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diff --git a/78940-0.txt b/78940-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..27593d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/78940-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23367 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78940 *** + + + + + THE HISTORY + OF + CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + + + + ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ + │ │ + │ Transcriber’s Notes │ + │ │ + │ │ + │ Punctuation has been standardized. │ + │ │ + │ Most of the abbreviations used to save space in printing have │ + │ been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for easier reading. │ + │ │ + │ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │ + │ │ + │ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │ + │ Italic text: --> _text_ │ + │ │ + │ This book was written in a period when many words had │ + │ not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have │ + │ multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in │ + │ the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated │ + │ with a Transcriber’s Note. │ + │ │ + │ The symbol ‘‡’ indicates the description in parenthesis has │ + │ been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there │ + │ is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image │ + │ adequately. │ + │ │ + │ Index references have not been checked for accuracy. │ + │ │ + │ Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript │ + │ number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which │ + │ they appear. │ + │ │ + │ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │ + │ text or to provide additional information for the modern │ + │ reader. These notes are identified by ♦♠♥♣ symbols in the │ + │ text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which │ + │ they appear. │ + └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ + + + + + THE HISTORY OF CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + BY + + JOHN MACKINTOSH, LL.D. + + _Author of “The Story of Scotland,” + “The Revolution of 1688 and Viscount Dundee,” + “The Highland Land Question Historically Considered,” + “History of the Valley of the Dee,” Etc._ + + + _A NEW EDITION._ + + PARTLY REWRITTEN, AND CAREFULLY REVISED THROUGHOUT. + + + Volume Third. + + + ALEXANDER GARDNER, + Publisher to her Majesty the Queen, + PAISLEY; AND 26 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON. + + 1895. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + Illustration: (‡ decoration) + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + _Influence of the Union of the Crowns upon Scotland._ + + + ⭘ Attitude of James VI. to the Reformed Church of Scotland――The + Government of Scotland after the Union of the Crowns + + ⭘ Measures and Proceedings for securing Order upon the Borders + + ⭘ A Union of the two Kingdoms proposed――The King determined + to establish Episcopacy in Scotland, a Meeting of the Clergy + dissolved by the Government, ministers imprisoned, tried, and + banished from the kingdom――Parliament recognised the absolute + power of the King――Restoration of the Bishops + + ⭘ The King attempted to stifle the leaders of the Presbyterians, + Andrew Melville imprisoned, other ministers banished + + ⭘ Meeting of the Clergy and Nobles, permanent moderators of + Presbyteries and synods――Courts of High Commission established + ――Acts of the General Assembly and Parliament――Episcopacy + restored――The King recommended more Ceremonies, proceedings of + the General Assembly――The King’s Five Articles + + ⭘ The King’s visit to Scotland, his proceedings, the Five + Articles adopted by the General Assembly and Parliament, and + the King commanded the Bishops to enforce their observance + ――Death of the King + + ⭘ Policy of Charles I.――His Act of Revocation, feeling of the + nobles against it; a compromise affected, adjustment of the + Tithes + + ⭘ Charles’ visit to Scotland――The organisation of the Church, a + book of Canons and a new Liturgy to be introduced――The Canons + promulgated, their characteristics――The new Liturgy published, + and the people commanded to observe it + + ⭘ Rise of the national feeling――Position of the Bishops and the + Authorities――Preparations for introducing the new Liturgy, + great tumults in the Churches of Edinburgh――Excitement rapidly + spreading + + + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + _The Covenanting Struggle._ + + + ⭘ Charles I. misunderstood the state of Scotland――The agitation + spreading; the Government powerless――Petitions against the + Liturgy; Meeting at Edinburgh; the King’s Answer to the + Petitions; tumultuous proceedings + + ⭘ A complaint against the Bishops――Energy of the Opposition + party; four Committees formed――Action of the King; Royal + proclamation――Demands of the Covenanters; the Government + perplexed; the King resolved to adhere to the Liturgy; Royal + proclamations; Protests by the Covenanters + + ⭘ The Crisis; the Covenant framed and adopted, and the + Covenanters assumed a new position――Signing of the Covenant; + copies of it circulated throughout the kingdom; great efforts + of the leading Covenanters + + ⭘ Embarrassment of the Government; the King informed of the + state of the nation――Repressive measures sanctioned; Marquis of + Hamilton’s mission to Scotland; Proceedings and demands of the + Covenanters; Hamilton’s instructions useless――Charles’ policy + + ⭘ Hamilton returned to Court; the King issued new instructions + ――The Covenanters demanded a free General Assembly; the King’s + policy + + ⭘ Preparations for the General Assembly; trial of the Bishops; + Meeting of the Assembly at Glasgow; Proceedings of the Assembly + ――Its Conclusion + + ⭘ Relation of the Covenanters with the disaffected party in + England――The Scots prepare for war; mustered an army; the + King at the head of his army advanced to meet them; a Treaty + concluded + + ⭘ Proceedings of the General Assembly――All the people commanded + to subscribe the Covenant――Causes of dissension continued + ――Charles’ quarrel with the English Parliament――Proceedings + of the Scotch Parliament――General Assembly + + ⭘ The Covenanting army cross the Tweed and defeat the Royal + troops――The King’s difficulties――Negotiates with the Scots; + Charles’ visit to Scotland; he sanctioned the proceedings of + Parliament――The King’s difficulties with his English subjects + + ⭘ Aims of the Covenanters――Intimate relations of the Covenanters + and the English Parliamentary Party; a Solemn League and + Covenant concluded; Signing of the Covenant in England + ――Theocratic ideas of the Covenanters + + ⭘ Westminster Assembly of Divines――Westminster Confession of + Faith adopted by the General Assembly + + ⭘ Government of Scotland――Royalist party in Scotland; Montrose + campaigns and victories; at last he was defeated + + ⭘ The King’s Cause falling in England; he fled to the Scottish + army; the English Parliament demanded his surrender but the + Scots declined――Episcopacy extinguished in England――Haggling + between the English and Scots about the pay of the Scottish + army; final settlement + + ⭘ The Long Parliament demanded possession of the King’s person; + the Scots were compelled to let him go――The Presbyterians + opposed to the Independents――The Scots treating with the + captive King――The engagement――The Royalists defeated at Preston + ――Cromwell at Edinburgh――Execution of Charles I.――Import of the + Covenanting Struggle + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + _Charles II.――The Kingdom under Cromwell._ + + + ⭘ Charles II. proclaimed King; the Scots in favour of a limited + monarchy――The Estates enacted that the King should sign the + Covenants before admission to the exercise of his functions + ――Patronage abolished――The Marquis of Huntly executed――Act + of Classes――Powers and functions of Magistrates――Election of + Ministers + + ⭘ Montrose’s last effort on behalf of the Royal cause; he was + defeated, captured, and executed + + ⭘ Treating with the King; he signed the Covenant and landed in + Scotland――The Scots opposed the Commonwealth, and Cromwell + invaded Scotland and defeated the Scots at Dunbar――Divisions + among the Scots――Charles II. crowned at Scone――The Royalists + defeated; the King escapes――Scotland subdued――The General + Assembly dispersed――Resolutioners and Protesters + + ⭘ Cromwell’s government of Scotland――Free Trade between England + and Scotland――State of the people――New religious sects in + Scotland――Death of Cromwell; struggle for power; departure of + the English army from Scotland――The King recalled + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + _The Conflict from the Restoration to the Revolution._ + + + ⭘ Aim of the Chapter――Sentiments associated with the Restoration + ――Scotland suffered more from the Restoration than England + ――Sharp’s Mission to England touching the Church of Scotland; + the King’s Letter + + ⭘ State of the Scottish nobles――The Committee of Estates resumed + the Government――Public meetings prohibited; Books ordered to + be burned――A number of ministers, the Marquis of Argyle and + others, imprisoned + + ⭘ Meeting of Parliament; its proceedings――The Rescissory Act; + all opposition stifled――Trial and execution of the Marquis of + Argyle and the Rev. James Guthrie; Reconstruction of the Privy + Council; Reconstitution of the Court of Session + + ⭘ Reintroduction of Episcopacy; the new Bishops; the people + commanded to obey them + + ⭘ Second Session of Parliament; the Bishops resumed their seats + ――The preservation of the King’s person and authority――The + Covenants condemned――Patronage restored――The Universities + purged and religious meetings prohibited――An explicit + declaration against the Covenants to be tendered to any one + ――The New Hierarchy――Act of Indemnity + + ⭘ Meeting of diocesan synods――Three hundred ministers ejected + from their churches――Proceedings of the Privy Council + + ⭘ Contest between the heads of the Government; fall of Middleton + ――Parliament reassembled; mode of electing the Lords of the + Articles――Oppressive Acts; the people commanded to attend + the parish churches; the ejected ministers prohibited from + preaching; Origin of Conventicles――Oppressive Acts of the + Privy Council + + ⭘ Persecution; soldiers enforcing religious conformity; + fining the people and cruelly oppressing them――Court of High + Commission established――Severe persecution; the limit of + endurance passed + + ⭘ Rising of 1666; the Insurgents defeated; treatment of the + prisoners; torture; military execution + + ⭘ An indemnity offered――Attempt to assassinate Archbishop + Sharp; escape of the assassin; renewal of the persecution; + a temporising measure tried + + ⭘ Meeting of Parliament; statement of the King’s supremacy in all + cases; the Privy Council invested with full legislative power + ――Protection of the Episcopal clergy + + ⭘ Conventicles increasing; severe Acts against them――An Act + commanding the observance of the Anniversary of the Restoration + ――An indulgence offered to the ejected ministers――A petition + from the Ladies to the Council + + ⭘ Persecution continued; the Bond and other oppressive measures; + Garrisons placed in private mansions; Letters of intercommuning + ――Meeting of Presbyterian ministers――Sir George Mackenzie on + Conventicles; Proclamation against them + + ⭘ Mitchell apprehended for attempting to shoot the Primate; + irregularly tried and executed + + ⭘ Highland army quartered upon the disaffected people; the Bond + tendered; the soldiers ordered to kill all who resisted――A + special Commission to suppress the opposition to the Church + ――Murder of the Primate + + ⭘ A reward offered for the apprehension of the murderers――A + public testimony against the Government――A Conventicle at + Loudon Hill; A skirmish with the Royal troops; Spread of + the Insurrection; Battle of Bothwell Bridge; defeat of the + Insurgents; Treatment of the prisoners + + ⭘ Indemnity――The presbyterian parties――Persecution continued + ――Manifesto against the King and Government――A party of the + Cameronians surprised and slain――Cargill and others seized and + executed + + ⭘ Duke of York in Scotland――Meeting of Parliament, Act of + Succession――New penalties to be inflicted upon the disaffected + ――Test Act――Trial and escape of Argyle + + ⭘ Declaration of the Society people, a series of sanguinary acts + intended to crush them――Violence of the Army――Death of Charles + II. + + ⭘ Accession of the Duke of York――Ideas associated with the + English Crown――Persecution continued――Meeting of Parliament, + speeches of the Royal Commissioner and Lord Chancellor――Cruel + enactments――Failure of Argyle’s attempt against the Government, + his execution――The prisons full of Non-Conformists + + ⭘ The King’s project of re-introducing Roman Catholicism, + he assumed the power of suspending and repealing the laws + ――Execution of Renwick + + ⭘ The Crisis; the Prince of Orange’s Declaration; Meeting of the + Scotch bishops――Tumults in Edinburgh; Attack on Roman Catholic + Chapel――Alarming rumours――The Curates in the Western counties + ejected + + ⭘ Meeting of Presbyterians; Address to the Prince of Orange + ――Meeting of the Scotch nobles, the Prince assumed the + Government of Scotland――Preparations for the Meeting of the + Convention + + ⭘ Meeting of the Convention of Estates, election of a President + ――Letters from the Prince of Orange and King James――Excitement + in Edinburgh――Flight of Dundee to the North; intense excitement + in the Convention; the Covenanters called out――The Throne + declared vacant, and the Crown offered to William and Mary――The + Claim of Right――Adjournment of the Convention + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + _The Revolution and the Union._ + + + ⭘ Difficulties of the new Government, opposite parties――William + Carstairs――The Duke of Hamilton; other members of the + Government; an opposition party + + ⭘ Convention re-assembled; the opposition harassed the Government + ――Abolition of the Lords of the Articles demanded――War in + the Highlands; General Mackay and Viscount Dundee; Battle of + Killiecrankie; the royal army utterly defeated; consternation + of the Government + + ⭘ Difficulties of the King; his opinion of the Scottish + aristocracy――The Lords of the Articles abolished; Act of + Supremacy repealed――The ejected ministers restored, and the + Presbyterian polity re-established――Patronage abolished――A + Commission to visit the Universities and Schools――Parties + dissatisfied with the arrangements + + ⭘ Meeting of Presbyterians――General Assembly, the King’s letter + ――Cameronian ministers――Acts of the Assembly + + ⭘ Proceedings of the Commission of Visitation; Interference of + the King――Meeting of the General Assembly; a proposal by the + King to admit Episcopal ministers + + ⭘ The Highlands; means used for the pacification of the Clans; + their submission to the Government――Massacre of Glencoe + + ⭘ Oath of Allegiance and Declaration of Assurance to be + subscribed――An Act permitting the Episcopal clergy to remain + in their churches under certain conditions; those who declined + were considered Jacobites + + ⭘ Rise of a commercial spirit; the Darien project sanctioned + by Parliament――Outline of the scheme; a company formed and + capital subscribed. In July, 1698, one thousand and two + hundred persons sailed from Leith to establish the new Colony; + their privations soon began, they were forced to abandon the + colony, though a second and a third expedition was despatched, + the enterprise ended in a complete failure, which caused great + indignation in Scotland + + ⭘ The King declined to receive an Address from the Darien + Company――Meeting of Parliament; stormy debates on the Darien + Colony――An Address sent to the King; the King’s letter + ――Parliament overwhelmed with addresses and petitions + ――Resolutions passed by Parliament touching the Darien Colony, + and embodied in an Address to the King + + ⭘ Attempt to form a union of the two Kingdoms――Death of the King + ――Accession of Queen Anne――Another attempt to frame a union + ――Elections for the new ♦Parliament; meeting of Parliament, + a series of alarming acts passed; the Act of Security twice + passed, and the nation prepared for battle + + ♦ “Partiament” replaced with “Parliament” + + ⭘ The English Parliament authorised a Treaty of Union to be + negotiated; this was placed before the Scottish parliament, + and after a vehement debate, an act was passed authorising the + appointment of Commissioners to treat with the English for a + Union. The number of Commissioners equal on both sides――Their + proceedings――A copy of the Treaty presented to the Queen + + ⭘ The Scotch Parliament re-assembled to consider the Treaty; + great opposition to the Union; efforts to arouse the national + feeling against it――The Articles of the Treaty were read and + debated in Parliament one by one――Efforts of the opposition; + a vehement debate on the first article of the Treaty――The + articles touching commerce satisfactory to the Scots――The + last effort of the Jacobites to defeat the Union――The Treaty + finally carried――Mode of electing the Representatives from + Scotland to the first Parliament of Great Britain + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + _Causes of Disaffection――Risings of 1715 and 1745._ + + + ⭘ Advantages of the Union; some of its disadvantages――Fiscal and + Excise arrangements――Malt Tax; determined opposition to it; + caused disturbance――Smuggling + + ⭘ The Jacobites――Toleration Act――Patronage restored――Death of + Queen Anne; Accession of George I. + + ⭘ The Earl of Mar and the Rising of 1715――Movements of the + insurgent army――Arrival of the Pretender――Collapse of the + Rising――Treatment of the prisoners; forfeitures――the Episcopal + clergy + + ⭘ Measures of the Government to secure order in the Highlands; + disarming acts; forts and military roads + + ⭘ Causes of the Rising of 1745; hereditary customs; jurisdiction + and power of the local chiefs and nobles――Prejudice against + the Union, and disaffection to England + + ⭘ Arrival of Prince Charles; a number of the Highland chiefs + joined him――Advance of his army southward; took Edinburgh + ――Battle of Preston――His march into England; his retreat + ――Battle of Culloden――Suffering inflicted on the people after + the battle――Service which the Celtic people have rendered to + the Empire + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + _Social State of the People in the Seventeenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Circumstances unfavourable to social progress――Administration + of Justice――Lord Stair――The Question of Appeals――Sir John + Dalrymple――Corruption of the fountain of Justice――Some attempts + of reform――Lord Stair re-appointed President of the Court of + Session + + ⭘ State of crime――Feuds――Crimes of violence――The Earls of + Caithness and Orkney; their proceedings + + ⭘ Social state of the Highlanders; modes of treating them + ――Efforts of the Government――“The Statutes of Icolmkill”――Old + feuds were difficult to extinguish――Contempt of the law was + often manifested throughout the Kingdom + + ⭘ Crime in the towns; assaults and breaches of the peace + ――Offences against property + + ⭘ The poor and vagrant class numerous――The manner of treating the + poor and helpless――Acts of Parliament for suppressing vagrancy + and idle vagabonds; attempts to compel them to work――Proposal + to erect Correction-houses――Great privation among the lower + classes in the closing years of the century――Causes of the + enormous number of vagrant people in Scotland + + ⭘ Religious feeling; vivid sense of the supernatural――Severe laws + against Roman Catholics――Persecution of the Quakers + + ⭘ Witchcraft――Trials and executions of witches; curious notions + and incidents――The witch pricker――The belief in witchcraft + faded with the diffusion of education and civilisation + + ⭘ Social morality of the people; proceedings of the Church Courts + ――The people not always submissive + + ⭘ Exertions to secure the observance of Sunday; efforts of the + local authorities and Church Courts + + ⭘ Religious exercises on week days――The national and local Fast + days + + ⭘ Drunkenness――Cursing and swearing; manner of punishing these + offences + + ⭘ Relation of the different sexes; irregular marriages; Acts of + Parliament and efforts of the Church to suppress them――Survival + of old customs associated with marriages and funerals + + ⭘ Sumptuary enactments; regulation of the dress of the different + ranks of society: a constant fashion of dress proposed――Dress + of the people + + ⭘ Defective sanitary condition of the towns; deficient supply + of pure water; efforts to remedy this――The arrangements for + cleansing the towns extremely defective + + ⭘ Trade in the burghs under restrictions; fixing the price of the + common necessaries of life――Price of boots and shoes――Disputes + arising from Corporation privileges + + ⭘ Wages――State of Agricultural labourers――Justices of Peace + empowered to fix the rate of wages――Compulsory labour; + semi-slavery of the workmen in collieries and salt-works + + ⭘ Mining operations comparatively limited + + ⭘ Means of Communication――Acts of Parliament touching repairing + of the Roads, Bridges, and Ferries――Condition of the Roads + + ⭘ Origin and progress of Postal communication in Scotland――Rates + charged for carrying letters and parcels――The Post Office at + the end of the century + + ⭘ Introduction of Coaches and Carriages + + ⭘ Shipping of the Kingdom + + ⭘ State of agriculture; system of farming; implements――State of + the tenants and labourers + + ⭘ Attempts to introduce improvements in tanning leather + + ⭘ Efforts to improve the manufacture of Cloth――Foreigners + employed――Home-made cloth――Acts of Parliament for encouraging + manufactories and companies――Foreign workmen encouraged + to settle in Scotland――The home-made goods protected by + prohibiting the importation of foreign goods――Woollen + manufactories in operation――Cloth for the dress of the army + + ⭘ Linen Manufacture――Commercial relations of England and Scotland + unsatisfactory; Leading aim of the Commercial Policy of the + Period――Ways of promoting the Linen Manufacture; A Company + formed for the Manufacture of Linen in Scotland + + ⭘ Introduction of the Manufacture of Soap――Act of Parliament + encouraging the erection of Soap Works + + ⭘ Introduction of Glass-making, Progress of Glass-making in the + Kingdom――A Proposal to erect a Work for making Earthenware + + ⭘ Introduction of Paper-making; Trade of Collecting Rags――A Paper + Work in Operation; A Joint-Stock Company established for making + Writing and Printing Paper + + ⭘ Introduction of Tobacco, and Tobacco Spinning――Price of Tobacco + Pipes fixed by Parliament + + ⭘ Coinage, the use of a Mill in Minting the Coins Introduced + ――Complaints about the Scarcity of Money――System of Collecting + Bullion for the Mint――Toward the end of the reign of Charles + II. the Mint had fallen into a deplorable state; New Regulations + enacted by Parliament――At the Union it was settled that there + should be only one Standard of Money for the United Kingdom + + ⭘ Introduction of a Paper Currency, establishment of the Bank of + Scotland; The early operations of the Bank + + ⭘ A marked and rapidly spreading interest in Trading and + Commercial Enterprise, as shown by the many Commercial + Projects, Trade Adventures, and Notices of Inventions, which + were originated in the closing years of the Seventeenth Century + and the opening years of the Eighteenth――Conclusion of the + Chapter + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + _Ballad, and Jacobite Literature of Scotland._ + + + ⭘ Influence of Ballad Literature on the National Character + ――Ballads relating to the Civil War + + ⭘ Satirical Rhymes and Lampoons referring to the Opposing Parties + in the Covenanting Struggle + + ⭘ Ballads relating to the Risings during the Period of the + Persecution + + ⭘ Satirical Rhymes, and Pasquils, referring to the Government + from the Restoration to the Revolution + + ⭘ Origin and Characteristics of the Jacobite Ballads――Rhymes + and Ballads relating to the Events flowing from the Revolution + ――Rhymes touching the Union + + ⭘ Popular Jacobite Ballads and Songs, a higher strain attained + after the battle of Culloden + + ⭘ Characteristics of Lowland Scottish Ballad Literature + ――Conclusion of the Chapter + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + _Literature of the Nation in the Seventeenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Religious and Theological Literature of the Century + ――Calderwood, Character of his Writings; his History of the + Church of Scotland――Archbishop Spottiswood’s History of the + Church and State of Scotland――Baillie’s Writings + + ⭘ Boyd, his Sermon on Cromwell――Style of his Writings――Durham, + Dickson, Rutherford, Gillespie + + ⭘ Dr. Forbes; Bishop Forbes; Leighton; Burnet, his Historical + Works + + ⭘ Sir William Alexander; Drummond, Characteristics of his Poetry + + ⭘ Legal Literature――Sir Thomas Hope――Lord Stair――Sir George + Mackenzie + + ⭘ Medical Science, the Royal College of Physicians――Dr. Balfour + ――Sir Robert Sibbald――Dr. Morison――Dr. Pitcairn + + ⭘ Progress of Science――Dr. James Gregory――David Gregory――John + Keill + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + _Education and Art in the Seventeenth Century._ + + + ⭘ Growing Interest in Education――Efforts to establish Parish + Schools――Legislative enactments + + ⭘ Grammar Schools――English and Scotch Schools in Burghs――French + was taught from an early period + + ⭘ The Church Claimed a Right of Visiting and Examining all the + Schools, Form and Manner of these Visitations + + ⭘ Course of Instruction and Subjects taught in the Grammar + Schools of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen + + ⭘ Local Authorities often encouraged the Schoolmasters by Special + Marks of Respect――Music Schools + + ⭘ Universities, the Citizens of Glasgow and Aberdeen manifested + much interest in University Education――Each Dominant Party + in the Government sought to impose certain views upon the + Universities, and the Revolutions in the Government also + affected the Funds of the Universities; after the Revolution + they were purged――A proposal to introduce a uniform course of + Philosophy――Difference between the Regenting and Professional + Methods of Teaching + + ⭘ Art――George Jamesone, a Portrait-painter――It appears that he + executed much work; his merit――Thomas Murray――Sir William Bruce + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + _Outline of European Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century, + and the early part of the Eighteenth._ + + + ⭘ Aim of the Chapter――Efforts of the human mind to attain + freedom, veneration for the opinions of antiquity: Power of + the Mind + + ⭘ Bruno a bold thinker; Reconstruction of the Universe, the unity + of being his fundamental principle――His system pantheistic + ――Influence of his views on subsequent speculation + + ⭘ Influence of the Jesuits in France――Montaigne――Gassendi, the + reviver of Materialism: Atomism + + ⭘ Descartes, his achievements in Mathematics――Principles and + method of his Philosophy――His peculiar views touching the + organisation of man and the lower animals + + ⭘ His Meditations――a discussion of the fundamental principles of + Philosophy, the grounds on which we may doubt of all things: + The Mind itself more clearly known than any external object――An + idea of God in the Mind, the will the cause of error, all clear + and distinct conceptions are true, as God cannot be the cause of + error――All truth depends on the knowledge of God + + ⭘ His theory of the Universe, conception of God, and definition + of substance; Doctrine of continuous creation――Criterion of + Truth + + ⭘ His Psychology――Relation of the Mind to the objects of its + knowledge, theory of mediate perception――Innate Ideas――His + Ethical views――Influence of his Philosophy on subsequent + speculation + + ⭘ Spinoza――Chief characteristics of his Philosophy――His Ethics, + method of his system, definitions and axioms; conclusions + touching God and the Universe + + ⭘ The Human Mind and Body; three degrees of cognition――opinion, + reason, and intuition; reason considers things as necessary + under a form of Eternity: There is no Free-will + + ⭘ Affections and Emotions, Desire and Appetite――The Primary + Affections――Man unable to restrain his passions――There is no + final causes, as God exists of necessity, so does He act――Good + and Evil: The highest virtue, and the supreme good is to know + God――All that tends to the order and amity of society is good + + ⭘ Relation of Emotion and Reason――The Love of God ought chiefly + to fill the Mind――The Essence of the Mind Eternal――The + Knowledge of God and the Intellectual Love of God the highest + Virtue――The understanding an eternal mode of thought――Result + of his system, its defects――Its influence on subsequent + speculation + + ⭘ Leibnitz wrote on many Subjects――His Method of Philosophising + ――Theory of Monads――Pre-established Harmony――Bayle + + ⭘ English Philosophy――Bacon’s Method, his Merit; Influence of his + Writings + + ⭘ Lord Herbert of Cherbury――His Speculations on Mental Philosophy + and Religion + + ⭘ Hobbes’ views influenced by the struggles of his time――His + conception of Philosophy, Reasoning, the use and value of words + + ⭘ His idea of motion, Psychology――origin of sensation, ideas + and thought, connection of ideas, trains of thought――The will, + emotions and passions + + ⭘ Hobbes’ political and ethical views――Original state of mankind; + Origin of Government――Powers of the Sovereign and the State + ――The Civil Law the Standard of Right and Wrong + + ⭘ Milton’s Political Writings, defence of the Commonwealth――James + Harrington’s Writings + + ⭘ Bishop Cumberland’s Ethical Theory――Cudworth’s Intellectual + System of the Universe――More’s Moral Views + + ⭘ Locke――Fundamental principles of his Psychology――Refutation of + the doctrine of innate Ideas, no innate idea of God + + ⭘ Origin of ideas, simple and complex ideas, no clear idea of + substance――Relations, true and false ideas――Association of + ideas + + ⭘ Language as the medium of expressing thought――The degrees and + limits of human knowledge――Knowledge consists in the perception + of the agreement or disagreement of ideas――The existence of God + ――The provinces of faith and reason――Locke’s main inconsistency + ――Value of his Essay――Causes of the success of Locke’s views + + ⭘ English Deism――Toland, Collins, Tindal + + ⭘ Shaftesbury’s conception of God――Disinterested affection + ――Influence of his views――His style + + ⭘ Dr. Clarke’s Moral Theory――Berkeley’s Idealism――His style + ――Conclusion + + + + + THE + HISTORY OF CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND. + + Illustration: (‡ decoration) + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + _Influence of the Union of the Crowns upon Scotland._ + + +AT the opening of this period, it may be recalled that it was not the +head of the Government who reformed the Church in Scotland. The change +of religion was carried through in opposition to Queen Mary and the +representatives of her rights; while her son only accepted the reformed +doctrines. From his youth, indeed, he had manifested a strong aversion +to the polity of the Reformed Church of his kingdom. In past times the +Crown had always found support from its connection with the hierarchy; +and nothing was more natural than that James VI. should endeavour to +restore Episcopacy whenever he could command the power to do so. He was +inflexibly possessed with the idea that Episcopacy must be established +in Scotland; but the means which he employed to attain this end were +unwise and short-sighted. He was convinced that kingly government could +not exist side by side with a Presbyterian Church; and he had mused so +long on this view of the matter, that at last it assumed the place of +an idol in his mind. This unfortunately became the foremost tenet in +the political creed of the Stuarts, and eventually issued in the fall +of their dynasty. + +The influence of the union of the Crowns was soon felt. In the hands +of a really wise ruler, this union might have been rendered highly +beneficial to both nations; but James had too much faith in his own +opinion and in his royal prerogatives; his adherence to these in face +of the adverse elements of thought and feeling among the people, led +on to a course of policy which tended to extinguish the freedom and the +rights of the nation. + +After the union of the Crowns the government of Scotland was conducted +by the Privy Council. This body consisted of the chief official members, +including John Graham, third Earl of Montrose, who was Lord High +Chancellor and Chief or Prime Minister till March, 1605, and then Lord +High Commissioner. He was succeeded in the Chancellorship by Alexander +Seton, previously known as Lord Fyvie, and President of the Court of +Session; he was created Earl of Dunfermline on the 4th of March, 1605, +and then became chief minister or official head of the Privy Council. +Sir George Home of Spott, had been Lord High Treasurer of Scotland +since 1601, and having accompanied the King to England, he became a +special favourite, and in March, 1605, was created Earl of Dunbar. +Although he retained his Scottish office, he was the chief Scottish +minister at the English Court, and sent to Scotland as the King’s +envoy when any measure of special importance was to be carried into +effect; and although he only appeared occasionally at the meetings +of the Scottish Privy Council, yet his influence in the government +was frequently dominant. James Elphinstone, created Lord Balmerino on +the 25th April, 1604, was Secretary of State; and after March 1605, +he was also President of the Court of Session. He was a very active +member of the Council, and attended many of its meetings. David Murray, +created Lord Scone in 1604, held the office of Comptroller. Sir Richard +Cockburn of Clerkington, one of the Lords of the Court of Session, +filled the office of the Lord Privy Seal; while Sir John Skene of +Curriehill, also one of the Lords of Session, held the office of Clerk +Register. Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston, was Justice Clerk; and Sir +Thomas Hamilton of Monkland, was Lord Advocate. The preceding members +of the Council formed the official ministry. The total number of names +in the list of Privy Councillors was ninety-three, and consisted of +nobles, lawyers, lairds, and bishops. But only about one half of these +usually attended the meetings of the Council. After the chief officials +or ministry as indicated above, the members most regular in their +attendance at the meetings of the Council were the following:――John +Bothwell, Commendator of Holyroodhouse, one of the Lords of Session, +who was created Lord Holyroodhouse on the 20th of December, 1607; +Peter Rollock, an Extraordinary Lord of Session, and for several +years titular bishop of Dunkeld; Mark Ker, Lord Newbattle, and created +Earl of Lothian on the 10th day of July, 1606; Sir Archibald Douglas +of Whittinghame, one of the Lords of Session; Alexander Elphinstone, +Master of Elphinstone, son of Lord Elphinstone; Andrew Stewart, +fourth Lord of Ochiltree; David Lindsay, Bishop of Ross; Alexander +Hay of Fosterseat, one of the Lords of Session; Sir Robert Melvill +of Bruntisland, an Extraordinary Lord of Session; Sir Robert Melvill +of Murdocairny, an Extraordinary Lord of Session, and father of the +preceding; Walter Stewart, Commendator of Blantyre, and created Lord +Blantyre in 1606; William Douglas, Earl of Angus; Sir James Scrymgeour +of Dudhope, Constable of Dundee; John Spottiswood, Archbishop of +Glasgow; Alexander Elphinstone, fourth Lord Elphinstone; Sir William +Livingstone of Kilsyth, a Lord of Session; John Erskine, Earl of Mar; +John Kennedy, fifth Earl of Cassillis; Earl Marischal; Patrick Lyon, +Lord Glamis, and created Earl of Kinghorn in July 1606; Robert Ker, +Lord Roseburgh; Alexander Livingston, first Earl of Linlithgow; Robert +Ker, Master of Lothian, son of the Earl of Lothian; Francis Hay, ninth +Earl of Errol; Sir James Hay of Fingask; Kenneth MacKenzie of Kintail; +James Hamilton, Master of Paisley, and created Earl of Abercorn on the +10th of July 1606; and George Gledstanes, Archbishop of St. Andrews. + +These men, it may be said, formed the body who were mainly responsible +for the policy of the government of Scotland. But it must be stated, +that they were merely the agents of this policy, which directly +emanated from the King himself, and the evidence that such was the case +is, in fact, very complete. Immediately after James VI. ascended the +throne of England, he became fully conscious of his enormous accession +of new power over the people of Scotland, and the effects of this upon +the Scottish nation were for a time almost incredible. James declared +that it was himself, and no one else, who sent from England the +messages by which Scotland was governed. In a speech which he delivered +to the English Parliament on the 31st of March, 1607, having embraced +the occasion to contrast the easy way in which he continued to rule +Scotland with the difficulties he had experienced in England, he +uttered the following words:――“This I must say for Scotland, and may +truly vaunt it: here I sit and govern it with my pen: I write, and it +is done; and by a Clerk of the Council I govern Scotland now, which +others could not do by the sword.” This was really the truth. For King +James in his communications with the Scottish Council always addressed +the members in the tone of an imperious and absolute master; and they +humbly yielded to the royal will, and became the mere tools of the King. +It is surprising to find in the records how submissively the Council +bowed before him. In short, James VI. assumed and exercised a despotic +control over the Privy Council and the proceedings of Parliament, as +will appear in the sequel. + +In the beginning of the year 1610, the Privy Council was recast. The +Council as then remodelled, was in future to consist of thirty-five +persons and no more, each to be specially nominated by the King, and +of whom seven were to be a quorum. The Council was to hold two meetings +every week, one to deal with matters of State, and the other with +judicial business; and no one but the Councillors themselves and the +Clerk of Council were to be present at the meetings. Any Councillor +absent from four consecutive meetings without leave, or allowing +himself to remain at the horn for debt or any other cause unrelaxed for +forty days, or failed to give proof of sound churchmanship by receiving +the communion at least once a year, was to be deprived of his office. +The thirty-five men of the new Council had all been members of the +old one, excepting George Young, archdeacon of St. Andrews, who was a +new member. The Council continued, as before, to be the mere agent of +the King’s will. For James had succeeded in introducing a system of +monarchical absolutism. From the highest Councillors to the humblest of +the officials, they were all equally the puppets of their absent King, +executing his commands in everything to the utmost of their ability, +and trembling for fear of his mere rebuke. In May, 1608, the King it +appears was displeased at some recent evasiveness of the Council, and +had sent them one of his rebukes, and also proposed a remedy for the +future. He then commanded that the votes of the Council on any special +matter of his service, should no longer be given by an unrecorded +show of hands at the Council Board; but each Councillor’s vote, “Ay or +No,” on whatever motion might be before the Board, was to be carefully +recorded, and all such records were to be duly certified by the +Chancellor and the Secretary, and then despatched to his Majesty, +――“that so we may discern the goats from the sheep.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume VII., pages 15‒28, + _Introduction_, Volume VIII., pages 12‒14, _et seq._ + +Immediately after James VI. ascended the throne of England, he called +the Borders the “Middle Shires of Great Britain,” and ordained that +henceforth the elements of disorder which had so long prevailed in this +region, and the rude customs of the inhabitants, were to be extirpated. +The real effort to settle the Borders was begun in March, 1605. At +this time ten commissioners, five English and five Scottish, were +appointed to the full charge of the English counties of Northumberland, +Cumberland, Westmoreland, and part of Durham, and of the Scottish +counties of Berwick, Roxburgh, Dumfries, Selkirk, Peebles, and the +Stewartries of Kirkcudbright and Annandale. These were empowered to +meet as they thought fit, six to be a quorum, and to take the most +effective means for the prevention and punishment of murders, felonies, +riots, and all disorders within those territories. The English +commissioners were Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Sir Robert Dolabel, Sir William +Selby, Joseph Pennington, Esquire, and Edward Gray of Morpeth; the +Scottish commissioners were Sir William Seton, Sir William Horne, +Patrick Chirnside of East Nisbet, Robert Charters of Annisfield, +and Gideon Murray of Elibank. The conjoint commissioners elected Sir +Wilfrid Lawson, their President for three months. On the English side, +a company of horsemen was placed under the command of Sir Henry Leigh, +and on the Scottish side a company of twenty-five horsemen was under +the command of Sir William Cranstoun, and these mounted men were to +assist the Commissioners as police in bringing the guilty to justice. + +The Commissioners agreed on regulations for their common procedure, +which were of the following import:――“It is agreed that concerning old +feuds between the two countries there should be a general assurance. +It is agreed that old feuds shall be put to agreement, or else the +offending parties to be confined――the Englishmen in Edinburgh, and the +Scotsmen in Newcastle, until they will agree, and meantime the parties +to be bound to keep the peace; and, for the new feuds, that justice +shall be executed upon the offenders according to the laws reciprocally. + +“It is agreed that, if any Englishman strike a Scotsman, or a Scotsman +strike an Englishman, with a weapon, the party offending shall be +committed to the nearest prison, and there to remain for three days +without bail; and if the said parties shall strike with any weapon, +then to place them in prison for twenty days without bail; and if that +the party be hurt, then he shall not be delivered at the end of the +twenty days until he make such further satisfaction to the party hurt +as the Commissioners who committed him shall think fit; but, if the +hurt fall out to be a maiming, then that the party offending shall not +be delivered after the twenty days’ imprisonment until he perform the +order of two of his Majesty’s Commissioners for satisfaction of the +party maimed; and if death follow, then the offender to receive his +punishment according to his Majesty’s laws reciprocally. + +“It is agreed that, if any Englishman steal in Scotland, or a Scotsman +steal in England, any goods amounting to the value of 12 pence, he +shall be punished by death, and that all accessories to such felonies, +viz., outputting and resetting, shall likewise suffer death for the +same.” + +It was also agreed that proclamation should be made warning all the +inhabitants within the bounds of the Commissioners, “saving noblemen +and gentlemen unsuspected of felony and theft and not belonging to +broken clans, should put away all armour and weapons, both offensive +and defensive, such as jacks, spears, lances, swords, daggers, +stellcaps, hauberks, pistols, and such like, before the 20th of May +next, under the penalty of confiscation of the same and imprisonment +during his Majesty’s pleasure: and that no one of whatever calling +should wear or carry any arms, except in his Majesty’s service: and +that after the above date they should not keep any horse above the +value of fifty shillings sterling, or thirty pounds Scots under the +like penalty and imprisonment.” + +As these Commissioners, “intended not only to punish and root out +all malefactors for the present, but also to continue a severe course +of justice by fit ministers for the perpetual preservation of these +districts in peace and justice; they therefore charge all persons +who have cause of complaint against any one for murder, burglaries, +felonies, or misdemeanours, or any who have compounded for such +offences for friendship, money, or any other consideration, to send in +information to the Commissioners, so that they may receive justice.” + +The Commissioners proceeded vigorously with the work assigned to them. +They found great difficulties on many points, especially in the matter +of the old and new feuds which were so numerous. The Commissioners +frequently sought advice from the Scottish Privy Council in the form +of questions, as touching feuds:――Question: “The nature of old feuds +is of two sorts. And first, as to the one of that quality in which the +whole parties committers of blood and slaughter, hence from here are +departed this life, yet grudge remaining among the parties’ posterity +unreconciled. _In hoc genere quomodo procedendum?_ whether with the +band of keeping his Majesty’s common peace, or forcing them to subject +themselves to arbitrament for reconciliation? Answer: The Commissioners +to deal with this matter as they think most fit for the peace of the +country. + +“Question: A second sort of feud is when some of either, or at least of +the one, party are yet alive who has been art, or part, or actual doers +in the old feud,――some possibly clad with remission and others without +it. In these old causes, first, _utrum par erit ratio utriusque necne?_ +next, if with them we shall proceed likewise to enforce agreement, +or otherwise content ourselves with the band of his Majesty’s common +peace? Answer: The Lords think that in old feuds of this nature the +Commissioners should charge the parties with the band of the general +peace. + +“Question: Is new feuds conceived always of that nature to be before +the devolution of both the Crowns in his Majesty’s royal person? +Because since then we understand no proceeding in deeds of blood but by +justice:――First, whether in those anterior to his Majesty’s reception +of both the Crowns we shall proceed with justice where there is no +remission, or, after the enforcing of both the parties to his Majesty’s +common peace, we shall proceed causing submission of arbitrament to +be made, though unsuited by any of the parties, or not? Next, when +slaughter and blood having been reciprocal in some degree all alike, +the one party being clad with remission by favour, and the other +wanting it, or the one committing the slaughter under colour of law, +and the other without the same, what shall we do therein? Last, where +the party offended being willing to receive satisfaction and craving +the same, if we may compel the party offender to offer and do reason? +Answer: Where no remission is produced, the Commissioners to do justice +according to their commission; where there is remission, they shall +take caution of the criminals to satisfy the party offended; and +where the party craves satisfaction the Commissioners shall cause the +offenders to find caution for satisfaction and see that all be bound to +keep the common peace.” + +The preceding quotations will give some idea of the complexity and +difficulty of the task which the Commissioners had to execute. There +is ample evidence that the Commissioners conscientiously endeavoured +to do their work, and not infrequently showed a leaning to the side +of mercy, an instance or two of which may be presented. As indicated +in a preceding page, the Commissioners’ instructions regarding the +punishment of theft were very severe, still they reported some cases +for the opinion of the Scottish Privy Council. Thus “one called Thome +Armstrong, a proper young man, to whom neither new nor old thift have +been known heretofore, but very suspicious for not being settled to any +good calling,――charged for the art and part of the stelling of a horse, +and convicted by a jury for the same; and by chance upon the morning +after the conviction, the owner of the said horse coming to Peebles +said that although Thome Armstrong was universally presumed to have +been art and part in the stelling of his horse, that by his knowledge +he understood Armstrong had nothing to do with the case:――continued +upon presumption of his innocence.” Answer of the Privy Council――“The +Lords ordains the Commissioners to do justice upon this Thome +Armstrong,” that was to hang him. Again “one called Richie Elliot of +Heuchhouse, indicted only for stelling one sheep and convicted of the +same, without anything more, either new or old, layed to his charge: +――continued in respect of the meanness of the crime, ♦notwithstanding +our ordinances bears new thift to be punished to the death when passing +the value of twelvepence sterling.” Answer of the Privy Council――“The +Lords ordains the Commissioners to keep their own act in this matter,” +that was to hang the man. + + ♦ “nothwithstanding” replaced with “notwithstanding” + +At the end of the first year, on the 17th day of May, 1606, the +Commissioners appeared personally before the Privy Council at Edinburgh +and reported their proceedings. It appeared that they had executed “by +water and gallows thirty-two persons;” and banished from the kingdom +fifteen persons; while one hundred and sixty were declared to be +fugitive outlaws, who should be pursued with hue and cry wherever +they have dispersed themselves. All persons who had resetted or in any +way assisted the outlawed fugitives, were to be subjected to severe +penalties. In the month of October, 1606, the Commissioners reported +that they had executed other fifteen persons in Dumfries, Annan, and +Jedburgh. At the end of this year, the number of fugitives from the +law, whose names were to be advertised on the market crosses of all the +towns and the doors of all the parish churches, then amounted to one +thousand and three hundred. There can be no doubt that there was much +rough and severe work. On the 15th of December, 1606, the King signed +an Act of Indemnity in favour of Sir William Cranstoun, who had command +of the mounted police, and which exonerated him for all the things +hitherto done by him in his office in the Marches, including his +summary execution of outlaws and prisoners without form of trial. +In this Act the King said:――“Our well-beloved Sir William Cranstoun, +Captain of the garrison appointed to attend our service of quieting +and bringing to obedience of those Middle Shires of this Island, +has in that his charge most dutifully done us very good service ... +since the necessity of the service in which he was employed, and many +sudden incidents that must needs often occur therein, might not always +permit those prolix forms used in the civil parts of the kingdom, but +often, for the advancement of the service, and that by the retaining +of the numbers of outlaws who would oftimes be at once apprehended, and +spending time in conveying them to prisons, in the mean season the good +occasion and opportunity of affecting better service should slip or be +omitted, and therewith the consideration of the unsecurity of himself +and his company to have the charge of too many prisoners desperate +of their life or pardon all at once, moved the said Sir William often +times summarily to make a quick despatch of a great many notable +and notorious thieves by putting them to instant death without any +preceding trial by jury, or any conviction or doom.... And he being +directed by us as surgeon to make incision and cut away the rotten and +cankered members and flesh in those parts of our kingdom, however the +cure perhaps has been to the other members some way grievous, yet his +intention in the doing of it was so dutifully grounded, and his work +therein having produced so much benefit to those parts, it carries no +reason at all in the after ages any of his evil willers should then +forge and pretend any matter of action, challenge, or accusation +against him for any point of service done by him during his employment.” +From this, it must be inferred that the actual havoc of human life +during the years 1605‒6 was much greater than appears in the existing +record. + +On the 2nd of August, 1607, a new Commission of Justiciary over the +late Marches was given to the Earl of Dunbar and the Earl of Cumberland, +which empowered them to act as they thought fit for establishing and +preserving peace in the “Middle Shires of Great Britain.” Power was +also given to them to muster all the force in these bounds, and the +disposal of the men and horsemen placed under them by the King, for +preserving the peace and apprehending malefactors. Seeing that the +execution of the Commission would be very difficult and required great +care, Sir William Seton, Sir William Cranstoun, Sir Robert Charteris, +Sir Gideon Murray, and Sir William Selby, Sir ♦Wilfrid Lawson, Sir John +Fenwick, and Sir Christopher Pickering, were commanded to assist the +two chief Commissioners to the utmost of their power. + + ♦ “Wilfred” replaced with “Wilfrid” + +But the main part of the work of reducing the unruly inhabitants of the +Borders was now nearly accomplished; and the vigorous and continuous +proceedings of the new Commissioners, with the Earl of Dunbar at their +head, and Sir William Cranstoun, captain of the garrison and mounted +men, soon completed it. The unruly families and men of the Borders were +hunted down, captured, and many of them slain at once, without question +or trial of any kind; others were imprisoned, tried, condemned, and +executed; some were banished; a very large number fled from their +former homes and haunts, and hid themselves in the hope of escaping +the doom which hung over them; and then their goods were seized and +their dwellings burned; while those who remained were disarmed and +deprived of their weapons, and all were bound under cautions and severe +penalties to keep the peace. Thus, the traditional habits and the +unruly spirit of the inhabitants of the Borders――the result of ages +of anarchy, generated by external conditions, were interrupted and +effectively shaken; and under new conditions and modified circumstances, +these people became orderly and peaceable subjects. + +Other influences calculated to pacify the people were not neglected. At +the instance of the King, the Privy Council on the 28th of March 1609, +passed an act empowering John Spottiswood, archbishop of Glasgow, to +proceed to the Borders for the purpose of repairing the churches and +reorganising the means of religious instruction in that region. He was +to plant new ministers where it was necessary; to call the parishioners +of every parish before him, and their pastors, wherever they had +any; and with their consent to devise and resolve upon such measures +as seemed best and most expedient for the speedy repairing and +building of the churches, and making provision for the ministers: +and to do everything lawful which might advance the object in view. +The archbishop went over the region, carefully surveyed it, and +ecclesiastically rectified it. He captured some Roman Catholic +emissaries who had long evaded the authorities; and thus crushed +Scottish Roman Catholicism out of its haunts in Dumfriesshire. + +But the traditional habits and the unruly spirit of the Borderers +could not be summarily extinguished by any measures short of utter +extermination. It required years to moderate, sober, and modify their +character. In the end of July 1609, the Earl of Dunbar proceeded to +Dumfries, where he held a Justiciary Court, and hanged a number of +Border thieves, apprehended previously by Sir William Cranstoun. On the +26th of November, 1607, the Privy Council passed an order for removing +a number of troublesome Border lairds to other parts of the country. +John Carmichael of Meadowflatt, to be confined in Dundee; and the +Master of Maxwell to be confined in Dunkeld or any parts of Fife and +Angus; Sir Alexander Jardine of Applegirth, and John Carruthers of +Holmends, to St. Andrews; Robert Elliot of Redheugh, and Walter Scott +of Goldielands, to Cupar in Fife; while others were to be confined +within the limits of specified places. In August of the following year +a considerable number of lairds, chiefly in Dumfriesshire and Galloway, +were ordered to be imprisoned beyond the Tay, and a number of others +within the bounds of Fife. It appears from the proceedings of the +Justiciary Courts, in 1611, that there was still much crime in these +quarters. At the court held at Jedburgh in July, ten persons were +convicted and executed, and two were acquitted; in a court held at the +same town in the month of October, eight persons were convicted and +executed, three reprieved, and thirteen acquitted, while fifty-eight +persons were fugitive from justice, and penalties were exacted from +their cautioners; while other fifty-two persons were allowed out on +giving caution for their appearance. At Dumfries, in October, twenty +persons were convicted and executed, thirty-eight acquitted, upwards of +one hundred and twenty fugitive from justice, leaving their cautioners +answerable; and forty let out under caution to appear when called. +Thus in the space of four months thirty-eight persons were executed +in Jedburgh and Dumfries, while one hundred and seventy-eight were +fugitive from justice: thus indicating what a very difficult task it +was to bring the inhabitants of the Borders under law and order. A +separate Commission for the administration of police in these districts +was continued for a number of years, and ultimately the influences of +order and progress prevailed.¹ The debatable lands were divided and +apportioned to each kingdom; and gradually those parts of the country +which had been so long the scene of strife and petty warfare became as +peaceful as other parts of the nation. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume VII., pages 701‒729, + 743‒745, 489, 504; Volume VIII., pages 78, 86, 97, 152, 265, + 584; Volume IX., pages 705‒714; Volume X., pages 184, 198, + 477, 847. + +One of the King’s earliest projects was a proposal that the English and +the Scots should agree to an incorporating union of the two kingdoms; +but neither nation was as yet prepared for this consummation. There +were proceedings touching this matter both in England and in Scotland, +but all that resulted from them was the abolition of hostile laws; +while a proposition that all persons born in Scotland after the union +of the Crowns in 1603, should be entitled in England to all the rights +of Englishmen was rejected. + +If the King was anxious to constitute a civil union of the two kingdoms, +he was still more bent on establishing conformity in Church government +throughout his dominions. While only King of Scotland, he had struggled +hard to introduce Episcopacy, and now, with the resources of England +at his command, he resolved to complete his long cherished scheme of +Church polity, always following the underhand mode of attaining his +end which was characteristic of his nature. The General Assembly had +been prorogued owing to the accession; and it was postponed in the +succeeding year, pending the adjustment of the proposed union. The +leading Presbyterian ministers had begun to dread that attempts would +be made to establish the hierarchy in Scotland and to assimilate their +polity to that of the Church of England; and the Presbytery of St. +Andrews met and took such steps as were deemed requisite to keep intact +the right of holding General Assemblies. They easily foresaw that their +Assemblies would soon cease to exist, if interrupted at the discretion +of the King; accordingly a number of the Presbyteries and Synods +resolved to hold a General Assembly at Aberdeen, on 2nd of July, 1605. + +On the appointed day, nineteen ministers met at Aberdeen and proceeded +to form the Assembly; but the meeting was prohibited by the authority +of the Privy Council, and ordered to dissolve. Sir Alexander Stratton +of Lauriston, the King’s Commissioner for the Church, appeared amongst +them, and intimated his instructions to prevent their meeting, and +delivered to them the letter of the Privy Council commanding them to +disperse. The ministers, however, believing that they were within their +rights, elected Mr. John Forbes, minister of Alford as their Moderator, +and Mr. John Sharp, minister of Kilmany as their Clerk, and constituted +themselves an Assembly; but owing to the small number of members +present, and to show their respect for the King’s injunction, after +appointing the last Tuesday of the following September for the next +meeting of the Assembly, and drafting a reply to the Privy Council’s +letter, they obeyed and dissolved. On the 5th of July, other ten +ministers arrived in Aberdeen, who had intended to be present at the +Assembly, but had been delayed by bad weather; and among these were +John Welsh, minister of Ayr, Mr. James Greg, minister of ♦Loudon, and +Mr. Henderson, minister of Whithorn. When they found that the Assembly +had already dissolved, they formally affirmed their adherence to all +that their brethren had done in regard to the Assembly; and, thus +twenty-nine ministers had become directly associated with this famous +meeting. + + ♦ “Loudoun” replaced with “Loudon” for consistency + +There was no special illegality in this meeting――it was quite within +the recognised rights of the Church. But the King had the power in his +hands, and he determined to crush all encroachments on his supreme and +divine claims. By his explicit command thirteen of the ministers were +imprisoned, and the Privy Council proceeded to prosecute them. When +cited before the Privy Council, they declined its jurisdiction on the +question in dispute. Out of fourteen who hesitated to disclaim the +lawfulness of the Assembly, Forbes, minister of Alford, Welsh, Dury, +and three others were selected for an exemplary punishment. They +were indicted before the Court of Justiciary on a charge of treason, +because they had declined the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. They +were tried at Linlithgow on the 10th of January, 1606. They were ably +defended, but the influence of the Crown prevailed, and they were +convicted of treason, for denying the jurisdiction of the civil court +in spiritual matters. They were then remitted to prison till the King +should notify his pleasure touching their punishment. At last, on the +23rd of October, 1606, the sentence of the six ministers convicted for +treason, was announced to be banishment from the King’s dominions for +life, and they retired to the Protestant Churches of France and Holland. +The other eight ministers, without any trial, were banished to the most +remote quarters of the kingdom――the Western Islands and the Highlands.¹ +James was quite conscious that he had gained a great victory, and +his extreme vanity associated with an insatiable desire for absolute +supremacy over every one in the island, prompted him to command the +Council to put the other eight imprisoned ministers on their trial +for treason. For once the Council was forced to tell his Majesty that +it had been extremely difficult to obtain a conviction against the +six ministers in the late trial at Linlithgow, and that it was only +obtained after much straining of the law and underhand action; and, +therefore in the present state of the national feeling, the trial +of the other eight ministers which he so much desired, was utterly +impossible. The King then brought up his old grudge against Mr. +Robert Bruce, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, touching the Gowrie +Conspiracy, and at the instance of the King, the Council banished +Bruce to Inverness. At the same time Mr. Henry Blyth, minister of the +Canongate, was imprisoned for speaking in favour of the victims of the +Aberdeen Assembly. Thus seventeen ministers were lying in prison, and +one banished. + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 570‒575; Forbes’ _Records_, pages + 463, 496; Hailes’ _Memorials on the Affairs of Great Britain + in the reign of James VI._; _Register of the Privy Council_, + Volume VII. + +The King summoned a Parliament to meet at Perth, in July, 1606, at +which the Earl of Montrose presided, while the Earl of Dunbar and +the Earl of Dunfermline managed it. The first act of this Parliament +exhibited an unusual spirit of servility in its remarkable +acknowledgement of the powers of the King; and it may be taken as an +authoritative statement of what James considered as his rights and +prerogatives. The following are the chief points of the act――“God has +indued His Majesty with so many extraordinary graces, and most rare +and excellent virtues, as it is not only known by daily and manifest +experience in matters of greatest difficulty and consequence, to the +unspeakable comfort of all his faithful subjects, to be capable of +the happy government of his kingdoms; but also by his most singular +judgment, foresight, and princely wisdom, worthy to possess, and +able to govern far greater kingdoms and numbers of people. And in +respect thereof, the Estates plainly perceiving that by His Majesty’s +exaltation, not only in pre-eminence and power, but also in all royal +qualities requisite for the happy discharge thereof, God has manifestly +expressed His heavenly will to be, that his Majesty’s imperial power, +which God has so graciously enlarged, should not by them, in any way, +be impaired, prejudiced, or diminished, but rather reverenced and +augmented so far as they possibly can. Wherefore the whole body of this +Parliament unanimously, humbly, and faithfully, with united heart and +mind――consent and truly acknowledge his Majesty’s sovereign authority, +princely power, royal prerogative, and privilege of his Crown, over all +ranks, persons, and causes whatever, within this kingdom.... Likewise +annuls, abrogates, retracts, rescinds, all things attempted, enacted, +done, or hereafter to be done or intended, to the violation, hurt, +derogation, impairing, or prejudice of his sovereign authority, royal +prerogative, and privilege of his Crown, or any point or part thereof, +in any time to come. And the whole Estates for themselves and their +successors faithfully promises perpetually to acknowledge, obey, +maintain, defend, and to advance the life, the honour, the safety, the +dignity, the authority, and the royal prerogative of his sacred Majesty, +his heirs and successors, and the privilege of his Highness’ Crown, +with their lives, their lands, and their goods, to the utmost of their +power, constantly and faithfully to withstand all persons and powers +who shall presume, press, or intend in any way to impugn the same, +directly or indirectly, in all time coming.” After the Estates had +passed this act, it was not likely that they would oppose the King’s +schemes till their own special interests were touched.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV. + +This Parliament also passed an act restoring the bishops to their +ancient honours, dignities, privileges, livings, lands, rents, thirds, +and estates, as these stood before the act of annexation in 1587. +Touching the honours and dignities there was little difficulty; but +the restoration of the revenues of the Sees was a much harder matter +to settle. The party of the clergy who were opposed to Episcopacy +endeavoured to defeat the measure, but their efforts were unavailing. +Although the bishops were legally restored, still the hierarchy was +incomplete; as they were not yet invested with spiritual supremacy in +the Church. + +We have already seen that on the Reformation itself, and on the history +of Protestantism in Scotland, the disposal of the property of the old +Church had much influence in determining the results. The attempt which +followed upon this act, to restore what remained of the Church domains +to the several bishoprics, was almost a complete failure. The Estates +were ready to acknowledge the absolute power of the King in so many +words, but when it came to the practical issue of slackening their own +hold on the revenues of the old Church, they manifested a remarkable +pertinacity in maintaining the supremacy of themselves. The bishops +were continually bewailing their poverty, and the utter hopelessness of +maintaining their position upon the small funds which fell to their lot. + +The King wished to stifle the leaders of the Presbyterian party, that +he might more easily complete his scheme. Andrew Melville, his nephew +James Melville, and six others of the eminent ministers, were summoned +to the English court, in September 1606. The aim of the King was +twofold, first, to engage the Scotch Presbyterian ministers and the +English bishops in a conference concerning the superior merits of +Episcopacy, and to dazzle the fancy of the north countrymen with the +splendour of the English ritual; second, to entangle them by queries +touching the late Assembly at Aberdeen, and especially to keep them +out of Scotland, where their presence might endanger his own scheme. By +the command of the King, these ministers attended a course of sermons +preached by four English divines――on the bishops, the supremacy of the +Crown, and the absence of all authority in Scripture and in antiquity +for the office of lay elders. This performance was held in the King’s +chapel at Hampton Court. The King himself attended several conferences; +and at one of these, before a company of bishops and Scottish nobles, +he asked their opinion touching the lawfulness of the Aberdeen Assembly, +and the best way of obtaining a peaceful Assembly to restore order +in the Church. All the Scottish bishops condemned the Assembly as +turbulent and illegal; but Andrew Melville, after some questioning, +replied that the Assembly had authority from the Word of God, and from +the laws of the kingdom; and the other Presbyterian ministers concurred +in this opinion. When reference was made to other matters which had +arisen out of it, such as the trial of the six ministers for treason, +and other teasing questions were put as to whether they sympathised +with, or prayed for, their brethren who had been convicted of treason, +they at once protested against this treatment as illegal and unjust, +and asked to be allowed to return to Scotland; but this was not granted +to them. + +It soon became manifest that the King and his bishops had entirely +failed to produce any change on the convictions of the Scottish +ministers. They heard the sermons of the English bishops with silent +contempt. The service was caricatured by Andrew Melville in a Latin +epigram, which was brought under the notice of the English Privy +Council, and on the 30th of November, 1606, he was summoned to answer +for it before that august tribunal. Melville in a moment of passion +lost all command of his temper, and when delivering a vehement +invective against the hierarchy, seized and shook the white sleeves +of Bancroft, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the same time calling +them “Romish rags.” For this offence and a subsequent one of a similar +character, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for five years; and +at the end of that period he obtained his liberty only on the condition +of living for the remainder of his life out of the King’s dominions. +Melville then retired to Sedan, and was engaged in teaching till his +death in 1620. In May, 1607, James Melville was confined first to +Newcastle, and afterwards to Berwick, but never permitted to return to +his own country; while four of the other six ministers were permitted +to return to their own parishes on their good behaviour, the other two +were not allowed to enter their parishes but banished to other places.¹ +This treatment of some of the ablest men and ministers of the kingdom +formed a part of the means which the King condescended to use, in order +to subdue the opposition to his scheme of Church government in Scotland; +how far this was calculated to secure ultimate success, the sequel will +show. + + ¹ Melville’s _Diary_, pages 644‒646, 654, 681, 708, 709; + Calderwood, Volume VI., pages 586‒589, 591, 596‒600, _et + seq._; _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume VII. + +James having thus disposed of the leading and most energetic opponents +of his scheme, summoned the clergy to meet at Linlithgow, on 10th +December, 1606, there to consult with a number of the nobles concerning +the order of the Church, and obedience to the royal authority. At +the instance of the King, a proposal was brought before the meeting +to appoint permanent moderators; and also that this office should be +always filled at the meetings of the Presbyteries and of the Synods, by +the bishops. Some of the clergy were surprised at the proposal, but the +royal influence prevailed, and the meeting adopted it. At the close of +the proceedings the ministers were admonished to beware of expressing +anything against his sacred Majesty. Several of the Synods and the +Presbyteries protested against the constant moderators, and refused to +accept them; but this opposition was soon broken, and the influence of +the Crown for a time silenced all refractory members.¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VI., pages 604‒629. + +The Government seemed ready to do anything in order to increase the +power of the bishops. A Parliament held in August, 1607, passed an +act authorising the Archbishop of St. Andrews to select the ministers +of seven parishes within his diocese, to act as the chapter of the +See, instead of the prior and the canons, whose dignities had become +secularised. Another Parliament which met at Edinburgh in June, 1609, +restored the consistorial courts to the bishops, with all the causes of +an ecclesiastical and quasi-civil description which formerly belonged +to them. In the winter of 1610, new tribunals were introduced by the +King, who in the exercise of his prerogative erected two courts of High +Commission, one at St. Andrews and the other at Glasgow. Each court +consisted of the archbishop with his suffragans and a few nobles. Five +years later the two courts were merged into one. One of the archbishops, +as head of the court, and four others were to form a quorum; and thus +the head of the court could at any time summon four of the members +devoted to his will. Their jurisdiction was comprehensive: they +could cite any one on the ground of immorality or erroneous doctrine, +and sentence them to be fined or imprisoned, and if necessary +excommunicated. The ministers, the schoolmasters, and the professors +in the Universities, who dared to speak against the established order +of the Church, or any of the recent conclusions concerning her, were to +be cited before the commission and punished. Any minister who failed to +obey the injunctions of the commission, could be censured, suspended, +or deposed, according to the opinion of the court. In reality, this +court had unlimited powers; it rested upon no law, it was merely +erected by a royal proclamation, and its sentence was final.¹ In +short, the court of High Commission could fine and imprison any one at +discretion. It has been stated by Dr. Burton that the Court of Session +could review the decisions of this court, which in theory may be true: +but when it is remembered what the Court of Session was then, and +for long after, it is easily seen that protection from oppression and +injustice was not likely to come very promptly from such a quarter. +Then the bishops themselves were lords of Parliament, some of them +members of the Privy Council, constant moderators of Presbyteries and +Synods, and patrons of benefices, backed at every turn by the royal +authority and prerogative of the King. + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 57‒62, 204‒210; _History of + Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 242‒243. + +Still the bishops felt that they lacked the confidence of the +nation, and they were anxious to obtain the sanction of the highest +ecclesiastical authority recognised by the people. So the King +summoned a General Assembly to meet at Glasgow, in June 1610, composed +of members favourable to the organisation of Episcopacy. The influence +of the Crown was openly and freely employed in directing the choice +of members. In this Assembly, as in all those of the period, there was +no fair and open discussion permitted, no disputed point was allowed +to be debated at a full sitting of the members, but was settled at a +private conference, and the result only presented to the Assembly to +be recorded. In this way a number of articles were smuggled in and +declared to be carried, which would not have passed if they had been +debated in a regular form before a General Assembly. The chief points +passed by this Assembly were, that the calling of General Assemblies +belonged exclusively to the King as a prerogative of his Crown, and +therefore the alleged Assembly held at Aberdeen in 1605 was unlawful +and null; that Synods should be held in every diocese twice in the year, +at which the bishops were to be moderators; that all presentations to +benefices should be directed to the bishop of the diocese who, with the +assistance of some of the ministers, should examine those presented, +and if they found them qualified, should ordain them; that in deposing +of ministers, the bishop should join with himself the ministry of the +bounds where the delinquent served, and after a fair trial should +pronounce sentence; that every minister at his admission should swear +obedience to the King and his ordinary; that a bishop or a minister +named by him should preside in all the meetings of the ministers; +and finally, that none of the ministers, either in their pulpits or +in any of their meetings, should speak or reason against the acts of +this Assembly, or disobey them, under the penalty of deposition; and +especially that the question of equality among the ministry should not +be treated in the pulpit, under the same penalty. + +The acts of this Assembly were confirmed and amplified by an Act of +Parliament in 1612, which at the same time repealed the Act of 1592 +which had sanctioned the Presbyterian polity. In the autumn of 1610, +three of the Scottish Bishops were consecrated in England, Spottiswood, +Bishop of Glasgow; Lamb, Bishop of Brechin; and Hamilton, Bishop of +Galloway; and when they returned home, they consecrated the rest of the +Scottish Bishops.¹ Thus the restoration of Episcopacy was completed. + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 94‒103, 150, 152, 154, + 165‒171; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV. + +Though the external form of Episcopacy was restored, yet in many of the +congregations the Presbyterian form of worship was retained. But the +King recommended more ceremonies to hasten on conformity to the Church +of England. In the spring of 1614, he issued a proclamation commanding +that all persons should partake of the communion on Easter Day; and +the following year a royal proclamation ordered the celebration of the +communion on Easter Day, in all time coming.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Privy Council_, March 3rd, 1614; Calderwood, + Volume VII., pages 191, 196. + +In August, 1616, a General Assembly met at Aberdeen, then and +afterwards the famed centre of the opposition to Presbyterianism in +Scotland. The King’s party had a majority in the Assembly, and many +proposals were made, among others, “that all the children in schools +shall have and learn by heart the catechism entitled, ‘God and the +King,’ which, by an act of Council, is already ordained to be read +and taught in all schools.” This Assembly authorised the preparation +of a Liturgy and a new Confession of Faith. The communion was to be +administered four times a year in towns, and twice in country parishes; +and one of these times to be always on Easter Day. The Presbyterian +historian passed the following remarks on the Assembly――“Although it +began with preaching and fasting, yet the Holy Ghost was enclosed in +a packet of letters sent from the court whereby they were directed. +The King ordained by his letter the Primate to rule the clergy, and +his commissioner, the Earl of Montrose, to order the laity.... So the +Primate stepped into the moderator’s place without election, against +the practice and acts of our Church, not as yet repealed by the +Assembly of Glasgow or any other.... The roll of the Presbyteries was +not called, nor commissions considered, whether free or limited. A +number of lords and barons decorated the Assembly with silks and satins, +but without lawful commission to vote. Bishops had no commissions +from Presbyteries as they ought to have had, according to the practice +of our Church. The moderators of Presbyteries came by the bishop’s +missives, and a forged clause of an act made at a pretended Assembly +held at Linlithgow in the year 1606.”¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 222‒242; Volume VII., pages + 222, 223. + +But the resolutions of the Assembly did not satisfy the King, and he +transmitted to the bishops five articles of his own, which he ordered +them to adopt. These articles enjoined that the communion should +always be received in a kneeling posture; that in cases of sickness +the communion should be administered in private houses; that baptism +in like circumstances should be administered in the same way; that +holydays should be appointed for the commemoration of the birth, +passion, and resurrection of Christ, and of the descent of the Holy +Ghost; and that children should be brought to the bishop for a blessing. +There was much and determined opposition among the Scots to these +ceremonies, which in history are known as the “Five Articles of Perth.” +On the suggestion of Archbishop Spottiswood, the King was induced to +refrain from issuing them by his royal authority for another year, till +they received the assent of a General Assembly.¹ + + ¹ Spottiswood’s _History of the Church of Scotland_, pages 528, + 529. 1655. + +James turned his visit to Scotland into an occasion for an exhibition +of his opinions and feelings on Church matters. He gave express +commands and directions for fitting up and decorating the Chapel of +Holyrood, for the celebration of worship in the English form. Organs +were sent to Edinburgh for this purpose, and the King himself was +accompanied by several English bishops and divines. When he arrived in +Scotland in May, and reached Edinburgh on the 16th of the month, 1617, +he issued peremptory orders that all the nobles, the privy councillors, +and the bishops then in Edinburgh should receive the communion on their +knees in the chapel on Whitsunday. The most of those who were summoned +at once complied; but those who absented themselves from the service, +and some of those who appeared and abstained from presenting themselves +at the table, were again summoned, and commanded to attend on the +following Sunday. At this time, the ministers of Edinburgh were silent, +and said nothing openly against this innovation.¹ + + ¹ _Original Letters of the Reign of James VI._, Volume II. + +The King attended a meeting of Parliament in June, 1617, and delivered +a speech, setting forth his own good intentions, and his desire to see +the Church settled, the nation in order, and necessary reforms passed, +all for the good of his people. But he submitted an act to the Lords +of the Articles, which was couched in these terms――“That whatever his +Majesty should determine concerning the external government of the +Church, with the advice of the archbishops, bishops, and a competent +number of the clergy, should have the force of law.” James’s idea was +that the bishops should rule the ministers, and that he himself should +rule them both. The Lords of the Articles agreed to the act, but a +party of the ministers warmly protested against it; and when it came +to be read in Parliament, the King ordered it to be passed aside, +though at the same time remarking that he could do as much by his own +prerogative, without asking the counsel of any one. He vented his anger +on the leaders of the protestors, two of whom were deprived of their +offices and imprisoned, while Calderwood, the historian, was banished +from the kingdom. This Parliament passed Acts relating to the election +of archbishops and bishops, and to the restoration of deans and members +of chapters of the Sees. An act for the plantation of churches was +passed, authorising a commission of thirty-two, eight from each of the +four Estates of the realm; and the special work assigned to them was, +out of the tithes which were then scattered among different hands, “in +every parish to give and assign at their discretion a perpetual local +stipend to the present and future ministers.” Thus, each minister’s +stipend was to be paid out of the tithes of the parish in which he +officiated, not out of a general fund as before. The lowest stipend was +fixed at five chalders of victual, and the highest at eight.¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 249‒271; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; _Connell on Tithes_, + Volume I., page 180. + +James persisted in his intention of introducing his five articles +into the worship of the Church. On the 13th of July, he held a special +meeting at St. Andrews with the bishops and a select number of the +ministers. He told them that he wished to introduce a more decent +order into the Church; and if they had anything to say against his +five articles, he was ready to hear them. But he reminded them that +his demands were just, that he was not to be resisted with impunity, +and that it was the peculiar prerogative of Christian kings to regulate +the external polity of the Church. They might approve or disapprove +of his proceedings, but they must not imagine that anything they might +say would have the slightest effect upon him, unless they could support +their opinions by arguments which he found himself unable to answer. +Still, all that his Majesty obtained was the postponement of the +difficulty, and the expression of a wish that the articles should be +referred to a General Assembly.¹ + + ¹ Spottiswood’s _History of the Church of Scotland_, pages 533, + 534. The Rev. David Calderwood, for his free speaking in the + King’s presence at this meeting, was imprisoned, and then + banished from the kingdom. + +These rites which the King so eagerly sought to impose, were +inconsistent with the historical standards of the Reformed Church of +Scotland. To two of the articles especially, kneeling at the communion, +and the observance of holidays, there was a deep feeling of opposition +in the national mind; and this, in connection with other unpopular +features of Episcopacy, was the reason why all the attempts of James +himself, of his son, and of his grandson, utterly failed to establish +it in Scotland. The Church of England was really reformed by the +authority of the Crown; but the Church of Scotland was reformed +at first in spite of the Crown and of the regular Government, and +throughout her history she had to maintain a struggle against the +claims of the royal prerogative. Thus it was that the Church of +Scotland rested more on popular sentiment and feeling, and conviction, +than the Church of England; and, hence also, it came to pass that all +the efforts of the Crown and of the Government to change the polity of +the Church of Scotland resulted in complete failure. + +But the King was resolved to carry his point, and he informed those who +opposed him that they should know what it was to draw upon themselves +the anger of a king; at the same time he threatened all ministers +who refused to accept the articles with the loss of their stipends. +The primate and the bishops, prompted, threatened, and scolded by the +King, now used the King’s authority to subdue the reluctant ministers; +and in May, 1618, the bishops informed his Majesty that he might +summon a General Assembly,¹ as it was likely that the ministers would +now be more submissive. Attempts had been made by the bishops to +enforce kneeling at the communion, but with little success; while the +observance of the holydays had already been commanded by an act of the +Privy Council. + + ¹ Botfield’s _Original Letters_, Volume II., page 522; + Spottiswood’s _History of the Church of Scotland_, pages + 535‒537. + +Archbishop Spottiswood, in his sermon at the opening of the Perth +Assembly, adduced nothing in support of the articles, save that they +had originated with the King, and were entirely his Majesty’s own, who +demanded that they must be adopted; and, as the King knew better than +they did what was right, they were bound to obey him. In his sermon the +following passage occurs on the King and his articles:――“If it cannot +be shown that they are repugnant to the written Word, I see not with +what conscience we can refuse them, being urged as they are by our +sovereign lord and King; a King who is not a stranger to divinity, but +has such acquaintance with it, as Rome never found, in the confession +of all men, a more potent adversary; a King neither superstitious nor +inclined that way, but one that seeks to have God rightly and truly +worshipped by all his subjects. His person, were he not our King, gives +them sufficient authority, being recommended by him, for he knows the +nature of things and the consequences of them, what is fit for a Church +to have, and what not, better than we do all.” The King’s letter to the +Assembly was in his usual style. He said that they should not allow the +unruly and ignorant multitude to overawe the better and more judicious; +and they must remember that he could impose the articles at once by his +royal authority, and therefore it would do them no good to reject them; +indeed, it would have become the bishops and ministry better to have +begged him to establish these articles, than that he should need to +urge the practice of them upon the ministry. + +Yet all the influence of the court and the exertions of the bishops +failed to prevent opposition in the Assembly. No open discussion of +the articles being permitted in the Assembly, they were referred to +a committee, which, after some debate, recommended their adoption. +Then the articles were again brought before the Assembly, but those +who opposed them were not allowed to discuss the question on its own +merits, but were sharply told that the only question before them was, +“Is the King to be obeyed or not?” In the face of this threatening of +the King’s anger, the opposition ministers insisted on giving their +reasons against the adoption of the articles. Before the roll was +called, the King’s letter was again read to the Assembly, and when at +last the vote was to be taken, Spottiswood emphatically reminded each +man of the issue involved in his decision. The articles were carried by +eighty-six votes to forty-five, a majority of forty-one. The majority +was obtained from the votes of the nobles and the bishops, the votes of +the ministers being nearly equal on each side.¹ + + ¹ Lindsay’s _True Narratives of all the Passages at Perth_; + Botfield’s _Original Letters_, page 573; Calderwood, Volume + VII., pages 304‒332. In speaking of the articles of Perth, + Burnet remarked, “These things were first passed in General + Assemblies, which were composed of bishops and the deputes + chosen by the clergy, who sat all in one house.... Great + opposition was made to all these steps; and the whole force + of the Government was strained to carry elections to those + meetings, in which it was thought that no sort of practice + was omitted.”――_History of his own Time_, Volume I., page 17. + +Although the Presbyterian ministers were outvoted at Perth, they had +on their side the strength which flows from moral principle and firm +conviction. They had also the support of many of the people, who +considered that the five articles had no better recommendation than +the injunctions of the King. The Presbyterian ministers warmly declared +that the meeting at Perth was not a lawful General Assembly; and +the King and his bishops discovered that they had still much hard +work before them. The observance of the holydays and kneeling at the +communion were extremely offensive to the majority of the people, and +caused great discontent. Kneeling was new to all, and many thought +that it was connected with the doctrine of transubstantiation; but the +bishops, urged on by the King and armed with the weapons of coercion, +haplessly drifted on towards destruction――suspending, imprisoning, and +banishing the ministers who declined to conform. Those who absented +themselves from the public worship on the holydays, or on Sunday, were +threatened and punished. The nonconforming ministers and many of their +adherents deemed the High Commission and its proceedings an usurpation; +and this sentiment was very strong in Edinburgh, in the southern +counties, and in Fife. The displeased people in Edinburgh began to hold +meetings, at which the suspended and deposed ministers preached and +officiated. The court and the bishops anxiously desired that Edinburgh +would conform, and various means were tried to secure this, but in +vain.¹ + + ¹ Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 348, 352‒364, 383, 388, _et + seq._; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 76, 79‒81. + +In August 1621, Parliament met at Edinburgh, and ratified the five +articles of Perth by a small majority. In a house of one hundred and +twenty members, a majority of twenty-seven voted in favour of the +articles. The representatives of the burghs were on the side of the +opposition, the members of the counties were nearly equally divided, +and it was by the votes of the bishops and the higher nobles that the +act was passed. A number of the ministers sought to petition and to +protest against it, but were prevented by the authorities.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; + Calderwood, Volume VII., pages 495‒504. + +When the King heard the result of the Parliamentary vote, he hounded +on the bishops to greater severity. He said, “hereafter that rebellious +and disobedient crew must either obey, or resist both God, their +natural King, and the laws of their country.... The sword is now put +into your hands, go on therefore to use it, and let it rest no longer +till you have perfected the service entrusted to you. For otherwise +we must use it both against you and them.” During the remainder of +his reign, there was a constant effort to enforce the observance of +the articles. The King was always exhorting and threatening in vain; +nonconforming ministers were imprisoned and banished without effect. +Some of the conforming ministers of Edinburgh complained to the +Privy Council that there could be no peace among the people while the +deprived and suspended ministers resorted to the city, and held private +meetings. A proclamation was therefore issued prohibiting such meetings, +under the penalties of sedition and rebellion. Six of the citizens +of Edinburgh were cited before the Privy Council, and some of them +imprisoned. In spite of this, many of the churches of the conforming +ministers began to be deserted; so that they were left to declaim +against schism and rebellion to the paupers of the parish, or to empty +benches.¹ + + ¹ _Melrose Papers_, Volume II., page 637; Spottiswood’s + _History of the Church of Scotland_, page 542; Calderwood, + Volume VII., pages 507‒509, 512, 514, 517‒520, 533‒546, + 596‒615, 618‒631. + +King James died on the 27th March, 1625, at the age of fifty-nine. His +reign in Scotland had been rather stormy; and after his accession to +the throne of England, it cannot be said that his policy was beneficial +to his native country. Though naturally timid, he was vindictive, and +at all times extremely conceited, a feature of his character which +was much fed and gratified by the indiscreet and excessive flattery +of the English bishops. In literature he was a pedant. Of his kingly +prerogative and powers he had the most extravagant and absurd ideas. +The bishops had always been submissive and yielding to his demands, +and to please him they had preached and enforced an order of ceremonies +which had offended and alienated many of the people; and now, with a +king on the throne who heeded not their warnings, they drifted closer +to the rocks on which they were ultimately wrecked. + +Soon after the accession of Charles I., the Scotch ministers forwarded +to him a petition craving that they might be relieved from the +observance of the five articles of Perth; but they found that little +relief could be expected. In the summer of 1626, Charles did send +instructions to the archbishops, that the ministers who had been +admitted before the Perth Assembly, and had scruples about the articles, +might be exempted from observing them, if they did not openly argue +against them, or refuse the communion to any one who wished to partake +of it kneeling. The banished, imprisoned, and suspended ministers +were to be restored on similar conditions; but all those who had +been admitted after the Perth Assembly, were commanded to observe +the articles.¹ The King, however, was firmly resolved to pursue the +ecclesiastical policy of his father. + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume VII., pages 142‒145. + +In October, 1626, Charles issued an act of revocation of all grants +of land by the Crown, either before or after his father’s act of +annexation in 1587. This was intended for the benefit of the bishops +and the clergy, and to remedy some of the evils connected with tithes; +but from another standpoint, it may be regarded as the opening of one +side of that bitter contest of which Charles I. never saw the end. The +proposal of the Crown to retake all the Church lands which had passed +into the hands of the nobles since the Reformation, aroused violent +feelings amongst the class whose interests were invaded; but it soon +became manifest that the King had resolved to fight a hard battle, and +pursue his end with great firmness. + +Charles subsequently found it necessary to limit the scope of his +contemplated revocation, and summonses of reduction were then raised +to reduce the grants upon legal grounds. Still this caused much alarm +among the nobility; and a deputation was sent to London to treat with +the King. After some discussion, a commission was appointed in January, +1627, to examine the whole subject. The commissioners continued their +investigation throughout the following summer, and prosecutions were +commenced against all who refused to accede to the proposals of the +Crown. After a long and tedious inquiry, a compromise was effected. +The Church lands, and the property in dispute were to remain in the +hands of those who held them, upon the payment of a certain proportion +in the form of rents to the Crown. The Crown also insisted on a right +of feudal superiority over all the property at issue, and from this, +additional dues would fall to the public revenue. The tithes were +disposed of in this way; the landowner got liberty to extinguish the +right of levying tithes on his property, by payment of a sum calculated +at nine years’ purchase; if he did not choose to exercise this option, +then the tithe in kind was to be commuted into a rent charge, and from +this was to be deducted the stipend payable to the ministers, and an +annuity reserved for the Crown.¹ + + ¹ Connell on _Tithes_, Book III.; Forbes’s _Treatise on Church + Lands and Tithes_. “The tithes at this time were more rigidly + exacted by their lay owners than ever they had been during + the most corrupt times of the hierarchy; yet these persons + grudged the small portion which the law compelled them to + bestow on the Church.”――Dr. Grub’s _Ecclesiastical History of + Scotland_, Volume II., page 357. + +This adjustment of the tithes, which was sanctioned by Parliament, in +1633, has proved a beneficial measure to Scotland. It extinguished a +teasing class of disputes between landowners and tithe owners, between +tenants of land and tithe owners, and between the ministers and their +flocks. Yet the arrangement, though beneficial to the nation, was not +received with universal satisfaction. Many of the nobles surrendered +their tithes and their full claims to the Church lands with a grudge +which embittered their minds, and predisposed them to join in the +struggle which subsequently ensued. They still dreaded that the King +might attempt further encroachments upon their landed rights. + +Various circumstances had delayed the King’s visit to Scotland, but +in 1633, he crossed the border and entered Edinburgh in June. He +received a respectful reception, and was crowned on the 18th of +June, at Holyrood. Charles was anxious to complete the scheme of +religious polity which his father had begun; and proceeded to treat +all difficulties with an imperious hand. For a time, the opposition +was overborne by his presence and his power, though unconverted to his +opinions or policy. The Scots were well aware of the King’s quarrels +with his English subjects, and on every side the elements of a fierce +conflict were forming. + +Charles was firmly convinced that it was necessary to introduce a +new liturgy to complete his scheme of government in Scotland, and he +seems to have thought that the time was come to execute his purpose. +A form of Episcopacy had existed in Scotland for about thirty years, +and some parts of the English ritual had been introduced; but the +ecclesiastical system still retained many traces of the organisation +of Presbyterianism. It was only a kind of mixed Episcopacy; it had the +external form of the hierarchy, archbishops and bishops as in ancient +times, but they were merely the chief ecclesiastical ministers of the +King, their master, and had little authority of their own. The titles +of dean and archdeacon had been restored, but such persons appeared in +the Church courts only as parish ministers; while there still existed +the Kirk Sessions, the Presbyteries, and the Synods, though their +organisation was maimed. The Book of Common Prayer, adopted at the +Reformation, was still in common use, though less esteemed among the +Presbyterians, who were becoming averse to set forms of prayer; while +the Episcopal party considered it defective. The five articles of +Perth were not universally observed. Though there might have been +slight differences of opinion touching some doctrines, the general +creed of the clergy and the people was in harmony with the Reformation +Confession of Faith. Thus matters stood when Charles and Laud began +their work. + +Preparations were made for composing a book of canons and a liturgy +for Scotland. The book of canons as finally revised by Laud, and the +Bishops of London and Norwich, was ratified by the King in May, 1635, +and promulgated in 1636. It was prefaced by the sanction of the King, +and the announcement of his will concerning its observance, in the +following terms――“We do, not only by our royal prerogative and supreme +authority in causes ecclesiastical, ratify and confirm, by these our +letters patent, the said canons and constitutions, and everything +contained in them; but likewise we command, by our royal authority, +the same to be diligently observed and executed by all our loving +subjects of that kingdom, in all points ... according to this our +will and pleasure, hereby expressed and declared. We strictly charge +and command all archbishops, bishops, and all others who exercise +any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, within our realm, to see and procure +as much as they can, that all and each of these canons, orders, and +constitutions be in all points duly observed; not sparing to execute +the penalties, in them severally mentioned, upon any that shall +willingly and wilfully break or neglect to observe the same.” + +This book is a very small volume, divided into nineteen chapters, with +the different paragraphs or headings of each chapter numbered.¹ In +arrangement and composition it is an admirable production of the class +to which it belongs. + + ¹ The first edition of the Canons, printed at Aberdeen in 1636, + is the one used and referred to in the text. + +The first chapter contains a statement of the powers and prerogatives +of the King in religious matters. The doctrine of the royal supremacy +is laid down and enforced under the penalty of excommunication against +all who dared to resist it, upon the ground that it had been exercised +by the Jewish kings and by the early Christian emperors. To secure +reverence for this divine supremacy of the King, it was stated that +“none shall be permitted to teach in any college or school, either +as principal, regent, or fellow, except he first take the oath of +allegiance and supremacy. And having taken the charge upon them, they +shall acquaint their scholars, and train them up according to their +capacity, in the grounds contained in the book entitled _Deus et Rex_, +God and the King.”¹ + + ¹ Page 28. + +One of the canons was directed against the press. “In setting forth +books, satirical libels, and other pamphlets, repugnant to the truth, +or not agreeing with honesty and good manners, it is ordained that +nothing hereafter be printed except the same be seen, and allowed, by +the visitors appointed to that purpose.” + +These canons placed the whole internal life of the Church in the hands +of the bishops. They alone were invested with the right of expounding +the Bible, all private meetings of ministers for this were to be +strictly prohibited; and no one was to be permitted to impugn the +opinion of another minister in the same or in the neighbouring church +without the permission of the bishop. The whole drift of the book of +canons is well expressed in its concluding sentences:――“In all this +book of Canons, wherever there is no penalty expressly set down, it +is to be understood that the punishment shall be arbitrary, as the +ordinary shall think fittest.” + +The manner in which these canons were introduced certainly was unusual, +and it touched the national pride, as well as the religious sentiments +of the Scots. They also made direct reference to a Liturgy, which had +not yet been published. These canons had little resemblance to any +Scottish ecclesiastical rules or acts subsequent to the Reformation; +but such was the King’s blind confidence in the efficacy of the royal +supremacy, that he imagined he had only to command what he pleased, +and the people would obey him. Acting on this assumption, he signed a +warrant to the Privy Council, on the 18th of October, 1636, containing +his instructions concerning the introduction of the Liturgy. These +stated that the King had several times recommended to the Scotch +archbishops and bishops the introduction of a regular form of service +to be observed in the public worship; and as this had now been +definitely undertaken, he believed that all his Scottish subjects +would receive it with becoming reverence. “Yet thinking it necessary +to make known our pleasure concerning the authorising of the book, we +require you to command, by open proclamation, all our subjects, both +ecclesiastical and civil, to conform themselves to the practice thereof. +It being the only form which we, having taken the counsel of our +clergy, think fit to be used in God’s public worship there. Also, we +require you to enjoin all archbishops and bishops, and other presbyters +and churchmen, to take care that the same be duly obeyed, and the +contraveners to be condignly censured and punished. And to see that +every parish procure to themselves, within such a time as you shall +think fit to appoint, two copies at least of the Book of Common Prayer +for the use of the parish.” In compliance with his Majesty’s commands, +the Privy Council passed an act on the 20th of December, and issued a +proclamation ordering all the people to conform themselves to the new +liturgy.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 440‒441. + +The nation was soon in a ferment. A suspicion arose among the people +that Roman Catholicism was to be reintroduced. They had already +yielded so far to the King, and restrained their feelings in deference +to the royal authority; but now the limit of their passive obedience +was passed. They declared that the King had no right to impose a +service-book upon them without the consent of Parliament and the +General Assembly; they asserted that it was popish, that it taught +popish doctrines, and that it was little better than a massbook. Some +attempted to defend it, but in vain.¹ + + ¹ In a note to the first volume of Baillie’s _Letters and + Journals_, it is stated that the Liturgy itself was not + completed till May, 1637; but Dr. Grub says, “before + Easter, copies of the book were ready for distribution.” + _Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_, Volume II., page 378. + +The liturgy itself was framed upon the form of the English Book of +Common Prayer, with some slight differences, especially in the office +of the communion. After the proclamation commanding its use, and a +preface, it began with remarks on ceremonies; how the psalter was +appointed to be read; how the rest of the Scriptures was appointed +to be read; a table of proper psalms and lessons for Sunday and other +holydays; a table for the order of psalms at daily prayers; an almanac; +a table and calendar for the daily psalms and lessons; and a list of +holydays which were to be observed. The order for the administration +of the communion differed in some important points from the English +office. This form was elaborate, and out of many points minutely stated, +it may be mentioned that a commemoration of the faithful departed was +inserted at the end of the prayer for the Church militant. In the form +of marriage, it was enjoined that the newly married persons should +receive the communion on the day of their marriage. + +The royal proclamation ordered the new Liturgy to be observed in all +the churches on Easter, 1637. The authorities, however, postponed it, +but this only heightened the feeling and excitement against it. The +bishops themselves were not unanimous regarding the expediency of +enforcing its observance; some of them indeed brought the subject +before their synods, but little progress was made. On the 13th of +June, the Privy Council passed an act which declared that some of +the ministers had perversely failed to obey the former proclamation: +“Therefore the Lords ordain letters to be directed, charging the whole +presbyteries and ministers within the kingdom, that they and every one +of them provide themselves, for the use of their parishes, with two +copies of the said Book of Common Prayers, within fifteen days after +this charge, under the penalty of rebellion, and being put to the +horn.”¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., page 4, _et + seq._; pages 442, 447. + +At a meeting of the bishops it was agreed that the public reading +of the new liturgy should begin in Edinburgh, on Sunday, the 23rd of +July, 1637; and this was ordered to be intimated in all the churches +in the city on the previous Sunday. The congregations listened +to the intimation in silence; but in the following week speeches, +declarations, and pamphlets were launched on every hand against the +new liturgy; while no really vigorous efforts were made in favour of +its introduction. + +On the appointed Sunday, preparations were made to celebrate the new +service with the utmost solemnity, and to ♦give the occasion of its +introduction in the capital an imposing character. In the historic +Church of St. Giles, the two archbishops, the Bishop of Edinburgh, and +several other bishops, the Lords of the Privy Council, the Judges of +the Court of Session, and the Magistrates of the city, all attired in +their official robes, attended in the forenoon to grace the proceedings. +The Bishop of Edinburgh was to preach, and the Dean to read the service. +A large congregation had assembled, but they looked restless and +wistful; and the dean had scarcely begun to read when confused cries +arose. As he proceeded, the clamour became louder, and the prayers +could not be heard. The people started to their feet and the church was +a scene of hideous uproar. The voices of the women were the loudest, +some cried “Woe, woe me,” and others shouted that “they were bringing +in popery”; and instantly stools were thrown at the Dean and the Bishop +of Edinburgh. The Archbishop of St. Andrews and the Lords of the Privy +Council then interposed, but in vain; the tumult continued till the +Magistrates came from their seats in the gallery, and with extreme +difficulty thrust out the unruly members. The Dean read the service, +and the Bishop preached with barred doors. But the crowd stood around +the church in a state of vehement excitement, rapping at the doors and +throwing stones at the windows, and shouting “popery, popery,” and +calling the bishops the most abusive names. When the bishops came out +of the church, the multitude attacked Bishop Lindsay on his way home, +and he narrowly escaped with his life. Similar disturbances occurred in +the other churches of the city, though less violent. In the Greyfriars +church, the Bishop of Argyle was obliged to stop reading the service. +Between the hours of worship, the Lords and the Magistrates met, and +made such arrangements that the evening service at St. Giles, and some +of the other churches, passed without interruption; though the Bishop +of Edinburgh was again attacked in company with the Earl of Roxburgh, +but the armed servants of the Earl enabled him to escape without +serious injury.¹ + + ♦ “gave” replaced with “give” + + ¹ Rothes’ _Relation_. “So on Sunday morning when the bishop + and his dean, in the great church, and the Bishop of Argyle + in the Greyfriars, began to officiate, as they spoke, + immediately the serving maids began such a tumult as was + never heard of since the Reformation in our nation. However, + no wound given to any yet such was the contumelies in words, + in clamours, runnings and flinging of stones in the eyes of + the magistrates, and the chancellor himself, that a little + opposition would have infallibly moved that enraged people + to have rent sundry of the bishops in pieces. The day after, + I had occasion to be in town, I found the people nothing + settled; but, if that service had been presented to them + again, resolved to have done some mischief.” Baillie’s + _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 18, 448. + +The excitement was rapidly spreading and becoming more intense; and +it was manifest that the actors in the tumults in Edinburgh could not +be punished. Indeed, the Liturgy was almost universally spurned. In +the face of this heated feeling, the authorities were comparatively +powerless. On the 4th of August, the Privy Council received a letter +from the King, commanding them to search out and to punish the persons +concerned in the late disturbances, and to support the bishops and +the clergy in establishing the new liturgy. The Council resolved that +another attempt should be made to use the new service on Sunday, the +13th of August; but when this day came it was not tried in the churches +of Edinburgh, because among other reasons, readers could not be got +to officiate. At Glasgow there was strong opposition to the Liturgy, +and Baillie gives some particulars of the treatment which Mr. Annand, +the minister of Ayr, received, because he had ventured to defend the +Liturgy in his sermon before the Synod of Glasgow, in the end of August, +1637. According to Baillie’s opinion, he defended it as well as any +man in Britain could have done. But his sermon caused a great din among +the women in the town. “At the out-going of the church, about thirty +or forty of our honest women in one voice before the bishops and the +magistrates, did fall rayling, cursing, scolding with clamours on Mr. +William Annand. All the day, up and down the streets where he went, he +got threats in words and in looks; but, after supper, while needlessly +he will go to visit the bishop, he is no sooner on the street, at nine +o’clock, in a dark night, accompanied with three or four ministers, +than some hundreds of enraged women, of all ranks, are about him, with +fists, staves, and peats, but no stones. However, upon his cries, and +candles set out from many windows, he escaped all severe wounds; yet +he was in great danger, even of his life.”¹ Thus was the curtain drawn, +and the first scene of the long tragic drama enacted which convulsed +the kingdom. + + ¹ _Large Declaration. Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages + 20‒21. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + _The Covenanting Struggle._ + + +THE moment had come for the King and his advisers in England to +manifest their wisdom. Two lines of action were open to them, either +unconditionally to withdraw the Liturgy, or at once to overwhelm all +opposition. Charles was not inclined to adopt the first; and though +quite unprepared to enforce the second, yet he clung to it, and +only slowly and with difficulty became aware that his power was not +commensurate with his will. The prevailing condition of the national +mind was but imperfectly understood at headquarters in London; the King +himself had merely looked at a few unimportant circumstances on the +surface of society, and from these concluded that the Scots would offer +little opposition to the introduction of the Liturgy. In the _Large +Declaration_ the King stated the reasons which he had for believing +that his commands would be obeyed, and that the Liturgy would be +received. These in effect were, that the nobles, and his Scottish +subjects generally, who resorted to England, attended the churches in +that country without finding any fault or quarrelling with the service; +that the English Liturgy had been regularly read in the Chapel Royal +at Holyrood since the year 1617, and had been attended by all classes +without dislike; that it had been used by the bishops while conferring +orders, and for several years back it had been read in some of the +cathedral churches, and in the new College of St. Andrews; that for +years many families had used it in private, and that when he was in +Scotland, it had been read in all the churches which he attended. +That inasmuch as the Scottish Liturgy was in substance the same as the +English one, he never expected that a charge of popery or superstition +would be brought against a Liturgy which had been compiled by the +bishops and other divines, who, in Queen Mary’s reign, had preferred +banishment and death to submission to Rome, and which since had been +cherished by the English clergy, who had done much to oppose popery.¹ +But expectations founded on these reasons ought not to have misled the +King and his counsellors. Apart from political adversaries, resistance +of another character might easily have been anticipated, from the +manner in which the Liturgy itself was introduced, and from the +nature of the book. It had been long known that the Presbyterians did +not recognise any ecclesiastical supremacy in the King, or even any +special right in the sovereign to interfere with religion, without the +concurrence of the Church, and therefore it should have been foreseen, +that they would certainly oppose the important alterations introduced +by the authority of the King. The tone of the King’s despatches +distinctly manifest his view of the matter, which in effect was +this――everyone in Scotland had done something wrong, or neglected +to do what they should have done; his Majesty alone, under God, was +thoroughly in the right, and therefore his will must be obeyed. But +this misguided King was rudely brought to feel that there were stronger +and more resolute minds and wills in Britain than his own. + + ¹ Pages 19‒21. + +Meanwhile the agitation and excitement had greatly increased throughout +the kingdom. Differences had also arisen among the members of the Privy +Council; the bishops blamed the lords, and the lords blamed the bishops +for what had happened, instead of presenting a united front to the +opposition. While the Government were thus frittering away their +energies, petitions against the Liturgy began to be drawn up and +presented. The first one came from Fife, headed by Alexander Henderson, +which was followed by another from Glasgow. Henderson, minister of +Leuchars, in name of himself and his brethren, presented a petition +to the Privy Council on the 23rd of August, 1637. This document stated +that the moderator of their presbytery had ordered them to receive +two copies of the new Liturgy, and they had expressed their readiness +to receive one copy, that they might ascertain what it contained, +before they consented to use it. But this proposal was not accepted, +and therefore they entreated the Lords of the Council to suspend the +charge against them, for the following reasons:――1. Because the Liturgy +is neither warranted by the authority of the General Assembly nor by +any act of Parliament; 2. Because the liberties of the true Church, +and the form of religion and worship received at the Reformation, and +universally practised since, were warranted by the acts of the General +Assembly, and by several Acts of Parliament; 3. Because the Church +of Scotland was a free and independent Church, and her own ministers +were best able to discern what was in harmony with the Reformation, +and calculated to promote the good of the people; 4. Because it was +notorious that disputes, divisions, and trouble had arisen in the +Church about a few of the many ceremonies contained in this Liturgy, +which, when examined, had been found to depart far from the worship +of this Church, and in some most essential points to draw near to +the Church of Rome; 5. Because, since the Reformation, the people +have always been taught a different doctrine, and they would not +likely be willing to agree to such changes, even though their pastors +were willing to submit. The Lords of the Council then passed an act +declaring that there had been a misunderstanding touching the intention +of the former acts: as they had only meant that ministers should buy +copies of the Liturgy, and nothing more; but this was inconsistent with +the tenor of their former acts, and with the proclamation prefixed to +the Liturgy itself. At the same time the Council addressed a letter to +the King, informing him of the discontent and of the clamour against +the Liturgy in all parts of the country; and that they had agreed to +let the matter rest till further instructed by his Majesty, after he +should have summoned to his presence some of their own number.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 19, + 449‒450; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 227‒229. + +The King replied on the 10th of September. He declined to call any of +the councillors to London, but expressed his displeasure that they had +not caused the Liturgy to be read, and that they had been remiss in not +bringing those who raised the tumult in July to condign punishment. He +insisted that every bishop should cause the Liturgy to be read in his +own diocese. + +By this time a large number of petitions against the Liturgy had been +circulated throughout the country; and on the 20th of September many +of them were presented to the Council. The movement was rapidly gaining +strength; as about twenty of the nobles, many of the gentry, and the +chief men of the towns had joined it. A great number of people had +assembled at Edinburgh, and the Earl of Sutherland presented a general +petition to the Council, in name of the nobility, the barons, the +ministers, and the burgesses. It urged that the introduction of the +Liturgy would disturb the peace of the kingdom, and earnestly requested +the Council to report to the King the real state of affairs, and +to endeavour to persuade him to desist from interfering with their +religion. The Council were sorely perplexed, hesitated, and wist not +what to do; at last, they declined answering the petitions till they +received instructions from the King. In a letter to the King, the +Council stated that more than sixty-eight petitions had been presented +against the Liturgy; they also requested the Duke of Lennox, who +was then leaving for London, to inform the King of the true state of +matters, and the difficulties which had unhappily arisen.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 21‒22, 33, + 453; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 233‒235. + +On the 9th of October, 1637, the King informed the Council that he +had postponed an answer to the petitions. About the middle of this +month a greater number of people than before met at Edinburgh to await +the King’s answer, and with the view of inducing the magistrates to +join them; while six fresh petitions from two hundred parishes were +presented. A favourable and wise answer from the King might still have +dissipated all alarm. On the 17th of the month, the reply was announced +in the form of three proclamations at the Cross of Edinburgh. The first +stated that nothing would be done that day touching Church affairs, +and the multitude of petitioners and strangers were commanded to leave +the capital within twenty-four hours; the second ordered the seat of +government and the courts of law to be removed to Linlithgow (a move +which had been tried before); and the third denounced a book, which had +been popular, viz., “A Dispute against the English Popish Ceremonies +obtruded upon the Church of Scotland,” all copies of which were ordered +to be brought in to the Council, and publicly burned.¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 32‒34; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume + II., page 236. + +The citizens of Edinburgh and the people then assembled there were +deeply offended, and directly resolved to disobey the proclamations, +and not to separate till they had established a rallying-point. The +next morning, while the Bishop of Galloway was on his way to the +Council-house, a mob attacked him and pursued him to the door; while +the crowd surrounded the Council-house, and loudly demanded that the +obnoxious lords should surrender. The Council dispatched a messenger +to the magistrates, asking their help, but he found that they were +in the same plight as the Council. A part of the mob had stationed +themselves around the town house, and some of them forced their way +into the lobbies, and threatened that unless the magistrates joined the +burgesses in opposing the Liturgy, they would burn the building. When +this became known to the Privy Council, the High Treasurer and the Earl +of Wigton forced their way through the multitude to the town-house. +After a brief consultation, it was agreed that the magistrates +should do all in their power to disperse the crowds; they accordingly +announced to the seething multitude that they had acceded to the +demands of the people, and were ready to join in their petitions +against the Liturgy. The Treasurer and his followers now thought that +they might venture to return to the Council-house; but as soon as they +appeared on the street, they were assailed with hootings and jeers. The +lords assured the excited people that they would urge their requests +upon the King, but this was received with scornful hissing. Then a +rush was made, and the Treasurer was thrown to the ground, and his hat, +cloak, and staff of office were torn from him, while he was in danger +of being trodden to death; but some of his companions got him to his +feet, and the pressure of the crowd half carried him and his friends to +the Council-house door, where they immediately disappeared. In a short +time the magistrates joined the Council, and then the authorities were +beset, many of them trembling for their lives. At last it was resolved +to send for the nobles who had already declared themselves against +the Liturgy, and by their exertions the crowd was dispersed, and the +councillors got in safety to their homes.¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 34‒38; _Baillie’s Letters and + Journals_, Volume I., pages 37‒38. + +Meantime, the nobles, the gentry, the ministers, and others opposed to +the Liturgy, had been engaged deliberating on the form of a complaint +against the bishops, which was to be presented to the Council. Two +forms were prepared, one by Henderson and Lord Balmerino, the other by +Dickson and Lord Loudon. The latter was adopted, and immediately signed +by about twenty-four earls and lords, by upwards of a hundred of the +gentry, and by many of the ministers. The subscribers of this document +stated, that by the tenor of the late proclamations they had been +forced to remonstrate against the archbishops and bishops of the +kingdom, who having been entrusted by the King with the government +of the Church, had framed and enjoined two books――the Canons and the +Liturgy; and that, in the Liturgy, not only were the seeds of divers +superstitions sown――idolatries, and false doctrines, but also the +English service-book was abused, especially in the communion, in a +manner quite contrary to the intentions of the blessed Reformers of +religion in England; while in the Book of Canons the observance of the +Liturgy was enforced under the penalty of excommunication, and many +regulations were enacted tending directly to foster superstition and +error. And therefore, from their duty to God, to their King, and to +their country, they craved that the matter should be tried, according +to the laws of the kingdom; and that meanwhile the bishops should not +be suffered to sit as judges. The Council promised to forward this +petition to the King.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 35‒37. + +The opposition party before separating, resolved to meet again on the +15th of November. In the interval they were to exert themselves to +the utmost to ensure as large a meeting of the people as possible to +receive an answer to their former petitions. + +On the appointed day many earnest men arrived in Edinburgh, the +influx of people being greater than ever, while the Earls of Rothes, +♦Cassillis, Eglinton, Home, and others, mingled with the crowd. The +Privy Council, fearing a repetition of the former tumults, held a +conference with some of the leaders of the petitioners at Linlithgow on +the 14th of November. The councillors complained that the multitude of +people congregated at Edinburgh threatened to break the peace of the +kingdom, and that these meetings were illegal. The nobles, on the side +of the petitioners, insisted on their right to meet and to present +their grievances; but to remove any cause of complaint, they suggested +that their party were ready to act by representatives, and thus render +crowded meetings unnecessary. The Council agreed to this proposal, and +perhaps unwittingly lent its aid to the embodiment of a power in the +nation which was quickly to supersede its own. The opposition party’s +scheme soon assumed a definite form. Four permanent committees were +appointed: the first comprising all the nobles who had joined the +movement; the second consisting of two representatives from each of +the counties; the third embracing one minister from each presbytery; +and the fourth including one or two deputies from each burgh. These +committees sat at different tables in the Parliament House――hence in +history they were called the “Tables;” and together they represented +the community. For business and effective action each of the committees +elected four representatives, and these united formed a select +deliberative body of sixteen members, appointed to sit constantly +in Edinburgh, with instructions to assemble the larger body of +representatives when any critical emergency appeared. At first they +merely took charge of the petitions, and urged them upon the attention +of the government;¹ but they soon began to feel themselves strong +enough to formulate proposals and plans for the party, and proceeded +to issue mandates which were more respected and better obeyed than the +proclamations of the King and his Council. They virtually assumed the +functions of rulers, and the real control of affairs soon fell into +their hands. + + ♦ “Casillis” replaced with “Cassillis” + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., page 243; Baillie’s _Letters + and Journals_, Volume I., pages 40, 42. + +Though the troubles which the King’s policy had raised in Scotland +were thus forced upon his attention, even yet he but dimly understood +the character of the movement. Accordingly he deemed it sufficient +to dispatch the Earl of Roxburgh to negotiate; and then issued a +proclamation intimating to his faithful subjects that he had delayed +answering their petitions owing to the tumultuous and violent acts +done in Edinburgh in contempt of his royal authority. He was graciously +pleased to protest that he abhorred all popery, and that he had no +intention of doing anything contrary to the laws of Scotland. This was +not likely to pacify a people almost ripe for rebellion; accordingly +the movement continued to develop and gather vigour. + +On the 21st of December, 1637, the representatives of the Tables +appeared before the Privy Council, and demanded that their petitions +should be heard. Lord Loudon boldly restated their grievances touching +the Book of Canons, the Liturgy, the Court of High Commission, and +the bishops, who, it was asserted, were the authors of all these +innovations. As the bishops were the chief delinquents, and directly +interested parties, it was claimed that they should not be allowed to +sit as judges upon the matters in dispute between the government and +the petitioners. The Council’s hands being tied by orders from the +court, they remitted the whole matter for the determination of the King. +The following is a part of Loudon’s speech before the Council:――“A more +weighty and stately cause than this, for which we now appear before +your lordships, was never pleaded before any judge on earth: being for +the defence of the true religion and established laws, on which depends +the welfare both of Church and Commonwealth, our condition of life, of +liberty, and temporal estate in this transitory world, and our eternal +happiness in the world to come; our duty to God Almighty, the supreme +King of kings, and our allegiance and duty to our sovereign lord +and master the King.... And in respect that, by the whole strain of +our supplications and complaints, given in to your lordships, the +archbishops and bishops are our direct parties, as contrivers, devisers, +introducers, maintainers, and urgers of the Books ... and other +unlawful innovations and just grievances complained of by us, we crave +that the matter may be put to trial, and the bishops taken order with, +according to the laws of the realm, and not suffered to sit as judges, +until our cause be tried and decided according to justice; so these +prelates being the only parties, of whom we have at this time justly +complained, must be declined as our judges, seeing that they cannot be +both judge and party, according to the loveable laws of this kingdom. +And our declaration ought to be sustained as relevant against them, +notwithstanding that they have purposely absented themselves at this +time, because if the matter and action depending shall not be decided +at present, but shall happen, by answer or letter from his Majesty, +to be remitted back to the Council, the chancellor and bishops who +are councillors will be judges in the complaint given in against +themselves; and the chancellor, with six or seven of the bishops, +making up a quorum of the Council, may determine and dispose of our +cause and petitions, now depending, as well as they passed an act +of Council for approving the Liturgy before it was either printed or +seen.”¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, page 46. Baillie’s _Letters and + Journals_, Volume I., pages 455‒458. + +The government and the King were now sadly perplexed; and about the +beginning of 1638, Traquair, the Lord Treasurer of Scotland, was +called to London. He found that the King was extremely ignorant of +the real state of affairs in Scotland. Those whom he trusted were +partly responsible for this; but the King himself was unwilling to +be informed as to difficulties which he had himself helped to create. +Some consultation was held concerning what was next to be done; but +the idea of yielding to the opinions and sentiments of the people was +never entertained by the King. In the end it was resolved to adhere +to the Liturgy and the Court of High Commission, and to condemn and +ignore all that had been objected against them, in order that the royal +prerogative might be maintained. Popular meetings and demonstrations +were to be prohibited and suppressed, while his Majesty took the +responsibility of the Liturgy upon himself. The Treasurer returned with +his instructions in the middle of February.¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, page 33, 1677; + Stafford’s _Letters_, Volume II. + +The Privy Council and the Court of Session were then at Stirling, +and a proclamation in accord with the royal conclusions was issued on +the 19th of February. But the representatives of the Tables had been +informed of this, and Lindsay and Home were there before the Treasurer +himself. Accordingly, when the heralds had performed their part by +proclaiming his Majesty’s will, Lindsay and Home immediately took +instruments in the hands of a notary, and protested that they should +still have a right to petition the King; that they would not recognise +the bishops as judges in any court; that they should not incur any +loss for not observing such canons, rites, and proclamations as were +contrary to Acts of Parliament and to Acts of the General Assembly; +that if any disturbance should arise, it should not be imputed to them; +that their requests proceeded from conscience, with no object save the +preservation of the Reformed Religion, and the laws and liberties of +his Majesty’s ancient kingdom. This protest was in name of the nobles, +the barons, the ministers, and the burgesses, appointed to attend +the King’s answer to their humble petitions. Similar protests on the +part of the petitioners were entered at Linlithgow and Edinburgh, and +wherever the royal proclamation was issued.¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 48‒52. + +The crisis was at hand. The opposition party felt that they could not +recede, and therefore it was necessary for them to look to the future. +Their only hope of successfully resisting the King was to unite on some +common principle and end, easily understood, and capable of touching +the sympathies, emotions, and the religious feelings of the people, +and thus combine them together for action. At this stage an old custom +suggested itself to them, as appropriate to the circumstances and the +emergency. It was proposed, as in bye-gone days, that every adherent +of the cause should be bound as one man by a solemn covenant. This +kind of engagement, as we have seen, reached far back in the history +of Scotland, under the name of “bonds of manrent,” by which the +aristocracy leagued themselves together for mutual defence, or for +performing some exploit, as the defeat of an enemy, the imprisonment +or the murder of their King. On this occasion, the party opposed to +the King’s measures met at Edinburgh about the end of February, 1638, +and agreed to revive the Confession and Covenant of 1581, which at +that time was signed by James VI., his government and the people, +throughout the kingdom.¹ To prepare the minds of the people, several of +the ministers of Edinburgh preached in favour of renewing the Covenant. +The framing of the famous document itself was entrusted to Alexander +Henderson and Johnston of Warriston; and the Earls of Rothes, Loudon, +and Balmerino were selected to revise it. This national Covenant +consisted of three parts: the first was a copy of the Confession of +1581; the second contained a summary of the various Acts of Parliament +which condemned Roman Catholicism, and ratified the Reformed Church; +the third was the new Covenant or bond, by which the subscribers swore, +in the name of the “Lord their God,” that they would remain in the +profession of their religion; that they would defend it to the utmost +of their power from all errors and corruptions; that they would stand +by the King’s person in support of the true religion, the liberties, +and the laws of the kingdom; and that they would stand by each other +in defence of the same against all persons whatsoever. When the first +draft of the Covenant was submitted to the committees, there were +differences of opinion about it. Some thought that they could not +bind themselves together for mutual defence without incurring treason; +but after a long discussion, and some alterations having been made, a +general agreement was obtained.² + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 372‒73; Volume II., pages 89, 177, 228. + + ² Peterkin’s _Records of the Church of Scotland_; Baillie’s + _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 52‒54. At first + Baillie had scruples, and he caused some of the articles of + the Covenant to be modified, but after his concurrence in + the general agreement, he says:――“What will be next, the + Lord only knows, we are to humble ourselves in fasting and + prayer.” _Ibid._, page 54. This Confession and Covenant + is usually printed in the same volume with the Westminster + Confession. + +The Covenanters had now assumed a new position in the kingdom. They had +cast aside the character of humble petitioners to the authorities, and +began openly to exercise the functions of government themselves. They +had become a compact and well organised body, ready to act upon the +people in the most effective manner, by appealing to their religious +convictions and feelings, to their national pride and passion, and to +their hopes and fears. + +When everything had been prepared for securing the adhesion of the +people, it was resolved to inaugurate the new scheme at Edinburgh, on +the 28th February, 1638. A multitude of the people had then congregated +in the Greyfriars’ Church and Churchyard; and there they were addressed +in glowing terms on the preservation of their religion, the true +Presbyterian polity, their duty to God and their country, till their +feelings and emotions were raised to such a high pitch of enthusiasm, +that they firmly believed their everlasting happiness depended on +maintaining the purity of the reformed faith. Such was the feeling +of the people, when, at two in the afternoon, the Earls of Rothes and +Loudon, Henderson and Dickson, ministers, and Johnston of Warriston, +appeared with the Covenant. Henderson having opened this part of the +proceedings with prayer, Loudon addressed the assemblage; and then +all were asked to come forward and sign the Covenant. The Earl of +Sutherland was the first to sign, being followed by Sir Andrew Murray; +thereafter crowds surrounded the table, and when those in the church +had signed the Covenant, it was taken out to the graveyard and placed +on a flat gravestone. There the enthusiasm reached its greatest height, +men and women being equally eager to subscribe their names. The brave +work went on for several hours, till every inch of the long roll of +parchment was covered. Night at last closed the scene. “It was a day +wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed――a day wherein the princes +of the people were assembled to swear fealty and allegiance to that +great King whose name is the Lord of Hosts.” Henderson described it +as――“The day of the Lord’s power, wherein they had seen His people +most willingly offer themselves in multitudes, like the dew of the +morning.”¹ + + ¹ Wilson’s _Defence of the Reformation Principles of the Church + of Scotland_; Rothes’ _Relation_. + +The following day copies of the Covenant were circulated in Edinburgh, +the citizens almost universally signing it, while other copies were +immediately sent throughout the kingdom. Efforts were made to arouse +the enthusiasm of the people, and many with uplifted hands subscribed +and swore to maintain the Covenant. Commissioners were sent to Glasgow +and to Aberdeen, the only places where serious opposition was expected. +The Professors of the University of Glasgow, and some of the ministers +who held the doctrine of non-resistance, were opposed to the Covenant, +and refused to subscribe. The doctors of the University of Aberdeen +also spoke and wrote boldly against the Covenant, and in spite of the +efforts of a deputation from the South, very few of the citizens of +Aberdeen could be induced to sign it; they asserted that it was an +unlawful combination against established authority. Pamphlets were +published on both sides of the question, and the controversy was hotly +maintained for a time. But this war of words was shortly hushed amid +the general unanimity of the other parts of the kingdom. Such was the +energy and tact of the leaders of the movement, that within two months +nearly all the inhabitants of Scotland had given in their adherence to +the Covenant, except those above mentioned, the courtiers, the bishops +and their fraction of adherents.¹ + + ¹ _The Answers of some Brethren of the Ministry to the Replies + of the Ministers and Professors of Aberdeen_, 1638; Baillie’s + _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 62‒64, 66, _et seq._ + It may be noted that, immediately after the Covenant was + sworn at Edinburgh, the leaders of the party communicated + with their friends in London, and sent them copies of the + Covenant. + +The Privy Council, already alarmed, were sitting at Stirling while +the Covenant was being carried about the streets of Edinburgh for +signatures, and great was their embarrassment at the determined +opposition of the Presbyterians. After four days’ deliberation they +agreed to send Sir John Hamilton, the Justice Clerk, to London, to +inform the King that the whole nation was in a state of excitement; +that the Book of Canons, the Liturgy, and the High Commission, and the +modes in which they had been introduced, were the causes of all the +turmoil; and that His Majesty should, “as an act of singular justice,” +inquire into these grievances of his subjects. The Earls of Traquair +and Roxburgh also wrote to the King, distinctly informing him that the +dread of religious innovation had raised a conflagration amongst all +classes of the people which was daily becoming more vehement, and that +no force in the kingdom could suppress it. As religion was the pretext, +they suggested that it would be well for the King to free his subjects +from their fears by withdrawing the Book of Canons and the Liturgy, +and then he would be in a better position to punish the insolence of +those who persisted in kicking against his authority. In the month +of April, several members of the Privy Council and nobles were called +to the Court, while some of the bishops were already there; the King, +therefore, had a good opportunity of knowing the real state of Scotland. +If anything more was needed to inform him, it was supplied in a paper +forwarded to the Scottish Lords at court, containing a clear statement +of the grievances of the Covenanters. This document expressly stated +that the recalling of the Book of Canons and the Liturgy would not +be sufficient to restore peace; it demanded that the High Commission +should be utterly abolished, and complained of the Perth Articles, of +the civil offices, and of the seats in parliament held by the bishops, +and the oaths exacted from ministers. The Covenanters requested that +a lawful and free General Assembly and a Parliament should be summoned +as in former times, to redress the grievances of the people, to settle +commotions, and to pacify the minds of the nation. + +The Justice Clerk and other Scottish Councillors suggested soothing +remedies, and the position of matters was earnestly discussed. At last +the King called to his closet the Archbishops of Canterbury and St. +Andrews, the Bishops of Galloway, Brechin, and Ross, and the Marquis +of Hamilton, and measures of repression were resolved upon. At this +meeting the King announced his intention to send the Marquis of +Hamilton to Scotland as High Commissioner with power to settle the +troubles of the nation.¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 34‒43; + Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 252‒261. There is + evidence that Hamilton had a better grasp of the difficulties + than the King; yet even the Marquis had not a very complete + appreciation of the hardness of the task which he undertook + when he entered on the mission of defeating the aims of the + Covenanters. + +A proclamation was prepared to be sent with Hamilton to Scotland. In it +the King promised not to press the Canons and the Liturgy, except in a +fair and legal way; that he would limit the High Commission, and that +he would overlook all that was past, if his subjects would renounce +and disclaim their factious bonds, and return to their loyal duty; but +those who declined to do this would be treated as rebels and traitors. +The King’s instructions to Hamilton were signed on the 16th of May, +1638, and were in accord with the contents of the proclamation just +indicated. They extended to twenty-eight articles, the last of which +was in these terms:――“If you cannot, by the means prescribed by us, +bring back the refractory and seditious to due obedience, we do not +only give you authority, but command all hostile acts whatsoever to be +used against them, they having deserved to be used in no other way by +us, but as a rebellious people; for the doing whereof we will not only +save you harmless, but account it as acceptable service done us.” + +Meanwhile the Covenanters were proceeding with their work. They had +little confidence in the word of the King, as he had already shown +that his opinions and feelings were entirely against them. Several of +the presbyteries had relieved the constant moderators of their duties, +while some of the uncovenanted ministers were removed from their +churches. In some cases, the clergy who clung to Episcopacy and refused +to take the Covenant, were mobbed and maltreated, but the majority of +the Covenanters disapproved of such proceedings, though they were not +always able to prevent outrages.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 70‒71; + Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 43‒51. + +Early in June, 1638, three months after the first signing of the +Covenant, the Marquis of Hamilton arrived in Scotland. It was evident +from the King’s instructions to him, that there was no intention +of granting the demands of the Covenanters, and the Marquis soon +discovered that his instructions were entirely futile. All the southern +counties were under the control of the Covenanters. They had already +ordered supplies of arms, and threatened to seize the Castle of +Edinburgh. The Crown could place little reliance on the Privy Council, +as some of its members were associated with the discontented nobles. +Lord Lindsay told Hamilton that the people would never relinquish the +Covenant; that Episcopacy must be modified, if not abolished; and that +if a Parliament and General Assembly were not summoned by the King’s +authority, the Covenanters would take matters into their own hands. +So Hamilton did not venture to publish the royal proclamation, as he +had no means of enforcing it. He wrote to the King, stating that his +Majesty should be prepared either to concede all the demands of his +subjects, or to suppress the movement by force. Charles replied that +his preparations were progressing, that the Castles of Edinburgh and +Stirling should be secured, and meantime he instructed Hamilton to +flatter the Covenanters with any hopes he pleased, to gain time, until +he should be in a position to suppress them: for said Charles――“I will +rather die than yield to their impertinent and damnable demands; for +it is all one to yield to be no king in a very short time.” On the 20th +of June, the King informed Hamilton that his warlike preparations were +well advanced. Arms for 14, 000 foot, and 2000 horse, had been ordered, +and his ships were ready. Other communications passed between the King +and Hamilton, the result being thus stated by Charles himself:――“I will +only say, that so long as this Covenant is in force, whether it be with +or without explanations, I have no more power in Scotland than as a +Duke of Venice, which I will rather die than suffer; yet I command the +giving ear to their explanations or anything to win time. Lastly, my +resolution is to come myself in person, accompanied like myself, sea +forces, nor Ireland, shall not be forgotten.”¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 52‒61. + +Hamilton saw that he could do nothing to restore the confidence of +the nation, and resolved to return to London for fresh instructions. +Before leaving, he issued, in an amended form, the King’s proclamation, +which had now assumed something of an apologetic strain in defence of +the King’s action. It was published at the Cross of Edinburgh, on the +4th of July, and when the royal herald concluded, the representatives +of the Covenanters immediately began to read their protest. The +proclamation had no effect in appeasing the Covenanters. Touching this +royal proclamation, Baillie says: “It was heard by a world of people +with great indignation: we all do marvel that ever the Commissioner +could think to give satisfaction to any living soul by such a +declaration, which yet he often professed with confidence of that paper +before it was heard; there must be some mystery here which is not yet +open. This declaration cannot be the one which his grace brought with +him, that was thought certainly to contain a command of surrendering +our Covenant; but of our Confession is no syllable; yet this has +apparently been drawn up here very lately by the bishops and statesmen +who are trusted, with the consent as it seems of the Commissioner, for +the date of it is but six or seven days, at Greenwich, before it was +proclaimed at Edinburgh.”¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 95‒106. _Letters and Journals_, + Volume I., page 91. + +Before the Marquis departed, the leaders of the Covenanters intimated +to him, that if he did not return by the 5th of August with a +favourable answer to their demands, they would consider themselves +entitled to take whatever steps they thought fit. He left on the 6th of +July, and did not return till the 8th of August. During his absence the +Covenanting party were actively engaged in strengthening and completing +their organisation; and excepting Aberdeen, they had almost the entire +nation on their side. In the Northern and Western districts some of the +ministers were unwilling to subscribe the Covenant, but the influence +of the local nobles tended to overcome their scruples.¹ + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., page 277; Rothes’ _Relation_. + +When Hamilton arrived at Court, after some deliberation the King, with +the advice of Laud, issued new instructions to his commissioner. On his +return to Scotland, he was empowered under limits to summon a General +Assembly and a Parliament; he was to endeavour to arrange that the +bishops should have votes in the Assembly, and if possible that one of +them should be moderator of the Assembly; he was to protest against the +abolition of bishops, but might permit them to be tried if accused of +definite crimes. He was further to insist that no laymen should have +votes in electing the ministers from the presbyteries to the General +Assembly. With the aim of counteracting the effects of the Covenant, +it was proposed that the King should sign the Confession of 1560, and +publish it with a bond to be subscribed by all his subjects, by which +they were to swear to maintain the Confession, and to defend the King’s +person, and the laws and liberties of the kingdom. But this movement to +withdraw the people from the national Covenant completely failed.¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 111, 113‒117; Burnet’s _Memoirs of + the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 65‒68. + +On Hamilton’s return to Scotland, he found that the demands of the +Covenanters had rather increased, and that they could not agree to the +limits which his instructions required. If they were to have a General +Assembly, the scope of its proceedings must be left, they said, to +the judgment of its members; while they had resolved that both elders +and ministers should have votes in the election of the members of +the Assembly. Further they declared that they would not consent to +be fettered beforehand――their Assembly must be free; and hinted to +the Royal Commissioner that it might be called by themselves without +waiting for the King’s authority. The Marquis thus finding that no +concessions could be obtained from the Covenanters, again proposed +to visit the court and consult with the King; and having promised to +return an answer by the 20th of September, he left for London.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 99‒101; + _Large Declaration_, pages 117‒122. + +The King and Hamilton met at Oatlands, and on the 9th of September, +new instructions for the Royal Commissioner were signed. The weakness +of the King’s policy, and the utter folly of many of his proposals +touching the difficulties in Scotland, had become painfully manifest. +But to crown his folly, he now consented to sign the negative +Confession of 1581, which formed the first part of the Covenant, as +if this royal act, after what had already happened, would raise the +confidence of the people in their King. The Privy Council were ordered +to sign it themselves, and to command all his Majesty’s subjects to +follow the example of their King and at once subscribe it; for if they +must have a Covenant, it was his pleasure that they should accept this +one alone.¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 72‒75; + _Large Declaration_, pages 134‒135. + +Hamilton arrived in Edinburgh on the 17th of September, and a meeting +of the Council was immediately held. The King’s proposals were placed +before the meeting, and the councillors agreed to subscribe the +negative Confession as required, and passed an act expressing their +satisfaction. They also resolved that the King’s concessions should +be proclaimed. Accordingly, it was announced at the Cross of Edinburgh +that a General Assembly was appointed to meet at Glasgow on the 21st +of November, 1638, and a Parliament at Edinburgh on the 15th of May, +the following year. All the people were commanded to follow the good +example of the King and his Council, by subscribing the negative +Confession and bond for the defence of religion and law. But this move +completely failed to entrap the Covenanters; and they protested as +usual against the proclamation. Thus, for a short time, there were +two Covenants in the field competing for popular support, the King’s +one and the Tables’ one; both were canvassed vigorously throughout +the kingdom, both sides reproaching each other with employing coercion +and discreditable means to procure signatures. While these covenanting +operations were proceeding, every town and every parish became +excessively excited, and people readily believed anything that seemed +to favour their own party. The King’s Covenant was signed by a majority +of the judges, by many in Angus, in Aberdeen, and by some in Glasgow. +It was reported that twenty-eight thousand in all had signed it, +of which twelve thousand were obtained through the influence of the +Marquis of Huntly; but it failed to secure anything approaching to the +amount of support accorded by the people to the National Covenant.¹ + + ¹ _Large Declaration_, pages 137‒153, _et seq._; Baillie’s + _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 103‒108; Burnet’s + _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, pages 79‒83. + +The nation was now wistfully looking forward to the approaching General +Assembly, on which so great an issue depended. The leaders and the +committee of the Covenanters were actively and earnestly engaged in +preparing for the proper constitution of the Assembly. In the end of +August directions had been sent to the Presbyteries how to proceed; +and minute instructions were subsequently despatched to them touching +the mode of electing their representatives, along with a copy of the +Act of Assembly of 1597, concerning the number of members which each +Presbytery was entitled to send to the Assembly. They got a form +of commission, and in short, the committees of the Tables managed +the elections in such a way that the most ardent of the Presbyterian +ministers were returned as members, and the leading lay Covenanters +as ruling elders. Their organisation was so complete, and their energy +so effective, that the supporters of Episcopacy gave up the contest in +despair.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 469‒472; + _Large Declaration_. + +But one serious difficulty yet remained, the trial of the bishops. As +the Covenanters had no legal power to cite the bishops to appear before +the Assembly, they requested Hamilton to grant a warrant for summoning +them, but he refused this on the ground that it was enough if he +refrained from placing any obstacle in the way of their being brought +to a fair trial. Indeed, the bishops’ declinature had already been +revised by the King, and was intended to be used, not merely as a +bar to their trial, but also as a pretext for dissolving the Assembly +itself. The Covenanters then asked the judges of the Court of Session +to grant a summons against the bishops, but they replied that such +causes were beyond their jurisdiction. The leaders of the Covenanters, +however, had determined not to be baffled for lack of legal forms +and precedents. A libel was framed and signed by a long list of +nobles, burgesses, and ministers, and brought before the Presbytery +of Edinburgh; and this body, after considering the matter, remitted it +to the coming Assembly.¹ + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 297‒300; Burnet’s + _Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton_, page 88; _Large + Declaration_, pages 209‒220. + +This libel against the bishops consisted of two chief parts, the +one containing charges against them as a body, and the other special +charges against each of the bishops personally; the latter, however, +being only founded on common report, were never intended to be proved. +It is the first, or the historical part of the libel, which has any +real value, as the charges in it contained matters which could be +proved or disproved on historic grounds. Thus they were accused of +breaking the cautions agreed to in the General Assembly of 1600, +concerning ministers’ votes in Parliament and other points; of +violating several points of the Book of Discipline, and of the Book of +Fasting; of teaching doctrines contrary to the Reformation Confession +of Faith; of exacting unlawful oaths from entrants to the ministry; +of assuming the position of diocesan bishops, taking consecration +and claiming the power of ordination and jurisdiction in virtue of an +unwarrantable office; of introducing the Book of Canons, the Liturgy, +and the High Commission, and so causing great dissension between the +King and his subjects. This part of the indictment against the bishops +could easily be supported by a mass of unimpeachable evidence, but it +is needless to enter into its details. When the Covenanters made grave +charges against the personal character of the bishops, their action +cannot be so clearly justified. + +The Covenanters had prepared for mustering in force, and as the day of +the meeting of the Assembly approached, men began to flock into Glasgow +from all quarters of the country. On the 16th of November, the western +nobles arrived with their vassals and friends; and the following day +the eastern nobles, gentry, and ministers entered the city. Hamilton, +as Royal Commissioner, accompanied by the Lords of the Privy Council, +arrived on the 17th; and the city of the west presented a scene of +unusual bustle. For the next three days, both parties were intently +engaged in strengthening themselves for the contest.¹ + + ¹ Baillie says――“On Friday, the 16th of November, we in the + west, as we were desired, came into Glasgow.... We were + informed that the commissioner and his councillors were to + take up the town with a great number of their followers; so + that the nearest noblemen and gentlemen were desired to come + in that night well attended. The town did expect and provide + for huge multitudes of people, and put on their houses + and beds excessive prices.... On Saturday the most of the + Eastland noblemen, barons, and ministers came in. In the + afternoon, my Lord Commissioner, with most of the Council, + came in; my Lord Rothes, Montrose, and many of our folks + went to meet his grace: much good speech was among them; + we, protesting that we would crave nothing but what clear + scripture, reason, and law would evince; his grace answering, + nothing reasonable should be denied.”――_Letters and Journals_, + Volume I., page 121. + +After much preliminary arrangement, the Assembly met on the 21st of +November, 1638, in the Cathedral Church. The members of the Assembly +consisted of one hundred and forty ministers, ninety-eight ruling +elders from presbyteries and burghs, and two professors not ministers. +Among the elders, there were seventeen nobles, nine knights, +twenty-five landed proprietors, and forty-seven burgesses, all men of +some local standing,――thus the total number of members was two hundred +and forty.¹ Burnet says――“There were about two hundred and sixty +commissioners; besides that, from every presbytery there were also +assessors, from some two, three, four, or more, who had no vote, but +only to give advice; so that in all they made a great number.” + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records of the Church of Scotland_; _Memoirs of + the Dukes of Hamilton_, page 98. + +The first day was occupied with religious services and matters of form. +The second day, the Covenanters insisted that the election of moderator +was the first thing to be done in order to constitute the Assembly, but +the Royal Commissioner and his party argued that a moderator should not +be chosen till the commissions of the members were examined, that it +might be known who were properly entitled to vote. When it appeared +that Hamilton would be defeated on this point, he proposed to read a +paper presented to him in the name of the bishops against the Assembly, +but the proposal was met with shouts of dissent. A stormy debate ensued, +followed by protests and counter-protests, which continued till every +one was wearied. After this, Henderson, minister of Leuchars, was +chosen moderator, and Johnston of Warriston appointed clerk. Johnston +was well versed in the law, a man of keen judgment, and an ardent +Covenanter. Several days were passed in examining the commissions of +the members, and other disputed points, while some sharp debating took +place, in which the Royal Commissioner had to encounter the leading +disputants of the Assembly. + +On the 27th of November, the bishops’ declinature of the Assembly’s +authority was again urged by Hamilton, and this time it was read by the +Clerk of the Assembly, amidst jeers and laughter. Hamilton spoke and +argued on the weight and importance of the document, and some parts of +it were debated. The next day, the moderator put the question――Whether +the Assembly found itself a competent judge of the bishops? The Royal +Commissioner then rose and said: If the Assembly proceed to censure +the office of the bishops, he must immediately withdraw, as the King’s +sanction could not be given to this. He spoke earnestly touching +the admission of lay elders as members of the Assembly, to which he +strongly objected; referred to the irregular form in which the bishops +had been cited, and asserted that the Assembly had no right to act +as their judges. Speeches were delivered from the other side on the +freedom of the Assembly; to which the Commissioner replied, by arguing +that the election of the members had been controlled by the Tables, +that for months before the Assembly, the orders of the Committees of +the Tables had been obeyed by all; and, at last, in the King’s name +he declared the Assembly dissolved, and departed. But immediately a +protest was read that his absence should not prevent the Assembly from +proceeding with the work which it had undertaken. It was then put to +the vote, whether they should adhere to their protest, and continue +the Assembly, and it was agreed almost unanimously to continue it to +the end. The next important question was, whether the Assembly was +competent to judge the bishops, and this too was answered unanimously +in the affirmative, as also that it was proper to proceed with their +trial. + +Thereafter the Assembly went on rapidly with its business. All the acts +of the Assemblies since 1605, including the five Articles of Perth, +were annulled. Acts were passed condemning the Book of Canons, the +Liturgy, the Book of Ordination, the High Commission, and Episcopacy. +The bishops themselves were tried and condemned, though none of them +were present in the Assembly. Probation of the libels against them was +referred to a committee; with the result that they were all deposed, +and eight of them excommunicated. The nation did not want bishops, and +that was deemed an all-sufficient reason for casting them out. They +had always allied themselves with the despotic tendencies and arbitrary +proceedings of the Crown; they were in reality the tools of the King: +they belonged to him, and not to the people; they were intended to be, +and had been, to the utmost of their power, the pliant ministers of the +royal will, not the servants of the nation, and hence the suddenness +and completeness of their fall. + +As the Assembly had abolished Episcopacy, it naturally followed that +the Presbyterian polity should be restored, with its appropriate +organisation. Acts were passed concerning the visitation of colleges +and schools, and for planting schools in the country; acts forbidding +ministers to accept civil offices, for repressing popery and +superstition, and for the better observance of Sunday; acts for +dealing with those who spoke or wrote against the Covenant, prohibiting +the printing of books touching Church affairs without the warrant +of Archibald Johnston, Clerk to the Assembly and legal adviser of +the Church; and many other acts. Finally, on the 20th of December, +the Assembly agreed to address a letter to the King justifying their +proceedings and requesting his approval. The meeting then closed its +work by appointing the next General Assembly to meet at Edinburgh in +July 1639.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records of the Church of Scotland_; _Large + Declaration_, pages 234‒324; Baillie’s _Letters and + Journals_, Volume I., pages 123‒176; Balfour’s _Annals_, + Volume II., pages 301‒316. + +Presbyterians have long looked back to the General Assembly of 1638, +as the date of their Second Reformation, though it cannot be compared +to the Revolution of 1560. Its proceedings were somewhat violent, like +all revolutionary movements which are the result of the preceding and +existing states of society――the outcome of its dominant thought and +sentiment and feeling. As explained in the second volume, the degree of +violence connected with a revolutionary change originated amongst the +people, depends upon the state of their civilisation at the time of its +occurrence.¹ In this instance, the amount of violence which ultimately +flowed from the hostile movement in Scotland against the King and his +government was not by any means entirely attributable to the Scots; +as England, Ireland, and even more distant lands participated in the +struggle. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + II., pages 94‒95. + +The firm establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland was the end and +aim of the Covenanters, and the movement was watched with interest +by the adherents of a similar polity in England. Indeed, in the +circumstances of Europe at the time, the cause of the Scots appeared +to be the cause of Protestantism, which had so recently been everywhere +placed at a disadvantage by the defeat of Nordlingen. In 1637 the arms +of the Catholics had asserted their supremacy on the Rhine and in the +Netherlands; and the marked advance which Catholicism was once more +making roused the Protestant spirit to the utmost vigilance. + +We are now arrived at the time when an intimacy sprang up and mutual +relations were formed between the Covenanters and a vigorous party +opposed to the policy of the King in England, both being prompted +by a common dislike to Episcopacy. The ruling motive in the policy +of Charles I., was to maintain and complete the Tudor principles +of government in Church and State in England, and to extend them +to Scotland. The Scots met him in an attitude of opposition as yet +unexampled in any other monarchy. He hoped, and had vainly tried, to +crush them by the strength of his influence in England. The results of +his action were that the movement spread to England itself. + +The origin and cause of the Covenanting struggle having been indicated +at some length, it would be superfluous to burden this work with the +details of the civil war which ensued, save in so far as is requisite +for a proper understanding of the sequence of leading events. + +After the conclusions of the Glasgow Assembly, civil war became +inevitable, and both parties actively prepared for it. The Covenanters +began to buy arms and to enlist men. At this time, fortunately for them, +the fury of the war on the Continent was abated; and many Scotchmen +who had been engaged in it, were returning home, where the signs of the +coming contest were already unmistakable. One of the most distinguished +of these military adventurers was General Alexander Leslie, who became +leader of the Covenanting armies. He was a man of comparatively humble +birth, but in the German wars he had attained to rank, and gained much +experience. He speedily organised a Scottish army, and equipped it +for the field. The Covenanters seized the Castles of Edinburgh and +Dumbarton, and other important posts, and made every preparation for +the approaching conflict.¹ + + ¹ Spalding’s _Memorials of the Troubles_, Volume I., page 130; + Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 111, + 195‒198. + +The King had ordered his army to muster and meet him at York, in April, +1639; and though the English clergy naturally contributed largely to +the support of the army, still the war was unpopular. Charles proposed +to lead his army in person, and sent a fleet into the Firth of Forth, +under the command of the Marquis of Hamilton, to interrupt trade, to +threaten Leith, and to favour the rising in the north under the Marquis +of Huntly, who had received a royal commission of lieutenancy on the +16th of March. + +Huntly mustered his followers, and on the 25th of March he was at +Inverurie with a force of five thousand men. When he received tidings +that the Covenanters were marching to the north under the command of +the Earl of Montrose, Huntly knew that without assistance from England, +he could not face the enemy. He called a council of war, and on its +advice, disbanded his troops, leaving Aberdeen open to the Covenanters. +A number of the leading citizens, accompanied by some of the Doctors, +fled from the city to offer their services to the King; while others +found refuge in houses in the vicinity of the town. Montrose marched +into Aberdeen on the 30th of March at the head of six thousand men; and +the Covenanters of the surrounding country joined him with other three +thousand men. Leaving a garrison in the city, he advanced on Inverurie, +where he quartered his troops on the opponents of the Covenant. Huntly, +seeing no hope of aid from the South, then sought an interview with +Montrose; and on the 5th of April a compromise was effected, by which +the Catholics, who were not to be pressed to sign the Covenant, agreed +to maintain the laws and liberties of Scotland. Huntly was permitted +to return to Strathbogie. A few days after, he was invited to Aberdeen, +under a safe conduct signed by Montrose and the other leaders, and +arrived there on the 12th of April. Montrose’s object was soon apparent. +He had entrapped Huntly, and made him a prisoner. The Marquis and his +eldest son, Lord Gordon, were immediately conveyed to Edinburgh. On +arriving at the capital, Huntly was pressed to take the Covenant, but +replied, “for my own part, I am in your power; and resolved not to +leave that foul title of traitor as an inheritance upon my posterity. +You may take my head from my shoulders, but not my heart from my +Sovereign.” Thus the King’s hope of a rising in his favour in the North +was blasted. + +In fact, ere Charles arrived at York the whole of Scotland was in +the hands of the Covenanters. In the end of May, the Covenanting army +was encamped at Dunse Law, while Charles had advanced to Berwick, and +posted his force on the opposite side of the Tweed. The two armies thus +lay for some days watching each other, both seeming unwilling to strike. +The Covenanters knew their advantages, but if they could have induced +the King to grant their requests without battle, they would have been +glad. In the words of Baillie:――“We sought no crowns; we aimed not at +lands and honours; we desired but to keep our own in service of our +prince, as our ancestors had done; we loved no new masters. Had our +throne been vacant, and our votes sought for the filling of Fergus’s +chair, we would have died ere any other had sitten down on that fatal +marble but Charles alone.” He gives an interesting account of the +Scottish Covenanting army as it lay encamped. “It would have done +you good to have cast your eyes athort our brave and rich Hill, as I +oft did, with great pleasure and joy; for I was there among the rest, +being chosen preacher by the gentlemen of our shire, who came late +with my Lord Eglinton. I furnished to half-a-dozen good fellows muskets +and pikes, and to my boy a broadsword. I carried myself, according +to custom, a sword, and a couple of Dutch pistols at my saddle; but +I promise, for the offence of no man, except a robber by the way; +for it was our part to pray and preach for the encouragement of our +countrymen, which I did to the utmost of my power cheerfully. Our hill +was garnished on the top, towards the south and east, with our mounted +cannon, nearly to the number of forty, great and small. Our regiments +lay on the sides of the hill, almost round about: the place was not a +mile in circle, a pretty round rising in a declivity, without steepness, +to the height of a bowshot; and on the top somewhat plain; about a +quarter of a mile in length, and as much in breadth, and capable of +containing tents for forty thousand men.... Our captains, for the most +part, were barons or gentlemen of good note; our lieutenants almost +all soldiers who had served abroad in good charges; every company had, +flying at the captain’s tent-door, a brave new colour, stamped with the +Scottish arms, and this――‘For Christ’s Crown and Covenant,’ in golden +letters.... The councils of war were held daily, in the castle at the +foot of the hill; the ecclesiastical meetings in Rothes’ tent. The +general came nightly for the setting of the watch on their horses. +Our soldiers were lusty and full of courage; the most of them stout +young ploughmen; and a great cheerfulness in the face of all: the only +difficulty was to get money to pay them. None of our gentlemen were any +the worse of lying some weeks together in their cloak and boots on the +ground, or standing all night in arms in the greatest storm. + +“Our soldiers grew in experience of arms, in courage, and in favour +daily; every one encouraged another; the sight of the nobles and their +beloved pastors daily raised their hearts; the good sermons and prayers, +morning and evening, under the roof of heaven, to which their drums +did call them for bells; the remonstrance very frequent of the goodness +of their cause, of their conduct hitherto, by a hand clearly divine; +and also Leslie, his skill and fortune, made them all as resolute for +battle as could be wished. We were afraid that emulation among the +nobles might have done harm, when they should be met in the fields; but +such was the wisdom and authority of that old, little, crooked soldier, +that all, with an incredible submission, from the beginning to the +end, gave over themselves to be guided by him, as if he had been Great +Solomon. Certainly the obedience of the nobles to that man’s orders was +as great as their forefathers’ wont to be to their king’s commands: yet +this was the man’s understanding of our Scots humours, that gave out, +not only to the nobles, but to the meanest gentleman, his directions +in a very homely and simple form, as if they had been but the advices +of their neighbour and companion; for, as he rightly observed, a +difference should be used in commanding soldiers of fortune and of +volunteers; and of the latter the greater part of our camp consisted. + +“Had you lent your ear in the morning, or especially at even, and +heard in the tents the sound of some singing psalms, some praying, and +some reading scripture, you would have been refreshed. True, there was +swearing, and cursing, and brawling in some quarters, whereat we were +grieved; but we hoped, if our camp had been a little settled, to have +taken some way of dealing with these disorders.”¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., page 215. + _Letters_, Volume I., pages 211‒214, 245. Baillie himself + made his will before he joined the army. + +Negotiations were shortly after opened, which led to the following +arrangement: the King published a declaration, stating that the +religious matters in dispute were to be referred to a General Assembly +to be held at Edinburgh on the 6th of August, 1639, and to a Parliament +to meet on the 20th of the same month. The King promised to recall +his fleet and disband his army; the Covenanters were to disband their +forces within forty-eight hours, to restore the castles to the Crown, +and to hold no public meetings except those authorised by the law. This +treaty was accompanied with explanations which afterwards caused much +dispute. Peace was proclaimed in the English and in the Scottish camps, +on the 18th of June; but mutual confidence between the King and the +Scots was not fully restored.¹ + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume II., pages 324‒332; Baillie’s + _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., pages 218‒221; Rushworth, + III., 944. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh, on the 12th of August, 1639, +and the Earl of Traquair attended as Royal Commissioner. The Assembly +again condemned Episcopacy in clear and emphatic terms, and the King’s +Commissioner concurred. The Covenanters now felt themselves strong, and +the proceedings of the committees appointed by the Glasgow Assembly, +touching the deposition of ministers, were approved, with a statement +that those deposed merely for signing the bishops’ declinature, or +receiving the Liturgy, might be restored on their repentance and +submission. The Assembly renewed the Covenant, and requested the +Commissioner and the Privy Council to pass an act commanding every one +in the nation to subscribe it. The Council agreed to this, and passed +the desired enactment. Thus the Covenant was becoming an instrument of +intolerance. On the 30th of August, the last day of the Assembly, the +members presented a petition to the Royal Commissioner against a book +entitled “Large Declaration Concerning the Late Tumults in Scotland,” +lately published in the King’s name. They requested the King to recall +this book, and to grant authority to summon and bring to Scotland all +Scotsmen, who were known or suspected to have been concerned in its +composition, especially Walter Balcanqual. The Commissioner promised +to place the petition before the King, and to report the result.¹ The +Assembly appointed its next meeting to be held at Aberdeen, in July +1640. + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_. The book which gave so much offence + to the Assembly is the one often referred to in the notes + of the preceding pages of this volume――_Large Declaration_: + it is well known to all students of Scottish history, and it + contains valuable historical papers and documents about the + troubles in Scotland; though, of course, it presented many + remarks and reflections which were extremely offensive to the + Covenanters. + +Parliament met on the day after the Assembly rose, but it accomplished +very little. Bills concerning the abolition of Episcopacy passed the +Lords of the Articles, but they were not brought up for the sanction +of the House. Time passed, and messages went between the Royal +Commissioner and the King. Charles’s fatal policy of always insisting +on retaining something, which he imagined might be of use to him in the +future, led him to maintain the position, that he would not consent to +any act of Parliament rescinding the existing laws by which Episcopacy +had been established. This frustrated the object for which Parliament +had met. At length Parliament was prorogued to the 14th of November, +and then till the 2nd of June, 1640, nothing having been settled. +The Covenanters rightly thought that the King was trifling with the +important matters in dispute, and thus the causes of dissension were +continued and intensified. + +Charles again resolved to chastise the rebellious Scots. He still +desired to act as a despotic King, and hoped to extinguish all +opposition in Scotland. He summoned his English Parliament, which met +in April, 1640. A majority of this Parliament refused to grant supplies +till they had obtained redress of their grievances; but rather than +submit, the King dissolved Parliament in anger, after a session of +three weeks. Charles now decided to raise money and an army by other +modes――such as benevolences, forced loans, commission of array, or in +any other way by which he could muster a force to fight against the +Scots. But difficulties were fast thickening around him, and when the +2nd of June came, he again sent a Commissioner to prorogue the Scottish +Parliament. In carrying this out, however, a formal mistake was made, +which the Estates instantly seized upon; and accordingly they proceeded +to business. They enacted that henceforward the nobles, the barons, and +the burgesses should be considered as constituting the three Estates of +the kingdom, and all former acts permitting churchmen to sit and vote +in Parliament were repealed. The Acts of the last General Assembly were +ratified; and it was commanded that all His Majesty’s subjects should +sign the Covenant. It was also enacted that a Parliament should meet +every three years; and before separating they appointed a permanent +committee of the Estates, to act when Parliament was not sitting.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages + 288‒292, 299‒303. This parliament condemned the King’s _Large + Declaration_, “as full of untruths and lies, derogatory to + his Majesty’s honour and to his loyal subjects,” and they + ordered the authors of it to be punished, according to the + laws of the kingdom. Page 302. + +The General Assembly met at Aberdeen in the end of July, 1640; but +no commissioner appeared to represent the King. The Aberdeen doctors +and several other northern ministers were tried before the Assembly, +and some of them deposed from the ministry. Acts were passed against +the revilers of the Covenant; against witches and charmers; and for +abolishing the monuments of idolatry. The Assembly had also under +consideration the practice of private meetings, but there was a +difference of opinion on this point among the members. Ultimately an +act was passed for the regulation of family worship, by which private +meetings, if held at improper hours, or composed of more than one +family, were forbidden.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, + Volume I., pages 248‒255. + +But the Covenanters did not trust merely to the acts of the Assembly +and of Parliament to secure their rights and further their ends. +Throughout the spring and summer they had been actively engaged in +organising their army; and had even sought to strengthen themselves +by soliciting the assistance of France. In the north war was already +declared against all the enemies of the Covenant. The Scots sent two +manifestoes into the North of England, one a broadside for popular +distribution, and the other in the form of a small pamphlet, in +which they protested that the matter should be brought to an issue; +as they could not afford to continue in arms for an indefinite +period. Therefore, they were coming to England to ask redress of +their grievances from the King; although they could scarcely hope for +redress from him, but rather from a Parliament. Copies of the Scottish +manifesto were freely circulated in London on the 12th of August; +and Charles at a Council held on the 16th of August, announced his +intention to proceed in person to York, and to assume the command of +his disorganised army. On the 20th the King began his march from London +to York, which he reached on the 23rd. His army consisted of about +twenty-two thousand foot and three thousand cavalry, but they were +neither well disciplined nor well led. On the 21st of August a Scottish +army of twenty-five thousand men under the command of General Leslie, +advanced southward, and crossed the Tweed at Coldstream. As soon as +they entered English territory, a manifesto was issued explaining the +object of the expedition and justifying it. The Scots advanced and +forced the passage of the Tyne, defeating the royal troops; and on +the 30th they took Newcastle and occupied it. They next advanced on +Durham, and occupied the line of the Tees. On the 4th of September +the Scots petitioned the King to listen to their grievances, and with +the concurrence of the English Parliament to arrange a lasting peace. +Charles ordered Hamilton, the Secretary for Scotland, to intimate +to the Scots that the King had summoned the Peers to meet at York on +the 24th of September; and if they would then express their demands +more definitely, he would give them a fitting answer; and meantime he +desired them not to advance farther. In reply the Scots restated their +demands thus;――that his Majesty would be pleased to ratify the acts of +the last Parliament; that the Castle of Edinburgh, and other fortresses, +should be occupied only for the security and defence of the country; +that Scotsmen in England and Ireland should not be molested for having +signed the Covenant; that the incendiaries, who had caused the troubles, +should be brought to trial; that the expense incurred by the war, +should be refunded, with the advice and concurrence of the English +Parliament. + +About this time, a number of the English nobles also petitioned +the King to summon a Parliament. His difficulties daily increasing +he offered to negotiate with the Scots, and summoned the English +Parliament to meet at Westminster, on the 3rd of November, 1640. This +assemblage was afterwards known as the Long Parliament. Within a few +weeks after it met, Stafford was impeached. + +The Commissioners appointed by the King and by the Covenanters met at +Ripon on the 2nd of October, 1640, and agreed that the Scottish army +should remain inactive at Newcastle; for this they were to receive +eight hundred and fifty pounds a-day. Thus matters remained for some +time, till the place of negotiation was transferred to London. After +the 26th of October, the Scottish commissioners and the ministers who +accompanied them, took an active interest in the policy of the English +Parliamentary party. After long and very difficult treating, terms +of peace were agreed upon, and ratified on the 10th of August, 1641. +The main points of the agreement were that the acts of the Parliament +of 1640 should be ratified; that the Castle of Edinburgh and other +fortresses should be restored and used for the defence of the kingdom, +with the advice of Parliament; that the King should not appoint men to +office who had been declared disqualified by Parliament. “And whereas +unity in religion and uniformity in Church government has been desired +by the Scots, as a special means of preserving peace between the two +kingdoms, his Majesty, with the advice of both Houses of Parliament, +does approve of the affection of his subjects of Scotland, in their +desire of having conformity of Church government between the two +nations; and as the Parliament has already taken into consideration the +reformation of Church government, so they proceed therein in due time +as shall best conduce to the glory of God, the peace of the Church, +and the good of both kingdoms.”¹ The Scots desired the abolition of +Episcopacy in England, and their Commissioners argued for a union in +religion between the two Kingdoms. On the 17th of May 1641, this matter +was debated in the House of Commons, and a resolution in favour of +conformity in Church government was carried. Yet, the House of Commons, +though willing to overthrow Episcopacy, had no enthusiasm for Scottish +Presbyterianism. At this time, the King wished to please the Scots, +and make them contented, and thereby to separate their cause from that +of the English. To promote this end, he resolved to visit Scotland. +Accordingly he arrived in Edinburgh on the 14th of August, 1641. + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume I., page 263; _Acts + of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 341 _et + seq._, pages 371‒382. + +The Estates had been sitting in Edinburgh since the middle of July; +and the King attended a meeting of the House on the 18th of August, +and delivered a speech. He spoke of the differences which had arisen +between him and his subjects, and of his anxiety to settle them; of +his love to his native country, which had caused him to face and to +overcome many difficulties in order to be there at that time. He +referred to the royal power which had descended to him through one +hundred and eight descents, and which they had so often professed to +maintain. In short, he said, “the end of my coming is to perfect all +that I have promised; and withal to quiet those distractions which +have, and may fall out amongst you; and this I am resolved fully and +cheerfully to do; for I can do nothing with more cheerfulness than to +give my people content and a general satisfaction.”¹ + + ¹ Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume III., pages 40‒41; _Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 362 _et seq._ + +Parliament sat long, and occupied itself with many things. It passed +three hundred and nine acts, which touched upon many points of a +personal and social character, as well as political and religious +matters. It enacted that no one should sit in Parliament till he gave +in his adherence to the Covenant. The acts of the Parliament of June +1640, were ratified, and received the royal assent; the prerogatives +of the Crown were diminished; and in several points, the constitution +of Parliament itself was changed. The King seems to have thought that +he would be able to manage the English, if he could only pacify the +Scots. He left Edinburgh for England on the 18th of November. But the +breach between him and his English subjects was daily widening. His +interference with the freedom of the members of Parliament aroused +intense excitement, and he found the city of London an unsafe place for +him. Accordingly he removed his court thence to York in the spring of +1642.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages + 338‒660. + +The Covenanters might now have been satisfied, as they had obtained +all that they demanded; but other views and aims had entered into +their minds, and they desired to give their principles a wider range of +application, therefore when the opportunity for this presented itself, +it was natural for them to embrace it. While England was entering on +the struggle of civil war――the Parliamentary party and the King’s party +each preparing for the contest――it was impossible for the Scots to +remain passive observers of the momentous conflict.¹ + + ¹ Carlyle, in his _Letters and Speeches of Cromwell_, gives + a vivid sketch of the proceedings of the King at this time. + “January 10, 1642, the King and his court quit Whitehall, the + five members and parliament proposing to return to-morrow, + with the whole city in arms round them. He left Whitehall; + never saw it again till he came to lay down his head there. + + “On the 9th of March, 1642, he is at York, where his Hull + Magazine, gathered for service against the Scots, is lying + near; where a great Earl of Newcastle and other northern + potentates will help him; where at least London and its + parliament, now grown so fierce, is far off. + + “There we will leave him, attending Hull Magazine in vain; + exchanging messages with his parliament, messages, missives, + printed and written papers without limit. Law-pleadings of + both parties before the great tribunal of the English nation, + each party striving to prove itself right, and within the + verge of Law; preserved still in acres of typography, once + thrilling alive in every fibre of them; now a mere torpor, + readable by few creatures, not rememberable by any. It is + too clear his Majesty will have to get himself an army, + by commissions of array, by subscriptions of loyal plate, + pawning of crown jewels, or how he can. The parliament by + all methods is endeavouring to do the like. London subscribed + horses and plate, every kind of plate, even to women’s + thimbles, to an unheard of amount; and when it came to + actual enlisting, in London alone there were four thousand + enlisted in one day. The reader may meditate that one fact. + Royal messages, parliamentary messages, acres of typography + thrilling alive in every fibre of them――these go on slowly + abating, and military preparations go on steadily increasing + till the 23rd of October next. The King’s commissions of + array for Leicestershire came out on the 12th of June, + commissions for other counties followed at convenient + intervals; the parliament’s ordinance for the militia, rising + cautiously pulse after pulse towards clear emergence, had + attained completion the week before. The question puts itself + to every English soul, which of these will you obey?――and + in all questions of English ground, with swords getting + out of their scabbards, and yet the constable’s baton still + struggling to rule supreme, there is a most confused solution + of it going on.”――Volume I., pages 163‒164. + +The General Assembly met at St. Andrews on the 27th of July, 1642, the +Earl of Dunfermline presenting himself as royal Commissioner. Another +power requested the friendship of the Assembly, the English Parliament +having addressed a message to it, touching their quarrel with the King. +Success had rapidly enlarged the scheme of the Scotch Presbyterians; +as flattering opportunities appeared to be opening before their view, +they began to assume an aggressive attitude, and to entertain hopes +of establishing their polity throughout England. A powerful party +in England was intently bent on overthrowing Episcopacy, and the +Parliamentary leaders easily secured the assistance of the Covenanters. +In the Assembly’s answer to the English Parliament, the question was +stated at length; by a union of the Churches of the two kingdoms, they +might hope for a time when war and heresy should cease in the Island, +and truth and peace reign supreme. The Assembly appointed a large +committee, including a number of the nobles and the most distinguished +ministers, with power to forward the work which the Church had +undertaken, to consult with the King, and with the Parliament, and if +necessary, to prepare a confession, a catechism, a directory, and a +form of polity. This commission was renewed in subsequent Assemblies. +At the same time, the Assembly despatched an address to the King, +professing their loyalty, but urging unity in religion, and uniformity +in Church government.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; _Baillie’s Letters and Journals_, + Volume II., pages 50‒55. + +The letters of the Assembly were quickly answered, both by the King and +by the Parliamentary party. The latter announced the agreement of their +views with those of the Scots. They desired to see unity of religion +throughout his Majesty’s dominions; they stated that Episcopacy was +wrong in itself, and ought to be abolished; they intimated their +intention of calling an Assembly of learned divines to deliberate +on the subject, and invited some of the Scottish ministers to London +to assist at this Assembly on the 5th of November, 1642. This was +exceedingly satisfactory to the Covenanters. Shortly after, the English +Parliament passed an act abolishing Episcopacy; but, when Parliament +overthrew one form of Church polity, it did not establish another +in England¹――a result which the Covenanters failed to foresee. Their +sympathies went with the Puritans and the Parliamentary party; but, +knowing as they did the feeling of the King, they naturally distrusted +him. Thus they became closely associated with the leaders of the Long +Parliament. There was still, however, a small party in Scotland who +remained loyal to the King. + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, + Volume II., page 55. + +The swell of feeling among the Scots, joined with their deepest +religious sentiments and convictions, rose higher and higher; and it +was resolved to hold a convention of the Estates. The King at first +refused his consent; but the Estates met at Edinburgh on the 22nd of +June, 1643, and Charles then agreed to sanction it, if it would keep +within prescribed limits. The convention, however, declared itself free +to do anything which it thought fit. This meeting was attended by a +larger number of members than usually assembled in a Scotch Parliament; +and the people were prepared for it by a solemn fast. A remonstrance +was read from the Commission of the General Assembly, stating the +dangers to which religion and the kingdom were exposed, and urging that +the nation should put itself in a position of defence, and that they +should look upon the cause of their brethren in England as their own, +and assist the English Parliament. This proposal was well received; +but the King’s party attempted to advance his interest. There followed +a hot and long debate on the question, as to whether the Scots should +actively intermeddle in the affairs of England.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume II., pages 75‒80. + This minister says――“At the day, June 22nd, was a most + frequent meeting of Estates, never a parliament so great; all + the barons and burghs were for the Commonweal”――that is, for + assisting the English parliament. _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 3‒4, 6, 8, 9, 13‒15, 24, 36‒38, + _et seq._ + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 2nd of August, 1643, and +Sir Thomas Hope, the Lord-Advocate, appeared as the royal Commissioner. +On the opening day the members of the Assembly prepared themselves for +their task by fasting. On the 7th of August, four Commissioners from +the Long Parliament, one of whom was Sir Henry Vane, landed at Leith, +and a few days after they were introduced to the Assembly. They stated +in the Assembly that they warmly appreciated the energy of the Scottish +Church in extinguishing popery; that they were anxious to have this +reform completed among themselves; that they had already removed +the High Commission, expelled the bishops from the House of Lords, +abolished Episcopacy, and summoned an Assembly of divines, which had +now met at Westminster. They therefore earnestly entreated the Scots to +assist their brethren in England, then so hardly pressed by the King’s +forces, and exposed to the utmost peril. The proposals of the English +were much discussed in committee; but there were differences of opinion +in the Assembly. Some of the members thought that they should mediate +between the King and the parliament, without committing themselves; +but the opposite arguments of Johnston of Warriston and others at last +prevailed, and they agreed to cast in their lot with the leaders of +the Long Parliament. More debate took place concerning the tenor of +the agreement. The English commissioners proposed that a civil league +between the two nations should be formed, but the Scots would listen +to nothing save a religious covenant. The English then suggested that +toleration should be given to the Independents, as far as England +was concerned; but the Assembly would not agree to tolerate anything, +except presbyterianism in both kingdoms. After a long debate, the +document known as the “Solemn League and Covenant” was laid before +the Assembly, and unanimously accepted. The Estates also sanctioned +it in August, 1643. All the parties to this Covenant bound themselves +to preserve the reformed religion in Scotland, and to labour for the +reformation of religion in the kingdoms of England and of Ireland, in +doctrine, in worship, in discipline, and in polity, according to the +word of God and the example of the best reformed Churches; to struggle +to bring the Churches of God in the three kingdoms to the closest +uniformity in religion, faith, polity, and form of worship; and without +respect of persons, to endeavour to extinguish popery, episcopacy, +heresy, schism, profaneness, and everything opposed to sound doctrine +and the power of godliness; and with equal constancy to endeavour to +preserve the rights and privileges of the parliaments and the liberties +of the kingdoms, and to preserve and defend the King’s person and +authority, that it may be manifest to the world that they had no +intention of diminishing his Majesty’s just power and greatness. With +the same faithfulness they promised to pursue and bring to condign +punishment all incendiaries and malignants who hindered the reformation +of religion, divided the King from his people, or one of the kingdoms +from the other, or formed factions among the people to defeat the ends +of this League and Covenant.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, + Volume II., pages 88‒90, 95; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 41‒43. + +The Solemn League and Covenant was carried to London, the 22nd +of September, 1643, being appointed for signing it. On that day +the members of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the +Westminster Assembly of divines signed the League and Covenant; and +it was afterwards subscribed by many in every county of England. “The +House of Commons and the Assembly of divines take the Covenant, the +old Scotch Covenant, slightly modified now into a Solemn League and +Covenant, in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster. They lifted up their +hands _seriatim_, and then stept into the chancel to sign. Oliver +Cromwell signs, and next after him young Sir Henry Vane. There signed +in all about 220 honourable members that day. The whole parliamentary +party, down to the lowest constable or drummer in their pay, generally +signed. It was the condition of assistance from the Scots, who were +now calling out all fencible men from sixteen to sixty, for a third +expedition into England. A very solemn covenant, a vow of all the +people, of the awfulness of which we in these days of Custom-house +oaths, loose regardless talk, cannot form the smallest notion. Duke +Hamilton, seeing his painful Scotch diplomacy end all in this way, +flies to the King at Oxford,――is there put under arrest, sent to +Pendennis Castle near the Land’s End.” The immediate result of this +League was that a Scottish army of twenty thousand men crossed the +Tweed, to assist the Parliamentary army, and to seek conformity of +religion amid the scenes of civil war.¹ + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume II., pages 99, 102; + Carlyle’s _Letters and Speeches of Cromwell_, Volume I., page + 189. + +The theocratic ideas which I noticed in the second volume, had now +attained their greatest influence; the government of Scotland had +become a sort of theocracy. The power of the King was gone; the power +of the Estates was partly in abeyance; the General Assembly being the +ruling body. The ministers and elders constantly asserted that they +derived their authority from Jesus, the King and the Head of His Church. +Every act assumed a religious character; the war was religious, which +was proved by the fact that in the Old Testament the wars of God’s +people were called the wars of the Lord; and the hand of the Lord of +Hosts was on the side of the Covenanters. These ideas were associated +with the old Jewish exclusiveness and intolerance; and the Covenanters +were apt to regard themselves as the chosen people, and their own +Church as the only true one: to be a good Christian, it was necessary +to be a Covenanter. Romanism and Episcopacy were equally hateful to +them; and being firm and settled in their own convictions and opinions, +they gave no countenance to toleration.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, + Volume VI., pages 66‒68, 70, _et seq._ + +Seven Scotsmen attended the Assembly of divines at Westminster as +Commissioners from the Church of Scotland, viz.:――Henderson, Baillie, +Rutherford, and Gillespie, ministers; and Lord Maitland, Johnston +of Warriston, and Lord Cassillis. It has to be observed, that the +Assembly of divines, as constituted by the English Parliament, had +no authority in Scotland. The Scotch Commissioners declined to sit in +the Assembly as voting members; they preferred to take the position +of representatives of the Church of Scotland, and in London there was +a committee from the Scotch Estates to instruct and support them. As +representing Scotland, they might propose any point to the Assembly; +but their nation could not be compromised by the conclusions of the +Assembly. During their attendance at the Assembly, the Scots acted with +vigour and wisdom. + +Baillie’s account of their introduction to the Assembly, and of their +proceedings in it, is interesting. “On Monday morning, the 20th of +December, 1643, we sent to both Houses of Parliament for a warrant +for our sitting in the Assembly. This was readily granted, and by Mr. +Henderson presented to the Prolocutor, who sent out three of their +ministers to convey us to the Assembly. Here no mortal man may enter +to see or hear, let be to sit, without a written order from both Houses +of Parliament. When we were brought in, Dr. Twisse made a long harangue +for our welcome, after so long and hazardous a voyage by sea and land +in so unseasonable a time of the year. When he ended, we sat down in +those places which we have since kept.... We sit commonly from nine in +the morning to one or two in the afternoon.... Ordinarily there were +present about three score of the divines. These are divided into three +committees; in one whereof every man is a member. No man is excluded +who pleases to come to any of the three. Every committee, as the +Parliament gives order in write to take any purpose into consideration, +takes a portion, and in the afternoon meeting prepares matters for the +Assembly, sets down their minds in distinct propositions, and backs +their propositions with texts of Scripture.... No man is called upon +to speak, but who stands up of his own accord, and speaks as long as +he pleases without interruption.... They follow the forms of their +Parliament. + +“When our commissioners came up, they were desired to sit as members +of the Assembly; but they wisely declined to do so, since they came +up as Commissioners for our National Church to treat for uniformity, +they required to be dealt with in that capacity. They were willing as +private men to sit in the Assembly, and upon occasion to give their +advice on debated points; but, for the uniformity, they required that +a committee might be appointed from the Parliament and the Assembly +to treat with them on this subject. All this, after some sharp enough +debates, was granted.” In regard to the office of ruling elders――laymen, +“many a very brave dispute have we had upon them these ten days. I +marvel at the great learning, quickness, and eloquence, together with +the great courtesy and discretion in speaking, of these divines.... +This is a point of high consequence, and upon no other we expect so +great difficulty, except alone on Independency; wherewith we purpose +not to meddle in haste till it please God to advance our army, which +we expect will much assist our arguments. + +“It was my advice, which Mr. Henderson presently applauded and gave me +thanks for it――to eschew a public rupture with the Independents till +we were more able for them. As yet a presbytery to these people is +conceived to be a strange monster. It was for our good therefore, to +go on hand and hand so far as we did agree against the common enemy, +hoping that in our differences, when we behoved to come to them, God +would give us light. In the meantime we would essay to agree upon the +Directory of Worship, wherein we expected no small help from these men +to abolish the great idol of England――the Service book――and to erect +in all the parts of worship a full conformity to Scotland in all things +worthy to be spoken of.”¹ + + ¹ _Letters and Journals_, Volume II., pages 107‒110, 111, 117. + +The great difficulty was Church government. The Assembly of divines +proposed the presbyterian scheme; but the Long Parliament adopted +it only on the condition of its subordination to Parliament. The +Independents though few in number were powerful in Parliament; owing +to their strength of will, their intellect, and their energy of +character, they wielded much influence both in the army and in the +senate. The politicians of the Long Parliament, though they had +abolished Episcopacy, were unwilling to give independent power to +any form of Church organisation. The Scots Covenanters then began to +see that there was little hope of establishing their polity over the +British dominions. When the Westminster Assembly closed in 1648 its +great scheme of Church government practically ended with it. + +This Assembly was constituted by an ordinance of the Long Parliament, +on the 12th of June, 1643; Parliament named the members, and when +difficulties and disputes arose, they were to be referred to Parliament. +The Assembly sat long, and executed much laborious work; the general +drift of which, when completed, was decidedly Calvinistic. They framed +“A Form of Church Government,” “A Directory for Public Worship,” “A +Confession of Faith,” and two Catechisms. The Directory was brought to +Scotland by Baillie and Gillespie, and the General Assembly, in 1645, +sanctioned it, enjoining it to be observed by all the ministers of the +kingdom. The Westminster Confession of Faith was adopted by the General +Assembly in 1647, and in the following year the Assembly sanctioned +the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The Scotch Parliament ratified this +Confession and the acts of the General Assembly.¹ + + ¹ _Abridgements of the Acts of the General Assembly_, 138, + 345; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., page + 364, in the year 1649. No mention is made in the Act of the + Assembly “of the old Confession of 1560. It may be supposed + that the Assembly held both their old Confession and their + new to be true, and therefore consistent with each other; but + this is not stated. Whether in any sense they held the old + Confession to be still binding is a more difficult matter. + As the new one is to be a Confession for the three kingdoms, + it may be argued that the old Scottish Confession might + still continue as a municipal or domestic authority; but + as the change is founded on the obligation to uniformity + in religion, the presumption seems rather in favour of the + exclusive authority of the new Creed.”――Innes’ _Law of Creeds + in Scotland_, page 63. + +But it should be mentioned that this Confession and the Catechisms were +not sent into Scotland for observance by any command of the Assembly +of divines, or by any authority in England; the Church of Scotland +examined and approved them of her own accord. The body of doctrine +contained in this Confession, and abridged in the Longer and the +Shorter Catechisms, has long been the Creed of the Church of Scotland; +and has largely influenced the opinions and the character of the +people. + +While the Covenanters’ army was in England assisting the English +Parliamentary party, the government of Scotland was managed by a +committee of the Estates and the commission of the General Assembly. +Some of the nobles and others formed a Royalist party. The Earl of +Montrose who had been for some years an ardent Covenanter, now turned +round to the King’s side; and was commissioned by his Majesty to raise +the royal standard in Perthshire, in August, 1644. He was soon at the +head of three thousand men, many of whom were Irish Roman Catholics. +His short career and exploits have often been detailed at length, and +can only be concisely handled here; besides, his temporary victories +over undisciplined bodies of men merely added to the suffering of the +war, and had little influence on the main stream of history. + +Montrose’s force consisted of one thousand five hundred men, Irish and +Scots, who sailed from Ireland under Alaster Macdonald, and landed in +Ardnamurchan early in July 1644, and a number of Highlanders who rose +at the call of Montrose to fight for the King. Montrose concentrated +his men at Blair Athole. There were three bodies of armed men in the +field against him. Argyle was advancing from the west, another army +was stationed at Aberdeen, and a third, under Lord Elcho, consisting +of the men of Fife and the lower parts of Perthshire, to keep him in +check if he attempted to advance along the valley of the Tay. Lord +Elcho had about six thousand men, including seven hundred horse and +some artillery, and they were drawn up in the valley three miles west +of Perth to oppose the advance of Montrose. They were accompanied by +Covenanting preachers, who endeavoured to stir up their enthusiasm. +Montrose had three thousand men, and he knew well how to use them to +the best advantage. He drew up his men three deep and extended his +line to the utmost, and presented a front as long as the enemy’s. On +the afternoon of September 1st, 1644, he attacked the Covenanters under +Lord Elcho, and the first onset of the Highlanders threw them into +confusion, and in an instant Elcho’s army was routed and flying in all +directions. Two thousand of the Covenanters were slain in the pursuit. +In the evening Montrose was master of Perth. + +On the 4th, Montrose commenced his march for Aberdeen. In his progress +northward, the Earl of Airlie and some of the gentry of Angus joined +his standard, and added to his force a small party of horsemen. The +Marquis of Huntly could not make up his mind to follow Montrose, while +two of his sons, Lord Gordon, the eldest, and Lord Lewis, the youngest, +were in the Covenanting army through the influence of their mother’s +brother――Argyle. The Covenanting force of two thousand foot and five +hundred horse were posted on the side of a height in advance of the +city. On the morning of the 13th of September, Montrose reached the +vicinity of Aberdeen, on the west side of the town. He summoned the +magistrates to surrender the town, but they declined. He then prepared +for battle, and placed his horse on the wings of his line. Montrose +began the attack, and after a severe engagement, the Covenanters were +completely defeated and fled in confusion. Montrose’s army entered the +town, massacred the unarmed citizens on the streets, and sacked the +city. This proceeding greatly heightened the hatred of the Lowland +people against Montrose. + +He appealed to the Gordons for assistance, but they refused to move, +and he was forced to betake himself to the hills as Argyle was in +pursuit of him. Montrose marched westward to Rothiemurchus, and there +buried the cannon which he had taken at Aberdeen, and thence he winded +his way back to Blair Athole. But Argyle was advancing behind him, so +Montrose moved eastward, and then turned westward, crossed the Dee and +Don, and took up a position at Fyvie Castle. Argyle thought that he +had at last an opportunity of crushing his enemy. The Castle was then +surrounded on the north, the west, and the south by bogs, through which +only a narrow strip of ground allowed approach to an enemy; so Argyle +made his attack on the eastern side, where there were no obstacles. +Montrose posted his men on a hilly ridge, and when Argyle’s men +advanced to the attack, they were warmly received, and after a severe +contest were driven back. This gave Montrose an opportunity of retiring, +Argyle following him to Blair Athole, and back again from west to east, +but he failed to overtake his foe. Argyle then returned to Edinburgh +and delivered up his commission to the Committee of Estates. + +The Macdonalds and other clansmen advised Montrose to make a raid into +the territories of Argyle, and plunder his valleys round Inveraray. On +the 13th of December, 1644, Montrose entered the district of Argyle and +proceeded to waste it. Cattle and sheep were destroyed, and homesteads +burnt to the ground; no quarter was given, and every man of the name +of Campbell who fell into their hands was ruthlessly slain. Leaving a +desert behind him, he marched slowly through the valley of the great +lakes. When he reached Loch Ness he ascertained that his progress +was barred by the Earl of Seaforth, at the head of five thousand men, +mustered from the northern counties. Montrose had Seaforth’s army +before him, while Argyle had summoned two Lowland regiments to his +assistance, and with these and the remnant of his own clansmen who had +escaped, he took up his position with three thousand men at Inverlochy. +Thus it appeared that Montrose was at last caught in a trap――an army +in front of him and another in his rear. He had only about one thousand +five hundred men around him, yet he at once resolved to attack Argyle. +In order to prevent the Campbells from retreating, he turned to the +left, and advanced through the rugged pass of Corryarrick. On the night +of the 1st of February, 1645, by the bright light of the moon, Montrose +saw the Campbells in front of him, between the mountain and the shore. + +On the morning of the 2nd February, Argyle had no alternative but +fight, as his enemy was too near for retreat. Argyle had dislocated his +shoulder by a fall from his horse, and he was easily persuaded to take +refuge in a vessel lying in the loch, while he gave the command of his +army to Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck, an experienced soldier. +Montrose had a small company of horsemen, and at the moment when he +began the attack, he ordered the trumpeter to sound the cavalry charge, +which carried dismay into the enemy’s ranks. He then led his whole +force against Argyle’s centre. For a short time the Campbells fought +bravely; but at last they wavered, broke, and fled in utter confusion. +To the Lowland men quarter was given, but to the Campbells no quarter, +and about one thousand five hundred of them were slain under the eyes +of Argyle. For some time the Campbells ceased to be a power in the +western Highlands. Montrose was greatly elated by the victory, and +imagined that he would soon subdue the whole kingdom. + +Shortly after the battle, Montrose marched in pursuit of Seaforth, who +had blocked his way at the north-eastern end of the lakes, but Seaforth +fled. Montrose marched round, and when he reached Elgin Lord Gordon and +Lewis Gordon, Huntly’s sons, joined him, and their followers supplied +him with a small body of cavalry. Seaforth and Sir James Grant joined +Montrose at Elgin, and thus saved their estates from plunder: but the +lands and farmhouses of the Covenanters from Inverness to Kintore were +ruthlessly plundered and destroyed. On the 11th of February the Scotch +Parliament declared Montrose and his chief supporters to be guilty of +treason. He then marched southward, and when he reached Forfarshire, +he found his advance checked by Baillie and Hurry. Much time was spent +in manœuvring. At last Baillie marched away and entered Fife. Instead +of following him Montrose proceeded to Dunkeld, where his army rapidly +melted away, many of the Highlanders returning home. In a short time +he was left with only six hundred foot and two hundred horse. On the +3rd of April he commenced to march on Dundee, and on the 4th he forced +an entrance into the town, and the sack was immediately begun. In the +midst of the tumult, tidings came that Baillie and Hurry with their +whole force were rapidly advancing to the relief of the town. To fight +them was impossible; but Montrose drew off his men from the prey on +which they were intent, and marched out of the eastern gate as Baillie +was entering the western one. Forming his one hundred and fifty +horsemen as a rearguard, he placed two hundred of his best men in the +last ranks of the foot, to face about and support the horsemen in case +of an attack. Baillie followed close on Montrose, and before nightfall +he made a charge which was repelled, but he resolved to out-general his +enemy. While Montrose and his small party were running onward in the +dark towards Arbroath, Baillie was rapidly advancing to the left of +their line of march, with the intention of cutting them off from the +hills to the north-east, in order to hold them against the sea when +they reached Arbroath. After a short time, however, Montrose wheeled +to the right and slipped past Baillie. At last Baillie discovered his +enemy’s tactic, and started in pursuit on the right track. He came +in sight of the enemy separated about three miles from the shelter of +the hills. Montrose’s men were tired out and had fallen asleep on the +ground; but when Baillie’s cavalry approached, the officers managed to +rouse a sufficient number to present a front to the enemy, compelling +the hostile horsemen to withdraw and enabling his small party to escape +to the hills. + +For some time Montrose wandered about Perthshire with very few +followers, and had again to begin the work of collecting a force. On +the 20th of April, 1645, Aboyne joined him at Balquhidder. Baillie was +watching the Highlands from Perth, and Hurry had gone north to muster +the adherents of the Covenant for an attack upon the Gordons. Montrose +moved northward and Macdonald rejoined him on the march, and in the +upper stretch of the valley of the Dee he met Lord Gordon at the head +of a company of horsemen. He was again between the two hostile armies, +and to save the lands of the Gordons from plunder, he resolved to +attack Hurry. Montrose advanced toward the upper region of the valley +of the Spey; but when Hurry ascertained that his enemy was descending +the valley of the Spey, he formed his plan. With the aim of drawing +Montrose into a hostile quarter, Hurry marched from Inverness to meet +him near Elgin, and upon his approach, retreated so skilfully that +Montrose was unable to injure him. On the night of the 8th of May, +Montrose had reached the village of Auldearn, intending to follow Hurry +the following morning; but ere dawn on the morning of the 9th, Hurry +had fronted round, and intended by a rapid march to surprise Montrose; +and, if an untoward incident had not occurred, it seems probable that +he would have effected his object; but the night was rainy and wetted +the powder in the muskets of Hurry’s soldiers, some of whom fired a +volley to clear the barrels. It so happened that Macdonald’s sentinels +heard the sound, and thus Montrose had time to post his army in battle +array, which he did admirably. The battle was severe, and was long and +fiercely contested; the greater part of Hurry’s infantry stood their +ground and were slain on the field. + +Yet this battle was not decisive, for Montrose had soon to contend +against forces more numerous than his own. Baillie advanced from +Athole northward, crossed the Dee with two thousand men, and was joined +in Strathbogie by Hurry with a hundred horsemen, the remnant of the +army defeated at Auldearn. Montrose’s force was greatly diminished, +and being unable to fight, he advanced up the valley of the Spey for +safety. Baillie remained in the north to ravage Huntly’s lands. After a +time Montrose had again increased his force, and marching in search of +Baillie, he found him in a strong position at Keith. He did not venture +to attack him, but marched southward, crossed the Don, and halted at +Alford, Baillie following him. On the 2nd of July Montrose placed his +men in battle array on an elevated position. Baillie crossed the river +and prepared for battle. The engagement began and raged furiously with +no apparent success on either side; but at last Montrose was victorious +and no quarter was given to the vanquished Covenanters. For some +time after the battle Montrose made little progress with his scheme +of conquering the kingdom for Charles I., as he had only reached +Fordoun on his way southward in the middle of July. The Parliament +was transferred to Perth on the 24th of July to attend to the arrival +of the new levies of men for the army; and Montrose crossed the Tay +with the object of annoying them as much as possible. He manœuvred +round Perth for some time, and retired without effecting anything of +importance. + +On the 24th of August the battle of Kilsyth was fought, in which +Montrose completely defeated the Covenanters under Baillie and the +nobles. Upwards of five thousand of the Covenanters were slain in the +battle and pursuit. This was Montrose’s last victory, and henceforth +his real difficulties and the utter futility of his career became +painfully apparent. His vision of a great army of the Lowland Scots, +weary of the tyranny of Parliament and the Church, rallying under +the standard of the King’s Lieutenant, vanished like a dream. He had +disappointed the expectations of his actual followers, and they mourned +and returned to their homes. All his fond hopes were soon to be blasted. +His weakness was that he utterly failed to understand the real problem +of his day, and the spirit and feeling of the great majority of his +countrymen. + +David Leslie on the 6th of September crossed the Border, from England +to join issue with Montrose. He encountered the great hero of six +victories at Philiphaugh on the morning of the 13th of September 1645, +and completely routed him and his army. After his defeat Montrose +lingered about the Highlands; and in May 1646, Charles I. ordered him +to disband his followers, and go into France. On the 3rd of September +he escaped from Scotland and proceeded thither. + +Since the battle of Marston Moor, on the 2nd of July, 1644, in which +the Covenanting army took an active part, under David Leslie, the +King’s cause had been falling lower and lower; and by the end of the +year 1645 he was hardly able to keep the field. At last, driven to +despair, he fled to the Scottish army at Newark, in May, 1646. To +conquer the King had been an extremely difficult task; but to make a +treaty with him afterwards proved to be an impossible operation. He +was received by the Scots with every mark of respect, but he soon found +that his kingly powers were gone. The English parliament demanded that +the Scots should surrender the King, but they declined to do this. They +were still eager to extend Presbyterianism to England, and directly +attempted to work upon the King. He was asked both by the Scots +and by the English Presbyterians to abolish Episcopacy, to ratify +the proceedings of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, to sign the +Covenant himself, to compel others to sign it, and to establish a +Church in harmony with its principles. Charles on his conscience +declined to do this, as he had a firm conviction of the divine right +of Episcopacy. The Episcopal party in England was crushed, and the +struggle for supremacy now lay between the Independents and the +Presbyterians. The latter party were anxious to come to terms with the +King; and if he had agreed to their conditions, he might still have had +a chance of saving his crown and life, and of reigning as the head of a +limited monarchy. Commissioners from the Long Parliament, and from the +Scotch Estates implored the King to yield, but in vain. Charles pleaded +that his conscience would not allow him; and it may be admitted that +this was a redeeming feature of the King’s character. This attitude of +the King proved favourable to the power of the Independents, as most of +them desired the complete overthrow of the monarchy, and were strongly +opposed to the establishment of Presbyterianism in England.¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _Memoirs of the Duke of Hamilton_, pages 274‒283; + Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume II., pages 400, + 406‒417. + +While this tedious treating was still proceeding, the Long Parliament +intimated that there was no longer any necessity for the Scotch army +in England; while the Scots announced that they were ready to retire +as soon as their arrears were paid. In the matter of pay, however, +there was a serious difficulty, since between the amount claimed by +the Scots, and the amount which the English admitted as due, there +was a difference of many hundred thousands of pounds. The difference +between the two accounts in a large degree related to provisions, +which the English charged in full, but the greater part of which the +Scots asserted never came to them, having been taken by the enemy at +sea, part of it lost, and part damaged. The English charged in full +a levy of twenty thousand pounds per month, which the Scots averred +never yielded half that sum; the English charged ammunition and arms +furnished, which the Scots contended should have been supplied at the +expense of the English, as they were used in their service, and so +on with other items in the accounts. The sum claimed by the Scots was +nearly two million pounds, of which they acknowledged the receipt of +seven hundred thousand, but which by the English mode of accounting, +as indicated above, was made out to be fourteen hundred thousand――thus +leaving seven hundred thousand of a difference between the sum claimed +by the Scots and the sum admitted as due by the Long Parliament. +Accordingly at this time the arrears due to the Scots, according +to their reckoning, amounted to more than a million. A long wrangle +between the parties ensued; and every item in the account was minutely +examined and hotly debated, till at last the Scots offered to accept a +gross sum of five hundred thousand pounds. On this there was a vehement +debate in the Long Parliament. Finally, the English agreed to pay a sum +of four hundred thousand pounds――one fourth of it before the Scots left +Newcastle, and the remainder by instalments. If this transaction had +been a collusive bargain for the purchase of the King, as Mr. Buckle +and other writers have asserted, there surely would not have been so +much minute examination of the accounts, so much debating in order to +reduce the Scotch side of the account: but seriously to say that the +Scots sold their King for this money is an absurdity only of those who +have never really investigated the matter. + +The Long Parliament claimed a right to the possession of the King’s +person, and passed a resolution that it would dispose of him as it +thought fit. The Scots demurred to this, but the English determinedly +insisted that they must have the King. At last the Scotch Estates +agreed to let the King go to Holmby, in Northamptonshire, “there to +remain until he give satisfaction to both kingdoms in the propositions +of peace; but in the interim, that there be no harm, prejudice, +injury, nor violence done to his person.” On the 23rd of January, 1647, +the English Commissioners appointed to receive the King arrived at +Newcastle; and on the 30th of the month the Scotch army withdrew, and +proceeded to their own country.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages + 239‒241. + +The Presbyterians were bitterly opposed to the policy of the +Independents, who were waxing almost supreme in England. Towards the +end of the year 1647, the Scots sent commissioners to make a last +attempt to treat with the King, then a captive in the Isle of Wight. +He now promised to be the Covenanted King of a Presbyterian people, +and entered into a treaty with the Scots; but it came too late, and was +regarded as an act of treachery to the Long Parliament and the English +army, with whom he was at the time openly treating. This underhand +treaty with the Scots is known in history as “the Engagement.” + +The Estates met at Edinburgh in March, 1648, agreed to the Engagement, +and commissioned an army to aid the King. But the commission of the +General Assembly was opposed to this, and proclaimed that the King’s +concessions were incomplete. They demanded that he should take the +Covenant himself, and at once establish Presbyterianism in England. +The time for half-measures was past, and they insisted that their whole +polity should be established throughout the three kingdoms. Parliament, +however, ordered the army to muster, and to fight for the King, while +the Duke of Hamilton was placed in command.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, pages 295‒318, _et + seq._; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume III., pages + 33‒40, 44‒50. + +When the General Assembly met at Edinburgh in July, 1648, the members +manifested a spirit of opposition to the resolution of the Estates. +The committee on public affairs, consisting of the leading men of the +Assembly, took up the question of the Engagement, and approved of all +the proceedings of the commission concerning it. In reply to a letter +from the committee of the Estates, the clergy again declared that they +saw no possibility of securing religion so long as the Engagement was +maintained; since a union of the Malignants against the Independents +was an unlawful combination, for both were enemies to the cause of the +Covenant, and therefore all association with them should be avoided. +They reiterated the demand, that before the King was restored to the +exercise of his power, he should be bound by a solemn oath, under +his hand and seal, for settling religion according to the Covenant; +that there should be no engagement without a solemn oath; and that +the Church ought to have the same interest in it as she had in the +League and Covenant. They insisted that the control of public affairs +should be entrusted only to persons of unquestioned integrity. Finally, +on the day the Assembly rose, the 12th of August, they addressed a +supplication to the King, in which his Majesty was told that he had +already caused the blood of many thousands to be shed by his obstinacy, +and warned him no longer to set at nought the word of exhortation, or +to incur the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, who brings down the mighty +from their throne, and scatters the proud in the imagination of their +hearts.¹ + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records_; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, + Volume III., pages 52‒65. + +While the nation was in this divided state, the army of the Engagers, +undisciplined and poorly equipped, entered England with the grand aim +of delivering the captive King from the power of sectaries. But the +Duke of Hamilton was not a military genius; and his army straggled +forward in several divisions, at too long distances from each other. +Cromwell attacked him at Preston, on the 17th of August, 1648, and +defeated the Scots in detail, finally scattering them. Hamilton himself +was taken prisoner, and shortly after he was tried and executed.¹ + + ¹ Carlyle’s _Letters and Speeches of Cromwell_, Volume I., + pages 330‒351. + +When tidings of the defeat of the Engagers reached Scotland, Argyle, +Cassillis, and Eglinton assembled their adherents, and the clergy +joined them and called the people to arms. Some of the ministers, at +the head of their followers, marched towards Edinburgh, preaching and +praying by the way to excited crowds of Covenanters. The Committee +of Estates, who had supported the Engagement, after some attempts at +resistance, gave up the struggle; and Argyle with other nobles, assumed +the government. Cromwell had advanced to the vicinity of Berwick, +when Argyle and his party came to terms with him, and invited him to +Edinburgh. He arrived in the capital on the 4th of October, 1648, and +was received with much respect. His object was the suppression of all +those concerned in the Engagement, and in this the party at the head of +affairs in Scotland concurred with him; and then Cromwell renewed the +Covenant along with his new allies. The leader of the English army was +delighted with his reception; and in a letter to the House of Commons, +he says:――“I have received, and so have the officers with me, many +honours and civilities, from the city of Edinburgh, from the Committee +of Estates, and the ministers; with a noble entertainment,――which we +may not own as done to us, but as done to your servants.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 379‒382. + +The Estates met on the 4th of January, 1649. The members were mostly +those who had been opposed to the Engagement, and those who had since +renounced it, the Earl of Loudon being chosen president for the session. +They resolved to begin the session by publicly humbling themselves +before the Lord for their sins, and to renew the Solemn League and +Covenant, according to the order set down by the commission of the +General Assembly. All the Acts of Parliament sanctioning the late +Engagement were repealed, and some of the officers of state were +deprived of their posts. But their most sweeping statute was the “Act +of Classes,” for purging the judicatories and places of public trust, +which applied to all persons in any way concerned with “the late +unlawful Engagement,” and to other persons guilty of certain sins, or +who neglected family worship. Thus the parliament itself was purged, a +number of ministers deposed, and all officials suspected of malignancy, +turned out of their offices.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 335, + 341‒346, 352‒356. + +The party at the head of affairs in Scotland, it seems pretty evident, +did not fully realise or foresee that a power was arising to crush both +them and their Church polity. At the moment when they were indulging +the hope that their triumph was at hand, the committee of the English +army was already taking steps to arraign the King. + +The narrative of the trial of Charles I. belongs to English history, +and has often been admirably told. The Scotch Estates, through their +Commissioners at London, remonstrated against any injury to the King’s +person, and insisted that it was on this very condition that they had +consented to part with him; but his fate was decreed. On the 30th of +January, 1649, he was beheaded before his own palace of Whitehall. +It was Charles’s lot to be educated and trained in a one-sided and +pernicious political belief. He seems to have been almost incapable +of distinguishing between his moral and his political rights; and this +led his comparatively narrow mind to assume and to maintain that his +political position gave him an unquestionable right to dictate to his +people the form of their worship. Moreover, he was placed in trying +circumstances, and found himself face to face with great political and +religious problems, which he failed to appreciate and to surmount. + +The following opinion of a foreign historian on the fate of the King +is worth quoting:――“It would have been easy for him to have saved +his life, had he conceded to the Scots the exclusive domination of +presbyterianism in England, or to the Independents the practical +freedom of the army as they themselves desired. That he did not do so +is his merit towards England. Had he given his word to dissolve the +episcopal government of the Church, and to alienate its property for +ever, it is impossible to see how it could ever have been restored. +Had he granted such a position to the army as was asked in the +four articles, the self-government of the corporation and of the +Commons, and the later parliamentary government itself, would have +become impossible. So far the resistance which he offered cannot be +estimated highly enough. The overthrow of the constitution, which +the Independents openly intended, made him fully conscious, perhaps +not of their ultimate intention――the establishment of a republic, but +certainly of his own position. So far there was certainly something of +a martyr in him, if the man can be so called who values life less than +the cause for which he is fighting, and in perishing himself saves it +for the future.”¹ + + ¹ Ranke’s _History of England_, Volume II., page 553. + + In the latter part of the third volume of Dr. Masson’s + elaborate and valuable work, _The Life of Milton_, there is + a full and complete account of the trial and the execution + of Charles the First. + +Viewed from a political and moral standpoint, the Covenanting struggle +was a very important factor in Scottish civilisation. The sole aim of +James VI. in his constant efforts to establish Episcopacy in Scotland, +was to render religion completely subservient to the power of the State, +and to compel every one to recognise and yield an abject submission to +the absolute supremacy of the King in all things civil and religious. +In short, this was the view of James VI., Charles I., Charles II., and +James VII., they all claimed the power to impose on the people whatever +form of religion they thought fit. Although the contest thus forced +upon the Scottish people was at the outset ecclesiastical and religious, +and even in this relation its influence in moulding the character of +the Scots of the seventeenth century was very great; inasmuch that +in those days religion was a real power, and the Covenanters were +intensely earnest and firmly held their religious convictions; they +were prepared to make any sacrifice for the tenets of their faith. +Yet, as matters then stood, the religious problems could not be settled +without raising many other collateral questions, some of them even more +important than the original problem. Thus the controversy once raised +soon assumed a very wide range. It compelled the combatants on both +sides to have recourse to the original and natural rights of man, and +the principles of justice, as a solid foundation for their claims. For +this the Reformation and George Buchanan had prepared the way. By their +constant appeals to conscience and to private judgment, the Reformers +had taught men to reason and to think, instead of blindly and +submissively bowing their heads to the unlimited claims of authority. +The Scots learned and practised this lesson. In self-defence they took +their stand upon first principles, and based their claims upon the +inalienable rights of man. They boldly assailed and demolished the +claims to arbitrary and absolute power advanced by the kings of the +period. Thus it was that the ecclesiastical contest speedily developed +into a political conflict, in which arguments were of more importance +than arms, inasmuch as argument and conviction supplied the real +motive power. As we have seen, and will see further in the sequel, in +petitions and protestations, in speeches and sermons, and pamphlets, +the Covenanters urged their claims, and clearly vindicated their +proceedings at every stage of the conflict, not only by many texts of +Scripture, but also by appeals to principles which are now recognised +as political axioms. The people listened intently to all this, and read +and discussed amongst themselves the merits of the various points of +the controversy. Thus every intelligent man became a keen theologian +and a politician, ready to argue with all comers any point, either of +divinity or of public policy, or the limits of the power of kings. For +a century the people had been battling for their rights; while they +were also being well trained in political and moral principles. The +lesson was well taught and retained in the internal consciousness, for +the impression stamped upon the national mind during the Covenanting +struggle has continued as a political characteristic of Scotsmen to +the present day. This was the chief contribution of the seventeenth +century to the civilisation of Scotland. The historian, however, in +stating this, may not justify all the proceedings and actions of the +Covenanters, for it is clear that they often erred in the application +of their principles to practice; still they contributed much to the +political and moral progress of the people. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + _Charles II. The Kingdom under Cromwell._ + + +PARLIAMENT was sitting when the intelligence of the King’s execution +reached Scotland, and on the 5th of February, 1649, his eldest son +was proclaimed King of Scotland, under the title of Charles II. The +national sentiment of the Scots was decidedly in favour of monarchical +government; their Covenants recognised it, and they had no idea of +establishing a republic. They had no special objections to kingly +authority, when it was exercised according to what they conceived to be +the Word of God and the constitution of the Kingdom; while the English +Independents and sectaries directly discarded both king and monarchy, +which was only one among many points of difference between them and the +Covenanters. + +Two days after the proclamation of Charles II., the Estates +emphatically expressed the sentiment and feeling of the nation, by +passing an Act, which declared that, before this young prince or any +of his successors should be admitted to the exercise of the kingly +power, he should sign and swear the National Covenant, and the Solemn +League and Covenant; that he should for himself and his successors, +consent to the acts of parliament enjoining these Covenants, and fully +establishing Presbyterianism, the Directory of Worship, the Confession +of Faith, and the Catechisms; that he should observe these in his +own family; and that he should never oppose or attempt to change +any of them. Further, before being admitted to the exercise of his +royal functions, he should dismiss and relinquish all counsel of those +opposed to religion and to the Covenants; and give satisfaction to the +Parliament of Scotland in whatever else should be found requisite for +settling a lasting peace, preserving the union between the kingdoms, +or for the good of the crown, and his own honour and happiness; and +consent that all civil matters should be settled by the parliament of +the kingdom, and ecclesiastical matters by the General Assembly. This +parliament, on the 9th of March, passed an act abolishing patronage, on +the ground that it was unwarranted in Scripture, and merely introduced +in times of ignorance and superstition; that it was an evil and a +bondage, under which the Lord’s people and ministers of Scotland had +long groaned. Of this act Balfour says:――“The parliament passed a +most strange act this month, abolishing the patronages of kirks, which +pertained to laymen ever since Christianity was planted in Scotland. +The Earl of Buccleuch and some others protested against this, as +altogether derogatory to the just rights of the nobility and gentry +of the kingdom of Scotland, and so departed out of the house. But it +was carried.... Johnston and the Kirk’s minions durst not do otherwise, +lest the leaders of the Church should desert them, and leave them to +stand on their own feet, which without the Church none of them could +well do.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages + 363‒364, 411‒413. _Annals of Scotland_, Volume III., page + 391. + +On the 6th of March, 1649, the Estates commissioned the Earl of +Cassillis and others to proceed to the young king in Holland, and offer +him the Crown on the conditions indicated in the above paragraph. They +were admitted to an interview with the prince on the 27th of March, +and attempts were made to treat. They tried to persuade him to sign +the Covenants, insisting that this would gain for him the support of +the Scots and the whole Presbyterian party. Many papers passed between +the King and the Scotch commissioners, but Charles declined to commit +himself, and no definite conclusions were arrived at. The commissioners +returned to Scotland, and reported their proceedings to the Estates on +the 14th of June, which were all approved.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 400, + 451‒459; Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume III., pages + 84‒90, 508‒521. + +By the orders of the Committee of Estates the Marquis of Huntly +was captured in December, 1647, and imprisoned in Edinburgh. On the +16th of March, 1649, he was brought to trial for treason. Argyle his +brother-in-law, was the leading man in the Government at the time. Yet +Huntly was convicted, condemned, and on the 22nd of March, beheaded. + +The General Assembly met at Edinburgh, on the 7th of July, ♦1646, +and passed some remarkable acts. It was enacted that all who had +been in any way concerned with the late Engagement, should be deemed +malignants, and must submit either to the discipline of the Church, +or to excommunication, and that the army and the parliament should +be thoroughly purged of such. For the instruction of the people the +Assembly issued this statement:――“1. That as magistrates and their +power are ordained of God, so are they, in the exercise thereof, not +to walk according to their own will, but according to the law of equity +and righteousness, as being the ministers of God, for the safety of +His people. Therefore, a boundless and unlimited power is not to be +acknowledged in any king or magistrate, neither is our king to be +admitted to the exercise of his authority, as long as he refuses to +walk in the administration of the same, according to this rule, and the +established laws of the kingdom. 2. That there is a mutual obligation +and stipulation between the king and his people, for the performance +of mutual and reciprocal duties. 3. That arbitrary government, and +unlimited power, are the fountains of all corruption in the Church +and in the State. 4. That it is no new thing for kingdoms to preserve +themselves from ruin by putting restraint upon the exercise of the +power and government of those who have refused to grant the things +that were necessary for the good of religion, and the safety of the +people.”¹ This Assembly passed an act on the election of ministers, +intended to carry out the act abolishing patronage. When a vacancy +occurred, the kirk-session of the parish were to elect a minister, and +if this person was accepted by the congregation, the presbytery were to +proceed and try his qualifications, and if he was found to be properly +qualified, then to admit him to his office. When a majority of the +congregation dissented from the choice of the session, then the matter +was to be brought before the presbytery, who were to judge of it; and +if they found reasonable ground of dissent, they were to appoint a new +election. If the dissent came from a mere minority of the congregation, +it was not to be sustained, except on sufficient reasons shown to the +presbytery. But, when the congregation were disaffected or malignant, +the presbytery was to appoint a minister for them. There was a long +debate on this act in the Assembly. Calderwood maintained that, +according to the Second Book of Discipline, the election should belong +to the presbytery, and that the people had only the right to dissent +for reasons to be judged by the presbytery. + + ♦ “1146” replaced with probably “1648” + + ¹ Peterkin’s _Records of the Church of Scotland_. + +It appears that Montrose was urged by the young prince Charles II., +to again strike a blow for the cause of royalty. By his efforts and +enthusiasm Montrose managed to assemble a band of Danes and Germans, +and Scottish exiles, and early in the spring of 1650 sailed from the +Elbe for the Orkneys. When he reached Orkney, it was reported that +his force numbered seven hundred men, and fifteen hundred stand of +arms. He remained for some time in the Orkneys, and endeavoured to +increase his army by forced levies; but there was no enthusiasm for +Charles II. amongst the Orcadians, and what Montrose gained in numbers, +added nothing to his strength, as men forced into service under such +circumstances, could not be relied upon. He landed in Caithness and +raised the King’s standard; but some of the inhabitants fled on his +approach, and none of them joined his ranks. He issued a proclamation +in his Majesty’s name, and promised pardon to all who had been deluded +by the ruling party in Scotland; still the people of the North declined +to rally round him. A strong army under Leslie was sent against him. +But only a small advance detachment under Colonel Strachan, came upon +Montrose. The encounter took place at Invercharron on the northern +skirt of Ross-shire. Montrose was defeated, and the greater part of his +men slain and taken prisoners, but he escaped himself. He wandered in +the country for several days, and suffered much from hunger and cold. +He was captured by Macleod of Assynt, and conveyed to Edinburgh. His +sentence had been before passed by Parliament, when he was condemned +for treason, and was simply brought up to receive it. He was executed +on 21st May, 1650, at Edinburgh. It is impossible not to feel for +the hard fate of Montrose, although he was a renegade; still he had +brilliant and admirable characteristics. He had striking abilities +and resource as a military leader, and his mastery of tactics when +the moment for action came, was supreme. But, as a politician or a +statesman he was a mere cipher. He had enthusiasm; yet the genuineness +of his moral convictions and his honour might be questioned. He showed +no real capacity to appreciate the thought, the feeling, and the +convictions of the great majority of his countrymen. + +Early in the spring of 1650, treating with the King was resumed at +Breda. The conditions were the same as before; but it was thought that +circumstances were now more favourable, as all hope of assistance from +Ireland had been blasted by the victories of Cromwell; and the youthful +prince had begun to think of consenting to the proposals of the +Covenanters. After some treating the King agreed to the propositions of +the Scots, then embarked for the home of his ancestors, and arrived at +the mouth of the Spey on the 23rd of June. There he signed the Covenant, +and having landed next day, he proceeded southwards. The Scots had +now got a king, and as they had resolved that he should conform to +their principles and their modes of life, there were every morning +and evening lectures, from which the prince was never permitted to be +absent.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages + 513‒514, 516, 535‒536; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume IV., pages + 68, 73. + +Burnet says:――“The King wrought himself into as grave a deportment +as he could: he heard many prayers and sermons, some of great length. +I remember on one fast day there were six sermons preached without +intermission. I was there myself, and not a little weary of so tedious +a service. The King was not allowed so much as a walk abroad on Sundays; +and if at any time there had been any gaiety at court, such as dancing +or playing cards, he was severely reproved. This was managed with so +much rigour and so little discretion, that it contributed not a little +to beget in him an aversion to all sort of strictness in religion.”¹ + + ¹ _History of his Own Time_, Volume I., pages 91‒92. + +Carlyle has some curious remarks on the Covenant. “The meaning of the +Scotch Covenant was, that God’s Divine Law of the Bible should be put +in practice in these nations; verily it, and not the four surplices at +Allhallowtide, or any formula of cloth or sheepskin here or elsewhere +which merely pretended to be it: but then the Covenant says expressly, +there is to be a Stuart King in the business: we cannot do without +our Stuart King. Given a Divine Law of the Bible on the one hand, +and a Stuart King, Charles First or Charles Second, on the other: +alas, did history ever present a more irreducible case of equations +in this world? I pity the poor Scotch pedant governors; still more the +poor Scotch people who had no other to follow. Nay, as for that, the +people did get through in the end, such was their indomitable pious +consistency, and other worth and fortune: and presbytery became a fact +among them, to the whole length possible for it, not without endless +results. But for the poor governors this irreducible case proved, as it +were, fatal. They have never since, if we look narrowly at it, governed +Scotland, or even well known that they were to attempt governing it. +Once they lay on Dunse Hill, each earl with his regiment of tenants +round him, for Christ’s Crown and Covenant; and never since had they +any whole national act which it was given them to do. Growing desperate +of Christ’s Crown and Covenant, they in the next generation, when our +Annus Mirabilis arrived, hurried up to court, looking out for their +crowns and covenants; deserted Scotland and her cause somewhat basely; +took to booing and booing for causes of their own, unhappy mortals; +――and Scotland, and all causes that were Scotland’s have had to go +very much without them ever since. Which is a very fatal issue indeed, +as I reckon;――and the time for the settlement of accounts about it, +which will not fail always, and seems now fast drawing nigh, looks very +ominous to me.... + +“But leaving all that, the poor Scotch governors, we remark, in that +old crisis of theirs, have come upon the desperate expedient of getting +Charles the Second to adopt the Covenant the best he can. Whereby +our parchment formula is indeed served; but the divine fact has gone +terribly to the wall. The Scotch governors think otherwise. By treaties +at Jersey, treaties at Breda, they and the hard law of want together +have constrained this poor young Stuart to their detested Covenant, as +the Frenchman said, they have compelled him to adopt it voluntarily. +A fearful crime, thinks Oliver, and think me. How dare you exact such +mummery under high heaven? exclaims he. You will prosecute malignants; +and with the aid of some poor varnish, transparent even to yourselves, +you adopt into your bosom the chief malignant. My soul come not into +your secret; mine honour be not united unto you.”¹ + + ¹ _Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches_, Volume II., pages 4‒5. + +Many declarations and papers passed between the English and the Scotch +governments at this time, and between Cromwell and the Covenanters. +This is from a letter of Cromwell’s to the commission of the Church of +Scotland, the 3rd of August, 1650:――“Your own guilt is too much for you +to bear: bring not, therefore, upon yourselves the blood of innocent +men――deceived with pretences of King and Covenant――from whose eyes you +hide a better knowledge. I am persuaded that divers of you, who lead +the people, have laboured to build yourselves in these things; wherein +you have censured others ‘upon the Word of God.’ Is it, therefore, +infallibly agreeable to the Word of God, all that you say? I beseech +you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken. +Precept may be upon precept, line upon line, and yet the Word of the +Lord may be to some a word of judgment: that they may fall backward +and be broken, and be snared and be taken.... There may be a Covenant +made with Death and Hell. I will not say yours was so. But judge if +such things have a politic aim: to avoid the overflowing scourge, or +to accomplish worldly interests? And if therein we have confederated +with wicked and cruel men, and have respect for them, or otherwise +have drawn them into association with us, whether this be a Covenant of +God, and spiritual. Bethink yourselves, we hope we do. I pray you read +the twenty-eighth of Isaiah, from the fifth to the fifteenth verse. +And do not scorn to know that it is the spirit that quickens and +gives life. The Lord give you and us understanding to do that which +is well-pleasing in His sight.”¹ + + ¹ _Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches_, Volume, II., pages 20‒21. + +The Scots were bitterly opposed to the party then at the head of the +Commonwealth in England, while that party could not afford to remain +passive observers of the movement in behalf of the young King in +Scotland. Accordingly, Cromwell and his army entered Scotland in July, +1650, and advanced to the vicinity of Edinburgh, but he was unable to +take it, as it was well covered by the Scottish army. He then retired +to Dunbar, where a battle was fought on the 3rd of September, in which +the Covenanters were completely defeated. Shortly after, Cromwell took +possession of Edinburgh, and, by the beginning of October, was master +of the south-eastern counties of the kingdom. Meantime the Scots had +become more and more divided among themselves, and there had sprung +up, in the heat of the conflict, several minute differences of opinion +and sentiment on the burning questions of the time, which each party +asserted and maintained with characteristic determination. There were +now three distinct parties in Scotland. First, the Government party +with the Marquis of Argyle at its head, consisting of the Committee +of Estates, and the Commission of the General Assembly so far as it +concurred with the government. The body of the clergy who supported +the government and the resolutions of parliament and the commission of +the Church, were called the Resolutioners. They supported the efforts +of the government to defend the kingdom and a Covenanted king by all +available means. Then secondly, there was the more strict and extreme +party, fully resolved for the Covenant, and firmly opposed to all +double-dealing in this solemn matter. They maintained that, though the +King had granted everything and signed the papers placed before him, +yet on his own part this was a mere sham, since he had shown no real +indications of any change. The adherents of this section were called +“Protesters.” The unhappy breach among the presbyterians subsequently +became very bitter and disastrous. Thirdly, apart from both the purely +presbyterian parties, there was the extreme and rather mixed royalist +party, which numbered in its ranks the Earls of Athole and Seaforth; +these were not all open enemies of the Covenant, nor real malignants.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages + 544‒546, _et seq._; Balfour’s _Annals_, Volume IV., pages + 95‒111, 135‒160, 174, 178, _et seq._; _Records of the Church + of Scotland_. + +In the midst of all this distraction, the King was crowned at Scone on +the 1st of January, 1651, when he again swore to maintain the National +Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant. Mr. Douglas, one of the +ministers of Edinburgh, delivered the coronation sermon, and reminded +the young prince of the iniquity of some of his royal ancestors, +warning him that if he followed their example, his house would soon +become desolate.¹ + + ¹ _The Form and Order of the King’s Coronation_, printed at + Aberdeen, 1651. + +As the Scots were unable to drive back the English army, they resolved +on a raid across the Border. Charles accompanied the Scottish army into +England, but Cromwell with a part of his force followed him. A battle +ensued at Worcester, on the 3rd of September, 1651, when the royalists +were defeated. The King escaped and fled to the continent. + +After this, General Monk was entrusted with the task of the reduction +of Scotland, and he accomplished it more thoroughly than Edward I. +had done. On the 28th of August, 1651, the Committee of Estates were +surprised and captured at Alyth in Angus, along with five of the +members of the Commission of the General Assembly, who were all sent +prisoners to England. The people of the Lowlands then submitted to +the English army, but some resistance continued to be offered by the +royalists in the Highlands. They too, however, were shortly subdued, +and the country was reduced to order. + +The General Assembly, which met at Edinburgh in July, 1653, was quietly +dispersed by a company of English soldiers, and the members commanded +not to meet again. Baillie tells this in his usual graphic style: +――“Colonel Cotteral beset the Church with some files of musketeers and +a troop of horse, and himself entered the Assembly house, and inquired +if we sat there by the authority of the parliament of the Commonwealth +of England, or of the Commander-in-chief of the English forces, or of +the English Judges in Scotland? The moderator replied that we were an +ecclesiastical synod, a spiritual court of Jesus Christ, which meddled +not with any civil affairs, that our authority was from God, and +established by the laws of the land yet standing unrepealed, that by +the Solemn League and Covenant, the most of the English army stood +obliged to defend our General Assembly. When some speeches of this kind +had passed, the colonel told us that his orders were to dissolve us; +whereupon he commanded all of us to follow him, else he would drag us +out of the room. When we had entered a protestation of this unheard +of and unexampled violence, we did rise and follow him; he led us all +through the streets a mile out of the town, encompassing us with foot +soldiers and horsemen, all the people gazing and mourning as at the +saddest spectacle they had ever seen. When he had led us a mile without +the town, he then declared what farther he had in commission, that we +should not dare to meet again above three in number, and that by eight +to-morrow evening, we should depart from the town, under the penalty +of being guilty of breaking the public peace, and the following day, +by sound of trumpet, we were commanded off the town under the pain of +immediate imprisonment. Thus our General Assembly, the glory and the +strength of our Church upon earth, is, by your soldiery, crushed and +trod under foot, without the least provocation from us, at this time, +either in word or deed.”¹ But the forms of presbyterianism were not +farther interfered with; and the synods, the presbyteries and the +sessions were permitted to hold their meetings, only there were no +General Assemblies. + + ¹ Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume III., pages 225‒226. + +The dissension between the Resolutioners and the Protesters continued +throughout the Commonwealth. An attempt was made in 1655 to form an +agreement between the two parties, but it failed. Subsequently both +parties represented their cause to Cromwell, but neither of them +gained any important advantage from this, and the disputes between them +became bitter. No religious persecution was permitted in Scotland in +Cromwell’s reign, the Church being deprived of its power of inflicting +civil penalties. + +After the nation was subdued, the government of the Commonwealth was +disposed to treat Scotland justly, according to its own view of the +necessities of the case and the circumstances. The aim of Cromwell +and his associates, so far as can be seen, was to amalgamate the +two nations into one republic. The Protector made a bold attempt to +extinguish the feudal powers of the nobles throughout Scotland. He +placed twenty-eight fortresses in the kingdom, and kept an army varying +from about seven to nine thousand men in the country. The taxes imposed +to support this force pressed rather hard upon the Scots; but then +peace and security reigned, which was a boon not to be lightly esteemed. + +The most successful part of the incorporating scheme was that +which established free trade between the two countries. As it was +enacted――“that all customs, excise, and other imposts for goods +transported from England to Scotland, and from Scotland to England, +by sea or by land, are and shall be so far taken off and discharged, +as that all goods for the future shall pass as free, and with like +privileges and with like charges and burdens, from England to Scotland, +and from Scotland to England, as goods passing from port to port, or +from place to place, in England; and that all goods shall and may pass +between Scotland and any other part of this Commonwealth or dominions +thereof with the like privileges, freedom, and charges as such goods do +and shall pass between England and the said parts and dominions.”¹ This +was a great advantage to the Scots. + + ¹ Bruce’s _Report on the Union_. + +When the army had extinguished all resistance, Cromwell placed the +civil administration of Scotland in the hands of a council of eight +or nine men, most of whom were Englishmen,¹ sitting in Edinburgh. The +powers of this council embraced the revenue, the appointment of the +inferior judges and justices of the peace, and authorised the ministers +to draw their stipends, a kind of patronage which was extremely +offensive to many of the clergy. The police of the kingdom was +generally entrusted to the military authorities, and was efficiently +executed. + + ¹ In July, 1655, the Council consisted of eight members. + +The Court of Session was superseded by a supreme commission of justice, +consisting of seven judges, four English and three Scotch. This court +had to deal with a great change in the laws already indicated, the +abolition of the feudal system; and the commutation and adjustment +of the many entangled interests and obligations thence arising. A +collection of their decisions is preserved, and they are marked by good +common-sense and much careful labour.¹ Baillie, under the year 1655, +says:――“The kingdom was suffering for want of justice, for we have no +baron courts; our sheriffs have little skill, for common being English +soldiers; our Lords of Session, a few Englishmen, unexperienced with +our law, and who, this twelvemonth, has done little or nothing; great +is our suffering through want of that court. After long neglect of us +as no nation, at last a Supreme Council of State, with power in all +things, is come down, of six or seven English soldiers and two of our +complying gentlemen, Colonel Lockhart and Colonel Swinton. We expect +little good from them; but if an heavy excise, as is said, be added +to our maintenance, and the paying of all the garrisons lie on us, our +condition will be insupportable; yet be what it will, it must be borne, +we have deserved it.” + + ¹ _The Decisions of the English Judges during the Usurpation._ + +Another body of seven men, half of them English, were constituted +trustees of forfeited and sequestrated estates, by an ordinance in +1654. Their duties were to look after the rents and the revenues of +the many Scottish nobles and lairds whose estates had been seized by +the government, for offences arising out of the conquest. They were +instructed to pay creditors, to give allowances to the wives, the +widows, and the children of the original owners of the estates.¹ +Speaking of the state of Scotland in 1656, Baillie says:――“Our state +is in a very silent condition: strong garrisons over all the land, and +a great army, both of horse and foot, for which there is no service +at all. Our nobles lying in prisons, and under forfeitures or debts, +private or public, are for the most part either broken or breaking.” + + ¹ _Letters and Journals_, Volume III., pages 388‒389, 317. + +But the Scots were not all satisfied with Cromwell’s rule, though +quietness and order were maintained in the kingdom by the strong arm. +In the beginning of the year 1658, the Protector expressed his own +opinion of the Scots thus:――“And hath Scotland been long settled? Have +not they a like sense of poverty? I speak plainly. In good earnest, +I do think the Scotch nation have been under as great a suffering, +in point of livelihood and subsistence outwardly, as any people I +have yet named to you. I do think truly they are a very ruined nation. +And yet in a way, I have spoken with some gentlemen come from thence, +hopeful enough; it hath pleased to give that plentiful encouragement +to the meaner sort in Scotland.... The meaner sort in Scotland live as +well, and are likely to come into as thriving a condition under your +government, as when they were under their own great Lords, who made +them work for their living no better than the peasants of France. +I am loth to speak anything which may reflect upon that nation; but +the middle sort of people do grow up there into such substance as +makes their lives comfortable, if not better than they were before.”¹ +Referring to the year 1656, Baillie said:――“The truth is, money +was never so scarce here, and growing daily scarcer, and yet it is +thought this parliament in September, 1656, is summoned mainly for new +taxations. What England may bear, to whom the Protector remitted the +half of the monthly maintenance of one hundred and twenty thousand +pounds sterling, I know not; but Scotland, whose burden has been +tripled, besides the fines, forfeitures, debts, and other miseries, +seems unable to bear what lies on her already.” Of Glasgow at this time, +he says:――“Our people have much more trade in comparison than any other +town; their buildings increase strangely both for number and fairness: +it is more than doubled in our time.” Finally, in regard to the kingdom +in 1658:――“In our state all is exceedingly quiet. A great army, in a +multitude of garrisons, bides above our heads, and deep poverty keeps +all ranks exceedingly under; the taxes of all kinds are so great, the +trade so little, that it is a marvel if extreme scarcity of money end +not, ere long, in some mischief.”² + + ¹ Carlyle’s _Letters and Speeches of Cromwell_, Volume II., + pages 638‒639. + + ² Baillie’s _Letters and Journals_, Volume III., pages 318, + 319, 357. + +Owing to the toleration of religious opinions under the Commonwealth, +various new sects appeared in Scotland, among whom the Quakers were +the most remarkable. In the year 1656, Baillie remarks that “This sect +of Quakers is likely to prove troublesome: they increase much among +the English both in England and in Ireland. They in a furious way cry +down both ministry and magistracy; some of them seem actually possessed +with a devil, their fury, their irrational passions, and their +bodily convulsions are so great. Lieutenant Osburne, one of our first +apostates to the English, is an open leader to them in the streets of +Edinburgh, without any punishment. Several in Clydesdale, of the most +zealous Remonstrant yeomen, have turned so; and their increase is +feared, which is the just recompense of admitting the beginnings of +errors.”¹ Two years later, he says, they were increasing and making +some trouble in several places in Scotland. Another contemporary +says:――“Some of them walked through the streets, all naked save their +shirts, crying――This is the way, walk ye in it!” Others cried out, +“That the day of salvation is at hand; draw near to the Lord, for the +sword of the Lord is drawn, and will not be put up till the enemies +of the Lord be destroyed.” In England, “there was immense difficulty +with this new sect, from the fact that they had not settled down into +mere local groups of individuals, asking toleration for themselves, +but were still in open war with all other sects, all forms of ministry, +and prosecuted the war everywhere by itinerant propagandism. George +Fox himself and the best of his followers seem by this time, indeed, to +have given up the method of actually interrupting the regular service +in the steeple-houses in order to preach Quakerism, but they were +constantly tending to the steeple-houses for the purpose of prophesying +there, as was the custom in country places, after the regular service +was over. Thus, as well as by their conflicts with parsons of every +sect wherever they met them, and their rebukings of iniquity on +highways and in market-places, not to speak of their obstinate refusals +to pay tithes in their own parishes, they were continually getting into +the hands of justices of the peace and the assize judges.”² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume III., page 323. + + ² Nicoll’s _Diary_; Dr. Masson’s _Life of John Milton: Narrated + in connection with the History of His Time_, Volume V., page + 66. + +Regarded from a religious standpoint, the Covenanting movement directly +tended to intensify the religious feeling and habits of the people. The +opinions and doctrines which were then formulated anew, took deep root +in the heart of the nation; the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster +divines became the text-book of the religious doctrines of the people, +and it has exercised a vast influence over their moral and mental +character. But during the period in question there was a lamentable +absence of the loving and tolerant spirit which should characterise the +Christian and moral life. + +On the 3rd of September, 1658, Cromwell died. Although the supreme +power which he had won by his energy and wisdom passed on to his son +Richard, this man was unequal for the task imposed upon him, and in +a few months retired into private life. The government of the three +kingdoms fell into the hands of the leaders of the armies, and they +then began a scramble for the summit of power; but Oliver’s mantle +had not descended upon any of them. So the traditions and sentiments +associated with the glories of the throne and the monarchy, were soon +in the ascendant. General Monk was at the head of the army in Scotland, +and having collected his forces, he carefully prepared to march into +England. He called a meeting of the chief men among the Scots, and +advised them to preserve the internal peace of the kingdom; and they +aided him with a sum of money. In November, 1659, he began his march +southward, and entered England in the beginning of 1660. After various +moves, Monk declared in favour of a free parliament, which met in March, +and resolved to recall the King. And so Charles II. entered London on +the 29th of May, amid the shouts and applause of the people. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + _The Conflict from the Restoration to the Revolution._ + + +THIS chapter covers a period of twenty-eight years; but the exposition +of the movement and of the principles of the contending parties will +not be unnecessarily burdened with minute details.¹ + + ¹ To narrate the events and explain the series of causes which + issued in the Revolution with the fulness which they well + deserve, is a task that any man might be proud to achieve; + and I may be permitted to express the hope that some historian + of the future, with the requisite qualifications, may be + induced by the interest of the period, by the ampleness of the + materials, and by the vast importance of the subject, to devote + the energies of his mind to produce a full history of the + three kingdoms during the seventeenth century. [Since the hope + expressed in the preceding sentence of the original edition was + written, I have much pleasure in stating that Dr. Gardiner has + produced an excellent History of the first half of this period. + +The Restoration in both divisions of the Island was a reactionary +movement. This arose partly from the inherited sentiments of the +people; whilst amongst the nobility, the traditionary feelings and +ideas associated with the social organisation and constitution of the +monarchy, were interwoven with their personal interests and privileges +of wealth, rank, and power. Under the Commonwealth, the hereditary +nobles in England and in Scotland had suffered enormously. They had +been deprived of power and influence, harassed, imprisoned, banished, +and many of them ruined. With the hope of escaping from this state of +depression, the Lords and Commons of England, in the light of their +recent experience, and the knowledge of the claims of the head of +the royal family to absolute powers, again committed themselves +and the people of the Island entirely to the discretion of Charles +II. Intoxicated with a fit of loyal enthusiasm, the English forgot +the state of matters which had caused the late Rebellion, and thus +unwittingly supported the reintroduction of a kind of government +which had already produced much suffering in the land. But what had +happened could not be completely reversed, nor the recollection of +it extinguished, and at last, in 1688, it assumed the character of +a Revolution. + +But Scotland suffered far more from the Restoration than England, +owing to various distinct causes. As already stated, the Reformation +in England and in Scotland was accomplished by different agencies: In +the former kingdom it was introduced and enforced by the King and his +government, the English people themselves not being consulted; while in +the latter it was embraced and sustained throughout by the people. Thus +from the beginning of the Reformation in the middle of the sixteenth +century, onwards, the contrast between the two nations was striking, +and though somewhat modified, this original difference still remained +at the Restoration. It was a comparatively easy matter to turn the +English Church into her original groove. But the task which the +government of Charles II. undertook in Scotland was more difficult; it +was an attempt to change the current of religious thought and sentiment +which had sprung from the Reformation of 1560. The attempt failed, +though it was made with deliberation and persistence, every effort +being made to crush the spirit of the people and to deprive them of +their liberty. + +At this crisis of the nation’s history, a number of the leading +ministers met, among others, Mr. Robert Douglas and Mr. David Dickson, +and commissioned Mr. James Sharp, in the month of February, 1660, +to proceed to London and watch over the interests of the Church of +Scotland. He received definite instructions, and much confidence was +placed in his ability and honesty of purpose by the leaders of the +Resolutioners, who employed him. He was directed to use his efforts +so that the Church of Scotland should, without encroachment, enjoy her +freedom and privileges as established by the laws of the land; and by +all lawful means to represent the offensiveness of the lax toleration +then permitted, in order that it might be remedied. He was to endeavour +to secure the right application of the ministers’ stipends, and to +procure for those regularly admitted by the presbyteries the benefit +of the act abolishing patronage. + +The correspondence between Sharp and his constituents began on +the 14th of February, the date of his first letter from London, Mr. +Douglas being the chief conductor of the correspondence from Edinburgh. +Sharp’s account of his own proceedings, and of the state of parties in +England touching religious matters, is minute and seemingly correct. +He soon began to impress upon the Scottish ministers in Edinburgh, +that Episcopacy would be re-established in England, and that it was +useless to think of a Covenanted uniformity between the two nations. +He repeatedly expressed the hope that the existing polity of the Church +of Scotland would not be changed, and in his letters to Mr. Douglas +he frequently made solemn averments of his devotion and attachment +to Presbyterianism. Sharp returned to Scotland in the end of August, +1660, and on the 3rd of September, a letter which he brought from the +King was communicated to the presbytery of Edinburgh. In it the King +declared:――“We do also resolve to protect and preserve the government +of the Church of Scotland, as it is settled by law, without violation; +and to countenance, in the due exercise of their functions, all such +ministers who shall behave themselves dutifully and peaceably as +becomes men of their calling.” This and other reassuring statements +in the letter were ordered to be intimated to all the presbyteries in +the kingdom, and the letter was considered satisfactory by the leading +ministers of the moderate party. A committee was appointed to prepare +an address expressing their humble thanks to his Majesty.¹ Thus it +appears that the intention of the court had been carefully concealed +from the Scottish clergy, and that Sharp, who was already virtually +Archbishop of St. Andrews and Primate of Scotland, had acted his part +with great craft and duplicity. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 5‒54, 80‒81. + +When the King returned, many of the Scotch nobles and gentry flocked +to London, all eager to present their claims for posts in the new +government of the kingdom. The civil war and the subsequent subjection +of the nation under Cromwell had rendered the Scotch nobles extremely +poor and demoralised. As they had never been scrupulous about the +means of attaining their ends, so they were now more than ever on the +alert for everything that seemed likely to enhance their importance, +or to advance their interest. This partly explains their subsequent +proceedings, and their readiness to support the measures of the King +and his advisers. In past struggles, many of them had joined with the +people against the Crown and the government, but recently that line of +action had been a losing and ruinous one, and there was no prospect of +any personal advantage to be gained by it; accordingly, they elected +to follow the King and the court in whatever might be proposed, as the +most direct and safe way of promoting their own interests. Sentiments +and principles were cast to the winds with scorn and contempt; +religious convictions, covenants, equity, and justice, might all go +to the wall, but Charles II. must be upheld in his rights and absolute +prerogatives. + +The Earl of Rothes was appointed President of the Council; Glencairn, +Chancellor; Crawford, Treasurer; Sir Archibald Primrose, Clerk Register; +and Sir John Fletcher, Lord-Advocate. Meetings of all the Scotchmen +in London were held by the King’s authority, and they agreed that the +committee of the parliament held at Stirling in 1650, should manage +the affairs of Scotland till a new parliament should be assembled. + +The resumption of office by the Committee of Estates was signalised +at Edinburgh by a royal proclamation, on the 23rd of August, 1660. +The same day they manifested their authority by dispersing a meeting +of the protesting ministers. This section of the Presbyterians was +in great danger, as their brethren, the Resolutioners, had placed too +much confidence in Sharp and the King’s letter, had become cold and +unyielding towards the Protestors, and even proceeded to depose some +of them. The Protestors justly suspected that some design was hatching +against Presbyterianism, and wished to join with the Resolutioners +in an effort to frustrate it; but at the time the latter were so +far deceived that they rejected this proposal, and only discovered +their mistake when it was beyond remedy. Thus it was, when the +real intentions of the government became known in Scotland, the +Presbyterians were not in a position to offer effective opposition to +the new scheme. The Committee of Estates immediately passed an act for +the apprehension of Mr. James Guthrie, one of the venerable leaders +of the Protestors, and other ministers of this party, and they were +imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. The committee waxed bold, and on the +24th of August issued a proclamation prohibiting all public meetings +unless authorised by the King, and suppressing all seditious petitions. +Another proclamation on the 19th of September condemned two books, one +entitled _Lex Rex_, and the other _The Causes of God’s Wrath_. As these +books were full of rebellious principles, calculated to turn the hearts +of the people against “the King’s Majesty’s person, his royal authority +and the peace of this kingdom,” therefore they ought not to be read nor +kept by any of his Majesty’s subjects, and must be delivered up to one +of his Majesty’s solicitors before the 16th of October. Accordingly +on the 17th of the month, these books were burned by the hands of the +common hangman at the cross of Edinburgh. Yet another proclamation was +issued, forbidding the circulation of lies and slanders against his +Majesty, or making speeches, uttering in sermons, in declarations, or +by letters, libels, rhymes, and other writings, implying reproach of +his Majesty’s person or his government, under severe penalties. The +ministers were specially warned to be careful of their language in +their sermons, in their prayers, and in their private discourses.¹ The +new government was aware of the power of the human voice, and at the +outset endeavoured to stifle it. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 65‒77. + +On the 8th of July, 1660, the Marquis of Argyle was seized in London +and lodged in the Tower; while orders were sent from the court to +Scotland to arrest Johnston of Warriston and several other gentlemen. +In autumn a number of the ministers were brought before the Committee +of Estates, and some of them imprisoned. Already it was felt that a +great change was impending. + +The Earl of Middleton, as Royal Commissioner, arrived in Scotland +the last day of December, and on the 1st of January, 1661, the new +parliament met. The house immediately proceeded to business, and passed +many acts for settling the affairs of the nation according to the new +plot. The first act was a parliamentary oath of allegiance, to be taken +by all the members of the house. By it they testified their faithful +obedience to “Charles, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, +defender of the faith, and do affirm, testify, and declare, by this +my solemn oath, that I acknowledge my said sovereign, only supreme +governor of this kingdom, over all persons and in all causes ... and +shall at my utmost power defend, assist, and maintain his Majesty’s +jurisdiction, against all deadly, and never decline his Majesty’s +jurisdiction, as I shall answer to God.” In other acts of this +parliament it was stated to be his Majesty’s prerogative by divine +right to choose all Officers of State, Councillors, and Lords of +Sessions, as also the calling, proroguing, and dissolving of all +parliaments; and that all meetings without his special authority were +null; while in the preamble to one of the acts it was declared that +“the happiness of the people depended upon the maintenance of the +King’s prerogative.” Leagues and bonds without the King’s sanction were +denounced and prohibited; and it was asserted that the King had the +sole right of making peace and war. The swearing or renewing the League +and Covenant, or any covenant or oath, was prohibited, without the +King’s warrant. An act was passed in very strong terms “for taking the +oath of allegiance, and asserting the royal prerogative.”¹ This act was +afterwards used for annoying and punishing people; it became a test of +loyalty, and when any suspected person was brought before the Council +or any of the courts, it was tendered to him; if he signed it he was +usually dismissed, but if he refused, the refusal was immediately +turned into a libel against him and no mercy was shown. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages 3, + 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 44‒45. + +But the greatest achievement of the session was the Rescissory +Act, which rescinded all the Acts of Parliament since 1633 to +the Restoration. After some debate it was passed, and so the +entire legislation of the Covenanting period was swept away, and +Presbyterianism ceased to be the form of government in the Established +Church of Scotland, while the old laws in favour of Episcopacy were +again brought into force. This act was directly followed by “an act +concerning religion and Church government,” in which the King thanked +God for preserving him through so many troubles and perils, and +miraculously restoring him to his just rights and to the government +of his kingdoms; and he was therefore desirous to do something for +the glory and the honour of God. So he declared it to be “his firm +resolution to maintain the true Reformed Protestant religion, in its +purity of doctrine and worship, as it was established within this +kingdom, during the reigns of his royal father and grandfather of +blessed memory.... As to the government of the Church, his Majesty +will make it his care to settle and secure it in such a frame as shall +be most agreeable to the word of God, most suitable to monarchical +government, and most conducive to the public peace of the kingdom.” +Meanwhile he allowed the existing administrations by sessions, +presbyteries, and synods.¹ Thus parliament left the definite settlement +of the question of Church government in the hands of the King himself. + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume VII., pages 86‒88. + +When it became known that parliament was passing acts for subverting +the established form of Church government, the ministers of Edinburgh +and others exerted themselves to prevent it. Some of the presbyteries +and synods openly declared against the reintroduction of Episcopacy, +but their efforts were unavailing. In some instances the synods were +dissolved, in others the party on the side of the government ordered +the meeting to be purged of rebels――of the opposition ministers――and +by such means the opposition was completely stifled.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 109‒130. + +The new government deemed it necessary to sacrifice a few victims as a +warning to others. On the 13th of February, 1661, the Marquis of Argyle +was brought to the bar of parliament, and accused of high treason. +After a long and tedious trial, he was found guilty, condemned, and +executed at Edinburgh on the 27th of May. Mr. James Guthrie, minister +of Stirling, was summoned before parliament on the 20th of February, +and charged with high treason. The chief points of his indictment were +that he contrived, consented to, and presented to the Committee of +Estates, the document called “The Western Remonstrance”; and that +he composed and published the pamphlet called “The Causes of God’s +Wrath”; and that he framed and subscribed the paper called “The Humble +Petition,” of the 23rd of August, 1660, when he was apprehended; that +he had convened meetings without the King’s authority; that he had +uttered treasonable expressions in a meeting in 1650; and that he had +declined his Majesty’s jurisdiction. But at this time such charges, +with a little variation, might easily have been brought against many +persons. Guthrie was, however, condemned, and executed at Edinburgh +on the 1st of June, 1661. Several other ministers were accused before +parliament, and sentenced to undergo various punishments. Johnston +of Warriston was another of the selected victims. He had been a very +active man throughout the Covenanting period, and he had also been +employed by Cromwell, which in the estimation of the government was +a great crime. At this time he escaped to the Continent, but was +condemned in his absence. He was afterwards taken in France, and sent +to Edinburgh for execution. It has been reported that he received the +sentence to be hanged with courage, and passed his last moments like a +Christian man.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages 26, + 29; Appendix, pages 13, 34‒59, 64‒70, 71, 73‒75; Wodrow’s + _History_, Volume I., pages 131‒217. + +This session of parliament closed on the 12th of July, 1661; and the +following day the new Privy Council met. It was reconstructed and +invested with greater powers than the old Privy Council, as it was +to continue the functions of the Estates in the intervals between the +sessions, and thus to exercise judicial, legislative, and political +power. Throughout the following period of persecution it wielded its +authority in a high-handed manner. The greater part of the higher +nobles were in the new Privy Council, and the chief officers of State +were also members; while the courts of session and justiciary were +reconstituted, in place of the courts which Cromwell had introduced. +Thus the new government, being fully constituted, proceeded with +business. + +On the last day of August, 1661, the Earls of Glencairn, Rothes, and +Sharp, the future Primate, returned from London with a letter from +the King, which was brought before the Privy Council on the 5th of +September. In this paper, the King referred to his letter of the +preceding year to the presbytery of Edinburgh, in which he had stated +his intention to maintain the government of the Church of Scotland as +settled by law; but the acts of the last parliament had rescinded all +the legislation of the kingdom since 1633, as it was not in accordance +with the monarchy and the “divine rights” of his Majesty. The King’s +inference was therefore plain, the Church was now exactly in the +same relation to the State as she had been in 1633; and by his royal +authority he resolved to restore the “Church to its government by +bishops, as it was by law before the late troubles, during the reigns +of our father and grandfather of blessed memory, and as it now stands +settled by law.” The Privy Council directly passed an act in harmony +with the royal letter, and proclaimed it at the Cross of Edinburgh.¹ +Thus Episcopacy was again established in Scotland. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 230‒231. + +The scramble for the bishoprics immediately began. The men whom the +court selected for this dignity, with one or two exceptions, were +characters of meagre ability, poorly qualified for commanding the +respect or the reverence of the people. Sharp had secured for himself +the primacy, but many evil wishes followed him, and it is very doubtful +if the post answered his expectations. The new bishops had again to +receive consecration from England. The King and his Scotch government +did all that they could to enhance the importance of the bishops, and +to secure for them the respect of the people. He instructed the Privy +Council to “take special care that all due deference and respect be +given by all our subjects to the archbishops and bishops of that Church; +and that they have all countenance, assistance, and encouragement, from +the nobility, the gentry, and the burghs, in the discharge of their +office and services to us in the Church; and that severe and exemplary +notice be taken of all and every one who shall presume to reflect, or +express any disrespect to their persons, or the authority with which +they are entrusted.” The Council carried out these commands to the +utmost of their power.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 235‒236, 248‒253; Dr. Grub’s _Ecclesiastical + History of Scotland_, Volume III., pages 191‒198, 215, 242. + +On the 8th of May 1662, the second session of parliament was opened by +a sermon from the Bishop of Dunkeld; and Middleton again took his seat +on the throne as royal Commissioner. The third statute passed was, “An +act for the restitution and re-establishment of the ancient government +of the Church by archbishops and bishops.” This act repealed all the +laws in favour of the presbyterian polity, especially the act of 1592. +While bishops were restored to all the rights and privileges which +they enjoyed in 1637, and they were empowered to take upon themselves +the whole government of the Church, with the assistance of any of the +clergy who might be suitable for their purpose, untrammeled by any +court, and responsible for their proceedings to the King alone. “And +further, it is hereby declared that whatever shall be determined by his +Majesty, with advice of the archbishops and bishops, and such of the +clergy as shall be nominated by his Majesty, in the external government +and policy of the Church, shall be valid and effectual.” It also +reinstated the bishops in all the claims, rights, patronages, rents, +possessions, and lands which were possessed by their predecessors +in the year 1637, notwithstanding any gifts or alienations of these +possessions since that date. When this act was passed, the bishops +immediately resumed their seats in parliament.¹ Thus, as the servants +of the Crown, the bishops were entrusted with ample powers. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 368, 372‒374. + +The business of parliament was rapidly pushed on, and many acts were +passed to secure the new order and the ends of the government. A +statute was framed and passed for the preservation of his Majesty’s +person, authority, and government. In this act it was asserted that +the people were under great obligation to show all possible care for +the preservation of the King’s person, as “in his honour and happiness +consists the good and welfare of his people.” The evils of rebellion +were expounded, and the National Covenant and the Solemn League +and Covenant were declared unlawful, and henceforth null and void. +Hereafter, if any person plotted the death of the King, or intended any +harm to his person tending to death, or put any restraint upon him, or +deposed or suspended him from the style and the honour of the kingly +and imperial Crown of the kingdom, or by writing, printing, preaching, +or maliciously speaking――expressed their treasonable intentions, all +those found guilty of such crimes incurred the penalties of treason, +and forfeited their lives, lands, and goods. Further, all who by +writing, printing, praying, preaching, remonstrating, or speaking, may +express “any words or sentences to stir up the people to the hatred or +dislike of his Majesty’s royal prerogative and supremacy in all causes +ecclesiastical, or of the government of the Church by archbishops +and bishops, as it is now settled by law ... and being legally +convicted thereof, are hereby declared incapable of holding any place +or employment, civil, ecclesiastical, or military, within this Church +and Kingdom, and shall be liable to such further penalties as the law +demands.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 376‒377, 379. + +To render the new order more complete, patronage was restored. All +the ministers who had entered on their charges since 1649 were +deprived of the right to their livings, unless each of them received +a presentation from his patron and institution from his bishop; and +patrons were requested to give presentations to the incumbents who +applied within a limited time. Another act was passed touching the +professors and masters of the universities, ministers, private meetings, +and conventicles. This act affirmed that it was necessary for the +advancement of religion and learning, the good of the Church and the +peace of the kingdom, that all the principals, professors, regents, and +masters of the colleges, should be loyal to the King, and well-affected +to the established government in Church and State; and it was therefore +enacted that none of these should be permitted to remain in their +offices, except they submitted to and owned the government of the +Church by archbishops and bishops, after having given satisfaction +on all points to the bishops, and in their presence taken the oath +of allegiance. In the same act the ministers were enjoined to be +careful in attending the bishops’ visitations, the diocesan synods, +and assisting in all the acts of discipline which the bishops required; +and if they refused to comply in these particulars, they were to be +deprived of their benefices. Another clause of the act prohibited +meetings or conventicles for religious exercises, because they were +“the nurseries of sedition,” even though held in private families; +and therefore all private meetings under the pretence of religious +exercises, which tended to damage the public worship in the churches, +to alienate the people from their lawful pastors, and their obedience +to the Church and to the State, were henceforth forbidden. In future +no one should be permitted to preach in public or in private anywhere, +or to teach in any public school, or among the children of the nobles, +without a licence from the ordinary of the diocese.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 379. + +Another act touching the declaration to be signed by all persons in +public employment was passed. As this declaration was made the ground +of much of the oppression which ensued, it may be quoted here:――“I, +―――― do sincerely affirm and declare, that I judge it unlawful to +subjects upon any pretext of reformation, or other pretext whatever, +to enter into leagues and covenants, or to take up arms against the +King, or those commissioned by him; and that all those gatherings, +convocations, petitions, protestations, and erecting or keeping of +council tables that was used in the beginning, and for carrying on of +the late troubles, were unlawful and seditious; and particularly, that +these oaths, the one called the National Covenant, as it was sworn and +explained in the year 1638, and thereafter, and the other, entitled a +Solemn League and Covenant, were and are in themselves unlawful oaths, +and were taken by, and imposed upon the subjects of this kingdom, +against the fundamental laws and liberties of the same; and that +there lies no obligation upon me or any of the subjects, from the said +oaths or either of them, to endeavour any change or alteration of the +government, either in Church or State, as it is now established by +the laws of the kingdom.”¹ Besides this declaration, which might be +tendered to anyone, there were the oath of allegiance, and the act +declaratory of the royal prerogative and supremacy. And, as it was easy +to entangle the people with legal documents of this description, these +acts and oaths became the instruments of oppression and persecution. + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 405‒406. + +The new hierarchy thus thrust upon the nation was a curious +establishment. It had no liturgy; the whole discipline of the Church +was placed in the hands of the bishops; and the bishops themselves were +entirely dependent upon the King, who was made pope and despot by the +parliament of Scotland. + +Towards the end of the session, parliament entered on the consideration +of the long-delayed indemnity. A list of names was framed, containing +of upwards of eight hundred persons, who were commanded to pay fines +before they receive such protection as the law then afforded. Middleton, +the royal Commissioner, also obtained the King’s warrant for excluding +from offices of public trust any twelve persons whom parliament might +name by ballot; but this balloting act, though carried by Middleton, +was shortly afterwards annulled, and the royal Commissioner himself +stripped of his position and power.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 415‒416, 420‒429; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages + 270‒279. + +Parliament was adjourned on the 9th of September, 1662. The next day +the Privy Council met, and ordered the diocesan synods to be held in +October. These synods accordingly met as commanded. In the north they +were pretty well attended, but in the south and in the west many of +the ministers absented themselves. In the diocese of Glasgow alone, +out of two hundred and forty ministers, only thirty-two were present at +the synod;¹ while in the diocese of Galloway and Argyle none attended, +except the newly appointed deans. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 280‒281; Dr. Grub’s + _Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_, Volume III., page 201. + +About the end of September, the royal commissioner and other members +of the Privy Council went on a tour to the west, with the object of +enforcing obedience to the bishops and to the new laws. At Glasgow, +the archbishop complained to them that though the time appointed by the +law was past, very few of the ministers of his diocese had presented +themselves for institution; and it was reported that he urged them to +enforce the provisions of the act. On the 1st of October, 1662, the +Privy Council met in Glasgow, and passed an act announcing that all +the ministers who had not complied with the law should forfeit their +livings; also interdicting them from preaching, and ordering them to +remove from their manses and parishes before the 1st of November, and +not to reside within the bounds of their respective presbyteries. The +Council had imagined that only a few of the ministers would refuse to +comply; but when the date came, about three hundred of the ministers +left their manses and their parishes, rather than subject themselves to +episcopacy and to political bondage. In the northern and eastern parts +of the kingdom many of the ministers submitted to the bishops, but in +the west and in the south only one here and there. This was a serious +blow to the new polity, and the Privy Council became alarmed at the +result of its own proceedings. Sharp, the primate, disclaimed all +responsibility in connection with the Glasgow act; and Middleton, +incapable of understanding the sentiments of the refractory ministers, +raged at the obstinacy of the men who persisted in ruining themselves +for the sake of presbyterianism. Many of the people encouraged their +ministers to resist the bishops, and rejoiced to see them manifest +their honesty and constancy. The Council saw their mistake, and passed +another act on the 23rd of December, allowing the ministers ejected +under the Glasgow act liberty to apply for presentation and collation +before the 1st of February, 1663. This however, induced only a few to +resume their functions; and when the 1st of February came, many of the +ministers relinquished their livings and left their parishes.¹ + + ¹ _Kirkton_, pages 148‒154, 1817; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume + I., pages 281‒286. + +Meanwhile a number of ministers were under legal process on various +grounds; the presbyterian ministers and all who openly adhered to them +were severely treated. In September, 1662, the Privy Council announced +that many persons disaffected to the King had resorted to Edinburgh; +and, therefore, commanded the magistrates to furnish reports of the +numbers of such persons in the city every evening. The ministers of the +capital, who refused to conform to the new order of the Church, were +commanded to depart from the city, while several were banished out of +the King’s dominions, not to return under the penalty of death, and +others under lesser penalties.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 297‒318. + +In the winter of 1663, a contest arose between Middleton and the Earl +of Lauderdale (the latter then secretary), for the chief place in +the management of the government of Scotland. In spite of all that +Middleton had done for the King in the Scotch parliament, Lauderdale +prevailed on the King to dismiss him; and in March his commission was +recalled, and shortly after he was deprived of all his other offices. +The Earl of Rothes was appointed royal commissioner; but Lauderdale +obtained, and long held the ascendancy in the government of Scotland, +mainly by his pandering to the King.¹ + + ¹ Sir George Mackenzie’s _Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland_, + pages 78‒114, 1821. + +Rothes and Lauderdale arrived in Edinburgh in June, 1663; and +Parliament reassembled on the 18th of the month. The lords of the +articles were changed, and re-elected in the following mode:――The +bishops elected eight of the nobles, the nobles then elected eight of +the bishops; and these together elected eight from the county members, +and eight from the burgh members. Thus the committee of the articles +was certain to be on the side of the court. The acts of the two last +sessions of parliament were explicit on the powers of the King, and +on the functions of the bishops of the Church; but to suppress and +subdue the opposition to the new clergy which had been manifesting +itself, another oppressive act was passed, and its aim was to prevent +separation from the established worship, and disobedience to the +episcopal authorities. It again asserted that the King had determined +to maintain the government of the Church by archbishops and bishops, +“and not to endure nor give in to any variation therein in the least.” +The ejected ministers were prohibited from preaching or assuming any +of their functions, under the penalty of sedition. All persons were +commanded to attend the ordinary meetings of public worship in their +own parish churches on Sunday; and if they absented themselves, they +incurred the following fines:――each noble, gentleman, or proprietor of +land, the sum of one-fourth of his yearly rental――each tenant, a fourth +part of his moveable goods,――each burgess, a fourth of his moveable +goods, with the forfeiture of his freedom of trading and all privileges +within the burgh. The Privy Council were ordered to enforce this act +vigorously, and having called all persons before them, whom the curates +and two witnesses had reported, to inflict on the offenders the above +penalties, and any corporal punishment which they thought fit.¹ This +act was excessively oppressive, and the people called it in derision +“the bishops’ dragnet.” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 446‒449, 455‒456. + +This parliament generously offered the King a force of twenty thousand +foot and two thousand horsemen, who might serve him in any part of +Scotland, England, or Ireland. The Estates adjourned on the 9th of +October, and no more parliaments were assembled in Scotland for six +years.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, page 480; Mackenzie’s _Memoirs of the Affairs of + Scotland_, pages 132‒133. + +Some of the ejected ministers still resided in their parishes, and +naturally continued to preach. The people in many places flocked to +hear them; while the new incumbents often found their churches deserted, +which was extremely displeasing to the government. Thus the religious +meetings arose which the authorities called “conventicles,” and which +parliament had already attempted to extinguish by compelling the people +to attend the parish churches. In June, 1663, the archbishops of St. +Andrews and of Glasgow were appointed Privy Councillors. On the 13th of +August, the council passed an act, by which all the ministers appointed +before 1649, who had not received presentation and collation, were +commanded to remove from their parishes, with their families, within +three weeks, and not to reside within twenty miles of their former +parishes, or within six miles of Edinburgh, or any cathedral church, +or three miles of any royal burgh, under the penalty of sedition. All +landholders and householders in the kingdom were strictly forbidden +to give any countenance to these ministers. On the 17th of September, +the Privy Council issued a proclamation against persons who presumed +to withdraw from the ordinary meetings of public worship, in parishes +where curates were already planted; and not only commanded all the +nobles, the sheriffs, the magistrates, and justices of peace, but +also all the officers in the standing army, to assist the curates in +compelling the people to attend their parish churches. The officers of +the army were empowered to exact fines from all who absented themselves +from the churches on Sunday; thus the course of persecution was begun +and vigorously continued.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 340‒346. + +In October, 1663, different detachments of troops were sent to the +south, to the west, and to the south-west, but the greatest suffering +was inflicted in the south-west, and to this region Sir James Turner +was despatched. He had served in foreign wars, and was a fit instrument +for the work assigned to him. He was ordered to put the law into +execution against all who withdrew from hearing the curates; and to +impose a fine of twenty shillings Scots for every time that a person +was absent. The process of fining was very summary: the curate accused +whom he pleased to any one of the officers of the army, who acted +as judge; no witnesses were required; the soldiers also executed the +sentence; while very often the fine extorted far exceeded what the law +allowed, and frequently went into the officers’ own pockets.¹ These +proceedings were extremely galling to the people of the west, who +were firmly attached to presbyterian principles. But some of the new +curates adopted the device of calling a roll of the parishioners at the +close of the service, and then handed the list of the absentees to the +officer commanding in the district. If a tenant or the head of a family +was unwilling or unable to pay the fines, the soldiers were sent to +quarter upon him; and in this way many poor families were ruined, as +their goods were distrained and sold. In executing these proceedings, +the soldiers were often insolent, rude, and cruel; they mocked at +family worship, and disturbed and annoyed the people when engaged in it; +many of them were cruelly beaten, and driven to church and to prison +with equal violence. Thus all the humble ranks of the people were +treated; but the names of defaulting landed proprietors were directly +forwarded to the Privy Council, and it speedily disposed of their cases. +The military executed another form of oppression at the churches of the +old presbyterian ministers, some of whom had remained in their parishes +and had large congregations, which seems to have greatly offended the +bishops. The soldiers were ordered to go to these churches and inspect +the congregations. The mode of proceeding in such instances was this: +――A party of soldiers came to the church door and guarded it, then +ordered the people to pass out one by one, and interrogated them upon +oath, if they belonged to the parish; and if they could not answer that +they were parishioners, the soldiers immediately fined them, and any +money which they had on their person, was taken from them; but if they +had no money, or not so much as was required, then their bibles, the +men’s coats, and the women’s plaids, were taken from them. Instances +have been recorded where companies of soldiers entered the presbyterian +churches and interrupted the worship; while some were placed at each +door, others drove the people out, and forced them to swear whether +they belonged to this church or not, and according to the answers +received, they were allowed to go or were conveyed to prison. There +were yet other modes of compelling the people to attend the new curates, +for some of the bishops even employed spies, who went to conventicles +in disguise, and then informed upon those who were present.² + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, page 99; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., + pages 373‒374. + + ² Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., page 375; Kirkton’s _History_, + pages 200‒201. + +The government still deemed the means of coercion insufficient; and the +King on the 16th January, 1664, authorised the erection of a Court of +High Commission, to attend especially to ecclesiastical matters. This +court was solely constituted by the royal prerogative. Its members +consisted of the two archbishops, seven other bishops, and thirty-five +laymen, including the chief officers of State; and any five of them, +one being a bishop, were to form a quorum. The court was invested +with plenary powers, and no one was exempted from its jurisdiction; +the least suspicion that a person was disaffected to the established +episcopacy might be construed into a crime; and it could cite ministers, +censure, fine, depose, imprison, or banish, all who refused to submit +to episcopacy. All the officers of the army, the sheriffs, the bailies +of regalities, justices of peace, and the magistrates, were ordered to +apprehend all such offenders and place them in the hands of the court; +and the governors of the King’s castles, and the keepers of prisons +were commanded to receive and to detain in close custody all such +persons as the commissioners of the court committed to them. Then the +fines imposed by this court were enforced by letters of horning; in +short, it was calculated to be an effective engine of oppression and +persecution. The record of its proceedings is lost, but contemporary +accounts describe it in terms of unmitigated condemnation. Before the +end of two years its powers were withdrawn, probably because the Privy +Council thought that it encroached upon its own authority.¹ + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, pages 201‒203, 205‒207; Wodrow’s + _History_, Volume I., pages 384‒395. + +The persecution was continued and increased in severity. On the +7th of December, 1665, the Privy Council passed an act against the +nonconforming ministers, and ordered that the former acts should be +rigorously enforced. At the same time the Council issued a proclamation +against conventicles, and again commanded all those in authority and +office to execute the law against every one attending these meetings. +The soldiers in Galloway and in the west oppressed the inhabitants by +quartering upon them; and they were authorised by the government to +collect the fines from those excluded from the King’s indemnity, as +well as the fines for nonconformity; and many acts of gross injustice +and cruelty were perpetrated. The people manifested a determination to +meet occasionally to hear their favourite preachers, in spite of all +the efforts of the government to prevent them. At last, driven past +the limits of human endurance and goaded to desperation, they turned +upon their oppressors. Their first act of open resistance occurred in +the vicinity of the small village of Dalry in Galloway, in November +1666, when four countrymen rescued an old man whom the soldiers were +maltreating to extort his church fines. They were soon joined by others, +and disarmed the small detachment of soldiers quartered in the district. +Having committed themselves, they resolved to surprise Sir James Turner, +and marched on Dumfries, where he had his head-quarters. They entered +the town on the morning of the 15th of November, and took Sir James a +prisoner, and disarmed his men. They then proceeded to the market cross +and publicly drank the King’s health, and prosperity to his government. +The rising was ill-concerted, however, and the insurgents hardly knew +what next to attempt.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume I., pages 428‒430; Volume II., + pages 8‒13; Kirkton’s _History_, pages 229‒232. + +They proceeded to Ayrshire, where they expected many persons would join +them. But some of the leading men of the county were already in prison, +so that few joined their standard, and the enterprise seemed hopeless. +The insurgents then marched into Lanark, and in that county their +numbers reached about two thousand; but they had no organisation or +discipline. There they renewed the covenant, and issued a manifesto. +Meanwhile the Privy Council had ordered Dalziel to march against the +insurgents, who had advanced to the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, but +were unable to take it, and retired southwards to the Pentland Hills. +On the 28th of November, Dalziel with the royal army came upon the +insurgents; and after a slight encounter, completely defeated them. +About fifty of the insurgents were killed, and one hundred taken +prisoners.¹ + + ¹ Learmont’s _Chronicle_; Blackadder’s _Memoirs_. + +The prisoners were brought to Edinburgh to be tried. Much care had +been taken to magnify the rising as the result of some great conspiracy +against the government; and the authorities resolved to try if torture +would elicit a confession. Hugh McKail, a preacher, and John Neilson of +Corsack, were both tortured, their legs being encased in that fearful +instrument, the boot, and crushed unmercifully to extort a confession, +but they had nothing to confess. Yet it never seems to have occurred +to the authorities that their own oppressive treatment of these poor +people was an all-sufficient explanation of the rising. McKail was +executed, and the dismal work proceeded; nineteen were hanged in +Edinburgh, and about the same number in Glasgow, Ayr, Irvine, and +Dumfries; altogether forty persons were executed.¹ + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, pages 247‒255; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume II., pages 39‒55. + +Military execution directly followed, Dalziel and Drummond were +despatched westward to crush out the spirit of rebellion, and compel +the people to embrace episcopacy. The army acted with more rapacity +than if they had been in an enemy’s country. Wherever they went +they took free quarters. On the roads and in the fields robbery and +murder were frequently committed with impunity; while complaints +only occasioned more suffering. Suspicion was accepted as evidence of +guilt, no proof of innocence was allowed, or mitigating circumstance +considered. Many acts of extreme cruelty and outrage have been recorded, +but I refrain from detailing these sickening scenes.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 62‒80. + +Much of the odium of this persecution was attributed to Archbishop +Sharp. Whether rightly or wrongly, it was certainly believed that he +had insisted on strong measures of repression. Some men of influence +began to think that there had been enough of violence, and a rather +milder mode of administration was attempted, though no change was made +in the principles of the government itself. In August, 1667, the army +was ordered to be disbanded; and in October, an indemnity was offered +to all who had been engaged in the late rising, excepting a few who +were especially obnoxious, on the condition that they appeared before +the authorities and signed the bond of peace. This was to the effect +that the persons who signed it, promised to keep the public peace and +not rebel against the King’s authority. Thereupon the people enjoyed a +short breathing time, and began to hope that they might again be placed +under the protection of the common law of the kingdom.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 80‒100. + +In 1668 the government seemed to show some leniency to the +presbyterians, but, on the 11th of July, an extremely untoward event +happened in Edinburgh. James Mitchell, a young man who had been +concerned in the recent rising, and one of those specially excluded +from the indemnity, attempted to assassinate Archbishop Sharp. The +primate was coming from his lodging, and had just stepped into his +coach with the Bishop of Orkney, when a pistol shot was discharged +at him, which missed him, but shattered the Bishop of Orkney’s +arm. Mitchell crossed the street and instantly disappeared amid +the confusion; and he was not taken till six years afterwards. The +government naturally raised a great clamour about this dastardly +attempt, and offered a reward of two thousand merks to any person who +should discover the assassin, and three thousand to any one who should +apprehend him. It was reported that Sharp was much touched by the +attack on his life, and retained in his mind a vivid impression of the +figure of the assassin.¹ The King in his letters to the Privy Council +for some time after the attempt on Sharp’s life, warmly recommended the +bishops and the loyal clergy to the care of the Council. He enjoined +the Council to inquire minutely into all affronts and assaults upon +them. In the south and in the west, the bishops and the curates +required all the protection which the government could afford them; +for they were odious and hateful to the majority of the people in +these regions. The outcry was now renewed against the presbyterians +and their conventicles, and the Privy Council took steps to enforce +the acts against the nonconforming ministers and those who attended +conventicles, or had their children baptised by persons unauthorised by +the Established Church. Although many of the churches were vacant, the +bishops complained bitterly of the conduct of the ejected ministers who +officiated in their own houses and at conventicles. In consequence of +these complaints many of them were brought before the Council.² + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, 277‒279. Kirkton calls Mitchell “a weak + scholar, who had been in arms with the Whigs;” Wodrow says + “he was a preacher of the gospel, and a youth of much zeal + and piety” (Volume II., page 115). Sir James Turner called + him “a preacher, but not an actual minister” (_Account of the + Pentland Insurrection_). There is no evidence that he was a + licensed minister. + + ² Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 120‒129. + +In the month of June, 1669, by authority of the King, a temporising +measure on a small scale was tried. The Privy Council was authorised +to appoint as many of the ejected ministers as they thought fit to the +vacant churches. Those who consented to take collation from the bishops +were to receive their stipends; and those who did not were only to have +the use of the manse and the glebe, with permission to exercise their +functions, and to receive annually such a sum of money as the Council +thought fit. All the ministers who accepted this offer bound themselves +to attend the meetings of the presbyteries and the synods, and not to +administer the communion to any one save their own parishioners, or +baptise children, or marry parties from neighbouring parishes, without +the permission of the minister of the parish to which they belonged; +they were besides to discourage the people of other parishes from +attending their preaching. As the government thought that these orders +had removed all pretence for holding conventicles, the Privy Council +was commanded to proceed with the utmost severity against all who +preached without authority and those who listened to them. Upwards of +forty ministers were re-admitted to parishes under the above conditions. +But it soon became manifest that this compromise was unsatisfactory to +all concerned. The true blue presbyterians asserted that it was merely +an attempt to blind them; and those not included in the indulgence +railed against the ministers who had accepted it. The episcopal party +were equally displeased with it; and in a short time the Council +refused to grant any more indulgences to the ejected ministers.¹ + + ¹ Sir George Mackenzie’s _Memoirs_, pages 261‒262; Wodrow’s + _History_, Volume II., pages 129‒136. + +The second parliament of this reign was opened at Edinburgh on the 19th +of October, 1669, with the Earl of Lauderdale officiating as a royal +commissioner. The King in his letter to the Estates proposed a union +of the two kingdoms, but the proposal came to no practical result. The +Archbishop of St. Andrews preached a sermon before parliament, in which +he stated that there were three pretenders to supremacy――the Pope, the +King, and the General Assembly of the presbyterians, all whose claims +he maintained were untenable. The Lords of the Council were inclined +to resent this, and an act was introduced and passed in parliament +containing a full and definite statement of the King’s supremacy. + +This act is not long, and as it presents an indication of the principle +on which the government of the Church of Scotland was then founded, it +may be quoted. “The Estates of parliament having seriously considered +how necessary it is, for the good and peace of the Church and the State, +that his Majesty’s power and authority in relation to matters and +persons ecclesiastical be more clearly asserted by an act of parliament; +having therefore thought fit it be enacted, asserted and declared; +so his Majesty, with advice and consent of his Estates of parliament, +does hereby enact, assert and declare, that his Majesty has the +supreme authority and supremacy over all persons and in all causes +ecclesiastical within this kingdom: and that by virtue thereof, the +ordering and disposal of the external government and polity of the +Church does properly belong to his Majesty and to his successors, as +an inherent right of the Crown: and that his Majesty and his successors +may settle, enact, and emit such constitutions, acts, and orders, +concerning the administration of the external government of the +Church, and the persons employed in the same; and concerning all +ecclesiastical meetings and matters to be proposed and determined +therein, as they in their royal wisdom shall think fit: which acts, +orders, and constitutions, being recorded in the books of Council +and duly published, are to be obeyed by all his Majesty’s subjects, +notwithstanding any law, act, or custom to the contrary: likewise his +Majesty with advice and consent aforesaid, does rescind and annul all +laws, acts, and clauses thereof, and all customs and constitutions, +civil and ecclesiastical, which are contrary to, or inconsistent with +his Majesty’s supremacy, as it is hereby asserted, and declares the +same void and null in all time coming.”¹ This act invested the Privy +Council with full legislative power, and reasserted the position of +Charles as King and Pope. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 551, 554; Sir George Mackenzie’s _Memoirs_, pages 159‒160. + +The Estates passed an act for the protection of the episcopal clergy +from the violence of disaffected and disloyal persons, and ratified all +the former acts and proclamations of the Privy Council on this point, +and all previous acts of parliament. Land-owners, life-renters, and +others were commanded to protect, to defend, and to secure the persons, +families, and goods of their ministers; guarding them not merely in the +exercise of their functions, but in their houses and elsewhere, from +all injuries and affronts at the hands of disaffected persons;¹ while +an act was passed for facilitating the payment of disputed parts of the +bishops’ and curates’ stipends and rents. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 556. + +The presbyterians had frequently met in private houses, but now they +began to assemble in the fields; the men sometimes attending the +conventicles armed, in case of being surprised by the soldiers who were +always scouring the country. On the 13th of January, 1670, additional +orders were given to the troops; and on the 3rd of February, a +proclamation concerning conventicles was issued, by which the soldiers +were commanded to seize the persons of landlords, ejected ministers, +tenants, and others, who attended the conventicles, to compel them to +find bail, and if they refused it, then to send them to the Council, +with a list of the witnesses against them. This year many field +meetings were held, three of them attracting particular notice owing +to the crowds assembled. One met at Beithhill, in the parish of +Dunfermline, in the middle of June; another at Livingseat, in the +parish of Carnwath, about the same date; and the third at the Torwood, +in Stirlingshire, in the beginning of July. One of the ministers +who preached at the first of these meetings, has himself given an +interesting account of it. The people began to gather on Saturday +afternoon, and many lay all night upon the hill-side. The ministers who +officiated were Mr. John Dickson and Mr. John Blackadder, the latter +having come from Edinburgh on Saturday night. It was resolved to hold +the meeting on the summit of the hill, for greater security; and a +fitting spot having been chosen, they pitched their tent. Mr. Dickson +conducted the service in the forenoon; and while this was going on, Mr. +Blackadder placed himself at the outskirts of the crowd, with the men +appointed to watch. During the time of the service some ill-affected +people were observed to come in among them, and amongst others the two +sons of the curate, with fourteen strong fellows at their back. Mr. +Blackadder permitted them to come and hear, but not to depart, lest +they should give the alarm, and the watch kept their eyes on them. The +morning preaching, which began at eight, was peaceably concluded about +eleven. + +Mr. Blackadder preached in the afternoon; but before going to the tent, +when revolving his sermon in his mind, he heard a noise, and found +that it proceeded from a party bringing back the curate’s two sons, +with some violence, for which he rebuked them, and ordered the men to +let the youths come back without hurting them. After he had begun his +sermon, the lieutenant of the militia stationed in the district, with +a few others, arrived; he gave his horse to a man to hold, and passed +in among the people and listened to the preaching for a time. He then +returned to his horse and prepared to remount, when some of the guard +interfered and requested him to stay, lest his abrupt departure should +offend and disturb the meeting; but he refused to remain, and began +to threaten by drawing his staff. The guards then seized him as he +was putting his foot in the stirrup, and presented pistols at him. +The minister fearing that they might kill him, stopped his sermon, +and persuaded the people to allow the lieutenant to depart, and thus +to manifest their peaceable intentions. After settling this stir, +which lasted about half-an-hour, the minister returned to his tent +and resumed his sermon, and brought the meeting to a close. But this +interference with the King’s servant was afterwards made the occasion +of several severe prosecutions, so intent and determined was the +government on extinguishing conventicles.¹ + + ¹ Blackadder’s _Memoirs_, pages 144‒148; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume II., pages 154‒159. + +These meetings greatly irritated the government, and it was resolved to +adopt more severe measures of repression. Parliament met at Edinburgh +on the 28th of July, 1670, and passed a number of acts against all who +disagreed with the Established Church. One act concerning the giving +of evidence, commanded that every person in the kingdom when asked, +should declare upon oath whatever they knew about conventicles and +the individuals present at them. This oath to reveal what they knew +might be administered by anyone authorised by the King; and refusal +to take it was followed by fines, imprisonment, or banishment to the +plantations in the Indies, “or elsewhere, as his Majesty’s Council +shall think fit.” Another act touching field conventicles was still +more severe. After stating the fines and punishments imposed for +attending religious meetings in private houses, it was enunciated, +“that field meetings are the rendezvous of rebellion, and tend in a +high degree to the disturbance of the public peace; therefore it is +statuted and declared, that whosoever, without licence or authority, +shall preach, expound scripture, or pray, at any of these meetings in +the fields, or in any house where there are more persons than the house +contains, so that some of them be standing without doors, which is +hereby declared to be a field conventicle, shall be punished by death +and confiscation of goods. And it is hereby offered and assured, that +if any of his Majesty’s subjects shall seize and secure the persons of +any who shall either preach or pray at these field meetings, or convene +any persons thereto, they shall for each person so secured have five +hundred merks paid to them for reward, out of his Majesty’s treasury, +by the commissioners, who are hereby authorised to pay the same; and +the said seizers and their assistants are hereby indemnified from any +slaughter that may be committed in the apprehending and securing of +such persons.” A more mischievous act it would be difficult to conceive; +and that its operation would drive a portion of the people into +rebellion might have been expected. The act enforcing attendance at +public worship in the parish churches was re-enacted under a different +title; while another act was passed to punish those who offered their +children to be baptised by any other minister than their own parish +one, “or else by such as are authorised by the present established +government of the Church, or licensed by his Majesty’s Council.” The +aim of this was to prevent the ejected ministers from baptising; but +one act of exclusive legislation usually demands another of a similar +character. So parliament, in 1672, passed an act against those who +were unwilling to have their children baptised in an orderly form; and +enacting that these persons who failed to have their children baptised +by their parish ministers, within thirty days after birth, rendered +themselves liable to heavy fines. Thus, “every proprietor of land and +life-renter shall be fined a fourth part of his valued yearly rent; +every person above the rank of a tenant, having a personal but no +real estate, in a fine of one hundred pounds Scots; every considerable +merchant a fine of one hundred pounds Scots; every inferior merchant or +considerable tradesman, and every tenant labouring land, fifty pounds; +every meaner burgess, inhabitant of a burgh, and every cottar, twenty +pounds; and every servant half a year’s fee.”¹ This act has the merit +of definiteness and minuteness; but the enormous fines meant ruin to +the offending parties. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII. pages 7, + 8‒10, 11, 72‒73. + +In spite of this severity, the people in some districts continued to +meet in the fields; and every fresh attempt to enforce uniformity only +drove them into stronger dissent. Efforts of a more peaceful character +were tried by Bishop Leighton to win over the ejected ministers and +the nonconforming people of the west; but he met with little success. +He selected six persons, among whom were Bishop Burnet and Lawrence +Charteris, to preach to the people in the vacant churches throughout +the western counties. Their sermons were attended by numbers of the +people, but few of them were convinced or moved to change their views +by the arguments of the episcopal preachers. Burnet himself says, “The +people of the country came generally to hear us, though not in great +crowds. We were indeed amazed to see a poor commonalty so capable of +arguing upon points of government, and on the bounds to be set to the +power of princes in matters of religion. Upon all these topics they +had texts of scripture at hand; and were ready with their answers to +anything that was said to them. This measure of knowledge was spread +even among the meanest of them, their cottagers and their servants. +They were, indeed, vain of their knowledge, much conceited of +themselves, and were full of a most entangling scrupulosity; so that +they found or made difficulties in everything that could be laid before +them. We stayed about three months in the country, and in that time +there was a stand in the frequency of conventicles, but as soon as we +were gone, a set of these hot preachers went round all the places in +which we had been, to defeat all the good we could hope to do. They +told them the devil was never so formidable as when he was transformed +into an angel of light.”¹ + + ¹ _History of His Own Time._ “The harvest they reapt was scorn + and contempt; a congregation they could never gather; they + never pretended to have made a proselyte.”――Kirkton’s + _History_, page 294. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh in June, 1672, Lauderdale being again +royal commissioner; and excepting a short session in the following +year, there were no more meetings of parliament for nine years. An +act was passed renewing the former acts against conventicles; and +the act specially commanding the observance of the 29th of May, in +commemoration of his Majesty’s restoration to the kingdoms of his +ancestors: this act was repeatedly passed, and all the people commanded +to celebrate the event on the appointed day, by the ringing of bells, +bonfires at night, and other manifestations of joy; while all the +ministers were ordered to preach on this day, “that they, with the +whole people, may give thanks to God Almighty for His so signal +goodness to these kingdoms.” Those who failed to obey were to be +severely punished. Along with other acts this one afforded ground for +oppression.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 73, 89. + +In September, 1672, the Privy Council granted another indulgence to the +ejected ministers. They were enjoined to repair to certain parishes, +which were named, in the dioceses of Galloway, Glasgow, Edinburgh and +Argyle, and two and sometimes three ministers were appointed for each +parish. They were permitted to preach and exercise their functions +within the limits assigned to them, a portion of the stipend being +allowed for their support. But this indulgence was disliked by many of +the presbyterian ministers; and those who accepted it were hampered by +many difficulties, while it gave little satisfaction to any.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 201‒211. + +On the 7th of March, 1673, the Privy Council ordered all the ejected +ministers in Edinburgh to remove from it to a distance of five miles, +unless they bound themselves to hold no conventicles. In April, the +Council issued a proclamation announcing more severe penalties against +conventicles; and some of the indulged ministers were punished for not +confining themselves to the limits prescribed to them.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, pages 211‒233. + +But the conventicles became more and more common, and in March +the government proclaimed an indemnity and pardon for past fines +and offences incurred through the contravention of the penal acts, +excepting the penalties already imposed, and all sentences of +banishment and imprisonment. This indemnity extended to the penalties +against conventicles, irregular baptisms, and marriages, up to the +date of its publication. But the people looked upon it rather as an +encouragement for the future than as a remission for past offences; +and from this time conventicles of all kinds increased still faster, in +houses, in churches, and in the fields. In the south, in the west, and +in Fife, the people fixed upon positions in fields, on moors, and on +the hills, where multitudes assembled every Sunday, till the defeat at +Bothwell Bridge. “Then the conversation up and down Scotland was the +quality and success of the last Sunday’s conventicle, who the preachers +were, what the number of the people was, what doctrine the minister +preached, what change was among the people; how sometimes the soldiers +assaulted them, and sometimes killed some of them; sometimes the +soldiers were beaten, and some of them killed. And this was the +exercise of the people of Scotland for a period of six years.” In the +summer of 1674, it was recorded that――“Because men durst not, the women +of Edinburgh would needs appear in a petition to the Council, wherein +they desired that a gospel ministry might be provided for the starving +congregations of Scotland. Fifteen of them, mostly ministers’ widows, +engaged to present so many copies to the principal Lords of Council, +and upon the 4th of June filled the whole Parliament Close. When the +Chancellor came up, Sharp kept close to his back, fearing, it may be, +bodily harm, which he then escaped. Only some of them reproached him, +calling him Judas and traitor, and one of them laid her hand upon his +neck, and told him that neck must pay for it ere all was done, and in +that guessed right; but this was all he suffered at that time. Mr. John +Livingston’s widow undertook to present her copy to the Chancellor, +which she did. He received it, and civilly pulled off his hat. When +she began to speak, and took hold of his sleeve, he bowed his head and +listened to her, even till he came to the Council chamber door. She who +presented her copy to Stair found no such kind reception, for he threw +it upon the ground, which made one tell him he did not so with the +remonstrance which he helped to write. But when the Council met, the +petition was turned into a seditious libel by the vote of the Court. +The provost and guard were sent for, but none of these were very cruel; +only they threatened, and the women dissolved. Thereafter, for an +example, some of them were cited, and some denounced rebels. Three +women they imprisoned also for a time――James Clelland’s wife, Miss +Campbell, and a daughter of Johnston of Warriston――and this was the +end of that brush.”――Sir George Mackenzie gives this account of the +affair;――“And petitions for able ministers were given in to the Council, +by many hundreds of women, who filled the Parliament Close, threatened +the Archbishop of St. Andrews, who passed along with the Chancellor, +for whose coming he had waited in his own chamber; and some of them +had conspired to set upon him, when a woman, who I shun to name, should +raise her hand on high as a signal: to prevent which, the Chancellor, +by entertaining the woman with insinuating speeches all the time as he +passed to the Council, did divert that bloody design.”¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 266‒267; Kirkton’s + _History_, pages 342‒346; _Memoirs_, page 273. + +The government taxed its ingenuity to the utmost in devising means +to prohibit conventicles, and to crush the spirit of the people. In +June, 1674, the heads of families were made liable for their wives and +children, and their servants; and the proprietors of land for their +tenants and servants. They were obliged to subscribe a bond that they +would obey this, under severe penalties. The bond is in these terms: +“I――bind and oblige me, that I, my wife, or any of my children in +family with me, my cottars, or servants, shall not keep or be present +at conventicles, either in houses or in the fields, as the same is +defined by the 5th Act of the second session of his Majesty’s second +parliament, under the fines therein contained.... And for the more +security, I am content, and consent that these presents be inserted +in the books of the Privy Council, books of Council and Session, or +any other competent judges’ books, that letters and execution may pass +thereupon.... God save the King.” Proclamations and orders were issued +for apprehending the ministers who preached at conventicles, and the +people who attended them, while the promise of rewards to persons who +seized them was renewed. Indeed, every one in the kingdom was in some +way obliged or encouraged to inform upon another, and every man to ruin +his neighbour. On the 16th of July, 1674, thirty-nine of the ejected +ministers, having been shortly before summoned to appear before the +Council, and having failed to comply, were proclaimed rebels, and put +to the horn; amongst the list of ministers thus denounced some were +dead, and others had been indulged, but all were indiscriminately +proscribed. Donald Cargill, the noted field preacher, and James Kirkton, +the author of a history of the Church of Scotland, and other notable +Covenanters, were included in this sentence. These ministers, along +with others before denounced, then formed themselves into a body +completely separated from the bishops and the curates; and a number +of gentlemen and many of the people joined them. Having been outlawed, +they were forced to betake themselves to hiding-places, to the fields, +and to the hills. Being exposed to the attacks of the soldiers at their +meetings, these parties usually carried arms.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 234‒248; Kirkton’s + _History_, pages 348‒352. + +Nevertheless the rigorous laws of the government failed to prevent +preaching in private houses and in the fields. In 1675, garrisons were +placed in private mansions, where the nonconformists were most numerous; +while letters of intercommuning were issued against upwards of a +hundred persons, of whom eighteen were ministers. Thus the dissenters +were not only outlawed but also deprived of all intercourse with their +fellow men; all who held any intercourse with them became implicated +in their crimes, and rendered themselves liable to the same punishment. +In the terms of the law then proclaimed――“We command and charge all +our subjects, that they, nor none of them, presume to reset, supply, +or intercommune with any of the aforesaid persons or rebels, for the +causes foresaid, nor furnish them with meat, drink, house, harbour, +victuals, or any other thing useful or comfortable to them, nor have +any intelligence with them by word, writing, message, or any other way, +under the penalty of being reputed and esteemed art and part with them +in their crimes, and pursued therefore with all rigour to the terror of +others.”¹ These modes of persecution forced many to leave their homes, +and wander from place to place in want and weariness, shunned, spurned, +and hunted by the authorities, sustained by nothing but by the glow and +strength of their faith. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 286‒288. + +In March, 1676, the government issued a fresh proclamation against +conventicles, commanding the authorities, under severe penalties, to +seize all intercommunicated persons, and to put the penal laws in force +against all offenders and rebels. The Council granted commissions to +form and appoint committees, to put the laws against conventicles and +dissenters into execution; one was ordered to sit in Edinburgh, one in +Glasgow, one for Stirling and Fife, and one for Aberdeenshire, Moray, +and Ross.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 318‒323. + +A large meeting of the presbyterian ministers was held in Edinburgh +in the beginning of the year 1677. A considerable section of the +people had now openly disowned and separated from the episcopal clergy +and Church; and indeed the presbyterians were too numerous for the +effective operation of the penal laws against them; but the government +still attempted to put down conventicles. Sir George Mackenzie was +appointed Lord-Advocate in August, 1677, and ever after he was an open +enemy to the presbyterians, or “the fanatics,” as he called them. He +expressed his views thus:――“These fanatics finding all their hopes +disappointed, resolved to try by force what they could not obtain from +favour; and knowing that they might expect the connivance, at least, of +the party in opposition to Lauderdale, and that party having blown up +their expectations, by assuring them that the Parliament of England was, +by many late elections, become more fanatical, they hounded out all +their ministers to keep field conventicles in such numbers and so well +armed, and to threaten so all the orthodox clergy, and to usurp their +pulpits, that the Council was much troubled at the clouds which they +saw so fast gathering; and Lauderdale was the more envenomed, that all +these disorders were charged upon the late offers made by him of an +indemnity and indulgence, and the news that was industriously spread, +both in London and Edinburgh, of great sums of money promised to his +duchess by the fanatics. Notwithstanding of all which, Sir George +Mackenzie being lately admitted to be his Majesty’s Advocate, did +prevail with the Council to prevent, by the ensuing articles, all +the fanatics’ just exceptions against the forms formerly used against +them. 1. That his Majesty’s Advocate be special as to time and place in +libelling against conventicles and others pursued; but as he may libel +any day within four weeks, or any place within such a parish, or near +to the said parish, for else conventicles may be held upon the confines +of parishes, merely to disappoint his way of libelling. 2. When any +person is convened upon a libel, that in that case, he be only examined +upon his own guilt and accession; seeing nothing can be referred to a +defender’s oath but what concerns himself during the dependence of a +process. 3. That if any person who is cited be ready to depone, or pay +his fines, he be not troubled with taking bonds, or other engagements; +seeing that the constant punishment of such as do transgress will +supply the necessity of the bonds, and the law itself is the strongest +bond that can be exacted of any man.”¹ Those who were cited never +appeared, as they knew that imprisonment in the Bass awaited them, +where at this time all were sent who could be seized. + + ¹ _Memoirs_, pages 322‒323; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., + pages 346‒347. + +In August, the government emitted a proclamation against those who +withdrew from public worship, and attended conventicles――“which we have +so often declared to be the nurseries of schism, and the rendezvous of +rebellion; tending to detach our subjects from that reverence due to +religion, and that obedience they owe to our authority.” To this was +annexed a bond for compelling the people to attend their own parish +churches, under the penalties of the former acts.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 364‒366. + +Mitchell, since his attempt on the life of the Primate, had been living +in Edinburgh, where Sharp frequently saw him, and caused him to be +apprehended in February, 1674. When brought before the Privy Council, +he was promised a pardon if he would confess his guilt, whereupon he +admitted having been in the rising of 1666, and his attempt on the +life of the Primate; but affirmed that no one else was connected with +that deed. He was then remitted to the Court of Justiciary. When placed +in the dock he denied everything, and as there was no evidence, the +indictment was abandoned. He was returned to prison, and detained for +two years. In January, 1676, he was again taken before the Council, and +questioned whether he had been with the insurgents in 1666, and if he +would acknowledge his former confession. Mitchell declined to criminate +himself, and pled that when tried two years ago, the charge fell to +the ground, that it was unjust to detain him in prison and insist +that he should accuse himself. It was then agreed to torture him; and +his right leg was placed in the boot and frightfully mangled, still +he refused to acknowledge his confession, or to tell anything. After +undergoing extreme suffering he was removed to prison. The policy of +the government had created a host of enemies; and as the ruling party +knew that their power rested solely upon fear, the Council and the +bishops were loth to let any victim escape. Mitchell was again brought +before the court in January, 1678, upon an indictment charging him +with attempting to murder the Primate. He was defended by Lockhart, +one of the foremost advocates of the time, and Mr. John Ellis, who both +pleaded at great length on behalf of the panel. Ellis argued against +the relevancy of the libel on five formal points; and next pled ably +that a confession obtained in such circumstances could not be allowed +as evidence in a court of law. Lockhart then argued with force and +clearness, that as the confession was emitted upon the promise of the +Privy Council to save his life, it could not be used as evidence for +condemning him to death. But Rothes, Lauderdale, the Primate, and other +councillors, denied upon oath that such a promise was ever given to him: +Lockhart produced a copy of the act of Council in which it was recorded, +and craved that the register of the Council’s acts should be produced, +which the court refused; the act, however, was read, and Lockhart +earnestly insisted for liberty to speak on it; but the court would +not permit this. The jury found Mitchell guilty, and he was executed +at the Grassmarket of Edinburgh on the 18th of January, 1678. Perhaps +the lords had short memories, for the act containing the promise to +Mitchell still remains in the register of the proceedings of the Privy +Council.¹ + + ¹ _State Trials_, Volume VI.; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., + pages 454‒473. + +The government now determined to extinguish conventicles by treating +the west, the south-west, and other parts of the country, as if it +had been in a state of rebellion. Towards the end of January, 1678, an +army of ten thousand men was mustered at Stirling, of whom six thousand +were Highland clansmen. This force was spread over the regions where +the nonconformists, or the Whigs, as they were called in the speech of +the time, were most numerous, there to live at free quarters; while a +committee of the Privy Council accompanied the host, armed with special +information and ample powers for punishing notable offenders. They were +empowered to impose and exact such fines as they thought fit from all +who refused to take the bond; and they were instructed to prosecute +rigorously all who had been at field conventicles since the 1st of +January 1677; while all persons who had been accessory to the building +of meeting-houses, and also all landowners, and life-renters, who had +connived at the erection of such houses, since the 24th March, 1674, +were to be punished without mercy, and all the meeting-houses were to +be razed to the ground. They were to prosecute all who had withdrawn +from public worship in their own parishes, to disarm all persons, and +to search for and seize arms and ammunition. The bond, tendered and +backed by the presence of the army, was in the following terms:――“We +―――― faithfully bind and oblige us, that we, our wives, children, and +servants, respectively, shall not be present at any conventicles or +disorderly meetings in time coming, but shall live in obedience to the +law, under the penalties of the acts of parliament: also we bind and +oblige us, that all our tenants and cottars, their wives, children, +and servants, shall likewise abstain from these conventicles, and other +illegal meetings, and live in obedience to the law: and farther, that +we nor they shall reset, supply, or commune with forfeited persons, +intercommuned ministers, or vagrant preachers; but shall do our utmost +endeavour to apprehend their persons: and in case our tenants and +cottars shall contravene, we shall take and apprehend every person +guilty thereof, and present them to the judge ordinary, that they may +be punished therefore, according to the acts of parliament; otherwise +we shall remove them and their families off our ground; and if we fail +therein, we shall be liable to such penalties as the said delinquents +have incurred by law.” The resistance to this form of oppression was +almost universal; and even many of the landowners and small proprietors +refused to sign the bond; in Lanarkshire only twenty out of three +thousand householders subscribed the bond, and it was reported that +those who did sign it suffered as much as those who refused, as the +soldiers and Highlanders sent to execute the law spared no one, and +acted without distinction of persons. The Highlanders were sent home +in the end of February; and on the 24th of April the remainder of the +army was disbanded, save a garrison left in Ayr. “When this goodly +army returned homewards, you would have thought by their baggage that +they had been at the sack of a besieged city; and therefore, when they +passed Stirling Bridge, every man drew his sword, to show the world +that they had returned conquerors from the enemy’s land, but they +might as well have shown the pots, pans, girdles, and other household +furniture with which they were loaded; and among them all, none +purchased so well as the two Earls of Airly and Strathmore, chiefly +the last, who sent home the money, not in purses, but in bags and great +quantities. Yet under all this oppression the poor people bore all; +only in Kampsey there was one of the plunderers killed by a countryman, +who yet escaped punishment.”¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 378‒454. Kirkton’s + _History_, pages 390‒391. It has often been noticed that none + of the Whigs lost their life by the hands of this Highland + host, as it was called. + +The government was disappointed that the Highland army had effected so +little; and therefore more force was to be employed. A Convention of +Estates was summoned to grant money, which met at Edinburgh in the end +of June, 1678. It passed an act authorising a sum of eighteen hundred +thousand pounds Scots to be raised by a tax spread over five years, to +enable the King to maintain more forces to uphold the orthodox clergy, +extinguish conventicles, and crush the people. This act was extremely +obnoxious to the presbyterians, but all were obliged to pay the tax +under severe penalties.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 213‒229; Kirkton’s _History_, pages 393‒396. + +By the end of the year a considerable army was stationed, chiefly +in the western and southern counties. In the beginning of 1679, +detachments of troops were ordered to move up and down the country, to +harass all who did not conform to episcopacy, and to collect the tax, +which many of the people would not pay till they were compelled. The +soldiers were commanded to search out and to pursue all who attended +field meetings, to kill all who resisted them, to imprison and deliver +to the magistrates, or send to the Council, all whom they apprehended.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume II., pages 492‒495; Volume III., + pages 11‒17. + +This year, in the end of February, the government added a number of +new commissioners to assist those appointed in August, 1677; their +special work being the suppression of all schism and opposition +to the Established Church, and all seditious meetings. Among other +instructions touching the execution of their task, and to interest +and encourage them in it, they were authorised “to apply the one-half +of the fines of all the landed men and women, and their children, who +lived within the bounds of their commission, to their own use, and such +as they should employ.” This was sure to make the commissioners earnest +in their work. The King also issued an order authorising the sheriffs +in the south and west of the kingdom to recognise, and act with, +a number of special sheriff-deputes nominated by the King himself, +expressly to try and judge persons accused of attending conventicles, +of withdrawing from the worship of the parish churches, or of irregular +baptisms and marriages.¹ That men thus invested with judicial powers +should sometimes act with an imperious hand was certain; and when +William Carmichael, an ex-bailie of Edinburgh, was raised by the King +to the dignity of a special sheriff in the county of Fife, of course he +exerted himself to the utmost to show that he was worthy of his post. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume III., pages 17‒21, 41. + +This man, who had been treating those who attended field meetings +in Fife with great severity, a few bold men resolved to frighten and +punish. On the 3rd of May, 1679, under Hackston of Rathillet and John +Balfour, they attempted to waylay him among the hills above Cupar, +where they expected him to be hunting. They searched for him from early +morning to past midday without success; but just when they were about +to disperse, they were told that the Primate was in the neighbourhood, +and would pass along the road in his carriage. They then bethought that +if the subordinate had escaped, Providence had placed their great enemy +within their grasp, and they determined to murder him. The Archbishop’s +coach was driving along Magus Moor, about two miles from his own city, +and the party instantly pursued it. Sharp cried to the coachman to +drive hard; the pursuers fired several shots, overtook the coach, cut +the traces, disarmed and dismounted his attendants, and commanded Sharp +to come forth, that they might not injure his daughter, who was with +him in the coach. As he refused to move, they fired into the coach; +but he still clung to his daughter, who was screaming with terror. Then +they dragged him out, and he fell on his knees, and in piteous tones +implored them to spare his life, promising them forgiveness――anything, +if they would only show mercy: but they reminded him that he had +imbrued his hands in the blood of many innocent people for a period +of eighteen years, and that now he must die. A volley of shot was +discharged at him, and his death was completed with their swords. The +assassins, after rifling the coach and the Bishop’s clothes, remounted +their horses and rode off, leaving the Primate’s daughter lamenting +over his mangled body on the moor.¹ + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, pages 403‒421; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume III., pages 41‒51. + +There were a few persons in Scotland who approved of this foul deed, +but the majority of the people regarded it as an atrocious murder. +There were not many, however, who greatly lamented the fate of Sharp, +and long afterwards some people thought that he deserved his cruel end. +Assassination and murder cannot be justified under any circumstances, +and must in all cases be emphatically condemned. + +The murder of Sharp afforded the government a fresh excuse for greater +severities against the nonconformists and all who attended field +meetings. A reward was offered for the apprehension of the murderers, +but they had fled to the west, where they were joined by others, and +prepared to resist the authorities. The Privy Council immediately +emitted proclamations against armed conventicles; but the people of +the west were past the stage of being deterred by proclamation, as +they were ripe for insurrection. A few of the most determined agreed to +give what they called “a public testimony against the government,” and +arranged to meet on the 29th of May, the anniversary of the Restoration. +A party of eighty armed men marched into the burgh of Rutherglen, +extinguished the bonfires, blazing in honour of the day, burned +the Rescissory Act, and the acts establishing episcopacy, and then +read their declaration and affixed it upon the market cross. In this +manifesto they gave their testimony――“1. Against the Rescissory Act, +for overthrowing the whole Covenanted Reformation. 2. Against the +acts for erecting and establishing of abjured prelacy. 3. Against that +declaration imposed upon, and subscribed by, all persons in public +trust, wherein the Covenants are renounced and condemned. 4. Against +the Act and Declaration, published at Glasgow, for ejecting of the +faithful ministers who could not comply with prelacy, whereby three +hundred and upwards of them were illegally ejected. 5. Against that +presumptuous act for imposing an holy anniversary day, as they call +it, to be kept yearly on the 29th of May, as a day of rejoicing +and thanksgiving for the King’s birth and restoration, whereby the +appointers intruded upon the Lord’s prerogative, and the observers +have given the glory to the creature that is due to our Lord and +Redeemer, and rejoiced over the setting up of the usurping power, +to the destroying of the interest of Christ in the land. 6. Against +the Explicatory Act of 1669, and the sacrilegious supremacy enacted +and established thereby.”¹ It may be observed that there is truth and +force in this manifesto, especially as to the act of supremacy and the +anniversary of the Restoration. + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume III., pages 52‒59, 66‒67. + +A field meeting was to be held at Loudon Hill, in Clydesdale, on +Sunday the 7th of June, 1679. Captain Graham of Claverhouse was then +at Glasgow, and hearing of their design, he resolved to disperse the +meeting. The services of the day were begun, when the watch gave the +alarm that a body of troopers was approaching, and shortly Graham’s +dragoons appeared on the rising ground. At this meeting of the +Covenanters there were some men, such as Hackston, Balfour, and William +Cleland, who possessed marked fighting abilities; and the assemblage +determined on battle. After sending the women and children to the rear, +the fighting men advanced to a swampy piece of ground and took up their +position. A sharp but short skirmish ensued, Graham being completely +defeated, and upwards of twenty of his troopers slain. The event +is known in history as the battle of Drumclog. Encouraged by this +success, they marched the following day upon Glasgow, but were unable +to take it, and retired towards Hamilton, where they formed a camp. +The outbreak threatened to assume serious proportions, as many from +Ayrshire, Galloway, and other parts of the country joined them, and in +a few days four thousand men were assembled. They had been driven to +desperation. The extreme party of the government had at last produced +what they probably desired――a general insurrection, which gave them +an opportunity of insisting on the utmost extremity of persecution +against the presbyterians. The government quickly prepared to meet the +emergency. Intelligence of every movement of the rebels was promptly +sent to London; and it was deemed necessary to commission the Duke +of Monmouth, the King’s natural son, to command the royal army and +suppress the rebellion.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume III., pages 68‒99. + +The Duke arrived at Edinburgh on the 18th of June, 1679, and +immediately placed himself at the head of the army. He marched westward +on the 21st, and came within sight of the insurgents, lying on Hamilton +Moor. The insurgents, however, were divided among themselves. There +was bitter dissension concerning the indulgence; some proposing to hold +a fast day to mourn for their sins, but on this all could not agree; +while others were for recognising the King according to the Covenant, +and others insisted on renouncing him. There was little discipline +amongst them, and no united front was presented, when, on the 22nd of +June, the royal army appeared on the opposite side of the Clyde. After +much debate it was agreed to petition the Duke for terms of peace; +but they found that his instructions demanded their immediate and +unconditional surrender. These tidings increased the confusion amongst +them; Hamilton, who had assumed the command, was opposed to any +proposal of peace with an uncovenanted King; others were inclined to +yield; but they came to no final resolution, and returned no answer to +the Duke. The royal army, therefore, advanced to the attack, and the +presbyterians were utterly defeated. Many were slain in the flight, and +more than a thousand taken prisoners. The insurgent army being badly +led, suffered severely.¹ + + ¹ Kirkton’s _History_, pages 461‒472; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume III., pages 99‒111. + +The following day the prisoners, tied two and two were driven into +Edinburgh, and placed in the Greyfriars Churchyard, where they were +kept in the open air for several weeks. Two of the ministers were +hanged at the Grassmarket; and five of the other prisoners were +executed on Magus Moor, on the 18th of November, as an atonement for +the murder of the Primate. Those of the prisoners who acknowledged that +the rising was a rebellion, and signed a bond promising to keep the +peace and not rise again against the King’s authority, were liberated; +but upwards of two hundred, who refused to sign the bond, were crammed +into a ship and transported to Barbadoes, to be sold as slaves in the +plantations.¹ + + ¹ _Proceedings of the Privy Council_; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume III., pages 123‒140. + +Many others suffered severely for being at Bothwell Bridge, or +otherwise implicated in the rising. For about two months after this +event, the soldiers committed many outrages upon the people, and +sometimes upon innocent individuals and families. + +In August an indemnity was offered to all who had been in the +rebellions of 1666 and 1679, upon condition of promising not to rise +again in arms against his Majesty’s authority, and of ceasing from +attending field meetings in the future. In July, an act was published +by the authority of the King, permitting the presbyterian ministers not +yet indulged to preach and administer the communion, if they refrained +from holding field meetings. This indulgence, however, was soon +withdrawn: and it appears that many failed to take advantage of it +from principle and conviction, and some from other reasons.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume III., pages 111‒122, 140‒146, + 147‒157. + +The difference between the two parties of the presbyterians had become +more marked. Some of the extreme party had always protested against +the indulgence; and they now took up a position apart from those of +more moderate views, and unhesitatingly proclaimed and carried out +their own principles. Donald Cargill was their first leader, and after +him Richard Cameron and James Renwick may be mentioned as the heads +of the party. This body was variously designated in the records of +the time, as The Wild Whigs, The Wanderers, The Faithful Remnant, +Covenanters, The Hillmen, The Cameronians, Macmillanites, and in +later times Reformed Presbyterians, and other names. They were a bold, +uncompromising, and determined class of men, who clung consistently and +bravely to their creed and to their principles. They were not merely +content to resist some of the measures of the government, they adopted +a bolder line of action. They treated the offer of indulgence with +scorn; they refused to pay taxes; and at last they renounced their +allegiance to a King, who had utterly broken his Covenant engagements, +and, by his tyrannical government, had forfeited his right to the +throne; and therefore, they declared war against him and his government. +They declined to hold communion with the moderate presbyterians, and +formed themselves into a number of societies, and calling themselves +The Society People. They exhibited much capacity for business and +organisation; and they may be truly described as the party of honesty +and vigour in the nation, amid the wreck of character, of time-serving, +and of corruption, which then prevailed. + +The government continued the persecution of those who attended field +meetings and absented themselves from the parish churches. On the 22nd +of June, 1680, about twenty of the Whigs, headed by Cameron and Cargill, +marched into the town of Sanquhar with drawn swords, halted at the +market cross, and read and then posted up a declaration, in which they +disowned Charles Stuart, because of his tyranny and his perjury――“For +which reasons, we declare, that several years since he should have been +denuded of being king, ruler, or magistrate, or of having any power to +act or to be obeyed as such. As also, we being under the standard of +our Lord Jesus Christ, Captain of Salvation, do declare a war with such +a tyrant and usurper, and all the men of his practices, as enemies to +our Lord Jesus Christ, and his cause and covenants, and against all +such as have strengthened him, sided with him, or any way acknowledged +him in his tyranny, civil or ecclesiastical――yea, against all such as +shall strengthen, side with, or any way acknowledge any other in the +like usurpation and tyranny, far more against such as would betray +or deliver our free reformed mother Church into bondage.... As also, +we disown, and by this resent the reception of the Duke of York, that +professed papist, as repugnant to our principles and vows to the most +high God, and as that which is the great, though not the only, just +reproach of our Church and nation. We also by this protest against his +succession to the throne; and in whatever has been done, or any one +essaying to do in this land, given to the Lord, in prejudice of our +work of reformation. And to conclude, we hope after this none will +blame us for, or be offended at, our rewarding those that are against +us, as they have done to us, as the Lord gives opportunity.”¹ + + ¹ Given at Sanquhar, June 22nd, 1680. + +This renunciation called forth a royal proclamation, offering large +rewards for the apprehension of Richard Cameron, his brother, Cargill, +and Thomas Douglas, dead or alive. The army harassed all nonconformists +throughout the country, and inflicted great suffering upon many besides +those who had joined the Society People. On the 20th of July, 1680, +a company of about sixty of the Society People, or Cameronians, was +surprised by an overwhelming number of the royal army at Ayrsmoss, +in the parish of Auchinleck. They fought bravely, but they were all +cut down, wounded, or taken on the spot; Richard Cameron himself, +his brother, and others were slain. But Hackston of Rathillet, who +had acted as the leader in the scuffle, was conveyed to Edinburgh a +prisoner, with the head of Richard Cameron carried in triumph before +him. Shortly afterwards Hackston and other prisoners were sentenced to +death; and the execution of Hackston, by the instructions of the Privy +Council, was carried out in a most shocking and cruel way.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Privy Council_, 1680; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume III., pages 215‒223. Hackston himself gives an account + of the affair at Ayrsmoss, which is printed in _Wodrow_, + Volume III., page 219. + +The remnant of the Whigs, though savagely persecuted, still stood firm, +unshaken and untouched in their faith and in their principles. In +September, 1680, they held a great meeting with Cargill, their minister, +at the Torwood in Stirlingshire. He delivered one of his stirring +sermons to an eager assemblage of listeners; and then excommunicated +the King, the Duke of York, the Duke of Lauderdale, General Dalziel, +the Earl of Rothes, the Duke of Monmouth, and the Lord-Advocate, for +their breach of the Covenant and their persecution of God’s people. +It should be observed that the main body of the presbyterians had no +concern in these proceedings; as they disapproved of the extreme steps +taken by this party. The government exerted itself more than ever to +suppress field meetings, and to get hold of the daring preacher Cargill. +On the 5th of May, 1681, Cargill held a fast near Loudon Hill, and +escaped at that time. But in July he was taken and conveyed to Glasgow +by a party of soldiers; thence he was carried to Edinburgh. He was +then brought before the Council and interrogated at length. He denied +that the rising at Bothwell Bridge was a rebellion against the King; +as he deemed it right to rebel in cases of necessity; those who rose +at Bothwell were oppressed, and therefore rose in their own defence. +Interrogated touching the King, he said that he was not obliged to obey +his government, as it was then established by the act of supremacy; +when asked if he owned the excommunication of the King, he refused +to answer. He was tried before the Court of Justiciary on the 26th of +July, condemned, and sentenced to be executed the following day. He +was hanged along with other four Covenanters, all of whom left their +testimony behind them.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Privy Council_; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume + III., pages 278‒284; _The Cloud of Witnesses._ + +In the end of October, 1680, the Duke of York arrived in Scotland, +and was warmly welcomed by the orthodox clergy. During the few months +of his sojourn in Scotland before, the Privy Council were so much +impressed with his goodness, that they gave him an exceedingly high +character to his royal brother, on the occasion of his leaving for +England, of which the following is a specimen:――“The remembrance +of having been under the protection of your royal family above two +thousand years, of having been preserved, by their valour, from the +slavery to which others were so often reduced, and of having received +from their bounty the lands which we possess, has been very much +refreshed and renewed by having your royal brother among us, in whom +we have seen the moderation of spirit and equality of justice that is +remarkable in your sacred race, and has raised in us a just abhorrence +of those seditious persons and pernicious principles which would lead +us back to those dreadful confusions which grew up by degrees, from +tumultuary petitioners for reformation and parliaments, to a rebellion +that in the last age destroyed both, and which must do so still, since +all who think that subjects should direct their king, design nothing, +in effect, but to be kings themselves: the convictions of all which +did prevail so far with all degrees of persons, and with persons of all +persuasions here, that it has been observed our nobility and gentry of +both sexes attended their royal highnesses with much joy and assiduity, +expressed in all their confluences great respect and satisfaction, that +even the most malicious abstained from all manner of rebellious risings +and undutiful speeches: no breach of the peace, no libel, no pasquil, +having been ever discovered during his abode here; so that this too +short time has been the most peaceful and serene part of our life, +and the happiest days we ever saw, except your Majesty’s miraculous +restoration.”¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume III., pages 23, 3‒234; + Fountainhall’s _Notes_, page 3. + +All had not so high an opinion of the Duke as the members of the Privy +Council. He desired to strengthen his prospective claim and title to +the throne; and, as it was thought that the Estates would oblige him, +and do what they were ordered, a parliament was summoned, which met at +Edinburgh in the end of July, 1681, and when the Duke of York assumed +his place as royal Commissioner. After disposing of various preliminary +matters, on the 13th of August, an act touching the right of succession +to the imperial Crown of Scotland was passed. This act repeated the +assertion “that the kings of the realm derived their royal power from +God alone,” and succeeded to it by lineal descent, which could not +be altered without involving the nation in perjury and rebellion. +That no difference in religion, nor law, nor act of parliament, could +divert the right of succession of the Crown from the nearest heir; +and that all who contradicted or in any way opposed this, should +incur the penalties of high treason. Another act imposed new and more +severe penalties on all who attended conventicles. It authorised the +proprietors of land to turn any of their tenants or cottars out of +their holdings without warning, and at any time of the year, if they +were implicated in field conventicles. The landlords were also enjoined +to retain as much of the goods and stock of their tenants, cottars, or +servants, as would pay the fines and penalties incurred by them under +the acts of parliament. The Test Act, which was re-enacted and passed +on the last day of August, caused much stir. It provided that all +persons in public office, from the highest to the humblest, should +swear that they sincerely professed the true Protestant religion, as +contained in the Confession of Faith, recorded in the first parliament +of James VI., 1568; and that they believed the same to be founded on +the written word of God; and to swear that the King’s power was supreme +in all cases and over all persons, that they would maintain and defend +this to the utmost of their power; and solemnly swear that it was +unlawful on any pretence to enter into covenants, to hold meetings, or +to treat of and discuss government, without the King’s licence. A part +of the Test Act may be quoted:――“I further affirm and swear by this +my solemn oath, that I judge it unlawful for subjects, upon pretence +of reformation or any pretence whatever, to enter into covenants or +leagues, or to assemble in any meeting to treat, consult, or determine, +in any matter of State whatever, without his Majesty’s special command +or express licence; or to take up arms against the King or those +commissioned by him; and that I shall never so rise in arms, or enter +into such covenants or assemblies; and that there lies no obligation +on me from the National Covenant, or Solemn League and Covenant, or in +any other way whatever, to endeavour to change or alter the government, +either in Church or State, as it is now established by the laws of the +kingdom. And I promise and swear that I shall to the utmost of my power +defend, assist, and maintain his Majesty’s jurisdiction against all +deadly: and I shall never decline his Majesty’s power and jurisdiction, +as I shall answer to God. Finally, I affirm and swear, that this my +solemn oath is given in the plain genuine sense and meaning of the +words, without any equivocation, mental reservation, or any kind of +evasion whatever; and that I shall not accept or use dispensation from +any creature whatsoever. So help me God.”¹ The act was hurried through +parliament, and it contained such a jumble of inconsistencies that +some declined to sign it. Some of the clergy refused to take the test, +and left their parishes; and others only took it with limitations and +explanations. The Earl of Argyle took it in so far as it was consistent +with itself: and stated that he could not bind himself from doing +what he deemed requisite and consistent with the Protestant religion, +and the duty of a loyal subject. For this he was charged with high +treason, on the ground of giving the act a different meaning from what +parliament intended it to bear. Argyle was tried and convicted, but he +escaped from the Castle of Edinburgh on the 20th of December, 1681, and +fled to Holland. On the 23rd of December, 1682, sentence of death was +pronounced against him, and his coat of arms was defaced.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 231‒245. + + ² Fountainhall’s _Notes_, page 20; Burnet’s _History of His Own + Time_, Volume II., pages 309‒314. The Duke of York was blamed + for encouraging the proceedings against Argyle. “The Duke + seeing how great a man the Earl of Argyle was in Scotland, + concluded it was necessary for him either to be gained or + to ruin him. Argyle gave him all possible assurance that + he would adhere to his interest in everything except in + the matter of religion.... This was well enough taken in + show, but Argyle said he observed ever after such a visible + coldness and distrust that he saw what he might expect from + him.”――_Burnet_, page 295. + +In the beginning of the year 1682, a party of the Society People +entered the town of Lanark, and published a declaration of their +principles, and then burned the Succession and Test Acts. They styled +themselves in this declaration, “the Presbyterians of the Church of +Scotland.” Two days after, the Privy Council ordered the Solemn League +and Covenant, and the declarations published at Rutherglen, Sanquhar, +and Lanark, to be burned by the common hangman at the Cross of +Edinburgh, and the magistrates in their robes attended to see this +executed. Thus the government and the Society men imitated each other +in their modes of manifesting their contempt. + +Throughout the years of 1682 and 1683 the troops continued to harass +the people; and as they were invested with irresponsible powers, they +caused terror in many a quiet home. They pillaged farm-houses, exacted +free quarters, levied enormous fines, and seized the refractory as +prisoners. Amid these wretched scenes the worst passions of the human +breast were called into action, and fed and intensified; for the +soldiers wallowed in deeds of heartless cruelty and revenge; numbers +of the Society People were shot down without trial or process; and the +nation groaned under the yoke of dire oppression. But in spite of all +the suffering which the government inflicted on the Society men, they +still stood to their principles; and in October, 1684, they issued +a declaration directed especially against informers. In this they +affirmed their adherence to their former declarations, disowning +the authority of the King, and declaring war against him and all his +accomplices; but at the same time they stated――“that as we utterly +detest and abhor that hellish principle of killing all who differ +in judgment and in persuasion from us, so we look upon it as a duty +binding upon us to publish openly to the world, that forasmuch as we +are firmly and really resolved not to injure or offend any one, but +to pursue the ends of our covenants, in standing to our religious work +of reformation, and of our lives; yet we do hereby declare to all, +that whosoever stretches forth their hands against us, while we are +maintaining the cause and interest of Christ against the enemies, +in the defence of our covenanted Reformation, by shedding our blood +actually, either by authoritative commanding, such as councillors, and +especially the so-called Justiciary, generals of forces, adjutants, +captains, and all in civil and military power, who make it their work +to imbue their hands in our blood, or by obeying such commands――such as +bloody militiamen, malicious troopers, soldiers, and dragoons; likewise, +such gentlemen and commons who, through wickedness and ill-will, ride +and run with the foresaid persons, to lay search for us, or who deliver +any of us into their hands, to the spilling of our blood, enticing +morally, or stirring up enemies to the taking away of our lives, such +as purposely advise, counsel, and encourage them to proceed against us +to our utter extirpation, by informing against us wickedly, wittingly, +and willingly, such as malicious bishops and curates, and all sorts +of informers, who lay themselves out for the effusion of our blood, +together with all who in obedience to the commands of the enemies, at +the sight of us raise the hue and cry after us.... Finally.... Call to +your remembrance, that all that is in peril is not lost, and all that +is delayed is not forgiven. Therefore expect to be dealt with as ye +deal with us, so far as our power can reach.”¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 147‒149. + +After what had been done in Scotland since the Reformation, after +what the people had suffered at the hands of their government, who can +affirm that the Society men were not in some degree excusable in taking +the course which they did? Whether was it best for the interest of +peace and civilisation that an absolute king should reign in undisputed +power over all in the Island, or that a measure of liberty and freedom +of opinion should be allowed to the people? This in one form or another +had become the problem which then filled all thoughtful minds in both +divisions of the Island, and was hastening on the crisis which drove +the ancient line of kings from the throne of their ancestors. + +Though the policy of the government had really driven these bodies into +an attitude of defence, yet it seized upon their declaration as a good +pretext for crushing them as the enemies of order and peace. Immediate +steps were taken, and a series of acts were passed against the enemies +of the government, including the abjuration oath, an engine of the most +cruel persecution. All the men and women past the age of sixteen in the +southern and western counties were commanded to take this oath――“I ―――― +do hereby abhor, renounce, and disown, in the presence of the Almighty +God, the pretended declaration of war, lately affixed at several parish +churches, in so far as it declares a war against his sacred Majesty, +and asserts that it is lawful to kill such as serve his Majesty, +in church, state, army, or country.” All who refused to take this +oath were to be put to death, whether in arms or not; and no one was +permitted to travel through the country without a certificate that +they had taken it in the presence of the commissioners authorised to +tender it. “And for further security and prevention of fraud, it is +hereby required that the users and havers of the foresaid certificate +shall be holden and obliged to swear that these are true and unforged +certificates, and that they are the persons mentioned and expressed +in them, if the same shall be required of them. Finally, for the +encouragement of such as shall discover any of the said traitors +and assassins, or any who have been accessory to this traitorous and +damnable paper, or to the publishing and spreading of the same, or to +have been a member of the said pretended societies and fellowships: +we hereby declare and insure them, and every one of them, who shall +discover any of these assassins and murderers, or pretended members, +a reward of the sum of five thousand merks Scots for each of them, who +shall be discovered, so as to be apprehended, and be found guilty.” +The instructions to the commissioners to examine all the inhabitants +on oath concerning the declaration of the Society men, and the matters +touching their suppression, were very minute, and must have greatly +harassed the people.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 150‒160. + +The following is part of the commissioners’ instructions:――“2. If any +person own the principles, or do not disown them, they must be judged +at least by three. And you must immediately give them a libel and the +names of the inquest and witnesses, and they being found guilty, are +to be hanged immediately in the place according to the law. But at this +time you are not to examine any women, but such as have been active in +the said courses in signal manner, and these are to be drowned. 3. You +are to proceed against the absent men, not by denouncing them rebels, +but by holding them as confessed, upon a pecuniary mulct; and they +being thereupon discerned, conform to the King’s letter, their moveable +goods are to be inventured and sequestrated. 5. You must likewise +proceed against proprietors guilty of church disorders since their +former fining. And if they have not been adequately fined, you may +proceed against them for the surplus.... 7. If you find probation +against proprietors not yet debited, you may take them before you, both +as to the late rebellion and late conspiracy. 8. You are likewise to +cause the whole packmen, cadgers, and drovers, within the bounds of +your shire, find caution not to carry letters or intelligence to the +rebels, or to sell to them or give them ammunition, or supply them in +any other manner.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 164‒165. + +The year 1685 opened in Scotland amid gloom and persecution. No one +was safe from the violence of the army; many were shot on the highways, +in the fields and mountains, and at their own doors. The reign of +Charles II. closed on the 6th of February, amidst a scene of oppression, +suffering, and corruption, unmatched in the worst times of the nation’s +history.¹ + + ¹ Fountainhall’s _Notes_, pages 19‒122; Wodrow’s _History_, + Volume IV., pages 182‒199. + +The Duke of York now ascended the throne, and on the 10th of February, +a royal proclamation was read at the Cross of Edinburgh, announcing his +accession to the Scots, as “the only, the undoubted, and lawful King of +the realm.” In this singular proclamation the supreme authority of the +King was fully acknowledged, and the Privy Council, and other barons +with uplifted hands swore, “Humbly to obey, dutifully and faithfully +to serve, maintain and defend him, with our lives and fortunes, against +all deadly, as our only righteous King and Sovereign, over all persons, +and in all cases, as holding his imperial Crown from God alone.” James +dispensed with the coronation oath, lest it should seem that he in any +way derived his right and power from the people, and the dominant party +humoured him in all points.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Privy Council._ Touching the proclamation + of the King, Fountainhall says:――“See it in print, entitled + a proclamation of the sovereign authority, and not a + proclamation of him, lest that should seem to import that + the people had any hand in giving him his power. The English + proclamation reserved power to him to consider the bygone + errors and misgovernments, that he might redress them. The + Castle shot many guns, Mr. John Robertson preached a sermon, + and the Privy Council called for the seals, and broke them. + The Council sent Lord Drumlanrig, the treasurer’s son, who + after proved a vile traitor, and the clergy Dr. Law, to + condole the King’s death, and congratulate the present King’s + accession to the Crown” (page 123). + +One of the peculiarities of the English Crown after the Reformation was +its assumption of the powers of the papacy. Such was its position when +the Stuarts succeeded to the throne. The notions of their divine right, +royal prerogative, and supremacy was enlarged and confirmed; and they +claimed the sole right to command, the simple duty of every subject +being to obey their divinely-appointed and anointed head. These claims +of the Crown were at the root of the struggles from the accession of +James VI. to the period now under review. It was reserved for the man +who had just succeeded to the throne of three kingdoms to give the +culminating touch to the idea of the “divine right of Kings.” He was +suffered to play his tune for a few years, until he lost the confidence +of the English nation, and, finding the influences of the revolutionary +movement too strong for him, he was forced to flee for refuge to the +representative of that system against which the English and the Scots +were contending. Then he was made to feel that his ideas were not in +accordance with the national sentiment of the people, or with their +best and highest aspirations. + +The persecution of the Society People and of the Presbyterians still +continued under the new reign. Parliament met at Edinburgh on the +23rd of April, 1685, and directly proceeded to legislate in accordance +with the views of the new King. The Duke of Queensberry was royal +commissioner, and opened the proceedings by reading the King’s letter, +which he supported by a speech of his own, making the following +reference to the nonconformists and the Society People――“My lords, +his Majesty certainly expects from the prudence and loyalty of this +parliament, that effectual means will be fallen upon for destroying +that desperate, fanatical, and irreclaimable party, who have brought +us to the brink of ruin and disgrace, and are no more rebels against +the King than enemies of mankind, wretches of such monstrous principles +and practices as past ages never heard, nor those to come will hardly +believe: what indemnities and acts of grace and clemency have they not +contemned? and all the use they made of them has still been to harden +and confirm them in their execrable ♦villainies; and how inconsiderable +soever they appear, assure yourselves they ought not absolutely to +be contemned, for if they had not support and correspondence not yet +discovered, it is not to be supposed that they could have so long +escaped the care and vigilance of the government: it therefore concerns +you both in honour and prudence, no longer to dally with them, but that +the utmost severities be most effectively applied, and always taken +to find out their favourers, and retired and secret haunts.” The Lord +Chancellor, the Earl of Rothes, also spoke and described the enemies of +the government in these words:――“We have a new sect sprung up amongst +us from the dunghill, the very dregs of the people, who filled by +pretended inspiration, and instead of the temple of the Lord, have +nothing in their mouths but the Word of God, wresting that blessed +conveyance of His holy will to us, to justify a practice suggested to +them by him who was a murderer from the beginning, who, having modelled +themselves into a commonwealth, whose idol is that accursed paper, the +Covenant, and whose only rule is to have none at all, have proceeded to +declare themselves no longer his Majesty’s subjects, to forfeit all of +us, who have the honour to serve him in any considerable station.... +It is how to rid ourselves of these men, and of all who incline to +their principles, that we are to offer to his Majesty our advice, and +concurrence, and utmost assistance.” After more reproaches in a similar +strain, let us hear what he says about the character of the King, by +contrast to the description of the Covenanters. “To encourage us to do +all we can towards the service and the honour of our glorious monarch, +let us consider him in all his personal advantages. Whether in what +relates to war or peace, where has the world afforded such another? One +whose natural endowments have been improved by his great experience at +home and abroad, in armies and in courts, by the greatest trials of the +most differing kinds, those of prosperity and success, and of adversity +and opposition, of hazard and toil, and of authority and command. Did +ever man show so exact an honesty in the strictest adhering to his word, +such temperance and sobriety, so indefatigable a diligence in affairs, +so undaunted a courage upon all occasions, and so unwearied a clemency +towards the most obstinate and malicious offenders? Did ever hero +complete the character so fully, in overcoming bravely, and showing +gentleness to the vanquished? And I must say the triumphs of his +patience are not his obscurest glories, nor is the forgiving of +those whose virulent tongues would have tainted his fame, if their +malice could have reached it, what is least to be admired in him; what +reputation other princes have laboured for, at the vast expense of +blood and treasure, and putting of a constant restraint upon themselves, +sits so easily upon him, that what they would have he forces from the +consciences of his very enemies by his merit, and it costs him no more +than to be himself. But this theme is not for me; I do him wrong.... +I am detracting from him here, by giving him too low a character. I +shall add that he gave to subjects the greatest example of loyalty +and obedience when he was one himself; and now he is an example to +all kings in his love, in his clemency, and in his care towards his +people. Let us give him the return of our love, our fidelity, and our +obedience.”¹ + + ♦ “villanies” replaced with “villainies” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 451‒456; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 259‒263. + +The Estates, in an act offering their duty and obedience to the King, +fully recognised his absolute power, and the antiquity of the nation. +The nation, it was said, had continued for upwards of two thousand +years in an unaltered form of monarchical government, under an +uninterrupted line of one hundred and eleven kings, whose sacred +authority and power had been signally owned and assisted by Almighty +God; and the kingdom protected from conquest, the laws vigorously +executed, and the lives and the property of the subjects securely +preserved. “These great blessings we owe in the first place to divine +mercy, and in dependence upon that, to the sacred race of our glorious +kings, and to the absolute authority wherewith they were invested +by the first and fundamental law of our monarchy.” It was only when +a rebellious party invaded the absolute authority of the kings that +the peace and prosperity of the kingdom was disturbed. “Therefore the +Estates of parliament judge themselves obliged to declare, and they +do declare, to the world, that they abhor and detest the authors and +actors of all preceding rebellions against the sovereign, and also all +principles and positions which are contrary or derogatory to the King’s +sacred, supreme, absolute power, and authority, which none, whether +persons or collective bodies, can participate of, in any way, or upon +any pretext, but in dependence on him and by commission from him. As +their duty formerly did bind them to own and assert the just and legal +succession of the sacred line as unalterable by any human jurisdiction, +so now on this occasion, they for themselves and the whole nation +represented by them, in most humble and dutiful manner, do renew the +hearty and sincere offer of their lives and fortunes to assist, to +support, to defend, and to maintain King James VII., their present +glorious monarch, and his heirs and lawful successors in the possession +of their crowns, sovereignty, prerogatives, authority, dignity, rights, +and possessions, against all mortals; therewithal to assure all his +enemies, who shall adventure on the disloyalty of disobeying his laws, +or on the impiety of invading his rights, that these shall sooner weary +of their wickedness, than they of their duty, being firmly resolved to +give their entire obedience to his Majesty without reserve, against all +his enemies.” As tangible evidence of their desire to serve the King, +they annexed the inland excise to the Crown for ever; and then passed +a series of acts against the Covenanters and all the enemies of the +government.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 459‒460. + +Two acts were passed to facilitate processes of treason, in one of +which it was stated that persons who refused to give evidence in cases +of treason, conventicles, and church irregularities, should be liable +to be punished as guilty of these crimes themselves. Another act +declared that the giving or taking of the National Covenant, or the +Solemn League and Covenant, defending or owning them as lawful, should +involve the penalties of treason. It was farther enacted, that all +who preached at conventicles and all who attended them, should be +punished by death and confiscation of their goods. Husbands were made +responsible for the attendance of their wives at church, and liable for +their fines; while the Test Act was renewed with some additions.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 460‒461, 471. + +Before parliament rose, the Earl of Argyle had arrived in Scotland. +He had entered into the plans of the exiles in Holland, and in concert +with the Duke of Monmouth, concocted an invasion of Britain. But the +attempt utterly failed. Argyle himself was captured on the 18th of June, +and carried to Edinburgh; and the King and Council having determined to +put him to death, according to the terms of his former sentence, he was +beheaded on the 30th of June, 1685. The people expressed much sympathy +for him, while many looked upon his execution as a murder.¹ + + ¹ Fountainhall’s _Notes_, pages 134, 137; Burnet’s _History of + His Own Time_, Volume III., pages 26‒29. + +This unsuccessful attempt at rebellion only increased the number +of sufferers. The prisons were crowded with people incarcerated for +nonconformity and rebellion, and huddled together without distinction +of sex, in a most wretched condition. In September, 1685, about one +hundred of these prisoners were shipped for New Jersey. But on the +passage fever broke out and when, after four months’ sailing, they +reached the New World, only forty of them were alive. Fortunately the +magistrates of New Jersey declared that they were freemen; and so in +a foreign land, they enjoyed that liberty and peace which had been +ruthlessly denied to them at home.¹ + + ¹ Fountainhall’s _Notes_, page 144; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume + IV., pages 331‒336. + +The King had already not only shown that he was a firm Roman Catholic +himself, but also manifested an intention to favour all who professed +that creed, and to turn England and Scotland back to the principles of +Roman Catholicism. To appear consistent, he proposed that all should +have liberty of conscience, and then expatiated on the blessing which +would result from a universal toleration of religious opinions, hoping +thereby to secure a better chance of promoting the cause of Catholicism, +and of finally re-establishing it. + +The Scottish parliament was opened at Edinburgh on the 29th day of +April, 1686, the Earl of Moray, a recent convert to Catholicism, acting +as royal commissioner. He placed the King’s letter before the Estates, +in which his Majesty stated what he desired them to pass into law. +After a brief reference to matters of trade and commerce, and to +acts of mercy to his enemies, the royal letter announced:――“We cannot +be unmindful of others of our innocent subjects, those of the Roman +Catholic religion, who have with the hazard of their lives and fortunes +always assisted the Crown in the worst rebellions and usurpations, +though they lay under discouragements hardly to be named: them we do +heartily recommend to your care, to the end that, as they have given +good experience of their true loyalty and peaceable behaviour, so by +your assistance they may have the protection of our laws, and that +security under our government which our other subjects have, not +suffering them to lie under obligations which their religion cannot +admit of.... So not only expecting your compliance with us, but that +by the manner of it, you will show the world your readiness to meet our +inclinations.” The Scotch parliament had indeed been servile for many +years, but it seemed hardly prepared for this demand; so in answering +the King’s letter it proceeded, touching that part “relating to your +subjects of the Roman Catholic religion, we shall in obedience to your +Majesty’s commands and with tenderness to their persons take the same +into our serious and dutiful consideration, and go as great lengths +therein as our consciences will allow, not doubting that your Majesty +will be careful to secure the Protestant religion established by +law.” A bill was prepared, and passed the Lords of the Articles, which +proposed that the Roman Catholics should have the protection of the +government and the laws, and be permitted to exercise their religion +without incurring any punishment. The bill was debated in parliament, +but it was not passed.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., pages + 576‒582; Fountainhall’s _Notes_, pages 171, 179. + +When parliament had declined to do what the King desired, he thought +that in virtue of his royal prerogative, he could do it himself. +He accordingly commanded the Privy Council to authorise the Roman +Catholics to exercise their religion, and to protect the chaplains and +others whom he had placed in the chapel of Holyrood house. There was +some opposition to this in the Council; but it was resolved that the +King’s authority was sufficient to suspend the penal laws; they held +that he was accountable only to God, and therefore they must obey him.¹ + + ¹ Fountainhall’s _Notes_, pages 192‒193. + +By the beginning of 1687 the persecution of the presbyterians was +abated; though the laws for punishing the Society People were still +in force. On the 13th of February, a royal proclamation was emitted at +Edinburgh, in the following strain:――“We by our sovereign authority, +prerogative royal, and absolute power, which all our subjects are to +obey without reserve, do hereby give and grant our royal toleration +to the several professors of the Christian religion after-named, under +the conditions and limitations after-mentioned. In the first place, we +allow and tolerate the moderate presbyterians to meet in their private +houses, and there to hear all such ministers as either have or are +willing to accept our indulgence only, and none other, and that there +be not anything said or done contrary to the well and peace of our +reign, seditious or treasonable, under the highest penalties which +those crimes import; nor are they to build meeting-houses, but only +to exercise in their private houses. Meantime it is our royal pleasure +that field conventicles, and such as preach at them, or in any way +assist or attend at them, shall be prosecuted according to the utmost +severity of the laws against them, seeing, that from these rendezvouses +of rebellion so much disorder has proceeded, and so much disturbance +to the government.... In like manner, we do hereby tolerate Quakers +to meet and exercise their own form of religion in any place appointed +for them. And considering the severe and cruel laws made against Roman +Catholics, therein called Papists, in the minority of our grandfather +of glorious memory, without his consent and contrary to the duty of +good subjects, by his regents and other enemies to their lawful +sovereign, our royal great-grandmother, Queen Mary of blessed and pious +memory, wherein under the pretence of religion they clothed the worst +of treasons, factions, and usurpations, not against the enemies of God +but their own ... we therefore, with advice and consent of our Privy +Council, by our sovereign authority, royal prerogative, and absolute +power, suspend, stop, and disable, all laws and acts of parliament, +customs or constitutions, made against any of our Roman Catholic +subjects in past times, to all intents making void all prohibitions +therein mentioned or penalties therein ordered to be inflicted; so that +they shall in all things be as free as any of our Protestant subjects, +not only to exercise their religion, but also to enjoy all offices +and other posts which we shall think fit to bestow upon them.” The +proclamation went on to abolish the oaths of allegiance and the test; +and then announced “that it never was our principle, nor will we ever +suffer violence to be offered to any man’s conscience, nor will we use +force against any man on account of his religion, or the Protestant +religion.” James now proceeded rapidly with his work. On the 5th of +July, 1687, by his sovereign authority and absolute power, he suspended +all the penal laws against nonconformity. This afforded relief to the +presbyterians, many of whom were released from prison, and some of the +ministers who had been banished, shortly after returned to Scotland.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 417‒427. + +The King had played his game so far with such success, that a party +of the presbyterian ministers and some of the citizens of Edinburgh +forwarded an address thanking him for putting an end to their long +sufferings for nonconformity. But the main body of the presbyterians +easily saw through the motive and design of the King’s policy of +toleration; as his scheme of reconverting the people of Great Britain +to Roman Catholicism was too palpable, and withal rather crude, +to deceive many of them. James claimed and assumed the power, not +merely of suspending laws, but also of repealing them; he was always +proclaiming that by his absolute power he had suspended this law and +that, and commanded something else to be put in their place. Being +conceited and self-willed, he fancied himself to be above the laws +and constitution of the kingdom; and when any refused to embrace his +unlawful projects, he became indignant and threatening. + +The Society People soon recognised the real meaning of the King’s +toleration. What right had he to forbid or to allow them to preach the +gospel? They had a warrant from a higher Master, and therefore they +continued their field meetings, scorning alike the King’s claim of +absolute power and his denunciations against them. But Renwick, their +leader and preacher, was seized in the beginning of February, 1688, and +executed at Edinburgh on the 17th of that month; his death being the +last execution for religion in Scotland.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, pages 427‒429; Burnet’s _History of His + Own Time_, Volume III., pages 171‒178. + +The great crisis had been long preparing, and when it was seen to +be nigh, great was the excitement in Scotland. As the convictions +and sentiments of the people had been long repressed, the rebound +threatened to be violent. The King had set up the Roman Catholic +worship in the chapel of Holyrood, and schools were also opened there +under the direction of Catholic priests. Although attempts were made +to suppress the Prince of Orange’s declaration, which was issued in +the middle of October, 1688, its import soon became known in Scotland. +All the forces in the kingdom had been summoned by the King to operate +against the Dutch invaders, who had landed in England in the beginning +of November. The Scottish bishops saw the dark clouds gathering; they +met at Edinburgh on the 3rd of November, and in an humble letter to +his sacred Majesty, prayed “that God in his mercy, who has so often +preserved and delivered your Majesty, will still preserve and deliver +you, by giving you the hearts of your subjects, and the necks of your +enemies.”¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _History of His Own Time_, Volume III., pages + 309‒312; Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 469‒470. The + Prince of Orange’s Declaration to the people of Scotland is + printed in Wodrow’s _History_. The chief points adduced in + it as reasons for William’s interference were――that where + the laws, the liberties, and the customs established by + the lawful authority were openly transgressed and annulled, + and especially when this was done with the aim of altering + religion, the peace and the happiness of the kingdom could + not be preserved; that the effects of arbitrary power and + evil counsel were manifest in the wretched condition of the + people of Scotland; that the fountain of justice had been + excessively corrupted, and the poor people mercilessly + punished. + +Before the issue of the military operations in England was decided, +disturbances arose in Edinburgh. The Roman Catholics were insulted +on the streets; and placards were posted up threatening the ministers +of the Crown. The Earl of Perth, the chancellor and head of the Privy +Council, and an apostate, had been a servile tool to the King, and +therefore an object of hatred; but now his courage failed him, and +he fled to his own country residence. When at last it became clear +that the King’s cause was falling, crowds gathered on the streets +of Edinburgh, loud shouts were raised for a free parliament, and +the tumult increased; a few troops attempted to quell it, but were +overpowered. On Sunday the 9th of December, 1688, a great number +of students, apprentices, and others, appeared on the streets; and +the provost having refused to deliver the keys of the ports, they +threatened to burn his house. They then proceeded to the Market Cross, +and proclaimed a reward of four hundred pounds sterling to any one who +should seize the Earl of Perth and bring him there dead or alive. + +The following day the Town Council issued a proclamation prohibiting +tumults on the streets, which was torn to tatters as soon as it was +read, and the officers and drummer prevented from going through the +town. The mob then prepared to attack the chapel in the palace of +Holyrood for the purpose of destroying the images. The attack was begun +in the evening, and after some bloodshed, the soldiers who guarded +the Abbey were overcome. The chapel was rifled, and the woodwork, the +images, the library, and everything in the interior which could be +readily removed, were taken out and burned. The next day the mob went +through all the houses of the Catholics in the city, demanding their +images, crosses, and books, and burned them on the streets. The Privy +Council, too, had changed their attitude, even before the final flight +of the King. On the 24th of December, they emitted a proclamation +calling upon all the Protestants in the kingdom to put themselves in +a position of defence, for securing their religion, their lives, their +liberties, and their property: thus the Council easily came round to +the popular side; while the body of the nation was already arrayed on +the side of the Prince of Orange.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 472‒476. + +All kinds of alarming rumours were rife. It was reported that an army +of Irish Catholics was on the eve of landing on the coasts of Galloway, +and some said it was landed. The people dreaded a massacre; for the +Council had dissolved, the army had been marched into England, and +there was an utter collapse of authority. The people of the western +counties assembled in crowds, and proceeded to take the law into their +own hands. They had naturally determined to purge the Church, and the +unhappy curates became their victims. They began their work on the +25th of December, 1688; but some of the episcopal clergy had saved +themselves by flight, in other instances they were seized by bands +of men and exhibited in mock processions, their gowns torn over their +heads, and their prayer-books burned before their eyes; and finally, +they were ordered to be gone and never to return to the parish. The +rioters entered many of the manses, and having thrown the furniture out +at the window, and turned the inmates out at the door, took possession +of the keys. This work went on for several months, till almost every +parish in the west and in the south of the kingdom was relieved of its +episcopal incumbent. More than two hundred were thus removed from their +parishes and livings. The curates were subjected by the mob to some +rough usage, and though no life was taken, they were rendered homeless +with their wives and families, and many of them reduced to beggary. +But the violence of the Revolution, considering its antecedents, was +not great; and the only surprise is, that after twenty-eight years +of persecution and severe oppression, the people did not rise more +violently against their enemies. Indeed, the more moderate Covenanters +disapproved of these proceedings, and a general meeting of ministers +and elders was called for the purpose of preventing such excesses. +They agreed on a form of notice which in future was to be sent to every +curate, ordering him to quit his parish peaceably, else he would be +turned out by force.¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _History of His Own Time_, Volume III., page 344; + _An Account of the Present Persecution of the Church of + Scotland, in several Letters_, 1690; _The Case of the Present + Afflicted Clergy of Scotland Truly Represented_, 1690. + +The presbyterian ministers held a general meeting at Edinburgh in +January, 1689, and agreed on a well-considered address to the Prince +of Orange. They thanked him for his exertions on behalf of the reformed +religion, referred to the innumerable evils and suffering which the +establishment of episcopacy had brought upon them and the nation, and +humbly beseeched him to adopt measures to free them from the yoke of +prelacy, and to restore the presbyterian polity as the most effectual +remedy against slavery and the distractions of the nation.¹ + + ¹ Wodrow’s _History_, Volume IV., pages 481‒482. + +Some of the Scotch nobles were in London when the Prince of Orange +reached it, and many others hastened there to offer him their service. +On the 7th of January, 1689, he requested them to meet him the next +day at Whitehall. The meeting was led by the Duke of Hamilton, and +consisted of about thirty lords and eighty gentlemen of note. The +Prince desired them to deliberate, and to inform him in what way he +could promote the peace and interest of their country, and then left +them to form their own conclusion unrestrained by his presence. They +debated three days. In the end they agreed to resolutions embodied in +an address to the Prince, requesting him to call a Convention of the +Estates at Edinburgh on the 14th of March, and meantime to take upon +himself the administration of the kingdom. To these requests he at once +acceded.¹ + + ¹ _Sixth Collection of State Papers_, 1689; Sir J. Mackintosh’s + _History of the Revolution in England in 1688_, pages 574‒576. + +Preparations for the Convention were immediately commenced, all parties +being anxious to return members to decide the future position of the +nation. The Roman Catholics were excluded from voting in the election +of members. King William assumed the power to summon to the Convention +several of the nobles, who had been deprived of their honours by +sentences which public feeling condemned as unjust, dispensed with +a number of other restrictions, and ordered that the members for the +burghs should be elected by a poll of all the adult inhabitants. The +Whigs secured a majority favourable to the Prince of Orange, though all +the bishops, and some of the nobles, clung to the cause of the fugitive +King. The latter party calculated on the support of the Duke of Gordon, +who commanded the Castle of Edinburgh, and on Viscount Dundee, whose +energy was well known and greatly feared, as they might attempt to +intimidate, or to disperse the Convention. The other party mainly +relied on the aid of the Cameronians from the west, if the necessity +for real action arose.¹ + + ¹ Balcarres’ _Memoirs_. + +The Convention assembled at the appointed time. Nine of the bishops +appeared as the representatives of the spiritual estate, forty-two +peers, forty-nine members for the counties, and fifty for the burghs. +The Bishop of Edinburgh opened the proceedings, and prayed that God +would assist them and restore King James. The election of a president +was next essayed. The supporters of James proposed the Marquis of +Athole; the Whigs proposed the Duke of Hamilton, who was elected by a +majority of forty. This indicated the drift of the Convention. About +twenty of the minority then deserted the cause of James, and joined +the majority. On the 16th, a letter from the Prince of Orange was read, +in which he expressed his desire that they would settle the religion +and liberties of the nation upon just grounds, in harmony with the +inclination of the people and of the public good. The Estates returned +a thankful reply. The same day, after some debate, a letter from King +James was read; but there was nothing in it to raise the hopes of +his adherents. He offered a pardon to those who returned to their +allegiance before the end of the month; while to others no mercy could +be shown. His adherents in the Convention were mortified, while his +enemies were vehement, and the sitting closed in great excitement.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 3‒5, + 6; Balcarres’ _Memoirs_. + +The citizens of Edinburgh were intensely agitated as well as the +members of the Convention. The Whigs had summoned the Duke of Gordon +to surrender the Castle, but he refused. He might at any moment open +a ♦cannonade on the Parliament House or the citizens, as it was known +that the Jacobites would not yield without a severe struggle, and +might attempt some desperate move. Viscount Dundee and Sir George +Mackenzie complained that their lives were in danger, alleging that +the Cameronians had resolved to slay them, and they applied to the +Duke of Hamilton for protection. When the Convention met on the 18th of +March, tidings were brought into the House that Viscount Dundee was on +the Stirling road with a troop of dragoons, and that he had been seen +conferring with the Duke of Gordon at the Castle gate. This news threw +the members into a state of violent alarm, and Hamilton, the president, +started to his feet and cried:――“It is high time that we should look +to ourselves. The enemies of our religion, and of our civil freedom, +are mustering all around us; and we may well suspect that they have +accomplices even here. Lock the doors. Lay the keys on the table. Let +no one go out but those lords and gentlemen, whom we shall appoint +to call the citizens to arms. There are some good men from the west +in Edinburgh, men for whom I can answer.” The majority of the members +shouted assent, and what he proposed was immediately done. Leven went +out and ordered the drums to be beat. The Covenanters promptly answered +to the call, and mustered in such numbers as overawed all the Jacobites +in Edinburgh. They protected the arrival of the Scotch regiments under +the command of General Mackay.¹ + + ♦ “canonade” replaced with “cannonade” + + ¹ Balcarres’ _Memoirs_; _History of the late Revolution in + Scotland_, 1690. + +The members of the Convention now prepared to settle the prime point +of the conflict. As usual, a committee was appointed to draft the acts; +and the special task of framing a plan for settling the government was +entrusted to eight peers, eight representatives of counties, and eight +representatives of the burghs, the majority being Whigs. They proceeded +to debate and frame the decisive resolution, which required some time +for deliberate consideration. The resolution of the Convention finally +assumed the following form:――“That James VII. was a professed papist, +that he had assumed the royal power and acted as king without ever +taking the oath required by law; and by the advice of evil and wicked +councillors he had invaded the fundamental constitution of the kingdom, +and altered it from a limited monarchy to an arbitrary and despotic +power, and did exercise the same to the subversion of the Protestant +religion, and the violation of the laws and the liberties of the +kingdom, whereby he forfeited his right to the crown, and his throne +has become vacant.” This resolution was accompanied by another, which +tendered the crown of Scotland to William and Mary. When the two +resolutions were put to the vote, nine voted against them, namely, +seven bishops, and other two members. Immediately after the vote +of the Convention, the new sovereigns were proclaimed at the Cross +of Edinburgh.¹ At the same time the Estates issued an order to the +parish ministers to intimate from their pulpits the contents of the +proclamation, and to pray for King William and Queen Mary, under the +penalty of deprivation. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 33, + 38‒39. + +The Scotch Convention, like the English parliament, embodied a Claim of +Right, to be presented along with the resolutions tendering the Crown +to the new sovereigns. It was meant to be declaratory of the law as it +then stood, and also, to state clearly what institutions and liberties +the late kings had infringed. The chief points of this important +document were these:――“That according to the laws of the kingdom no +papist could ascend the throne. That all proclamations assuming an +absolute power to suspend the laws were illegal. That the measures +employed to establish popery, the imposing of bonds and oaths, and the +exacting of money without the authority of parliament, Convention till +the were contrary to law. That it was illegal to invest the officers +of the army with judicial powers, to inflict death without trial, +jury, or record; to exact exorbitant fines or bail; to imprison without +expressing the reason, or to delay the trial; to prosecute and procure +the forfeiture of persons by the straining of old and obsolete statutes; +to nominate the magistrates and the common council of the burghs; +to dictate the proceedings of courts of justice; to employ torture +without evidence or in ordinary crimes; to garrison private houses, or +to introduce an hostile army into the country to live at free quarters +in a time of peace. That it was illegal to treat persons as guilty +of treason for refusing to state their private sentiments touching +the treasonable doctrines or actions of others. That prelacy and +the superiority of any office in the Church above presbyters is, +and has been, a great and insufferable grievance and trouble to this +nation, and contrary to the inclination of the majority of the people, +ever since the Reformation, when they were reformed from popery +to presbytery; and therefore prelacy ought to be abolished. The +rights of appeal to parliament, and of petition to the throne, were +asserted; frequent meetings of parliament were demanded; and all the +preceding points were declared to be undoubted rights against which +no declaration or precedent ought to operate to the injury of the +people.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 39‒40. + +The convention empowered Hamilton to take any steps that might +be necessary for preserving the public peace till the end of the +interregnum; and the Estates then adjourned for five weeks. Thus the +Revolution was formally recognised in Scotland. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + _The Revolution and the Union._ + + +ALTHOUGH at the centre of authority, the Revolution, had been +accomplished, the principles and the difficulties which had caused +it, were not solved. The opposite interests and influences, and the +diverse sentiments and convictions in politics and religion, which +had characterised parties in Scotland since the Reformation, were not +harmonised. On some political ideas and points keener feelings than +ever had been generated and aroused. The deposed dynasty had still +many adherents in Scotland, so that the new government found itself +face to face with embarrassment and a complicated series of obstacles. +The Covenanters, or the extreme party of the presbyterians, were +dissatisfied with the way in which the Convention had treated the +question of Church government, as they disapproved of all compromises, +while the bishops and the episcopal party were bitterly offended and +disappointed. The leading Jacobites were preparing to assail the new +government by force of arms. + +King William had a difficult task in nominating ministers for the +government of Scotland. The leader of a revolutionary movement, and +each subordinate actor in it imagines that he is well entitled to a +place in the new arrangement of affairs, or to some important post in +the administration; hence, whomsoever the King might appoint, he would +offend those who found their own claims ignored. A numerous class of +Scotsmen were eager to proffer their advice and their service to King +William, recommending him not to govern the kingdom by a faction, or to +be led by those who had their own personal interest in view, but to be +guided solely by considerations for the public good. The position of +the King in Scotland was complicated and perplexing, inasmuch as both +the Church and the parliament demanded reform of a radical character. +But King William had at least one ♦Scotsman whom he could trust, +William Carstairs, a presbyterian minister, and afterwards Principal +of the University of Edinburgh. He had suffered persecution under the +preceding reigns, and his hand still bore the marks of the thumbscrew. +He had been long deep in the secrets and schemes of the Prince of +Orange, and no man of that period was more worthy of confidence; +William knew him well, and implicitly trusted him. He was appointed +chaplain to their Majesties for Scotland; but he continued to be much +with the King, and from the first advised him to adopt a moderate +policy in Scotland. Carstairs’ own sentiments were liberal, and +the severe persecution which he had undergone, had not in the least +hardened his nature or clouded the judgment of his remarkable mind. The +Duke of Hamilton was appointed royal commissioner when the Convention +was turned into a parliament, yet it was reported that he did not +consider himself sufficiently rewarded for his services. The Earl of +Crawford was nominated a Privy Councillor, and President of Parliament; +he was a presbyterian, and warmly supported that party. Lord Melville +was appointed Secretary of State, and he also belonged to the +presbyterians, and commanded their respect and confidence. Sir James +Montgomery had thought himself entitled to the secretaryship, and +though he was offered the office of Lord Justice Clerk, he deemed it +below his merits, and therefore returned from London to Edinburgh a +disappointed man, with feelings of aversion to the King and government, +and determined on concerting plans of opposition. Lord Stair was +made President of the Court of Session; and his son, John Dalrymple, +was appointed Lord Advocate. Both of these had been concerned in +the proceedings of the former reigns, so that many who considered +themselves free from this blemish were greatly displeased and chagrined +at their re-elevation.¹ + + ♦ “Scotsmen” replaced with “Scotsman” + + ¹ M‘Cormick’s _Life of Carstairs_; Burnet’s _History of His Own + Time_, Volume IV., pages 42, 43. + +A number of the Scotch Whigs, disappointed by the new arrangements, +assembled in Edinburgh, and brooded over plans of opposition to the +government. Among these angry politicians, the highest in rank were +the Earl of Annandale and Lord Ross, who found a leader and a kindred +spirit in Montgomery. Under this bold man, they formed themselves into +a society called “The Club,” appointed a clerk, and met daily in a +public-house to concert modes of opposition. With them Sir Patrick +Hume, (who had returned from exile), and Fletcher of Saltoun, became +associated, while many others joined them, and appeared on the side +of the opposition. In conjunction with these men, Montgomery exerted +himself to the utmost to form a party, which might be strong enough to +control the proceedings of the Convention.¹ + + ¹ _Leven and Melville Papers._ + +The Convention reassembled on the 5th of June, 1689, and passed an act +which converted it into a parliament. Hamilton, the royal commissioner, +was instructed to give the King’s assent to acts for reforming +the constitution of the committee of the Lords of the Articles, +establishing the presbyterian polity, and ♦remedying other grievances. +But the members of the Club were intently bent on a teasing opposition +to the government. They had determined, if possible, to ruin the +Dalrymples, and reiterated that both the father and son had served +under the late reigns, and oppressed the people. A form of conflict of +a novel character was thus begun in the Scotch parliament. The chief +contention was for a free debating parliament, such as England enjoyed, +and thus it became necessary to abolish the committee called the Lords +of the Articles. This was a very old institution of elective origin,¹ +but it had been from time to time modified and transformed to suit the +ends of the Crown. Nearly all parliamentary business and action had +become concentrated in this committee; it had always been an aim of the +recent kings to reduce a session to as few normal sittings as possible, +and thus prevent discussions of their measures before the house. A +majority of the members clamoured loudly for parliamentary reform, and +a long and vehement debate ensued on the abolition of the Committee +of the Articles. The King’s proposal to modify the constitution of the +Lords of the Articles and still retain them, was repeatedly rejected, +and total abolition demanded; but this was not then obtained. In the +debate touching the nomination of the judges of the Court of Session, +the members of the Club maintained that parliament should have a veto +on their appointment. + + ♦ “remeding” replaced with “remedying” + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 369‒370. In the century under review the mode of + forming it was stated at page 130. + +Much of the time of the session was spent in fruitless efforts. But on +the 22nd of July, an act abolishing episcopacy was passed, which stated +that the King, with the consent of parliament, would settle in Scotland +the form of Church government most agreeable to the inclinations of +the people. The royal commissioner adjourned the session on the 2nd of +August.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 98, + 104; Appendix, Minutes of Estates. + +Thus, when the Estates adjourned, no form of Church polity was legally +established; but the Privy Council was empowered to allow the ministers +to continue their meetings of kirk-sessions, presbyteries, and synods, +till the government of the Church should be further established by an +Act of Parliament, and by the authority of the General Assembly. + +Meanwhile Viscount Dundee and the Jacobites in the north were +struggling to the utmost against the government. Since Dundee left +Edinburgh, he had concerted a rising in the Highlands. General Mackay, +with the royal army, was making desperate but unavailing efforts to +crush the rising. His first campaign in the Highlands was an utter +failure. Dundee resolved to muster the chiefs and clansmen in Lochaber, +and a force of about two thousand assembled, consisting mainly of the +Macdonalds, the Camerons, and Macleans. He marched through Badenoch +to Athole, and arrived at Blair Castle on the morning of the 27th of +July, 1689, where he received tidings that the royal army under General +Mackay had entered the Pass of Killiecrankie. Dundee allowed Mackay to +advance through the Pass, and gave him battle on the open ground. He +immediately marched from the Castle of Blair along the Water of Tilt, +and turned round the Hill of Lude, and took up his position on the brow +of the hill which overlooked Mackay’s army. When Mackay perceived the +approach of Dundee’s followers, he at once prepared for action. His +army consisted of three thousand five hundred men, and two troops of +cavalry. After examining the ground, he formed his men into one line +three deep. Near the centre of his line was a piece of marshy ground, +and behind it he placed his cavalry, which might be ready to attack the +enemy in flank, after the fire of the infantry was spent. His line of +battle was longer than Dundee’s, hence, when the latter was advancing +to the attack, some companies of the clansmen were exposed to a raking +flank fire. The two armies had faced each other for several hours, and +the Highlanders were becoming impatient. At three quarters of an hour +before sunset, they were ordered to prepare for action, and Dundee +placed himself at the head of his company of cavalry, and resolved to +charge in person. The signal to charge was given, and the Highlanders +raised a shout which re-echoed afar from the surrounding hills. They +advanced down the hill firing their guns, but the royal line returned +the fire briskly, and thinned their ranks. As they came close upon the +hostile line, they threw down their guns, drew their broadswords, and, +with yells which rent the air, rushed on the royalists before they had +time to fix their bayonets. The onset was fierce and irresistible, and +at once broke the ranks of the enemy, who had no effective means of +defence against the strokes of the broadswords, and the royal troops +fled down the valley in utter confusion. In a few minutes the Battle +of Killiecrankie was fought and won. Dundee fell mortally wounded by +a shot, expiring in the moment of victory; about six hundred of his +followers were slain. + +In spite of the disaster, the General never lost his coolness and +courage. As soon as he saw Dundee’s mode of attack, he ordered his +cavalry to charge the Highlanders in flank, and in person he led a +troop to charge their right flank, and spurred through the thickest +of the enemy, but only one single horseman followed their General. +When he turned round to observe the state of matters, his army was +out of sight; “in the twinkling of an eye,” he said, “our men were out +of sight, having gone down pell mell to the river, where the baggage +stood.” After some time, he found that only about four hundred of +his army remained; some of his men had fled, and two thousand of them +slain or taken prisoners. Having collected the remnants of his army, he +placed himself at its head, and retired from the scene of the battle. +His officers recommended a retreat through the Pass of Killiecrankie, +but he wisely rejected their advice, and proceeded across the hills +toward Strath Tay, and thence to Stirling, which he reached on the 29th +of July. + +News of the defeat of the royal army reached Edinburgh on the 28th +of July, the day after the battle, and caused intense consternation. +It was reported that Mackay was killed and his army destroyed; that +Dundee was already master of the country beyond the Forth, and rapidly +advancing to take possession of the capital. A meeting of the Privy +Council was immediately held, and orders issued to muster all the +fencible men in the west, and to concentrate all the troops at Stirling +to defend the passage of the Forth. Some of the members of the Council +proposed to transfer the seat of Government to Glasgow, others were +for retiring into England. This ferment of excitement continued for +two days, but on the third intelligence was received of Dundee’s +death――an event which was regarded both in Edinburgh and London as a +full compensation for the defeat and destruction of the royal army. The +fall of Dundee was a fatal blow to the cause of King James in Scotland. +Cannon, who succeeded him in command, mismanaged everything; the war +against the Government languished, and soon ceased. + +The King found it an extremely difficult task to rule Scotland. He +could hardly find any Scottish politicians in whom he had confidence. +The Duke of Hamilton had not given satisfaction as royal commissioner; +and when Parliament re-assembled at Edinburgh on the 15th of April, +1690, Lord Melville appeared as the King’s representative. On the first +vote being taken, the Government obtained a small majority which soon +increased, and the power of the opposition Club was completely broken. +The King had formed a rather low opinion of the morality and the honour +of the Scottish aristocracy. His commissioner was instructed to treat +with the leading men inclined to opposition, to promise them posts or +money, and thus ward off troublesome opposition; and indeed, to use +direct bribery, if necessary, for the ends of the Government.――“Thus +you are allowed to deal with the leading men in Parliament, that they +may concur for redressing of the grievances, without reflecting upon +some votes of Parliament much insisted on last session, which, upon +weighty considerations, we thought not fit to pass into laws; and what +employment or other gratification you may think fit to promise them +in our name, we shall fulfil the same. You are to deal with all other +persons as you shall have occasion, whom you judge most capable to be +serviceable to us, that they may be employed as instruments of taking +these leading men, or for getting intelligence, or for influencing +shires, or royal boroughs, that they may instruct their commissioners +cordially to comply with our instructions for redressing of the +grievances; and what money or other gratification you may promise +them shall be made good.”¹ William promised encouragement to the +Presbyterians, and advised them to proceed with discretion and +moderation; but he was unwilling to abolish patronage. Further, he +directed that the acts passed in the last session favourable to them +should be ratified, and suggested that a bill for the final settlement +of the Church should be passed. He wisely abandoned the chief points +of difference touching the forms of parliamentary procedure; and it was +settled that henceforth there were to be no standing committees like +the Lords of the Articles; the Estates were merely to appoint their +committees from time to time, to digest measures submitted to them. +The officers of State, however, were still permitted to attend these +committees, with a right of moving and debating, but not of voting.² + + ¹ _Leven and Melville Papers_, page 417. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., Appendix. + +On the 15th of April, the statute of 1669, which so emphatically +asserted the King’s supremacy in all cases and over all persons, was +repealed. All the Presbyterian ministers ejected since the beginning of +the year 1661 were restored, but only about sixty of them were alive; +while the Episcopal incumbents in the restored ministers’ parishes +were ordered to leave their manses within a few weeks. Parliament +approved of the Westminster Confession of Faith, and re-established +the Presbyterian polity; while the government and re-organisation of +the Church were entrusted to the sixty restored ministers, and to such +other ministers and elders as they should think fit to associate with +themselves in the work. A General Assembly was authorised to meet at +Edinburgh in October, and empowered to appoint visitors to eject all +ministers who were inefficient, scandalous in morals, or erroneous in +doctrine. All the churches which had been deserted by their ministers, +or from which the ministers had been removed before the 13th of April, +1689, or whose ministers had been deprived, since that date, for not +praying for the King and the Queen, were declared vacant. There was +some opposition to these arrangements in parliament, but they were +finally carried by a large majority.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume IX., pages 111, 132‒134. + +The King wished to retain patronage, but the opposition against it was +too strong, and it was abolished in this way. When a vacancy occurred, +the heritors and elders had to nominate a minister for the approval of +the congregation; and if the congregation disapproved of the nominee, +they were to produce their reasons before the presbytery, by whom the +matter was to be finally settled. In royal burghs it was specially +provided that the calling of ministers should be vested in the +magistrates, town council, and kirk-session.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 196, + 197. The act allowed compensation to those who lost their + rights of patronage. + +It was enacted that all the office-bearers in the universities and +schools should sign the Confession of Faith, submit to the Presbyterian +form of polity, and take the oath of allegiance to the King and +the Queen. A commission was named and authorised to visit all these +institutions, and to eject all unsound and scandalous persons, and all +who refused to submit to the established government. In a short time +all the universities were visited, and purged of obnoxious professors.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._; _Fasti Aberdonenses_, pages 361, ♦368, 379, 380. + + ♦ “168” replaced with “368” + +This parliament passed an act which deprived the Church of the power of +enforcing censures by the infliction of civil penalties. A draft of the +Toleration Act was introduced by a private member, but it was coldly +received and allowed to drop. But the King had wisely resolved not to +permit the dominant party to indulge in persecuting any of those who +differed from themselves. + +There were, however, two parties almost equally dissatisfied with the +new ecclesiastical arrangements――the genuine Episcopalians, and the +extreme Presbyterians, or Cameronians. The Cameronians rejected the new +settlement on principle, as it ignored the Covenants. But they were not +a dangerous party to the new government, for reasons which were then +and now pretty obvious. The party who firmly held Episcopal views, on +the other hand, were not very numerous, but when they became identified +with the Jacobites, the two united politically formed a strong party +against the government. The Jacobites were not all Episcopal, but +common interests and the same political object induced them to unite +with the Episcopalians as one party. + +Soon after the parliamentary sanction of Presbyterianism, a preliminary +meeting of ministers and elders was held at Edinburgh, to prepare for +the ensuing General Assembly. The meeting was rather stormy at the +beginning, some opposition to the governing body of sixty being offered, +and a protest entered; but peaceful counsels prevailed, and the +proceedings went on smoothly. A number of young and active preachers +were added to the governing body, and arrangements were made for the +coming Assembly. Presbyteries were erected in various districts, and +empowered to try and to eject all scandalous and negligent ministers, +according to the Act of Parliament. Nearly half of the parish churches +were already vacant, and the presbyteries proceeded with remarkable +energy to purge the Church and to turn out more of the incumbents.¹ + + ¹ _Historical Relation of the Late General Assembly at + Edinburgh in the year 1690_, pages 4‒14. + +Thirty-seven years had passed since the last General Assembly was +dissolved by Cromwell’s officers, and the prospect of reassembling +a body that had sometimes shaken the throne, caused grave thought +and much anxiety to the King and his advisers. The Government strove +earnestly to secure a peaceful Assembly. Lord Melville wrote to the +leading ministers beseeching them to follow moderate measures, to act +discreetly and proceed quietly, as the only way to insure the success +of their polity. The Earl of Crawford also exerted himself to the +utmost amongst his friends, and impressed upon them that much depended +on their own tact and conduct. Lord Carmichael was appointed royal +commissioner to the Assembly; he was a Presbyterian, and a man of good +common sense and mild temper.¹ + + ¹ _Leven and Melville Papers._ + +The Assembly met at Edinburgh on the 16th of October, 1690. About one +hundred and eighty ministers and elders attended; but the greater part +of the kingdom beyond the Tay was unrepresented. Carmichael presented +the King’s letter, which briefly stated:――“We expect that your +management shall be such as we shall have no reason to repent of what +we have done. A calm and peaceable procedure will be no less pleasing +to us than it becometh you. We never could be of the mind that violence +was suited to the advancing of true religion, nor do we intend that +our authority shall ever be made a tool to the irregular passions of +any party. Moderation is what religion enjoins, neighbouring churches +expect from you, and we recommend to you.” The Assembly agreed to +return an address to the King, and stated:――“If after the violence for +conscience’ sake that we have suffered and so much detested, and those +grievous abuses of authority in the late reigns, whereby through some +men’s irregular passions we have smarted, we ourselves should lapse +into the same errors, we should certainly prove the most unjust towards +God, foolish towards ourselves, and ungrateful towards your Majesty, of +all men on earth.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly._ + +An interesting matter came before the Assembly in the form of an +offer of submission from three of the Cameronian ministers, who had +exonerated their consciences by exhibiting their testimony against +the corruptions of the Church. The Assembly agreed to receive them +into communion, and the moderator exhorted them to walk orderly and to +oppose all divisions in the Church. An act was passed which required +all ministers and elders to sign the Westminster Confession of Faith. +Another act enjoined the presbyteries to observe all the ministers +in their bounds who neglected the fasts appointed by the Church, or +administered the sacrament in private, or celebrated clandestine +marriages; while private baptism was expressly prohibited. Regulations +were adopted touching the union of presbyteries where the number of +ministers was incomplete, reclaiming Roman Catholics, and procuring a +supply of Bibles and Catechisms for the Highland parishes. The Assembly +then annulled all the denunciations proclaimed nearly forty years +before by the Protestors and the Resolutioners against each other. +Two commissions of visitation were appointed, one for the presbyteries +south of the Tay, and the other for those to the north of it; and +they were instructed to eject inefficient and erroneous ministers, +and to see that those retained in the Church and admitted to share in +her government, signed the Confession and submitted to her discipline. + +The extreme Covenanting party, who had suffered so much in the two +preceding reigns without yielding an inch, and still maintained +a consistent view, though a narrow one, were greatly displeased +with the form of the settlement of the Church. As indicated, three +ministers deserted them, and were received by the Assembly; their names +were William Boyd, Alexander Shields, and Thomas Lining. Though the +Cameronian ministers had joined the Church and allowed the paper which +enumerated the backslidings of the nation to be suppressed, their +flocks were not prepared to follow them or to homologate what they +considered a wicked compliance. As soon as they knew what had occurred, +they framed a paper expressing their ideas, and immediately sent it +to Edinburgh, where, however, it was stopped in its progress by the +committee of overtures. The Cameronians were naturally angry at this +treatment. They assailed their ministers for having betrayed them, +while they accused themselves for having recognised the Prince of +Orange, for having been induced to assist in protecting the Convention +of Estates, and for having owned the Assembly. Meanwhile they were at +a loss what to do, as they had no ministers; in a short time, however, +this want was supplied, and they became the first body of Scotch +dissenters from the Presbyterian Church. + +After sitting about a month the Assembly adjourned, and the royal +commissioner gave the King a favourable report of its proceedings. The +extreme views of the covenanting age were allowed to slumber in silence, +no attempt being made to renew the Covenants.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly_; _Faithful Contendings + Displayed_. + +The commissioners appointed by the General Assembly entered with +energy on their work. In the current Jacobite writings it was +reported that the most frivolous pretexts were deemed sufficient +to condemn an obnoxious curate. But the commissioners had often to +encounter opposition, especially in the north, where their acts of +deposition were resisted by the congregations, and the newly-appointed +Presbyterian ministers rejected. When they arrived at Aberdeen, +in March, 1691, they were assailed by a mob, and forced to return +southwards without accomplishing anything. The greater part of the +clergy ejected by the commissioners were Jacobites, who persisted in +praying for King James. But a number of them who considered themselves +unjustly treated by the commissioners, despatched a deputation to +present their grievances to the King, and they managed to enlist his +sympathy in their cause. Royal letters were sent to the Privy Council +and to the commission, in which the King intimated that severity should +cease, and that all the Episcopal ministers who were qualified for the +ministry, and willingly submitted to the government in Church and State, +should be permitted to remain in their parishes. But the Presbyterians +deemed these letters an encroachment upon their rights, and paid no +attention to them. The commission proceeded boldly with its work of +purifying the Church; while a second letter from the King had no more +effect than the first.¹ + + ¹ Carstairs’ _State Papers_, page 146; Cunningham’s _Church + History of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 295‒297; Dr. Grub’s + _Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_, Volume III., pages + 327‒328. + +Indeed, the old conflict between the Church and the Crown was +threatening to revive. The Assembly had been adjourned to the 1st of +November, 1691, but before that date, it was adjourned by the King +to the 15th of January, 1692. When this day came, the Assembly met +at Edinburgh; the southern Presbyterians were fairly represented, but +only five commissioners from the presbyteries north of Dundee appeared. +The entire Assembly consisted of one hundred and eleven ministers, and +fifty-four ruling elders.