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 warm dispute between the Non-Conformists and the Conformists, and these last having got the better, one of them cried aloud with a great transport of joy at his going out, Well, now the cause of Bel and the Dragon has carried it. This is what I learned from the book of that great man, Mr Andrew Marvel against Dr Parker.”

But we must not omit the subject of purity of communion. As the old English Book of Discipline (Norwich, 1589) explains, discipline against individual communicants, such as, summoning to appear before the consistory, censuring, and suspending from the sacraments, was not so much for punishment as for restoration. An interesting form of prayer was provided, to be used in the consistory at the time of an offender’s, orderly reconciliation to the church.

According to this refugees’ Livre de la Disiplinne, the Lord’s Supper was dispensed four times in the year, and provision was made for the public profession of their faith by young persons on the Lord’s Day before each Communion Sabbath. In the French Church of Southampton, the names of persons admitted to the Lord’s Supper were inserted in the register, thus:—





historical facts, which I have collected concerning the naturalization of foreigners, may be prefaced by some topics connected with freedom of trade. This will be convenient, because the Calendars in our Public Record Office indicate that this is the subject of the earliest surviving State Papers regarding the social position of foreign refugees.

The terms which first strike the attention of an investigator are the words post and postmaster. The best explanation of the foreigners’ post is contained in the 6th article of the Canterbury Agreement:— “Item, they may have a post with horse or waggons to carry and re-carry their wares, as well to London as elsewheare, for to sell theare or cause them to be sould, without interruption by the waie or other the said places.” The post was an establishment of men and means for the carriage of goods from one part of England to another, and also, apparently, from England to foreign parts. The men connected with such an establishment were called posts. In the census of strangers in London in 1571, we find the following “posts”:—

And in the census of 1618, there are the following entries:—

