vicar at the next Vifitation after his AdmiJJion, fhouldfhew bis Inftitution! and lndutlion, &c. and that the whole Fees accuflom'd to be paid in the Vifitation, in refpeU of the Premijfes be paid by this new Incumbent. LI. No, that I won't, becaufe it follows that the whole mall be paid only once in the whole time of every Bp, and afterwards but half of the faid accu domed Fees in every other Vifitation, during the faid Bf$ Continuance. M. Then I muft tell you, that you deny the very words of the Canon ; for is it not there faid, That the whole accuftomed Fees to be paid in the Vi- fitation s in the refpetl of the Premijfes, be paid only once, &c. during the fold Bp's Continuance. Now what are thefe Premijfes for which the whole is once to be paid ? Surely things that are in Being, that are Capable of be- ing.me w'd and actually exhibited, and how could Barnet- s Inftitution, Induction, &c, be exhibited in the primary Vifitation, when he had them not till a year after. From whence I infer, that either fome In- ftruments mail be exhibited and the whole not once paid for them in e- very Bp's time, which the Canon does contradict, by faying/ That only once the whole JhaH be paid, &c. or elfe ( which is the Pofitioh I maintain ) That that Bp acts according to the Letter and plain Meaning of the Law in this Cafe provided, who demands the whole upon the Exhibition of New Instruments. LI. Ah Proteu ! quo te teneam nolo ?. M. What need is there of Haltering an Innocent Man ? Do what thou wile with me, if I offer Violence to the Canon, but be not Angry if I Expofe the Weaknefs and Fallacy of fome Peoples Comment upon the Venerable Text ; Read the Canon once more over, and fee if this ExpCM iition be hot juft. Here Til lend thee my Spectacles. Li, Your Tongue has inform'd me, I need not your Eyes ; but for all this, the Cafe is not clear. There may be Reafon good, why one newly Preferr'd ought to pay his Acknowledgement to the Bp, as others have done before him, but Barnet and Griffiths had been at the primary Vifitation, had paid whole Fees, and why ihould the fams Perfons pay the whole twice ? Ai. Thou art fo vext. at this Difappointment, that thou doft for- get what I faid as to that point. As Vicar of CUrow, Barnet had paid, but not as Vicar of the Hay, or in refpecl of thofe Inftruments never before exhibited, At this Vifitation he appears in his Ecclefiaftical Ca- pacity as another Perfon, produces a Title, Inftitution, and Induction, never before expos'd in this judicial way, and unlefs he could have ihewn ( 75 > a Difpenfation exempting him from the Authority of the Canoni pV^? 'twas his Duty both in J u (lice and Obedience to tender what hedid, v^v and had he don'c without Reafoning, as he calls it, or Swearing as you fay he did, all honeft Men would have thought the better of him. But he and Griffiths are Robins Hacks, ready Sadied and Bridled upon all Oc- casions, for Air. Promoter's Service. A Good Journey to them, I fay, if they are not refolvd to Ride to the Devil. LI. They are not the only Perfons that Depos'd to this Allegation, for Henry Rogers , one or" his Lordfhip's Witnefles, Swears to the fame Ef- P. 2s: fetl, as to the Procurations for Lanbadernvaur. M. I know he does \ and had he not been a Man of more Honefty and Worth than the two Brethren in Iniquity aforementioned, he might have fwore any thing, there wanted not Temptation ; for this very Rogers gives To the ufr it upon Oath, That at the Metropolitical Vifitation at Cardigan in 1694, llth^rUclF Lucy endeavoured to Subborn him to be a Witnefs againft the Pp, by tel- °6^g lz' ling him, that his Living of Lanbadernvaur was fmall, and that as he ' needed not to eftee n himfeif indebted to the Bp for fo fmall a matter, fo the Arch-bifhop would take Notice of fuch as would inform againfl; his Lordfhip. LI. Is Rogers a Man of that Credit that hisTeftimony may be relied on? At. If your Author did not think fo, why does he produce him ? LI. What knows he of the Welch Clergy, more than he can learn from the Depolitions ? Do vou know him Perlonally ? At. YeSj and have been Acquainted with him for many Years ; Ten years a-go (when he was a very Young Man) he was Curate at Caermar- then, from thence, he was prefer'd into Cardigan/hire , where he lives in good Repute with the beii Gentry of that Country, and has by the Government, been thought a fit Perfon to Aft along with them, as Com- miflioner of the Taxes. As you may fee in the Lilt for that County. LI. Tis ftrange to me, that the Archbifhop did not utterly Difcard and Deteft Lucy from the very time that hefaw this Depofition. Had any Man fo Abus'd my Name, as he has done his Grace's, 1 would have Profecuted him with more Severity than I would him that fhould Rob me on the High- Way, or break into my fcloufe. Did you never hear how his Grace Refented it ? At. No: If you have a mind to know, or as your Author words it, Tofatisfy your Curiofity , you may go and ask him. LI. Is that the Kindnefs you have for your Old Acquaintance ? But fince you put me in mind of Travelling, 111 think of jogging Home, for 'tis almoft Night, and we have not half done. At. Have we done with this Second General Head. There feems to be fomething ftill behind of it. LI. Only a Remark of the Author's which, as it happens, is not worth the Reading. p* 2?* At Moil of what he writes is of that fort \ prithee let's have it to the Reft. & LI. Read it your felf then, whilft I gather up my Whip and Gloves. At The Bp did, as it were, confefs his being Guilty of thefe manifold Ex- , tor/ions C this Fellow muft Lye, whether other People do or no ] for , at (76) PAR II. At f^e beginning of the Caufe he made An Offer in Writing to make full Refthution t^\^sl to finch Perfons from whom he had received more Fee i for Collations , In/lit utious, Procurations , and other Things of that Nature, than were really due ; but during the Depen dance of the Caufe, for three Tears and more, the Bj> has mt prov'd that he aBually Reftord one Farthing. Do you hear, Friend ? How much has the Bp upon the whole Rearing of the Gaufe wrefted from any Man ? LI. Nothing that I can underftand, unlefs Lucy, and other Secretaries lead him into a Mifiake by their Pra&ice and Information. M. And if the Bp upon better Information ( could any body give it him ) did at the beginning of this Suit promife to make Satisfaction to any that he might have Exacted upon, through Mifl_ake, What Propofal could be more Honeft or Chriftianlike ? Was not this, as a man fhould ' think, enough to mollify the Hearts of the Accufers, and to have put a Stop to the Profecution upon this Head 5 but they were Refolv'd that it mould be a Publick Quarrel, and what have they got by it ? LI. Nothing ; for you fee he has not remitted One Farthing as yet. M. And if ever he do, I think he's to blame for it. LL If I could but find my Gloves, I do not care a Halfpenny whether he doth or not. M. Thou feeraft to be out of Humour ; prithee don't go off in a Pet. I hope you don't take Exceptions at any thing I have faid. LI. I fhall be Angry with yon m gnnrl Kamed-, if yon fufpeft me to be fuch a Puppy. Weil now I am ready as warm an Antagonift as thou art, in the way of Difpute ; yet by way of Farewell, Dear Friend, Thanks, and good Night to thee: M. O ftay and Drink j give me thy Hand, Here's to thee, good Brother. Well, wilt thou give me leave to make one Propofal ? Stay all Night, that we may go thro' this Work, and I'll fend my Boy to ac- quaint thy Wife that I keep thee. LI. No. M. Thou fhalt ftay, we won't loofe the Pleafure of another Days Converfation, by tugging Pro and Con in this ugly Gaufe. Be good Natur'd for once ; I hope we fhall go through it before Bed-time, and have half an Hour to fpare for a little eafy Talk. Any time the next Week thou fhalt Command me for a Night and a Day. LI. Upon that valuable Consideration, I will ftay. But prithee do not fail of diipatching a Meflfenger. M. I'll fend him away, and return to you in a Minute. The End of the Second Tart* THE (O PART III. Manifold Simony. J Ell, he's gone, and I'm heartily glad that I have theefaft. L. Have a care leaffc you mould only have caught a Tartar. I read in thy very Eyes, that thou art not a little tranfported with thy Succefs under the two fore- going Heads. But the third Head is a meer Gorgon, the very fight of it will fo damp thy Courage, and chill thy Blood, that inftead of being able to defend the Bp. thou wilt be ftruck quite fpecchlcfs* M. Mainfold Simony as it is Nnmerofitum Malum, you might bet- ter compare it to that other Monfter Hydra, the Emblem of Po- pular malice, which is perpetually budding, tho' mow'd down neverXo clofe or often. L. And you I warrant are in your own fancy that mighty Hercu~ les, born today this dreadful Dragon. M. Far be it from me to pretend to high Titles, or great mat- ters, but I'll either anfwer all you can produce under this charge, or give up the Caufe. L. No thanks to you for that. So long as you had room, you laid about you very He/oically, but now we fhall prefs upon you with fucrt Force, and fo clofely, that yon muft either fall, or quit the Field. M. You have Flourifh'd enough : Begin the Battle. L. Simony then and Mainfola\Simony, I charge the Bp. withfome of which deteflable ABs relate to the Preferment, to which the Bp. collated his Ne» phew Mr. John Medley. Another relates to the ReBory of Burrough- Green in Cambridgeshire, which was held by the Bp. in Commendanu Before I come to fpecify the former it may not be amifs to premife out of the Proofs, that Mr. Medley was in Ihcycar 1687. when his Uncle was made Bp. cf St. David% poflefled of a fmall Curacy in Tork- fiire of about 30/. per Annum, That in 1688 he was collated by the Bp. to two Rectories, and two Prebends, to which the Bp* ad- ded in the year 16*91, the Arch-deaconry of St. David's, and the Treafurefhip of the Collegiate Church in Brecon, It wou'd be Ima- B gM (2) Part 3. Imagined that this Accumulation of Preferments, mould make the v*^"W Tor kfi ire Curate appear Gay and Chearful,and put Money in his Pock- et : But on the contrary, the Proofs allure us, that tho' he continu'd a Batchelour, and kept neither Man nor Horfe, and tho' for near two years , he was Lodg'd and Dieted at 10 /. per Annum, yet he was always complaining of want of Money. M. If Fuller and thy Author were to lie for a Wager, I would Lay on the Dr's fide. L. Why fo? M. Becaufe the young Man does not Lye half fo faft. Whatever he attempted in this way, he did it with deliberation, and gave his forgeries lbmething of a Colour. But the Narrative Maker, with- out either Art or Modefly, runs on from one falfehood to another, as if aborigine, he had been one of thofe, who as foon as they are born, go abroad and fpeak Lyes ; I'll warrant him a good one from his Cradle. L. Is it thus you keep your promife. M. Equity in this Cafe will allow me a Liberty, the provocation being Vltra patientiam humanam, Contrary to Truth, Charity,Hiftory, and matter of Fad in feveral Inftances, L. As how * M. Anfwer me but one Queftion, and then I'll tell you, what do you underftand by Medley's being poflelTed of a fmall Curacy in Tprk-- fare ? L. What can be plainer than the words of the Author, if I mull give his Senfe in other Terms. Medley ferved in fome little obfcure mean Parifti in his own Country, till his Uncle was promoted to the See of St. David's. M. So I apprehend your Author, and queftior^d not, but he de- fign'd to lead all his Readers into that miftake. L. And pray, good Sir, how can you correal this Errour, or make out the contrary. M* Thus as it happen^, I have been acquainted with Mr. Med- ley, ever flnce his flrft coming into the Diocefs, upon his firft Journey to St. David's, I accidently fell into his Company, and in his return to Abergmlly, he did me the favour to call here and ftay two or three hours* amonglt other things, I ask'd him how he lik a our Country, and then to Satisfy my curiofity, began to inquire about his, and what preferment he had there. I had no ill defign, and he was very free and open. L. And \yhat mighty difcoveries had you from his Northern Re* M* Nothing (3) M. Nothing but Truth and Honefty, which will never be diicovei'd Part g. in your London Dr. L/~v~\J L. Sed quid ad Rhombitm. You forget the Curacy all this while. M. I'm juft coming to it, if you'll give me leave. Enquiring into his Circumftances whilft in his native Country, he told me, that he was Curate of Headon, a Corporation Town, and a pretty large one. L. And you believe it was fo. M. Yes I do, becaufe Camden^ who is a very Anthentick Hiftorian and Geographer, gives a more magnificent defcription and account of this place, than Mr. Medley's Modefty would afford me. If I miftake not, he told me withall, that there was another Parifh annex'd to it, the name of which 1 do not now remember. h. And what was that worth ? M. I was not fo nice in my Enquiry, tho' both he faid were a- bout 30 /. a year. L. Then certainly they were two very glorious Places. Kidwelly I prefume is a topping Town, if compared with this Torkjhire Cor- poration. M. Look into Camden, and you will be of another Opinion, I have the lafl: Edition in my ftudy, and becaufe thou art fo flow of belief, will fetch him down to convince thee. Lee me fee, 'tis p. 739. Headen here 'tis. " This if we believe Fame, that always mag- nifies Truth, was a very confiderable place, by reafon of Merchants " and Shipping: For my part I have Faith to believe it, notwithftan- " ing it is now demolifh'd. King John granted to Bladin Earl of At- tmnSs tnat never were depofed. Docs he ' refer to any Witncfles in the Margin ? L. No. M. Then let him produce them, or lie under the Scandal of an Impoftor. L. But what fay you to that inference of his, viz: It wonld be imagined that this Accumulation of Preferments, fooiild make the York- ihire Curate appear Gay and Chearful. — *rtm a. ^ Why fo ? W"VN? hereafterj a confiderable Debt, before he could be ietled in his Bene- fices, he was afraid leaft he might be cut off before he could difcharge thofe Obligations. All men are not of that audacious tem- per, as to run hazards j Nay, many wife Men have chofen Tata & fnrvula for their Motto, and if Mr. Medley were one of them, no good Chriftian will condemn him for fuch a juft concern } but that he uttered thefe Words upon any fenfeof Guilt, contracted in the way or manner of his promotion, no more follows from hence, than that he was guilty of Murder or Treafon. L, Mind what Pyemom fays, and you may have caufe to think Bps.^. otherwife. For he Swears that Medley was fo difturbed and melan- Witn* choly, that he refufed to go to Church, and that when the Depo- nent preifed him to go, he anfwer'd, he could not Pray. Does not this look like the effect: of an horrible guilt upon his Confcience, when he had fuch a fenfe of his Sin, that he durft not ask God for- givenefs for it. M. Have a care Friend, how you make fuch Conclufions, or fallen fuch reproaches upon any Man under God's Vifttation. are Melancholy andHypochondriack, perfons thofe who are fo even to very high dis- order as) Medley was at that time) Sinners above all Sinners. Are there not many fedentary, thoughtful!, devout perfons, who are nicely ftridt in their Lives and Converfations, apt to fall into thofe diffident, almoft defponding humours. Ask the moft celebrated Divines, who live in great Towns, and have numerous Congregations, whether or no, in the difcharge of their Paftoral Office, they do not meet with feveral good Men and Women, who have been afflicted much after the fame manner, upon an ill Grounded Fancy, that they do not ferve God as they ought, or that God does not Love them, or ac- cept their Offering j Or confult the Phyflcians, whether or no the thicknefs of the Blood, or an ill habit of Body, does not frequent- ly difturb the Imagination, and where it happens to a perfon of ten- der Confcience, and ftrict Life, whether or no, it is not apt to be- get accidentally a Religious fear, and thofe Anxieties of Mind, which may be diflipated and purged away by Phyfick, whereas no Drugs can remove guilt, or cool a confcience inflam'd with the Terror of the Lord. Had Mr. Medley either in his difcourfe with Harris^ or in whatflipt from him in hisdiforder whenurg'd by Pyemont,ta\ktany thing of Simoniacal Bonds or Contracts, the one would willingly , enough have divulg'd it, and the other without Queftion was too Ho- 1 seft to conceal it. But fince Harris is filent, and Pyemom who had ] ( 8) Part 5«the queftion pat to him (what your Do&or anjuftly, and with his W^ wonted Unfaithfulnefs and Uncharitablenefs conceals) did declare, that he knew not what was thecaufe of Mr. Medley's Difcontent or Me- lancholy. 'Tis very Unreafonable and Unchriftian, for any Man to put Non caufa fro caufa at all Adventures •, But your Author is con- fident with himfelf all along, and is inconfiftent with Truth or Cha- rity. I wifh he may repent, and that thefe idle words, in this and other parts of this Libel may not be laid to his Charge, when the great account is to be given in that tremendous day, when the Fruits of our Lips are to be try'd in Judgment, as well as the works of our Hand?. L. I wifh he had let thefe things alone, for they make nothing for his purpofe. But now I come to coniider more particularly the fe- veral Preferments, to which the Bp. collated Mr. MeMeyr.and the Si- moniacal Pravity that accompany'd thofe Collations. M. I fuppofe then you are bringing on your WitnefTes. But be- fore we have any of them, let us firir, open the meaning of thefeTerms, upon which a great part of this Controverfy does turn. What is your Notion of Simony ? L. I look upon it to be a Sin of that very malignant Nature, that if it were not retrained by ftri& Laws and fevere Penalties, not on- ly the Beauty and Glory of the Church, but Religion it felf would be much endangered. For if the Cure of Souls, and the Profit Annex'd •nee came to be Marketable Ware, in [a few.Years, every Diocefs would be little better than a Den of Thieves. M. I am of your Opinion. But wherein do yon judge the Sm of Si- mony to confift. L. I do not trouble my head with the nice Diftin&ions and Defini- tions of the Canonifts upon this point, but frame my Idea of it ac- cording to the Draught given us of it in the Oath exhibited to pre- vent it. And from thence conclude, that he who pays Money either by himfelf or any other, or who is privy to any perfons giving or promifing of Money, tho1 not at the inftigation of the party prercr'd; or who enters into any oUier fort of Contract, or fuffers any third Perfon to make any Contract in confideration of the preferment to be given, is a Simonaicai Perfon. So that he who gives his Patron tea times more for a Horfe than he is worth, (which has been Iook'd upoa as a fly way of cheating the Devil) or that takes off in the way of Ma- trimony his Worfhips or his Honours Houfe keeper or Kinfwoman with a Liviag,d"c. as part of or the whole Portion, thus tricking the Law, as he himfelf is triektby the fly Donor, fuch Knaves and Fools, not to fay Cuckolds of the firft Head, however Wife in their own conceits, come under the guilt of Simony, as much as he who pays , down or promifes a pecuniary consideration. M, (?) M. I agree with you in all this; Anfwer me only one Queftion, and then we will fall to the Cafe before us. Do you mean the fame thing by Simony and Simonaicalpravity ? L. What elfe, only wich this Reftri&ion, that whereas Simony in General may be committed feveral ways ; by Simonaical Pravity the Au- thor means, that particular way of management, whereby the Bp. and Medley became both of them guilty. M. I thought fit to ask the Queftion, to prevent digreflions when we are in the midft of the Argument. Remember therefore, that your Author charges the Bp. with downright Simony, and let him not offer to im pole on us fome matters of facl, under a Simonaical colour (thro* his mifreprefentation or mifunderftanding) which may be juftify'd both by the Laws of God and Man. L. Trouble not your felf or me with thofe Niceties, I'll prove down- right Simony undeniably up©n him. M. To it then as fait as you can. L. (i.) Themas Powel Depofes, That in the Month of May, 1688. P* 29* The Bp. collated Medley to the prebend of Clyddy, and that he con- tinued Prebendary thereof Three Years, during which time the De- ponent by the Bps. Order, as well in Wiiting as by word of Mouth, receiv'd the Rents 1 5 /. per Annum, as alfo 1 5 /. part of a Fine for the Renewal of the Leafe of the fame prebend from Mr. Meyrkk the Tenant, all and each of which Sums the Deponent did afterwards pay to the Bp. M. The beginning of that depofition is a Lye, whatever truth there may be in the clofe of it. L. How fo ? M. Becaufe fir ft of all he tells us, that Mr. Medley was collated in May 1688 to Clyddy, and then he Swears, that the Archdeaconry of promoter St. David's being void Mich. 90. Medley was collated co it about Witn. ' , March following, fo that unlefs it be Three Years from M*y 1688, Promot.29 to March 90. Friend Thomas is ipfo faclo a Knight of the Poft, for upon ^m' Ai Med'ey's accepting of the Arch-Deaconry, Clyddy as I faid before, was / ' ' 3' void of courfe. L, Who catcheth at all advantages now ? He only meant that Med- /*yreceiv'd. Three Years profit from Clyddy, for eucring upon it in May 1688, if his Predeceffor died before iady day, as I fuppofehe did. M. Your fuppofal is ground lefs, his PredecelTor dy'd after Lady day, but thou haft an excellent hand at helping a Lame Dog over a Stile. L. I delire none of your Affiiance, a'lowing me chis Soppofal. knA *hen it being certain that Medley continu'd ^ubjudary thereof G till (to) Part 5. till after Mich, day 10*90. he receiv'd, or ibme body for him, Thret \S~y~sj Years Rent, which was the thing to be proved. M. And could not this have been attefted without calling upon God to witnefs a Lye along with it ? L. You are too ftrid: and captious. M. Why then your WitnefTes it feems muft Swear what they pleafe, and true or falfe, it muft either pafs or be forgiven them \ or which is harder frill, what they Swear againft others muft be be- lieved, and what they depofe againft therafelves muft not? This ve- ry November 1704. I am Rector of this place, and thereby am entitu- ledtoall the Rights and Tythes of the Pariih for the Year 1704. Surplice Fees only excepted. Now fhould I leave this Redory, and be, preferr'd to another Benefice inconfiftent with this, in January next, would not he be perjur'd, that fhould three or four Years hence, fwear that T was aftually Re&or here Lady-day 1705. When a Man fwears Truth, his Confcience and his Memory do faithfully diclate to him what he (hall fay \ but when a perfon refolves to falfify in his Evidence, or to fwear at all adventures, fo that he may prejudice his Neighbour, God quickly gives up fuch to a Spirit of Errour, and one accidental Lye many times difcovers the falfe* hood of their Hearts, their want of Confcience and Common Ho- nefty. In our common Courts of Judicature, fuch an Evidence as this would certainly be fet afide. If not mounted to the Pil- lory. 1. 