Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/450

 430 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 6 1. the Catholic priests and bishops were replaced in the churches from which they had been removed in Holland and Zealand. It was urged at the time, and it has been urged since, that all this was to concede nothing ; that the Inquisition itself could demand no measures against heresy more severe than the reimposition of the edicts of Charles V., and it is likely that in the long run the objection would have proved well founded. With or without a Spanish army, the bigotry of the Walloons would probably sooner or later have interfered with the liberties of the Batavian States, and would have forced them again into revolt. But no such result could have been looked for immediately. The only visible effect would have been the reappearance of the mass in the churches in Holland and Zealand. The edicts when they touched opinions would have been no more than words. They had remained a dead letter from the Peace of Passau to the abdication of the Emperor. They could have been enforced nowhere without the help of the local authorities : and so long as each State administered its own laws persecution would have been impossible. 1 The state of England at the time of Mendoza's arrival was extremely critical. The Protestants were eagerly expecting war. Drake had sailed for the Pacific. Though the Queen had sent no troops to the Low 1 La commision que ha de llevar Don Bernardino para Inglaterra, Marzo, 1578: MSS. Simancas. Legajo 830. Segunda Instruccion, Ley 831.: Ibid. Declaration of Don Bernardino, March, 1578: MSS. Spain.