Declaration Concerning the Late Tumults in Scotland, Title page (1 of 2)
A LARGE DECLARATION CONCERNING THE LATE TUMULTS IN SCOTLAND, FROM Their first originalls: TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR DEDUCTION Of the seditious Practices of the prime Leaders of the Covenanters: COLLECTED OUT OF THEIR OWNE foule Acts and Writings: By which it doth plainly appeare, that Religion was onelyonly pretended by those Leaders, but nothing lesse intended by them. By the King.
LONDON, Printed by ROBERT YOUNG, His Majesties Printer for Scotland, Anno Dom. M.DC.XXXIX.
By the King.
THough by Our manie Proclamations and Declarations, some whereof are printed, and others were made by word of mouth▪ by Our high Commissioner the Lord Marquesse of Hamiltoun, during the time of his late imployment in Scotland; it doth fully appear to all men, whose mindes are not distasted with Justice and Government, what Our religious care, Princely clemencie, and unparalleled patience have been for the setling of the late troubles in that Our ancient and native Kingdome of Scotland, and for the composing of that State, so much of late discomposed and disjointed by the seditious practices of divers impatient of all lawes and government: Yet for the further and full satisfaction of all our true hearted and loyall subjects in all Our Kingdomes, and for the manifestation of Our Justice and Pietie in Our late proceedings to all abroad, especially to those who with Us adhere to the Religion Reformed: We have thought good by way of an Historicall Deduction to set downe the true passages of all this businesse, that the world may, as it were under one view and aspect, behold Our gracious and clement comportment towards Our subjects of that Kingdome, and the depraved and froward deportment of many of them towards Us their liege Lord and Soveraigne: Not doubting, but that whosoever shall goe along by the threed of this Our unquestionable Narration, will rest fully satisfied in these three points.
First, That the first contrivers, and since pursuers of their late wicked Covenant, or pretended holy League (a name which all good men did abhorre in them of France) though following the patterne of all other seditions, they did and doe pretend Religion, yet nothing was or is lesse intended by them; but that they having received from Us full satisfaction to all their desires, expressed in any of their Petitions, Remonstrances, or Declarations, yet their persisting in their tumultuous and rebellious courses, doth demonstrate to the world their wearinesse of being governed by Us and Our Lawes, by Our Councell and other officers put in authoritie by and under Us, and an itching humour of having that Our Kingdome governed by a Table of their owne devising, consisting of persons of their own chusing: A plot of which they are very fond, being an abortion of their owne braine, but which indeed is such a monstrous birth, as the like hath not yet beene born or bred in any Kingdome Jewish, Christian, or Pagan.
Secondly, That Our promises expressed in Our severall Proclamations and Declarations to Our people, were not (as the wicked contrivers of that Covenant have ever gone about to make Our subjects beleeve) onelyonly verball, but sincere and reall, and such as Wee doe professe to the whole world in the word of a just and true Prince, We doe resolve to make good to all Our subjects of that Our Kingdome: As holding it beneath the greatnesse and goodnesse of a just King, that the unjust actions of his subjects should occasion in their Soveraigne the least suspicion of breach of promises made by him to them, especially when the performance of them shall conduce to the settling of Religion and Peace.