1 think you aggravate the matter beyond Reafon, M. I am fure I do not, for I admit of a fuppofal, inftead of a pofi- tive affirmation, and to give you all the Liberty you can defire, I own the Rents, and that Money given by Meyrick for the Renewal, to have been paid afterwards to the Bp. L. Then notwithftanding your Malevolent Reflection upon Mr. Meyrick in the two former parts of this Conference, you now own that Edmund can fwearthe Truth. You have already confefs'd it, and can't go back. ;< M. No, go you forward, and give his Depofition at lejgth, and if I do not find a Lye in it, then I'll retraft in what rranner you pleafe. L. Mr. Meyrick Depofes, That he being Tenant of the Corp belonging to the Prebend o/Clyddy — Ad Art, 6. M. There 'tis at firft d?.fh, for Meyrick was not Tenant or JLeflee,but ^7« Dr. Jenesy for whom Mey.-ick AStcd only in Truft, as Towel nimfelf was forc'd to Confefs, and as your Author very well knew. £» The ( II *- J L. The Devil was in thefe people fure, to forfWe'ar themfelvesBart $. for nothing, when there was no need of it. The manner of receiving <^y~>J and paying the Money flee it be whofe it would) was enough to fa- llen the guilt upon the Pp. M. You conclude too haftily- Go on with Meyrick's Evidence. L. So I will, becanfe there is fomething very particular in it* He tells you further, That Mr. Medley Prebendary thereof^ did about April 1 690., come to him and dlfcoitrfe with him about the renewal of his Leafe% and came to this Agreement \ That the Deponent fooi/d pay for it 25 1. and Medley figned andfealed the Agreement. But before he would deliver it) an Indorfment was made, that the Contrail Jhould not be good unlefs the Bp. Jhould approve thereof. M. Why didft thou open thy mouth fo wide, and exalt thy voice fo much, when you pronoune'd the wordBp? L. Becaufe 'tis plain from hence, that the fole power in this Cafe was lodg'd in the Bp. fince Medley durft not otherwife than an Agent, treat about the profits of f what Ihould have been) his own Preferment.. M. Does the taking the advice of a Friend, or the approbation andcounfel of a perfon wifer than a Mans klf7 alter his property Medley was a. Stranger to things of this Nature, certainly was fo as to the Value of the Corps, and tho' to fupply his Neceffities, he was willing to treat with Meyrick, yet it was prudent in him to Demurr, -to the accomplifhing this Bargain .(beyond the power of Revocation, till he had enquired further into the matter. And where is the harm of confuking his Uncle and Diocefan, whom he knew to be his friend, as every Body knows Meyrick to be a Sharper? I no more think it un- law full to ask the Bps advice, ( the grand Truftee of the Diocefs) than 'tis to ask him Biefling. L. Ay, but as you wii) hear afterwards, the Bp. had the Money, only Ten Pounds Medley borrow 'd of Meyrick j which was clear gain, and more I fuppofe than the Bp. defign'd him. M. I do roc queition but all the reft however accruing, or ari- Ung from Medley's Preferments, went to his own proper Lawfull ufe, or ashepleafed j Either Charitably or honeftly to difpofe of it. L. How then could he be fo bare of Money, /^yr^difcourling him upon this How it could be that he who had two ReRories and two Pn bends for two Tears, worth 150 1. per Annum could want fuch A Sum ? M. There Meyrick falfifies again in the valuation of Mealtv's Pre- ferments, the two Rectoiies being then fee tor do I. per Anmm9Clyddy C a being (£*)• Part $. being kit 15/. as you confefe, and LUnuthal but n /. clear, which * ; which fails above 40/. fhort of this infictious Eftimation. L, Suppofe them to be no more than 1 00 /. per Ann. that was enough to keep Medley out of thefe Streigbts, nay to put him into plentifull Circumftances \ but inftead of that, he confefTes in his Anfwer to Mr. Meyrick, that it was better with him when he was a Curate in his own Country in Torkjhire. Which could not be, had not the Bp. intercepted the profits of his Preferments, and diverted them from Medley's to his own life. M. Be not too hafty in defaming the Bp. and condemning a Righ- teous ferfon, a Broker not to fay a Governor amongft us. Confider what you faid a while ago that Medleys Curacy in Torkjhire was but 30 /. fer Ann. This tho it might decently maintain him during the time he ferved there, yet 'twas impoflible that from hence heihould be furniftYd with Money to take (even expenfive Journeys, one to London in May 88, another back to Headon in June following, one to ..St.- David's in July 98, "with a Servant and two Horfes, another to London, another from London to Headen, and another back to London and laftly toBlethvach from London in January following. 'Twas not a little that would purchafe him a Horfe, and equip him decently for his Travels. Add to this the charge of Firfl Fruits, Inftitution and Indu&ion, Fees to two Re&ories, and four or five Dignities Procurations, Tenths, Taxes, his own Dyet, the Charge of ferving his Cures during his abfence whilft he went to his own Country, the flownefs of Tenants in paying their Rents, and many other ways whereby Money runs from a Clergy- man. Put all this toge- ther,and was it fo very ftrange that on the 2d. of April after his coming into the Country he mould want 10 /. were the Lady-day Rents come in by that time.? Our Tenants are not fo quick, wherefore fince 'tis plain that Medley was not a Man beforehand with the World when he came into Wales, it could not otherwife be but that he mult be confiderably in Debt to fome body or other, and had he known whereto raife it, might have found ways enough to difpofe of a larger Sum than this borrow'd from Meyrick. And if under this load of Debt, notwithstanding this accumulation of Prefer- ments, he faid it was better with him when he had 30 /. a Year de claro coming in, and no Debt or Deductions, any man that confi- ders the Charge he had been at, may readily believe him, without refleding upon the Bp. L. But whaE had the Bp. to do to finger his Money, could not he have left him to manage his own ? Why mould the Rents ofClyddy and other things be paid, into his JLordihips hands ? M When ( 13) M. When you hare Charged theBp. with all that ha received, Part ? then will be the propereft time to anfwer that Queftion, Is there any '/VNJ thing more in Mcyrick's Depofition.? L. Nothing very material, only he tells you That in the May fol- lowing, he Received a Letter from Medley, import ing that the By. would by no means, Confent to renew the Leafe, upon the Terms agreed between him andthe Deponent, that the O&ober following, the Deponent went to the. Bp. whofind'ng the Deponent would not advance the Fine, agreed to tale the 25 /. and order d the remaining 1 5 /. ( the 10/. to Medley being deducted) to be brought, which, was accordingly done, and the Deponent was about to pay it to Mr. Medley, which the Bp. feeing, called out and told the Depo- nent, that Medley could not count Money. A prety Man to make an p. 3Cj Arch-Deacon of afterwards ! M. Is counting of Money, (To warily and judicionfly as not to be Cheated ) fuch a necefury Qualification in a Dignitary of the Church or any Obib uclion to higher Promotions ? At that time a day, when the Coin of the Nation, was fo much debafed and Counterfeited. Without doubt there were hundreds of Learned Men in the King- dom, that might have been impofed upon in the Receiving of a le/Ter Sum. Efpecially it' it were to come from the hands, of fuch a ons as Edmond. The Bp. I think did wifely, to put one Sharper to watch another, that fo Medley might not be Impofed upon. And I'm glad withal), to find that Mr. Medley was prefent at the making of the Baigain, otherwife had the Bp» confented to it in his Abfence, all would have beenlook'd upon, as his doing nothing, and even a piece of Friendfhip have been adjudged Criminal. L. Never talk of Medley, he fignified nothing here nor there, but was a meerCypher. By chance indeed, he did come beyond the 10 /. but the Remainder was paid by Meynck to Bowel, and as Vowel, has depofed what he thus received, be paid to the Bp. M. And that upon averyjufb Account as (hall be fhewn hereafter, in it's proper place, for I won't tow interrupt you in the Courfe of your Proof. L. Then the next Preferment to be conlider'd, is the Arch-Dea- conry of Sc. Davids. The fame Mr. Thomas Bowel fwears, that Mr. Medley was twice Collated to this Dignity, the fir(t time, about Michaelmafs, 1690. what's this. M. A grofs and unpardonable miftake in your Author, for as I told you before, look to Powers Depouuon, and then he Swears that the 7keP'onm>, Arch-Deaconry of St. David's being void, about Michaelmas 90. j,^'*' aet that thereupon Mr. Medley was firft Collated to it about March fol- r ,2,3,4v lowing. The Dr. is doted fure, or much Malice has made him Mad. Z»Were Tart f . L. Were he prefent to hear thee, I believe thou won ld'fl: make him l^y^s)Co outright. But why was Mr. Medley Collated again, in 91 .? There wasfome trick or other in that. M' Only on honeft contrivance to keep him in the place, which had honeftly been beflow'd upo.i him : for Mr. Medley through inad- vertency, or upon a fuppofal thaticwas not necefldly, having neg- lected to take the Tefr, the Bp. by oifcourfing wich him, difcover- ed the Omilfion, and to prevent all bazards, Collated him a frefh. L. This Deponent further Swears, That he knew by the. Up*. Letter, and D'tfcourfes^ that he intended to hold the Ach-Dcuconry in Commendam \ and that after it was void^ he [aid he mould fo hold it, M. Yes fure, for how could he any way lay hold on't before ? Can either you or any of the Party fwear that ever you knew a Bp. who had the Privilege of a large Commeudam, and an Opportunity to fill it up, who neverthelefs was Guilty of fo much felf-denial as to let go fo many fweet places, as he then had his choice of? The Rectory of Abereddo, value fix fcore Pounds per Annum. Arch-Dea- conry 52, Treafurefhip of Brecon 60. refer ved Rent. Had his Lord- fhip been fuch an Ecclefiairical Raparee, as your Author would re- prefent him to be, or had he refolv'd to reap the Profits of the Arch-Deaconry and Treafurefhip, who could have hinder'd him from enjoying the EfFe&s of that gracious Patent, confirm'd by Royal Au- thority ? Why mould he have involved himfelf, and his Kinfman in the Damnable guilt of Simony, and expofed both himfelf and his Re- lation to the Judgment of this World, as well as the next, by any cor- rupt Contract when by Law he might have alTumed both to his own proper ufe ? But for very good and unexceptionhle Reafons, he gave them his Nephew, and that if the Truth was known* was a Grie- vance and a very fore one to Tom Pomel, and feveral others. Bro. Arnold that empty and inflpid piece of Formalicy, put in very ftrongly for it, and to the great difappointmentof his Sifter ( Tom Powers Wife) and that whole Family was denyed. Tom Sandy\ would needs have it by all means. \ and when he miifed, Jerry Griffiths becaufe he would loofe nothing for want of asking, came to fue for it. To all thefe, the Bp. anfwered inhis fhort Commendam , but.fome of ihefe ftill infilling in their unmannerly importunity, and others frequently Soliciting his Lordfhip from feveral parts of England, to purchafe Peace and Quictnefs, and to difoblige none of thofe eager Compe- titors by prefering one before the other. He fent for Honeft Mr. Medley , who was ferving of God, doing his Duty in his Pariihes and never thought on't, and freely gave him both that, and -the Treafur'e- •fliipof Brecon. This inftead of quieting fet the whole Herd a grunt- ing, and if the very Truth were known, this put Vowel and feveral others f is ; others, upon Swearing at this uncharitable., unmerciful rate, againft Part ?. his Lordfliip. c/V^-5- L. No, t'was the Simony that follow'd this Collation, this Exal- tation of Medley that offended them all, and even fore'd them in Con- fcience to ufe the Bp. with this Extremity, Towel fvvears directly, and you cannot deny ic, 'that in the year 91. he being Tenant to the Arch- Deacomy^, paid the^Bp. 52 /. end that he did the fame in 92. and 93. * ,0j. That Medley never asVt the Deponent for the faid Rents. M. Why mould he, when he knew the Bp. (who had received them by his appointment ) had apply ed them to his ufe ? .L. To whofe ufe ? M. To Medley's ufe, as I can demonftrate. L. There will be a large Reckoning anon, Friend. M. I'll anfwer ic I warrant you j do you proceed. L, I was going to tell you, had you not interrupted me, That Jince Mr. Medley ask'd the Deponent for the faid Rents, about two Months after ^ he, the Deponent had paid the fir ft rent to the Bp. to which Demand^ the Deponent made Anfwer you Imw I have paid my Rent, and to whom,, To which Medley xz\\fo\, Ay, my Lord faith, I owe him a 100/. but 1 don't know, I hope it will be off at Michaelmafs next, andthen, I (lull have it my felf by which the Deponent apprehended that the 100 /. would be paid off by Michaelmas 92. But the-Bp. having tailed the Sweets of this Arch-Deaconry, thus coming in, could not fo let go his hold of it. For the Deponent further Swears. That having above the i 55 /. afore- mention'cl, (for^fo much the three years Rent amounts to) received fame Indutlion Fees, belonging to the Archdeaconry, which he paid to the Bp. that the Bp, after this in 1694 wrote a Letter to the Deponent, wherein be/aid, the Indud.cn lees J am to have till Michaelmas next upon a Bargain. M. That Medley owed the Bp 100/. fas he confefs'd to Vowel) is certain in that the Bp. in 90 or 91, deposited that Sum for him, in part of Portion for his Sifter Elizabeth, who was Married to Mr. SeeM$* Charles Pryce, who gives it upon Oath, that he receivd the faid Sum from his Lordfliip, with 400/. more hisLordfhips free Gift's to and along with the faid Elizabeth in Marriage, and tho' that 100/. were ftruck off in 1692, according to Towel's Conjedure, yet Mr. Med- ley out of a delire to fee another Sifter fettled well in the World, piomifed 200/. with her, the Bp. added 200/. more of his own Money, and at Medley's requeft paid 124/. for xMr. Medley upon this account, as Mr. Henry Towel the perlon that Marryed her hasbhe Month, Orator, or reprefentative Evidence of the Mobb, and both with equal Au- thority and Veracity. For if as Harris Swears,- many were of this opinion, why was not One produced to back and ftrengthen his Te- ftimony, when, or where were thefe two Worthies, deputed to give nheSenfe of the Gentry, or populace of thefe refpe&ive Counties ? If any had talk'd m this manner of the Bp. yet none of them durli appear to verify their words. Why did not fome of them at leaft come along with thefe (as they would be thought) Grand Jurors to allure the CommhTioners that they agreed in ■ the Verdict of their Foremen ? Tis fcandalous and ridiculous to offer thefe things as proofs, and highly probable, that thefe two perjur'd them- . felves. L Wbyfof M. Becaufe the Bp. predue'd Many perfons, both Intelligent and 44 w> Reputable that gave Teftimony to the contrary, viz, Mr. Ch. Pryfe, 51.36. -5. our late Chantour, and a Gentleman of a very good Family, Mr. 32.49.43- Ceo. Lewis, Vicar of Abergwtlly, Mr. Tbo. Phillips, Re&or of Awredow^ Mr. Fr. Beal, Mr- Tho. Griffith, Mr. Howel Griffith, zn&fVilliam Willi- sims, Gent. Mr. Ch. Pryce, Vicar of Llamarth, all of them Intelligent and Reputable, beyond whatever Harris or Griffiths could pretend to be. L. And what do they Swear f M. All of them that they do believe Mr. Medley to he- a perfon of fo great Sobriety, Godiinefs, and other good Qualities, that he would not be guilty of,Simony, againft which Cloud of Wit- neffes you exhibit in oppolition only Griffiths and Harris Swear- ing Hear- fays, and their own uncharitable groundlefs Con- jectures. L. I ftiall not reft much upon the Validity of their Teitimony, or even the Subftance of what they fwear, for the thing is plain of it felf. You allow that the Bp. receiv'd the Rents, and tho' you here and there tell a ftory of this and the other Girl that was to be Marry'd and Portion'd, and theu of an old Woman .that run away with another round Sum ; all which were you to have your own Reckoning, does not amount to his Lordlhips Receipts, and therefore let us come clofe to the point. Here in particular and afterwards in grof*, I charge the Bp. with 60 1, receiv'd from Clyddy, i 55 /. befides Indu&io,a fees from the Arch-Deaconry, and ( 23 ) and 315/. frora the Trcafuryfhip, in all 531 /. Balance me this Ac- Fart*?. count fai ly and honeftly, a ad if it be on your fide, than I'll own there <^sy^»J is Juftice in your Scale. M. 1 might except to this Charge, in as much as you have proved upon the Bp. the receipt only of 195/. from the Treafuryfhip of Brecon (viz* '75 /. and $o/. paid by Mf. Griffith Davies, and 30/. by Mr. M,.\7vJ whereas you put down here 315/. But I won't ft with you for that, being able to demonftrate that Medley was lav, <;" indebted more than this to the Bp. As thus, /. e. d, By a Boj I of 80 I. for the payment of 40 1. and Inter eft 7 ^ from May 1 6S 1 . •■ $ * U Lent turn for Journeys to Bugden and Peterborough for ? Orders ■ -5 ^ Lent him tor his Mafier of Arts Degree and Gown o 18 00 00 by the Bp. for his Board Six Months 005 00 00 Paid the fi-ft fruits for his Livings — — ■■— ■ -- -045 09 ir To Mr, Dowglafs by his Order—- 001 05 00 To Mr. Lambert at Hull by his Order — ■ — 010 00 00 by his Order to his Taylors Widow co5 02 06 To Mr. Rowland upon a Bond given by Mr. Medley, Jan. 2 R< 2. 