6. Battle of Sheriffmuir.—Meanwhile Mar was managing the affairs of James almost as badly in Scotland. He entered Perth September 28 with a force of 5,000. On the 2nd of October a detachment of eighty horse captured a vessel with 300 stand of arms, which were intended for the Earl of Sutherland in the North. The vessel had been driven by stress of weather to seek shelter at Burntisland, on the coast of Fife. Instead of pushing on while his followers were inspirited by this success, Mar stayed at Perth doing nothing. The Duke of Argyle, who was sent to oppose him, arrived in Scotland and marched to Stirling in the middle of September. He had then only 1500 men at his command, but before Mar made any attempt to engage him his army had been more than doubled by reinforcements from Ireland. It was not till November 10 that Mar left Perth. He marched south as far as Ardoch. Argyle brought his troops forward to Dunblane. On Sunday the 13th, the two armies advanced to meet each other, and a battle was fought at Sheriffmuir, a moor on the slope of a spur of the Ochils. The result was doubtful. Each army defeated and put to flight the left wing of the other and then drew off the field, the rebels to Ardoch, Argyle to Dunblane, and both lost about the same number of men. Each side claimed the victory, but Argyle took possession of the field the next day. After the battle Argyle went back to Stirling and Mar to Perth. There the clans began to desert him, going home as usual with their plunder, while Argyle's force was increased by six thousand Dutch troops.
7. Arrival of James.—James at last made his appearance, but not till his followers had been taken prisoners in the one country and had lost their spirit in the other. He landed at Peterhead, December 22, attended by only six persons. He was met by Mar, and went on to Scone, whence he issued six proclamations, and fixed his coronation for January 23. The news of his landing had somewhat revived the spirit of his followers, but, when they met, both parties were disappointed; James with their scanty numbers, and they with his heaviness and stupidity. Soon after, a vessel coming from France with gold for the rebels was stranded and the money lost. At last Argyle began to advance against James, who retreated from Perth, greatly to the disgust of the clans. From Perth they went to Dundee, and from thence to Montrose. Twelve hours after they had left Perth Argyle entered it, but he was so slack in his pursuit of the rebels as to give rise to suspicions of his own loyalty. A few days later, February 4, James set sail secretly for France with Mar and several other nobles. He left a letter for Argyle, and all the money he had with him for the benefit of the poor people in the villages round Perth, which had been burnt by his order. His men, grieved and disappointed to find that their leader had deserted them, went back to their native glens. Most of the officers escaped to the Orkneys, and from thence to the Continent.
8. Trials and Penalties.—Few prisoners had been made in Scotland. Of those taken at Preston, the half-pay officers were at once shot as deserters, the common soldiers were imprisoned in Chester and Liverpool, while their leaders were taken up to London, which they entered with their hands tied behind them and their horses led. Six nobles, the Earls of Nithsdale, Wintoun, and Carnwath, Viscount Kenmure, and the Lords Widdrington and Nairn, were arraigned before the House of Lords on a charge of treason. All except Wintoun pleaded guilty, and threw themselves on the King's grace; but they were all condemned to death. This sentence was executed on Derwentwater only. Kenmure and Nairn and Carnwath were reprieved, while Nithsdale escaped by the help of his wife the night before the day on which he was condemned to die; and Wintoun, though found guilty on his trial, escaped also. Forster, MacIntosh, and several others, had the same good fortune. Of those lower in rank, twenty-two were hanged in Lancashire and four in London. An Act of Grace, passed in 1717, released Carnwath, Widdrington, Nairn, and all others who were still in prison; but it did not restore the estates which they had forfeited by their treason. The following year another Jacobite conspiracy was got up. In this both Spain and Sweden were concerned; Spain promised to help with money, while Charles the Twelfth of Sweden was to invade Scotland with twelve thousand soldiers. It was discovered, and prevented by the arrest of the persons suspected of sharing in it.
9. Malt-tax Riots.—In 1713 it was proposed to extend the malt-tax which was paid in England, to Scotland. But this measure met with such strong opposition on the part of the Scotch members as almost to threaten a dissolution of the Union. At length, in 1724, a duty of threepence on every barrel of ale was laid on instead of the malt-tax. But though this time the members agreed to the new tax, the people would not, and a serious riot broke out at Glasgow. Two companies of foot were sent from Edinburgh to put down the tumult, under the command of Captain Bushell, who ordered his men to fire, whereby nine persons were killed and many more wounded. This only made the rioters more furious. Bushell narrowly escaped being torn in pieces by the mob, and had to seek refuge in Dunbarton Castle. The tumult was not put down till General Wade brought up a force large enough to overawe the mob, and sent the magistrates prisoners to Edinburgh. There they were tried and acquitted. To avoid paying the tax, the brewers of Edinburgh made a compact to brew no more beer if the duty were not taken off. In consequence of these disorders the office of Secretary of State for Scotland was done away with, because the Duke of Roxburgh, who held it, was suspected of encouraging the discontent. At length the Earl of Islay was sent down to Edinburgh, and succeeded in restoring quietness. Bushell was tried for murder and found guilty, but was afterwards pardoned and promoted.