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Proceedings of the Assembly._ + +The Earl of Lothian acted as royal commissioner, and presented a letter +from the King. William referred to the letters which he had sent to +the commission, and complained that the indications he had received of +their readiness to admit their Episcopal brethren into communion with +them had not been realised; and said he had been informed that they +were not a full General Assembly, as a majority of the ministers of +the Church were not allowed to be represented; that he had instructed +those ministers who wished to conform to apply to them for admission, +according to a form and declaration which he had sent with his +commissioner, and he thought it right that the commissioners for +arranging these matters should be composed of an equal number of +Episcopal and Presbyterian members. The commissioner produced the +form proposed by the King for the conforming Episcopal ministers. It +required the subscriber to declare and promise to submit to and concur +with the Presbyterian government of the Church, and sign the Confession +of Faith and the Catechism. The Assembly referred the matter to a +committee. Meanwhile many of the Episcopal clergy sent in addresses +to the Assembly requesting to be admitted into the Church on the +conditions proposed, and these were also remitted to a committee. The +Presbyterians were not prepared for a union of this character; as they +were suspicious of the King’s proposals. After sitting four weeks, the +royal commissioner addressed the Assembly in a reproachful style for +not having shown any disposition to promote unity with their brethren, +and in the King’s name dissolved the Assembly. When he sat down +the moderator rose, and asked if the Assembly was dissolved without +appointing a day for its next meeting. The commissioner said that his +Majesty would appoint another Assembly in due time, and give notice +of it. The moderator then asked liberty to speak, but he was told that +he could only be heard as a private person, not as representing the +Assembly. Yet he delivered his opinion on the point, and stated that +though they were under many obligations to the King, and always ready +to obey his lawful commands, still in the name of his brethren, he +begged to declare “that the office-bearers in the house of God have +a spiritual intrinsic power from Jesus Christ, the only Head of the +Church, to meet in assemblies concerning the affairs thereof, the +necessity of the same being first represented to the magistrate; and +farther, I humbly crave that the dissolution of this Assembly, without +inducting a new one to a certain day, may not be to the prejudice +of our yearly General Assemblies, granted to us by the laws of the +kingdom.” Touching the state of parties at this time, Burnet says: “The +Episcopal party carried it very high; they gave it out that the King +was now theirs; and that they were willing to come to a concurrence +with Presbytery, on design to bring all about to Episcopacy in a little +time. The Presbyterians, who at all times were stiff and peevish, were +more than ordinary so at this time: they were jealous of the King; +their friends were disgraced, and their bitterest enemies were coming +into power: so they were surly, and would not abate one point of their +government: and upon that the Assembly was dissolved.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Proceedings of the Assembly._ _History of + his Own Time_, Volume IV., page 151. Dr. Grub says: “There + is some reason to doubt whether the Episcopal clergy were + sincere in their profession of a wish for union on the terms + proposed; in any event, it was hardly to be expected that the + Presbyterians would voluntarily consent to a plan which if + carried out would have given their opponents a majority in + the General Assembly.”――_Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae_, Volume + III., page 330. + +This was represented to the King as an insolent invasion of the rights +of the Crown, and much angry feeling was evoked on both sides. William +had pretty high ideas of his kingly powers, and was jealous of all the +prerogatives which he thought belonged to the Crown. + +Though open war against the government had ceased, still the exiled +King had many adherents in Scotland, especially in the north and among +the Highland chiefs. As past and subsequent events had proved, the +Celtic portion of the inhabitants could make themselves extremely +troublesome to any government. An attempt was therefore made to +purchase the friendship of the Highland clans. The King and his +government had avowedly adopted a system of bribery and corruption. It +should be stated that at this period dishonesty, treachery, and cruelty +were not specially limited to the Highlanders of Scotland; and if truth +and morality be the standard of estimation, neither the King nor his +government had much claim to be regarded as examples of high morality. + +The Government engaged the Earl of Breadalbane to corrupt the Highland +chiefs――in other words, to purchase their submission, and if possible +to secure their allegiance to King William; for this purpose a sum +of money, reported to be twenty thousand pounds, was placed at the +Earl’s disposal. It was in the month of April, 1690, that the Earl was +authorised to execute this business; and the King in his instructions +to him directed particular attention to Sir Donald McDonald, Maclean, +Clanranald, Glengarry, Lochiel, and the Mackenzies. The King named a +sum not exceeding two thousand pounds to be offered, or a dignity under +an earldom, to any chief whose allegiance it might be necessary to buy +at so high a price;¹ and to give these money operations more effect, +a proclamation was emitted in August, 1691, commanding all the chiefs +to take the oath of allegiance in the presence of a civil magistrate +before the 1st of January, 1692, under the penalties of treason and +military execution. The chiefs at first refused to rely on the promises +of Breadalbane, and continued for months suspicious, but at length the +most of them complied with the terms of the proclamation, and took the +oath of allegiance. + + ¹ _Leven and Melville Papers._ + +But there were some persons, and one man high in office in particular, +who was greatly disappointed that the body of the Highland chiefs were +yielding to the demands of the government. The individual specially +offended at their submission was Sir John Dalrymple of Stair, who +had been Lord-Advocate, and was then Secretary of State for Scotland. +He was exceedingly anxious that a number of the clans should stand +out, and thus afford an excuse for their complete slaughter; indeed, +there is ample evidence that he was wildly angry, as his hope of +exterminating the Celtic people became day by day less probable. In the +end of October, 1691, he wrote: “It must be a strange inadventure if +the Highlanders be not convinced of the King’s extraordinary goodness +to them, when he is content to be at a charge to accommodate them, and +give them the plain prospect of future peace, security, and advantage, +when he can gratify many by destroying them with as little charge. +And certainly, if there do remain any obstinacy, these advices will +be taken. The King, by the offer of mercy, has sufficiently shown his +good intentions, and by their ruin he will rid himself of a suspicious +crew.” In November, 1691, he intimated to Breadalbane, “I wrote to you +formerly, that if the rest were willing to concur, as the crows do, to +pull down Glengarry’s nest this winter, so as the King be not hindered +to draw four regiments from Scotland,――in that case destroying him +and his clan, and garrisoning his house as a middle for communication +between Inverlochy and Inverness, will be fully as acceptable as if he +had come in. This answers all ends, and satisfies those who complain +of the King’s too great gentleness.”¹ On the eve of the massacre, the +Secretary wrote――“Just now, my lord, Argyle tells me that Glencoe has +not taken the oaths, at which I rejoice; it’s a great work of charity +to be exact in rooting out that damnable sept, the worst in all the +Highlands.”² + + ¹ Sir John Dalrymple’s _Memoirs_, Volume II., page 265; + Burton’s _History of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 525‒528, + 1853. + + ² Graham’s _Annals and Correspondence of the Viscount, and the + First and Second Earl of Stair_, Volume I., page 159, 1875. + +Macdonald of Glencoe, owing to several untoward circumstances, was a +few days behind the prescribed time for taking the oath of allegiance; +but he did take it before the Sheriff of Argyle at Inveraray; and the +sheriff forwarded it to the Privy Council in Edinburgh, but the clerks +refused to take it. The upshot was that the massacre of the Chief of +Glencoe, and all his retainers, was ordered by the King, and despatches +sent to the commander of the forces in that quarter to execute it. +The King’s instructions were issued on the 11th and 16th of January, +1692. The instructions of the later date touching Glencoe, were as +follows:――“If Macdonald of Glencoe and that tribe can be well separated +from the rest, it will be a proper vindication of public justice to +extirpate that sept of thieves.――W. Rex.” On the same day Secretary +Stair wrote to Livingstone, the Commander of the Forces: “I send +you the King’s instructions, super and subscribed by himself. I am +confident you will see there are full powers given you in very plain +terms, and yet the method is left very much to your own discretion.” +The result of these instructions was, that on the 1st of February, +Campbell of Glenlyon, with a company of one hundred and twenty soldiers, +entered Glencoe, and were hospitably treated in the homes of Macdonald +and his clan for twelve days; but, on the cold stormy night of the +13th of February, 1692, the chief and forty of his clan were ruthlessly +murdered by the King’s troops under Glenlyon. A number of the intended +victims escaped, owing to the darkness of the night and the severity +of the snowstorm, and fled almost naked to the rocks and mountains. +The deserted houses of the doomed clan were burned down. The soldiers +collected the property of their victims, which consisted of nine +hundred cattle, and two hundred ponies, and a number of sheep and goats, +and drove the whole to Fort William, where they were divided among the +officers of the garrison. + +Although the massacre was deliberately planned and treacherously +executed, it was not nearly so complete as intended, for the storm +prevented four hundred of the troops from reaching the scene till after +the appointed hour. Considered politically, it was a hideous blunder, +as it tended to render the clansmen more suspicious, and roused in +their hearts a bitter hatred of the Government. Indeed the Government +was much surprised at the sentiments of the people touching the +massacre. Secretary Stair was greatly astonished when he heard the +expressions in which he was characterised, and that his services to +the King were bitterly assailed; but he openly declared that his only +regret was, that every soul of the clan was not slain on that stormy +morning. Several attempts have been made to free King William of the +responsibility of the massacre, although he not only authorised it, but +also by his subsequent action fully condoned it. The deed has left a +stain on his character which time can never obliterate.¹ + + ¹ The substance of the original information about the massacre + is contained in the report of the commissioners who were + appointed to investigate the matter on the 29th of April, + 1695. + +Parliament met at Edinburgh in April, 1693, with the Duke of Hamilton +as royal commissioner. There was a feeling of uneasiness throughout +the nation. A Jacobite rising was dreaded, as the massacre of Glencoe +had raised the hopes of the Jacobites: it was accordingly enacted that +the oath of allegiance should be taken, and a declaration of assurance +subscribed, by which William and Mary were acknowledged as King +and Queen, as well by right as in fact. All persons in office were +commanded to take the oath of allegiance, and to sign the assurance; +and in the latter a promise was made to maintain their Majesties’ title +and government against the late King James and his adherents, and all +other enemies. + +Another act enjoined that no one should be admitted or continued +as a minister in the Established Church, unless he had first taken +and subscribed the oath of allegiance and the assurance, signed the +Confession, and owned the established Presbyterian polity of the Church +as the only true one, declaring that he would submit to it, and never +attempt directly or indirectly to subvert it. The Estates requested the +King to call a General Assembly for settling the affairs of the Church, +and especially for admitting all the Episcopal ministers holding +benefices to a share in her government who should qualify themselves +as stated above; at the same time intimating that all who failed to +qualify might be deposed, while all who complied would be protected in +their livings.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 262‒264, 303. + +It might have been expected that the Episcopal clergy would object +to the oath of allegiance and assurance, but Parliament seems to +have thought that the Presbyterian ministers would have no scruple +in taking the oath of assurance――though when it came to be applied, +they were found to be opposed to it on various grounds. They canvassed +it sharply, and distinctly asked, “Where is there a point that has +been more earnestly and obstinately disputed than the doctrine of +deposing kings and magistrates? Are there not arguments brought from +the Holy Scripture, from the nature of magistracy, from the peace of +society, from the dreadful consequences, the vast deluge of blood, +the lamentable dissolution of kingdoms, which have followed such +undertakings? whereby many learned and pious men have endeavoured, +at all times, to overthrow that king-dethroning power, which never can +be practised without greater effusion of blood and violation of all +rights than the greatest of tyrants have ever occasioned. And why, then, +should Parliament at this time of day impose a yoke upon the Church, +which neither we nor our fathers were made sensible of before? Amidst +all the past struggles about controverted titles to the Crown, the +Church was never bound by oath to either of the contending parties, +and why should a party oath be imposed now?”¹ + + ¹ M‘Cormick’s _Life of Carstairs_, pages 52‒56. + +The Presbyterian ministers applied to the Privy Council to be relieved +from taking the oath of assurance. But it was reported that the Council +advised the King to insist that every minister should subscribe the +oath before taking his seat in the ensuing General Assembly. The King +seems to have been inclined to follow this course, but at last, on +the advice of his chaplain, Carstairs, yielded the point; and when +the Assembly met on the 29th of March, 1694, no attempt was made to +force the oath of assurance on the members. The Assembly appointed +a commission to receive into communion the Episcopal ministers who +qualified themselves in terms of the recent Act of Parliament; but few +of them sought admission into the Church on the prescribed conditions. +Many of them, however, still remained in the parish churches; as yet, +in the northern quarter of the kingdom, they were hardly touched. In +the summer of 1694, the commission of the Assembly visited Aberdeen and +Inverness, and attempted to displace the old clergy, but it was found +to be impossible to proceed with the intended deprivations; in Aberdeen, +and some country parishes, the people were attached to the Episcopal +ministers, and would not allow them to be ejected. To meet this, +Parliament in 1695 passed several acts. It was provided that a portion +of the stipend of each of the vacant churches north of the Forth should +be applied to pay temporary missionaries, appointed by the presbyteries +to officiate in these churches. It was enacted that any one intruding +themselves into a church, manse, or benefice, without a regular call +and legal admission by the presbytery of the bounds, should be declared +incapable of enjoying any church in the kingdom for a period of seven +years after their removal from the church into which they had intruded. +The Privy Council was ordered to remove those who had intruded into +vacant churches since the establishment of the Presbyterian polity, +without a regular call and legal admission. The deprived ministers were +prohibited from celebrating marriages and baptisms under the penalty of +imprisonment.¹ + + ¹ M‘Cormick’s _Life of Carstairs_, pages 57‒64; _Acts of the + General Assembly_; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, + Volume IX., pages 387, 415, 420. + +But on the other hand, this session of Parliament passed some Acts more +favourable to the Episcopal clergy. They were allowed a longer period +for taking the oaths of allegiance and assurance. It was also enacted +that all who qualified themselves within the appointed time should +be permitted to continue in their manses and churches, and to perform +their functions in these parishes, without taking part in ordination +or Church government, unless duly assumed by a competent Church court. +It was provided that all the Episcopal ministers thus qualified, should +be free to apply or not to the Church court for admission to a share in +her government, and that these courts should also be free to admit or +not admit them, if they did apply. Under this act many of the Episcopal +clergy continued in possession of their churches. Within three months, +more than a hundred of them took advantage of its provisions, which +were not fettered as former acts had been with any promise of +conformity to Presbyterianism.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 491‒450; Burnet’s _History of His Own Time_, Volume IV., page + 275. + +There still remained a compact body of the Episcopal clergy who refused +to make any move towards the King’s government or Presbyterianism, +and these were naturally regarded as open enemies to the Revolution +settlement, and usually classed amongst the Jacobites. Their religion +was closely associated with their politics, and they became the active +champions of the Jacobite party and the exiled King. The national +records down to the Union are full of complaints against them. Even +when the Jacobite incumbent had died, in some places it was found +to be impossible, till after the lapse of several years, to plant a +Presbyterian successor in his church. At the time of the Union there +were one hundred and sixty-five Episcopal ministers within the pale of +the Established Church, living in the manses, preaching in the pulpits, +and enjoying the stipends, but gradually these died out, and then +Presbyterian ministers took their places.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly_; Skinner’s _An Ecclesiastical + History Of Scotland_. + +Since the Reformation the national mind had been pre-occupied with +religious struggles, which were mixed up with politics; but its +attention now became directed to different enterprises. Directly after +the Revolution, the spirit of the nation began to incline more toward +industry, to the erection of manufactories, to trade, and to commerce. +Dreams of commercial greatness and vast wealth rose before the national +imagination and captivated it; and one person appeared with dazzling +schemes to satisfy the people and the cravings of the time. William +Paterson had a mind overflowing with grand commercial projects, and +it was reported that he had given hints which led to the establishment +of several banking companies; but his enemies maliciously said that +he had acquired his knowledge of foreign countries in his buccaneering +adventures. As a part of the Isthmus of Darien was unoccupied by +the Spaniards, Paterson formed the idea of founding on it a central +emporium for the merchandise of the world. He thought that a link could +be formed there to connect the trade of Europe and Asia, so that the +Atlantic and Pacific Oceans might be ploughed with ships from every +quarter of the globe, directing their prows to that narrow neck of land, +and thus enriching the Scots, who, by occupying the Isthmus, would hold +the keys of the commercial world in their hands. The scheme assumed a +definite form in an act of the Scotch parliament passed in June, 1695, +which authorised the establishment of a trading company to America, +Africa, and the Indies. + +This act presented an outline of the scheme, and the powers and +privileges of the company, and it was carefully drawn in all its +details. In virtue of a former act passed in 1683, for encouraging +foreign trade, and granting power to merchants to form companies for +carrying on foreign trade, the new act sketched out the constitution +of a joint-stock company very minutely, under the name of the Company +of Scotland, trading to Africa and the Indies. The act empowered the +company to equip, freight, and navigate their own or hired ships, in +any manner which they thought fit, and to trade from any of the ports +of Scotland, or the ports of other countries not at war with Britain; +and to plant colonies, to build forts and towns, in any part of Asia, +Africa, or America, in uninhabited places, or in other regions with +the consent of the inhabitants, if such countries were not possessed +by any European power: and with liberty to employ all lawful means for +their own defence and protection, and the advancement of their special +objects; and to make and conclude treaties of peace and commerce +with kings, princes, or proprietors of lands or countries, in the +above quarters of the globe. They were authorised if attacked to make +reprisals. The company was to have the free right of their own property +of all kinds, in whatever part of the world they might acquire, possess, +and establish it; and simply acknowledging their allegiance to the King +of Britain by the annual payments of a hogshead of tobacco, in name +of blench duty, and that only if demanded. All other Scotsmen were +prohibited from trading within the company’s privileges without their +license, and they were empowered to seize on all intruders, “by force +of arms, at our own hands,” for a period of twenty-one years. The ships, +goods, and merchandise of the company were to be free from taxes and +dues imposed by the parliament, for twenty-one years. It was arranged +that only the half of the subscribed capital of the company could +be held by persons non-resident in Scotland. The following are the +names of some of the partners of the company recorded in the Act +of Parliament:――Lord Belhaven, Adam Cockburn of Ormiston, the Lord +Justice-Clerk, Sir John Maxwell of Pollok; George Clark, late bailie +of Edinburgh; John Cross, merchant in Glasgow; William Paterson, +Esquire, James ♦Foulis, David Nairn, Esquire, Thomas Deans, Esquire, +and Walter Stuart, merchants in London; and all others joining with +them within one year after the 1st of August, 1695. And these having +assembled, were then to be regarded as an incorporate body, “and a free +incorporation, with perpetual succession, by the name of the Company +of Scotland, trading to Africa and the Indies.”¹ + + ♦ “Fowlis” replaced with “Foulis” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 377‒381. + +Even though this company completely failed in its objects, its +origin and formation are interesting and important events in the +commercial history and civilisation of the nation: and therefore +the following part of the original Act may be quoted:――“And farther, +it is enacted that the company, by commission under their seal, may +make and constitute all and each of their directors, governors, and +commanders-in-chief, and other officers, civil or military, by land +or by sea; as also that the company may enlist, enrol, hire, and +retain all such persons, subjects of this kingdom, or others who +shall be willing to enter into their service or pay, providing always +that they uplift or levy none in this kingdom to be soldiers, without +warrant from his Majesty or of his Privy Council, over which governors, +commanders-in-chief, or other officers, and all in their service +and pay, the company shall have the power, command, and disposition, +both by sea and by land.... And lastly, all persons concerned in this +company are hereby declared to be free denizens of this kingdom; and +that they, with all that shall settle, or inhabit, or be born in any of +the foresaid plantations, colonies, towns, factories, and other places, +that shall be purchased and possessed by the company, shall be reputed +as natives of this kingdom, and have the privileges thereof.” + +The stock or subscribed capital of the company was to be £600,000. +When the books were opened in London, in October, 1695, the £300,000 +offered to the English merchants was quickly subscribed. But the +enterprise soon aroused the jealousy of the privileged English +companies. The English Parliament presented an address to the King +against it, and the books and documents of the company were seized by +the orders of the House of Commons. At last, they concluded that the +directors of the company were guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour, +for attempting such a thing, and that Lord Belhaven and the other +Scotch nobles, whose names appeared as directors should be impeached. +These hostile proceedings alarmed the London subscribers, and they +slipped out of the company by failing to pay the instalments of their +shares, and thus forfeited their stock. But this action of the English +rather irritated than discouraged the promoters of the concern in +Scotland; it seemed to have touched the national pride of the Scots, +and they pushed on their enterprise. One month after the denunciations +of the English Parliament, the books were opened in Edinburgh; and +on the first day, the 26th of February, 1696, more than £50,000 was +subscribed; and within five months £400,000 was subscribed. It seemed +as if nearly all the realised capital of the nation had rushed into the +project. + +The company proceeded with remarkable energy. A house for conducting +their business was erected in Edinburgh; and schemes of trading with +Greenland, Archangel, and the Gold Coast, were considered; the possible +improvements of machinery, the qualities of goods, and the exportable +produce of the country were all under inquiry. Certainly the main +points of the scheme presented a grasp of principles, a distinctness +of conception, and a liberality of mind, which cast the mass of +speculative trading adventures into the shade. The enterprise, as +designed by Paterson, was to be conducted on free trade principles. +He called on his countrymen to discard the narrow policy of British +commerce; he contemplated a system for the good of mankind, and told +his countrymen not to try to enrich themselves by making other nations +poor, but to embrace such liberal policy as would be beneficial to all. +His conduct throughout was that of a man of exceptional grasp of mind, +and elevated above sordid considerations. + +All the opposition of the English trading companies did not prevent the +Scots from proceeding with their undertaking. The company purchased six +vessels from the Dutch, and equipped them. On the 26th of July, 1698, +three of their ships, with one thousand and two hundred men on board, +sailed from Leith, amidst the tears and prayers of a vast concourse +of people, all deeply interested in the success of the enterprise. On +the 4th of November they landed at a point on the Gulf of Darien. They +built a fort to command the Gulf, and marked two sites for towns, which +they proposed to call New Edinburgh and New St. Andrews. They purchased +the land which they occupied from the natives, and sent friendly +messages to all the Spanish governors within their reach. Their first +public act was a declaration of freedom of trade and religion to all +nations. + +But their privations soon began; and the causes of the failure of the +undertaking are easily discovered. There was a lack of trading skill +and experience among the emigrants; they had not a definite political +organisation for the preservation of order, the prime requisite of all +probable success. Further, there was no adequate provision made for +sending instructions and receiving assistance from home, which was +a lamentable want of foresight. From their arrival till June of the +following year, they received no communication from Scotland. It was +too sanguinely believed that the colony had departed to a country +abounding in the good things of life, and it was assumed that they +could at least obtain food by the sale of their merchandise; but much +of their stuff was damaged, and for the rest there was no market. By +and by they began to feel the sad pressure of want, while the unhealthy +influences of the climate told severely upon them, and the combined +effects of insufficient food and pestilence rapidly reduced their +numbers. The disheartening and trying task of burying their dead +shortly arrested their energy; and when spring came, nothing but +certain death awaited them if they remained. They, therefore, resolved +to leave the settlement, and within eight months from the time they +landed, they evacuated it. They placed themselves in their ships, +which from the number of the sick and the enfeebled state of all, were +only imperfectly manned. They sailed in June, 1699, two of their ships +reaching New York in August; but two hundred of the men died on the +passage, and those alive were almost exhausted, and few survived. The +third ship landed in Jamaica. + +At the very time when the baffled colonists were preparing to flee from +pestilence, and leaving the settlement, the company at home was fitting +out another expedition. Two ships sailed in May, 1699, and other four +in the month of August, carrying the provisions and stores which should +have been despatched sooner. In September, the same year, a third +expedition was sent out, consisting of one thousand and three hundred +men, with stores of merchandise and provisions. So little anticipation +had the directors of the company of the sad tidings then coming to +Scotland, that they commissioned a ship to seek out a new site for a +second colony on the western coast of Africa. When the unwelcome rumour +first reached the country, the news was received with incredulity +and treated with scorn, as a weak invention of the enemy; but the +disagreeable truth of the failure of the enterprise soon forced itself +upon the nation. Then a storm of wrath arose among all classes of the +people. The conduct of the English colonial governments, and the long +silence of the King himself, who had been repeatedly addressed on the +subject, but never had been moved to promise anything, was denounced. +Still the company determined to persist in their undertaking, and the +third expedition was instructed to join the second, which had sailed in +ignorance of the fate of the first, and to retake the colony by force. + +But the arrival of the second expedition at its destination quickly +dispelled all the dreams which had been formed. They found the fort +destroyed and the huts burned down, while the chief indication of their +countrymen was their numerous graves. In the winter, their friends +who had left Scotland in September joined them, but they were all in +a desponding state of mind. Meanwhile the Spaniards were preparing +to overthrow the settlement. After one successful military effort, in +which a small body of the Colonists attacked and defeated a portion of +the Spanish army, they were besieged both by sea and land. In March, +1700, they capitulated to the Spaniards, and left the colony; but only +a few of them ever returned to their native country. + +The failure of this settlement was the death-blow of the American and +African Company of Scotland, and although they continued their trading +on a limited scale for some time, almost the whole of their capital was +absorbed and lost. This great loss to a poor country added much to the +troubles at home, and was widely and severely felt.¹ + + ¹ _Darien Papers_, printed for Bannatyne Club; _A Collection + of State Tracts published in the Reign of King William_; _A + Defence of the Scots Settlement at Darien_, 1699; _Memoirs of + Darien_, 1714. + +When the definite tidings of the final evacuation of the Darien +settlement arrived in Scotland, the nation rose to a height of frenzy +rarely manifested. The Jacobites were extremely wroth, and exerted +themselves to the utmost to fan the national indignation as a weapon +of opposition to the King and the Government. The national pride of +the Scots was deeply wounded. They were strongly disposed to attribute +the failure of the colony to the jealousy and the action of the English +and the King, and they had some grounds for this. The Scots could not +see that the causes of the failure of their trading company and its +colony were mainly within itself, and were to be found in the natural +result of a lack of foresight, of defective organisation, and their own +mismanagement; but any thoughts of this were drowned amid the torrents +of indignation which spread to every home in the kingdom. “When the +news of the total abandoning of Darien was brought over, it cannot be +well expressed into how bad a temper this cast the body of the people; +they had now lost almost two hundred thousand pounds sterling upon +this project, besides the imagined treasure that they had promised +themselves from it; so that the nation was raised into a sort of fury +upon it, and in the first heat of that, a remonstrance was sent about +the kingdom for names, representing to the King the necessity of a +present sitting of Parliament, which was drawn in so high a strain, +as if they had resolved to pursue the effects of it by armed force. It +was signed by a great majority of the Members of Parliament; and the +ferment in men’s spirits was raised so high, that few thought it could +have been long curbed, without breaking forth into great extremities.”¹ + + ¹ Burnet’s _History of His Own Time_, Volume IV., page 421. + +Early in the year 1700 the directors of the company and the +representatives of the shareholders resolved to address the King. They +selected Lord Hamilton to present their appeal to his Majesty, but +he was refused an audience, and reprimanded for his conduct. It was +then proposed to present a national address to the King, requesting +him to assemble Parliament, and to submit the affairs of the company +to it; but this was met by a proclamation against addresses, which +still farther roused the spirit of discontent and opposition to +the Government. When the Parliament met on the 21st of May, 1700, +the Duke of Queensberry, the royal commissioner, and the Earl of +Marchmont, delivered speeches, and enlarged upon the good work which +the Revolution settlement had accomplished, the gratitude due to +the King for this, and his other manifold services to the Protestant +religion and to Europe, and the imprudence of insisting on anything +that would be likely to weaken his Majesty’s influence and power. This +was followed by an address from the directors of the trading company +and their Darien settlement, and also by petitions and addresses from +many of the counties and the towns, all complaining bitterly about +the Darien colony and the great loss which the nation had suffered. +It was moved that Parliament should resolve to maintain the new colony +as a legal and rightful settlement, but the royal commissioner cut the +discussion short by adjourning the Parliament till he should receive +new instructions from the King.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., pages 183, + 195, and Appendix, pages 33‒42. + +After this the opposition held a great meeting, and despatched an +address to the King. The General Assemblies which met in 1700, and +in 1701, proclaimed a national fast, with special reference to the +calamity which the failure of the project had brought upon the nation. +Another national address to the King was largely signed, but ere it +reached him he emitted a proclamation of a vague description, and +merely expressed his sympathy for the misfortunes of the Scots.¹ + + ¹ _Carstairs’ Papers_, pages 514‒523, 525‒531, 533, 538, + 543‒547, 551‒580, 582, _et seq._ + +Parliament reassembled in the end of October, 1700, but the members +were not satisfied with the King’s letter. It expressed sympathy and +regret for the loss sustained by the African Company, and even offered +aid, and promised to support any new projects calculated to promote the +national prosperity. But the King stated distinctly that he could not +agree to the assertion of the right of the company’s colony in Darien, +though very willing to assist them in other ways.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., pages 196, + 201. + +Parliament was soon overwhelmed with addresses and petitions from all +ranks and every quarter of the kingdom. The majority of the house +supported the petitions, and moved and adopted resolutions condemning +the interference of the English Parliament, and the proclamations +issued against the interest of the Darien settlement by the governors +of the English colonies. Several pamphlets which appeared touching and +reflecting on the Darien settlement, were denounced in Parliament as +scandalous and caluminous libels, and they were ordered to be burned +by the hand of the common hangman at the Market Cross of Edinburgh. The +indignation in Parliament and outside continued, and after much debate +the address to the King concerning the Darien settlement was carried by +one hundred and one votes to sixty-one, on the 17th of January, 1701. +It is a well-drawn and able paper, and presented a complete vindication +of the company, and of the legality and lawfulness of their Darien +settlement, a true and fatal impeachment of the proceedings of the King +and his English Parliament in the matter. It gave a concise _résumé_ +of the whole concern.¹ Besides other points, the address contained four +resolutions:――1. The votes and proceedings of the English Parliament +touching the company, which were condemned as an undue interference +in the affairs of Scotland, “and an invasion upon the sovereignty +and independence of our King and parliament.” 2. Declaring that the +action of the English Envoy at Luxemburg, which was injurious to the +interest of the company, “contrary to the law of nations and an open +encroachment upon the sovereignty and independence of this Crown and +Kingdom.” 3. Condemning the proceedings and the proclamations emitted +by the governors of the English plantations against the Darien Colony. +4. Declaring that though the settlement in Darien was formed in exact +conformity with the company’s Act of Parliament, the Spaniards had +treated the colonists as enemies and pirates; “that our Indian and +African Company’s Colony of Caledonia in Darien, in the Continent of +America, was, and is legal and rightful.” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., page 208, + 241, 242, 244‒246, 248‒251, and Appendix, pages 73‒92. + +The attitude of Scotland was becoming threatening and extremely +troublesome to the English government. The plan of a complete union +was again attempted, but the difficulties on both sides were great +and constantly deepening. The relations between the two kingdoms were +strained and pressing, and a bill for appointing commissioners to +treat concerning a union was passed in the House of Lords on the 25th +of February, 1700, and sent to the House of Commons. But at the second +reading in the Lower House it was thrown out. The King saw clearly that +the only way of maintaining peace in Scotland was by a union of the two +nations; and on the 28th of February, 1701, he reminded the House of +Commons of his proposal regarding the union. But the King died on the +8th of March, 1702. + +The accession of Queen Anne was hailed with applause both in England +and in Scotland. The Revolution Parliament, which had lasted throughout +the reign of William, reassembled at Edinburgh on the 19th of June, +1702, passed resolutions touching the Darien concern, and appointed +commissioners to treat with England on the proposal of a union between +the two kingdoms. The English Parliament passed a bill authorising +the appointment of commissioners to treat of the union, and the +commissioners of both nations opened their proceedings on the 10th of +November, 1702. It soon became manifest that the admission of the Scots +to equal trading rights was the chief difficulty on the south side +of the Tweed. The first point concerning the succession to the throne +was shortly agreed to; and the second, stipulating that there should +be only one legislature for the United Kingdom. But when the Scotch +commissioners insisted on equal trading advantages the old difficulty +reappeared, the Scots insisting on free trade between the two kingdoms, +and that this should be considered without reference to existing +companies. They held many meetings, but could not agree on the trading +privileges; and on the 3rd of February, 1703, they were adjourned by +the Queen, and met no more. + +In the spring of 1703, Scotland was greatly agitated by the elections +for the new Parliament summoned by the Queen. The Jacobites exerted +themselves to the utmost, and succeeded in returning a considerable +number of their party. The new house met on the 16th of May. The +Duke of Queensberry presented himself as royal commissioner, and the +business of this memorable parliament began in earnest. All the laws in +favour of presbyterianism were ratified, and it was declared to be high +treason to speak against the Claim of Right. The Earl of Strathmore +proposed a bill for the toleration of all Protestants, but it was +rejected. + +Parliament then proceeded to deal with the secular affairs which had +filled the national mind for several years, and a series of rather +alarming acts were passed. One act announced that the sovereign had +no right to make war on the part of Scotland without the consent of +the Scotch Parliament; and another――at which the Jacobites rejoiced +――removed the restrictions upon the importation of French wines, +thus opening up a trade with the enemy of England. Some proposals +of a republican character were mooted, Fletcher proposing to take +the patronage of offices from the Crown and place it in the hands of +Parliament. + +On the act for the security of the kingdom there was a long and +vehement debate, from the 28th of May to the 16th of September, but +at last it was carried by a majority. Its main points enacted that on +the demise of the Queen without issue, the Estates were to appoint a +successor from the Protestant descendants of the royal line of Scotland; +but the recognised successor to the throne of England was directly +excluded from their choice, unless such conditions of government was +settled as would secure the honour and sovereignty of this kingdom, +and free religion and the trade of the nation from English or any +other foreign influence. The coronation oath was not to be administered +without instructions from Parliament, under the penalty of high +treason. Another clause of the act commanded that the nation should +be immediately placed in a state of defence, and all the able-bodied +men mustered under their usual leaders. The royal assent was refused +to this act, which raised another storm of denunciation against the +English. Some of the members talked of rather dying like freemen than +living as slaves; and when attempts were made to stem their passions, +they said, if denied the freedom of expressing their opinions and +wishes in Parliament, they would proclaim them with their swords.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI. + +This fierce antagonism between the two kingdoms could not endure, and +in the face of all obstacles the Union was approaching. Parliament +reassembled on the 6th of July, 1704. The Marquis of Tweeddale was +royal commissioner; and the Queen’s letter expressed the gravity of +the situation. She appealed to Parliament to settle the succession, but +they directly passed a resolution not to name a successor to the Crown +till a satisfactory treaty with England for the regulation of trade was +concluded, and meanwhile adopted measures to secure the independence +of the kingdom. The Act of Security was again passed, and now received +the royal assent. Under this act the Scots began to arm, and once more +prepared in earnest to give battle to their enemy, if he should finally +refuse to accede to reasonable demands.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._ + +The English Parliament in 1705 passed an act authorising a treaty of +Union to be negotiated between England and Scotland. The Crown was +empowered to appoint commissioners to meet and treat with any body of +commissioners authorised by the Scotch Parliament, and to place the +result of their proceedings before the Queen and the parliaments of +both kingdoms. The last clause of the bill restricted the commissioners +from making “any alteration of the liturgy, ceremonies, discipline, or +government of the Church, as by law established.” + +The Scotch Parliament met at Edinburgh on the 28th of June, 1705, and +the proposal of the English Parliament for a Union was to be the great +business before it. There was a change in the ministry, and the Duke +of Argyle appeared as the royal commissioner. He was deemed the most +likely man to promote the important measure which had become necessary +for the security, happiness, and civilisation of the people. The task, +however, was still surrounded with many difficulties. The Jacobites +were a strong and compact party, determined to oppose the Union at +every step; and if possible to defeat all attempts to settle the Crown +on the Revolution principles. But a majority of the Parliament resolved +to hold to the demands for free trade and colonial rights: these were +the views of the National party led by Fletcher, and yet some of the +chief men of this party were strongly opposed to the incorporating +provisions of the Treaty. In the early part of the session various +acts were introduced and discussed, touching the currency, the herring +fishing, prohibiting the importation of goods, and other matters +connected with trade; but the subsequent and more important resolutions +regarding the Union rendered these of less importance.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages 205, + 213‒219, _et seq._; Hume’s _Diary_, pages 62‒70. + +On the 13th of July, a draft of the act and commission for the treaty +with England was read in Parliament; and on the 25th of August, it was +again brought before the house. A long and hot debate ensued on it, +and several amendments were proposed. But on 1st of September the act +was carried, authorising the appointment of commissioners; the Duke +of Athole, with a considerable number of followers protesting. The +same day the question of who should nominate the commissioners was +brought up. Were they to be appointed by Parliament, or referred to the +discretion of the Queen? The Duke of Hamilton moved that the nomination +of the commissioners should be left to the Queen. Fletcher of Saltoun +bitterly opposed this, and the Jacobites joined him with all their +might; the point was warmly debated, but in vain. Hamilton’s motion +was carried by a majority of forty. The Duke of Athole again protested, +and the Jacobites adhered to him.¹ The Jacobites were extremely enraged +at this vote, as they considered it the key of the position; and one +of their leaders who recorded his protest along with Athole, expressed +his judgment of the matter in these words:――“From this day we may date +the commencement of Scotland’s ruin; and any person that will be at the +pains to reflect upon the management of this affair must be the more +enraged when he sees how easily it might have been, and yet was not, +prevented: for if the first restricting clause (which was lost by the +unaccountable neglect of some members) had been carried, we should +not have had one word more of the Treaty; or had the nomination been +left to the Parliament, those of the commissioners that represented +the barons would have been so well chosen that they might easily +have obstructed the Treaty from being brought to such a conclusion as +afterwards happened.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages 218, + 224, 235‒237; also Appendix, pages 83, 86‒87; Hume’s _Diary_, + pages 70‒71. + + ² Lockhart’s _Memoirs_, Volume I., pages 133‒134. + +The scope of the act indicated the general object of the Treaty. But +it contained one special condition, “that the commissioners shall not +treat of or concerning any alteration of the worship, discipline, and +government of the Church of this kingdom, as now by law established.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., page 295. + +The number of the Union Commissioners was thirty-one on each side. +On the Scotch side the Queen or her advisers had exercised a marked +discretion in naming the list of Commissioners. A well-considered +effort was certainly made to represent all the different parties of +the nation; even the Jacobites were represented by one of their ablest +men, Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath. This Jacobite leader gives a +list of the names of all the Commissioners on both sides, and adds +the following remarks on them:――“All these were of the Court or Whig +interest, except Mr. Lockhart in the Scots, and the Archbishop of +York in the English commission. This last, as was reported, was named +merely out of respect to the dignity of the office he bore, but would +not be present so much as once at the Treaty; the other because being +my Lord Warton’s nephew, they expected to carry him off. And as he +was surprised at his being named, so he had no inclination for the +employment, and was at first resolved not to have accepted it; but +his friends and those of his party believed he might be serviceable +by giving an account how matters were carried on, and prevailed with +him to alter his resolution.... And having communicated to them his +difficulties, he desired their advice and direction how he should +behave, and particularly whether or not he should protest and enter his +dissent against those measures, being resolved to receive instructions +from them as a warrant for his procedure, and to justify his conduct; +to whom they all unanimously returned this answer, that if he should +protest, he could not well continue longer to meet with the other +commissioners; and if he entered his dissent, it would render him +odious to them, so as he would be utterly incapable to learn anything +that might be useful afterwards in opposing their designs; whereas +if he sat quiet, concealed his opinions as much as possible, they +expecting to persuade him to leave his old friends and party, would not +be so shy, and he might make discoveries of their designs, and thereby +do a singular service to his country. Therefore they agreed in advising +him neither to protest nor dissent, nor do anything that might discover +his opinions and design, but to sit silent, making his remarks of +everything that passed, and to remain with them as long as he possibly +could; and then at last, before signing of the result of the Treaty, to +find some excuse or other of absenting himself.”¹ + + ¹ Lockhart’s _Memoirs_, Volume I., pages 141‒3. + +The difficulties of the task before the Commissioners were enormous. +Almost every kind of conflicting interest which absorbs the human +mind, the opposition springing out of national pride and vanity, a +mass of traditional and inherited prejudice, and adverse sentiments +and feelings――the growth of ages――all had to be set aside and overcome. +Thus it was, that when the Union was concluded, the diverse elements, +adverse to its spirit, were so great in Scotland, that a generation +or two passed away, ere the blessings and advantages of it to the +people of this kingdom began to be fully appreciated and recognised. +Indeed the Jacobite party believed and proclaimed that Scotland was +utterly ruined by the Union; while many others, not influenced by party +feelings, were strongly disposed to take the most gloomy view of what +proved to be one of the most beneficial events in the history of the +country. + +The Commissioners met at Whitehall on the 16th of April, 1706. There +had before been many attempts to form a union of the two kingdoms, but +this time the Commissioners on both sides really wished to accomplish +it; and they were fully impressed with the vast importance of the +matter, and prepared to make every reasonable concession for the mutual +advantage of both nations. Their proceedings from beginning to end bore +the impress of sincerity and earnestness. They proceeded systematically, +and approaching the subject before them step by step, acted with great +tact and judgment. Their whole proceedings form an admirable specimen +of methodical negotiation, and the arduous undertaking was completed on +the 23rd of July. Before putting the Treaty into the form of articles, +they had to discuss and to deliberate on many subjects and complicated +points: such as the relative taxation, the customs, the excise, and +the revenue of both kingdoms, the coinage, weights and measures; the +number of the Scotch representatives in the united Parliament in both +the Upper and in the Lower Houses; and many other difficult questions +touching political relations and organisation. According to the terms +of the commission, a copy of the Treaty was presented to the Queen, and +her Majesty made the following speech:――“My Lords, I give you thanks +for the great pains you have taken in this Treaty, and am very well +pleased to find that your endeavours and applications have brought +it to so good a conclusion. The particulars of it seem so reasonable, +that I hope they will meet with approbation in the Parliaments of both +kingdoms. I wish, therefore, that my servants of Scotland may lose no +time in going down to propose it to my subjects of that kingdom; and +I shall always look upon it as a particular happiness, if this Union, +which will be so great a security and advantage to both kingdoms, can +be accomplished in my reign.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., Appendix, + pages 161‒191. + +It was agreed to take the first legislative sanction of the Treaty in +Scotland, with the aim of soothing the opposition which it was sure to +encounter. The Scottish Parliament was therefore assembled at Edinburgh +on the 3rd of October, 1706, to hold its fourth and last session. The +Earl of Queensberry was appointed Royal Commissioner, and the Earl +of Mar, Secretary of State; the latter was well informed about the +designs of the Jacobite party. According to Lockhart, “Mar gained the +favour of all the Tories, and was by many of them esteemed an honest +man, and well inclined to the royal family. Certain it is, he vowed +and protested so much many a time; but no sooner was the Marquis of +Tweeddale and his party dispossessed, than he returned as the dog +to his vomit, and promoted all the Court of England’s measures with +the greatest zeal imaginable.... His great talent lay in the cunning +management of his designs and projects, in which it was hard to find +him out.”¹ A great and sustained effort was made in many parts of the +kingdom to arouse popular feeling and passion against the Union, and +some strange combinations were attempted; some of the Cameronians were +ready to assume a form of opposition which exactly suited the Jacobites, +though when they came to act side by side with their old enemies, they +began to see their folly. + + ¹ Lockhart’s _Memoirs_. + +A large number of pamphlets and papers were published against the +Union, and circulated throughout the country, which appealed to every +prejudice and feeling that was likely to rouse the passions and wrath +of the populace. The religious sentiments and convictions of the +people were industriously stirred. Those who were proud of the deeds of +their ancestors and of national glory, were emphatically told that the +ancient renown and independence of the kingdom was to be extinguished +for ever. Many past generations of Scotsmen had fought and struggled +for their rights, their liberties, and their freedom, endured hardship, +persecution and every form of privation; but now the degenerate sons +of such a brave and noble race were about to barter away their glorious +inheritance. What a disgrace, to be stigmatised by all succeeding ages +to the end of time! + +Though the outside pressure against the Union was strong and bitter, +the government was well prepared to meet it. Many addresses and +petitions were presented to Parliament against the Union, but of +course there were petitions in favour of it, and the Church threw +her influence on the side of the government; still it seemed that the +volume of popular feeling was with the opposition, and Parliament began +its arduous work amid threatening circumstances. + +In the Queen’s speech to the Estates the following sentence occurs: +――“The Union has been long desired by both nations, and we shall +esteem it as the greatest glory of our reign to have it now perfected, +being fully persuaded that it must prove the greatest happiness of our +people.” At the first sitting, the Treaty was read and ordered to be +printed, and copies delivered to the Members of Parliament, while the +minutes of the Union Commissioners were ordered to be printed. On the +12th of October, the articles of the Treaty were read one by one, and +then discussed at the different sittings from the 12th to the 30th +of the month, making suggestions as they proceeded, but taking no +divisions. A mob had threatened and insulted several of the members +on the streets of the capital on the 23rd of October, and a party of +the foot-guards had to be called out to quell the disturbance, and to +protect Parliament, but no lives were lost.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 300‒311. + +The first real effort of the opposition was made on the 4th of November, +when it was moved that a vote should be taken on the first article of +the Treaty of Union, upon the understanding “that if the other articles +of the Union be not adjusted by the Parliament, then the agreeing +to the first one shall be of no effect,” and that immediately after +settling the first article, Parliament proceed to an act for securing +the doctrine and the government of the Established Church. A long +debate ensued. The Duke of Hamilton delivered an animated speech on +Scottish nationality; Seton of Pitmedden spoke in favour of the Union +in a calm and well-reasoned speech; but the great speech of the night +was Lord Belhaven’s. It was a long torrent of denunciatory rhetoric +against the Union, delivered with passionate vehemence. It seems to +have produced little impression on the members; but it was intended +more for the outside public than for them, and was widely circulated +amongst the people. A sentence or two may be quoted:――“I see the +English constitution remaining firm; the same Houses of Parliament; the +same taxes, customs, and excise; the same trading companies, laws, and +judicatures; whilst ours are either subjected to new regulations, or +are annihilated for ever. And for what? that we may be admitted to the +honour of paying their old arrears, and presenting a few witnesses to +attest the new debts, which they may be pleased to contract. Good God! +is this an entire surrender? My heart bursts with indignation and grief, +at the triumph which the English will obtain to-day, over a fierce +and warlike nation that has struggled to maintain its independence so +long!” An amendment was proposed, declaring that the nation was averse +to an incorporating union; that if it was accepted by Parliament in +its present form, instead of bringing peace it would cause dismal +distractions among the Scots themselves, and fatal breaches and +confusion between the two nations; and therefore it was proposed +to retain the sovereignty and independence of the monarchy, the +fundamental constitution of the government as established by the Claim +of Right and the laws of this kingdom. After this amendment was debated, +the motion put to the house was, “Approve of the first article of +the Union――yes or no.” Before the vote was taken, the Duke of Athole +protested for himself and his adherents, that an incorporating union as +proposed in this Treaty “is contrary to the honour, the interest, the +fundamental laws, and the constitution of this kingdom; the birthright +of the peers, the rights and privileges of the barons and the burghs, +and the property and the liberty of the subjects.” The motion for +approving the article was then put and carried by a majority of +thirty-three; and throughout the subsequent proceedings on the Union, +the government retained about this majority, in spite of all the +efforts of the Jacobites.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages + 312‒315. + +From this date till near the end of December, at almost every sitting +addresses were presented and read against the Union. On the 30th +November, a printed paper was laid before parliament, entitled, “An +Account of the Burning of the Articles of the Union at Dumfries. +Bearing the declaration read and affixed on the Market Cross thereof by +the crowd assembled on that occasion. And it being moved, that inquiry +should be made as to who had been the printer and the ingiver of this +scurrilous paper, and that it be burned by the hands of the hangman, +it was left to the committee to call for the magistrates of Edinburgh, +and to make inquiry and trial touching the ingiver of this paper;” and +“Ordains also, that this scurrilous print be burned at the Market Cross +of Edinburgh, on Monday next, between eleven and twelve in the forenoon. +And the magistrates of Edinburgh appointed to see the orders punctually +executed.”¹ But the Treaty was pressed forward, and on the last day +of November they had reached the eighth article, and remitted it with +some of the preceding ones to a committee. Amendments and additions +were made to some of the articles, and a clause was inserted in the +Treaty definitely stating that the Presbyterian Church should continue +unalterable in her worship, doctrine, and government, “to the people of +this land in all succeeding generations.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., page 344. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages + 316‒344, 413. + +The parts of the Treaty relating to trade and commerce were generally +satisfactory to the Scots, and were adopted with slight modifications. +The nineteenth article of the Union sanctioned the retention of +the judicial organisation of Scotland. The weakest point of the +Treaty was the twentieth article, which affirmed “that all heritable +offices, superiorities, heritable jurisdictions, offices for life, and +jurisdictions for life, be reserved to the owners thereof, as rights +of property, in the same manner as they are now enjoyed by the laws of +Scotland, notwithstanding of this Treaty.” Probably the Scotch nobles +would not have submitted to the curtailment of these rights which +had descended to them from remote ages, for they were very proud, and +placed a high value on their privileges.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages + 345‒385. A good illustration of the peculiar pride of the + Scotch nobles may be seen in the records of parliament. + At the opening of almost every session a number of them + protested regarding the precedence of their names on the + rolls of parliament. + +The Jacobites resolved to make their last grand effort to defeat the +Union on the twenty-second article, which apportioned the share of +representation from Scotland in the Imperial Parliament. This article +was read on the 7th of January, 1707, and the debate continued through +four sittings. It was vehemently discussed point by point, and six +protests were entered against the first paragraph, which were followed +by more menacing counter-protests as each clause of the article +was carried. The fierce and noisy proceedings of the Jacobites were +unavailing, as the article was finally carried on the 10th of January. +The same day an address from the citizens of Perth against the Union +was presented and read in the House.¹ The remaining articles of the +Union were passed on the 14th of January; and on the 16th an act was +passed approving and ratifying the Treaty of Union by a majority of +forty-one.² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume XI., pages 386‒387; Lockhart’s _Memoirs_, + Volume I., pages 206‒220. It is now curious and amusing + to read the sentiments of the Jacobites on the Union which + was to bring certain ruin upon the nation. “It is not to + be expressed what a rage all those that had been upon the + concert, nay, I may say, the whole nation, were in, to see + the Duke of Hamilton thus three times, one after another, + break the designs and measures that were laid down for + opposing the designed slavery of the nation.... The courtiers + were resolved not to swallow a cow and stick at the tail; and + as they had begun, carried on, and finished their projects, + contrary to all the ties of justice and honour, and the + welfare of the country, so they continued the same well-pathed + road, and commenced the Union with as great an invasion upon + the rights of the subject, by depriving them of the powers of + naming their own representatives, as ever was done to a free + people.”――_Ibid._, pages 214‒221. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI., pages + 399‒406. + +The twenty-second article of the Union limited the representation of +Scotland to forty-five members in the House of Commons of the United +Kingdom, and to sixteen peers in the House of Lords. Parliament next +proceeded to frame regulations for returning their representatives to +the British Parliament, should the Union be carried in England. After +some debate, it was agreed that the representative Peers from Scotland +in the United Parliament should be chosen by election, in the form +still followed. At every general election, when the new Parliament is +returned, the body of the Scottish Peerage meet at Holyrood, and elect +sixteen of their own number to represent them in the House of Lords. +The forty-five Scotch members to be sent to the House of Commons were +divided between the counties and the burghs thus――fifteen were given to +the burghs and thirty to the counties; Edinburgh got one representative +to itself, and the other burghs were classed into fourteen groups. +The body of electors in Scotland after the Union was not numerous; +but the election of the representatives from Scotland to the first +United Parliament was not left with them. By an act of the Estates, the +members of the Union Parliament themselves elected the representatives +to the first Imperial Parliament, in the same way as committees were +usually chosen. Some other matters were arranged; and on the 25th +of March, the Royal Commissioner having addressed a few words to the +members, parliament was adjourned and met no more.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 415‒421, 491, 431, 485, 491. + +On the 28th of January, 1707, the Queen intimated to the English +Parliament that the Union had been ratified in Scotland, and she +directed it to be put before the House. The Treaty passed through both +Houses without encountering much opposition, and on the 6th of March +it received the royal assent, and henceforth became a part of the +Constitution of the United Kingdom. + +Viewing the Union as a mean to an end, and excepting the Battle of +Bannockburn, and the Reformation, there is scarcely an event in the +history of Scotland, which has had more effect on the welfare of +the people than it. From an industrial and commercial standpoint, it +exceeded in importance any other event in the preceding history of +the nation. In short, the Union rendered the future development of +civilisation in Scotland more easy, more rapid, and more complete, as +it immensely widened the field of trading and commercial enterprise to +the Scots, and directly tended to afford greater security to them at +home and abroad. The Scots had always a fund of energy and power of +endurance, but external obstacles and surrounding circumstances had +long retarded their progress; hence when the nation was placed under +more favourable external conditions by the Union, and the people once +fairly began to embrace these advantages, they advanced in wealth and +in civilisation with remarkable speed. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + _Causes of Disaffection: Risings of 1715 and 1745._ + + +NO reasonable historian of the present age would maintain that +the Union was not a wise and beneficial measure; yet such were the +circumstances of the Scots, that nearly half a century passed ere they +were able to take the full advantage of it. So vast a change could +not be effected without rousing passions and bitter feelings in the +hearts of many, which nothing but time could efface. To give a brief +exposition of the causes of this will be the aim of the present chapter. + +It was the earnest desire of the Scots to obtain equal commercial +rights which made the Union possible and endurable. Prior to the Union +the Scots were permitted to trade only where the English Government +thought fit; while after it there was no limitation――their ships might +trade with the remotest quarters of the world. Another very important +arrangement was the coinage. In 1708 the Scottish coins were finally +called in, and preparations were made for a coinage exactly on the +method of the English mint. Thus one of the good results of the Union +was soon obtained; as the convenience and advantage of only one coinage +and standard of money for the Island is obvious. + +Although the Scots relinquished their separate legislative power, they +gained a position and share in the government of a larger nation, and +in the honour and glory of the British Empire. As they retained their +own laws and legal organisations, and their religious and educational +institutions, the great change implied in the Union embraced many +elements of moral advantage. Scottish nationality and patriotism +have continued essentially unimpaired, but much of its prejudice and +narrowness, which the strife of preceding ages had generated, has been +slowly thrown off. It is always true that a people’s own country and +affairs are of prime importance to them; yet a people which limited +all their faculties and energies to the internal affairs of their own +country, would be emphatically characterised as a narrow-minded and +unsympathetic community. If all our political institutions and social +organisations were expressly framed and exclusively directed to this +one end, it would manifest a weak and contemptible ideal of humanity. +From these and many other considerations, it appears that the Union +afforded inestimable moral benefits. + +The Union conferred many advantages, but it also entailed disadvantages, +in political and legislative relations. It might be assumed that the +united deliberation and counsel of the British Parliament would be more +competent to frame wise and useful legislative measures than a Scottish +Parliament. This would depend on the accuracy of the information +which the British Parliament possessed concerning the opinions and +convictions of the Scottish people and of their institutions, as, from +a lack of this, it has occasionally inflicted pain and injustice on +the people. An instructive instance occurred after the rising of 1715, +touching the disposal of the forfeited estates. Parliament placed the +control of the matter in the hands of a Commission, which proceeded to +sell the estates. A number of creditors, however, who had claims on the +estates applied to the Court of Session, and sequestration was granted. +The Commissioners entirely failed to understand this proceeding, and +complained to the Government that they were prevented from discharging +their duty by a body calling itself the Court of Session; and therefore +they asked the Government to increase their powers. The British +Parliament passed an act which ignored the jurisdiction of the Court of +Session, in direct violation of the stipulations of the Union, and in +spite of the protest of the Scotch judges. + +In finance and fiscal arrangements the British Parliament has not +generally treated Scotland worse than England. Although, for a +generation or two after the Union much irritation was caused by +changes and rearrangements in this branch of government, of which a few +examples may be narrated. Ale was a staple necessary in the domestic +economy and trade of the nation. At the time of the Union there was no +malt tax in Scotland, but there was a duty on liquor. In 1713 a malt +tax of 6 pence per bushel was imposed upon Scotland, though the Scotch +members in both Houses of Parliament determinedly opposed it. At this +date there were upwards of five thousand maltsters in Scotland; and +in June the tax was ordered to be enforced. “But such was the general +and determined resolution of the inhabitants not to submit, that the +officers of excise for several years were everywhere refused access to +survey and charge the duty; and that when charged it was never paid, +nor could it be recovered by proceedings at law, as the justices of +peace in all the counties refused to act. The consequence was that, +during the twelve years after the 24th of June 1713, while the tax +continued at 6 pence per bushel, the duty actually levied amounted to +a mere trifle, and fell considerably short of the necessary expense +attending this branch of the revenue.” + +In 1724, the Government wished to raise £20,000 by a tax on Scotch +ale. Parliament passed an Act proposing to levy 6 pence per barrel +on ale instead of the malt tax, and to exclude the Scots from the +bounty on exported grain, which was to be continued in England. The +nation vehemently resented the proposal, and protested against it. The +Jacobites used every means to fan the wrath of the people against the +Government, and there were signs of an outburst of violence. It was +relinquished, and a malt tax of 3 pence per bushel imposed. As £20,000 +had to be drawn from the Scots, it was enacted that, if the tax of 3 +pence failed to produce the amount, it must be made up by a surcharge +on maltsters. + +The Act came into operation in June, 1725, and the citizens of Glasgow +manifested a sullen attitude when the excisemen were preparing to +enforce it. The following day they appeared in crowds on the streets; +and the magistrates having failed to disperse them, a party of soldiers +were called into the city. Shouts were raised against Campbell of +Shawfield, their member of parliament, who was suspected of having +assisted the Government. They said, as he had already betrayed them, +now he was to enslave them beneath a military yoke, and slay them if +they resisted. At night they attacked his house and laid it in ruins. +Next morning the mob appeared and jeered at the soldiers on guard; and +their Commander ordered them to turn out and form square, and, without +the authority of the Provost, commanded them to fire on the crowd. +Eight of the citizens were killed and many wounded. The crisis was +reached. The people ran to an old armoury, and having armed themselves, +at once presented so threatening a front that it was feared all the +soldiers would be massacred, but the officer marched them to Dumbarton. +A regiment of infantry, seven troops of dragoons, and a company of +Highlanders, from General Wade’s force, were sent into Glasgow, and +quietness was restored. Criminal proceedings were instituted, and the +magistrates of Glasgow were seized and imprisoned in Edinburgh. The +charges against them were abandoned; but a few of the rioters were +punished. The captain in command of the party who fired upon the crowd, +was tried and condemned, but received a royal pardon. The citizens of +Glasgow were deeply offended; while the Jacobites were jubilant. + +In Edinburgh the opposition to the malt tax assumed a determined form. +All the brewers resolved to cease brewing. The Lord Advocate lodged a +complaint against them in the Court of Session, and the Court ordered +them to proceed with their work as usual. They refused, and some of +them were imprisoned; but at last they yielded. These proceedings were +only the first of a series of excise difficulties which continued for +more than a hundred years. In some parts in the north and west the +practice of smuggling whisky was quite common till well into the first +quarter of the present century. The smuggling brew houses were often +beside a fresh spring or stream of water, in out of the way glens and +hill sides, where no one could find them without searching carefully; +but in general they were small and rudely constructed. The whisky +smuggler usually stored his malt in a square pit on a hill among long +heather and at some distance from his brewing house. + +From the date of the malt tax riots, till about the end of the +eighteenth century, smuggling in various kinds of goods was rather +common in Scotland, although the burgesses of the trading burghs +generally protested against it. “In place of pursuing fair trade, they +universally, with the exception of Glasgow, Aberdeen, and a few other +places, took to smuggling; their small stock they invested in goods +that bore high duties, and under the favour of running these secretly +on our wide and ill-guarded coasts, they flattered themselves that +they should soon grow rich, profiting at least off the high duty, which +by running they were to save.... The smuggler was the favourite. His +prohibited high duty goods were run ashore by the boats on whatever +part of the coast he came near; when ashore, they were guarded by the +countrymen from the custom-house officers; if seized, they were rescued, +and if any seizure was retained and tried, the juries seldom failed to +find for the defendant.”¹ + + ¹ Lockhart’s _Papers_, Volume II., pages 162‒168: _Some + Considerations on the Present State of Scotland_; Clelland’s + _Annals of Glasgow_. + +The chief aim of the Jacobite party was to encourage the discontent +of the people, and to frustrate the policy of the Whig government. +In Scotland they were still a strong party, numbering among their +adherents some of the nobles and many of the gentry, and the body +of the episcopal clergy, who in the northern parts of the country +commanded considerable influence. Their plots and schemes to restore +the exiled house of Stuart were incessant; while other occasions +of irritating the Scots naturally arose in connection with the new +revenue system. The English introduced their own modes of collecting +duties and customs, and what was far more offensive, the taxes were +greatly increased. The Jacobites loudly proclaimed that what they had +predicted――the ruin of the nation――was coming to pass. + +Shortly after the Union some disputes arose between the Established +Church and the episcopal clergy, which strengthened the Jacobite party. +In 1710, the Whig government fell, and was succeeded by the Tories, and +this change had some influence upon the affairs of the nation. Reports +had been spread that Englishmen living in Scotland could not have the +English service read to them, or their children baptised, without going +to a presbyterian minister and signing the Confession of Faith. In 1712, +the Imperial Parliament passed an act of toleration for the episcopal +denomination in Scotland, in the exercise of their worship; and also +repealed an act of the Scotch parliament against irregular marriages +and baptisms. The act was carried in both Houses of Parliament by a +large majority. But one clause of it required that the episcopal and +presbyterian clergy both, should take the oath of adjuration, and pray +for the Queen by name. By another clause of the act, the authority of +the Established Church was limited to her own members, the power of +summoning dissenters before her courts under penalties was taken from +her. + +The Government directly passed another bill which restored the right of +patronage. This point, as we have seen, had been repeatedly considered +by the Church since the Reformation; and from the date of the act of +Queen Anne’s government to a recent period, patronage has been a source +of the bitterest disputes and divisions in the Church of Scotland. +It was introduced and passed by the influence of the Jacobite party, +and it succeeded admirably in augmenting the disturbing elements +in Scotland. Burnet expressly states that clauses were put into +the toleration act with the intention of provoking the Scotch +presbyterians. “One clause put into it occasioned great complaints; +the magistrates, who by the laws were obliged to execute the sentences +of the judicatories of their Church, were by this act required to +execute none of them. It was reasonable to require them to execute no +sentences that might be passed on any for doing what was tolerated by +this act, but the carrying this to a general clause took away the civil +sanction, which in most places is looked on as the chief, if not the +only strength of Church power. Those who were to be thus tolerated were +required, by a day limited in the act, to take the oath of adjuration; +it was well known that few, if any of them, would take that oath; so, +to cover them from it, a clause was put in this act requiring all the +presbyterian ministers to take it, since it seemed reasonable that +those of the legal establishment should be required to take that which +was now to be imposed on those who were only to be tolerated. It was +well understood that there were words in the oath of adjuration to +which the presbyterians excepted.” Regarding the patronage act, he +says: “By these steps the presbyterians were alarmed, when they saw the +success of every motion that was made on design to weaken and undermine +their establishment.”¹ + + ¹ _Parliamentary History of England_, Volume VI., pages + 1126‒1129; Lockhart’s _Memoirs_, Volume I., pages 378‒387; + _History of His Own Time_, Volume VI., page 98. + +As many of the patrons were Episcopalians, it was feared that they +might use their right of presentation to advance the interest of +their own party; and the vaunting tone of the Jacobites gave colour to +this suspicion. The most obnoxious part of the Toleration Act was the +adjuration oath, imposed upon all the ministers; and those who took it +abjured the Pretender, but promised to support the succession to the +Crown as settled by specified acts of the English Parliament. According +to these acts, the occupant of the throne must belong to the communion +of the Church of England; and this was an obstacle to the presbyterians, +because if they took it, they implicitly sanctioned a form of church +polity which they repudiated. As the law required that the oath should +be taken, many of the ministers were greatly annoyed. At last it was +concluded to give an explanation of the sense in which they understood +it, and then take it under protest; but a number of them declined to +take it under any conditions, and in the end the government ceased to +enforce it. A few years later, the oath was altered and a new form +adopted, containing a plain declaration of allegiance to the Hanover +settlement, and a renunciation of the title of the banished dynasty, +thus freeing it from the objectionable features of the former oath.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly._ + +In the latter years of Queen Anne’s reign, the Jacobites had been +gaining ground in Scotland, but they had very little hold upon England; +hence they made the northern part of the United Kingdom the field of +their subsequent attempts to restore the exiled family. The Queen died +on the 1st of August, 1714; thereupon the Elector of Hanover ascended +the throne, under the title of George I. The accession of the new +king was received with general satisfaction among the Presbyterians of +Scotland, and he endeavoured to deserve their support. When the General +Assembly met in May, 1715, he thanked them for the expression of their +loyalty, and explicitly stated that he would maintain the Church of +Scotland in all her rights and privileges.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._ + +Though the Jacobites were not prepared for active operations themselves, +they had hopes of external aid. The Earl of Mar, as we have seen, +was on the Whig side at the Union proceedings, but he was a shifty +politician, and was Secretary of State for Scotland in the Tory +Government of Bolingbroke. While in this office, he was entrusted with +the distribution of sums of money among the Highland clans, voted by +the government, for keeping them quiet; this gave him some influence +over the chiefs, and partly explains their readiness to enter into his +scheme of restoring the Pretender. If Mar himself had obtained full +recognition from George I., and a post in his government, which he +anxiously desired, he would not have headed a rising of the Jacobites; +but on finding himself neglected, he then determined to be revenged. +Mar left the Court of George I. in the beginning of August 1715, landed +in Fifeshire, and proceeded to Braemar, whence he issued invitations +to the chiefs to join him in a hunting party in his forest of Mar. He +reached Invercauld Castle on the 22nd of August; and on the 26th he +met his followers and friends in Braemar. He was joined by the Marquis +of Huntly, the Marquis of Tullibardine, and the Earls of Seaforth, +Southesk, Nithsdale, Stormont, Earl Marischal, and other nobles, and a +number of the Highland chiefs. As the rising spread some of the nobles +in the North of England joined it, Mar himself assuming the chief +command. + +Mar unfurled the standard of revolt on the 6th of September, at +Castletown of Braemar, and marched by Dunkeld. He entered Perth on the +28th with an army of five thousand men, which was soon increased. In +November there were fourteen thousand men in arms for the Stuart cause. +But Mar had little military skill, and remained too long inactive in +Perth. The body of the insurgents who were operating in England under +the command of Forster, encountered the royal troops at Preston, on +the 12th of November, and were completely defeated, and many of the +Scots and their leaders were taken prisoners. The following day, the +insurgents under Mar, and the royal army under the Duke of Argyle, +fought the battle of Sheriffmuir near Dunblane, which was indecisive; +as the loss was nearly equal on each side, both claimed the victory. +The result, however, was that Mar drew back his army to Perth, where +his force soon melted away to a few thousands. James VIII., the +Pretender, landed at Peterhead on the 22nd of December, and was +proclaimed King at Aberdeen, Montrose, Dundee, and other places. He +suffered from attacks of ague in his progress southward, and reached +Perth on the 6th of January, 1716. His presence inspired no new hope; +as this representative of the Stuart line had not the mien of a man +likely to lead an army to victory and glory. Preparations were made, +however, for his coronation at the historic burgh of Scone, on the +23rd of January; but when that day came, the royal army under Argyle +had begun their march on Perth, and James was thinking seriously of +flight.¹ + + ¹ _Historical Memoirs of the House and Clan of Mackintosh_, by + Alexander Mackintosh Shaw, pages 413‒414; _Mar Papers_. + +The hapless prince and his army commenced their retreat on the 30th +of January, 1716, and marched by Dundee to Montrose, where on the 4th +of February, James and the Earl of Mar went aboard a French vessel, +and sailed for France. The insurgent army was rapidly diminishing as +it proceeded northward, and on reaching Aberdeen, it was disbanded +on the 7th of February. Thus ended a project begun without requisite +preparation, conducted without energy or skill, and leading to nothing +but suffering and ruin to a portion of the people. + +Lenient counsel towards the insurgents prevailed in Scotland, and few +of them were judicially punished. But the English took the punishment +of the prisoners and those implicated in the rising into their own +hands. A large number of all ranks of men were executed, while hundreds +were sent to the plantations to drag out a wretched life in slavery. +Several of the higher prisoners escaped from prison, and fled for +their lives, amongst whom were Forster, Lord Nithsdale, and Mackintosh +of Borlum. The estates of upwards of forty families in Scotland were +forfeited, and justice and revenge were at last appeased.¹ + + ¹ _Culloden Papers_, Number 69; _Lancaster Memorials_; _A + Faithful Register of the Late Rebellion_; Rae’s _History of + the Rebellion_; _Historical Memoirs of the House and Clan of + Mackintosh_, by Alexander Mackintosh Shaw, page 433, 1880. + +Naturally, the episcopal clergy in Scotland had always leaned to the +side of the exiled house, and when the temporary restoration came, they +could not resist the temptation, and openly sided with the Pretender, +and prayed for his success. The government therefore proceeded to +prosecute them; and those who occupied chapels were summoned in groups +before the magistrates, and tried under the Toleration Act: their +chapels were shut, and some of them imprisoned, until they complied +with the provisions of the act. Any of the old episcopal ministers who +still occupied parish churches, were summoned before their presbyteries, +and, if found guilty were deposed. In the diocese of Aberdeen alone, +upwards of thirty of these ministers were deprived. Indeed, they were +prosecuted with great and unnecessary severity.¹ + + ¹ Dr. Grub’s _Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_, Volume III., + pages 373‒377. + +But the Jacobites were not daunted by the failure of the rising. On +the contrary, they continued to plot and scheme for the restoration +of those whom they regarded as the right and lawful line of kings. +Although after the accession of George I., the Jacobites had little +voice in the British Parliament, yet beyond the walls of St. Stephens +they commanded a local influence in several quarters of the country. + +Soon after the suppression of the insurrection, the government adopted +measures to secure the peace of the Island. An act was passed for +disarming the Highlanders, embracing the counties to the north of +the Forth, and the Highland districts of the West. But the act did +not attain its object; as it merely imposed penalties, rising to +transportation, against those found guilty of appearing in arms; +and as no means were provided for enforcing disarmament, the act was +inoperative. In 1725, another disarming act was passed, which ordered +each clan to be summoned to appear at a fixed place and deliver up +their arms. The execution of the act was entrusted to General Wade, who +imagined that he had performed the task effectively; and informed the +King that the Highlander had now become a simple peasant with his staff +in his hand. He also stated that if the system of roads and fortresses +proposed by him were made, any future rising of the Highlanders would +be impossible; but subsequent events proved that the General’s sanguine +anticipations were false.¹ + + ¹ Burt’s _Letters_; _Miscellany of the Spalding Club_, Volume + III. + +He erected two forts, one at Inverness, and the other at the western +end of loch Ness, called Fort-Augustus; while among the remote glens +square towers were built, in which small garrisons were placed. But +the great work of General Wade was the system of military roads which +he made in the Highlands; ten years being occupied in constructing +these. The main line of the system proceeded from Perth north-westward +by Dunkeld and Blair-Athol, thence through Drumnouchter and other +mountainous moorlands, onward to Inverness; while a subsidiary road +started from Stirling through Crieff, thence through Glen Almond, past +Loch Tay, and joined the main road at Dalnacardoch. Another great road +passed from shore to shore, through the valleys in which the Caledonian +Canal was afterwards formed, and connected Inverness with Fort-Augustus +and Fort-William. A branch road connected Fort-Augustus with the main +Highland road. Afterwards the system was extended, by branches passing +by Loch Lomond and Callander to the main Highland road; and other +branches were made in the district to the north-west of Inverness, and +the chain of lakes between the east and west coasts. These roads were +constructed ‘for military purposes’. + +The clan form of polity, with some of the feudal elements superposed +upon it, was continued in the Highlands till after the rising of 1745; +but it has to be remembered that the Lowland nobles also formally +retained their hereditary jurisdiction over their vassals up to the +same date. A lord of regality in any quarter of Scotland possessed a +despotic power. The regality was a little kingdom in itself, within +the larger one which the King was supposed to rule; and it is mainly +in these hereditary customs and habits, in some parts of the Lowlands +as in the Highlands, that the causes of the rising of 1745 should be +sought. In the seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth, +the Scots were extremely poor, and it was only after the abolition of +hereditary jurisdictions, and other feudal usages of a lawless age, +that the people had a fair chance of obtaining wealth from their +industry. While these local powers, spread throughout the country, +could disturb the peace of the kingdom, and render the executive +authority of the government uncertain and fluctuating, the progress of +industry, the accumulation of wealth, and the advance of civilisation, +were very slow; but in a comparatively short time the Union enabled the +Scots to surmount the greater part of these obstacles. + +Yet these great changes could not be effected in a day or a year. Hence +among the social causes of the rising may be enumerated the prejudices +still existing against the Union; the poverty of the nobles and the +people; the power of the Highland chiefs and of the nobles over many of +the people; and a general disaffection towards England――the residue of +a mass of animosities and antipathies――the natural growth of centuries +of war and strife between the two nations. A kind of half-romantic and +indescribable leaning towards the ancient line of kings undoubtedly +existed, and still exists in the nation. There were other special +causes, but those mentioned were the chief, which made rebellion +possible; while, on the other side, the unprepared condition and +culpable neglect of government, allowed the Prince and his followers +for a time to appear in a career of success. + +When Prince Charles landed in the western islands in the middle of +July, 1745, his prospects of success were indeed dreary, as it was +some time before he could find a single man to give him the least hope +that a rising was possible. The Highland chiefs whom he first met and +consulted all spoke against the enterprise. But the young Prince was +naturally full of hope and faith in his destiny, and determined to +recover the throne of his ancestors. After repeated efforts he induced +a number of the chiefs to promise him support, and Lochiel, the chief +of the Camerons, the Macdonalds of Boisdale, Glengarry, Keppoch, and +many others joined him. On the 19th of August he unfurled his standard +in Glenfinnan, with upwards of a thousand men around him. Next morning +they commenced their march, and were soon joined by other chiefs and +their followers. As the only regular army in the kingdom, under General +Cope, was moved from Edinburgh to Inverness, Prince Charles resolved +to advance on the capital. He entered Perth on the 4th of September, +and there his army was largely reinforced. Parties were sent into the +neighbouring counties of Forfar and Fife to proclaim the Pretender, +levy money, and enlist men. At Perth Lord George Murray joined the +Prince, and was appointed a lieutenant-general of the army. On the +11th Charles recommenced his march southward, crossed the Forth, and +continuing his advance, on the 17th he took possession of Edinburgh, +and proclaimed King James. + +By this time Cope had returned from Inverness, and was landing his +troops at Dunbar. But the insurgents anticipated his action and +advanced to meet him. The Highland army, numbering about two thousand +men, marched from Edinburgh; and on the 21st of September attacked the +royal army at Preston, completely defeated it, and Cope fled in haste +to Berwick. Many prisoners and much booty fell into the hands of the +victors. Charles with his army re-entered Edinburgh in triumph; and he +assumed all the functions of sovereignty. He held his Court at Holyrood +Palace and acted as King of Scotland. His Council consisted of Lord +George Murray, lieutenant-general; James Drummond (called Duke of +Perth), lieutenant-general; Sullivan, quartermaster-general; Mungo +Murray, secretary; Lord Pitsligo; Lord Elcho; and all the Highland +chiefs. But Charles’s difficulties were only beginning. He had failed +to take the Castle of Edinburgh, and comparatively few of the Lowland +people supported his cause. + +Full of confidence in his destiny, Charles assembled his troops at +Dalkeith on 2nd of November, and, with an army of about six thousand +men, commenced to march on London. They entered England on the 8th, +and took possession of Carlisle on the 15th, and levied a large +contribution from the citizens. Leaving a garrison in the castle, they +resumed the march on the 22nd, but few recruits joined the Prince in +his progress southwards. They reached Manchester on the 27th, where +about two hundred recruits joined his standard. Thence the army pushed +forward to Derby, within one hundred and twenty miles of London; but +at this point, the leaders of the army received intelligence which +convinced them of the hopelessness of attempting to continue the march +on London, as there was no indication of a great movement on Charles’s +side in England. The position of the insurgents was extremely critical; +as there were three armies in the field against them, two between +them and Scotland, and one posted for the defence of London. Immediate +retreat seemed to be their only chance of saving themselves from +destruction. But Prince Charles was exceedingly unwilling to turn back, +and bitterly protested against such a proposal; he had great confidence +in the divine right and the justice of his cause, and persisted in +advancing to the culmination of his destiny. The retreat was ordered, +however, and on 6th of December the army turned towards Scotland,――Lord +George Murray undertaking the charge of the rear. The rank and file +of the army rent the air with cries of indignation; they could have +endured to be defeated by superior numbers, but to retreat without +striking a blow, was an insufferable disgrace.¹ + + ¹ Lockhart’s _Papers_, Volume II., page 468; _et seq._; Homes’ + _History of the Rebellion of 1745_, Chapter VII., 1802. + +When the insurgents returned to Scotland, they found that Edinburgh was +in the possession of the government, and defended by a strong force, +and that in other parts of the country bodies of troops were organised +and prepared to act against them. But they retreated successfully, +passing through Dumfries, and entered Glasgow on the 24th of December, +wearied and tattered with their long march. They exacted a large +contribution of clothing and shoes from the city, and, after staying +a week, proceeded to Stirling. On the 17th of January, 1746, they +attacked and defeated a royal force commanded by General Hawley, at +Falkirk. The Duke of Cumberland was commissioned to extinguish the +rising; the work was congenial to him, and he executed it thoroughly. +He arrived at Edinburgh in the end of January, with an army of ten +thousand men, and a train of artillery, and proceeded northward. + +While Charles’s army was attempting to reduce Stirling, they received +tidings of Cumberland’s advance. The insurgents then commenced +a retreat, and reached Crieff on the 2nd of February. There they +separated into two divisions――one, under the Prince himself, moved +by Blair-Athol, and the other, under Lord George Murray, proceeded +by Montrose and Aberdeen. It was arranged that they should meet at +Inverness. Cumberland proceeded to Aberdeen, and rested his army till +the spring. On the 8th of April, he began his march northwards along +the coast, in connection with a victualling fleet which sailed parallel +with his army; and on the 14th he reached Nairn. + +By this time Prince Charles’ army was suffering severely from constant +exposure and want of food. The men were much exhausted, and at the +utmost did not number more than five thousand, and one hundred and +fifty horse. They formed on a moor beyond the enclosures of Culloden +House; but the most experienced chiefs earnestly entreated Charles to +avoid a battle or remove to a better position, yet he was deaf to all +reason and insisted on an immediate action. + +The Duke continued his march, and came in sight of the insurgents. +On the 16th of April, 1746, he began the battle by a cannonade which +committed much havoc in the insurgents’ ranks. The Highlanders became +impatient and advanced to the attack; and after an heroic charge and +a severe but brief combat, the clansmen were defeated by the weight +of superior numbers, and many of them were mercilessly massacred in +the pursuit. The victors then began an indiscriminate slaughter of +all those supposed to be disaffected to the Government, or in any way +connected with the rising. The Duke of Cumberland and General Hawley +have entailed on themselves eternal infamy by the extreme cruelties +which they inflicted upon the defenceless and innocent inhabitants of +the Highlands. + +There was great rejoicing in London over the victory at Culloden; but +many people who were not Jacobites, were much shocked by the details of +the cruelties and sufferings inflicted on the Celtic population. After +the battle the feeling of the Highlanders was expressed in ballads such +as these:―― + + “Fair lady, mourn the memory + O’ all our Scottish fame; + Fair lady, mourn the memory + Ev’n of the Scottish name; + How proud were we of our young prince, + And of his native sway; + But all our hopes are past and gone, + Upon Culloden day. + There was no lack of bravery there, + No spare of blood or breath, + For, one to two, our foes we dar’d, + For freedom or for death. + + “The bitterness of death is past, + Of terror and dismay; + The die was risked, and foully cast, + Upon Culloden day. + + * * * * * + + What is there now in thee, Scotland, + To us can pleasure give? + What is there now in thee, Scotland, + For which we ought to live? + Since we have stood, and stood in vain, + For all that we hold dear; + Still have we left a sacrifice, + To offer on our bier. + But there is naught for us or ours, + In which to hope or trust, + But hide us in our father’s graves, + Amid our father’s dust.”¹ + + ¹ Mackay’s _Jacobite Songs_, pages 209‒211. This song is + translated from the Gaelic one, entitled “Culloden Day,” and + sung to a tune of the same name. + +A few lines of another ballad may be quoted:―― + + “Ochon! ochon! the fatal day, + The day of dark despair. + + * * * * * + + The flower o’ a’ the Highland clans―― + Their like we’ll never see―― + Lay strecket in their bloody plaids, + Cauld on Culloden lee.” + +This was the last of the risings of the Celts against the Government. +Henceforth they had to seek other fields for the exercise of their +energy and powers. A considerable number of the Highlanders found +an honourable career in the British army, in which they have never +disgraced their standard in the hour of danger. They have contributed +much to the power and glory of the United Kingdom; for upwards of +a hundred years the Highland regiments have been characterised by +obedience and fidelity to their commanders, loyalty to the throne, and +faithful service to the Empire. Let us simply mention their service on +the battlefields of the Vimiera, Corunna, Badajos, Salamanca, Vittoria, +Toulouse, and Waterloo; their memorable action and heroic endurance +under the scorching sun on the blinding sands of Africa; their services +in the East and West, at Alma, Balaklava, Sebastopol, and Lucknow. For +courage and bravery in the hour of peril and battle they have never +been surpassed. + +The subsequent social changes in the Highlands will be treated in the +next volume; but it may be observed that, despite the injustice, the +oppression and suffering inflicted upon the Celtic people during a +period of six centuries, they have shown a readiness to appreciate the +benefits and blessings of civilisation. They have contributed important +elements to art and literature. In every quarter of the world they have +distinguished themselves in the fields of enterprise and industry. + +Politically, it was best that the Island should be under one supreme +Government; as this enhanced the strength, the confidence, and the +security of the people. After many ages of internal war, this blessing +of political union and peace was at last obtained. Thus a position and +a career was opened to the people of the United Kingdom, such as few +nations have ever enjoyed. It is much to be desired that the people of +Ireland would recognise the great utility of the Imperial Parliament +of Britain. If I might venture a word for the whole Celtic inhabitants +of Britain and Ireland, I would earnestly urge the necessity of +recognising the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament; for on this the +welfare and progress of the people ♦depends. When the Irish have become +as reconciled to the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament as the Welsh +and the Scots have long been, we may look forward with reasonable hope +to a time of greater prosperity, of happiness and higher civilisation +for the Irish people. Let us all endeavour in a spirit of honesty and +justice to contribute to this result. + + ♦ “dedepends” replaced with “depends” + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + SOCIAL STATE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. + + +AFTER the accession of the King of Scotland to the throne of England, +it might have been reasonably thought that the administration of +justice would have been improved; but such anticipations were not +realised, except on the Borders, where in a short time there was a +marked improvement. The King unfortunately employed his increased power +to enforce unpopular ceremonies and forms of polity upon the people, +and thus retarded their social progress. Moreover, in the reign of +Charles I., civil war arose with its inseparable confusion; and from +the Restoration to the Revolution, the corruption of the Government was +notorious. Some improvement was effected before the Union, but ample +room for administrative reform still remained. + +From the outbreak of the Civil War the administration of justice was +mainly in the hands of the Covenanting party, till the kingdom was +subjected by Cromwell. The Protector’s mode of ruling Scotland, and his +efforts to administer justice, have already been described.¹ For nearly +two years after the death of Cromwell, the higher courts of justice in +Scotland were in a state of confusion and abeyance. + + ¹ See under, page 112, _et seq._ + +After the Restoration the old forms were revived; the Court of +Session was restored, and Lord Stair appointed one of the judges and +vice-president of the Session. In 1671 he was installed president +of the Court of Session. Stair was a man of great abilities; but he +yielded in some degree to the influences of the times, and for ten +years gave a general support to the government of Charles II. It was +reported that in his judicial career he perverted justice; but there +is no reliable evidence of this, and it has never been shown that he +was guilty of malversation. According to the anomalous rules prevailing +in Scotland, a judge of the Supreme Court was permitted to act as +a member of parliament, and in the session of 1681 Stair sat as the +representative of Wigton; while he was on the Committee of Articles, +and also a member of the Privy Council. He came into collision with +the Duke of York and his supporters in the debates on the terms of +the oath, which was proposed to be imposed upon all persons in office. +Stair declined to sign the oath, and shortly after he was divested +of his functions. Then the Government commenced an inquisitorial +investigation with the aim of punishing the ex-president of the Session. +In his own words, “I was cited before the criminal judges, before +the Council, and before the Parliament; and hundreds of examinations +and re-examinations were taken against me, even of my most intimate +servants, and my sister-in-law, not in the regular way of probation, +but by way of inquisition, to found a process upon any special matter, +which was never done, because nothing was found against me.” He retired +to Holland in October, 1682, and did not return to Scotland till the +Revolution.¹ + + ¹ Sir George Mackenzie’s _Memoirs_; Graham’s _Annals of the + Viscount, and First and Second Earls of Stair_, Volume I., + pages 17, 50; see also Sheriff Mackay’s _Memoir of Lord + Stair_, pages 133‒138, 141‒150, 178‒186; 1873. During the + ten years following his appointment to the presidentship, + he composed the first draft of the Institutions of the Law + of Scotland. This great work, upon which Stair’s fame as + a lawyer mainly rests, was originally intended for his + own particular use――“that he might be the more clear and + determined in his judgments in the matter of justice.” In + the dedication of the first edition of 1681 to the King, + he says that “his modesty did not permit him to publish + it previously, lest it should be judicially cited where he + sat.” + + Burnet says: “Dalrymple was president of the Session, a man + of great temper, and of very mild deportment, but a false and + cunning man, and a great perverter of justice: in which he + had a particular dexterity of giving some plausible colours + to the greatest injustice.”――_History of His Own Time_, + Volume II., page 45. + +In 1674, the question whether there should be appeals to parliament +from the decisions of the Court of Session, or not, was disputed. The +Government insisted that no appeals to parliament should be allowed; +the Scotch bar was divided in opinion on the point, but Lockhart and +Cunningham, and about fifty members of the faculty, maintained that +there was a right of appeal to parliament. As the Government held +a different view, they were suspended from the exercise of their +profession, and banished from Edinburgh. The dispute was prolonged +for two years, and ended in a kind of compromise. + +Lord Stair’s son, Sir John Dalrymple, afterwards first Earl of Stair, +was a man of great talents, but impulsive and unscrupulous. About +the end of the reign of Charles II., he fell into disfavour with the +Government, and was for a time imprisoned. But after the accession +of the Duke of York, Dalrymple left Edinburgh for London in December, +1686; and in February, 1687, he returned Lord Advocate.¹ He succeeded +Sir George Mackenzie in this office, who it seems had been shocked at +the King’s dispensing prerogative, but Dalrymple was not hampered by +scruples of conscience, and at once complied with the King’s projects. + + ¹ “February 14th, 1687. Sir John Dalrymple, now King’s advocate, + arrives; lately twice in prison as a malefactor, and in very + bad circumstances with the Government, he comes down from + London to Edinburgh. His coach broke with him at Tranent. He + has got a precept from the King for £1200 sterling, whereof + £500 was his fine which Queensberry and Claverhouse exacted + from him three years ago; the other £700 for his charges in + this last journey to and from London, and for loss of his + employment during that time. He has brought with him an ample + and comprehensive remission of all crimes to his father, + Lord Stair, particularly for their reset and converse with + traitors, and to his little son, who accidentally shot his + brother.”――Fountainhall’s _Historical Notices_. + +It has been freely admitted that the fountain of justice was utterly +polluted during the reigns of Charles II. and James VII. “The Scottish +bench had been profligate and subservient to the utmost conceivable +extent of profligacy and subservency.” Besides the oppression of +the people, which the courts too often sanctioned, even men in high +political posts employed their functions to plunder their political +opponents, with as little scruple as the victors on a battle-field. +A statesman, who had a personal case before the court, sometimes took +his seat on the bench, where he had an _ex officio_ right to be, and +looking with a significant glance, defied the lawyers, on their peril, +to give a decision adverse to him. Some of the remedies attempted by +Parliament reveal the abuses which prevailed. These were framed to +prevent judges from going out of their course to benefit themselves +or their friends: one rule, for example, enjoined that when the court +came to a judgment, it should be written out in their presence, and +immediately signed, because it seems no officer of the law, however +high, could be entrusted to state the decision honestly. In 1693, +it was enacted that criminal trials should be held with open doors +in presence of the panel or accused, the jury, and all others. The +Revolution Parliament claimed the right of choosing the new bench of +judges, and passed an act on the point, but it did not receive the +royal assent. Parliament then “shut the Signet,” until steps were taken +for filling up the bench.¹ + + ¹ Dr. Burton’s _History of Scotland_, Volume I., pages 72‒74, + 1853; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., + pages 104, 282‒283, 305; Appendix, pages 135‒136. + +But King William re-opened the Signet and appointed a new bench of +judges in November, 1689, on the strength of his royal prerogative. The +commission named the fifteen lords of Session, and the list commenced +with Lord Stair, who was re-appointed president of the Court. Three of +the new judges had been on the bench before, and the Court immediately +met and went through the legal forms of admitting the new judges. The +president told them, “that, although he was restored by way of justice +according to the King’s declaration, yet he was willing to submit +himself to the lords, and if they were not satisfied that he should +resume that heavy charge, he would not in so disquiet a time, and in +such a charge, subject himself to so much trouble and toil;” and he +then retired to another room. Whereupon their Lordships unanimously +concurred in the King’s nomination of Sir James Dalrymple of Stair +to be president, as a man most worthy to discharge that trust.¹ The +fifteen judges being duly installed, justice was restored to its +customary channel; and this constitution of the supreme court continued +with little variation, till the beginning of the present century. + + ¹ “This rule of submitting the election of the president to + the other judges, the real appointment being with the Crown, + could not well have had any other result in the present + instance, considering that the whole bench of judges was + assorted and the nominations advised by Stair himself. As + to this, Forbes of Culloden, father of the president Duncan + Forbes, remarks: But one thing at that time became apparent, + that however my Lord Stair might profess, he desired petty + men to sit with him upon the bench; he shunned any who he + thought would debate with him, and took in, so far as he + could, none but such as he knew would comply with him.” + _Culloden Papers_, page 326; Graham’s _Annals of Viscount + Stair, and the First and Second Earls of Stair_, Volume I., + page 89. + +There was still much crime in the nation; murder and manslaughter were +common, and, as already stated, feuds among the nobles and the Highland +chiefs were endless. Captain James Stewart, a member of the Ochiltree +family, was slain by Sir James Douglas of Parkhead in 1595. At that +period a noble was not usually punished as a malefactor; his crime +was either expiated by a fine or by the interposition of the King +reconciling the friends of the injured party to the offender and his +friends. Thus the feud between the Ochiltree Stewarts and Sir James +Douglas and his friends was continued. From time to time they had come +under heavy securities to keep the peace towards each other; and so +Lord Ochiltree and Sir James Douglas, now Lord Torthorwald, became +bound for a sum of £5,000 each to keep the peace, and brothers and +nephews of Stewart for smaller sums――an arrangement that was renewed +on the 30th of May, 1608, to endure for a year. All seemed quiet +in Edinburgh, but on the morning of 14th July, Lord Torthorwald was +walking unattended in the High Street, when William Stewart, the nephew +of the man who was slain twelve years before, approached and instantly +stabbed him in the back, and he immediately expired. The murderer +escaped, and no more was heard of him. The same day, the Privy Council +held two meetings to consider what should be done. They ordered that +the Earl of Morton, James, Commendator of Melrose, Sir George and Sir +James Douglas, uncles of Lord Torthorwald, William Douglas, Archibald +Douglas, and Sir James Douglas of Muirston, all friends of the murdered +man, should be confined to their lodgings; and Lord Ochiltree, whom the +Douglases might be eager to attack, was also commanded to remain within +doors. This deed recalls a series of murders, which stretched back +to the slaughter of Stewart in 1595, and to Stewart’s persecution of +the Earl of Morton to the scaffold in 1581; also, this William Stewart +was the son of the Sir William Stewart who was slain by the Earl of +Bothwell in 1588.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III.; _Register of the + Privy Council_, Volume VIII., pages 101, 144, 158, 185, 215, + 239, 246, 251, 344, 348, 646, 667, _et seq._; Volume IX., + pages 5, 10, _et seq._; Volume X., pages 1, 45. + +In the early part of the seventeenth century, the records of the +Privy Council are full of cases of assaults, committed by men of rank +and by others, upon persons whom they hated. It would be tedious to +enumerate even those which occurred in a single year. There were Acts +of Parliament forbidding men to carry arms, but in almost every case +we find the parties implicated in these acts of violence, described as +wearing steel bonnets, gauntlets, plate sleeves, and with swords and +pistols. + +Gavin Thomson, a burgess of Peebles, was greatly hated by Charles +Pringle, another burgess. One day in September, 1608, as Gavin was +walking in the High Street, Pringle, with nine others, all armed, +attacked and wounded him on the left hand, then thrust him into a house +and locked him up, intending to have him slain there; but the minister +of the burgh, assisted by other peaceable persons, came and rescued him. +For months after this Pringle and his associates lay in wait several +times to kill him, and prevented him from going to church or market, +or attending to his farm. On the 2nd of December, while he was walking +in the street, they again attacked him with weapons, wounded, and +threatened to slay him outright, had not timeous relief been at hand. +The assailants had wounded several persons of rank in the scuffle, and +the Privy Council denounced them as rebels.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Peebles_; _Register of the Privy Council_, + Volume VIII., pages 208, 682. + +A strife broke out between the Earl of Caithness on the one side, +and Sir Robert Gordon of Kinmoninie and Donald Mackay, on the other. +This affair is highly illustrative of a condition of society which was +gradually changing and improving. In 1599, Arthur Smith, a native of +Banff, had got into trouble for coining, but he contrived to escape +the punishment of the law by making a lock of a peculiar device, which +gained him the favour of the King. Afterwards, having entered the +service of the Earl of Caithness, he commenced and continued coining +for seven years in a recess under the Earl’s castle. Naturally the +counties of Caithness, Sutherland, and Orkney, were soon found to be +flooded with counterfeit coins, both of silver and gold. Sir Robert +Gordon reported the case, and the Privy Council commissioned him to +apprehend Smith and bring him to Edinburgh. While this case was pending, +William M‘Angus, a noted freebooter, was captured and imprisoned in +the Earl’s castle, but he escaped and fled into Strathnaver. There +the Sinclairs made an attempt to seize him, but he eluded them; they, +however, took a man, Angus Herriach, who they thought had assisted +M‘Angus to escape. This man was also lodged in the Earl’s castle +without a warrant; and Mackay then appeared and claimed Angus as his +man, and Caithness had to give him up. + +Smith, the coiner, was living in Thurso under the protection of the +Earl of Caithness, when a party of the Gordons and Mackays arrived to +execute the warrant for apprehending him. They had already seized him +and a quantity of his counterfeit coins, and were making off, when +a party of the Sinclairs came to the rescue, and a fierce conflict +ensued on the streets. John Sinclair, the Earl’s nephew, was slain, +his brother wounded, and the Earl’s retainers were driven back. During +the fight Smith was coolly put to death, lest he should escape, and the +invading party then retired. The Earl of Caithness was greatly enraged, +and considered the affair a disgraceful encroachment upon him in the +heart of his own county. The strife was next transferred to Edinburgh, +where the parties raised counter-actions against each other before the +Council. Both parties appeared in the capital on the appointed day, +accompanied by their friends. With the Earl of Caithness there was +his son, Lord Gray, the Lairds of Roslin and Cowdenknowes, the Earl’s +two brothers――Lairds of Murkle and Glenland; these were the chief men +on Caithness’ side. With Sir Robert Gordon and Donald Mackay there +were the Earls of Winton, Eglinton, and their followers, the Earl of +Linlithgow with the Livingstons, Lord Elphinstone with his friends, +Lord Forbes with his friends, Lord Balfour, Mackay the Laird of Larg, +in Galloway, the Laird of Foulis, the Laird of Duffus, and their +followers, and others of the name of Gordon. The Earl of Caithness was +much grieved, when he saw that his opponents so far outnumbered him. +All these parties had come to Edinburgh to see that justice should +be done, and to outbrave each other in forcing the Court to give a +favourable decision on their own side. While the Privy Council was +trying to exact security from the opposing parties for their peaceable +behaviour, both parties despatched private messengers to the King to +give him a favourable impression of their cases. The King repeatedly +sent instructions to proceed against them with all the rigour of +law and justice, but this was a difficult matter. While the affair +was pending, the Marquis of Huntly’s son, Lord Gordon, arrived at +Edinburgh from court, and the Earl of Caithness imagined that he had +an unfavourable view of his case, “So, late in the evening, the Lord +Gordon, coming from his own lodgings accompanied with Sir Alexander +Gordon and others of the Sutherland men, met the Earl of Caithness +and his company on the High Street; and, at the first sight, they fell +to jostling and to talking, then to drawing of swords, and friends +speedily assembled on both sides. Sir Robert and Mackay, with the best +of the company, came presently to them; but the Earl of Caithness, +after some blows given and received, perceiving that he could not +make good his part, left the street and retired to his lodging; and if +the darkness of the night had not favoured him, he had not escaped so. +The Lord Gordon taking this broil very highly, was not satisfied that +the Earl of Caithness had given place, and departed, but moreover, he +with all his company crossed thrice to the Earl of Caithness’ lodgings, +thereby to provoke him to come forth; but perceiving no appearance +thereof, he retired himself to his own lodging. The next day the Earl +of Caithness and Lord Gordon were reconciled by the Privy Council.” But +several years passed ere these troubles were terminated.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III., pages 32, 231‒232; + _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume IX., pages 352, 413, + 731; Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, Volume I., + pages 436, 439. + +The Earl of Caithness was one of the most unruly men of his time, and +in his own district wielded an almost despotic sway. He is represented +as a base and selfish man, about half of his life being passed in +outlawry. Sometimes he was at war with the Sutherland family, sometimes +with the Mackays of Strathnaver; one year he was proclaimed a rebel, at +another time he was honoured with a royal commission against some other +rebels. He was deeply in debt, but this did not disturb him much; and +his son, having become responsible for him, was imprisoned in Edinburgh +for five years by his father’s creditors, while Caithness himself +enjoyed a life of freedom in the far north. He was denounced a rebel +in 1621; and Lord Berridale, his son, asked and obtained a commission +to pursue his father, and was released from prison for the purpose of +assisting in bringing him within the grasp of the law. In September, +1623, Berridale and Sir Robert Gordon entered Caithness at the head of +a strong force, but they had not advanced far when the Earl, perceiving +that he was unable to face them, fled, and sought refuge in Orkney, +thence intending to go to Norway. Many of the inhabitants received +Gordon with civility; and the Commissioners having taken possession +of the castles in the Earl’s territory, and made arrangements for +the peaceable government of the county, Sir Robert Gordon returned +in triumph to Dunrobin Castle, and disbanded his men. This Earl of +Caithness died in his own county in comparative obscurity in 1643, at +the advanced age of seventy-eight.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; Pitcairn’s _Criminal + Trials_, Volume III., page 310; Gordon’s _History of the + Earldom of Sutherland_. + +In 1614, he was entrusted with a royal commission to reduce the Earl +of Orkney; and a brief notice of this Earl’s career may serve to +illustrate the state of society in that remote part of the kingdom. +Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, was related to the royal family, +as his father was a natural son of James V.; and it seems that he +attempted to make himself king over the Orkney Islands. It is stated +in contemporary records that he collected a large yearly revenue, and +that he rigorously exacted very high rents and dues from his vassals +and tenants; further, that “his pomp was so great in Kirkwall, as he +never went from his castle to the church, nor abroad otherwise, without +a company of fifty musketeers and other gentlemen of guard; and such +like, before dinner and supper, there were trumpeters that sounded till +the meat of the first service was set at table, and also at the second +service, and consequently after the grace. He also had his ships sent +to the sea to intercept pirates, and to collect tribute of foreign +fishers, that came yearly to these seas. Whereby he made such a +collection of great guns and other weapons of war as no house, palace, +or castle in all Scotland was furnished with the like.” + +On 27th December, 1608, the Earl of Orkney was summoned to answer for +acts of usurpation of the royal authority during the preceding twenty +years. His indictment contained a long list of charges, but he denied +that these were crimes, and maintained that he had sufficient authority +to do all that he had done, which he could show at the proper time and +place. He was present at a meeting of the Privy Council on the 27th of +June, 1609, and on the 4th of July he was imprisoned in the Castle of +Edinburgh. The people of Orkney and Shetland were still oppressed by +the Earl’s brother, James Stewart, and other deputies and agents whom +the Earl had appointed to rule during his absence. Referring to this, +the record stated that the King had expected that the proceedings +against the Earl would have procured some peace to the “poor distressed +people there,” and would have restrained the insolence of his deputies +and servants. Yet it appeared that the Earl’s agents and friends, +assisted by the captain of the Castle of Kirkwall and the soldiers +under him, still “continue all forms of oppression, not only against +those who presented their complaints against the Earl, but also against +all others of whom they hope to extort any profit; so that the King’s +poor subjects within these bounds are in as bad a state and condition +now under the tyranny of the persons above mentioned as they were +before in the time of the Earl’s own rule.” Stewart, the Earl’s brother, +and others were denounced as rebels for non-appearance in court. The +Earl’s case was hung up, and he was detained a prisoner in Edinburgh +Castle; and it seems that the King was inclined to come to a compromise +with him, but he was not disposed to temporise, and still entertained +the hope of regaining his island kingdom. He attempted to escape from +Edinburgh Castle, and was then removed to Dumbarton Castle, where it +was thought he would be more secure. But in spite of this, he found +means of instructing his natural son Robert, who proceeded to Orkney in +1614, mustered a company, seized the castle of Kirkwall, and fortified +the church. A great number of the inhabitants joined him, and it soon +became known that Orkney had rebelled against the Crown. The Earl of +Caithness was then in Edinburgh endeavouring to obtain a settlement +for crimes and offences of his own, and it occurred to him that it +might be easier to make a compromise with the Government by offering +his assistance to punish others. His service was accepted, and he +immediately sailed for Kirkwall with a strong force to reduce the +Lord of Orkney. He found that the castle was strong, and many of the +inhabitants in favour of the rebels, while he had great difficulty in +finding provision for his men. He besieged the castle for the space of +a month; it surrendered in September, 1614, and Lord Robert Stewart was +carried to Edinburgh a prisoner. + +This youth of twenty-two years was then tried for high treason, +condemned to death, and executed on the 6th of January, 1615, with five +of his companions. His father, the Earl, the real moving spirit of the +rising, was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, and beheaded at +the Cross of Edinburgh on the 6th of February, 1615.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III., pages 81‒87, + 272‒307, 308, 327; _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume + VIII., pages 214, 306, 312, 433, 611, 619, 845, also Volumes + IX. and X. + +The Government had several modes of dealing with the feuds and unruly +habits of the Highlanders, some of which have already been indicated +in the preceding volumes. Sometimes, as in the Lowlands, authority was +given by the Government to one party to make private war on another, as +in the cases noticed above; in other instances, the Crown entered into +an arrangement with Argyle in the south-west, and with Huntly in the +north, to restrain and punish, and even “to extirpate the barbarous +people.” Lastly, there was the extreme expedient of granting “letters +of fire and sword.” These were licences from the Government for the +most severe and cruel kind of civil war, with the aid and encouragement +of the executive to one side in the strife. These letters authorised +the favoured individual or clan to burn, to waste, and to slay, all +within the territory of their enemies, or the district specified in the +licence; and the licenced parties were freed from any legal annoyance +as the result of the conflict. Such letters or commissions usually +read thus:――“Whatever slaughter, mutilation, bloodshed, fire-raising +or violence, may be committed, shall be regarded as laudable, good, +and warrantable service to his Majesty and to his Government.”¹ The +frequent granting of letters of fire and sword is a lamentable proof of +the weakness of the government, of the law, and of the lack of police +organisation. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +After the accession of the King to the throne of England, various +attempts were made to reduce the people of the Highlands and the +Western Isles to the authority of the Crown. The efforts of the +Government for a time promised considerable success; a number of +Highland and Island chiefs were captured and imprisoned, and others +placed under caution for their good behaviour. The King commissioned +Bishop Knox with power to make arrangements for promoting the peace +and obedience of the Isles; and, at his instance, nine chiefs agreed +to a bond of obedience to the authority of the King at Icolmkill on the +24th of August 1609. The names of these chiefs were――Angus Macdonald +of Dunivaig in Islay; Hector Maclean of Duart in Mull; Donald Gorm +Macdonald of Sleat in Skye; Rory Macleod of Harris; Rory Mackinnon +of Strathordaill in Skye; Lauchlan Maclean of Coll; Donald Macdonald +of Ylanterim in Moydart, Captain of Clanranald; Lauchlan Maclean +of Lochbuy in Mull; and Gellespie Macquharrie of Ulva: these bound +themselves by solemn oaths to future obedience to the King and the +laws of Scotland. This bond is known under the title of “the Statutes +of Icolmkill.” The statutes were nine in number and dealt with the +following subjects:――1. The ruinous churches to be repaired, and a +regular parochial ministry to be established and maintained, with the +same discipline as in other parts of the kingdom, the same observance +of Sunday and other moral rules, and the suppression of irregular +marriages. 2. Inns to be erected in convenient places in all the +Islands for the accommodation of travellers, so as to extinguish mere +idle wandering, and the burden on the resources of poor tenants and +crofters by the habit of indiscriminate quartering. 3. That all idle +vagabonds without visible and honest means of living should be cleared +out of the Isles; and that the chiefs should cease from capricious +exactions upon their clans, and be content with a household retinue +of as many gentlemen and servants as his means will support,――that +is, Maclean of Duart with eight gentleman, Angus Macdonald, Donald +Macdonald, Rory Macleod, and the Captain of Clanranald, with six +gentlemen each, and so on with the rest. 4. All sorning and begging, +and the custom of conjie to be put down. 5. A main cause of the poverty +and disorder of the Islanders being their excessive drinking of strong +wines and _aqua vitæ_, brought in amongst them partly by merchants of +the mainland and partly by some traffickers dwelling amongst themselves, +all general importation or sale of wine or _aqua vitæ_ to be stopped +under penalties, reserving liberty, however, to all persons in the +Islands to brew _aqua vitæ_ and other drink to serve their own houses, +and to the chiefs and other gentlemen to send to the Lowlands for +the purchase of as much wine and whisky as they may require for their +households. 6. Every man in the Islands possessing sixty cows, and +having children, should send at least his eldest son, or failing sons, +his eldest daughter, to some school in the Lowlands, and there to be +taught until they be able to speak, read, and write English. 7. An +Act of Parliament prohibiting all persons from carrying firearms out +of their own houses, or shooting with such at deer, hares, or fowls, +to be strictly enforced within the Islands. 8. The chiefs should not +entertain wandering bards or other vagabonds of that sort; and all such +persons should be apprehended, put in the stocks, and expelled from the +Islands. 9. For the better keeping of these statutes, and in accordance +with the rule that the principal man of every clan is answerable +for all his kinsmen and dependents, this present agreement to be a +sufficient warrant to all chiefs and sub-chiefs to apprehend and try +malefactors within their bounds, seize their goods for the King’s use, +and deliver over their persons to the competent judge to be further +dealt with; the chiefs become bound not to reset or maintain within +their bounds any malefactor that may be fugitive from the bounds of his +own natural superior.¹ The Government of the time seem to have thought +the above regulations a great achievement; yet it does not appear that +they became operative. The Government continued to pursue the clan +Gregor with the utmost extremity of fire and sword. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_, Volume IX. pages 24‒30. + +The social state of the Highlands, however, was not much improved +in the seventeenth century. Old feuds and grudges among neighbouring +clans often led to a kind of invasion of the territories of each other, +ending in extensive depredations, and frequently in loss of life. About +the year 1666, the Government appointed some of the chief men in the +disturbed districts to raise a force among their dependents, to put +the law into execution against the offenders. The region of Strathspey, +and the mountainous tract thence extending towards Perthshire and +Aberdeenshire, had often been in a disturbed state during the century; +and at this time the Council granted a commission of “fire and sword” +to John Lyon of Muiresk, and Alexander, his son, against a large number +of outlawed persons, enumerated by name. But before he was prepared to +carry his commission into effect, the outlaws attacked his house, set +it on fire, and slew him and his son. The lawless party then proceeded +to the small town of Keith, attacked and plundered it, and decamped. +A commission of fire and sword was given to the Earl of Moray, which +had the effect of bringing Patrick Roy Macgregor, who seems to have +been the ringleader of the gang, and some others of his confederates +to justice. In March, 1667, they were tried at Edinburgh for sorning, +fire-raising, theft, and murder, and condemned and executed; and in +May, 1668, other two men of this gang were tried and executed. + +In 1670, the Privy Council issued an order, stating that many persons +in the Highlands were in the habit of travelling through the country +attended by idle bands, which occasioned stealing and sorning; all +persons were therefore forbidden to travel or congregate in this +fashion. + +The messenger-at-arms and officers of the law often encountered violent +resistance in the Highlands when delivering their summonses, and +attempting to apprehend debtors and offenders. In the winter of 1671, +John Campbell, with two witnesses, proceeded to Caithness, to execute +letters of caption and inhibition against some gentlemen in that region, +but they were seized by Captain Sinclair and shipped for France. By the +action of winds and waves, however, the ship, after being some time at +sea, came back to Thurso, and the three officers of the law were again +seized and imprisoned, and guarded as if they had been criminals. The +Privy Council ordered that they should be released, on the singular +ground that they had given security to answer any charge which Captain +Sinclair might bring against them. + +Rudeness and contempt of the law were often manifested, and outrages +frequently occurred on Sunday, even during public worship. An Act of +Parliament had been passed in 1592 against outrages in churches, but +it had little effect. In 1608, a complaint was lodged against Alexander +Mortimer for assaulting the minister, by taking off his hat and +striking him in the face with it. A complaint came before the Synod of +Aberdeen, in 1664, against William Creichton and his wife, stating that +they had, in the parish church of Auchterless, on a Sunday, blasphemed, +cursed and swore, and reproached and threatened the minister in +the pulpit. While at the same date, Forbes of Newe, and Forbes of +Edinglassie, with their friends, fought and wounded each other on +Sunday. + +Society in the chief burghs was more peaceful and life more secure +than in the Highlands and in some parts of the Lowlands; yet even in +them crimes of violence were constantly occurring. In 1608, one of the +bailies of Glasgow, James Inglis, in company with James Young, in the +exercise of his functions charged Thomas Paterson to go with him to +the jail, which he had before broken out of, and while in the act of +taking him back, he was interfered with by Robert Macgill, who declared +that he would not allow Paterson to go, and immediately threatened the +bailie with a dagger, at the same time using abusive language to him. +Macgill was convicted for this offence, and sentenced by the council +to pay a sum of a hundred pounds to the city treasurer, to be banished +from the town for seven years, “and to be put in irons and to remain in +them during Bailie Inglis’ pleasure, and lastly, to walk from the place +where he assaulted the bailie to the Cross, bareheaded and barefooted, +and there upon his knees, to deliver the dagger by the point to the +bailie, and ask God’s mercy and the bailie’s forgiveness for his great +offence.” In the end of September the following year, Andrew Craig was +accused of abusing Matthew Trumble, one of the bailies, in presence +of the people. The bailie had ordered him to be imprisoned upon just +grounds, but he retorted that the bailie had no power to charge him +to be imprisoned, and when the officers had got him up the Tolbooth +stair, he said to the bailie――“An thou were out of thy office, I shall +be up sides with thee,” to the contempt of the King’s authority as +represented in the bailie’s person; and when he was in prison he said +that he would set it on fire. When his trial came on he pleaded guilty +and threw himself on the mercy of the council, and they ordered him to +be detained in prison till they resolved what further punishment was +necessary. Other persons were tried and punished for contempt of the +dean of guild, and of the town clerk, but in 1612 another bailie was +threatened by one of the citizens. In 1610, the town council of Glasgow +had under consideration the manifold assaults and wrongs which were +committed by notorious tusslers, fighters, and night-walkers, who had +nothing to pay their fines or to satisfy the parties whom they injured, +and who daily committed breaches of the peace and disturbances, because +there was no other severe punishment inflicted upon them. Therefore the +council enacted that all persons convicted of assaults and disturbances, +who had nothing to pay their fine or to satisfy the injured party, +should be punished thus:――If a man, he should be imprisoned for eight +days, and if a woman, she should be put in the branks upon a Monday and +a Friday, for two hours on each occasion, and thereafter such persons +should ask God’s mercy and the forgiveness of the parties injured by +them.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Kirk-Session and Presbytery of Aberdeen_, + pages 61, 277, 278, 1846. _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages + 290, 293, 303, 317, 326, 316. + +The number of convictions before the bailies of Aberdeen, for the year +1641, seems to indicate that there was much crime in the city. In March, +three of the pickmen at the town’s mills were convicted and fined for +exacting a handful out of every sackful of malt ground at the mills +more than the lawful mulcture and dues allowed to the lessee and his +servants for their work. The council enacted that all workmen convicted +of this offence should be treated as receivers of stolen malt, and be +scourged and banished or otherwise punished at the discretion of the +magistrates. On the 19th of March, Helen Vulgine and Margaret Bellie +were convicted and fined for “stricking, scratching, and riving of +each other’s faces.” On the 4th of May, Helen Sherar was convicted +for “throwing a cup and a wooden stoup at Margaret Burnet, and hitting +her to the effusion of blood,” and Margaret also was convicted for +striking Helen, and for insisting on taking her child from her. Both +were sentenced to be put in the stocks if they failed to pay the fines +imposed. On the 15th of June, Marjorie Jack was convicted and fined +for assaulting another woman. On July 6th, Elspet Fraser was convicted +for assaulting Bessie Forbes on the street, both being married women; +and Elspet was fined four merks, and also ordered to offer amends to +the injured person in the presence of the magistrates. The same day, +Christian Watson, wife of John Tough, was convicted “for assaulting a +woman and knocking her down on the street and breaking her leg;” at the +same time, Robert Massie was convicted “for assaulting William Gordon, +a tailor, on Sunday night, by taking off his bonnet and striking him +in the face, and chancelling him to combat, which he refused.” Gordon +was sentenced to pay four merks to the dean of guild, and other four +to the injured person, and to beg his pardon in the presence of the +magistrates. On August 3rd, William Walker, a fisher, was convicted +“for injuring James Anderson, his master, by provocking him and calling +him a thief’s son, pushing him into the water and hitting him with +a stone on the breast.” The same day, James Alexander was accused +by Alexander Davie, a lister, for assaulting him in a house in the +Gallowgate; he was convicted and fined four merks, and ordered to ask +the offended party’s pardon. On the 6th of September, Elspet Smith, +a servant of a maltman, was convicted “for assaulting Elspet Craig, +a tailor’s wife, by tearing down her hair about her eyes, bruising +her face, and then dragging her to a sellar ‘and almost wirred her;’” +therefore Smith was sentenced to pay a fine of four merks to the dean +of guild, and also to crave pardon from God and the offended party, and +further, she was bound not to trouble Craig again, under the penalty +of banishment. On the 17th of the same month, Peter Crombie, merchant, +was accused of going to John Scot’s house and assaulting his wife, by +striking her on the breast and throwing her down; he was fined eight +merks. On the 20th of November, James Smith, a weaver, and Alexander +Kemp, a wright, were both convicted, for going to the house of +Alexander Sangster, a weaver, in the silence of night, and breaking +up the door with a forehammer, and then entering the house with drawn +swords in their hands; for this they were sentenced to be imprisoned +for eight days, and thereafter banished from the city. The same day +William Duncan, a servant of Thomas Walker, shoemaker, was convicted +for going to the house of James Hall, shoemaker, at night, and drawing +a sword and threatening to attack him, and also uttering most abusive +expressions towards him, because he would not allow his servant to +go out of the shop with him to eat a lamb’s leg as he desired. Duncan +was sentenced to imprisonment for eight days, and to find caution for +his good behaviour in future. The same day Robert Gordon, a tailor, +was convicted for drawing a sword to William Walker, and threatening +to strike him, both of them being drunk; Gordon was sentenced to +imprisonment till he relieved himself by the payment of his fine. The +11th of December, Sara Fowler was convicted for scolding and defaming +Andrew Birnie, merchant, by “calling him a cankered carle, exclaiming +on the streets and saying to his wife that she was as gentle a woman +as herself.” Sara was sentenced to be imprisoned for eight days, with +an intimation that if ever she should be again convicted, she would be +put in the stocks.¹ Of course this enumeration is not complete, as it +does not include the higher class of crimes which were tried before the +sheriff and the circuit court. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., pages 255, 256, + 259, 261, 264, 265, 267, 269, 271, 272‒274. In 1662, the + town council of Aberdeen agreed to give the town’s scourger + thirteen shillings and fourpence of weekly wages; and also + gave him the two little houses under the Gallowgate Port to + dwell in, while he continued scourger.――_Burgh Records_, + Volume IV., page 203. + +Theft was not so prevalent in the burghs as it had been at an earlier +period. In Glasgow, on the 23rd of November, 1611, two men were +banished for theft. The magistrates, in August, 1613, passed an act +for preserving the growing crops from thieves; and it was proclaimed by +sound of drum, “that no person be found bringing to this burgh any kind +of stuff, as peas, beans, corn, barley, wheat, or rye, upon horseback +in burdens, after the hour of four in the afternoon during the harvest; +and any one found contravening this, shall be held as a thief and an +oppressor of his neighbour, and shall pay a fine of five pounds and be +placed in the stocks.” It was stated in 1642 that the city was abused +by thieves, who escaped punishment.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 325, 338, 437. + +In preceding chapters the attempts of the Government to provide for the +poor and helpless were noticed,¹ and Parliament continued to pass Acts +touching the poor, and the repression of beggars and idle vagabonds. +These classes were numerous in Scotland, and great difficulty was +experienced in dealing with them. By a short Act passed in 1597, the +administration of the poor-law was entrusted to the kirk-sessions; and, +by an Act of 1600, the sessions were to be assisted by one or two of +the presbytery. The common aim of all the early Acts relating to the +poor was to prevent begging, as much as to make provision for the aged, +the helpless, and the infirm. It was therefore provided that strong +beggars and their children――terms which were meant to include all the +able-bodied poor――should be employed at common labour. But it seemed +this arrangement was not effective, as vagrancy still prevailed. An +elaborate act was passed in 1617, entitled “An Act anent the Justices, +for keeping of the King’s peace, and their Constables.” The object of +this statute appears to have been to establish a more complete local +system of police organisation. The various duties of the Justices of +the Peace are minutely described. They were directed to hold a session +quarterly, and to put the law into full execution against all wilful +beggars and vagabonds, against idle men and women, without any trade +or certain occupation, lurking in ale-houses, and reputed as vagabonds, +and against all those persons commonly called Egyptians. They were also +enjoined to punish and to fine those who received or let houses to such +persons, and not to permit innkeepers to receive masterless men, rebels, +or persons guilty of known crimes. They were empowered to impose a +rate on every parish for a weekly portion not exceeding the sum of +five shillings Scots, for the support of poor parishioners, who might +otherwise starve before the trial came on. They were ordered at their +quarter sessions to appoint constables to every parish, two or more +according to its extent; but in the royal burghs the constables were +to be appointed by the magistrates. Anyone named as a constable, who +refused to accept the charge, was to be imprisoned and fined at the +discretion of the justices. The duties of the constables were to arrest +all vagabonds, sturdy beggars, and Egyptians, and to bring them before +the nearest justice of peace. They were further directed to apprehend +all idle persons, whom they knew to have no means of livelihood, or who +would not betake themselves to any honest labour; and they might also +arrest any suspected person, “who sleeps all day and walks all night,” +and convey him to the nearest justice of the peace.² + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + II., pages 238‒39, 266‒68. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV. + +At the same date, an act directly touching the poor was passed, +differing from previous ones, inasmuch as it proposed to educate poor +children and train them to labour. It recommended that the children +and orphans of poor and indigent parents might be taken into families +and brought up and educated, and put to learn honest callings. The +children to be thus treated were to be certified by a magistrate or +the kirk-session in burghs, and by the kirk-session in county parishes, +to be poor and without any means of living. When under the age of +fourteen, they were, with the consent of their parents, if they had +any, and if above that age, with their own consent, to be delivered +to their masters with a testimonial, which was to be a warrant for +receiving them, and for their masters partaking of the benefit of the +act. To encourage people to receive such poor children, it was enacted, +“that they should be bound and restricted to their masters, their +heirs, and assignees, in all kinds of service which should be enjoined +until they be past the age of thirty, and that they should be subject +to their master’s discipline in all sorts of punishments, except +torture and death.”¹ As this act was permissive it had little effect; +but it was objectionable in principle, as it sanctioned a kind of +modified slavery. Still, begging and vagrancy were great social evils +in Scotland, and any means which promised to check them would appear to +have been justifiable to the legislators of those times. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV. + +In 1649, Parliament took into consideration the great number of poor +and distressed persons throughout the kingdom, exposed to misery, +because there was no general and regular mode of granting them relief, +which was a reproach to their Christian profession. Therefore, it was +enacted that each parish and presbytery should be bound to support +their own native poor. It was enacted that a list of the poor in every +parish should be made up twice a year, on the 1st of December and the +1st of June, at which times parties were requested to intimate to the +parish what sum of money or quantity of victuals they were willing +to give per month, as a charitable contribution for the support of +the poor in every parish. But if the common good and this yearly +contribution proved insufficient to support the poor, then the Act +authorised a rate to be imposed, to make up the requisite amount. +Touching the levying of the rate for the poor, the following occurs in +the Act:――“The same shall be imposed on the heritors and others by the +elders and deacons of every parish respectively, with as much equality +as is possible; wherein they are to have special regard to lay the +greater proportion on those masters that deal rigorously with their +tenants, and thereby impoverish and put them to beggary, and to deal +the more favourably with those masters who endeavour to maintain their +tenants, and deal charitably with them: and in distributing of the alms, +special regard is to be had to the pious, and a distinction to be made +between such and the profane debauchee or drunken sort.” A section of +the Act was directed against beggars and other vagabonds and idlers, +and power was given to any one “to take and apprehend such idle and +sturdy beggars and to employ them, or dispose of them to others to be +employed, in working for their meat and clothes only.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages + 389‒391. + +In 1661, another Act was passed authorising the establishment of +manufacturing companies; and with the view of reaching the children of +the idle and vagabond class, it was directed that in each parish one +or more persons should be appointed at the expense of the heritors +for instructing poor children, vagabonds, and other idlers, in mixing +wool, spinning worsted, and knitting stockings. The carrying out of +this Act was entrusted to the heritors of each parish, but it does +not appear to have been put into operation. The same year an Act was +passed containing instructions to Justices of Peace, which was mainly +a repetition and extension of the Act of 1617, touching the local +organisation of police and the administration of the law in petty +offences and crimes. The clause concerning the poor enacted that the +Justices should, twice in the year, on the 1st of December and the 1st +of June, make up a roll of the poor in every parish, to include only +those who were unable to work or incapable of gaining their own living. +They were then to appoint two or more overseers in every parish, who +should inquire and ascertain the state and the number of the poor, +the sick, the lame, and the impotent inhabitants, of poor orphans, +and destitute children; to provide dwellings for them, and after +ascertaining what the necessary expense would amount to weekly, to +call for the collections of the parish, or other sums appointed for the +support of the poor, which the overseers were directed to distribute +among the poor people according to their needs.