1688. for 77 /. and Jntsrefl thereupon—— S 00 00 241 ,17 05 Li And how mall we have an Account of the 2 00 remaining. S a88 I2 *7 M. In this manner, and that very honeftly, Paid by the Bp. on his bchdf for Tenths — ■ — » 0O4 14 01 To hhnfelf at fever al times — — — — 059 03 04. Paid to his Mother by his Order — -> 122 05 1© Paid for fir ft Fruits of Arch Deaconry and Prebend 082 17 02 As part of his Sifters Portion at his Requeft to Mr. Gh.? Pryfe_l ! IA 5 I0° eo °° To Mr. Powel who Marry'd the other Sifter — ■■ — 124 ©o OQ Indebted for Synodds- — — — 00 5 00 OO For a Cloth Gown and Cajfock •■;_■■_■ '■_;'_•; JJ^_ — — — — — ——007 1 5 00 X.Have ( *4) Part y. L. Have yon no more f 'l/W Af. If I underftand Arithmetick there's enough, and fomething over and al»ove. ' L. Nay, "'tis cad up exactly enough, but the Queftion is whether a Farthing of Money, were ever lent to Medley by the Bp. or paid for him. M. I thought I had fatisfied you, as to the Loan of feveral consi- derable Sums, and the Payment of others, according to Medleys Re- queft and Order ; to very good and laudable ufes. What makes you fly off now, and Scoff at an Account lb fairly ftated ? L. Why looking here upon the 30". page, my Author informs me, Thai the fe Accounts are at fir ft fight very Sufpkious. M. But Wife Men do not pafs Judgment upon the very firft ap- prehennoris, that they may have of a thing, efpecially if it be ( as this is ' )a matter of great importance. The ufual and honcft way is to ■confidcr, what may be fa id Pro and Con, and to incline after this de- ' liberation to that fide, which has the gieateft appearance of Truth and Reafon. In Criminal Canfes efpecially, 'tis a Rule to be favours bie to the Party accufed,unlefs the Proofs be plain and convincing, it-being better to Abfolve -a guilty PeiTon than to Condemn one that may be Innocent. Bat I won't (band upon that Privilege, but am ready to bear the brunt of any Objections, that your Author has (tar- red or that you your felf can invent. L. There's no need of Invention, for here he offers you two very fubftantialRcafons,whythefe Accountsare to be rejected, Firft from their being of fo long Handing before they werefetled, viz. from .5681. to 1696. and Secondly, from their being fettled atfo Griticala time, viz.. a little before Michaelmas 1696. which was a little after the Procefs was Perfonally ferv'd upon his Lordinip to anfwer to Articles of Simony, &c. M. As both thofe Objections are founded upon a Palpable miflake, ■foupon difcovering of that, they tall of courfe, without any further refutation } for the ift, was adjuited Auguft the 5//?, 1691 (fome time after Medley was collated to both thofe Dignicies, the other Sep. i\ft. 1695. a wiiole year fooner than your Author pretends. SeetheDe- polkion OiWUfray Fyemont^znd. now what can a Man fay fevere enough Bp. 46. againft your faife Dr. who thus notorioufiy fwerves from the Truth WHw. aL in relating bare matter of Fact. an 6. in L. Let Him alone, your bufinefs is to clear the Bp. and in order iUr- to that, pray tell me, why ( even according to your own Computa- tion ) the firft Account was not fettled till pi. feeing moft of the Debts therein fpecifiid are of old Handing, fome of them ten year or more* M. What (■*5) M. What can be inferr'd from hence, but that the Bp. bore with Part 3. feis Nephew very compaflionately, till he was in a Condition to pay, '\y\r\j at lead to do fomething towards it ? ^ L. But does it not look ill, does it not carry in it fomething of a Simonaical Air, that the Bp. mould take this particular, lingular Care to prefer One, thus indebted to him ? Did not his Lordftiip by fuch a Promotion confult his own Intereft, in his heaping Preferments on Medley which would foon bring in what he owed his Lordfliip ? M. Here take the Accounts, look them over, and anfwer thy felf. L. As how. I don't underftand your meaning/ M. Then thus it is, fee ifl. how much Medley was Indebted to the Bp. before he was preferr'd, and then look to the Foot of the Accounts and tell me, how much he is indebted to him ftill, unlefs he have paid him fince the time that matters were thus adjufted in 95. your Charge amounts to 531 /. the Biihops demands upon Medley*to 744./. Medleys- Debt to the Bp. before his Promotion to 93 /. and where was the Bps. care all this while, to have in his own Money, whilft he ftill fuf- fer'd Medley upon his own Perfonal account, or for the good of his Mother and Sifters, to run further in with him. L. But I do not admit ofthefelong Accounts. M. But I will juftify them. L. In the fame way I fuppofr, that the Bp. did upon his Tryal, By examining fever al of his Relations and Servants, who Swear no. more than this, tk*t Mr. Medley own* 'd them to be true Accounts, M. Thy Author has got fuch a wicked humour in his Tongue of late, that he can't fpeak one word of Truth. Did the Bps. Servants and Relations fwcar no more than this, that Mr. Medley owned them to be true Accounts ? Did not Mr. Charles Pry fe £}epofe that he Re- ceived 10c I. upon Mr. Medley's Account from the Bp. as part of his Wifes Portion ? Does not Mr. Hemy fowel teltify .that he with the other Sifter receiv'd 124/. paid by the Bp. by Mr. Medley's order ? Bps. it, Does not Mr. Medleys Mother fwear as to the Receipt of the 10 /. and rttnejjis. the 1 24 / ? and is not this (bmething more than Medley's alone owning „ the Accounts to be True ? whatdoyou make ot thefe Depofitions ? wi.nlfos. L. My Author thinks, that he may truly affirm, That no one confidei- tihle hem in that, is Legally prov'd. , M. As legally fure, as they need to be Prov'd, unlefs the Bp. had fued Medley either in Common Law, or Chancery^ and thereupon had obtained Judgment againft him, which neither ofxheie Courts would have deny'd upon this Evidence, and iqueition not, but there is a* much Righteoufnefs in them, as in our Eccleiiaftical Courts notwith- ftanding they aifutne the Title of Spiritual. Point out the particulars that are not juftly Prov'd. E £'They (26 ) Part ?. L. They are fo many, That the defigrfd Brevity of this Summary L/'Wf View, would not give leave to rim through them* B?S« Z7' M. And therefore he'll run through them, or wholly pafs them by9 when as the main ftrefs of the matter lies upon the Juftice or Ini- quity ofthefe demands of the Bp. from Medley. L. He Examines One, and that a Con ftder able ltem,by the Proofs of which we may guefs at the fair nrfs of all the reft, M. And is that fair in him or would fuch practice, pafs in any o- ther Cafe/ Suppofe you or I dealt with any Ti adfeman, and he in his Bill fhou'd Charge either of us ( through miftake or otherwife ) with one falfe Item, could we therefore eicher in Law or Equity, fet afide the whole Debt, or put him at defiance for orher particulars. This might give occafion for the making it more ftrift in Examining every other Item'} but would be far from Juftifing us in Endeavouring to put him by, what undoubtedly was due. L. But if I fhou'd find any Man wilfully making a falfe Charge up- on me, I fhould think him to be a Knave, and if his Lotdfhiphas falii- fied in any one particular, it will make the whole look very ill on his fide. M. That confequence I could deny ^ for the Reafons aforementi- oned, and for others that I Ihall give, before we have done with this Head, but pray lay open this mighty Fraud, which in your Authors Opinion blafts all that Hands near it. •* L. 'Tis the laft Item in the firft Account, The 26 L Principal and Inter eft charged as due, by Bond to Adr. Rowland. Certainly if the By. could have proved any one particular, fully and dirt Illy ; he might have done it In this, by producing Mr* Rowland himfelf. yfcf.Could. not the reality of that Debt, be made out unlefs Mr. Rowland appear'd in Perfon .? What if he had been dead, mufl: his Af- Ugns or Executors have loft their Money? L, No Sr. But Mr. Rowland was alive, And the Bps. negleB in net 'producing him, was objected to his Lor djhip at the firft Hearing of the Caufe^ and the Bp. feemd then refolvd to have him in, but for Reafons beft known to himfelf, he ded not make ufe of his Teftimojy. M. And what if good, reafon may be Afligned for the Bps. not , producing him, he having fufficient Proof belides ; where then is the. \ force or Itrength of your Authors Exception ? L. That lhall immediately be Examined into, for look you here, in Order, to faften this. Debt upon Medley, t%e Bp. exhibited the cancelled Counterpart of an Indenture dated Jan. the 2d. 1688. and figndby Mr, Medley, wherein he acknowledges to have Receiv'd cf David Rowland, 0/* Wsftminfter Efq, the Sum of 77 1. Demifing and Leafing to him, the Tyiks of hit Rettery cf BleEhrvagh, and the Rem oj fas Prebands of Clyd* ( 27 ' ) dy and ClirOW fir one Year, in Witnefs whereof the parties interchangably P&tt 2. Signed and Sealed this indenture ; The Witnejfes to which are Henry Pool {.•"V^l and Robert Douglafs, who both Swear to the Execution of the Indenture by Mr. Medley. M. There's my good Boy, go on at that me as long as thou wilt. 1. Any thing that makes for you, you take extreamly well, but ob- g ferve how I face about: Neither of them depofe that they faw any^'3 -* Counterpart executed by Mr. Rowland. M. Any Counterpart? To what purpofe fhou'd there be one, un« lefs Mr. Medley had fufpected^ the common honefty of that Gentle- man, who had fo Generoufly ventur'd to lend him Money upoa fuch flender Security. Is not the figning of this Indenture before - Witnefs, voluntarily and freely, a fufficient legal acknowledgment of the Debt. L. It might have been fo, had the Witnejfes feen the Money paid. M. Neither you nor I, Friend, are Lawyers, but fo far I can allure you on my own knowledge, that I have ken feveral Leafes Signed, Sealed and Delivered, where the LefTor has not pocketed one far- thing*, the perfon who drew the Leafe, has in a formal way, handed ' Six pence, a, Shilling, or half a Crowri betwixt the parties Covenant- ing, but then has been fure to put it up again, the Coniideration Mo- ney having either been paid before hand, as in this Cafe, or after- wards. So that what the Dr. offers in this Cafe is fo very weak and frivolous, that he muft be content to be laught at by ever Attor- neys Clerk, for his Simplicity. L. But hold, Sir, there is fomething more in this tranfa&ion than perhaps you are aware of, and which makes this Cafe vaftly different from other common inftances you refer to. For Mr. Pool in anfwer to one of the Interrogatories, Swears, That on the farm day this indenture was executed, he this Refpondent coming to the Bp. for an Inftitution, and not Bps.2$ having wherewithal! to pay the Fees, which came to 6 1. he gave Bond for them ™ttn* to Mr. Rowland, which Bond he had «p again from Mr. Powel the Deputy Regifter upon payment of the 6 1. to him. M. And what did Vowel do with the 6 L L. I do not know for certain, but fuppofe it was paid the Bifhop. M. Can t you Prove it ? L. No, but we inferr from thence, That if 'Pool executed a Bond re Mr, Rowland, to whom he owed m Money ^ but that Bond was to the £ps* Vfe9 £ 2 M.l . (28) Part $. M. I love dearly to hear thy Author argue, he does it after fuch ^/Y>ja queer manner:, and in a Method fo different from all the Lo- gicians in tjje World, that it tickles my Spleen wonderfully. Go on prithe. L. Why may it not (fays he) be fairly frefumd that Mr. Medley might at the fame time and place Execute an- Indenture to Mr. Rowland, and it be for the Bps. ufe and not on account of any real Debt due te Mr. Rowland. Now laugh as much as you will, but you had better fpend your" Breath in making a full and juft Reply. M. To what ? all that is offer'd has not the leaft colour of an Argument or Objection. Pool was to have paid the Bp. 61. for In- ftitution Fees, &c. but having not the Money, and the Bp. wanting * it at that time (as it is very well known the Bps. circumftances we/e , ftrait enough, till the Reverfion he purchafed fell to him) hereupon the Bp. borrows 6 1. of Mr. Rowland V,and makes Pool give Mr. Row~ lands a Bond for it. L. That is not proved- M. Surely I may fuppofeas well as your Author, tho' I fcorn to prefume as he does. Well Pool gives a Bond accordingly, which Bond is fent down to TomPowel, who receives the Money j and does no body knows what with it, nor your Author after all his curious in- quiring into the Bps. faults, for then certainly he would have told us. But to follow him in his Wild Goofe Chafe, upon a fuppofal for which he affigns no manner of Ground , he takes the Liberty to aflfert that that very Bond, contrary to the exprefs Tenor, and deli- very of it was for the Bps. ufe. And then begins to chop Logick in this Audacious ignorant manner .• Why may it not be fairly prefumed, that Medley, tho' he executed an Indenture in the fame time and place to Rowland, might do it for the Bps. ufe, and not on the Ac- count of any real Debt due to the Gentleman. If 1 fhould frankly allow all this, would Prefumption ia any Court of England, overthrow pofitive Proofs : If Medley had the Sum oT 77 /. in order to pay for his Inftruments, todifcharge oth,er Debts which he hadCon traded, in preparing himfelffor his Journey into Wales, and for his Expences upon the Road in feveral ocher Journeys, and for his Sublicence and Settlement till his Profits Ihould come in. What matters it, who fe the Money was, whether the Bps. or Mr. Rowland's: From whofe Purfe foever it came, it ought to be returned again, unlefs it had Vvn freely given, which it was not*, Medley entering into Co- venant and Bonds of Performance, for the repayment of it. What if the Bp. did underrwnd deliver the Money to Mr. Rowlands, and he lent ii to Medley , in order to oblige him to be the more careful in making ( 2$> )' making a feafohable and jufc return of it? Since MedUy had occafion part 7, for fuch a Sum, and could not poflibly carry on his bufinefs without ty-/^j. it, where's the Simonaical. pravity of this piece of Management? What can you make of it, ( were it fo ) but an honeft Politick Stra- tagem of the Bp. to come by his Money again, the Bond or Leafe not being given in Lieu of the Preferments, but in Confideration of Money lent afterwards to Medley, to enable him to hold them with Credit tohimfelf, and eafe of Miadv iu being free'd from thofe o- ther Obligations upon the Account of his large Expellees, incoming into them. Nay further, fince your Author is for tuning of Parallels, and that the ftrength of his Exceptions lies in the Parity betwixt. Tool's Cafe and Medley % I might gratify him fo far, as to take it that way, without any Prejudice to the Bp. for was not Pool's a real houeft juftifiable Debt, was there any thing -of Simony in giving a Bond for 6/. in Confideration of his having his Inftruments fpr that time, without Money? And why then, in the fame time and place, ( becaufe your Author will have it fo > might • not Medley in Confide- ration of another juft thoi larger Debt, grant a Leafe of his Living and Prebends, insecurity for the Payment of it. Were your Au- thor thusallow'd to t3k his own way, he wquld fall Ridiculoufly fnort of what he aims at, ( the over-throwing the Proof, which the Bp. made of this Leafe) and ihorter fti;l of faitning theGimeof Simony upon the Bp. all that he offers no more amounting to the fixing of - that foul Guilt upon his Lordfhip, than it proves Horfe-ftealing or Burglary. In fhort 'tis nothing but grofs Sophiftry and downright Lying, or to give him a word that he loves and makes ufe very much of, what is meant by it.*Prefumption in the.vileft Senfe that one- Man can be guilty of towards another. L. Preemptions in z> LegilSenie, indeed if they be groundlefs are very offenlive, but that which renders thefePrefumptions of his, the ftronger and weightier is this, that the Bp who_.might, has not re- mov'd them, by producing and Examining Mr. Rowlands. M. The Bp. mighc have dons it 'tis true, but as I faid before, what need was there ofic, was not the Evidence already offer'd and recorded fufficient, full 10 the purpofeand Legal, that any equitable Court would have allowed of and why then muft a Gentleman be hurri- about 50 Miles backward and forward, to come in with a Depofitiora ex abundantly altogether faperrluous. Had the Bp, been obliged to refute, by the Corporal Oaths of Men, all the Jealoufly, Objections, and Pj-efumptions which Lacy the Promoter, his other Acculer the trickiih Advocates, and his Judges were pleafed toftait agamfthim, he might havefpeac his wholeE'tate(ttio' larger then,tis)amongftthem. . Gould any thing have been fiib'd ouc of Mr. Rowlands^ to the Bps. dis- advantage. : ( 3° ) 'Part J. advantage or difcredit, 'twas very well known by the Promoter and (^/-\j others where he lived -, they might have fent for him, and made their • belt of him, but he could depofe nothing to his Lordihips, Preju- dice, and for his Lordfliips Defence he was not fo much wanted as . to be at the Charge of fending down Commifiioners, or bearing his Charges up to Town. I commend the Bp. for ftanding upon the Privileges of an Erjgiiflttnan*,;and for infilling on the Legality of his Proofs in this Cafe, what your Author offers is no proof at all, no- thing by his own Confeffion, but wild and bold fuppofals. L, But there is fomething behind ftill which is very obfervable, 'That not only for the Tear 1688, but the two following years, the Bp. did atlually receive the profits of Clyddy, which is part of the premises in the Indenture ', and his probable the profits o/Blethvaugh, another part of the t » 5I< Demife, went the fame way, or elfe how could Medley have been fo bar* of Money as Meyrick Swears he Was ? ' M. Your Authors Probabilities will not pafs with me, nor can they with tolerable Modefty be offer'd as Evidence. Whatever the ' Bp. receiv'd was upon a juft account, as has already been' demon- ftrated, either to return it to Mr. Rowlands, or to keep it him- felf," in cafe he had difcharged the Debt due to that Gentleman, As for Medley's not being fo very flufh of Money the firfl or fecond Year after his being Preferr'd, that has already been accounted for, . and may be eafily believ'd by any one that kftows the Charge that accompanies Church preferments, and the flow payments that are made in Country Livings. L. You won't yield an incfi, I find. M, Yes, I have made feveral Conceflions, and notwithstanding you make out nothing againft his Lordihip, you have done what you sculd to puzzle Me ; now let me examine Ton a little. What have you to fay to the remaining Sums / If you have no Exceptions againlt them they mult fraud good. L. The other Items, Some of them are almoft as well and clearly # proved as this of Mr. Medleys Debt, but moft of them are only proved to be due, becaufe Mr. Medley faid fo, and 'tis no won- der he own'd them to be true Accounts being Partkeps Crimi- nis. M. By your Ironical way of delivering -the firfl: part of your Anfwer, and the exceptions you make to Medley in the clofe, you feern to doubt whether any of the remaining particulars were legally proved. L. bdo fo : And have my Authors Authority . for that fufpi- cion. M. Who ( 3* ) M. Who thereby, in effect, impowersyou to look upon the Arch- Fart $f Bifhop and his AffeiTors, as K — s, or Fools. ^/NJ L. How fo ? M. Becaufe even they allowed of the Firfl: Fruits, Tenths and Synodals, which amount to 138/. 1 s. 2d. and confequently ac- cording to the liberty your Author grants of judging, they, either for want of Underflanding, could not difccrn what was right and juft, or elfe admitted of that as Proof, which contrary to their Judg- ment, was not fo. L. I can't but wonder at this miftake of his. M. What need you be fin priz'd ? 