MATTHEW W R E N, D. D.

as they could upon their Memories, they left this Defendant, and he lookedno more after it, nor knew what was done, till they came to (hew him thegreat Seal for it.

This Defendant therefore denieth, that he devised, contrived, or made thatOrder and Decree, which was then issued under the great Seal of England ; orthat he procured any Warrant, or gave any Direction to the King’s Attorney,for the drawing of it up; or that he obtained his Majesty’s Royal Assentthereunto ; much less, that he did so by any evil Councils; and least of all,by any false Surmises.

But this he acknowledgeth, that when he saw the.said Award under thegreat Seal, it not being possible for him to conceive that a Business directedby his Majesty and the Council, prepared and tendered by the King’s Attorney,a nd pasting the View and Allowance of the Cord-keeper, should have anyillegality, or Injustice in it, he was rejoyced at it, and made sundry Expres-sions how glad he was that he had had the Opportunity to contribute theleast Furtherance to a Matter, as he conceived it, of so much Justice andPiety. And thereupon, after he was made Bishop of Ely, he causing a Re-gislry-book of all such Acts as had been done by him, while he was Bi-shop of Norivichj to be transmitted into the Office there, upon some vacantLeaves at the End of the said Book, he gave Order, that the said Award ofthe King ssiould allo be recorded, not without some Passages, perhaps, of hisJoy, which he, bond Jide, conceived for the good Success of all poor Ministersby the fame.

To the twenty-fifth Article, this Defendant answereth and denieth, thathe assumed to himself any arbitrary Power, to compel Parishioners to pay ex-cessive Wages to Parith clerks, and he humbly conceiveth, that the Truthof this Denial, appeareth by the very Charge. For, if he assumed such aPower to himself, what needed he to transmit them to the high Commis-sion ? And how could he have it arbitrary, and at his own Pleasure, if hecarried it into a Court, that could regulate both him and them?

But this he laith, that he considering with himself how necessary for thePerformance of Divine Service of the Church, besides sundry other Duties ofthat Place, or Office, a Parish Clerk was, to make audible Answers in allthose Parts of the Divine Service, as by the Rule of the Common PrayerHook should be made, and so to lead the mean and ignorant People, and ina Kind to incite and instruct them to join in making thole Answers withhim, which the Book requireth ; finding also, that not only the Canons ofthe Church did require to have a Clerk in every Parish, but also the Rubrics°f the Liturgy, did suppose, when they were made, that there was oneClerk at least in every Parish, viz. Rubric of Matrimony , after HandsJ>yned. Ibidem , Rubric for going to the Table; Rubric for Order of Bu-rial, first and second ; Rubric of the Comminution before the 51st Psalm;this Defendant therefore was much grieved to fee, that in many Places ofthat Diocese, they neither had, nor cared to have a Clerk, and thereupon bybis own frequent Exhortations, and by Recommendation thereof unto theChancellor, he laboured to amend this Default, as touching such Parishestherefore, where Men of sufficient Parts were to be had for that Service ; butthe Parishioners would allow either over mean Wages, or none at all, nortvoulst pay any Rates which the Churchwardens did make for the Wages ofa Clerk, it may well be that he said, he would in that Case implore the Aidot the King’s Commissioners for Causes ecclesiastical, that they might takeb*ch Order therein, as to the laid Court should he thought fitting.

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