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Show 80 ATUOCIOL'S Jl:DGES. [A. D. 1;j30. The aut1~orily of the chief ju~tice gave such we1ght to the articles that they were agreed to l>y the lords, nen~ine contradicente; but his ingratitude and tergiversation caused much ~randal out of door·, and he ht1u the mortification to find that he 111i O'ht have acted an honorable and. friendly part without <-' any ri:3k to hitnself, as the king retaining a hankering kitH1- n C"' for hi. olll favorit e, not only praised the fidelity of Carcndish and the cardinal's other depen<lants who -. tuck by him in adversity, l>ut took Cromwell into favor, and ad vance<l him to the highe t dignities, plea. ed with hi gallant d ·fence of his old mater: thus the article' of in1p achment (on which, probably, Fitzjame had founded hopes of the great ~cal for himself) were ignon1iniou.-ly r ejectru in the IIouse of Commons. The recreant chief justice n1u st lwsc Lccn 1nuch alarmed lJy the report that \\Tolsey, whon1 he hacl abandoned, if not l>drayeu, ·wa: likely to ue r estored to power, and he Jllll t have been con iderab1y relie·n~c1 Ly th certain intelligence of the sad scene at L eicester Al>hey in the following autumn, '"hich ·ecurccl him forever ngain~t the f •ar of being upbraided or puni ·hcd in this world actording to his d 'sert -.. II ow •rcr he had now lo ' t all di2;nity of eharaeter, an<.l henc fo rth lte was used a a vile instrument to apply the criminal l~w for the pleasure of the tyrant on tho throne, who ·e r elish for blood soon began to display it ·elf, and brean1c 1nore eng r the more it was gratiflcd. IIenry retaining aU the Lloctrines of the H,on1an Catholic religion which we Protestant::> con ... iucr IUO ' t ol>jectionablc, but making him:elf pope in England in place of the T~i.'hop of Rome, law. were enacted suhjecting to the p enaltie ... of treason A. D.l534.1 JOHN FITZJ AMES. 81 all who denied. his supren~acy; * and n1any of these offenders were tried and condemned by Lord Chief J u tice Fitzjame. , although he wa suspected. of being in his heart adv t"e to all innovation in r eligion. I must confine 1nyself to the two 1110 t illu. trious victim~ sacri11ced. Ly him- Fish r, Hi:-;hop of l{ochester, and Sir Thomas l\Iore. Ilenry, not contented with havinO0 ' then1 attnintecl of 1nisp1·ision of treasou, for which they were uffering the sentence of forfeiture of all their property and inlprisonment during life, wa. <.lctennine<l to bring then1 both to the block, and for thi ' purpo;:;e i~ ned a specinl comn1i ·ion to try thein on the car)ital clw.rrre of ha vin 0' denied his ·u- 0 0 premacy. The lord chancellor was :f1r·-t comn1is ·ioner; but it was intended that the re ponsibility and the odiutu should chiefly re. t on the Lord Chief J u tice Fitzjmnes, who was joined in the coinnii 'sion along with evera1 other comn1on law judges of inferior ranl::. The ca e against the Di -hop of Itochcster r ested on the evidence of Rieh, the solicitor gcnenll, who swore he had heard the pri ··oncr ~ay, " I believe in n1y conscience, and by my learning I as nredly know that the kinrr neith r i , nor LJ ' 0 ' by righL can be, uprcme hend of the church of England ; " but admitted that thi." wa.· in a confidential conversation, which he had introduced by declaring that " he cmne frorn the king to ask what Lhe lJi ·hop'F opinion wa" upon thi , question, and by a uring hin1 that it never hould be Incntjoned to any one except the kinO' an<l that the kinrr had l)l'Olnised b' 0 * T.he recent claim set up in America. for lcgi ·la.tivc supremacy over c~~sc1ence- a claim contended for by so many of our leading la.wyers and dl\'lfies- is not less blasphemous and outrageous than this claim of Uenry VIII., and belongs to the same category.- Rd. |