These oure Petitionis being proponed, the Estate Ecclesiasticall began to storme, and to devise all maner of leys to deface the equitie of our caus. Thei bragged as that thei wald have publict disputatioun, which also we most earnestlie requyred, two thingis being provided; the formare, that the plane and writtin Scriptures of God shuld decyde all contraversie; DISPUTATIOUN WITH CONDITIONIS Secoundlie, that our brethrene, of whom some war then exiled, and by them injustlie dampned, myght have free accesse to the said disputatioun, and salf conduct to returne to thair duelling places, nochtwithstanding any processe whiche befoir had bene led aganis thame in materis concernyng religioun. THE OFFER OF THE PAPISTIS But these being by thame utterlie denyed, (for no judge wold thei admitt bot thame selfis, thare Counsallis, and Cannon law,) thei and thare factioun began to draw certane Articles of reconciliation, promissing unto us, yf we wold admitt the Messe, to stand in hir formare reverence and estimatioun, grant Purgatorie after this lyiff, confesse Prayer to Sanctes and for the dead, and suffer thame to enjoye thare accustomed renttis, possession, and honour, that then thei wold grant unto us to pray and baptize in the vulgare toung, so that it war done secreatlie, and nott in the open assemblie. But the grosness of these Articles wes suche, that with ane voce we refused thame; and constantlie craved justice of the Quein Regent, and a reasonable answer of our formare Petitionis. THE GRANT OF THE QUEIN REGENT The Quein, then Regent, ane woman crafty, dissimulate, and fals, thinking to mak hir proffeit of both parteis, gave to us permissioun to use our selfis godlye according to our desyres, providit that we should not maik publict assembleis in Edinburgh nor Leyth; and did promeise hir assistance to our Preacheouris, untill some uniforme ordour myght be established by a Parliament. To thame, (we meane to the Cleargy,) she quietlie gave significatioun of hir mynd, promissing that how sone any oportunitie should serve, she should so putt ordour in thare materis, that after thei should not be trubled; for some say thei gave hir a large purse,[750] 40,000 lib., sayis the Chronicle,[751] gathered by the Lard of Erleshall.[752] We, nothing suspecting hir dowblenes nor falshode, departed, fullelie contented with hir answer; and did use our selfis so qwietlie, that for hir pleasour we putt silence to Johne Dowglass, who publictlie wold have preached in the toune of Leyth; for in all thingis we soght the contentment of hir mynd, so far furth as God should not be offended against us for obeying hir in thingis unlawfull.
THE APPREHENSION OF WALTER MYLLE.
Schortlie after these thingis, that cruell tyrant and unmercyfull hypocrite, falselie called Bischope of Sanctandrois, apprehended that blessed martyre of Christ Jesus Walter Myln;[753] a man of decrepite age, whome most cruellie and most unjustlie be put to death by fyre in Sanctandrois, the twenty awcht day of Aprile, the year of God Jm. Vc. fyfty aught yearis: Whiche thing did so heighlie offend the hartis of all godlye, that immediatlie after his death began a new fervencie amongis the hole people; yea, evin in the toune of Sanctandrois, begane the people plainelie to dampne suche injust crueltie; and in testificatioun that thei wold his death should abide in recent memorie, thare was castin together a great heape of stones in the place whare he was brynt. The Bischope and Preastis thairat offended, caused ones or twyse to remove the same, with denunciatioun of Cursing, yf any man should thare lay ony stone. Bott in vane was that wynd blowen; for still was the heape maid, till that Preastis and Papistis did steall away by nycht the stones to big thare walles, and to uther thare privat uses.[754]
THE HYPOCHRISIE OF THE QUEIN REGENT.
