But these letters, though disapproved of in part by the council, were merely preparatory to much more important steps, viz., the issuing of two successive proclamations by the king on the 12th of February and the 5th of July in the following year, granting full and free toleration to Presbyterians, Catholics, and Quakers, with liberty to exercise their worship in houses and chapels. He also suspended the severe penal statutes against the Catholics, which had been passed during the minority of his grandfather; but he declared his resolution to preserve inviolate the rights and privileges of the then established (Episcopal) church of Scotland, and to protect the holders of church property in their possessions.
By the Presbyterians who had for so many years writhed under the lash of persecution, these proclamations were received with great satisfaction; and at a meeting which was held at Edinburgh of the Presbyterian ministers, who had assembled from all parts of the country to consider the matter, a great majority not only accepted the boon with cheerfulness, but voted a loyal address to his majesty, thanking him for the indulgence he had granted them. Some there were, however, of the more rigorous kind, who denounced any communication with the king, whom they declared “an apostate, bigoted, excommunicated papist, under the malediction of the Mediator; yea, heir to the imprecation of his grandfather,” and who found warm abettors in the clergy of the Episcopal church in Scotland, who displayed their anger even in their discourses from the pulpit.[538]
Although the Presbyterians reaped great advantages from the toleration which the king had granted, by being allowed the free and undisturbed exercise of their worship, and by being, many of them, admitted into offices of the state, yet they perceived that a much greater proportion of Catholics was admitted to similar employments. Thus they began to grow suspicious of the king’s intentions, and, instead of continuing their gratitude, they openly declared that they did not any longer consider themselves under any obligation to his majesty, as the toleration had been granted for the purpose of introducing Catholics into places of trust, and of dividing Protestants among themselves. These apprehensions were encouraged by the Episcopal party, who, alarmed at the violent proceedings of the king against the English universities, and the bishops who had refused to read his proclamation for liberty of conscience in the churches, endeavoured to instil the same dread of popery and arbitrary power into the minds of their Presbyterian countrymen which they themselves entertained. By these and similar means discontent spread rapidly among the people of Scotland, who considered their civil and religious liberties in imminent danger, and were, therefore, ready to join in any measure which might be proposed for their protection.
William, Prince of Orange, who had married the Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of James, next in succession to the Crown, watched the progress of this struggle between arbitrary power and popular rights with extreme anxiety. He had incurred the displeasure of his father-in-law, while Duke of York, by joining the party whose object it was to exclude James from the throne, by the reception which he gave the Duke of Monmouth in Holland, and by his connivance, apparent at least, at the attempts of the latter and the Earl of Argyle. But, upon the defeat of Monmouth, William, by offering his congratulations on that event, reinstated himself in the good graces of his father-in-law. As James, however, could not reconcile the protection which the prince afforded to the numerous exiles from England and Scotland who had taken refuge in Holland, with the prince’s professions of friendship, he demanded their removal; but this was refused, through the influence of the prince with the States, and though, upon a hint being given that a war might ensue in consequence of this refusal, they were removed from the Hague, yet they still continued to reside in other parts of Holland, and kept up a regular communication with the Prince. Another demand made by the king to dismiss the officers of the British regiments serving in Holland, whose fidelity was suspected, met with the same evasive compliance; for although William displaced those officers, he refused commissions to all persons whom he suspected of attachment to the king or the Catholic faith. The wise policy of this proceeding was exemplified in the subsequent conduct of the regiments which declared themselves in favour of the prince’s pretensions.[539]
Early in the year 1687, William perceived that matters were approaching to a crisis in England, but he did not think that the time had then arrived for putting his intended design of invasion into execution. To sound the dispositions of the people, he sent over in February, that year, Dyckvelt, an acute statesman, who kept up a secret communication with those who favoured the designs of his master. Dyckvelt soon returned to Holland, with letters from several of the nobility addressed to the prince, all couched in favourable terms, which encouraged him to send Zuleistein, another agent, into England to assure his friends there that if James attempted, with the aid “of a packed parliament,” to repeal the penal laws and the test act, he would oppose him with an armed force.[540]
Although the king was aware of the prince’s intrigues, he could never be persuaded that the latter had any intention to dispossess him of his crown, and continued to pursue the desperate course he had resolved upon, with a pertinacity and zeal which blinded him to the dangers which surrounded him. The preparations of the prince for a descent on England went on in the meantime with activity; but a temporary damp was cast on his hopes by reports of the pregnancy of the queen, an event which, if a son was the result, might prevent the accession of his wife, the Princess Mary. On the 10th of June, 1688, the queen gave birth to a prince, afterwards known as the Pretender.
It was not till the month of September, when James was on the verge of the precipice, that he saw the danger of his situation. He now began, when too late, to attempt to repair the errors of his reign, by a variety of popular concessions; but although these were granted with apparent cheerfulness, and accepted with indications of thankfulness, it was evident that they were forced from the king by the necessity of his situation, and might be withdrawn when that necessity ceased to exist, an idea which appears to have prevailed among the people.
Being now convinced that the Prince of Orange contemplated an invasion of England, James began to make the necessary preparations for defence. In September, 1688, he sent down an express to Scotland to the members of the Privy Council, acquainting them with the prince’s preparations, and requiring them to place that part of his dominions on the war establishment. The militia was accordingly embodied, the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, &c. provisioned, and orders were sent to the chiefs of the Highland clans to be ready to assemble their men on a short notice. Many persons at first discredited the report of an invasion from Holland, and considered that it was a mere device of the king either to raise money or to collect an army for some sinister purpose; but their suspicions were allayed by intelligence being brought by some seamen from Holland of the warlike preparations which were making in the Dutch ports. The jealousies which were entertained of the king’s intentions were dissipated by the dread of a foreign invasion, and addresses were sent in to the Privy Council from the different towns, and from the country gentlemen, with offers of service.[541]
Whilst the Privy Council were engaged in fulfilling the king’s instructions, they received an order from his majesty to concentrate the regular army, and despatch it without delay into England. This force, which did not exceed 3,000 men, was in a state of excellent discipline, and was so advantageously posted throughout the kingdom that any insurrection which might break out could be easily suppressed. As the Prince of Orange had many adherents in Scotland, and as the spirit of disaffection to the existing government in the western counties, though subdued, had not been extinguished, the Privy Council considered that to send the army out of the kingdom under such circumstances would be a most imprudent step; and they, therefore, sent an express to the king, representing the danger of such a movement, of which the disaffected would not fail to avail themselves, should an opportunity occur. They proposed that the army should remain as it was then stationed, and that, in lieu thereof, a body of militia and a detachment of Highlanders, amounting together to 13,000 men, should be despatched to the borders, or marched into the north of England, to watch the movements of the king’s enemies in that quarter, and to suppress any risings which they might attempt in favour of the prince. But, although the Council were unanimous in giving this advice, the king disregarded it altogether, reiterated the order he had formerly given, and intimated, that if any of them were afraid to remain in Scotland, they might accompany the army into England.