Be it therefore enacted by his Majesty, with the Assent of the Lords and the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, That the said Treaty, and all the Articles thereof assented to as aforesaid, be and stand for ever ratified and established, and have the Force, Vigour, Strength, and Authority of a Law, Statute, and Act of Parliament.
Like as this afore-written Treaty, and whole Articles thereof, are by his Majesty and the States of the Parliament of Scotland, enacted and ordained in all time coming, the full force and strength of a true and perfect Security, and Act of the said Parliament.
And his Majesty for himself and his Successors, doth promise in verbo Principis, never to come in the contrair of this Statute and Sanction, nor any thing therein contained; but to hold the same in all points firm and stable, and shall cause it to be truly observ’d by all his Majesty’s Lieges, according to the Tenour and Intent thereof, for now and ever.
Like as the Parliament of both Kingdoms give full assurance, and do make publick Faith in the Name of both Kingdoms Respectively, for the True and Faithful Observance of this Treaty, and whole Articles thereof Inviolably, hinc inde, in all time to come.
2. Principal Baillie’s Journal of the Assembly, 1642, in a Letter to the Rev. William Spang.[295]
Cousin,
You had long ago from me, an account of our parliament; what has fallen out since in England and Ireland, you know it as well as I. The world sees the passages daily in print, and it is like, many hands will be careful to give account to posterity, of so many notable pieces of state as have fallen out this year in our dominions. The misintelligence of the King with his parliament continues to this day. When they had found the accusation, and had assayed to arrest by force in the middle of the House of Commons, five of their well-deserving members to ____________ the King’s long stay in his way from Scotland, and extraordinary caressing of the city of London, they became more jealous than ever, that their old enemies were on some new ways to make all their labours fruitless. Their great fears forced them to these guards which occasioned the King in malecontentment to go from Whitehall, and the Queen to leave the kingdom. Mutual misunderstanding has ever since increased pitifully; the putting of Sir William Balfour from the tower of London; my Lord Digby’s appearing in arms about Kingston, his flight to Holland, and idle letters to the King and Queen; my Lord Newcastle’s attempt on Hull, before Sir John Hotham’s coming there; Sir John’s refusing to let the King enter; his Majesty besieging of that place; my Lord Warwick’s using of the navy against the King’s mind; the great desertion of the parliament, by noblemen and others; that thrice traitor Goring’s delivery of Portsmouth to the King, has now well near betrayed Ireland to the will of the barbarous rebels, has put England in the posture of a most dangerous war, the event whereof, what it may be, we tremble to think. The best-affected of our council, before these evils went so high, thought meet to send up our Chancellor to see what his counsel might effectuate betwixt King and parliament. His Majesty, at that time, misliked the way of intercession, and caused the Chancellor to return, requiring our council withal to read and consider all that had passed betwixt him and the parliament, that finding how much he was injured by them in his just and legal prerogative, our council might, in name of our kingdom, declare the sense of these wrongs to the parliament by what commissioners they pleased. To this council-day were invited, by his Majesty’s letters, all the noblemen and other counsellors who were affected his way. The parliament, to preveen inconveniencies, moved our commissioners to send down Sir Archibald Johnston, with a declaration from them of their proceedings; trusting thereby to demonstrate, that all their ways with his Majesty should appear necessary and just. Upon that meeting of our council there were many eyes. The banders flocked to the town with so great backing, the Chancellor and Argyle’s company was so small, that there was a great rumour raised of a wicked design against Argyle’s person; but incontinent the gentry and ministry of Fife running over in thousands, and the Lothians with the town of Edinburgh cleaving to Argyle above expectation, the banders courage and companies of foot and horse melted away as snow in a hot sunshine. A paper of Sir Archibald Johnston’s, as a letter to a friend, gave good satisfaction to the minds of men. The petition of those who met was so resolute, full, and well conceived. My Lord Montgomery’s petition was so evil taken, that the council, however at the beginning for the far most part so resolute to have concluded a boasting mediation to the terrifying of the parliament, yet in end was glad to lay down all such motions. Since the King was not able to carry his intentions, his pleasure was we should desist for a time to essay any accommodation. When the Marquis of Hamilton had left, first the parliament, and then the King, we thought he had come to us with some instructions from the one or both; but it seems he had nothing from either, but, to eschew drowning, had chosen to leave both for a time, since both could not be kept, and to both his obligations were exceeding great.
It were a pity that our armies were so unhappily employed, when there is so fair an occasion offered to set our friends abroad on their feet, and to put our enemies once for all, over the brae, never more to arise to their terrible former greatness.
At this time I will only give you an account of our late assembly at St Andrew’s. On our way we heard of sundry rumours of the banders intention to essay their numbers, to extort from the assembly an exposition of our covenant, favourable for an expedition to England, for vindication of the King’s honour, which was alledged to be unjustly trampled upon by the parliament. However, we found no footsteps, when we came to the place, of any such plot; yet to preveen it, many of our best noblemen thought meet to countenance the assembly: not only all the noblemen of Fife—Weems, Burleigh, Sinclair, Elcho, Balcarras—but Argyle also brought over with him, Eglinton, Cassils, Glencairn, Lauderdale, Gordon, Maitland, and others, who all were elders, and voiced. The parliament of England also thought meet to send to us, by our commissioners, a declaration of their earnest desire to have their church reformed according to the word of God, and a copy of their petition to the King for peace. Lest the carrier hereof, Mr Robert Barclay, should have been so long detained by the King, whom he was directed to visit by the way, another copy was sent to us, which came with Mr Borthwick’s man, on the fourth morning, from London. We thought ourselves much honoured by the respectful letters both of the King and parliament to us. It seems it concerned both to have our good opinion.