A letter from the Bishop of Rochester, to the right honourable the Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, Lord-Chamberlain of His Majesties houshold concerning his sitting in the late ecclesiastical commission. Sprat, Thomas, 1635-1713. 1688 Approx. 14 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 12 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A61159 Wing S5033 ESTC R24609 08254178 ocm 08254178 41217 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A61159) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 41217) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1241:5) A letter from the Bishop of Rochester, to the right honourable the Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, Lord-Chamberlain of His Majesties houshold concerning his sitting in the late ecclesiastical commission. Sprat, Thomas, 1635-1713. 20 p. Printed by Edw. Jones, [London?] : 1688. Reproduction of original in the Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Dorset, Charles Sackville, -- Earl of, 1638?-1706. Church of England -- Government. England and Wales. -- Ecclesiastical Commission (1686) 2002-10 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2002-11 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-12 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2002-12 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A LETTER FROM THE Bishop of Rochester , To the Right Honourable The Earl of Dorset and Middlesex , LORD-CHAMBERLAIN OF His MAJESTIES Houshold , Concerning his Sitting in the Late Ecclesiastical Commission . In the Savoy : Printed by EDW. IONES . MDCLXXXVIII . A LETTER From the Bishop of ROCHESTER , To the Right Honourable The Earl of Dorset and Middlesex , &c. MY LORD , I Think I should be wanting to my self at this time , in my own necessary Vindication , should I forbear any longer , to give my Friends a True Account of my Behaviour in the late Ecclesiastical Commission . Though I profess , what I shall now say , I only intend as a Reasonable Mitigation of the Offence I have given , not entirely to Justifie my Sitting in that Court ; for which , I acknowledge , I have deservedly incurr'd the Censure of many Good Men : And I wish I may ever be able to make a sufficient Amends to my Country for it . Yet thus much , My Lord , I can justly alledge for my self , That the Commission was made , and my Name put into it , altogether without my Knowledge ; when I hapen'd to be at Salisbury , holding an Archiepiscopal Visitation with the Bishop of Chichester , and other Commissioners : Where , by God's Blessing , we composed several old Differences and Animosities , and restored Peace and Unity to that Church . At my return from thence to London , I found I was appointed to be one in a New Commission : But I could never see a Copy of it , nor did I ever hear its Contents , or know the Powers granted in it , till the time of its being publicly open'd at Whitehal ; whither I was sent for , on purpose , in haste , that very Morning , from my House in the Country ; being just come home from a Confirmation , and from paying my Duty to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Denmark at Tunbridge . Upon the first publishing the Commission , I confess , through my Ignorance in the Laws , I had little or no Objection in my Thoughts against the Legality of it ; especially when I confider'd , That having past the Broad Seal , it must needs , according to my apprehension , have been examin'd and approved by the King 's Learned Council in the Law , Men generally esteemed of eminent Skill in their Profession . Besides , I was farther confirm'd ( though too rashly I grant ) in my Error , when I saw two Gentlemen of the Long Robe , Persons of the greatest Place and Authority in Westminster-Hall , joyned with us ; who , I should have thought , would never have ventur'd their Fortunes and Reputations , by exercising a Jurisdiction that was Illegal . And I believ'd I had Reason to conclude , That this very Argument might prevail also with some others of the Temporal Lords , that sate among us . Particularly the Earl of Rochester has often assur'd me , 't was that which induc'd him to accept of the Commission ; and that he did it , as I my self did , with a purpose of doing as much Good as we were able , and of hindring as much Evil , as we possibly could , in that Unfortunate Juncture of Affairs . As for my own Part , I was startled when I perceived my Lord of Canterbury scrupled to be present with us ; whose Example , 't is true , I ought rather to have followed than the greatest Lawyers in all Matters of Conscience . Yet I hope his Grace will excuse me , if I declare , that I did not at first know He made a Matter of Conscience of it . Nor did I understand his Grace took Exception at the Lawfulness of the Commission it self , till after my Lord of London was Cited , and had Appear'd , and Answer'd , and