, and Baptism, with
some minor points.)
_Fourth_, Debates in the Sub-committee respecting the Directory, 4th
March, to 10th June, p. 101-2.
_Fifth_, Notes of Proceedings in the Grand Committee, from September 20,
to October 25, 1644, p. 103-7. This part of the manuscript, though short,
is of very considerable importance, as giving us a specimen of the manner
in which the Grand Committee acted. The Grand Committee was composed of
some of the most influential persons of the Lords, of the Commons, and of
the Assembly, together with the Scottish Commissioners. The duty of that
Committee was to consult together respecting the subjects to be brought
before the Assembly, and to prepare a formal statement of those subjects
for the purpose of regular deliberation. By this process a large amount of
debate was precluded, and the leading men were enabled to understand each
other's sentiments before the more public discussions began. And as the
Scottish Commissioners were necessarily constituent members of this
Committee, their influence in directing the whole proceedings was both
very great, and in constant operation. Lightfoot's journal gives no
account of the proceedings of this Committee.
_Sixth_, A paper on excommunication, &c. It has already been mentioned
that this paper is nearly identical with part of a chapter in the Aaron's
Rod.
_Seventh_, A short note on some discussions which took place in the
Committee of the General Assembly at Edinburgh, on the 7th and 8th of
February, 1645, at the time when Baillie and Gillespie laid before the
Assembly the Directory which had been recently completed.
_Eighth_, The Ordinance of the two Houses of the English Parliament, 12th
June, 1643, summoning the Assembly of Divines. This is added chiefly for
the purpose of shewing the intention of the Parliament in calling the
Assembly.
It has been already stated that there are two MS. volumes, purporting to
be copies of Gillespie's Notes. The one of these is in octavo, and seems
to have been carefully taken; the other is in quarto, and appears to be
partly a copy, partly an abstract. In it Gillespie is always spoken of in
the third person, which has caused many variations. The transcriber has
also made many omissions, not only of one, but of several paragraphs at a
time, frequently passing over the remarks of the several speakers. It
appears to have been his object to copy chiefly the argumentative part of
the manuscript. This defe
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