Thirdly, That these men who give themselves out to be the onelyonly Reformers of Religion, have taken such a course to undermine and blow up the Religion Reformed, by the scandall of Rebellion and Disobedience, which, so farre as in them lyeth, they have gone about to cast upon it, that if the Conclave of Rome, the severall Colleges or Congregations perpetually sitting at Rome for contriving and effecting the meanes of reducing to the Roman obedience all those Kingdomes and Provinces which have justly departed from them, nay, and if with both these all the Jesuites and others the most specially combined and sworn enemies to our profession, were all assembled in one place, and had all their wits and devices concentrated into one conclusion and resolution; they could hardly have fallen upon such a way, as these pretended Reformers have fallen upon, for turning all men out of the pathes of the Reformed Religion, or have setled upon such courses, which can bespeake no other event, but the undoubted overthrow of it, at least in that Kingdome, unlesse God himselfe from heaven (which We hope) shall have all their Cobweb contextures in derision: For by their particular proceedings, truely set downe in this Our Narration, it will plainely appeare, that their Maximes are the same with the Jesuites, their Preachers Sermons have been delivered in the very phrase and stile of Becanus, Scippius, and Eudaemon Johannes, their poore Arguments, which they have delivered in their seditious Pamphlets printed or written, are taken almost verbatim out of Bellarmine and Suarez, as appeareth to Us by Our Royall Father his Monitorie Preface to all Christian Kings and Princes, and his Apologie for the Oath of Allegeance, and in the Bookes writ by others in defence of them both; in all which these arguments are fully answered: And that the meanes which they have used to induce a credit of their conclusions with their Proselytes, are purely and meerly Jesuiticall fables, false reports, false prophesies, pretended inspirations and divinations of the weaker sexe; as if now Herod and Pilate were once againe reconciled for the ruine of Christ, and his true Religion and Worship.
Now, if these three particulars by this historicall Relation shall undoubtedly appeare to the unprejudicate Readers, whether Our Subjects or Forreiners, then We shall little doubt to gaine from them their assent to these Our two just desires.
First, That these proceedings of some of Our subjects (whom, though they would be accounted the purest Protestants, yet by their wicked Protestations, you will finde to be the most froward and perverse Protesters that ever did contest with their Soveraigne and his Lawes) may not induce an undeserved scandall upon that Religion which We professe: For since their conclusions are quite contrary to the Confessions of the severall reformed Churches, in their particular Articles both of the Church and of the civill Magistrate, as appeareth by the Helvetian, French, Belgick, Polonian, Argentine, Palatine, Genevian, Our English and Irish, nay, and their owne Scotish positive Confession, printed amongst the Acts of Parliament of that Our Kingdome; and besides, the Augustane and all other particular Protestant Confessions of the Lutherans: And all the weapons wherewith they now fight against these Protestant conclusions, are stollen or borrowed, not onelyonly out of the Romane (for many of the Romanists fight with Us against them) but out of the most rigid Jesuites Magazins, why should they not in this quarrell be accounted not as Our friends, but as Our foes; not Protestants, but the most rigid of Papists, Jesuites? and so being without in this point, not bring any scandal upon Us who are within; especially considering that though these men have gone about to wound the Reformed Religion through Our sides, and by opposing Us whom God hath honoured with this speciall favour (for no lesse We accompt it) of being the chief Prince whom he hath made choice of for the Protector and Defender of it: Though, We say, these men have done what they can to weaken this our Religion, by striking at the authoritie of the principall prop and stay of it upon earth under God; yet We, by the grace of God, are fully resolved to wipe away that aspersion, and remove that scandall from Our Profession and Religion, by Our constant not onelyonly adherence to it, but maintenance and defence of it, with the uttermost of that power which God hath put in Our hands, notwithstanding all those scandals which these men by their wicked practices and worse positions have laid upon it.
Secondly, We hope that all men will do Us so much right, as to beleeve, that whatsoever course We shall hereafter take for the Asserting of the Reformed Religion, and repressing the insolencies of such of Our subjects as doe oppose it and Us in the just and undoubted right of Our Regalitie, while they pretend Religion, shall not be thought to be by way of a warre, but by way of a Prince the Father of his Country his chastising his unruly children, which is never in anger, but in love, and for their good. And if by their stubbornnesse they shall force Us to a severitie unpleasing to Us, and unwelcome to them, We call Him by whom We reigne to witnesse, and heaven and earth and all the world to record, that they with their owne hands doe unsheath Our just sword, which Wee cannot but use as the Minister of God, unlesse We will betray that trust which the King of Kings hath reposed in Us for the maintenance of Religion and Justice amongst all His people whom He hath committed to Our charge: And if God will have it so, that for their resisting Him and Us▪ His Anointed servant and their Soveraigne, He will have some of their bad bloud shed, We shall ever make accompt that that bloud is let out of Our owne veines▪ nor shall We draw any drop of it in any other case, then a faithfull Physician will and must doe for the preservation of the whole body.