'Tis not the firft by many that has been detefted in this Libel. But to go on \The other Items, moft of them, he fays, aff ear due, only becaufe Medley own' 'd f bey were fo. What fay you to Mr. Cb. Pryfe'* Depofitign as to the receit of the 100 /. here fpecify'd ? What to Hemy Po\re!'s acknowledgment upon Oath of Bpt, 35* the 124/. What to Mrs. Medley's owning in her Depoliiion,"^"7, the remittances of 10/. and 122/. at her Son's requeft, and by the Bps. Afiiftance. L. All thefe perfons, are either nearly Related, or ally'd to Medley and to fave him from ruine, might ftrain a point. M. Do not unjuftly difturb the Afhes of the dead Mr. Pryfe, or defame the living, whole Reputations all of them are and were fo clear and unexceptionable, that Mr. Promoter in the height of all his Malice and Fury, durfl not attempt to detract from their Credit or Veracity. As for the relation they ftand in to Medley, that is fo far for incapacitating them to bear Witnefs in this Caufe, that ac- cording to all the Laws Ecclefiaftical and Civil, they cannot other- ivife than be accepted ? nay, fince the Court infilled upon Proof, who fo proper to prove thefe Disburfements by the Bp, upon Medley's account, as the very Parties that receiv'd the refpective Sums. L. I can't underltand why that fame old Woman, Medlefs Mo- ther mould be maintain'd out of the profits of the Church of St, David's ? M. No ? What think you of the Fifth Commandment, /hall we underftend it according to the GlofTes made upon it by rhe Scribes and fba-nfes of old, or admitof our Saviours Interpretation and Expoliti- on? Thofe old Hypocrites had got away it feems ofexcufing them- M, he is in Terence's Words Paulo ftd-rem attffltii>r7 nor have I heard of any one as yes that over-resent him. ■ M» The- (-38) Fart 2. ^The wifer Man he,and never the more culpable,for being difcreet fyy>j and frugal in Managing his Rights and Revenues to the bell} that as he fees occafion he may be more liberal and munificent in good works. - L. I never heard that he was guilty of any of thofe. M. I thought you had feen fome of them, however, What think you of the Palace at Ahergwillyl in what a tatter'd dilapidated Con- dition was it when he came to it. The Roof ready to fall, the Walls in many places parted afunder, the Ceiling of the Rooms rotted down by the WeatherJ the Floors ^nd Stair-cafes ^ecay'd and fcarce one Chamber where a Man could ileep fafe from the In- juries of Wind and Weather- And how has he both Subflanti- ally repair'd and decently (fo far as 'twas capable) adorned it \ fo that fince the- Reformation, it has not been in better Order. L. That was for his own Convenience. M. You might have added and for the good of his SuccefTors too, and the Credit of the Diocefs. But what Covetous Man, Paulo ad rem attentior, as .you phrafe it, qui hurnana & cuntla ubi emolumemi aliquid au f err* ptuit conterapfit. According to your Authors fcurrulous way of infulting his Reputation, would have open'd his Purfe and laid out tfoo /. at leaft which he might have faved as his Predeceflbrs had done before him. L. That's all the Good you can fay of him. M. No, flay a little, and I'll fetch thee fuch a Catalogue of his Be- nefactions as will make thee admire his Generofity — here read it, and learn to think of him as You ought to think. . L. In Building of his Parfonage Hoafe at Burrough,o '. in Planting, Repairing and beautifying the Clour ch 5 Towards the Building of St. Pauls — *-— 050 Towards the Building 0/Trinity College7^'^r)',Cambridge 020 Towards the Building at Cath. Hall, Cambridge 010 Towards {he building at Magdalen College, Cambridge — 020 Towards the repairing Langadock Church Cem. Car- ? marthen— -— ~ S OI° 00 0o To St. John's College , Cambridge, in two Ad- ? ± vowfons -_- _- 55ocL 0o 00 To the Printing Prep at Cambridge ■ . — 050 00 To Poor Scholars — . s. d. 00 00 00 OO 00 OQ 00 OO CO OO To two Widows, at Pcveral times — — 060 00 Towards the Building S\ Mary1* Steeple in Hull p^o go 00 Towards creeling a IVorkhoufe there. — 050 00 OO 00 OO 00 To Trinity Houfe in Hull, in Order to further Charity 600 00 00 In all — 2070 00 00 M. Take (39) M. Take in withall the 600 /• laid out at Ahergwiily, and Part $. 600 /. he gave to Mr. Medley's two Sifters, in part of their Por- i^rs/^j tions j and a Sum larger than that to feveral perfons in diftreft , and then tell me, if he who has already parted with fo much of this Worlds Goods, can be fuppofed to be fo fordidly wicked, as to endeavour to fcrape up fmall Turns by OpprefTion and Simony, by In« juftice and Sacrilege. L. But how came you by this Lift, is it Authentkk and True ? M. It was exhibited to the Delinquents November, 99. to wipe of fome of the Durt, caft on the Bp. for Covetoufhefs, and woold "have been fully prov'd, but the Ddigates hear preftnt would not let it. I'll give thee a Copy of it ; Shew it to his rooft fpitefuli Adversaries, and if they can difcover the leaft Forgery or falfe- hood in any particular, let them charge me as the vileft Im» poftor. L* This was hard, but if after all this a righteous Man do turn from his righteoufhefs, and addict himfelf to knavifh and nnjuft practices, this his former Piety, will neither confecrate nor excufe his ubfequenE Oppreflions. I have fomething a better Opinion of him than 1 had, Hut 'tis a (lurry cafe we have before us, and to fpeak with all the Moderation* and Charity I pn. I'm afraid he'll be found guilty, for do but look into this Leafe of Brooks %, and you muft needs conrefs, tint Simon Magus, or the Devil in his likenefs had a hand in'c. I won't trouSlc you with a recital of the whole but confider tbefe following cL'iifes, and defend him if you can. M. Begin. L. r I)?s 7no ntu t fiattti day of December. M. What diy of December was it ? L. That is not put down. M. How To ? Is it ufual to Draw, Sign»and Seal Indents es that have no date to them? Surely the Bp. would never put his hand to a Blank which might have been fill'd up afterwards much to his dis- advantage. L. To tell you the plain truth, the Leafe it felf was not ex- hibited in Court, but the draught of it, mentioned in Williams?/ Depofition. M. Very fine indeed, when the Bp. offer'd to prove a Leafe from Mr. Medley to Mr. Rowland you were pleafed to cavil ( tho'it was at- tefted by t^o Sufiftancial Witnefles ) becaufe the Counterpart was not Exhibited aiong with it, and here by way of proving'an unjuft Leafe (as you call it) upon the Bp. you produce neifchel* the one part nor ( 4° ) Part 2: the other, but bringia JohnWilliams like the Pichire of Dr. Barefoot ^Y-\jOxon with a Scroll in his Hand, which no body own's, neither Sub- fcribed, nor attefted, nor dated, and which might have Twenty Inter- polations and Alterations in it, that the Bp. might know nothing, of. Shall this pais do you think, or ought it to have been accepted when the other was rejected.' £,, Vols at. quantum valcre potefi. M. ''lis or no validity at all, for it obliges no body, and there- fore can afFeft no body ? 'Tis meer waft Paper and Labour loft, to talk any more about it. X. That there was a Leafe you have own'd. M. And every Claufe of that Leafe I will defend. Does Williams Swear, that the Indenture executed betwixt the Bp. and Brooh) was verbatim the very fame, with this pretended Draught. Z/. My Author does not affure me of that, but the contrary rather appears from William?* Teftimuii), in that he Swears that the Bp. refufed to fign the Leaie unleft v. was determinable upon Brooks's Life, whereas this runs for 31 years if the Bp. mould of long Live. M. And might there not be feveral other Substantial Alterations in the real Leaft, as well as this. I do not fee ho.w either in Equityior . 8 Modefty, you can infift upon your empty inugnificant Paper, 'tis void p 4'0: 'tis nothing, I Jhou'd "fay in Law. L. What is Simoniacal inic .we .will Subftantially prove, by ar Note afterward, fubfcribed by the Biftiop and attefted by Wil- tams, and 'a Name-fake of his. Favour me only fo far, as to admit of what (hall appear probable or what is confirmed by Col- lateral Proof. M. The latter part of your Propofal, I muft comply with, but probabilities are far from being Evidence, however rather than the Bp. (hall feem to lie nncler any harm Sufpicions, every thing you of- fer fha!l have its Intrinfick worth and weight .with me. if. Then thus I go on. This Indenture, &c. between the R. R. Tho- mas Lord Bp. of St, David's of the one party and William Brooks/*/ the other part, Witneffeth, That the J aid Lord Bp. for Providing, Supply- ing and Dijiharging, of the Cure and Mimftcrid Duty and 0ff.ee, of and belonging to the Rectory and Tariff), and Bariflj Church of Bur- rough-Green. Does not this look like felling of Spiritual things tor Money. M. Ju£c, or as much as the ordinary Provifions, made in tl e l.eafes, by Deacons, Prebends &c the Leffee being by thole ftridtly bouiid ( 4* ) Hburtfifcto take care, that Parochial Du^^foC*wfulty*iKfe F^UVuily Fftrthgn difcharged, and that the Curate be fufficienr.ly and jufUy Paia. , t^vrvi '*■ L. Butt marlrwhat fdHo.VW, And in ConfideratioH of the 0\imGn*and '''■ mfti*mythe /aid Bp. bath of \ and for the f*M William's and his Qvaltfi- smites fornix faid Office i e. As I undeiiftand his Ability toferve th? • M. Andjvvhat then* Brooks either was, or at. leaft there was >uft ground to believe him -to be a Prieil, behaving PreachMat St.Anusr wore the Badge of a l^obleman's^ChapIaio, or were he neither jJPrieft or Deaeofl the JBp. did, not hereby confer ^ny power or AuthoT *Mj< M imperial upoa him. If Brooks deftgn'd to ofHciate,tamfelf,h itD^der£Qtfeat,,yo»j5a6w a. Licence was.iirft to be obtained fr^mtr^ -fip.of Ely in whofe-Diocefs tBurrot/gh Jay, And to that Prelate i| ^belonged : to be fatisficd in his Qua! ifications. I f Brooks , intended c,qj (jboldkas a Lay-Fee, then.by this Provifo he was bound topayaai? .fitter Duly qualified fox tft&fupply of the Cure. L. But does it not look ill that the Bp. mould in Confideratiomof Money paid .; dpwn&tedg& *&^§rajB^ft^MJ& feaVij ufiTt *i v M. 1 thoughtjf ;had ^rke^dy mfam'A ,that, 'twas my Lprd^pf ^\ znDtmy Lord Sfe, "$>*$$£* .fij^c^drad-pu ;;&w$s to the Cure of Soujs. iaihey were the Frofits. o&tthfrRe&oryj that his Lordlhip as Lefl(br dEtemifed, and that at fo eafy a rate, that there was enough to pay the Curate whoever he mould happen to be. s^QJlJ&ifrf^jyg i^feferhagp ^ ■£** difcharged the Offices fcec^iuxs* . Inflow 50 reaiofl why, he jpigtitnbt ' ' irave the advantage of the Salary as well as another, unlefs you will be fo unkind as to fuppofe, that a Clergy. man does Jieaft of all de&rve ia favour from a '"Father of the Church, Had, your Father or mine 'taken the Church, Lea fe, to him, his Executors* and A(|igns, anjd 'had this Leafe been ailigaed to, either of us by way of Portion, would -it have been Simony even in that very Bp. to have admited the Party (fo pofleflTed of the Leafe ) to fer.ve the Gore .? Would it not rather hare brought him under a ftrider Obligation to be. the more faithful mnd careful in difcharge of his Duty ? doth not our Law provide that every Perfon may Demife the Livings upon which he frail .not be mpft cJt ordinarily Rcfident to his Curate oniyy and where rthen is the Ma- lignity,, the Simonaical Pravity of this Condition, when nothing was meant or defign'd by it, but that the Cure mould be ferved as the Bp. of theDiocefs foould approve ? L. But by your Leave, theBp. did DemifefSrant^Sct am :>fa*m Let to thefaid Brooks his J "aid ReUory (mind thai) with ail the Ijouft -.Glebe Lands end Appurtenances, and all manner ef'Tythsof Corn , and ait 1 refits whatfo- tver belonging to the fame, and to hold to thefaid Broo'ka his Exe$uto;< s,fkc. G where 120. Part J. Where then was the Provifion for a Curate^ when all was granted WNJ to the Leflee? M,\ wonder you mould argue fo weakly, have not the taws both Ecclefiaftical and Civil made this Limitation to, and Provifion ' in, all fuch Bargains, Contra&s, or Leafes whatfoever, that there (hall be a fufficient allowance to him that fhall ferve the Cure ? Thefe are prior to all Leafes ; and of perpetual force, and therefore all Leafes mull be underftood with theft Reflri&ions end Limitations unlefs you will fuppofe, that two or three perfons for their own convenience or profit can reverfe an A& of Parliament, or Null a Canon of the Church. 'Twas offer'd in Proof at the Bps. Tryal, that Sir Francis Vemberton made the Draught of this Leafe, and none but a Fool, or one that is very ungrateful to the Memory of that Cele- brated Lawyer, and faithful Friend of the Church, will fuppofe that he would draw up an Indenture, contrary to the Laws or the Land, or that had the Colour of Simony in any one Article or Branch ©fit. L. That is gratis Mftum, Tis altogether an uncertainty to me, who was the Conveyancer ; be it who it will, there's Simony undoubtedly in the Clofe, if not in the Body of the Leafe. The Bp. expresfly farms his ReSory, and fince that word implies the Office, as well as the Profits annext to the Difcharge of it, the Demifing that to another £ j'2; ' is unlawful and Abominable. M. Whatever the word Re&ory may Signify, in the common way of Talk, yet that it cannot be fo underftood here as you would have it, is plain from hence, that the Bp. was both in Law and in Fadf, ftill Re&or of Bnrrough in as much as a yearly Re"nt was to be paid him by the Leflee, in acknowledgment of that Title : All that Brooks by this Covenant could pretend to, being only the profits of the place, which as a further explanation of that Term, are parti- cularly and immediately enumerated in the following words, viz.. All the Houfes, Glebe-lands, Tythes, &c. What need had there been of thofe provisoes, wherein Brocks is bound to fupply the Cure, or to have others to do it, or to pay a referv'd Rent in cafe the Bp. ( which was in this Cafe Impracticable and Impofliblej had inverted iiimwith that power entirely, which was Originally and Solely in his Lordfhip before this Covenant. The Lawyers would Laugh at any man that fhould make this an exception, fince the exprefs Te- nure of the Leafe manifeftly affixes another interpretation, and evi- dently refers to the profits and emoluments of the place, which (as it has been demonftrated, and can be juftified both by Law and Precedents ;) may be demifed If that be Simony V& E- fifcopis (43) pifcopis, vatcclefiA Anglican** Go on to fomcting that is mate- Part j. rial. L/"V*VJ L. Brooks Covenants to Inhabit and refide there, and not only toferve and Officiate, and do {all manner of Minifierial Offices and Duties in his own Per/on, but if want of health or neceffary Occafion Jbt require to pro- cure a Lawful Prieft. M. That has been confider'd and anfwer'd already where's the Knavery, the Oppreflion, or even the hardfliip of this Covenant? L. Since you put me in mind of it, there is one Particular, that I have palled over which looks very odd and unreafonable, The faid Brooks obliges himfelfto provide for, and Entertain the Bp, his Servants, Friends and followers, with Horfc-mcat, Mans-meat, and all Accommoda- tins, whenever, and as long, as he jhaU plcafe to Live and remain in the faid Parfonage-houfe. — Was it not enough for his Lordlhip to receive fo con» fiderable a Fine, but he mult referve himfelf a Liberty to come with a Troop of Attendants(for as long a time as he pleafed) to confume and Eat up the Profits of the Place ) M. Would'ft thou have had his Lordfhip, when his Occafions lead him down into that Country to Lodge in an Ale houfe or to take up in fome Cottage with a Country Farmer ? His own Houfe was the fitteft place for him to be Entertain'd in, and fince he was re- folved to retain that Privilege of making it his Home when at Bur- rough, why did Brooks accept of the Condition, or enter into Covenant with him, if he apprehended any conliderable Damage from fuch a Concefiion ? But prethee what Milchief, Damage, or Waft did the Bp. do there, during the time that Brooks held the Tyths. Does Mrs. Brook's make any Complaints upon that Account, or exclaim a- gainft the Ravage made there by the Bp. and his Servants ? L. No not a Word. M. Why then we may conclude, that either the Bp. did not make ufe of this Privilege at all, or elfe that he did it fo moderately, that even a frugal Houfe-keeper, and one who afterwards proved a fpite- ful Adverfaty, could not upbraid him with, fpunging upon the Fa- mily or Eating too much of their Bread.— What remains of this fo much talk'dof Indenture? L. That which has been the Bps. Ruin, and will fill thee withCon- fofion when thou hearft it, for thus as a finifhing ftroke ( lb it pvov'd to him ) The Bp. covenants that he will not Surrender the faid Rcflory un» to the Patron or Ordinary unlefs at the requeft of the faid Brooks, Monftrum Horrendum ! M. What's the matter with thee ? My Houfe I hope is not haunted, dolt thou fee any thing Extraordinary ? L. See , fay'ft thou, tptis taliafando temperet G 2 M Qo Part ?! V ^ t)o ybu ^IW^H* Yaffil, ^en*p^ £fl$$* k* **J% (>s/S> Z,. lam at a lofs how to exprefs my Abhorrence of this.filtljyfj '^Scandalous, Simonaical Tranfi^^^"^^™ ^ t^ : Af. Settle your Stomach a little f my Service to you ) and compoH"; your thoughts that We may- Argue the matter fairly, without PaF- fionor Precipitation. . ^ . ^v^ L. Do not forfeit thy own Reputation fo far, as to pretend to pa- tronize fo foul a Faft. - ^ ' M. Why what was done ? h, Too much in all Conference, hereby a Contract: was made, that the Bp.in Confideration of the 200 Guineas (partly upon that Con- iideratronat lealt ) fhould refign the Rectory, when Brook's mould have made an Inter'eft to come into it. :M. We have already agreed, Or mould you run from that Concef- Hon, yet no body can deny that the 20© Guinueas were a very mov derate Pine, for the Leafe of fo large a Reclory, efpecially if it be confider'd, that Brooks had the Profits of £3. 