had been deserted by it, they, almost to a man, refused to keep it.

*

But to return to the parliament-after various discussions, respecting the peace, and other matters, which, however important, do not belong to Scotish history, the house came at length to the providing the supplies, when the malt tax, being renewed, was now for the first time extended to Scotland. This occasioned the most acrimonious debates in both houses. The Scotish members, declared the bill to be a violation of the treaty of Union, which, it was affirmed, stipulated expressly, that no duty should be imposed on malt in Scotland, during the war, and the war, they contended, was not yet finished, Spain not being included in the treaty, that had so lately been signed. And, even though the war had been really ended, as, by the very words of the proposed act, the money raised by it, was to be applied to pay debts contracted the previous year, it was alleged, that it might with equal propriety, have been raised within that year, which no one would deny, would have been a manifest breach of treaty. It was also, from the alleged inferiority of the Scotish malt, stated to be unequal and oppressive,+ and from the poverty of the country, such as it could them, they insisted upon the enjoyment of their former privileges. The inhabitants of Barcelona, being summoned by the duke of Popoli to surrender to king Philip, answered, That though they would rather die than be slaves, yet, if their ancient liberties were confirmed, they would open their gates and receive him with joy.' But the Catalans being abandoned both by the emperor and by England, the court of Spain would be absolute. What happened afterwards; how vigorous and heroic a defence the Catalans made against the joint efforts of France and Spain; what miseries they underwent ; how many of them perished by the sword; how many of them were hanged or shot to death; and how many persons of figure were thrown into dungeons, there to lead out the remainder of their lives, will appear in the sequel. And here we cannot forbear lamenting the fate of a brave unfortunate people, who fought and suffered merely for their liberties and privileges, and have immortalised their name, by the noble though unsuccessful stand they made against usurpation and arbitrary power."-Life of the Duke of Berwick, Note, pp. 385, 386.

• So their speeches are reported by the most of our historians. For our parts, we have looked again and again, over the articles of the treaty of Union, and have not been able to discover this stipulation.

Lockhart has depicted in strong colours the selfish motives that actuated those who chiefly opposed this measure, though he was probably not aware

not possibly bear. Many of the English members were satisfied with the equity of those grounds, the Scotish members went upon, but a majority were of a contrary opinion, and the bill passed.

The debates upon, and the passing of this bill, awakened in the bosoms of Scotishmen, all those national prejudices and animosities, that had as yet, been only partially laid asleep, and the members for Scotland, of both houses, after mature delib, eration, determined, that laying aside all party distinctions, they should unite in carrying through the legislature, a legal but an immediate dissolution of the Union. In prosecution of this design, the duke of Argyle, the earl of Marr, Lockhart of Carnwath, and Mr. Cockburn of Ormiston, two peers, and two commoners of each party, were deputed to lay their grievances before the queen, and request her concurrence with a measure, which they stated to be absolutely "necessary for the welfare and honour of her ancient kingdom." Her majesty listened to their verbal remonstrance with evident surprise. " She was sorry," she said, "that the Scots believed they had reason to complain, but she was of opinion, they were driving their resentments too far, and wished they might not have reason to repent their conduct;" at the same time, with her characteristic good nature, she promised to endeavour to make all things easy.* In the meantime, every artifice was employed, to bring over to their views, the leaders of the different parties among the English, and especially to inflame the minds of the people of Scotland, that they might be ready for any desperate enterprise in behalf of the pretender, for whose sake, princi

that he was doing so. "The Scots," says he, "represented that this tax, though as easy and convenient for England, as any other, which raised so great a sum, in so far as it came directly off the farmer, and being thereby diffused into many other parts, became less burdensome and sensible, yet was quite otherwise in Scotland, where a great part of the rents, being paid in kind, it fell heavy, and immediately on the heritors, who could get no relief by raising the price, because, in that case, the brewers must raise the price of their eal, which brought them out of the frying-pan into the fire, for then they must pay the high excise, though in truth, the eal was no better than the English small beer, according to which, it is now valued and taxed." Lockhart Papers, p. 415.