the unjust Sentence was past against him . For it was on the very Day the Commission was open'd , immediately , as I remember , after it was read , that my Lord of London was inform'd against , for not Suspending Dr. Sharp : Which , though it exceedingly surpriz'd me at first , yet observing with what heat the Prosecution was like to be carryed on against him , that very Consideration did the more incline me to Sit and Act there , that I might be in some Capacity of doing Right to his Lordship . And whether I did him any Service through the whole Process of his Cause , I leave it to my Lord himself to judge . That I gave my Positive Vote for his Acquittal , Both the Times when his Suspension came in question , I suppose I need not tell the World. Having thus , in the beginning of that Court , and the highest Ferment of it , freely discharg'd my Conscience , by Endeavouring to clear my Lord of London , I must own , I thenceforth unawares took a Resolution , which , how hurtful soever it may now prove to my self , yet I am still apt to believe , did the Church of England no Disservice in the Main . My Design , by continuing longer among them , was to make sure of one Vote at least , and to do my Part , to the utmost of my small Interest and Ability , to lessen the Blow which I fear'd was coming on the Clergy , since it could not altogether be avoided . And I was the more persuaded to take this Course , not only because the Legality or Illegality of the Commission seem'd at first rather a Moot-case , than a determin'd Point either way ; divers of the Principal Lawyers , as I was told , being divided in their Opinions concerning it ; but also because I saw , some other Persons were ready to fill my Chair there , as soon as it should be empty ; Men of whose Principles and Practices I was so well aware , that I knew they wou●d not have the same regard as my self for the Churches Preservation . And perhaps I might add this further for the Extenuation of my Fault , That I was not discouraged by some Grave and Worthy Persons , for this very purpose , to keep in some longer time : But I forbear to name them , that I may not involve any Good Man in my Infelicity . However , upon these Motives I Acted , and , in pursuance of this Design , God knows , I Voted , as long as I remained at the Board : Where all my Opinions were so contrary to the Humour of the Court , that I often thought my self to be really in as much Hazard from the Commission it self , by my not Complying , as any of my Brethren could be , that were out of it . I Appeal to all that were acquainted with the Transactions there , whether ever I gave my Consent to any Irregular or Arbitrary Sentence ; whether I did not constantly and firmly Declare against every Extravagant Decree . I could almost presume to affirm , That I was , as far as in me lay , some way or other , a Common Sollicitor , or Advocate for all that were unjustly Prosecuted before them . And I might exemplifie this beyond all Contradiction , if I should enumerate every particular Cause , that came under their Cognizance . After my Lord of London was Sentenced , his Lordship knows , I was always upon the Watch to obstruct all farther Proceedings against him . Nay , his Lordship well remembers , I had once obtained to have his Suspension taken off , if he would but have made an ordinary Submission . Then I was Zealous for Exeter-College , in their Defence against Father Petre , in a Business of so great Importance , that if the College had been overcome in the Suit , that whole Society must soon have been abandoned to Popery . I did my utmost to oppose the Violent Persecution upon the whole University of Cambridge ; when the Vice-Chancellor was suspended his Office , and his Mastership of Magdalen-College , because a Popish Priest , who was one of the Missionaries to pervert the Scholars , was denied a Degree in their Convocation . I faithfully Assisted and Served Christ-Church in Oxford , when they were in danger of having new Statutes Imposed upon them , which would Infallibly have laid open that Royal College , to the Ruine of their Good Learning and Religion . I absolutely resisted all the Alterations in the Statutes of Sidney-College , and all other Changes and Abrogations of Oaths , that were then made or designed in the Statutes of either University , for the advantage of Popish Priests and Students , and for the freer course of Mandamus's in their Favour . I ever gave my Advice for all sorts of Business , to be return'd into the common course of Justice ; as that all Ecclesiastical Matters should be referred back to the several Bishops from whose Dioceses the Complaints were brought ; and that all Informations against Colleges and Hospitals should be recommitted to their proper Visitors . I persisted unmoveable in my Dissent from every Vote that passed against Magdalen-College in Oxford ; from their very first