94 as he certainly hadf iy reafon of which advantage,at theclofeof the flrfr; year of hisL eafe,, he would almoft be re-imburfed, arid then had the Contingency of En- joying it many years, upon a very (lender Confideration. For the Living being Sixfcore Pounds, befides Surplice- Fees, and other Per- quifites, he could not then be above 20/. or 30 /. out of Pocket, fo that the Demifeof the great Tythes, Glebe Houfe, &c. might well be efteem'd to deferve the Confideration aforemention'd. And would not Reafon and Charity, incline a man, to believe that this Branch of the Covenant, might be added, either to fatisfy a Man of Brook's timorous diffident temper ( who as Williams Swears was very apt to Defpair ) might not this I fay, be fuppofed to have been done as a further Affurance to Brooks, that the Bp. would not voluntarily va- cate the Leafe by a Refignation ? Or ought it not to be conceiv'da Gratuitous Favour from his Lordfhip, it being no fuch uncommon thing, for a Landlord to grant a Tenant fome conveniences or ad- vantages, in a Leafe which he is no way oblig'd to, in Confideration of the Fine that is raifed by the LeiTee. L. Thus much I'll yeild,that you have,faid,fo far as I can judge,all thai isfaid in the matter in his Lordfhips behalf, the lafl: Claufe might per- haps have been apprehended as the effed of Brooks's timidity or his im- portunity ,but then there's a Note you know wroteby theBp.himfelf and given to Breaks which rans thus, Whtreas I have in a Leafe to Mr. Wil- liam Brook's dated March, the 6th. 1691. Promifed not to refignor Snr- xender my Right and Title in and to the Rettory of Burrough, unlefs at the re* qatft of thefaidWiWhm Brook's, / do hereby Tromife, whenever the faid- William Sealed and Delivered in the -*A i^inomie b oboJ gai ►ai: : taefenceof ^ray, Sir. M. Firft becaule it does not appear that the Bp. receiv'd a Sum of Money from Brooks or any other in Conlideration of this promife, for certainly had the Bp. flood upon the a dequate and full value of the Right, Title and Profits thus for a time, demited and Totally to be parted with by the Refignation, the Sum advanced was manifeftly too fhort, three years Purchafe being the loweft rate, that it could have been valued at, whereas the Money receiv'd amounted not to two years Purchafe, and therefore the Promife of Refignation was an Abfblute favour and free ad of kindnefs. L. If the reft be like that, you may fpare your Labour. M. Let me go on however to try what I can do, I defire no fa- vour, but that every thing may be allowed its proper weight, idly, the Bps. Refignation of this place ( had he adually done it ) could not anyway have influenced the Patron to confer is on Brooks in as much as his Lordfhip had not Intereft in the Patron* L. But (40 L. But without that Refignation, #™>fo could never have had itPfcrtf; M. I always thought (and Pmfure my Tutor taught me fo,oriyv>J elfe Cheated me of my Money ) that, Ckufa fine qua non eft C*ufa. Whatever the Bp. could the ( as the Cafe ftood ) have with him, and Patron would have been purely accidental, in as much as the Donor would thereby have been at his full Liberty, to give it to whom he would, and the Preientee had it been Brooks, might fafely have Sworn that he had made no Simonaical payment, Contrad or Promife, di- rectly or indire&ly, to any Perfonor Perfbns whatfoever, for, or con- cerning the procuring or obtaining of the Preferment. ( Thatfup- pofing the Patron to have been honeft ) being freely conferr'd on him, for how could the Bps. Reiignation tend towards the procuring or ob- taining of a Free gift, wherein the Bp* had no hand, nor room to make Application on Brooks's behalf? L. You reft much upon that, but how jaftly and truly I know not. M. Why then I'll inform you, the Family who prefented his Lord- fliip firft to Burroughs were lb difpleafed at his holding it in Comment dam, that tho' he requefted it feveral times, they would never con- tent that a Friend of hisrfhould Succeed him. L. Have you done? M. No, fince the Note whereby the Bp. promis'd to refign at Brooh's requeft, was an Inftrument feperate from the Leafe, and no Conlideration mentioned in the Note, or any Money given for it, how you can make a free Conceflion , to be a pecuniary Bargain, is be- yond my underftanding. JL. No, Sir, it was no free Conceflion but purfuant to, and in Con- firmation of the former Covenant. M. By what part or Article in that Covenant was the Bp. obliged to give this Note ? L. They defired him to do it the day after. At. Could they hrve compelled him to it had he refufed. L. I believe not. At. Then it was no part of the Leafe, and therefore the Confede- ration Money paid for that Leafe, had no influence over him in this particular, and therefore it plainly, and undeniably follows, that it was an ad of Favour. L. You are noE gone fo clearly off with it yet, as you imagine, for mind what John Williams Swears, towards the latter end of his De- pofition, that Brooks was glad to accept of the Conditions propos'd, and infifted on by the Bp. giving him a Note, &c. M. Not at the time when the Leafe was Executed, for that as ap- pears by the Note, was on the 6th. whereas the Note it felf was da- ted on the nth. of March following, anfwe^me one thing, and then we r . Coridjt76ftL' ) after his Lordfhips return' d from Burrough Green, that be feared he Part ?.] fiould not have brought Brooks home alive. (i/*Y"V) M. That the Bp. told Dr. CV.v, of his tender concern for Brooks when indifpos'd upon the Road, I allow, but that he inform'd the Deponent, that the ill fit that feiz'd Brooks in the Journey, was the caufe or occafion of that alteration in the Leafe, I deny, neither did the Dr. depofe to that effect, thtsaufal particle For9 being foifted in by your own Dr. to give a colour to that calumny which he would fatten on the Bp. From Cox's Evidence, whereas the deposi- tion affords no Umbrage or Ground for it. I would take a lit- tle more pains yet with the Dr. but that I fear he is Incorrigiable. L. But might not the Bps. privity to the Sicknefs of Brooks occafion this Alteration ? M. Brooks after he came to. Town was well and hearty ; had he found any fenfible decay in himfelf, his intellectuals would have been weaker than his bodily Conftitution, had he entred into fuch a Con- tract. But what need I thus go about to account for the Tenure of the Leafe when I have already demonftrated that in all human pro- bability it was likely* to prove an Advantagious bargain to Brooks and that the Bp. had not according to the common Method of Co- venanting, what he might have infifted on. L. But what fay you to the Evidence of Mr. Brooks ? M. Tell me firft, what fhe fays. T. Why then (he Swears, thatjher Husband, told her a Nobl e Lord, hadfpoken to the Bp. to give him the Rettory of Burrough, and that he had fromifed that herd he Jhould have it. M. How can that be true when the Living was not in the Bps, Difpofal ? L. Let her tell her ftory however She further adds* that her Hus- band often waited on the Bp. about it, who told him there mufi be Money in the Cafe, M. Yes, in Cafe he had a Leafe of Burrough, which was all the Bp. could grant, unlefs you would have him give Brooks the Profits for nothing which his Lordfhip had no occafiou or reafonto do. L. After this the Bp. erne to this Deponents Lodgings and told her cf a Treaty between him and her Husband, about the Reclory of Burroughs M. Which was afterwards ratified by Covenant. L. And this Deponent joying to the Bp. fhe was not willing her Husband ^' *4' Jljould lay out his Money, on a Parfonage, the Money being to be raifed out of her Fortune, and that her Husband w.ts but a fickly Man, the Bp. told her that it would be as good as a Pur chafe and.Provifionfor her, not only for her'. Husbands Life, but h&'s likewife, and that he was as likely to Live, as the) Deponent, tho' her Husband was not. *• H M. This ( 5° ) Part 2, M* This Woman her felf confeffes that fhe waspromis'd a Reward v^VNJ for fwearing againft theBp.— and 'cis but requifite (he (hould do feme- thing for her Wages, fuch an Exception ( not to infill upon her Swear- ing (ineffed ) in her own Caufe) would fet afide any Witnefs in any Civil Court, and why it (hould not, in an Ecclefiaftical, I cannot conceive. Would the Bp. have amply confider'd her pretended Lofs upon the Expiration of the Leafe, then as Mr. Charles Pnfe Depofes, this Gentlewoman would not have faid one word in this matter, but his Lordjhip fcorning to purchafe her favour ( tho' he promifedto be kind to her, if me would wholly refer her felf to his Mercy and Charity) Lucy's Fattor (by her own Confeffion ) ftrikes in with her,, promifes a confiderable Reward, if (he would be a Witnefs againft the * Bp- and that being as fhe vainly thought a greater certainty, (he ap- pears on that fide, gives her Depofition or rather fells it, which there- fore is not worth a Farthing. X. But when ihe fpeaks what is true you mud believe her for Truths fake. M. But that this difcourfe betwixt the Bp. and her, was fo I canno* believe, nor ought (he to have been heard, L. Well, will you believe what follows .? M. Let me hear it firft. '".; L. She further Depofes, Thaflhe Agreement betwixt the Bp. and her Husband, was for 200 Guineas^4hat~af^^iQoJ^wasjpaid7 this Deponent her felf paid the other 20 /. to the Bp. when the Writings werejeated. M. The other 2©/. the remainder was 15//. Guineas going then 95. only for one and Twenty and fix pence, fo that fhe either paid 5 /. more than was due, which one that thought the 200 Guineas too much would not be too ready to do, or elfe fhe grofly Errs in this part of her Evidence, and thereby blafts the whole Depofition. In a word 'tis all idle Tattle and miflake, fluff fit enough for thy Dr^ to deal in, but nothing to the purpofe, of no weight, the guilt of the Deponent only excepted. L. You might have more Gommiferation for a Widow, complain? ihg in the bitternefs of her Soul. M. But not over much favour, for one that Swears in that Hu- mour, God comfort her I fay, for the lofs of her Spoufe, and give her Grace to repent of this rafh Oath of hers. Have we done witb her? L. No, The Deponent telling, The Bf. that fhe thought it a hard Bar- gain, he anjwer,d, fay no more of that^ I have a Letter now in my Pocket, wherein I am profer*d 309 1, for it, M. I ( 5i ) M. I have already told you, that I thought the Leu fe was worth Part 3. it, and therefore 'tis probable the Bp. might hare fuch a Propofal ^ry\} made to him, but he would not be worfe than his word, tho' to his. own hindrance. L. Farther (he Swears, That her Husband told ber^ the Ep. would not have the Money mention W, for the Confederation, for fear of Simony. M. Her Husband lam afraid often cold her what was not true, and that which makes this the more incredible whoever told it, is this, that the Fine was fo jufi: and reafonable, that it could not pof- fibly come under that Denomination. L. My Author thinks otherwife, for I am fure fays he, the taking this Money can be no lefsthan Simony, for the Bp. confefTed to Dr. Cox, that he recused it for the Living of Burrough. M. Which lam fure Brooks never had, nor coald the Bp. confer pag. 45. it upon him, and therefore according to thy Authors own words, it was not real Simony, but what cares he for runing into Gontradi&i- M3- &20. ons, backwards and forwards -7 'tis an Aft of Simony, 'tis Conventional M®« l-11' not real, now again 'tis real Simony, becaufe the Money was given ^'43' *,2o° for the Living of Burroughs tho* it was not the Living, but a Leafe that Brooks had in Confideration of that Sum. Thy Drs. commoa talk1 may be fine and confiftent, but his Elaborate performances ( if we may judge by this ) are naufeoufly nonfenfical and incoherent. I thought I fhould have Eaten my Supper heartily, but I'm afraid he has turn'd my Stomach. Lay by the fulfome Morfel that I may for- get it if I can, before the Meat comes in. L. Let mefinifhthis head firft, there is not much behind. M. Off with it as fall as you can. h. Mrs. Brooh likewife Swears to the Note — M. I value not if 40 more did the fame, Let's go and have a lit- tle innocent Chat with my Wife or fome of the Children if the leaft of my Boys talk as fillily as this Dr, does, I'll make him an Ex- ample to all the rattle pated Coxcombs in the Country. L. Only hear one remark of the Authors upon what has been faid, and then difpofe of me as you pleafe. Upon the payment of the Money, Mrs. Brooks told the Bp. 'twas a hard Bargain, and fo it afterwards proved, for her Husband dyed Michaelmas 1694. The Bp. ought in Juftice, to have Commiferated her Condition. M. In Charity you mean, what he has done I know not, but it has been obferv'd of him, that he has a particular faculty of be- ing kind to his Enemies, and upon that principle chiefly Mrs. Brooh hopes of Benevolence molt depend, becaufe during Mr. Brooks's life (fhort as it wasj neither of them were lofers by the bargain. The product of $3 was all their own (the Curates Sallary except- H 2 cd) ( 52 ) Part ?. cc*) which could not be much lefs than 100L And the whole pro- t^^yvjfit of 94 muft alfo come into their Hands, that together with 50/. they owed his Lordlhip for Houshold goods, &c. Cwhich never was nor will be paid) raifes the Sum total to above 1 40 /. and if that were not a good return for 200 Guineas, let the World judge. L. I have nothing more to fay in this Cafe. . M. And what you can fay in the others will be dill more frivolous— But come, lets go and unbend for a while, and then for the Re» mainder. End of the third Part* (S3 ) P A R T IV- Crimen Falfi. IF a Bp. in his Ecciefiaftical capacity^ can commit a greater Crime than Extortion or Simony it felf, that which 1 come now to- confider, is undoubtedly fitch. M. Whatever it is you are mighty hot upon't. I thought we fiiould have breath'd quietly a while, and fetled our Suppers. But come fince you are fo very fharp, fit," and declare at once what the Crime is, without any more fpitefull circumlocution. L. Why then in one Word, I mean the Crimen Fal/i of which the Bp. was accused. M. And of which thy Author in this very Book Hands Convict ( were a man to count them ) 20 times at lead. The World's come to a fad pais, when the moil notorious Lyars take the liberty openly to accufe others of Falfehood, and that falfe- ly too. L. You are fo very quick upon me that you wont fufTer me to explain my felf, or to inform you, that by Crimen Falfi I do not mean Common Lyings or ordinary A4ethods of Falfifying^ but the certi- Ibid. fying under Hand and Seal^ things that really were not. M. There's the difference then \ we have not your Authors Seal, but if the writing things, with a Man's own hand dolo maloy with a defign to deceive fome, and wrong others, and if the feud- ing fuch an elaborate Impofture to the Prefs (which I think is a firmer ratification than Squeezing a little Wax) if thefe may be allowed to b.e tantamount to Signing and Sealing, then Mr. Dr. is Scandaloufly infamous Falfe even in your own fenfe of the Word. L. I will not be beat out of my road, tho* thou doft as muck as poffible to tempt me to a digreffion. Let what will become of the Dr. the Bp. was Fdjarius^ in the moft Pernicious an \ Stupen- dous inflance, for nothing could be ^&ed by him of more fatalcoji; W*^ fequence both to Church and State. M. Than what? £.Ger- (54) Fart A **- Certifying under his hand and Epfco^lSeal in Letters of Orders f>V\j ^ac tlie 0aths m ^uc^ ^cca^ons recll"re^ were g»ven when really they were not' M. I fay they were, and I'll prove it too ^ but hark you, Sir,fuppofe the Bp> had omitted the Swearing of Priefts or Deacons at Ordina- tions ( for you do not pretend that ever he fail'd to Adminifter them on other Occafions) how would the Confequence of this, have been fo ftupendioufly pernicious, that if his Lord (hip had ftudied,and labour'd the ruin of Church and State, the Vileft wicked efforts he could have made, would not have proved more Fatal to the Truth, as it is in Je- fus or the peace and quiet of the Kingdom. Had he ( as it once was the fafhion of fame) encouraged Socinianifm or neglected to Punifh open Blafphemy againft the BlefTcd Trinity, had he (hewn his Clergy a way how they might fubferibe to the Articles of the Church, and yet not be obliged to believe or maintain the Do&rine, had he pro- claim'd us to be a Conquer'd Nation, or ftrove with all his Intereft and Authority to help Whiggs and Common-wealths-men into the Houfe of Commons, fuch Omiffions, fuch attempts as thefe would have feem'd levell'd againfl the Church and State^ and might have been ( with that Authors good leave ) of much more Fatal con- fequence than what you accufe him off For what if he had ordain'd without Adminiftring the Oaths, all that were Graduates in the Uni- verfity had certainly taken them before, and thereby were bound up to Fidelity aad Allegiance notwithstanding this* negligence of the Bps.or if fome few that were taught at Home, and who could aim at nothing above a fmall Country Cure, had been Authorized to Preach or do other Minifterial Offices, could thefe lefs than half bred Divines thofe very moderately learned and ( for the mod; part ) neceflitous Levites have attempted any thing confiderable to the Subverfion of Church or State. 'Twould have been ill in the Bp. upon feveral ac- counts, both in relation to himfelf and them, to have neglected the taking the common Security in this Cafe required by Law, but fure- ly the juftices of the Peace, and the Dignitaries and Ancient Clergy of the Diocefs, would have been fufficient to have managed or op- pos'd this young Fry, if they had pretended to be either Faftious or Heterodox. So that were this Charge againfl theBp. true (as 'tis KOt ) yet it does not admit of thofe heinous Aggravations aor could the thing it felf have been attended with thefe fatal confluences, w hare with your Dr. does endeavour to amufe and exafperate the Reader. L. You'il exafperate fome great Men if you talk at this rate in Publick. But come we'll take the thing as it is in it felf, as it plain- ly lies before us, and then after proof made, we'll ^difcourfe more of the ( 55 the Nature and Malignity of the Crime, which as I think, is prov'cJ fan fa againfl: him in the mod ample manner, for the Promoter's c/*Vnj Pro&or did exhibit the Letters of Orders of Edward Willams$uly 20. and James Harris, who were both ordain'd Deacons by the Bp. on the l*96> 24^. of Sept. 1693. which Letters of Orders were fubfcribed and Sealed by the Bp. and own'd by his Proctor, to have been his A& 93§' 46s and Deed. M. A nd what then ? L. Then the Letters of Orders of Edward Williams ( for I'll make fore work as I go ) run thus — Nof Thomas.—* M. Is there any falfe Latin in them ? U No. M. Then we know the ufual Form. L. But at lealt let me obferve to you, that there is this Claufe in them. Prs~"^J M. You may remember too, that he very plainly forfwore himfelf, in that Depofition, and you will find he has done^the fame in this. L. Hear him before you Judge- he Swears, That he -was Ordain d Sept. 24, 1693. that about 14. more Wert Ordain'd at the fame time^that inflead of the Oath of Fidelity vr Supcrmacy, mentioned in the Office of Hz .^ Ordination. '^ M. The Oath of Fidelity or Supremacy, I thought thofe had been different Oaths, and am fure that the Oath of Supremacy only is mentioned in the Office of Ordination. "This Witnefs pretends to Swear not only the Bp. out of hisDiocefs, but all Mankind out of their Senfes. L. You mud not take the advantage of a fmall miflake in a Coun- try Curate, he meant the Oath of Supremacy, becaufe he further tells you 'tis mention'd in the Office of Ordination. M. Take it that way then, fee what you can make of him, Wil- liams who was Ordain'd at the fame time Swears, that an Oath was Adminiftred. L. So does Harris too, viz.. That inflead of the Oath mentioned in the Ordination, m Oath written on Scrips of Paper, in which neither King Wil- liam nor Qyeen Mary were named, wm adminiftred to the Deponent and the reft then ordained. But then whereas Williams owned he could not Recoiled what the words contain'd in the Script were, Harris Depofes further, that he well knows, the difference between the Abro- gated and the new Oath, and that the new Oaths mention K. William and Q.. Mary by name, and that he the Refpondent did not take the Oaths enjoyn'd by A3 of Parliament,when he wasOrdained by the Bp. M. The other Dunce Swore at all Adventures, but this I believe has been inftru&ed how to word his Depofition fo, as that he might pre- judice the Bp. and yet fave his Ears, for mark how Equivocally his Words run. He knows the difference betwixt the old and new Oaths, and that the new Oaths mention King William, fo they do in Senfu compofuo, but not in Senfu divifo, for as you are already fatisfied, in tire Oath of Supremacy they are not mentioned, tho' they are in that of Allegiance. But what had the Bp. to do to adminifter the Oath of Allegiance in his Chapel ? or what does this Witnefs or thy Author mean by this additional piece of Evidence/ would either of them infer from hence, that the Oath required in the Office of Ordination was not adminiftered ? then this is no reafon but a downright miflake . or a wilful Lye rather, in that Harris pretends to know the difference, and yet what he affigns, as an Inftance or Exemplification of this difference does not hold good, King William and Queen Mary note I "being C.58) Part 4> being mentioned in the Form required by Law. Thus his Depofiti- t/yv> on is a flat Perjury in firo hnmano ; But if he means that the Oaths in the plural number ( both of them ) were not adminiftred to him when Ordain'd, i.e. on the day in the Office of Ordination, this is nothing to thepurpofe, but only to put a falfe Glois upon the former Depo- sition, which fince it was done with a defign to deceive fome, and wrong the Bp. is mforo Divino^ down right Perjury, and can admit of no other Conftru&ion ; only remark this along with me, that this Witnefs feems to be afraid of thofe that can crop his Ears, but not of him who for the Violation of the Third Commandment can and will call Body and Soul into Hell, unlefs he retraft and re- pent of this his fallacious malicious Teftimony. And might not the Bp. very juftly deny fuch a fore-fworn Wretch a Licenfe to ferve a Cure, who rather ought to have undergone a fevere Penance, for his notorious Offence againfl God, againft the Truth and againfl: his Dio- cefan. How could the Bp. have expreffed himfelf with greater ten- dernefs to fuch a Sinner, than to acquaint him, that he feared he had forfworn himfelf, was it not good Council to advife him, to Recoi- led and a very proper Queflion to ask him whether he had done fo or no ? And when he perfifled in his Perjury the calling fuch an lire* clamable Sinner againfl the Majefy of Heaven, impudent Fellow, was what all the World muft upon a true Hating of the Cafe adjudge to be a true and juft Character ; for 'tis manifefl