Unhappily the plan did more harm than good; its motives and signification were suspected, nay, even proclaimed by some of the simple clergy; and Sibthorpe, the Vicar of Brackley, in Northamptonshire--at an assize sermon--gave out plainly that the burden of those instructions which had been distributed among the priesthood was "to show the lawfulness of the general loan which the King now contemplated raising, in lieu of the supplies; to prove the King’s right to impose taxes without the consent of Parliament; and to insist that the people ought cheerfully to submit to such loans and taxes."
The publication of this sermon was forbidden by Archbishop Abbot,[325] for it was then illegal to print any book without a permission from the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, or the Vice-chancellor of one of the Universities, or some person appointed by them;[326] and two fearful Courts of Star-chamber and High Commission threatened any delinquent who attempted to do then what now requires merely the consent of a publisher. Although Abbot had so wisely prohibited Sibthorpe’s discourse, he could not save the King whom Buckingham and Laud counselled. The audacious sermon was published during the following year, under the almost impious title of “Apostolic Obedience.”
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R. BORN, PRINTER, GLOUCESTER STREET, REGENT’S PARK.
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=MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF GEORGE IV. FROM= ORIGINAL FAMILY DOCUMENTS. By the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, K.G. 2 vols. 8vo. with Portraits. 30s. bound.
Among the many interesting subjects elucidated in this work will be found: The Trial of Queen Caroline--The King’s Visits to Ireland, Scotland, and Hanover--Female Influence at Court--The Death of Lord Castlereagh--Junction of the Grenville Party with the Government--The Political and Literary Career of George Canning--O’Connell and the Catholic Claims--The Marquess Wellesley in Ireland--The Duke of Wellington’s Administration--George the Fourth as a Patron of Art and Literature, &c.
"The country is very much indebted to the Duke of Buckingham for the publication of these volumes--to our thinking the most valuable of the contributions to recent history which he has yet compiled from his family papers. Besides the King, the Duke of Buckingham’s canvass is full of the leading men of the day--Castlereagh, Liverpool, Canning, Wellington, Peel, and their compeers. We are sure that no reader, whether he seeks for gossip, or for more sterling information, will be disappointed by the book. There are several most characteristic letters of the Duke of Wellington."--_John Bull._