“They acknowledged government as an ordinance of God, and governors as ordained by him, in so far as they rule and govern according to his word and the constitutive laws of the nation; but when these laws are annulled by other pretended laws—when an inexplicable prerogative in matters ecclesiastic is usurped and arbitrary power in matters civil is arrogated—when a banner of impiety is displayed—when parliaments are so prelimited as that no true son of the state or church hath liberty to sit or vote there—what shall the people do in such extremity? Shall they give up their reason as men, their consciences as Christians, and resign their liberties, fortunes, religion, and their all to the inexorable obstinacy, and incurable wilfulness and malice of those who, in spite of God or man, are resolved to make their own will the absolute and sovereign rule of their actions? Shall the end of government be lost through the weakness, wickedness, and tyranny of governors? Have not the people, in such an extremity, good ground to make use of that natural and radical power which they possess, to shake off that yoke? which, accordingly, the Lord honoured us (in a general and unprelimited meeting of the estates and shires in Scotland) to do; at which convention he was most legally and by general consent cut off by the declaration at Sanquhar. But that we may not seem to have done that, or yet to do the like, upon no grounds, we shall hint at some of the many thousands of the misdemeanours of the now cast off tyrant.” They then recapitulate the destruction of the noble constitution of the church and state by the first acts of his first parliament—the adjourning and dissolving parliaments at his pleasure—his usurpation of supreme head over all persons civil and ecclesiastic—his exorbitant taxations, and then expending the revenues of the crown for keeping up a brothel rather than a court—and his securing the succession to one as bad if not worse than himself. In conclusion, they offered to prove that they had done nothing contrary to the ancient laws of the kingdom, and only endeavoured to restore the church and state to the constitutional base on which they were established in 1648-9.
Exasperated at such an intrepid display of principle, the council paid homage to the deed by a miserable retaliatory act, for burning, by the hands of the common hangman, the Solemn League and Covenant, the libel called Cargill’s covenant, and the Rutherglen and Sanquhar declarations, together with the last most obnoxious one at Lanark, which was done accordingly upon an high scaffold erected at the cross of Edinburgh, the magistrates attending in their robes.[[146]] The town of Lanark was fined six thousand merks for not preventing what they could not possibly have anticipated; and William Harvey, a weaver, was hanged for publishing what he was not even present at, but he had been present at the declaration before Bothwell; and as the one was as bad as the other, he suffered accordingly.
[146]. It was remarked at the time, that the bailie who superintended the execution of this public affront to the Covenants, had his large house burned down not long after. “But,” as Wodrow well observes, “it becomes all to be very sparing in putting commentaries upon particular providences.” Vol. ii. p. 228.
Mr Patrick Warner, although not persecuted to the death, suffered a vexatious harassment, sufficiently severe. In 1669 he had been ordained at London as a missionary to India—and perhaps it may not be unworthy of remark in passing, that the persecuted churches in Britain, like the persecuted churches in Judea, were eminently honoured in being the most successful labourers in the missionary field. After a number of hindrances were removed, he was proceeding on his voyage, when he was captured by the Dutch fleet, being in an English vessel, but at length succeeded in arriving at his destination. He laboured about three years at Madras, till forced by ill health to return to his native land about 1677, where he preached as opportunities offered, in houses and fields, till Bothwell, when he fled to Holland, whence he returned, 1681, to be married to a daughter of the Rev. William Guthrie. The very day after his marriage he was apprehended—such was the malignant cruelty of the ruling renegadoes; and although no tangible charge could be brought against him, he was kept in confinement till June this year, and only released upon banishing himself the country, under a penalty of five thousand merks in case of his return—losing his books and paying jail fees to the extent of one hundred pounds sterling. He went to Newcastle, and was allowed to remain there quietly for some time, being only required to take the oath of allegiance, which he did with his own explanations, and afterwards went to Holland, where he remained till the Revolution, when he returned to Scotland.[[147]]
[147]. One day, when the council had finished their work, and were just rising, the clerk asked the chancellor, My lord, what will you do with Mr Warner? You have ordered him to oblige himself not to preach during the ten days allowed him for ordering his affairs; but if you knew him as well as I do, you would as well order him to go to the Grassmarket and be hanged, for he will do the one as soon as the other. What shall we do with him then, Hugh? My lord, if you would take my advice, instead of taking him obliged not to preach, I would take his engagement to preach thrice a-day while he stays in the kingdom, and so you will burst him and be quit of his din. The matter was laughed over, and the clerk allowed to draw his liberation without that clog. Wodrow, vol. ii. p. 254.