10. Porteous Riots: 1736.—Twelve years later the peace was again broken by a tumult at Edinburgh. One Wilson, a smuggler, lying under sentence of death for having taken part in a fray in which a Custom-house officer was killed, had won the sympathy of the people by the clever way in which he had managed the escape of a fellow-prisoner. When he was hanged at the Grass Market, the mob pelted the guard with stones. On this Porteous, Captain of the City Guard, ordered his men to fire, and several innocent persons in the crowd were killed and wounded. Porteous was tried, and condemned to death as a murderer, but a reprieve was sent down from London. Then the people, remembering the case of Bushell, determined to take the law into their own hands. On the evening before the day which had been fixed for the execution of the sentence, while Porteous was feasting with his friends to celebrate his escape from danger, they gathered in great numbers. To ensure against surprise they disarmed the city guard, took their weapons, and themselves guarded the gates, so as to prevent any tidings being carried to the regiment quartered in the suburbs. They then marched to the Tolbooth, formerly the Parliament-house, but now used as a prison. The door was so strong that it defied all their efforts to burst it open. They set fire to it, upon which the jailer threw out the keys. Leaving the doors open to let the other prisoners escape, they then went straight to Porteous' cell, dragged him out of the chimney where he was hiding, and carried him to the Grass Market, the place of public execution. There they hanged him to a dyer's pole, with a rope which they had taken from a dealer's stall on the way, and in payment for which they had left a guinea. They then dispersed, without noise or further violence. The ringleaders were never discovered, though all ministers of parishes were required to read from their pulpits once a month for a year a proclamation calling on their congregations to give them up. The Government brought in a Bill for disgracing the city by the loss of the charter and the razing of the gates. But this measure was not carried, and the only penalties inflicted were that Wilson, the Provost, was declared incapable of holding office in future, and that the city was fined 2,000l. for the benefit of Porteous' widow.
11. The "Forty-five."—In 1719 there was a small attempt made to get up another Jacobite rising. This attempt was favoured by Spain, which, just at this time, under the guidance of Cardinal Alberoni, minister of Philip the Fifth, once more began to take an active part in European affairs. England had joined the Quadruple Alliance against Spain, which was therefore ready to help in an attempt to overthrow the English Government. The Marquess of Tullibardine landed on the Lewis with a body of three hundred Spanish soldiers. But the stores and arms which were to have been sent to him were lost on the way, and, though about two thousand Highlanders mustered, they were defeated at Glenshiels by the regular troops. The Highlanders fled to the hills, while the Spaniards surrendered, and thus the attempt came to nothing. But the clans were still unsubdued, and were ready to break out again at any time. General Wade, who had been commander-in-chief since the 1715, made excellent roads in many places where there had been none before, and an Act was passed for disarming the Highlanders. But this did more harm than good. The clans that were faithful to the Government gave up their arms; but this only made them unable to resist the rebels, who kept theirs hidden and ready for use when occasion should come. England was now engaged in a continental war; most of the troops were out of the kingdom, and the time seemed favourable for another effort. France too promised help. Early in 1744 an army of 1,500 men under the command of Marshal Saxe, one of the most skilful generals in the French service, was collected at Dunkirk, and embarked in French transports for the invasion of England. But the fleet was dispersed by a storm, and the French were unwilling to give any further help. The next year Charles Edward, son of the Old Pretender, called the Young Chevalier, who was to have led this expedition, determined to make a venture on his own account. Without money, without arms, with only seven followers, he landed at Moidart, on the west coast of Inverness, and called on the Jacobite clans to muster and follow him: July 25, 1745. In vain their chiefs, headed by Cameron of Lochiel, pointed out to him the rash folly of such an enterprise, he persisted, and they, letting loyalty get the better of common sense, took up the cause and summoned their clansmen. The standard of James was raised at Glenfillan, August 19, and the commission, naming Charles Regent in his stead, was read to about a hundred motley but enthusiastic followers. Already a small band of them had had a foretaste of victory. On their way to the muster they had compelled two companies of regular troops, which they had intercepted on their way to relieve the garrison of Fort William, to lay down their arms. This was followed by a series of successes as unlooked for as they were extraordinary. Sir John Cope was sent to oppose the rebels with all the troops that the Government could raise. But he mismanaged matters, and, instead of bringing the enemy to a battle, he let the Highland army, which was gathering like a snowball on its way, pass him. While he went northward, it came down unopposed upon the Lowlands, entered Perth, and advanced towards Edinburgh, where James was proclaimed.