that if this latter Depo- iition was defign'd to be a Confirmation and Explanation of the for- mer, 'tis a downright Lye } or if you take it by it felf that the Bp. did not when he ordained him, adminifter the Oathsy 'tis either a malicious wilfull fallacy, which before God is equally Perjurious : or ily. fuch a grofs miftake, that if the Commiffioners and Notary ( who receiv'd this Depofition ) knew not the Impertinence and Weaknefs of it, yet a Man can't wonder enough that the Judges who fate upon the Tryal fhould admit of it as a Proof in this Particular. I rather think out of deference to them, that both thefe Depofltions were laid afide as impertient and infignificant, and that 't:s the Malice and Ignorance of your Author that is to be taxed and corrected, for thus producing what is nothing to the purpofe, and what was reputed of no weight by the moft Reverend . Metropolitan. £. He exhibits them as Proof. M. Why then lay the blame where you will, nothing as yet is ap- parent, but the Perjury of thefe two Witnefles, md fo let them go. L. But if the Bp. could have proved he had given the Oaths necef- fary and required at this Ordination. He might have produced fome »ag 40 of tne remaining 1 2 Perfons who were then Ordain'd. P &' 49' M. What ( s? ) M. What need was there of his purging himfelf, when nothing Part 4. was proved againft him ? No Man could have fesr'd anything more<^y^> from thefe two Witnefles, than from a couple of Ballad-fingers } and if their pretended Teftimony met with greater favour, and refpect 'tis unaccountable in my Judgment, and without makiug thofe reflexi- ons that are obvious I defy any Man to give weight to thefe Depo- fitions as they thus ftand in your foolifh Libel. L. But by your leave, Sir, the lafl words of Harri/s Depolition may betaken in another Senfe, than what you affix upon them and may, Rcf fhall be reputed to ftand convict to all Iutents and Purpofes of all ^/yv the pretended Crimes alledged againft him, in Cafe he do not by un- contestable Evidence make out the Adminiftration of both the Oaths to the perfons ordain'd in the September aforementioned . For Jcnfon Williams of the Parifh of Llanred Clerk hath declared before David Lloyd and John Vryfe, two very good Gentlemen, that on the 24^. of September 1693, he, together with Edward Williams, James Harris and others were Ordain'd in the Cappel of St. John Baptift in Abergwilly, by Thomas Lord Bifhop of St. David's, at which time and during the Office of Ordination the Oath of Supremacy, which is enjoyned by the firft of William and Af*?y, was Adminiftred to and taken by him and the refl: that were Ordained Deacons and Presbyters, and alfo that on the foregoing Saturday being the 23^. of September aforefaid, the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, was tendred to, and taken by him and the reft, in'tfie Hall of the Palace of Abcr* gvoilly in the prefence of the Bp. in thefe words, I Jenlin Williams do fincerely promife and declare, that I will be faithful, and bear true Allegiance to their Majefties, King William and Queen Mary, &c, which faid Declaration, he is ready to ratify and confirm by his cor- poral Oath, before any Court of Judicature. Nay David Philips A. M. who was then ordained Presbyter, has declared, and is alfo ready to Swear the very fame thing, lb that it was the Bps. too great con- fidencein his own Innocence,and the Under/landing of others,not want of proper WitnefTes that occafion'd this feeming want of Proof, the not bringing in fome of the twelve, to depofe againft thefe two falfe Brethren. L. Why were they not then produe'd before the Bifhop, or at leaft before the Delegates. How many Hearings would you have ? M. Only another, and I think there is juft reafon for it. L. Should thofe in Authority think fo too, yet the Bp. would be little the better, for tho' you may be able to fet WilHams\ and Harris's Evidence afide. M. I think that is done fufficiently already. L. But then here is an afcer-clap, which would fhatter all your hopes, and the Bp's. pretentions to pieces, for in i^pi, Robert Owen was Ordain'd Deacon, the Oathcs certify'd to be taken by him, and **& were not Adminiftred. M. I fnould rather have expe&ed this before, as it was before in point of time, if it was at all. > Mr, ( 6t ) Part 4. £• Mr. Promoter did not hear of it till afterwards, and fo was t/YV allow'd to bring in an additional Article upon the fame. M. Which was an extraordinary favour, but make the moil on't who are your WitnefTes. L. Edmund Meyrick and Tom Pew el. M. Were they never fworn before, as to their knowledge of this pretended Crime in the Bp. Promoters' L. Yes both of them, Meyrick and Powe^and both in effed Swear 31. Whv. the fame thing. 32 mwixn- M' They had aSreed fo t0 do beforehand, but come let us fe- parate them as Darnel did the Witnefles in Sufanna's Cafe, and perhaps • notwithstanding the Confpiracy betwixt them, we mall find fomething that may invalidate their Evidence. L. Since you are refolv'd it mail be fo, you mail have their de- ^ pofitions feparate, firft then Meyrick Depofes, That he was prefent Witnefis'. at an Ordination in f^s BPS- Chapel, and obferv'd that the Oath appointed pas:. ' 50. ' /;; the form of Ordination was omitted. M. The Devil certainly owed that Man a fhame, and has paid hira it home, in tempting him to be an Evidence. For as I obferv'd at firft, when he Swears he certainly Lyes, and ruins his own Cre- dit inftead of defaming the Bp. What Oaths are appointed in the Form of Ordination ? Or how many? Is there any more than One as 'tis plain from the Rubrick ? And yet in contradi&ion to the' very exprefs letter of a (landing Law, he depofes, that the Oaths appointed to be then taken, were omitted. Away with him he ftinks above ground ; the Clergy of the Dio:efs ought to indift him as a publick Scandal. He an old Man, and an old Evidence to falter and falfify thus ? What might he not fwear againft a per- fon, when he thus fvvears in Oppoiicion to the very Act of Par- liament? L. You are not to take the Advantage of a Lapfts lingua. M. I fcorn it in common difcourfe and I could wifh thaE when perfons appear to give Evidence in any of our Courts of Judicature, they were aflifted by the Councel, in delivering of the Truth, rather than banter'd out of it, as many times they are, by crofs Examinations and enfnaring Queftions, put to them by pert and nimble Lawyers. How often a good Caufe is loir, thro* a verbal miflake dropt by an Evidence, and which under that con- flcrnation his Error puts him into, he cannot amend ; thofeknow belt that frequent Affizes, &c I have heard too much of it. But for an old Man as Meyrick is, fly and wary even to a proverb at other times, for him when upon Oath, where he -bad the liberty to be a$ deliberate as he pleafed, where there was no body to run upon (*3) upon him (the Commiflion being private, and none but he and Part 4. the Actuary together^ nay when he had the liberty (as 'tis ufual in WV thofe Cafes) to perufe his Depofition after it was finifh'd, that fo he might correct or revoke whatever had been either miftaken by the Actuary in Writing down, or by himfelf in giving the Evidence -, for him to let fuch a notorious Noon-day falfehood, pafs uncor- rected, looks directly like a Judgment upon him, as if God had fufferM the Devil to confound his Underftanding and Memory, that he fhould both Believe and Swear a Lye. L. Thou haft no Mercy upon him, that's certain, M. Yes, I have a great deal of Charity for him, I heartily wifh that he may fee and conlider his Wickednefsin fome time, that he may make an open Recantation, and do publick Penance, if fo be the wick- ednefs of his heart may be forgiven him. h. Will you let me go on. M. Not that I intend to give one word of Credit, to what comes from nim. L. Tho1 he fays that he remembers very well, by a particular token, that at the time the Oath of Supremacy was ufually taken, Mr. Powel attending the Ordination, bro'ught the Book of Ordination and Oath therein, to the Bp, in order to be taken by the Perfons ordain'd, but the Bp, told Powel there was no need of it and fo no Oath was Adminiflred. M. Iunderftand him, neither the Oath of Allegiance norSupre-^' ^ macy. L. In another place. — M. Hold, do not go on to his fecond Depofition given fometime after, tillf we have feen how far Bowel Swears in Confort with him. L. Why then Powel Depofes, that hewasprefent at but one Ordina- tion of the Bps. Promters M. Mind that ? *2 Wm° L. Which was in the Reign of King William, and the late Queen, that at the time in the Office appointed to take the Oaths from the Ordained. M. Like to like, both of them Swore they knew not what. L. He the Deponent a&ing,^ Secretary, defign*dto hold the Book to re- ceive the Oaths by Law appointed, and in Order thereto moved towards them out of his Seat but the Bp. beckon d to the Deponent to withdraw, and fpoke fotne thing to forbid it. ,4nd the faid Oaths — M. Which are required ( in the Plural Number ) by no Law at the time of Ordination. L. Were not taken tho"1 the Jnfiruments were drawn as full as tifual. You were a while agoe againfl: having People bantefd and quibbled out of the Truth. Do not you attempt what you Condemn in others? M. No, ( *4 ) Part 4. M. No Sir, bad I a mind to ftand upon Niceties I might objed, {yy^ that 'tis fomething ft range, and very improbable that Meyrkk fhould hear fo diftin&ly what the Bp. faid to Vowel ( reciting the very Words ) and yet that Povoel who was young or younger than he fhould neither hear nor remember what was faid to him. Again, there is thisDifcrepancy that Powel Depofes he was^hindred by the Bp. at the time in the Office appointed to take the Oaths, whereas Meyrkk Swears that it was only at the time when the Oath of Supremacy was to have been given. But that which in a word overthrows theEvidence and Reputation of both is this, that I have fo often mentioned, that where as both of them affirm, that the Oaths were then to be Adminiftred (when Edmund would have had the Oath of Allegiance he mud ac- quaint us in the next Voluminous Edition ) the Law neither fays nor requires any fuch thing. So that the very Letter of the Rubrick, all chat helpt to make the late Ad of Parliament, for the Alteration of the Oaths } all that have eyes to fee, may be brought in as Wit- nefles a^ainfc them Avery Ancient High Priefr, tho'a very' wick- ed one in other refpecls, would not (as much as he defir'd our Savi- ours Death,) accept of the Teftimony of thole, who could not agree in their Evidence. And let no man think, that ever his Grace of Canterbury, would Condemn the Bp. upon the fo much difcor- dant Depolltions of the fe two. I do* not know what to call them bad enough. L, No, Sir, the ftrefs of the proof does not lie in what is recited as yet, but in what fellows. M. Yes I'll warrant in what they bethought themfelves of, fome time after when they were inform'd they had not come up to thepoint, Quid eft contumdia Jibac ven eft tontumelia? L. A Welch-man you know is allow'd to mend his Bill. M. But what man by any Court to amend his Oath, after that he has once been depofed to fpeak the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth. ShouTd a Witnefs recoiled himfelf whilft the Court is fitting, before they adjourn or he withdraws, fome allow- ance might be made. But when a Man has had full time to confider with himfelf, has taken the Oath, has review'd his Depofition, iigned and deliver'd it as the fum and fubftanceof what he knows in that affair, then to come in again and Swear that he very well remem- bers by a particular token, what before he forgot, does not this look as if fomething had been given him to ftrengthen his Memory ? Would any Court allow of it ? Or is it ever pradifed ? p. 'Tis a common thing to bring in frefh Evidence. M% Bitf ( *5 ) M. But not the fame Perfons to enlarge upon the fame point toPart 4. which they have formerly been Depofed, for thofe then are Perjtu'd i^pj by their own Confeflion, and have not Sworn the whole Truth, ac- cording to their knowledge at the firfl: time, fo Reafon tells me, and as the Law is founded upou Reafon, I'm fure I am in the right on't. L. Will you hear the id. part ? M. Yes, becaufc I doubt not but to mike further Difcoveries of their Villanies. L, Mcyrick then as the 60th. Witnefs pofvively and particularly Depofes that he was prefect at the Ordination in 1691. that none of the Perfons then Ordain 'd, did take the Oaths appointed to be taken in the Office of Ordinati- on ; or thofe to the prefent Government, during the time of Divine Service, M. Is this mending his Bill, 'tis rather making it worfe, for ftill he is positive in a Lye, and particularly fo : Upon fecond Thoughts and with greater AfTurance fwearing the fame fallity over again. L. Enough of that, mind what follows, And that the Letters of Or- ders of Robert Owen ( thenjhewn to the Deponent at this his Examinati- on ) are fubferibed with the proper hand writing of the Bp. with which the Deponent is well acquainted, and that Powel was prefent at the fame Ordination. M. Why then 'tis further apparent, that what was Sworn by Mey- rick before, was in relation to this very Ordination in 91. becaufe Po- wel Swears he was prefent at but one Ordination of the Bps. and there- fore the Obje&ion afore- mention'd is ftill the ftronger againlt him. L. Hear me out and then I won't trouble you much more, ( Powel promotors direflly Swears, that he was prefent when Robert Owen was OrdairCd on 59 whn. Trinity Sunday 1 69 1 . and that he did not then take the Oaths of Fidelity to King William and Queen Mary as the Law required, and that Meyrick was then alfo prefent, and fWOwenV Orders ( now fliewn to the Deponent) are fign'd by the Bp, and Sealed with his Epifcopal Seal* M. 'Tis in vain to repeat the fame thing over and over. 'Tis e- nough to fay that Powers Evidence is not to-be credited for the rea- fon s afore men tion'd, Qui nimium probit nihil probat. He would make that a Crime in the Bp. which the Law does not make fo ; nay con- trary, to Law. Thefe two in fhort, laid their heads together to ruin theBp. Swore as you fee at all, when they had miffed of their firfl: aim : To it they went again ; but having neither Truth in their hearts, nor the fear of God before their Eyes, God ga?e them up to believe a Lye, and in fpite of all that their Friends can do mad ftand tspon Record as two notorioufly Per jur\l ungrateful Villains. L. But would not the Bp. have done well to have clear' d his Innocence in cafe thefe two Swore falfely} Why did he not produce Witncffcjs to confront them^ hut fays my Author being Confions to himfelfofthe Qmiffion on Trini- K ' ty (66) Part 4* ty 'Sunday* 1691. he has not jo much as all edged or Endeavoured to prove ^_/Y"NJ that he did then gave the Oaths, tho' he had a fair Opportunity of bringing a Proof of it by Examining thofe that were Ordain' W, at the fame time with tig* $2. Owen. M. But hark you Sir, why was not Owen himfelf Examined ? L. He was dead fome time before. M. Did he leave his Letters of Orders as a Legacy to Mr. Pro- moter or a Memorandum to Edmond Aleyrick and Vowel. L. No. they came to Mr. Promoters hand by Meyrich. M. Very good, and by the ftrength of this dead Letter (for in effect 'tis no other ) Edmond and Tom were fo revived, that they out- fwore themfelves, and what they had Depofed before, many Para- fangs. L. Leave your per fonal Reflections and reply to my Argument. M. No Sir, I'll turn it upon you again, had not L»cy been confci- ous to himfelf, that he could not Prove the Omiflion ot the Oaths in 1 69 1. by credible proper Witnefles, why did he not produce fome of thofe that were Ordain'd at the fame time with Owen ? L- Iprofefs ingenioufly I cannot tell. Now what fay you? Why did not the Bp. call upon them and reap the Advantage of their Te- itimony, if it would have been for him ? M. Stay a little, till I ftep into my Study, and then I'll let yon fee a PafTage in a certain Author, that will make thy Eyes tingle, read there firftofall p. 430. (of the Review of the Summary View ) I. 15. L. On the 15^. of December, 1697. he the faid Lucy the Promo- ter, doth annex and exhibit the Letters of Orders of Deacon, Rolen Owen. M. Stop there, and then go to p. 431. L, 38. L. The faid Aiticle, being exhibited by the Promoter, and receiv'd by his Grace of Canterbury, not only when the Procefs was drawing to a Conclufion, but even after his Metropolitanfhip had declared that he would receive no further Allegations from the Bp. towards his Vindication from what he was Accufed of. Now as nothing could be more unjuft. M. Hold again, thofe are naughy words, let them alone and go on top. 432. L. 23. L. That as the Arch-Bifhop concluded the Caufe before, the Bp. of St* Davids could either have Witnefles examin'd in Wales, concerning his having Adminiftred the Oaths, which the Law required on Trini- ty Sunday, 1691. (your Author can miftake too. ) M- That's only a flip of the Pen. L. Or put in any Allegation of his being able 60 prove he had gi- ven (*7) ven them. So notwithftanding my late Lord Chancellor Somen had Part a. promifed in the Houfe of Peers that the faid Prelate mould have Li- ^-ysj berty before the Delegates, Allegandi non allegata, yet divers of thofe who were appointed Delegates, refufed to admit his Allegations., or to hear the WitneiTes whom his Lordfhip offerM to produce, 'for proving that on the aforefaid Trinity-Sunday -, 1691. he had Admini- irred the Oaths. M. Another miftake. g L. Which the Law appointed to thofe, that were Ordain'd — Thou dofl manage me as thou pleafefr, jufl: as if I were a School Boy. Why ihould not I read all through? M Becaufe there were fome very fevere Reflections that you ihan't fay I would divulge. L. Nor will I fay more at this time to t\& Writer of the Vierv^ fave that if he think fit to reply- ( which I heartily wife he would, tho' I think he cannot do it otherwife, than in the manner and fafhion lie writ his Summary Vievo, Vt Rane in lima veterem cscinere quereUm ) I do both folemnly promife to rejoin upon him, being Et cantare fares & refyondere paratiy and do alfo undertake Jb to do it, as that fome people mail not have caufe to thank him, for provoking as well as giving me further Opportunity of treating them as I mail be ob- liged— This Spark it feems, fears no colours. M. Were you to read him through, you would fay, that fome People have no Reafon to rejoice in the pretended Victory over the Bp. of St. Davids. L. I find by the Glympfe I have had of him, that he is no re- fpe&er of Perfons. Is the Book common. M. No, butl hear Dr. Oates has got hold of it, and begins to value himfelf upon his Veracity, and defigns to Petition the Parlia- ment, that Meyrkhj Griffiths and the reft, may fiiffer as he did, being guiicy of the fame fort of Wickednefs, nay in fome Degrees beyond him. L. Will you lend me the Book. M. Yes, if you will promife to lend me the more comfleat Account of the whole Proceedings, promifed in the Preface, tho' I am half afraid that this dreadful Piece, has made the defigned Author of that mighty Birth, mifcarry of his Burthen. You will find in it (beiides, an abun- dance of Law and Reafon)ifuch a full difcovery of this Villainous £c- cleflaftical Plot, hatcht in'this unhappy Diocefs againft the Bifhop, and withall you will fee your beloved Dr. fo feverely chaftized, that you will pity them both, the Bp. for the Wrongs he fufFers, and the Dr. for the Punifhment he endures, and mull lie under, till his Name and Memory rot and periftr. I could have thrown many horrid things K2 in ( w ) in the Teeth of your WitnefTes, if I could hare remerabred half they are charged with here, but I was refolv'donly to follow you the way you were pleafed to go, and if you have any more to fay, go on. L. You know what we were upon when you brought out this Book the Ordination in 1^91. Had the Bp. in good earneft any WitnefTes to prove the adminiftring the Oath on that Day. M. WitnefTes ! Yes, and very fnbftantiai Evidence too •, Atkins Williams and David Philips, both ordain'd that very Trinity Sunday with -Robert Owen, have publickly own'd, and are ready to bedepofea that the Bp. before he ordain'd them, gave them both the Oaths requir- ed by the fir ft' of William and Mary. And Samuel Williams, another Perfon then ordain'd, hath made Affidavit, viz.. That he with David Philips, John Lloyd, Atkins, Williams, Robert Owen, Samuel Pry fe and others, went to Abergwilly for holy Orders on Trinity. Sunday, 1691. And that with the Perfons aforefaid, attending at Abergwilly the Week before the Ordination, did on Saturday the tfth of June, after their Examination and Subfcription, take the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, in the Prefence of the Bp. who admmi- flred it to them. And that the Bp. miffing Robert Owen, feat him the faid Samuel Williams, to call the faid Robert Owen, to take the faid Oath which the Deponent having done, the faid Robert Owen came and took the faid Oath. And the faid Samuel Williams hath. further made Oath, that the day following being Trinity -Sunday, 1 69 1 . He with the Perfons before named, in the Office of Ordination, and according to the dire&ion thereof took the Oath of Supremacy, and that -Mr. Charles Pryfe late Precentor, Edmund Meyrick and Thomas Powell were there and then prefent, when the Oath of Supremacy was admini- ftred. L. The Bp. may thank himfelf fo far as I can find, for his Sufferings, for why, fince he could make fofull a Defence, was he not more care? ful to bring in his Witnefles in time j you have alledged many things for him, which if proved, would certainly have brought himofFclear and cover'd his Adverfaries with Confufion. You can't fo much blame the Arch-Bp. as your own Diocefan, who in effect was his own word Enemy. M. Then is it not fitting that we mould have a melius inquirendum in the Cafe ? L- If the Clergy of the Diocefs will join, I 'U be one of the firffc that Jhall Petition for it. 