66

"miscarriage, abdicates himself from being a magistrate, and proveth a brigand or robber, instead of a "defender; that, though he be innocent, and wrongfully deposed, and totally dispossessed, still it were "better for the common good to stay as they are, "than to venture the restoring him, because of the public hatred." It is evident, that these principles were intended to apply to extreme cases only; and that, when they are so applied, they are warranted by the received whiggish theory of resistance; and the writings both of Mariana and Persons.

66

We have mentioned the work on the middle state, which exposed White to censure: it is said however to have been praised by Mabillon*. This work, his Institutiones Sacræ, and one published by him under the title of Rushworth's Dialogues, exposed him to persecution and obloquy: "These works," says Mr. Dodd, "having given great offence, and "the see of Rome being made acquainted with their pernicious tendency,-(especially when White "had attacked the pope's personal infallibility,)— they were laid before the inquisition, and censured by a decree of that court." Doctor Holden, Mr. Clifford and Mr. Carr, all of whom were friends to White, thought him too severely dealt with, but exhorted him to submit to the censure and condemn the errors, which it imputed to him. This he did, in a solemn instrument by which he professed" to submit all his divinity writings to the "church and see apostolic."

66

66

* Chalmers, art. White.

66

Doctor George Leyburn, a warm and active adversary of White, was, at this time, president of the English college at Douay: he addressed a letter to doctor Holden, in which he declared that he was not satisfied with the submission made by Mr. White, as it seemed to import, a "submission, not to the holy see singly, but to the holy see conjointly "with the church; which conjunction," said doctor Leyburn, "for as much as it concerns our present "intent, happeneth only in a general council law"fully called." This being communicated to White, he immediately signed a second formula of submission, in which, after noticing the objection which had been made to the former, he says, "I therefore now do ingenuously and freely declare "and profess, that it is my opinion and judgment, "that all catholics ought in heart, and in all hu"mility and obedience, to submit their divinity "writings, not only to the holy church in common, "and in a general council, where the pope may be in

66

person, or by his deputies, but also to the parti"cular see of Rome, and to St. Peter's successor, "the pope, even out of a general council; which, "as I have always done in my heart, so do I now "likewise, actually and willingly submit all my "writings to the particular see of Rome, and St. "Peter's successor, the pope, even out of a gene"ral council; and this, according as my opinion "and belief has ever taught me, ratifying and con"firming to this effect, all the contents of my "former submission." Even this unqualified and

absolute submission did not satisfy doctor Leyburn, and the other adversaries of White. They extracted from his Institutiones Sacræ, twenty-two propositions, and laid them before the university of Douay; and, in 1660, that university formally condemned them. A censure of them was also subscribed by twenty clergymen of the college, and another censure by twenty-six other clergymen: the latter boldly declared, that, "from their hearts, they abo"minated and execrated the work written, in the English language by White, during Cromwell's protectorate, on obedience and government."

66

66

The humble submission of White was however as persevering as the attacks of his enemies.-In 1662, he addressed a letter to the pope, renewing his former submissions, and explicitly professing, that, "if his holiness should proceed to the punish"ments mentioned in the decree of the inquisition, "without any further form of law, he would not "contend, but undergo them with as much humi

lity and patience, as he was able." Beyond this, the submission of the most docile child of the church, could not go :-and, in these sentiments, he died at the advanced age of ninety-four years:

By his death," says Wood," the roman-catho"lics lost an eminent divine from among them; "and it hath been a question among some of them, "whether ever any secular priest of England went "beyond him in philosophical matters."-We have mentioned his adversaries: it should be added that he had both among catholics and protestants several warm and respectable friends. Among the latter,

none defended him without limitation; but, while they admitted his frequent obscurity, and occasional inaccuracy, they confidently asserted, that his writings contained little substantially wrong.

Even after his decease, Blackloism continued to be a word of war. Inconsiderately it was too often given to every clergyman, who advocated the appointment of a bishop in ordinary, who disbelieved the pope's personal infallibility, who declared against his deposing power, who recommended allegiance to the powers that were, who rightfully or wrongfully resisted any pretension of the regulars, or who argued against any ultramontane extravagance.— But after having strutted and foamed its little hour, Blackloism ceased to be mentioned, and Jansenism became the order of the day.

CHAP. LXIV.

CHARLES THE SECOND.

COMMENCEMENT OF HIS REIGN.-DECLARATION AT BREDA. PERSECUTION OF THE PROTESTANT DISSENTERS.

1660.

THE events, which led to the restoration of Charles, or the means, by which it was accomplished, are foreign to the subject of these pages: it is sufficient to observe, that the nation was divided, at that time,

into three religious parties, the roman-catholics, the members of the established church, and the dissenters the last comprised the presbyterians, the independents, and the anabaptists. In the progress of this history, we shall have occasion to shew, that the three last came by degrees to differ from each other, in little more than in name; but, at the time of which we are now speaking, the differences, which we have noticed both in their doctrine and discipline, were real and substantial *. All parties were reconciled to the king, and vied in demonstrations of affection towards him; but no party was reconciled to any other.

His majesty's declaration at Breda was just, wise, and conciliating. The promise, which it contained, of oblivion of past offences, would, perhaps, have been more judicious, if it had been without any qualification. It is obvious, that no qualification however carefully expressed, would hinder the application of it from being arbitrary in many instances, or prevent the unavoidable generality of its terms from occasioning alarm in a multitude of persons, whom it was not intended to affect, and from thus keeping alive, for a length of time, those jealousies, which it was so much the interest and wish of government to compose. Still the declaration was free from substantial objection: the religious toleration, which it held out, was complete, and the terms, in which it was expressed, were unequivocal.

* The Rights of Protestant Dissenters to a complete Toleration, asserted, 8vo. 1787, p. 1.