¹ The powers conferred +by this Act on Justices of Peace seems never to have been exercised by +them; but the Act clearly indicated what classes of persons were deemed +entitled to parochial relief, as it excluded all who were in any way +able to gain their own living. Thus the casual or able-bodied poor were +not recognised as legally entitled to any relief, the law treating them +as bound to earn their own living. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 255‒256, 306‒314; Dunlop’s _Law of Scotland Relating to the + Poor_, page 16. + +An Act touching beggars and vagabonds was passed in 1663, which, after +referring to the failure of the many former acts on this matter, +proceeds to declare it lawful “for all persons or companies, who have +or may erect manufactories, to seize any vagabonds who shall be found +begging, or masterless and out of service, and have nothing to maintain +themselves; and then to employ them in their works as they shall think +fit; this being done with the advice of the magistrates of the place +where these persons are seized; and commands that the parishes where +such vagabonds and idle persons were born, or in case the place of +their nativity be unknown, then the parishes where they have any +residence, haunt, or frequent resort, for the three years preceding +their apprehension, which, being thus relieved of the burden of +them, to make payment to the persons or companies who may happen to +employ them――the sum of twopence per day for the first year, and one +penny for the next three years; the one-half of this to be paid by +the proprietors of the several parishes, and the other half by the +possessors and the inhabitants dwelling upon the land of each heritor.” +The Act also directed, that public intimation of a meeting should be +made at the parish church, to frame a rate-roll for the support of the +poor in their parish, who should be employed as above stated. “The poor +thus employed shall continue in the service of their employers, under +their direction and correction, not only during the time which the +parishes pay for them, but also for seven years thereafter, receiving +only their meat and clothing.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 485‒486. + +At the first glance, this Act appears to offer great facilities to +commercial companies and corporations, as they were empowered to seize, +and compel to work for their benefit, all beggars, vagabonds, and +persons out of employment; and instead of paying for their labour, +being themselves paid for employing such persons. This was carrying the +encouragement of manufactures far enough; and as such companies were +also exempted from all import and export duties, and protected from +home competitors by a previous Act, and to have labour for nothing, +what more could they desire? But work performed under these conditions +could hardly have been successful, and it does not appear that any +attempt was ever made to put the Act into operation. + +In September, 1672, it was stated in Parliament that in bypast +times many good laws had been passed for the suppression of beggars, +vagabonds, and other idle persons, but still a numerous brood of such +persons remained, and were daily increasing, living without law or +rule, civil or sacred, and a great burden and a reproach to the kingdom. +Therefore it was enacted that the magistrates of all the burghs in the +kingdom should provide correction-houses for beggars, vagabonds, and +other idle persons, before the month of June, 1673, under the penalty +of five hundred merks quarterly until such houses were provided: and +the sums raised from these penalties were to be applied for building +or purchasing correction-houses. They were directed to be built with +an open close, that the health of the poor people might not be hurt +by keeping them always within doors. At the same time, it was again +declared to be lawful for coal-masters, salt-masters, and manufacturers, +“to seize upon any vagabonds and beggars, wherever they can find them, +and put them to work in their coal-haughs and manufactories.” The +execution of the Act was committed to the Privy Council, with full +powers to enforce it. But in spite of all this, no correction-houses +were erected in conformity with the provisions of the Act, which +remained inoperative.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., + pages 89‒91. “There does not exist in Scotland a single + correction-house applied to the purposes set forth in the + act.”――_Dunlop on the Poor-Law of Scotland_, page 20. + +In the three years from the beginning of 1692 to 1694, the Privy +Council emitted several proclamations concerning the poor; and +Parliament, in 1695, revived and ratified all the former acts for +maintaining paupers, and for the repression and punishment of beggars, +and ordered them to be put into vigorous execution. Owing to a +succession of bad harvests during the later years of the century, +the distress among the lower classes in Scotland was very great, +the sufferings of the poor, and mendicancy were increased, and the +Government had to endeavour to meet and to mitigate both. In 1698, +Parliament passed another Act touching the poor, ratifying former Acts +for repressing beggars and for maintaining paupers; reciting portions +of the Act of 1617 referring to the employment and upbringing of +poor children; quoting the Act of 1663 which empowered the masters of +manufactories to seize idle vagabonds and set them to work; and also +referring to the Act of 1672, and to the proclamations of the Council, +ordering the erection of correction-houses――all of which were commanded +to be put into vigorous execution in every point. The Privy Council +was empowered to appoint supervisors and inspectors of the poor, to +see that the laws were put into effect: and moreover, it was authorised +to frame and issue regulations (as far as consistent with the standing +laws) to ensure employment and maintenance of the poor, and freeing +the kingdom of vagabonds and idle beggars.¹ For a long time the various +burghs had their own regulations for the relief of the poor. In the +beginning of the year 1639 the magistrates of Glasgow adopted a rule +to the effect “that the sum of six hundred pounds be advanced, and for +the better collection of it, they have ordered, that there should be a +fifth part added to the rate of each parish, and the bailies to collect +it with the stint-money.” About the end of April the same year, the +magistrates “concluded that the poor be kept in their houses for a +quarter to come, and ordered a contribution to be gathered to that +effect, and intimation made through the town by sound of drum, to come +on Wednesday next at the ringing of the bell, with certification to be +poinded for the double of the sum if they failed.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., page 463; + Volume X., pages 177‒178. + + ² _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, page 400. + +The preceding is but a brief account of what was attempted to be done +to provide for the poor, and to relieve the nation of the mass of +vagabondism and vagrancy. Throughout the history of the nation the +difficulty of treating the matter effectively resulted from the fact +that the country was oppressed with a great number of able-bodied +idlers and wandering characters, well able, but determined not to +work; being from circumstances and by evil habits engendered through +centuries of idleness, socially and morally insensible of the duty of +supporting themselves by honest energy and industry. Accordingly the +attempt to introduce the labour test was distinctly and repeatedly made, +and it has continued as a special feature of the Scotch Poor-Law system +down to the present century. + +The idle and vagrant population in the later years of the seventeenth +century was enormous. Besides the general causes of the prevalence of +vagrancy in Scotland, which had engaged the attention of Government +from an early period, there were, in the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries, particular causes which tended greatly to increase +the number of such persons. For a time, at least, the religious +revolution of the sixteenth century augmented the pauper classes; and +in Scotland this was followed by the Civil War in the first half of +the seventeenth century, which again was succeeded by twenty-seven +years of misgovernment and persecution. This latter period especially +was attended with so much confiscation of property, so many ruinous +fines, so many apprehensions, imprisonments, and banishments, so much +interruption of regular industry by military occupation and execution, +and so much waste of the means and goods of the most industrious +classes of the people――all which could not fail to increase their +poverty. Thus it was that, toward the close of the seventeenth century, +in spite of all the legislative enactments, in spite of the influences +of religion, in spite of all the restraints and the inducements to +honest exertion, arising from a slowly advancing civilisation, Scotland +still presented the gloomy spectacle of an enormous mass of vagrancy. + +Fletcher estimated the idle and vagabond population of Scotland at +200,000, living without religious, moral, or domestic restraint, +revelling in iniquity, and committing crime with impunity.¹ Though his +statement is probably exaggerated, we know from other sources that the +amount of vagrancy and wretchedness was very great in proportion to the +population, and that several generations later, there was still a large +body of poor in Scotland. + + ¹ Fletcher’s _Second Discourse on Public Affairs_, published in + 1698. + +The police arrangements of the kingdom were extremely imperfect; while +in many places the local hereditary powers continued intact with all +their capriciousness and irregularity. Even in the chief towns there +was no regularly organised police force, their place being supplied +by the town-sergeants, and in times of special danger or the alarm of +impending war, a night-watch was appointed. + +From the earliest times the Scots had a vivid and deep sense of the +supernatural, and the ideas and dogmas associated with the Reformation +had taken a firm hold on their minds. Their leading ideas of religion, +indeed, had been modified, and a new external form of polity adopted by +the people; yet many of the older notions and customs, interwoven with +their former beliefs and habits, still survived here and there in more +or less vigour. Their ideas of supernatural powers, of evil spirits, +and of witchcraft, were little abated: while they were animated with +an earnestness of conviction and a fervency of feeling, which stir the +deepest cores of the human heart. In an age when beliefs are firmly +held, and ideas and doctrines vividly realised in the mind, when +belief in a definite creed is deemed essential to secure salvation +and everlasting happiness, when people are fully satisfied and quite +certain that they are right, there is an inevitable tendency to +intolerance. This was the condition of the nation in the seventeenth +century; to expect tolerant views of religion was vain.¹ + + ¹ A good example of the religious ideas and feelings of the + time may be seen in the _Diary of Alexander Brodie_, printed + for the Spalding Club, 1863; it embraces the period from 1652 + to 1685. Brodie was a Lord of Session, and had held a seat in + parliament. + +From the Reformation onwards, the laws against Roman Catholics +were severe, while they were more or less persecuted throughout +the seventeenth century, save during the short reign of James VII. +About the middle of the century, the Quakers, against whom the Scots +manifested much aversion, began to attract attention. During the +government of Cromwell these dissenters began to multiply; they having +been allowed at that time more freedom than was usual in Scotland. +In 1656, they became bold, and held meetings on the Castle-hill +of Edinburgh, which were well attended; about the same time their +doctrines began to spread among the people. On the 30th of April, +1657, the presbytery of Lanark excommunicated eight persons for their +adherence to Quakerism. + +In 1665, three Quakers were imprisoned in Edinburgh. In the end of +the year 1663, the town council of Aberdeen ordered that George Keith, +William Neper, and William Stuart, three trafficking Quakers, should +be conveyed out of the town by the officers, and warned that, if they +returned, they would be given in charge to the hangman, and punished +as the magistrates thought fit. The inhabitants of the town were +forbidden to receive such persons into their houses or families, under +the following penalties for each offence: If a burgess of guild, sixty +pounds; if a tradesman, thirty pounds; and if one of the lower classes, +ten pounds; and for the offence of attending any of their meetings, a +penalty of five hundred merks was to be exacted.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, + Volume IV., page 207. + +The magistrates of Aberdeen, in 1670, stated, that in spite of the Acts +of Parliament, of the Privy Council, and the former acts of the town +council, it was found that the Roman Catholics and the Quakers often +held meetings in the city. They had expected that at least some respect +would have been shown to the laws by the citizens; and to manifest +their own earnestness in attempting to reclaim the obstinate and +disobedient, they ratified the former acts against such persons, and +ordered them to be proclaimed. But only a month after, the authorities +again met to consider the fact that, notwithstanding all the acts +emitted against the Quakers’ meetings, they still continued to be +held. It was then resolved that all persons found at the next Quakers’ +meeting should be apprehended and imprisoned, and detained till they +became bound to desist from meeting; and lest the female Quakers might +also meet, it was commanded that the doors of the houses where they +usually met should be closed and the keys taken from them, that the +city might be entirely free from their meetings. The hopes of the +council were not realised. In November, 1671, they were informed that +Thomas Milne, a shoemaker, and a professed Quaker, had buried his +child on a Sunday afternoon, in a kail yard, on the east side of the +Gallowgate, which was never before used as a burial-place. This was +an intolerable encroachment upon the privileges of the burgh and the +rights of the citizens, and after deliberation, the magistrates ordered +that the body of the child should be disinterred, and carried to +Footdee Chapel burial-ground, and there re-interred. At the same time, +they resolved to deprive Milne of the rights of a citizen, and ordered +his shop to be shut up, and himself to be removed from the burgh within +one month. This, however, was not carried out, for the following year +his case was again before the council, and he was accused of burying +his child in a kail-yard on the east side of the Gallowgate. He was now +fined twenty pounds for contempt, and sentenced to be imprisoned till +he paid it. The Quakers had enclosed the piece of ground in question +with the intention of using it as a burial-place for themselves, but +the council ordered the walls to be destroyed, and the place to be +used as it was before.¹ The council were, however, unsuccessful, many +Quakers afterwards being interred in the same ground. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 261, 265, 277, + 280, 283, 289. + +In November, 1674, the town council of Aberdeen received an order +from the Government to liberate two Quakers, Thomas Dockey and William +Gelley, who had petitioned for liberation. They had been long in prison, +and were set free on condition that if they were again found attending +meetings, they would be punished according to the laws. At a meeting +in 1675, the council had under consideration the increase of Popery +and Quakerism in the city, and since the town council was prohibited +by Acts of Parliament and Council from letting houses to such persons +under penalties, it was resolved that no Catholic or Quaker should +hereafter be admitted a burgess or freeman of the city, and that they +“are and shall be altogether debarred therefrom, excepting always the +sons of burgesses of guild succeeding to their fathers in lands or +in waters held by the town, who are and may be allowed the foresaid +liberty in virtue of their fathers’ right.” In March, 1676, one of +the bailies informed the council that he had discovered that John +Forbes was printing a book for the Quakers, and that he had seized a +part of it from the printer. The council approved of his action, and +resolved to consult the bishop on the matter. The Synod of Aberdeen, +in 1668, adopted a special form of excommunication against the Quakers: +“Forasmuch as A. B. has fallen from the truth of God and the unity of +the Church into pernicious errors and unchristian practices of that +lately risen sect, commonly called Quakers, particularly in slighting +and reviling the public ordinances of God, and being convicted thereof +... I do, in the name of the Great God, and by the authority of His Son, +our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Head of this Church, excommunicate +the said A. B. from the communion of the Church, and reject him from +the privileges and fellowship of the faithful, leaving him bound to +the judgment of the Lord, until he gives sufficient evidence of his +repentance; requiring you, and all Christian people, according to the +commandment of Christ, to avoid the said person, and to have no company +with him, that he may be ashamed, until he be reconciled to the Church, +as you would not incur the displeasure of God and the servants of +the Church, which upon such as transgress therein will be inflicted.” +The Synod, in 1671, also commanded the ministers of the presbytery of +Garioch to use their utmost endeavours to restrain Quakerism.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 289, 292, + 294; _Selections from the Register of the Synod of Aberdeen_, + pages 288‒289, 295. + +About the year 1671, Robert Barclay of Urie, the author of the +well-known work, _An Apology for the Quakers_, joined this sect. In +the dedication of his work to the King, he stated that the Quakers did +not intermeddle with politics; and even when they were subjected to the +most violent persecution, they boldly stood to their testimony for God, +without creeping into holes or corners, or hiding themselves, as other +dissenters had done. But the authorities continued to treat the Quakers +with great severity. In the beginning of 1672, fifteen of them were +imprisoned at once for holding a meeting at Montrose; and in March, +1673, eleven persons were imprisoned at Kelso for holding a meeting. +Yea, in 1683, the Bishop of Aberdeen reported to the Privy Council that +in this district the Quakers were so bold as to build meeting-houses +for their worship, and schools for their children, instructing them +“in their godless and heretical opinions;” and also providing funds +for supporting these establishments, and in some places adding +burial-grounds for their own special use. The council issued orders +for an inquiry among the leading Quakers concerning the owners of the +ground on which these unnecessary houses and schools had been built. +The result of such an inquiry is obvious. Even after the Revolution, +the Quakers in Edinburgh, in Glasgow, and in other towns, were very +severely treated.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Trials and executions of witches frequently occurred in this century, +but it would be tedious to enter into particulars of the trials. Indeed, +many of these are quite unfit for publication, such as the descriptions +of the dealings of some of the witches with the devil, and the horrible +stories which were adduced as evidence. + +In 1622, Margaret Wallace, the wife of John Dinning, clothier in +Glasgow, was tried before the Justiciary Court at Edinburgh, for +various acts of witchcraft, and as a common practiser of witchery. It +was stated, as an element against her, that she had been a confederate +of Christian Graham, a notable witch, executed in the preceding year. +It was affirmed that she had been a witch for eight years, and a common +consulter with witches. It was alleged that she had conceived a deadly +hatred of Cuthbert Greig, a cooper and a burgess of Glasgow, because he +had spoken against Christian Graham. “She avowed that she should make +him, within a few days thereafter, unable to work or to win a cake of +bread for himself.” Accordingly he was soon after attacked and troubled +with a strange, unnatural, and unknown disease, by which he was most +cruelly tormented with continual sweating for two weeks, when he was +reduced to extreme weakness. The man’s friends endeavoured to induce +her to interpose for his recovery, but she for a long time refused. At +last she came to his house, and “to manifest her skill for his help, +took him by the wrist with the one hand, and laid the other hand upon +his breast, and, without speaking a word, save only moving her lips, +left him immediately. She returned next morning, took him by the hand +and bade him arise, who at that time, and for fifteen days before, was +unable to move his limbs without help; having urged him to rise, she +took him by the hand, brought him out of his bed, and through the house +into the outer room, where, by her sorcery and charming, he walked up +and down the floor without any support.” After this, it was stated, +that he soon recovered from his illness. She was also associated with +Graham in curing children of sickness by unlawful means, “by devilry, +sorcery, and witchcraft.” The onlaying and offtaking of sickness among +children form a considerable part of the indictment against her, and it +was alleged that in one instance, when she had inflicted sickness on a +child, she allowed it to die. At her trial she was ably defended; but +she was convicted and sentenced to be hanged and burned, and she was +accordingly executed on the Castle-hill of Edinburgh.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III., pages 508‒536. + Margaret Wallace’s trial was a very long one; her counsel + contested every point of the indictment, which consisted of + ten charges. The jury was unanimous in finding her guilty + of the general charge――“as a common consulter with witches + these eight or nine years ... and as practising devilry, + incantation, and witchcraft, especially forbidden by the + laws of Almighty God, and the municipal laws of the realm.” + +In 1623, Thomas Grieve was tried in Edinburgh for practising a sort of +medical witchcraft. He was accused of having cured a number of persons +of sickness and grievous diseases, by sorcery and witchcraft, by making +signs and crosses, and the uttering of certain unknown words. “He took +sickness off a woman in Fife, and put it upon a cow, which thereafter +ran mad and died.” He also cured a woman “of a great and painful +sickness, by drawing her nine times backwards and forwards by the +leg.” He cured a child of a disease which was rapidly consuming +it, “by straiking back the hair of his head, and wrapping him in an +anointed cloth, and by that means putting him asleep, and thus through +his devilry and witchcraft cured the child.” Another point of his +indictment was, “for curing of William Cousine’s wife by sorcery and +witchcraft, by causing her husband to heat the coulter of his plough, +and to cool the same in water brought from the Holy Well of Hillside, +and thereafter making certain conjurations, crosses, and signs upon +the water, causing her to drink thereof for her health, and thus, +by sorcery, cured her of her sickness.” One point of the indictment +described a different mode of curing sickness. “For curing of James +Mudie, with his wife and children, of the fever, and namely, in curing +of his wife, he caused a great fire to be put on, and a hole to be made +in the north wall of the house, and a live fowl to be put forth thereat, +at three several times, and taken in at the house-door backwards) or +contrary to the course of the sun), and thereafter taking the fowl +and putting it under the sick woman’s arm-pit, and then carrying it to +the fire, where it was held down and burnt alive; and in that devilish +manner, practiced by him, cured her of her sickness.” For this he +received twenty pounds from her husband. When curing diseased cattle, +he put them thrice through a hesp of yarn, and sprinkled the fire with +enchanted water. The hesp of yarn was supposed to possess peculiar +healing virtues. Thomas Grieve put several of his patients three times +through a hesp of yarn, and then threw it into the fire, where it +burned blue, so that his patients were cured. The jury found him guilty +of sorcery and witchcraft, and he was sentenced to be executed on the +Castle-hill of Edinburgh.¹ + + ¹ Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III., pages 555‒558. + In the appendix to the third volume of Pitcairn’s _Criminal + Trials_, the confessions of three women accused of witchcraft, + in the years 1649 and 1662, are given at length; and they + contain a great mass of the most repulsive details of this + degrading superstition. Of all the records of witchcraft + which I have examined, these are the most vulgar and absurd. + +During the reign of Charles I. many witches were tried and executed +in Scotland. When such crude notions prevailed, it was not surprising +that pretence and imposture should come to the surface. So in 1633, +John Balfour in Corshouse had assumed the profession of a discoverer of +witches, “by observing the devil’s mark upon some part of their person, +and thrusting of pins in the same.” The Privy Council record mentions +that, “upon presumption of this knowledge, he goes through the country, +abusing simple and ignorant people, for his own private gains.” It was +therefore resolved to inquire into his pretensions to such knowledge, +and by what means he acquired it. + +In the records of the Church courts many notices of witchcraft, and of +persons using charms for curing disease, occur throughout the century. +The kirk-session of Aberdeen, in 1630, summoned James Hall to appear +in the church before God and the congregation, to confess his fault, +and to crave forgiveness for seeking relief of his fever by means +of charming. In 1637, Isabel Malcolm appeared before the presbytery +of Strathbogie, and when accused of charming, she confessed that she +had practised charming for twenty years.¹ The case “was continued in +the hope that she should be found yet more guilty.” These cases of +witchcraft and charming referred to in the ecclesiastical records were +often connected with attempts to cure some severe disease. Associated +with this form of the superstition there was a kindred one called +“neid-fire,” that is, fire produced by the friction of two pieces of +wood; and this was resorted to for curing diseased cattle, and seems +to have descended from prehistoric times. + + ¹ _Selections from the Records of the Kirk-Session of + Aberdeen_, page 111; _Extracts from the Presbytery Book of + Strathbogie_, page 15. Other notices of charming and sorcery + occur in the records of this presbytery. + +The General Assembly of 1649 had under consideration the sin of +charming and witchcraft, and appointed a commission to deal with the +matter. At this time there was a general attack made upon the witches +and charmers throughout the kingdom; and in the summer many of these +poor creatures were tried, condemned, and executed; while the Committee +of Estates issued various commissions for the trial and execution of +the witches. It also passed an Act “against consulters with devils and +familiar spirits, and against witches and consulters with them,” and +ratified all former acts on the subject. These trials were infectious, +as when one witch was brought up, she often accused others, and under +the influence of this mania strange declarations were uttered. In the +month of March, 1650, Janet Couts, a confessed witch then imprisoned +in Peebles, accused eleven women in Lanark of witchcraft. They were +accordingly apprehended, and Cathie, the pricker, before witnesses, +“did prick pins in every one of them, and in several of them without +pain when the pin was put in, as the witnesses can testify;” the women +were therefore detained in prison. Efforts were made to induce them to +confess their guilt, and every exertion was made to collect evidence +against them, but hardly anything could be found, though at length +charges were framed against three of the women. One of them, however, +was liberated upon the statement of Janet Couts herself. The other two +were tried by a Commission, and witnesses on oath minutely examined, +but nothing could be proved against them; and they were dismissed on +giving caution to appear again if required. About this time a man of +the name of John Kincaid acted as a pricker of the witches. A quotation +from his evidence in a trial for witchcraft will give an idea of this +feature of the proceedings. The parties accused, Patrick Watson and +Manie Haliburton, were tried in 1649, and the pricker’s testimony was +to this effect:――“I, John Kincaid, was desired to use my trial of them, +as I have done to others; which, when I had done, I found the devil’s +mark upon the back of the said Patrick Watson, a little under the +point of his left shoulder; and upon the left side of the said Manie +Haliburton’s neck, a little above the left shoulder; whereof they were +not sensible, neither came forth thereof any blood, after I had tried +the same as exactly as ever I did any others. This I testify to be of +verity upon my credit and conscience.” At the same period, there was a +pricker in the north of Scotland, called John Dick. And he, without any +authority, pricked an old man, John Hay, a messenger in Tain, and then +caused him to be sent to Edinburgh and imprisoned. But on a petition +from Hay, accompanied with certificates of character, the Lords of +Council ordered him to be liberated. In this way suspected women were +sometimes subjected to great torture.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VI., pages 447, + 464‒465, 492, 359; Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume III., + page 599. + +Thus it was, that under the influence of a malignant and debasing +belief, many innocent persons were insulted, annoyed, injured, and +imprisoned, dragged to trial, and sometimes sentenced to death itself. + +During Cromwell’s sway in Scotland, the prosecutions for witchcraft +were much restrained; but after the Restoration, for two or three years, +many were executed. The first session of the Restoration Parliament of +1661 granted many commissions for trying persons accused of witchcraft, +to make up for the lenity of the past period. In illustration of the +notions adduced as facts at these trials, the case of Margaret Bryson +may be taken: she came to words with her husband about selling her +cow, “went in a passion to the door of the house in the night-time, +and there did imprecate that God or the devil might take her from her +husband; and the devil immediately appeared to her, and threatened to +take her body and soul, if she did not enter into his service.” Another +woman covenanted with the devil, and received a sixpence from him; +he said that God bade him give her that, and asked how the minister +was, and other questions. A domestic servant named Scott had much +intercourse with the devil, and by his aid she raised gales of wind +for the destruction of shipping. She often met the devil at night.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 123, 196, 233, 235, 247, 248, 268, 283, 336; _Register of + the Privy Council_. In the records of the Council there are + instances of witches being acquitted, but detained in prison + at the request of magistrates and clergymen, in the hope that + more conclusive evidence would yet be obtained against them. + +During the period of the persecution, the zeal against witches flagged, +and the executions for witchcraft decreased. After the Revolution +there was a short outburst against them; but from this time onward, +the belief began to languish, until it has gradually, and with +difficulty in some parts of the country, died out. The last execution +for witchcraft in Scotland occurred in 1722. The crude and most +pernicious notions associated with witchcraft faded with the advance +of education, the diffusion of definite intelligence, and more exacting +modes of testing evidence; and lingered longest in the remote corners +of the country, least affected by the stirring influences of modern +civilisation. + +The social morality of the nation in the seventeenth century cannot be +characterised as elevated, though in some directions there was evidence +of improvement. An account of the means adopted for the amelioration +of the morals of the people after the Reformation was given in the +second volume of this work, and an indication of its operation on +the national character throughout the century under review is all +that seems requisite. The discipline exercised by the Presbyterian +Church was rather severe and rigid, though from this standpoint it has +frequently been greatly exaggerated. It should be distinctly remembered +that the presbyterian form of worship and polity was the choice of the +people themselves, that they were fully represented in all the Church +courts, in the sessions, the presbyteries, the synods, and the General +Assemblies; they had a voice in the election of their ministers, and +members of every congregation had votes in the election of the elders +and deacons, who constituted the session. In fact, in the history +of presbyterianism, we meet with evidence at every turn, that the +clergy themselves were much under the influence of the people, who +in various ways wielded a practical and effective control over their +ministers. The Scots submitted to some severe rules and curious forms +of punishment for social and moral offences, which emanated from the +Church courts; but even in these matters resistance was frequent, and +the tyranny of the presbyterians over one another was never of long +duration. + +All licentious conduct in the relations of the different sexes was +severely handled. In the beginning of the century the kirk session of +Aberdeen was exercising a strict surveillance over the citizens. John +Mitchel was ordered to be imprisoned in the vault of the church, until +he found caution that he would adhere to his wife, and maintain her. +At the same time, John Davidson, a wright, who had been twice warned +to appear and answer to the complaint of his wife, but had failed to +appear, was for his contumacy ordered by the session to be apprehended, +and put into the steeple until he obeyed their ordinance touching his +adhering to his wife and his future behaviour to her. Christian Burnet +was ordained to stand a certain time in the session-house, “and then +to be led through the town in a cart, with a crown of paper on her +head, and to be publicly banished at the market-cross, because she had +seduced her sister to harlotry with James Sinclair, which was committed +in Christian’s own house; and the reason why she was so punished to be +openly proclaimed by the hangman.” It was quite common for the Session +to interfere on the side of a wife against her husband, or on the +side of a husband against his wife, when either of them had failed in +performing their mutual duties.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Records of the Kirk-Session of + Aberdeen_, pages 23, 40‒1. + +The kirk session of Aberdeen adopted the following heads of reformation +in 1604, applicable to every family in the city. The whole family +should keep the Sabbath, abstaining from all manual labour, attending +all the sermons in the parish church, and all those who could read +should learn to sing publicly. The heads of families should attend all +the sermons on the week days, and should meet to the catechising as +often as they were called by the church-officer. All families should +humble themselves, privately or openly, twice every day, using divine +worship and frequent prayers. There should be no swearing, no profane +language, no unseemly behaviour in any family; and if a member of the +family transgressed, he was “to be sharply punished with a palmer on +the hand, or a penalty in money, and in case of persistence, it should +be reported to the visitors. The masters of families should diligently +report all persons guilty or suspected of charming, popery, harlotry, +drinking, night-walking, or any other inordinate livers. No house +proprietor in the town should let houses to, or lodge, persons +known or suspected to be excommunicated, or any obstinate Catholic, +Jesuit, priest, or other stranger, till they have first informed the +magistrates and the minister, and received their permission.” Certain +rules were also approved for the guidance of the visitors of the burgh. +The ministers resolved that every Thursday afternoon they should wait +on their people for examining and catechising them, and to continue +this instead of the morning sermons until the people be better +acquainted with the knowledge and the grounds of their salvation. +The visitors were instructed to assemble the families under them for +examination, and to inform the examiners of such faults in the families +as required rebuke and admonition, before making any public complaint +against them.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Records of the Kirk-Session of + Aberdeen_, pages 32‒34. + +At stated times each presbytery visited the churches within its bounds, +when a strict and searching examination was instituted into the life +and the work of the pastors, as well as their flocks. An example or +two will give an idea of these proceedings, and of the ecclesiastical +economy of the time. In September, 1609, the presbytery of Aberdeen +visited the church of Durris, and after prayer by the bishop, they +proceeded with the matters of the visitation. The elders of the +congregation were present, and Alexander Youngson, the minister, was +removed, and then the elders gave their opinion of his ministry. The +record says that he was well commended both by the eldership and the +parishioners, “praising God for him.” The minister and the elders were +commanded to put their acts into execution against all who contravened +them, and amongst the rest against sleepers in the church during divine +service.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 201‒202. + +The presbytery of Strathbogie visited the church of Gartly on the 16th +of July, 1651, and directly proceeded to business. John Chalmer, the +minister of the parish, was called, and gave in a list of the elders +and deacons of the parish, containing eighteen names, and they were all +sworn “to declare boldly what they knew in their minister, his doctrine, +his life, his conversation, and the exercise of his calling among them, +as in the sight of God, before whom they were shortly to answer. The +minister and the other elders being removed, John Innes of Codrain, one +of the elders, was asked whether the minister behaved himself like a +man of his calling in his private conversation: answered, he did lead +an innocent, blameless life, and exemplary in these points, and that +he did not frequent ale-houses or such places, but was diligent in the +restraint of such unlawful exercise when occasion offered. Being asked +whether he had the worship of God set up in his own family, and reading +of the Bible morning and evening: answered, that he had indeed, and +that he was not forgetful of such holy exercise to have his children +also instructed in this. Being asked concerning his doctrine, how he +taught, how often, and if on the week-days: answered, that he did teach +them soundly and convincingly out of the Scriptures, and seasonably, +bringing forth ordinarily abundance of food, conveniently, sensibly, +and articulately delivering the same in such a manner as all might +be able to understand it; and that sometimes, as his text led him, +as he saw the necessity, he did express himself against the errors +of the times, to wit, malignancy and sectarianism; in his sermons +he constantly showed himself against both, and argued for obedience +to the public resolutions of the times. He preached twice on Sunday, +and lectured before sermon in summer, baptised after it, before the +blessing, with such reverence and due respect as stirs up all to be +attentive and to countenance the ordinance. Sometimes he lectured on +the week-days, and sometimes catechised; always had the psalms sung in +the time of divine service; and before the celebration of the Lord’s +Supper, was more punctual and frequent in examining his people than +ordinarily. Moreover, he declared that the minister was exact in +discipline, and used no partiality in punishing delinquents, and was +careful both in admonishing and in censuring when he saw it expedient; +and he visited the sick of his parish, and urged family worship. In a +word, he remembered nothing at present to have the minister admonished +for.” Gordon of Colithy, the next elder called, concurred in everything +that the last one had said, and added: “that their minister had a good +popular gift of preaching, and was every day improving, for he applied +himself to his work more than before, and engaged less in worldly +business.” All the rest of the elders intimated their concurrence, and +also said that he was active in the distribution of the poor’s money +at set times of the year, according to their necessities, and was not +behind anyone in giving them of his own when he saw it needful. + +The minister was then recalled, “and gravely encouraged to the work, +with serious entreaty to consider the weight of his calling, and to be +earnest with God for assistance and direction in it.” The elders were +then removed, and the minister reported favourably of their fidelity +to the discipline of the Church. When recalled, they were encouraged +to further diligence, and exhorted to hold family worship in their own +homes.¹ + + ¹ _Extracts from the Presbytery Book of Strathbogie_, pages + 200‒202. + +In August, 1651, at a similar visitation by the Presbytery of the +Church of Rhynie, Mr. William Watson, the schoolmaster, being removed, +“was called a tippler and idle speaker sometimes; but he was careful +enough of the children, and had taken much pains in educating them. +He was admonished for the time, and exhorted to amend; or otherwise +to be removed.” In 1652, James Reid, having been nominated and elected +by the session of Grange to be schoolmaster there, appeared before the +Presbytery: “and having produced famous testimony of his literature and +Christian conversation under the hands of presbytery of Old Aberdeen, +his election was approved; and for his trial, prescribed to him the +3rd Ode, book 4, of Horace, to expound and explain, grammatically, +logically, and rhetorically.”¹ + + ¹ _Extracts from the Presbytery Book of Strathbogie_, pages + 202, 209, 226. + +Under the presbyterian polity, the members of the congregation were +generally allowed to choose their own minister, and throughout the +local records of the sessions, the presbyteries, and the synods, there +is much interesting information on this matter. The people were not the +mere slaves of the clergy; they had a pretty strong hold over the +ministers. In 1642, James Horne, in the parish of Kinnor, was summoned +before the presbytery, and accused of being drunk in the time of divine +service. When called before the session for this, he had publicly +railed against the minister and the elders. He told them, “all that he +had said he would say it again, and worse also; and took up a straw and +held it out before the session, and said that he would not give that +straw for all they could say or do to him, and that there were none +there that would cause him to make his repentance for anything that +he had said.” The presbytery ordered him to be summoned again, and if +he failed to appear, then to censure him without any more citation. +In July, 1643, the case of George Mitchell was reported to a meeting +of the presbytery at Gartly; his offence was, that he prevented his +wife from satisfying the discipline of the session, for her visiting +of wells and chapels, and for assaulting the minister and the +elders――especially for upbraiding George Gordon of Colithie: “saying +that he would not be corrected by him, and told him to go home and +correct his cottars; and that he had as much money as himself; and that +he should meet him whenever he pleased, with other abusive speeches, +and went out of the session with threatening and menacing words.” The +presbytery commanded him to pay a fine of twenty pounds, and to make +his public repentance in the church next Sunday. But the same day, +Mitchell gave in a complaint against George Gordon of Colithie for +slandering him; he was told, however, that he must lodge a pledge to +prove it, according to the order. He then answered, “that he saw no +law for him here, and would crave no law; ye may direct what ye please, +but he would not obey, and he should get a better advocate against the +next day.” In 1644, James Middleton of Tullobeg was brought before the +presbytery for speeches which he had uttered in the church, and for +quarrelling with the minister. The witnesses against him deponed that, +“when the minister chided him for his ignorance, he said that he cared +not for him nor any minister in Scotland, and bade the minister come +out to the churchyard and try himself if he pleased. Also, when the +minister said that he should cause him to be put in the stocks, he +replied, that neither he nor the best minister within seven miles durst +do so much.” The presbytery ordered that he should make satisfaction in +sackcloth, and pay ten pounds; but when this was intimated to him, he +answered in the hearing of the minister, “that he should as soon go and +hang himself as obey anything of the kind.” Thomas Dey in the parish +of Glass, was summoned by the presbytery, in October, 1648, because he +had failed to give satisfaction for his absence from church. Instead +of giving satisfaction on the appointed day when he was called by +the minister, he sat in his own seat opposite the pulpit and railed +against the minister, “and with execrable oaths said that he would not +acknowledge them nor their sentence.” The presbytery ordered him to be +again summoned.¹ + + ¹ _Extracts from the Presbytery Book of Strathbogie_, pages 34, + 37‒38, 46, 93. + +These are only a few instances out of many of a similar character, +which tend to show that the clergy had not always submissive people to +deal with; indeed, they often encountered extreme opposition in their +efforts to reform the people to regular habits of life. Even during the +heat of the Covenanting period, when the Presbyterians attained their +greatest height of power, there was no lack of opposition to many of +their proceedings. + +In the last volume it was stated that the reformed clergy and the +authorities continuously exerted themselves to secure the observance of +Sunday, but rooted customs and habits are persistent, and it requires +a long time to change or to direct them into other channels. It will +be remembered that, prior to the Reformation, it was the universal +custom to hold markets on Sunday, military musters of the people, and +to engage in many other affairs not at all connected with religion. +Accordingly, in spite of all the laws enacted after the Reformation, +all the efforts of the local magistrates, and all the discipline of +the Church, the complete observance of Sunday was not attained till +well through the seventeenth century. In the Acts of Parliament, the +proceedings of the Privy Council, the records of the burghs, and in +the records of all the Church courts, from the sessions to the General +Assemblies, there is a great mass of evidence of the vehemence of the +struggle for the observance of Sunday; and without entering into long +details, I will give illustrative and expository instances to complete +this part of social history. + +The magistrates of Aberdeen, in 1608, asserted that one of the manifold +sins of the city was the breaking of Sunday by openly fishing salmon, +though this had been already four times condemned, “the possessors of +the waters preferring, as it appears, their own greed and avarice to +the glory and the worship of God, the manifest contempt of His law, and +the slander of the gospel.” Some promised to desist from this practice +of fishing on Sunday if their neighbours would do so, but others +refused to abandon it. The following year the session ordered visitors +to be appointed at the four chief outlets of the city, to watch those +who went out of the town on Sunday. The town’s piper was forbidden +to play his pipes on Sunday, under the penalty of losing his office, +and banishment from the city; while William Stewart, a fiddler, was +admonished not to play on Sunday. The tailors, the shoemakers, and the +bakers, were still in the habit of working in their booths every Sunday +morning for three or four hours, “to the dishonour of God and the +slander of the gospel,” and these parties were henceforth prohibited +from working at their trade on Sunday, under the penalty of ten +shillings. In 1647 the Town Council passed an act for enforcing a more +strict observance of Sunday. Many of the citizens were in the habit of +going to the Old Town and to other places, before and in the time of +preaching, quite regardless of the laudable acts of the kirk-session +which forbade such wandering upon Sunday; therefore, the council not +only ratified these acts in all points, but also anew ordained that +all should attend the parish church on Sunday in the forenoon and in +the afternoon, and hear the Word of God. All who disobeyed the act were +to be fined forty shillings, one-half of which was to be applied to +maintain the fabric of the church, and the other half to be given to +the poor. The council recommended the kirk-session to appoint captains +for taking the names of all who were found going to the Old Town fields +or walking about; and this was ordered to be intimated to the people +from the pulpit.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Kirk-Session of Aberdeen_, pages 64‒68; + _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., page 76. + +During the Covenanting period, Parliament passed several acts for +securing a more complete observance of Sunday. After the custom of +holding markets on Sunday was abolished, it was found when they were +held on Mondays and Saturdays that they encroached upon the observance +of the Sabbath. A series of acts was therefore passed prohibiting +markets on Saturdays and Mondays, and everything was done to obtain +an entire cessation of all work and business on Sunday. But from +the frequent re-enactment of the acts prohibiting work on Sunday, it +may be inferred that they were often disregarded. According to the +acts of Parliament, the labour most persistently engaged in on Sunday +was the working of mills, salt-works, and salmon fishing, which were +emphatically specified in all the acts prohibiting labour on Sunday.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages 300, + 301, 302, 473; Volume VI., pages 127, 128, 215, 370. + +It was announced from the pulpits of Aberdeen in 1651, that no +inhabitant of the town should walk about the fields or go in companies +to the Castle Hill on Sunday. The same year, Jane Barclay was sharply +rebuked and admonished for going to the Old Town between the sermons, +and several other persons were called before the session for travelling +on Sunday.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Records of the Kirk-Session of + Aberdeen_, pages 115, 136, 137. + +The subject of Sunday-breaking by salmon fishing in the Dee and the +Don came before the synod of Aberdeen in 1657, and the discipline of +the Church was ordered to be enforced against all who engaged in such +profanation, and the assistance of the magistrates was asked to curb +the offenders. In 1663, the synod ordered that the Lord’s Day should +be strictly kept, and notice taken of those who travelled on Sunday, +who were to be censured according to the degree of their offence. As +late as 1680, it was stated that the Lord’s Day was everywhere profaned +by drinking, travelling to markets, engaging of servants, and making +bargains and contracts.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Register of the Synod of Aberdeen_, + pages 234, 271, 272, 285, 332. There is some curious + information on the attempts to secure the observance of + Sunday in Dr. Davidson’s _History of Inverurie and the + Earldom of the Garioch_. This work contains much valuable + matter of a varied character, and to those with a taste for + local lore it is exceedingly interesting. + +But, by the combined application of the means above indicated, +and chiefly by the constant exertion of the Church, ultimately an +observance of the Sabbath was attained in Scotland, unmatched in any +other nation. + +Besides the devotion of Sunday to religious exercises, there were +daily morning and evening prayers in the churches of the burghs, and +preaching on two or three days of the week, and this was continued +until near the end of the seventeenth century. In the records of the +burghs, and of the Church courts, there are many acts, rules, and +notices touching the week-day meeting and preaching. In Edinburgh, in +1650, there was a lecture every afternoon, and the ministers of the +city performing the duty by turns. The town council of Aberdeen, in +1694, appointed the week-day sermons to be held in the new church; but +the next year, the council found that the morning and evening prayers +were not frequented as in former times, and therefore they were to +be discontinued.¹ As the energy of the people became more directed to +trade and industry, the preaching and the religious exercises in the +churches on week-days gradually fell into disuse, though in some towns +the practice has lingered on to the present time. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 315, 317. + +But the religious feeling of the age had yet another channel in which +it occasionally sought emphatic expression, under the form of the +national fast or humiliation. The General Assembly appointed the +national fasts, and gave the reasons why they should be held. One was +appointed in 1615, to begin on the last Sunday of March, and to be +continued to the first Sunday of April; and to enhance the solemnity +of the fast, it was enjoined that there should be public preaching in +all the burghs of the kingdom every day in the week, preceding the two +Sundays. “For many weighty causes moving the Church thereto, and among +the rest, by reason of the great number of Jesuits and seminary priests +come into this Island, and spread through all the corners thereof, +pressing by all possible means to subvert the true religion established +in this Isle.” In 1644, a fast was proclaimed throughout the kingdom, +chiefly on account of backsliding from the Covenant, the prevalence of +vice, and to entreat the favour of God for the parliamentary armies; +and also to pray that the King’s heart might be filled with the spirit +of reformation. A public fast was appointed to be held on the last +Sunday of August, 1649, for the following reasons:――“The sins of +the land, especially the sin of witchcraft; and the interruption of +the Lord’s work in England and in Ireland; to entreat the Lord to +deliver our King from the hands of malignants, and incline his heart +to give satisfaction in those things that concern religion; to pray for +steadfastness to this land, and especially to those in charge of public +affairs; to entreat the Lord to carry on his work in England and in +Ireland against all opposers of the same; and lastly, for a blessing +upon the harvest.”¹ In 1696, the Assembly appointed a national fast +to be observed on the 21st of January, to deprecate the wrath of God, +“which is very visible against the land, in the judgments of great +sickness and mortality in most parts of the kingdom, as also of growing +dearth and famine threatened, with the imminent hazard of an invasion +from cruel enemies abroad――all the just deservings and effects of +our continuing and abounding sins, and of our great security and +impenitence under them.”² + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly_; _Selections from the Records + of the Kirk-Session of Aberdeen_, page 82. + + ² _Acts of the General Assembly._ + +Besides the national fasts appointed by the Assembly, the local +authorities occasionally ordered fasts to be observed within the limits +of their jurisdiction. Thus the magistrates of Aberdeen commanded +fasts to be observed in the city in January, 1658, and in 1669; and +on the latter occasion the council, “considering the prevalence of +all sorts of sins within this burgh, such as drunkenness, uncleanness, +cursing, and the like, to the effect that the just judgments of God +may be averted, finds it expedient to indict a fast, to be kept by +the inhabitants of this burgh, and recommends to the magistrates to +intimate this to the ministers.” The Synod of Aberdeen ordered a fast +to be observed on the 28th of November, 1651, for the sins of the +land.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 170, 177, 253. + +Drunkenness seems to have been rather prevalent. The light wines of +France were the common drink among the gentry, and ale among the people, +but stronger spirits were often used. The kirk-sessions frequently +took cognisance of cases of drunkenness. In the beginning of the year +1604, the Kirk-Session of Aberdeen had before them Robert Cuthberd, +a shoemaker, and Thomas Hay, a tinkler, and they were seriously +admonished to abstain from their excessive drinking and night-walking; +and that they should never entice Alexander Smith, shoemaker, to drink, +or draw him out for that purpose in the night, under the penalty of +being punished as night-walkers and drunkards. The Session in 1606 +cited Alexander Mortimer and John Leslie for having abused themselves +by inordinate drinking of aquavitæ (whisky), and bringing slander on +this congregation by their drunkenness. In 1611, the Privy Council +renewed the former acts against night-walkers in Edinburgh, and idle +and debauched persons who went about the streets at night, indulging +their evil passions and frequently committing serious crimes. Direct +reference was made to several persons of this character, some of them +strangers, who wallowed in all kinds of excesses, riot and drunkenness, +committing enormities upon peaceable citizens, and cruelly attacking +the officers appointed to watch the city, and unmercifully slaying +them. The Council ordered that in future no one should remain on the +streets after ten at night. In 1619, Robert Hunter and James Hay were +admonished by the Kirk-Session of Aberdeen, to behave themselves better, +and to desist from their drinking. The town council of Aberdeen, in +1625, passed an act, “that no person should at any public or private +meeting presume to compel his neighbour to drink more wine or beer than +what he pleased, under the penalty of forty pounds.”¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Records of the Kirk-Session of + Aberdeen_, pages 29, 50, 78; _Register of the Privy Council_; + _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_. + +It appears from the financial accounts of the burghs that drink was +pretty freely used on all public occasions; and in the accounts for +work done to the corporations, the sums given as drink-money are +frequently stated. For half-a-day’s work at the bridge of Tweed, a +workman was paid six shillings and sixpence Scots, and one shilling +and eightpence for drink. In the burgh of Peebles, Stephen Grieve and +his son were employed a day and a half erecting the gallows on which +the witches were to be hung, and they received forty shillings, and +eightpence for drink.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Peebles_, pages 50, 423, 224. + +After the Restoration, among a portion of the upper classes, +drunkenness greatly increased. Excessive drinking was indulged in +without shame, and some men even gloried in it. Sometimes a company +of these gentlemen fell a carousing, and encouraged each other by +giving healths, and when they had exhausted their resources in drinking +healths, “not knowing whose to give next, one of them gives the devil’s +health, and the rest pledges him.”¹ + + ¹ Robert Law’s _Memorials_, page 43. + +Then, as now, habits of drinking and swearing were often associated, +and in many of the Acts of Parliament both offences were classed +together, and received the same kind of punishment. Besides the Acts of +Council, Parliament passed a series of acts from 1617 to 1696, for the +punishment of ♦drunkards; and in 1644, an act was passed which imposed +penalties upon the keepers of inns and ale-houses, if they sold drink +after ten at night or on Sunday. The act of 1617 asserted that the +detestable vice of drunkenness was daily increasing. It enacted that +public-houses should be closed at ten at night, and proposed a scale +of punishments for drunkards, consisting of fines, the stocks, and +imprisonment. For the execution of the act, special power was given to +the sheriffs, stewards, magistrates of burghs, and to the kirk-session +of every parish; and they were directed to meet and try drunkards, +and do everything requisite for the execution of the law. Innkeepers +who induced parties to become drunk were to be punished. The part +of the act of 1617 touching the punishment of offenders is to this +effect:――“All persons lawfully convicted of drunkenness, or of haunting +taverns or ale-houses after ten at night, or at any time of the day, +except when travelling or for ordinary refreshments, shall for the +first fault pay three pounds, and in case of inability to pay, to +be put in the stocks or into the jail for six hours; for the second +offence to pay five pounds, or be kept in the stocks or the jail for +twelve hours; for the third fault ten pounds, or twenty-four hours +in the stocks or the jail; and afterwards if they transgress, to be +imprisoned till they find caution for their good behaviour in time +coming.” In an act passed in 1645, “against swearing, drinking, and +mocking of piety,” the scale of punishments was stated thus: “Whosoever +shall swear or blaspheme, and whosoever shall drink excessively, +especially under the name of healths ... who shall be found guilty of +all or any one or other of the foresaid vices, by any kirk judicatories +to which they are subject, having been once already censured by +these courts for the same vice, shall after the second conviction be +censurable in the following manner: Each nobleman shall pay twenty +pounds for the second conviction, and for each one thereafter; each +baron twenty merks; each gentleman, proprietor, and burgess, ten merks; +each yeoman forty shillings, each servant twenty shillings, and each +minister the fifth part of his year’s stipend. And that wives who +offend against this act shall be punished according to the rank of +their husbands, and the husbands shall be liable for the payment of +their wives’ fines.” The money raised by these fines was to be applied +to pious uses in the parishes where the offenders resided. The act +against swearing and excessive drinking of 1661 repeats the scale +of fines of the act of 1645, with this addition, “and if any of the +parties offending be unable to pay the foresaid penalties, then to be +exemplarily punished in their bodies according to the degree of their +faults.”¹ + + ♦ “drunkarks” replaced with “drunkards” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; Volume + VI., page 128; Volume VII., pages 195, 262. + +There was a constant struggle against immorality and drunkenness; and +in 1696, parliament passed an act ratifying and renewing “all former +laws and acts of parliament made against drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, +swearing, fornication, uncleanness, mocking and reproaching religion +and the exercise thereof, and generally all laws made against +profaneness, and ordained the same to be put in full and vigorous +execution. And further, considering how much profanity and immorality +do abound over all the nation, to the dishonour of God, the reproach +of religion, and the discredit and weakening of the Government, +notwithstanding the many good laws that have been made against +profaneness,” therefore it was anew enacted that all those in authority +in every parish in the ♦kingdom should be obliged and required to put +these acts against profanity and immorality into full and due execution. +This act declared “that no pretence of different persuasion in matters +of religion shall exempt the offender from being censured and punished +for such immoralities as by the laws of this kingdom are declared to +be punishable by fining.” The Estates also recommended to the Lords of +the Privy Council to take such further steps as seemed requisite “for +restraining and punishing of all sorts of profanity and wickedness.”¹ + + ♦ “kingdon” replaced with “kingdom” + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume X. pages 65‒66. + +Those at the head of the Government may not always have shown a good +example, but the magistrates of the burghs and the kirk-sessions +struggled manfully against drunkenness and immorality. In December, +1648, the town council of Aberdeen had before them a request from the +ministers, “desiring them to take notice of all the country people +found in the town, either drunk, swearing, or otherwise debauching +themselves, and notify their names to the ministers, who were then to +send such names to their own ministers, so that these offenders may be +punished as their own session thinks fit.” The council enacted “that +all persons, of whatever rank, found drunk, swearing, or debauching +themselves, should be ♦apprehended, imprisoned, and punished, at the +discretion of the magistrates.” In 1655, the council enacted that no +mariners, masons, stablers, slaters, millers, or any unfree person, +should presume to brew, vent, or sell ale, strong waters, or aquavitæ, +without a special licence from the council. The synod of Aberdeen, +in 1667, commanded all the ministers in the diocese to be careful +to execute the censures of the Church on drunkards, swearers, and +Sabbath-breakers. But in 1680, the synod had to announce that, +notwithstanding the glorious gospel vouchsafed to the people, with +plenty of temporal benefits, “iniquity does exceedingly abound in this +diocese, and part of the Church and kingdom, and especially the sins +of drunkenness, whoredom, and horrid cursing and swearing.”¹ The habit +of swearing and using imprecations had descended from pre-Reformation +times, and was extremely difficult to eradicate. + + ♦ “appreheneed” replaced with “apprehended” + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 93, 156; + _Selections from the Register of the Synod of Aberdeen_, + pages 284, 332. + +Under the authority of the acts of parliament, the town councils +throughout the kingdom framed rules from time to time for restraining +this heinous offence. In 1642, the town council of Aberdeen stated +that the sin of swearing was increasing; and for curbing and punishing +all offenders of this character, they resolved “to ratify and approve +of all the acts passed by their predecessors in bygone times, and +particularly an act of the 7th of December, 1605, and anew ordained +that every master and mistress of a family in the burgh, as often as +any of them happens to be found banning and swearing any sort of oath, +shall pay eighteenpence to the poor, and each servant fourpence, which +shall be presently exacted of them by the master of the family, and +a box to be kept in every family for this purpose. For restraining +of children from swearing, there should be palmers in every family +wherewith to punish the children on their hands as often as they were +found swearing; and those of the poorer classes thus offending, as +beggars, scolds, and vagabonds, having no means to pay the penalties, +to be put in the stocks, and to stand there for three hours or longer, +according to the degree of their fault.” As swearing was most common +on the streets, at the burn-head, the flesh, the fish, the malt, and +the meal markets, and at the cross, where coals, fruit, and such things +were sold, the magistrates appointed captors and searchers to note +all persons found swearing at any of the above places. The names of +the captors and their several districts were minutely stated, and they +were empowered “to execute the penalties above specified; and if anyone +resisted and refused to give obedience, then the captors were to note +down their names and hand them to the magistrates, that they may take +steps for punishing and censuring the offenders according to the tenor +of this act.” These captors were also to visit families once a month, +to see if the act was obeyed and if any reformation was effected, +and to report those who had failed to obey to the kirk-session, to +be treated as they should think fit. Moreover, the captors had to +report if parents were careful in training their children, or if they +neglected them; and if there were idle and wicked rogues living without +all order and persisting in their evil ways, these were to be brought +to the correction-house, and there under the eyes of the captors +themselves, properly punished.¹ In 1678, the council commanded that all +persons found swearing on the streets, or in any other public place, +should be sharply punished. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., pages 279‒281. + +The relation of the different sexes was still somewhat lax; and +complaints were occasionally made of men and women living together +as married persons, though not lawfully married. Sometimes parties +who could not obtain marriage by the law and constitution of Scotland, +went to neighbouring countries and got themselves married; but in 1641, +Parliament prohibited this under severe penalties. An act was passed +in 1661 against clandestine and unlawful marriages, which also imposed +severe fines and penalties on the parties who entered into such unions, +and enacted “that the celebrators of such marriages shall be banished +from the kingdom, never to return thereto, under the pain of death.” +In 1695, an act was passed against clandestine and irregular marriages, +and another in 1698. The latter act enjoined for the better suppression +of these marriages, “that over and above the penalties contained in +the acts of 1661 and 1695 against clandestine and irregular marriages, +the celebrator of them shall be liable to be summarily seized and +imprisoned by any ordinary magistrate or justice of the peace, and +further punished by the Lords of his Majesty’s Privy Council, not only +by perpetual banishment, but also by such pecuniary or corporal pains +as the council shall think fit to inflict.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 388; + Volume VII., page 231; Volume X., page 149. + +The church courts had frequently to deal with irregular and scandalous +marriages. All incestuous connections were severely treated both by +the civil law and by the Church. In 1668, the synod of Aberdeen passed +an act for restraining scandals at marriages. “It being represented +to the bishop and the synod that there had been frequently disorderly +marriages contrary to the authorised custom of the Church, to the great +offence of God and scandal of Christian people; therefore, for curbing +and restraining these enormities, the bishop and synod have ordained, +that ministers take diligent notice in their respective parishes of +such scandalous persons, and that whoever shall be convicted of having +violently carried away unmarried women, shall be censured to remove +the scandal in the same manner as it is enjoined for adulterers, even +should he afterwards extort the woman’s consent to marry him; and if +it be found that the woman carried away has been privy to the same, and +in collusion with the man, without the knowledge of her parents, then +the woman also should be censured. And further, it is enacted that all +those found guilty of accession to such scandalous violence in covering +and assisting any man in carrying away a woman, shall also be enjoined +to remove the scandal of his conduct in sackcloth, ... and the persons +so censured, in case of disobedience, to be excommunicated.” It was +also ordered that persons cohabiting together and pretending that they +were married by popish priests, should be proceeded against until they +made public acknowledgement of their sin of disorderly marriage, in +the face of the congregation. “Also, all persons cohabiting together +as married, who allege that they have privately plighted their faith to +one another; but if it be found that there was no intimation of their +purpose to the congregation, nor the marriage solemnised nor blessed +by any minister, then all that have so cohabited shall be censured as +fornicators, yea, and until they separate from each other, and having +removed the scandal, be lawfully married according to the order of +the Church. In like manner, when two persons come before a minister +in private or in public, declaring that they take each other as +husband and wife, and do forthwith cohabit together, and will not wait +the public intimation of their purpose to the congregation, or its +solemnisation by the minister, according to the order of the Church, +it is ordained that those guilty of this, for the time that is bygone, +shall make their public appearance in their own parish church, and +there, in the presence of the minister and of the congregation, confess +and crave God’s forgiveness of their sin, and thereupon receive the +orderly blessing to their marriage from the minister.”¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Register of the ♦Synod of Aberdeen_, + pages 290‒292. Some of the particulars of irregular marriage + indicated in the above quotation are exactly similar to + those which the reformed clergy had to deal with after the + Reformation in the sixteenth century, which I noticed in the + second volume, pages 261‒264. + + ♦ “Sgnod” replaced with “Synod” + +Some of the old customs associated with marriages and burials still +survived. The custom of casting knots at marriages was occasionally +practised, but then punishable as a form of enchantment. In 1666, +James Smith was cited by the minister of Cluny, before the Synod of +Aberdeen, “for using enchantment by casting of the knots at marriages, +for unlawful ends, and the Synod ordained that he should give evidence +of his repentance in sackcloth.”¹ It had been long customary among the +people when a young couple were married, to receive a mixed company and +hold a sort of ball, while each person contributed something towards +the expense, a part of which was usually left over for the benefit +of the newly-wedded pair. This custom soon drew the attention of +the reformed clergy, and the kirk-sessions endeavoured to suppress +these promiscuous merry-makings, called “penny bridals;” and in 1581, +Parliament passed an act limiting the expense of marriages and banquets, +and similar acts were passed in 1621 and 1681. The General Assembly +passed an act against penny bridals, which enjoined the presbyteries +to use severe means to restrict them. In the Burgh Records of Aberdeen, +references to the act on superfluous banqueting at baptisms and other +meetings frequently occur, and in 1633, the Town Council made the +following additions to this act: “That none be found dancing through +the town at marriage feasts; nor any person invited to night-wakes +hereafter, but a few of the nearest neighbours of the deceased, ... and +ordains this to be proclaimed from the pulpits of both the churches of +the burgh.” They repeated this act, “in all points,” in 1636, again in +1661, and once more in 1671, with this addition, “that no inhabitant of +the burgh, of whatever rank, shall invite more persons to the baptism +of their children than four men and four women,” under the penalty +of a fine for each person above that number. The Act of Parliament of +1681, for restraining the expense of marriages, baptisms, and burials, +enacted, “that at marriages, besides the married persons, their parents, +children, brothers, and sisters, and the family wherein they live, +there shall not be present at any marriage above four friends on +either side, with their ordinary domestic servants. And that neither +bridegroom nor bride, nor their parents or relations, shall make above +two changes of raiment at that time or upon that occasion,” under +the penalty of forfeiting the fourth part of their annual income or a +fourth part of their goods. The number of the company at baptisms was +limited the same as at marriages. The number of persons permitted to +attend the funerals of the different ranks are also stated in the act.¹ + + ¹ _Selections from the Register of the Synod of Aberdeen_, page + 280. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., pages 54, 105; + Volume IV., pages 213, 274; also, _Burgh Records of Glasgow_; + and _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., page + 350. + +It seems that at penny marriages fights and other excesses sometimes +occurred, and that intoxicating spirits were freely indulged in. In +some parts of the country the lairds bound their tenants to hold all +their marriages at an alehouse.¹ + + ¹ Dr. Davidson says, “Alehouses were largely established by + the lairds in order to the sell and consumption of the bear + crops in malt, and their tenants were required to make all + their weddings penny bridals, and held at an alehouse; where + the innkeeper supplied the eatables on the occasion gratis, + finding his profit in the ale consumed during the festivities, + which were prolonged for days.”――_Inverurie, and the Earldom + of the Garioch_, pages 319, 340. + +In 1643 the Town Council of Aberdeen resolved to correct the disorders +connected with the dead, as ringing of bells and other superstitious +rites at funerals. They henceforth “discharged the tolling of bells +at funerals, and laying of the bier and mortcloth on the graves of +deceased persons; and prohibited all the inhabitants from inviting the +master doctor of the grammar school to sing or read at likewakes, under +a penalty of forty pounds.”¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., page 6. + +The Government deemed it a duty to regulate the dress of the people, +and to prescribe the exact habit which each rank should wear. In 1621 +Parliament enacted that no one should wear gold or silver lacing on +their clothes, nor any velvet, satin, or silks, save the nobles. The +King’s councillors, lords of Parliament, lords of session, and barons +with a yearly rent of six thousand merks of silver, were allowed to +appear in silk and satin apparel; while the provosts and magistrates +of the principal burghs, and the rectors of the universities, were to +be permitted to wear fine dresses under the condition “that they should +have no embroidering or lace or passements upon them, save only a plain +welting lace of silk upon the seams and borders of their garments, +with belts and hatbands embroidered with silk; and that their wives, +their eldest sons, their unmarried daughters, and the children of all +noblemen, should wear their dress in the aforesaid manner only, under +a penalty of a thousand pounds.” All other persons were prohibited from +having pearling or ribboning upon their ruffles, shirts, napkins, and +socks; if the people still resolved to have pearling upon their clothes, +it should be produced in Scotland. “Further, that no one should wear +upon their heads buskings or feathers; that no other persons except +those privileged should wear any pearls or precious stones, under the +penalty of a thousand merks. It was also stated that no persons should +wear upon their bodies tiffanies, under the penalty of a hundred pounds; +that no servants should wear any clothing save that made of cloth, +fustians, canvas, or stuffs produced in the kingdom; they should have +no silk upon their clothes except the buttons and button-holes, and +silk garters without pearling or roses, under the penalty of a hundred +merks. But it was declared to be lawful for them to wear their masters’ +old clothes. It was also declared that heralds, trumpeters, and +minstrels, were exempted from the act. It was further enacted that no +one save the privileged classes should wear damask napery brought from +abroad, under a penalty of a hundred pounds. It was likewise statuted +that no more mourning weeds should be made at the death of an Earl or +a Countess than twenty-four at the utmost, and for a lord of Parliament +or his wife not more than sixteen, and for all other privileged persons, +twelve; and that none but these should have any honours carried, and +that no mourning weeds should be given to the heralds, trumpeters, +or sachs, except by the Earls, the lords of parliament and their +wives, and that the number of sachs should be exactly according to the +mourning weeds, under the penalty of a thousand pounds. It was enacted +that the fashion of clothes then in use should not be changed by man +nor woman, under the penalty of forfeiting the clothes and a hundred +pounds to be paid by the wearers thereof, and as much by the makers of +the clothes. And also that no castor hats should be used or worn but by +the privileged classes, under the penalty of a hundred pounds. That the +husbandmen and the labourers of the land should wear no clothing but +grey, white, blue, and serge black cloth, made in Scotland, and that +their wives and their children should wear the same, under the penalty +of forty pounds. Finally, it was enjoined that after the publication of +this act, no clothes should be made but according to the manner and the +style before expressed, and that none of the former discharged clothing +be worn by anyone after Martinmas, 1623, under the respective penalties +above stated.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV. + +This act, with some alterations, was re-enacted in 1672, and again in +the following year, with the removal of some of the former restrictions +touching the wearing of white lace or pearling made of thread, and +some other explanations. But as late as 1696, a proposal was mooted +in Parliament for a constant fashion of clothes for men, and another +for women. Two years after, Parliament had under consideration an act +for restraining the expense of apparel; and a debate ensued on the +point whether the prohibition of gold and silver on clothes should be +extended to house furniture, and it was carried that it should. It was +then put to a division, whether gold and silver lace manufactured in +Scotland should be allowed on clothes, and the majority voted against +it; and thereupon, an act was passed prohibiting the wearing of gold +and silver lace, and also the importation of the same, under the +penalties of burning of the articles on which it was found, and five +hundred merks of a fine imposed upon the person wearing it.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume VIII., pages 71‒72, 212; Volume X., Appendix, + page 6, pages 142, 144, 150. + +The dress of the common people was made of a plain cloth, called hodden +gray, spun at home and manufactured from the undyed wool. In summer +the women usually went barefooted, and the children generally ran about +without shoes or stockings in summer. + +In the preceding periods, the defective sanitary condition of the +towns was noticed, and with it the consequent and frequent recurrence +of pestilence. One of the first requisites of a town where a large +population is located within a limited space, is a constant and +sufficient supply of clean water; but in the seventeenth century, +even the capital of Scotland had not a constant supply of pure water. +It is recorded in 1654, that owing to the drought of the summer the +wells ran dry, and the inhabitants of Edinburgh could not get enough +of water for cooking their food, and some of them had to go a mile and +more before they could obtain clean water. In Glasgow, notices of the +public wells occur in the records of the city from the latter half of +the sixteenth century onward to the present time. The magistrates, in +1610, authorised a well to be built upon the side of the Highgate, “so +that it be built five quarter height above the ground, with asler work +for the safety of the bairns and other persons ... and the well to be +common to all men of this town.” In 1630, they ordered that the new +well in the Trongate should be slated in the best form, and two pumps +attached to it, and that it should be cleaned as soon as possible; and +in 1638, some improvements were made on the common wells.¹ + + ¹ Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, Volume II., page + 226; _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 312, 390. In 1575, the + provost and council of Glasgow ordered that “the new common + wells in the Gallowgate shall be opened daily in the morning + and locked at even, and appointed a man to attend thereto, + and to keep the well and the key thereof, and to get forty + shillings of fee for his trouble during the year.”――_Burgh + Records of Glasgow_, page 39. + +In 1632, the town council of Aberdeen had under their consideration +the inconvenience which the people suffered for want of clean and pure +water. As the most of the water which they were then using, “coming +only from the loch, is filthy, defiled, and corrupted, not only by the +gutters daily running in the burn, but also by listers, and the washing +of clothes, and pollution of the water in several parts, with other +sorts of uncleanness,” they therefore resolved that fountains should be +erected as soon as possible to supply the town with pure water. Some of +the crafts objected to the payment of their share of the requisite tax; +but upon the petition of the magistrates, the Privy Council empowered +the town council to impose a tax to defray the expense of the new +fountains, and to enforce its payment. Yet these efforts to supply +the citizens with pure water were only partly successful. In 1683, +the deficiency of clean water was again before the magistrates, and it +was stated that the bringing in of water and of erecting fountains had +often been attempted, but had not as yet been effectively accomplished. +The dean of guild was requested to inquire among the inhabitants what +they would be willing to contribute to forward this work, and to report; +but more than twenty years elapsed ere the city was supplied with pure +water. The council granted authority to purchase lead for the pipes +and the cisterns required for bringing in the water from Carden well; +and James Mackie and John Burnet were engaged to build the first fount +at the spring of Carden’s well, for the sum of ten pounds sterling. +The treasurer was allowed to borrow money for bringing in this water; +and it seems that the work was completed in 1708, as the council then +resolved, on account of the many obstacles which Joseph Foster, plumber, +had encountered in bringing in the water, to give him a gratuity of two +hundred pounds Scots, with thirty-six shillings of drink money to his +servants.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., pages 50, 51, 55, + 58, 303, 333‒334; Volume IV. + +As regards cleanness, the state of the towns was most wretched. In +March, 1619, the Privy Council communicated with the magistrates +of Edinburgh touching the cleaning of the streets in the following +terms:――“The city is now become so filthy and unclean, the streets, +the vennels, the wynds, and the closes thereof, so overlaid and covered +with middings, and with the filth of man and of beast, as that the +noble councillors, servants, and others of His Majesty’s subjects, who +are lodged in the burgh, cannot have clean or clear passage and entry +to their lodgings; and because of this, their lodgings have become +so loathsome to them, as they are resolved rather to make choice of +lodgings in the Canongate and in Leith, or some other parts about the +town, than to abide the sight of this shameful uncleanness, which is +so universal and in such abundance throughout all parts of this burgh, +as in the heat of summer it corrupts the air and gives great occasion +to sickness. And further, this shameful and beastly filthiness is +most detestable and odious in the sight of strangers, who, beholding +the same, are constrained, with reason, to give out many disgraceful +speeches against this burgh, calling it a puddle of filth and +uncleanness, the like of which is not to be seen in any part of the +world.” The plan proposed by the council was, that each householder +should keep the street clean opposite his own door, as was done in +other well-governed cities.¹ There was no idea of a cleaning department +of police, but there was a sort of arrangement adopted for cleaning +the streets of Edinburgh at stated times, though it long remained in a +very defective condition. During the reign of Cromwell, more effective +measures were taken for cleaning the streets, and for preventing foul +water from being thrown out at the windows. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +In 1686, Parliament passed an act for cleaning the streets of Edinburgh, +in which it was stated that there had been many complaints of the +nastiness of the streets, wynds, closes, and other places of the city. +And the magistrates were commanded to adopt effectual means for freeing +the capital of such nastiness; and at the same time to purge it of +“those numerous beggars who resort in and about the burgh, and that +under the penalty of a thousand pounds Scots yearly, to be paid by the +magistrates to the Lords of Session, to be applied by them for the end +and use aforesaid.” The magistrates were to be authorised to impose a +tax for cleaning the streets of the city.¹ + + ¹ Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, Volume II., page + 212; _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., + page 595. + +The arrangements for cleaning the other burghs of the kingdom were +equally defective. In 1674, the town council of Aberdeen stated, that +in spite of the many acts of their predecessors emitted for cleaning +the streets of the burgh, and removing the middings and filth, yet +there had been little observance of them. Therefore, they resolved +that a fit person should be employed, and one or two horses and carts +furnished to him at the town’s charge, “for keeping the streets and the +common passages of the burgh clean, and for taking away the middings +and dubs off the streets.” This person was empowered to go through +all the streets and lanes of the town every morning, and at all other +times which he thought fit, to remove all the middings and dubs which +he found upon them. In this act there are some curious and amusing +statements. “The man appointed to clean the streets was to apply the +dung for the use of the burgh and the freedom lands of the same, and +no otherwise, at such price as shall be appointed by the council; and +for any red, middings, or filth, that shall be taken out of the closes +and laid down upon the front streets, if the owners do not within +twenty-four hours after the same is laid down, take away or remove it +to a convenient place of the street, that then the aforesaid person is +hereby empowered to remove it for his own use; and that if the person +appointed for this purpose, coming to any midding to take it away, +and the owner at the same time coming and instantly taking it to +a convenient place of the street, he shall be permitted to do so. +Also, it is and shall be lawful for any labourers or others to take +and remove any middings and filth which they shall first attack and +apprehend, and apply the same to their own use only, and no otherwise, +if the owner thereof shall not instantly remove the same as aforesaid.” +In 1679, the town council ordered that no one should throw out at their +windows filth upon the streets, or permit it to lie before their doors +on the streets, under a penalty of forty shillings.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 291, 299. + +It was already mentioned that, in the sixteenth century, swine were +allowed to run about the streets of the burghs, and the magistrates of +Aberdeen passed many acts for expelling them from the streets of the +city. But in spite of this, swine were still kept within the town in +greater numbers than formerly; and in 1696, they had become a great +nuisance and an unseemly sight in the burgh. Therefore, the council +enacted that parties who had swine in the town should remove them all +out of the burgh, and a quarter of a mile beyond it, before two o’clock +the next day; and that in future all the swine found on the streets +or within doors should be confiscated, and one half of the proceeds +to be given to the poor, and the other half to those who seized the +swine; and anyone who seized swine in the city was to be freed from all +trouble. The act was ordered to be proclaimed at the cross and through +all the streets of the town, that none might pretend ignorance. It was +stated in the council “that there was a great number of swine, which +formerly were not permitted to stay within this burgh, and seeing by +experience they are found very prejudicial to the yards in and about +the town, in digging up the same, as also by their digging in the +middings and in all sorts of filth, does rise an intolerable smell, +besides the danger to children by them, and the unseemliness of having +such creatures within the walls of a city.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume IV., page 319. + +The local trade in the various burghs of the kingdom was still hampered +by monopoly. It was as yet common to fix the price of articles of daily +use, such as bread, ale, shoes, and tallow. In 1640, the Committee of +Estates passed an act fixing the price of shoes, boots, hides, and the +tanning of leather, which was approved by Parliament, and proclaimed at +the cross of Edinburgh. This act commanded the shoemakers to sell their +boots and shoes at the following prices:――Three-soled shoes of the best +leather were to be sold at two shillings and twopence per inch, and +the third quality of three-soled shoes at twentypence the inch; the +best single-soled shoes at sixteenpence the inch, and the second sort +at fourteenpence the inch. Children’s double-soled shoes of the best +quality, sixteenpence the inch; and the second sort of lighter leather +at fourteenpence the inch, and for single-soled shoes, of eight inches +and under, twelvepence the inch. Women’s shoes of the best quality, +timber-heeled, to be sold at two shillings and twopence per inch; +the second sort, with timber heels, at one shilling and eightpence. +Touching the price of boots it was enacted, “that there be allowed +of the best leather for each inch of the length of the boots eight +shillings and eightpence per inch, the tops being long and of the +best quality.” For various reasons the Committee of Estates thought +fit to fix the price of boots and shoes in Edinburgh at fourpence per +inch higher than the above on the best kind of shoes, and so on in +proportion for the cheaper classes of the same articles. + +The penalties to be imposed on all who refused to sell at the stated +prices, and the fines for using insufficient materials, were to be +divided, one half to the informer, and the other half to the judge, +for the public use. If any of the shoemakers refused to work and left +off, they were to be fined forty pounds, besides other punishment which +might be inflicted upon their persons. + +The Town Council of Aberdeen, in 1656, fixed the price of shoes at +the following rates:――Double soled shoes made of foreign leather, +three shillings per inch; double-soled shoes made of Scotch leather, +two shillings and sixpence the inch; single soled shoes without walts, +sixteenpence the inch; and children’s shoes, double-soled, eightpence +the inch. Those who broke the above prices rendered themselves liable +to a penalty of five pounds.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., page 163. + +In the year 1659, the tailors of Inverness petitioned the magistrates, +that they were much injured in their trade by its being encroached +upon and taken away by outlandish men, dwelling around the burgh, and +evading the taxes, and yet they came and stole away the trade of the +place, “to our great and apparent ruin.” The authorities listened to +their complaint, and empowered them to restrain all outlandish tailors, +and to seize their work, and then bring the whole affair before the +magistrates. But two years later they were again petitioning the +magistrates and complaining of the outlandish hands, and they argued +that all unfreemen should be prevented from usurping the rights of +freemen, and from keeping apprentices or employing servants. + +Troubles of a bitter character sometimes arose from corporation +privileges. All attempts of unfreemen to work within the royal burghs +were met with measures of obstruction and punishment. In October, 1692, +William Somerville, a wright, and a burgess of Edinburgh, was engaged +in repairing the Earl of Roxburgh’s house in the Canongate, but Thomas +Kinloch, the deacon of the wrights of the latter burgh, assisted by a +party of his associates, took away all the workmen’s tools. This was +done to prevent the Edinburgh wrights from working in a district where +they were not free. Somerville shortly after demanded the restoration +of his workmen’s tools, but they were distinctly refused. The Earl +of Roxburgh was a minor, but his curators were irritated at the +proceedings, and concurred with Somerville in summoning the deacon of +the Canongate wrights before the Privy Council, for riot and oppression +in the Earl’s house. It seems, if the Earl’s house had been subject +to the jurisdiction of the Canongate, the Privy Council would have +been precluded from giving any redress, but when the Earl’s ancestor +relinquished the superiority of the Canongate, he still continued to +hold his mansion of the Crown, so it was argued that the Canongate +corporation had no jurisdiction in this case, and consequently no right +to interfere with the action of his Lordship in the choice of craftsmen +to perform work in his own house. The Council remitted this point to +the Court of Session, which at once ordered the restoration of the +workmen’s tools.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ Chambers, in his _Domestic + Annals_, gives an instance of oppression by the Merchant + Company of Edinburgh, who had the sole right of dealing in + cloth of all kinds within the city. Volume III., page 70. + +The wage of skilled workmen in Scotland was comparatively low, but then +food was usually cheap, and it is the relation which wages bears to the +price of the necessaries of life――the purchasing power of the sum at +the time――that is the really important point. About the middle of the +seventeenth century, from fourpence to sixpence a day, or about three +shillings sterling a week, would represent the wages of a tradesman; +but direct information on the subject is so scanty that a precise +statement of their wages cannot be made. In 1655, two men were employed +for twenty-four days slating and pointing a house; they got their food +during that time, and twenty-four shillings, or twopence in sterling +money per day. + +The wages of servants generally, and in particular of domestic servants +and agricultural labourers, were very low. As a class these were +then, and for long after, in a very humble position, as compared with +that which they now hold. The yearly wages of farm servants in the +seventeenth century, and till the rise of modern agriculture, were only +from twenty-five to thirty-five shillings sterling; women’s wages were +about a third less than the men’s. + +Any law that existed on the relation between master and servant was +mostly on the side of the former, but there was little distinct law on +the subject. In 1610, Glasgow was much annoyed with servants “who fee +themselves with two masters,” and the Town Council therefore commanded, +“that all such servants as hereafter fee themselves to two masters, +must pay to the one into whose service they fail to enter, both the fee +and the bounty which was promised to them, and also to be imprisoned +for twenty days upon bread and water.” In 1610, the magistrates of +Peebles had many complaints lodged about the misdeeds of servants――“for +drinking on the night, running about, and refusing to do any kind of +work.” They therefore enacted that no servant should drink after eight +at night, under the penalty of thirteen shillings for each fault, and +that no one should sell them drink on Sunday; that servants should not +refuse to do any kind of work, either in or out of the house, under +the penalty of six shillings and eightpence for each fault, which +sum the master may deduct from their wages; that no one should engage +another man’s servant, except the servant prove by two witnesses that +he warned his master forty days before the term, under the penalty of +five pounds, one half for the use of the poor, and the other to the +master.¹ By a clause of an Act of Parliament passed in 1617, concerning +the establishment of justices of peace, the justices of peace were +empowered to fix the rate of wages. At their quarter sessions in August +and in February, they were enjoined to fix the wages of labourers, +workmen, and servants; and those who refused to work or serve for the +wages thus settled, were to be imprisoned, and further punished at +the discretion of the justices. To induce the servants to obey their +decrees more readily, they were empowered to compel the masters to +pay the servants the stated amount of wages when duly earned. This +Act was repeated in 1661.² The circumstance affording a measure of +justification for it was the comparatively large proportion of the +population of the kingdom always living by begging and vagabondism; +this class presented a real difficulty, and the Government grasped +at any expedient which seemed to encourage the hope of reducing the +numbers of the idle and vagrant multitude. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_; _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_; + _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_. Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of + Scotland_, Volume II., page 235. _Burgh Records of Peebles_, + pages 358‒360. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; Volume + VII., page 308. + +Partly owing to these circumstances, and partly owing to other motives, +the workmen in coal-mines and at salt-works in Scotland were kept in +a state of semi-slavery for more than a century and a half. In 1606, +Parliament passed an Act binding this class of workmen to perpetual +service at the works in which they were engaged. This Act enjoined that +no one should hire salters, colliers, or coal-bearers, without their +masters’ consent, or at least an attestation of a reasonable cause for +their removing, made in the presence of a magistrate of the district +whence they removed. Therefore, if anyone engaged persons of this +description, without conforming with the law, their former master could +reclaim them, and enforce their re-delivery, under a penalty of one +hundred pounds. Further, if the colliers, coal-bearers, and salters, +should accept forehand wages, they were to be held and reputed as +thieves, and punished in their persons. This law was re-enacted in +1661, with an addition, including the watermen engaged in drawing off +the water from the coal pits,――“as they are as necessary to the owners +and masters of the pits as the colliers and the bearers.” And because +it was found by experience that giving high wages to colliers had +been used to seduce them from their masters, therefore, it was enacted +that no coalmaster in the kingdom should give a higher wage than +twenty merks yearly to each man, that is, one pound two shillings and +sixpence sterling. It was also found that colliers and salters, and +other workers about the pits, were accustomed to stay from their work +on certain holidays, accordingly it was enacted that henceforth they +should work all the six days of the week, except Christmas, under the +penalty of twenty shillings Scots, to be paid to their masters for each +day that they failed to work, and any other corporal punishment which +their masters thought fit to inflict upon them.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume VII., page 304. + +Thus it was that from the early part of the seventeenth century till +near the end of the eighteenth, the colliers and the coal-bearers, +and those employed at saltworks in Scotland, remained in a state of +semi-slavery. When collieries and saltworks were sold, the right of +the service of the workers was transferred to the new proprietor as a +portion of fixed stock. By an act of the British Parliament, in 1775, +they were emancipated, but a considerable time elapsed ere they were +able to take much advantage of their freedom. This act was clogged with +special conditions, which many of the colliers failed to comply with, +and they continued in bondage, till the act of 1799 was passed, when +they became really free. + +Though the mining operations of Scotland were not as yet on a great +scale, they added to the slowly advancing progress of the nation. In +the first part of the century the coal works of Culross were worked +some distance under the sea. But it appears from a petition to the +Privy Council in 1621, that the proprietors of collieries were not +making fortunes, as it was then stated that some of the owners of +coal-haughs were ten thousand pounds, and even twenty thousand, out +of pocket. The Master of Elphinstone’s coal mine of Little Fawside had +been on fire for several years, and another mine of his had entailed +an outlay of eight thousand pounds. The pits of Sir James Richardson of +Smeaton for some years had been so unproductive as scarcely to supply +his own house; the coal of Mickle Fawside had undone the late laird’s +estate, and caused him to sell a part of his old heritage. The coal +of Pencaitland was wasted and decayed, and past hope of recovery, +except at a cost far greater than it was worth. The Council appointed +a commission to make inquiry, and to report what prices should be fixed +for coal. Upon this report it was ordered that the price of coal “at +the hill” should be seven shillings and eightpence per load――that is, +♦about sevenpence three-farthings sterling. It should, however, be +mentioned that in these days a load meant a horse’s burden.¹ + + ♦ duplicate word “about” removed + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +The Privy Council passed an act in 1621, in favour of Mr. Johnston, the +laird of Elphinstone, because he had expended twenty thousand merks on +his coal works, “to his great hurt and apparent ruin.” It was stated +that he sustained forty families at the work, that their weekly wages +exceeded two hundred merks; and that his coal would be lost, and all +his workers thrown out of employment, if something was not done to +assist him, as he was unable any longer to struggle with the adverse +circumstances in which he found himself. According to his statement, +the average weekly wages of a collier’s family reached about five +shillings and sixpence sterling.¹ + + ¹ Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, Volume I., page 516. + +As noticed in the preceding volume, the Privy Council from time to time +had made regulations for fixing the price of coal, and prohibiting the +export of it until all the people of the kingdom were supplied. A duty +of six shillings was imposed in 1644 on coal exported in Scotch or +English vessels of the value of twelve pounds, but if it was exported +in foreign ships the duty was twelve shillings. In 1655 and 1656 the +custom on Scotch coal was fixed at four shillings per ton in British +ships, but eight shillings if exported in foreign vessels. Small coal +was only charged at half the above rates. According to a Parliamentary +return of Richard, the Lord Protector, in April, 1659, the annual value +of the custom on the export of Scotch coal amounted to £2216 sterling. +The Ayr coal fields began to assume importance in the latter part of +the century. + +Prior to the eighteenth century the quantity of iron produced in +Scotland was comparatively small; but there were several lead mines +worked. In 1641, Sir James Hope of Hopetoun obtained a grant of the +lead mines in Waterhead and Glengonar; and in 1649 an Act of Parliament +was passed, which enacted that any one fraudulently intromitting with +his lead ore should be punished as resetters of stolen goods. The same +year Parliament exempted Sir James Hope’s mines from the valuation +of the sheriffdom, because they were the only ones of that kind in +the kingdom, and ought to be specially favoured. In 1661 Parliament +ratified the former Acts in favour of Sir James Hope; at that time the +family possessed the lead mines in Crawford Moor, and also the copper +mines in Airthrey, and the Binnie silver mines. + +In 1698, Hope of Hopetoun had a party of men constantly employed at his +lead mines far up one of the vales of Lanarkshire. As it was extremely +inconvenient for every man to go several miles for his food, and the +proprietor was anxious to make an arrangement that one should go and +purchase necessaries for himself and the rest; but under a recent Act +against forestalling, no one could venture to sell to any single person +so much victual as the miners needed. Hope, therefore, applied to the +Privy Council for permission to his baillie to purchase the quantities +of victual required, with the assurance that none of it would be stored +or sold out to any other person except his own workmen, and that it +should be sold to them at the price which it was bought for in the +market. On these grounds the Council granted Hope a license to supply +food to his workmen. At the same time licenses were granted to the +chamberlain of the Earl of Mar, for the benefit of the workmen engaged +in his Lordship’s coal mines; to the Duke of Queensberry, for the +workmen at his lead mines; to the Earl of Annandale, for his servants +and workmen; and to Alexander Inglis, factor for the collieries on the +estate of Clackmannan.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volumes V., VI., and VII. All these noblemen were + members of the Privy Council. + +Means of intercourse, as roads, bridges, communication by sea, and +postal arrangements, are closely connected with trade and national +progress. Roads in the order of development naturally precede other +modes of transit, and are followed by ferry-boats, canals, improved +harbours, and a regular postal system. As civilisation advances, +these are rapidly improved, and by and by partly superseded by better +expedients and arrangements, as steamships, railways, telegraphic +and telephonic communication, all which evince the resources of the +human mind. But merely to state results leaves the steps of progress +unexplained, and gives no conception of the many difficulties and +obstacles which had to be encountered and overcome ere the desired aim +was reached; accordingly it is necessary to enter into details in order +to render the development of social organisation intelligible, as well +as to indicate the obstacles which impede the progress of civilisation. + +By an Act of Parliament passed in 1617, Justices of Peace were +empowered to give orders for repairing the roads and passages to market +towns and seaports, when they deemed it necessary. Those who refused to +assist at this work might be punished at the discretion of the Justices; +but the arrangement had not proved effective. In 1669, another Act was +passed authorising the Sheriff of the county and the Justices of Peace +to meet at the head burgh of the shire on the first Tuesday of May +every year, and frame measures for repairing the roads, bridges, and +ferries within their bounds. They were enjoined to appoint some of +their number as overseers of such parts of the roads as were nearest to +their residence; and also to appoint some of themselves to survey the +roads, the bridges, and the ferries, and then report to the rest, and +continue to meet from time to time till the survey was completed. They +were authorised to convene all the tenants, their servants, and the +cottars within their district, by intimation at the parish churches +on Sunday, warning them to have in readiness their horses and carts, +sledges, spades, shovels, picks, mallets, and all implements required +for repairing the highways. Some of the more expert men should be +appointed to direct the rest, at a fixed rate of wages. According to +the Act, these parties had to work on the roads, “man and horse,” six +days every year for the first three years, and afterwards four days. +The Justices of Peace and the overseers were empowered to fine those +who absented themselves, twenty shillings for each day a man was absent, +and thirty shillings if a man and horse were absent, which money was +applied to hire others in their place. It was well understood that this +arrangement would not be sufficient for keeping the roads in repair, +accordingly all proprietors of each county were authorised to meet once +a year, and consider what was necessary for repairing the highways, +and for making and repairing bridges and ferries. For this purpose +they were empowered to impose a tax not exceeding ten shillings on +every hundred pounds of valued rental; and they were authorised to +levy moderate custom or toll at bridges and ferries. The Justices +were empowered to punish all who injured the roads, by ploughing up, +laying stones, rubbish or dung upon them; and where cultivated land +lay alongside of the roads it should be fenced with dykes, ditches, or +hedging. Where it was necessary to change the line of the road, they +were to appoint three of their number to mark the direction of the +new road, and upon oath to estimate the damage to the parties whose +properties were encroached upon. By this Act the time appointed for +repairing the roads was between seed-time and harvest; but on the +ground that other seasons of the year were more convenient for working +at the roads, Parliament passed another Act in 1670, authorising the +Sheriffs and Justices of Peace to convene those liable for this work at +any time of the year which they thought fit, excepting always seed-time +and harvest.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV.; Volume + VII., pages 574‒576; Volume VIII., page 18. + +With the aim of making these Acts still more effective, Parliament in +1686 passed an additional Act touching the highways and bridges. It +enjoined the Commissioners of Supply to meet with the Justices of Peace, +and to act together in their several counties according to the tenor of +the preceding Acts. They were directed to meet every year in the month +of June, five to form a quorum, and if a quorum should not assemble, +then the Sheriff was empowered to fine each of those who were absent +twenty merks, which sum was to be applied for repairing of the roads +and bridges.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume VIII., page 590. + +According to a series of Acts reaching back to the twelfth century, all +the common highways between market towns had to be twenty feet broad at +the least, and where they happened to be broader, they were to remain +so. Those who put any obstruction upon the highways could be put under +caution by the Court of Session not to commit the like again, under +a severe ♦penalty.¹ Notwithstanding all this minute legislation, the +roads in Scotland, even at the end of the seventeenth century, were +in a wretched condition, and it was not till the latter half of the +eighteenth century that the roads throughout the country were put in +a proper state for traffic. + + ♦ “penality” replaced with “penalty” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume I.; Volume II. + +A single illustration of the actual condition of the roads near the +capital of the kingdom in 1680 may suffice on this point. The first +four miles of the road from Edinburgh to London, the part from the +Clockmill Bridge to Magdalen Bridge, was in such a ruinous state that +passengers were in danger of their lives, “either by their coaches +overturning, their horses falling, or their carts breaking, their loads +casting, and horses stumbling; and the poor people with their burdens +upon their backs sorely grieved and discouraged. Also, strangers do +often exclaim thereat.” The Council authorised a toll of a half-penny +for a loaded cart, and a sixth of a penny for a loaded horse, for the +purpose of keeping this portion of the road in repair.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Turning to the means of communication by post, it appears that the +arrangements were of the most primitive description. In the sixteenth +century there was no regular system for the transmission of letters in +Scotland. When anything was unusually pressing and important, a special +messenger was dispatched. About the end of the century, Aberdeen had +an officer called the common post, and in 1595, the magistrates ordered +that he should have a distinctive livery of blue, with the town’s +arms on it. In the early part of the seventeenth century there were +a kind of posts at certain intervals or places, where horses could +be had for travelling, and these were occasionally used for conveying +public letters; but such arrangements were limited and very imperfect. +Till 1635 there had been no constant intercourse between England and +Scotland; but then the King’s postmaster of England, for foreign parts, +commanded that there should be “one running post or two, to run day +and night between Edinburgh and London, to go thither and come back +again in six days, and to take with them all such letters as should be +directed to any post town on the said road, and the posts to be placed +in several places out of the road, to run, and bring, and carry out +of the said road the letters, as there shall ♦be occasion, and to pay +twopence for every single letter under eighty miles, and if one hundred +and forty miles, fourpence, and if above, then sixpence. The like rule +the King is pleased to order to be observed to West Chester, Holyhead, +and thence to Ireland, and also to observe the same rule from London to +Plymouth, Exeter, and other places on that road; the same for Oxford, +Bristol, Colchester, Norwich, and other places. The King commands that +no other messenger or foot-posts shall take up, carry, receive, or +deliver any letters whatsoever, other than the messengers appointed +by Thomas Witherings, Esquire, except common carriers, or a particular +messenger purposely sent with a letter to a friend.” The post between +London and Edinburgh was conducted on horseback; it commonly went +twice a week, but sometimes only once. During the Covenanting struggle, +communication became irregular.¹ + + ♦ “he” replaced with “be” + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, + Volume II.; _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 327‒347; + Rushworth’s _Collections_. + +In 1649, John Mean, the postmaster of Edinburgh, stated that “the +benefit arising from letters sent from the capital to London, and +coming thence hither by the ordinary post, amounted to four hundred +pounds sterling yearly or thereby, all charges being deducted for +payment of the postmaster from Newcastle to Edinburgh inclusive, and +no proportion thereof laid upon the Berwick packet.” In recompense for +his expenses, he was allowed to retain the eighth penny upon all the +letters sent from Edinburgh to London, and the fourth upon all those +coming from London to Edinburgh.¹ + + ¹ Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, Volume II., page + 187. + +During the rule of Cromwell, intercourse between Scotland and London +was largely increased; in 1658, a fortnightly stage-coach was running +between the two capitals. + +After the Restoration, some improvement of the postal system was +effected. In 1662, it was ordered that posts should be established +between Edinburgh and Portpatrick, the intermediate stations to +be Linlithgow, Kilsyth, Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Ayr, and Ballantrae. +The charge for each letter from Edinburgh to Glasgow was twopence +sterling, thence to any part of the kingdom threepence, and all letters +to Ireland sixpence. All other posts, either foot or horse, were +prohibited. But this mode of horse-post had not been long in operation, +when several persons were found carrying letters along the same line +on foot, to the injury of the postmaster, and at his request a warrant +was granted against all such persons. Till 1669, there was no regular +postal communication between Aberdeen and Edinburgh; and in the former +city this had long been felt as a serious want, “not only to the city, +but also to the nobility, the gentry, and others in the northern parts +of the kingdom.” There had been miscarriage of missives, as well as +untimeous delivery and receiving of the same. It was therefore arranged, +with the consent of the King’s postmaster-general, that Lieutenant +John Wales should establish a regular foot-post carrying letters +from Aberdeen to Edinburgh twice a week, and returning every Tuesday +and Thursday in the afternoon. Each single letter was to be charged +twopence, each double one fourpence, and every packet fivepence per +ounce sterling. All other common foot-posts were prohibited from +carrying any letters to or from Edinburgh, save those employed by +Lieutenant Wales, the postmaster of the city. In 1669, a foot-post was +established between Edinburgh and Inverness to go and return twice a +week to Aberdeen, and once to Inverness, “if wind and weather served.”¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 134‒138. + +But at the date of the Revolution, the postal system of Scotland was +still extremely imperfect. The postmastership was sold by auction to +John Blair in 1689, who undertook to carry on the whole business at +various rates for letters, and to pay the government an annual sum +of five hundred and fifty pounds for seven years. The charges for +single letters were:――to Dumfries, Ayr, Kelso, Jedburgh, Dundee, and +Perth, twopence; to Carlisle, Portpatrick, Dunkeld, and Aberdeen, +threepence; and to Inverness fourpence.¹ In 1695, Parliament passed +an Act for establishing a general post-office in Edinburgh, under a +postmaster-general. He was invested with the exclusive privilege of +receiving and of dispatching letters; but on roads where there were +no regular posts, the common carriers were permitted to convey letters +until posts should be established. This system had only one centre, +the capital, and letters coming from London to Glasgow arrived first +in Edinburgh, and thence sent westward at the earliest opportunity. +The Privy Council were enjoined to see that branches were established +in the most convenient places all over the kingdom, and the hours +of dispatching the posts settled and published. According to this +Act, the charges for letters were these:――All single letters to +Berwick or to any part of the kingdom within fifty miles of Edinburgh, +twopence――double letters, fourpence, and so on proportionally; +(declaring, nevertheless, that all single letters with bills of lading +or exchange, invoices, or other merchants’ accounts, may be enclosed +and sent to any part of the kingdom as single letters).² + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; Chambers’ _Domestic Annals + of Scotland_, Volume III., page 21. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 517‒419. + +It appears that the posts were sometimes attacked and the letters and +packets seized. In 1690, Parliament enacted that the robbing or seizing +of the mails should be punished with death and the confiscation of +goods; and by the Act of 1695, any person that molested or impeded the +posts in the execution of their duty by night or by day, were liable to +a penalty of one thousand pounds Scots, besides reparation and damages.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume IX., pages 241, 418. + +We have seen that the roads were not in a fitting condition for wheeled +vehicles, indeed carriages or coaches were not used in England or in +Scotland till the latter part of the sixteenth century. It was said +that coaches were first used in England during the reign of Elizabeth. +In 1610, the King granted a licence to Henry Anderson to bring a +number of coaches and waggons into Scotland for the purpose of driving +his Majesty’s subjects between Edinburgh and Leith. He also obtained +for himself and his heirs an exclusive right of this business for +fifteen years, on the condition that he should be always ready to +serve the people, and charge only the sum of twopence for conveying +each passenger between Edinburgh and Leith.¹ As already mentioned, +stage-coaches ran from Edinburgh to London during the Commonwealth, and +the fare was four pounds ten shillings, “in all cases with good coaches +and fresh horses on the roads.” Street carriages did not come into use +in Scotland till the latter part of the seventeenth century, and even +then they were little used. In Edinburgh sedan-chairs were employed +instead of wheeled vehicles down to near the end of the eighteenth +century. In 1678, the Privy Council granted an exclusive privilege to +three men in Haddington to run a stage-coach between that place and +Edinburgh for five years. The same year, William Hume, a merchant in +Edinburgh, established a stage-coach between the capital and Glasgow. +He proposed that his coach should only carry six passengers, at a fare +of six shillings each in summer and nine in winter. The Privy Council +granted him an exclusive privilege for seven years, and also assured +him that his coach horses would not be pressed for any kind of public +service.² + + ¹ _Royal Letters_; Chambers’ _Domestic Annals of Scotland_, + Volume I., page 427. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council._ + +But it seems doubtful if any of these schemes of stage-coaching were +really successful. A writer who travelled through Scotland in 1688 has +stated: “Stage-coaches they have none.... The truth is, the roads will +hardly allow them these conveniences, which is the reason that their +gentry, men and women, choose rather to ride on their horses. However, +their great gentlemen travel with a coach and six, but with so much +caution, that besides their other attendants, they have a lusty running +footman on each side of the coach, to manage and keep it up in rough +places.” The traveller further remarks: “This carriage of persons from +place to place might be better spared were there opportunities and +means for the speedier conveyance of business by letters. They have no +horse-posts besides those which ply between Berwick and Edinburgh, and +from thence to Portpatrick, for the sake of the Irish packet.... From +Edinburgh to Perth, and so to other places, they use foot-posts and +carriers, which, though a slow way of communicating our concerns to one +another, yet it is such as they acquiesce in till they have a better.” +But in 1697 the stage-coach from York to London required a week to +accomplish its journey. This fact was noted in the _Diary_ of George +Home; the truth is, travelling was very slow everywhere throughout +Britain at that period, and for long after.¹ + + ¹ _A Short Account of Scotland_, 1702. + +Turning to the shipping of the kingdom, some information may be drawn +from the report of Thomas Tucker――one of Cromwell’s officials, upon the +settlement of the revenues of excise and customs in Scotland in 1656; +and from a Register containing notices of the state of every burgh in +the kingdom in the year 1692.¹ For fiscal purposes the Government of +the Commonwealth arranged the ports of Scotland into eight groups, and +at the head port of each group a custom office was established. Leith, +the chief port of Scotland, and the ports attached to its district (of +which the most important were Dunbar, Eyemouth, and Musselburgh) had +fourteen vessels, of which a few of the largest were of three and two +hundred tons burden. Speaking of Leith, Tucker said:――“Leith itself is +a pretty small town, having a convenient dry harbour, into which the +Firth ebbs and flows every tide; and a convenient quay on the one side +thereof, of good length, for the landing of goods. Leith was, and is, +indeed, a storehouse, not only for her own traders, but also for the +merchants of the city of Edinburgh, and did not that city, jealous of +her own safety, obstruct and impede the growing of this place, it would +from her slave, in a few years become her rival.” + + ¹ Both of these Reports were printed for the Scottish Burgh + Record Society in 1881. + +The next head port was Borrowstounness, to which was attached a number +of small ports, but the number of their vessels was not stated; their +trade, however, was chiefly in coal and salt. The third head port was +Bruntisland, on the north side of the Firth opposite to Leith, and its +district extended from Inverkeithing along the shore of Fife to the +banks of the Tay. The trade of this district inwards was with Norway, +the East, and France, and the outward trade was mostly in coal and salt. +This group of ports had fifty vessels, but the greater part of them +were small, only three reached up to one hundred tons burden, two of +which belonged to Kirkcaldy. + +The fourth head port was Dundee, to which was attached Perth, Arbroath, +and Montrose. The trade of Dundee inwards, as generally all over +Scotland, was with Norway, the East, Holland, and France; and the +outward trade consisted mainly of plaiding and salmon. Dundee had ten +ships, two of one hundred and twenty tons each, one of ninety tons, one +of sixty, and the rest smaller. Tucker said that Perth――“is a handsome +walled town, where there is an officer always attending, not so much +because of any great treading there, as to prevent the carrying out +of wool, skins, and hides, of which commodities great quantities are +brought thither out of the Highlands, and there bought up and engrossed +by the Londonmen.” + +Aberdeen was the fifth head port, and those connected with it were +Stonehaven, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff, and a few other small ports. +Tucker described the harbour of Aberdeen minutely, and said――“But +the wideness of the place, from the inlet of the sea coming in with +a narrow winding gut, and beating in store of sand with its waves, +has rendered it somewhat shallow in the greater part of it, and so +less useful than formerly. But the inhabitants are remedying this by +lengthening their quay, and bringing it up close to a neck of land, +which jutting out eastwards towards a headland before it, makes the +coming in so straight.” He stated that the trade outwards was “with +salmon and plaiding, commodities which are caught, and made here in +greater quantities than any other place of the nation whatsoever.” +Aberdeen had nine ships belonging to her port, one of eighty tons, one +of seventy, another of sixty, and the rest smaller; while Peterhead had +one small vessel, and Fraserburgh four. + +The sixth head port was Inverness, which included in its district the +ports of the counties of Moray, Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, and the +Orkney Islands; but in these regions there were few ships. Inverness +had only one, Garmouth one, Cromarty one, and Thurso two, while the +Orkney Islands had three; but it was stated that “lately there were +other nine barks belonging to the Islands which had been taken or lost +by storm, this and the last year.” + +Glasgow was the seventh head port, which appeared according to Tucker’s +view, to have been even then taking the lead in trade amongst the +Scotch ports. “This town, seated in a pleasant and fruitful soil, +consists of four streets, handsomely built in the form of a cross, +is one of the most considerable burghs of Scotland, as well for its +structure as for its trade. Its inhabitants, all save the students of +the College, are traders and dealers: Some go to Ireland with small +smiddy coals, in open boats of from four to ten tons burden, whence +they bring home hoops, barrel staves, meal, corn, and butter; some +to France with plaiding, coals, and herrings, of which there is a +great fishing yearly in the western sea; some to Norway for wood; and +everyone with their neighbours, the Highlanders, who come hither from +the Isles and the Western parts, in summer by the Mull of Cantyre, and +in winter by Torban, to the head of Loch Fyne, usually drawing their +boats over the small neck of sandy land and into the Firth of Dumbarton, +and so pass up the Clyde with plaiding, dry hides, goat, kid, and deer +skins, which they sell, and purchase with their price such commodities +and provisions as they need from time to time.” Tucker thought that +Glasgow was likely to become a great commercial city, owing to the +energy of her citizens; but the chief obstacle to her rapid growth +appeared to be the shallowness of the Clyde, on which only very small +barks could pass up to the town. Glasgow had twelve ships, three of +one hundred and fifty tons burden each, one of a hundred and forty +tons, two of one hundred tons, and the rest smaller. The other ports +associated with Glasgow were noticed in the report thus:――“Dumbarton, +a small and very poor burgh, which sometimes gives shelter to a vessel +of sixteen tons. Greenock, a small place, the inhabitants being all +seamen or fisherman, trading to Ireland or to the Isles in open boats. +Saltcoats has only a few houses inhabited by fishermen.” + +Ayr was the eighth and last head port, and its district embraced “all +the shore which bounds Kyle, Carrick, and Galloway, places fuller of +moors and mosses than good towns and people, or trading.” Yet Ayr had +three ships and a few small barks. But Tucker stated that this district +of ports would scarcely yield any more revenue than would pay the +necessary outlay of the Government. + +The materials and figures for comparing the shipping at the dates of +1656 and 1692 are very incomplete, as the information of a definite +character for the later is imperfect, and only admit of a comparison +of the shipping of a few of the chief ports. But the figures in the +following table may be taken as approximately correct:―― + + 1656. 1692. + ────────────────── ────────────────── + Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. + ──────── ──────── ──────── ──────── + Leith 12 1000 29 1700 + Dundee 10 498 21 1191 + Glasgow 12 830 15 1172 + Kirkcaldy 12 592 14 1213 + Montrose 12 220 18 629 + ── ──── ── ──── + 58 3140 97 5905 + +It appears from the above figures that the shipping of these five ports +had increased considerably between the two dates. It may also be stated +that at the later period, various parties in Glasgow were part-owners +of several other ships besides these in the table; while only about one +half of the Kirkcaldy vessels belonged to parties in that town: and the +vessels belonging to Montrose were all small barks. + +The mode of agriculture practised in Scotland was extremely rude; and +in no field of industry is there a more striking contrast than between +the husbandry of the seventeenth century and that of the ♦nineteenth. +In the seventeenth century only a small portion of the land was under +tillage, there was no regular rotation of crops, and no improved +grasses, such as clover and ryegrass; and though the chief wealth +of the farmers consisted of cattle, no efforts were made to improve +the breeds, which were all of a small class, and as yet there was no +stall-feeding. + + ♦ “ninteenth” replaced with “nineteenth” + +The general system of farming was this. The land which was manured +extended to only about a fourth of the farm, or sometimes a fifth or +sixth of it. The remaining portion, called the outfields, was never +manured, but a certain part of it, after having been pastured on for +seven or eight years, was then ploughed up, and after yielding a poor +crop or two of oats, by which it was exhausted, it was again rested and +pastured on as before, and another portion ploughed, cropped, exhausted, +and rested in its turn. Under this system, which kept only the part of +the land nearest to the farmyard in a state fit for tillage, the whole +arable land of the country could have yielded but little, compared +with what it was capable of producing. Several parts of the south, +now celebrated as grain-producing districts, were at the end of the +seventeenth century merely stony moors and bogs. Although parliament +had passed acts touching fences, hedges, and ditches, there were few +enclosed fields anywhere in Scotland, and the practice of improving +the soil by a regular system of drainage was quite unknown. In 1686 it +was enacted that all proprietors, life-renters, tenants, and cottars +should cause their cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and swine to be herded +the whole year; and during the night to keep them in houses or folds, +that they might not eat and destroy other people’s crops, grass, woods, +planting, and hedges. Those found contravening the act were to be +liable to a penalty of half a merk for each of the animals found upon +their neighbours’ grounds, “over and above the damage done to the grass +or the planting.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 595. + +Agricultural implements were rough and clumsy. The plough was made of +timber, save the clathing, the coulter, and sock; while the ploughing +itself was of the most wretched description. The entire economy of +the farm was in a backward state: the manure was carried to the fields +on horseback and by manual labour, while the grain was conveyed to +the mills and to the markets on horseback, carts being as yet very +little used. Three or four returns was considered to be a good crop, +and the difficulty of finding food for cattle throughout winter was +often extreme. Animals intended for human food were slaughtered before +Martinmas, and salted, to supply the family with meat during the winter. +The trade in beef was then on a limited scale in Scotland; probably +there is more beef sold in one week at the present time than was sold +in a year at the end of the seventeenth century. + +The state of the tenants and labourers of the land was not a +comfortable and happy one. Farmers themselves were poor, and part of +their rents was still paid in produce and in services to landlords. +Farm-steadings were merely clusters of hovels, without proper +accommodation even for cattle, far less for human beings. + +A strong desire for exclusive privileges in trade and industry still +prevailed. Early in the seventeenth century, attempts were made to +introduce into Scotland an improved mode of tanning leather. Twelve +tanners from England, under royal patronage, came to instruct the +barkers and tanners of Scotland in the perfect mode of making leather. +They were invested with special privileges, and were located in several +parts of ♦the country, the object being to retain at home the money +which had been usually spent on foreign leather. But a tax was put on +the improved leather, at the rate of four shillings Scots per hide, for +the first twenty-one years. This caused discontent among the shoemakers +who everywhere exerted themselves to thwart the King’s purpose. +They raised the prices of their boots and shoes, twenty shillings on +the pair of boots, and six shillings on the shoes, which stirred up +the people against the tax, and a clamour arose that the nation was +oppressed, the poorer classes especially. In 1622, a complaint was +lodged with the Privy Council, that many of the tanners throughout the +kingdom still continued the old mode of letting their leather remain +only a short time in the pits, and then brought it to market in a raw +state, quite regardless of the obvious advantages of the new way of +tanning. The Council therefore ordered that a number of the old tanners +should be proclaimed rebels. The grievances of the leather-workers came +before the Estates in 1625, and again in 1633, when the tanners and +barkers of the kingdom petitioned Parliament, “to be freed and relieved +of the burden and imposition imposed upon them for tanning and barking +of hides; and that this impost should be discharged, because it does +great damage to the whole country.” Subsequently the matter was often +before the Estates;¹ but down to the present time, the tanners of +Scotland have not succeeded in producing leather of equal quality to +the best English and French. The Scotch croops, or sole leather, is +much inferior to the English, and the Scotch calf and upper leather is +also inferior both to French and English. + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments + of Scotland_, Volume V., pages 48, 185, 264. About this time + gilded and ornamented leather was fashionable for covering + the walls of rooms in the better class of houses though, + of course, it was imported. But in 1681, Alexander Brand, + a merchant in Edinburgh, stated that he had brought workmen + and materials into Scotland, and proposed to erect a work + to produce this kind of leather as cheap as it could be + imported. The Privy Council granted him an exclusive right + of manufacturing it for nineteen years. + +In the preceding volumes I referred to the making of cloth, which +branch of industry was still in a comparatively rude stage, and +various attempts were begun in the seventeenth century to introduce +improvements. In 1601, Commissioners, deputed by the burghs, engaged +seven Flemishmen to settle in Scotland and assist in setting the work +in operation; six of them being intended for making serge stuff, and +one for broadcloth. On arriving in Edinburgh, they had expected to be +immediately employed; but a debate arose as to whether they should be +dispersed among the chief towns, and thus diffuse their instructions +more widely among the Scots. While this was pending, the foreigners +complained to the Privy Council that they were neither entertained nor +sent to work, and that it was proposed to separate them, which would +greatly retard the perfecting of the work. The Council ordered that +they should all be allowed to remain in Edinburgh, and work according +to the conditions on which they had agreed with the commissioners; and +that till they began their work, they should be properly supplied with +food and drink. But six weeks later, the burghs had done nothing; and +the Council then informed them that, unless they made a beginning by +the month of November, the royal privilege would be withdrawn. Eight +years later a company of these foreigners, under the special protection +of the King, was established in the Canongate, Edinburgh, and made +cloth of various kinds. The business was managed by John Sutherland and +Joan Van Headen, and it was stated that they were diffusing much light +and knowledge of their calling amongst the Scots. In spite, however, of +the King’s letters, which invested these industrious men with special +privileges, and exemptions from local burdens, the magistrates of the +Canongate began to molest them, with the object of forcing them to +become burgesses and freemen in the regular form; on their appeal to +the Privy Council, their exemption was affirmed.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume V., page 49. + +The bulk of the clothing then used in Scotland was home made, the +people supplying themselves with clothes from their own wool and +flax; each family spinning for itself the yarn, and sending it to the +village weaver to be woven. In some parts of Scotland the children +were regularly taught to spin by a mistress. The magistrates of Peebles +resolved in 1633――“to convene all the persons and parents of those +bairns given up in a roll, to be bound for a year to the small wheel +in the house to be erected to learn the young ones to spin.” And, “the +whole council have referred the taking of a house for the mistress and +bairns of the little wheel to be erected for learning the young ones to +spin, to the provost and the two bailies.”¹ It was not till towards the +end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries +that successful efforts were made to manufacture this class of goods +for general sale; although in the reign of Charles I. there were cloth +manufactories on a small scale at Newmills in Haddingtonshire, at +Bonnington near Edinburgh, and at Ayr; while in Aberdeen there was a +manufactory of plaiden goods and ginghams. In 1641, parliament passed +an act to encourage and facilitate the erection of manufactories. +This act promised the following immunities to all who had or should +erect such works:――“All Spanish and foreign fine wool for making fine +cloth shall be custom free, all dye stuffs, oil, and other materials +necessary for such works, shall be free of all custom and impost; all +parcels of cloth made by any who have erected, or shall erect such +works, shall be custom free for the space of fifteen years from the +date of their erection. The managers of such works shall be free of +any taxation to be imposed on the kingdom for any occasion bygone or +to come; and it shall not be lawful for anyone to engage, reset, or +entertain, any of the servants of these works without the consent of +the masters thereof.” By another Act passed in 1645, the masters and +all the workers of manufactories were freed from military service and +the quartering of troops upon them; and it was again declared that such +works were to be free of all taxation.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Peebles_, pages 372, 373. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 497; + Volume VI., page 174. + +In 1661, Parliament passed two Acts concerning manufactories, one +recommending the establishment of companies and societies for making +linen and cloth stuffs, and the other for erecting manufactories; +while it also ratified former Acts of Parliament and of Council which +had similar ends in view. These proposed companies were authorised to +incorporate themselves, and to elect a certain number of their members +to act as a committee or council of managers, to frame rules and +regulations for the management of the manufactory, and conducting the +business of the company. For their encouragement, materials imported +for use in their manufactures, and whatever goods they produced and +exported, were to be free of custom and impost for nineteen years; the +stock invested in their works was exempted from public and local taxes; +and they themselves were to be free from quartering of soldiers. Every +encouragement was given to skilled workmen from other countries to +come and settle in Scotland, and instruct the Scots in their respective +kinds of work. The point touching foreigners was thus stated:――“If +any stranger shall come or be brought into this kingdom by natives to +set up work and teach his art in making cloth stuffs, stockings, or +any other kind of manufacture, he shall enjoy the benefit of the law +and all other privileges that a native does enjoy; with power to erect +manufactories either in burgh or landward as they shall think fit: and +there to dwell and exercise their trade without any stop or trouble.” +The managers and heads of the company were enjoined to appoint an +expert man to visit and examine the work, and to put a mark or seal +upon it, distinguishing what was sufficient and what not. The Privy +Council, or others whom the King might appoint, were empowered to +do whatever was found to be hereafter necessary for promoting the +manufactures.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume VII., pages 255, 261. + +At the same time other Acts were passed with the aim of promoting home +manufactures. The export of all kinds of hides, of woollen yarn, of raw +and unwaxed cloth, excepting plaiding, all linen yarn, broken copper, +brass or pewter, was prohibited under the penalty of confiscation of +the goods. An Act was also passed in 1661, authorising and recommending +the establishment of fishing companies for promoting the fishings. This +Act contained many proposals and elaborate provisions for prosecuting +the herring fishing and white fishing in the various seas, channels, +firths, and lochs, “in his Majesty’s ancient kingdom of Scotland.” An +Act for encouraging shipping and navigation was passed; and also an Act +appointing a council of trade, which was empowered to do whatever was +necessary for regulating, improving, and advancing of trade, navigation, +and manufactures; and this was to endure until discharged by the King.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 257, 259‒261, 273, 283. + +In 1681, Parliament passed another Act for encouraging trade and +manufactures, which embodied proposals that the Privy Council had +issued by proclamation six months before, and ratified all former Acts +for the encouragement of manufactures. The most remarkable part of the +Act was the long list of articles and goods which were emphatically +forbidden to be imported. All gold or silver thread, lace, fringes, +or buttons of gold, and all gold or silver worn on clothes, or +counterfeits of them, and all embroideries of silk for wearing clothes; +all foreign linen, cambric, damask, ticking, and calico; all foreign +silk or woollen stockings, silk lace, and gimp thread; all foreign +shoes, boots, or slippers, gloves and clothes, and many other things, +were forbidden to be imported under the penalties of being “burned and +destroyed, and the importers or resetters fined in the value thereof.”¹ +By such measures it was thought that more money would be retained +at home, and thus enrich the nation. But it was soon discovered that +the prohibited foreign goods quickly rose in price; and then the +magistrates of Edinburgh were called before the Privy Council, and +ordered to assemble the merchants of the city, and forbid them to take +such exorbitant prices from the people for the prohibited goods, on +the ground that there was no more to be imported into the kingdom. In +fact, the prohibitive part of the Act was too extreme, and had to be +relaxed.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., page + 348. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume VIII., page 479. + +About this time a company, including some of the Edinburgh merchants, +was formed for starting a new work at Newmills. It was to be placed +under the direction of James Stanfield, an Englishman, and a foreman +and six sheermen were to be brought from England. The work was opened +with two looms, which were soon increased to eight, and then to +twenty-five; and in 1683 the work was still going on. They began +by making white cloth, and next turned a number of their workers to +coarse mixed cloth, and so on gradually to fine, “till now we are upon +superfine cloths, and have brought the spinners and the best of the +workers that length that we hope by May next to have superfine cloths +as good as generally are made in England.” In the same place there +was a manufactory of silk stockings in operation.¹ There was a small +woollen manufactory in Leith; and in 1683, on a petition from the +owners, the Privy Council extended to it the privileges of the Act for +encouraging manufactures. It was reported that the partners of this +undertaking were well skilled in their business, and that it――“can dye +and mix wool and cloth; and can take in wool from the merchants and +others, and does dye and mix it and deliver it in broadcloth; and has +already made good broadcloth to many of the merchants of Edinburgh.”² + + ¹ _Pamphlet on Woollen Manufactories_, 1683. + + ² _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Hitherto the dress of the royal army had been of a plain description, +but it was now deemed necessary for the soldiers to have coloured coats, +that they might be easily distinguished from other skulking and vagrant +persons, who had before imitated the livery of the King’s troops. +In 1684, the Newmills manufacturing company offered to furnish from +their own works a suitable cloth of any dye that should be desired, as +cheaply and promptly as could be done in England; and they offered to +show samples and to give security for the fulfilment of the undertaking. +But the Privy Council decided to use English cloth. In the beginning of +the year 1685, the captain of the town-guard of Edinburgh was empowered +to import three hundred yards of scarlet cloth, with trappings and +other necessaries, for the clothing of his corps; and some of the +other commanders of troops got similar licenses. At this the Newmills +company were greatly offended, and petitioned that the importation of +English cloth for the army should be stopped, as it could be supplied +as good and as cheap from the home factory, and begged that a committee +should be appointed to ascertain if this was the case. The petition +was received, but nothing resulted from it. The company, however, had +resolved to protect their privileges, and directly attacked five of the +merchants of Edinburgh, who had been dealing in English cloth contrary +to the law. Their complaint contained a minute enumeration of the goods +and the quality of the cloth which each of the merchants had sold; +and the offenders were many times called before the Privy Council, and +failing to appear, they were held to be guilty, and therefore decreed +to deliver up the prohibited goods to be burned according to law; while +they had to recompense the King’s cash-keeper for the goods, “at the +rate of twelve shillings sterling for each yard of cloth, and five +shillings for each dozen of the prohibited stockings.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; Chambers’ _Domestic Annals + of Scotland_, Volume II., pages 419‒421. “It was not, after + all, to be in this age that good woollen cloth was to be + produced in our northern clime.” A writer, in 1697, says: “We + have tried to make several things, and particularly hats and + broadcloth, and yet we cannot make our ware so good as what + we can have from abroad. Those who would propagate any new + manufacture must lay their account to labour under several + disadvantages at first.”――_Husbandry Anatomised_, Edinburgh, + 1697. + +From an early period linen cloth was made in Scotland, though for long +the trade was on a very limited scale. Parliament enacted, in 1641, +that linen at tenpence per yard or upwards should be a yard in breadth, +and should be presented in the markets in folds, not in rolls. In 1661, +the Act already noticed for establishing companies enumerated linen +among the fabrics proposed to be encouraged, and enacted that all yarn +must be sold by weight.