'Twill be a lafting Scandal upon us, that our Spi- ritual Father fbould be thus Tradue'd and Perfecuted, hunted by a parcellof Villains, and we ftand tamely by and fee him worried. I ©wn 1 had no good Opiaioa of hira for fome years laft paft, but if God gives ( *9 ) gives me Life, Til make him amends for thofe unjuft thoughts, by Part 4 fhewing more than a common Zeal for his Reft .m ration. ^VN> M. Yon have done then I fuppofe with your Author, does he pre- tend to urge any thing more againft his Lordfiiip. L. Only flirts a Reflexion at him ia his manner, that his Paflion made him forget himfelf, when in 1697. He told James Harris^thzz he was fure he never omitted giving the Oaths but once, and that was when he ordain'd for another Bp. M. That's fturT all over, and Harris fo malicious a witnefs, that he deferves no Credit. Why were not the Perfons then ordain'd fent for, examin'd and the thing prov'cTupon the Bp. Judicially. If every Perfon that has the Liberty to converfe with a Bp. in private fhall thereby have the Power to fwear Confeffions upon him, thofe Reverend Fathers of that Order, mull be very careful of faying any thing without Witnefs. /*. I fuppofe they did not reft much upon this, for they do neither follow nor endeavour to confirm it. M. Prethee how does thy Dr. conclude. L. He's none of my Dr. I fcorn and abhor him. However to fatisfy your CuTiofity, He finifhes very triumphantly in his own . imagination. Thus have I briefly run thro* what I atfirfi propofed. M. The defaming the Bp. L' Not enlarging upon the V roof of a general Fame. M. Whereas there was no fuch thing, and what there was of it was groundlefs and falfe. L. But have confined my f elf to genuine Proofs of the Falls thsmfdves M. Which pretended Fads never were done. L. For which 7 have faithfully referred to the. Dopofitions. M. That's falfe again, for fome of them he has evidently mifre- prefented ( the Depolitions at length fpeaking quite contrary to what he would infinuate) others he has wrefted beyond what they will bear- in a juft Gonftrudtion, foifting ia here and there his own fi&ions, and fancies with fo much Impudence, that let him be who he will, I durfi fay to his Face, what I have talkt to thee, let him appear in the Defence of his filthy Libel if he dares, he fhall be anfwer'd fpeedily and effe&ually, for many Heads mult be laid low, before the Bp. will want one to aiTert the Juftice of his Gaufe. But by your Authors Scandalous filence above two years lince the Publication of the Re- view ) he tacitly confelTes his Inability> like an Owl aiFe&ing Night, and obfcurity, as knowing than if he appear in Day light, he (hall be ufed like one of thofe Birds of Darknefs. X. I have done with him, and prithee do thou give over? .The ( 7° ) The Poftfcript Anfwer d, &c. The Letter to a Peer Defended. PART V. M. rT^Ho' you will not iniut longer on the merits of the Caufe, JL furely you don't intend to drop that famous Poftfcript, in the fuppos'd ftrength of which you were pleas'd to glory in the beginning of this Conference. I do as much doubt the Jurifdi&ion of that Court wherein the Bp. was firfl Condemn'd, as I do the Ve- racity of your WitnefTes. L Had the Proofs held good, that Point would eafily be made outJ M. Not fo eafily as you imagine , unlefs your Author has dis- covered fome latent Power in the Metropolitan, which heretofore I never heard of \ Notwithstanding the advantages I have gained, I durft freely wave them all, and join IlTue with you upon that very Point. L. Thou art like a bold Merchant venturing at all, till by an un- lucky turn of Fortune, he is made Bankrupt. M. If ever I break upon that bottom let no body pity me, I ra- ther fufped that you are drawn low, and are diffident of your own Stock. L. Nay then have at thee, you depend upon the Authority of a Letter to a Peer, concerning the Power of Metropolitans over their Corn-provincial Bps. At. Upon the Truth of it \ do, and what I pray does Mr. Dr. ob- ject agahifl that Gentlemans Opinion. L. Fir ft in General, That he has only mufter'd together a few old Canons, and picked up fome Scraps oat of the Epifllcs of one or two Popes t and very '■li' 4S* Ancient writers , endeavouring from thence to prove, that a Bp. orght not to h Deprived but in a Provincial Synod, of by Twelve Bijbots at leajf. M. And what Forces does your Hero rally together in Qppoil- tion to thefe ? L. He (7i ) L. He defpifes and ridicules them all. Fart $. M And is that his way of dealing with the Teftimony of Primi- (/-^aj tive Saints and Martyrs, and the Decrees of thofe Councils which were the Veneration of former Ages ? Should the Epiftolizer have quoted the Sacred Penmen, they I fuppofe would not have efcaped his BufFonry? L. No Sir, He knows better things than, Ludere cnmSacris ; but as for the pretended Apoftolical Canon, which the Letter writer fo oft refers too, that he looks upon it to be better than a Jed, or a Blun- der the World's grown wifer than to be impofed upon by fuch a Fiction. M. Which of them is it that you mean ? L. The 74^. according to the Quotation of your wife Author, Tho'hadhe confulted them himfelfhe would have found it to be the 73^. Sum View and the one to deferve the Name of Apoflolical, as well as the ether. <54« M. Either your Dr. or my Friend is guilty of a grofs miftake. I have as it happens a very Authentick Collection of the Canons by me, publilh'd by that Eminent Church Hiitorian, Dr. Beveridge now Bp. of St. Afaph, that fhall be Judge betwixt us. L. Ay, with all my heart. M. Here he is, fee with thy own Eyes, and then well talk more of the matter. '■, '. . jL. A Bijhop being accttfed of any thing by Per Jons of Credit, 'tis necef-L'mon^ fary that he be Summon' d by Bps. and if he appear, confefs and be convitl^ let Ecclefiaflical Cenfure be infilled on him. But if being Summoned hejJjall not obey, let him be call'd upon again by two Bijhops fent to him for thatve- ry parpofe. If out of Contumacy he wiU not after all this appear, let the Synod pronounce Sentence again jf him, &c. M. From whene i geather, ifi. that none but Perfons of Credit, ought to be admitted as Witnefles againfl a Bifhop, ily. That a Bifhop according to the good old way, ought not to be Depriv'd but by a Synod, ( neither of which Rules have been obferv'd, in my Lord St. Davids Cafe. ) sly and laftly, that your Dr. is either Scandaloufly Ig- norant or Impudent, if not both. Had he encounter'd the Learn'd Beveridge, and endeavourM to Demonftcate that he had Err'd in num- bring up the Canons,the World wouldionly have Laught at him for his Folly and Prefumption, but peremptorily and in a Scoffing manaer to tax a Writer with a Falfe Quotation, which upon a Ariel enquiry ap- pears Authentick and Juft : Is fuch an affront to all Men of good Letters, fuch anabufe of the lefs Judicious, that he can exped no o- ther than to beSpurn'd at and defpis'd by all Mankind, that have a regard to Truth and Modelty, L. I don't ( 72 J Fart. 5. L. I don't love Scandal fo well, as to (hare with him by interpoflng v.^v^V ir, his behalf ^ but yet begging your Patience Sir, I am fo far of my Drs Opinion, that this Canon, call it what you pleafe, the 73. or 74. is not Apoftolical, and therefore is nothing tothe purpofe. M. Your rea ion, Sir ? L. They /Which do moft z.ealoufly contend for the Authority of thofe "Canons inftft only on the firft 50. as genuine giving up all the reft, and a- tnongft them the 73 and 74 as fpurious a diftintlion, that if he knew, it, he ouoht to have added out of Reftpe.;} to his Lord, who perhaps having no cri- tical knowledge in T.cclefaflical affairs, m'ght have been induced by that Pompous name, to think that Synodical Deprivations were Eft ablifh' *d by no lefs Authority than that of the Apoflles. And had he been fo unfortunate as to urge it infome Pub lick Debute upon that Argument, it would not have been much for the Hon€.jr either of his fitppofed Lordjhip or his Chaplain, not only becaufe it would appear ft range to Men of Tolerable learning, to hear a Canon that has been exploded on all hands as fpirions, gravely cited as Apoftolical, but alfo beca.ife it /lands in Company with other Conftituti- 01s that a^e as Foreign to us, as the Ceremonial Law, M. Tom Hobhs in 20 Miles riding never invented fo many Abfur- ' dkies and Contradictions to truth, as thy Author en pajfant has be- ftow'd upon us in this half Paragraph, Fifcy quoth he, are genuine, the reft fpurious Ignorantly and rudely to Abomination, for if by Ge- nuine he means (as he muft if he believes any thing at all ) that the firft 50. were compiled or drawn up by the 12 Apoftles, fome of the very Canons themfelves, are a Confutation of that Notion, feeing they manifeftly owe their rife to Controverfies which happen'd in the Chriftian Church, after the Apoftles days. But yet that his piftio&i- on may not feem either precarious or falfe, he tells you further with a wonderful Air of AlTurance, That thofe who moft aealoufy contend for the Authority of thofe Canons infift only on the ift. 50. as Genuine, qroiv.r up *& the reft as Srur>cus, Whereas every body that has made any thin^ of an enquiry into the Opinions of the learned in this Cafe, muft needs know that TurrUnus the }efa\tz Zealoufly contended, and that not long ago, for the Apoftolical Authority of every of them, and that in the higheft Senfe, as fram'd by the very Apoftles •of our Lord, and thoJ wifer Men for good reafons havereje&ed th;£ Nation, yet fome of the moft Coniiderable Writers of the laft Age, and of our own Church, have been more prudent and modeft, than to Scandalize all but the fir It 50. is a Spurious Off-fprin r, Witnefs Dr. Gunning Bp. of Ely fin his Book concerning the Lent Faft, Bp. Pear- fons Vindication of St. Ignatius his Epiftles, and Bp. Beveridge\ Codex Cannokm finiiemm, each and every of thefe Celebrated Writers pay- ing a great and joft Deference- to fome of thefe very Canons, which you ( 73 ) your left-handed blind Anchor [hikes ©iF(without?oii , Wit? qs ggjjj palprivation,the other two rnzy fan >d fair for a place in it. M. Th.n Gentleman would certainly have been on the Dr. long he- fore this, but that hedefpifes fo weak an Adverfary, and thinks it be- low him to reply to the Impertinency of fuch a Trirler. That trou- ble, as it happens, is fallen upon me. The 61 Canon we have accoun- ted for already, the reafon of its Relaxation, or Abolition beingfufjS- ciently fpecify'd. As for the other, [ muft tell you by way of Prcli- i? 2 minary. Mi Which prohibits Flefh in, or with the blood, an< >eafts,or Itrangled, he might have faid if he had known ; (74:) Part 5. minary. ift. that it grates upon me to hear the Lent Fail ridicul'4. (/YVlf we do not think fit to follow the aufterities or" former times, if we will not let their Mortifications be an example to us, yet let us ufe fach Abftinence as to avoid making a jeft of what was once accounted a very venerable Inftitution, and that in our own Church many years after the Reformation, none but a perfon of your Authors difingenu- ity, who values not what he fays would have trumpt up this Canon to no purpofc, but only to upbraid us all for not coming up to the holy feverities of the Primitive Chiiftians, nay of our own Church before it was defaced with Phanaticifm, over-turn'd (as to theDifcipiine) by Re- bellion, and over-run thro' too much Licentioufnefs and Liberty cf — L. To the point in hand, prithee Man, or elfe we ihall not at this way of talking and haranguing go to Bed to night. M. Well then, to be (Sort, your Author mull be inform'd that fucceeding Councils have thought fit to abate of the rigour of that Ordinance, lelTer Penalties being impos'd upon the violaters of the Lent Fall, even where it is mofl ftri&ly enjoin'd -7 fo that (hould the Epiftolizer take upon him in another un-anfwerable Letter to fet forth theCaufesof Deprivation as nicely as he has mark'd out in this the Authority, which ("according to the Ecclefiallical LawsJ is only com- petent to inflict the Cenfure, he would not reckon eating ofFlelh in Lent for one,unlefs he had a mind to Write like thyDr.at ail adventures without confulting Authors or what drops from his Pen With your good leave therefore it reds hull upon him to /hew caufe; why the 74. Canon mould not be obferv'd, the Caufes drawn from the 6z and <5§, being in no wife parallel to it. L. I fuppofe he will do it, in the mean while let us proceed to what remains, and good friend be as brief as poflible, for I am quite tir'd of the Argument. M. I will confult my own reft as wdl as gratify your impatience. Go on. * 26 L. In the next place 'tis objected againfl your friend, That to male p? 29. * out his Propofttion,he cites a pa f age out of St. Cyprian, W is fofond of it, that Samtn. V. after hchadplac'd it in the Title Page in Latin^he brings it again in Engliflu P» 5^» M. And where's the harm of that } had it not been Tranflated, who knows whether the Dr. would have underflood it ? L. I beg your pardon, Sir. He's much better acquainted with that Ancient Father than you imagine, and from other pafTages in his Writings does mew the weaknefs of that Argument which your Au- .P: $*. thor would build upon his Authority. M. As how. L> He might, fays he, from the Authority of St* Cyprian, as well have prov'd that an jlrchbifhop ought to be Elected not only by the Bps. but by thf general fa frafe of the People. M, That r 77 ) ~M. That he might not, becaufe he knew that the Councifof Laodi- Part ^ cea exprefly forbids that the Ele&ion offuch as are to be Ordain'd be at v^ynj all in the People And he further learnt from other Monuments of canon 12. Antiquity, that the numerous and turbulent Meetings upon Eleflri-13. ons, gave occaiion at laft for the making general Laws whereby the People were quite excluded, and thereby Riots, Tumults, and Mur- ders betwixt the differing Fadions prevented.He knew alfo that a par- ticular Statute of thisRealm limits the power of ElcSion altogether to theClergy.But he knoweth not of any Canon or Statute which depriv- cth Synods of their Jurifdi&ion over offending Bps. and therefore iuppofes that without offence to any but the ignorant, he may ftil! up- on occaiion quote St. Cyprian for Synodical deprivations, and that the Authority is good amongft us. L. But anfwer me this then, Might not your Anther from St. Cypri- an, as well have prov'd that an Ar-chbifliop ought not to att any thing without the Council of the Presbyters and Deacons of his Province, and the conjent of the Pople, becaufe St. Cyprian did fo. p. 5#» M. What St. Cyprian did in the times of Perfecution, and the day of extremity, is rot pretended to be a neceffary general adequate Rule for the Catholick Church, but what he deiivei'd to pofterity as the Do&rineor Difciplineof the belt Ages, that I fuppofe we depend on as truth, and unlefs there be fome exprefs Law to the contrary, ought to a£t accordingly. L. You have brought your friend pretty well off as to this parti- cular:, but/;tf is more unfortunate inlaying the greatefi flrefs of Proof of his Propoftion on the crafy Canons of theCmncil of Antioch, whereas that atmoft was but a private Council, and is tnarkt out by Sylvius for an Ar- rian One. p. 56; M. That the Council of Antioch was not a general one is no more neyvs, that what he tells us afterwards that it was Arrian. But had he been half fo honeft or learned as he ought to be, he might have let us know withall, that together with the Heterodoxies advanc'd and publiihM by thofe falfe Fathers of the Church there Affembled, feve- ral of the Ancient" Canons were by them explained, and intermix'd with their own ungodly Conftitutions, border to make the acls of that Council the more pafiant in the World. And whoever wiil be at the pains to confult Bp. Severidge, will find \\z demonftrated/ thac CMSX C*- except thofe Canons levell'd by them againfc the Orthodox, the reft 4/S were taken out of the Apoftolical Canon aforementionM/rom whence Lib. i.