to remodel a system he so thoroughly hated. This he commenced by nominating clergymen to the ancient Scottish bishoprics. At first, it was a mere nominal change, for having neither jurisdiction nor income, they were simply parochial ministers. But the defects were soon removed. An act of parliament re-established their order, an act of the general assembly made them moderators in the synods and presbyteries, and their sees were endowed with the old episcopal lands then in the hands of the crown. In 1610, three of the bishops came to England to receive episcopal ordination, and returning to Scotland, ordained their colleagues. Finally the parliament enacted, that all general assemblies should be appointed by the sovereign; that the bishops should have the presentation to benefices, the exclusive power of suspending or depriving incumbents, and the right of visitation; and that every minister at his admission should take the oath of supremacy to the king, and of canonical obedience to the bishop. All this was not done without serious opposition; but by banishing some of the leaders and bribing others, it was kept within bounds. To put the Scotch under additional restraint, two courts of High Commission were erected, one at St. Andrew's, the other at Glasgow. They are said to have been more arbitrary and absolute than the court in London, having power to cite and examine any individual, touching his religious opinions or general life and conduct, and to examine, imprison, fine, and outlaw.

2. The Articles of Perth, 1618. James, after an absence of fourteen years, paid a visit to Scotland. The parliament met in June 1617, and the king opened the session with a speech which was offensive, in declaring that he had nothing "more at heart than to reduce their barbarity to the sweet civility of their neighbours". Among other bills was one to declare "that in ecclesiastical affairs, whatever should be determined by the king, with the advice of the prelates and a competent number of clergy, should receive the operation and force of law". To this bill James took exception, and ordered it to be withdrawn, on the ground that it was superfluous to give him by statute, that which was part of the inherent prerogatives of the crown. The parliament being dissolved, the king went to St. Andrew's to attend a great meeting of the clergy. Having first disposed of some refractory clergymen, he announced to the clergy assembled his royal will-1. That the communion should be received in a kneeling position, and not sitting, as hitherto practised in the Presby terian churches. 2. That the sacrament might be administered to the sick in their own houses, when dissolution was to be apprehended, 3. That baptism also might be administered pri

vately in similar cases. 4. That youths as they grow up, should receive confirmation at the hands of the bishops. 5. That Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost, being days distinguished by events of the utmost importance to the Christian Religion, should be observed as holidays. The clergy were told that it was his prerogative as a Christian King to command in these matters, nor would he regard their disapprobation or remonstrances, though he was open to conviction in fair theological disputation. But the clergy wanted confidence in the king, and would therefore not venture to dispute with him, but falling on their knees, prayed that the five articles might be remitted to a general assembly. To this James consented, on an assurance being given that the assembly would be so managed as to make it submissive.

In the next year, the five articles were submitted to the General Assembly at Perth, and a majority obtained in their favor, by proposing the question in the following form-Would they in this obey or disobey the king? Sir Walter Scott observes: "notwithstanding the moderate character of these innovations, the utmost difficulty was found in persuading even those of the Scottish clergy who were most favourable to the king to receive them into the church, and they only did so on the assurance that they should not be required to adopt any additional changes. This attempt to infuse into the presbyterian model something of the principles of a moderate prelacy, and to bring it, in a few particulars, into conformity with that of the sister kingdom, was generally inacceptable to the church and nation; and it will be hereafter shown, that an endeavour to extend and heighten the edifice which his father had commenced, led the way to those acts of violence which cost Charles I. his throne and life."

SECTION XII. AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.

"is

1. Condition of Ireland. Long as Ireland had been under English rule, it continued, for the most part, in a barbarous condition till the time of James, whose reign Hallam says, perhaps on the whole, the most important in the constitutional history of Ireland, and that from which the present scheme of sovereignty in that conntry is chiefly to be deduced". Circumstances were eminently favorable for effecting great changes. Mountjoy had successfully put down the rebellion at the close of the preceding reign. In the commencement of the reign of James, the flight of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, with their associates, and their subsequent outlawry, together with the failure of O'Dogherty's revolt, put the crown in possession

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of escheated lands, estimated at two millions of acres. There was however great religious discontent. Immediately on the death of Elizabeth, the Roman Catholic worship was restored in Cork, Waterford, Limerick and other places, and was only put down by a strong body of troops under Mountjoy. An attempt was made to obtain toleration. A deputation of Catholics came over to England to petition James, but they were told by the king himself, that as long as he could find one hundred men to stand by him, he would fight till death against the toleration of an idolatrous worship.

2. English law established throughout Ireland. The following extract from Hume will show the necessity for the measures taken in order to reduce Ireland into a civilised kingdom.

