two miles of the court: whereupon they returned to Edinburgh without accomplishing the object of their journey. The Tables then despatched Mr. William Cunningham of Brownhill, with a strong remonstrance, but to which they gave the softer name of a petition, that the parliament might be allowed to proceed; or in case his majesty should desire to hear their complaints in person, that he would admit some of their number to his presence. On the 23d December, Cunningham returned, and brought a proclamation for commissioners to repair to court. Traquair, also, returned on the 18th of the same month, and privately removed the crown and regalia from Holyrood House to the castle1.

1640.-AS TIME advanced, the Tables assumed a more determined tone, and began secretly to improve their military strength. Notwithstanding their engagement at Birks, they had never entirely disbanded their forces; and they had kept all their officers together, and on full pay, to be in readiness when they found it expedient to levy war against the king. Charles himself began to see that an appeal to arms was the only means by which he could retain the crown on his head. The English puritans were in full communication with the Tables, and encouraged them in their rebellion by the promise of assistance. The parliament itself did not separate entirely, when prorogued, but appointed A COMMITTEE OF ITS MEMBERS to sit and deliberate, and assist the Tables. On the 19th January, this Committee sent up Dumfermline and Loudon to court a second time; and, with them, Sir William Douglass, of Cavers, and Robert Barclay, provost of Irvine, to support the particular acts proposed by the lords of the articles; to insist with his majesty to assign a short day for the re-assembling of parliament; and to remonstrate against his reinforcing the castles of Edinburgh and Dumbarton2. On the 25th of February, however, a reinforcement of 300 men arrived in two vessels of war, under the command of Captain Slingsby, with a quantity of munitions of war, and got into the castle unmolested.

As war was now inevitable, it became necessary to replenish his treasury, and Charles, after a long intermission, issued writs for the assembling of his fourth English parliament, and which met on the 3d April. But instead of proceeding to business the Commons fell upon their former system of complaints; Pymm exaggerated all the extraordinary cases of raising money, and the long intermission of parliaments; Grimstone spoke against ship-money, and the opinions of the judges on

1 Guthry's Memoirs, 57.

2 Stevenson's Church and State, 409.

it. The peers saw the object of the Commons, and desired a conference, at which they advised them to waive these "grievances" for the present, and to grant the king a supply. The Commons were so offended at this advice, that they voted it a great breach of privilege, and would not proceed to any business till the peers had made satisfaction. To soften the wounded dignity of the Commons, and to reconcile the two houses, the king addressed a letter to them, in which he agreed to quit the obnoxious claim of ship-money, if they would grant him twelve subsidies to be paid in three years. The house entertained this proposal, and were chiefly desirous that the amount required might be diminished; when Vane, the solicitor-general, imprudently assured them that the king would not abate a farthing of his demand. At the same time he abused the king's confidence by telling him that the Commons were so indignant at the ship-money, that if they were allowed to sit much longer they would deprive his majesty of that branch of his revenue without furnishing him with any equivalent. These wicked and treacherous falsehoods so wrought on the king that he dissolved the parliament before the Commons had time to vote the supplies. In this dilemma the earl of Strafford subscribed twenty thousand pounds by way of loan, which was followed by the duke of Richmond with a like sum, and most of the peers, bishops, judges, and officers of the courts of law, also subscribed, "and generally all the gentry of estates, who were not of the Scottish leven, contributed, according to their abilities, to his majesty's present supply." The Irish House of Commons voted "with one consent cheerfully four entire subsidies towards his present preparation to reduce his disaffected subjects, the Covenanters of Scotland1."

The Scottish commissioners, while trying to divert the storm that was now accumulating, were industrious in forming a party in England to favour their pretended reformation in the extirpation of episcopacy, and the establishment of their covenant. For this purpose the earl of Rothes had sent with them a letter to the earl of Pembroke, upon the slight acquaintance of having met at Birks on the negociation of the treaty there. Lord Pembroke gave him no encouragement to continue the correspondence, but charged him directly with the guilt of rebellion, and affirmed that his letter was "fuller of sophistry and mean designs than of truth or of reason." First, he says, never allowed your defence to be lawfully undertaken, by other

1 Nalson's Collections, i. 280-283.

“I

arms than by petitions and prayers unto your master. I never found loyalty in your covenant, nor duty in your taking up arms. I never affirmed the justice of your cause; neither did I consider so much the merit thereof, as your unwarrantable and tumultuous disobedience therein unto the king, with the vexation and disturbance it brought upon the nobility of this kingdom. Neither was I in all this commotion your advocate, for other reasons than suffering myself to become a mediator to his majesty for your peace and forgiveness, moved thereunto by your frequent protestations of paying all duty and loyalty to your master's commands. If from hence you haply gained from me an easier credulity than your masked designs deserved at my hands, I know not why you should obtrude on me an alteration of my opinion, or of withdrawing of my (but conditional) respects from you. .... You may pretend religion to be the sole cause of your grievance; but we believe it a woeful religion here, that hath thus divested itself of all moral duty and civility 1."

