1712. books, they found a courfe of precedents to the contrary: and the schedule, by which the archbishop prorogued them, when the royal writ was fent him, did, in exprefs words, continue all things, in the ftate in which they were then, to their next meeting. Yet this did not fatisfy Atterbury and his party; fo the lower house ordered him to lay the matter before the attorney-general for his opinion: he did that very partially, for he did not fhew him the paper fent down by the bishops; he only gave him a very defective abstract of it. Whereupon the attorney-general gave him fuch an anfwer as he defired, by which it was very plain, that he was not rightly informed about it. The bishops refolved to adhere to the method of former convocations, and not to begin matters afresh, that had been formerly near finished. By this means they were at a full ftop, so that they could not determine those points, which had been recommended to them by the queen: but they entered upon new ones. an act had paffed for building fifty new churches, an office was prepared for confecrating churches and churchyards. Cenfure on book not As The cenfure that paffed on Whiffon, in the former fefWhifton's fion, was (as hath been faid) laid before the queen for her confirmed approbation. But, at the opening of this feffion, in Decemby the queen, ber, the bishops, finding no return was come from the throne, fent two of their number to receive her majesty's pleafure in that matter. The archbishop was fo ill of the gout, that he came not to the convocation all the winter. The queen had put the cenfure into the hands of fome of her minifters, but could not remember to whom he gave it; -fo a new extract was fent to her, and she said, fhe would fend her pleasure upon it very fpeedily: but none came this feffion. So all further proceedings were ftopped, fince the queen did not confirm what was done. There appeared at this time an inclination in many of the clergy, to a nearer approach towards the church of Rome; Hicks, an ill-tempered man, who was now at the head of the jacobite party, had in feveral books promoted a notion, that there was a proper facrifice made in the eucharift, and had on many occafions ftudied to leffen our averfion to popery. The fupremacy of the crown in ecclefiaftical matters, and the method in which the reformation was carried, was openly condemned: one Brett had preached a fermon, in several of the pulpits of London, which he afterwards printed; in which he preffed the neceffity of priestly abfolution, in a ftrain beyond what was pretended to, even in the church of Rome: he faid no repentance could ferve without it, and affirmed, that the prieft was vefted with the fame power of pardoning, that our faviour himself had. A motion was made in the lower houfe of convocation, to censure this; but it was fo ill fupported, that it was let fall. Another conceit was taken up, of the invalidity of lay-baptifm, on which feveral books have been writ; nor was the dispute a trifling one, fince, by this notion, the teachers among the diffenters paffing for laymen, this went to the rebaptizing them and their congregations (t). (t) Dodwell gave the rife to this conceit. He was a very learned man, and led a ftrict life; he feemed to hunt after paradoxes in all his writings, and broached not a few: he thought none could be faved, but those who, by the facraments, had a federal right to it; and that these were the feals of the covenant: fo that he left all, who died with out the facraments, to the uncovenanted mercies of God; and to this he added, that none had a right to give the facraments, but those who were commiffioned to it; and thefe were the apoftles, and after them bishops and priests ordained by them: it followed upon this, that facraments administered by others were of no value. He pursued thefe notions fo far, that he afferted that the fouls of men were naturally mortal, but that the immortalizing virtue was conveyed by baptifm, given by perfons epifcopally ordained. And yet, after all this, which carried the epifcopal function fo high, he did not lay the original of that government on any inftruction or warrant in the fcripture; but thought it was fet up, in the beginning of the fecond century, after the apostles were all dead. He wrote very doubtfully of the The time, in which the canon of the New Teftament was fettled; he thought it was not before the few cond century, and that an extraordinary infpiration was continued in the churches to that very time, to which he afcribed the original of epifcopacy. This ftrange and precarious fyftem was in great credit among us; and the neceffity of the facrament, and the invalidity of ecclefiaftical functions, when performed by perfons, who were not epifcopally ordained, were entertained by many with great applaufe this made the diffenters pafs for no chriftians, and put all thoughts of reconciling them to us far out of view: and feveral little books were fpread about the na tion, to prove the neceffity of re-baptizing them, and that they were in a ftate of damnation till that was done; but few were, by thefe arguments, prevailed upon to be re-baptized. This ftruck even at the baptifm by midwives in the church of Rome; which was practifed and connived at here in England, till it was objected in the conference, held at Hampton-court, foon after king James the firft's ac ceffion to the crown, and bap tifm was not till then limited to perfons in orders. Nothing of 1712. 1712. The earl of The bishops thought it neceffary to put a stop to this new and extravagant doctrine; fo a declaration was agreed to, first against the irregularity of all baptifm by perfons, who were not in holy orders; but that yet, according to the practice of the primitive church, and the constant usage of the church of England, no baptifm (in or with water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft) ought to be reiterated. The archbishop of York at first agreed to this; fo it was refolved to publish it, in the name of all the bishops of England; but he was prevailed on to change his mind; and refused to fign it, pretending that this would encourage irregular baptifm: fo the archbishop of Canterbury, with moft of the bishops of his province, refolved to offer it to the convocation. It was agreed to in the upper-house, the bishop of Rochester only diffenting: but when it was fent to the lower-house, they would not fo much as take it into confideration, but laid it afide; thinking that it would encourage thofe, who ftruck at the dignity of the. priesthood. This was all that