We suspecting nothing that the Quein Regent wes consenting to the foirnamed murther, most humilie did complayne of suche injust crueltie, requiring that justice in suche cases should be ministrate with greattare indifference. Sche, as a woman borne to dissemble and deceave, began with us to lament the crueltie of the Bischope, excusing hir self as innocent in that caus; for that the sentence was gevin without hir knowledge, becaus the man sometymes had bene ane Preast; tharefoir the Bischop's Officiare[755] did proceid upon him without any commissioun of the civile authoritie Ex officio, as thei terme it.
We yit nothing suspectand hir falsheid, requyred some ordour to be tackin against such enormities, whiche sche promissed as oft befoir. Bot becaus schorte after thare wes a Parliament to be haldin, for certane effares pertenyng rather to the Quenis proffeit particulare, nor to the commoditie of the commoun wealth, we thocht good to expone our mater unto the hole Parliament, and by thame to seak some redress. We tharefoire, with one consent, did offer to the Quein and Parliament[756] a Lettir in this tennour:—
The Forme of the Lettir gevin in Parliament.
"Unto youre Grace, and unto yow, Rycht Honorable Lordis of this present Parliament, humlie meanes and schawes your Grace's faithfull and obedient Subjectis: That quhare we ar dalie molested, sklandered, and injured be wicked and ignorant personis, place-haldaris of the ministers of the Churche, who most untrewlie cease nott to infame us as Heretickis, and under that name thei most cruellie haif persecuted diverse of our brethrein; and farder intend to execute thare malice against us, onles be some godlie ordour thare fury and raige be brydilled and stayed; and yitt in us thei ar able to prove no cryme worthy of punishment, onless that to read the Holie Scriptures in our assembleis, to invocat the name of God in publict prayeris, with all sobrietie to interprete and open the places of Scripture that be redd, to the farther edificatioun of the brethrein assembled, and trewlie according to Christ Jesus his holy institutioun to minister the Sacramentes, be crymes worthy of punishment. Other crymes, (we say,) in us thei ar not abill to convict. And to the premisses ar we compelled; for that the saidis place-haldaris discharge no parte of thare deuiteis rychtlie till us, nether yitt to the people subject to us; and thairfoir, onless we should declair our selfis altogether unmyndfull of our awin salvatioun, we ar compelled, of verray conscience, to seak how that we and our brethrein may be delivered from the thraldome of Sathan. PROTESTATIOUN For now it hath pleased God to open our eyes, that manifestlie we see, that without extreame danger of our sowlles, we may in no wyise communicat with the damnable idolatrie, and intolerable abuses of the Papisticall Churche; and thairfoir most humblie requyre we of your Grace, and of yow Rycht Honorable Lordis, Baronis, and Burgesses assembled in this present Parliament, prudentlie to wey, and as it becum[757] just judges, to grant these our maist just and reasonable Petitionis.—
"First, Seing that the contraversie in religioun, which long hath continewed betuix the Protestants of Almany, Helvetia, and other provinces, and the Papisticall Churche, is not yitt decyded by a lauchfull and Generall Counsall; and seing that our consciences ar lyikwyes towcheit with the fear of God, as was thares in the begynnyng of thare contraversie, we most humlie desyre, that all suche Actes of Parliament, as in the tyme of darknes gave power to the Churche men to execute thare tyranny aganis us, be reasoun that we to thame wor delated as Heretiques, may be suspended and abrogated, till a Generall Counsall lawfullie assembled have decyded all contraverseis in religioun.
"And least that this mutatioun shuld seame to sett all men at libertie to lyve as thame list, We Secundarelie requyre, That it be enacted by this present Parliament, that the Prelattis and thare Officiaris[758] be removed from place of judgement; onlie granting unto thame, nocht the less, the place of accusatouris in the presence of a temporall judge, befoir whom the Churche men accusatouris salbe bundin to call any by thame accused of heresye, to whome also thei salbe bundin to deliver ane authentik copy of all depositionis, accusationis, and process led against the persone accused; the judge lykewyis delivering the same to the partie accused, assignyng unto him a competent terme to answer to the same, after he hath takin sufficient cautioun de judicio sisti.