enjoins all his subjects to conform to it, as the only public form established by law in this realm; and admonishes them not to expect any further alterations, for that his resolutions were absolutely settled. This proclamation was accordingly prefixed to the common Prayer Book, with the amendments, and it went into general use.

The next year, 1604, James met his Parliament with a speech, in which he flatters the Catholics, and offered to meet them half way in religious ceremonies, if they would renounce the pope's supremacy; but he goes on to denounce the Puritans, as a sect unsufferable in any well ordered community." In this Parliament, the struggles of the parties were warm and severe; but the Puritans were borne down by excommunications and persecutions, arising out of certain new ecclesiastical Canons. I will enumerate a few of these canons.-(Viz. Can. xviii. enjoins bowing at the name of Jesus. Can. xvii. xxiv. xxv. &c. enjoin the wearing the habits in colleges, cathedrals, &c. as Capes, Surplices, Hoods.),

ABSTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF CANONS.

CANON III. Says, "That whosoever shall affirm that the Church of England by law established, is not a true and apostolical church, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored but by the Arch Bishop, after his repentance, and public revocation of his wicked error.

CAN. IV. "Whosoever shall affirm that the form of God's worship in the Church of England, established by law, and contained in the Book of common Prayer, and administration of the Sacraments, is a corrupt, superstitious, and unlawful worship, or contains any thing repugnant to scripture, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored."

CAN. V. Whosoever shall affirm that any of the thirty

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nine articles of the Church of England, agreed upon in 1562, for avoiding diversity of opinions, and establishing, concentrating the true religion, are in any part superstitious or erroneous, or such as he may not with a good conscience subscribe to, let him be excommunicated ipsor facto, and not, restored, &c.

CAN. VI. Whosoever shall affirm that Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England, by law established, are: wicked, anti-christian, superstitious, or such as being com manded by lawful authority, good men may not with a good conscience, approve, or use, as occasion may require, subscribe, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored, &c.

CAN. VII., Whosoever shall affirm that the government of England, by arch bishops, bishops, deacons, and arch deacons, and the rest that bear rule in the same, is antichristian, or repugnant to the word of God, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored, &c.

CAN. VIII. Whosoever shall affirm that the form and manner of making, and consecrating bishops, priests, and deacons, contains any thing repugnant to the word of God; or that persons so made, and consecrated, are not lawfully made, or need any other calling, or ordination to their divine offices, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and) not restored, &c.

CAN. IX. Whosoever shall separate from the Church of England, as it is approved by the apostles rules, and combine together in a new brotherhood, accounting those who conform to the doctrines, rites and ceremonies of the Church of England for their communion, let them be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored, &c.

CAN. X. Whosoever shall affirm that such ministers as refuse to subscribe, to the form and manner of God's worship, in the Church of England, and their adherents, may truly take to themselves the name of another church, not established by law, and shall publish that their church has

groaned under the burden of certain grievances imposed on them by the Church of England, let them be excommunicated, ipso facto and not restored, &c.

CAN. X. Whosoever shall affirm that there are within this realm other meetings, assemblies, or congregations, of the king's born subjects, than such as are established by law, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of true and lawful churches, let them be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored, &c.

CAN. XII. Whosoever shall affirm that it is lawful for any sort of ministers or lay persons, to make rules, orders, or constitutions, in causes ecclesiastical, without the king's authority, and shall submit to be ruled, and governed by them, let him be excommunicated ipso facto, and not restored, &c.

CAN. XCVIII. We decree, and appoint that after any judge ecclesiastical, hath proceeded judicially against obsti- > nate and factious persons, for not observing the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, or for contempt of public prayer, no judge ad quem shall admit, or allow of an appeal, unless (he having first seen the original appeal,) the * party appellant do first promise and vow that he will faith-> fully keep and observe all the rites, and ceremonies of the Church of England, as also the prescript form of common prayer, and do likewise subscribe the three articles formerly by us specified and declared."

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Here then is Popery in the abstract, here then is the foundation upon which the Puritan church grew up and flourished, here is the key to the whole mystery, that led to the settlement of New-England, and the planting of the Puritan church in this wilderness of the west, this modern Canaan of God. The courts of Star Chamber, and High Commission, had gone great lengths in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to humble the Puritans, break up their religious assemblies, and rob their pastors Von. F.

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of their livings, and persecute them by fines, and imprisonments; but all that was but the shadow of these Canons. Here is a persecution that excommunicated the whole Puritan church, both clergy and laity; drove them from the congregation of the faithful; stripped them of their lawful rights, as English subjects; deprived them of the power of sueing for the recovery of their lawful debts; subjected them to perpetual imprisonment for life, upon a writ of Capias; robbed them of the right of Christ tian burial at death; and as far as their power extended, barred them from the kingdom of heaven. There is but one penalty wanting, to render these Canons as bitter in their persecutions, as are to be found in the annals of the church of Rome,-"let him be burned to death." This would have made them complete.

CHAPTER VI.

CAUSES THAT LED TO THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW-ENGLAND-HISTORY OF THE PURITANS CONTINUED.

WHEN King James gave his ratification to these Canons, 1604, he commanded that they should be diligently observed and executed; and to enforce this, he ordered them to be read once a year in all the churches, before divine service, and that all in ecclesiastical authority, should rigidly enforce the penalties upon all offenders. These Canons, upon the back of the powers and persecutions of the courts of Star-Chamber and High Commission, commenced a persecution against the Puritans, unparalleled in any other reign, and rendered it high treason for them even to petition the king, for a redress of their grievances. Instances are recorded, that even counsellors at the bar, who were employed in the discharge of their regular duty, as advocates in the causes of the Puritans, in their trials in the ecclesiastical courts, were condemned by said courts, to suffer perpetual imprisonment for life. Under this state of things, the Puritans had but one alternative, and that was to flee into exile; this they chose; and thousands of them fled their country, and took up their abode in foreign lands. At this time the Rev. John Robbinson, with his little flock, fled from Norfolk, in England, and took up his residence at Leyden in Holland, and planted the Puritan church amongst the Dutch. The Puritans were willing to acknowledge that the basis of the Church of England, was truly apostolical; but that her usages, rites, and ceremonies, were many of them, to be ranked amongst the worst of the corruptions of Popery, and that it was incompatible with their consciences, to countenance and support them; and also, that it was just and right for them to withdraw from