REVIEW OF A WORK ON TITHES.

237

and a half imprisonment, was taken sick, and in consequence discharged by his prosecutors, they having made sufficient proof of his sincerity; but notwithstanding this, their deputy took corn off his ground annually, in what quantities he pleased.

"William Serjeant also was ten months imprisoned, when his prosecutor brought another action against both him and his wife, and sent her also to prison. Two trusty servants at home yet pursued their work in time of harvest; but the priest (who had been his prosecutor on the former occasion) found means to have them also arrested; thus endeavouring to complete the ruin of the family. But their neighbours, commiserating their hard case, kindly gathered the harvest for him. After twenty months' imprisonment, he sealed his testimony against the anti-christian oppression of tithes by death—a faithful witness to the truth of the gospel in that behalf.

"In 1658, John Fryer and Joseph Norton suffered, both by imprisonment and excessive distraints. Nicholas Masters also was imprisoned until death.

"In 1659, Edward Noakes was imprisoned; during which a distraint was made upon him of £99, for a claim of £20. He was two years a prisoner; and his wife dying, his family suffered much in his absence.

"In this year it is recorded that Richard Wilson was imprisoned, for calling a clergyman a priest-an appellation to which their practice of taking tithes and offerings did justly entitle them.

"In 1660, three Friends were confined in Warwick dungeon, twenty steps under ground, where some other of their brethren had lain nine or ten months. In the same year, Elizabeth Masters, widow of Nicholas Masters, mentioned above; also Robert King, aged 80 years; and John Webley, aged 87 years, were imprisoned; the latter till death. His wife, at the same time, was cruelly threatened by the prosecutor's brother, that her husband's remains should be deprived of burial.

"In 1662, three Friends were imprisoned, at the suit of Francis Corby, a papist, and also distrained upon for treble damages; £3. 4s. being claimed, and £39. 5s. taken.

"In 1663, Loveday Hambley was distrained upon for 18s. 4d. ; on account of which the enormous sum of £103 was taken. In the same year, four Friends of Carlisle, for claims not exceeding 1s. each, being prosecuted in the Exchequer, at the suit of George Fletcher, had several times to appear in London, and at length were imprisoned for refusing to swear.

“In this year, 1663, George Fox relates a case, attended with remarkable circumstances. He says, 'There were four Friends, prisoners for tithes, sent to prison at the suit of the Countess of Derby, who had lain about two years and a half. One of these was Oliver Atherton, who being of a weakly constitution, was through long and hard imprisonment in a cold, raw, unwholesome place, brought so low and weak in his body that there appeared no hopes of his life, unless he might be removed. Wherefore a letter was wrote to the Countess, wherein was laid before her the reasons why he and the rest could not pay tithes; because if they did, they should deny Christ come in the flesh, who by his coming had put an end to the tithes, and to the priesthood to which they had been given, and to the commandment by which they had been paid under the law. His weak condition of body was also laid before her, and the apparent likelihood of his death, if she continued to hold him there, that she might be moved to pity and compassion; and also warned not to draw the guilt of innocent blood upon her.

"His son, who took the letter, after being grossly abused by her servants, got the letter delivered to her own hand; but she shut out all pity, and continued him in prison till he died. When his son told him, on his dying bed, that the Countess denied him his liberty, he only said, 'She hath been the cause of shedding much blood, but this will be the heaviest blood she ever spilt.'

"As his body was carried from prison to Ormskirk to be buried, they stuck

up papers upon the crosses at Garstang, Preston, and other towns through which they passsed, with this inscription:-This is Oliver Atherton, of Örmskirk parish, persecuted to death by the Countess of Derby, for good conscience' sake toward God and Christ, because he could not give her tithes, &c. '

"After his death, Richard Cubban, another of her prisoners for tithes, wrote on behalf of himself and fellow-prisoners at her suit, laying their innocency before her, and that it was not out of wilfulness, stubbornness, &c. that they refused to pay their tithes, but purely in good conscience towards God and Christ: let her know, if she should be suffered to keep them there until they every one died, they could not yield to pay her, &c. Yet she would not shew any pity or compassion to them. But she, that regarded not the life of an innocent sufferer for Christ, lived not long after herself; for that day three weeks that Oliver Atherton's body was carried through Ormskirk to be buried, she died; and her body was carried that day seven weeks through the same town to her burying place.

"This being a case of suffering on account of refusing to pay lay impropriate tithes, proves distinctly and unequivocally what was the opinion of that chosen vessel,' (as William Penn with great propriety styles him) George Fox, upon the question; and as clearly demonstrates the practice of the faithful and conscientious members of the Society respecting them.

"In 1664 John Shaw was imprisoned on the same account: and "In 1666 four other Friends, one of whom was 80 years of age.

