History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland, Book 2 · Body of book two · Letter 16
To the Nobility, Burgesse, and Commonty of this Realme of Scotland, the Lords, Barons, and others Brethren of the Congregation, wisheth encrease of all wisedom; with advancement of the glory of God, and of the Common-wealth.
THe love of our native Countrey craveth, the defence of our honours requireth, and the sincerity of our consciences compelleth us (dear brethren) to answer in some part to the last Writs and Proclamations set forth by the Q Regent, no lesse to make us and our Cause odious, then to abuse your simplicity,Confer this with our times. and to work your finall destruction, conspired of old, and now already put to work. And first, where she alleadgeth, That certain seditious persons have of malice invented and blown abroad divers rumors, tending thereby (as she alleadgeth) to stir up the hearts of the people to sedition, by reason that the French-men are crept in of late in our Countrey. True it is (dear brethren) that all such as bear naturall love to their Countrey, to you their brethren inhabitants thereof, to our houses, wives, children, the esperance of our posterity; and to be short, To our Common-wealth, and to the ancient Laws and Liberties therof, cannot but in heart lament, and with mouth & tears complain, the most crafty assaults devised and practised, to the utter ruine of all these things forenamed. This is so manifestly gone to work, that even in our eyes, our dear brethren, true members of our Common-wealth, are most cruelly oppressed by strangers; in so far, as some are banished their owne houses, some robbed and spoiled of their substance purchast by their just labours in the sweat of their brows, some cruelly murthered at the pleasure of these inhumane souldiers, and altogether have their lives in such fear and dread, as if the enemy were in the midst of them; so that nothing can seem pleasant unto them which they possesse in the bowells of their native Countrey; so neer judged every man (and not without just cause) the practise used upon their brethren, to approach next unto them, their wives, childrens, houses, and substances, which altogether are cast at the feet of strangers men of War, to be by them thus abused at their unbridled lusts desire. Now if it be sedition (dear brethren) to complain, lament, and pour forth before God the sorrows and sobs of our dolorous hearts, crying to him for redresse of those enormities (which elsewhere is to be found) which altogether do proceed of the unlawfull holding of strange Souldiers over the heads of our brethren. If this to complain be sedition, then indeed (dear brethren) can none of us be purged of that crime; for as in very heart we condemne such inhumane cruelty, with the wicked and crafty pretence thereof, so can we not, nor dare we, neither by mouths speaking, nor yet by keeping silence, justifie the same. Neither do we here aggravate the breaking of the Appointment made at Leith (which alwayes hath manifestly been done) but herein we remember what oath we have made to our Common-wealth, and how the duty we ought to the same compelleth us to cry out, That the Queen by wicked and ungodly counsell goeth most craftily about utterly to oppresse the same, and the ancient Lawes and Liberties thereof: As well against the King of France his promise, her own duty, in respect of the high promotions that she hath received thereby: which justly should have caused her to have been in deed, that which she would be called (and is nothing lesse in verity) to wit, a carefull mother over this Common-wealth.Let the Nobility judge hereof. But what motherly care she hath used towards you, ye cannot be ignorant of. Have ye not been, even from the first entrie of her Reigne, ever smitten and oppressed with unaccustomed and more exorbitant Taxations then ever were used within this Realm? Yea, and how far was it sought here to have been brought in upon you and your posterity, under colour to have been laid up in store for the wars. The inquisition taken of all your goods, moveable and unmoveable by way of Testament, the seeking of the whole C…ale and Salt of this Realme to have been laid up in store, and in garnell, and she alone to have been Merchant thereof doth teach you by experience some of her motherly care. Again, What favour to our Common-wealth doth she at this instant bear, when even now presently, and of a long time by-gone, by the Ministery of some (who better deserve the Gallows then ever did Cochran) she doth so corrupt the good money, and hath brought it to such businesse, and such a deale of strife, that all men that had their eyes open may perceive an extream beggery to be brought there-through upon the whole Realme. So that the whole exchange and traffique to be had with Forraigne nations (a thing most necessary in all Common-wealths) shall thereby be utterly extinguished, and all the gaines received thereby is, That she therewith entertaineth strangers upon our heads. For