e lawfulness
of the sentence of excommunication. It was to imply that Henry was not
only not head of the church, but that he was no longer lawful King of
England, and that the allegiance of the country must be transferred to
the Princess Mary when the pope and the emperor should give the word.
There might be no intention of treason; the motive of the opposition
might be purely religious; but from the nature of the case opposition of
any kind would abet the treason of others; and no honesty of meaning
could render possible any longer a double loyalty to the crown and to
the papacy.

[Sidenote: The new Treason Act.]

The act conferring the title was in consequence followed by another,
declaring the denial of it to be treason. It was necessary to stop the
tongues of the noisy mutinous monks, to show them once for all that
these high matters were no subjects for trifling. The oath to the
succession of the Princess Elizabeth partially answered this purpose;
and the obligation to take that oath had been extended to all classes of
the king's subjects;[404] but to refuse to swear to the succession was
misprision of treason only, not high treason; and the ecclesiastics (it
had been seen) found no difficulty in swearing oaths which they did not
mean to observe. The parliament therefore now attached to the statute of
supremacy the following imperious corollary:--

[Sidenote: For the better security of the realm, it is enacted, That any
person who, by words, writing, or otherwise, deprives the king or queen
of any one of their just titles, shall be held guilty of high treason.]

"Forasmuch as it is most necessary, both for common policy and duty of
subjects, above all things to prohibit, provide, restrain, and extinct
all manner of shameful slanders, perils, or imminent danger or dangers,
which might grow, happen, or arise to their sovereign lord the king, the
queen, or their heirs, which, when they be heard, seen, or understood,
cannot be but odible and also abhorred of all those sorts that be true
and loving subjects, if in any point they may, do, or shall touch the
king, the queen, their heirs or successors, upon which dependeth the
whole unity and universal weal of this realm; without providing
wherefore, too great a scope should be given to all cankered and
traitorous hearts, willers and workers of the same; and also the king's
loving subjects should not declare unto their sovereign lord now being,
which unto them both hat