12. Taking of Edinburgh.—The citizens were in the greatest alarm when they heard that the Highlanders had crossed the Forth. A small band of volunteers and a regiment of dragoons under Colonel Gardiner marched out to meet the rebels as far as Colt Bridge. But when the first shots were fired by a small reconnoitring party from the Highlanders, they turned and galloped back to Edinburgh. This shameful flight was called the Canter of Coltbrigg. Charles summoned the city to surrender; the perplexed magistrates, not knowing what to do, tried to win time by sending repeated messages to Charles. But early the following morning a body of five hundred Camerons under Lochiel surprised and entered one of the city gates. They then secured the watchmen, opened the other gates, and thus the city was in the hands of the rebels. At noon of the same day the heralds and pursuivants were obliged to proclaim James at the Cross as King James the Eighth, and to read his Royal Declaration and the Commission of Regency. Charles entered the city the same day, September 17, and took up his quarters in the Palace of Holyrood. That night all the Jacobites in the city gathered at a ball to celebrate his arrival.
13. Battle of Preston-pans.—Meanwhile Cope had brought back his troops by sea and landed them at Dunbar. Charles marched out from Edinburgh to meet him. At a village near Preston-pans, so called from the pans used there for crystallizing the sea-salt, the Highlanders defeated the regular troops, and came back triumphant to Edinburgh with the money and the cannon which they had taken, September 20. In this battle Colonel Gardiner was killed close to his own park wall. Charles lingered at Edinburgh, holding his court at Holyrood, till November 1, when he began his march towards England, at the head of an army of five to six thousand men. Carlisle surrendered to Charles, who left a garrison to defend the castle, and marched on unresisted through Preston and Manchester, as far as Derby, which he reached on December 4. Charles was now two days' march nearer London than the army under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George the Second, which had been sent to oppose him. A panic prevailed in London, where the citizens expected hourly to see the wild Highlanders enter and spoil the city. Their fears were, however, unfounded. Jealousies and discord were rife among the rebel chiefs. At Derby Charles held a council of war. Some of his officers advised one thing, some another. But as they would not agree to march on to London without delay, Charles, sorely against his will, was obliged to give the order for retreat, and to lead his dispirited followers back again as quickly as they had come. Cumberland followed close on their rear. At Clifton Moor, near Penrith, there was a slight skirmish, in which the rebels had the advantage. But they did not wait to risk a battle there, but hurried north, passing on their way through Dumfries and Glasgow, where they levied contributions.
14. Battle of Falkirk.—When Charles reached Stirling, his army was joined by reinforcements which raised its number to eight or nine thousand. He prepared to lay siege to the Castle. General Hawley was seat from Edinburgh with a nearly equal force to relieve it. The two armies met on Falkirk Moor, January 17, 1746. Hawley was as totally and shamefully beaten as Cope had been at Preston. Instead of following up his advantage by pursuing and destroying the royal army, Charles remained inactive in the field, and allowed his followers to plunder the bodies of the slain. The next day he went on with the siege of Stirling. The Duke of Cumberland was now sent north, with full power to put down the rebellion as he pleased. He reached Edinburgh January 30, and the very next day set out at the head of an army in quest of the rebels. Charles raised the siege of Stirling, and hurried north. He entered Inverness, and took Forts George and Augustus, where he found supplies of food, guns, and powder, of which his army stood in great need.
15. Battle of Culloden.—Meanwhile the King's troops were closing round the rebels, who, cooped up in the barren mountains, were reduced to the greatest straits. All supplies sent from France were cut off before they reached them, and for several days they had no food but a little raw oatmeal. It was plain that the battle that was unavoidable must be a defeat. Culloden Moor was the scene of this the last battle fought on British ground. The rebels, who were nearly starving, and who had been worn out by a long march and an attempted night-attack that had altogether failed, soon gave way, and were easily routed by the Duke's well-disciplined and nearly twice as numerous army: April 16, 1746. The French auxiliaries fled towards Inverness, where they laid down their arms. The rebels lost one thousand men, a fifth of their whole number; the victors only three hundred and ten. About twelve hundred of the fugitives rallied at Ruthven; but Charles begged them to disperse, and every man sought his own safety as he best might. The after measures of the victors were disgraceful to all concerned. No quarter was given; the wounded were slaughtered in cold blood, or burnt in the houses to which they had crawled for shelter. For three months martial law prevailed; the country was wasted, the houses burnt, the cattle lifted, the people left to perish. It was not till July that the Duke, who in Scotland was called the Butcher, went back to London, where he was hailed as the deliverer of his country, and rewarded with a pension of 25,000l. a year.