Citation before that Court , to the cruel incapacitating of the President and Fellows . I could mention many other Particulars , wherein I successfully labour'd to relieve divers of the inferior and greater Clergy from Oppression ; to prevent some from being call'd before us at all ; to preserve others after they were accused by malicious Sycophants and Informers , that swarm'd then every where : Some in the Case of Tythes ; some for pressing Churchwardens to take Legal Oaths ; some for not Reading , some for Preaching against the King's Declaration . But there are Two Eminent Instances , which I cannot omit . The one , That when the Bishop of Lincoln was Petition'd against by his Arch-Deacon , and there was , at that time , Inclination enough in the Court to pursue him to Extremity , yet my Lord Bishop of Peterburgh , by interceding for him with the King , and I with the Commissioners , so effectually wrought , that the Prosecution against him was discountenanced and fell to the Ground . The other Instance concerns my Lord of Canterbury ; and I am confident his Grace will readily give me this Testimony , That I served him honestly and industriously on some Occasions , wherein he was like to be embroiled with the Commission ; which must inevitably have ended in his Grace's Suspension at least , since he was resolved , whenever he should be brought before them , whatever the Pretence had been , to deny the whole Power and Jurisdiction of the Court. As for the last Scene transacted there , which was in Order to Censure the whole Clergy , for refusing to Read the Declaration : In that I hope I need say nothing in my Defence , it being publicly known to the whole Nation , how I then demean'd my self ; how I broke loose from the Commission in a time , when I was convinced I could do the Church no farther Service there , and when the Popish Party was in the height of their Power and Rage . Then it was that I joyned my self again to the Common Interest of the honest Clergy , just when they were on the very Brink of Destruction , before we ever dream'd of this Glorious Deliverance . This is certain , that my leaving and defying the Commission at that time , did apparently exasperate the Popish Priests , and the Ring-leaders of the Jesuitical Faction against me , to the highest Degree imaginable . Nay , some Worthy Men have made me almost so vain as to fancy , that my bidding the Commission then Farewel in so public and peremptory a Manner , was no inconsiderable Stroke towards the Dissolution of the Commission it self . It is evident , that immediately upon the receit of my Letter , wherein I renounc'd them , they Adjourned in Confusion for Six Months , and scarce ever met afterwards . Thus far I am sure , my perpetual Behaviour therein , was so much all of a piece , so directly against the Vogue of the Court , and the Counsels of Popery then prevailing ; and the Effects of it did so visibly destroy my former Interest with the King , that whereas it is manifest , I was , when the Commission began , in as fair a probability as any Clergy-Man in England , to receive great Effects of His Majesties Favour ; yet after my Opposing my Lord Bishop of London's Suspension , and my other Votes Conformable to that , I fell by Degrees under His severe Displeasure . I might add moreover , that it is very probable , I was at last in more imminent Danger than any of my Brethren ; I say , my Lord , than any of my Brethren , the Seven Petitioning Bishops , and my Lord of London only excepted ; whose Merits and Sufferings , in Asserting our Laws and Religion , were so conspicuous , and by consequence the Fury of the Papists against them so implacable , that perhaps it would be Presumption in any other Clergy-Man , much more in Me , to come in Competition with Them for either of those Honours . Upon the whole Matter therefore , tho' as to the Legal Part of the Commission , which belong'd to Lawyers to judge of , I was mistaken , for Acting in it at all : Yet in the Conscientious Part , which properly concern'd me as a Divine , to Act in it honestly and sincerely , according to the best of my Judgment , in that , if I shall not be thought to deserve Thanks , yet I hope I may obtain Pardon from all Men of Candor and Ingenuity . My Lord , I know your Lordship's Generosity and Tender Concern for your Friends , whereof I have had so much Experience , will excuse me for troubling you with this my long Confession and Apology , for my share in the Ecclesiastical Commission . I wholly submit it to your Lordship's Prudence and Kindness , to make what use of it you please in my behalf . Only , this I will say , That if I had as good a Cause for you to Plead , as I have in your Lordship a Patron to Defend me , I should not have an Enemy in all England . Westminster , Feb. 21 , 1688. My Lord , I am Your Lordship's most Faithful , Humble , and Obedient Servant , Tho. Roffen . FINIS .