"It was previously necessary to abolish the Irish customs, which supplied the place of laws, and which were calculated to keep that people for ever in a state of barbarism and disorder. By the Brehon law or custom, every crime, however enormous, was punished, not with death, but by a fine or pecuniary mulct, which was levied upon the criminal. Murder itself, as among all the ancient barbarous nations, was atoned for in this manner; and each man, according to his rank, had a different rate or value affixed to him, which if every one were willing to pay, he needed not fear assassinating his enemy. As for oppression, extortion, and other trespasses, so little were they regarded, that no penalty was affixed to them and no redress for such offences could ever be obtained. The customs of Gavelkind and Tanistry were attended with the same absurdity in the distribution of property. The land by the custom of Gavelkind was divided among all the males of the sept or family whether legitimate or otherwise; and, after partition made, if any of the sept died, his portion was not shared out among his sons, but the chieftain at his discretion, made a new partition of all the lands belonging to the sept, and gave every one his share. As no man, by reason of this custom, enjoyed the fixed property of any land; to build, to plant, to enclose, to cultivate, to improve, would have been so much lost labor. The chieftains and the tanists, though drawn from the principal families, were not hereditary, but were established by election, or more properly speaking, by force and violence. Their authority was almost absolute, and notwithstanding that certain lands were assigned to the office, its chief profit resulted from exactions, dues, assessments, for which there was no fixed law, and were levied at pleasure".

These old customs of gavelkind and tanistry were declared illegal, by a judgment delivered in the Court of King's Bench. A proclamation was issued calling upon the possessors of lands to surrender their estates to the crown, with a promise to receive them back on more favourable conditions. The Irish lords received back their lands held in demesne, as an estate to be held in future by the English tenure of knight service. Other lands which they had parcelled out to inferior tenants, were to be re

tained by them subject to rent-charge, in lieu of those uncertain Irish exactions, which they had formerly paid. The territorial divisions into counties, was extended to the districts still without; sheriffs were appointed throughout Ulster; the judges of assize went their circuits; and the king's writ was professedly obeyed throughout Ireland. On these beneficial changes Hallam observes: "after four centuries of lawlessness and misgovernment, a golden period was anticipated by the English courtiers. But two unhappy maxims debased their motives and discredited their policy; the first, that none but the true religion, or the state's religion, could be suffered to exist in the eye of the law; the second, that no pretext could be too harsh or iniquitous to exclude men of a different race or erroneous faith from their possessions".

3. Colonies planted in Ulster, Munster, and other parts. The scheme of planting bodies of English on the Irish fands escheated to the crown, was suggested in the reign of Elizabeth, and acted upon in 1569 after the attainder of O'Neal, and again after the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond, in 1583. Among the English families which then settled in Ireland, we find the familiar names of Edmund Spenser and Sir Walter Raleigh. The forfeited lands which fell to the crown in the reign of James, were disposed of according to a scheme, supposed to have been the joint production of James himself and Lord Bacon, but carried into effect by Sir Arthur Chichester, a "man of great capacity, judgment, and prudence". After a careful survey and the determination of sites proper for building castles and founding towns, the lands were divided into portions, varying from one to two thousand acres each. The larger lots were to be assigned only to "undertakers and servitors", that is, to English or Scotch adventurers of a certain capital, and the military and civil officers of the crown. The smaller portions were to be distributed indiscriminately among the classes already named, and the natives. It was required of each class to build suitable dwellings on their lots, and those who received the larger portions, a castle in addition. Within three years, the first class of grantees were to plant on their lands forty-eight able men, not less than eighteen years of age, born in England or the inland parts of Scotland; and the other classes to do the like in proportion to their estates. The new proprietors were to reside on their estates within five years, in person or by an agent; and their tenants in houses built after the English fashion, and clustered in villages.

Lingard speaking of Ulster says, "Such was the plan, but in the execution it suffered numerous modifications. Of the whole

district, in many parts mountainous and uncultivated, a large portion was never divided at all". Subsequently, "the whole sea coast between Dublin and Waterford was planted; then came the counties of Leitrim and Longford; next followed King's County, Queen's County, and Westmeath". For the purpose of protecting the colonists in Ulster, the order of Baronets was established to raise the necessary funds for the support of an armed force. The patents were offered at the price of one thousand and ninety-five pounds, that being the estimated amount of the charge of supporting thirty soldiers for three years. In six years, more than one hundred thousand pounds was raised in this way; it went however for the use of the king and not the defence of Ireland.

SECTION XIII. ENGLISH COLONIES PLANTED

IN AMERICA:

1. The first permanent English Colony founded at James' Town, Virginia, 1607. The first attempt by the English to found a colony on the mainland of North America, was made by Sir Walter Raleigh, who having obtained a patent from Elizabeth, constituting him lord proprietor with almost unlimited powers, landed on the island of Wocoken (North Carolina), and took possession of the country for the queen of England, 1584. Making but a short stay, the party returned to England; and from the parliament, Raleigh obtained a bill confirming his patent of discovery. In 1585, one hundred and eight colonists landed in the Roanoke, but despairing of success, the whole returned to England in Drake's fleet, which had called to visit the new settlement. Other efforts were made with as little success, and Raleigh, after expending forty thousand pounds in his endeavours, transferred his patent in 1589, to a company of merchants. Under the auspices of the London Company, preparations were made in 1606 to renew to the efforts, which in the preceding reign had proved abortive. A little squadron of three vessels, containing about one hundred men, sailed from England at Christmas, and in 1607 the first permanent settlers were landed on the peninsula of Jamestown, in Chesapeake Bay. In 1609, a new charter was obtained, transferring powers to the company, which before had been reserved by the king, and Lord Delaware was appointed the governor for life. The early settlers endured great privations, but every year gave them additional experience, and towards the end of the reign, the tide of emigration had fairly set in, taking over at the rate of more than a thousand a year; at the death of James, the Plantations at Virginia may be considered as resting upon a safe foundation. In the last year

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