This loyal letter did not alter the course of the rebel chiefs; for they were equally industrious in gaining over the common people, but especially the puritans, with whom they had all along maintained a secret correspondence through the medium of pedlers. They insinuated into the minds of the common people the secret designs of the court and the clergy, of introducing popery and arbitrary power; by which means an alarm was created, and their affections were withdrawn from their duty and allegiance. The preparations made by the rebel Tables, and the concentration of their forces, obliged the king to collect an army to oppose them. The covenanting and presbyterian ministers, in their fiery zeal, sounded out the note o rebellion from their pulpits; and they taxed the king with a breach of the articles of the pacification at Birks, although it was notorious that the violation was on their own side. They took advantage of the burning of the scandalous libel, already mentioned, to tell their hearers that the king had burnt the treaty itself by the common hangman, which incensed them, and made them the more readily listen to the ministers' exhortations to rebellion. To raise money, the seditious preachers persuaded the people to contribute their plate and jewellery, and they wrested many texts of Scripture, that they might with more facility prevail upon them. Some of the nobles gave their bonds for large sums; but their chief supply was derived from one William Dick, a rich citizen of Edinburgh, who advanced

1 Nalson's Collections, i. 283-85.

his whole fortune, which was very considerable. It seems he was a vain-glorious man, and they flattered his vanity with many fair words, and by procuring his election to the chief magistracy of the city, the office of lord provost being then vacant, owing to the flight of sir John Hay, whose life was threatened for his loyalty, and for having accused the earl of Traquair of treachery before the king in the business of the late Assembly and parliament. The Covenanter chiefs now purchased arms and ammunition from their friends in Holland, and in May they laid siege to Edinburgh Castle, which was bravely defended by general Ruthven, who had been created lord Etterick. This nobleman was forfaulted in the parliament this year, and his property, which consisted principally of money, was escheated for the use of the Tables. They were encouraged to proceed in the war by the puritans, who urged them with the promise of assisting them with men and money as soon as they should invade the realm of England.

On the 11th of June the parliament met at Edinburgh, without any authority from the king, or any commissioner to represent his majesty; the house, therefore, elected Robert lord Burleigh to be their president in that session. This parliament sat only eight days, but in that short time thirty-nine ordinances were passed, and the whole constitution was completely remodelled. By the second act the spiritual estate was for ever excluded from sitting in parliament; and the three estates were declared to be 1,noblemen; 2, barons; 3, the members for counties and burghs: this act also rescinded all former acts, in which churchmen, under whatsoever title, were declared the third estate of the kingdom. The third act regulated the choice of COMMITTEES from each of the estates, which was the first positive law for committees. The fourth ratified the act of the late General Assembly, which was entituled "Anent the six causes of our by-past evils." The fifth ratified the covenant, and the Assembly of 1639. The sixth was called rescissory, because it rescinded all former acts of parliament which grant to the kirk or kirkmen, of whatsoever sort, the privilege of riding and voting in parliament, as prejudicial to the liberties of the kirk, and incompatible with her spiritual nature; and the act declares, that the sole and only power and jurisdiction within this kirk stands in the kirk of God, as it is now reformed, and in the general, provincial, and presbyterial assemblies with sessions of the kirk. The eighth act condemned the king's "Large Decla

Nalson's Collections, i. 285-86.-Guthry's Memoirs, 47.-Balfour's Annals, ii. 373.

ration," as false in many things, full of untruths and lies, &c. The sixteenth suppressed the distinction of spiritual and temporal lords of the court of session, and for ever after excluded all churchmen from being judges. The seventeenth against leasing-makers, and which was purposely framed to reach Traquair, (who, by his double dealing, had also offended the Covenanters,) and sir John Hay, clerk-register, sir Robert Spottiswood, president of the court of session, and Dr. Maxwell, bishop of Ross. The eighteenth ordained all unlawful proclamations to be null, under pain of treason; whereby they intended to prevent the king's proclamations from being made public. The nineteenth declared all the Bands and Conventions since the commencement of the rebellion to be legal and lawful; and the thirty-eighth ordained "the whole subjects and lieges of this kingdom to obey, maintain, and defend the conclusions, acts, and constitutions of this present session of parliament, and to subscribe the Band appointed for that effect." There were in all thirty-nine ordinances passed, but those above named are the most remarkable, " as exhibiting the real greatest change at one blow that ever happened to this church and state these 600 years by past; for in effect it overturned not only the ancient state government, but fettered monarchy with chains, and set new limits and marks to the same, beyond which it was not legal to proceed1."

THE SIEGE of the Castle was vigorously pressed, and the earl of Argyle overrun the district of Athole and the county of Forfar, demolished Airly House, plundered and burnt the whole estate of the earl of Airly. He sent the earl of Athole, and all the loyal gentry of that country, prisoners to Stirling Castle, and levied a forced contribution on the inhabitants, of ten thousand pounds, on the cruel maxim of making war support war. At the same time, major-general Monro was sent northwards, to chastise the uncovenanting citizens of Aberdeen, of whom he arrested thirty-six. He took the house of Drum, and sent the laird and his brother, with sixteen barons and gentlemen, that had nobly refused to sign the covenant, prisoners to Edinburgh, who were committed to the castle. He maintained his army on their estates, and oppressed their tenants and friends. He then marched forward to Elgin, and besieged good bishop Guthry, in his castle of Spynie, a few miles from that city, which he took, and carried off the bishop a prisoner. From Elgin, he returned and plundered all the lands of the marquis of Huntly, and placed a garrison in his family man

1 Balfour's Annals, ii. 373-379.