Sr. Tho. VViddringtons SPEECH At a Conference betweene Both Houses, on Tuesday the 20. of July, 1641.

At the transmission of the impeach­ment against Matthew Wren Doctor in Divinity, late Bishop of Norwich, and now Bishop of Ely.

[printer's device, consisting of a factotum block of a rose used with a fleur-de-lis inserted as an ornament, belonging to E. Griffin (McKerrow No. 422)]

LONDON, Printed by E. G. for R. Best at Grayes Inne gate in Holborne, 1641.

Sr. Thomas Widdringtons SPEECH The 20. of Iuly 1641.

My Lords,
I am Commanded by the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses now assembled for the Commons in parliament, to deliver to your Lordships these Articles, against the Bishop of Ely.
May it please your Lordships first to heare them read.
MY Lords,

These Articles are dipped in those Colours, in which this Bishop rendred himselfe to the Diocesse of Norwich, they need no Glosse, nor Varnish. In them you may behold the spirit and disposition of this Bishop, heare the groanes and cryes of the people, see a shepheard scattering, (I had almost said) devouring his owne flock; He that was desired to paint Hercules, thought he had done enough, when he had made a resemblance of the Lions skin, which he was wont to car­ry about him as a Trophee of his honour.

I will not say that in these you will find a resemblance of the Lions skin, I am sure you will finde the resemblance of the skins (that is to say,) the tattered and ruind fortunes, of poore innocent lambes, who have extreamely suffered by the violence of this Bishop.

In the yeare 1635. this man was created Bishop of Norwich, he is no sooner there, but he marcheth furiously.

In the creation of the world light was one of the first productions, the first visible action of this Bishop after his creation into this See was to put out many burning and shining lights, to suspend diverse able lear­ned and conscientious ministers, he that should have beene the Golden snuffer of these lights, became the extinguisher, & when these are taken away, where shall poore men light their Candles?

My Lords, this was not all.

He put out lights, and sets up fire brands in their places, suspends painfull Ministers, and sets up idle factious and superstitious Priests, (to use their owne language) in their places, yet it is the fortune of these men at this time, like Rivers in the Ocean co be buryed in the extreame activity of their Diocesan.

He made a scourge, not of small cords, but of new Injunctions and numerous Articles tyed about with a strong twist of a most dangerous oath; and with this he whips not out buyers and sellers, but the faith­full dispensers of the word out of their Churches, out of their estates, out of their deere Country.

This Noah (if I may so call him without offence) assoone as he en­tered into the arke of this Diocesse, he sends, nay forces Doves to fly out of this Arke, and when they returne unto him, with Olive branches in their mouthes of peaceable and humble submissions, he will not receive them into this arke againe, unlesse like Ravens they would feed upon the Carrion of his new Inventions, they must not have any footing there; he stands as a flaming sword to keepe such out of his Diocesse.

My Lords, unlesse he had done this, he could never have hoped to have brought that great worke hee undoubtedly aymed at to any perfection.

Whilst the Palladium of Troy stood, that Citie was impregnable, The Greekes had no sooner stollen that away but they instantly won the Citie; So then he first put out the Candles, then was the opportuni­ty, to shuffle in his workes of darknesse: hee first beats off the Watch­men and seers, then was likely to follow that which the impiety of some was pleased to stile, the piety of the times.

This being done, he then begins to dresse out Gods Worship, accor­ding to his owne fancy, this he expresseth in Injunctions and directions the Minerva's of his owne braine; wee find them stiled Regales Injun­ctiones Domini Episcopi [...] a stile too sacred, to Baptise his brats withall; I shall bee bold to call them Tyrannicus injunctiones Do. Episcopi; sto­ries afford not a more barbarous cruelty then to joyne a dead & a living body together, the one is miserably killed with the stinch of the other.

This Bishop, who like Aaron should have stood betweene the living and the dead, hath joyned to lively ordinances many dead and vene­mous ceremonies, which have no other life, then what they received from the breath of his Injunctions, and these are pressed upon the Gon­sciences, even these must be observed, as morall lawes.

An arbitrary governement in the Church is more dangerous, more grievous, then that in the state; this is exercised upon mens consciences, the most tender parts, and is the very penacle of tyranny, and of all o­ther most intollerable; that blow which will hardly be felt by the arme, will put out the eye.

(My Lords) in the time of King Rich. 1. one of this mans predec [...]s­sors a valiant Bishop went into the holy warre, this Bishop hath raised a warre at home in his owne Dioces; a warre not against Sarazens, Bar­barians, Turkes or Infidels, but against good and well disposed people, I know not what stile to give this warre: without doubt (my Lords) this was no holy warre.

The weapons of this warfare were 28 Injunctions, 139 Articles con­taining 879 questions.

The souldiers were Chancellors, Commissaries, Officials, Commis­sioners, Rurall Deanes, &c.

Himselfe commanded in chiefe.

The wayes of assault and killing were by excommunications, suspen­sions, deprivations,—I stay here: mille modis morimur mortales.

The Magazin wherein all these were originally hatched and lodged, was the superstitious and malicious brest of this Bishop.

