. . . They are but lent us
till God please to call for them back again, that we may not esteem
anything our own, or set our hearts upon anything but Him alone, who only
remains forever." Like his King, Baltimore could carry far his prerogative
and privilege, maintaining the while not a few degrees of inner freedom.
Like all men, here he was bound, and here he was free.
Baltimore's desire was for "enlarging his Majesty's Empire," and at the
same time to provide in Maryland a refuge for his fellow Catholics. These
were now in England so disabled and limited that their status might fairly
be called that of a persecuted people. The mounting Puritanism promised no
improvement. The King himself had no fierce antagonism to the old religion,
but it was beginning to be seen that Charles and Charles's realm were two
different things. A haven should be provided before the storm blackened
further. Baltimore thus saw put into his hands a high and holy opportunity,
and made no doubt that it was God-given. His charter, indeed, seemed to
contemplate an established church, for it gave to Baltimore the patronage
of all churches and chapels which were to be "consecrated according to the
ecclesiastical laws of our kingdom of England"; nevertheless, no
interpretation of the charter was to be made prejudicial to "God's holy and
true Christian religion." What was Christian and what was prejudicial was,
fortunately for him, left undefined. No obstacles were placed before a
Catholic emigration.
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