Laud commenced his career of statesmanship with a zealous per secution of the Puritans, or religioua sectarians. Leighton, a physi cian, having published a book against the bishops, called 'Sion'a Plea,' was sentenced by the court of Star Chamber to have his ears cropped, his nose slit, his forehead stigmatised, and to be whipped. Between the sentence and the execution of it Leighton escaped out of the Fleet, but he was retaken in Bedfordshire, and underwent this atro cious punishment. In 1630 Laud was chosen chancellor of the Uni versity of Oxford. In 1632 he obtained for his creature Francis Windebanke the office of secretary of atate ; and in the same year Dr. Juxon was, be says in hia ' Diary,' aworn dean of his majesty* closet--" That I might have one that I might trust near his majesty." Heylyn remarks on the above proceedings—" So that Windebanke having the king'a ear on one side, and the clerk of the closet on the other, he might presume to have his tale well told between them; and that his majesty should not easily be prepossessed with anything to his disadvantage" On the 16th of August 1633 Laud was appointed archbishop of Canterbury : be has the following entry in his' Diary : ' "August 4. That very morning (of Abbot'a death) there came one to me, seriously, and that avowed ability to perform it, and offered me to be a cardinal: I went presently to the king and acquainted him both with the thing and the person." "August 17, Saturday. I had a serious offer made me again to be a cardinal : I was then from court, but so soon as I came thither (which was by Wedneaday, August 21), I acquainted his majesty with it. But my answer again was, that something dwelt within me which would not suffer that till Rome was other than It is." Laud made a declaration that in the disposition of ecclesiastical benefices be would give a preference to the single man over the married, ceteris paribus.' The close union between the English Church and the aristocracy appears to have commenced about this time.
Laud's letters to Wentworth, afterwards earl of Strafford, exhibit a more faithful mirror of the man'a character than is anywhere else to be met with. His ' Diary,' though it bcara sufficient impreaa of bia peculiar spirit, discloses his character but imperfectly, particularly as there are many apparently important facta only hinted at, and names of which only the initials are given. The history of his troubles and trial, by himself, and the voluminous life by Heylyn, were expressly written to vindicate his conduct and character. In perusing the letters between Laud and Wentworth the reader feels as if allowed to be present at a confidential conversation between those personages. The letters of Stratford, along with many indications of a violent, arbitrary, overbearing temper, exhibit evidence of strength and saga. city, and sometimes even of greatness of mind. Of the last-mentioned quality the reader will in vain search for any trace in the letters of the prelate. In courage and violence he did not yield to Strafford ; but narrowness and littleness appear to have been the distinguishing characteristic of Laud's mind, and yet, contracted though his intel lectual range was, some parta of his Conference with Fisher the Jesuit,' besides great scholastic learning, display considerable acute ness and no mean powers of reasoning.
On the 5th of February 1634, Laud was appointed one of the great Committee of Trade and the King's Revenue; and on the death of Weston, lord high treasurer, the management of the treasury was committed by letters patent under the great seal to certain com missioners, of whom Laud was one. In the year following Laud and the churchmen attained a very high, perhaps it may be said the highest point of their prosperity. Laud thus records the event in his
'Diary :'—" March 6, Sunday, William Juxon, lord bishop of London, made lord high treasurer of England : no churchman had it since Henry VII.'s time. I pray God bless him to carry it so, that the church may have honour, and the king and the state service and con tentment by it ; and now if the church will not hold themselves up under God, I can do no more." The following passage from a letter of the Rev. G. Gerrard, master of the Charterhouse, a correapondent of Stmfford's, presents a lively picture of the state of feeling then prevalent among the clergy ; it shows how near having an altogether ecclesiastical government England then was :—" The clergy are ao high here since the joining of the white sleeves with the white staff, that there is much talk of having a secretary a bishop, Dr. Wren, bishop of Norwich, and a chancellor of the exchequer, Dr. Bancroft, bishop of Oxford, but this comes only from the young fry of the clergy ; little credit is given to it, but it is observed they swarm mightily about the court." On the 14th of Juue 1637 sentence was passed in the Star Chamber against Bastwick, Burton, and Prynne, for libels, as Laud informs us in his 'Diary,' "against the hierarchy of the Church." The arch bishop does not however give any definition of what he meant by a libel against the hierarchy of the Church. Prynne's sentence was, to be fined 5000/. to the king, to lose the remainder of his ears in the pillory, to be branded on both cheeks with the letters S. L. for Schis matical Libeller, and to be perpetually imprisoned. Tho sentence of Bastwick and Burton was nearly similar. Most people thought these men's punishments sufficiently severe ; not so the primate, as will appear from the following passage of a letter to Wentworth, of August 28th, 1637 :—" / have received the copy of the sentence against Pater son, and am verily of your lordship's mind, that a little more quickness in the government would cure this itch of libelling, and something that is amiss besides." But the termination of Laud's career was now approaching. On the 18th of November, a few weeks after the meeting of the Long Parlia ment, he was impeached of high treason by the House of Commons, and committed to the Tower. It is impossible here to enter into the details of the archbishop's trial, of which he has himself written a full, and, on the whole, faithful account. (' History of his Troubles and Trial,' folio, London, 1695.) He defended himself throughout with courage and ability. The judges gave it to be understood that the charges contained no legal treason; whereupon the Commons changed the impeachment into an ordinance for his execution, to which the Lords assented. Laud produced a pardon from the king, which was disregarded. He was condemned and sentenced to death. The injustice as well as the illegality of this sentence is now admitted on all hands. Laud was beheaded on the 10th of January 1640-1.
It would be unjust to Laud not to mention his benefactions to learning. Besides making valuable donations of books and manu scripts to the University of Oxford, he founded in that university a professorship of Arabic in 1636, and endowed it with lands iu the pariah of Bray, in the county of Berks. His conduct to John Hales, known by the appellation of the ever-memorable,' is also recorded to his honour. Hales had written a short tract on schism, which was much at variance with Laud's views of church government : this tract had been circulated in manuscript. Hales, in an interview with Laud, refused to recede from his free notions of ecclesiastical power, but promised that he would not publish the tract. Laud conferred on him a canonry of Windsdr.