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SHORT VIEW.

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HE behaviour of the clergy having feemed to be very extraordinary on fome late occafions, I was led by my reflections on that head to make fome further enquiry, than I had hitherto done, what the conduct of that t of men had been from the more early times of our government down to the prefent, and what had been the opinions of the wifeft of our ancestors about it.

I thought it was far from improper at this time to know not only what restrictions to the power and wealth of the church, the legiflature had formerly deemed requifite, but also whether the clergy had not by their behaviour made those reftrictions abfolutely neceffary. From thence we may better know what to think of their clamours of late, upon any attempt to put the least limits to their property, or restrictions to their power, in such cases, where it might be made ufe of to opprefs any of their fellow-fubjects.

For though the reafonableness of laws to prevent the abufe of power, or an exorbitant increase of property in any fet of men, where there is only a probability of either, is itself fufficient to recommend the enacting them, even though we had not already been fenfible of fuch abuses; yet the neceffity of fuch laws is ftill further enforced, when founded on examples and experience, and confirmed by the opinions of our wife predeceffors.

It is for this reafon, I trouble the public with the following fheets, that by laying before them in as fhort and compendious a manner, as I am able, an hiftorical account of the conduct of the clergy of this nation, as far as it any way affected civil affairs fince the time of William I. they may form a judgment from matters of fact, how far neceffary. all precautions in the laity against the designs of the clergy are, according as they fee this conduct of theirs has promoted the public good or otherwise.

Whoever looks into our antient hiftories, will find the clergy have been always guided by a distinct intereft of their own, most frequently contrary to that of the nation instead of afferting the liberty of the people, they

have been most inftrumental in all attempts to destroy it; inftead of propagating generous notions of freedom, they have conftantly endeavoured to inftil into the minds of men the most flavish maxims, and taught leffons of the most blind and abject fubmiffion.

Their oppofition to power, whenever they have made any, has generally been factious and selfish, not grounded on motives of regard for the good of the commonwealth, but occafioned by fome attempt upon their temporal intereft or privileges, which was often no other than a juft intention of retrenching their encroachments upon the crown, and people.

Accordingly we may obferve, that the most dangerous defigns against the public have been formed by fuch of our princes, who began with fecuring the clergy to their interest by great condefcenfions to them; for we feldom find the clergy to have failed returning the compliment by a concurrence in promoting the most arbitrary attempts by their doctrine and actions.

The ufe the clergy have made of what power they have acquired under fuch princes, B 3

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has always been moft infupportable to the laity, efpecially to fuch as have opposed it.

I will not detain the reader any longer from forming his own judgment on this fubject, but haften to my relation of facts, by which only I defire he may be determined, as he fhall find them agreeable to truth, to which I have endeavoured to have the ftri&teft regard.

The battle of Haftings, gained by the duke of Normandy, would have been very far from determining the fate of this country, had the English fufficiently united in its defence. He was in poffeffion of but one caftle in the kingdom, that of Dover. The earls Morcar and Edwin, who had diftinguished themfelves already in the defence of their country, had fhut themselves up in London with the remains of the army defeated at Haftings.. William could not without evident danger march into the heart of the kingdom, and leave that city behind him in poffeffion of his enemies; nor could he lay fiege to a place, that would coft him much time, and employ the greatest part of his army, which was no. large one, without leaving all the remotecounties in England at liberty to take proper measures for their fecurity, and to raife.

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feveral armies, which might have been greatly fuperior to his own.

Whilft he was in this perplexed fituation, the English had no reason to defpair; and indeed the two earls just mentioned used all their efforts to animate the Londoners.

To unite them the more, it was proposed to declare young Edgar king. In this generous defign it was reasonable to think, the clergy would have unanimously concurred. One would expect to find that body of men making ufe of all their influence over the people to infpire them with a fenfe of the duty, they owed their country, and the obligations they were under to venture their lives in defending it from an army of rapacious adventurers: that they would have employed their interceffion with heaven (which they would willingly have thought to be fo efficacious) to avert the impending flavery, and by it have promoted a confident zeal in their countrymen to exert themselves with intrepidity in fo glorious a caufe.

But how little was the public good any motive of their conduct! they could not think of continuing a war, which expofed the lands of the church to rapine and defolation, when