About this time the patriotic struggle in England had terminated unfavourably, and Charles found himself at liberty to recall his brother to court, on which occasion the Scottish bishops wrote a letter to his Grace of Canterbury, to be by him communicated to the king and their English brethren, expressing their sense of how much “their poor church and order did owe to the princely care and goodness of his royal highness, which, next to the watchful providence of God, had been their chief protection against the most unreasonable schism which, by rending, threatened the subversion of their church and religion”—“so that all men,” say they, “take notice that he looks on the enemies of the church as adversaries to the monarchy itself.” “The peace and tranquillity of the kingdom is the effect of his prudent and steady conduct of affairs, and the humours of our fanatics are much restrained from dangerous eruptions, upon the apprehensions of his vigilance and justice.”
Early in May, he returned to these his warm admirers, finally to arrange the government in the hands of their and his friends.[[148]] Queensberry, created a Marquis, he appointed treasurer; Gordon of Haddow, afterwards raised to the peerage as Earl of Aberdeen, chancellor; and Perth, who shortly after went over to popery, justice-general—an office of fearful importance during that bloody period. In about a week after, he took leave of the council, recommending to them at parting to pay particular attention to the support of the orthodox clergy and the suppression of the rebellious by sending more military missionaries to be quartered among them. In reply, they gave him as cordial assurances of thankfulness and obedience as he could have desired, and proceeded to carry his instructions into effect.
[148]. On his passage the vessel was wrecked, and about one hundred and fifty perished, among whom were, the Earl of Roxburgh, the Laird of Hopeton, Sir Joseph Douglas, and Mr Hyde, his own brother-in-law. He escaped himself with a few favourites; but it was said at the time that more might have been rescued, had he been less careful about his priests and his dogs.
As a preliminary, one Robert Gray, an Englishman from Northumberland, who had been apprehended about ten months before, and kept close prisoner, was brought to trial, accused of having written a letter to John Anderson, prisoner in Dumfries, “wherein he did declare our present sovereign, the best and most merciful of kings, to be a tyrant;” “and calling the test the black test, and destructive of all the work of reformation.” He acknowledged the letter, which seems to have been intercepted, but had been guilty of no overt act whatever, nor indeed was he accused; and for these expressions he was found guilty of treason, and hanged on the next day following his trial. “As for me,” said he, addressing the crowd from the ladder, “I am brought out of another nation to own that covenant which ye have broken. Glory, glory, glory, be to his name, that ever he gave me a life to lay down for him!” “As for you who are the remnant of the Lord’s people, keep your ground, and beware of turning aside to one hand or another, and I will assure you the Lord will prepare a Zoar for you. Cleave to truth and to one another, and as sure as God lives, ye shall yet see glorious days in Scotland! for I die in the faith of it, that he is on his way returning to the land! But wo! wo! will be to those who are enemies and strangers to him!”
Following up the recommendation of the Duke of York, the council directed Dalziel to march to the shire of Lanark to confer with the Duke of Hamilton and other commissioners of the shire about securing the peace in time coming—to inquire for a list of such rebels, either heritors or tenants, as had not submitted, that the obstinate might be brought to justice; and to consult upon some plan for seizing any of the wanderers or their vagrant preachers who might be skulking upon the confines of the shires next to Galloway and Ayr; also to take care that ways be fallen upon for making persons, both innocent and guilty, keep their parish churches; likewise to consider of a great abuse lately committed by some who illegally obtained restitution of the goods of such as have been fined for rebellion, or threaten those who buy them, and to make strict inquiry by every means to know if any of the rebels’ estates, or rents, or moveables be possessed by their wives, children, or friends, on their behoof. Afterwards he was to proceed to the town of Ayr to meet the Earl of Dumfries and the commissioners of that shire, and proceed in a similar manner assisted by the Laird of Claverhouse. Urquhart of Meldrum was to visit Roxburgh, Berwick, Selkirk, and East Lothian. Upon receiving the report of their delegates that some of the rebels were willing to submit, the council out of “pity and compassion” authorized them to grant “these miscreants” a safe conduct for one month to come in with their petitions for pardon, but without any promise that their prayer would be granted. It does not appear that more than six accepted the proffered boon.