THat Religion is onelyonly pretended and used by them as a cloak to palliate their intended Rebellion, is demonstrative by this, That the seeds of this Sedition were sowen by the plotters of their Covenant, made under the pretence of Religion, long before any of the grievances or pretended innovations in Religion complained of by them, were ever heard of amongst them.
For the truth is, that some yeares after Our comming to the Crowne, by the advice both of some of Our principall Councellors and Officers of State there, as also by the advice of Our learnedest Advocates and Counsellers at law, according to the example of many of Our Royall Progenitors of happie memorie, Kings and Queens of that Our Kingdome, We did make a legall revocation of such things as had beene passed away in prejudice of the Crowne, especially by some of Our late Royall Progenitors in their minorities; a course warranted by the lawes and many yeares practice of that Our Kingdome: With this course, some of the principall contrivers of this their present Covenant found themselves much aggrieved, and much of their estates brought within the compasse and danger of Our lawes, which made them presently begin to grumble and repine, and privately, as much as they durst, and as in them lay, to worke underhand in Our subjects mindes a distaste of Our government: Which Wee made accompt Wee had quickly rectified, by shewing to all Our subjects interessed in that Revocation, Our gracious clemencie in waiving all the advantages which Our lawes gave Us in many of their estates: So that after We had made it apparent to Our subjects, how obnoxious many of them and their estates were unto Us and Our lawes, We likewise did make as apparent unto them, Our singular grace and goodnesse by remitting not onelyonly the rigour, but even the equitie of Our lawes; insomuch that none of all Our subjects could then, or can now say that they were damnified in their persons or estates by that our Revocation, or any thing which ensued upon it: Yet for all this, the principall present malecontents did then begin to perswade with such as they thought they might be boldest with, a disaffection to Our government: And not seeing how they could easily obtrude upon them, the old and usuall pretence of discontent, viz. Religion, by a strained and farre-fetched inference they did not sticke to lay the envie of the procuring that harmelesse Revocation, by which no man suffered, upon the present Prelates, who in this were as innocent as the thing it selfe was: OnelyOnly because they hoped that the very name of Church-men or Religious persons, should in the point of faction have that operation with their followers, which they conceived the Church or Religion it selfe might have had, if they could have seene how to have perswaded them, that by this Revocation either of them had beene endangered.
A second symptome of their discontent appeared not long after this, upon this occasion: Wee having daily heard the grievous complaints of many of Our subjects of that Kingdome of all sorts, especially of the Gentrie and their Farmers, who paid their tythes to the Nobilitie, or such others whom they in that Kingdome call Lords of the Erection, or Laicke Patrons, here in England we call Impropriators, how that in the leading or gathering of their tythes, these Lords and Laicke Patrons did use and practise the uttermost of that severitie which the law alloweth them, how they would not gather their tythes when the owners of the corne desired them, but when it pleased themselves; by which meanes the owners, by the unseasonablenesse of the weather, were manie times damnified to the losse of their whole stocke, or most part of it (the law of that Kingdome being in that point so strict, as no owner may carrie away his nine parts, or any part of them, untill the proprietarie of the tythes have set out his tenth part:) As likewise understanding at the same time, the deplorable estate of the Ministers of that Our Kingdome in the point of maintenance, how that they received no tythes in their parishes, but some poore pittance, either by way of a stipendiarie benevolence, or else some mean allowance from these Lords of Erections or Laick Patrons, unworthie of the Ministers of the Gospel, and which exposed them to all manner of contempt and a base dependance upon their Patrons: Wee, at the instance and humble petition not of a few, but of the whole Clergie, and with them, of the whole payers of tythes of that Kingdome, begun to take three things into Our serious consideration.