brethren, you know that her money hath served for no other purpose in our Common-wealth this long time bygone. And the impunity of those wicked Ministers (whom lately we spake of) hath brought the matter to such a licentious enormitie and plaine contempt of the Common-weale, that now they spare not plainely to break down and convert the good and weighty money Coined in our Soveraignes lesser age into this their corrupted skruife and baggages of Hard-heads and Non-sunts,Let Sir Robert Richardson and others answer to this. most like as she and they had conspired to destroy all the whole good Coine of this Realme; and consequently that part of the Common-weale. Besides all this, their clipped and r…nged Sols which had no passage these three yeers past in the Realme of France are commanded to have course in this Realme, to gratifie thereby her new-come Souldiers, and all these things together are done without the advice or consent of the Nobilitie and Counsell of thi… Realme; and manifestly there-through against our ancient Laws and Liberties. Thirdly, her last and most weightie proceeding, more fully declareth the motherly care her Majestie beareth to our Common-weale and us, when in time of Peace, without any occasion of Forraigne Wars, thousands of Strangers are laid here and there upon the necks of our poore members of this Common-weale. Their idle bellies fed upon the poore substance of the Commonaltie conquest by their just labours in the painfull sweat of their brows, which to be true, Dumbar, North-Barwick, Travent, Pres…on, Panes, Missilburgh, Leith, Cannongat, Kinghorne, Kirkcaldie, Disert, with the depauperate souls that this day dwell therein can testifie. Whose oppression as doubtlesse it is entred in before the Justice-seat of God, so ought it justly to move our hearts to have pity and compassion upon these our poore brethren, and at our powers to provide remedie for the same. And albeit her strangers had been garnished with money (as you know well they were not) yet can there here lying be no wayes but most hurtfull to our Common-wealth, seeing that the fertility of this Realme had never been so plentifull that it was able of any continuance to sustain it selfe and inhabitants thereof, without support of Forraigne Countreys, far lesse able besides the same to sustain thousands of strangers wherewith it is burthened, to the dearthing of all victuals, as the murmure and complaint of Edinburgh this day doth testifie. But to what effect the Common-weale is thus burdened, the end doth declare. For shortly were they brought to the fields against our Soveraigns true Lieges, even us your brethren, who (God knoweth) sought nothing else but peace of conscience, under protection of our Soveraigne, and Reformation of these enormities, for no other cause but that we would not renounce the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and subdue our necks under the tyranny of that wicked Man of sin, the Romane Antichrist and his forsworn Shavelings, who at that time most tyrannically oppressed our souls with hunger of Gods true Word, and rest our goods and substances, to waste the same upon their foule lusts and stinking harlots. But (O dear brethren) this was not the chiefe pretence and finall scope of her proceedings (as these dayes do well declare) for had not God given in our hearts to withstand that oppression, with weapons of most just defence, thou, O Saint Iohnston and Dundie, had been in no better state then your sister of Leith is this day. For though we in very deed (God is witnesse) meant then nothing, but in the simplicity of our hearts, the maintenance of true Religion, and safetie of our brethren, Professours of the same, yet lay there another serpent lurking in the brest of our adversaries, as this day (praise to God) is plainely opened to all that list to behold, to wit, To bring you and us both under the perpetuall servitude of strangers. For we being appointed, as ye know, touching Religion to be reasoned with all in the Councell, at the day affixed, and no occasion made to break the same on our side (as is well known) yet come there forth writings and complaints,See how this agrees with our times. That this day and that day we were prepared to invade the Queens person (when in very truth there was never such thing thought, as the very deed hath declared.) But because she was before deliberate to bring in French-men to both our destructions, that you should not stir therewith, she made you to understand, That those Bands came onelyonly for safety of her own person. O craft, brethren! O subtilty! But behold the end: They are come (yet not so many, no not the sixth part that she desired and looked for) and how, not onelyonly with weapons to defend her person, but with wives and children to plant in your native rooms, as they have already begun in the Town of Leith, the principall Port and Staple of this Realm. The gernall and furniture of the Councell, and seat of Justice. And here will they dwell, till they may reinforce themselves with