It was a pet idea with Atterbury, that Bishops should avail themselves of the _præmunientes_ clause. Kennet undertook to show that he was mistaken as to the time of its origin; that he incorrectly maintained the constancy of its practical application; that he was deceived in his notice of its nature and effect, and that the modern had not, any more than the ancient Clergy, reason to be fond of it. The provincial summons to Convocation, issued by an Archbishop, he maintained to be a sufficient authority without diocesan writs. “From the three or four first years of Queen Elizabeth,” he says, “when the Protestant Clergy might be trusted for obedient subjects, there is not one proof that ever any Bishop made a return of the _præmunientes_ to the Crown, or that ever the Crown challenged such a return from any Bishop.”[347] Of the erudition and ingenuity shown in Kennet’s book there can be no doubt: it clears up some interesting archeological points in English history; but I am at a loss to understand what bearing his arguments, as far as they go--for it must be remembered he gives only the first part of the work--are meant to have on the practical determination of the controversy. If, as he represented, the existing Convocation was but the relic of an extinguished prerogative of self-taxation, once possessed by the Clergy, then it remained only the shadow of a name, and stood amongst the meaningless things which it would be a good clearance to sweep away. If he took such a view, he does not, as far as I can find, express it; rather he assumes throughout, that Convocations by Royal authority, under archiepiscopal control, without the power of making laws or discussing theological or ecclesiastical questions, are quite wise and proper. How they can be so when reduced to such a nullity, it is difficult to conceive. Kennet’s theory, to any one free from the prejudices and heartburnings of the dispute, is unsatisfactory to the last degree. [Sidenote: CONVOCATION.] When winter approached, the prospect of a new Parliament and a new Convocation opened on the eyes of Atterbury with a fascinating effect; and as the autumn leaves fell in the London parks, the Archdeacon girded up his loins for a fresh attack. He was concerned about many things--about the opposition his party was likely to encounter, about the exact place of meeting of the Clergy, and about the execution of the _præmunientes_ clause, notwithstanding Kennet’s destructive criticisms. He says to Trelawny, “Unless some spirit be put into our affairs, and the managers of them, and they attend here punctually, and behave courageously, our cause must sink, and we must be broken; for we are beset, and unless a vigorous stand be made, shall find they will be too hard for us. Their Lay interest is much stronger than it is imagined to be; they know it, and feel it, and accordingly speak in a much higher strain than ever they used to do, and talk more securely of success at the next meeting.”[348]