they durft not do otherwife; and it may easily be fuppofed, that having perfwaded the People to pay Tythes, it was no hard Matter to appoint the Perfon to whom they fhould be given. PARISHES being fet up, Priefts appointed, and Tythes paid to them after forty Years Poffeffion, what before was owned as the Gift, was now claimed as a Debt; and Prefcription was pleaded by the Priests as their juft Title; the People then seeing themselves in a Snare, began to contend, but the imperious Pope (now in a great Height of Pride and Infolence to uphold his Creature-Clergy) thundred out his Interdict against this Nation, excommunicated the King, frighted the Subjects with his Bulls ftuft with Commination, and that against the very Point of arbitrary Difpofal of Tythes: And Rome, now grown formidable, did highly infult over Kings and Princes; witnefs Frederick, Barbaroffa, Hen. the 6th, and other Princes of the Empire; and the Stories of our Hen. 2. and King John, are obvious: And our Rich. the first, to gratifie the Clergy for their exceeding Liberality, in contributing to his Ranfom from Captivity, with great Favour, gave them an indulgent Charter of their Liberties, and in this Advantage of Time, the Canon Laws gained fuch Force, that parochial-Payments came generally to be fettled. YET notwithstanding, our English Parliaments not willing wholly to forget the Poor, for whofe Sake Tythes were chiefly given, did make divers Laws, that a convenient Portion of the Tythes fhould be fet apart for the Maintenance of the Poor of the Parish for ever, R. 2. 15. 6. 4 Hen. 4. as the Statutes at large do witness. THE Pope having by thefe Means brought in Tythes, and made a pretended Title by Prefcrip-tion, fet up Courts to recover them, which were called C 3 called Ecclefiaftical Courts, where his own Creatures were Judges, and here the poor People might eafily understand what they might expect from them; yet he that did not pay, no great Punishment could they inflict on him, but Excommunication out of their Church. THE Pope by all means willing to favour his chiefeft Props, notwithstanding his general Decree, could tell how to difpenfe with his own Lands at his Pleafure, and therefore frequently did grant Exemptions to divers Orders, to free them from Payment of Tythes, witness the Hofpitallers, Ciftercians, Templers, and generally to all Lands held in the Occupation of the called religious Perfons and Houses, which is the Ground of all thofe Mens Claims, who have bought the Lands of diffolved Monafteries, &c. and fay they are Tythe-free. WHEN the Pope by colour of the Jewish-Laws (by which Tythes were given to the Levitical Priesthood) had gained an univerfal Payment of Tythes to all his Clergy, in farther Imitation of that earthly Tabernacle, he fets up a new Building after the former Pattern, and therefore to him felf he claims first-Fruits and Tenths, as a Succeffor of the Jewish High Prieft; Sins also he undertook to pardon; Cardinals alfo he appoints as Leaders of their Families; Miters they wear on their Heads, as Aaron did; Synagogues they build, with Singers, Porters, &c. and into the Form of the Levitical Priesthood they transform themselves, thereby wholly denying Chrift Jefus, the End of Types and Figures, to be come in the Flesh. AFTERWARDS, Hen. 8. King of England, being a Papift, and believing the Popes Doctrine, as alfo did his Parliament, that Tythes were due to God God and Holy Church; made a Law, that every one should set out and pay his Tythes. AND feeing this is the great Law, and the first of our Parliament Laws for Tythes, and that upon which the reft are grounded, I fhall here infert the Preamble of it. Forafmuch as divers Numbers of evil-difpofed Perfons, having no Refpect to their Duties to Almighty God, but against Right and good Confcience, have attempted to fubftract and with-bold in fome Places the whole, and in fome Places great Part of their Tythes and Oblations, as well perfonal as predial, due unto God and Holy Church, &c. A fecond Law in his Time was also made to the like Purpose, and in pursuance of the former; and great Reason he had, and Need there was for them; for having diffolved many Monafteries who had many Tythes and