greater number of their fellow-Souldiers, to subdue then the rest, if God withstand not. And yet her Majestie feared nor shamed not to write, if they were a hundred French-men for every one of them that is in Scotland, The cause of the Frenchmens coming with wives and children.yet they should harme no man. Tell thou now Leith if that be true; If this be not a craftie entrie to a manifest conquest fore-thought of old, judge you deare brethren: Thus to fortifie our Towns, and even the principall Port of our Realm, and to lay so strong Garisons of strangers therein, not onelyonly without any consent of the Nobility and Councell of this Realm, but also expresse against their minde (as our Writ sent to her Majestie beareth record) if this be not to oppresse the ancient Lawes and Liberties of our Realme, let all wise men say to it. And further, to take the Barne-yards new gathered, the Gernalls replenished, and to sit down therein, and by force to put the just possessours and ancient inhabitants there-from, with their wives, children, and servants to shift for themselves in begging, if they have no other means, they being true Scottish-men, members of our Common-wealth, and our deare brethren and sisters, borne, fostred, and brought up in the bowels of our common and native Countrey, if this be not the manifest declaration of their old pretence, and minde towards the whole Scottish Nation; let your owne conscience (brethren) be judge herein. Was all Leith of the Congregation?Note. No, I think not, yet were all alike served. Let this motherly care then be tried by the fruits thereof: First, by the great and exorbitant Taxations used upon you, and yet ten times greater pressed at, as ye know. Secondly, the utter depravation of our Coine, to purchase thereby money to entertaine strangers, French Souldiers upon you, and to make them strong holds, lest you should sometime expell them out of your native roomes. Thirdly, by the daily re-inforcing of the said French Souldiers in strength and number, with wives and children, planting in your brethrens houses and possessions. Indeed her Majestie is, and hath been at all times carefull to procure by her craft of fair words, of fair promises, and sometimes of buds to allure your simplicity to that point, to joyn your selves to her Souldiers, to daunt and oppresse us, that you the remnant (we being cut off) may be an easie prey to her sleights: Which God of his infinite goodnesse hath now discovered to the eyes of all that list to behold. But credit the works (deare brethren) if ye will not credit us, and lay the example of Forreign nations, yea, even of our brethren, before your eyes, and procure not your own ruine willingly. If you tender true Religion, you see how her Majestie beareth her selfe plaine enemy thereto, and maintaineth the tyrannie of those idle bellies the Bishops, against Gods Church: If Religion be not perswaded unto you, yet cast you not away the care you ought to have over your Common-wealth, which you see manifestly and violently ruined before your eyes: If this will not move you, remember your deare wives, children and posterity, your ancient heritages and houses, and think well these strangers will regard no more your right thereunto, then they have done your brethren of Leith, when ever occasion shall serve. But if you purpose (as we doubt not but that all those that either have wit or manhood will declare and prove indeed) to brook your ancient roomes and heritages, conquered most valiantly, and defended by your most noble Progenitors, against all strangers, invaders of the same, as the French pretendeth plainly this day, if ye will not be slaves unto them, and to have your lives, your wives, your children, your substance, and whatsoever is dear unto you cast at their feet, to be used and abused at the pleasure of strange Souldiers, as you see your brethrens at this day before your eyes. If you will not have experience some day hereof in your own persons (as we suppose the least of you all would not gladly have, but rather would chuse with honour to die in defence of his own native roome, then live and serve so shamefull a servitude) then brethren let us joyn our forces, and both with wit and manhood resist their beginnings,A proverbe. or else our liberties hereafter shall be dearer bought. Let us surely be perswaded, when our neighbours houses be on fire, that we dwell not without danger. Let no man withdraw himselfe herefrom, and if any will be so unhappy and mischievous (as we suppose none to be) let us altogether repute, hold and use him (as he is in deed) for an enemie to us, and to himselfe, and to his Common-weale. The eternall and omnipotent God, the true and onelyonly revenger of the oppressed, be our comfort and Protectour against the furie and rage of the Tyrants of this world: And especially from the insatiable covetousnesse of the Cardinall of Guyse, and the Hamiltons. Amen.
Besides this our publike Letter, some men answered certaine heads of the Queens said Proclamation on this manner.