On Saturday last the Nonconformists celebrated the two hundred and
fiftieth celebration of the ejection of the Puritans on August 24th, 1662. The political forces which overbore the natural indifference of Charles II. in dealing with the problem of Church settlement, the failure of the Conference of Churchmen and Presbyterians in the Savoy in 1661, the refusal of the revisers of the Prayer-Book to conciliate the Presbyterians, and the unconditional surrender of the Puritan divines demanded by the Act of Uniformity are dealt with in an interesting historical summary in the Times of last Satur- day. It is supplemented by a valuable "Retrospect " from the pen of Canon Hensley Henson. As regards the sequestra- tion of the Episcopalian and Royalist clergy under the Puritan regime, he gives good grounds for adopting a much lower estimate of their numbers than was held by many Anglican authorities. He does not, however, minimize the difficulties of the situation or deny the claims of the Royalist clergy, which were " irresistible both in law and equity."
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