A HISTORY OF THE CONVOCATION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE YEAR 1742. BY THE REV. THOMAS LATHBURY, M.A. AUTHOR OP A HISTORY OF THE NONJURORS;" "A HISTORY Of the English EPISCOPACY," ETC. Second Edition, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS. LONDON: J. LESLIE, 58 GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. SINCE the previous edition of this work was published, the Convocation question has excited much more attention than was formerly bestowed upon it. The original Preface, with the exception of a few lines, therefore, is allowed to remain unaltered, inasmuch as it presents a true picture of the indifference which prevailed at that time. The various subjects connected with Convocation have been carefully re-considered by the author for the present edition. Large additions have also been made; some questions, which had not attracted much notice when the former edition was published, are fully discussed; and it is believed that the work embraces all important matters connected with the history, the proceedings, and the constitution of Convocation. My most sincere thanks are due to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for his kind and ready permission to examine the Mss. at Lambeth, of which considerable use has been made in this volume; also to the Vicar-general, Travers Twiss, Esq., D.C.L., for his kindness in giving me free access to the books of Convocation. To the Very Rev. the Dean of Christ Church my thanks are due for allowing me to inspect the Wake Mss. in his custody in Oxford, though I did not find it necessary to ask permission to make extracts; as considerable portions of the volumes, referring to the proceedings of Convocation, are transcripts from the books at Lambeth. 1853. |