My subject was “The Antiquities of Bridgnorth.” I have already far passed the boundaries which confined me to such a subject, by referring to matters which occurred so late as the reign of Charles II. I would, however, venture one step farther, and refer to an event which took place in the reign of his successor, James II, for I find that it was taken particular notice of in Bridgnorth at the time of its occurrence; and it is one which, from the great interest and importance that attaches to it, seems to claim attention from us whenever it happens to be brought before us. The event referred to occurred in the memorable year of 1688. In the “Blakeway Papers,” in the Bodleian Library, which contain matters concerning Bridgnorth, the following entry is made respecting it:—“When the Bishops were quit, there were 16 bonefires in this town, and the ringing of bells night and day. Mr. Cornes and Mr. Bailey, the two Ministers, refused to sign the Declaration.” This notice alludes to the well known Declaration issued by King James, and the acquittal of the seven Bishops who had been imprisoned for venturing to oppose it. James the Second was as zealous a member of the Church of Rome, perhaps, as any of his subjects, lay or ecclesiastical; and the great object of his life seemed to be, to regain for his Church the same usurped authority over the civil and religious liberties of our country, which she possessed before the Reformation. Among other means for furthering this object, he published this famous “Declaration.” It was a very singular document. On the plea of establishing liberty of conscience, it abrogated, on the King’s sole authority, all the penal laws which were in force on the subject of religion, the King thus assuming to himself, as one of his royal prerogatives, the power of dispensing with exiting statutes, without the consent of Parliament. The real intention of the King in all this was, to open the door to Roman Catholics to places of power and authority, which the laws then in force strictly forbade, as being incompatible with the freedom and safety of the state. To give publicity, as well as sanction, to this Declaration, the King issued a command that it should be read by the Clergy during Divine Service, in every church in the kingdom. The whole proceeding was perfectly arbitrary and despotic; and if it had been allowed to go on unchecked, it would, as it has been well observed, have given a death blow to the Constitution, and have laid the nation’s liberties at the feet of the sovereign. Where then were the champions of freedom in this great crisis of danger? Where were to be found the men, who had courage enough to resist this portentous encroachment on the liberties of England? Where the assertors of the nation’s rights against these unlawful inroads of the royal prerogative? Not in a band of youthful and ardent enthusiasts in the cause of freedom—not in a knot of ruthless republicans, whose tempers were impatient of monarchial