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V.; Volume VII., + page 257. + +But the commercial relations of England and Scotland were of the most +unsatisfactory character. In all the trade and commercial legislation +of the period it was the leading aim to prevent the importation of +everything, which it was thought could be produced or made at home, as +it was believed that this course was the only one which would enable +the nation to become busy and rich. So in 1663, the Scotch Parliament +imposed a scale of duties on all English goods which amounted to +prohibition, with the natural result that the English also adopted +prohibitory measures. The consequences were ruinous. A petition was +presented to the Privy Council in 1684, complaining of the severe +treatment which Scotsmen had received when selling their linen goods +in England. It was stated that before there had been a free trade for +Scotch linen in the South, but that latterly the men selling it in +England had been apprehended, and whipped as criminals, and many of +them obliged to give security that they would discontinue their traffic. +It was affirmed that about twelve thousand persons were then employed +at this branch of industry in Scotland; and therefore it was important, +not merely to the workers, but also to the landlords and to the +government, as every twelve hundred packs exported to England paid a +custom of three pounds sterling. The Council recommended the Secretary +of State to intercede with the King, that the Scotch merchants and +others might have liberty to sell linen in England, without alluding +to the fact that there was a Scotch Act which treated English woollen +goods in the same exclusive spirit.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume VII., pages 465, 466. + +Another way of promoting the manufacture of, and trade in linen, was +tried in Scotland, when Parliament in 1686 enacted that the bodies +of all persons should be buried in plain linen only, spun and made +within the kingdom, under a penalty of three hundred pounds Scots, +if a nobleman. To render the Act effective, the relatives of deceased +persons were enjoined, under severe penalties, to declare upon oath to +their parish minister, within eight days of the funeral, that the law +had been obeyed. Poor tenants and cottars in the country were exempted +from the operation of the Act. This Act was repeated in 1693 and in +1695. + +In the Act of 1693, it was enacted that all linen should be sold by +weight. “And further, their Majesties, considering how much the uniform +working and measuring of linen cloth may raise the value thereof with +natives and foreigners, and render the trade more easy and acceptable +to merchants: therefore, have enacted that all linen cloth made for +export or for sale in the public markets of the kingdom, should be +made exact to these two standards, namely, either of the breadth of +three-quarters and two inches unbleached, or a large ell and 2 inches +in breadth when bleached; and that no three-quarter cloth should +contain above a thousand double threads of warp, and that all cloth +above a thousand double threads of warp should be an ell and two +inches broad unbleached, and a large ell bleached: that all linen cloth +to be sold in the manner aforesaid should be made up in pieces and +half-pieces as follows: All three-quarter broad in pieces containing +eighteen ells, and half-pieces nine ells; and all ell-broad cloth in +pieces containing twenty-four ells, and half-pieces twelve ells. That +all such linen cloth should be equally and evenly wrought according +to the due thickness and closeness of sufficient marketable cloth; and +that all weavers should leave at the end of each piece three finger +breadths of warp yarn unwefted to remain for thrumbs to each piece +and half-piece, and that when they cut any web out of the loom they +knit every fifty double threads together, for the more exact numbering +of the warp threads of every web ... that the owner of all such linen +cloth, before exposing it for sale, should be obliged to bring it +to a royal borough where linen is usually sold, and there to receive +the public seal and stamp of the borough upon both ends of each piece, +which shall be a sufficient proof of the just length, breadth, and the +quality of the working, and the proper thickness and closeness.” + +Another Act was passed in 1693, prohibiting the export of lint, and +permitting it to be imported free of duty. At the same time Parliament +passed Acts granting the privilege of manufactories to Paul’s works at +Edinburgh, and to the works at Leith, giving them power to incorporate +themselves with all the rights usually accorded to manufactories. +Yet another Act was passed in 1693, erecting the woollen manufactory +of Newmills into a free incorporation; and another in favour of the +manufacture of baizes, and for the encouragement of trade, in which it +was stated that James Foulis, John Holland, William Graham, and other +five merchants, had resolved to erect a manufactory for making the +cloth, commonly called “Colchester Baizes,” and all other kinds of +baizes. This, it was supposed, would consume the native wool which +could not be otherwise profitably used. The company were granted all +the privileges usually given to such undertakings; but if they failed +to put the work in operation within two years, then the Act in their +favour became null and void.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VIII., page + 598; Volume IX., pages 311‒319, 461. Touching coffins, the + Act of 1686 contained this provision, “that no wooden coffin + shall exceed one hundred merks Scots as the highest rate + for persons of the greatest quality, and so proportionally + for persons of meaner quality, under the pain of two hundred + merks Scots for each contravention.” + +In May, 1694, an agreement was concluded between Nicolas Dupin, acting +for a linen company in England, and the royal burghs and others in +Scotland, for forming a company to carry on the manufacture of linen +in the latter kingdom. It was arranged that the undertaking should be +founded upon a capital of thirty thousand pounds, in five pound shares, +which were to be equally divided between Englishmen and Scotsmen. +The shares were to be paid in four instalments within four years. The +work was referred to as established in 1696, and two years later the +bleaching was executed at Corstorphine.¹ + + ¹ _Wodrow Pamphlets._ + +Prior to the seventeenth ♦century, all the soap used in Scotland was +imported, chiefly from Flanders. It has been estimated that the whole +annual consumption of this essentially necessary article only amounted +to about 400,800 pounds, little more than a fraction of the quantity +which is consumed at present. In 1619, the King granted a patent to +Nathaniel Uddart, to endure for twenty-two years, for the manufacture +of soap in Scotland. This man erected a soap-work at Leith, and +furnished it with everything requisite for the business. But two years +later he petitioned the Privy Council that the importation of foreign +soap should be prohibited, and said that he was able to supply all that +was necessary for the use of the people, and thus save money from being +sent out of the kingdom. The Council made inquiries as to the quality +of the soap which he produced, and having satisfied themselves that he +could produce the necessary quantity, granted the prohibition which he +desired. At the same time they fixed the maximum price of the native +soap, which was to be £24 per barrel for green soap, and £32 for white, +and each barrel to contain sixteen stones. But the production of soap +had only been two years under protection when loud complaints arose +amongst the people. It was said that the quality of the home-made +soap was inferior, and the merchants bitterly complained that their +traffic with the Low Countries was interrupted; while the merchants of +Dumfries and other places grumbled because they were forced to carry +soap all the way from Leith, when they could have it brought by ships +to their doors. These parties presented their grievances to the Lords +of Council, who again made inquiries, and concluded that Uddart’s +privilege was hurtful to the nation, and that the people had not been +so well supplied with the soap made by him as they had been formerly +with foreign soap. The Council accordingly, in July 1623, declared that +the prohibition should cease in a year or sooner, if he continued to +produce an inferior or a dearer article.¹ + + ♦ “centruy” replaced with “century” + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Uddart seems to have retained his patent till the twenty-one years were +nearly run; and in 1634, a new one, to commence on the close of the old, +was granted by the King to his servant, Patrick Mauld of Panmure. The +King’s letter is characteristic, and proceeded on this ground:――“that +it is necessary for the good of his Majesty’s ancient kingdom that the +people should be furnished with good soap, at a reasonable price within +itself, and that soap-making is not a trade that can be communicated +to all his subjects, and that the public would suffer if the same was +left indifferently to all: while it is equally true, that such being +the case, the choice of the person belongs to his Majesty as a part +of his sovereign prerogative.” As Mauld had undertaken the work with +the responsibility of continuing it, the King granted to him and +his representatives, for twenty-one years, the sole licence within +the kingdom of making soap for washing clothes, of all colours and +qualities which they may think fit. If more soap was produced than +was required for the people, the surplus might be exported; and Mauld +might employ foreigners at his works, but they were forbidden to make +soap for any other person. In connection with his patent, he got a +licence to fish and trade in the seas of Greenland, and in the Isles, +that he might provide his works with oils and other materials. The +King also granted to him the sole right of making potash of all kinds: +and for these privileges he was to pay an annual sum of twenty pounds +sterling.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +In 1661, Parliament passed an Act for encouraging soap-works, which +stated that such works had already been of advantage to the nation, +and might be made of greater advantage: that the eastern and Greenland +fishing would be greatly assisted by the importing of potash and other +materials, and money brought into the kingdom by the exported soap made +within the same. It was therefore enacted that oil, potash, and other +materials imported for making soap, should be free of all custom; and +that any soap produced in the kingdom might be exported duty free for +nineteen years from the date of the erection of the works where it was +produced.¹ Before the end of the century there were several soap-works +in operation. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 203. + +Another product of skill and industry associated with refinement, +glass-making, was attempted. In 1610, a patent was granted for the +erection of a glass-work in Scotland, which was begun in Wemyss, in +Fife, under the direction of Sir John Hay, who, it is also reported, +had originated an ironwork. But in 1619, he informed the Privy +Council that his works had not proved remunerative; and it was then +requested that the King should allow the glass made by Hay to be sold +unrestrictedly in England, while the export of coal into that country +should be prohibited; and if this were done he had some hope of +prospering. However, it appears the work was continued, as the Privy +Council, in 1621, appointed a commission to examine and try the quality +of the glass, to see that measures were adopted for the full supply of +the country with glass, and thus save the importation of foreign glass. +They soon reported that the Wemyss glass work was in a satisfactory +condition. The cradles contained fifteen wisps, and each wisp had +three tables, three quarters of a yard and a little more in depth. The +glass was reported to be fully as good as Danskine glass, though they +would have been better pleased if it had been a little thicker and +tougher. Touching the quality of the drinking glasses produced, the +commissioners were more doubtful, and recommended patterns of English +glass for comparing and trying the quality of the Scotch ones in future. +Upon this report the Council granted the desired monopoly against +foreign glass-makers, but under conditions limiting the price of broad +glass to twenty pounds per cradle.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; Chambers’ _Domestic Annals + of Scotland_, Volume I., pages 506, 507. + +Before the end of the century several glass-works were established. +There was one in Leith which made bottles and apothecary glasses; +and in the year 1689, it was stated that this work produced a greater +quantity of wares in four months than had been sold in the country +for a whole year, and at as low prices as any similar articles from +London and Newcastle. So the Privy Council granted it the privileges +of a manufactory, and prohibited the importation of foreign bottles, +provided that the Leith company should not charge more than two +shillings and sixpence per dozen bottles. In the beginning of the year +1690, the owners of the Leith glass works complained that the work +at Newcastle, and the English, had sent large quantities of glass +and bottles into Scotland, “which was likely to over-stock the whole +country.” On their petition, the Privy Council empowered the Leith +glass company to employ officers to seize all such English bottles +and bring them in for his Majesty’s use. The laird of Prestongrange +proposed to build a glass-work on his own estate, at a place called +Newhaven, “for making all kinds of glass, as bottles, vials, drinking +glasses, window and mirror glasses.” He had arranged with foreigners +for carrying on the work, and everything looked encouraging; and in +1697, the Privy Council granted to his proposed work the privileges +accorded by Act of Parliament to manufactories. About the end of the +century, a proposal was made by James Montgomery, a merchant in Glasgow, +to erect a glass-work there, and the Council granted him the usual +privileges.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Connected with the department for preparing the glass intended for +mirrors, there was a refugee Frenchman, called Leblane, who had married +a Scotch woman, and became a burgess of guild in Edinburgh. His special +branch of work was to polish the glass used for making mirrors, an art +never before practiced in Scotland. He carried on his business in a +workshop in the Canongate; and the mirrors which he was commissioned +to make often required mouldings and head-pieces of wood, and sometimes +tables, drawers, and stands, corresponding to the glass, for completing +a set. Leblane offered to employ the wrights of the Canongate to +execute the woodwork which he required, but they told him that they +could not do it; he was therefore forced to employ some of the wrights +of Edinburgh. This, however, caused the Canongate wrights to complain +that their rights were encroached upon, and his work was likely to be +much impeded; but he petitioned the Privy Council, and got permission +to provide the upholstery work connected with his mirrors on the simple +principle of his making a first offer of it to the wrights of the +Canongate. + +It seems that until about the beginning of the eighteenth century there +was no regular work for making earthenware in Scotland. The articles +of this description in use among the people were imported. In 1703, +William Montgomery, of Mackbiehill, and George Sim, a merchant of +Edinburgh, made arrangements for erecting a pothouse, for making +porcelain and earthenware; and had engaged foreign operatives to secure +the successful execution of the work. For the encouragement of the +enterprise Parliament granted to them an exclusive right of production +for fifteen years.¹ It was stated in the Act that the projectors of the +work “were to bring home workmen upon their own charges, until those of +this nation be instructed and capable in the said trade, provided they +be allowed such privileges and encouragement for such a number of years +as the hazard of a project new in itself, and liable and subject to +many miscarriages and accidents in the beginning, and the uncertainty +whether when the same is erected, the clay of the country will prove so +good and sufficient as to warrant us to proceed therein.” + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume XI. + +Paper is associated with the diffusion of knowledge and the progress +of civilisation in many ways; and the first attempts to manufacture +it in Scotland are full of interest. The trade of collecting rags in +connection with the sale of earthenware, and the production of paper, +became an important branch of industry; in fact, the value of rags as +material for the manufacture of paper could not be easily estimated. +Recently the difficulty of obtaining sufficient raw material for making +the enormous quantities, and the different kinds and qualities of paper, +have been greatly increased, and have taxed the ingenuity of able and +energetic men. + +In 1590, there was a proposal made to erect a paper manufactory in +Scotland. The Privy Council granted the projected work an exclusive +right of making paper for nineteen years. But it does not appear that +this design, which was originated by a German and others associated +with him, proved successful; and we find no more attempts to produce +paper at home till 1675, when a paper work was erected at Darly Mills, +on the Water of Leith. French workmen were employed to instruct the +Scots; and in 1679, the owners of the work reported that they were able +to produce “gray and blue paper much finer than ever was done before +in this kingdom.” At this time, Alexander Deas, a merchant, and one of +the proprietors, presented a petition to the Council stating that the +work not only supplied good paper, but also promised a general benefit +to the community from the utilisation of rags, which before were not +turned to use, and in gathering of which many poor people could make a +living; while in the work itself, many Scotsmen and boys were employed, +and many more might be instructed in the art of making paper. But +in order that the rags might be fully available, it was necessary to +suppress the custom of using fine rags for wicks to candles; and it was +therefore agreed that cotton wicks should be substituted, which, though +dearer, gave a much better light. The Privy Council acceded to their +request, and prohibited the candlemakers from using clouts and rags for +the wicks of candles.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ Chambers gives it as his + opinion, that this paper mill was not continued, and that + paper-making was not successfully established in Scotland + till the middle of the eighteenth ♦century. _Domestic Annals + of Scotland_, Volume II., page 395. + + ♦ “ceetury” replaced with “century” + +Mr. Dupin, who was connected with paper works in England and in Ireland, +proposed to establish one in Scotland in 1693. In that year, he and his +partners applied to the Privy Council for permission to erect and carry +on a paper work; and stated that he had attained “to the art of making +all kinds of paper moulds as good, or better than any made beyond seas, +and at a far cheaper rate, inasmuch that one man can make and finish +more moulds in one week than any workman of other nations finish in two +months’ time. Moreover, whereas large timber is scarce in this kingdom, +I and my men have arts to make the greatest mortar and vessel for +making up of paper without timber; and we have also provided several +ingenious outlandish workmen to work and to teach their art in this +kingdom.” The Council granted them liberty to erect paper mills in +Scotland, “without hindering any other persons who were already set up.” +They also received permission to put the national arms upon the paper +produced at their mills. In 1695, Parliament sanctioned this enterprise +as a joint-stock company, and ordered that a charter of incorporation +should be granted to them for their security and encouragement, under +the name of “The Scots White Paper Manufactory,” “for the making of all +kinds of writing and printing white paper, throughout this kingdom,” +with all the privileges usually accorded by Acts of Parliament for +encouraging manufactories. In 1697, the work was going on and producing +“good white paper, and only needing a little more encouragement to +be an advantage to the whole kingdom.” Upon the petition of the +papermakers, the Privy Council again commanded that the candlemakers +should not use rags for making wicks.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume IX., page 429. Touching the paper company, + the Act of Parliament stated:――“It being found that the water + and air in several parts of the kingdom are very fit, and may + contribute much to the success of such work ... and that the + several attempts that have hitherto been made for rendering + such work effective may have failed because such an + undertaking could not be otherwise managed than by a society + and incorporation, and required a general joint-stock to set + up and carry on the same.” + +The beginning of a smaller and less necessary branch of industry has +to be noticed, though subsequently it was developed into a great trade +in the chief city of the west of Scotland, and brought fortunes and +wealth to many individuals. Tobacco was first brought into Britain in +the latter half of the sixteenth century. The antipathy of James VI. +to tobacco is well known, and he forbade its importation into Scotland; +but his decree was much evaded, and it soon became an article of common +merchandise in the country. A duty of one shilling and eightpence +sterling was then imposed on it, but this only led to smuggling to +evade the tax; and in 1622, the Council passed an Act prohibiting the +importation of tobacco, under the penalty of confiscation. The same +year, however, the Council passed an Act explaining that the King did +not mean to deprive his subjects of the orderly sale and moderate use +of tobacco, but only to prevent the abuse and excessive use of it; +and a proclamation was emitted, intimating that the prohibition to +import it only applied to those who did not hold a licence. In 1634, +another attempt was made to put the sale of tobacco under a wholesome +restriction. Two men were appointed to sell licences to retailers of +tobacco, and to account to the royal revenue for the proceeds as might +be arranged between the parties, but this arrangement could hardly be +carried out. In 1671, Sir John Nicolson of Nicolson was allowed by the +government to impose a tax upon tobacco; but in 1673, it was stated in +an Act of Parliament, that the tax was injuring the trade of tobacco, +and therefore Sir John’s privilege was terminated, and tobacco was to +be henceforth free of any duty, except the ordinary custom and excise. +In accord with the prevailing commercial ideas of the time, in 1661, a +tax was imposed on all tobacco pipes imported into the kingdom. The Act +on the tobacco pipes contained the following:――“It being represented +to his Majesty that tobacco pipes can be made and sold at home at a +far easier rate than they can when brought from abroad: therefore, to +keep money at home, and give tradesmen work, and for the encouragement +and good of all who are skilful in making of tobacco pipes, his +Majesty does impose upon the gross of all tobacco pipes imported, eight +shillings Scots ... and does prohibit any merchant, importer, or maker +of pipes, to charge more than eighteen shillings Scots for the gross of +any pipes, whether they be made within or without the country.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume VII., page 65; Volume VIII., page 212. + +In 1674, Andrew M‘Kairter presented a petition to the Privy Council, +stating that when the insurrection of 1666 broke out, being then a +youth at school, he joined the insurgents; and after the suppression of +the rising, “out of a childish fear he did run away to Newcastle;” and +having there, in London, and in Holland, served a long apprenticeship +in spinning tobacco, and having now returned to his native land, he had +set up this trade at Leith. He now desired to make his peace with the +government, by signing the bond required by the law; and the Council +granted his request, and he became one of the earliest tobacco spinners +in Leith. + +The state of the coinage often engaged the attention of parliament and +the Privy Council in the seventeenth century, and for this period the +records of it are pretty complete. But no radical change occurred in +the coinage till the introduction of banking at the end of the century, +and only points of general interest demand notice. + +In November, 1604, the government ordered gold to be coined of the +fineness of twenty-two carats, and the silver of eleven deniers. Five +kinds of gold coins were to be struck――the unit or twelve pounds Scots +piece, the double crown or six pounds Scots piece, the Britain crown +or three pounds Scots piece, the thistle crown, forty-eight shillings +Scots, and the half-crown, thirty shillings Scots. Out of every +20 pounds of gold coined, one pound at least was to be issued in +the smaller gold pieces, and the types of the coins are minutely +described in the records. The silver coinage was to be issued in seven +pieces――the crown or three pounds Scots, half-crown, shilling, sixpence, +twopence, penny, and half-penny pieces. This series of coins, which +were minted between the beginning of the year 1605 and 1610, were +exactly the same both in England and in Scotland, except the mint-mark +and the difference in workmanship; and they were authorised to pass +current throughout Great Britain.¹ + + ¹ R. W. Cochran Patrick, _Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, + Volume I., pages 164, 165, Introduction; Lindsay’s _View of + the Coinage of Scotland_, Supplement, page 60. In July, 1604, + Alexander Reid, a cutler in Edinburgh, was tried for false + coining. It seems that he was employed in the mint, and had + got hold of some false blanks, which he stamped with the true + dies of the merk piece; and for this crime he was hanged. + Birrel’s _Diary_; Pitcairn’s _Criminal Trials_, Volume II., + page 399. + +By a proclamation in November, 1611, all the gold coins were raised +about one-tenth in value, and all the former acts against exporting +coin were renewed. The Privy Council ordered that a table of the prices +for gold of every standard should be prepared and placed in some public +part of the coining-house. Foreign money was only to be received as +bullion; and in December the same year, the Council prohibited the +circulation of foreign coin, and ordered it to be brought to the mint, +where it would be paid for at the settled rates. + +The want of small money was still felt in Scotland, and in 1614, a new +coinage of copper was authorised. Four hundred stone weight of copper +was directed to be coined into twopenny and penny pieces. The same year +the Council renewed all the former acts for bringing in bullion, and +especially an act of the reign of James IV. In 1619, the circulation +of all foreign coins was again prohibited, and they were ordered to +be brought to the mint, and paid for as bullion at the rate of £39 3 +shilling 5 pence for every ounce of twenty-two carat gold, and £2 18 +shilling 10½ pence for every ounce of fine silver. It was again +declared illegal to export any coin. + +In 1623, a new coinage of copper was ordered. Five hundred stone weight +of copper was to be minted in twopenny and penny pieces. The acts +against exporting money were re-enacted in 1625, and at the same time, +commissioners were appointed to consider the best means of raising +the value of the money. They held several meetings, but in June, 1627, +it was resolved not to raise the course of the money, or restrain the +course of foreign dollars, till a more fitting opportunity. In April, +1629, another copper coinage was authorised, similar to that of 1623. +From this time to 1636, various proposals and changes concerning the +coinage were presented and discussed among the public bodies of the +kingdom, relating chiefly to the currency of foreign coins, but they +were not of sufficient importance to justify entering into details. A +new copper coinage was issued in 1632, consisting of one thousand five +hundred stone weight of copper, in pieces the same as the preceding +ones; and in 1634, another of the same quantity of copper.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, Volume + I., Introduction, pages 166‒169, 235‒237, 241; Volume II., + pages 3, 11, 13, 18, 21, 23, 32‒37, 75, 80‒102, 108, 116. + +The use of a mill was introduced in minting the silver coinage in 1637; +the former method of coining by the hammer had continued for a long +time in Scotland. In January, 1637, the Council gave permission to +Briot, the master coiner, to make a trial of his mill and press till +the Whitsunday following, and this was extended from time to time, till +the use of the hammer in coining was tacitly and finally relinquished. + +“The method of coining by the mill and press was more efficient and +quicker than by the hammer.¹ The metal having been prepared in much the +same way as formerly, the flang was placed between the puncheons, the +bar of the press turned, and the impression given at once.... The irons +were prepared by the graver of the Mint, who engraved the portrait of +the sovereign in relief, and from this the dies for striking the money +were struck. The dies from which the reverses and the legends were +struck were also furnished by the chief graver.”² + + ¹ “In the Scottish Mint, as everywhere else, money was first + struck with the hammer. The method of proceeding was as + follows:――The gold and silver having been brought to the + required standard, was put into heated crucibles of earth, + shaped like inverted cones, and placed in a furnace. These + furnaces were of two kinds, differing in their construction + ――the one generally used for gold, and the other for silver. + Whenever the metal was melted throughout, it was run into + moulds and cast into bars. These bars were again re-heated, + and afterwards lengthened by beating on an anvil. They + were then cut into pieces about the thickness of the coins + required, and adjusted to the proper weight by cutting with + shears. The pieces were then taken up together with pincers, + and while held tightly on an anvil, beaten with a hammer all + round, to blunt and soften down the marks left by the shears + on the edges. The pieces thus prepared were known as the + flangs, and were now ready for bleaching. This was done + by again beating them, shaking them in a copper sieve, and + afterwards throwing them into boiling water mixed with common + salt and the ashes of the burnt lees of wine, in which they + were boiled till quite bright, and then again thrown on the + copper sieve and dried with rubbers. + + “After this the flangs were distributed to the moneiers to + have the impression put on them. Each moneier had two irons + or puncheons, one of which was called the ‘pile,’ and the + other the ‘trussel.’ The pile was from seven to eight inches + long, and was firmly fixed in a block of wood. On the pile + was engraved one side of the coin, and on the trussel the + other. The flang being placed on the pile, the trussel was + applied to the upper side of it by means of a twister wand, + or by the hand, and the moneier then struck the end of the + puncheon with a hammer until the impression was produced on + the flang. + + “The legend was put on by means of small puncheons bearing + the necessary letters. The coining irons and the ‘letters of + graving’ were always destroyed or defaced when the type of + the coinage was changed, and when in use were placed in the + custody of the warden, one of the responsible officials of + the Mint.”――_Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran + Patrick, Introduction, pages 48‒50. + + ² _Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, + Introduction, page 52. In 1649, there is a minute inventory + of the machinery, the tools, and the furnishings, then in the + Scottish Mint. Out of many things enumerated we may notice that + there were “a great iron mill, a justing mill with four wheels, + and a complete hand mill, three complete spring presses, and + two furnaces with their iron work.” + + “A further improvement was made in the fabrication of the money + by the introduction on the coinage of ‘James VII.,’ of marking + the edges either with lettering or milling, This was done by + a machine which was originally the invention of M. Casting of + the Mint of Paris.... A thin piece of steel was firmly screwed + upon a flat plate of copper fixed in a stout wooden frame. This + steel bore on one edge half of the legend or marking. Another + piece of steel, having on its edge the remainder of the legend + or marking, fixed on the copper plate, so that the flang, being + placed between them, was touched on each side by the marked + edges of the steel bands. This second steel was moved by a + mechanical arrangement of a wheel and handle, and the revolving + flang received at once the milling or inscription.”――_Records + of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, Volume I., + Introduction, page 55. + +There were many complaints as to the scarcity of money, and at +length it seems that inconvenient evils had arisen from the large +quantity of small copper coins in circulation. The state of the copper +money engaged the attention of parliament in 1639 and 1641, and its +importation was prohibited under the penalty of death. In 1642, the +Council specified the foreign coins which should be current, and +fixed the rex dollar of 15 drops at fifty-four shillings. But in 1645, +parliament raised the value of the money, and fixed the rex dollar at +fifty-eight shillings.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages 260, + 261, 283, 284, 450; Volume VI., page 197. In the end of the + year 1652, a committee of the English Parliament met with + deputies from Scotland to confer touching the coinage, but + nothing of much importance was done. The Scotch deputies + complained of the great scarcity of money in the country, + and it was proposed to issue £5000 worth of bodies for + Scotland, but the English Council thought nothing was + required.――_Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran + Patrick, Volume II., pages 133‒135. + +In December, 1660, Charles Maitland, of Halton, was appointed general +of the Mint; and on the 12th of June, 1661, parliament adopted a +revised and exhaustive scale for collecting bullion. An alphabet or +table stating the exact quantities of bullion to be imposed on all +kinds of goods, and payable to the Mint, by all merchants and parties +who exported these goods, was ordered by parliament to be printed and +published, and to be in force from the date of its publication. This +mode of collecting bullion had for long been in operation in Scotland, +but it had never before been so completely systematised and extended. +As this alphabet of charges is highly interesting from a commercial +point of view, as well as in relation to the Mint, I shall go over a +few of the articles under each letter, noting the quantity of goods +of different kinds. For each barrel of whisky containing ten gallons, +there were enacted two ounces of silver; every two bolls of apples, two +ounces; each tun of drinking beer, four ounces; every four chalders of +coal, two ounces; each gross of drinking-glasses, one ounce; every five +thousand red herring, two ounces; every three hundred hart horns, two +ounces; every two thousand oxen horns, two ounces; every five thousand +sheep horns, two ounces; every twenty planks, two ounces; every four +bolls and a half of malt, two ounces; each gross of night-caps, one +ounce; each dozen of masts of all kinds, two ounce; every three oxen, +two ounces; every twenty thousand oysters, one ounce; every forty reams +of paper, two ounces; every hundred yards of plaiding, two ounces; +every three barrels of salmon, two ounces; every twenty sheep, two +ounces; and every six stones of wool, two ounces. Under the head of +skins, there is a pretty large number of kinds mentioned. Altogether +the alphabet of bullion occupies three double-column pages of a large +volume of the Scots Acts.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 250‒254. + +A copper coinage was authorised by parliament on the 12th of June, +1661, consisting of three thousand stones of copper. It was directed +to be coined into pieces called turners, each weighing one drop and a +half, allowing four grains more or less for remedy. Two thousand stones +were to be coined within three years, and the remainder when the Privy +Council thought fit. After the issue of this coinage, the Council was +enjoined not only to prohibit the importation of foreign copper coin, +but also its circulation. A stock of twenty thousand merks Scots was +to be provided for the Mint; and any gold or silver found in Scotland +was to be taken to the coining-house, and paid for at the rate of one +ounce of coined gold of 22 carat for the ounce of bullion of 24 carat; +and similarly, the ounce of silver of 12 denier was to be paid by an +ounce of minted silver coin. A coinage of silver was also authorised, +consisting of a four merk piece, two merk piece, one merk piece, a half +merk piece, and a piece of the value of forty pennies――all Scots money. +The Privy Council was empowered to fix the type and legends of these +coins.¹ There were other coinages of this reign, but none of them call +for special remark. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., pages + 233, 254‒255. + +During this period, however, the Mint, like every other branch of +the government in Scotland, had fallen into a deplorable state. From +various papers still preserved, it appears that the standard of the +money had been depreciated, that more copper had been coined than was +warranted, that some of the officials of the Mint had appropriated to +themselves money to which they had no right, and that the salaries of +some of the officers had been drawn though their posts had been vacant +for years. In 1862, a commission investigated the matter, and disclosed +the above state of affairs. The heads of the Mint, Lord Halton, +Sir John Falconer, Alexander Maitland, and Archibald Falconer, were +removed from their posts and from all places of public trust, and the +Lord-Advocate ordered to prosecute them.¹ + + ¹ _Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, Volume + II., pages 182, 199, 171‒172. + +Parliament passed a long act concerning the coinage in 1686. To +encourage the importation of bullion, it was enacted that in future +anyone bringing to the Mint bullion of the standard fineness should +receive for it from the officers of the Mint the same weight in current +coin of the realm, without any charge for coining. For doing this, +and for defraying the expenses of the Mint, certain taxes were to +be imposed upon various imported goods and articles. A clerk was +to be appointed, who should keep a record on parchment books of the +quantities of bullion given in by the merchants, “which record shall +be open for the inspection of anyone who requires the same, under the +penalty of deprivation;” he had also to keep an accurate record of the +amount of money coined, “that it may be known what quantities of silver +have passed his Majesty’s irons from time to time.” The act fixed +the salaries of the officials and officers of the Mint, and a sum of +£1100 was allowed for maintaining the fabric of the establishment, and +providing new tools and incidental charges. + +The kinds of current silver coins were stated to be the sixty, forty, +twenty, ten, and five shillings Scots pieces; and the weight of each +was minutely stated. It was expressly required by the act that the +sixty and forty shilling pieces should be lettered round the edges, +and the edges of the other three pieces grained. The Privy Council were +empowered to cognise and consider the gold coins, and to regulate and +determine the fineness and the weight, and the type of the coins, when +the King should think fit to grant a warrant for a gold coinage; no +copper was to be coined without the King’s express warrant, and when +it was issued it was to be in sixpenny and twopenny pieces.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, VIII., pages 603‒608. + +In 1690, the government of Scotland received a warrant from the King +authorising the coining of the current pieces of silver, and ordering +that the provisions of the act of 1686 should be put into operation. +The same year, parliament sanctioned a copper coinage, not exceeding +three thousand stones, and to be spread over six years. In 1693, a +change in the rate of money was proposed, and accepted by the King, and +a general rise of about ten per cent, was proclaimed on the money then +current. But the next year, the Scots silver pieces of sixty, forty, +twenty, ten, and five shillings, were reduced to the values which were +current in 1686. On the 10th of December, 1695, sixty stones of silver +were ordered to be coined and issued in forty shilling pieces, and one +hundred and twenty stones in twenty, ten, and five shilling pieces.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX.; _Records + of the Coinage of Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, Volume II., + page 253. + +On the 6th of October, 1696, parliament passed an act authorising a +copper coinage, not exceeding three thousand stones in the space of +six years, of which two parts were to be coined in twopenny pieces, and +a third in sixpenny pieces. At the same time an act was passed against +false coiners. At the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the +eighteenth centuries, counterfeit coining had become a common crime. +In 1704, a batch of false coiners was discovered, and the authorities +proceeded vigorously to prosecute them.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., page 12, + Appendix, pages 53, 55, 79. + +By a proclamation emitted in May, 1697, the importation of foreign +copper coin or base money was prohibited, under a penalty of ten pounds; +but in December another proclamation legalised the currency of the +French three-sous piece at three shillings Scots, and the French crown +at fifty-eight shillings Scots, and raised the forty-pence piece to +three shillings and sixpence Scots. + +At the Union it was agreed that the coin should be of the same +standard and value throughout the United Kingdom. Accordingly, in 1707, +arrangements were made for changing the Scotch coinage into English; +and all the English, Scotch, and the foreign money was called in and +reminted, and reissued as the coinage of Great Britain. In April, 1708, +the Scottish coins were finally called in, and preparations made for +carrying out the recoinage exactly on the methods of the English Mint.¹ +Thus one of the beneficial results of the Union was soon obtained; +since, commercially, the great advantage and the convenience of having +one coinage, and only one standard of money for the whole Island, is +too obvious to need illustration. + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Records of the Coinage of + Scotland_, Cochran Patrick, Volume II., pages 271‒272. Mr. + Cochran Patrick’s _Records of the Coinage of Scotland_, often + referred to in the preceding pages, was published in 1876, + and is a very valuable work. The introduction to the records + and the documents relating to the coinage, and to the mints + of Scotland, is all that could be desired; while the method + of arranging the records for easy consulting and reference is + admirable. Altogether the work is a monument of research and + industry. + +The establishment of a bank in Scotland was a sign of the growing +commercial spirit of the nation, which was manifesting itself in +various directions. In Scotland, as in England, till towards the close +of the seventeenth century, exchanges and other monetary transactions +had been wholly in the hands of a few leading merchants; as in the +back-room of a clothier in the High Street of Edinburgh, or the +counting-room in the Saltmarket of Glasgow.¹ The scheme of the first +Scotch bank, as drawn in an act of parliament in 1695, was limited and +prudential in a high degree, and founded upon the joint-stock principle. +It was to begin with a subscribed capital of £1,200, 000 Scots, or +£100,000 sterling, in shares of one thousand pounds Scots, of which +no one was to have more than twenty; two-thirds of the capital was +to be subscribed by persons residing in Scotland, and one-third by +individuals in England or elsewhere. The company was to be placed +under the direction of a governor, a deputy-governor, and twenty-four +directors, who were to have the sole management of the bank. At the +beginning it was thought best that twelve of the directors should be +Englishmen, as it was assumed that they were better acquainted with +the business of banking than the Scots. The names of the original +proprietors of the bank are preserved in the act of parliament which +sanctioned its establishment; and among them were Mr. Holland, and +six London merchants, and six Edinburgh merchants. Mr. Holland came +down to Edinburgh and resided there for some time, superintending +the proceedings of the bank; and he found that the Scots were rather +ignorant about banking matters. But the bank prospered, and in a few +months after it was opened, it had attained a wonderful degree of +credit. Shortly after the bank was fairly put in operation, by the +common consent of the company, the whole of the directors were elected +by the Scotch shareholders, the English ones being left to act as +trustees, and to manage what business the bank might have in London. +At length, when there were no longer thirteen proprietors of the bank +in England, this arrangement also was relinquished.² + + ¹ The dates at which banks were established in the countries + of Europe are as follows:――In Venice, 1157; in Geneva, 1345; + in Barcelona, 1401; in Genoa, 1407; in Amsterdam, 1407; in + Hamburg, 1619; in Rotterdam, 1635; in Stockholm, 1688; in + England, 1694; in Copenhagen, 1736; in Berlin, 1764; in St. + Petersburg, 1786. + + ² _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 494‒497; _Account of the Bank of Scotland_, 1728. + +At first the chief business of the bank consisted in lending money on +heritable bonds and other securities. The giving of bills of exchange +was next tried, with the object of extending the advantages of the bank +as much as possible; and with the same aim, to carry the circulation +of their notes throughout the country, branch-offices were opened in +Glasgow, Montrose, Dundee, and Aberdeen, for receiving money and paying +money in the form of inland exchange, by notes and bills prepared for +the purpose. But after a trial of this branch business, the directors +came to the conclusion “that the exchange trade was not proper for a +banking company; a bank, they thought, should be chiefly designed as +a common repository of the nation’s cash, a ready fund for affording +credit and loans, and for making receipts and payments of money +easy, by the company’s notes. To deal in exchange interfered with the +trade and the business of private merchants, and the Bank of Scotland +had found it very troublesome, unsafe, and improper.” After a short +trial, it was also found that the bank could not continue the four +branch-offices, except at a loss far exceeding any advantage which +could be derived from them; and after spending a considerable sum on +these branches, the directors felt obliged to relinquish them, and +recall their money to Edinburgh. For many years the business of the +bank was entirely limited to lending money.¹ + + ¹ _Account of the Bank of Scotland_, page 6. + +Touching the paper currency then introduced, the Bank of Scotland +issued from the first, five, ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred pound +notes. It was not till the year 1699 that the bank began to issue one +pound notes, which have ever since been a special and an important +feature of Scottish banking, and of the circulating medium of the +country. These twenty shilling notes soon got into circulation in +Edinburgh, and in some other parts of the kingdom, but some time +elapsed before they obtained a ready and general currency in the +markets of the country, for among the common people of that day nothing +answered so well as silver money: gold was then little used among +them.¹ The one pound notes, however, it is well known, became and have +long continued great favourites among the Scots; indeed, they have as +much confidence in the paper notes of the old banks as they have in +gold or in silver money. + + ¹ _Ibid._ + +Having presented the foregoing details of the rise of the industrial +arts, and noted the difficulties in the way of their progress, and +indicated that there was a growing spirit in the nation towards +trade and commercial enterprise, it seems requisite to adduce further +evidence of the strength and generality of this spirit, which was +vigorously struggling to find new means of outlet. Thus the consecutive +and rapid progress of industry, trade, and commerce which subsequently +ensued in Scotland will be better appreciated and easier understood, +when it has been shown to flow from a natural succession of causes. Let +us, therefore, briefly notice some of the numerous projects and trade +adventures which were originated or proposed in the closing years of +the seventeenth century, and the opening years of the eighteenth. + +A sugar work was erected in Glasgow in 1667, and a second in 1683――the +only ones in the kingdom. In 1696, parliament passed an act authorising +Hugh and James Montgomery, merchants in Glasgow, and others whom they +might assume, to form a company and erect a sugar work at Glasgow. +They were granted all the privileges accorded to manufactories for a +period of nineteen years, under the name of “The New Sugar Manufactory +at Glasgow.” William Corse, a merchant in Glasgow, in 1700, proposed +to establish a similar work, and petitioned Parliament for the same +privileges as the other sugar works. In 1701, Matthew and Daniel +Campbell, merchants in Glasgow, proposed to erect another sugar work; +and in connection with it, a work for distilling brandy and other +kinds of spirits from malt produced within the kingdom. They undertook +to produce as good liquor “as any that is imported from France;” and, +besides, a distillery, they said, could not fail “to be exceedingly +profitable both for the consumption of malt, a native product, and for +the convenience of the country, and especially for foreign trade on +the coasts of Guinea and America, seeing that no trade can be managed +to these places or to the East Indies without great quantities of such +liquors.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., page 66, + pages 52, 67, Appendix; _Register of the Privy Council_. + +In 1695, parliament passed many acts for the encouragement and +authorisation of trade enterprises. Patrick Houston and his partners +were granted the privileges of a manufactory for a rope-work in +Glasgow. This company was founded upon a stock of forty thousand pounds +Scots, and they proposed to introduce foreign workmen to instruct the +natives. A company, chiefly composed of Glasgow merchants, with Dunlop, +the Principal of the University, was formed in 1699, for carrying on +the woollen manufacture there. They proposed to produce all kinds of +woollen goods, damasks, half-silks, tartans, crapes, russets, and other +stuffs for apparel either for summer or winter. The following year, +William Marshall, William Gray, and two other merchants of Glasgow, +proposed to erect a work for making pins and needles, boxes, shears, +scythes, knives, and other kinds of hardware; and the Privy Council +granted them the privileges of a manufactory. The same year, James and +William Walkinshaw, and other merchants in Glasgow, proposed to erect a +manufactory for cordage, canvas, and other requisites for shipping, and +petitioned Parliament for the usual privileges.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX.; Volume X., + pages 146, 154, 231; _Register of the Privy Council_. + +In 1695, the Estates passed an Act in favour of William Scot and his +partners, for erecting a sawmill at Leith. It was stated that such a +mill established at so convenient a port would be a great advantage +to the nation, because there oak trees and all kinds of wood might be +landed from abroad, for building ships and other great works in the +kingdom, which before could not be done for want of skill in sawing +wood. Another act authorised the erection of windmills for sawing all +kinds of wood. Alexander Fearn, an engraver in Edinburgh, was granted +the privileges of a manufactory for the practice of his art. It was +stated that he had employed himself from his infancy in learning his +art, “until by the blessing of God on his faithful endeavours, he +has attained to such perfection in this art, once much admired and +encouraged, that he can undertake to serve the people in that point +of the art called sinking of seals in gold, silver, or steel, either +cutting coats of arms, ciphering names, or other devices such as +parties may order him to perform for them; and particularly that point +of the art which is yet more singular――cutting or sinking the exact +effigies of any person who pleases to sit three hours; and thus the +people may be served with this kind of work as good, and as cheap, and +much easier than when they were obliged to employ foreigners; and all +the money that used to be spent on that account may be kept in the +country.” In 1693, parliament passed an act in favour of William Scot, +cabinetmaker, who proposed to build a manufactory for making coaches, +chariots, harness, and other things belonging to that business, and +also for grinding glasses of all kinds. He promised to bring home and +employ foreign workmen, until the Scots themselves were instructed and +capable of working at this trade. On these terms the usual privileges +of a manufactory were granted to him. In 1695, parliament confirmed +two former acts of the Privy Council, in favour of James Turner, a +cabinetmaker and mirror-glass maker. The wrights of Edinburgh thought +that Turner was encroaching upon their trade, and seized his tools +and materials, and otherwise annoyed him; and Parliament therefore +commanded that James Turner “should have the full and free liberty +to exercise his calling and his art and trade within the burgh of +Edinburgh in all time coming;” and forbade the deacons of crafts or +their officers, or anyone else, to interfere with him and his work.¹ At +the same time parliament passed an act in favour of John Holmes, Thomas +Fershman, and William Park, combmakers in Leith. They, having formed +a joint-stock company, were empowered to make all kinds of combs, and +accorded the privileges of a manufactory. It was stated in the act that +they had been practising this trade for several years, and successfully +teaching apprentices; and that they were even then able to supply the +whole kingdom with combs, at a cheaper rate than they could be imported. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 490‒491, 321, 523. + +James Lyell, of Garden, in 1695, obtained the privileges of a +manufactory to make oil from lint seed and rape seed; and also for +an establishment for preparing hare and rabbit skins and making hats. +The same year, liberty was granted to erect a manufactory for making +gun-powder and alum, and it was stated that there was no powder-mill +in the kingdom, and that there had never been a work for making alum +in Scotland. In 1698, a company was formed for casting shot, which +obtained the usual privileges of a manufactory for nineteen years. + +In 1697, James Ormiston and William Elliot, merchants, proposed to +erect a work for winding, throwing, twisting, and dyeing all kinds +of raw silk. They thought that the undertaking would prove to be +beneficial to the nation, as this branch being the groundwork for all +other silk manufactures would diminish the foreign import, and make +the balance of trade much more favourable: “and also in time be the +means of opening a trade directly from Scotland to Turkey, which is +one of the most profitable and enriching known, and further tends to +advance other manufactories which are dependent on it, such as buttons, +silk stockings, and the like.” The Privy Council granted the usual +privileges. In 1698, a number of men in Aberdeen petitioned the Privy +Council for permission to erect a woollen manufactory, which was also +granted. A cloth manufactory was in full operation at Gordon’s Mills, +in the vicinity of Aberdeen, in 1703, and it was recorded that it was +producing broadcloths, druggets, and goods of other kinds, such as +half-silks, serges, damasks, and plush made of wool, “which looks +nearly as fine as that made of hair.”¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council_; _Acts of the Parliaments of + Scotland_, Volume IX., pages 419‒420; Volume X., pages 22‒23, + Appendix. + +In these years also it is very remarkable that almost every seaport +of any consequence in Scotland applied to parliament for permission +to impose a tax for the purpose of building new harbours or improving +the ones which they already possessed. At the same time the weekly, +quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly markets, greatly increased all over +the kingdom. Thus it is pretty evident that the energy which projected +the colony of Caledonia-Darien was only a symptom of the awakening +spirit of the nation, which was seeking vent in trading pursuits and +in new commercial enterprises. + +At the same period various notices of inventions for draining mines and +other purposes occur in the records. In 1684, James Young, a writer in +Edinburgh, represented to the Privy Council that after much labour and +expense he had completed an engine for writing “whereby five copies can +be had at once,” and he requested an exclusive right of making it, and +the Council granted this for nine years. The next year he came before +the Council as the inventor of a new lock, which was minutely described +in the record, and an exclusive privilege of making it was also granted +for fifteen years. In 1696, Young again appeared before the Council and +stated that he had invented and perfected “an engine for weaving, never +before practised in any nation, whereby several kinds of cloths may be +manufactured without manual operation or weaving looms.” He affirmed +that he had actually made cloth with his engine, and he believed that +it would prove highly useful, especially for the “trade to Africa and +the Indies; and therefore he petitioned the Council for the privileges +of a manufactory, and for a patent,” and the Council granted to him an +exclusive use of his engine for thirteen years.¹ + + ¹ _Register of the Privy Council._ + +Nicolas Dupin, already mentioned as a paper manufacturer, came before +the Privy Council in 1695, asking a patent for a new invention for +draining water out of coal pits. He stated, “that in twenty fathoms +deep we can raise in two minutes’ time a ton of water, provided the +pit or shaft will admit of two such casks to pass one another.... +The machine was calculated to be useful for all kinds of corn mills, +where water was scarce or frozen, for we can grind by one man’s hand +as much as any watermill does. It was adapted for draining lakes or +for bringing water to any place where it was wanted, and for clearing +of harbour mouths from great rocks or sand.” He had also a smaller +engine, with economised power for lighter work, “as mincing of tallow +for candles, a very exact way of cutting tobacco, for cutting tanners’ +bark, and similar sorts of work, without the assistance of either wind +or water.” It was stated that several gentlemen were ready to contract +with the inventor for the draining of some flooded coal-pits. The +Council granted him a patent for eleven years.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._ Occasionally a foolish proposal occurs in the records. + For instance, Robert Logan, a cabinetmaker, asserted that he + could make kettles and caldrons of wood which could “abide + the strongest fire, while boiling any liquor put into them, + as well as any vessel made of brass, copper, or any other + metal,” with the advantage of being more durable, and only + a third of the price. The Council granted him the exclusive + right of making such articles for nineteen years. + +Scotland as yet had not many great ships¹ or much commerce, but it +was manifest that the mind of the nation was turning more and more +to secular and commercial pursuits than it had formerly been; and all +that was wanted for the rapid development of industry and commercial +enterprise was a field for the energy of the people. But, while +Scotland was forced to continue in an antagonistic attitude to England +this could not be obtained; and the difficulty was how to change +the relations of the two kingdoms, and to place both upon a footing +of equality and commercial freedom. The Union at length solved the +difficulty; and, as already stated, it has proved an immense advantage +to the progress of civilisation in Scotland, while it has contributed +to the power and to the glory of the British Empire. + + ¹ See under page 303. + +In concluding this exposition of the social state of the nation, let +me briefly recapitulate some of the leading points. Commencing with the +administration of justice and the powers of the executive, I proceeded +to show the state of crime, the condition of the poor, and the means +employed for their relief, and touched on the laws for suppressing +and reforming the vagrant and idle classes. The ideas and the beliefs +prevailing among the people, and the causes of their persistence, +were indicated; and the social morality of the nation, the relations +of the people and the clergy, the observance of Sunday and religious +services, drinking habits, the relations of the different sexes, +sumptuary regulations, and the sanitary condition of the kingdom, were +explained at some length. Having noticed the state of the roads, and +the introduction of postal communication, the shipping of the kingdom, +and indicated the state of agriculture, I then traced the rise and slow +progress of industry and manufactories, noting some of the obstacles +which impeded their development in Scotland; the coinage, and the +introduction of banking; and especially remarked that more energy began +to be thrown into trading and commercial matters towards the end of the +century. When all the distracting influences springing out of civil and +religious war, and other adverse circumstances which the nation had to +face, are taken into account, it is surprising that the people entered +so soon upon the remarkable career of industry and rapid commercial +progress which have characterised the succeeding centuries; and which, +along with the rise and the diffusion of science, of invention, of +literature, of philosophy, and art, constitute an era of true glory +in the history of Scotland. Here, therefore, I may repeat, that there +is hardly anything, hardly any difficulties, which will not yield “to +the persistent energy of man.”¹ The intellectual and moral impetus of +the Reformation continued till new influences came, and then one by +one the links of tradition and the shackles of authority became weaker +and weaker; a philosophy of surpassing vigour and boldness arose, +far-reaching in its results, shaking the foundations of the received +principles of belief and the current theories of knowledge to their +core, thus inaugurating a new point of departure for the human mind. +To elucidate the historical antecedents of this philosophy will be the +special aim of the concluding chapter of this volume; and ultimately +the whole movement of European thought will open before us with amazing +clearness. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., page 17. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + _Ballad, and Jacobite Literature of Scotland._ + + +WHEN attempting to reach an exhaustive explanation of the causes and +influences which have contributed to the development of the mind and +character of a nation, everything which has affected their civilisation, +and especially whatever has been mainly produced by the people +themselves, demands the careful attention of the historian. It is +admitted on all hands that the ballad literature and national songs of +Scotland are of this character. For centuries these compositions have +exercised an influence on the feelings and sentiments of the people. +The songs associated with the national music, and with the popular +tunes and dances, are essential elements of the national life, and have +long been a source of real enjoyment to the people. But the field of +Scottish ballad and song is wide and varied, and cannot be treated in +minute detail here, my aim being to ascertain and indicate the bearing +of this class of writings on the life of the nation. And yet if one +must try as far as possible to escape the error of forming imperfect +and unjust estimates of the national character, it is necessary to +look at this branch of literature, as it contains real evidence of the +states of feeling, of the opinions, and of the manners of the people. + +Some account of the origin, the progress, and the value of our ballad +literature was given in the eleventh chapter of this work, and its +influence upon the Reformation was noticed in the thirteenth and in +the twenty-first chapters;¹ in the present chapter the exposition +is continued till past the midde of the eighteenth century, and thus +includes the Jacobite ballads as well as compositions of a satirical +turn, and the popular songs of the people, beginning with those of a +historical and satirical description, and closing with the popular or +lyric songs. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + I., pages 441‒451, _seq._; Volume II., pages 22‒24, 331‒340, + _et seq._ + +The disturbed state of the nation from the death of James VI. to +the Union, was unpropitious to literary culture of any kind. Yet the +opinions and the sentiments of the contending parties occasionally +sought vent in rude ballads and rhymed compositions. There are ballads +on the Covenanting armies and battles, and on some of the events of +the long struggle from the Restoration to the Revolution, after which +the distinctive Scotch Jacobite ballads and satires begin. The greater +part of the Jacobite ballads are rather rude and coarse in phraseology, +but they gave expression to the feelings and sentiments of one of +the parties in the struggle; indeed, the Jacobite ballads and songs +embodied a kind of creed of the party, and, historically, they are +valuable. + +It was reported that Argyle was the first who raised fire in the Civil +War, by burning the house of Airlie, in June, 1639, thus originating +the ballad “The Bonnie House of Airlie.” It was long popular, and +there are several versions of it extant. Argyle being intent on the +destruction of the house, was represented as working with his own +hands in “knocking down the doorposts and the headstone of Airlie.” +The ballad opens thus:―― + + “It fell on a day, and a bonnie summer day, + When the corn grew green and yellow, + That there fell out a great dispute + Between Argyle and Airlie. + The Earl o’ Montrose has written to Argyle, + To come in the morning early, + An’ lead his men by the back o’ Dunkeld, + To plunder the bonnie house o’ Airlie. + The lady looked o’er her window sae hie, + And oh, but she looked weary, + And there she espied the great Argyle, + Come to plunder the bonnie house o’ Airlie. + ‘Come down, come down, Lady Margaret,’ he says, + ‘Come down and kiss me fairly, + Or before the morning clear day-light, + I’ll not leave a standing stane in Airlie.’”¹ + + ¹ Another version contains a pointed reference to a blemish + in Argyle’s eyes, and has two additional verses. It is + conjectured by Maidment “that the grim chief of the Campbells + had been a rejected suitor, and that the lady treated by him + in so base a manner preferred the Loyalist lover of Airlie + to the Covenanting lord of Lochow.”――Maidment’s _Scottish + Ballads_, Volume I., pages 272‒274. + +The lady replied that she would not submit, even though he should carry +out his threat. + +The short satirical ballad, called “Leslie’s March to Long-Marston +Moor,” is curious, and contains a few hits at the prevailing feeling +of the Covenanters:―― + + “Stand till it, and fight like men, + True gospel to maintain; + The parliament’s blyth to see us a’ coming. + When to the Kirk we come, + We’ll purge it each room + From popish relics and a’ such innovation, + That the world may see, + There’s none in the right but we, + O’ the sons of the auld Scottish nation; + And the kist fu’ o’ whistles, that mak sic a cleiro, + Our pipers brave shall have them a’, + Whate’er comes o’ it.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 293. + +The aversion of the Presbyterians to the organ in churches was emphatic; +and they were also very sure of the truth of their own opinions, and +determined to maintain them. + +The battle of Philiphaugh was fought on the 13th of September, 1645, +when Montrose was completely defeated by a portion of the Covenanting +army, under the command of David Leslie. This battle terminated the +short and brilliant career of Montrose. The ballad gives an account +of the battle from the Covenanters’ standpoint, and expressed their +feeling of exultation:―― + + “Sir David from the borders came, + Wi’ heart and hand came he, + Wi’ him three thousand bonny Scots, + To bear him company.” + +After describing the movements of the army and the battle pretty +accurately, the ballad concludes with these words:―― + + “Now let us a’ for Leslie pray, + And his brave company, + For they have vanquished great Montrose, + Our cruel enemy.” + +Montrose escaped from the field; but five years afterwards he fell +into the hands of his enemies, and perished upon the scaffold. From +time to time various writers have attempted to make him a hero, and +a contemporary ballad, entitled “The Gallant Grahams,” contains a +lamentation over his final discomfiture and cruel end. This ballad +enumerates the deeds of the Grahams at some length, and gives +particulars of the military achievements of Montrose, and of several +of his companions in arms who fought for the royal cause; and concludes +with the following lines on the last exploit of Montrose:―― + + “Montrose again, that chieftain bold, + Back into Scotland fair he came, + For to redeem fair Scotland’s land, + The pleasant, gallant, worthy Graham. + At the water of Carron he did begin, + And fought the battle to the end; + And there were killed for our noble King + Two thousand of our Danish men.¹ + + * * * * * + + “Then woe to Strachan and Hacket both, + And, Lesly, ill death may thou die, + For ye have betrayed the gallant Grahams, + Who aye were true to Majesty. + And the Laird of Assaint has seized Montrose, + And led him into Edinburgh town, + And frae his body taken the head, + And quartered him upon a trone. + + “And Huntly’s gone the self-same way, + And our noble King is also gone; + He suffered death for our nation, + Our mourning tears can ne’er be done. + But our brave young King is now come home, + King Charles the Second in degree; + The Lord send peace into his time, + And God preserve his Majesty.”² + + ¹ “The Danish men” were Montrose’s foreign auxiliaries, but in + all they did not exceed six hundred men. + + ² Scott’s _Minstrelsy_, Volume II., pages 187‒194. At the + present time, John Skelton, writing on the death of Montrose, + says, among other and very fine touches:――“When at length his + doom was read to him in the crowded house, he lifted up his + face without any word speaking.” He lifted up his face! A + grand speech――eloquent in its solemn simplicity. A silent + protest――a silent appeal. Was it with him as with an old + martyr? + + “And looking upward, full of grace, + He prayed, and from a happy place, + God’s glory smote him on the face.” + +The opposing parties in religion and in politics often assailed each +other in satirical rhymes, in pasquils, and in lampoons, which were +printed on broadsheets and circulated through the country. But this +class of composition generally was extremely coarse and profane, and +hardly fit for publication in the present day. On both sides they could +scarcely find language abusive and vulgar enough in which to describe, +traduce, and stigmatise each other; nevertheless, without entering into +long details on this subject, a few illustrations of it as explicative +of the spirit of the times in some of its modes seem requisite. In 1638, +a pasquil against the bishops appeared, written in a sort of rhyme, +beginning thus, “St. Andrews is an atheist, and Glasgow is a gouke,” +and so on touching the rest of the bishops. On the other hand, some +of the Episcopal party produced a satire on the General Assembly of +1638――a curious performance consisting of two parts, and opening with +the following description of the meeting of the Assembly:―― + + “From Glasgow Raid to which made meeting, + Huge troops from all quarters came fleeting, + With dags and guns in form of war, + All loyal subjects to debar; + Where bishops might not show their faces, + And mushroom elders filled their places; + From such mad pranks of Catharus, + Almighty God, deliver us.”¹ + + ¹ _A Book of Scottish Pasquils_, edited by Mr. Maidment, page + 29, 1868. + +The Assembly and its leading members were caricatured at length, and +sometimes with effect, but with extreme coarseness and vulgarity. +Henderson, the moderator of the Assembly, was called a pope, and +some of the covenanting nobles were severely dealt with, and also the +small gentry: “From beggars, beggar-makers, from all bold and blood +undertakers, from hungry calepoles, knighted loons, from perfumed +puppies and baboons, from caterpillars, mothes and rats, horse-letches, +state blood-sucking brats,” the writer prayed to be delivered from +all such. Another lampoon, called “The New Litany,” assailed the +Covenanters in a similar strain. The author prayed that he might be +preserved from all the actions of the party then contending against +the King:―― + + “From the long prayers of devote sisters, + From master madcaps’ rotten glisters, + From sermons made to blow the fire, + From bishops that betray the cause, + And advocates that write the laws; + From the table, nay tables three, + Of lords, barons, and ministry―― + From their decrees and all new glosses, + And from all conspiracy and treason. + + * * * * * + + “From pupil, pastor, tutor, flock, + From gutter Jennie, pulpit Jock, + From covenanting tage and rage, + From horsruber, scudler, scold, and hage, + From tinker, treulerd, slouene, and sluit, + Dick, Jack, and Tom, long-tail and coitt, + Drunkard, thief, and whore――infamous + rascals by the score.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 53, 57. + +In England the Long Parliament got its share of buffets from the wits +of the time; and as the Covenanters became associated with the Long +Parliament, the following notice of this famous assembly may be given +here:―― + + “It’s full of questions and commands, + It’s armed with muskets and pikes; it fears + Naught in the world but cavaliers; + It was born in England, but begot + Between the English and the Scot; + Though some are of opinion rather, + That the devil was its father.” + +Another contemporary rhyme on the Long Parliament has a slight touch of +grim humour in it:―― + + “O God preserve the parliament, + And grant it long to reign, + From three years’ unto three years’ end, + And then to three again. + That neither king, nor bishop lord, + So long as they are alive, + Have power to rebuke their souls, + Or hurt the members five. + For they be good and godly men, + No wicked paths they tread; + For they are pulling bishops down, + And setting up Roundhead. + For holy Burton, Baswick, Pryme, + Lord keep them in Thy bosom; + Keep him who did keep out the King, + Worshipful Sir John Hotham. + Pull down the King and Hartsford both, + And keep them down for ay; + But set Thy chosen Pym on high, + And eik my good lord Say. + For Warwick we entreat the Lord, + Be Thou his strong defence; + For Bedford, Hollis, Fairfax, Brooke, + And also his Excellence. + Bliss once again Thy parliament, + And let them sit secure, + And may their consultations, + From aye to aye endure. + Let all the people say Amen, + Then let us praises sing, + To God and to the parliament, + And all that hate the King.” + +The Rising of 1666, which was terminated by the engagement of the +Pentland Hills, where the Royal army defeated the Covenanters, is +commemorated in the ballad entitled “The Battle of Pentland Hills.” +The Covenanters having been dispersed, the ballad is interesting as +an expression of the feeling of their opponents:―― + + “Between Dumfries and Argyle, + The lads they marched many a mile; + Souters and tailors unto them drew, + Their Covenants for to renew. + The Whigs they wi’ their merry cracks, + Gar’d the poor pedlars lay down their packs; + But aye sinsyne they do repent, + The renewing o’ their Covenant. + + * * * * * + + “General Dalziel held to the hill, + Asked at them what was their will, + And who gave them this protestation, + To rise in arms against the nation? + ‘Lay down your arms in the king’s name, + And ye shall a’ gae safely hame;’ + But they a’ cried out, wi’ ae consent, + ‘We’ll fight for a broken Covenant.’ + ‘O weel,’ says he, ‘since it is so, + A wilful man never wanted woe.’ + He then gave a sign unto his lads, + And they drew up in three brigades. + The trumpets blew, and the colours flew, + And every man to his armour drew; + The Whigs were never so much aghast, + And to see their saddles toom sae fast. + The cleverest men stood in the van, + The Whigs they took their heels and ran; + But such a raking was never seen, + As the raking of the Rullion Green.”¹ + + ¹ Scott’s _Minstrelsy_, Volume II., pages 203‒205. + +As we have seen, the oppressed people again rebelled in 1679, and in +June they defeated a party of the Royal army under Captain Graham, +at Drumclog. In the ballad on the engagement it is called “The Battle +of Loudon Hill.” The Covenanters were led by Robert Hamilton and John +Balfour of Kinloch, the latter, commonly called Burly, a vehement and +determined man. Graham was represented as ordering an attack upon the +westland men, while his officers attempted to dissuade him from it on +the ground that it would be courting certain defeat:―― + + “There is not one of yon men, + But who is worthy other three; + There is not one among them a’ + That in his cause will stap to die. + As for Burly, him I know, + He’s a man of honour, truth, and fame; + Gie him a sword into his hand, + He’ll fight thyself, and other three. + + * * * * * + + “Then up he drew in battle rank, + I wat he had a bonnie train, + But the first time that bullets flew, + Ay he lost twenty o’ his men. + Then back he came the way he gaed, + I wat right soon and suddenly, + He gave command among his men, + And sent them back, and bade them flee. + Then up came Burly, bauld and stout, + Wi’s little train o’ westland men, + Who more than either once or twice, + In Edinburgh confined had been. + They had been up to Loudon sent, + An’ yet they’ve a’ come safely down, + Six troop o’ horsemen they have beat, + And chased them into Glasgow town.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume II., pages 222‒225. + +There is a ballad on the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, where the +Covenanters were defeated in 1679. Though none of these ballads on the +Civil War have much merit, they are comparatively free from coarseness, +and occasionally touches of feeling occur in them. The ballad on +Bothwell Bridge concludes thus:―― + + “Alang the brae, beyond the brig, + Many brave men lies cauld and still; + But lang we’ll mind, and sair we’ll rue, + The bloody fight of Bothwell Hill.” + +The ballad on this battle is printed in most of the collections of +ballads and songs; and there is another contemporary one, beginning “Ye +are welcome Whigs from Bothwell Bridge.” Hogg composed a modern ballad +on the battle of Bothwell Bridge, from which I quote the following +verse:―― + + “When rank oppression rends the heart, + And rules wi’ stroke o’ death, + Wha wadna spend their dear heart’s blood, + For the tenets of their faith.” + +In the satirical rhymes and lampoons from the Restoration to the +Revolution there is ample evidence of the dissolute life of the ruling +party; but the far greater part of these compositions are unsuitable +for quotation. There is a vehement and violent satire on the Stair +family, and the famous lawyer himself is made the object of much bitter +abuse. His crooked neck is constantly alluded to; while his wife had +the reputation of being a witch. The apparent inconsistencies and +shortcomings in the career of the great President of the Session, and +of his eminent son, were mercilessly exposed and held up to scorn; +and their changes of front in politics were sharply brought out, with +damaging effect.¹ + + ¹ _Book of Scottish Pasquils_, pages 179‒190. + +A dispute, already noticed, arose between the Court of Session and +the bar, touching the question whether a party aggrieved by a sentence +of this court might lawfully appeal to the parliament of Scotland. +Many of the advocates maintained the affirmative, which greatly +offended the lords and the government, and they were dismissed from +their places, and forbidden to reside in Edinburgh, being treated as +malcontents, because they had disagreed with the lords, and ventured to +defend law and justice. But after a short time, many of them yielded, +acknowledging the error of their ways, and professed repentance. The +lords, however, did not long enjoy their victory, as shortly afterwards +parliament began to entertain appeals, though not with the aim of +checking the corruption of the judges, but because some of the chief +members of the Estates desired to have a share of the good things which +were agoing, and thus to be enabled to assist the fortunes of their +friends. In the satirical squibs on this matter, the President of the +Session received much attention; and the verses to the advocates who +stayed behind contain the following lines:―― + + “Even so, of advocates you’re but the Rump, + That noble faculty’s turn’d to a stump; + And so Dundonald does you much commend, + Because you are the faculty’s wrong end. + But since a Rumple president does sit, + That rumps at bar should domineer was fit; + + Yet where the tail is thus in the head’s place, + No doubt the body has a sh――――en face. + + Thus, thus, some men reform our laws and gown, + As tailors do, by turning upside down.” + +The following lines refer to the president’s threats against the +malcontent advocates:―― + + “The president with his head on one side, + He swears that for treason we all shall be tried. + + * * * * * + + The president bids us repent of our sin, + And swears we’ll be forfeit if we don’t come in: + We answer him all, we care not a pin.”¹ + + ¹ _Book of Scottish Pasquils_, pages 216, 218‒221. + +At this period there were persons in Scotland called peats or pats, +whose function was to extract as much as could be got from the pockets +of clients, “whether rich or poor, for the purpose of perverting +justice.” On this there is a curious contemporary rhyme entitled, +“Robert Cook’s Petition against the Peats,” addressed to the Lords +of Session, which begins thus:―― + + “The humble petition of Master Robert Cook, + Having spent all his money in following his book, + Now humbly does show to the Lords of the seat, + That he is likely to starve unless made a peat. + Yet first he must know whose peat he must be, + The president’s he cannot, because he has three, + And for my lord Hatton,¹ his son now Sir John, + By all is declared to be peattie patron.” + + ¹ Mr. Charles Maitland. + +And so on the rhyme proceeded, naming the different lords, and showing +that they all employed peats; and that John Hay of Murray, by virtue of +his daughter, had a peatry which yielded thousands annually; that Lord +Newbyth had hitherto run halves with the peats, but having found that +they were all cheats, he resolved that his own son, William Baird, +should be peat of the house as well as heir; that Lord Newton was +always ready to take whatever men would give, and when he was peat to +himself, avoided all the danger of sharing the half. After hearing the +petition, the bench remitted it to Lord Castlehill,¹ who, after duly +considering it, declared that the peats were grievous to the nation, as +by some inspiration they pled without speaking, and consulted without +writing.² + + ¹ Sir John Lockhart. + + ² _Book of Scottish Pasquils_, pages 224‒227. + +Without attaching much importance to writings of this description, we +know from various sources of information that instances of disgraceful +judicial delinquency were then common in Scotland. + +A satirical rhyme on the government of the Duke of Lauderdale, and +his wife, called “A Litany,” was written about 1671. There are several +other satires on his wife, under the name of Bessie; and it is stated +that she swayed both Church and State. “She plots with her tail, and +her lord with his pate――with a head on one side, and a hand lifted +high――she kills us with frowning, and makes us to die――the nobles and +barons, boroughs and clownes――she threatened at home even the principal +towns――but now she usurps both the sceptre and crown――and thinks to +destroy us with a flap of her gown.”¹ + + ¹ The following lines are from the “Litany”:―― + + “From this huffing Hector,ᵃ and his queen of love, + From all his blank letters from above, + From a parliamentary council that does rage and rave, + From an archbishopᵇ graft on a presbyterian stock, + From the declaration built on a covenant dock, + From opposite oathsᶜ that would make a man chock.” + + ᵃ Duke of Lauderdale. ᵇ Sharpe. ᶜ The Test. + +The Revolution and the events flowing from it called forth many +satirical ballads and rhymes, especially from the party who adhered to +the banished dynasty. It is from this date that Jacobitism assumed the +form of a political creed, and became a distinctive name of a party +in the State. This party, in manifesting their opinion and feeling in +favour of the exiled family, endeavoured by all means to depreciate the +Revolution settlement, and the whole course of subsequent proceedings, +by satirising and abusing all who adhered to the new order of affairs. +Many of the Jacobite ballads and songs are rude and coarse, but some +of them are very humorous, and occasionally pathetic. They afford +important elements for the history of the period from the Revolution +to the Rising of 1745; and at that time they supplied to many of the +people the chief political and literary food within their reach. + +Here it may be stated that satire is and always has been a powerful +weapon when properly wielded; but none of the Jacobite ballads or +rhymes have attained to high rank as really genuine and effective +satires. Indeed, though they are not often deficient in the elements of +contempt and scorn of a kind, they seldom or never rise to the height +of vigorous sarcasm; they never hit on the strain of that seething +and stinging roll of sarcasm which smites its victims right and left, +till they fall helpless under its piercing force. The Jacobite ballads +have more of the comic and the ludicrous elements, of homely but +effective forms of humour and wit, which together constitute their main +characteristics. + +The ballad entitled “The Coronation Song,” 1689, is a comic and +ridiculous description of King William and Queen Mary. It is full +of rough humour, and excessively coarse in phraseology. William is +represented as descended from the orange tree, but it was hoped that +he will soon descend from a tree of another class――the gallows. His +personal appearance was minutely described: “he had the head of a goose, +and the legs of a crane,” and rode in Hyde Park like a hog in armour, +and in Whitehall carped like a country farmer. He had not stood to +his declaration, but had completely cheated the nation. Cromwell only +smelt at the crown through the rump; but, though there were three who +had better claims than Orange, yet he with a jump ventured his neck to +place himself upon the throne. Some of the verses are extremely profane +and vulgar, and the song concludes with this wish:―― + + “Then may the confusion that hither has brought us + Always attend them, until it has wrought us, + To bring back King James, as loyalty taught us―― + Our gracious King again, + Our gracious King again.” + +After the Revolution, the Presbyterians were assailed in popular rhymes +by the party who adhered to the banished royal family, and the Duke +of Hamilton and the Union formed ample topics for satirical rhymes and +lampoons. The Duke of Hamilton was chosen president of the Revolution +convention, which declared the throne vacant; and directly after he +was appointed royal commissioner. He has been represented as a proud, +impatient, and overbearing man; he died in 1694. He was severely +handled in a rhyme called “The Presbyterians’ Address,” beginning +thus:―― + + “Welcome, great Duke, with all the joy that’s due, + To the blest union of our friends and you; + The Lord has done it, is all that we can say; + But first to reverence, and next to pray. + Not free of fears, we beg in the first place, + For grace of perseverance to your grace; + For when with holy zeal we think upon, + The old malignant house of Hamilton, + Who our reforming course at first withstood, + At Langside bathed themselves and us in blood, + While the next heir the nation made consent + To the five articles in parliament.” + +The story proceeded to mention other heads of the house and their fate; +and then stated that his grace had taken Bradshaw for his patron, and, +as the latter had judged the father, the former had forfeited the son, +but advises him to proceed:―― + + “Go on, great Duke, your hand is at the plough, + For looking back’s both sin and follow now; + Let Crawford,¹ Cardross,² Melvin, you advise, + Let Polwart³ flourish out the enterprise; + Here and hereafter both the malignants damn, + Down o’er their throats the new allegiance cram, + First fill the prisons till they’ll hold no more, + Then let the scaffolds, reeking with their gore, + Be the gam’d theatres that shall express, + Your pious princely zeal to be no less, + Than old Argyle, when he the maxim prov’d, + That it was safer to be fear’d than lov’d. + Thus we take leave, and all with one consent + Does rest your grace’s servants in the Lord.”⁴ + + ¹ The Earl of Crawford. + + ² Lord Cardross, a warm supporter of the Covenant. + + ³ Sir Patrick Home, afterwards Earl of Marchmont. + + ⁴ _A Book of Scottish Pasquils_, pages 255‒257. The severest + attack of this class on the Presbyterians was the one + entitled “The Western Presbyterian’s Address to the Prince + of Orange.” + +The Scotch Jacobites satirised King William from time to time till the +end of his reign, under the names of Willie Winkie, Willie Wanbeard, +and Willie the Wage. But none of these pieces have much merit, their +humour being homely and often coarse. The Jacobites were most bitterly +opposed to the Union, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent +it from being brought to a successful issue. The Parliament of 1704 was +attacked and denounced in a rhyme beginning thus:―― + + “Our parliament is met on a hellish design, + ’Gainst God and the true heir knaves do combine, + To play the game over of old forty-nine, + But unless they repent they’ll be d――――d.” + +It proceeded to traduce and condemn all who in any way assisted in +changing the succession of the throne, and vehemently caricatured many +of the Scotch nobles, satirising them in the rudest strain. Indeed, +this is one of the most outrageous and scurrilous compositions of +the period. Johnston, the secretary, a son of Lord Warriston’s, was +described in the following terms:―― + + “Thou, Johnston, thou spawn of a villain and traitor, + A varlet by birth, education, and nature. + Old Scotland’s base cut-throat, and false England’s creature. + For which sin on and be d――――d.”¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 379‒384. + +The most of the nobles who adhered to the Government were handled in a +similar style. + +Contemporary rhymes and ballads on the Union Parliament, and on +the Union itself, were numerous, and most of them emanated from the +Jacobite party. But they are all marked by the characteristics which +have already been sufficiently illustrated, and very few of them have +assumed a popular and purified form, or lived into the present age. + +But many of the Jacobite songs written between the accession of the +House of Hanover and the middle of the eighteenth century, were, +and still are, exceedingly popular. The satirical songs on George I. +and the members of his family are generally humorous and homely, +such as the well-known song of “The Riding Mare,” “The Wee, Wee +German Lairdie,” “The Sow’s Tail to Geordie,” and others of a similar +character, all so full of derision and contempt that they became +national favourites――the fact of their being usually sung to old and +popular airs greatly enhancing their merit in the estimation of the +populace. The immorality of the courts of the Georges afforded ample +scope for coarse satire; and Lady Darlington, one of the mistresses +of George I., who figures under the name of the “Sow,” was a constant +theme for lampoon and satire. In person she was excessively large and +corpulent.¹ + + ¹ The air of the song, “The Sow’s Tail to Geordie,” has always + been highly popular, and has been rendered from time to time + with innumerable variations. + +The Whigs were another subject for Jacobite invective and biting song. +While the conflict of the two parties raged, and the result of the +struggle was still uncertain, the arts of ridicule, depreciation, and +jeering scorn, were more effective for stirring the passions of the +people than elevated appeals to patriotism and the better sentiments +of the mind. Hence it was not until the cause of Jacobitism was seen +to be lost past all hope of recovery, that the best and most pathetic +of their songs appeared,――it is only then that their songs begin to +manifest the touching strains and the ennobling glow of genuine poetry. + +The song entitled “Awa’, Whigs, Awa’,” was long popular, though more on +account of the beauty of its air than of the merit of the song itself. +Another one entitled, “What’s the matter with the Whigs?” was written +in the early part of the reign of George I., and opens with these +lines:―― + + “O what’s the matter with the Whigs, + I think they’re all gone mad, sir, + By dancing one and forty jigs, + Our dancing may be dad, sir. + + * * * * * + + “Did you not swear, in Anna’s reign, + And vow too, and protest, sir, + If Hanover were once come o’er, + Then we should all be blest, sir? + + * * * * * + + “And was there ever such a King + As our brave German prince, sir? + Our wealth supplies him everything + Save what he wants――good sense, sir. + Our jails with British subjects crammed, + Our scaffolds reek with blood, sir, + And all but Whigs and Dutch are damn’d + By the fanatic crowd, sir.” + +The Jacobite song entitled, “The Wind has Blawn my Plaidie Awa’,” which +is sung to the popular air “O’er the Hills and Far Awa’,” was very +popular, and has appeared in various forms. The Whigs too had their +songs, some of which were a sort of parody on the Jacobite ones; while +the English also had many Jacobite songs and rhymes. The popular song +beginning “From Caledonia’s loyal lands, where justice uncontrolled +commands,” had its counterpart in a song used by the Whigs of the +Revolution Club, in Edinburgh. It was sung to the tune of “O’er the +Hills and Far Awa’,” and opened with the following lines:―― + + “From barren Caledonian lands, + Where rapine uncontrolled commands, + The rebel clans in search of prey, + Came o’er the hills and far away. + Regardless whether right or wrong, + For booty, not for fame, they fight; + Banditti-like, they kill, they slay, + They plunder, rob, and run away. + + * * * * * + + “With them a vain pretender came, + And perjured traitors, dupes to Rome, + Resolved all, without delay, + To conquer, die, or run away. + Our sons of war, with martial frame, + Shall bravely merit lasting fame; + Great George shall Britain’s sceptre sway, + And chase rebellion far away. Amen.”¹ + + ¹ _English Jacobite Ballads_, edited by the Rev. A. B. Grosart, + pages 176‒177. + +From the Revolution to the suppression of the last Rising, rhymes, +ballads, and songs were the common outcome of the rhymers of the street, +the alehouse, the club, and the festive board, or it might be of the +farm-house, or the cot among the valleys and hills. It was a time when +men of strong passions and feelings, rude humour, homely and coarse +wit, could express themselves in language intelligible to all ranks of +the nation. The Jacobites always eagerly endeavoured to gain the ear +and enlist the favour of the people. Accordingly they were constantly +appealing to the lighter emotions, the selfish feelings, and the +passions, under the guise of a mass of rough and vulgar humour, and +coarse satire, thrown at the new dynasty, and at the Whigs――the alleged +authors of the ruin and all the woes of the nation. + +But after the Battle of Culloden, a higher strain was struck. The +bitterness of the sense of defeat, of suffering, of sorrow, and +lamentation, filled the souls of the Jacobites, and inspired them with +a mournful and yet noble resolution to yield to their fate, and to make +the best of the changed circumstances. Having referred in a preceding +chapter to the sentiments expressed after Culloden, it is only +necessary to give one or two illustrations in concluding this brief +account of the Jacobite songs and ballads. + +The following lines are from the ballad called “The Lament of Old +Duncan Skene of the Clan Donochie:”――¹ + + “Thy foes they were many, and ruthless their wrath, + Thy glens they defaced with ravage and death, + Thy children were hunted and slain on the heath, + And the best of thy sons are no more.” + + ¹ Mackay’s _Jacobite Songs and Ballads_, page 247. + +The song entitled “The Highlander’s Farewell,” is exceedingly pathetic. +It was composed in Gaelic, and the following quotation is from an +English translation:―― + + “O where shall I gae seek my bread? + O where shall I gae wander? + O where shall I gae hide my head? + For here I’ll bide nae langer. + The seas may row, the winds may blow, + And swath me round in danger, + My native land I must forego, + And roam a lonely stranger. + The glen that was my father’s own, + Must be by his forsaken; + The house that was my father’s home, + Is levell’d with the bracken. + Ochon, ochon, our glory’s o’er, + Stolen by a mean deceiver, + Our hands are on the broad claymore, + But the might is broke forever. + Farewell, farewell, dear Caledon, + Land of the Gael no longer, + A stranger fills thy ancient throne, + In guilt and treachery stronger. + Thy brave and just fall in the dust, + On ruin’s brink they quiver; + Heaven’s pitying e’e is clos’d on thee, + Adieu, adieu, for ever!”¹ + + ¹ Mackay’s _Jacobite Songs and Ballads_, pages 251‒252. In + passing from the subject. I may mention that Mr. Robert + Malcolm edited a collection of Jacobite songs and ballads, + published at Glasgow in 1829; while Hogg’s _Jacobite Relics_, + first and second series, are well worth careful perusal. + +For all this the Highlanders soon betook themselves to other forms of +energy, and as already mentioned, they have done good service to the +empire since the collapse of their memorable and last Rising in Britain. + +The Lowland Scottish ballad literature embraces a wide and rich field, +ranging over and engrossing almost every element of poetry, save +the purely religious. The songs and ballads, of course, present all +degrees of merit and variety, of love and pathos, of keen feelings, +of wild passions, and of glowing emotions; but only a few examples +may be presented here, as every reader can easily go himself to the +fountain-head. Perhaps the ballad called “The Lament of the Border +Widow,” is among the most touching of the pathetic class. It has been +supposed to relate to the execution of Cockburn of Henderland, who was +hanged over the gate of his own tower, by the order of the King, in +1529. In its present form it was obtained from recitation, and printed +in Scott’s Minstrelsy:―― + + “My love he built me a bonnie bower, + And clad it a’ wi’ lilye flouer, + A brawer bower ye ne’er did see, + Than my true love he built for me. + There came a man, by middle day, + He spied his sport, and went away, + And brought the King that very night, + Who brake my bower, and slew my knight. + He slew my knight, to me sae dear; + He slew my knight, and poin’d his gear; + My servants all for life did flee, + And left me in extremitie. + I sew’d his sheet, making my mane, + I watched the corpse, myself alane, + I watched his body, night and day; + No living creature came that way. + I took his body on my back, + And whiles I gaed, and whiles I sat; + I digg’d a grave, and laid him in, + And happ’d him with the sod sae green. + But think na ye my heart was sair, + When I laid the moul’ on his yellow hair; + O think na ye my heart was wae, + When I turned about away to gae. + Na living man I’ll love again, + Since that my lovely knight is slain. + Wi’ a lock of his yellow hair, + I’ll chain my heart for ever mair.” + +The simple and natural pathos of these lines is inimitable, and at once +touches the heart. + +There are not only pathos, genuine feeling and fire in many of the +national songs, but also in some of them good sense and shrewd judgment +of the world. A song by the author of “Tullochgorum,” the Rev. John +Skinner, presents in a brief compass a kind of philosophy of life. It +is entitled, “John o’ Badenyon,” and I tempted to quote it:―― + + “When first I came to be a man of twenty years or so, + I thought myself a handsome youth, and fain the world would + know. + In best attire I stept about, with spirits brisk and gay: + And here, and there, and everywhere was like a morn in May. + No care I had, no fear of want, but rambled up and down, + And for a beau I might have passed in country or in town; + I still was pleased where’er I went, and when I was alone, + I tuned my pipe, and pleased myself wi’ John o’ Badenyon. + Now in the days of youthful prime, a mistress I must find, + For love, they say, gives one an air, and even improves the + mind: + On Phillis fair, above the rest, kind fortune fixed mine eyes, + Her piercing beauty struck my heart, and she became my choice. + To Cupid now, with hearty prayer, I offered many a vow, + And danced, and sang, and sigh’d, and swore, as other lovers + do: + But when at last I breathed my flame, I found her cold as + stone―― + I left the girl, and tuned my pipe to John o’ Badenyon. + When love had thus my heart beguiled with foolish hopes and + vain, + To friendship’s port I steer’d my course, and laugh’d at + lover’s pain. + A friend I got by lucky chance――’twas something like divine; + An honest friend’s a precious gift, and such a gift was mine. + And now, whatever may betide, a happy man was I, + In my strait I knew to whom I freely might apply. + A strait soon came, my friend I tried, he laugh’d and spurn’d + my moan; + I hied me home, and tuned my pipe to John o’ Badenyon. + I thought I should be wiser next, and would a patriot turn, + Began to doat on Johnnie Wilkes, and cry’d up parson Horne; + Their noble spirits I admired, and praised their noble zeal, + Who had with flaming tongue and pen maintained the public weal. + But ere a month or two had passed, I found myself betrayed; + ’Twas self and party, after all, for all the stir they made. + At last I saw these factious knaves insult the very throne, + I cursed them all, and tuned my pipe to John o’ Badenyon. + What next to do I mused a while, still hoping to succeed; + I pitched on books for company, and gravely tried to read: + I bought and borrowed everywhere, and studied night and day, + Nor miss’d what dean or doctor wrote, that happened in my way. + Philosophy I now esteemed the ornament of youth, + And carefully, through many a page, I hunted after truth: + A thousand various schemes I tried, and yet was pleased with + none, + I threw them by, and tuned my pipe to John o’ Badenyon. + And now ye youngsters everywhere, who wish to make a show, + Take heed in time, nor vainly hope for happiness below; + What you may fancy pleasure here, is but an empty name; + And girls, and friends, and books also, you’ll find them all + the same. + Then be advised, and warning take from such a man as me; + I am neither pope, nor cardinal, nor one of high degree; + You’ll meet displeasure everywhere; then do as I have done―― + Even tune your pipe and please yourself with John o’ Badenyon.” + +There are some points which I might illustrate in greater detail; +but, as already stated, a lengthy account of this branch of literature +does not seem necessary. Besides, in a work of this character, some +proportion must be observed in treating the various subjects which +properly comes within its range, and suggestion and stimulation may +be legitimately used where space for criticism cannot be afforded. An +appropriate conclusion to this chapter will be found in the following +lines by the late John Imlach, entitled “Auld Scotia’s Songs,” and +prefixed to Whitelaw’s Book of Scottish Song:―― + + “Auld Scotia’s Songs, Auld Scotia’s Songs,――the strains o’ youth + and yore, + O lilt to me, and I will list――will list them o’er and o’er, + Though mak’ me wae, or mak’ me wud, or changefu’ as a child, + Yet lilt to me, and I will list――the native woodnotes wild. + They mak’ me present wi’ the past――they bring up fresh and fair, + The Bonnie Broom o’ Cowden Knowes, the Bush aboon Traquair; + The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow, or the Birks o’ Invermay, + Or Catrine’s green and yellow woods in autumn’s dawning day. + Now melt we o’er the lay that wails for Flodden’s day o’ dule: + And now some rant will gar us loup like daffin’ youth at Yule―― + Now o’er youth’s love’s impassion’d strain our conscious heart + will yearn―― + And now our blude fires at the call o’ Bruce o’ Bannockburn. + + * * * * * + + “O born o’ feeling’s warmest depths――o’ fancy’s wildest dreams, + They’re twined wi’ monie lovely thoughts, wi’ monie lo’esome + themes; + They gar the glass o’ memory glint back wi’ brichter shine, + On far-off scenes, and far-off friends――and Auld Lang Syne. + Auld Scotia’s Songs, Auld Scotia’s Songs――the native woodnotes + wild, + Her monie artless melodies, that move me like a child; + Sing on, sing on, and I will list, will list them o’er and + o’er―― + Auld Scotia’s Songs, Auld Scotia’s Songs, the songs o’ youth + and yore.” + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + _Literature of the Nation in the Seventeenth Century._ + + +THROUGHOUT the seventeenth century the ablest minds in Scotland were +mainly absorbed in religious and political struggles, or devoted to +theology and practical religious duties; yet law, science, and cognate +subjects began to attract more attention, especially towards the end +of the century. The theological and religious literature diverged but +little from the leading doctrines of the Reformation, for though in +some writings there might be greater elaboration of doctrinal points, +there was no radical change in the method of investigation or of +interpretation of the fundamental doctrines. The Westminster Confession, +like the Reformation one of the Scotch Reformers, is essentially +Calvinistic; and the chief doctrines in both are viewed from the same +standpoint. After the lengthy account of the social condition of the +nation, and of the tendency of the stream of history given in the +preceding chapters, it would be superfluous to enter into a minute +detail of the religious literature of the century. Both the contending +parties were represented by writers of reputation and authority in +their day; but comparatively few persons now read their productions. +The religious difficulties which demand discussion in the present day +have assumed different forms, for in the interval of two centuries, +the ideas and convictions of the people have gradually undergone a +great modification and change. It will be the aim of the remaining part +of the work to explain the causes of this change in the opinions and +habits of the people. + +David Calderwood, a Presbyterian minister, is the author of numerous +works, mostly of a polemical character.¹ He was a man of unbending +integrity, bold and fearless in maintaining his opinions, and +thoroughly consistent in his profession. He was acute and learned, and +familiar with the writings of the Fathers, and theological literature +generally. The greater part of his writings and pamphlets related to +ecclesiastical disputes in the reigns of James VI. and Charles I.; +such as the polity of the Church, the five articles of Perth, and +cognate matters. But the most important and valuable of his writings +is “The History of the Church of Scotland, from the beginning of the +Reformation to the end of the reign of James VI.”; although, strictly +speaking, it is not a history, but rather a collection of the materials +for history, than a digested and critical narrative of events. It +contains a great number of historical papers, Acts of Parliament, +Acts of the Privy Council, Acts and proceedings of the General +Assembly, royal proclamations, and other documents of a public +character. Calderwood was extremely greedy of information, and notices +incidentally many curious facts and notions which prevailed amongst +the people. Hence his History of the Church is very valuable to the +historical student. + + ¹ Born 1572, died 1650. + +John Spottiswood,¹ Archbishop of St. Andrews, is the author of a +“History of the Church and State of Scotland.” Though he leans to +the side of his own party in the Church, his statement of facts is +generally fair and moderate. In extent and variety of material his +history falls much below Calderwood’s, but in arrangement and in style, +it is superior to any contemporary history composed in the vernacular +language. + + ¹ Born 1565, died 1639. + +Robert Baillie was one of the most eminent and learned of the +Presbyterian clergyman of the Covenanting period.¹ He was actively +engaged in the struggle of the Civil War, but he was more reasonable +and moderate in his views than the majority of his brethren. His +writings are numerous, and were chiefly devoted to Church polity +and religion. He wrote both in English and in Latin, but the greater +part of his works were published in the former language. He devoted +much attention to the Oriental languages, and was conversant with the +Hebrew and cognate tongues. He was one of the Scotch ministers who +sat in the Westminster Assembly of Divines, and subsequently he was +appointed Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow. After the +Restoration, he was admitted Principal of the University of Glasgow, +an office which he held until his death. His principal works are “An +Historical Vindication of the Government of the Church of Scotland,” +a work of considerable ability, and his “Chronology,” written in Latin. +One of Baillie’s first productions was levelled against Laud, the +Archbishop of Canterbury, and published in 1640, under the title, +“The Canterburians Self-convicted, or an evident demonstration of +the avowed Arminianism, popery, and tyranny of that faction, by their +own confession.” A third and enlarged edition of this pamphlet was +published in 1641, and a fourth in 1643. Several of Baillie’s pamphlets +directly attacked the Liturgy, as his “Comparison of the Liturgy with +the Mass-book, Breviary, the Ceremonial, and other Romish Rituals,” +published in 1641; “Inquiries anent the Service-book, an antidote +against Arminianism.” He was earnest in addressing the people on +the reforming work of the time, especially in his sermons preached +before Parliament in 1643 and 1645, the former entitled “Satan the +Leader-in-chief to all who Resist the Reformation of Zion,” and +the latter, “Errors and Induration are the great Sins and the great +Judgments of the Times.” A list of Baillie’s publications was given +in Dr. Irving’s _Lives of Scottish Writers_. But his Letters and +Journals relating to the wars and the affairs of the period from 1637 +to 1662, are now the most interesting and the most valuable of his +compositions.² + + ¹ Born 1599, died 1662. + + ² An imperfect edition of his _Letters and Journals_ was + published in 1775, but a more complete one in three volumes, + edited by the late Dr. Laing, appeared in 1841‒42. + +Zachary Boyd, minister of the Barony Parish, in the suburbs of Glasgow, +was a writer of note in the first half of the century.¹ At first he +seemed inclined to side with the Loyalist party, but at last he signed +the Covenant, and continued a firm adherent of the popular cause, +although he did not take so active a part in the field as some of his +brethren. But when Cromwell, with his army, arrived at Glasgow, “he +rallied on them all to their face in the High Church.” Having chosen +for his text the eighth chapter of the book of Daniel, he expounded the +vision of the ram with two horns, which was overcome and trampled down +by a he-goat, and exerted all his ingenuity to extend the parable to +existing circumstances, and demonstrating that Cromwell was the he-goat. +In another sermon, on some verses of the thirty-eighth Psalm, he made +many pointed and bitter references to the sectarian General; and it was +reported that one of the officers whispered into Cromwell’s ear, and +asked permission to “shoot the scoundrel at once,” but he replied that +“we will manage him in another way.” Cromwell invited Boyd to dine with +him, and completely gained the preacher’s respect by the fervour of +the devotions in which he spent the evening, and it was said that their +mutual exercise was continued till three in the morning.² + + ¹ Born 1590, died 1653. + + ² _Life of Boyd_, prefixed to his _Last Battle of the Soul_. + +Boyd was the author of various works, chiefly of a religious character. +In 1629, he published a work entitled “The Last Battle of the Soul +in Death,” which is written in a kind of dramatic form, and sustained +with spirit and interest, and differs from most of the religious works +of the period in not being controversial. He had an imaginative and +vigorous mind, and his thought is often strikingly original; and, with +an exceedingly copious command of words and imagery, he combined a +style which was remarkably good for the period. His highest flights +are embodied in a work of two volumes, entitled “Zion’s Flowers,” which +have received the name of “Boyd’s Bible.” They consist of a collection +of poems on subjects of Scripture history, such as David, Jonah, and +others, presented in a dramatic form, in the execution of which he +sometimes produced extremely ludicrous and grotesque passages. + +James Durham, minister of the Blackfriars Church in Glasgow, from +1647 to 1658,¹ was one of the most popular preachers of his day. His +writings consist of commentaries on Scripture, and a large number +of sermons on a variety of subjects. “He was a burning and shining +light, a star of the first magnitude, and of whom it may be said, +without derogation from the merit of any, that he had a name among the +mighty.”² + + ¹ Born 1622, died 1658. + + ² _Scots Worthies_, Volume I., page 220. + +David Dickson¹ was minister of Irvine for upwards of twenty years, +and subsequently a professor in the University of Glasgow, and also in +that of Edinburgh. He was a successful teacher and a popular preacher, +and, as we have seen, he was a man of standing and influence among the +Covenanting party. He is the author of commentaries on the Psalms, and +on various parts of the New Testament, of a series of lectures, and +other pieces, and his writings were for long popular. + + ¹ Born 1583, died 1663. + +But none of the presbyterian ministers were more popular and famous +than Samuel Rutherford.¹ He was actively engaged in the Covenanting +struggle; and for the last ten years of his life, he maintained the +battle on the side of the protestors. A talented, a consistent, and a +learned man, he wrote on various topics of absorbing interest in his +time, including his “Peaceable Plea for Presbytery,” a well-digested +book, which he published in 1642. In 1649, he published, at London, +“A Free Disputation against the Pretended Liberty of Conscience,” +especially directed against the Independents, who were then rapidly +rising to the height of power in England. Besides these he wrote +several other treatises, some of them composed in Latin; but the most +famous of his productions was “Lex Rex,” The Law and the King.² + + ¹ Born 1600, died 1661. + + ² His _Letters_ were published after his death, and reprinted + in 1824, and again quite recently. + +This work on government is elaborate, and a good example of deductive +exposition. After a very long preface, in which he says:――“That which +moved the author was not, as my excommunicated adversary says, the +escape of some fears, which necessitated him to write, for many before +me have learnedly trodden in the path, but that I might add a new +testimony to the times.” He gives a full and formal table of contents, +and then proceeds to the discussion of his subject. He divided it into +forty-four questions or leading topics, under each of which a great +mass of matter comes in for discussion. He appeals to the authority +of Scripture throughout, and refers to the examples in the Bible. But +the general strain of the book leads to the utter overthrow of the +idea that kings have prerogatives and absolute powers above the laws +and acts of parliament; and this branch of the subject is well and +conclusively reasoned. In the course of the long discussion, many other +important political points are handled with ability and judgment. But +it is a tedious book to read, though a valuable contribution to the +principles of constitutional government. + +Rutherford began his work by stating that, “I reduce all that I am to +speak of the power of kings: (1) To the author or efficient, (2) the +matter or subject, (3) the form or power, (4) the end and fruit of +their government, and (5) to some cases of resistance.”¹ From these +simple terms he proceeded deductively to expound his views and opinions +on the origin of government, the power and rights of the king and of +the people. + + ¹ Page 1. “It is reported that when Charles saw _Lex Rex_, he + said it could scarcely ever get an answer, nor did it ever + get any, except what the parliament in 1661 gave it, when + they caused it to be burned at the Cross of Edinburgh by + the hands of the common hangman. This was a summary way of + answering a book, but it was somewhat more innocent than the + practice of burning the authors of books. Charles’ parliament, + by the hangman’s hands, burned the body of the book, but they + could not consume its immortal spirit, with which the minds + of the patriots of that age were deeply imbued, which they + communicated to their children, and which ultimately produced + the Revolution.” Claud’s _Defence of the Reformation_ was + condemned to be burned, on which the editor of an old edition + very properly observes that “books have souls as well as + men, which survive their martyrdom, and are not burned, but + crowned by the flames that encircle them.”――_Scots Worthies_, + Volume I., page 223. + +In discussing the powers of the king, he stated that, “The royal +power rests in three ways in the people: 1. Radically and virtually, +as in the first subject. 2. Collectively, by way of free donation, +they giving it to this man, not to this man that he may rule over +them. 3. Under limitation, they giving it so as that these three acts +remain with the people: 1. That they may measure out, by ounce weights, +so much royal power, and no more, and no less. 2. So as they limit, +moderate, and set bounds to the exercise of it. 3. That they give it +out, conditionally, upon that and this condition, that they take again +to themselves what they gave out, if the conditions be violated. The +first, I conceive, is clear: 1. Because if every living creature have +radically in them a power of self-preservation to defend themselves +from violence, as we see lions with paws, some beasts have horns, some +claws, men being reasonable creatures united in society, must have +power in a more reasonable and honourable way to put this power of +warding off violence in the hands of one or more rulers, to defend +themselves by magistrates. 2. If all men be born as concerning civil +power alike, for no man comes out of the womb with a diadem on his +head or a sceptre in his hand, and yet men united in society may give +crown and sceptre to this man, and not to that man, then this power was +in the united society, but it was not in them formally, ... therefore +this power must have been virtually in them, because neither man, nor +community of men, can give that which they neither have formally, nor +virtually, in themselves. 3. Royalists cannot deny that cities have +power to choose inferior magistrates: therefore, many cities united +have power to create a higher ruler, for royal is but the united and +superlative power of inferior judges, in one great judge, whom they +call king.” + +Thus it is concluded that the people make the king. “The power of +creating a man a king is from the people, because those who may create +this man a king, rather than another man, have power to appoint a king. +For a comparative action does positively infer an action; if a man have +a power to marry this woman, not that woman, we may strongly conclude, +therefore, that he has power to marry.”¹ + + ¹ Page 10, edition 1644. + +Rutherford had the reputation of being an effective preacher and an +able and successful professor of divinity in the New College of St. +Andrews, where he occupied a chair for about twelve years. But he was +under the influence of the intolerant spirit of the age, and wrote +earnestly against toleration of religious opinions. Yet, at that period +few had risen to the idea of toleration, though the Independents had +approached nearer it than the other religious bodies in the Island. +In the estimation of his own party he held a high place, one of them +summing up his character in these words: “He seems to have been one of +the most resplendent lights that ever arose on our horizon.”¹ + + ¹ Wodrow; _Scots Worthies_, Volume I., page 229. + +George Gillespie¹ was one of the prominent ministers of the Covenanting +period. He was the author of a work which was long popular, entitled +“Aaron’s Rod Blossoming, or the Divine Ordinance of Church Government +Vindicated,” published at London in 1646; he also wrote several +controversial papers and tracts. + + ¹ Born 1613, died 1648. + +There were a number of other presbyterian ministers celebrated in their +day as preachers, of whom may be mentioned James Guthrie, Hugh Binning, +Robert Blair, Andrew Gray, John Livingston, and James Wood; while +there were others, like Henderson, who were too ardently engaged in +the struggles of the times to produce works for publication. + +Dr. John Forbes was the second son of the estimable Bishop Forbes, of +Aberdeen.¹ He was appointed professor of divinity in King’s College, +Aberdeen, in 1619, and was the author of several learned works. In +discharging the duties of his chair, he delivered lectures on the +history and progress of Christian doctrine. He was disposed to peaceful +measures, and to promote this he published a pamphlet in 1638, under +the title of “A Peaceful Warning to the Subjects of Scotland.” This +was quickly answered by a tract attributed to Calderwood, the warm +defender of the presbyterian polity. The professors and the ministers +of Aberdeen offered a determined opposition to the Covenant, argued +against it and disputed its lawfulness, and at last issued a printed +paper containing, “General Demands concerning the Covenant.” This was +answered by Henderson, Dickson, and Andrew Cant, whereupon the Aberdeen +Doctors emitted replies, which called forth further answers from the +Covenanters’ side; to these the Doctors published a rejoinder, and thus +they had the satisfaction of the last word. Their learning, however, +could not protect them, for they were all deprived of their offices +in the Church and in the University, because they refused to sign the +Covenant.² + + ¹ Bishop Forbes himself is the author of several works, some + of which were published in a volume, entitled “A Learned + Commentary upon the Revelation of St. John, newly corrected + and revised, Middleburgh, 1614.” The volume also contained + a treatise in defence of the lawful calling of the ministers + of the Reformed churches. He is the author of “A Dialogue, + wherein a rugged Romish Rhyme (Inscribed questions to the + Protestant) is confuted, and the questions thereof answered,” + Aberdeen, 1627. + + Soon after his death, a volume, with a portrait, was + published, under the title, “Funerals of a Right Reverend + Father in God, Patrick Forbes of Corse, Bishop of Aberdeen, + 1635.” It contains five funeral sermons in English by + different professors and doctors, a Latin oration and a + dissertation, and also a large collection of verses in + the form of laudatory epitaphs on the deceased prelate, + contributed by many of the learned men of the day; and at the + end, “Edward Raban, master printer, the first in Aberdeen,” + contributed the last epitaph himself, which concludes with + these lines: + + “Good Sir, I am behind the rest, + I do confess, for want of skill: + But not a whit behind the best + To show the affection of good will.” + + ² The general demands of the Aberdeen Doctors, and the answers + and replies, were published at Aberdeen by order of the + Scotch parliament. A collected edition of Dr. Forbes’ Latin + works was published in 1703. + +Robert Leighton, Archbishop of Glasgow, in the reign of Charles II., +was perhaps the most cultured and learned, as well as the most humane +of the prelates of the period. He was educated in the University of +Edinburgh, and graduated in the year 1631. Afterwards having lived +for several years in France, he learned to speak French like a native. +Having returned to Scotland, he became a minister of the Presbyterian +Church, and was appointed pastor of the parish of Newbattle in 1641, +in which he laboured quietly till 1652, when he resigned his charge. +In 1653, he was installed principal of the University of Edinburgh, to +which office the chair of divinity was joined. After the Restoration, +he accepted the bishopric of Dunblane, in which he officiated for +about eight years, and was exceedingly attentive to his duties. He +endeavoured to promote measures of moderation and conciliation, and +disapproved of the severe modes of forcing a formal compliance with the +established worship, and accordingly granted the nonconformists of his +own diocese that liberty of conscience, which the laws of the times had +ignored. In 1670, when he became Archbishop of Glasgow, he redoubled +his efforts to persuade the ejected ministers to listen to terms of +accommodation, but failed. At last, disheartened and tired of his +position, he resolved to retire from all public employment, tendered +his resignation, finally relinquishing the See of Glasgow in 1674. +Afterwards, this truly religious and humane man retired to England, +where he died in 1684. + +Leighton’s writings consist of his “Commentaries on St. Peter,” +sermons preached at Newbattle, lectures delivered in Latin before +the University of Edinburgh, spiritual exercises, letters and other +papers. None of his works were published in his lifetime, but collected +editions of them have been issued in England and America, the most +complete one having appeared in 1869‒70. His writings have been +long and widely known, and it is unnecessary to enter into a lengthy +criticism of them. His style is simple and easy, and glowing with +genuine piety, the expression of a warm and generous heart. + +Bishop Burnet was the greatest name in literature which Scotland +produced in the seventeenth century. He was born in Edinburgh in +1643, but belonged to an Aberdeenshire family, and was educated at +the University of Aberdeen. He was licensed to preach at the age of +eighteen, visited England, Holland, and France, and having returned +home, was appointed minister of the parish of Saltoun in 1665. +Subsequently he became professor of divinity in the University of +Glasgow. After the Revolution he was appointed a bishop in the Church +of England. He was an exceedingly voluminous writer, and tried his hand +on many subjects. He is the author of a large number of sermons, many +of which were delivered on public occasions, of numerous discourses +and tracts on divinity, and of tracts and pamphlets of a polemical +description on popery, politics, and miscellaneous subjects. A +considerable number of historical works emanated from his fertile +mind, of which the most important are his “Memoirs of James and +William, Dukes of Hamilton,” “History of the Reformation of the Church +of England,” and his great work entitled, “History of His Own Time.” +Burnet was a man of varied accomplishments and vast information, and +was himself engaged in many of the events and transactions which he +recorded in the above named work. + +He had a wide and ready command of language, and his historical method +and style are equal, if not superior, to the best English writers of +his day. His narrative is always methodical, and runs on naturally with +much simplicity and ease. His chief historical works are still valuable +as sources of information, and they are also more interesting reading +than almost any writings on the same subjects of that generation or +the succeeding one. As a single specimen of his style, I may quote +the passages of his history on the character of Archbishop Tillotson. +“Tillotson was a man of a clear head and a sweet temper. He had the +brightest thoughts and the most correct style of all our divines, and +was esteemed the best preacher of the age. He was a very prudent man, +and had such a management with it, that I never knew any clergyman so +universally esteemed and beloved, as he was for above twenty years. +He was eminent for his opposition to popery. He was no friend to +persecution, and stood up much against atheism. Nor did many men do +more to bring the city to love our worship than he did. But there was +so little superstition, and so much reason and gentleness in his way +of explaining things, that malice was long levelled at him, and in +conclusion broke out fiercely on him. + +“I preached his funeral sermon, in which I gave a character of him +which was so severely true, that I perhaps kept too much within bounds, +and said less than he deserved. But we had lived in such friendship +together, that I thought it was more decent, as it always is more safe, +to err on that hand. He was the man of the truest judgment and best +temper I had ever known; he had a clear head, with a most tender and +compassionate heart; he was a faithful and jealous friend, but a gentle +and soon-conquered enemy; he was truly and seriously religious, but +without affectation, bigotry, or superstition; his notions of morality +were fine and sublime; his thread of reasoning was easy, clear, and +solid; he was not only the best preacher of the age, but seemed to have +brought preaching to perfection; his sermons were so well liked and +heard, and so much read, that all the nation proposed him as a pattern, +and studied to copy after him; his parts remained with him clear and +unclouded, but the perpetual slanders and other ill-usage he had been +followed with for many years, more particularly since his advancement +to that great post, gave him too much trouble and too deep a concern; +it could neither provoke him, nor fright him from his duty, but it +affected his mind so much that this was thought to have shortened his +days.”¹ + + ¹ _History of His Own Time_, Volume I., pages 324‒325, 1823. + +In the department of poetry, Scotland in the seventeenth century, +unlike the two preceding ones, was rather barren. Sir William Alexander, +subsequently better known as the Earl of Stirling, was a writer of +rhymed compositions in the reigns of James VI. and Charles I. He broke +away from his native dialect, and essayed to write in the literary +English of the period; but his style is not pure or correct. He had +a good command of language, but he lacked the poetic glow, though +he tried his hand at various themes; his poetry is commonplace and +monotonous, and often pervaded with a moralising strain.¹ + + ¹ Alexander’s so-called “Monarchic Tragedy” was published at + Edinburgh in 1603. “Thus known to James in Scotland as one + of the most accomplished of his subjects there, Alexander + continued after the union of the Crowns to put forth volume + after volume, professedly as a British poet using the common + literary tongue, vying with his English contemporaries.... At + length, in 1614, appeared the huge poem, in twelve cantos of + heavy eight-line stanzas, entitled ‘Doom’s Day, or the Great + Day of the Lord’s Judgment.’” About this time he entered the + King’s service, and was promoted step by step till he became + Earl of Stirling in 1633.――Dr. Masson’s _Life of Milton_, + Volume I., page 421. + +William Drummond, of Hawthornden, attained to some distinction as a +poet in the first half of the century. He was a notable man in his own +lifetime, having travelled abroad, residing for some time in Paris and +in Rome, and visited the most celebrated universities of the Continent. +He corresponded with Ben Jonson and other English poets, and they +recognised him as a member of their fraternity. He wrote a number of +poems and sonnets, also a history of the first five Jameses; but his +history is not of much historic value, as his special information on +the subject was limited and incomplete. He left behind him various +political papers relating to affairs between the years of 1632 and 1646, +mainly written in support of the cause of Charles I. He died in 1649. + +Drummond holds a place among the minor English poets, but represented +nothing distinctively Scottish, as he wrote in the literary English of +the period. His taste and culture were formed under the influences of +Italian and English literature, and he seems to have shut himself out +from the association and the inspiration of the vernacular. His poetry +lacks fire and force, and emotional power; but on the other hand, he +had a cultured taste, fancy, and a command of descriptive imagery. +Some of his sacred poems exhibit poetical imagery and an easy flow +of versification. In one of them, called “The Shadow of Death,” the +following lines occur:―― + + “So seeing earth, of angels once the inn, + Mansion of saints, deflowered all by sin, + And quite confus’d by wretches here beneath, + The world’s great sovereign moved was to wrath. + Thrice did he rouse himself, thrice from his face, + Flames sparkle did throughout the heavenly place, + The stars, though fixed, in their rounds did quake, + The earth, and earth-embracing sea did quake.” + +His piece composed on the King’s visit to his native land in 1617, is +one of his best; and in it he pays a warm tribute to the King’s love +of peace. + +But “his sonnets in particular have been praised in modern times, as +among the second best in the language. In his narrative and descriptive +poems he is decidedly one of the English Arcadians, with something of +Browne’s sweet sensuousness, and using very musically the same metrical +couplet.... If, as a poet of sensuous circumstance, Drummond has any +one particular excellence, entitling him to a kind of pre-eminence, +so far as that excellence could bestow it, among the minor poets, it +is the description of the clear nocturnal sky and the effects of quiet +moonlight on streams and fields”; as in these lines:―― + + “To western worlds when wearied day goes down, + And from Heaven’s windows each star shows her head, + Earth’s silent daughter Night is fair though brown, + Fair is the moon though in love’s livery clad.”¹ + + ¹ Dr. Masson’s _Life of Milton_, Volume I., pages 424‒425. An + edition of Drummond’s Poems was published in 1656; a fuller + one in 1711; but the most complete edition of his poems was + printed for the Maitland Club in 1832. + +With the progress of social organisation and civilisation, laws and +legal writings accumulate; hence more legal literature was produced in +Scotland in the seventeenth century than in the sixteenth. Sir Thomas +Hope, the eminent advocate, and warm Covenanter, was the author of +several well-known legal treatises, which were long esteemed among the +faculty. + +But the most famous writer of Scottish Jurisprudence was James +Dalrymple, Viscount Stair, and president of the Court of Session.¹ +His chief work, “The Institution of the Law of Scotland,” was long the +standard authority on legal matters.² He is also the author of a digest +of “The Decisions of the Court of Session, in the important cases +debated before the judges, with the Acts of Sederunt,” published at +Edinburgh in 1683‒87. It contained a report of cases from 1660 to +the month of August, 1681, and thus it has an interesting and special +historic value. + + ¹ Born 1619, died 1696. + + ² The first edition of Stair’s _Institutions_ appeared in 1681; + a second edition greatly enlarged, was published at Edinburgh + in 1693; a third, corrected and enlarged, with notes, in + 1759; a fourth, with commentaries and supplement by George + Brodie, in 1829‒31; and another with notes and illustrations + by John S. More, 1832, in two volumes. + +But Lord Stair was the author of several other works of a different +character. In 1686, he published in Latin a treatise entitled +“Physiologia nova Experimentalis,” which was favourably noticed by +Boyle. His last publication was “A Vindication of Divine Perfections, +illustrating the Glory of God, by Reason and Revelation, methodically +digested into several Meditations,” which appeared in 1695. In 1690, +he published a defence of himself in a tract of four leaves. + +Sir George Mackenzie, the notorious lord-advocate of the reign of +Charles II., was a writer of reputation in his time, and a clear and +vigorous thinker. He tried his hand on various subjects. His legal +writings consist of “Institutes of the Law of Scotland,” “Laws and +Customs in matters Criminal,” “Observations on the Laws and Customs of +Nations as to precedency, with the Science of Heraldry as part of the +Law of Nations.” Of these, the first is a well-arranged and digested +treatise, but it is short and summary, and falls much behind Stair’s +work on the same subject. The other two contain useful information +forcibly expressed. + +Concerning both the knowledge and the art of medicine the civilised +world was still in a backward condition. The practice of surgery +especially was very rude, even in its most elementary principles. In +the treatment of simple wounds, “instead of bringing the edges of the +wound together, and endeavouring to unite them by the first intention, +as is practised in the present day, the wound was filled with dressing +and acid balsams, or distended with tents and leaden tubes.... In those +days every lap of skin, instead of being reunited was cut away, and +every open wound was dressed as a sore, and every deep one was filled +with a tent lest it should heal.”¹ Although in this branch of science +there was no great advance in Scotland, yet more interest began to be +manifested in the subject, and some progress was made. + + ¹ _Physic and Physicians_, Volume I., pages 42‒43. + +It was stated that Sir Andrew Balfour¹ first introduced the dissection +of the human body into Scotland. He projected a sick hospital for the +relief of pain and poverty at the public expense. He also drew up a +scheme for the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, and formed +the botanic garden there. To the public he bequeathed a museum which at +that time would have been considered a great acquisition to any city. +Further, he introduced into Scotland many foreign plants; and as in his +youth he had travelled in foreign countries, he greatly extended his +information, his culture, and experience.² + + ¹ Born 1630, died 1694. + + ² Though the Royal College of Physicians was not incorporated + till 1681, it is recorded that “the doctors of physic” + petitioned parliament in 1693, craving that a college of + physicians should be established in Edinburgh.――_Acts of the + Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 283. + +James Sutherland was appointed keeper of the new botanic garden in +1683. He published “A Catalogue of the Plants in the Physic Gardens at +Edinburgh, containing their most proper names in Latin and in English.” +In the dedication of it to the Provost of Edinburgh he says, “It has +been my business for seven years past, wherein I have had the honour +to serve the city as ♦intendant over the garden, to use all care and +industry, by foreign correspondence, to acquire both seeds and plants +from the Levant, Italy, Spain, Holland, England, and the East and West +Indies, and by many painful journeys, in all seasons of the year, to +recover whatever this kingdom possesses of variety, and to cultivate +and to preserve them, with all possible care.” + + ♦ “intendent” replaced with “intendant” + +After Dr. Balfour’s death, his library, consisting of about three +thousand volumes, besides manuscripts, was dispersed; but his museum +was placed in the hall which, till 1829, was used as the University. +“There it remained many years useless and neglected, some parts of it +falling into inevitable decay, and other parts being abstracted. Yet +even after 1750, it still contained a considerable collection, which I +have good reason to remember, as it was the sight of it about that time +that inspired me with an attachment to natural history. Soon after that +it was dislodged from the hall where it had been long kept, was thrown +aside and exposed as lumber; was further and further dilapidated, and +at length almost completely demolished. In the year 1782, out of its +ruins and rubbish I extracted many pieces still valuable and useful, +and placed them here in the best order I could. These, I hope, may long +remain, and be considered as so many precious relics of one of the best +and greatest men this country has produced.”¹ + + ¹ Walker’s _Essay on Natural History_. + +Sir Robert Sibbald attained a reputation as a physician and a +naturalist. When the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was +incorporated in 1681, he became a member of that institution. In +1684, he published his valuable work entitled, “Scotia Illustrata sive +Prodromus Historiæ Naturalis Scotiæ,” and a second edition appeared in +1696. He devoted much attention to the indigenous plants of Scotland, +and discovered some rare species. In 1694, he published an interesting +treatise containing “Observations on some Animals of the Whale Genus, +lately thrown on the shores of Scotland.” He was also the author of +a number of essays and papers, chiefly on topics connected with the +antiquities of Scotland, which were written for the Royal Society, +and published after his death in 1739. He wrote a description of Fife, +published in 1710, which is full of interesting and curious information. + +Dr. Robert Morison¹ was an industrious and persevering student of +botany, and for ten years he held the position of intendant of the +gardens of the Duke of Orleans. After the Restoration, the King invited +him to England, and on his arrival, he was appointed royal physician, +and professor of botany. In 1669, having been elected professor of +botany in the University of Oxford, “he made his first entrance on +the botanic lecture in the medicine school, on the 2nd of September, +1670, ♦and on the 5th of the same month, he translated himself to the +physic garden, where he read in the middle of it, with a table before +him, on herbs and plants thrice a week for five weeks, not without a +considerable auditory. In the month of May, 1673, he read again, and +so likewise in the autumn following; which course, spring and fall, +he proposed always to follow, but was diverted for several years, by +prosecuting his large design of publishing the universal knowledge of +simples.”² + + ¹ Born 1620, died 1683. + + ♦ “aud” replaced with “and” + + ² Wood’s _Fasti Oxonienses_ + +He produced a work on botany which claimed to make some improvement on +the system of classification, the first part of which appeared in 1672, +and the second in 1680, but he did not live to finish it, having only +completed nine of the fifteen classes of his own system. + +Dr. Archibald Pitcairn was one of the original members of the Royal +College of Physicians, and one of the most eminent of the profession +in Scotland at that period.¹ He was a keen supporter and promulgator +of Harvey’s doctrine of the circulation of the blood, and in 1688 he +published a treatise touching that subject. He composed a number of +dissertations on medical matters, which were published in a collected +form in 1701; and in 1713, shortly before his death, he issued a new +and enlarged edition. He belonged historically to what was sometimes +called the mathematical school of physicians, that is, those who then +insisted on the application of mathematical reasoning and demonstration +to subjects of anatomy and physiology. Be that as it may, Pitcairn +contributed to the improvement of the theory and practice of medicine, +having assisted to complete Harvey’s theory of the blood, and made some +advance in explaining the process of secretion. He exerted himself to +explode some of the errors of preceding writers, and adopted a clear +and concise mode of reasoning, and his dissertations are admirable +specimens of exposition.² + + ¹ Born 1652, died 1713. + + ² An English translation of Dr. Pitcairn’s works was published + in 1727, and there have been several editions of his writings + issued. + +Notwithstanding the unsettled state of Scotland in the seventeenth +century, some of her sons contributed to the progress of science, +although no genius of the highest rank arose to illuminate the pages +of our annals; still several steps in science were taken which tended +to extend the bounds of knowledge. Dr. James Gregory,¹ the inventor +of the reflecting telescope, had directed his attention to the study +of mathematical science from his boyhood, and in 1663, when only +twenty-five, he published his treatise on optics. In this work he +gave the first description of the reflecting telescope. The year after +the publication of his work, he went to London, with the intention of +having his telescope constructed, and was introduced to Mr. Reves, an +optical instrument maker, but he could not finish the mirrors on the +tool so as to preserve the figure. Indeed so unsuccessful was the trial +of the telescope, that the inventor was discouraged from making more +attempts to improve it. Thus the want of mere mechanical manipulation +for a time delayed the completion of the instrument, and the inventor +never had the satisfaction of seeing it completed. + + ¹ Born 1638, died 1675. + +Sir Isaac Newton objected to this telescope on the ground that ♦the +hole in the large speculum would cause the loss of so much light, +and six years later invented his own one, in which this defect was +obviated. Both forms, however, were long used, the Gregorian when the +instrument was of moderate size, and the Newtonian one generally when +the instrument was required to be large.¹ + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + + ¹ Hutton’s _Philosophical and Mathematical Dictionary_; _Life + of Dr. Reid_, prefixed to Hamilton’s edition of Reid’s works. + +Dr. Gregory was the author of several other geometrical treatises, +which were important contributions to the science of the time. Having +been elected a member of the Royal Society, he read various papers +before it. He was also appointed professor of mathematics in the +University of St. Andrews; but was subsequently transferred to the +mathematical chair in the University of Edinburgh, which he held till +his death in 1675, at the early age of thirty-seven. + +David Gregory, a nephew of the preceding professor, attained +distinction as a professor of mathematics, a scientific writer, and +a commentator.¹ He was educated at the Universities of Aberdeen and +Edinburgh, and when only twenty-three years of age, he was appointed +professor of mathematics in the latter. The following year he published +a small treatise in Latin concerning the dimensions of figures, in +which he made various references to the speculations of his uncle, from +whom he received some of his materials. + + ¹ Born 1661, died 1708. + +He has the distinction of being the first public teacher who taught +the Newtonian system in the schools, which his brother James likewise +introduced into the University of St. Andrews. David Gregory remained +in the University of Edinburgh for seven years, expounding “The +Principia” of Newton, and lecturing on optics. In 1691, the Savilian +professorship of Astronomy in the University of Oxford became vacant, +and Gregory proceeded to London with the view of offering himself +as a candidate for the post. There he was introduced to Newton, who +gave him a testimonial, which stated: “Being desired by David Gregory, +mathematical professor of the College in Edinburgh, to testify my +knowledge of him, and having known him by his printed mathematical +performances, and by discoursing with travellers from Scotland, and +of late by conversation with him, I do account him one of the most +able and judicious mathematicians of his age now living. He is very +well skilled in analysis and geometry, both old and new. He has been +conversant with the best writers about astronomy, and understands +that science very well. He is not only acquainted with books, but +his invention in mathematical things is also good. He has performed +his duties in Edinburgh with credit, as I hear, and advanced the +mathematics. He is reputed the greatest mathematician in Scotland, +and that deservedly so far as my knowledge reaches, for I esteem him +an ornament to his country, and upon these accounts do recommend him +to the electors of the astronomy professor for the place in Oxford now +vacant.” Newton also gave him a letter of introduction to Mr. Flamsteed, +the astronomer-royal. Gregory was elected professor of astronomy at +Oxford in 1692; and about the same time he was admitted a member of the +Royal Society, and he contributed to their transactions various papers. +He occupied the chair of astronomy till his death.¹ + + ¹ _Letters Written by Eminent Persons_, Volume I., page 177, + 1813; Whiston’s _Memoirs_. + +Gregory’s writings were mainly on mathematical subjects and the +principles of the Newtonian system. In 1702 he published his greatest +work, “Astronomiæ Physicæ et Geometricæ Elementa,” the aim of which was +to present a connected view of Newton’s system, and thus it contained +a digest of the “Principia.” Gregory manifested a great faculty of +arrangement and exposition, and it was admitted by Newton himself that +the work gave an excellent exposition and defence of his system. Much +ability was shown in the illustrations. It appears that Newton had +communicated to the author his theory of the moon, and given him some +other curious information touching the notions of the ancients on the +subject of gravitation. This work was reprinted at Geneva in 1713, and +two editions of an English translation of it appeared, the last in 1726, +in two volumes. Dr. Gregory edited an edition of the works of Euclid, +which was published in 1703. He also left unpublished works, some of +which were printed after his death. + +John Keill was the author of several treatises on the new physics. He +was a warm adherent of the Newtonian system, and it was reported that +he was amongst the first who explained and illustrated the new system +by experiments at Oxford about the end of the seventeenth century. His +first work was an examination of Dr. Burnet’s “Theory of the Earth,” +with some remarks on Whiston’s “Theory of the Earth,” published in 1698. +It involved him in a controversy with the authors whose works he had +attacked. In 1700 he published “An Introduction to Natural Philosophy,” +being lectures read in the University of Oxford in Latin, but an +English translation soon after appeared. This work was considered an +able and useful introduction to the Newtonian system, and it has often +been reprinted in England, and was translated into French. + +Keill entered the arena as a warm supporter and defender of Newton in +the famous dispute between Leibnitz and Newton about the priority of +their claims to the invention of fluxions and the calculus. Into the +evidence or the merits of this question I cannot enter here, but it +may be said that Keill and some others who took part in the discussion +introduced into it rather too much vehemence and passion. In 1712 +Keill was appointed Professor of Astronomy in the University of Oxford, +and in 1718 he published “An Introduction to the True Astronomy: or +Astronomical Lectures read in the Astronomical School of the University +of Oxford,” of which an English translation was published in 1721, +which was long regarded as a standard work. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + _Education and Art in the Seventeenth Century._ + + +AS we have seen in the second volume, after the Reformation many +efforts were made to extend the elements of Education to the people. +Though the nation was disturbed touching forms of Church polity, and +often torn by civil war and persecution, yet the parish and elementary +schools increased in number during the century, while the number of +adventure-schools which appeared throughout the kingdom humbly praying +for liberty to teach, indicates a growing and pretty general desire +among the people to partake of the benefits of education. Thus there +were signs that the mass of ignorance was slowly but surely yielding +to the influences of civilisation. Still, the vagrant habits of +many persons, the severe oppression of a portion of the people, and +many other obstacles, required a long time to elapse ere they could +be thoroughly overcome or a complete system of national education +established. + +The legislature, the church, and the local authorities, all endeavoured +to promote the education of the people. In 1616 the Privy Council +enacted that there should be a school established in every parish +of the kingdom, and the Act was to be carried into effect with the +concurrence of the burghs. But this Act was not fully carried out, +and so ten years later the Government ordered a report to be drawn +up on the state of the parishes throughout the kingdom, from which it +appeared that the majority of the parishes were then without regular +schools. Parliament in 1633 ratified the Act of Council, and further +enacted that the bishops, with the consent of the majority of the +parishioners, might impose a rate upon the possessors of land for +establishing and supporting the parish schools. In 1641 the subject +came again before Parliament in the form of an overture, which, among +other points concerning schools and education, stated that “every +parish should have a reader and a school wherein children are to be +taught in reading and writing, and the grounds of religion, according +to the laudable acts both of church and parliament before enacted.” +One of the articles in the overture on the schools was to this effect: +“The Assembly would supplicate the parliament that for youths of the +finest and best spirits of the Highlands and Borders, maintenance may +be allowed as to bursars, to be trained in the Universities.” Again, +in 1645, Parliament ordered “that there be a school founded, and a +schoolmaster appointed in every parish not already provided.” For this +purpose the proprietors in every congregation were enjoined to meet +and to provide a suitable building for a school, and modify a salary to +the schoolmaster, which should not be under one hundred merks or above +two hundred annually. A rate was to be imposed by the proprietors to +maintain the schools and pay the schoolmasters; but if they could not +agree among themselves to settle the matter, then in that case, the +presbytery were to nominate twelve honest men within its bounds, who +should be empowered to execute the work of establishing a school, which +should be as valid as if the proprietors had done it themselves.