question, however doubtful, had always
been decided by each party in favor of its own pretensions. Too lightly,
perhaps, moved by the appearance of necessity, the king had even assumed
powers incompatible with the principles of limited government, and
had rendered it impossible for his most zealous partisans entirely to
justify his conduct, except by topics so unpopular, that they were
more fitted, in the present disposition of men's minds, to inflame
than appease the general discontent. Those great supports of public
authority, law and religion, had likewise, by the unbounded compliance
of judges and prelates, lost much of their influence over the people;
or rather had, in a great measure, gone over to the side of faction, and
authorized the spirit of opposition and rebellion. The nobility, also,
whom the king had no means of retaining by offices and preferments
suitable to their rank, had been seized with the general discontent, and
unwarily threw themselves into the scale which already began too much
to preponderate. Sensible of some encroachments which had been made
by royal authority, men entertained no jealousy of the commons, whose
enterprises for the acquisition of power had ever been covered with the
appearance of public good, and had hitherto gone no further than
some disappointed efforts and endeavors. The progress of the Scottish
malecontents reduced the crown to an entire dependence for supply:
their union with the popular party in England brought great accession of
authority to the latter: the near prospect of success roused all latent
murmurs and pretensions, which had hitherto been held in such violent
constraint; and the torrent of general inclination and opinion ran so
strongly against the court, that the king was in no situation to refuse
any reasonable demands of the popular leaders either for defining or
limiting the powers of his prerogative. Even many exorbitant claims, in
his present situation, would probably be made, and must necessarily be
complied with.

The triumph of the malecontents over the church was not yet so immediate
or certain. Though the political and religious Puritans mutually lent
assistance to each other, there were many who joined the former,
yet declined all connection with the latter. The hierarchy had been
established in England ever since the reformation: the Romish church,
in all ages, had carefully maintained that form of ecclesiastical
government: the ancient fathers to