of assembly, 1720, led to a very general desire to have that act re-considered, and something done to quiet the minds of men, and put an end to those evil surmisings, that were extensively spreading in every corner of the country. Far, however, from retracing their steps, candidly admitting that that assembly had been rash, and repealing their crude and ill-advised act-the fruit of that rashness-this assembly set to work, much in the same manner, first, by garbling the representation given in by the brethren, as its predecessor had garbled. the Marrow, and thus fixing imputations upon the representers, which their representation, fairly quoted, gave no room for, and then proceeding to censure them, as having "vented diverse positions, and used several expressions of dangerous tendency, and not agreeable to the form of sound words, contained in the Holy Scriptures, and our Confession of Faith and Catechisms."* The act of assembly, 1720, they largely explained and confirmed; and by this confirmation, though the explanations took away somewhat of their grossness, certainly homologated all the errors which had been, and still are, justly charged upon that unfortunate deed. All ministers of the church, were, as by that former act, prohibited from teaching any of those excepted positions; and presbyteries and synods were enjoined" to take particular care that the premises be punctually observed by all ministers of this church, and more especially the presbyteries and synods, within whose bounds. any of the brethren reside who signed the representation. And, considering that the brethren's desire, that the act, 1720, should be repealed, is unjust, the assembly does refuse the And because of the injurious reflections contained in their representation, as above mentioned, the assembly do appoint their moderator, in their name, to rebuke and admonish them; and though their offence deserves a much higher censure, yet the assembly forbears it, in hope, that the great lenity used towards them shall engage them to a more dutiful behaviour in time coming."

same.

The rebuke and admonition were given accordingly; and,

*Acts of Assembly, 1722, p. 25.

† Vide Act concerning the doctrine of grace, by the Associate Presbytery, in Gib's Display of the Secession Testimony, vol. i. pp. 176-211.

8

says,

as Mr. Boston, who was one of those who were admonished, "received by the representers with all gravity, as an ornament in the cause of truth." A protest against this deed, signed by every one of them, was, at the same time, given in by the hand of Mr. Kid, of Queensferry, a man of singular boldness, and instruments taken upon it in due form; but the assembly refused either to read it, or record it, and hasted to close the sederunt. Nothing else of great public interest seems to have come before this assembly, and it broke up on the twenty-second, having appointed its next meeting for the second Thursday of May, 1723.*

• Acts of Assembly, 1722.

THE

HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.

Book VI.

1722-1727.

Pretender's declaration-Ordered to be burned by the hands of the hangman-Bill for a tax upon papists-Christopher Layer executed—Atterbury banished-General Assembly-Scotish nonjurors-General Assembly-Dissensions among the Scotish bishops-Letter from the pretender-Scheme for an excise on beer in ScotlandRaises great dissatisfaction-Pretender withdraws his confidence from the earl of Marr-Plan for the ameliorating the condition of the Highlanders-Malt taxOpposition of the brewers-Riot at Glasgow-Magistrates carried prisoners to Edinburgh-General Wade-Attempt of the pretender to raise the Highlanders—Attempt to disarm them futile-Distraction in the pretender's councils-His wife takes refuge in a convent—He quarrels with the court of Rome-Removes the tutor of his son as requested by the pope-Resolves to leave Rome-Disappoints all his friends -Proposes to land in England-Defection among his adherents-Helpless state of his affairs-Plan for a Scotish Parliament-For making a conquest of Hanover— For a new manifesto— General Assembly—Intrigues of the episcopalians—Disputes among the bishops-Correspondence of the pretender discovered-Lockhart absconds -Complaints by the General Assembly-Messrs. Archibald and Glass-Unhappy influence of patronage-King goes to Hanover His Death and character-State of Scotland, &c. &c.