"In 1667 John Parnell was imprisoned, and also distrained upon for treble damages.

"In 1668 four Friends were imprisoned, and one of them, Robert Latch, had his corn illegally ‘seized, and taken off his waggon, as he was bringing it home, by a person employed by an impropriator, who had before taken his tithe off the land. This proceeding was without any colour of law; and was so rudely acted, that the said Robert's wife, being with child, was inhumanly abused, thrown into a ditch amongst the bushes, and stamped upon.

"In 1669 six Friends are recorded as suffering imprisonment for the same

cause.

"In 1670 three Friends are imprisoned: also William Hodgson of Newcastle, at the suit of William Ward, impropriator.

"In 1671 Loveday Hambley again suffers a heavy distraint, and in the same year nine are imprisoned; the release of one of them was directed by his prosecutor on his death bed.

"In 1673, 4, 5, about nineteen are recorded as suffering imprisonment on this account, or severe distraints.

"In 1676 Jeremiah Warner was imprisoned for the tithe of a crop, the whole of which was less than the seed.

"In the same year Thomas Matthewson died a prisoner in Norwich castle. His wife, who affectionately attended him in the cold, unhealthy prison, contracted thereby a fit of sickness, of which she also died, the 17th of the next month.

"In the four following years thirteen appear to have been imprisoned, of whom Thomas Ashton and William Newbery were severe sufferers, being confined about three years and a half: all on the same account.

"Christopher Bacon also was imprisoned at Bridgewater, for tithes claimed by the corporation of that town. He was kept very closely confined in a cold room and through the extremity of cold he suffered much, until he became very sick, when with much difficulty, his wife was permitted to go in and out to administer to him. When he was grown so weak that they thought he would have died there, they turned him out; but in two months he died. John Whiting (a prisoner in Ilchester gaol at the same time) who well knew him, gives this account of him, viz: That he was much spent with hard labour, travels, and sufferings, for the gospel's sake, and the testimony of it-that there was a fresh appearance of the Lord's power and presence with him to the last, so that he was a good savour to them that were about him.'

REVIEW OF A WORK ON TITHES.

239

"The aforesaid John Whiting also mentions, that in this year, 1678, John Sage was suffering imprisonment on this account in Ilchester gaol, having been there twelve years: and Marmaduke Coat and Arthur Geoffrey eight years.

"In 1679 George Allen and S. Hipsley, imprisoned.

"In 1680 J. Wride, and R. Tutton, imprisoned; and John Fowler is distrained on.

"In 1682 William and John Holmes imprisoned, the former until he died. "In the three following years, there appears to have been about twenty-six Friends suffering imprisonment on the same account, and several others by distraints.

"In 1686 we meet with the case of a poor aged cripple, John Goodson, for not appearing to a subpœna, on account of tithes, which had been served on him but one day before the expiration of its return: so that for him to have appeared above 100 miles from his dwelling, was considered impossible. The suit was carried on in the name of Sir John St. Barbe. They threatened his ruin.

"In 1687, 8, we find the names of thirty-one in prison for this branch of our testimony, amongst whom is John Banks. Also Eliz. Watson of Highmore, Cumberland, who died a prisoner, at the suit of George Fletcher.

"In 1689 and 1690 we find only three Friends imprisoned on this account. The revolution had taken place in the government, and the spirit of violent persecution had greatly subsided.

"In 1700 the yearly meeting epistle observes, that forty Friends remain prisoners, mostly for tithes by priests and impropriators.

"Probably it was about this period that Alice Hayes was imprisoned, according to the account in the Memoir of her life, page 52, &c. where she says,

"After the Lord had many ways tried me, with exercises of various sorts, he was now pleased to prove me farther, by persecution for tithes, both in the spoil of goods and imprisonment, being taken away from my farm and family, (which was pretty large) and five fatherless children, and committed to Alban's gaol, where I was kept prisoner about thirteen or fourteen weeks; and had several scores of pounds' worth taken from me, in corn and cattle by the priests and impropriator, because for conscience' sake I could not pay to support that worship which, in conscience, I believe and am convinced not to be acceptable with God: neither that anti-christian yoke and oppression of tithes, in this his gospel day; and a testimony lives in my heart, to encourage all those who are convinced of God's truth, to be faithful in that matter, and indeed in all things that the Spirit of Jesus Christ shews them to be evil. And it is my desire, that all Friends, both rich and poor, may be faithful to God in all his requirings, and in that of tithes of both kinds, whether it be to priest or impropriator, for they are all one in the ground, and are demanded and recovered by the same law, as may be seen in the statute of Henry VIII.; whereby they sue for God and holy church,' an old popish law which they sue by. And forasmuch as we are now, blessed be God, under the gospel dispensation, wherein God hath begun to work by his great power, against that spirit and power of antichrist, that denies the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; in his own due time, my faith is, that he will bring down that anti-christian yoke and oppression of tithes that his innocent people have long suffered under.

