Even the small concessions made by this edict were severely blamed by the pope and the King of Spain;[227] while numerous outbreaks in various parts of France--bloody protests against toleration, like our own Gordon riots--showed that the people were very much divided in their sentiments upon it. In order, therefore, to tranquillize the public mind, the chancellor advised the queen-mother to consult the Parliament of Paris on the best means of suppressing these religious disorders. A solemn meeting was held in July (1561), Charles, Catherine, and the chief nobility being present. The debate, which De l’Hopital opened with a wise and conciliatory address, was long and stormy. “We have not met to discuss points of doctrine,” he said, “but to deliberate on the best means of preventing the dissensions occasioned by the difference of religious opinion, and to put an end to the license and rebellion of which that difference has hitherto proved a constant source. The devil has entered into these contests, and no one thinks of reforming himself.” In other words, religion was a mere pretext. The parliament was much divided: some contended that the edicts against the Huguenots ought to be wholly suspended until a meeting of the National Council; another that they should be carried out more strictly; while a third party were of opinion that the sole cognizance of heresy should be assigned to the bishops, and that a severe penalty, short of death, should be inflicted upon all who assembled, even peacefully, for religious worship.[228] This proposal was carried by a majority of three votes, and the result was the Edict of July, 1561, forbidding, under pain of death, the use of insulting terms, and any act of violence under color of religion. All public and private meetings were interdicted; the bishops were still to take cognizance of the crime of heresy, but the penalties were restricted to banishment; and, finally, the king granted a general amnesty, on condition that every body lived peaceably and catholically. The Huguenots gained little by this decree beyond the abolition of the death penalty in cases of heresy; indeed, it actually diminished the toleration they already enjoyed; and yet the Parliament of Paris would only register it provisionally, on the ground that it was too favorable. That this opinion was not shared by the Huguenots is clear from a hymn written on the occasion, of which the following is a portion: Quant à moi, je ne peux vivre Qu’avec ce qu’il interdit; Aussi le mien corps je livre Aux peines de son Édit. Qu’il me commande exiler, Qu’il fasse mes os brûler, Qu’il m’étrangle d’une corde, Je le veux et m’y accorde.... N’aie donc, ô peuple, crainte Du supplice qui t’attend, Car cette dure contrainte Jusqu’à l’âme ne s’étend.