innovations were dangerous to their Church, and contrary to their confession, which declares, "that nothing is to be admitted in the worship of God, but what is prescribed in the Holy Scriptures." Yet how many things are practised in Presbyterian worship, which are not prescribed in the Sacred Volume. They then prohibited all such innovations! They were of course at liberty to prescribe anything in their own Churches; but it is difficult to understand how they could exercise jurisdiction over those, who did not belong to their Communion. The case was, therefore, referred to the Kirk judicatories. Thus a law was made, and then Greenshields was brought under its operation.
In consequence of this Act of Assembly, the Kirk Session presented Greenshields to the Presbytery, by whom he was examined respecting his orders; for it seems that, having the case of England before their eyes, they were anxious to avoid the question of the Liturgy: or rather wished to punish him on other grounds. They therefore deposed him from the exercise of the ministry: and on his refusal to recognize their authority, they requested the magistrates to execute their sentence. At the call of the Presbytery, the magistrates, as he did not cease to officiate, committed him to the Tolbooth, in which prison he was lying when the case was published in London. Some few years before, the Presbyterians wrote and preached in favour of liberty of conscience, but now it was denied to a man who used the English Liturgy. He had taken the Oaths to her Majesty: and yet he was punished.
During the same year a Reply to the case of Greenshields was published in London, in which it was attempted to justify the Presbytery in their proceed-
