History of the Nonjurors.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Remarks.—Causes of the Schism.—Proceedings of King James.—Declaration of Indulgence.—Conduct of Dissenters; of the Clergy.—Conduct of the Clergy and Dissenters Contrasted.—The Prince of Orange.—Invitation to the Prince.—The Bishop of London.—The Fabrication of Speke.—The Prince undertakes the Administration.—Views of the Parties.—The Convention.—Discussions.—Settlement of the Crown.—The Question of a Regency considered.—The Views and Conduct of the Prince of Orange.
he history of the schism in the Church of England, occasioned by the Revolution in 1688, constitutes one of the most interesting chapters in our Ecclesiastical Annals. The views and proceedings of the Nonjurors, from their origin as a party to their extinction, must be contemplated with much interest by members of the Church of England. Few persons are aware how much the cause of religion, as well as of Sacred Literature, was indebted, during the last century, to the exertions of the Nonjurors, who, when they were excluded from the National Church by their scruples respecting the oaths, devoted themselves to useful and laborious study.
