gain, and to the Church-man's Plurality. He never gave a Benefice to any without obliging them by Oath to perpetual and perfonal refidence, and that they should never hold aby other Benefice with that. So when one Buchanan was recommended to him, and found by him to be well qualified, he offered him a Collation to a Benefice, but when Bu chanan saw that he was to be bound to Refidence, and not to hold another Benefice; he that was already poffeffed of one, with which he refolved not to part, would not accept of it on those terms. And the Bishop was not to be prevailed with to dispense with it, tho' he liked this Man fo much the better, because he found he was akin to the great Buchanan, whofe Paraphrafe of the Pfalms he loved be yond all other Latin Poetry. The Latin form of his Collations will be found at the end of this Relation, which concluded thus; * Obtefting you in the Lord, and enjoining you, by vertue of that obedience which you owe to the great Shepherd, that you will diligently feed his Flock committed to your care, which he purchaf ed with his own Blood; that you inftruct them in the Catholick Faith, and perform Divine Offices in a Tongue understood by the people: And above all things that you flew your felf a pattern to Believers in good Works, fo that the adverfaries may be put to shame, when they find nothing for which they can reproach. you. He put all the Inftruments in one, whereas devices had been found out, for the

See at the End, Numb. 1.

in

increase of Fees, to divide these into feveral Writings: Nor was he content to write this all with his own hand, but sometimes he gave Induction likewife to his Clergy; for he thought none of thefe Offices were below a Bishop And he was ready to ease them of charge all he could. He had by his zeal and earneft endeavours prevailed with all his Pref byters to refide in their Parishes; one only excepted, whofe name was Johnston. He was of a mean Education, yet he had very quick parts, but they lay more to the Mechanical than to the Spiritual Architecture. For the Earl of Strafford used him for an Enginier, and gave him the management of fome great Buildings that he was raising in the County of Wicklow. But the Bishop finding the Man had a very mercurial Wit, and a great Capacity, he refolved to fet him to work, that fo he might not be wholly ufelefs to the Church; and therefore he proposed to him the compofing an univerfal Character, that might be equally well understood by all Nations: And he fhewed him, that fince there was already an univerfal Mathematical Character, received both for Arithmetick, Geometry, and Aftronomy, the other was not impoffible to be done. Johnston undertook it readily, and the Bishop drew for him a Scheme of the whole Work, which he brought to fuch perfection, that, as my Author was informed, he put it under the Prefs, but the Rebellion preyented his finishing it,

After

After the Bishop had been for many years carrying on the Reformation of his Diocefs, he refolved to hold a Synod of all his Clergy, and to eftablish fome Rules for the better Go vernment of the Flock committed to him: The Canons then eftablished will be found at the end of this Work. He appointed that a Synod should be held thereafter once a year, on the fecond Week of September; and that in the Bishop's abfence, his Vicar General, if he were a Prieft, or his Arch-Deacon fhould prefide: That no Vicar should be constituted after that, unless he were in Orders, and fhould hold his place only during the Bishop's pleasure. He revived the ancient cuftom of Rural Deans, and appointed, That there should be three for the three Divifions of his Diocefs; who should be chofen by the Clergy, and should have an inspection into their deportment, and make report to the Bishop of what pafs'd among them, and tranfmit the Bishop's orders to them; and that once a Month the Clergy of each Divifion fhould meet, and preach by turns, without long Prayers or Preambles: And that no Excommunication should be made but by the Bishop in perfon, with the affiftance of fuch of his Clergy as fhould be prefent. The reft related to fome things of lefs importance, that required amendment. When the News of this was carried to Dublin, fome faid it was an illegal Affembly, and that his prefuming to make Canons, was against Law, and brought

* See at the end, Numb 1.

him

him within the guilt of a Pramunire. So that it was expected that he should be brought up as a Delinquent, and cenfured in the StarChamber, or High Commiffion Court: But others look'd on what he had done, as nothing but the neceffary discharge of his Epifcopal Function. And it feemed ftrange if fome Rules laid down by common confent, for the better government of the Diocess, fhould have furnifhed matter for an Accufation or Cenfure. His Arch-Deacon, that was afterwards Archbishop of Cafbel, gave fuch an account of this matter to the State, that nothing followed upon it. The Bishop had indeed prepared fuch a Juftification of himfelf, as would have vindicated him fully before equitable Judges, if he had been queftioned for it. Archbishop Uber, who knew well how much he could fay for himself upon this Head, advised those that moved that he might be brought up upon it. To let him alone, left he should be thereby provoked to fay more for himfelf, than any of his Accufers could fay against him.

When he made his Vifitations, he always preached himself, and adminiftred the Sacrament; and the bufinefs of his Vifitations was, what it ought truly to be, to obferve the ftate of his Diocefs, and to give good Inftructions. both to Clergy and Laity. The Vifitations in Ireland had been matters of great Pomp and much Luxury, which lay heavy on the inferior Clergy. Some flight enquiries were made, and those chiefly for Form's fake; and indeed nothing

nothing was fo much minded, as that which was the reproach of them, the Fees, that were exacted to fuch an intolerable degree, that they were a heavy grievance to the Clergy. And as the Bishop's Vifitation came about every Year; fo every third Year the Archbishop made his Metropolitical Vifitation, and every feventh Year the King's Vifitation went round: And in all these as they were then managed, nothing feemed to be fo much aimed at, as how to fqueeze and opprefs the Clergy, who were glad to purchase their Peace by paying all that was imposed on them, by thofe feyere Exactors. Thefe Fees at Vifitations were not known in the Primitive Times, in which the Bishop had the whole Stock of the Church in his Hands to defray what expence neceffarily fell on him, or his Church. It is true, when the Metro politan, with other Bishops, came and ordained the Bishop at his See, it was but reasonable that their expence fhould be difcharged; and this came to be rated to a certain Sum, and was called the Inthronistick: And when thefe grew unreasonably high, the Emperors reduced them to a certain proportion, according to the Revenues of the Sees. But when the Bishops and the inferior Clergy came to have diftinct Properties, then the Bishops exacted of their Clergy that which other Vaffals owed by their Tenure to the Lord of the Fee, which was the bearing the expence of their Progrefs; but when they began firft to demand those Subfidies from their Clergy, that Practice was condemned, and provifion was made, That in

cafe