¹ But +troubles came fast and thick upon the party then at the head of affairs, +and this Act was not put into operation. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages 21, + 367; Volume VI., page 216. + +In 1696 Parliament anew enacted that a school and schoolmaster should +be established in every parish not already provided “by advice of the +proprietors and the minister of the parish.” As in the Act of 1645, +they were enjoined to provide a suitable building for a school, and +settle a salary to a schoolmaster, which should not be under one +hundred merks (five pounds and eleven shillings) sterling, or above +two hundred merks (eleven pounds, two shillings, and twopence.) The +proprietors were to pay a share of the rate according to their valued +rent within the parish, “allowing each of them relief from his tenants +of the half of his proportion for settling and maintaining of a school +and payment of the schoolmaster’s salary.... If the proprietors, or +a majority of them, shall not meet, or being met and shall not agree +among themselves, then in that case, the Presbytery shall apply to the +commissioners of supply of the shire, who, or any five of them, shall +have power to establish a school, and settle and modify a salary for +the schoolmaster, and to rate and lay on the same upon the proprietors +according to their valued rent, which shall be as valid and effectual +as if it had been done by the proprietors themselves. And because the +proportion imposed upon each proprietor will be but small, therefore +for the better and more ready payment thereof, it is ordained that if +two terms’ proportions run in and the third unpaid, then those that +so fail in payment shall be liable in double of their proportions then +resting, and in the double of every term’s proportion that shall be +resting thereafter, until the schoolmaster be completely paid, and +that without any defalcation.”¹ From this date the parish system of +primary schools became established and continued without interruption, +excepting in some parts of the Highlands, where parishes were so +large as to render the act inoperative; but ultimately other means of +providing elementary education in those remote quarters of the kingdom +were adopted. + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume X., page 63. + +Throughout this period there were elementary schools in many of +the towns distinct from the grammar or burgh schools. But it must +be observed that the grammar schools from an early period enjoyed a +monopoly of teaching certain branches, as they were protected more or +less strictly until recent times. Education like trade and everything +else was subject to the spirit and the influences of the age, and a few +examples of the modes of protection in this field may be interesting to +many. In 1668, the town council of Edinburgh stated that it was illegal +for any person to teach Latin or grammar within the city, except the +masters of the high school, and that none residing in the town might +send their children to be taught without the gates; nevertheless, +several persons were teaching within the city, “to its public loss, +and to the overthrow of the high school.” And therefore the council +“ordained that no person upon any pretence whatever teach grammar +within the city except at the schools of Leith, Canongate, and the +readers’ school of West Port; and that no inhabitant send their +children to any other place within the liberties of the city; and +anyone teaching in contempt of this act shall be imprisoned, and +parents sending their children elsewhere shall pay quarterly to the +master of the high school as much as his other scholars.”¹ Yet “the +adventure schools seemed to have gained ground on the high school in +the course of 1684, when the doctors appeal for augmentation, because +of the number of private schools which, if suppressed, will become +their mortal enemies, slandering them to all concerned.”² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Edinburgh._ + + ² Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, page 136. + +In 1686, the town of Wigton ordered that no other school but the burgh +one should be permitted there, except for girls to learn sewing, under +a fine on the teachers of ten pounds quarterly, and five groats on +parents for each child. The town council of Banff, in 1688, prohibited +private schools within the burgh under the penalty of banishment. In +1693, the council of Edinburgh ordered the doors of private schools +to be closed; while, in 1698, the council of Stirling ordained that no +child above six years of age should be taught in any school but the +grammar school, no private school was to be permitted. The town council +of Selkirk, in 1721, having appointed an English master, prohibited all +other persons from teaching English to boys within the burgh.¹ + + ¹ Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, pages + 138‒140; _Burgh Records of Banff_; _Burgh Records of + Stirling_. + +The English or primary schools in the burghs were partly under the +control of the magistrates, and their sanction had to be obtained +before a teacher could open a school. In March, 1636, the town council +of Aberdeen discovered that three women had opened a school without +asking or receiving a license from the council, and that they were +teaching their scholars to read, and thus injuring the masters of the +English schools, who had been authorised and admitted by the council; +therefore, the council prohibited these women from keeping a school for +teaching the children, excepting only schools for “learning the bairns” +to sew and weave, and no further; “and that with the licence of the +council, sought and obtained, and in no other way.”¹ In 1658, William +Findlay applied to the council for liberty to teach an English school, +stating that he had been a teacher in John Brown’s school, that he +thought himself capable of conducting an English and writing school, +and that he was very anxious to do it, if their honours should see +fit to authorise him. The council, having considered his application, +granted him a licence to open a school in the Green or Shoregate, “for +teaching the young ones and children of the inhabitants of this burgh, +during the council’s pleasure, and his good service in that charge.”² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., page 98. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume IV., page 176. + +The council of Glasgow, in 1639, enacted that there should be four +English schools in the city, with a writing school, “and the masters +of these schools to be admitted by the council, and to receive +instructions from them touching the school hours and other matters, +and this act to be proclaimed by sound of drum.” But in 1654, eight +teachers had taken up Scots schools without authority in the city, and +they then humbly supplicated the magistrates to be allowed to continue +them, while two others prayed that they might be permitted to open new +Scots schools. After consideration, the magistrates authorised them, on +condition that they conducted themselves religiously, praying morning +and evening in the schools, exacting only certain fees, and instructing +all poor children without fees, whose parents or friends required +them to do this; while it was declared that the opening of ♦schools +without the authority of the magistrates “was against all reason, and +contrary to precedent, and to what had been heretofore observed.” In +1663, fourteen persons, male and female, were authorised to keep Scots +schools in Glasgow.¹ + + ♦ “scheols” replaced with “schools” + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, page 397; Grant’s _History of the + Burgh Schools of Scotland_, page 385. + +In 1662, the town council of ♦Aberdeen concluded that the English and +reading schools of the burgh had been for several years much neglected +and abused, owing to there being too many licenced to teach, who were +incapable of teaching. But the council, having now brought John Gormak +from Edinburgh, a highly qualified teacher of reading and writing, to +assume the duties of teaching in the city, and that the schools may be +better regulated and the youth better instructed in future, “resolved +to have a school for teaching the young ones in reading and in writing; +and that Robert Webster, who also has the liberty of the school, +continue it for teaching and instructing the children in reading +and arithmetic; and John Moubray to have the liberty of a school for +teaching the children of Footdee and the Castlegate; prohibiting all +other persons from keeping any English schools for reading, writing, or +arithmetic, within this burgh, except such women as the council shall +permit, for instructing children in the grounds of reading.” The same +year, the council admitted Barbara Mollison as teacher of the school +founded by the Lady of Rothiemay, “in this burgh, for teaching the +young ones in reading, writing, and sewing.”¹ + + ♦ “Aberbeen” replaced with “Aberdeen” + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., page 201. + +From an early period, French was very generally taught in Scotland, +but no other modern language was introduced into the schools until +very recent times. In 1635, the town council of Aberdeen authorised +Alexander Rolland to open a French school in the city, “for teaching +the youth, and such as shall please to come to him, and for that end +to put up a sign before his school door, to give notice of his licence, +to all who are anxious to learn the French tongue.”¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., page 80. + +The Church was invested with the power of visiting and examining all +the parish schools of the kingdom, and she manifested a deep interest +in their welfare. But the Church also claimed, and generally exercised +the right of visiting and examining all the schools in the realm, +though, in the case of the burgh or grammar schools, she usually +acted in conjunction with the town councils or the magistrates. These +visitations of the schools were made at stated times, and helped to +sustain their spirit and efficiency. + +Thus in 1629, the town council of Aberdeen appointed four men to +assist Dr. Forbes, Dr. Dun, Dr. Johnston, and Mr. Robert Barron, in +the visitation of the Grammar, English, and Music schools of the city, +enjoining them to take notice of the form of doctrine and discipline +in all of them, and how the masters and the scholars observed the rules +and the instructions set down for their guidance. “And wherein they +find any of the masters deficient, either in doctrine or discipline, +to report this to the council, with their proposals as to how all +such defects should be remedied, to the end that the magistrates +may order reformation, according to an act formerly drawn up. It was +also commanded that the laws of all the schools should be printed and +affixed in every school, that neither master nor scholar may pretend +ignorance.”¹ In 1652, the council of Peebles ordered the school to +be visited, and the minister to be informed thereof. The town council +of Jedburgh, in 1656, ordered visitations of the school to be made +twice a year, in May and November, “in order that the master and +assistant shall be tried, concerning the soundness of their judgment +in matters of religion, their ability as teachers, the honesty of their +conversation, and the fidelity with which they discharge their duties, +so that the proficiency of the scholars may be known.”² + + ¹ _Ibid._, Volume III., pages 14, 26, _et seq._ + + ² _Burgh Records of Peebles_; _Burgh Records of Jedburgh_; + Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, page 148. + +The General Assembly of 1642 appointed a committee to consider the +time and manner of visiting schools, and the best and most orderly +course for teaching grammar. And in 1645, the Assembly, with the aim +of advancing learning and good order in grammar schools, enacted that +every grammar school should be visited twice in the year by visitors +appointed by the presbytery and kirk-session in landward parishes, +by the town council and ministers in burghs, and by the universities +where there are any, always with the consent of the patrons of the +school, in order that the diligence of masters, and the proficiency of +scholars may be ascertained, and deficiency censured.¹ The Presbyteries, +generally, were painstaking and careful in assisting to conduct these +examinations. + + ¹ _Acts of the General Assembly._ + +In 1659, the town council of Aberdeen, considering that the quarterly +visitation of the grammar and music schools of the city, appointed +by the former acts, if rightly conducted, would tend to promote the +learning of the youth, approved the following regulations, together +with the laws of the school adopted in 1636: 1. That there should be +four solemn visitations of the grammar school every year, one at the +beginning of every quarter, at which the scholars should be tried in +making themes, interpreting and analysing authors, and making verses, +which will take up one day, if rightly done. 2. That the master of +the grammar school should keep a register of visitations, in which +should be entered “the laws of the school,” printed about the year +1636, and also the act of council approving these regulations; and the +scholar who at the quarterly visitation gains the prize, should with +his own hand insert his name in the register, mentioning whether he +gained it by making a theme or a verse, or analysing authors, and also +recording the date of the visitation, which must be done by _nonas +idus calendus_, the master helping those of the lower classes to enter +it correctly, and the prizeman’s name to be affixed above his class +till the next visitation. 3. That each scholar in the school should +have an antagonist, who as near as possible should be his equal, for +stirring up emulation, and neither to receive help in his trials at +the visitation. 4. The masters should keep the themes of the present +visitation until the next quarterly visitation, that their proficiency +may be observed. 5. Those who make the best verse and the best theme +should each have a prize, after it appears by examination to be their +own composition. 6. At every quarterly visitation there should be +public acting, short recitations and declamations before the visitors, +that the scholars may learn boldness and vivacity in public speaking. +7. When two or more are equal in making a theme or in any other point +of trial, they may be put to an extempore trial for ascertaining the +order of merit; but the visitors must be careful not to discourage +the unsuccessful competitor, who should also receive a word of public +commendation when the prize is given to the victor. 8. That the +visitors should test the scholars on the grounds of religion by asking +some questions of the Shorter Catechism, and to ascertain if they +understood them.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 180‒182. + +The Town Council of Aberdeen passed an act for redressing abuses which +had arisen in the Grammar School in 1671. The scholars were interrupted +in their learning by being changed from one teacher to another too +often, as the assistant teachers were changed from one class to another +every quarter, therefore it was settled that all the assistant teachers +should begin with the scholars they received at each of the four +quarters of the year, and carry them on continuously till they were fit +for entering the master’s class. “Seeing that in the three years’ time, +the scholars coming in May and in August cannot be so far advanced +as those who came in autumn and at Candlemas, their teacher having +delivered up the autumn scholars to the master’s class, he may begin +to receive the new class in the elementary branch at the same time, +and also perfect the rest of his former classes, and always as he +receives a new class every quarter so he may give off the class of his +former course every quarter to the master’s class, and so every third +year each teacher of the school is to receive the scholars of a whole +year, and at the four general quarters go up with his own scholars +to the master’s class. And if any boy through neglect or dullness of +understanding fall short of his fellows, by the advice of the visitors +or with consent of his parents, he ought to descend under the master +that teaches next to that class.” The mode of exercising discipline +being defective, it was enjoined that the head master and the assistant +teachers should exercise discipline every twenty-four hours upon the +scholars under their respective charges. The master and teachers had +been in the habit of not attending to their duty till eight in the +morning, therefore it was enacted that one of the teachers should be +in the school every day at six in the morning, and the head master and +the rest of the teachers should be in the school every day before seven, +that the scholars might not be idle when they came. It was ordered that +one at least of the teachers should attend the scholars when they were +at their play, to keep them in the usual playgrounds, and see that they +did not hurt each other.¹ + + ¹ _Ibid._, pages 270‒272. + +In 1700 the council of Aberdeen, the principal and regents of Marischal +College, and the ministers of the city, framed a set of rules for +the government of the Grammar School. It was resolved that a solemn +visitation of the school should be held annually in the beginning of +October, at which the scholars were to be examined, and prizes awarded +to the most deserving. Besides this, there should be three other +visitations at intervals of three months conducted by members of the +council, the ministers of the burgh, and one or two of the regents of +the College. Further, two or more of the magistrates should visit the +school on the first Tuesday of every month and inquire how the rules +and the discipline of the school were observed. At the same time they +appointed the method of teaching grammar and the classical authors, and +enjoined that they should be diligently pursued.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., page 327. + +As to the subjects taught in the grammar schools and the method of +teaching, there seems to have been a gradual improvement. In the higher +class of schools the course extended to five years. At the High School +of Edinburgh in 1640 the order of teaching was as follows:――For the +first half of the first year the scholars were taught the principles +of grammar “in vernaculo sermone,” at the same time learning the +Latin names of everything on earth and in heaven; and during the +second half they had daily to repeat a certain portion of grammar, +and learn particular sentences relating to life and manners. The first +half of the second year they daily repeated certain parts of grammar, +especially as laid down by Despauter,¹ translating it into English, +and at the same time reading Cordery’s Colloquies; while, during the +second half, they were taught daily the Syntax of Erasmus, the masters +teaching and the scholars learning in the Latin language. Throughout +the third year they repeated daily a portion of etymology and syntax, +being exercised in reading Cicero’s De Senectute and De Amicitia, +Terence’s Comedies and Elegies, Ovid’s Tristia, Buchanan’s Psalms, +and Cicero’s Epistles, reading the same _clara voce_. The fourth +year, for the first month they repeated daily what they had already +learned, being taught Buchanan’s Prosody, Despauter’s Select Rules, +and Buchanan’s Epigrams and Poetry. During the rest of the year they +were exercised in poetry and in the practice of the rules of grammar, +reading Virgil, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Horace, Buchanan’s Psalms, +translating Cicero, Cæsar, and Terence, and the beauties of these +authors were explained to them. The fifth year they studied the +rhetoric of Tully, and the compendious rhetoric of Cassander, read +Cicero’s Orations, the short speeches in Sallust, Virgil, and Lucan, +and were at all times enjoined to read audibly and distinctly, and +declaim.² + + ¹ A notable Flemish grammarian, who flourished from 1460 to + 1520, and whose grammar long continued to be used in our + schools. + + ² Chalmers’ _Life of Ruddiman_, pages 88‒90; Grant’s _History + of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, page 339. For comparison + of the above course of instruction in this school with the + earlier one adopted in 1598, see the second volume of this + history, pages 404‒5. + +The course of the Grammar School of Glasgow and that of Aberdeen also +extended to five years, and the class of subjects and the instruction +imparted being very similar in these schools, though there were some +variations which may be a little further illustrated. In 1685, at the +request of the Town Council of Glasgow, the regents of the College and +the ministers of the city framed a scheme of teaching for the Grammar +School. According to it, the first year the scholars were to be taught +the common rudiments of Latin, including the Vocables; the second year +the larger half of the first part of grammar, with Cordery’s Colloquies, +Erasmus’s Minor Colloquies, and some select epistles of Cicero and +Cato. The third year they were to be taught the other half of the first +part of grammar, and a short piece of the second, as far as Regimen +Genitivi; and for authors they were to have Ovid’s Epistles, Buchanan’s +Psalms, especially such of them as are written in elegiac verse, with +themes and versions from the best authors. The fourth year they were +to learn the rest of Syntax from Regimen Genitivi, repeating the former +parts, and reading Cæsar’s Commentaries, Justin’s History, Ovid’s +Metamorphoses, and Virgil. The fifth year they were to be perfected +in the third and fourth parts of the Latin grammar, and to learn +Buchanan’s Epigrams, Jephtes, and Baptistes, and also select parts of +Horace and Juvenal, with exercises in poetry, in themes and versions.¹ + + ¹ Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, page 338. + +The course of instruction in the grammar school of Aberdeen, in 1700, +was ordered as follows: “The entrants should read Latin during the +first quarter, or longer if the masters thought fit. After this, they +should learn the declensions, comparisons, pronouns, conjugations, and +the rest of the rudiments, to the constructions, and they should also +learn by heart the first four sections of Webberburn’s Vocables, and +decline and conjugate them; with the constructions they should have +the two last sections of Vocables. With the first part of the grammar +they should have Tully, Sulpicius, Distich of Cato, Ovid’s Epistles, +Virgil’s Epigrams, and Terentii Andria; and for prose authors, Cordery, +Erasmus’s Minor Colloquies, and Cicero’s Minor Epistles; and for sacred +prose, Ursin’s Catechism, Dialogi Sacra Sebastiani. With the second +part of the grammar, Virgil’s Eclogues and the fourth book of his +Georgics, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, should be used; for prose authors, +Curtius, Sallust, and Cæsar’s Commentaries; and for sacred lessons, +Buchanan’s Paraphrase of the Psalms. With the third part of the grammar, +Virgil’s second and sixth Æneids, and Horace’s Odes; and for prose +authors, Cicero’s Offices, and Erasmus’s Minor Colloquies; and for +sacred lessons, Buchanan’s ♦Paraphrase continued. With the fourth +part of the grammar, some of the select Satires of Horace, the tenth +and thirteenth Satires of Juvenal, and some of the Satires of Persius; +and for prose authors, Livy’s First Decade, and Buchanan’s History, +together with the turning and making of verse, dictates of rhetoric +and rules of elegance, to which should be added some practice in +composing and resolving orations according to the rules of rhetoric. +After Despauter’s Grammar, Kirkwood’s Orthography and Syntax should be +learned, with his tract, De Variis Carminum Generibus. Throughout the +prose authors, the choicest sentences of each day’s lesson should be +dictated in Latin and in English, together with the versions of each +day’s lesson, and for each lesson throughout the several factions, a +daily conference should be appointed. As to composition, the public +arguments should be dictated thrice a week, and besides these the high +class should have five arguments more. On Saturday afternoon there +should be disputes, repeating of rules and authors publicly by the +several classes in turn; and all the rules and questions of the Shorter +Catechism should be repeated once a week publicly. In the winter +quarter each scholar of the higher class should repeat a fable of Æsop +from the public desk before the whole class.” Rules were also adopted +for regulating the discipline of the school, the play-days, and the +tasks for Sunday.¹ + + ♦ “Paraphase” replaced with “Paraphrase” + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., 327‒332. + +Though provision was made for teaching Greek in some of the grammar +schools, it was not generally taught in these schools during the +seventeenth century. There are some notices of the teaching of Greek +in the schools; thus in the high school of Edinburgh, a class was +established for teaching the rudiments of Greek, in 1614. In 1625, 1642, +1656, the masters of the grammar school of Stirling promised to teach +all the scholars both Latin and Greek grammar. The town council of +Aberdeen, in 1661, authorised Mr. William Aidy to teach scholars in the +Greek tongue at such hours as should not interfere with the teaching +of the grammar school. In 1663, Latin and Greek were taught in the +school of Dumfries. As indicated before, Latin, and its classic writers, +formed the chief subject-matter in the higher grammar schools. But +in most of the smaller grammar or burgh schools, English was taught, +including even reading, spelling, and writing. Throughout this period, +however, there is little mention of the teaching of arithmetic, or +any branch of mathematics, geography, or drawing; and, indeed, in +these and other cognate branches of knowledge the nation as yet was +not far advanced.¹ From about the end of the seventeenth century onward +the subject of navigation was assiduously taught in the schools of +the chief seaport towns of Scotland. In 1673, the master of the Scots +school at Ayr was enjoined to teach the children to paint, but there +was little teaching of drawing anywhere. + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV.; _Burgh Records + of Stirling_; Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of + Scotland_, page 332. + +The town councils throughout the kingdom frequently encouraged and +rewarded their school teachers. In 1620, the master of the grammar +school of Paisley was made a burgess and freeman of the burgh, and in +1632, the assistant teacher, for his encouragement, was made a burgess +without paying any composition; and again, in 1685, the master of +the grammar school was admitted a burgess gratis, on account of his +service to the town, and for his encouragement. In 1677, the master +of the grammar school of Ayr was made a burgess and guild brother +“for the good service which he had done in attending on the scholars +in the school.” The town council of Aberdeen, in 1632, granted to +David Wedderburn, master of the grammar school, the sum of two hundred +merks Scots, for printing his grammar, lately published, which he had +dedicated to the council. + +During the century some interest was manifested in the teaching of +music. In a considerable number of the schools music was taught as +a subordinate branch of education, and there were also, in different +places, separate schools for teaching the vocal and instrumental forms. +In 1624, the town council of Glasgow arranged with James Sanders to +teach all the children of the burgh who should be sent to his music +school, allowing him ten shillings each quarter, and three shillings +and fourpence for his assistant. Then the provost and magistrates +prohibited all other schools from teaching music in the city, unless +they were licensed by the council. But in 1638, their music school had +decayed, “to the disgrace of the city, and the regret of all honest +citizens;” the council, therefore, with the consent of James Sanders, +appointed Duncan Burnett to teach the music school. In 1669, the +council agreed to give the teacher of music three hundred and fifty +merks annually, and the bishop of Glasgow also was to give one hundred +pounds Scots. In 1691, the music master was to receive fourteen +shillings monthly for teaching one hour daily, and for writing the +thirteen common tunes and some psalms, fourteen shillings; and further, +the magistrates allowed him one hundred pounds Scots yearly.¹ The +town council of Stirling, in 1620, granted to the teacher of music +an annual salary of twenty pounds, with six shillings and eightpence +quarterly, for every scholar of the town learning music; and in 1694, +the precentor of the burgh was appointed to keep a public school for +teaching singing and playing. Frequently the master of the song school +was also English or rather Scots master, and taught the children +reading and spelling, and sometimes writing and grammar. In 1621, the +master of the music school of Dunbar was also the English master of +the town school. Shortly before the Restoration, the music school of +Elgin was converted into an English school, music, however, being still +taught.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., page 50; _Burgh + Records of Paisley_; _Burgh Records of Ayr_; _Burgh Records + of Glasgow_, pages 354, 388, _et seq._ + + ² Grant’s _History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland_, pages + 381‒382. + +In 1636, the town council of Aberdeen admitted Andrew Melville to be +master of the music school. He had already been a teacher of music +for eighteen years, and the council thought he had produced sufficient +evidence of his qualifications in the art. They, therefore, appointed +him master of the music school, to teach the art of singing and playing, +stipulated that he should find a properly qualified assistant, to +instruct and attend to scholars, and also to take up the psalms in +both the churches of the city, at preaching and at prayers, evening +and morning, on week-days and Sunday. In 1666, the council agreed +to give Thomas Davidson, the master of the music school, a salary of +two hundred and fifty merks annually, with school fees. The council, +in 1675, issued a notice inviting persons expert in the science of +music to compete for the office of master of the song school; and this +brought an application from a Frenchman, who had been teaching music +in Edinburgh with much success. The council engaged him for one year, +or longer if they thought fit, at an annual salary of two hundred +pounds, and thirty shillings quarterly from each scholar. His hours +for teaching were fixed from seven to nine, and ten to eleven, in the +forenoon, and from two to three in the afternoon.¹ + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume IV., pages 212, 226, + 292‒293. In 1682, the town council of Aberdeen granted John + Forbes, printer, one hundred pounds Scots, as a gratuity, + in recognition of his merit in publishing a book for the + instruction of the young, which he dedicated to the provost + and council. _Ibid._, page 302. The council, in 1643, granted + John Row four hundred merks Scots, in consideration of his + having taught the Hebrew tongue, and published a Hebrew + Dictionary, which he dedicated to the council. _Ibid._, + Volume III., pages 165, 248. + +Passing to the Universities of Scotland, we cannot record that they +exhibited any marked advance in the seventeenth century. There was +scarcely any improvement or change in the regular methods of imparting +knowledge, but some additional subjects were introduced. Amidst the +ecclesiastical and political wars under which the nation groaned, +letters, science, philosophy, and art, could not be expected to bloom +and ripen. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to find that in spite of +adverse circumstances, much violence, suffering, and poverty, many of +the people continued to take a lively interest in the diffusion of the +higher education. + +About the beginning of the century, the magistrates and council of +Glasgow manifested a keen interest in the preservation of the rights +of their University. And in 1630, the town council, upon a petition +from the principal and the regents of the University for assistance to +erect a new building, agreed to contribute a sum of one thousand merks +when the building was commenced, and another thousand merks to purchase +books for increasing the number of volumes in the library. Later in +the century, we find the council still taking a warm interest in the +College.¹ The town council of Aberdeen, in 1634, granted four hundred +merks to the masters and regents of King’s College, to help to repair +the crown of the College, which had lately been broken down by a +tempest. In 1642, the council granted four hundred merks to aid in +repairing the College of the burgh. The same year the council commanded +that all the bursars admitted into the College of the burgh should +diligently attend all the public lectures and lessons of the several +professors, during the time that they received the benefit of their +bursaries. The town council also appointed Mr. John Row to teach Hebrew +in the College of the burgh. Dr. Robert Dun bequeathed his books to +the College, and the town council was careful to see them placed in +the library, and entered in a catalogue. In 1694, the council gave a +contribution of five hundred merks for the observatory of Marischal +College.² + + ¹ _Burgh Records of Glasgow_, pages 217‒223, 245, 275, 336, + 340, 345, 351, 352. + + ² _Burgh Records of Aberdeen_, Volume III., pages 26, 59, 67; + Volume IV., pages 169, 199, 232, 315. + +As observed in the last volume, each dominant party in the government +eagerly sought to impose their views upon the universities. When the +Covenanting party gained the ascendancy, it was resolved, in 1639, that +all masters and teachers of universities, colleges, and schools, and +all scholars at the passing of their examination for degrees, should +subscribe the Covenant, and this resolution was carried out by a +commission of visitation between 1639 and 1642.¹ One of the proposals +touching the universities which the General Assembly presented to +Parliament in 1641, was to the following effect:――That in order to +remove and to prevent abuses in the universities, to promote piety and +learning, it was very requisite and highly expedient that a constant +intercourse and correspondence should be kept up between all the +universities and colleges of the kingdom. And, therefore, it should +be ordained that a meeting of commissioners from all the universities +and colleges should be held once every year, at such time and place as +should be agreed upon, who should consult and determine upon their +common affairs, and the best means of advancing the end above specified; +and who also, or some of their number, should represent to parliament, +and to the General Assembly, what should be necessary and best for the +universities. Another item was, that special care should be taken that +all the chairs in the universities, and more especially the chairs of +divinity, should be filled with the ablest men, and the best affected +to the Reformation and the order of the Church.² + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., pages + 291‒293. + + ² _Ibid._, Volume V., page 367. + +It was not merely the doctrines and political opinions taught in the +universities that were affected by the changes and the revolutions in +the government, but even the funds of these institutions were greatly +affected, being often diminished and sometimes a little increased. +The general seizure of Church property and funds at the Reformation +has been already explained. The portion that belonged to the +universities was, like the rest, generally diverted from its purpose, +notwithstanding the efforts made to recover it; but without enlarging +on this, it may be well to state a few facts. In 1641, parliament +passed an act, granting the revenues of the bishopric and the priory +of St. Andrews to the University of St. Andrews; that is, the income +of the dismissed primate of Scotland was now to be transferred to +the principal, the regents, and the professors of the University of +St. Andrews. Accordingly, the Estates appointed a commission for the +visitation of the Colleges of St. Andrews, to distribute the above fund +among the principals, professors, and other members of the University, +assigning due proportions to each of the three Colleges. The commission +was also empowered to order the course of studies, to rectify what was +wrong, to recommend what was best for training the students in religion +and in learning, and to report their proceedings to the Estates.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, pages 382, 448‒450, + 483, 498‒499. + +In 1641, the King and parliament granted to the University of Glasgow +the temporality of the bishopric of Galloway, and ordered that the name +and the memory of this bishopric should be suppressed and extinguished. +The same year the Estates passed an act assigning the revenues of +the bishopric of Aberdeen to the Colleges of Old and New Aberdeen. +Cromwell, as we have seen, had to listen to some scathing preaching +against himself in Glasgow; and though the majority of the professors +and masters of the University submitted, with much reluctance to his +government, still, Oliver and his council renewed all its immunities +and privileges, adding that of printing bibles and all kinds of books +relating to the liberal sciences or licensed by the University. The +Protector further confirmed all former foundations, mortifications, +and donations made in favour of the University, and particularly those +of the bishopric of Galloway, adding thereto, for seven years to come, +the vacant stipends of the parishes which had been in the patronage of +the bishop of Galloway, also in perpetuity, the revenues of the deanery +and sub-deanery of Glasgow. This last gift, however, was under several +restrictions, by which the University could not obtain possession +of the subjects during Cromwell’s rule; however, as his acts were +rescinded at the Restoration, it fell to the ground.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume V., page 566; + Dr. Reid’s _Account of the University of Glasgow_. + +At the Restoration, the universities were as far as possible made +subservient to the government and its principles. When Episcopacy +was re-established, the funds which the universities were receiving +from the revenues of the bishoprics, as above indicated, were at once +withdrawn. This crippled them for some time. At this time there were +eight chairs in the University of Glasgow, but three of them had to be +given up, and the five which remained were reduced to very low salaries, +while the College buildings remained in an unfinished condition. +According to the report of a visitation appointed by parliament in 1644, +an annual sum of three thousand nine hundred and forty-one pounds Scots +should speedily be provided for the University, otherwise it would +quickly decay and go to ruin; for it had a great load of debt, and many +chairs wanting which it should have, but cannot for want of revenue. In +this state, however, it continued till after the Revolution. In 1693, +however, each of the Scotch universities received a grant of three +hundred pounds annually out of the bishops’ rents in Scotland. They +continued to struggle on, but none of them have yet become very rich +institutions.¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 498. + Dr. Reid’s _Account of the University of Glasgow_. + +After the Revolution, of course, the universities had to be purged, and +in 1690, parliament passed an act authorising the visitation of all the +educational establishments of the kingdom. A long list of commissioners +were named in the act, and empowered to proceed, and to see that no +person disaffected to the government, or otherwise disqualified, should +be permitted to remain in any of the universities or schools, upon +the ground of its being necessary “for the advancement of religion and +learning, the good of the Church, and the peace of the kingdom, that +the universities, colleges, and schools be provided and served with +pious, able, and qualified principals, professors, regents, masters, +and others bearing office therein, well affected to their Majesties, +and the established government of Church and State.” Therefore it was +enacted that henceforward “no professors, principals, regents, masters, +or others bearing office in any university, college, or school, in this +kingdom, be permitted to continue in the exercise of their functions, +but such as shall acknowledge and profess, and subscribe, the +Confession of Faith, ratified by this parliament; and also swear and +subscribe the oath of allegiance to their Majesties: and withal shall +be found of a pious, loyal, and peaceable conversation, and of good and +sufficient literature and abilities for their respective employments; +and submitting to the government of the Church now settled by law.”¹ + + ¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IX., pages + 163‒164. + +In 1695, the commissioners of the universities had arrived at the +conclusion that none of the text-books should be of foreign origin. +“They tell the commissioners of parliament that it is altogether +dishonourable to the universities, and the famed learning of the nation, +that a course of philosophy should be made the standard of authority, +which none belonging to the universities have composed. They criticise +the existing books and systems of logic and philosophy. The existing +courses of philosophy are either not intended and suited for students, +or they are in themselves objectionable. The course that runs the +fairest is, ‘Philosophia Vetus et Nova,’ which is done by a popish +author, and bears marks of that religion; but therein the logics are +barren, the ethics erroneous, and the physics too prolix. Henry Moir’s +ethics cannot be admitted; they are grossly Arminian, particularly in +his opinion ‘de libero arbitrio.’ The determinations and pneumatology +of De Vries are too short. Le Clerc is merely sceptical and Socinian. +For Cartesius, Rohault, and others of his gang, besides what may be +said against their doctrine, they all labour under this inconvenience +――that they give not any sufficient account of the other hypotheses, +and the old philosophy, which must not be ejected.”¹ + + ¹ _Printed Muniments of the University of Glasgow_, Volume II., + page 531. + +In accordance with this conclusion, the University of St. Andrews +was ordered to draw up the logics and general metaphysics; to that +of Edinburgh was given the pneumatology; to Glasgow, the general and +special ethics; and to the two Colleges of Aberdeen the general and +special physics. The treatises were written and placed before the +commissioners of parliament in 1697, who were empowered to revise +them. Two of these productions were printed in London in 1701. The one +produced in Edinburgh is entitled “An Introduction to Metaphysics,” and +contains fifty-six pages; the other from St. Andrews, “An Introduction +to Logic,” of the same size. But no more was heard of the project, and +it produced no practical effect on the course of university education. +In short, these compends, and the views which they expressed, may +be regarded as the closing words of the regenting system, and of the +older method of philosophical teaching in the Scotch universities. The +leading peculiarity of this method has been pointed out in the previous +volume.¹ The professorial system was finally instituted in Glasgow in +1727: it was introduced there by Melville in 1577, but regenting was +resumed in 1642; in Edinburgh in 1708; in St. Andrews, 1747; but in +Aberdeen the regenting continued till 1754. + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume + II., page 407, 416. + +The chief point of difference between this system and that of the +regents is the limiting of the teaching of the professor to a special +subject, out of the many subjects which the regent had to teach. Then +in the newer system, the professor is not usually restricted to the +teaching of specific books, but may arrange and develop his subject +as he thinks fit, and in his lectures contribute what he can to +its progress. Thus the professorial system allows the instructor +full freedom to exert his powers in presenting the various points +and relations of his subject, as well as its special exposition and +practical applications. But the mode of instruction in the universities +will be fully explained in the next volume, in connection with the +history of Scottish philosophy. + +In what is usually termed the fine arts, Scotland long remained +behind other modern nations. Indeed the circumstances of the nation +were exceptionally unfavourable to the growth of art. There was too +much internal strife, too few of the elements of wealth, too little +culture or love of refinement, or elevated ideal feeling, among the +Scotch aristocracy, to prompt and encourage art; even though the +Scots naturally possessed aptitude for art, the conditions for its +encouragement and realisation did not exist. Hence the seventeenth +century produced only one eminent Scottish artist, George Jamesone. + +George Jamesone, a son of Andrew Jamesone, master mason, was born in +Aberdeen about the year 1588, and was the first Scottish painter who +attained to historic character. He received his early education at the +Grammar School of Aberdeen. On leaving the school in 1601, it seems +probable that he studied for some time at Marischal College. At the age +of eighteen years he probably had fixed on his calling, and commenced +to try his hand and eye in drawing and painting. Strictly speaking, +he could have had no teacher, and only a few primitive examples to +stimulate him. Little is known of Jamesone’s early career as an artist. +“Who first encouraged the young artist with the responsibility of +perpetuating their features on canvas or panel we do not know, but a +test of his quality as a faithful painter would quickly justify their +trust in him, and induce that current of popularity which never forsook +him, but went on ever broadening till his death.... Jamesone’s merit +in a great measure, consists in this, that without examples worthy of +mention, without a master of any kind, and, probably, with very poor +materials――with nothing, in short, but his own sense of the beautiful, +and a strong determination to arrest it by his brush――he reached such +a degree of excellence.... Ten years, then, of assiduous work brought +their legitimate rewards of improvement and appreciation.... Something +like a fatality seems to exist in obliterating almost every historical +proof of Jamesone’s early career and movements. It follows us when we +seek to verify the tradition that he went to Antwerp and entered the +study of the famous Rubens, where he met, among others, the brilliant +Vandyck, the prince of portrait painters. But whilst there is no +positive evidence, there is at the same time no moral doubt. The only +doubt on the subject of his having studied abroad is as to the date.” +It seems probable that Jamesone went abroad in 1618, and returned home +about the year 1620.¹ + + ¹ Bullock’s _Life of Jamesone_, pages 36‒45. 1885. + +Jamesone established himself as a portrait-painter in his native city +in 1620, and several references to him occur in the Burgh Records. In +1621 he produced a portrait of John Stewart, Earl of Traquair; it is a +bust portrait representing the Earl as a man past middle age. From this +time onward Jamesone was busily engaged. His early patrons were chiefly +local and north country people; and subsequently some of the southern +nobles and gentry patronised him. On the occasion of the coronation +of Charles I. at Edinburgh in the summer of 1633, Jamesone visited the +capital, and was introduced at Court. Charles sat to Jamesone for his +portrait, and the King was highly pleased with it. It was said that he +presented to the artist a diamond ring from his own hand as a special +mark of his approval. The picture of the King was a full length figure, +but it is lost. Amongst many other persons of rank whom Jamesone met +during his visit to Edinburgh, Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, the +chief of the house of Breadalbane, was the most important. Campbell +became an appreciative patron and a warm friend of the artist. Sir +Colin was a man of culture and an admirer of art. Jamesone painted +many portraits for him; and nineteen specimens of the artist’s work +are still in Taymouth Castle. + +In May, 1635, Jamesone acquired from the town council of Aberdeen a +lease of a piece of ground lying along the banks of the Denburn valley, +which he laid out as a garden, and erected a summer house in the middle +of it. + +Jamesone’s usual scale of prices was, for a half length portrait, +twenty merks, if he provided a gold-gilded frame the price was twenty +pounds. In making arrangements for a list of sixteen portraits for Sir +Colin Campbell, Jamesone said in the postscript to his letter:――“If +I begin the pictures in July, I will have the sixteen ready about the +last of September.” Sixteen portraits in three months was pretty rapid +work. It has ♦been calculated that “In full employment, and at his own +prices, Jamesone was making a very good annual income of not less than +£1000 or £1500 a year.”¹ Considering the position of the nation this +was a handsome sum. + + ♦ “beeu” replaced with “been” + + ¹ Bullock’s _Life of Jamesone_, pages 91‒93. + +In Mr. Bullock’s interesting and valuable work a very careful +catalogue of Jamesone’s works is presented, accompanied with much +interesting information. The list includes one hundred and eighty-six +well authenticated works of Jamesone, and indicates where they were +preserved in 1885. Amongst these may be mentioned, a half-length +portrait of the Marquis of Montrose, dated 1640; a half-length portrait +of General Alexander Leslie, the commander-in-chief of the Covenanters; +George, first Marquis of Huntly; George, second Marquis of Huntly; Lord +Loudon; Sir Archibald Johnston of Warriston; and a fine portrait of +William, sixth Earl Marischal. Jamesone was working for the Haddington +family in 1644. In the autumn of that year he died at Edinburgh, and +was interred in the Churchyard of Greyfriars. + +Jamesone’s style was comparatively simple and uniform. The greater +part of his portraits are half-lengths. “The face is a three-quarter, +looking to the sitter’s left.” The head is usually somewhat smaller +than life-size, which slightly detracts from the dignity of the +portraits. The drawing of the face is mannered, though presenting a +naturalness of expression; the eyes are well formed and restful; the +nose long; and the corners of the mouth slightly turned up. Hands are +seldom introduced.¹ + + ¹ Bullock’s _Jamesone_, page 115. + +His chief merit lay in portraying the human countenance, and in making +it appear as if animated by a soul within; he concentrated his power +on the face and the head: he rarely introduced accessories to arrest +attention. + +It was reported that Michael Wright had been a pupil of Jamesone’s, +but there is no evidence of this; and it seems unlikely that he really +trained any one to his art. Wright was an artist of some note, and +went to London when a youth, and it does not appear that he returned to +Scotland. Thomas Murray was born about the year 1666. He studied under +John Riley, painter to King William. Murray was an eminent painter +of portraits, and was very successful in his profession. He died in +1724. John Scougal had an extensive practice as a portrait painter +in Edinburgh in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Three +full-length portraits by him, representing William III., Queen Mary, +and Queen Anne, are in the Glasgow Collection. He died at Prestonpans +in 1730. + +The art of architecture showed some progress in the seventeenth century, +despite the unfavourable conditions of society. But there is little +information as to the names of architects in any branch of the art +before the eighteenth century; although the names of certain persons, +called masters of works, occasionally occurs in the national and +local records. Sir William Bruce was the son of Robert, third baron of +Blairhall. He was trained abroad; and appears as architect to Charles +II. in 1671. He prepared designs for rebuilding a part and restoring +the palace of Holyrood. He had intended the interior of the quadrangle +to be finely decorated, but this was not carried out, because “his +Majesty thinks the way proposed for the inner court would be very noble, +but he will not go to that charge; and therefore his pleasure is that +it be plain ashlar, as the front is, with table divisions for storeys; +and if that be deemed too great an expense, his Majesty will rest +satisfied if it be good handsome rough work, with handsome mouldings +for the windows and table divisions for the storeys.” This work was +completed in 1679 at a cost of £127,000 Scots. Sir William planned +Hopetoun House, Linlithgowshire, which was commenced in 1698, but not +completed for several years. He also designed several other mansions +and buildings, and died in 1710.¹ + + ¹ _Notes on Early Scottish Architects, in Transactions of the + Architectural Institute of Scotland_, Volume I., pages 64‒67. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + _Outline of European Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century, + and the early part of the Eighteenth._ + + +HAVING in the second volume of this work referred to the state of +philosophy in relation to the Reformation, and the influence of that +revolution in stimulating inquiry, an outline of the philosophic +thought of Europe in the seventeenth century and the early part of +the eighteenth will be an appropriate introduction to the subsequent +history of Scottish philosophy. This will enable us to estimate the +position and the claims of Scottish philosophy. Although the stream +of European thought seems to run in several channels, these meet and +influence each other at many points, and thus it is impossible to +attain a just appreciation of the philosophy of one school or nation, +without some general knowledge of the preceding and contemporaneous +schools. So far as we know, there is nothing in the universe completely +isolated, as all systems of philosophy are more or less related to +each other, an entirely original idea is a rare phenomenon. But the +field thus opened is exceedingly wide, and cannot be covered within +the limits at my disposal. Therefore, it is to be distinctly understood +that the aim of this outline is only to indicate the historical +antecedents of the philosophy which subsequently arose in Scotland,――a +matter of such interest and importance as to justify the attempt to +elucidate its historic significance and relation to preceding systems +of thought. + +After the series of struggles which issued in the Reformation, the +human mind continued to strive after independence and freedom for +more than a century. Most of the philosophers of the sixteenth century +were scholars and men of research, rather than unfettered thinkers, +and exerted themselves in collecting old manuscripts, translating, +annotating, and lecturing on the writings of Aristotle and Plato, +while some of them manifested a tendency to theosophy, and others +to materialism and scepticism. The veneration for the opinions of +antiquity and the shackles of authority were not easily broken, and +many curious moves were made ere reason and common-sense attained sway. +At length men began to enter more and more on independent investigation +of nature and mind, and the problem of moral freedom. + +When undeterred by fear, interest, or authority, the human mind is +the most powerful and wonderful agent in the universe. This was anew +exemplified in the rapid development of mathematical science, and the +adoption of more accurate methods of investigation in the seventeenth +century, and ever since the progress of discovery and of invention have +been continuous. It is my task to indicate briefly some of the intense +wrestlings of those strong and exalted minds who have contributed +to weaken the power of traditional authority, to brave the force of +ignorance, of biting scorn, and of death itself. + +Giordano Bruno was one of the boldest thinkers in the sixteenth century. +Born at Nola――in the province of Naples――in 1548, he entered the Order +of the Dominicans, but relinquished it when he found his convictions +in conflict with the doctrines of the Church. From that time onward +he lived a wandering life, sometimes sojourning in France, in England, +in Germany, and sometimes in other countries. But having returned to +Venice, he fell into the hands of the Inquisition in 1592, and after +suffering a long imprisonment in Rome, was tried for heresy, condemned, +and burned in 1600. + +He was a voluminous author, and wrote both in Italian and in Latin, but +several of his treatises and tracts have been lost. He was gifted with +a lively, warm, and exuberant imagination, which often impelled him to +express his views in a poetical form, and thus sometimes he embodied +his thoughts in a haze of clouds; at other times, however, he delivered +his opinions with remarkable force and clearness. The elements of +sympathy were excessively strong in him, and entered into his modes of +thought and coloured all his philosophic efforts. + +Bruno boldly essayed the reconstruction of the universe on the +principle of the unity and universality of substance. In astronomy +he embraced the Copernican view, and expounded it. According to him, +the universe is infinite in time and in space, the solar system being +merely one of innumerable worlds, of which God is the original and +immanent cause. The attributes of God are power, wisdom, and love. The +stars are not moved by a prime mover, but by the souls inherent in them. +He rejected the idea of a dualism of matter and form, and identified +the form or moving cause with the end and matter of all organic things; +thus matter contains in herself the forms of all things, and brings +them forth from her own bosom as the travailing mother expels her +offspring. The elements of all that exists are the monads, which are +a kind of points, not entirely unextended but spherical, and at once +material and psychical. The soul is a monad, and it is never wholly +without a body. God is the monad of monads, and He is the least, as all +things are external to Him, and the greatest, because all things are +in Him. God caused the worlds to spring out of Himself, not by an act +of mere will, but by an inner necessity, moving freely and without any +compulsion. The worlds being nature realised, and God nature working, +thus God is present in all things. Each of the worlds is perfect in its +kind, and there is no positive evil. All individual objects and living +organisms are subject to change, but the universe remains in its entire +perfection always like itself. + +Bruno’s philosophy is full of the unity of being, which is the +principle and end of all philosophy. God is the infinite All, the +One, the prime and universal substance, of Himself, excluding all +delimitation, and is not to be sought beyond the universe and the +infinity of things. “Why think of any twofold substance, one corporal +and another spiritual, when in sum these have but one essence and one +root, for corporal substance, which manifests to us that which it +involves, must be held a thing divine, parent of natural things; and +if you think aright, you will find a divine essence in all things.” Yet +he occasionally speaks of the supernatural. “The highest contemplation +which transcends nature is impossible and null to him who is without +belief, for we attain to this by supernatural, not by natural light; +and such light they have not who hold all things to be corporal, and +who do not seek Deity beyond the infinite world and the infinity of +things, but within this and these.”¹ + + ¹ The works in which Bruno chiefly developed his system were + written in Italian, and of these the most important is + the “Della Causa, Principio et Uno,” 1584, and in the + same year appeared his “De l’Infinito Universo e Mondi.” A + complete list of his writings is given in the second volume + of Ueberweg’s _History of Philosophy_ (page 469). In the + present century the extant writings of Bruno have been + carefully studied and ably expounded by several eminent + writers and historians of philosophy. + +It is obvious that Bruno’s philosophy is a form of pantheism, one of +the most fascinating systems of thought ever propounded. The system +originates from the difficulty of conceiving the action of the mind +or thought except when conjoined with a body――an insuperable and +far-reaching difficulty, because there is no direct evidence anywhere +of a mind operating without the conjunction of an organism. Hence +the strong temptation to identify God and the universe in one idea or +principle: that is, the universe is God, and God is the universe. This +is a proposition which imparts no light, but it is, nevertheless, the +fundamental idea of the system which figures the external substance +of the universe as God, from which step by step all things have issued. +Thus the prime idea of pantheism is a constant quantity or unity, +although the developments of the system in the hands of different +thinkers has assumed varied modifications in detail. + +Bruno’s views have influenced the subsequent developments of several +once famous philosophies. The noted Spinoza was indebted to him for +several of his ideas, but the fundamental idea of pantheism is much +older than the times of either of the two philosophers, as it stretches +back to an early period in the evolution of human thought. Through +Spinoza’s system German speculation has been largely influenced, +and even some recent Scottish speculations bear distinct traces of a +similar descent. + +In France, during the latter part of the sixteenth century, the +Jesuits were the most active instructors and disseminators of doctrine. +Their schools were planted in all the chief towns of the nations. They +encouraged the study of classical literature, and prepared the best +text-books and lexicons. But they were a conservative and obstructive +body, and wielded much influence over the intellect of the French. At +the same time a form of ancient scepticism was revived in France by +Montaigne. “In fact, Montaigne represents, if he did not inaugurate, +the school of French satirists, who, standing between, as it were, +Calvin and Rabelais, avoided both the coarseness and abandon of +the latter, and the ascetic sternness and awkward pleasantries of +the former.”¹ His sceptical views were more or less directed to the +doctrines of Christianity, but from whatever motive or reason, he +generally concluded with a recognition of the necessity of a revelation, +and thus avoided a conflict with theology. In their ultimate result +his reflections pointed to such conclusions as――whether we are not a +rather presumptuous class of beings in fancying that we have any higher +faculties than those which are bestowed on other animals; whether the +pursuit of truth may not be a pleasant amusement, rather than one that +promises any result; whether religious forms may not be serviceable +to the business of life, and therefore to be defended; whether they do +not become mischievous when they lead to conflicts and to persecutions; +whether a full recognition of our folly, ignorance, and uncertainty, +might not save us from the dogmatism which produces such things? A +similar strain of thought was indulged in by Charron and other French +writers.² + + ¹ Van Laun’s _History of French Literature_, Volume II., pages + 299‒300. + + ² Montaigne’s _Essays_. He states himself that Buchanan was + one of his preceptors; and some traces of this Scotsman’s + opinions may be found in the easy and self-satisfied + Frenchman’s writings. + +Another Frenchman, Gassendi, undertook the defence of Epicureanism, +showing that it contained the best doctrine of physics, and also +attempting to combine it with Christian theology. In physics, he +embraced the theory of atomism; but he saw its weak side, namely, +the difficulty of explaining the derivation of sensation out of atoms +and space. He discussed this problem at great length, but admitted +that there was something left unexplained. He was a voluminous writer. + +Gassendi has been claimed by the historians of materialism as the chief +reviver of systematic materialism in modern times. “We lay especial +stress upon this, that Gassendi drew again into the light, adapted to +the circumstances of the time, the fullest of the materialistic systems +of antiquity, that of Epikuros.” Again, in reference to his historical +qualifications, “Gassendi, whose thorough philological and historical +training equipped him with a knowledge of all the systems of antiquity, +embraced with a sure glance exactly what was best suited to modern +times, and to the empirical tendency of his age. Atomism, by his means +drawn again from antiquity, attained a lasting importance, however +much it was gradually modified as it passed through the hands of +later inquirers.” Once more, “Gassendi is, of all the most prominent +representatives of materialism, the only one gifted with a historic +sense, and that he has in an eminent degree. Even in his ‘Syntagma +Philosophicum,’ he treats every subject at first historically, from +all possible points of view.”¹ + + ¹ Lange’s _History of Materialism_, Volume I., pages 253‒269. + “The evolution and dissolution of things is nothing but the + union and separation of atoms. When a piece of wood is burned, + the flame, smell, and ashes, and so on, have already existed + in their atoms, only in other conditions. All change is only + movement in the constituents of a thing, and hence the simple + substance cannot change, but only continues its movements in + space.”――_Ibid._, page 267. + +Descartes was born in 1596 at La Haye, in the province of Touraine. +At the age of eight he was sent to the Jesuit College of La Flèche, +and placed under the instruction of the Jesuits, where he remained for +eight years, and received his general education. He was a contemporary +of Gassendi, and a more famous philosopher; each represented opposite +systems and assailed one another, but neither of them influenced the +other in his views. The two were contrasted in every way. Descartes +always aimed at being original, and often was so, while Gassendi was +more historical and dependent, and more learned, but he lacked the +genius of his contemporary; both, however, were the fathers of great +modern schools of thought. In philosophy and in scientific method, the +real turning-point came in the early part of the seventeenth century, +and in the great movement Descartes holds a foremost place, entitling +him to some account, however brief, in this exposition. + +Descartes was eminent both as a philosopher and as a mathematician; +in the latter department of science he takes a position among the +great mathematicians of the seventeenth century. In algebra he was +the first to place the doctrine of powers on a clear basis, freeing it +from its dependence on geometry, which prevented its proper expansion; +while, by introducing the index notation, he gave the science a new and +potent means of expression. He also advanced the treatment of negative +quantities, and first brought into prominence the equal significance of +the negative roots, and for determining a limit to their number, gave +the rule which still bears his name. But his fame as a mathematician +rests chiefly on his application of algebra for “the expression of +continuously varying quantity.” By this invention he may be considered +as the founder of analytic geometry, or the algebraic treatment of +curves, and he is well entitled to a place in the history of the +mathematical achievements which ultimately led to the discovery of +the Differential Calculus.¹ + + ¹ _Descartes_, by J. P. Mahaffy, pages 207‒209, 1880. It was + a curious feature in the character of Descartes that he + designedly so composed his Essay on Geometry as to be very + difficult, “and only understood by mathematicians of a high + order. He omitted what was obvious, and in the solving of + problems only gave the means of solution, and not each step + in the demonstrations. He even chuckles in his letters at the + number of professed mathematicians who were unable to follow + his arguments, and tells us that not a single professor in + the new universities of Holland was able to open his mouth + upon the subject.” + +In physics, his achievements were mainly in the science of optics. +He at least contributed to the discovery and statement of the law +of refraction, though his independent discovery of this law has been +keenly disputed. He explained the colours of the rainbow, and it +appears that he originated the undulatory theory of light. But his +positive contributions to science were not the most important elements +of his philosophy, as its influence sprang more from its spirit and +method, which were the expression of his own acute and determined mind. + +Descartes’ philosophy is fundamentally a deductive system, based +on mathematical principles, but in its development it assumed the +form of a methodical and rather dogmatic rationalism. Although the +initial steps of his method are founded in doubt, this is not the most +distinctive feature of his philosophy. His doubt, at the threshold, +merely gave him the data of his own thought and existence, and enabled +him to assert a right to discard authority, and to erect a standard +independent of all former times and thinkers. In the development of +his system he attempted to find the ultimate principle in the order +of synthesis, which would afford the conditions of philosophy and of +science, or that something which is the highest of all. This principle +must be self-evident, and Descartes found it in his famous “cogito +ergo sum;” then he struggled hard and determinedly to connect this with +the idea of God, and thus associating the criterion of truth with the +perception of Deity, makes the one in a sense dependent on the other. +In his first published work, which appeared in 1637, and marks an epoch +in the history of human thought, he enunciated four rules of method in +the following order:――“1. Never to accept anything as true which was +not clearly known to be such; that is, carefully to avoid precipitancy +and prejudice, and to include nothing more in my judgment than what +was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all +ground of doubt. 2. To divide each of the difficulties into as many +parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution. +3. To conduct my thoughts in order, by commencing with objects, the +simplest and easiest kind to know, that I might ascend by degrees, as +it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning +in thought a definite order even to objects which in their own nature +do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence. 4. In every +case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I +might be assured that nothing was omitted.”¹ This work was entitled, +“Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking +Truth in the Sciences; also the Dioptrics, the Meteors, and the +Geometry, which are Essays in this Method.” Thus Descartes introduced +his Method to the world with the recommendation of his own discoveries +in mathematics, and with the solution of problems which were then +beyond the reach of ordinary minds, as was indicated in the last note. +The three essays presented as applications of his Method have long +been superseded or absorbed in later works, but the discourse on Method +will always be valuable. The volume containing the whole was written in +French, which in that day was itself a bold innovation. + + ¹ _Discourse on Method_, Part II. + +The Discourse on Method though only a short treatise, which might be +read at a single sitting, nevertheless was a memorable proclamation +against the ages of inert formalism, and the thraldom of the human mind. +It contains details relating to the formation of his opinions, and the +beginning of the development of his system. It is a book of absorbing +interest, and should be carefully read by every student of philosophy. +It is divided into six parts, which treat of the following topics: +――1. Various considerations touching the Sciences. 2. The principal +rules of the author’s method, the heads of which I have stated above. +3. Some rules of morals deduced from this method. 4. His reasonings +establishing the existence of God and of the human soul. 5. The order +of the questions in physics, the explanation of the motion of the heart +and of some other difficulties, as also the difference between the soul +of man and that of the brutes. 6. What he believes to be requisite in +order to greater advancement in the investigation of nature than has +yet been made, with the reasons that have induced him to write. I had +transcribed several passages for quotation, but space forbids their +insertion; and as the work is now easily accessible to English readers, +long quotations are unnecessary. But to lighten the exposition, I may +briefly dispose of some of his peculiar views touching the organisation +of man and the lower animals. + +He adopted a mechanical theory of the universe, attributing to +matter only pressure and impulsion, by which to explain all material +phenomena. Then developing his theory in accounting for life, plants, +and animals, he ultimately arrived at the conclusion that the functions +and actions of animals and living organisms are purely the result of +heat and motion, as mechanically as the going of a clock is the result +of cog-wheels and pulleys. Thus man so far as his body is concerned, is +merely an automaton, while all the lower animals are automatons, mere +machines, constructed by the Deity according to the general laws which +He has impressed upon matter: they have no rational soul, as they use +no language, or perform any actions which cannot be proved to be the +direct result of their internal organism. + +Touching the origin of the human soul, he followed the very old notion +of supposing that God infused a soul into every human being at the +first moment of its existence, and thus the soul was radically distinct +from the body, though closely united with it. As an unextended entity, +however, the soul can be in contact with the body only at one point, +which is the brain, or more precisely, in the single centre of the mass, +the conarium, or pineal gland. He says, “Although the human soul is +united to the whole body, it has, nevertheless, its principal seat in +the brain, where alone it not only understands and imagines, but also +perceives, and this by the medium of the nerves, which are extended +like threads from the brain to all the other members, with which they +are so connected that we can hardly touch any one of them without +moving the extremities of those nerves which are collected in the brain +round the seat of the soul.” Again, “It is clearly established, however, +that the soul does not perceive in so far as it is in each member of +the body, but only so far as it is in the brain, when the nerves by +their movements convey to it the diverse actions of external objects +that touch the parts of the body in which they are inserted.”¹ + + ¹ _Principles of Philosophy_, IV., 189, 196. + +The Discourse on Method contained in a condensed form the principles +and chief characteristics of Descartes’ system, and it was followed +by his “Meditations,” which were published in 1641. As the subject was +so full of difficulties, and thus liable to much misunderstanding and +misconception, he had manuscript copies of his “Meditations,” submitted +for criticism to some of the most learned men and philosophers of the +time, among whom were Gassendi, Arnauld, Hobbes, and others. A summary +of their objections, with his replies, was published, and many of their +criticisms were able and just. But Descartes so firmly believed in +his own system, and was so convinced that he saw it all clearly and +distinctly, that he could hardly be moved to change any of his settled +ideas. He simply wanted these learned men’s objections, that he might +refute them, and thus more effectually establish the certainty of his +own system in other minds. To the Catholic theologians only, for the +sake of their patronage and peace, he conceded some trifling points. + +The Meditations are an expansion of the metaphysics of his Discourse +on Method, and the work embraced six meditations, which treat on the +following subjects: “Of the Things of which we may Doubt; of the Nature +of the Human Mind, and that it is more easily known than the body; of +God, that He Exists; of Truth and Error; of the Essence of Material +Things, and of God; of the Existence of Material Things, and of the +real distinction between the mind and body of man.” In his preface to +these Meditations he says: “Now that I have once, in some measure, made +proof of the opinions of men regarding my work, I again undertake to +treat of God and the human soul, and at the same time to discuss the +principles of the entire First Philosophy, without, however, expecting +any commendation from the crowd for my endeavours, or a wide circle of +readers. On the contrary, I would advise none to read this work unless +such as are able and willing to meditate with me in earnest, to detach +their minds from commerce with the senses, and likewise to deliver +themselves from prejudice; and individuals of this character are, as +I well know, remarkably rare. But with regard to those who, without +caring to comprehend the order and connection of the reasonings, +shall study only detached clauses for the purpose of small but noisy +criticism, as is the custom with many, I may say that such persons +will not profit greatly by the reading of this treatise; and although, +perhaps, they may find opportunity for cavilling in several places, +they will yet hardly start any pressing objections, or such as shall +be deserving of reply.” + +Thus the Meditations were intended to be a discussion on the first +or fundamental principles of philosophy, but their main drift is to +prove that the knowledge of God and of the mind is the most certain +of all things. This was attempted in two ways: first, by showing the +uncertainty of all our knowledge of bodies, and then by presenting +demonstrations of our own existence as thinking beings, and of the +existence of the Deity. The first Meditation expounded the grounds +on which we may doubt of all things, and especially of all material +objects. After showing the uncertainty of all things, save some points +in arithmetic and geometry, he affirmed his own strong belief in the +existence of an all-powerful God, who created him such as he was, and +then says: “If, however, it were repugnant to the goodness of God to +have created me subject to constant deception, it would seem likewise +to be contrary to his goodness to allow me to be occasionally deceived, +and yet it is clear that this is permitted. Some, indeed, might perhaps +be found who would be disposed rather to deny the existence of a Being +so powerful than to believe that there is nothing certain. But let us +for the present refrain from opposing this opinion, and grant that all +which is here said of God is fabulous, nevertheless, in whatever way it +may be supposed that I reached the state in which I exist, whether by +fate, or chance, or by an endless series of antecedents and consequents, +or by any other means, it is clear (since to be deceived and to err +is a certain defect) that the probability of my being so imperfect as +to be the constant victim of deception, will be increased exactly in +proportion as the power possessed by the cause, to which they assign +my origin, is lessened. To these reasonings I have assuredly nothing +to reply, but am constrained at last to avow that there is nothing +of all that I formerly believed to be true of which it is impossible +to doubt.” Having now disposed so far of all material objects, in the +second, he repeats his argument affirming from the fact of doubt, our +own existence as doubting beings. “But what, then, am I? A thinking +thing, it has been said. But what is a thinking thing? It is a thing +that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, that +imagines also, and perceives. Assuredly it is not little, if all these +properties belong to my nature. But why should they not belong to it? +Am I not that very being who now doubts of almost everything, who, +for all that, understands and conceives certain things, who affirms +one alone as true, and denies the others, who desires to know more of +them, and does not wish to be deceived”; and so on in the same line +of argument. He next showed that external objects can only be known +when they become or are made the objects of thought, and then makes +a vigorous effort showing that mind itself is more clearly known than +any or all the objects of the external world. “But, finally, what +shall I say of the mind itself, that is, of myself? for as yet I do not +admit that I am anything but mind. What, then? I who seem to possess +so distinct an apprehension of the piece of wax,――do I not know myself, +both with greater truth and certitude, and also much more distinctly +and clearly? For if I judge that the wax exists because I see it, it +assuredly follows, much more evidently, that I myself am or exist, for +the same reason, it is possible that what I see may not in truth be wax, +and that I do not even possess eyes with which to see anything; but it +cannot be that when I see, or, which comes to the same thing, when I +think I see, I myself who think am nothing. So, likewise, if I judge +that the wax exists because I touch it, it will still also follow +that I am, and if I determine that my imagination, or any other cause, +whatever it be, persuades me of the existence of the wax, I will still +draw the same conclusion. And what is here remarked of the piece of wax +is applicable to all the other things that are external to me.” + +In the third Meditation he unfolded his chief argument for the +existence of God. He insisted that as the idea of God in the human mind +is innate, God himself is its cause. And he described God thus:――“By +the name of God, I understand a substance infinite, eternal, immutable, +independent, all-knowing, all-powerful, and by which I myself, and +every other thing that exists, if any such there be, were created.” +Here he associates God, or the idea of God, with his own criterion of +truth. In the fourth, he proceeded to show that all which we clearly +and distinctly perceive must be true, and then explained the nature +of intellectual error. Referring to the will as the cause of error, +he says: “I have no reason to complain because God has given me a will +more ample than my understanding, since, as the will consists only +of a single element, and that indivisible, it would appear that this +faculty is of such a nature that nothing could be taken from it without +destroying it; and certainly, the more extensive it is, the more cause +I have to thank the goodness of Him who bestowed it upon me.... For +as often as I so restrain my will within the limits of my knowledge, +that it forms no judgment except regarding objects which are clearly +and distinctly represented to it by the understanding, I can never +be deceived, because every clear and distinct conception is doubtless +something, and as such cannot owe its origin to nothing, but must +of necessity have God for its author――God, I say, who, as supremely +perfect, cannot, without a contradiction, be the cause of any error, +and consequently it is necessary to conclude that every such conception +or judgment is true.” + +He began the fifth Meditation by expounding the essence of material +things, giving some examples from quantity and form. And he asserted +that the figure of a triangle ♦and other mathematical figures possess +a certain determinate form, or essence, which is immutable and eternal; +and again repeated that whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived +is true, truth being identical with existence. He then proceeded +to demonstrate in a somewhat new form his arguments for proving the +existence of God, and making all knowledge dependent upon this. “But I +remark further that the certainty of all other truths is so absolutely +dependent on it, that without this knowledge it is impossible ever +to know anything perfectly.... And thus I very clearly see that the +certainty and truth of all science depends on the knowledge alone of +the true God, inasmuch that, before I knew him, I could have no perfect +knowledge of any other thing. And now that I know him, I possess the +means of acquiring a perfect knowledge regarding innumerable matters, +as well relating to God himself and other intellectual objects as to +corporeal nature.” In the sixth he explained the difference between +imagination and pure intellection; reviewed the errors of the senses, +pointing out the means of avoiding them, the distinct difference of +the mind and the body, and their relation to each other, and then +adduces the evidence from which the existence of the external world +may be inferred, and all with the aim of showing that our knowledge of +external objects is not so clear and distinct as the knowledge which we +have of our own minds and of God. Thus far I have attempted to explain +Descartes’ own efforts to develop his philosophy. + + ♦ “aud” replaced with “and” + +But it is in his work entitled _The Principles of Philosophy_, written +in Latin, and published in 1644, that he developed his theories +and ideas systematically, and gave the most complete exposition and +representation of his system.¹ In this work he expounded his philosophy +synthetically. It is divided into four parts, which treat consecutively +of the principles of human knowledge, of the principles of material +things, of the visible world, and of the earth. The first part contains +an orderly summary of his metaphysical views, repeating what had +been stated in the Discourse and the Meditations, and adding some +new elucidations. And it is chiefly to this part that I must direct +attention, as being most consonant to the aim of this chapter. + + ¹ In a long preface to the French translation of his + _Principles of Philosophy_, which appeared in 1647, Descartes + enters at some length on several topics of an interesting + character, which are still well worth reading. + +But not to leave his physics altogether unnoticed, the following +is a brief indication of his physical theory. Basing his ideas on +mathematics, he boldly asserted that extension is an eternal attribute +of matter, and that to us it is the very essence of matter. “Give +me extension and motion,” he exclaims, “and I will construct the +universe.” Matter is infinite or unlimited in space or time, and it is +everywhere identical with extension, all differences of quality being +simply produced by a different mechanical composition, and a difference +of motion in its parts. + +In the second part of his Principles, he reduces all the phenomena +of nature to variations of size, figure, and motion, in the minute +particles of a homogeneous matter, there being but one kind of matter +in the whole universe. He gave special laws of motion, which are now +superseded. In the third part he treated on the theory of the solar +system, and on the nature and origin of the fixed stars, and assuming +three elements of various density in degree, explained the whole +universe by the theory of vortices or of circular motion. In the fourth +part he treated of the earth and its formation, of water, fire, and +other matters. + +“When he gives _a priori_ explanations of all manner of phenomena in +heaven and in earth, deduced from the motion of diverse particles, +he confesses that the plurality of causes which may produce the same +effect is his great difficulty. He feels that endless time and outlay +is required to verify his theories by crucial experiments, and till +that has been done, he can offer nothing but the satisfactoriness +and simplicity of the explanation as a guarantee of its truth. Once, +indeed, he advances the statement that the veracity of the Deity would +come into question if he permitted us to be deceived in following such +strict and sober demonstrations. But in general the distinction of +purely mathematical and physical proof is acknowledged by Descartes, +and he confesses the possibility, though he never admits the fact, that +he might be mistaken.”¹ + + ¹ _Descartes_, by J. W. Mahaffy, page 163. + +The most notable peculiarities of Descartes’ metaphysics are his +conception of God and his definition of Substance. He says that in the +concept of God is comprised absolutely necessary and external existence, +while our concept of other things merely includes contingent existence. +God is also omniscient, all-powerful, absolutely perfect, absolutely +veracious, and the source of all light, “so that it is plainly +repugnant for him to deceive us.”¹ He exerted his great powers to make +this clear, and if his premisses were true, the conclusions of course +would follow, but his assumption of an innate idea of God in the human +mind of such a character as he assigned to it, is nowhere to be found +save among a small section of the most cultivated of the race. Besides +it is very questionable if this idea of God be obtained at all in the +way which he maintained. Then he defined substance thus: “By substance +we can conceive nothing else than a thing which exists in such a way +as to stand in need of nothing beyond itself in order to its existence. +And, in truth, there can be conceived but one substance which is +absolutely independent, and that is God.” We perceive that all other +things can exist only by the concourse of God; and, accordingly, the +term substance does not apply to God and the creatures in the same +sense, and no meaning of this word can be distinctly understood which +is common to God and them. Created substances, however, of all kinds +may be conceived as things existing by the concourse of God, but +existence by itself is not observed by us. Every substance has one +principal attribute, as thinking of the mind, extension of the body. +Thus extension in length, breadth, and depth constitutes the nature of +corporeal substance, and thought the nature of thinking substance. For +everything else that can be attributed to body presupposes extension, +and is only some mode of an extended thing, just as all the properties +which we discover in the mind are only different modes of thinking.² + + ¹ _Principles of Philosophy_, I. 22, 23, 29. + + ² _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 51, 52, 53. + +His doctrine of the concourse of God is thus explained: “Because I was +in existence a short time ago, it does not follow that I must now exist, +unless in this moment some cause create me anew as it were, that is, +conserve me. In truth, it is perfectly clear and evident to all who +attentively consider the nature of duration, that the conservation of +a substance, in each moment of its duration, requires the same power +and act that would be necessary to create it, supposing it were not yet +in existence; so that it is manifestly a dictate of the natural light +that conservation and creation differ merely in respect of our mode of +thinking and not in reality.” Again, “From the fact that we now are, +it does not necessarily follow that we shall be a moment afterwards, +unless some cause, namely, that which first created us, shall, as it +were, continually recreate us, that is, conserve us. For we easily +understand that there is no power in us by which we can conserve +ourselves, and that the being who has so much power as to conserve +us out of himself, must also by so much the greater reason conserve +himself, or rather stand in need of being conserved by no one whatever, +and, in fine, be God.”¹ + + ¹ _Meditation_, III.; _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 21. + +It is pretty evident that the above view of substance contained an +element of pantheism. Since that substance which exists entirely in +itself and absolutely independent of aught beyond itself, is declared +to be God; and since there is only one kind of matter in the universe, +the sum and essence of substance being included in extension, what is +God but the universe. Hence Spinoza adopted this Cartesian conception, +and placed it at the summit of his pantheistic system of the universe; +while Descartes’ doctrine of conservation or continuous creation seems +to have suggested to his distinguished follower Geulinx the doctrine +of Occasional Causes; and Malebranche also made a modification on the +former doctrine in his own theory of seeing all things in God, who +is the place of spirits.¹ In truth, Descartes’ theory of the relation +of body and mind, even when supported by divine conservation, was +unsatisfactory and scarcely conceivable. + + ¹ Geulinx’s _Commentaries on Descartes’ Principles of + Philosophy_; Malebranche’s _De la Recherche_, etc. + +Touching his first principle, and the criterion of truth, which are +involved in each other, he said:――“I think, therefore, I am, and this +proposition is of all others the first and most certain which occurs to +one philosophising orderly.” Thus knowledge must begin with a definite +act of a conscious being, self-revealed in the conscious act. He +did not, indeed, analyse the conditions of the object of which the +self-conscious being takes notice, or trace how the conscious act has +originated. Nevertheless, it was an important step towards placing +investigation on the true basis of conscious experience; though, of +course, on the subjective and notional side, it has often been carried +to extremes, and was so in the end by Descartes himself. He endeavoured +to deduce a criterion of truth from his first certain proposition, +and this he founded on clearness and distinctness of knowledge. This +test he defined in these words:――“I call that clear which is present +and manifest to the mind giving attention to it, just as we are said +clearly to see objects when, being present to the eye looking on, +they stimulate it with sufficient force, and it is disposed to regard +them; but the distinct is that which is so precise and different from +all other objects as to comprehend in itself only what is clear.” +As already stated, he called in the veracity of God to support this +criterion of truth.¹ But it is vague and comparatively useless in +its application, since it must be admitted that the clearness and +distinctness of an idea, a conviction, or an opinion, in the mind of +the person holding them, is not always a guarantee of their truth; +although it is a very good reason for such opinions and ideas being +strongly asserted and firmly maintained. + + ¹ _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 45, IV., 206; _Meditations_, + IV. + +Descartes’ metaphysics does not reach the external world by a distinct +perception, but by an indirect or mediate inference. First, he resolved +to prove his own existence as a thinking being, and then deduced the +existence of God from the fact that thinking beings exist who possess +the idea of him, before the external world came into view at all. +He presented his demonstration of God’s existence under three forms, +which, however, are all essentially founded on the idea that he himself +had of God; and they are neither wholly new nor at all satisfactory, +and raised a storm of controversy which raged long and widely. + +Turning to Descartes’ psychology, which is not separately or +exhaustively treated in his writings, and on some points there is +a little difficulty in ascertaining his views. He called the mind +a thinking substance or thinking thing; the word thought meant all +that we are immediately conscious of; and, accordingly, not only to +understand, to will, to imagine, but even to perceive, have here the +same meaning as thinking. There are only two modes of thinking of +which we are conscious, namely, the perception or operation of the +understanding, and volition or the operation of the will; thus to +perceive through the senses, to imagine, and to conceive purely mental +objects, are only different modes of perceiving; but to desire, to +be averse from, to affirm, to deny, to doubt, are different modes of +willing.¹ + + ¹ _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 9, 32. He says that the + simplest self-evident notions are only obscured by logical + definitions, as these are not to be reckoned among the + cognitions acquired by study, but as born with us. _Ibid._, + 10. + +The word perception has a wider meaning in the writings of Descartes +and his followers than in the philosophic literature of the present +time. With them perception was generally employed to indicate an act of +mind by which we apprehended any mental object, as distinguished from +an affirmation or judgment concerning it; and thus in their writings +perception is nearly equivalent to cognition. All acts of memory, +of imagination, of sense, and of pure intellect, are merely modes of +perceiving, as in each we only know as being conscious of the object +of the act. + +But here we come face to face with the relation of the mind to the +objects of its knowledge, which is the crucial problem in philosophy +and in psychology. As already implicitly stated above, according to +Descartes, the mind has no immediate perception of external objects or +of the material world. On the principles of his theory, the mind can +have no immediate knowledge of anything beyond its own modifications. +Although the mind is only conscious of its own modifications or +ideas, still it is not solely modified by its own energy, and in many +instances it is affected by the antecedent affections of the body, +owing to its junction therewith. Thus some of the modifications of the +mind are affections originating from the body, and mainly relative to +it; others, though not quite independent of corporeal contact, must +be more especially considered as affections of the mind; while others +are in themselves purely or absolutely intellectual energies in their +origin and in their continuance. The point of alliance of the mind with +the body is the brain, at this point all organic changes from external +causes terminate, and through these the mind is, owing to the nature +of its junction, hyperphysically determined to a relative modification. +There also all corporeal movements, at the call of the will, commence, +and thus produce the bodily movement answering to the volition of the +mind. The mind only perceives objects as its seat in the brain, and not +at the point of affection in the organs.¹ + + ¹ _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 48, 53; III., 2, 3; IV., 189, + 196‒198. Hamilton’s _Reid_, note N. + +Thus we have only a mediate perception of an external object: a +representation of the object is all that is known to us, as it is that +only which comes within the seat of the conscious mind. This mental +representation of the external object is called an idea.¹ The organic +movement at the point of junction in the brain may also metaphorically +be called an impression, as it is the result of an external impulse, +though at the same time it has no natural resemblance to the external +object; it may be termed an image, as in some way suggesting the +representation to the mind; or it may be named a corporeal species, +though nothing similar to itself is transmitted from the object; +or it may be styled an idea, though it is not the immediate object +of the mind. If any one say that this theory of mediate perception +retains no evidence of the reality of an external world consistent +with the representations of our own minds, Descartes replies, that +in consequence of our early and deep-rooted prejudices we are led to +attribute to the immediate objects of our perceptions an external and +chief, instead of internal and vicarious, existence. “Hence arose the +belief that there was more substance or body in rocks and metals than +in water or air, because the mind perceived in them more hardness and +weight. Moreover, the air was thought to be merely nothing so long as +we experienced no agitation of it by the wind, or did not feel it hot +or cold. And because the stars gave hardly more light than the slender +flames of candles, we supposed that each star was but of this size. +Again, since the mind did not perceive that the earth moved on its axis, +or that its superficies was curved like that of a globe, it was on that +account more ready to judge the earth immovable and its surface flat.” +Of course, he also appeals to the veracity of the ♦Deity.² + + ¹ But whether his idea is to be considered as having an + existence independent of the mind or not, was a disputed + point among Descartes’ followers. + + ♦ “Diety” replaced with “Deity” + + ² _Principles of Philosophy_, I., 66‒72. + +Descartes used the term idea to denote both mental objects and mental +acts, applying it indifferently to a material or a mental modification, +in relation to sense and imagination. Hence throughout his writings +this term appears under many relations and many different meanings. It +is often employed as an object of consciousness, as a representative +thought; while sometimes an objective and sometimes a subjective +meaning is attached to it, and this in all degrees and relations of +mind itself and its objects. + +Touching his doctrine of innate ideas, which is a necessary part of +his theory of body and mind, the hyperphysical element of his system, +which he seems to have deemed requisite to cover and assist the purely +mathematical and mechanical principles upon which his philosophy is +essentially founded. By innate ideas he meant mental modifications +existing in the mind prior to all experience, and that they come into +consciousness whenever the mind begins to think and reflect. To the +class of innate modifications belong the ideas of God, of substance, of +unity, and others. These ideas might remain long inactive in the mind, +but they always exist in it potentially. And it is in relation to these +ideas that the veracity of the Deity is all-important, because a malign +Creator could have made us believe innate falsehoods.¹ + + ¹ “With respect to ideas, some of them appear to me to be + innate.” _Meditations_ III. “The mind first of all discovers + within itself the ideas of many things ... the mind also + discovers certain common notions out of which it frames + various demonstrations that carry conviction to such a degree + as to render doubt of their truth impossible, so long as + we give attention to them. For example, the mind has within + itself ideas of numbers and figures; and it has also among + its common notions the principle that if equals be added to + equals the whole will be equal, and the like.”――_Principles + of Philosophy_, I., 13. + + “In the first place, I discover that it is impossible for + God ever to deceive me, for in all fraud and deceit there is + some imperfection: and although it may seem that the ability + to deceive is a mark of subtlety or power, yet the will + testifies without doubt of malice and weakness; and such, + accordingly, cannot be found in God. In the next place, I + am conscious that I possess a certain faculty of judging + or discerning truth from error, which I doubtless received + from God, along with whatever else is mine; and since it is + impossible that he should will to deceive me, it is likewise + certain that he has not given me a faculty that will ever + lead me into error, provided I use it aright.”――_Meditations_ + IV. + +His exposition of the senses, or sensation, is comparatively brief, but +interesting and important. + +In his treatise on the passions, he admitted six primitive passions +or emotions, namely, admiration, love, hate, desire, joy, and sadness. +From these he sought to deduce all the other passions and emotions, but +his exposition is mainly an echo of the views of Aristotle. He, however, +stated that the most perfect of all emotions is intellectual love to +God. + +Touching ethics, Descartes expressly declined to produce a formal work, +on the ground that it would be liable to violent and unfair criticism +from his opponents; for a similar reason he refrained entirely from +treating of religion or of faith, preferring, as he says, to adhere +to the faith, and to submit to the authority of the Roman Catholic +Church, in which he had been educated from childhood. Yet occasionally +in his writings he touches on moral subjects, and in his letters on +the sovereign good, in his criticism of Seneca, and in his treatise on +the passions, he has indicated his ethical views. But he contributed +nothing specially original in this department, as he approached the +subject from the ancient standpoint, not from the modern, and he does +not treat the question of the moral faculty, or moral obligation. Still +his views, so far as they go, are generally wise and just. + +But, as already indicated, the influence of Descartes did not quite +depend on the positive results of his philosophy. The emphatic doubt +at the threshold of his system was, in my opinion, the most influential +element in his philosophy. He had many disciples and many opponents, +while theologians generally were his bitterest enemies. Nevertheless, +Cartesianism spread in France and held its ground till about the middle +of the eighteenth century; while the influence of his system was felt +in other countries of Europe, especially in Holland. As for the general +tendency of his system in subsequent speculation and in literature, +it appeared in idealism, rationalism, and especially in scepticism and +nihilism. + +The philosopher whose thought I have now to explain, Benedict Spinoza, +is an interesting character, sprung from a remarkable race. He +was born at Amsterdam, in November, 1632, a Jew by birth, and was +carefully educated in the Jewish religion and in the Hebrew language +and literature. But his energy of mind soon made him an object of +suspicion amongst his brethren, and in his twenty-fourth year he was +excommunicated, according to the Jewish ritual, from the Synagogue, +and from all intercourse with any of the tribes of Israel.¹ He earned +his livelihood by the art of grinding and polishing lenses for optical +instruments, a kind of work at which he became very skilful. He was +thus able to support himself in comparative ease and independence, as +his wants were few, and his mode of life extremely simple. + + ¹ _Spinoza, His Life and Philosophy_, by F. Pollock, 1880. + The chief authority for the life of Spinoza is John Colerus, + a minister of the Lutheran Church, at the Hague, who first + published his account of Spinoza in the Dutch language, in + 1705, and it appeared in French in 1706 and 1733. + +As he adopted a mathematical method, his system is deductive, and +the chief characteristics of his philosophy may be stated briefly as +follows. His fundamental conception is the unity of substance, and by +this he meant that which is in itself and is conceived by itself. There +is but one substance in the universe with infinite attributes, and that +is God. Two only of the attributes of this substance are cognisable +by man, namely, thought and extension: there is no extended substance +really distinct from thinking substance. All individual existence +is included among the changing modes of these attributes, but such +existence does not belong to God, else he would be finite, and not +absolute, since all determination is negation. God is the immanent +cause of all things, and operates according to the inner necessity +of his nature, and in this consists his freedom. But he produces all +finite effects only indirectly by finite causes, and nowhere proceeds +with a view to ends, and there is no such thing as human freedom apart +from causality. All that can be said is, that one mode of extension +merely acts upon another mode of extension, and one mode of thought +upon another mode of thought, and so on continually throughout the +universe. Between thought and extension, on the other hand, there +is a complete agreement, as the order of thought is identical with +the order and connection of things, each thought in every case being +merely the idea of the corresponding mode of extension. Our ideas vary +in clearness and in value from the confused representations of the +imagination to the adequate knowledge of the intellect, which conceives +all particulars from the standpoint of the whole which contains them, +and comprehends all things under the form of eternity, and as necessary. +From those confused mental representations which cannot rise above the +finite, spring passions and the bondage of the will, while intellectual +knowledge may assume the form of pure love to God, in which our +happiness and freedom consist.¹ + + ¹ Compare Ueberweg’s _History of Philosophy_, Volume II., page + 55, 1874. + +Spinoza’s first published work was an exposition of the principles +of Descartes’ philosophy, which appeared in 1663. It contained the +exposition of two parts of Descartes’ Principles, and a fragment of a +third part, with an appendix of “Metaphysical Reflections.” He adopted +the geometric method of statement and argument, and so far as he went, +gave a pretty fair account of Descartes’ system. His next work was +entitled “Tractatus Theologico-politicus,” 1670. It is an elaborate and +able defence of freedom of thought and speech in matters of religion. +His final contention was, that “in a free state it should be lawful +for every man to think what he will and to speak what he thinks.” +In the development of his own thoughts, Spinoza seems to have been +much influenced by his study of Maimonides, yet the two philosophers +held different views touching the Jewish Scriptures; Spinoza adopting +a theory which permitted him to treat the Bible historically and +critically, while the earlier philosopher maintained that the Law was +given to the Jews as a revelation of the highest truths. He was the +author of several other treatises, but his chief work is his _Ethics_. + +Spinoza’s _Ethics_ was not published till after his death, but it was +written several years before; and he seems to have gradually elaborated +it with much care. This work contains the fullest exposition of his +system, and is divided into five parts, which treat respectively of +God, of the nature and principle of the mind, of the source and nature +of the affections, of human slavery or the power of the passions, and +of human freedom or the power of the intellect. It is in this treatise +that he developed his leading idea of substance and other subjects. +But it is not at all an attractive work. The method of demonstration by +definitions, axioms, propositions, postulates, corollaries, and scholia, +is tedious and difficult to follow to the last degree. However, it is +requisite to give some specimens of his method and form of thought. + +In the first part of the _Ethics_, touching God, the following +definitions are stated at the beginning:――“1. By self-caused I +understand that whose essence involves existence, or that which cannot +be conceived as non-existing. 2. A thing is called finite in its kind +which can be limited by another of the same nature. 3. By substance I +understand that which is self-contained and is conceived by itself. 4. +By attribute I understand that which the mind perceives in substance +as constituting its essence. 5. By mode I understand the affections +of substance, or that which is in something else, through which it +is apprehended. 6. By God I understand a Being absolutely infinite, a +substance consisting of infinite attributes, each expressing an eternal +and infinite essence. 7. A thing is called free which by the sole +necessity of its own nature is determined to action by itself alone, +but constrained, if it is determined by something else, to exist and to +act in a fixed manner. 8. By eternity I understand existence itself, so +far as it is conceived to follow necessarily from the definition of an +eternal thing.” The first definition is vague, for strictly speaking, +the term self-caused is an irrational conception; because if anything +is said to cause itself, it is assumed that it exists before itself, in +order that it may cause itself. But Spinoza intended the definition to +express the dependence of existence on essence; still the latter cannot +cause the former, unless it already exists itself, thus what was to be +caused already existed before being caused. The definition might have +been put in this form: the first cause in the universe is self-existent +and eternal and immutable in its essence. Others of his definitions +involve inconsistencies, but it is unnecessary to go over them. + +The axioms are next stated thus:――“1. All that is, is either in itself, +or in some other than itself. 2. That which cannot be conceived by +another thing, must be conceived by itself. 3. From a determinate +cause an effect must follow; without such a cause no effect can follow. +4. Knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of the cause and +involves the same. 5. Things that have nothing in common cannot explain +each other. 6. A true idea must agree with its object. 7. Everything +that can be conceived as not existing, its essence does not involve +existence.” + +From these definitions and axioms, he proceeded in a series of +propositions to develop his ideas of God and the universe. These +propositions extend to thirty-six, and he attempted throughout to give +them the form and the reality of demonstrations. + +His main conclusions in this part of the Ethics are these:――“Besides +God, no substance can exist or be conceived to exist. Whatever is, +is in God, and nothing can be, nor can anything be conceived to be, +without God.” He demonstrated this at some length, using geometrical +illustrations, and then enunciated that “God acts by the sole laws +of his own nature, and by constraint of nothing. God is the immanent +indwelling, not the outside, cause of all things. God and all his +attributes are eternal. The existence and the essence of God are one +and the same thing. All that follows from the absolute nature of any +attribute of God must have existed from eternity. God is not only the +efficient cause of the existence of things, but also their essence. +The thing that is determined to effect anything is necessarily so +determined by God, and that which is not determined by God cannot +determine itself to act, and therefore ♦the thing that is determined +by God to do anything cannot render itself undetermined. The individual +finite thing that has determinate existence cannot be determined to +exist and act, unless it be itself determined to exist and act by +another cause, which is also finite and possessed of determinate +existence, and this cause again can neither exist nor be determined to +act save by another cause, which is also finite and has a determinate +existence, and this yet again by another, and so on to infinity. In the +nature of things there is no contingency; as all things are determined +by the necessity of the Divine nature to exist and to act in a definite +manner.” + + ♦ duplicate word “the” removed + +“Understanding, whether as finite or infinite, must comprehend the +attributes and the affections of God, and nothing else. Will cannot +be called a free cause, but a necessary cause only. Things could have +been produced by God in no other order than as they have been produced. +Nothing exists from the nature of which some effect does not follow.” +These are some of the principal ideas which Spinoza essayed to +demonstrate; but at the end of this part of his work, he was aware that +many prejudices existed among mankind, which would prevent them from +adopting his views; and therefore he deemed it worth his trouble to +examine such prejudices more fully in an appendix, in which he assailed +the doctrine of final causes, and exerted his power of sarcasm to +extinguish it. + +He began the second part of his Ethics, on the nature and origin of +the mind, as before, with definitions and axioms; and then proceeded +to demonstrate his views in a series of propositions. The first +four propositions are couched in the following terms:――“Thought is +an attribute of God, or God is a thinking entity. Extension is an +attribute of God, or God is an extended being. The idea of his own +essence, as all things that necessarily follow from it, necessarily +exist in God. The idea of God whence infinities follow in infinite +modes can only be single.” The idea of an individual thing existing in +act is considered as effected by another idea of an individual thing +existing in act, of which God is also the cause, in so far as he is +effected by a third idea existing in act, and so on to infinity; the +order and chain of ideas and causes being the same throughout the +universe. + +“The human mind does not know the human body in itself, nor does it +know that the body exists except through the ideas of the affections by +which the body is influenced. There is also present in God an idea or +consciousness of the human mind, and this follows in the same way, and +is referred to God in the same manner, as the idea of consciousness of +the human body. This idea of the mind is united with the mind in the +same way as the mind itself is united with the body. The mind not only +perceives the affections of the body, but the ideas of these affections +also. The mind has no consciousness of itself, save in so far as it +perceives ideas of the affections of the body. The human mind involves +no adequate knowledge of the parts composing the human body. The idea +of each affection of the human body does not involve knowledge of an +external body. The human mind perceives no external body as existing +in fact, save through ideas of affections of the body. The idea of +any state or affection of the human body does not involve the adequate +cognition of the human body itself. Ideas of the affections of the +human body, in so far as they are referred to the mind only, are not +clear and distinct, but confused. The idea of each of the affections +of the human body does not involve the adequate cognition of the +human mind. All ideas in so far as they are referred to God, are true. +Falsehood consists in the absence of the cognition which inadequate +and confused ideas involve. Inadequate and confused ideas follow by +the same necessity as clear and distinct ones.” + +All these statements are elaborated at length. Then he distinguished +three degrees of cognition. First, opinion, which is the development +of perceptions and general notions from the impression of the senses, +represented to the understanding confusedly, or through certain words +retained in the memory, which may represent imperfect ideas of things. +The second kind of cognition he called reason, which consists of common +notions and adequate ideas of the properties of things. The third +and highest kind of cognition is intuition, which proceeds from the +adequate idea of the real essence of some of the attributes of God, +to the requisite cognition of the essence of things. Cognitions of the +first kind may be uncertain or untrue; those of the second and third +kind are necessarily true, and teach us to distinguish the true from +the false. He who has a true idea, is at the same time certain of its +truth. The human mind in so far as it has true ideas, is a part of +the infinite intellect of God; and so its clear and distinct ideas +are as necessarily true as are the ideas of God.¹ As reason considers +things as they really are in themselves, it concludes that they are +not contingent but necessary. This necessity of things is the very +necessity of the eternal nature of God; therefore, reason apprehends +things under a certain form of eternity. Every idea of an actual +concrete object necessarily involves the eternal and infinite essence +of God, which pervades all alike, and is therefore adequately cognised +by the human mind. + + ¹ The very core of Cartesianism. + +But there is no such thing in the mind as free-will, since it is a +certain and determined mode of thought. “It is determined to will +this or that by a cause which is determined by another cause, this by +another, and so on to infinity.” The will to affirm or deny ideas is +not a mere causeless act, it is the necessary consequence of the ideas; +as distinct volitions and ideas are identical, so also are will and +understanding one and the same. + +The third part of the Ethics, treating on the affections and the +emotions, as usual opened with definitions. By affections and emotions, +he meant states of the body, whereby its power to act is increased +or diminished, aided or controlled, together with the mental ideas +of these affections. Opposing natures which would destroy each other +cannot exist in the same individual; and each individual thing as far +as it can strives to conserve its life. The idea of anything which +increases or diminishes the power of the body to act, in an equal +degree increases or diminishes the thinking power of the mind; hence +the mind strives to imagine such things as increase the power of the +body to act. Desire is conscious appetite, and appetite is the very +essence of man, in so far as he is determined to those actions that +subserve his own preservation. + +Spinoza gave a wide meaning to the word desire, including under it +efforts, impulses, appetites, and volitions of every kind. Still this +part of his work is the most valuable portion of his philosophy. + +He recognised only three primary affections, namely, joy, sorrow, and +desire. Joy is explained as the transition from a less to a higher +state of perfection, while a change in the opposite sense causes sorrow. +Love is joy associated with the idea of an external object. Hate is +sorrow accompanied by the idea of an external cause. Liking is joy +accompanied by the idea of an object which is accidentally the cause of +joy. Devotion is love of that which we admire. Scorn is pleasure sprung +from this――that something we despise is imagined in the thing we hate. +Hope is wavering joy sprung from an idea of something past or to come, +of the issue of which we are more or less in doubt. Fear is unstable +sorrow arising from the idea of something past or future, of the issue +of which we are in some degree doubtful. Security is joy derived from +the idea of something past or future in connection with which all cause +of doubt is removed. Despair is sorrow sprung from the idea of a future +or past thing combined with no cause of doubt. Thus it appears, that +security may be associated with hope, and despair with fear. Sympathy +is love so affecting man that he rejoices in another’s weal, and on the +other side, grieves over another’s woe. + +Thus his descriptions of the affections are generally brief, but +careful and well stated. His general description of the affections is +to this effect: “The affection which is characterised as a passion of +the mind is a confused idea, whereby the mind affirms a stronger or +weaker power of existing than was before experienced in its body, or +some parts of its body, and which being affirmed, the mind itself is +determined to think of this thing rather than of that.” He also stated +that all our ideas of bodies rather proclaim the actual constitution +of our own body than the nature of any external body, and that those +ideas which constitute emotional forms must indicate or express +the constitution of the body, or some of its parts, increasing or +diminishing its power of acting. + +The fourth part of the Ethics treated on the strength of the affections, +or human slavery, by which he meant that man is impotent in the +direction and the restraint of his own passions. In his introduction to +this part, he says: “I call man’s inability to moderate and to control +the affective and emotional element in his nature, Slavery. For man +under the dominion of his affections is not master of himself, but is +controlled by fate, as it were, so that in seeing and even in approving +of the better course, he, nevertheless, feels himself constrained to +follow the worse.” He repeats his view that there is no final causes +or free-will, and then states: “We have shown that nature does not act +with a purpose, for the eternal and infinite Being whom we call God, +or Nature, as he exists of necessity, so does he act of necessity; and +we have shown that by the same necessity that God exists, by the same +necessity does he act. The reason, therefore, why God exists and why +he acts, is one and the same, and as he does not exist for any end +or purpose, so he does not act for any end or purpose; for as he is +without beginning or end, as regards his existence, so is he infinite +and eternal as regards his acts. Now a final cause, as it is called, +is nothing but a human appetite or desire, considered as the cause of +anything.” + +In this part, his moral views are mainly founded on the following +definitions of good and evil:――“By good I understand that which we know +to be useful to us. By evil I understand that which we know prevents +us from enjoying something good.” The knowledge of good and evil is +nothing more than an emotion of joy or of sorrow, so far as we are +conscious of this; hence we call that good or evil which favours or +opposes the continuance of our life, or anything which assists or +hinders our powers of action. To act virtuously is merely to act for +our own life, and to preserve ourselves by the dictates of reason. +Man always seeks to preserve his life for the sake of nothing but +that which he thinks useful to him. The mind in so far as it reasons, +desires nothing but to understand; nor does it judge anything to be +useful to it save that which leads to understanding――and therefore +we know nothing certainly as good save that which leads truly to +understanding; and on the other hand, nothing is evil save that which +prevents us from understanding. “The supreme good of the mind is the +knowledge of God, and the highest virtue is to know God.” This is the +highest knowledge that the human mind can attain. “Therefore that which +is supremely useful or good to the mind is the knowledge of God ... +the absolute virtue or power of the mind is, therefore, to understand. +But the height of the mind’s understanding is God; consequently, the +supreme power of the mind is to know God.” + +We call that evil which is the cause of grief or pain to us. In so far +as anything agrees with our nature, so far it is good; hence the more +that anything accords with our nature, the more useful it is to us, +and the more it is good; and so the more useful anything is to us, the +more does it agree with our nature. “Nothing, therefore, save in so far +as it accords with our nature, can be good; even as the more a thing +accords with our nature, the more useful it is.” + +The good that the virtuous man desires for himself he also desires for +his fellow-men, and this the more ardently as he has a high cognition +of God. “Therefore does the votary of virtue desire for all men the +good he desires for himself.... Thus, therefore, the greater the +conception of God involved in the essence of the mind, the greater will +be the desire of the disciple of virtue that any good he enjoys himself +should also be enjoyed by others.” Moreover, “the good which a man +desires, he will love and desire more constantly if he see that others +love and desire it also; and so he will strive to make others love it; +and because this good is common to all, and all may equally share it, +he will further strive that all should enjoy it, and this so much the +more as he himself enjoys it the more.” + +All that conduces to the order of society, and tends to make men live +in amity, is good; while whatever brings disorder into the state is +evil, as everything that causes men to live amicably together, at +the same time causes them to live in conformity with reason, and is +therefore good. “The man led by reason is freer when he lives as a +member of a community under compact and bond of law, than when he lives +in solitude and obeys himself alone.... The man, therefore, who is +led by reason and desire to live in freedom is careful to observe the +common laws of his country.” + +To make this part of his work more clear and compact, he gave in an +appendix an excellent summary of the whole, and concluded with the +following:―― + +“Man’s power is very limited, and is infinitely surpassed by the +power of external causes; and, therefore, we have no absolute power of +adapting to our own use things external to ourselves. Still, we should +bear with an even mind that which befalls us against the conditions of +our advantage, if we are aware that we have fairly done our duty, and +that the power we possess could not have gone so far as to avoid those +evils, and that we are a part of the whole order of nature, and bound +thereby. And understanding this much clearly and distinctly that the +part of us which is called intellect, our better part, will therein be +contented, and will seek to persist in that content. For, so far as we +understand, we consider only that which is necessary, and can rest in +nothing but the truth, and, therefore, so far as we rightly understand +these things, the endeavour of our better part accords with the +universal order of nature.” + +The fifth and last part of the Ethics treats on the power of the +understanding or human freedom. He repeated his doctrine that the order +and connection of ideas is the same as the order of things.¹ Spinoza’s +aim in this part is mainly to expound the relation between emotion +and reason, the power of the latter over the energy of the former. A +passion itself is a confused idea, but whenever we are able to form +a clear and distinct idea of it, it ceases to be a passion; hence it +follows that to know the passions is the best way to restrain them; +understand the passions that you may be master of them. The more that +the mind recognises all things as necessary, the less does it suffer +from the passions. He who clearly and distinctly knows himself and +his passions, rejoices, because such knowledge is accompanied with the +idea of God. The love of God ought chiefly to fill the mind, as it is +associated with all the higher emotions. “God is without passions or +any emotion of joy or sorrow, because all ideas so far as they are +referred to God are true; again, God cannot pass from a greater to +a less, or from a less to a greater state of perfection. Therefore, +as God is not affected by joy nor sorrow, he can neither love or hate +anyone. No one can hate God, because the idea of God within us is +adequate and perfect; and so far as we contemplate him, to that extent +do we act, and consequently, there can be no pain associated with the +idea of God. He that loves God cannot seek that God should love him +in return; because if man looked for this, he would thereby desire +that God should not be God. This love towards God is the highest good +which man under the dictates of reason can desire; it is common to all +mankind, and we can wish that all should enjoy it as much as ourselves; +thus the love of God is not liable to be narrowed by envy or jealousy, +on the contrary, it must be cherished the more, the greater the number +of our fellow-men we imagine to enjoy it.” + + ¹ This identity of thought with the order of development in + things was adopted by Hegel. + +Touching the duration of the human mind, though it cannot remember +anything that is past, save during the continuance of the body, yet, +as God is the cause of its existence, and also of its essence, there +is an idea in God which expresses the essence of this or that human +body under the form of eternity. Thus the human mind cannot be wholly +destroyed with the body, something of it survives which is eternal. +This idea which expresses the essence of body under the form of +eternity is a certain mode of thought belonging to the essence of the +mind, and necessarily eternal. This, however, cannot be determined by +a reference to duration in time, as we cannot remember to have existed +before our bodies; nevertheless we feel and are persuaded that we +are eternal, as the ground of this feeling and conception is logical +demonstration. Our mind can only be said to endure, and its existence +to be limited to a certain time, in so far as the existence of the body +is involved, and thus far only has the mind the power of apprehending +things under the form of time. + +The highest effort of the mind and the highest virtue is to understand +things through the most perfect kind of cognition; and this is the +cognition proceeding from an adequate idea of certain attributes of +God to an adequate conception of the essence of things, and the more +we comprehend things in this way, the more we know of God. The more apt +the mind is to know things in this way the greater its desire for such +knowledge, and from this springs the highest satisfaction of the mind. +“Our mind in so far as it knows itself and the body under the form +of eternity, thus far has it a requisite knowledge of God, and knows +that it is in God and is conceived through God. This kind of intuitive +cognition depends on the mind itself as its formal cause, in so far +as the mind itself is eternal. The farther we advance in this kind of +knowledge, the more conscious are we of ourselves and of God, we take +delight in it, and our joy is associated with the idea of God as its +cause. From this intuitive cognition arises the intellectual love of +God, which is eternal. God loves himself with an infinite intellectual +love. The intellectual love of the mind for God is the very love of +God――the love wherewith God loves himself, not as He is infinite, but +as He can be interpreted by the essence of the human mind considered +under the form of eternity; that is, the intellectual love of the mind +towards God is part of the infinite love wherewith God loves Himself. +Hence it follows, that in so far as God loves Himself, He loves mankind, +and that the love of God for man, and the intellectual love of the mind +of man for God, are one and the same. From this we clearly understand +wherein consists our salvation, our happiness, and our liberty. It is +this eternal love of God, which in sacred scripture is spoken of as +glory, and with truth, for whether it be referred to the mind of man +or of God, it is rightly designated peace of mind, which, in fact, is +not to be distinguished from the glory of scripture. There is nothing +in nature opposed to this intellectual love, or to abrogate it, and +the greater the number of things that the mind knows, according to the +second and the third kinds of cognition, the less does it suffer from +evil passions, and the less does it fear death.” + +He touched on other points of interest to this effect. Inasmuch as the +most perfect peace of mind arises from intuitive cognition, it follows +that the human mind may be of such a nature that what we have shown to +be liable to pass away and perish with the body, when contrasted with +what remains, may be of no significance. He who has a mind capable of +many things, has a mind the greatest part of which is eternal. Inasmuch +as human bodies are capable of a great variety of actions, it is not +doubtful that their nature may be such as to be referable to minds +which have extensive knowledge of God and of themselves, and of which +the principal part is eternal, so that they have scarcely any fear of +death. The more perfect anything is it is the more real, and the more +active it is the less it suffers; hence the more perfect a thing is +the more active it is. From this it is assumed to follow that the part +of the mind which remains after the death of the body, whatever be its +quantity, is more perfect than the rest. Now, the eternal part of the +mind is the understanding, by which we say that we act, but the part +that perishes we have shown to be that wherewith the imagination is +connected. + +From what is stated above, and in other parts of his works, it appears +that the human mind, in so far as it is possessed of understanding, +is an eternal mode of thought, which is determined by another eternal +mode of thought, this by another, and so on to infinity――so that all +together constitute the eternal and infinite intelligence of God. Thus, +whatever portion of the mind of man may survive the body, is merged in +the divine mind. It has no conscious or distinct existence of its own. +It is merely a mode of thought controlled by another and another mode +of thought till united and centred in the one eternal essence of the +universe. + +Spinoza then made some remarks on what he had stated on morality in +other parts of the work, and concluded with these words: “Herewith +I have finished all that I proposed to say touching the power of +the mind over the emotions and her freedom. Whence it is evident how +great is the wise man’s power and his advantage over the ignorant +man who is driven by blind desire. For as such a man is distracted by +external influences, and in many ways besides, and never attains true +contentment in his soul; he lives, as it were, without sense of himself +and God and the nature of things, and no sooner ceases to suffer than +he ceases to be. Whereas the wise man, if we take him as such, is of +a constant mind, and being aware of himself and of God and the nature +of things in a way of eternal necessity, does never cease to be, but +is ever in possession of true contentment. And if the way I have shown +to lead hither seems exceedingly hard, yet it may be discovered. That +truly must be hard which is seldom found. For if salvation were so easy +and could be found with little trouble, how should it come to pass that +nearly all mankind neglect it? But every excellent work is as difficult +as it is rare.” Thus, in the final result, Spinoza came near to the +Stoics’ position: which is, that the way is open to everyone alike, but +as things stand, the mass of mankind are ruled by the coarser motives, +which alone they appreciate. He does not seem to have believed in +any great improvement of the body of mankind; and considering the +state of Europe in his day, and all the circumstances around him, who +could blame him? Even now and here, it must be confessed that the most +sanguine thinker, and the most hopeful reformer, frequently meet with +many things which might shake the confidence of the firmest mind and +the warmest heart. + +Viewing Spinoza’s work as a system of the universe, or as a philosophy +of existence, it falls far short of its end. Both in its principles and +in its details it is defective, and it contains many inconsistencies +which have often been pointed out. + +But it is chiefly as a moral system that it is interesting to us. +Though he treated many moral points ably and fairly, and freely +admitted and even insisted on the value of the principle of utility, +yet the defects of his system, considered as a moral philosophy, +are obvious. If morality and religion are related subjects, which in +various ways strengthen each other, then little can be made of his +system――since a God of infinite and eternal existence, of infinite +intelligence and perfection, but without will or purpose, or moral +attributes of any kind, could hardly be an object of worship to +ordinary men. But apart from this, and taking morality in the narrowest +sense, his ethical system is defective in many points, which it is +needless to particularise. + +Spinoza in several parts of his writings greatly underrated the +complexity of the problems of ethical and political science. He nowhere +signalised the distinction between positive morality and positive +law. He was often astonishingly wrong in believing that he had found +a short road to certain and perfect knowledge, and this is especially +noticeable in his treatment of politics. He thought that no important +experiment in politics remained to be tried that had not been already +discovered and attempted. He manifested no grasp of the method of +the gradual development of society and political institutions; such +shortcomings, however, were common to the philosophers of the period. + +But finally, as a philosopher, and as a man, Spinoza manifested great +moral energy and force of character. He was gifted with an intellect +of a keen and original cast, though not of the most comprehensive and +highest order. His doctrine of the eternity of the human mind is one +of the boldest efforts of speculative thought on record, and exhibited +a grasp of mind rarely attained, while it has produced memorable +results. His identification of the human mind with God seems to have +suggested the speculations of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel touching +the comprehension of the Absolute or God, which raised such a stir in +Germany and in France in the first half of the present century; and, +indeed, historically, Spinoza’s writings have had much influence in +various directions. + +An account of Spinoza’s philosophy is given in the chief histories of +philosophy, and there are several works which specially treat on his +system, among which may be mentioned, Pollock’s _Life and Philosophy of +Spinoza_, 1880; Willis’s _Life, Correspondence, and Ethics of Spinoza_, +1870; and others in French and German. Soon after the publication of +Spinoza’s system, a considerable number of works appeared in which his +views were combated. Though not at all a believer in the philosophy of +Spinoza myself, nevertheless, I can honestly join with Schleiermacher, +who said:――“Offer reverentially with me a lock to the manes of the +holy, rejected Spinoza! He was filled with the lofty world-spirit; +the infinite was his beginning and his end; the universe his only and +eternal love. In holy innocence and deep humility he saw himself in +the mirror of the eternal world, and saw how he too was its most lovely +mirror; full of religion was he, and full of holy spirit, and hence he +stands there alone and unrivalled, master in his art, but exalted above +the profane guild, without disciples and without civil right.” + +Leibnitz, a contemporary of Spinoza, is usually regarded as the founder +of the German philosophy of the eighteenth century.¹ He attained to +eminence both in philosophy and in mathematics, and wrote on many +subjects. But he nowhere developed his philosophical views in a +systematic and complete form; a mere summary of his doctrines was +presented in his exposition of the monadology. + + ¹ Born 1646, and died 1716. A list of the books which specially + treat on the life, the writings, and the philosophy of + Leibnitz, is given in the second volume, Ueberweg’s _History + of Philosophy_, pages 94‒96. + +He adopted the dogmatic form of philosophising, that is, he believed +that the power of human thought, when aided by clear and distinct ideas, +could transcend the limits of experience, and attain to perfect truth. +But he overstepped both the dualism of Descartes and the monism of +Spinoza, by the recognition of a graduated scale of beings. Eternal +truths are in the divine understanding, distinct from the divine will; +the divine mind being the source of the possibility of things, while +the divine will is the cause of their reality; and hence all truth +must by its nature be rational. In psychology he adopted a form +of the doctrine of innate ideas, associated with the principles of +identity and contradiction. Error arises from a want of clearness +and distinctness; while dark and confused knowledge may be raised by +demonstration to clearness and distinctness. + +The aim of his theory of monads¹ is to ascertain the existence and to +determine the nature of the simplest elements of substance, into which +all other things and beings might be resolved. The primary monads seem +to be something like atoms, or units of matter and of mind, endowed +with life and ideas. All the monads have ideas, but of different +degrees of clearness. God is the first monad, the primitive substance, +and all His ideas are perfect. The souls of animals have sensation +and memory. Every soul is a monad, as its power of acting proves its +substantiality, and all substances are monads. Inorganic nature is +merely an aggregate of undeveloped monads, while plants and minerals +are a kind of sleeping monads with unconscious ideas; but in plants +these ideas are formative forces. Man is a monad that has been waked +up. The monads are not distinguishable in kind, but only in degree; the +difference between them consists in the separate stages of development +which each has attained. Every conscious monad has the clearest +perception of those parts of the universe to which it is most nearly +related; and thus from its own standpoint it is a mirror of the +universe. + + ¹ Leibnitz seems to have borrowed the term monads from Bruno; + see page 400. + +His theory of “pre-established harmony” is thus expressed by himself: +――“Every body acts as if there were no soul, and every soul acts as if +there were no body; and yet both act as if each was influenced by the +other.” So between the succession of the ideas, and the motions of the +monad, there is a harmony pre-established by God. The soul and body +of man agree, as it were, like the two clocks originally set together, +and exactly moving at the same rate. In the same way each part of the +universe harmonises with every other part. Creation simply consisted in +first establishing, once for all, the laws of this unity and harmony; +everything being arranged, the parts assigned to their places, every +thought and every motion having been foreseen and provided for, when +the universe was first called into existence. The existing world, +therefore, is the best of all possible worlds, whether our limited +minds can understand it in this light or not. The continuity of +physical law is never broken, and yet the moral world is in harmony +with the physical world, as the course of nature in all cases must be +in accord with the highest interest of the soul.¹ + + ¹ Compare Stewart’s _Dissertion_, pages 254‒257, 560‒561, + edition, 1854; and Ueberweg’s _History of Philosophy_, Volume + II., pages 106‒113. + +Though Leibnitz endeavoured to unite the cosmological and the +theological ideas, the origin of the world from God, and its +explanation by physical laws, yet he completely failed to establish +a real harmony of the two conceptions; as everyone before and after +him has failed in their attempts to unite opposite elements in one +conception. The inconsistencies of his philosophy have often been +exposed; nevertheless, it is only justice to state that his writings +contained many valuable suggestions, which subsequently proved to be +true.¹ + + ¹ For instance, his view of the unconscious modifications of + the mind, or latent mental modifications. + +Bayle, the author of the Historical and Critical Dictionary, exercised +a pretty wide influence on philosophical opinions.¹ He had a sceptical +cast of mind, and directed his shafts against all forms of dogmatism, +often indulging in sallies of ironical humour. He was a man of +considerable erudition, an acute critic, and endowed with much logical +tact and metaphysical subtlety. There are other philosophers whose +works I should have deemed it necessary to notice, if I had been +writing a complete history of philosophy, such as Malebranche, De la +Forge, Sylvain Regis, Arnauld, P. Nicole, Pascal, Du Hamel, Wolff, and +others. + + ¹ Born 1647, died 1706. + +Turning to English philosophy, it may be noted that at the present time +many in England are conversant with the philosophy of Germany and of +France; and the influence of the speculations of both these nations on +the English thought of the nineteenth century is probably much greater +than is commonly believed. While in the seventeenth and eighteenth +centuries, especially in the latter, English philosophy greatly +influenced the philosophy of France, and in a less degree that of +Germany, and in the present century all sides have influenced each +other; although it appears that German speculation has recently been +in the ascendant in some quarters of England, and even in Scotland. + +The place of Lord Bacon in the history of philosophy has often been +very differently estimated, according to the standpoint of those +who have essayed to discuss the subject.¹ Bacon’s avowed aim was to +increase the power of man by enlarging the range of his knowledge. But +to affect this, the mind must be freed from prejudice and superstition +of every sort, so that it may be enabled to apprehend things in their +real relations. Knowledge must begin with experience, starting from +observation and experiment, whence by induction it should proceed +methodically, first to the simpler propositions, and then to others of +higher generality, rising gradually step by step to higher universality; +and then finally, from these to descend to the particular, and thus to +arrive at discoveries which should extend the power of man over nature. +To attain such results he insisted strongly on the value and the +necessity of a patient collection and accurate comparison of facts. + + ¹ Born 1561, died 1625. + +Bacon’s plan for the reorganisation of the sciences embraced a +general review of the whole intellectual field. This was followed +by his doctrine of method, and then by an exposition of the sciences +themselves, with their application to new discoveries. His conception +was grand, and his end highly laudable; but the development of the +principles of his method is far from complete. His own attempts at +original investigation in applying his method is often crude, and fall +much below some of the efforts of his own contemporaries. Still, he +succeeded in indicating several of the fundamental points of induction; +and thus he became the founder of the empirical school of modern +philosophers, though he himself was greater as a critic than as a +philosopher. His greatest merit was that he emphatically insisted on +the importance of the collection, arrangement, and comparison of facts. +On the other hand, he undervalued the method of deduction, and the +value of the syllogism for deductive and mediate knowledge. + +His writings have had much influence in Britain, and in other countries +of Europe, especially in France; and thus his method of induction has +contributed at home and abroad to the progress of physical science.¹ + + ¹ An excellent account of Bacon and his philosophy is given by + Kuno Fischer in a work entitled, “Franz Baco von Verulam, die + Real-philosophie und ihr Zeitalter,” 1856. + +The eccentric Lord Herbert of Cherbury was a writer of some note.¹ In +his remarkable work, “De Veritate,” he treated on various points of +mental philosophy. He distinguished the faculties of the mind into four, +namely, natural instinct, the inner sense, the external sense, and the +discursive faculty. Each of these powers affords a certain class of +truths, and all truth must become known to us through one or other +of these faculties. But the truths of natural instinct are relatively +higher and more certain than any other. By this faculty (which might +have been called intellectual instinct) we apprehend the common notions +touching the relations of things, and especially those which tend +to our own preservation. They are implanted in us by nature, and +represent something of the divine image and wisdom. They are primary +notions, since they are necessary, independent, universal, certain, +and instantaneous in their manifestation. + + ¹ Born 1581, died 1648. + +The inner sense under the direction of natural instinct, or the +common notions, embraces all the powers which are associated with the +particular forms of the agreeable and the disagreeable, of good and +evil, whether these are dependent on the body or on the mind. The chief +internal sense is conscience, which judges what is good and evil in +their various relations, and thus determines what ought to be done. + +The external senses depend on the special effects of external objects +upon our external organs, jointly with the corresponding internal +senses and the natural instincts. The discursive faculty gives that +knowledge of objects presented by the internal and external senses, +which depends on special capacities for investigation, and on +the common notions; and it has reference to existence, qualities, +quantities, relations, and especially to their causes. + +He was also the author of several religious treatises and historical +works. He distinguished man from animals, not merely by the gift of +reason, but specially by the capacity of religion, which is peculiar +to the former. He held that all men had the five following notions of +religion:――That there is a God; that He ought to be worshipped; that +virtue and piety are the chief elements of worship; that repentance is +a duty; and that there is a future life, with rewards and punishments. +He maintained that a revelation is possible to individuals, and +affirmed that a special revelation was made to himself; but, since +nothing can be admitted as revealed which contradicts the five common +notions, and anything beyond these can be of no importance to the human +race, therefore, no such revelation should be made public. His views +had some influence on the subsequent lines of English thought, and he +has sometimes been signalised as the earliest of that class of writers +called the English Deists. + +But the most famous English philosopher of the Rebellion period was +Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Born in 1588, he was in the prime of +life when the struggle between the parliament and Charles I. began +in earnest. Hobbes firmly maintained the view that the King had an +unquestionable right to absolute and supreme power in the State; and it +is palpably evident that his philosophy, and especially his political +and religious speculations, were much influenced by the struggles +of his own day in England. He was deeply touched by the sight which +the Civil War presented, and the imprisonment and execution of the +King, the religious rancour and the hypocrisy which were mingled in +the conflict, and the consequent suffering of the nation. In such +circumstances, with his prepossessions, it would be unreasonable +to expect from him sound opinions and conclusions on politics; +nevertheless, he was an original thinker of great power, and a man of +varied accomplishments. None of his philosophical or political works +were published till he was past fifty years of age, so they were not +the crude performances of youth, but the deliberate outcome of his +matured thought. In his different treatises and works, however, he +again and again repeated his chief psychological views and political +doctrines, in slightly varied language, but identically the same in +ideas and thought. + +In his “Elements of Philosophy,” published in 1655, and divided into +four parts, which treated of logic, of the first grounds of philosophy, +of the proportions of motions and magnitudes, and of physics, he +defines philosophy as the knowledge of effects by their causes, and +of causes from their observed effects, by means of true inferences. +The end of philosophy is the application of our knowledge of effects +to the utmost of our strength, for the benefit of human life, as the +end of knowledge is power, which should result in action. The utility +of philosophy is especially seen in physical science, in geometry, +in astronomy, and in navigation. From his conception of philosophy, +he excluded the doctrine of God, because He is “eternal, ingenerable, +incomprehensible, and in Whom there is nothing either to divide or +compound, or any generation to be conceived”;¹ and also knowledge +acquired by divine inspiration, and all false doctrines, such as +astrology and divinations: for all that which we know by legitimate +deduction can neither be false nor doubtful. I may state that Hobbes’s +idea of God was entirely negative. In his “Leviathan,” after running +over a number of terms and expressions which should not be applied +to God, he says:――“He that will attribute to God nothing but what is +warranted by natural reason, must either use such negative attributes +as infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; or most high, most great; +or indefinite, as good, just, holy; and in such sense as if he meant +not to declare what he is.... There is but one name to signify our +conception of his nature, and that is, I AM; and but one name of his +relation to us, and that is God.” He distinguished philosophy into +natural and civil. But in order to understand the properties of a +commonwealth, it is necessary first to know the dispositions and +manners of men; and so civil philosophy is divided into two parts, the +one treating of men’s dispositions and manners, called ethics, and the +other treating of their civil duties, called political philosophy.