The instrument was dated from his own poor hired house within the district of the said (deprived) Bishop of Norwich. It was signed before a Notary Public the 9th of February, 1691-2, seven months after his removal from Lambeth. Still their affairs were by no means in a settled state. "So far was the provision from settling the affairs of their little communion, that there were new difficulties which successively started up hereupon, not easily to be stated and resolved, or at least without extreme danger; and though a separate communion was hereby kept up as a witnessing Church, according to the late Bishop of Worcester's hypothesis, who magnified the Providence of God in this case, though he himself held to the opposite side; yet was not this so compacted as, from the principles upon which they proceeded, might reasonably enough have been expected."[1]
Some time after the delegation of Sancroft's powers to Lloyd, another step was taken for perpetuating the schism. As long as they abstained from consecrating Bishops and ordaining Priests, the deprived Prelates could scarcely be regarded as setting up a separate communion. Measures, however, were soon taken for continuing the succession of Bishops. King James was applied to, who ordered a list of the Nonjuring Clergy to be sent to him in France. Accordingly Hickes went over to the Continent with a list of those, who were known to have declined to take the Oath. The list was not perfect, since many,
- ↑ Kettlewell, 137, 138.
is not yet made a sufficient covering for me in this sharp winter) here in Friesingfield, at this time indeed very hard frozen, situate within the bounds of your diocese."
