52 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
Plymouth was governed in all strictness during the Presbyterian 
regime ; and there still remain a few illustrative records. Thus, 
in 1659, John Wood was presented for walking on the Hoe during 
" sermon time," and George Cragg for suffering company in his 
house to drink burnt wine during " sermon time;" while in June 
the constables of Old Town Ward presented John Olde "for keeping 
men drinking yesterday, being Lord's-day." This last of course 
is in accordance with modern ideas. 
If the ruling powers had contented themselves with no more 
than this, matters would not have been so bad ; but Milton was 
right — 
"New presbyter was but old priest writ large." 
Of religious liberty these Presbyterians had but the faintest idea. 
They were as zealous State Churchmen as the Episcopalians, 
and in behalf of their views were quite as ready to persecute. 
They were as rigorously fond of their Directory as the Prelatists 
of their Prayer-book; and under their sway many an Episcopal 
clergyman was fined, imprisoned, ejected. A law was even intro- 
duced into Parliament to punish blasphemy with death. Walker 
says all that can fairly be said against them (and a great deal more) 
in his well-known "Sufferings of the Clergy." But we must re- 
member that here, as subsequently, politics were involved with 
theology. Episcopalian and Royalist, Presbyterian and Round- 
head, were synonymous. Moreover, according to the accepted 
theory of a State Church, the officers of that church must be sub- 
ordinate to the State. If the State changed its religion, it changed 
its officers likewise. The manner of the change is more important 
here than the change itself ; and in the method adopted during the 
Commonwealth I do not see so much specially objectionable. 
Whatever was done was done methodically by process of law ; 
and such care was shown for the ejected that they were assigned 
a fifth of the revenues of their livings for their maintenance, and 
were thenceforward unharassed. We shall have occasion again to 
refer to this. Undoubtedly there were many cases of individual 
hardship ; undoubtedly a good deal that Walker says is true. But 
he starts with the idea not only of the divine right of the king, 
but of the divine right of the clergy ; and his references to Ply- 
mouth are singularly unfortunate. 
No such political considerations excuse the action of the Presby- 
terians towards the Quakers. The Independents and Baptists 