² In +the _Leviathan_, published in 1651, he gives a kind of classification +of the sciences, a pretty complete formulation of the knowledge +and science of the time. He reduced everything to consequences. +Matter or bodies being assumed, motion and quantity are placed at +the top of the scale; while consequences from quantity, and motion +indeterminate, which being the principles or first foundation of +philosophy, “philosophia prima,” forms the basis of the whole. Then +follow consequences from quantity, and motion determined――Mathematics, +Geometry; consequences from motion and quantity determined――Cosmography, +Astronomy, Geography, and so on, politics being classed with physics as +a part of natural philosophy.³ + + ¹ Part I., Chapter I., Section 2, _et seq._ All my references + are to the collective ♦edition of Hobbes’s English works, by + Sir William Molesworth. + + ♦ “dition” replaced with “edition” + + ² _Leviathan_, Part II., Chapter XXXI. + + ³ Part I., Chapter IX. + +Thinking or reasoning is merely a process of computation, of addition +and subtraction. He says, “to compute is either to collect the sum of +many things that are added together, or to know what remains when one +thing is taken out of another. Ratiocination, therefore, is the same +with addition and subtraction; and if any man add multiplication and +division, I will not be against it, seeing multiplication is nothing +but addition of equals one to another, and division nothing but a +subtraction of equals one from another, as often as possible. So +that all ratiocination is comprehended in these two operations of the +mind, addition and subtraction.” The same doctrine is stated in his +“Leviathan,” and illustrated as applicable to all things that can be +added together, or taken one out of another. Thus, “writers of politics +add together pactions to find men’s duties; and lawyers, laws and facts, +to find what is right and wrong in the actions of private men. In sum, +in whatever matter there is place for addition and subtraction, there +also is place for reason; and where these have no place, there reason +has nothing at all to do.” Finally, reason considered as a faculty of +the mind, is nothing but reckoning, “that is, adding and subtracting +of the consequences of general names agreed upon for marking and +signifying of our thoughts: I say, marking them, when we reckon by +ourselves, and signifying, when we demonstrate our reckonings to other +men.”¹ + + ¹ _Elements of Philosophy_, Part I., Chapter I., Section 2. + _Leviathan_, Chapter V., page 30. + +This was Hobbes’s form of nominalistic doctrine, and he has some good +remarks on names, the use of words, and the use and abuse of speech. He +explained this branch of knowledge both in the “Elements of Philosophy” +and in the “Leviathan” in the former at length, and in the latter +briefly. “The general use of speech is to transfer our mental discourse +into verbal, or the train of our thoughts into a train of words; +and that for two purposes, whereof one is the registering of the +consequences of our thoughts; which being apt to slip out of our memory, +and put us to a new labour, may again be recalled, by such words as +they were marked by. So that the first use of names is to serve for +marks or notes of remembrance. Another is, when many use the same words, +to signify, by their connection and order, one to another, what they +conceive, or think of each matter; and also what they desire, fear, +or have any other passion for. And for this use they are called signs. +Special uses of speech are these: first to register what by cogitation +we find to be the cause of anything, present or past, and what we +find things present or past may produce or effect; which in sum, is +acquiring of art. Secondly, to show to others that knowledge which we +have attained, which is, to counsel and teach one another. Thirdly, +to make known to others our wills and purposes, that we may have the +mutual help of one another. Fourthly, to please and delight ourselves +and others, by playing with our words, for pleasure or ornament, +innocently.” To these uses of speech there are four corresponding +abuses. When we register our thoughts wrong, by using improper words, +and stating as our conception that which we never conceived, and thus +deceive ourselves; when we use words in an unusual sense, and thereby +deceive others; when we declare by words that to be true which we know +to be false; when people use words to grieve one another: “for seeing +nature has armed living creatures, some with teeth, some with horns, +and some with hands, to grieve an enemy, it is but an abuse of speech +to grieve him with the tongue, unless it be one whom we are obliged to +govern; and then it is not to grieve, but to correct and to amend.” + +He explained the use of different kinds of names, the necessity of +definitions, and stated that everything which can enter into an account +may be considered a subject for names. He gave four forms or scales of +predicaments under the heads of body, quantity, quality, and relation, +which are formed with great care. And further, he explained negative +words, and then added: “All other names are but insignificant sounds, +and those of two sorts; one when they are new, and yet their meaning +not explained by definition, whereof there have been abundance coined +by schoolmen and puzzled philosophers.”¹ + + ¹ _Elements of Philosophy_, Part I., Chapter II.; _Leviathan_, + Part I., Chapter IV.; also his treatise _Human Nature_, + Chapter V. + +Motion is the prime and fundamental idea in Hobbes’s philosophy. It +runs through all his writings, and enters into almost every explanation +which he has given of anything. He treated sense and sensation at +length as a part of physics in his “Elements of Philosophy,” and in +almost all his different works he touches more or less on this subject. +His psychology has the merit of being pretty distinct; as sensation and +thought both proceed from motion, their explanation is not a difficult +matter. Concerning sense, he says: “I have shown that no motion is +generated but by a body contagious and moved: whence it is manifest +that the immediate cause of sense or perception consists in this, that +the first organ of sense is touched or pressed. For when the uttermost +part of the organ is pressed, it no sooner yields but the part next +within it is pressed also; and, in this manner, the pressure or motion +is propagated through all the parts of the organ to the innermost. +And thus, also, the pressure of the uttermost part proceeds from +the pressure of some remote body, and so continually till we come to +that from which, as from its fountain, we derive the phantasm or idea +that is made in us by our sense. And this, whatever it be, is what we +commonly call the object. Sense, therefore, is some internal motion +in the sentient, generated by some internal motion of the parts of the +object, and propagated through all the media to the innermost part of +the organ.... Moreover, I have shown that all resistance is endeavour +opposite to another endeavour, that is to say, reaction...; so that +when that endeavour inwards is the last action in the act of sense, +then from the reaction, however little the duration of it be, a +phantasm or idea has its being; which, by reason that the endeavour +is now outwards, does always appear as something placed without the +organ.” ... Then we get this definition: “Sense is a phantasm made by +the reaction and endeavour outwards in the organ of sense, caused by +an endeavour inwards from the object, remaining for some time more or +less.” How much importance he attached to motion in the derivation of +sensation, ideas, and thought is indicated in the following passages: +“Now [that] all mutation or alteration is motion or endeavour (and +endeavour also is motion), in the internal parts of the thing that +is altered, as has been proved.... Sense, therefore, in the sentient, +can be nothing else but motion in some of the internal parts of the +sentient, and the parts so moved are parts of the organs of sense.” +Again, “the original of life being in the heart, that motion in the +sentient, which is propagated to the heart, must necessarily make +some alteration or diversion of vital motion, namely, by quickening or +slackening, helping or hindering the same. Now, when it helps, it is +pleasure; when it hinders, it is pain, trouble, grief, and so on.... +Now vital motion is the motion of the blood, perpetually circulating +(as has been shown from many infallible signs and marks by Dr. Harvey, +the first observer of it) in the veins and arteries. Which motion, when +it is hindered by some other motion, made by the action of sensible +objects, may be restored again, either by bending or setting straight +the parts of the body; which is done when the spirits are carried +now into these, now into other nerves, till the pain, as far as is +possible, be quite taken away. But if vital motion be helped by motion +made by sense, then the parts of the organ will be disposed to guide +the spirits in such manner as conduces most to the preservation and +augmentation of that motion, by the help of the nerves. And in animal +motion this is the very first endeavour, and found even in the embryo; +which while it is in the womb, moves its limbs with voluntary motion, +for the avoiding of what troubles it, or for the pursuing of what +pleases it. And this first endeavour, when it tends towards such things +as are known by experience to be pleasant, is called appetite, that +is, an approaching; and when it shuns what is troublesome, aversion, or +flying from it.”¹ He goes on to associate appetite and will, and shows +that the same thing is called both will and appetite. More briefly, +he says that all ideas and thought originate from sensation, thus: +“The original of them all is that which we call sense, for there is no +conception in a man’s mind which has not at first, totally, or by parts, +been begotten upon the organs of sense. The rest are derived from that +original.” Again, originally, all conceptions proceed from the action +of the thing itself, whereof it is the conception: now when the action +is present, the conception it produces is also called sense; and the +thing by whose action the same is produced, is called the object of the +sense.² Hobbes stated the conditions of sensation and perception very +well. In order to make them clear, he distinguished the subject and +object of sense, the former being the perceiving person, and the latter +the thing perceived; and it is more correct to say that we see the sun +than that we see the light; because light and colour, heat, sound, and +other qualities, are not properly objects, but ideas in the mind. He +further stated that there must always be a variety and difference among +the objects of perception, and discriminated other points. + + ¹ _Elements of Philosophy_, Past IV., Chapter XXV., Section 2; + Sections 2, 12, 13. + + ² _Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter I.; _Human Nature_, Chapter + II., Section 2. + +In further explaining his views of mind, he calls imagination “a +decaying sense,” by which he means the impressions, images, or ideas +of external objects remaining in the mind after the sensations which +caused them were past. His exposition of the subject is this:――“That +when a thing lies still, unless somewhat else stir it, it will lie +still for ever, is a truth that no man doubts of. But that when a thing +is in motion, it will eternally be in motion, unless somewhat else +stay it, though the reason be the same, namely, that nothing can change +itself, is not so easily assented to.” ... Therefore, “when a body is +once in motion, it moves, unless something else hinder it, eternally; +and whatever hinders it, cannot in an instant, but in time, and by +degrees; and as we see in the water, though the wind cease, the waves +give not over rolling for a long time after; so also it happens in that +motion which is made in the internal parts of a man, then, when he sees, +dreams, and so on. For after the object is removed, or the eye shut, we +still retain an image of the thing seen, though more obscure than when +we see it. And this is it the Latins call imagination, from the image +made in seeing.... But the Greeks call it a fancy, which signifies +appearance, and is as proper to one sense as to another. Imagination, +therefore, is nothing but decaying sense; and is found in men, and in +many other living creatures, as well sleeping as waking. + +“The decay of sense in men waking is not the decay of the motion made +in sense but an obscuring of it, in such manner as the light of the +sun obscures the light of the stars.... For as at a great distance of +place, that which we look at appears dim and without distinction of the +smaller parts, so also, after great distance of time, our imagination +of the past is weak, and we lose, for example, of cities we have seen, +many particular streets, and of actions, many particular circumstances. +This decaying sense, when we would express the thing itself, I mean +fancy itself, we call imagination; but when we would express the +decay, and signify that the sense is fading, old, and past, it is +called memory.” So that imagination and memory are but one thing with +different names.¹ + + ¹ _Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter II.; see also _Human Nature_, + Chapter III., Sections 1, 7. + +Hobbes manifested a fair knowledge of the operation of those principles +which subsequent psychologists have termed the laws of association and +mental modifications and ideas. He points out and distinguishes various +ways in which ideas and thoughts are associated, though he does not +use the term association of ideas, but uses the expressions, trains of +imaginations, and trains of thoughts. But I can only afford space for +a few of his illustrations:―― + +“When a man thinks on anything, his next thought after is not +altogether so casual as it seems to be. Not every thought to every +thought succeeds indifferently.... All fancies are motions within us, +relics of those made in the sense: and those motions that immediately +succeed one another in the sense, continue also together after sense; +inasmuch as the former coming again to take place and be predominant, +the latter follows, by coherence of the matter moved, in such manner +as water upon a plain table is drawn which way any one part of +it is guided by the finger.” Again, “The cause of the coherence or +consequence of one conception to another, is their first coherence +at that time when they are produced by sense; as, for example, from +St. Andrew the mind runs to St. Peter, because their names are read +together; from St. Peter to a stone, for the same cause; from stone +to foundation, because we see them together; and for the same cause, +from foundation to church, and from church to people, and from people +to tumult: and according to this example, the mind may run almost +from anything to anything. But as in the sense the conception of +cause and effect may succeed one another, so may they after sense +in the imagination: and for the most part they do so.” He stated and +illustrated other ways in which the train of thoughts is regulated. + +Of reminiscence he says: “Beginning with the appetite to recover +something lost, proceeding from the present backwards, from thought +of the place where we miss it, to the thought of the place whence we +came last; and from the thought of that to the thought of a place +before, till we have in our mind some place wherein we had the thing +we miss: and this is called reminiscence.” Further, “The remembrance +of succession of one thing to another, that is, of what was antecedent, +and what consequent, and what concomitant, is called an experiment, +whether the same be made by us voluntarily, as when a man puts anything +into the fire, to see what effect the fire will produce upon it, or +not made by us, as when we remember a fair morning after a red evening. +To have had many experiments is what we call experience, which is +nothing but remembrance of what antecedents have been followed by what +consequents.”¹ + + ¹ _Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter III.; _Human Nature_, Chapter + IV., Sections 2, 5, 6. + +On the side of feeling, emotion, and will, Hobbes’s psychology is of +less value. His description of the passions, feelings, and emotions, +though on some points clear and accurate, is, as a whole, imperfect +and lacking in consistency. His theory of the will was this: “In +deliberation, the last appetite, as also the last fear, is called will, +namely, the last appetite, will to do, or will to omit. It is all one, +therefore, to say will and last will. Will, therefore, is the last +appetite in deliberating.... Appetite, fear, hope, and the rest of the +passions, are not called voluntary, for they proceed not from, but are +the will; and the will is not voluntary, for a man can no more say he +will will, than he will will will, and so make an infinite repetition +of the word will, which is absurd and insignificant. Forasmuch as will +to do is appetite, and will to omit fear, the cause of appetite and +fear is the cause also of our will.” With Hobbes, will and appetite are +the same thing, till deliberation is brought into operation; so that +the action of appetite is necessitated, “and, therefore, such a liberty +as is free from necessity is not to be found either in the will of men +or beasts.” But he admits the relation of will and belief.¹ + + ¹ _Human Nature_, Chapter XII., Sections 2, 5, 6; _Leviathan_, + Part I., Chapter VI. _Elements of Philosophy_, Part IV., + Chapter XXV., Section 13. + +Hobbes’s politics need not detain us long, as his political theory is +simple and distinct. He maintained that by nature all men were nearly +equal: that all society and government originated, not in social +feelings, or any elements of sympathy for each other, but in their +mutual fear of one another; and that by nature every man was his own +judge, and had a right to all things, but which in effect was no right +at all; because in the state of nature mankind were continually at war +and killing one another: then every man was an enemy to every other man, +each depending on his own strength; and as there was no security, but +everything uncertain, so there was no place for industry, no culture +of the earth, no navigation or means of communication, no knowledge +of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, +and no society; and what was worst of all, continual fear and danger +of violent death prevailed; and the life of man was solitary and poor, +brutish and short.¹ + + ¹ _De Corpore Politico_, Part I., Chapter I., Sections 1, 3, + 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; _Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter + XIII.; also his treatise, _Elements of Philosophy, or a True + Citizen_, Chapter I., Sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 12. He indeed + says, “It may perhaps be thought there never was such a + time, or condition of war as this; and I believe it was never + generally so over all the world: but there are many places + where they live so now in that brutish manner which I have + described.”――_Leviathan._ + +Such being the state of mankind originally, how to get out of it was +the great problem. It seems reason at last dictated to every man that +it was for his own good to seek after peace, as far as there was any +hope of attaining it,¹ then to strengthen himself as much as he can for +his own defence against those who would not come to terms of peace. And +it follows from this law of reason or nature, that every man by common +consent should divest himself of the right to all things which he has +by nature, and to be content with a limited liberty.² Hobbes proceeded +to describe the circumstances and the proceedings relating to that once +famous “Contract Theory of Society,” when at some far-off and unknown +period in the history of the race, a multitude of men assembled with +the intention of uniting themselves, and thus established peace and +regular government.³ When men met to form regular governments for the +first time, then as to what they sanctioned, “it is to be understood +that each man has consented to it, and not the majority only. Secondly, +though thus assembled with intention to unite themselves, they are +yet in that estate in which every man has right to everything, and +consequently, as has been said, Chapter I., Section 10, in an estate +of enjoying nothing. And, therefore, meum and tuum has no place amongst +them. The first thing, therefore, they are to do, is expressly every +man to consent to something, by which they may come near to their +ends, which can be nothing else imaginable but this, that they allow +the wills of the majority of their whole number, or the wills of the +majority of some certain number of men by them determined and named; or +lastly, the will of some one man, to involve and be taken for the wills +of every man. And this done, they are united, and a body politic. And +if the majority of their whole number be supposed to involve the wills +of all the particulars, then they are said to be a democracy, that is, +a government in which the whole number, or so many of them as please, +being assembled together, are the sovereign, and every particular +man a subject. If the majority of a certain number of men, named +or distinguished from the rest, be supposed to involve the wills of +every one of the particulars, then are they said to be an oligarchy or +aristocracy, which two words signify the same thing, together with the +diverse passions of those that use them.... Lastly, if their consent +be such, that the will of one man, whom they name, shall stand for the +wills of them all, then is their government or union called a monarchy, +and that one man a sovereign, and all the rest subjects. + + ¹ “As long as this natural right of every man to everything + endures, there can be no security to any man, however strong + or wise he may be, of living out the time which nature + commonly allows men to live. And consequently, it is a + general rule of reason that every man ought to endeavour + peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he + cannot obtain it, that he may seek and use all means to + defend himself.”――_Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter XIV. + + ² “From this fundamental law of nature, by which men are + commanded to endeavour peace, is derived this second law: + that a man be willing, when others are so, as far forth, as + for peace and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, + to lay down this right to all things, and be content with so + much liberty against other men as he would allow other men + against himself.”――_Ibid._, also _De Corpore Politico_, Part + I., Chapter II., Sections 1, 2, 3. + + ³ _Leviathan_, Part I., Chapter XIV. + +“And these several unions, governments, and subjection of man’s will, +may be understood to be made absolutely for all future time, or for a +limited time only. But as we speak here of a body politic, instituted +for the perpetual benefit and defence of them that make it, which, +therefore, men desire should last for ever, I will only treat of this +class.”¹ + + ¹ _De Corpore Politico_, Part II., Chapter I., Sections 2, 3, 4. + +Thus having found the state, he proceeded to develop his political +philosophy. As a matter of logical sequence it fell to the state to +determine the distinctions of right and wrong, of virtue and vice, of +good and bad; and therefore, whatever the supreme power of the state +sanctioned and commanded was good, and the opposite bad. Religion +and superstition are both the same, in so far as they embody the +fear of invisible powers, whether imaginary or believed on tradition; +and whichever of these the state recognised, is religion, the others +superstition. Anyone who places his private religious convictions in +opposition to the faith sanctioned by the state, thereby commits a +revolutionary act which tended to dissolve society; and, therefore, no +man has any just pretence for making religion a cause of disobedience +to the laws of the commonwealth. For God speaks through the supreme +powers on earth, “by sovereign kings, or such as have sovereign +authority as well as they.” But, though the rights of sovereignty +should be as absolute as it is possible to make them, yet the sovereign +has duties, namely, to procure the safety of the people, to which he is +obliged by the law of nature, and to render an account of this to God, +the author of that law, and to none but him. And for the same reason +the sovereign authority is bound to establish that religion which in +their conscience they believe to be best, inasmuch as eternal good is +better than temporal; and unless they do this, it cannot really be said +that they have done their utmost for their people.¹ + + ¹ _De Corpore Politico_, Part II., Chapters VI., VII., IX.; + _Leviathan_, Part II., Chapters XVIII., XIX., XX., XXX. + This was the current view of the king’s power, which we find + so emphatically stated and reiterated in the Scots Acts of + Parliament from the Restoration to the Revolution. + +But he is specially emphatic in placing the civil power above the +ecclesiastical. He quoted an enormous quantity of Scripture, and +treated at great length on its meaning and interpretation; and +maintained throughout that the king himself was the supreme pastor of +his people, and therefore he had a right to appoint all other pastors +within his kingdom. The King also in virtue of his office, might preach +and baptise if he pleased, and read lectures on science too, in any +university within his kingdom. In short, Christian sovereigns have all +manner of power over their subjects which can be given to man for the +regulation of men’s external actions, both in policy and religion; and +may make whatever laws they should think fittest for the government of +their own subjects, as they are the commonwealth and the church, and +both state and church being the same men.¹ + + ¹ _Leviathan_, Part IV., Chapter XLII. + +Hobbes has some good remarks on law, and on moral philosophy too, and +clearly distinguished moral law and positive law. But owing to the +conception and the necessities of his political views and opinions, +he took a short cut, and made the positive or civil law the standard +and measure of right and wrong: and consequently, whatever the supreme +sovereign forbade was wrong, and whatever it commanded was right.¹ This +feature of his ethical theory, as well as the heterodoxy of many of his +religious and theological opinions, called forth a host of opponents. + + ¹ _De Corpore Politico_, Part II., Chapter X. + +There is no evidence in Hobbes’s writings that he had any conception +of the historical growth of society, or the gradual development +of a nation. The complex organisation of human society can only be +understood by a careful examination and study of the long processes +of development. Man as we now find him is the product of many forces, +which have operated for a long series of ages, and gradually modified +his character. But Hobbes failed to grasp or even to recognise this, +and hence we have his imaginary state of nature――continual war, and the +equally imaginary social contract theory. + +Some of Milton’s prose writings touched on political principles, and +also on some important moral points, as in his treatise on divorce. +Although he is not usually regarded as a philosopher, nevertheless +he was a thinker of exceptional power, a masterly writer, vehement +and impassioned, often abusive, and not always fair to his opponents. +His pamphlets and controversial writings during the period of the +great Rebellion and the Commonwealth form a study of themselves; and +altogether he was one of the great men of the Commonwealth. + +Milton threw the whole force of his mind into the anti-episcopal +pamphlets, and they are extremely vehement and bold. He entered deeply +and warmly into the Church questions which were then so fiercely +contested; and in some of his pamphlets he wrote decidedly in favour +of the democratic and presbyterian form of polity. In his pamphlet +entitled, “Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, and +the causes that hitherto have hindered it,” he discussed both the +question of fact and of reason involved in the subject, as why the +English Church had not been thoroughly reformed. He made some scathing +charges against the bishops, and concludes his work with a prayer, +which for fire and force is unmatched in English literature. + +His treatise entitled, “The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates,” was +published a fortnight after the King’s execution, and a week after the +Republic was proclaimed. The chief aim of the treatise was to argue +for the democratic principle, on which he insisted strongly. Touching +the right of a nation to depose a king who had become a tyrant, Milton +followed Buchanan’s line of argument. He assumed throughout that +Charles I. was unquestionably a tyrant, and explicitly avowed that the +people were justified in bringing the King, and such as he, to account +and punishment. In short, he justified Cromwell and his colleagues +in bringing the King to trial and execution. He continued a warm and +powerful defender of the Commonwealth and its leaders. + +I will quote a single specimen of Milton’s power as a defender of the +Commonwealth, from his attack on Salmasius’s “Defence of Charles I.” +Salmasius himself was a voluminous writer and commentator, a very +learned man, with a European reputation; but he had oftener than once +changed some of his opinions, and now appeared as the defender of the +late King. So it fell to Milton to reply to this learned man’s book; +and the following quotation is a specimen of how he executed his task: +――“Who are you that bark at us? You, a learned man, who seem rather +to have been turning over lexicons and glossaries and collections of +extracts all your life, than to have read good authors with judgment +and profit; whence your chatter is of nothing but codices, various +readings, disarrangements and corruptions of text, while you show that +you have not imbibed even the smallest drop of more real learning? You +a wise man, who are constantly quarrelling about the merest minutiæ, +and carrying on beggarly wars, and making railing attacks, now on +astronomers, now on medical men, of good credit in their respective +sciences, though yourself without skill or accomplishment in either; +who, if anyone should try to snatch from you the petty glory of a +little word, or a little letter, restored by you in some copy, would +interdict him, if you could, from fire and water? And yet you are angry, +and yet you show your teeth, because people call you a grammarian. In +some trifling book of yours, you openly call Hammond, the beloved and +most favoured of the late King’s chaplains, a rascal, merely because +he had called you a grammarian; and you would be ready, I believe, to +say the same of the King himself, and to retract this whole defence of +him, if you heard that he had approved of his chaplain’s criticism of +you. Take notice then how I, one of those English, whom you dare to +describe as ‘fanatical, unlearned, obscure, blackguardly,’ do here on +my private account (for that the English nation itself should publicly +think anything at all about a weevil like you would be a degradation), +do here, I say, on my private account, despise you and make a +laughing-stock of you, declaring that, turn you upside down, downside +up, round about, or anyhow, you are still nothing but a Grammarian; ay, +and that, as if you had made a more foolish promise to some god than +even Midas did, whatever you touch, except when you commit solecisms, +is still only grammar. Whoever, then, of these ‘dregs of the common +people,’ that you so denounce (for those truly noble men among us, +whose wisdom, virtue, and nobility are proved by their illustrious acts, +I will not so dishonour as to think of comparing you to them or them +to you), whoever, I say, of these dregs of the common people, has only +persuaded himself to this principle, that he was not born for kings, +but for God and his country, is a far more learned, far wiser, far +better, man than you are, and deserves to be esteemed of far greater +worth to all time. For he is learned without letters; you have letters +but no learning, who know so many languages, turn over so many volumes, +write so many yourself, and are but a sheep after all.”¹ + + ¹ Masson’s _Life of Milton_, Volume IV., pages 264‒265. + +As an advocate of freedom, Milton has great merit, though he is not +always consistent. His “Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing,” +was a scathing and powerful attack on the existing laws of censorship +of the press and licensing of books. It is comparatively short, but +it has much historic interest, though the doctrine which he so ably +pleaded for is now fully admitted in Britain. + +James Harrington was the author of a political romance, entitled “The +Commonwealth of Oceana,” which was published in 1656, and attracted +some attention. In 1658 he issued another treatise, called “The +Prerogative of Popular Government,” reasserting his views in a more +direct style. He drew up a constitution for a commonwealth, the +legislative part consisting of two houses, and both to be elected +by the people. One of the houses should have the power of proposing +and debating laws; while the other, which was to be the largest body, +should have the power of passing or rejecting the laws thus proposed by +the smaller house. Further, it was proposed that a third of the members +of both houses should retire every year, not to be re-eligible for a +considerable time, and their places filled by newly-elected members: +thus the whole membership of both houses would be entirely renewed +every third year. + +Richard Cumberland, bishop of Peterborough, was an ethical writer of +historical note, and an opponent of the moral doctrines of Hobbes. His +views were expressed in a work entitled “De Legibus Naturæ Disquisitio +Philosophica,” etc., etc., which appeared in 1672, and an English +translation of it was published in 1727. His chief aim was to show +that there are moral laws made known by nature, but not in the way +enunciated by Hobbes. He began with an exposition of the nature of +man and of things, and whence proceeded to derive the special ethical +duties. The fundamental law of morality was enunciated thus:――“The +greatest benevolence of every rational agent towards all, forms the +happiest state of each and of all the benevolent, as far as in their +power; and it is essentially requisite to the happiness which they can +attain; and, therefore, the common good is the supreme law.” + +He insisted that the mind has an original regulative faculty, and +earnestly contended that the social feelings and the disinterested +affections are original elements of man’s nature. The human mind +is endowed with certain innate capacities, and has the power of +apprehending first principles, and whence deducting conclusions. True +propositions agree with the nature of things, and the dictates of +practical reason are propositions which point out the ethical end, +and the means by which it should be attained. + +In the last half of the seventeenth century there arose in England +a class of writers sometimes called Platonists, Cambridge men, or +English Cartesians, but it should be observed that these writers +held diverse views on some important points, though they generally +agreed in assailing the psychology and the ethics of Hobbes. The most +distinguished amongst them all was the learned Ralph Cudworth.¹ In +his great work, “The Intellectual System of the Universe,” which he +did not live to complete, he assumed a plastic principle in nature, +and by this explained organic development. He supposed that this power, +or unconscious force, possessed a general and a special activity which +produced the results of design. He contended that the doctrine of +efficient causes does not exclude the possibility of final causes. +He attacked the position of the unlimited power of God as taught by +Descartes, on the ground that it would annul logical and geometrical +reasoning, and obliterate moral distinctions. He assailed Hobbes’s +nominalism, and his limitation of the powers of the human mind to sense +and fancy, and maintained that there was a higher faculty of reason. +Cudworth exhibited an enormous amount of learning and considerable +reasoning power. He gave many quotations from ancient writers, and +those who have the courage and perseverance to read his “Intellectual +System of the Universe,” will find that it is a curious and valuable +work, and a great monument of erudition.² + + ¹ Born 1617, died 1688. + + ² _The True Intellectual System of the Universe_, 1678; compare + Dr. Tulloch’s _Rational Theology and Christian Philosophy in + England in the Seventeenth Century_, Volume II. + +His “Treatise concerning Eternal and Immutable Morality,” and also +one on “Free-will,” are unfinished fragments of long discussions, +originally designed to complete his Intellectual System, and not +published till long after his death. He argued for the independence of +moral distinctions, and maintained that they were discovered directly +by human reason. + +Henry More was the author of several theological and ethical works of +an essentially Platonic and transcendental cast, interwoven with his +own notions and dreams. The leading principle of his ethics was that +moral goodness is simple and absolute, and that reason is the judge of +its nature and truth; but its distinctive beauty is felt by a special +capacity, a something like the moral sense of later writers. All moral +goodness may be called intellectual and divine. By the aid of reason +we are enabled to state the principles of ethics in propositions, and +hence derive the special maxims and rules. + +An Englishman who holds a distinguished place in the history of modern +philosophy, and especially in psychology, now claims attention, namely, +John Locke. In political theory he was the chief expounder of the +principles of the Revolution of 1688; and indeed his political writings +became the source whence the Whig politicians drew their arguments for +several generations. But the “Social Contract Theory,” of which he was +an able exponent, is now entirely obsolete. + +In his “Essay concerning Human Understanding,” the fundamental idea is +that all our knowledge is derived from experience. The work was mainly +directed to the exposition of two questions, namely, first to ascertain +the origin of human knowledge, and then to determine the limits and +the degrees of objective truth. His method was that of observation, the +object of investigation being his own mind, “looking into it and seeing +how it wrought.” He could find no innate ideas or principles in the +mind. The primary source of all our knowledge is sensation or external +perception, and reflection or internal perception; the former embraced +the apprehension of external objects through the senses, while the +latter comprised the apprehension of mental objects by internal or +self-reflection, a subjective operation of thought. The different +objects of external perception are variously related to objective +reality. Thus extension, figure, motion, and other qualities of bodies, +belong to the external objects themselves; while colour, sound, and +sensible qualities are only in ourselves, and not properly in the +objects perceived, being signs not copies of changes which take place +in external things. In the reception of simple ideas the mind is +merely passive, it cannot refuse to have them, or blot them out, any +more than a mirror can refuse to receive, alter, or obliterate the +images reflected on it; all that man can do is to unite them together, +classify them or separate them. By internal reflection we know the +action of our thinking and willing faculties; while through sensation +and reflection together we obtain the feelings of pleasure and pain, +the ideas of power, unity, existence, and others, but we have no clear +idea of substance. + +The word idea has a wide meaning in Locke’s Essay, as he uses it to +denote whatever we apprehend, whether it be a mental modification +of an external object, or a subjective thought, the perception or +consciousness of feelings and passions; as when I form a mental picture +or image of anything, or am conscious of a pleasant sound――when I see +the moon or any external object, and when I remember any of these, +again when I understand the meaning of right, of property, or any other +abstract term――in all such cases, according to Locke, I am having ideas. +Thus he employed the term idea in its most unrestricted universality. +The theory of knowledge requires some definite word or words to +indicate the dependence of what is known on the power of knowing. +Descartes, Locke, and others, used the word idea in this relation, +sometimes with perception, and at a later date, with impression. At +present some use the term phenomenon to express those aspects of +existence of which we are conscious, rather than the words, ideas, +perceptions, or impressions; others, again, use the word consciousness +with a wide meaning, to express mental facts, modes, or states, in +their relation to the knowing mind. But all terms thus used touch +the prime assumption of philosophy, namely, that the universe and all +things which exist can become known to us only through our mental and +self-conscious experience; and thus arises the problem of the relation +of the human mind to the external world. + +Now as already indicated in this chapter, there is a real difficulty +involved in understanding and stating the exact relation between mind +and matter; and the nature of the relation of the object known and +the knowing mind is still unknown. All that we know is that knowledge +consists in a certain relation of the object known to the knowing +subject. Of mind in itself or matter in itself we know nothing; simply +because we know only the qualities of our own faculties of knowledge, +as relations to their objects, and we only know the qualities of their +objects as relations to our minds: thus all qualities both of mind +and of matter are only known to us as relations, we know nothing in +itself.¹ + + ¹ Hamilton’s _Reid_, Note N., page 965. + +In Locke’s Essay the word idea is used to recall the truth that +external things become known to us through our presentative and +representative conscious experience; but on the other side of his +theory, ideas also represent qualities which exist external to our +conscious mind; thus they are, as it were, “effects in us,” produced +by powers that are independent of us: that is, he assumed that the mind +is merely passive in the reception of simple ideas. + +Locke devoted the First Book of his Essay to the refutation in detail +of the doctrine of innate ideas. The argument that certain speculative +and practical principles are universally accepted as true, he disputed, +by showing that there was a mass of evidence against this alleged +agreement, and that though it were otherwise, innate ideas would not +be proved, as it might be shown that such agreement had arisen in +other ways. He had little difficulty in proving that the principles of +identity and of contradiction are unknown to children, and to all who +are not specially educated: and, therefore, it could not be maintained +that truths are inherent in the mind of which it has no consciousness +and no knowledge. To say that an idea is imprinted on the mind, and +yet at the same time to admit that the mind is ignorant of it, and +never took notice of it, is to make this impression nothing. But it is +true that the capacity to know is innate, though all actual knowledge +is and must be acquired. And, therefore, those who adopt the theory +of innate ideas should distinguish them from other ideas which are +not innate; and thus they must hold that innate knowledge is from the +first conscious knowledge, for to be in the understanding means to be +understood. If it be asserted, that these principles are recognised +and admitted by all men when they come to exercise their reason, this +is not true or conclusive, whether in the sense that we know them +deductively by the use of reason, or in the sense that we think them +when we arrive at the use of reason, for we know many things before +them. That the bitter is not sweet, that a rod and a cherry are not the +same thing, are known by a child long before he understands and assents +to the universal proposition that it is impossible for the same thing +to be and not to be at the same moment. Practical principles stand +upon the same footing as speculative ones, none of them being innate; +and, moreover, they are not so clear or so universally received as the +principle just indicated. If principles are innate, the ideas involved +in them must also be innate. Now the most general principles contain +the most abstract ideas, which are the furthest from the thoughts +of children, and are unintelligible to them, and can only be clearly +formed after they have attained some degree of attention and reflection. +The ideas of identity of difference, possibility and impossibility, and +others of a similar character, are not in the child’s consciousness at +birth; and they are farthest removed in the order of development from +the sensations of hunger and thirst, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, +which in reality are the earliest conscious experiences of a child. + +Locke strongly maintained that the idea of God is not innate. And +he attempted to prove that some tribes in the lowest stages of +civilisation had no idea of God at all. He also pointed out the fact +that the ideas and conceptions which the various tribes and nations of +mankind have of God differed greatly. + +Having thus cleared the ground, Locke, in his Second Book, proceeded +to show whence the understanding receives its ideas. He asks, “Whence +comes it by that vast store, which the busy and boundless fancy of man +has painted on it, with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all +the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer in one word, +from experience: in that all our knowledge is founded, and from that +it ultimately derives itself. Our observation employed either about +external or sensible objects, or about the internal operations of our +minds perceived and reflected on by ourselves, is that which supplies +our understanding with all the materials of thinking. These two are +the fountains of knowledge, from which all the ideas we have, or can +naturally have, do spring.”¹ Thus experience is twofold, external and +internal, sensation and reflection, according as its object is the +outer world of things, or the internal operations of our own minds. +The senses in contact with external objects supply the mind with the +elements and materials of ideas; and thus we attain the ideas of yellow, +white, heat, cold, soft, hard, and all those called sensible qualities. +Then when the mind attends and thinks on its own internal operations, +the understanding thence attains another set of ideas: such as +perception, thinking, doubting, believing, reasoning, knowing, willing, +and all the different operations of our minds of which we are conscious +and observe within ourselves. + + ¹ Book II., Chapter I., Section 2. + +When the first impression is made on his senses, man begins to have +ideas. But before the first sensible impression, the mind no more +thinks than it does afterwards in a deep and dreamless sleep. That the +mind always thinks is as groundless an assertion as that all bodies are +continually in motion. + +Some of our ideas are simple, others are complex; and of the former +class, some come into the mind by one sense only, some by more senses +than one, others through reflection, while some come both by the senses +and reflection. The simple ideas received by touch are heat, cold, +solidity, roughness, hardness, smoothness, and many others; by the +sense of sight, the ideas of light and colours; while the ideas which +we receive by more than one sense, by sight and touch, are those +of space, figure, rest, and motion. The simple ideas of reflection +which the mind acquires when it becomes conscious and observes its +own operations, are mainly two, namely, perception or thinking, and +volition or willing. But the other simple ideas acquired through all +the channels of the senses and reflection, are those of pleasure and +pain, power, existence, unity, and succession. + +But most of the ideas of sensation are no more like anything existing +externally to ourselves, than words are like the ideas for which they +stand, and which they serve to recall to the mind. The inseparable +qualities of bodies themselves are those of bulk, figure, number, +position, motion and rest; and these he called the primary qualities of +body. Now our ideas of these primary qualities of bodies are copies of +these qualities; that is, they represent the thing mentally as it is in +itself. But the secondary qualities of bodies affect us in a different +way, they operate on the senses, and cause in us the sensations of +colours, sounds, smells, and the like, which are not in the bodies +themselves, but in our own minds. He further names a third class of +qualities: these are the powers of some bodies, which, owing to the +constitution of their primary qualities, make such changes in the bulk, +figure, and motion of other bodies as cause them to operate upon our +senses differently from what they did before; among these he instances +the power of the sun to make wax white, and of fire to melt lead.¹ + + ¹ Book II., Chapters I.‒VIII. + +Under the head of simple ideas acquired by reflection, he minutely +investigated the faculties of perception, retention, discerning, +compounding, abstracting, and other operations of the mind. The faculty +of perception distinguished man from animal and plant. The faculty of +memory is the power of preserving ideas by continued contemplation, +or by reviving them after their temporary absence from the mind, which +is too limited to be conscious at the same time of many ideas. Memory +is common to man and the lower animals. The power of abstraction is +peculiar to man. By this generalising faculty the ideas of single +objects are separated from all accidental qualities, and raised to the +rank of universal conceptions of the genera to which they belong. + +The simple ideas being the elements of the complex ones, he reduced +complex ideas to three classes, namely, modes, substances, and +relations. Modes are complex ideas, but not involving existence by +themselves, being merely modifications of simple ideas when their +elements are similar, and mixed modes or modifications when their +elements are dissimilar. Ideas of substances are those combinations +of simple ideas employed to represent things existing by themselves. +The ideas of relation arise from the comparison of one idea with +another. To the purely modal ideas belong the mental modifications of +space, time, thought, power, and other abstract conceptions. Our own +experience and observation of the constant change of ideas in the mind, +partly depending on the impressions of external objects, and partly +on our own choice, soon leads the understanding to the conclusion +that the same changes as have already been observed will continue to +take place in the same objects through the same causes; accordingly, +the understanding conceives in one thing or object a liability to +change its form, and in another, the possibility of being the agent of +that change, and thus the mind attains the idea of a power. Thus the +clearest idea of power is derived from observing the activities of our +own minds, as internal experience teaches us that by a mere volition +we can set in motion parts of the body which were before at rest. If a +substance possessing a power manifest it by an action, it is called a +cause; and that which it brings to pass is called its effect. A cause +is that through which something else begins to be; an effect is that +which depends for its existence on something besides itself. The idea +of substance itself contains nothing but the supposition of an unknown +something serving as a support for qualities; we have no clear idea +of it. Nor is our idea of material substance more distinct than our +idea of spiritual substance. There is no reason for assuming that a +spiritual substance cannot exist; we have no more reason to doubt or +deny the existence of spirits, than we have to deny the existence of +bodies. Locke, in his treatment of the term substance――the term which +plays so great a part in the systems of Descartes and Spinoza――plainly +admitted his impotence. He says, “If anyone will examine himself +concerning his notion of pure substance in general, he will find he +has no other idea of it at all, but only a supposition of he knows not +what support of such qualities, which are capable of producing simple +ideas in us; which qualities are commonly called accidents. If anyone +should be asked, what is the subject wherein colour or weight inheres, +he would have nothing to say, but the solid, extended parts; and if +he were demanded, what is it that solidity and extension adheres in,” +he would be in much the same plight as the Indian was who supported +the world on the broad-backed tortoise. “And thus here, as in all +other cases where we use words without having clear and distinct +ideas, we talk like children.... The idea then we have, to which we +give the general name substance, being nothing but the supposed, but +unknown support of those qualities we find existing, which we imagine +cannot subsist without something to support them, we call that +support, substantia, which means in plain English, standing under, or +upholding.” But again, in comparing our ideas of spirit and of body, +he says, “In short, the idea we have of spirit, compared with the idea +we have of body, stands thus: the substance of spirit is unknown to +us; and so is the substance of body equally unknown to us.”¹ An idea of +substance in itself, that is, apart from any qualities in relation to +our minds, is utterly barren; as we only conceive it as inconceivable +――as nothing at all. + + ¹ Chapter XXIII., Section 2, Section 30. + +He treated at length of relations, including that of cause and effect, +of identity and diversity, of clear and distinct, obscure and confused +ideas, of adequate and inadequate ideas, of real and fanatical ideas, +of true and false ideas. Strictly speaking, truth and falsehood +belong only to propositions; but ideas are sometimes termed true or +false, though when so styled, there is some tacit proposition assumed, +as ideas are but bare perceptions in our own minds, and cannot in +themselves be said to be true or false. Any idea which we have in our +minds, whether it accords or not with the existence of things, or with +any ideas in the minds of other men, cannot properly for this alone +be called false. But an idea is false when formed of inconsistent +qualities or elements, or when it is judged to contain in it the real +essence of any existing body, whereas it only contains a few of these; +or again, when the mind judges its own idea to be the same as it is +in other men’s minds, signified by the same word, when in fact it is +not the same. He closed the Second Book with a short and interesting +chapter on the “Association of Ideas.” He was among the first to use +this expression which is now so familiar to all students of psychology. + +In the Third Book, Locke treated on language at length as the medium +of stating and expressing our ideas and thoughts. Words are signs and +marks which are necessary for communication――general terms and names +of our ideas, considered as aids to the acquisition of knowledge, and +for recording and communicating our thoughts. This part of the work +is valuable, and contains some of Locke’s best thoughts. He sums up +his view of general terms in the following sentence:――“All the great +business of genera and species, and their essences, amounts to no more +but this, that men, making abstract ideas, and settling them in their +minds, with names annexed to them, do thereby enable themselves to +consider things, and to discourse of them, as it were in bundles, for +the easier and readier improvement and communication of their knowledge; +which would advance but slowly were their words and thoughts confined +only to particulars.”¹ + + ¹ Chapter III., Section 30. + +The Fourth Book dealt with knowledge and opinion, and extended to +twenty-one chapters, in which many important and interesting matters +are handled with great candour and ability. Such as the degrees, +the limits, and the reality of our knowledge, of truth, universal +propositions, maxims, the existence of God; the improvement of our +knowledge, probability, and the degrees of assent; reason, faith and +reason, and the causes of error, were all handled. + +According to Locke, knowledge is the perception of the agreement or +disagreement of our ideas; this agreement being fourfold, namely, +identity or diversity, relation, co-existence or necessary connection, +and real existence. He explained these kinds of knowledge and relations +of ideas at length, and proceeded to show that we know our own +existence, and the existence of God. His reasoning and arguments to +prove the existence of God are founded on the principle of mediate +inference, the only method which his system of the mind permitted; but +on this ground he argues well and wisely. + +Locke discussed the provinces of faith and reason, and though faith +in divine revelation transcends rational knowledge, nevertheless +nothing can be regarded as a revelation which directly contradicts well +ascertained and distinct rational knowledge.¹ + + ¹ Chapter XVIII. + +In the discussion of the limits of human knowledge, though he made +many true and sagacious statements, yet it was here, perhaps, that +his main inconsistency culminated. Notwithstanding his doctrine that +we have only an obscure and relative idea of substance, he adopted +and expounded the distinction between the primary and the secondary +qualities of bodies, describing the primary qualities as those which +are inseparable from the conception of body. The primary qualities are +really in bodies, whether our senses perceive them or not, and when +we do perceive primary qualities, our ideas of them are resemblances +of qualities really existing in these bodies. His own words are “that +the ideas of primary qualities of bodies are resemblances of them, and +their patterns do really exist in the bodies themselves.” While, on the +other hand, “the ideas produced in us by these secondary qualities have +no resemblance of them at all. There is nothing like our ideas existing +in the bodies themselves.” Thus it seems we know primary qualities, not +simply as manifested to us, but as they exist in themselves; thus too +the primary qualities of bodies must be independent of the human mind. +Hence when he came to treat of the limits of knowledge, no necessary +connection between the primary and the secondary qualities could be +discovered; because the ideas obtained through the primary qualities +of bodies were entirely different from the ideas obtained through the +secondary qualities, there was no common root among these ideas for +comparison, and consequently no knowledge. There was no science of +bodies, or definite physics: “because we want perfect and adequate +ideas of those very bodies which are nearest to us, and most under our +command. Those which we have ranked into classes under names, and we +think ourselves best acquainted with, we have but very imperfect and +incomplete ideas of.... Adequate ideas, I suspect, we have not of any +body.”¹ Here the door was opened for the scepticism which Hume deduced +from the principles of Locke’s Essay. In treating on the limits of +our knowledge, Locke says:――“He that knows anything, knows this in the +first place, that he need not seek long for instances of his ignorance. +The meanest and most obvious things that come in our way have dark +sides, that the quickest sight cannot penetrate into. The clearest and +most enlarged understandings of thinking men find themselves puzzled, +and at a loss, in every particle of matter. We shall the less wonder +to find it so when we consider the causes of our ignorance, which, I +suppose, will be found to be chiefly these three:――1. Want of ideas; +2. Want of discoverable connection between the ideas we have; 3. Want +of tracing and examining our ideas.” + + ¹ Book II., Chapter VIII.; Book IV., Chapter III. + + I have not space to speak of Locke’s other writings, and + restrict myself to a few words on his ethical doctrines. He + maintained that morality is solely based on the Will of God, + and that what is most conducive to the public welfare is to + be regarded as the expression of the Divine Will. Each man is + required by the Divine Law to do all the good and prevent all + the evil that he can; and good and evil being resolved into + pleasure and pain, the ultimate test of moral conduct is its + tendency to promote the pleasures and to avert the pains of + mankind. Book I., Chapter III., Section 6; Book II., Chapter + XXVIII. + + Locke also maintained that morality is a science which can + be demonstrated as clearly as mathematics. Book IV., Chapter + III., Section 18; Chapter IV., Section 7; Chapter XII., + Section 8. + + Touching the will, he held that though a man is free to act, + the will itself is always determined by motives; this theory + is usually called determinism. Book II., Chapter XXI. + +Although we have now a more scientific psychology than was possible in +Locke’s day, nevertheless, his “Essay concerning Human Understanding” +is a great monument of his genius, and one of the most interesting +works in this department of literature. Its merit consists in its +method, its general scope, its vast variety of topics, and the +spirit of candour which pervades it. It has had a wide and remarkable +influence on subsequent speculation, and on psychology, though at first +it met with opposition in various quarters. + +At any given time, the causes favourable to the success of a novel line +of thought are various and complicated, and without at all pretending +to exhaust them, I may indicate some of the conditions which conduced +to the acceptance of Locke’s philosophy. A well-marked though slow +transformation of thought had been proceeding in Europe for several +centuries prior to Locke, which embraced in its sweep with more or +less distinctness physical science, religion, ethics, and politics, +while its social effects were manifested partly in the long political +struggles of the different nations among themselves, and especially +in the civil wars and internal conflicts of each nation within itself. +This vast movement had a general tendency throughout toward greater +freedom of thought, and religious and political liberty; but these +results were more keenly and earnestly fought for, and sooner obtained +in some of the nations than in others; in Britain the struggle for +political and religious freedom was very severe but not prolonged. +Hence Locke’s philosophy being in accord with the general movement +of the period, and more directly in unison with the intellectual and +social tendencies of England, as manifested in the Revolution of 1688, +it became a great power in history.¹ + + ¹ Soon after the publication of Locke’s Essay, opponents and + critics, as well as defenders of it appeared, and Locke + himself entered the field to defend some of his views, his + controversy with Stillingfleet is well-known; indeed, many + attacks were made upon his philosophy, but it is unnecessary + to particularise them here. + +There is a correlation between the creeds of a community and its +political and social organisation. The belief in the divine right and +the absolute power of a king, or a caste, the prevalence of certain +moral views touching the nature of marriage, or the highest ends of +national life, are often necessary for the continuance of a certain +order of society. When the belief is modified, the order shakes and +disappears, and the ties which hold a community together then assume +a somewhat different form. Anything which involves an attack upon +the theories implied in the existing social order, may modify the +principles or notions upon which power rests. As a struggle between +two different forms of government compels each to consider its own +constitution, this may issue in strengthening or in weakening the chief +features of their respective beliefs. In short, anything which really +stirs the social organism, afford a chance for the progress of fresh +seeds of thought and belief.¹ + + ¹ It is mainly by the thorough investigation of the subjects + indicated above, in the two preceding paragraphs, and other + cognate matters, ♦and the proper use of the sources of facts + thus obtained, that philosophers can hope that at some future + day there will be a science of sociology. “Then we shall + unravel the laws of the growth of the social organism, and + determine the conditions of its health or disease. Then, + and not till then, will it be possible to present political + science as a coherent body of doctrines, deduced from certain + axioms of universal validity, but leading to different + conclusions, according to the varying conditions of human + society. We shall be able to say what form of government is + most favourable to the happiness of a nation at any given + period of its development.... But we are still so far from + possessing anything like a science of politics, that most + of the current maxims involve conceptions which could hardly + find place in a scientific system. Fragments of the old + theories by which men endeavoured to explain the origin of + government, or to show how it might be best administered, + still perplex our discussions, and hinder the attempt to lay + a sound foundation of theory. + + “The difficulty of discovering anything approaching to + an historical development of political theory is the + greater, inasmuch as theories have followed, more than + they have guided, events. Happy is the nation which has no + political philosophy, for such philosophy is generally the + offspring of a recent, or the symptom of an approaching + revolution. During the quieter hours of the eighteenth + century, Englishmen rather played with political theories + than seriously discussed them. The interest in politics + was chiefly personal. References to general principles are + introduced in rhetorical flourishes, but do not form the + basis of serious argument. In the mass of pamphlets and + speeches which fill our library shelves, it is rare to find + even the show of political philosophy. The Tory argument is + that De Foe has been put in the pillory; the Whig argument is + that the French wear wooden shoes. Walpole’s friends rail at + the Pope and the Pretender; and Bolingbroke’s friends abuse + the excise and the Hanoverian subsidies.”――Stephen’s _History + of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century_, Volume II., + pages 130‒131. + + ♦ “aud” replaced with “and” + +Before the close of the seventeenth century, the discoveries in +physical science, wider geographical knowledge than formerly, and +many other influences, had enlarged men’s conceptions of the universe. +This was modifying religious ideas, while a marked tendency towards +rationalism was manifesting itself in the current theology, as well +as in philosophy. The movement in England appeared in various forms. +Discussions and disputes touching the immortality of the soul began +in the seventeenth century, increased amazingly after the Revolution, +and were continued through the greater part of the eighteenth century. +Locke had stated that matter might be endowed with the power of +thinking. The opponents of Christianity maintained that the future +existence of the soul was impossible, and many writers engaged in the +discussion of this subject. + +English Deism was in some degree effected by the philosophy of Locke. +But the deistic creed was not essentially strong, as it was not founded +on the deepest convictions, or associated with the most powerful +emotions of the human breast, while its leaders lacked the glowing +sympathetic feeling, and the warm aspiration, the intense earnestness, +and the simple note of sincerity, which characterise the genuine +apostles of mankind. The conception of the Supreme Being which the +Deists presented, could not excite fervour in the heart of worshippers; +yet, though Deism soon decayed and died, rationalism and scepticism +have continued to spread. + +Among the most eminent of the Deists who assailed the doctrines of +Christianity, were John Toland, Matthew Tindal, and Anthony Collins; +while on the other side may be mentioned, Samuel Clark, Bishop Berkeley, +and Dr. Butler, and many other less known men. But the grounds and the +methods of the attack and the defence of Christianity have undergone a +transformation since the middle of the eighteenth century. + +Toland published in 1696, “Christianity not Mysterious.” The aim +of this work was to show that there is nothing in the New Testament +contrary to reason, or above it, and, therefore, no Christian doctrine +can properly be called a mystery. Adopting Locke’s definition of +knowledge, he explained what was within man’s reach of knowing; and +maintained that statements which contradicted reason cannot be admitted, +and if above reason they cannot be understood. Reason was our only safe +guide; and Christianity itself does not claim to be mysterious. Many of +his explanations, however, were crude and unsatisfactory.¹ + + ¹ Toland is the author of many pamphlets and unfinished + fragments, political, religious, and on other subjects. A + full account of his writings was given in Leland’s _View of + the Principal Deistical Writers_, 1754‒56; compare Skelton’s + _Deism Revealed_, 2 volumes, 1749; A. F. Farrar’s _Critical + History of Free Thought_. + +Anthony Collins was a prominent representative of Deism, and is the +author of several treatises, which were famous in their day. His +“Discourse on Free Thinking” appeared in 1713, and in it he argued +that all sound belief must be based on free inquiry, and seemed anxious +to show that the adoption of this tenet would not necessitate the +relinquishment of a belief in the supernatural. In 1724 he published +his work entitled, “A Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the +Christian Religion,” containing a plausible attack on Christianity. +But the most important of his works is the “Inquiry concerning Human +Liberty and Necessity,” and he gives the following account of its +scope:――“1. Though I deny not liberty in a certain meaning of that word, +yet I contend for liberty, as it signifies a power in man to do as he +wills or pleases. 2. When I affirm necessity, I contend only for moral +necessity, meaning thereby that man, who is an intelligent and sensible +being, is determined by his reason and senses; and I deny man to be +subject to such necessity, as in clocks, watches, and such other things, +which for want of intelligence are subject to an absolute physical and +mechanical necessity. 3. I have undertaken to show that the notions +advanced are so far from being inconsistent with, that they are the +sole foundations of morality and laws, and of awards and punishments +in society; and that the notions I explode are subversive of them.” The +arguments which he advanced in support of his theory were six, namely: +“1. From experience; 2. From the impossibility of liberty; 3. From the +imperfection of liberty, and the perfection of necessity; 4. From the +consideration of the divine prescience; 5. From the nature and use of +rewards and punishments; 6. From the nature of morality.” He worked +out these arguments with much skill and ingenuity, and the following +six objections were concisely but ably answered:――“1. That if men +are necessary agents, punishments are unjust; 2. And are useless; +3. Reasoning, entreaties, blame, and praise, are useless; 4. Also the +use of physical remedies is useless; 5. The reproaches of conscience +are groundless; 6. The murder of Julius Cæsar could not possibly have +been murder.” The treatise is characteristic throughout, and had some +influence on subsequent speculation. + +Mathew Tindal held a fellowship in All Souls at Oxford, and was past +seventy years of age when the first volume of his work, “Christianity +as Old as the Creation,” was published in 1732. Though the work was not +remarkable for its method or grasp of thought, the arrangement being +confused and abounding in repetitions, yet it attracted much attention. +Tindal maintained that natural religion is complete and sufficient, +consequently a revelation is unnecessary, so there can be no obligation +to accept it. All religion must have one aim, which is to attain human +perfection of character by a life in accord with human nature. In a +word, his theory is this: “Whosoever so regulates his natural appetites +as will conduce most to the exercise of his reason, the health of his +body, and the pleasures of his senses, taken and considered altogether, +since herein his happiness consists, may be certain he can never offend +his Maker; who, as He governs all things according to their natures, +cannot but expect His rational creatures should act according to +their natures.” He stated that there is no difference between religion +and morality, save that the one is acting according to the reason of +things considered in themselves, the other according to the same reason +of things considered as the rule of God; Christianity being only a +republication of the law of nature.¹ + + ¹ _Christianity as Old as the Creation_, pages 2, 14, _et + seq._, page 270; compare Stephen’s _History of English + Thought in the Eighteenth Century_, Volume I., pages 134‒145. + +Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury, may be noticed among +those whose writings have influenced subsequent ethical views. He was +essentially a moralist, his chief aim being to show how a rational +scheme of life might be formed. A belief in God was an element of his +system. “For whoever thinks that there is a just God, and pretends +formally to believe that He is just and good, must suppose that there +is independently such a thing as justice and injustice, truth and +falsehood, right and wrong, according to which he pronounces that God +is just, righteous, and true. If the mere will, decree, or law of God +be said absolutely to constitute right and wrong, then are these latter +words of no significance at all.” Thus it seems a sound theism follows +from morality, not morality from theism. Hence also religion, according +to the conception which it presents of the character of God, “is +capable of doing great good or harm, and atheism nothing positive in +either way.”¹ Atheism indicates an unhealthy state of mind, as nothing +can be more distressing “than the thought of living in a distracted +universe from which many ills may be suspected, and where nothing good +or lovely presents itself, nothing which can satisfy in contemplation +or raise any passion, besides that of contempt, hatred, and dislike.” +This tends to embitter the temper, and “to impair and ruin the very +principle of virtue, namely, natural and kind affection.” In the main, +he argued that whoever has a firm belief in a just and benignant God +has a far stronger incentive to virtuous action than those who have +no such belief; and there is thus a relation between virtue and piety, +as where piety is wanting “there can neither be the same benignity, +firmness, or constancy, the same good composure of the affections, or +uniformity of mind.”² + + ¹ _Characteristics: An Inquiry concerning Virtue_, Book I., + Part 3, Section 2. + + ² _Ibid._, Section 3. + +He contended strongly for the existence of disinterested affection +in man, and used the term “moral sense” to express his doctrine. +He indicated the rise of this moral sense, and argued that it has +a foundation in nature. “There is in reality no rational creature +whatsoever who knows not that when he voluntarily offends or does harm +to anyone, he cannot fail to create an apprehension and fear of like +harm, and consequently a resentment and animosity in everyone that +observes him. So that the offender must be conscious of being liable to +such treatment from everyone, as if he had in some degree offended all +... of this the wickedest creature living must have a sense. So that +if there be any farther meaning in this sense of right and wrong, if +in reality there be any sense of this kind which an absolutely wicked +creature has not, it must consist in a real antipathy or aversion to +injustice or wrong, and in a real affection towards equity and right +for its own sake, and on account of its natural beauty and worth. + +“It is impossible to suppose a mere sensible creature, originally so +ill-conditioned and unnatural, as that from the moment he comes to +be tried by sensible objects, he should have no good passion towards +his kind, no foundation either of piety, love, kindness, or social +affection. It is fully as impossible to conceive that a rational +creature coming first to be tried by rational objects, and receiving +into his mind the images or representations of justice, generosity, +gratitude, or other virtue, should have no liking of these, or dislike +of their contraries, but be found absolutely indifferent towards +whatsoever is presented to him of this sort. A soul, indeed, may as +well be without a sense, as without admiration in the things of which +it has any knowledge.... Sense of right and wrong, therefore, being as +natural to us as natural affection itself, and being a first principle +in our constitution, there is no speculative idea or belief which is +capable immediately or directly to exclude or destroy it.”¹ From these +passages and from others of a similar import, it may be observed that +several of Shaftesbury’s ethical views were transferred into Scottish +philosophy. His influence is also notable on Kant’s doctrine of the +relation between Morality and Religion. + + ¹ _Inquiry concerning Virtue_, Part II., Section 3; Part III., + Section 1; _Moralist_, Part III., Section 3. + +Shaftesbury was a real optimist, and held that there was no positive +evil in the world. He exerted all his eloquence and ingenuity in +efforts to exalt the wondrous harmonies of nature. “Everything is for +the best in the best of all possible worlds.” In the opening section +of the “Inquiry concerning Virtue,” he argued that there can be no real +ill in the universe. “If everything which exists be according to good, +and for the best, then, of necessity, there is no such thing as real +ill in the universe, nothing ill with respect to the whole.... To +believe, therefore, that everything is governed, ordered, and regulated +for the best, by a designing principle or mind, necessarily good and +permanent, is to be a perfect theist.”¹ + + ¹ Part I., Section 2; also his _Moralist_, Part III., Section + 1. The influence of these views is observable in the + theory of the harmony between the kingdoms of nature and + grace, developed in the “Théodicée” of Leibnitz; indeed, + Shaftesbury’s views had considerable influence in various + directions. + +His usual method of arguing is that of placing alternatives before the +mind; he manifests no great metaphysical grasp of principles, and his +power of exposition was very limited. He often repeats himself, and his +style, though sometimes vigorous, is diffuse and stilted. + +Dr. Samuel Clarke was a great authority in his day, both in theology +and in philosophy. But as his method of philosophising has almost +ceased to have influence in Britain, I will only give a brief statement +of his ethical theory and views. + +His moral theory may be shortly stated as follows:――All existing things +have their necessary relations one to another. Man must attribute the +same law of perception to every being to whom he attributes thought, +and, therefore, he must believe that the sum of the relations of all +things to each other must have always been present to God; and these +relations, then, are eternal, however recent the things may be between +which they subsist; and the whole together constitute truth. These +eternal different relations of things, one to another, involve a +consequent eternal fitness in the application of things one to another, +with regard to which the will of God always chooses, and which also +ought to determine the wills of all subordinate rational beings. Such +eternal relations make it fit and reasonable for the creatures thus +to act; and, indeed, it becomes their duty so to act, prior to and +independent of any foreseen advantage or reward.¹ + + ¹ _Being and Attributes of God_, Proposition 12; _Evidence of + Natural and Revealed Religion_. + +The three great classes of primary duties, namely, the duties we owe +to God, to each other, and to ourselves, might be deduced in the same +way as the propositions of geometry. Thus Clarke attempted to give the +rules of morality a mathematical cast; and his theory also sought to +found moral distinctions solely upon reason. But reason can never be +a complete basis for morality, because it does not afford the motives +of action. “The abusive extension of the term reason to the moral +faculties, one of the predominant errors of ancient and modern times, +has arisen from causes which it is not difficult to discover. Reason +does in truth perform a great part in every case of moral sentiment. To +reason often belong the preliminaries of the act; to reason altogether +belongs the choice of the means of execution. The operations of reason, +in both cases, are comparatively slow and lasting, they are capable +of being distinctly recalled by memory. The emotion which intervenes +between the previous and succeeding exertions of reason is often faint, +generally transient, and scarcely ever capable of being reproduced +by an effort of the mind. Hence the name of reason is applied to this +mixed state of mind, more especially when the feeling, being of a +cold and general nature, and scarcely ruffling the surface of the +soul, such as those of prudence, and ordinary kindness, and propriety, +almost passes unnoticed, and is irretrievably forgotten. Hence the +mind is, in such conditions, said by the moralists to act from reason, +in contra-distinction to its more excited and disturbed state, when it +is said to act from passion. The calmness of reason gives to the whole +compound the appearance of unmixed reason. The illusion is further +promoted by a mode of expression used in most languages. A man is +said to act reasonably when his conduct is such as may be reasonably +expected.”¹ + + ¹ Mackintosh’s _Dissertation on Ethical Philosophy_, pages + 155‒156, 1837. + +Bishop Berkeley is the author of a form of idealism, explained in +several works which appeared at different periods of his life. He +maintained that the external world had no real existence in itself, +apart from thinking and reasoning beings. By this he meant that +matter and all external objects have only a phenomenal existence, an +appearance, but no real existence at all, distinct from their being +perceived by some person, or mind and spirit. If, therefore, we detach +external objects from perception, they cease to be, because they +have no existence apart from perception. All the choir of heaven, and +all the bodies composing the mighty frame of the world, have not any +substance without a mind; and that their very being is to be perceived +as part of the significant sense-experience of a conscious person; +“consequently, so long as they are not actually perceived by me, or do +not actually exist in my mind, or in that of any created spirit, they +must either have no existence at all, or they must exist in the mind of +some Eternal Spirit.”¹ + + ¹ _Compare._ Berkeley’s Works, edited by Professor Fraser, and + the excellent volume by the same author on Berkeley and his + Philosophy, in the series of “Philosophical Classics for + English Readers.” + +Thus in result, Berkeley’s external world consisted of spirits, as it +were, external to his own spirit; conscious, in concert with himself, +of intelligible sense-impressions, by which they could communicate +with one another. By a refined process of thought, he arrived at +the conclusion that there was an external will and an external +intellect, and that will and intellect constituted spirit. This was +his explanation of the problem of the relation of the human mind to +the external world. + +In the later stage of the development of his views, he attempted to +explain what is meant by God. He maintained that the supreme power is +Spirit; God is more than the unknowable behind the phenomena of nature. +God means the eternally sustaining spirit――the active conscious reason +of the universe; the Supreme Spirit or Universal Mind. But he did not +intend to reduce all to God and phenomena; he recognises the existence +of finite free agents, responsible and subject to a moral government. +Still he seemed to approach the principle of pantheism. + +The aim of his speculations was to extinguish the scheme of materialism; +he thought that, when matter was expelled out of nature, sceptical and +impious ideas would have no ground to stand upon. But in the hands of +subsequent thinkers, his principles have yielded very different results. + +Berkeley wrote a fine pleasing style, and contributed much to excite +the philosophic mind in England and Scotland. Indeed, he said himself +that his reasonings had been nowhere better understood than among a +club of young Scotchmen in Edinburgh. + + * * * * * + +In conclusion, the period covered in this volume has been exceedingly +important in the history of Scotland. After the Union of the Crowns, +the king’s power was vastly increased, and one of the baneful results +of this was that the kings used their power to enforce their own +religious and political views upon the people, and attempted to +extinguish their freedom of thought and speech, and their civil rights. +Hence the Covenanting struggle, and after the Restoration the long and +severe persecution of the Covenanters; yet, despite all the harassments +of war, of persecution, and oppression, the Covenanters executed their +work heroically and successfully, and contributed considerably to the +Revolution of 1688, and to the freedom of the British people. Peace and +glory to the memory of the heroes, who boldly faced danger, privation, +and death for the tenets of their faith! The proceedings connected +with the passing of the Union were narrated; and an account of the +subsequent disaffection in Scotland, and the risings of 1715 and +1745 was presented. A detailed and exhaustive account of the social +condition of the people, and the introduction of manufactures, +the progress of industry and commercial enterprise were given. I +then treated the ballad and Jacobite literature and other branches, +historically, and noted the progress of science, of education, and art. +In the closing chapter, I have presented an outline of European Thought, +in which the systems of Bruno, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Hobbes, +Locke, Shaftesbury, and others are concisely expounded, in order to +show the historic relations of the philosophy which subsequently arose +in Scotland. + + + + + INDEX. + + + Abercorn, i., 116; + castle of, 343, 390; + Earl of, iii., 19. + + Abercromby, Dr. Patrick, iv., 143. + + Aberdeen, i., 148, 151, 234, 238‒9, 264, 284, 288, 306, 325, 366, + 370, 386‒7, 390; + ii., 116, 123, 192, 202, 212, 241, 247; + iii., 28, 90, 91, 219, 223, 228; + iv., 370, 375; + University of, i., 415, 467; + ii., 412, 413; + iii., 62, 392‒3; + iv., 60, 139, 317‒320. + + Aberdeen, Earl of, iv., 482. + + Aberdeenshire, i., 28, 49, 52, 68, 75, 90, 95, 140, 184, 271, 284, + 287, 325; + ii., 154; + iii., 244; + iv., 370, 371. + + Abernethy, i., 114, 165, 245. + + Aboyne, i., 174; + Viscount of, iii., 93. + + Ada, daughter of Earl David, i., 204, 256. + + Adam, + Dr. Alexander, iv., 153; + William, Robert, James, 402. + + Adamson, Archbishop of St. Andrews, ii., 182‒4, 189, 271, 380. + + Aed, King, i., 136. + + Agricola, General, i., 105, 109. + + Agriculture, i., 100, 133, 150, 250‒254, 376‒381; + ii., 266, 289, 290; + iii., 303‒305; + iv., 332‒339. + + Aidan, King of Dalriada, i., 117‒8. + + Aikman, iv., ♦429. + + ♦ page number provided by transcriber + + Airlie, Earl of, iii., 90; + castle of, 337. + + Alan, Lord of Galloway, i., 211. + + Albany, + Duke of, i., 319, 321‒2, 324‒6; + Murdoch, 326, 327, 328; + Alexander, 348‒351; + John, Regent, ii., 36‒37. + + Ale, i., 251, 399, 400, 401, 402, 404; + ii., 291‒292; + iii., 217‒219; + iv., 395. + + Alexander I., reign of, i., 200, 201. + + Alexander II., reign of, i., 209‒212, 242. + + Alexander, III., + coronation of, i., 213; + reign of, 213‒217. + + Alexander, William, iv., 209‒211. + + Alison, + Rev. Archibald, iv., 86; + Sir Archibald, 155‒6; + Dr. William, 312. + + Allan, + David, iv., 433; + Sir William, 443. + + Alloa, iv., 433. + + Alnwick castle, i., 143, 300. + + Amberley, Viscount, ii., 43, 44. + + Anderson, + Dr. Joseph, i., 52, 55, 57, 61, 65, 66, 168, 180; + William, ii., 68; + James, iv., 143, 144; + Robert, 173. + + Angles, i., 113, 118, 119. + + Angus, + Pictish King, i., 120; + Angus, Chief, 116, 202; + Angus Duff, 329; + Angus, Lord of the Isles, 218, 285, 292, 293; + Angus, Earl of, 342, 343, 350, 351; + ii., 36, 37, 38, 61, 63, 64, 65, 181, 195, 212. + + Annandale, i., 26, 203, 223, 349. + + Annandale, Earl of, iii., 179. + + Anne, Queen, iii., 204, 205, 209, 211, 220, 222. + + Anstruther, ii., 192. + + Arbroath, + monastery of, i., 249, 296, 432, 433, 434; + town of, 238, 409; + iii., 93, 301; + iv., 375. + + Arbuthnot, + Alexander, ii., 372, 373, 413; + Dr. John, iv., 228‒230. + + Architecture, i., 157‒165, 247‒250, 428‒431; + ii., 396, 397; + iii., 396‒7; + iv., 401‒411. + + Ardnamurchan, i., 24, 261, 356; + iii., 90. + + Ardoch, i., 106. + + Argyle, + Earl of, i., 356‒7, 364, 365; + ii., 63, 64, 89, 96, 97, 130, 134, 135, 145, 150, 181, 201, + 202, 224, 226, 229; + iii., 90, 91, 92, 99, 104, 121, 123, 159, 167, 192; + Duke of, 206, 223, 241. + + Argyleshire, i., 53, 116, ♦117, 121, 127, 210, 261, 369; + iii., 91; iv. + + ♦ “177” replaced with “117” + + Arkinholm, battle of, i., 343. + + Armada, ii., 191, 192. + + Armstrong, + John, a marauder, ii., 224, 225; + Dr. John, iv., 169. + + Arran, island of, i., 23, 95, 216, 286, 379, 380. + + Arran, + Earl of, i., 346; + Regent, ii., 63, 65, 67, 70, 74, 78, 86, 87; + Stewart, Earl of Arran, 175, 177, 181, 184, 185, 187. + + Arrowheads, i., 49, 50. + + Art, + early, i., 52, 75‒79, 166‒174, 176‒180, 241‒243, 470, 471; + ii., 423‒425; + iii., 393‒396; + Progress of, in Scotland, iv., 428. + + Aryan race, i., 38‒42; + language of, 43. + + Arth, a friar, ii., 51‒53. + + Asceticism, i., 131, 156, 157, 244; + ii., 43‒46, 261, 262. + + Assembly, General, + ii., 115, 129, 149, 151, 160, 166, 167, 169, 188, 193, 211, + 213; + iii., 28, 34, 36, 39, 69‒72, 77, 83, 84, 98, 104, 186; + iv., 465‒485. + + Athole, + Earl of, i., 208, 209, 214, 217, 255, 263, 283, 285, 305, 306, + 335, 337; + ii., 143, 148; + iii., 110; + Marquis of, 174; + Duke of, 207, 212. + + Attwood, iv., 143, 144. + + Auldearn, battle of, iii., 94. + + Ayr, + Burgh of, i., 240, 356, 359, 386, 387; + ii., 69; + iii., 303; + iv., 369‒372; + Castle of, i., 215, 248, 274, 287. + + Ayrshire, i., 29, 114, 286, 287, 379; + ii., 78; + iii., 134, 153; + iv., 341, 342. + + Aytoun, William E., iv., 194. + + + Bacon, Lord, ii., 395; + iii., 434‒435. + + Badenoch, i., 211, 276, 356; + iii., 181. + + Badenoch, Lord of, i., 217, 256, 271, 274, 275, 277. + + Baillie, + General, iii., 93, 94, 95; + Rev. Robert, 75, 76, 87, 88, 357, 358. + + Bain, Dr. Alexander, ii., 420; + iv., 139, 140, 141, 155. + + Balcanqhall, Walter, ii., 177, 184, 187, 206. + + Balfour, + Sir James, ii., 75, 135, 144, 146; + John, of Burley, iii., 151, 153, 343; + Sir Andrew, 369. + + Baliol, Bernard de, i., 203. + + Baliol, + King John, i., 256, 258, 259, 260‒262, 263, 264, 366; + Edward, 304, 305, 306, 307. + + Ballads, + early, i., 184‒5, 441‒450; + ii., 76, 77, 244, 245, 341‒345; + referring to the Civil War and persecution, iii., 237‒346; + Jacobite ballads, 346‒353. + + Balmerino, Lord, iii., 18, 60. + + Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, iii., 32. + + Bane, Donald, King, i., 144. + + Banff, i., 148, 248, 307, 385, 390, 391; + iii., 301; + iv., 373. + + Bank of Scotland established, iii., 327‒329. + + Bannatyne, George, ii., 371, 372. + + Bannockburn, battle of, i., 291‒295. + + Barbour, John, i., 451‒454. + + Barclay, + Robert, iii., 258; + Dr., iv., 308. + + Barlow, Bishop, ii., 54, 56. + + Barmekyn hill, fort on, i., 90. + + Barony, i., 223, 225. + + Barton, Captain, i., 359, 363. + + Beaton, + James, Archbishop, ii., 38, 58; + David, Cardinal, 58, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70‒72, 79. + + Beaumont, Henry, i., 301, 305, 306. + + Beck, Bishop of Durham, i., 266, 270. + + Bede, i., 116, 122, 126. + + Bellhaven, Lord, iii., 197, 211‒12. + + Bell Rock, i., 23. + + Bell, + Dr. John, iv., 306, 307; + Sir Charles, 307, 308. + + Bellenden, + John, ii., 317, 318; + Sir John, 158; + Sir Lewis, 274. + + Berkeley, Bishop, iii., 470, 471. + + Berwick-North, i., 387, 389. + + Berwick, i., 206, 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 248, 259, 260, 263, + 264, 268, 279, 285, 295, 305, 350, 382; + Treaty of, ii., 100, 272. + + Bible, translations of, ii., 25‒27, 49, 170. + + Bisset, Thomas, i., 271. + + Black, + David, ii., 204‒206; + Dr. Joseph iv., 260‒263, 273, 276, 278. + + Blackadder, John, iii., 139. + + Blackie, John S., iv., 247‒249. + + Blakey, Robert, iv., 160. + + Blacklock, Dr. Thomas, iv., 171, 172. + + Blair, + Robert, iv., 169, 170; + Dr. Hugh, 215. + + Blair Athole, iii., 90. + + Blair Castle, iii., 181. + + Bœce, Hector, ii., 316. + + Bondmen, i., 252, 380‒382. + + Book of Common Order, ii., 113, 114; + Book of Discipline, the first, 105‒113; + the second, 171‒173. + + Book of Canons, iii., 45, 46. + + Boot and shoe manufactures, iv., 392, 393. + + Borders, + state of, i., 309, 315‒318, 322, 324, 342; + ii., 223‒225; + order established on the Borders, iii., 20‒28. + + Borthwick Castle, ii., 143. + + Bothwell, + Earl of, i., 353, 426; + ii., 69, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138‒145; + Francis Stewart, Earl of, 198, 272, 273, 274‒276. + + Bothwell Bridge, Battle of, iii., 153, 154. + + Botriphnie, i., 378; + iv., 197. + + Bower, Walter, i., 376, 463. + + Boyd, + Robert, of Kilmarnock, i., 283; + Robert, Lord Boyd, 345, 346, 347; + Sir Thomas, created Earl of Arran, 146, 147. + + Boyd, Zachary, iii., 358, 359. + + Braemar, iii., 222. + + Brahmanism, ii., 428, 429, 431, 433. + + Braxfield, Lord, iv., 458. + + Breadalbane, Earl of, iii., 190, 191. + + Brechin, i., 138, 164, 183, 238, 249, 276, 409; + Castle of, 264, 276; + Battle of, 342. + + Bridges, Early, i., 250. + + Briggs, Henry, ii., 389, 390, 391. + + Brigham, treaty of, i., 218. + + Britons of Strathclyde, i., 113, 114, 117, 123‒125, 138. + + Britons and Scots, early laws of, i., 151‒153. + + Brochs, i., 157‒163. + + Brodick Castle, i., 286. + + Brodie, + Alexander, iii., 255; + William, iv., 454. + + Bronze weapons and tools, i., 74‒79. + + Brooches, i., 117‒119. + + Brown, + Janet, ii., 231; + Dr. Thomas, iv., 87‒97; + John, 216; + Dr. John, 217; + Dr. William L., 218, 219. + + Bruce, + Robert, of Annandale, i., 203, 218, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, + 260; + Robert, Earl of Carrick, 266, 267, 271, 276, 278, 281‒283. + + Bruce, + Nigel, Thomas, Alexander, i., 285; + Edward, 287, 290, 291, 292; + Robert, ii., 201, 208, 216, 381, 382; + Michael, iv., 177. + + Brude, King of the Picts, i., 127. + + Bruno, Giordano, writings of, iii., 399‒401. + + Brunston, Laird of, ii., 69. + + Buchan, Earl of, i., 208, 209, 211, 213, 217, 262, 287, 288, 319, + 325, 352, 353, 373. + + Buchan, Peter, i., 446. + + Buchanan, + George, ii., 58, 145; + writings of, 364‒369, 409; + Thomas, 260; + Dr. Robert, iv., 224. + + Buddha, his life and work, ii., 429‒432. + + Buddhism, ii., 233, 432. + + Burghs, + the origin and organisation of, i., 33, 82, 83, 152, 232‒237; + Custom and trade of, 382‒391; + Social life and characteristics of the burghal communities, + 397‒408, 414, 438, 439; + ii., 230‒243, 291‒294; + iii., 245‒248, 274‒278, 283‒289. + + Burghs of regality, barony, and church, i., 226, 237, 238, 408, + 409. + + Burial dues exacted by the Church, ii., 39, 40. + + Burnet, + Bishop, his works, iii., 364‒366; + John, iv., 441. + + Burns, Robert, iv., 179‒182. + + Burntisland, iii., 301. + + Burton, Dr. John H., iv., 160. + + + Caerlaverock Castle, i., 247, 272. + + Cairns, burial, chambered, i., 53‒64, 91, 92. + + Caithness, + prehistoric structures in, i., 53‒58; + Norseman inroads, 136, 138, 139. + + Caithness, Earls of, i., 207, 208; + ii., 227; + iii., 237, 238, 239. + + Calderwood, David, iii., 38, 356, 357. + + Caledonians, i., 105‒109, 110, 111, 114. + + Caledonian Canal, iv., 354. + + Calvin, ii., 119, 357‒360. + + Cambuskenneth, i., 249, 367. + + Cameron of Lochiel, i., 356; + iii., 181. + + Cameron, Richard, iii., 155, 156. + + Cameronians, iii., 155, 174, 185, 186, 187. + + Campbell of Glenlyon, iii., 192. + + Campbell, + Sir Colin, iii., 395; + Dr. John, iv., 144; + Dr. George, 85, 86; + Thomas, his writings, 185‒187; + Colin, architect, 402; + Thomas, sculptor, 454. + + Candlish, Dr. R. T., iv., 221, 222. + + Canterbury, Archbishop of, i., 200, 201, 272. + + Cantyre, i., 21, 215, 261, 285, 348. + + Canute, i., 139, 192. + + Carberry Hill, ii., 144. + + Cardross, i., 302, 303. + + Cargill, Donald, iii., 155, 156, 157. + + Carham, battle of, i., 138. + + Carlisle, i., 210, 318; + iii., 227. + + Carlyle, + Thomas, iv., 156‒159; + Dr. Alexander, 19, 43, 44. + + Carmichael, Lord, iii., 186, 187. + + Carmichael, + John, of ♦Meadowflat, iii., 27; + William, 151; + Gershom, iv., 18. + + ♦ “Meadowflatt” replaced with “Meadowflat” + + ♦Carmon, Colonel, iii., 183. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Carrick, Earl of, i., 217, 266, 271, 278, 281, 302, 305, 314, + 316. + + Carswell, John, ii., 108. + + Carstairs, William, iii., 178, 179. + + Carved woodwork, i., 430; + ii., 423. + + Casket Letters, ii., 141, 142; + iv., 145. + + Cassillis, Earl of, i., 365; + ii., 69, 150; + iii., 19, 56, 87, 99, 104. + + Castellio, Sebastia, ii., 359. + + Castles, i., 247, 248, 428, 430; + ii., 422, 423. + + Catechisms, ii., 77, 78, 85, 109, 110; + iii., 89. + + Caterthun, hill fort, i., 89, 90. + + Cathen, the King’s adviser, i., 125. + + Caves, i., 43, 83, 163. + + Celestius, ii., 356. + + Celibacy, i., 131, 156, 244, 245; + ii., 21, 22, 41‒43, 45, 46, 261, 262. + + Celtic tribes, i., 44, 45, 90, 100, 101, 105, 110, 113‒116, 119. + + Censorship of the press, ii., 277, 278. + + Chalmer, James, ii., 90. + + Chalmers, + George, iv., 153; + Dr. Thomas, 219‒221. + + Chambered Cairns, i., 53‒65. + + Chambers, + Thomas, i., 336, 337; + David, ii., 138; + Dr. Robert, iv., 163. + + Charles I., + reign of, iii., 42‒100; + policy of, 43‒50, 51‒54, 57, 58, 59, 63‒65, 66‒68, 71, 73‒75, + 76, 77, 78‒82, 90, 95, 96, 97. + + Charles II., reign of, iii., 103, 107, 110, 119‒163. + + Charles Stewart, prince, iii., 226‒229. + + Charters, i., 148, 201, 223‒225, 227, 232‒234, 373, 387, 422. + + Chartularies, i., 247. + + Chatelherault, Duke of, ii., 86, 130. + + Chemical Science, iv., 260‒266, 273, 286, 296‒298, 397. + + Chepman, Walter, ii., 300‒302. + + Christian I., King of Denmark, i., 346. + + Christianity, + introduced, i., 121‒129; + early form of, 130‒134; + influence of, 134, 135, 168, 181, 186, 232, 245, 248‒250, 288, + 289, 466, 467; + ii., 437‒439, 443. + + Church, + early, i., 130‒134, 155‒157, 200, 201; + re-organisation of, 212, 213, 243‒245; + property of, 227, 252‒254, 380, 431‒433; + state of, 332, 333, 431, 432; + ii., 40‒43, 51, 76‒78, 79, 102. + + Church, the Reformed, + organisation of, ii., 104‒115; + conflict with the Government, 165‒173, 177‒189, 192‒194, + 197‒220; + iii., 20‒42, 46‒82, 83‒87, 95‒101, 110, 120‒163, 164‒169; + internal struggles of, iv., 467, _et seq._ + + Circuit Courts, i., 222, 355, 356, 424; + Lords of Council, Judicial Committee, i., 370, 371; + Court of Session, ii., 216, 223; + iii., 112, 113, 124, 232‒235; iv.; + Church Courts, i., 227, 230, 371. + + Cists, i., 55, 93, 95. + + Civilisation, + primary causes of, i., 19‒20, 31‒33, 34, 35; + ii., 426, 427; + gradual progress of, i., 53, 70, 71, 98‒102, 119‒121, 135, + 149‒151, 161, 164, 169, 170, 181‒188, 232‒241, 245‒55, + 330‒332, 366‒371, 382‒397, 408, 418‒422, 465‒472; + ii., 109, 278‒291, 398, 419; + iii., 101, 102, 294‒335; + rapid development of, iii., 215; + iv., 142‒145, 165, 284, 324‒332; _et seq._, 341‒400. + + Clackmannan, iv., 343. + + Claim of Right, + of the Scotch Parliament, iii., 176, 177; + Claim of Right, of General Assembly of the Church, iv., 480, + _et seq._ + + Clan, i., 146; + iii., 225. + + Clan Canan, i., 150. + + Clan Morgan, i., 150. + + Clanranald, chief of, i., 356; + ii., 226; + iii., 242, 243. + + Cleland, William, iii., 153. + + Clunymore, i., 378. + + Coal, + early notice of, i., 238, 409; + mining, ii., 286; + iii., 292‒293; + iv., 341‒343. + + Cochrane, Robert, i., 348‒350. + + Cockburne, of Henderland, ii., 224. + + Cockburn, Sir Richard, Sir John, iii., 18. + + Coinage, i., 238, 394‒397; + ii., 279‒282; + iii., 320‒327; + paper currency, 327‒329. + + Coldingham, i., 209, 246. + + Colin, King, i., 137. + + Colliers, iii., 291‒292; + iv., 342‒344. + + Colville, John, i., 448. + + Commerce, i., 239‒240, 391‒394; + ii., 286‒290; + iii., 112, 300‒303, 311; + iv., 352‒357, 359‒363, _et seq._ + + Compurgators, i., 228‒229. + + Comyn, Clan, i., 213‒214. + + Comyn, + John, i., 217, 256, 271, 275, 277; + slaughter of, 281. + + Confessions of Faith, ii., 34‒35, 102, 204‒205; + iii., 89. + + Constantine, Roman general, i., 112. + + Constantine I., son of Kenneth M‘Alpin, i., 136. + + Constantine II., 136‒137. + + Constantine III., 138. + + Conventicles, acts against, iii., 130, 131, 133, 138, 140, 146, + 148, 149. + + Convention of Royal Burgh, i., 234, 235. + + Convention of Estates, iii., 173‒177. + + Cope, Sir John, iii., 226, 227. + + Corrichie, battle of, ii., 123, 124. + + Cotterel, Colonel, iii., 110, 111. + + Covenant, + National, iii., 59‒62; + Solemn League and Covenant, 83‒86. + + Covenanters, iii., 68‒73, 74‒77, 78‒82, 86, 89‒102, 103‒105, 107. + + ♦Craftsmen, i., 335, 336, 404‒408; + ii., 240, 241, 242, 293, 294; + iii., 287‒289. + + ♦ “Craftesmen” replaced with “Craftsmen” + + Craig, + John, ii., 110, 158, 167, 185; + Sir Thomas, 384; + Andrew, iii., 245. + + Craigellachie, iv., 354. + + Craigmiller Castle, i., 349. + + Craigphadrig, vitrified fort, i., 91. + + Crannogs, i., 42, 84‒87. + + Cranstoun, Sir William, iii., 21, 24, 25, 27. + + Crawar, Paul, i., 332. + + Crawford, Earl of, i., 321, 340, 341, 342, 343, 364; + iii., 120, 179, 186. + + Crawford, Sir William, i., 388, 389. + + Crawford Moor, ii., 282; + iii., 293. + + Crichton, Sir William, i., 338, 339, 340. + + Crinan, Abbot of Dunkeld, i., 139, 140. + + Cromwell, iii., 99, 108, 100, 110, 111, 112‒115. + + Culblean, battle of, i., 306. + + Cullen, burgh of, i., 385, 386. + + Culloden, battle of, iii., 229, 230, 351, 352; + iv., 172, 173. + + Cumberland, i., 105, 125, 142. + + Cumberland, Duke of, iii., 228, 229. + + Cummene, i., 181. + + Cunningham, Allan, iv., 192, 193. + + Cupar, i., 465; + iii., 157. + + Curates, under Charles II., iii., 130, 132, 173. + + + Dacre, Lord, ii., 62. + + Dalkeith, iii., 227; + castle of, i., 316, 342; + ii., 423. + + Dalriada, i., 116, 117, 127. + + Dalry, iii., 133. + + Dalrymple, Sir John, iii., 191‒193, 233, 234. + + Dalziel, General, iii., 134, 135, 342. + + Dancing, i., 457, 468; + ii., 124, 125, 415; + iv., 416. + + Darien Colony, iii., 196‒204. + + Darnaway Castle, i., 360; + ii., 124. + + Darnley, ii., 128, 129, 130‒136, 137, 138. + + Dauney, William, iv., 416. + + David I., reign of, i., 201‒204, 221, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228, + 230, 232, 234, 235, 243, 244. + + David II., reign of, i., 304, 306, 307‒313, 429. + + David, Earl of Huntingdon, i., 204, 256. + + Davidson, + John, ii., 198, 214, 373, 374; + Thomas, 302, 303; + John, Principal of the University of Glasgow, 352, 408; + Dr. Patrick, iv., 164. + + Dean of Lismore’s Book, i., 442, 443. + + Defence of the Country, armour, weapons, organisation of the + army, i., 409‒413. + + Denmark, marriage treaty, i., 346. + + Descartes, method and principles of his system, iii., 403‒418. + + Dickson, David, iii., 61, 359. + + Dingwall, i., 385, 386. + + Divorce, ii., 265, 266. + + Donald I., i., 136. + + Donald II., i., 136. + + Donald Bane, i., 144. + + Donald Balloch, i., 329, 330. + + Donald, Lord of the Isles, i., 324‒326. + + Douglas, + Sir William, i., 266, 267; + Sir James, 283, 286, 287, 290, 292, 300, 303; + Sir Archibald, 305, 306; + Sir William, 307; + Sir John of Dalkeith, 342; + Sir James, 435; + Sir William of Drumlanrig, 389; + Sir James, ii., 225; + George of Parkhead, 284, 285; + Sir Archibald, iii., 18. + + Douglas, Earl of, i., 316, 317, 318, 321, 323, 326, 338, 339, + 340, 341, 342, 343, 349, 388, 389, 390. + + Douglas, + Gavin, ii., 36, 310‒315; + Dr. James, iv., 320. + + Drumclog, battle of, iii., 153. + + Drummond, + Lord, i., 360; + ii., 228; + Earl of Perth, iii., 171, 172; + Lady Margaret, i., 360. + + Drummond, + General, iii., 135; + James, 227; + William, 366, 367. + + Dryburgh, Monastery, ii., 66. + + Duff, + King, i., 137; + Angus Chief, 329; + + ♦Dumbarton, i., 114, 121; + castle of, 248, 278; + ii., 149, 154, 155; + burgh of, i., 386, 391; + iii., 302, 303; + iv., 361. + + ♦ Separate item, not part of Duff. + + ♦Dumfries, + Castle of, i., 248, 290; + burgh of, 282, 356, 384; + ii., 131, 186; + iii., 24, 27, 134, 212, 228, 342, 386; + iv., 371. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + ♦Dumplin, battle of, i., 305. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Dunaverty Castle, i., 285, 355. + + Dunbar, + Castle, i., 263, 383; + ii., 133, 140, 141, 143, 149; + town of, i., 383, 503; + iii., 227, 300, 387; + battle of, 109. + + Dunbar, Earl of, i., 212, 214, 217, 218; + iii., 18, 25, 26, 30. + + Dunbar, William, ii., 303‒310. + + Dunblane, + cathedral, i., 249; + ii., 423; + city of, i., 238, 408. + + Duncan I., i., 139, 140. + + Duncan II., i., 143, 144. + + Duncan, Dr. Andrew, iv., 302‒304. + + Dundee, i., 83, 119, 248, 265, 267, 288, 387, 391, 437; + ii., 69, 93, 197, 202, 233, 235, 237, 240, 243, 400; + iii., 93, 223, 301, 303; + iv., 243, 331, 357, 358, 375, 376. + + Dundee, Viscount, iii., 174, 175, 181, 182, 183. + + Dunfermline, + Abbey of, i., 141, 144, 156, 239, 248, 252, 303, 385; + burgh of, 238, 258, 408; + ii., 400; + iv., 375. + + Dunfermline, Earl of, iii., 18, 30. + + Dunkeld, i., 119; + church of, 120, 134; + abbot of, 138, 139, 143; + bishopric of, 210, 218, 222, 225. + + Dunlop, + John, iv., 155; + Alexander, 480. + + Dunnichen, i., 116. + + Dunnotter, i., 136. + + Duns Law, iii., 74. + + Dunsinnane, i., 91, 92, 140. + + Dupin, Nicolas, iii., 313, 318, 333. + + Durham, i., 203; + battle of, 308; + iii., 97. + + Durham, James, iii., 359. + + ♦Durrisdeer, i., 91. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Durward, Alan, i., 214, 216. + + Dury, John, ii., 167, 178, 179, 182. + + + Eadmer, i., 200, 201. + + Earth-houses, i., 65‒70. + + Earthenware, iii., 317; + iv., 365, 366. + + Edgar, King, i., 143, 144, 148. + + Edinburgh, + annexed, i., 137, 144, 151, 233, 247, 258, 276, 301, 306, 312, + 317, 319, 338, 352, 354, 370, 388, 389; + ii., 35, 54, 58, 65, 66, 78, 89, 90, 91, 93, 97, 99, 100, + 115, 117, 119, 124, 128, 132, 133, 135, 140, 143, 148, + 151, 154, 163, 167, 179, 183, 203, 206, 213, 219, 237; + iii., 37, 41, 42‒44, 48, 49, 54, 55, 56, 67, 81, 99, 110, + 120, 129, 134, 135, 147, 153, 163, 168, 171‒173, 174‒176, + 180, 182, 186, 203, 206, 213, 219, 227, 236, 241, 274, 285; + iv., 44, 70, 75, 87, 97, 144, 148, 165, 174, 178, 194, 211, + 222, 234, 330, 391, 405‒6; + Castle of, i., 248, 264, 274, 307, 322, 339, 349, 350, 358, + 429; + ii., 101, 134, 142, 144, 149, 152, 155; + iii., 73, 159, 174, 175, 227; + University of, ii., 414‒419; + iii., 392, 393; + iv., 18, 69, 70, 74, 75, 87, 97, 102, 103, 136, 148, 156, + 157, 167, 257, 263, 274, 291‒315. + + Edinburgh, treaty of, ii., 100. + + Edmund, i., 143. + + Education, i., 184, 245, 466; + first Educational Act, 466, 467, 468; + ii., 109, 110, 397‒422; + iii., 375‒393; + iv., 324‒330. + + Edward I., policy of, i., 218, 219, 255‒260, 261, 262, 263‒265, + 266, 269‒271, 272, 273‒279, 283, 287. + + Edward II., i., 287, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 296, 298, 299, 300. + + Edward III., + Invasions of Scotland, i., 305, 306, 307; + policy of, 309, 310, 311, 312. + + Edward IV., i., 348, 349, 351. + + Edward VI., ii., 75, 86, 87. + + Egfrid, defeat of, i., 116. + + Eglinton, Earl of, ii., 140, 229; + iii., 56, 75, 99. + + Elgin, i., 139, 264, 385, 390; + ii., 251; + iii., 92, 94; + iv., 370; + + Elizabeth, wife of Robert I., i., 303. + + Elizabeth, Queen, ii., 92, 93, 99, 100, 145, 150, 220; + iv., 147. + + Elliot, Robert, iii., 27. + + Ellon, iv., 370. + + Elphinstone, Bishop, i., 467; + ii., 300, 301. + + Elphinstone, + Lord, iii., 19; + master of, 292. + + England, policy of toward Scotland, i., 206, 214, 218, 257‒260, + 261, 263‒265, 271, 273, 278, 280, 283, 287, 299, 300, 301, + 305, 306, 309, 310, 322, 349, 361, 362; + ii., 54‒57, 63‒67, 76, 99‒101, 155; + iii., 179, 183, 184, 190‒193, 198, 201‒204, 206, 217‒221. + + English language, i., 441, 443, 464. + + English money, i., 396; + ii., 282; + one standard fixed, iii., 216. + + Eocha, King, i., 136. + + Episcopacy, ii., 108, 109, 157‒160, 164‒171, 177, 182‒185, 188, + 210‒218; + iii., 28‒42, 44‒69; + abolished, 70‒72; + reintroduced, 122‒128; + again abolished, 180, 181, 184. + + Erc, Chief, i., 116. + + Eric II., King of Norway, i., 217, 259. + + Errol, Earl of, i., 365, 373; + ii., 195, 196, 199, 201, 212; + iii., 19. + + Erskine, + Lord Robert, i., 334; + John, of Dun, ii., 88, 89, 93, 108, 158, 185; + Rev. Ebenezer, iv., 213; + Rev. Ralph, 213; + Dr. John, 213, 214; + Thomas, Lord, 232‒234. + + Ethnology, i., 38‒43; + of Scotland, 43‒47, 114, 115, 116, 118. + + Etive, Loch, vitrified fort on, i., 91. + + Evans, Dr. John, i., 50, 51. + + Exchequer, i., 221. + + Excise, difficulties connected with, iii., 217‒219; + iv., 395, 396. + + Excommunication of Robert I., i., 295, 303; + form of, ii., 255, 257. + + + Fairfax, iii., 342. + + Falasie, i., 192. + + Falkirk, battle of, i., 269‒271; + iii., 228. + + Falkland Castle, i., 323, 430; + ii., 213, 274. + + Fast Castle, i., 324, 353. + + Fasting, i., 131; + ii., 257‒260; + iii., 272, 273. + + Fergus, + King, i., 120; + Chief, 116, 205. + + Ferguson, + David, ii., 352; + Adam, iv., 69‒74, 152. + + Fergusson, Robert, iv., 178, 179. + + Feudalism, i., 161, 190, 193, 198, 199, 201, 203, 209, 211, + 220‒228, 256, 260, 261, 269, 337, 371‒376, 411. + + Fife, Earl of, i., 143, 204, 209, 213, 217, 225, 271, 308, 314, + 317, 319, 333. + + Fifeshire, i., 105, 119, 121, 136, 304; + ii., 66; + iii., 151; + iv., 142, 143, 341, 373. + + Finlay, John, i., 446. + + Firth of Forth, i., 23, 28, 109, 110, 115, 119. + + Fisheries, i., 239, 377, 390, 391, 432; + ii., 40, 54; + iii., 301, 302, 303, 308; + iv., 400. + + Flanders, Count of, i., 240, 241, 391, 392. + + Fleming, + Robert, i., 283; + Malcolm, 327, 339. + + Fleming, Lord, i., 345; + ii., 150. + + Fletcher, + Sir John, iii., 120; + Andrew, of Saltoun, 179, 206, 255. + + Flint weapons and tools, i., 48‒52. + + Flodden, Battle of, i., 363‒365. + + Forbes, Lord, i., 353, 354. + + Forbes, + Patrick, Bishop, iii., 362; + Dr. John, 362, 363; + Professor, iv., 266, 268. + + Fordoun, iii., 94. + + Fordun, John, i., 463. + + Forest, + free, i., 223; + forest laws, 225, 417. + + Forfar, + Castle of, i., 248, 267, 288; + burgh of, 373, 387; + iv., 375. + + Forfarshire, i., 89, 121, 202, 264, 378; + ii., 88; + iii., 90, 110; + iv., 373. + + Forfeited estates, i., 343, 344, 347; + ii., 60; + iii., 217, 224; + iv., 336. + + Forman, Andrew, Archbishop of St. Andrews, i., 428; + ii., 36. + + Forres, i., 248, 372, 385. + + Forrest, Thomas, martyred, ii., 58. + + Forrester, Robert, martyred, ii., 58. + + Four Burghs, court of, i., 234, 235. + + France, + Alliance with, i., 262, 274, 275, 299, 300, 315; + French troops in Scotland, 316, 317, 330, 363; + ii., 76, 97. + + Franchise, iv., 456, 460, 461‒463. + + Francis II., ii., 97, 116. + + Frankfort, ii., 75. + + Fraser, William, Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 217, 246, 255. + + Fraser, + Sir Simon, i., 275, 277, 285; + Alexander, 283; + James, 305; + Simon, 305; + Captain Simon, iv., 421. + + Free Trade with England under Cromwell, iii., 112. + + French refugees, ii., 189. + + Fyvie, i., 50, 432; + iii., 91. + + Fyvie, Lord, ii., 204; + iii., 18. + + + Gaelic, i., 148, 175, 183, 184, 442‒444. + + Galgacus, Chief, i., 106‒109. + + Galloway, i., 115, 122, 201, 203; + risings in, 205, 206, 211, 212, 272; + law of, 229, 230; + castles of, 290. + + Galloway, + Lord of, i., 211, 230, 256; + Bishop of, 212; + ii., 153. + + Galt, John, iv., 204. + + Game laws, i., 417. + + Garioch, i., 325. + + Gasklune, battle of, i., 319, 320. + + Geddes, Sir William, iv., 142. + + Geneva, ii., 75, 89, 113, 114, 359. + + Geology, iv., 268‒271. + + George I., iii., 222. + + Gibbs, James, iv., 402‒404. + + Gibson, James, ii., 188. + + Gilbert, Chief, i., 206. + + Gillespie, George, iii., 87, 362. + + Gillies, Dr. John, iv., 152, 153. + + Gladstanes, Archbishop of St. Andrews, iii., 19. + + Glammis, + Lord, i., 373; + Master of, ii., 177, 181; + iii., 19. + + Glasgow, + Bishop of――Wishart, i., 266, 273, 277, 283, 294; + Turnbull, 466, 467; + Laing, 467; + Archbishop of, ii., 38, 59; + iii., 19, 35, 363; + Cathedral of i., 249. + + Glasgow, + city of, i., 125, 238, 403, 408, 465; + ii., 97, 252, 400, 402, 403; + iii., 50, 69, 128, 153, 218, 228, 245, 246, 248, 254, 284, + 302, 303, 319, 328, 330, 331; + iv., 348‒351, 360‒363, 370, 376, 378, 380, 383, 389, 392‒393, + 395, 397‒399, 406‒409, 428; + University of, i., 466; + ii., 408‒410; + iii., 388, 390, 391, 392; + iv., 18, 19, 44, 60, 102, 260‒263, 266, 272‒275, 284, 315‒317. + + Glass, + introduction of, i., 420; + Glass-making, iii., 315‒317; + iv., 363‒365. + + Glencairn, Earl of, ii., 69, 88, 89, 97, 130, 133, 145, 148, 177; + iii., 120, 124. + + Glencoe, iii., 191‒193. + + Glenfinnan, iii., 226. + + Glengarry, chief, iii., 190, 191, 226. + + Glenlivet, battle of, ii., 201, 202. + + Glenmore, i., 25, 215. + + Godly Ballads, ii., 341‒345. + + Gold ornaments, ancient, i., 79‒81. + + Goodal, Walter, iv., 145. + + Goodsir, John, iv., 306. + + Gordon, Duke of, iii., 174, 175; + iv., 421, 454. + + Gordon, + Sir Adam, i., 298, 305; + Sir Alexander, 338; + Sir John, ii., 124; + George, 124; + Sir Robert, iii., 237, 238; + Sir Alexander, 238; + Lord Gordon, 238, 239; + Robert, 247; + George, 267, 268; + Dr., iv., 309; + Sir John W., 446. + + Gourlay, Norman, burned, ii., 54. + + Gow, + Neil, iv., 418, 420; + Nathaniel, 421, 422. + + Gowrie, Earl of, ii., 177, 179, 180, 181, 218, 219. + + Gowrie, Carse of, i., 28. + + Graham, + Sir John, i., 271; + David de, 277; + Sir Robert, 327, 334, 335, 336, 337; + William, iii., 313; + John of Claverhouse, 153; + George F., iv., 416. + + Grammar Schools, i., 465, 466; + ii., 399‒405; + iii., 380‒388; + iv., 327. + + Grant, James, iv., 208. + + Gray, Lord, iii., 238. + + Gray, David, iv., 195. + + Greenock, i., 409; + iii., 303; + iv., 394. + + Gregory, + James, iii., 371, 372; + David, 372, 373; + Dr. John, iv., 300, 302; + Dr. James, 302. + + Greyfriars Church, iii., 49. + + Greyfriars Churchyard, iii., 61, 154. + + Grub, Dr. George, iv., 164. + + Gruoch, i., 139, 140. + + Guilds, laws of, i., 235‒236, 404. + + Guinea, iii., 330. + + Guise, House of, ii., 57, 92, 93, 116, 124, 125. + + Grum John, iv., 422. + + Guthrie, + James, iii., 123, 326; + William, iv., 150; + Dr. Thomas, 222. + + + Hackston, of Rathillet, iii., 151, 153, 156. + + Haco, i., 215, 216. + + Haddington, i., 307, 386, 387, 465; + ii., 69, 303, 315; + iv., 370. + + Haddington, Earl of, iv., 335. + + Haddingtonshire, i., 271; + iv., 343, 373. + + Hailes, Lord, iv., 146, 151, 152. + + Halidon Hill, battle of, i., 306. + + Hall, Sir John, i., 336. + + Hamilton, + Lord, i., 345, 346; + Lord Claud, ii., 150, 155, 208; + Marquis of, iii., 63, 64, 65, 67, 70, 71, 74; + Duke of, 98, 99, 174, 175, 177, 179, 181, 193, 207, 211. + + Hamilton, Patrick, martyred, ii., 49, 50. + + Hamilton, + of Bothwellhaugh, ii., 152; + John, Archbishop of St. Andrews, 71, 77, 87, 96, 138, 150, 154, + 406; + Sir Thomas, of Monkland, iii., 18; + James, Master of Paisley, 19; + Sir Robert, 154; + William, iv., 167; + William, of Bangour, 170; + Sir William, his writings, 102‒135. + + Hamilton town, iii., 153; + iv., 295, 296. + + Harlaw, battle of, i., 324‒326, 450. + + Harold, King, i., 194. + + Harold, Earl of Orkney, i., 207, 208. + + Harrington, James, iii., 450. + + Hastings, + John, i., 256, 259, 260; + Henry de, 204. + + Hawick, iv., 369, 370, 371. + + Hawley, General, iii., 228, 229. + + Hay, + Gilbert, of Errol, i., 283; + Hugh, 283, 284; + Alexander, iii., 19; + Sir James, 19. + + Hebrides, i., 22, 23, 118, 134, 144, 156, 215, 217, 329, 346, + 348, 355, 356, 357; + ii., 60; + iii., 242, 243. + + Henderson, + James, ii., 238; + Alexander, iii., 52, 55, 60, 61, 70, 87, 88, 362. + + Henry, the minstrel, i., 458‒462. + + Henry I., i., 195, 202. + + Henry II., i., 205, 206. + + Henry III., i., 214. + + Henry IV., i., 322, 324. + + Henry VI., i., 345. + + Henry VII., i., 353, 358, 361, 362. + + Henry VIII., i., 362, 363; + ii., 37, 51, 54‒56, 57, 61, 63‒67, 69, 76. + + Henry II. of France, ii., 97. + + Henry, Dr. Robert, iv., 151. + + Henryson, + Robert, i., 376, 462, 463; + Dr. Edward, ii., 383. + + Hepburn, + William, i., 353; + Patrick, Lord Hailes, 353; + John, ii., 36, 406. + + Hereditary jurisdiction, i., 220, 221, 223, 225, 226, 228, 237, + 238, 372, 411, 424‒426; + iii., 213, 225, 226. + + Heresy, i., 37, 327, 332; + ii., 18, 19, 49, 53, 58‒60, 68‒70, 74, 75, 78, 81, 91. + + Hermitage Castle, i., 309. + + Herries, Ralph, i., 285. + + Herries, Lord, ii., 150. + + Hertford, Earl of, ii., 65‒67. + + Hexham, i., 253, 254, 268. + + High Commission, Courts of, iii., 34, 132, 133. + + Highlands, i., 23‒25, 27, 29, 206‒208, 329, 348, 355‒357; + ii., 226, 227, 290; + iii., 237‒239, 241‒244; + iv., 353, 354. + + Hill, Dr. George, iv., 219, 470. + + Hill forts, i., 88‒92. + + Historic Interpretation, i., 33‒37. + + Historical conditions, i., 19, 45, 46, 85, 88, 101, 102, 113, + 119, 120, 121, 135, 136, _et seq._, 227, 228, 255‒265; + ii., 1, 2, _et seq._, 100, 103, 220; + iii., 17‒20, 176, 177, 214, 215. + + History of Scottish philosophy, iv., 17‒142. + + Hogarth, George, iv., ♦422, 423, 427, 429. + + ♦ page numbers supplied by transcriber + + Hogg, James, iii., 344; + iv., 189‒191. + + Holland, John, iii., 328. + + Holyrood Abbey, i., 221, 222, 249, 338; + Palace of, ii., 117, 130, 133, 136, 142, 179, 206, 209, 215, + 273, 275, 423; + iii., 396; + Chapel of, ii., 119, 138; + iii., 37, 51, 169, 172. + + Home, Lord, i., 364; + ii., 199, 224. + + Home, John, iv., 174. + + Homeldon Hill, battle of, i., 323. + + Homil, James, i., 348, 350. + + Hope, Sir Thomas, iii., 84, 367. + + Howard, Lord, i., 363. + + Hume, Lord, ii., 143, 145, 148. + + Hume, + Alexander, ii., 377, 378; + Alexander, 402, 403; + Sir Patrick, iii., 179; + David, + his philosophical writings, iv., 25‒44; + history, 146‒148. + + Huntingdon, Earl of, i., 204. + + Hunter, + Dr. Henry, iv., 217, 218; + Dr. William, 320, 321; + Dr. John, 321‒323. + + Huntly, + Earl of, i., 342, 350, 354, 356, 357, 358, 364; + ii., 63, 64, 78, 116, 123, 124, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, + 150, 152, 155, 192, 195, 196, 199, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, + 212; + Marquis of, iii., 68, 74, 90, 94, 104, 222. + + Hurry, General, iii., 93, 94. + + + Icolmkill, statutes of, iii., 242, 243. + + Inchaffary, Abbot of, i., 292. + + Inchcolm, ruins of monastery, i., 163. + + Inchkeith, i., 23. + + Inchmahome, i., 249. + + Incontinence, i., 155, 244, 245; + ii., 41. + + India-rubber manufactures, iv., 391, 392, 393. + + Indulf, King, i., 137. + + Independents, iii., 88, 96, 97. + + Influence of surrounding nature upon the Mind, i., 19, 20, 31‒33, + 66; + ii., 427. + + Innermaith, Lord, ii., 145, 146. + + Innes, + Thomas, iv., 145; + Cosmo, 162. + + Invercharron, iii., 105, 106. + + Inveresk, iv., 418. + + Inverkeithing, i., 307, 387; + iii., 301. + + Inverlochy, battle of, iii., 92. + + Inverness, i., 83, 91, 127, 151, 207, 233, 240, 306, 329, 356, + 385, 390, 404; + ii., 226, 227; + iii., 94, 225, 226, 227, 228, 288, 302; + iv., 354, 373, 374. + + Inverurie, i., 278‒287; + iii., 74. + + Iona, i., 127‒134, 156, 175, 181, 182. + + Ireland, 21, 48, 70, 77, 78, 126, 127, 133, 161, 174, 181, 211, + 285, 291, 357; + iii., 65, 85, 90, 297, 302, 303. + + Irish, + early writings, i., 117, 150; + note illuminated manuscripts, 172, 173. + + Iron works and manufactures, iv., 345‒352. + + Irvine, i., 267, 391, 434; + iii., 134. + + Irvine, Sir Alexander, i., 328. + + Irving, Dr., ii., 367; + iv., 163. + + Isles, lordship of forfeited, i., 348, 355. + + Isabella, daughter of Earl David, i., 204, 256. + + + Jack, Thomas, ii., 402. + + Jacobites, iii., 175, 176, 181‒183, 190, 193, 195, 196, 201, + 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 211, 213, 218, 219, 220, 222‒224, + 226‒230. + + Jacobite Songs, iii., 346‒353. + + James I., reign of, i., 226‒337. + + James II., reign of, i., 338‒344. + + James III., reign of, i., 344‒352. + + James IV., reign of, i., 353‒365. + + James V., reign of, ii., 38‒39, 49‒62. + + James VI., reign of, ii., 169‒220; + iii., 17‒42. + + James VII., policy of, iii., 163‒172. + + James VIII., Pretender, iii., 223. + + Jamesone, George, painter, iii., 393‒396. + + Jamieson, Dr., i., 280, 461. + + Jedburgh, 238, 356, 383, 426; + ii., 292; + iii., 24, 27, 380; + iv., 371; + castle of, i., 248, 264, 324; + abbey of, 248; + ii., 66. + + Jeffrey, Lord, iv., 234‒236. + + Jesuits, ii., 82‒84, 192, 195. + + Joanna, Queen of David II., i., 302, 306, 307, 310. + + John, King of England, i., 208, 209, 210. + + Johnstone, + of Johnstone, ii., 186, 224; + Archibald, of Warriston, iii., 60, 61, 70, 87, 121, 123; + Dr., 380; + Mrs., iv., 204, 205. + + Justiciary, i., 214, 222, 330, 386, 424. + + Jury trial, i., 221, 230, 371. + + Justice of the Peace, iii., 248, 249, 294. + + + Kay, John, iv., 366. + + Kells, Book of, illuminated manuscripts, i., 172, 173. + + Keith, iii., 244. + + Keith, + Sir Robert, i., 292, 293, 305, 367; + Sir William, of Inverugy, ii., 228; + Dr. William, iv., 319. + + Kelso, i., 238, 344, 384; + iv., 369; + Abbey of, i., 216, 249, 250, 252‒254, 432; + ii., 66. + + Kennedy, + Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 340, 345; + Walter, ii., 309; + Quintin, 349, 352, 353. + + Kennedy, Lord, i., 360; + ii., 309. + + Kenneth I., M‘Alpin, i., 120, 121, 136. + + Kenneth II., i., 138. + + Kenneth, M‘Duff, i., 138. + + Ker, + George, ii., 195, 196; + Mark, 224; + Robert, iii., 19; + Dr. David, iv., 319. + + Kilconcath, William, i., 246. + + Kildelith, i., 246. + + Kildrummy Castle, i., 247, 264, 276, 284, 285, 306, 307. + + Killiecrankie, Battle of, iii., 181‒183. + + Kilmarnock, i., 409; + iii., 297; + iv., 369, 371, 372. + + Kilpatrick, West, i., 110. + + Kilsyth, battle of, iii., 95. + + Kincardineshire, i., 136, 137, 378. + + Kinghorn, i., 217, 258. + + Kinghorn, Earl of, iii., 19. + + Kirk-of-Field, ii., 135. + + Kirkcaldy, iii., 301, 303; + iv., 375. + + Kirkcaldy, Sir William, of Grange, ii., 71, 149, 152, 153, 155, + 156. + + Kirkpatrick, i., 282. + + Knapdale, i., 348. + + Knox, + John, ii., 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 87‒89, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, + 100, 104, 118, 119, 120, 123, 124‒127, 130, 134, 147, 153, + 154, 159, 160‒165; + his writings, 345‒349, 352‒354, 360‒364; + Andrew, minister of Paisley, 195; + Bishop of the Isles, iii., 242, 243; + Dr., iv., 309. + + + Laing, David, ii., 300, 305, 331, 340, 343, 346; + iv., 163. + + Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, i., 274, 281, 283, 285. + + Lanark, i., 356, 387; + ii., 181; + iii., 160; + iv., 373. + + Lanarkshire, i., 29, 81, 114, 271, 279; + iii., 134; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 344, 347, 378, 381, 388. + + Land, in connection with the tribe, and organisation of society, + i., 100, 146‒150, 202, 223‒228, 250‒254, 371‒376, 377‒380, + 380‒382, 421, 422; + ii., 39, 40, 110, 266, 297; + iii., 305; + iv., 336‒339. + + Langside, battle of, ii., 150. + + Largs, battle of, i., 216. + + Latin, i., 183, 245, 463, 464; + ii., 5, 6, 379, 380. + + Laud, Archbishop, iii., 45, 63, 66. + + Lauder Bridge, i., 350. + + Lauder, Sir Thomas D., iv., 206. + + Lauderdale, Earl of, iii., 14, 129, 137, 142, 348. + + Laws, early, i., 151‒153, 221, 222, 228‒231, 370, 371. + + Lawson, James, ii., 162, 167, 184, 421. + + Le Crocke, ii., 161. + + Leibnitz, theory of monads, iii., 432‒434; + iv., 255, 256. + + Leighton, Bishop, iii., 141, 363‒364. + + Leith, i., 316, 333, 346, 358, 359, 419; + ii., 66, 89, 97, 98, 99, 100, 117, 132, 158, 275, 291, 294; + iii., 74, 84, 300, 301, 303, 309, 313, 331, 332; + iv., 357, 369. + + Lennox, + Earl of, i., 217, 283, 285, 327, 328, 354, 364, 365; + ii., 37, 128, 131, 139, 152, 154, 155; + Duke of, iii., 54. + + Lennox, Esme Stewart, Duke of, ii., 175, 176, 177, 179. + + Lesley, Norman, ii., 71. + + Leslie, + General Alexander, iii., 73, 76, 79, 338; + General David, 95, 338; + Sir John, iv., 263‒265. + + Lesly, John, ii., 116. + + Lesmahagow sanctuary, i., 232. + + Leven, Earl of, iii., 175. + + Lewis, island, i., 22, 357. + + Leyden, University of, iv., 287, 292, 293, 304. + + Leyden, John, ii., 319; + iv., 184, 185. + + Liddel, Dr. Duncan, ii., 393, 394. + + Lindisfarne, i., 126. + + Lindores, i., 323. + + Lindsay, + Alexander, i., 267, 277; + Sir James, 317; + Sir William, 321, 322; + David, Lord of Crawford, 434; + David, ii., 158, 167, 188. + + Lindsay, Lord, ii., 132, 134, 143, 145, 148, 155, 175, 181, 206, + 207. + + Linlithgow, i., 258, 264, 274, 276, 290, 294, 307, 326, 345, 358, + 387, 390; + ii., 120, 152, 207, 349, 400; + iii., 29, 80, 54; + iv., 370. + + Linlithgow, Palace of, i., 333, 360, 377, 429, 430, 470; + ii., 62. + + Linlithgow, Earl of, iii., 19. + + Linlithgowshire, i., 29, 119; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 373. + + Lismore, Book of the Dean of, i., 442. + + Literature, + early, i., 181‒185, 215‒247, 441‒464; + Poetry, ii., 301‒315, 331‒341, 370‒380; + Ballad, 341‒345; + Historical and various, 315‒330, 345‒364, 364‒370, 380‒385, + 393‒396; + Ballad and Jacobite Song, iii., 336‒355; + Historical and various, 356‒368; + Historical, iv., 143‒154, 154‒164; + Poetry, 165‒182, 183‒198; + Fiction, 199‒212; + Religious, 213‒228; + Miscellaneous, 228‒254. + + Liturgy, iii., 44, 46‒50, 51‒58, 62, 63. + + Livingston, + Sir Alexander, i., 338, 339, 340; + John of Livingston, 389, 390; + Sir William, iii., 19. + + Livingston, Lord, i., 345; + ii., 150. + + Livingstone, Dr. David, iv., 250. + + Lochaber, i., 329, 356; + iii., 181. + + Lochiel, chief of the clan Cameron, i., 356; + iii., 181, 226. + + Lochindorb Castle, i., 247, 276. + + Lochleven, i., 140; + ii., 144, 145, 147, 150. + + Lochmaben, + Castle, i., 281; + town of, 372, 468. + + Locke, John, writings of, iii., 452‒462; + iv., 17, 18, 27. + + Lockhart, + Colonel, iii., 113; + Sir George, 148, 233; + Sir George of Carnwath, 208, 209, 210, 214; + John G., iv., 207, 208. + + Logan, John, iv., 177, 178. + + Logic, iii., 437‒439; + iv., 130‒133. + + Logie, Margaret, i., 310. + + Lomond, Loch, i., 29. + + London, i., 271, 279, 280, 285; + ii., 99, 220; + iii., 54, 82, 86, 116, 118, 173, 179, 183, 198, 229, 296; + iv., 167, 173, 245. + + Long Parliament, iii., 80, 84, 86, 87, 89, 96, 97. + + Lord of the Isles, i., 285, 292, 312, 324, 325, 329, 330, 341, + 348, 355. + + Lords of the Articles, i., 369, 370; + iii., 37, 38, 129, 130, 180, 183, 184. + + Lords of the Congregation, ii., 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100. + + Lorne, + Lord of, i., 284, 312; + black knight of, 338; ii., 89. + + Lothian, i., 47, 116, 138, 185, 189. + + Lothian, Earl of, iii., 18, 188, 189, 190. + + Loudon, Lord, iii., 55, 57, 58, 60, 61. + + Loudon Hill, battle of, i., 286, 287. + + Lowe, Dr. Peter, ii., 393. + + Lovat, Lord, i., 386. + + Lubeck, i., 268. + + Lude Hill, iii., 181. + + Lulach, i., 140. + + Lumphanan, battle of, i., 140. + + Luther, ii., 17, 32‒34, 49. + + Lyndsay, Sir David, ii., 42, 331‒340. + + + M‘Ancrum, Donald B., ii., 229. + + M‘Angus, William, iii., 237. + + Macbeth, i., 139, 140, 148. + + M‘Cowane, Donald C., ii., 229. + + M‘Crie, Dr. Thomas, iv., 154. + + M‘Culloch, Horatio, iv., 449. + + Macdonald, Lord, i., 163. + + Macdonald, + Sir Donald, iii., 190; + Chief of Glencoe, 191‒192; + of Boisdale, Glengarry, Keppoch, 191, 226; + Donald Gorm of Sleat, Donald of Ylanterim, Captain of + Clanranald, Angus of Dunivaig, 242, 243. + + Macdonald, Alaster, iii., 90. + + Macduff, i., 261, 271. + + Macgill, James, ii., 146, 158, 274. + + MacGregors, + clan of, iii., 243; + Patrick Roy, 244. + + MacHeth, i., 205, 207, 209. + + Mackay, ii., 227; + Donald, iii., 237, 238; + Dr. Charles, iv., 196; + Angus, 425. + + Mackay, General, iii., 176, 181‒183. + + Mackenzie, + Kenneth, iii., 19; + Sir George, 144, 146, 147, 234, 368; + Henry, iv., 199, 200. + + Mackinnons, i., 117, note; + Rory, iii., 242. + + Mackintosh, + of Borlum, iii., 224; + Sir James, iv., 97‒101; + Robert, 421. + + Macknight, Dr. James, iv., 216, 471. + + Maclean of Lochbuy, i., 357; + Lauchlan, iii., 242; + Hector of Duart, 242; + Lauchlan of Lochbuy, 242. + + Macleod, + of Lewis, i., 357; + Rory, of Harris, iii., 242; + Dr. Norman, iv., 223, 224. + + MacNeil of Barra, i., 357. + + Macpherson, James, iv., 175, 176. + + Macquharrie, Gellespie, iii., 242. + + M‘Sevir, Farquhar, ii., 229. + + MacWilliam, i., 207, 208, 209. + + Magi, i., 128, 129. + + Magnus VI., King of Norway, i., 216. + + Maid of Norway, i., 217, 218, 219. + + Mair, John, ii., 51, 315, 316. + + Maitland, + Sir Richard, i., 445; + ii., 370, 371; + William, 99, 100, 120, 121, 135, 141, 152, 155, 156, 157. + + Malcolm I., reign of, i., 137. + + Malcolm II., reign of, i., 138, 139. + + Malcolm III., reign of, i., 140‒143. + + Malcolm IV., reign of, i., 204, 205. + + Malise, Earl of Strathern, i., 203. + + Mallet, David, iv., 169. + + Man, Isle of, i., 216, 301. + + Manufactures, + Textile, woollen, i., 100, 133, 150, 162, 241, 390, 392, 406, + 407; + ii., 294; + iii., 306‒310; + iv., 366, 369‒372; + linen, iii., 311‒313; + iv., 372‒376, 377; + jute, 375‒377; + cotton, 377‒379, 383; + thread, 379‒380; + silk, 380; + mixed fabrics, 380, 381. + + Mar, + Earl of, i., 208, 214, 216, 217, 304, 305, 312, 325, 334, 348, + 349; + ii., 139, 145, 148; + elected Regent, 155, 177, 184; + iii., 19; + John, Secretary of State, 210; + his rising, 222‒224. + + March, Earl of, i., 255, 270, 305, 321, 322, 328, 333, 334. + + Marchmont, Earl of, iii., 262. + + Margaret, + Queen of Malcolm III., i., 141, 143, 155‒157; + Queen of James III., 346, 351; + Queen of James IV., 360‒362; + ii., 36, 37. + + Marischal, Earl, i., 358; + ii., 86, 419; + iii., 19, 222. + + Marriage, i., 99, 153‒156, 428; + ii., 229, 261‒266; + iii., 264, 278‒281. + + Mathematical Science, progress of, ii., 386‒391; + iii., 371‒374, 403; + iv., 254‒260. + + Marston Moor, battle of, iii., 95. + + Mary of Gueldres, Queen of James II., i., 340, 344, 345. + + Mary of Guise, Queen of James V., ii., 57, 86, 87, 90, 91, 93, + 95, 97, 98, 101. + + Mary, + Queen of Scotland, ii., 62, 63, 79; + reign of, 116‒147; + imprisonment of, 144; + escape, flight to England, 150; + her execution, 189, 190. + + Mary, Queen of England, ii., 87, 92. + + Maxwell, + Lord, i., 345; + ii., 186, 187, 224; + Master of, 225; + iii., 27. + + Maybole, ii., 353. + + Mechanical Science, i., 408; + ii., 384‒386; + progress of, iv., 271‒285. + + Medical Science, + state of, i., 414, 415; + ii., 392‒394; + iii., 368‒371; + progress of, iv., 286‒323. + + Melrose, Monastery of, i., 125, 126, 246, 254, 302, 303, 432, + 438; + ii., 66. + + Melville, + James, ii., 71; + Sir James, 141, 142; + Andrew, 167, 182, 201, 202, 213, 214, 409, 410, 412; + iii., 32, 33; + Sir Robert, iii., 19. + + Melville, Lord, iii., 179, 183, 186. + + ♦Menteith, Earl of, i., 213, 214, 217, 218, 263, 383, 308, 317. + + ♦ “Monteith” replaced with “Menteith”; + Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Menteith, Sir John, i., 278, 279. + + Metaphysics, iii., 399‒401, 405, 407‒414, 418‒452, 432‒434, 468, + 469, 470; + iv., 126‒130, 136‒139. + + Methven, + Bruce defeated at, i., 284; + lands of, 377. + + Middleton, Earl, Royal Commissioner, iii., 121‒123, 125‒129. + + Military service under the feudal organisation, i., 409‒412. + + Mill, + Walter, executed for heresy, ii., 91; + John S., iv., 135; + James, 155. + + Miller, Hugh, iv., 238‒240, 271. + + Mining, ii., 282‒286; + iii., 291‒294; + iv., 340‒345. + + Mitchell, + James, 135, 147, 148; + Dr. Charles, iv., 318. + + Moir, + Dr. James, i., 461; + David, iv., 208. + + Monk, General, iii., 110, 116. + + Monmouth, Duke of, iii., 153, 154, 167. + + Monro, + John, iv., 292; + Alexander, professor, 292‒294; + Alexander, 304‒305; + Alexander, 305‒306. + + Montgomery, + Sir John, i., 321; + Sir Hugh, 449; + Sir Matthew, ii., 229; + Alexander, poems of, 375‒377; + Sir James, iii., 179, 180. + + Montgomery, Lord, i., 345. + + Montrose, i., 276, 387, 391; + ii., 69, 182, 217; + iii., 301, 303, 323; + iv., 369, 375, 424. + + Montrose, + Earl of, iii., 18, 74; + Marquis of, 90‒95, 105, 106, 338, 339. + + Moral philosophy, iii., 417, 418, 424‒430, 448, 451, 452, + 466‒467; + iv., 19‒24, 38‒40, 45‒50, 68, 69, 71‒74, 81, 82, 94‒96, + 98‒101. + + Moray, + Sir Andrew, i., 266, 267, 268; + Sir Andrew of Bothwell, 306, 307, 378; + Thomas, 379. + + Moray, + Earl of, Randolph, i., 283, 290, 292, 296, 298, 299, 300, 302, + 304, 305, 308, 317, 360; + James Stewart, Earl of, ii., 123, 128, 129, 130, 131, 134, 136; + elected Regent, 148‒152. + + Morken, King, i., 124, 125. + + Morton, + Earl of, ii., 132, 133, 134, 142, 143, 145, 147, 151; + elected Regent, 155, 158, 165, 169, 175, 176. + + Mouat, Bernard, i., 285. + + Mowbray, 291, 294. + + Mure, William, iv., 163, 164. + + Murray, + Lord George, iii., 227, 228; + Mungo, 227; + Gideon, 21. + + Music, i., 245, 468, 469; + ii., 421‒422; + iii., 386‒388; + iv., 416‒428. + + Musselburgh, ii., 144; + iii., 300. + + + Nairn, i., 372, 386; + castle of, 248. + + Napier, John, inventor of logarithms, ii., 386‒391. + + Narne, Duncan, ii., 415. + + Nasmyth, iv., 436. + + Navigation, teaching of, iii., 386. + + Navy, under James IV., i., 363. + + Negative Confession, ii., 176. + + Ness, Loch of, i., 25. + + Newbattle, i., 239, 434, 435. + + Newbattle, Lord, iii., 18. + + Newcastle, i., 318; + ii., 75, 184; + iii., 33, 79, 80, 97. + + Nithsdale, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Nithsdale, i., 26, 272. + + Norham, + meetings at, i., 255, 256, 258; + castle of, 209, 300, 359, 363. + + Normans, i., 189‒194, 196, 197, 101‒103. + + Norman Conquest, i., 141, 197, 198. + + Norsemen, i., 47, 118, 120, 134, 136, 214‒217. + + Northallerton, battle of, i., 203, 204. + + Northampton, Treaty of, i., 300, 301. + + Northumberland, i., 142, 143, 262, 268, 295, 300, 318. + + Northumbria, i., 116, 138, 441. + + Norway, 21, 144, 215, 216, 217, 219. + + + Oaths associated with feudalism, i., 258, 264, 281, 372, 373. + + Ochiltree, Lord, ii., 146, 275; + iii., 19, 235, 236. + + Odistown, i., 303. + + Ogham, writing, i., 174, 175. + + Ogilvie, Sir Walter, i., 319, 320. + + Oliphant, Sir William, i., 277, 278. + + Oliphant, Lord, i., 373; + ii., 228. + + Orkney Isles, i., 22, 47, 53, 58‒61, 138, 139, 158, 215, 217, + 219, 346; + ii., 60; + iii., 302; + iv., 372, 373. + + Orkney, Earl of, i., 138, 139, 207, 208; + iii., 239‒241. + + Ormiegill, i., 55. + + Ormiston, Laird of, ii., 69. + + Ormond, Earl of, i., 343, 379. + + Ossian, Ossianic poems, i., 442‒444; + iv., 175, 176. + + Otterburn, battle of, i., 318, 449. + + Otterburne, Thomas, i., 468. + + Oxford, i., 451, 452; + iii., 372, 373, 374; + iv., 102, 134. + + + Pae, David P., iv., 208, 209. + + Painting, i., 470; + ii., 423, 424; + iii., 393‒396; + iv., 428‒454. + + Paisley, i., 83, 151, 238, 409; + ii., 195; + iii., 386; + iv., 182, 183, 205, 206, 214, 372, 377, 378, 380; + Abbey of, i., 249, 324, 355. + + Paper, manufacture of, ii., 2; + iii., 317‒319; + iv., 384‒389. + + Parliament, + origin and constitution of, i., 366‒370; + Meetings of, 295, 309, 310, 311, 313‒315, 316, 320, 327, 328, + 329, 330, 334, 340, 343, 347, 349, 351, 353, 354, 357; + ii., 38, 49, 60, 65, 68, 91, 102, 126, 139, 149, 183, 193, + 213; + iii., 30, 33, 37, 41, 44, 77, 81, 84, 97, 99, 103, 121‒128, + 129, 137, 140, 142, 158‒160, 164‒167, 168, 180, 183, 193, + 202, 203, 205, 206‒208, 210‒215. + + Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced changes in Scotland, + iii., 217‒218, 220. + + Paterson, + Abraham, ii., 284; + Robert, 289; + William, iii., 196, 199. + + Patronage, ii., 107, 172; + iii., 103, 104, 184; + iv., 467‒473 _et seq._ + + Peasantry, + in Normandy, i., 191, 193; + in Germany, ii., 16, 17. + + Pedro de Ayala, i., 360. + + Peebles, i., 282, 356, 384, 402; + ii., 260; + iii., 274, 290, 307, 380; + iv., 246, 369. + + Peers, Scottish representative, iii., 214. + + Pembroke, Earl of, i., 283, 284, 286, 287. + + Pennington, Joseph, iii., 21. + + Pentland Firth, i., 22. + + Pentland, battle of, iii., 134. + + Percy, + Henry, i., 266; + Sir Henry, Sir Ralph, 318, 449. + + Perkin Warbeck, i., 357‒359. + + Persecution, ii., 49, 50, 53, 54, 58, 68‒70, 91; + iii., 130‒135, 140, 144‒154, _et seq._ + + Perth, i., 119, 151, 205, 208, 233, 258, 264, 276, 278, 279, 283, + 290, 307, 311, 320, 327, 333, 335, 369, 386, 387, 391, 433; + ii., 69, 93, 94, 96, 179, 214; + iii., 39‒41, 90, 193, 194, 222, 223, 226; + iv., 196, 354, 373. + + Perth, Earl of, iii., 171, 172. + + Peterhead, iii., 223, 301, 302; + iv., 370, 374. + + Philip IV., of France, i., 262, 271. + + Phillip, John, iv., 450, 451. + + Philiphaugh, battle of, iii., 95, 338. + + Philosophy, ii., 28‒30, 220; + outline of European in the seventeenth century, and early part + of the eighteenth, iii., 398‒471; + Scottish, iv., 17‒142. + + Physical Science, progress of, iv., 255‒271. + + Picts, i., 112, 114, 115, 116, 119, 120, 127, 128. + + Pinkerton, John, iv., 153, 154. + + Pinkie, battle of, ii., 76. + + Pitcairn, + Dr. Archibald, iii., 371; + Robert, iv., 163. + + Plantations, nonconformists banished to, iii., 167, 168, 223. + + Pont, Robert, ii., 158, 184, 382, 383. + + Poor Laws, ii., 238, 239, 267; + iii., 248‒254. + + Population, i., 413; + iv., 214, 495. + + Postal communication, iii., 296‒296; + iv., ♦352, 356. + + ♦ Page numbers supplied by transcriber. + + Prehistoric period, + Stone Age, i., 36, 47‒71; + stone weapons and tools, 48‒53; + modes of disposing of the dead, chambered cairns, cremation, + 53‒65; + earth-houses, 65‒70; + primitive boats, 70; + Bronze Age, 71‒74, 74‒96; + bronze weapons and implements, 74‒79; + ornaments, 79‒81; + traces of dwellings, 81‒83; + crannogs, 84‒87; + hill forts, 88‒92; + cairn, and urn interment, 92‒96; + summary, 96‒104. + + Prelacy, iii., 177. + + Presbyterianism, ii., 166‒175, 193‒194; + iii., 68‒72, 184‒185. + + Press, censorship of, ii., 84, 277, 278. + + Preston, battle of, iii., 227. + + Primrose, Sir Archibald, iii., 120. + + Pringle, Charles, iii., 236, 237. + + Printing, + introduction of, ii., 2, 25‒27, 299‒303; + development of, iv., 389‒391. + + Privy Council, ii., 223, 225, 229, 248, 273, 275, 279, 281, 283, + 288, 403; + iii., 18‒20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, + 62, 67, 123, 124, 128, 131, 133, 134, 136, 142, 146, 147, + 148, 163, 171, 182, 192, 195. + + Protestantism, history of in Scotland, ii., 149‒218. + + Protests, iii., 59, 65, 67. + + Protesters, iii., 109, 110, 111. + + Provincial councils of the Roman Catholic clergy, i., 212, 213; + ii., 41, 42, 76, 77, 78. + + Psalms, ii., 114, 342, 422. + + Psalmody, iv., 426‒427. + + Psychical faculties, i., 34, 35. + + Psychological phenomenon, ii., 439, 441. + + Psychology, ii., 30; + iii., 414‒417, 422‒430, 435, 436, 438‒444, 453‒460, 470; + iv., 20, 27‒39, 61‒68, 77‒82, 88‒96, 108‒126. + + + Quakers, iii., 114, 115, 256‒259. + + Quarries, iv., 406, 411, 412. + + Queensberry, Duke of, iii., 164, 202, 205, 210. + + Quoyness, i., 59. + + + Raban, Edward, iii., 363. + + Raeburn, Sir Henry, iv., 436‒439. + + Raid of Ruthven, ii., 179‒181. + + Ramorgny, Sir John, i., 322. + + Ramsay, + John, i., 460; + Allan, ii., 305; + his writings, iv., 165, 166; + Allan, painter, 429‒431. + + Randolph, Thomas, i., 283, 284. + + Ratisbon, ii., 351. + + Reader, office of, ii., 108, 174. + + Reeves, Dr., i., 127, 129, 181. + + Reformation, + rise of, ii., 16‒31; + eras of, 32, 85, 86; + history of, in Scotland, 38‒54, 58‒60, 67‒103, 104, 105, 149. + + Reformed Church, organisation of, ii., 104‒115, 121, 122, + 161‒175. + + Regalities, i., 225, 226, 373, 374, 425, 426; + iii., 225. + + Regality burghs, i., 234, 237, 238. + + Reid, + Dr. Thomas, writings, iv., 161‒169; + General, 427, 428. + + Religion, + prehistoric in Scotland, i., 58, 63, 99; + primitive, ii., 426, 428. + + Renwick, James, iii., 155, 171. + + Representatives of Scotland in the United Parliament, iii., 214. + + Rescissory Act, iii., 122. + + Resolutioners, iii., 109, 111. + + Reuchlin, ii., 17, 18. + + Revenue, i., 220, 221, 391. + + Revocation Act of Charles I., iii., 43‒45. + + Ricco, ii., 131, 132, 133, 134. + + Richard, I., i., 206. + + Riderch, King, i., 125. + + Ripon, iii., 80, 81. + + Roads, i., 256, 413; + iii., 225, 294‒296; + iv., 352‒355. + + Robert I., reign of, i., 283‒303. + + Robert II., reign of, i., 313‒319. + + Robert III., reign of, i., 319‒324. + + Robert, Prior of Scone, i., 201. + + Robertson, + William, iv., 148‒150; + Joseph, 162, 163; + E. W., 163; + George C., 139‒142; + James S., 425; + Andrew, 439. + + Robin Hood, i., 451. + + Rollo, a Norman hero, i., 190, 191. + + Rollock, + Robert, ii., 380, 381, 415, 416; + Hercules, 402. + + Roman Catholic Church, ii., 3‒14; + Power of, 14‒20; + state of the clergy, 20‒23, 40‒43, 51‒77, 78, 328, 329. + + Roman invasion, i., 104‒112. + + Romanised tribes, i., 112, 113. + + Rome, i., 45, 122, 129, 140, 341, 354, 355; + ii., 5, 20, 33, 58, 82, 103, 434, 435, 438. + + Roslin, battle of, i., 275. + + Ross, Earl of, i., 209, 211, 217, 264, 306, 312, 324, 325, 326, + 340, 341, 348. + + Ross, Lord, iii., 179. + + Ross, + Alexander, iv., 170, 171; + William, 425. + + Rothes, Earl of, ii., 130, 139, 150; + iii., 56, 60, 61, 120, 129, 148, 156, 165. + + Rothesay, Duke of, i., 320, 321, 322, 323. + + Rowll, i., 463. + + Roxburgh, i., 231, 232, 245; + Castle of, 248, 264, 290, 305, 364, 383. + + Roxburgh, Earl of, iii., 49, 57. + + Royal Burghs, i., 233‒237, 382‒387, 397‒408. + + Runic Inscriptions, i., 59, 175. + + Russell, Dr. William, iv., 152. + + Rutherford, Samuel, iii., 359‒362. + + Rutherglen, i., 386, 409; + iii., 152. + + Ruthven, + Lord, ii., 132, 133, 134, 135, 145, 158; + Master of, 219. + + Ruthwell, i., 175. + + + Sadler, Sir Ralph, ii., 57, 65. + + St. Adamnan, his life of St. Columba, i., 126, 181‒183. + + St. Andrews, i., 137, 148, 200, 201, 238, 239, 277, 322, 332, + 367, 387, 408, 413; + ii., 49, 66, 69, 70, 91, 96, 120, 136, 153, 199; + iii., 38, 151; + Castle of, i., 322; + ii., 49, 70, 71, 72, 73‒75; + Cathedral of, i., 249; + Bishop of, 137, 200, 209, 217, 255, 271, 281, 283, 285, 304, + 340, 345, 353, 355, 360; + ii., 36, 58, 71, 77, 78, 90, 138, 154, 159, 182, 271, 380; + iii., 19, 63, 119, 124, 129, 131, 135, 147, 151; + University of, i., 466; + ii., 405‒408, 410‒413; + iii., 390, 392, 393; + iv., 136, 178, 219, 220, 224. + + St. Bartholomew, massacre of, ii., 160, 161. + + St. Bridget, i., 131. + + St. Columba, i., 126‒131, 132‒135, 136. + + St. Cuthbert, i., 125, 126. + + St. Duthac, i., 436, 438. + + St. Fergus, i., 439. + + St. Fillan, relics of, i., 180, 439. + + St. Finnian, i., 127. + + St. Giles, i., 430, 431; + ii., 239. + + St. Kentigern, i., 124, 125. + + St. Maclou, i., 431. + + St. Monance, i., 430. + + St. Nicholas, i., 431; + ii., 239, 240. + + St. Ninian, i., 122, 123; + shrine of, 48. + + St. Regulus, i., 148. + + St. Serf, monastery of, i., 455. + + St. Servanus, i., 407. + + Sandlands, John, i., 358. + + Salt, export of, ii., 288, 289. + + Sang Schools, early, i., 245, 468; + ii., 421, 422. + + Sanquhar, Declaration proclaimed at, iii., 155. + + Sauchie Burn, battle of, i., 352. + + Saxons, i., 47, 112, 115, 116, 119, 141, 189. + + Scandinavia, i., 161, 190. + + Scandinavians, i., 47, 118. + + Schools, i., 245, 465, 466; + ii., 398‒405; + iii., 375‒388; + iv., 224‒327. + + Schrander, Dr., i., 41. + + Science, progress of, ii., 384‒391; + iii., 371‒374; + iv., 255‒323. + + Scolocs, i., 184. + + Scone, i., 119, 121, 137, 141, 204, 209, 213, 217, 221, 241, 260, + 262, 264, 283, 305, 313‒315, 319, 327, 353; + iii., 110, 223; + Monastery of, i., 201, 227, 239, 250; + ii., 94. + + Scots, i., 112, 116, 118, 120, 127. + + Scott of Tuschielaw, ii., 224; + John, 303, 372; + Walter, iii., 27; + Sir Walter, iv., 187‒189, 202‒204; + William B., 453. + + Scrymgeour, + Alexander, i., 366; + Sir James, iii., 19. + + Sculptured stones, i., 165‒174. + + Seaforth, Earl of, iii., 92, 110, 222. + + Selby, Sir William, iii., 21. + + Security of the Kingdom, Act for, iii., 205, 206. + + Segrave, Sir John, i., 275. + + Selkirk, i., 356; + ii., 189; + iii., 378; + iv., 371; + forest of, i., 223, 274, 287, 343. + + Semple, Robert, ii., 374. + + Serfs, i., 250, 380‒382. + + Seton, Sir Christopher, i., 283, 385, 453. + + Seton, Lord, ii., 138. + + Seton of Pitmedden, iii., 211. + + Severus, his campaign, i., 110, 111. + + Sharp, James, Archbishop of St. Andrews, iii., 118, 119, 120, + 124, 129, 135, 137, 143, 147, 148, 151, 152. + + Shawfield, iii., 218. + + Sherifmuir, battle of, iii., 223. + + Sheriffs, Sheriffdoms, i., 223, 261, 423‒426; + ii., 223. + + Shetland Isles, i., 22, 47, 174, 185, 215, 217, 346; + ii., 60; + iv., 372. + + Shipbuilding, i., 133, 240, 333, 363; + iv., 357‒363. + + Shipping, i., 239, 240, 241, 391‒393; + ii., 286‒289; + iii., 300‒303; + iv., 356‒357. + + Sibbald, Sir Robert, iii., 370. + + Sigurd, i., 138. + + Silver, ancient ornaments of, i., 177‒178. + + Siward, Earl of Northumberland, i., 140. + + Simpson, Sir James Y., iv., 313‒314. + + Simson, + Andrew, ii., 400, 403; + Robert, iv., 260; + William, 446. + + Sinclair, + Oliver, ii., 62; + Sir John, iv., 346. + + Skene, + Dr. Gilbert, ii., 392, 393; + Sir John, 383, 384; + iii., 18; + Dr. William F., iv., 161. + + Smith, + Adam, iv., 25, 43, 44‒59; + Alexander, 195, 196; + William R., 226, 227; + Robert A., 426. + + Smollett, Dr., iv., 150, 172, 173, 199. + + Social state of the People, i., 70, 71, 98‒103, 145‒157, 220‒254, + 366‒440; + ii., 222‒298; + iii., 232‒335. + + Solemn League and Covenant, iii., 85, 86. + + Solway Firth, 21, 26, 70, 105. + + Solway Moss disaster, ii., 62. + + Somerled, i., 205. + + Somerset, + Earl of, i., 326; + Duke of, ii., 76. + + Soulis, + John, i., 271, 274, 277; + Nicholas, 256. + + Southesk, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Spain, i., 357, 360, 363; + ii., 18, 19, 20, 131, 191, 192. + + Spear-heads, + flint, i., 50; + bronze, 76, 77. + + Spense, John, ii., 138. + + Spey, i., 150; + iv., 354. + + Spinoza, his method and ethics, iii., 418‒432. + + Spottiswood, + John, ii., 104, 108, 349, 350; + John, Archbishop, iii., 19, 26, 39, 63; + his writings, 357. + + Stair, Lord, iii., 223, 232, 235, 367, 368. + + Standard, battle of, i., 203, 204. + + Stephen, King, i., 202, 203. + + Stevenson, Professor, iv., 18, 75. + + Stevenson, Robert L., iv., 211, 212. + + Steward of Scotland, i., 214, 217, 218, 267, 274, 277, 292, 306, + 307, 308, 309, 312, 313. + + Stewart, Lord of Brechin, i., 321. + + Stewart, + Sir Walter, of Jedworth, i., 321, 384; + Sir Alexander, 328; + Sir James, 338; + Duncan, 319, 320; + Sir Walter, 327; + James, 360; + Captain James, iii., 235; + William, 236. + + Stewart, + Dugald, iv., 74‒84; + Matthew, 260. + + Stirling, i., 83, 116, 140, 151, 209, 233, 234, 238, 264, 276, + 386, 387, 391; + ii., 58, 93, 97, 99, 120, 124, 129, 140, 147, 152, 155, 179, + 181, 187; + iii., 59, 62, 123, 228; + iv., 369; + castle of, i., 206, 248, 277, 278, 291, 294, 307, 338, 341, + 352, 430; + ii., 140, 152, 181; + iii., 64, 228. + + Stirlingshire, i., 29, 119, 121, 265; + ii., 364; + iv., 341, 342, 343, 373, 378. + + Stirling, James, iv., 259, 260. + + Stirling, Earl of, iii., 366. + + Stone circles, i., 94‒96. + + Stone weapons and tools, i., 48‒53. + + Stone of Destiny, i., 119, 137, 264, 265. + + Stonehaven, i., 28, 106. + + Stormont, Earl of, iii., 222. + + Strachan, Colonel, iii., 106. + + Strafford, iii., 80. + + Strathbogie, i., 140, 284; + castle of, ii., 123, 124, 202. + + Strathclyde, i., 84, 85, 114, 139. + + Strathern, i., 136, 138. + + Strathern, Earl of, 203, 209, 213, 214, 217, 308, 317, 333. + + Strathmore, i., 28. + + Strathmore, Earl of, iii., 205. + + Strathspey, i., 27, 207, 267. + + Strathurd, lordship of, i., 378. + + Succession Acts, i., 296, 313‒315; + iii., 155. + + Stuart, Lord of Aubigny, i., 362. + + Stuart, + John, i., 68, 69; + Dr. Gilbert, iv., 151; + Dr. John, 162. + + Sugar works, iii., 330; + refining of, iv., 394, 395. + + Sunday, i., 158, 439; + observance of, enforced, ii., 247, 248, 251‒254; + iii., 269‒272. + + Superintendents, ii., 108. + + Surrey, Earl of, i., 264, 267, 268, 270, 364. + + Sutherland, Earl of, i., 306, 308, 318; + ii., 139; + iii., 53, 61. + + Sutherland, James, iii., 369. + + + Tables, institution of, iii., 56, 57. + + Tacitus, i., 106‒108. + + Tactics of the Scots, i., 412. + + Taverns, i., 415. + + Taxes in early times, i., 149, 150, 220, 221, 251, 386‒391. + + Tay, i., 27, 105, 106, 109, 110, 119, 264, 267, 287; + iv., 354. + + Test Act, iii., 158, 159. + + Teviotdale, i., 26. + + Thane, thanage, i., 152, 251, 252. + + Thrift, early laws touching, i., 128‒131. + + Thomas the Rhymer, i., 446‒448. + + Thomson, + James, iv., 167, 168; + Dr. Andrew, 219; + Dr. John, 309‒311; + Sir William, Lord Colvin, 266, 284; + George, 434. + + Thor, ii., 436. + + Thorburn, Robert, iv., 452. + + Thorfinn, i., 138, 139. + + Tithes, i., 243, 244; + ii., 40; + iii., 43, 44. + + Todd, Dr., i., 117. + + Torture, i., 276, 427; + ii., 195, 196; + iii., 134, 147, 148, 158, 177. + + Torwood, i., 291; + iii., 156. + + Traquair, Earl of, iii., 58, 59, 62, 77. + + Trent, Council of, ii., 79‒85, 161. + + Tucker, iii., 300, 301. + + Tullibardine, Marquis of, iii., 222. + + Tulloch, Dr. John, iv., 224, 225. + + Turgot, Bishop, i., 156, 200. + + Turnberry Castle, i., 286. + + Turner, + Sir James, iii., 134; + William, iv., 306. + + Tweed, i., 21, 138, 203, 363; + iii., 79, 86. + + Tweeddale, i., 26. + + Tweeddale, Marquis of, iii., 206, 210. + + Tyrie, James, ii., 353, 354. + + Tytler, + William, iv., 151; + Patrick F., 155. + + + Ulbster, i., 55. + + Umfraville, Sir Ingram, i., 274. + + Union of England and Scotland, + proceedings connected with, iii., 206‒215; + advantages of, 216, 217, 231. + + Universities, + institution of, i., 466‒468; + changes in, ii., 405‒419; + iii., 388‒393; + iv., 327‒330. + + Urns, i., 92, 93‒96. + + + Vane, Sir Henry, iii., 84, 85. + + Veitch, John, iv., 246, 247. + + Vesy, John, i., 258. + + Vienne, John de, i., 316, 317. + + ♦Vipont, i., 294. + + ♦ Printed out of alphabetic order. + + Vikings, i., 118. + + Vitrified forts, i., 90‒92. + + + Wade, General, iii., 224‒225. + + Wager of battle, i., 228‒229. + + Wake, Lord, i., 301, 315. + + Wales, i., 125, 174. + + Walker, + William, iv., 197, 198; + James, 425. + + Walls, Roman, i., 109, 110. + + Wallace, Sir William, i., 265‒272, 277, 278‒280. + + Wallace, + Adam, ii., 78; + William, iv., 253. + + Wanlock, lead mine, ii., 284. + + Wardlaw, Dr. Ralph, iv., 221. + + Warwick, iv., 342. + + Watson, Dr. Robert, iv., 152. + + Watt, James, iv., 272, 274‒281. + + Weapons, prehistoric, i., 49, 50, 75‒78. + + Webster, Dr. Alexander, iv., 214. + + Wedderburn, + Robert, ii., 319, 341; + James, 341, 343; + John, 343. + + Weights and measures, i., 239, 332, 401, 402. + + Wells, venerated, i., 128, 135, 260, 261. + + Welsh, + John, iii., 29; + Dr., iv., 483. + + Welwood, William, ii., 384, 385. + + Wemyss, glass work at, iii., 315. + + Westminster Assembly of Divines, iii., 85, 87‒89. + + Whig, early use of the word, iii., 155, 342, 350, 351. + + Whisky, ii., 192, 193; + iv., 396, 397. + + White Caterthun, i., 89, 90. + + William the Conqueror, i., 142, 143, 192, 193‒195, 196, 198. + + William the Lion, reign of, i., 205‒209, 222, 227, 230. + + William Rufus, i., 143, 196. + + William of Orange, iii., 171, 173, 174‒176, 178‒180, 183‒185, + 186‒190, 192, 201‒204. + + Willock, John, ii., 87, 97, 98, 101, 104, 108. + + Wilson, + John, iv., 105, 205, 206; + Alexander, 182. + + Wine, i., 393, 394, 415, 416, 432; + ii., 292. + + Winram, John, ii., 52, 104, 108, 158. + + Winzet, Ninian, ii., 349‒352. + + Wishart, + Bishop of Glasgow, i., 266, 273, 283, 285; + George, ii., 69; + seized and martyred, 69, 70. + + Witchcraft, ii., 9, 268‒277; + iii., 259‒264. + + Witherspoon, Dr. John, iv., 214, 215. + + Wool, i., 240, 333, 387, 388; + ii., 290; + iii., 306, 307, 308. + + Worcester, battle of, iii., 110. + + Wyntoun, Andrew, i., 455, 456. + + + York, Duke of, iii., 156, 157, 163. + + York, Archbishop of, i., 200, 201. + + Young, + Peter, ii., 403; + Dr. Thomas, iv., 267. + + Yule, i., 416, 417. + + + Zealand, i., 392. + + + END OF VOLUME III. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78940 *** |