the king during the interdict*, fell infinitely fhort of their real loffes: for which reason they were entirely diffatisfied at the legate's determination.

Nor can we well imagine, that archbishop Langton, who, for his own private advancement, could fuffer himself to be made the cause of so much mifery to the kingdom, and of the most ignominious proftitution of the honour of the English crown and nation, could afterwards act in defence of its liberty, from the generous and difinterefted motives of public fpirit.

Nothing could be worse concerted than the design Henry III. formed of freeing himself from the restraint he thought the lords had laid on his father by Magna Charta. Inftead of gaining the clergy to his intereft, and thereby making them fubfervient to his defigns, he not only made them partake of the general oppreffion of his reign, but suffered them to be devoured by the insatiable extortion of the pope's legates. The king vainly thought all he had to do, was to keep fair with the holy fee; the pope knew how to make the proper ufe of this temper in the king; and fince

* Rapin, vol. 1. p. 274.

John's

John's refignation feemed to confider England as a tributary country, which he might plunder at difcretion. He had now no occafion for the affistance of the clergy, who, whilst they found their account in it, promoted all his defigns, and exalted his ufurped power. But as the cafe now stood, they found a blind complaisance for the orders of the pope, and his demands of money, would only ferve to ruin them. They had nothing to hope from the king, who kept no measures with them: they beheld with grief all vacant benefices bestowed on foreigners, infomuch, that at one time no lefs than three hundred ecclefiafticks were fent over. Whofoever looks into M. Paris, will find him every where full of inftances of the pope's extortion and oppreffion towards the English clergy, in which the king went hand in hand with him, The clergy were not fo blind to their own interest, as not to be fenfible it was now their business to join with the people in condemning Henry's proceedings accordingly we find through this reign they always fhewed great backwardness in complying with the exactions of the king and pope, and fometimes they had the refolution to give them a down-right refufal, and openly to declare they would no longer fubmit to fuch oppreffions.

But

But that their regard for the interest of the laity was no greater than at other times, plainly appears from the open attempts they themfelves made towards fubverting the laws, which my lord Coke mentions in his preface to the articuli cleri*. "in the forty-fecond year of "Henry III. Boniface archbishop of Canterbury, made diverfe and many canons and "conftitutions provincial, directly against the "laws of the realm, and tending to ufurp and "encroach upon many matters which appa"rently belonged to the common law; but "notwithstanding the greatnefs of Boniface, "and that diverse of the judges of the realm "were of the clergy, and all the great officers "of the realm, as chancellor, treasurer, privy "feal, &c. were prelates, yet the judges pro"ceeded according to the laws of the realm,

and ftill kept, though with great difficulty, "the ecclefiaftical courts within their just and

proper limits." limits." We may reafonably conclude, had the king taken the method, fome of his more politic fucceffors have done, of attaching the clergy to his interest, by fhewing a zeal for their pretended rights, and a readiness in contributing to the advancement of their riches and power, and had himself

Second vol. of Inft.

only

only plundered and haraffed his other fubjeas; he would have met with their full concurrence in his defigns: and all precautions in the laity for the fecurity of their liberty, would have been cenfured as unwarrantable, and rebellious. For what could not be expected from a set of men, whofe power and wealth were become so dangerous to liberty, and their endeavours to encreafe them fo ftrenuous, that, as the great man juft quoted fays, it was with great difficulty the laws of the land were rescued from their all-engroffing ambition?

In this and the following reign, we may obferve, how difficult it was by the wifeft provifions and reftrictions of the law to prevent the clergy from evading fuch ftatutes as Let any bounds to their wealth or power. At the time of figning Magna Charta by Henry, the barons were fo fenfible of the dangerous confequence of the immenfe riches, the church was every day acquiring, that they inferted a clause to prevent the further difpofition of lands to religious houfes. But the clergy found fo many ways to creep out of that ftatute, and their poffeffions continued ftill to encrease fo faft, that in the feventh of Edward I. the ftatute of mortmain was enacted to the general joy of the people. The words intended to provide against their devices are fo ftrong, that I will VOL. II.

C

infert

infert them here: «* Quod nullus religiofus " aut alius quicunque terras aut tenementa "aliqua emere vel vendere fub colore dona

tionis aut termini," (and to prevent all other inventions and evafions, these general words were added)" aut ratione alterius ti" tuli terras aut tenementa ab aliquo recipere, "aut alio quovis modo, a te vel ingenio, fibi appropriare præfumat, fub forisfactura eorun“dorum.”

A man would have thought, fays my lord Coke, that this should have prevented all new devices; but they foon found out an evafion for this ftatute alfo.

:

In the progrefs of this reign we see the grounds of their oppofition in the former fully made out by the willingness, the clergy fhewed, in making use of the pope's authority, whenever it chimed with their own intereft they now made a bull of Boniface VIII. † a pretence to exempt them from the payment of any taxes to fecular princes, without the confent of the holy fee; and by fo doing, openly put themselves upon a foot of independence on the rest of the kingdom; and even affumed

See lord Coke's magna charta, ch. 36. ›✰ M. Weft. 405. Walfing. p. 68.