stical establishment of the country. It may seem strange
that in all the Netherlands there were but three bishoprics,--Arras,
Tournay, and Utrecht. A large part of the country was incorporated with
some one or other of the contiguous German dioceses. The Flemish
bishoprics were of enormous extent. That of Utrecht alone embraced no
less than three hundred walled towns, and eleven hundred churches.[402]
It was impossible that any pastor, however diligent, could provide for
the wants of a flock so widely scattered, or that he could exercise
supervision over the clergy themselves, who had fallen into a lamentable
decay both of discipline and morals.

Still greater evils followed from the circumstance of the episcopal
authority's being intrusted to foreigners. From their ignorance of the
institutions of the Netherlands, they were perpetually trespassing on
the rights of the nation. Another evil consequence was the necessity of
carrying up ecclesiastical causes, by way of appeal, to foreign
tribunals; a thing, moreover, scarcely practicable in time of war.

Charles the Fifth, whose sagacious mind has left its impress on the
permanent legislation of the Netherlands, saw the necessity of some
reform in this matter. He accordingly applied to Rome for leave to erect
six bishoprics, in addition to those previously existing in the country.
But his attention was too much distracted by other objects to allow time
for completing his design. With his son Philip, on the other hand, no
object was allowed to come in competition with the interests of the
Church. He proposed to make the reform on a larger scale than his father
had done, and applied to Paul the Fourth for leave to create fourteen
bishoprics and three archbishoprics. The chief difficulty lay in
providing for the support of the new dignitaries. On consultation with
Granvelle, who had not been advised of the scheme till after Philip's
application to Rome, it was arranged that the income should be furnished
by the abbey lands of the respective dioceses, and that the abbeys
themselves should hereafter be placed under the control of priors or
provosts depending altogether on the bishops. Meanwhile, until the bulls
should be received from Rome, it was determined to keep the matter
profoundly secret. It was easy to foresee that a storm of opposition
would arise, not only among those immediately interested in preserving
the present order of things, but among the great body of the nob