CHAP IV Assent to and promulgation of canons of A. D. 1603 no further power respecting them than that of assent and execution, leaving the right of legislation entirely in the hands of the clergy.' We," say the letters patent which publish these canons, "of our princely inclination and royal care for the maintenance of the present estate and government of the Church of England, by the laws of this our realm now settled and established, having diligently, with great contentment and comfort, read and considered of all these their said canons, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, agreed upon, as is before expressed; and finding the same such as we are persuaded will be very profitable, not only to our clergy, but to the whole Church of this our kingdom, and to all the true members of it, if they be well observed; have therefore for us, our heirs, and lawful successors, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, given, and by these presents do give our royal assent, according to the form of the said Statute or Act of Parliament aforesaid, to all and every of the said canons, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, and to all and every thing in them contained, as they are before written. 7 Mr. Gladstone has well pointed out the distinction between the Sovereign's relation to the Parliament and to Convocation. "The Reformation Statutes did not leave the Convocation in the same condition relatively to the Crown as the Parliament. It was under more control; but its inherent and independent power was thereby more directly recognised. The King was not the head of Convocation; it was not merely his council. The Archbishop was its head, and summoned and prorogued it. It was not power, but leave, that this body had to seek from the Crown to make canons. A canon without the royal assent was already a canon, though without the force of law; but a bill which has passed the two houses is without a force of any kind, until that assent is given. Again the Royal assent is given to canons in the gross, to bills one by one, which well illustrates the difference between the control in the one case and the actuating and moving power in the other. But the language of these instruments respectively affords the clearest and the highest proof. In the Canons (Canon 1) we find the words 'We decree and ordain,' that is we the members of the two houses of Convocation. But in our laws, 'Be it enacted by the King's most excellent majesty, with the advice and consent of the lords, spiritual and temporal, and commons,'" &c., &c. [Gladstone on the Royal Supremacy, p. 31.] 825 Henry VIII. 19, the "Act of Appeals." IV "And furthermore, we do not only by our said prerogative CHAP royal, and supreme authority in causes ecclesiastical ratify, confirm, and establish, by these our letters patent, the said canons, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, and all and every thing in them contained, as is aforesaid; but do likewise propound, publish, and straightway enjoin and command by our said authority, and by these our letters patent, the same to be diligently observed, executed, and equally kept by all our loving subjects of this our kingdom both within the provinces of Canterbury and York, in all points wherein they do or may concern every or any of them, according to this our will and pleasure hereby signified and expressed.' the Crown The consideration and construction of canons is, Existing therefore, even under the laws of Henry VIII., relation of decided by precedent to be within the ordinary tion and power of Convocation, sitting by the sovereign's license; but their legal status is given by the assent of the Crown, which also publishes, promulgates, and enjoins their observance by the same letters patent in which that assent is given. The power of refusing assent gives to the Crown, of course, a veto respecting Acts of Convocation similar to that which it possesses in respect to Acts of Parliament. The four years of the Reformation period which have been considered in this chapter, were thus very eventful years as regards the relations of the Crown of England to the Church of England: but, after all, the courage of the clergy in Convocation secured, under God's providence, the future freedom of the Church, even though it was obliged to bow for a few years to the yoke of Henry VIII.'s illegal tyranny. CHAPTER V CHAP THE REPUDIATION OF PAPAL JURISDICTION [A.D. 1531-1534] DURING the progress of the divorce business it HAP DUE V had gradually been growing upon men's minds. that whether the King was right or wrong in his endeavours to put away an old wife and take a young one in her place, the Pope was assuredly claiming a more than usually extravagant authority by the course which he was pursuing: and there began to be a freedom of thought and a freedom of speech about the matter, which foreshadowed a great change. Wise men who knew the history of preceding times, felt the approach of a climax in that standing quarrel between England and Rome which had been cropand Rome ping up in a more or less conspicuous degree during The old quarrel between England several centuries. But few, even of the wise, could see their way clearly to a new order of things. The authority of Rome might be repudiated by the English Church and nation, but what was to be substituted in its place? Were there any true and just principles of ecclesiastical independence, such as would allow freedom to the English Church, and yet maintain its Catholic position undamaged? The V problem was settled by what men call an accident, CHAP as many other problems have been settled before and since; and one can hardly wonder, considering the hold which the papal theory had gained on the world by the constant bold persistence of Italian statesmen, that it was settled in no more direct manner. free treat Popes During the whole time of Wolsey's government, there had been a growing disposition to deal with the court of Rome on more independent terms than had been customary. Frequent complaints had come from Rome that the Pope of the day thought Wolsey's himself slighted, and the complaints seem to have ment of had a foundation in facts. In October, 1514, the Bishop of Worcester wrote to Wolsey that Leo X. had expressed displeasure at an arrangement made between England and France for the marriage of the Princess Mary to the Dauphin, without any notice whatever being given to his Holiness of the negotiations that had been going on. Nor was a word said to him officially of Suffolk's marriage with the King's sister. And even while Wolsey, about the same time, was making interest at Rome for the cardinalate, he boldly remonstrated against the papal exaction of "two annates" in one year from the see of Lincoln, and urges that restitution must be made.2 remon Remonstrances from the Pope respecting the treat- Papal ment he was receiving from England seem, indeed, strances to have abounded about this time. The sub-collector of Peter's pence wrote to the Bishop of Bath on March 3, 1515, saying that the people refused to pay them until some dispute then in hand was settled. The letter was intercepted, and its language was of so 1 Brewer's Calend. St. Pap., i. 5543. 'Ibid., 5465. Strong language used to him CHAP disrespectful a character, that Leo X. thought it worth V while to write to the King himself on the subject.' But at about the same time Henry was writing one sharp letter to the Pope respecting an unacceptable appointment of a Scotch bishop as legate, and Wolsey was writing another respecting the hesitation shown by his Holiness in forwarding his election to the cardinalate; and though Leo wrote quite humble replies, both King and minister seem to have punished him by their silence, for in November he writes that he has not heard from England for three He gets no months. The same complaint about want of news is news from thrice made within a few months afterwards, and a England and too little money little later his Holiness ventures so far in his remonstrances as to say at one time that he considers the excuses made very unsatisfactory and at another, that he has not heard from England for six months, and never did hear except when people wanted to beg something! Constant complaints are also sent over about the manner in which the papal taxes are withheld by the King and the English people. The Pope "is greatly displeased, and his quiet nature much exasperated" at the refusal of a tenth in 1516:7 Lord Mountjoy prohibits the sale of indulgences in Tournay and the English ambassador tells the Pope they cannot be sold in England, unless the King's consent is sought, and a fourth or a third of differences the proceeds handed over to his Majesty. At last, the Bishop of Worcester writes to Wolsey, on April 10, 1518, that the state of affairs between England and Rome is becoming very serious, and that the Pope become serious |