paffed in convocation. On the 26th of April, the earl of Strafford went from Strafford's Utrecht to the Hague, and, in several conferences he had conferences with the penfionary and other ministers, earneftly preffed at the Hague. the ftates to come into the queen's measures. This, to gether with the fecret methods, that were used to hinder the ftates of Brabant from fupplying the imperial troops, that were marching into the Netherlands, with bread and forage, did not a little increase the jealoufies of the states, who two days after thought fit to fend a folemn deputation to the earl of Strafford, to know what the queen's measures were? The earl not having yet orders to explain himself, and being under an engagement of fecrecy with the French plenipotentiaries, made no fcruple to declare, in conformity to a late letter from the queen to the states, "That "her majefty's intentions were, that her troops fhould act "with the fame vigour against France, as if there were no "negotiation on foot." This declaration the earl repeated the fame evening in another long conference with prince Eugene of Savoy, count Zinzendorf, the ftates deputies, and the council of ftate; and on the 21st of April returned to Utrecht. Several other minifters, who went to the Hague, to confer with prince Eugene, returned also to the this kind was fo much as men- baptized by diffenters; but it was now promoted with much heat. Burnet, Vol. II. 604. place place of congrefs, in order to affift at the general confe- 1712. rence, which was held there the 23d of the fame month. The minifters of the allies having again inquired of those of France, whether they were yet ready to give their answer in writing; and being anfwered in the negative; it was propofed and agreed to, that the general meetings fhould for fome time be fufpended, till the French plenipotentiaries fhould give notice, that they were prepared. In the mean time the confederate minifters held fome intermediate conferences among themselves, and made frequent_journies from Utrecht to the Hague, and from the Hague to Utrecht; not without a well-grounded jealoufy of the intimacy and close correspondence, which appeared to be between the minifters of France and those of Great-Britain; the effects of which were foon after manifefted to the amazement of all christendom. field. About the middle of April the confederate forces began to The allies march into the field, and prince Eugene of Savoy fet out take the from the Hague on the 22d of that month, in order to put Cond. of the himself at the head of the army. The duke of Ormond, D. of Orm. being appointed to command the queen's forces in Flanders, Rep. of the received his inftructions on the 7th of April, whereby he was ordered" to repair with all poffible diligence to the "Hague, and to acquaint the penfionary, that he had re"ceived her majefty's orders to fee him, before he went to com. of fecr. put himself at the head of her majesty's troops, and to "express to him her refolution of pushing the war with all "poffible vigour, until the enemy fhould agree to fuch "terms of peace, as might be fafe and honourable for her"felf and her allies; to affure him, that he was prepared to « live in a perfect and good correfpondence with all the "generals of the allies, and particularly with those of the "ftates; and to defire the penfionary to inform him, what "plan had been agreed upon for the operations of the cam"paign and as foon as he arrived at the frontier, to meet "with prince Eugene, and fuch others of the generals, << as fhould be in the fecret, and with them to concert the 66 proper measures for entering upon action." The duke left London on the 9th of April, and in three days arrived at the Hague, where having visited the penfionary, he gave him, according to his inftructions, all the affurances of carrying on the war with vigour, and acting in confidence with all the allies, and more efpecially the Dutch: which were received with the greateft profeffions of duty and refpect to her majefty. He had alfo a conference with the council of VOL. XVII. VOL. I i ftate, 1712. ftate, who told him, "That there was no particular refo"lution taken as to the operations of the campaign, but "they left it to their generals, who with their deputies were "to act in concert with the generals of the allies: and that "they had given orders to their generals to live in a good "correfpondence with his grace." The prefident of the week made many excuses for their having given the command of their army to prince Eugene; but however he faid, "That, as to the point of command, his grace and "the prince were now upon an equal foot.' About this time the duke received a letter from Mr. Cadogan, who had been fome time before left out of the establishment of lieutenant-generals, defiring his intereft for being employed under him this campaign. The duke readily complied with his requeft, and foon obtained the queen's leave for his serving in that poft. The duke refolving to take the field as foon as poffible, left the Hague, and arrived at Ghent the 3d of May; and after a ftay there 'of two or three days, and fecuring the government of the citadel in English hands, went on to Tournay, where he met_prince Eugene and the deputies of the states. All the English forces, for fome weeks, had been in the field, and lay cantoned along the road between this city and Lifle. And the reafon of drawing them out of their quarters fo early was, that there had been a project formed to take poft at Oify, on the Senfette, which would have fecured the march over the Scheld, and might have given the allies an opportunity of feizing Cambray. Lieutenant-general Cadogan did not in the leaft queftion the fuccefs of it. But, the Dutch making many difficulties and delays in this affair, Villars had prevented the defign, and taken poffeffion of Oify, and of all the paffes on the Sensette. On the 17th of May, prince Eugene and monfieur Vegelin came to the duke Ormond, and it was agreed between them to pass the Scheld near Bouchain, in order to incamp at Avefne le Sec, and fee whether the confederates could attack the enemy without great difadvantage; or, fhould the enemy be too ftrongly pofted, it was proposed to invest Quefnoy, which, being a little place, could not hold out above three weeks at moft after the opening of the trenches in order to thefe motions, the proportion of the two armies to be commanded by the prince and duke being settled (u), the neceffary directions were given for affem (u) The duke had under him the following troops, confifting 2 bling |