On the sixteenth of November, 1722, his majesty sent to the house of peers the original, with a printed copy of a declaration by the pretender, dated at Lucca, on the twentieth day of September, this present year," addressed to all his loving subjects of the three nations, and to all foreign princes and states, to serve as the foundation of a lasting peace in Europe." In this singular paper," the pretender begins with showing how fond he is of his subjects; that, though the obligation he owes to his own honour be great, yet the obligation to the safety and tranquillity of his native country, is above all ties the dearest to him and the tenderest. He then talks of the late violations to the freedom of elections; of conspiracies invented on purpose to give pretence for new oppressions; of infamous informers; and a state of proscription in which he concludes every honest

well-meaning man to be. These considerations have engaged him to enter seriously into himself, and examine his heart, what sacrifice to make on his own part for the public peace, espe cially of these kingdoms, of which he is the natural and undoubted father. Then he proposes, that, if king George will quietly deliver to him the possession of his throne, he will, in return, bestow upon him the title of king in his native dominions, and invite all other states to confirm it, with a promise to leave to him his succession to the British dominions secure, whenever in due course his natural right shall take place. As motives to this resignation, he says, that in king George's native dominions an uncontestable right will free him from the crime and reproach of tyranny, and represents the difference between a calm undisturbed reign over a willing people, and a restless possession in a strange land, where authority, forcing the inclinations of the people, can only be supported by blood and violence, eternally subject to fears and alarms, even when no danger appears. He concludes with saying, king George's settlement here is frail and uncertain, because his title shall, while the pretender has health or any descendants in being, be for ever disputed, conjuring him, instead of advising with an imperious ministry, as much his tyrants as the nation's, to consult his reason, to ask his conscience, and to examine his interest and glory, and then his very ambition will admonish him to descend from a throne, which must be always shaking, to mount another where his seat will be firm and secure."*

This piece of childish and inane sentimentality, the lords unanimously declared to be an insolent and traitorous libel, and as such, ordered it to be burnt at the royal exchange by the hands of the common executioner. The commons concurred in these resolutions, and both houses joined in an address, expressing their utmost astonishment and indignation at this insolence on the part of the pretender, and assuring his majesty, they would support his title to the crown with their lives and fortunes; and, perhaps to prevent a sudden call upon their fortunes, prepared a bill for raising one hundred thousand pounds upon the real and personal estates of all papists, or

*Parliamentary History, &c.

persons educated in the popish religion, to be applied towards defraying the expenses occasioned by the late disorders. This bill, though strenuously opposed by some of the more moderate members as a species of persecution, as it certainly was, passed to the lords, together with another, obliging all persons being papists in Scotland, and all persons in Great Britain, refusing or neglecting to take the oaths appointed for the security of the king's person and government, to register their names and real estates. Both these bills passed the upper house without amendment, and by the royal sanction, were speedily rendered effective as laws of the united kingdoms.

Nothing had hitherto been done with regard to the conspirators apprehended in the early part of the summer, but now, on the twenty-first of November, Mr. Christopher Layer was brought to trial before the court of king's bench, convicted of inlisting men for the service of the pretender, and sentenced to die; he was reprieved from time to time, and frequently examined by a committee of the house of commons, in order to elicit from him the particulars of the plot, but he refused to make any disclosures, and suffered death at Tyburn, on the twelfth of March, 1723, his head being afterwards fixed up upon Temple Bar.

The particulars of this plot have never been clearly explained. Mr. Pulteney, chairman of the committee of the house of commons, appointed to inquire into it, reported to the house, "that from the examination of Layer and others, it appeared that a design had been formed by persons of distinction at home, in conjunction with traitors abroad, for placing the pretender upon the throne of these kingdoms. That their first intention was to procure a large body of foreign troops to invade the kingdom during the time of the elections, but being disappointed in this, they had resolved to make the attempt, when it was expected the king should have gone to Hanover, with the assistance of such officers and men as could pass into the kingdom from abroad unobserved. The whole was to have been under the command of the late duke of Ormond, who was to have landed in the river with a large quantity of arms, pro

* Smollett's History of Great Britain, &c. &c.