A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



viewed the directions as an unwarranted reflection on their discretion. 

 To smooth matters over and to explain the royal message a supple- 

 mentary mandate was issued by authority, a summary of which was 

 sent to every bishop and through him to every parsonage in the king- 

 dom. 1 In a letter to Bishop Milburne of Carlisle 2 for the reform of 

 the pulpit, dated 9 January 1622-3, Archbishop Matthew stated that 

 his majesty was grieved to hear almost daily of defection ' from our 

 religion ' both to popery and anabaptism, or other points of separation 

 in some parts of the kingdom, and that he was inclined to ascribe the 

 growing leakage to the failure of the preachers. The clergy were en- 

 joined to devote themselves to a simple exposition of the positive 

 teaching of such formularies as the catechism, homilies and articles of 

 religion, giving special attention to the examination of children in the 

 catechism, ' which was the most ancient and laudable custom of teach- 

 ing in the church of England.' Above all preachers were counselled 

 to leave off bitter invectives against papists and puritans, and to give 

 more attention to the explanation of the doctrine and discipline of their 

 own church. 



The diocese of Carlisle was unfortunately situated at this period 

 for carrying out reforms owing to the interruptions in a settled policy 

 caused by frequent changes in the episcopate. During a period of about 

 thirty years, 161646, no fewer than six bishops had ruled the see. 

 With one exception there was little opportunity for any of these bishops 

 to make a permanent impression on the diocese. For the whole of the 

 period, though a great effort was made by Bishop Potter to alter the 

 tack, the old ship was steadily drifting towards the rocks. The supply 

 of educated clergy was the problem then, as it had been in the time of 

 Elizabeth. It was the complaint of Bishop White's secretary that ' at 

 our first visitation there was never a doctor of divinitie nor advocate, 

 but eleven or twelve licensed preachers, three or four bachelors of 

 Divinity and eight double beneficed men.' 3 Notwithstanding the 

 academic prestige of Bishop Potter as provost of Queen's College, 

 Oxford, he was unable to attract educated men to seek holy orders at 

 his hands. Though there was general conformity in his diocese, he 

 reported to Archbishop Neile that the wretched stipends of the bene- 

 fices forced him to admit mean scholars to the diaconate rather than to 

 allow the people to be utterly without divine service. The tendency 

 of the time may be gauged by the further statement that the church- 

 wardens were slow to present absentees from church, and the magistrates 

 were equally reluctant to punish them.* The articles of inquiry which 

 the bishop sent to the churchwardens and sworn men at his first visita- 



i Collier has printed these three documents on the reform of preaching (Eccl. Hist., vii. 428-34, ed. 

 Lathbury). 



3 Carl. Epis. Reg. Milburne, ff. 252-4. 



3 The little paper rental-book of Bishop White, from which this information is taken, con- 

 tains many notes of interest about the diocese from 1626 to 1629 in the matter of the epis- 

 copal revenues, leases, subsidies, fees, synodals, patronage and procurations. 



Ferguson, Dioc, Hist, of Carl. (S.P.C.K.), p. 133. 



90 



