Maitland: Status of Catholics.

Status of Catholics. Maitland on the Revolution of 1688. The Constitutional History of England. Cambridge University Press 1909. “ With the Catholics it was still far otherwise. Catholicism had been treated not as a mere religious error, but as a grave political danger, and considering the risings of 1715 and 174S, we are perhaps not justified in condemning that treatment. How enormously severe the law was, will appear from the following passage from Blackstone^: ' Papists may be divided into three classes—persons professing popery, popish recusants convict, and popish priests, 2. Popish recusants, convicted in a court of law of not attending the service of the Church of England, are subject to the following disabilities, penalties and forfeitures, over and above those before mentioned. They are considered as persons excommunicated ; they can hold no office or employment; they must not keep arms in their houses, but the same may be seized by the justices of the peace ; they must not come within ten miles of London on pain of ; they can bring no action at law or suit in equity; they are not permitted to travel above five miles from home unless by licence, upon pain of forfeiting all their goods; and they may not come to court under pain of ;^ioo....A married woman, when recusant, shall forfeit two-thirds of her dower or jointure, may not be executrix or administratrix to her husband, nor have any part of his goods, and during the coverture may be kept in prison, unless her husband redeems her at the rate of ;^io a month or the third part of all his lands. And lastly, as a feme-covert, a recusant may be imprisoned ; so all others must within three months after conviction, either submit and renounce their errors, or if required so to do by four justices, must abjure and renounce the realm, and if they do not depart or if they return without the king's licence, they shall be guilty of felony, and suffer death as felons without benefit of clergy… The greater part of this rigorous code was repealed in 1791 (31 Geo. Ill, c. 32)…”. Note: Page numbers are not included because they vary according to the programme that it being used to view the text. The reader before relying on this information should take steps to verify it by cross checking with other sources.