This Dioces was the stage where the direfull tragedies of this warre were acted by the space of two yeares and upwards.

Thus did he trouble Israel in the time of peace, nay by these he put some of the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel to flight, out of these he raiseth a farme of 500 pounds for his primary visitation, if it be consi­dered cum pertinentiis, it was not deere, yet well improved, for former­ly but 40 pound in the time of some of his predecessors.

Will it please your Lordships with patience to cast your eyes upon the modell of this Bishops zeale, piety, and Religion: Let his affection to prayer and preaching speake for all the rest.

First for prayer. It was his hap to finde a prayer which is no prayer pretended to be prescribed by a Canon which is no Canon, I meane the 55 Canon set forth in the yeare 1603, and no other prayer must be used in his Dioces before Sermons. That monster of conceived prayer (par­don [Page] the expression, its not my owne) seemed as bad to him as a spell or charme. It must not be used upon any occasion, without doubt he would never have been so strait laced and severe in this particular, if hee had but dreamed of that strait which a minister a friend of his was put unto by this meanes; the story is short. A Butcher was gored in the bel­ly by an Oxe, the wound was cured, the party desired publique thanks­giving in the Congregation, the Minister finding no forme for that pur­pose reads the Collects for Churching of women:

Next for preaching. That he is most able in this kinde is agreed by all. But that he ever preached himselfe in this Dioces saving once, I never heard affirmed by any.

His next care was that others should not preach too often: if they did, they must be put into his black bill: He changed that golden sentence of (vae mihi si non praedicavero) into vae aliis si praedicaverint; he was so far from the practise of Saint Paul the great Preacher of the Gentiles, who we reade preached till midnight, that there must be no Sermons in the afternoone, there may be, nay there must be sports and pastimes then. And as if he had stood in fear of the inarticulate language of bels which might foretell a Sermon, he cannot endure to heare the noise of a Ser­mon in the toll of a Bell.

In a word; he adorned Churches at the charge of other men, and spoyled Pulpits, which ought to have beene the greatest part of his owne charge.

(My Lords) you have now presented to your Lordships a brother, nay one whose place ingaged him to be a father of the Clergy, yet one who like Josephs brethren hath taken the coats from Joseph nay they were forced to flye from him as Joseph from his Mistris, or else they must taste of his forbidden waters, but in their going away he rents their skirts, nay their whole garments and lively hoods from them, he hath ta­ken the locks from many Sampsons, and done what he could to put out their eyes, and to make them grinde in the mill of his pernicious and dangerous innovations.

He should like Moses have led his flocke. Moses led the children of Israel through the red Sea; this man drives part of his flocke over the Sea, but went not himselfe.

Like Nimrod he hath invaded the lawes and liberties of the subject, he hath beene as great a robber as ever was presented to your Lordships: He hath robbed the King of his Subjects, the greatest glory of Kings; the Kingdome of trade, of tradesmen, the supporters of it.

He that deprives the King of one subject, you know his punishment, and what shall be the punishment of him who hath robbed the King of so many subjects?

In the time of King Henry the third, we finde a tenant in Dower pu­nished16. H. 3. F. wast. 128. in action of waste, because she had destroyed two rich villeynes, and made them beggers.

I appeale to your Lordships, what is his offence who hath committed so much wilfull wast and spoyle, beggered hundreds, not villaines, but free borne subjects.

He robbed the soules of that sweet Manna which is pabulum anima­rum, the Word of God.

(My Lords) I have not yet recounted all his robberies; he hath rob­bed God of part of his day, makes part of that a day of sports; he hath robbed the subjects of their indubitable birth-right, the Lawes of the Kingdome.

The Citizens of Norwich must pay tythes for the rents of houses; there's no Law in England, nor custome in Norwich for it: Nay and that they may be sure to be robbed of justice too, the suit for these tithes must be in his owne Consistory, from whence there must be no appeale, no prohibition.

The true Patrons of Churches they are robbed of their presentations, others who had none or small pretence of right are admitted upon this unhallowed maxim, That if he should institute those who had right, the pretendor was without remedy; by this he inverted a fundamen­tall Law of this Nation, to invest remedilesse rights with unjust pos­sessions.

(My Lords) I cannot tell you all, but you can measure a Lyon by the paw.

I am commanded to lay this great malefactour at your doores, one who hath beene a great oppugner of the life and liberty of Religion, and who set a brand of infamy (to use his owne words) upon Ipswich education.

In summe, one who is a compleate mirrour of innovation, superstiti­on, and oppression, he is now in the snare of those articles, which were the workes of his owne hands.

The rod of Moses at a distance was a serpent, it was a rod againe when it was taken into his hands: this Bishop was a serpent, a devouring serpent in the Dioces of Norwich; your Lordships peradventure will [Page] by handling of him make him a rod againe; or if not, I doubt [...]t but your Lordships will chastise him with such rods as his cri [...]es [...] deserve.

(My Lords) I am commanded by the House of Commons to des [...] your Lordships that this Bishop may be required to make answer [...] these Articles, and that there may be such proceedings against him [...] the course and justice of parliament doth admit:

FINIS.

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