Lockhart Papers, vol. i. p. 433.

pally all this uproar was created; and on the first of June, a motion for dissolving the Union, was made, in the house of lords, by the earl of Findlater, at that time chancellor for Scotland. His lordship had been one of the commissioners for the treaty of Union, which he was particularly active in accomplishing, and for his zeal and services therein had a pension allowed him, out of the post-office, of three thousand a year. Scotish independence, he valued so little, that at the rising of her last parliament, he jestingly exclaimed, "Now there is an end of an old song." Lockhart may therefore be fully credited, when he affirms, that "it is impossible to express his lordship's uneasiness during his speech; he made so many apologies for what he was to do, that it quite spoiled the grace of it, there being no appearance of that zeal and earnestness which a subject of this nature did require, and seeming more like a party motion and measure, than that it proceeded from a real conviction and sense of the calamities and injuries he complained of."+

His lordship's conviction of these injuries, could not be deep, as they were in a great measure imaginary, some of them, indeed, benefits of no ordinary magnitude. The whole he reduced to four heads. The want of a privy council-the being subjected to the treason laws of England-the incapacitation of Scotish peers for being peers of Great Britain; and the extension of the malt tax, which he contended would be a most intolerable burden to the poor in Scotland, and would confine them entirely to water for their drink, which he ought to have known had been effectually done already, by their own lords and lairds, who had but very rarely allowed them any thing else.

The motion was seconded by the earl of Marr, and supported by the duke of Argyle, the earls of Ilay, Eglinton, Nottingham, and Sunderland, the lords Townshend, Halifax, Powlet, Scarborough, and Scarsdale; the principal speakers in opposition to it, were the lords North and Gray, the carl of Peterborough, the lord chief justice Trevor, and the lord

treasurer Oxford. Argyle supported the motion with great warmth, and had he not in the course of his speech, thrown out some severe reflections upon the pretender, it had certainly been carried. Two bishops particularly, who possessed three proxies, took so much offence at some of his expressions, that they left the house before the division, and it was negatived by a majority of four voices. This debate affords a remarkable example of political inconsistency, and shows with what facility, statesmen frame plausible pretences to justify, or to forward their own selfish purposes. The whigs, who had with so much persevering diligence accomplished the Union, were now perfectly willing to give it up, while the tories, who had opposed it with the most determined inveteracy, held it fast. One of the most ostensible objects, too, of that treaty, was the security of the protestant succession, now the security of that succession was the principal argument brought forward for dissolving it!*

Being thus, happily for their country, disappointed in their object, the Scotish members held a general consultation next day, when it was resolved, not to move the question in the house of commons that year, lest it should there meet with a more unfavourable reception, but that in the meantime, they should procure addresses from all parts of Scotland, and, now that they had a precedent in the house of lords for entertaining the subject, endeavour bringing their purpose to the desired issue in the course of another year. No addresses, however, were procured, except from the shires of Edinburgh and Lanark, and these probably through the influence of Lockhart of Carnwath-the most inveterate and the most subtile of all the Scotish Jacobites, who possessed considerable property in both these shires-and in the course of another year, new and unexpected events put a bar, probably for ever, to any such proposal.

The only thing further that occurred in this parliament, that particularly regarded Scotland, was a bill brought in by Mr. Lockhart, and passed, to restrain the splitting of free

Sommerville's History of the reign of Queen Anne. + Lockhart Papers, vol. i. p. 437.

holds, and granting rights of estates, redeemable upon payment of small illusory sums, for the purpose of multiplying votes at elections of members to serve in parliament for the Scotish shires, a practice that had been carried on to a great extent, particularly by the friends of the revolution settlement, on which account it excited, in a high degree, the indignation of the tories; the motive of course was bad, though the object was praiseworthy; and its effects were trifling, corruption being then as now, too strongly intrenched behind the circumvallations of corporation influence, and the less formidable to appearance, but really more impregnable lines of individual interests, to be overthrown by the irregular and tumultuous attacks of party feeling. Till there be a moral amelioration breathed through the body politic, soothing the rage of party, and disposing all to the love of truth and the practice of charity, the hydra may have a head now and then accidentally cut off, but another instantly springs up in its place; and, while there may be a momentary relief from some trifling inconveniences, the radical evil remains, accumulating respect with its years, and strength from every partial conflict.

To all who had drunk into the spirit of freedom, and wished well to the best interests of mankind, the presumptuous conduct of the pretender, and the unwearied, though often foolishly directed zeal of his friends, were constant sources of inquietude, and, in the course of this session, two addresses were presented to the queen, one by the lords, and one from the commons, beseeching her to use her influence with the duke of Lorrain, and all the other princes in amity with her, not to suffer the pretender to reside in their dominions. In the house of lords the address was opposed by nobody but the lords North and Gray, who asked where they would have that person to reside, since most, if not all the powers of Europe were in amity with her majesty? He was answered by the lord Peterborough, "that as he [the pretender] had begun his studies at Paris, the fittest place to improve himself was Rome." In the house of commons, it was opposed by Sir William Whitlock, who remarked, that the like address had been made to Oliver Cromwell for having Charles Stuart removed out of France, notwithstanding which, he was some