Page:Public School History of England and Canada (1892).djvu/94

 submit to James’ claim to rule “not by the common will but for the common weal.

2. State of the Nation,—At this time, too, the people had become so prosperous under Elizabeth’s rule that they had recovered much of the old spirit of freedom which forced the Plantagenets to give Parliament the control of taxation. Elizabeth had felt this in the later years of her reign, and had unwillingly conceded many things to her Parliament. So, when James, with his awkward ways and foreign accent, began to dictate to his Parliament and people how they should be governed, they resented it, and soon made him understand that the English people did not want arbitrary rule.

The nation was in an unsettled condition owing to the different views held by the people on religious questions. The Puritans wanted changes made in the Church services, so as to bring them nearer the form of worship in Scotland and Geneva. They disliked making the sign of the cross in baptism, wearing a surplice, or giving a ring in the marriage service. They, also, were very strict about keeping Sunday, and about indulging in amusements. In questions of state they upheld the liberty of Parliament and the right of the people to make their own laws. Then there was the Church party which wished the Church to remain as Elizabeth had left it, and which was strongly in favour of giving the king a great deal of power. Lastly, there were the Roman Catholics, who wished to restore the Roman Catholic faith. They had been fiercely persecured in Elizabeth’s reign and now looked to James for relief, because his mother had been a strict Roman Catholic. The hope of the Puritans that he would make changes in the Church services to please them, was soon destroyed. James had been so sternly treated by the Scotch Presbyterians that he hated them and their ways; and as the Puritans in many respects were like the Presbyterians, he, at a Conference at Hampton Court, roundly abused them when they asked for changes, and said if they would not conform he would “harry them out of the land.” The only good result of this conference was the decision to issue a revised translation of the Bible, which was done in 1611. This is the version still in use.

3. The Puritans begin to Emigrate,—Now that it was seen