The measures purfued to transfer the headship of the civil establishment from the pope to the king.

thereby acknowledged the pope's power de facto."

I shall not attempt to fift the motives, which induced King Henry VIII. and the nation to change this ancient custom of the realm, though we ought not to lose fight of the steps or measures, which were purfued to effect it. * <<< In the year 1530, 22 Hen. VIII. the clergy being caught in a premunire, were willing to redeem their danger by a fum of money, and to that end the clergy of the province of Canterbury bestowed upon the king the fum of 100,000l. to be paid by equal portions in the fame year following; but the king would not fo be fatisfied, unless they would acknowledge him for the Supreme bead on earth for the church of England, which though it was hard meat, and would not eafily go down amongst them, yet it passed at laft; for being thoroughly debated in a synodical way, both in the upper and lower houses of convocation, they did in fine agree upon this expreffion, Cujus ecclefiæ (fc. Anglicana) fingularem protectorem, unicum & fupremum dominum &(quantum per Chrifti leges licet) fupremum caput ipfius majeftatem recognofcimus. To this they all confented, and subscribed their hands,

Heylin's Reformation of England juftified, p. 5, 6.

and

and afterwards incorporated it into the public act or inftrument, which was presented to the king in the name of his clergy. On this ground were built the statutes, prohibiting all appeals to Rome, and for determining all ecclefiaftical fuits and controverfies within the kingdom, 24 Hen. VIII. c. 12. that for the manner of electing and confecrating of archbishops and bishops, 25 Hen. VIII. c. 20. and the prohibiting the payment of all impofitions to the court of Rome; and for obtaining all fuch difpenfations from the fee of Canterbury, which formerly were procured from the popes of Rome, 25 Hen. VIII. c. 21; which laft is built expressly upon this foundation, that the king is the only fupream head of the Church of England, and was fo recognized by the prelates and clergy reprefenting the faid church in their convocation. And on the very fame foundation was the ftatute raised, 26 Hen. VIII. c. I. wherein the king is declared to be the fupream head of the church of England, and to have all honour and prebeminences, which were annexed unto that title, as by the act itself doth at full appear; which act being made (I fpeak it from the act itself) only for corroboration and confirmation of that, which had been done in the convocation, did afterwards draw on the ftatute for the tenths and first-fruits, as the point incident to the headship

T 2

headship or fupream authority, 26 Hen. VIII. c. 3."

In this act of the 24th of Hen. VIII. it must be remarked, that although by the first part of it, the community reclaimed those rights and privileges, which they had permitted the court of Rome to enjoy for fo many centuries, which it was competent for them to do, yet by the second part of the act, they appear to have exceeded their power, by enjoining the clergy, or the ministers of the gospel, to exercise their spiritual functions, notwithftanding any fufpenfion, inhibition, interdiction, or excommunication from the fee of Rome, although the English clergy, who were then in orders, acknowledged the bishop of Rome The lawfulness as their spiritual superior. Now as holy ordination by the impofition of hands, acpends upon the cording to the doctrine of the clergy then living, conferred a faculty or a power of a pure fpiritual nature, fo the obligation or lawfulness of exercising those powers or faculties must effentially have depended upon the jurifdiction or authority of the real spiritual fuperior, to whom the party ordained acknowledged fubjection; as if for instance the excommunicated Simon, Hymeneus, or Alexander, had been in orders, no edict nor decree of the Roman emperor, or senate, or other

of exercising

the facerdotal

faculties de

fpiritual power

that confers

them.

other temporal power, could have justified, much less enjoined them to exercise their facerdotal ministry, whilft they were disabled from doing it lawfully by their fpiritual excommunication. The power, which imposed the disability, could alone remove it. The excommunicated perfon was in no poffible way civilly affected by the fpiritual fentence, confequently before any civil tribunal he was completely coram non judice; but our parliament was to all intents a civil tribunal or power, therefore abfolutely incompetent to take any cognizance of matter merely fpiritual. It will avail nothing to fuggest, that the part, which the lords fpiritual had in our legislation rendered it a jurifdiction competent to determine fuch matter, fince if every member in both houses, as well as the king himself, were in holy orders, being the representatives of the people, and drawing their legislative power from their delegation, they would be as little capable of deciding upon a mere spiritual matter in that capacity, as they now are; and for this very reafon are all our ecclefiaftical courts, as I have explained them, incompetent to do it,

Nathaniel Bacon very pointedly marks what powers, in his opinion, this act of the 24th of Hen. VIII, vested, or confirmed, or

recognized in the king." First, it is a vifitatory, or a reforming power, which is executed by enquiry of offences against laws eftablished, and by executing fuch laws. Secondly, it is an ordinary jurifdiction; for it is fuch, as by any fpiritual authority may be acted against irregularities; and thus the title fupreme ordinary is conferred. Thirdly, it is fuch a power as must be regulated by law, and in fuch manner as by any spiritual authority may lawfully be reformed. It is not therefore any abfolute arbitrary power, for that belongs only to the fupreme head in heaven; nor is it any legislative power; for fo the law fhould be the birth of this power, and his power could not then be regulated by the law; nor could every ordinary execute fuch a power; nor did Henry VIII, ever make claim to any fuch power, though he loved to be much trufted. Laftly, this power was fuch a power, as was gained formerly from the king by foreign ufurpation, which must be intended de rebus licitis, and once in poffeffion of the crown, or in right thereto belonging according to the law; for the king hath no power thereby to confer church-livings by proviforship, or to carry the keys, and turn the infallible chair Bacon, ubi fupra.