he
scheme was abortive. A long controversy began between the two houses:
the bishops were mostly Whigs with latitudinarian tendencies, the lower
clergy Tories and high churchmen. During most of the reign convocation
was suspended and the church was governed by royal injunctions, a system
injurious to its welfare. It had been the bulwark of the nation against
Romanism under James II., and the affection of the nation enabled it to
preserve its distinctive character amid dangers of an opposite kind
under William III. Its religious life was active; associations for
worship and the reformation of manners led to more frequent services,
the establishment of schools for poor children, and the foundation of
the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.) and for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.). This activity and
the discord between the two houses of convocation continued during
Anne's reign. Anne was a strong church-woman, and under her the church
reached its highest point of popularity and influence. Its supposed
interests were used by the Tories for political ends. Hence the
Occasional Conformity Act, to prevent evasion of the Test Act, and a
tyrannical Schism Act, both repealed in 1718, belong rather to the
history of parties than to that of the church. So, too, does the case of
Dr Sacheverell, who was prosecuted for a violently Tory sermon. His
trial, in 1710, caused much excitement; mobs shouted for "High Church
and Dr Sacheverell," and the lightness of his sentence was hailed as a
Tory victory. Queen Anne is gratefully remembered by the church for her
"Bounty," which gave it the first-fruits and tenths (see ANNATES and
QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY).

The 18th century.

With the accession of the Hanoverian line the church entered on a period
of feeble life and inaction: many church fabrics were neglected; daily
services were discontinued; holy days were disregarded; Holy Communion
was infrequent; the poor were little cared for; and though the church
remained popular, the clergy were lazy and held in contempt. In
accepting the settlement of the crown the clergy generally sacrificed
conviction to expediency, and their character suffered. Promotion
largely depended on a profession of Whig principles: the church was
regarded as subservient to the state; its historic position and claims
were ignored, and it was treated by politicians as though its principal
function was to support the government. Th