First, the wretched estate of the Clergie for want of maintenance: Next, the hard usage and great oppression of all the Laitie that payed tythes, from the owners of them: Thirdly, a very important point of State, vizt. That it was not fit, that such a considerable part of Our subjects, as all the Ministers who have power over the consciences of the rest, and all the payers of tythes who are the farre greatest part of the Kingdome, should have their dependance upon the Nobilitie or other Laicke Patrons, the one for their livelihood and maintenance, the other not onelyonly for feare of having their cornes lost or endangered for not carrying them in due season, which was by the law in the power of these owners of the tythes, which power they were sure they would exercise upon them if they should at any time displease them, or not adhere to them upon all occasions good or bad; But likewise because these Lords, owners of the tythes and also of Abbey lands, were likewise for the most part superiours to those who payed them, but were so altogether to those who held the Abbey lands of them by way of vassalidge, and so by their verie tenures were to performe all service and attendance to these Lords, their superiours, whensoever they should require it of them.
Which important considerations moved Us, by the advice of the learnedest Lawyers there, to grant out a Commission under Our great Seale for that Kingdome, not to a few, but to divers hundreds, and those of the prime of all estates and degrees, (out of which number the Lords of the Erections and Laicke Patrons were not omitted) for relieving, if they should see cause, both the Ministers and owners of Corne, as also for taking into their consideration the point of superioritie and dependance. These Commissioners, after their sitting in great frequencie some yeares, and after full hearing of all parties interessed, and mature deliberation, did set a rate of the value of the tythes, ordered that the owners of the grounds should severally purchase them at so manie yeares purchase, as was then agreed upon by all both buyers and sellers, taking the same course for the rating of superiorities in regard of the Abbey lands, which was likewise accorded unto by all parties; and ordered that every Ministers means should be augmented, in such a certaine proportion set down and accorded unto, as the Incumbent should not be inforced any more to be a slave to his Patron.
With the conclusions and determinations of this Commission, called the Commission of Surrenders of Superiorities and Tythes, the owners of lands and the Ministers were indeed so really satisfied, that the former with all thankfulnesse acknowledged Us for their deliverer from an intolerable bondage, under which they and their Ancestors ever since the reformation of Religion had grievously groaned; The latter with infinite expressions of joy and gratitude did celebrate Us as the very father and founder of their severall Churches: We gave Our Royall assent to all agreed upon in that Commission▪ being glad that Our subjects were relieved, the maintenance of Our Clergie improved, and both Our Clergie and Laitie freed from a dangerous dependance upon subjects, and for that freedome obliged to a thankfull, heartie, and loyall dependance upon Us, to whom alone by all lawes of God and men it is due. The Nobilitie and other Lay Patrons seemed herewith likewise fully to rest satisfied; and so indeed they were in point of profit, for, according to the rates of purchasing in that Our Kingdome, for their tythes they were satisfied to the uttermost farthing: But they fretted privately amongst themselves, for being robbed, as they conceived, of the clientele and dependance of the Clergie and Laitie, and of that power, command, and superioritie over them, which by that tye of tythes they had enjoyed: Yet, not being able to make Religion it selfe a faire pretence for this their discontent (for who could imagine that everie man his gathering of his owne tythes, or the augmentation of Ministers maintenance, could be an affronting or weakening of Religion?) they had recourse to their former fetch, and not without bewraying much heart-burning, gave it out, that this Commission (which indeed was obtained by the humble importunitie both of Clergie and Laitie) was procured onelyonly by the Bishops, who meant no good to Religion; and so from an unnecessarie jealousie of their persons and power, they begun to pretend and suborne a necessarie jealousie of Religion it selfe.
A third bewraying of their factious humour, appeared clearely at Our last being in that Our Kingdome, and immediately after Our departure from thence: For some sixe yeeres agoe, having a great desire to visite that Our native Kingdome, and being willing to cheere and comfort Our subjects there with Our presence, and honour them with Our personall Coronation, all which they did most humbly and heartily sollicite Us for by their earnest and affectionate supplications; We undertooke a journey to them, and according to Our expectation were most joyfully received by them: But immediatly before, and at the sitting down of Our Parliament there, Wee quickly found that the very same persons who since were the contrivers of, and still continue the sticklers for their now pretended Covenant, begun to have secret meetings, and in their private consultations did vent their dislike of Our innocent Revocation, and Our most beneficiall Commission of Surrenders: But knowing that these two could gaine them no partie, then they begun to suggest great feares, that many and dangerous innovations of Religion were to be attempted in this present Parliament: Not that they themselves thought so, but because they knew that either that, or nothing would soyle with suspicious jealousie, or interrupt and relaxe the present joy and contentment which did overflowe in Our subjects hearts, and appeared in their heartie expressions for Our presence amongst them.