"The impropriation of Watford seemed differing from most, if not all, in England, in this particular. It was a dowry of the lady Essex, and no part of it belongs either to church or priest; and through ignorance, Friends scrupled not the payment of it, not knowing it to be tithes in the ground, and that it is upon the same bottom as other tithes, and granted and maintained by the same power, and recovered by the same law: I say we ignorantly paid it, until it pleased the Lord to open our understandings, as I may hereafter relate. It was customary with the collectors of this impropriation to contract with us that rented farms, for so much money, to be paid yearly: and the contract, which my husband had

made and signed with the collectors some time before his death being now expired, they came to me to renew it with them, to which I consented; and after it was done, a fear possessed me, lest I had done what was not right in the sight of God, and much reasoning I had in my mind about it; and the concern grew heavier upon my mind and spirit, and in great fear and trouble I continued many days and weeks, earnestly crying to the Lord for a clear sight and understanding of his mind and will concerning this matter of impropriation; that I might answer his requiring upon a good bottom, and then if sufferings came, I was fully given up to the will of God.

"And the way it pleased the Lord to satisfy me herein was after this manner : it opened on my mind to get a few Friends together, to have the matter of impropriation fully discoursed upon; and there were two sensible, able Friends that discoursed the matter-the one for paying it, the other against it. Note he that was for paying it, did not then see it to be the same with tithe, because it paid no priest, nor any part of it belonged to the church (so called) but the other Friend so plainly proved it to be the same in the ground, that I was fully satisfied, and all the rest that were at the meeting: and the Friend that opposed the other was himself convinced; and since refused to pay it, and faithfully suffered for the same.'"-See Sufferings, passim.

I may conclude with acknowledging my obligation (in common with such others as may have been in search of information on the subject) to the author for this collection of facts, out of the authentic Records of the Society, and my hope that their insertion here will not prejudice, but rather promote the future circulation of his pamphlet. Ed.

ART. V.-Inscriptions for a pair of Goblets.-Written about 1800.

No. 1. BEER is the true British Wine. We import the foreign for variety's sake—and for the same reason this our national beverage is in request where Champagne and Constantia are slighted. While our beer was made as it should be, the knights of Malt-ah multiplied greatly but in process of time a new material was introduced into the guile, denominated Excise-a thing less intoxicating than malt, and more preservative than hops :-a little more of which in the compound, and London porter might have remained in store for the use of future generations; while every wise man of the present brewed his ale at home.

No. 2. He who begins life cracking his bottle at home, may end it at Bath drinking warm water: while the man, who in his youth has been a Water-drinker, may relish his glass of Wine or tumbler of Negus in old age; enlivening his company, and keeping his health and spirits. The one is like a child who will have his pastry before dinner; and so sits down to roast meat with a palled appetite: the other like a man who, knowing how to wait meal times, has the means of temperate enjoyment in his power, at that season when he has the most of leisure and discretion for using them.

ERRATA. Page 229: for existed in the bosom of, read properly belonged to. Page 231: for Naziæn, read Nazian.

Communications may be addressed, rosT PAID, "For the Editor of the Yorkshireman," at the Printer's, Pontefract; at Longman and Co's, London; John Baines and Co's. Leeds; and W. Alexander's, York

CHARLES ELCOCK, PRINTER, PONTEFRACT.

ART. I.-On Tithes and the Establishment.

Another Session of Parliament has commenced, under the same Ministerial auspices by which the Reform of the Commons' House was carried. My publication has reference only to that part of its proceedings which may affect the Ecclesiastical establishment of the country, and the interests of Dissenters and of independent members of the Church of England, considered as opposed to the claims of the Priesthood.

The speech from the Throne, is more than cautious on these topics: it is reserved to the point, almost, of absolute silence. Enquiry into Ecclesiastical revenues and patronage, may indeed be the prelude to some necessary corrections of existing defects and abuses. And this correction may be applied, so far as regards unequal incomes, pluralities, non-residence, and other points of Church economy and discipline, and the Establishment be alone benefited by the measures put in force. TITHES again in Ireland, may be adjusted without [further] injury to the rights and property of any class of the king's subjects; and also without redress of injuries already inflicted—but how, without prejudice to any institution in Church or State remains to be discovered. The very practice of tithing, as now prevalent, is an institution of that which is commonly, but erroneously called the Church; and being upheld by the State, must be considered as belonging to the latter also. The GOSPEL, however, will never be freely and effectually preached

21