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offence at the favour shown to the Catholic body, and as there could
be no hope of winning their approval for the measures he had in
contemplation, James II. determined to appeal to the Dissenters. The
Earl of Rochester was dismissed from his office, and the Earl of
Clarendon was recalled from Ireland. In April 1687 a Declaration of
Indulgence was published, granting freedom of worship to Dissenters
and Catholics, and abolishing all religious tests as necessary
qualifications for office. For a time it seemed as if the king were
likely to secure the support of the Nonconformists, particularly as
measures were taken through the lords-lieutenant of the various
counties to influence public opinion in their districts. But the
hatred entertained by the Dissenters for Rome overcame their gratitude
to the king for the liberty he had granted them, and they preferred to
live in bondage rather than allow the Catholics to share with them the
advantages of religious toleration. The appointment of several
Catholic lords to the very highest offices of state, the public
welcome given to the papal nuncio, and the attempt to force a Catholic
president on the fellows of Magdalen College helped to increase the
feeling of dissatisfaction. Dangerous riots broke out in London, and
to prevent still more dangerous manifestations a force of 16,000 was
concentrated on Hounslow Heath. In April 1688 a second Declaration of
Indulgence was published. By a order in council, published some days
later, the clergy were commanded to read this declaration on two
consecutive Sundays in all their churches.

A petition was presented to the king by Archbishop Sancroft of
Canterbury and six of his episcopal colleagues requesting him to
withdraw this command to the clergy (18 May 1688). To make matters
worse thousands of copies of the petition were printed immediately and
circulated throughout the country. Annoyed by such opposition the king
summoned the bishops before the council, and as they refused to give
securities for their attendance at the trial, they were committed to
prison. The trial opened on the 29th June 1688, and ended with a
verdict of acquittal to the great delight of the vast body of the
English people.

So long as James II. had no heir many Protestants were inclined to
keep silent on the ground that at his death the succession of a
Protestant ruler was assured. But during the popular excitement
following upon the arrest of the bishops the news spread rapidly that
the queen had given birth to a son. Already negotiations had been
opened up with William of Orange to induce him to take up the cause of
Protestantism in England, but the fact that an heir was born to the
throne gave a new impetus to the insurrectionary movement. The state
of affairs on the Continent favoured the designs of William of Orange.
Louis XIV. was at war with the Emperor and with the Pope, and as James
II. was regarded as an ally of France no opposition might be expected
from the imperial forces in case William determined to make a descent
upon England. Had James II. taken the bold course of inviting Louis
XIV. to assist him, the invasion of England from Holland would have
been attended with much more serious difficulties, but till the last
moment James affected to regard such an invasion as an impossibility.
When at last he realised the gravity of the situation he was willing
to make some concessions, but soon, finding himself deserted by a
great many of the men on whom he had relied, by some of his own
relatives, and even by his own daughter, he determined to make his
escape from England (Dec. 1688).

During the weeks that preceded the withdrawal of James II. to France
violent riots had taken place in London, where several of the Catholic
chapels were attacked, and in many of the other leading cities.
William III. was not personally in favour of a policy of religious
persecution, particularly as he had promised his imperial ally to deal
gently with his Catholic subjects. But the popular prejudice against
them was so strong that a policy of toleration was almost an
impossibility. The Catholics were excluded specially from enjoying the
concessions made in favour of the Dissenters, and in the Bill of
Rights (1689) it was provided that no member of the reigning family
who was a Catholic or had married a Catholic could succeed to the
throne, and that any sovereign of England who became a Catholic or
married a Catholic thereby forfeited the crown. Catholics were
prohibited from residing within ten miles of London; magistrates were
empowered to administer the objectionable oath of allegiance to all
suspected Papists; Catholics were forbidden to keep arms, ammunition,
or a horse valued for more than ten pounds; they were debarred from