But We readily confuted all these suspicious surmises; for, except an Act which gave Us power to appoint such vestures for Churchmen which We should hold to be most decent, nothing concerning Religion was either propounded or passed in that Parliament, but that which everie King doth usually in that, and all other Christian Kingdomes, passe at their first Parliament, viz. An Act of ratification of all other Acts heretofore made, and then standing in force concerning the Religion presently professed and established, and concerning the Church her liberties and priviledges: Which Act being an Act of course, though it passed by most voices, yet was it disassented from, to Our great admiration, by the voices of many of those who are now the principall pillars of their Covenant; which made all men then begin to suspect, that sure there was some great distemper of heat at the heart, when it boyled so over at their lips, by their unnecessarie and unprofitable denying of assent to the lawes, concerning the Religion and Church, already established; This first Act passing more for forme and the honour of Religion, then for any use or necessitie of it, all the former Lawes still standing in force and vigour without the need of any new ratification.
At this time many of Our subjects of greatest qualitie were suitors to Us for new Titles of Honour, Gentlemen to bee Lords, Lords to bee Earles: Impossible it was for Us to satisfie all suitors in that kinde, without the prostitution of Honour to a just and open contempt; and therefore being put upon a choice and selection, We held it fitter in the point both of honour and justice, to passe by such as both privately in their secret meetings, and openly in the Parliament house, had shewed their disrepects to Us and Our just proceedings, then those who had carried themselves not only loyally and dutifully, but affectionately and heartily to Us and Our service. Upon this occasion many of those who were then passed by, and are now principall Covenanters, seeing others advanced to degrees of honour above themselves, begun then presently to mutter, but not to mutinie untill We were gone from thence.
But scarsly were We well returned into England, when the discontent of these men resolved it selfe into a plaine sedition: For then they had the impudence to give it out, that voyces were bought and packed in the late Parliament; nay, that the voyces were not truely numbred, but that some Acts were past without pluralitie of suffrages: A calumnie so foule and blacke, as that they themselves did know it to be most false: For had there beene the least suspicion of truth in it, they might have made tryall thereof, by surveying their owne papers, and the papers of many hundreds present, who took notes of the number of voyces which were given, either by assenting to, or disassenting from the severall Acts read and proposed; by which papers if they had found but the weakest ground for this their strong, but false report, We have no reason to thinke that either their merciemercy or modestie was such, that they would have forborne the calling of the Clerke of Our Register in question for it; it being as our Chancellors office to aske the voyces, so Our Clerke of Registers office to take them and record them, and according to his owne and his Clerkes notes who assist him, to pronounce the Act passed or stopt: In which it is impossible he should deale but with sinceritie, for else the notes taken by most of the Auditors, being a present and powerfull conviction of his false dealing, must presently transmit him to highest Censure and punishment.
But knowing that in a publike and judiciall way they must needs faile in their proofe of this calumnie, they betook themselves to the secret and seditious way of malecontents: For first they used clancularie surmises, then they sent about from hand to hand a clandestine infamous Libell, and by it they impoysoned the hearts of many of Our good subjects with a suspicion of obliquitie in Our proceedings at the late Parliament: This infamous Libell comming to the knowledge of Our Privie Councell there, first they of themselves, then afterwards, having made Us acquainted with it, by Our commandement entred into an inquirie both of the authors and abetters of that seditious Libell; Who found that the author upon whom it was shifted and fathered, was one Hagge, then, and still fugitive, but that the abetters, countenancers, and dispersers of it were many, and some of them of greatest qualitie, and now principall Covenanters: Wee, out of our innate and usuall clemencie, were graciously pleased (that the feare and example might reach to all, but the punishment onelyonly to one of them) to passe by many, who undoubtedly had beene concluded and involved by Our Lawes in the same sentence, if Wee had proceeded against them, and to single out one of that ranke, who was most obliged to Us and Our Crowne, and therefore both for his ingratitude and crime, had no reason to expect any thing from Us but the justice of Our lawes.