\ 1 infer,that even^that wicked A ffembly paid a deference to that venera- 4. bleColle&ion,and that they will rife up in Judgment againft thofe,who like your Author make the Primitive Difcipline of the pureft Ages a laughing Stock, and a Derifion. So far as that Council was erroneous, the Epiltolizer detefts their Tenets as much as any Man, but wherein they ( 78 ) Part 5. they iludt to the receiv'd Tradition of the Church, he hopes he KsSy^J ir.zf go a\o^ with them, and if Mr. Dodor will not he may chufe. L. Make the beft of this Council, I won't give you a halfpenny for all you will gain by it in the point Controverted, whe'n'th: gth Canon thereof decrees Depofition againft any Bifoop who jh-i!l preform to ap~ 7 the Emperour without leaves from his MctrcpolitMy and the Bps. his p. 57. -Bret M. The meaning pray, Sir, of this ftrew'd objection, for I protcft your Dr. talks now above my capacity. L. Thus I apprehend him. Suppofe we fnould admit of the Au- thority of this Council, yet it would be far from Handing the Bp. in any Head in the point Controverted, \. e. the i /legal ty of his Deprivation, Or; 12. in? f much as one of the Canons decrees Deprivation againfi any Bp. who \h all apply, &c« Now the Bp. of St. David's having Appeal'd to the Crown from his Metropolitan, and without his Graces cbnfent, there- fore according to this very Council, he ought to be depofed fol- io doing. M. As levere as you may think me to be again ft your Dr- yet I hac\ more good nature in me, and more charity than to take his words in this fcnfe, for as you interpret them, nothing can be more fallacious, nothing more impudent, for tho' the 1 2th does feverely prohibit Appeals to the Emperour after Deprivation, yet it manifeft- iy implies that that Deprivation, or 'fit ft Sentence ©ught to be by a Synod, and to fuch as will not fubmit all hopes of ever being reftor'd are utterly cut off, as appears by the clofe of it. But this is by no means the 15p. of St. David's caie, nor can the edge of this rigorous determination be turnM againfthim, inasmuch as- he was not thus Sy- noaically depriv'd, but by the fole pretended power pf his Metropo- litan, a grievance too heavy for his Lord fhip to reft quietly under, : efore,with your leave, I would rather fuppoie that the Dr. in this lf rrjar.k °f his, had sfl eye once to the Canon which forbids any Bp. without the confrnt of his Metropolitan to make a perfonal Appli- cation to the Eu-perour in any matter however Innocent or Law- ful, and then applies it to the point Controverted, viz.. the Illegality of Depriving a Bp.s (according to the old way J otherwife than in a Synod ; but very improperly, feeing 'tis manifeftly the Senfeof this Council, that in that way only Bps. ought to be Depriv'd, to which purpofeonly the Canons of this Council are Quoted by the Epiftoli- zei\ Had that Gentleman ('no more his Lordihip^ Chaplain than his Graces but only a Friend and Servant to Truth) had he I fay aliened the Authority of that Council in grofs, your Dr. might have charg'd him not only with Errour, but Hereiie, and a Diminution of the Royal (79) Royal Prerogative of Princes, but as 'tis evident from the Letter, Part J*. References are only made to thofe Canons which are confbnant to u/~V^J the Ancient Primitive difcipline of the Church, fuch as fmell of He- terodoxy or faction, being left to ftink in the Noftrils of Pofterky and amongffc them the 9th as your Dr. calls it. L. But if this Council were thus erroneous in their decrees, 'tis little to the credit of your caufe to have it quoted in this con- troverfy. M. Quod ubiquc^ quodxfemper^ quod ab omnibus, is a Rule left us for v. meafuring and judging of truth, and certainly holds good in mat- u^Lili-." ters of difcipline, as well as Doctrine- Many Fathers, many Councils nenfo. have erred in feveral points, but are not therefore entirely rejected and exploded. What they have decreed and deliver'd agreeable to the reveal'd word, primitive Tradition, Reafon and Equity have pafs'd current, and been made ufe of by all judicious Writers, and4f the Epiftolizer has done no more, I hope he has neither preju- dic'd the caufe, nor difcredited himfelf. L. But what did he mean pray' by fetching another of bis Authorities fromtheEighth General Council ofConRanthloyte( as hecallstt) held in the year 869 j overt das fuch perhaps by the Papifts, becaufe "'tis for their fur '. fofe, but never by any of the Reformation before. ***£' 5 • M. One Fool may ask more queftions, than twenty Wife men can rnfwei in any tolerable time. To them we'll refer it, whether this Synod were oecumenical or no. Go you on to what the Epiftolizer quotes from thence, and then make your Objections. t>. He CXtzs^thetehth Canon of the tenth Action to Jhew^ the necejfuy ef a Sy nodical fentencc, but had he looJCdback^Qf ever he hoi? don it at all) to the third and feventh Canons of the fame Action, he would have found fuch Sanctions, as would make an Englifjn man have a very contemptible opinion ■ef them, 7 he third (ut venereiitur imagines j bids very fair for efta- blifhing Image Workup. As exprefy enjoyning veneration to the Image pug, 57 of Cbrift as to his Holy Cofpel. What think you of this worthy Canon. M. If there me no more in it then what your Author mentions, I humbly conceive, that a man may without imputations of Popery, pay a moderately religious refpedt to Pictures, and Sculptures, re- presenting theHiftorical Truths of the Bible,as well as to the Bible it felf, the one beiag a reprefentation of what was done in Colours and figures, the other in Syllables and Words -, for my part, I wou'd no more throw dirt at, or trample under foot the Image of the Blefled Jefus, than I would willfully defile or mifufe a page of the Evangelical or Apoftolical Writings, tho' at the fame time, I would no more than your felf, or the moil zealous Proteftaat, Wor- ihip ( 8o ) Part 5. (hip the one, or the other, but if upon a fair and jufl: confl:ruc"tiofi,, t^-y\; Ima^e-woriTiip was defigu'd, or in the lead introduced by this Canon, I abhor it and remonflrate againfl it. L. What think you afterwards of the fcventh, de non admitten is hoftibus imaginum, that isfo tender of the honour of Images, that it threat- Sum.V.p. neth a Clergy man with deprivation, if he fuffer them to be painted in his 57. Church by any hand that is not knovon to have a true veneration for them. M. If he have not a falfe, that is a fuperftkious or idolatrousVe- neration for them, where's the harm of this caution. But what's all this to the purpofe, fuppofe this Council had err'd as to thefe points, Cunon 10. Ju as t0 :'ne fakJe& pf Church power,in deprivation of Bps. 'tis own'd to be Synodical, that is, undoubtedly agreeable to thedifciplineand practice of the primitive Church,and has no dependance on thofe other conltuutions which your Author cavils at. Let me now ask you one queftion after the many Queries you have propos'd to me. Muft we reject, renounce and deipife every thing which the Papifts hold and teach ? L. No, but I think I may fay of this Council and all their De- crees, as my Dr. does of the three Canons cited by the Writer of this t*Z* 57- Letter out of the Council of Trent. M. I expect with great impatieuce the weighty Sentence. jjjl^ L. 'Tis thus then, / prtjame no frotejlant can have any regard t» them. M. May he read them ? L. Yes. M. May he afTent to the truth and equity of their Decrees f So far forth as they are proved from Scripture, or back'd by the Autho- rity of Primitive fathers and Ancient Councils, and not contrariant to. the known elrablifli'd Laws of this Land or National Church. L. Should I grant you that, what need is there of running to them for the e:ta baling, or advancing any point of difcipline amongft us. • M. Pardon me there, Sir, we do not lay the foundation of Syno- dical Deprivations upon any Councils that are either Popilh or in- clinable that way, but reft chiefly upon the Authority of the Apo- itolical Canon and the concurrent Testimony and Suffrage of the molt primitive Fathers and Ancient Councils, and if further tode- monftrate the Univerfality of this Tradition, and the practice thereon we do (hew, that the Romiih Church approv'd of this method of de- priving Bps by Synods in the ordinary way of Church Government, this muft needs be allow'd to be a collateral fort of Evidence and mould not be flouted at and derided, unlefs we have a mind to fe- pirate further from the Papifts than -either Charity or Truth do require. ( 8i ) require. 'TisSexcellent advice given us by St. Paid: €ive none ofence^ part $• neither to the* Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God. i. e. as ^/yVJ a Man may apply the Sacred Text to our times and circumftances, i Cor. 10, neither to Papifts, Phanaticks, nor the Faithfull Fathers and Sons^2* of the truely Catholick and Apoftolick Church, all and every of which either are or may be fcandalized by this uncanonical way of thrufting the Biftiop of St. David's from his Epifcopal See and Dignity. L. Talk not too loud. M. 'Tis in vain toftrive to make a fecretof what has been told in Gath) and publifh'd mAskalon^&nd. which undoubtedly we lhall have retorted upon us, both from Rome and Geneva. L. From Rome I fuppofe we may, becaufe Synodical cenfures are allow'd and us'd by that Church with fubmiflion to the Pope. Your Author thinks he has clench'd the matter by an Authority from Leo the 4th in whofe letter to the Bps. of England as the Epifto- lizer tells us, there is this paflage, Nullam damnationem Epifcoporutn unquam effe cenfemus nifi ant ante legitimnm Numerum (qui fit per duo- ' _ decim Epifcopos ant certe probata Sententia per LXXII. idoneos Tefies^ and ^* the Epiftolizer omitting the number of WitnelTes, makes me as much fufpeft his fincerity in this, as I do his Judgment in other Quota- tions. M. You have no reafon to fufpecl: either, but may fee your Au- thors skill in his own Profeflion a Dr. of Laws, might know that as 72 Witnefles are requir'd to convict a Bp. fo 44 are necefTary for the Convi&ion of a Presbyter, and 27 of a Deacon, not of every Bp. Prieft and Deacon, but only of the Cardinals of thofe refpe&ive Or- ders, great care hath been taken that thofe Pillars of the Romifh Church mould not be maken by Malice and Obloquy. But two or Decm.i. three Witnefles duely qualify^, are fufficient for the condemning p- 2. f. 2. any other Bp. or. Clergyman, which Gratian tells us, is a Law now*** in force in the Church of Rome, and the belt interpreter of the afore- faid Letter. L. Then the Drs. Jell upon the Bilhop's ill luck to be cohdemnM by only 65 Witnefles is quite fpoiled M. It is fo, for if the Or. tells right, there are not among them all two or three Legal, Honefl, Pertinent and Unexceptionable Witnefles , fit to condemn any Criminal before a competent and impartial Judge. Several depofe nothing to the purpofe, many have down righc Perjur'd themfelves, and may expert to take their quarters in the next World with the Sons of Belialy who fvvore Naboth out of his Life and Vineyard, unlefs they repent and recant, which I heartily wifh they may before they go hence, and be no more feen. M L. Amea (82) Part 5. £" Amen, I fay, for they area parcel of fad wretches, but what L/W; fay you to the other part or the Quotations ? M. Only this, that there was iiich regard to Ancient Conftituti- ons, and tender care of the Honour and fafety o£ Bps. that it was judged reafonable, that an accufed Bp. fhould have at leaft a Jury of his Order to be Judges of Facts, and not fufTer Hell-hounds and Hack- ney Evidences to run a full cry, and hunt down a Father of the Church. L. But was not the privilege of having at leafl 1 2 Bps befides the Metropolitan, to try and conderna a Bp. a Peculiar of the Cardi- nal Bps. at Rome. Can. 4. M. No, by no means, the Council of Antioch declared, that a Presbvter was to be depofed by a Bp. and a Bp. by a Synod, but there" being many difficulties in aflembling Synods, the Council of Carthage provided that if a Bifhop be Criminous, and all the Bps. of the Province can not conveniently meet, that the accufed dr.. 12. may not continue under guilt he muft be heard for try'd J by 1 2 Bps. the learned Patriarch of Antioch gives an Inftance of the Uriel: ob- fervance of this Canon, in a Bp. that was depofed by the Arch Bp. of Cyprus, and 1 1 other Bps. and the Sentence was declared void In a Synod, becaufe there were not 1 2 befides the Metropolitan : Balfimon Whatever animated our Metropolitan to vary from Ancient Canons in Cm;. 12. and Practice, and deprive one of his fuffragans by his Own fole and fingle Authority, 1 will not dare to fay whatever the resfbh was, nei- ther the proofs of Witnefles, nor Evidence of the Fads, if the pow- er were unqueftionablefecm to juftify thefentence. L. Enough of that. Ware Scandalmn. Prithee liften and obferve how my Author concludes this controverfy. And now I beg my Rea- ders pardon, fays he. M. Never Man had more reafon, for all he has offtr'd is either di- rectly falfe, fophiftical or impertinent. L. Have patience, or elfe I'll give over. The pardon he begs is only for fubjoyning this little fpecimen of the EpijloUzers Judiciousnefs and fair- nefs of arguing, and of the refpetl that is due to the Authorities he makes life of, to make oood his proportion. M. Lett the equal Reader judge betwixt them. > -J# L. J am not at leafure (as he proceeds) to findoHt the Exceptions a- fair/ft his other Quotations. M. In vain would he attempt it. For they are not only numerous but as clear as the Sun at Noon day. L. Nor imlin'd further to difprove that? which if true would be nothing fitfm to his defign and purpofe. M. How fo ? -w ■ ^ If. Becanfe (83) t. Becaufe to make his Ajftrtion good, he fhould have (hewn thai the Part C. ComciU and Authorities he Quotes were Vniverfaliy own'd by the Catholick LXVNJ Church. M. Does not the Learn'd Bp. Beveridge fhew, that the general Colcinon. Councils of Nice, Conftantinople, and Ephefus, approv'd of the Apofto-^^ iicai Canons, and particularly that the Council of Cbalccdon ascepted of, and ratify'd the 74, and acted according to it. What is an Uni- verfal Approbation if this were not ? Llh- ■• L. He means [0 as that every National Church was govern' d by them in its'' *' proceedings in the matters therein defined, .... M. Why could not he with all his Learning and critical Knowledge in Ecclefiaftical affairs have given one inftanceof a Bp. deprived in the way of Church Government, otherwife than Synodically. One ap- prov'd Example of this fort would have ended the Controverfy. But tho' it has been long defir'd by fome, and requir'd, if I miftake not Vo%rcr-m by a learned Author, that fikh a Precedent fiiould be Exhibited in to the ute defence of -an abfolute Mctropolitical power, yet there has been Bp. ofst. a total3 deep, not to fay fcandalous Silence upon the point. Afaph'* L. 1 wonder at that. c*ft* M. I have donefo till lam weary. L, Hereafter perhaps you may have your expectation anfwer'd, in the mean while my Author thinks it requifite, before thofe Canons and Aw thorities can be admitted in this Debate, it flionld be jhewn that they were particularly received by the Church of England, and fo Incorporated into our Conftitution, that we ought to regard and obey them. M. As our Church is a Member of the Catholick Church, furely the P* ^' Laws, Sanctions, and Constitutions of the Church Univerfal ought to have in influence, and be directory in Ecclefiaftical Proceedings, un- lefs we have in confide? ation of our own particular circumftances and ne.effities, Solemnly and Judicially ordain'd otherwife. And where is that Canon, where that Law or Statute, which re/trains a Synod from fentencing a delinquent Bp ? For tho' by the Act of SubmifTion 2< H 2 the Clergy relinquifh'd, and were debarred from Enacting and Exe- c. i97' * curing any new Canons without the Kings Licence, yet no Man I be- lieve will argue from thence, that they parted with the Synodical power of depriving, or denouncing fuch Sentences as the Offenders againlt the Ecclelhifcical Laws might deferve. It being prov'd in the cloje of that very Ail, that fnch Canons, Conjlitutions, &C. already made. Wrjiib be not co m orient, and repugn ant to the Laws, Statutes, and Cnftoms of this Ke.d.n, nor to the damage and huvt 0. the A " ■■gs Prerogative Royal, be flill ufed and executed as they were afore the mak.ngthis Atb, till fuch time as they be viewed, jearctid, or other wife ordered, and determiad by 32 per- fons, or the more part of them-. When by this Act the King had power M 2 to (H) sorm. titulo de Vepivd- ilone. C.2. Part \. to appoint the old Canons and ConfHtutionswrfich had obtain'd in ^/Y>j this Realm, were, and are ftill in force under the Limitation aiore- faid. I would gladly know why thofe Canons concerning Depriva- tions, which were of Univerfal extent and ufe, may not well be thought ftill to remain in their full ftrength with us this day, being neither contrary to the Laws, Statutes, and Cuftoms, nor hurtfnl to the Royal Prerogative. 27 H. S. L' Was any tn*n8 ^one Pur^"uant t0 lhat Statute. L. i§*. 5-5. M> Yes, the defign was conflrm'd by three Subfequent Atts ; Com- jf.8.h.i6. miffions pall for the purpofe, and a Draught agreed to (which is yet in g.L. 6. {jeing)fQr reforming Eccleliaftical« Laws, but never palling into a Law, Reform- is of n0 force' butI very u^eftsl to fll€W thc °Pmions and Ufage of tio Legum thofe times. Ecckfufti- h. Was there any Provifion made for Depriving Bps ? M. Yes. L. What Power and Share had the Arch-bifhop therein? M. None but what the Kings Commiflion gavry for when any Bp. came in Danger of fitch fentence, the King was to appoint the Archhifbof^ and txoo other Bps. whom he pleafed, that were eminent for Learning and Mo- rals, to he Judges, who after diligent infpellion, and conft deration, fhould with Piety and Prudence determine the whole bufinefs, and afterwards becaufe fuch [entente is cruel and fatal, it is provided that it fkall not be given agairifk a Bp. or Clergyman, unlefs the Party accufed be Convicted by three duly qualify d, able Witnejfes, or conftfj'cth the Falls, or that they are fo evident and perfpicuous, that no doubt can be made thereof. L. I perceive the Ancient Canons for Tryals by Provincial Synods, or at leail 12 Bps. would not have been the rule if that defign had fucceeded. M. It is true, but they by that Statute are in force till fuch Alte- rations was Legally made, and the Archbilhop had no power inhe- rent in him as Archbifhop, and if no Statute or Law made fince £ fuch an one in force. M. If there be, with all due deference to my Superiours, I humbly conceive, that it would be much for the future fecurky of this Na- tional Church, that that Law were abrogated and nuil'd. L. Why fo. M. Becaufe otherwife our Religion, I mean the outward peace* able proteflion of it, notwithstanding that eftablifhment we fo much glory in, may poffibly be overturn'd and taken from us. For if i6 be part of that power or prerogative, legally inherent in an En- glish Metiopolitan, that he may deprive a comprovincial Bp. by his own fole Authority \ then mould a King or Queen arile in England hereafter (for during her Majelty's Bkfltd Reign we are fafe enough from any innovation) but fhould any perfon hereafter vetted with the Supream Power, have a delign to bring in Popery, Sociaianifm, Presbytery or moderate Epifcopacy (as fome phrafe it) %% but ma- king ( 88 ) Fart 5. king anArchbifhop or two according to their ownHeart, and the work is'more \^~\,*X/ than half done. For then in the plenitude of tha Archiepifcopal power the Bifhopsof each Province may befoon crufht by their Metropolitan, if they wiil not comply with the intended Reformation:, and.theirSees fill'd with fuch as will. The inferior Clergy with a little Jabour may hereupon be djfpos'd of, or fenttobeg their bread, feeing they could have no place of Appeal, but out of the Frying-pan into the Fire, and what a deplorable miferable condi- tion may this Church, now the Glory of the Chilian World, poftibly be redue'dto, Ihould this power you are Pleading for, defcend to fucceeaing Metropolitans. Had the Politicians of f urmer or a late Reign, apprehended any fuch 1. gal Power in an Archbilhop they need never have troubled them- felves with fettingup the high Com.niffio i Court, when by a Law of our own Hill in force (as you fay) they might have fo order'd the matter as to deprive uvery Orthodox Clergymandn the Nation. L. Troth you fay right, the confequence of fuch power may be difmal, and •therefore ought (me thinks ) in p* udence to be p evented. But as to the Point in hand, if there be fuch a Statute as lodges a depriving power intheArchr l?ifliop, then our Diocefan is gone beyond rec emption. M. If there be, but where is it ? Why did not your Dr. the mighty Cham- pion for his Grace, produce it, and finilh the Controverfy, with fuch an Un- anfwerable Objection. Your Inference drawn from the Judgment of the Courts aforemention'd, has that weight with me, that I won't prefume to fay there is no fuch Law. Tho'at the fame time I muft confefs I cannot think the Bp. of St. David's (6 mad, fenfel: fs, and extravagant, as to fquander his Time and Money, and render himfelf ridiculous by flying from one Court -to another, nay to the higheft Court of the Kingdom, From the Archbilhops Jurifdi&ion, in cafe that were fupported by a known Statute of the Realm. In this Seffions of Parliament, Friend, this point may be laid before, and left to the Debate of the Houfe of Lords, where a much greater freedom of Speech may be us'd, than we even in private may pretend to. And may the good God, who lovcth Righteoafnefs, and who will in no wife clear the Guilty > fo enlighten their Underftandings, and influence their Councels, that they may, without refped of Perfons, in Juftice and Equity determine this weighty Caufe. L. Amen. Advcrtifemcnt F the Anther of the Summary View, or any body for him* can make it appear , [ and will be pleas' d Vublickly to demonstrate to the World, that any Perfons in thefe Papers has been A4is-reprcfented, or ttnjuftly Refiecled Hpon, the Edi- tor doespromife on the word of a Gentleman, that the Author Jhall be difcover'd, thatfo condign Pmifliment may heinfli&cd on him. But if after all the jevere Refietlions made upon that Writer, and the Witneffes, he and they jltall conti- nue filem, then it is hop' dy That every impartial Reader will judge the Conitti- Vigiveninthis Confcrencetobebothjiiftandnecejfary. FINIS. E R R A X A' 1 Age 13. for tow r. vow. p. 1S. f. in r. nexr. p. ap. tftait r.ftart. p. 37 dele. been, pw 39. f. Delinquents r. Delegates, p. and after hare, infert done. p. 48. r. trifle, and f. W0, r. my. p. 49. r. tArs. p.