True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-02-22

be inflicted on their offences; and, as the
clergy had extremely multiplied in Eng.
land, and many of them were, consequent
ly of very. low characters, crimes of the
deepest dye, murders, robberies, adulter-
les and rapes were daily committed with
impunity, by ecclesiastics. 1t had been
found, for instance, that no less than q
hundred murders had, since the accession
of the King, been perpetrated by men Of
that profession, who had never been called
to account for these offences; and holy
orders were become full protection fol-
all these enormities. ."-Hume.
Henry, however, persevered, until he
procured the enactment of the constitu-
tions of Clarendon, in which he gained a
signal victory over all the English eccle,
siastics, except the invincible Beckett, who
refused obedience to the constitutions Of
Clarendon, until, abandoned by all the
world, he was obliged to submit, and tc
promise illegally, with good faith, and
without fraud or reserve" But Henry
was still baf1ed. He sent his constitu.
tions of Clarendon to Pope Alexander,
"and required that Pontiff's ratification Of
them; but Alexander condemned them in
the strongest terms-abrogated, annulled
and rejected them"
Beckett then repented of his consent
"and endeavored to engage all the other
Bishops in a confederacy to adhere to
their ecclesiastical privileges. Henry, in.
formed Of Becket's present dispositions,
applied to the Pope that he should grant
the commission Of legate in his dominions
but Alexander, as polite as he, though he
granted the commission, annexed claus,
that it should not empower the legate t.
execute any act in prejudice to the Arch
bishop of Canterbury" The King, how
ever, persevered until he triumphed ovel
Beckett, for the primate was "condemnec
of a contempt of the Kings court, and az
wanting in the fealty which he had sworr
to his sovereign; all his goods and chat
ties were confscated."
But this war still ragged between the
King and Beckett. The Primate defeG
the King. "He put himself and his See
under the protection of the supreme Pom
tiff" About this time Beckett fled from
the kingdom, and was received by the
Pope with the greatest marks of distinc
ton. He was not idle in his banishment
But it is fruitless, and a waste of time
to give all the details of this quarrel; yet
it created more intense interest and ex
citement in Europe than had ever, or has
ever, been felt in any of those great wars
In which armies annihilated each other
Finally, plenipotentiaries on both sides
were appointed to negotiate a treaty o.
peace! And the King had to surrender
his pretensions, in order to relieve his
Ministers from the sentence of excommu
nication, which Beckett, even in his exile
had thundered against them! Here is {
history of the terms of the treaty.
"Becket was not required to give W
any rights of the church, or resign any o
those pretensions, which had been tht
original ground of the controversy. Beck
ct and his adherents were to be restored t,
all their livings, and even the possessors o
such benefces, as had been filed during
the Primate's absence, should be expelled
and Beckett have liberty to supply the va
cancies. In return for concessions which
entrenched so deeply on the honor ant
dignity of the Grown, Henry reaped onl.
the advantage of seeing his Ministers alb
solved from the sentence of excommunica
ton, and Of preventing the interdict which
if these hard conditions had not been com
piled with, was ready to be laid on all hi
dominiOns. So anxious was Henry to &C
commodate all differences, and to reconcil,
himself fully with Beckett, that he tool
the most extraordinary steps to Aatter hi
vanity, and even, on one occasion, humili
ated himself, so far as to hold the stirrul
Of that naughty prclate when hemounted.
Here you see, sir, in the twelfth cen
tury, shining instance of the eomplet,
triumph of the power of the Pope over tn,
haughticst and most powerful monarch il
Europe. And the supreme autocracy o
the ArchbishOps is strikingly illustrate,
in the fact, that no sooner had Beckett re
turned to his diocese, than he began thun
dering his accommodations against hi
enemies, so lately "the Kings friends an,
coadjutors."