This one was the Lord Balmerino, his Father was principall Secretary of State for that Our Kingdome, to Our Father of happy memory, to whom he was beholden both for the honour of his Baronie, and for his whole fortune and estate which he got in his service: But he was since Our Royall Father his comming to the Crowne of England, arraigned for, and attainted of high Treason in Scotland, found guilty of it by his Peeres, and accordingly received sentence to be hanged drawne and quartered, his bloud tainted, his whole estate forfeited to the Crowne: Yet such was the gracious clemencie of Our Royall Father, that He, onelyonly for a little time, continued this condemned and forfeited Lord in prison, afterward confined him, but to a large circuit, and then restored not onelyonly the bloud of himselfe and his children, but also their honour and whole estate: Now this present Lord Balmerino, being so extraordinarily obliged to Our Royall Father and Our Crowne, for the life of his father, his owne honour and whole fortunes, and so being one from whom We, the sonne of that Royall and Gracious Father to him and his whole family, had no reason to expect perfidiousnesse and ingratitude, he could not have the least shew of reason to expect any favour from Us, but the favour of a faire and legall tryall, which We granted him: At that tryall and arraignment, he was by his Peeres found guilty of abetting and dispersing that infamous Libell made against Us, and accordingly was to receive sentence of death for it; which Our chiefe Justice respited onelyonly untill Our pleasure might bee knowne: Then indeed they who afterwards proved the contrivers of the late Covenant, and their adherents, begun to complaine of the hard measure which was offered to this Lord, and to lay false and wicked aspersions upon his Peeres who found him guilty; but finding that all the proceedings were usuall and legall, they could not but have acquit the Judge if hee should have condemned him, nor could they have found the least blemish in Our justice, if Wee should have given warrant both for his sentence and execution, whose life was now legally devolved into Our hands; and therefore this convicted Lord betook himselfe onelyonly to Our merciemercy, which We shewed to him in that height as Wee are confident it is hardly to be patterned by any president.
For notwithstanding the head of this family which was first raised by Our Father, and then being falne, yet raised by Him againe, and now relapsed, was once againe brought under Our axe, as it had beene before brought under the axe of Our Royall Father: We, desirous to shew Our selfe the true heire of none of Our blessed Fathers vertues, more then of his merciemercy and clemencie, were contented upon his deep protestations of loyaltie for the time to come, to grant him under Our great Seale for that Our Kingdome, not onelyonly a Pardon of that crime of which he stood convicted, but also his full libertie and inlargement: Which gracious Pardon of Ours, when it was delivered to him by Our Councell, who sent for him being then prisoner in the Castle of Edinburgh, he did before that Table receive on his knees, with the highest magnifying of Our merciemercy, with the humblest acknowledgments of those infinite obligations by which he and his family stood for ever engaged in the service of Us and Our Crowne, with the deepest protestations of all loyall, quiet, and peaceable deportment of himselfe ever hereafter, and of bending all his endeavours to attend upon all Our Royall courses and commandements, so that Our Councell remonstrated unto Us, that Wee had bestowed Our merciemercy and grace upon a man, of whom there could not be the least suspicion of his aversenesse from Our service at any time hereafter, but of whom they might safely promise all forwardnesse and alacritie in all Our just courses, whensoever it should please Us to use him: And now this same pardoned Lord Balmerino, being one of the chiefe contrivers, and most malicious prosecutors of this wicked Covenant made against Us and Our authoritie, how he can be able to answere it to God, Us, and Our Crowne, his owne conscience, or to the world, even in the point of honour and reputation, it must be left to the world to judge.