the Bill for Conventicles. The Lords would be
freed from having their houses searched by any but
the Lord Lieutenant of the County; and upon being
found guilty, to be tried only by their peers; and
thirdly, would have it added, that whereas the Bill
says, “That that, among other things, shall
be a conventicle wherein any such meeting is found
doing any thing contrary to the Liturgy of the Church
of England,” they would have it added, “or
practice.” The Commons to the Lords said,
that they knew not what might hereafter be found out
which might be called the practice of the Church of
England; for there are many things may be said to
be the practice of the Church, which were never established
by any law, either common, statute, or canon; as singing
of psalms, binding up prayers at the end of the Bible,
and praying extempore before and after sermon:
and though these are things indifferent, yet things
for aught they at present know may be started, which
may be said to be the practice of the Church which
would not be fit to allow. For the Lords’
priviledges, Mr. Walter told them how tender their
predecessors had been of the priviledges of the Lords;
but, however, where the peace of the kingdom stands
in competition with them, they apprehend those priviledges
must give place. He told them that he thought,
if they should owne all to be the priviledges of the
Lords which might be demanded, they should be led
like the man (who granted leave to his neighbour to
pull off his horse’s tail, meaning that he could
not do it at once) that hair by hair had his horse’s
tail pulled off indeed: so the Commons, by granting
one thing after another, might be so served by the
Lords. Mr. Vaughan, whom I could not to my grief
perfectly hear, did say, if that they should be obliged
in this manner to, exempt the Lords from every thing,
it would in time come to pass that whatever (be [it]
never so great) should be voted by the Commons as
a thing penall for a commoner, the contrary should
be thought a priviledge to the Lords: that also
in this business, the work of a conventicle being
but the work of an hour, the cause of a search would
be over before a Lord Lieutenant, who may be many
miles off, can be sent for; and that all this dispute
is but about L100; for it is said in the Act, that
it shall be banishment or payment of L100. I
thereupon heard the Duke of Lenox say, that there
might be Lords who could not always be ready to lose
L100, or some such thing: They broke up without
coming to any end in it. There was also in the
Commons’ House a great quarrel about Mr. Prin,
and it was believed that he should have been sent to
the Towre, for adding something to a Bill (after it
was ordered to be engrossed) of his own head—a
Bill for measures for wine and other things of that
sort, and a Bill of his owne bringing in; but it appeared
he could not mean any hurt in it. But, however,
the King was fain to write in his behalf, and all
was passed over. But it is worth my remembrance,