Rectories appropriated to them, and either had them in his own Hands, or fold them to others, to be held as Lay-poffeffions, and they having no Law whereby to recover them, the Popes Laws not reaching to Lay-perfons (fo called) he was neceffitated to make new Laws to enforce the Payment of them, which the better to colour over the matter, he makes in general Terms, but still reftrains the Trial of Tythes to the Ecclefiaftical Courts. * Predial AFTER him Edw. the fixth, in pursuance of his Fathers Laws, and upon the fame Grounds, makes another Law for the Payment of *predial and per-Tythes are fonal Tythes, under Penalty of treble Damages, those which who alfo reftrains the Trial to the Ecelefiaftical are paid of Courts. Thefe Laws fuppofe that Tythes were Things aridue to God and Holy Church, and therefore theying grow require, that every Man do yield and fet out his ing from Tythes as had been accustomed. hising only. IN IN pursuance of thefe Laws, fome Ordinances were made in the Time of the long Parliament, in the Exigences of the War, because the Courts of Juftice were obstructed. And thefe are the Substance of all our EnglishLaws concerning Tythes. HAVING thus generally and briefly run over the Laws and Practices of Tything, both abroad and in this Nation, I fhall give fome Hints of the Opinions of former Times concerning Tythes. About the Year 1000 and 1200 after Chrift, when Tythes were generally preached up and claimed, great, Controverfie did arife between the Canonifts and the Clergy, by what immediate Law Tythes were payable. THE Canonifts generally ground themselves upon the Decrees and Canons of the Church, (fo called) and on the Writings of Augustin, Ambrofe, and the rest of the ancient Fathers, who fay they are due by divine Right. THE Clergy of thofe Times were at Difference among themfelves, fome of them faying, that Tythes, quoad quotam Partem, or as it is a determined Part, is due only by pofitive and Ecclefiaftick Law; but quoad fubftantiam fuam, or as it denotes a competent Part to be allowed for the Maintenance of the Ministry, is due by divine Law; and that the tenth Part was decreed by the Church, per vim ejus exemplarem, or by Imitation of the Jewish State, and not per vim obligativam, or any continuing Force of it under the Gofpel; and that the Church was not bound to this Part, but freely might as well have ordained the Payment of a ninth or eighth according to the various Opportunity. This was taught by Hales, Aquinas, Henricus de Grandavo, R. de Media villa, Cardinal Cajetan, Cajetan, Io. Mayer, Suarez, Malder, and others, who fay it is the common Opinion of the greatest Part of the Clergy of that Time, and that the tenth Part was rather ceremonial than moral. HERE alfo was made a Diftinction, and many faid, that predial and mixt Tythes were due by the divine Ecclefiaftick Law; but perfonal Tythes only by the Decrees of the Church; but Hales faid, that Tythes, as well perfonal as predial, are in the Precept Quoad fubftantiam, but neither Quoad quotam; and therefore in Venice and other Cities, where no predial Tythes are, a perfonal Tythe is required by, the pofitive Law of the Church, by Virtue of the Subftance (not ceremony) of the Command. ANOTHER Opinion (and that owned by many) was drawn from the former Doctrine, which concluded, that seeing Tythes, as the quota pars, were not enjoyned by the Command of God, therefore they were meer Alms, or as what, debito Charitatis, not debito juftitiæ, was to be difpenfed. Of this Opinion were the Dominicans and Francifcans, who both began about the Year 1210, and by their Doctrine got many Tythes to be given to their Monafteries, and that whatsoever was given to the four Orders of Mendicant Friars, was a fufficient Discharge from the Priest. AND our famous Reformers, John Wickliffe, Walter Brute, Will. Thorp, and others, whose Arguments are at large in Fox his Acts and Monuments, did in their Days bear their Testimony against Tythes, for which fome of them fuffered in Flames. AGREEING herewith are the Articles of the Bobemians, published near three hundred Years fince, wherein a divine Right to Tythes fince, the Gospel is denied; whereupon alfo long fince they took |