the service of the party, he drew forth a pistol and shot him, in consequence of which, his services, however valuable they might have been, were lost to the cause in which he was engaged, as he was necessitated, to escape the odium of the act, to return to Holland. On another occasion we find him collaring John earl of Stair, in the parliament house, on account of an expression which he was pleased to say glanced at him, and demanding satisfaction on the spot. From such a man, what was to be expected? Or what policy could be practised towards him, but to stand as much at a distance, and run the hazard of as few duels with him as possible? All these circumstances taken together, go far to excuse the Scotish ministry of that period, for being suspicious of every proposal made by the party in opposition to them, and shy of taking their assistance, though on some occasions they might have done so with advantage.

It ought also to be considered, that from the temper displayed by the cavaliers, who all at once seemed to take the interest and the glory of the country so much to heart, there was scarcely an alternative for all who truly valued liberty and religion, but to accept of the Union, though the terms had been much less advantageous than they really were. It was impossible that such men as Sunderland, Somers, Halifax, Godolphin, and Cowper, who were at this time the chief managers of English affairs, should not have seen the scheme that was thus maturing under the mask of patriotism, and if they had entertained any doubts on the subject, the act of security, with others of the same stamp that accompanied it, could not have failed to have set all these doubts at rest. It could not fail to strike the most superficial observer, that something more was meant by that act, bold as it was, than met the ear; and taken in connexion with the refusal to settle the succession, it was not difficult to see what that something was. England had declared for Hanover, which was more afflictive to the present race of Scotish patriots than the loss of Darien, or the want of any of those privileges for which they were clamouring so loudly; and having obtained this act for putting the nation into military array, they intended by and by to declare for James, and with the aid of the English Jacobites, hoped not only to defeat the protestant succession, but to obtain the ascendant in both countries, and thus to be enriched, not by trade, which, with all the noise they made about it, they hated and despised, but by lucrative places, liberal pensions, and the estates of their opponents, the leading men among whom they had already doomed to the gallows or the stake. This design was certainly not a little dangerous, more especially as it was, by the duplicity of the party, so covered, that the greater part of the whigs, blinded by their prejudices, were promoting it with all their influence as conducive to their own views. The English nation in general, however, saw the purpose that was intended to be accomplished clearly, and her legislature took immediate measures to defeat it, by passing the bill we have already noticed, declaring, that no Scotishmen, not resident in England, should enjoy the privileges of Englishmen till such time as an union should

• Life and Political Opinions of Fletcher of Salton, &c. &c.

be concluded, or the succession to the crown settled as it had been in England. Her majesty was, at the same time, advised to put the town of Newcastle in a proper state of defence-to secure the port of Tynemouth, and to repair the fortifications of Carlisle and Hull. It was also requested that the militia of the four northern counties should be called out, a competent number of regular troops stationed on the borders, and a squadron of ships ordered to cruise on the Scotish coast to shut up her commerce and prevent her from communicating with France. These measures, happily, were never put into execution, the Scotish parliament having appointed commissioners for the Union, which occasioned the repeal of the act by which they were authorized, before the time specified for their commencement arrived. Had it been otherwise, the consequence would in all probability have been a war between the two countries, the result of which could scarcely have been other than fatal to Scotland, and she must have submitted to such terms as the conquerors chose to impose upon her.

It is also worthy of remark, that the benefits of the Union were greatly retarded, and all the evils that unavoidably attended it increased and accelerated, by that detestable faction which laboured so assiduously to prevent its completion. The treaty itself was planned by consummate wisdom, and great liberality on the part of the English, and by Englishmen has, for the most part, been executed with good faith. There was no attempt made to infringe it in the smallest particular, till the Scotish Jacobites, by a protracted series of intrigues, and a new train of perjuries, wriggled themselves into power in the last and disastrous years of queen Anne, and probably, to fulfil in some degree their own predictions, as well as to forward the interests of the pretender, kept trenching upon it every day, till happily the sudden death of the queen put an end to their power, and gave their villanous practices another direction. Since that time no further attempts have been made upon it, and the encroachments then made, as they were, even by the unprincipled faction that made them, admitted to be contrary to its spirit, and were avowedly intended to promote its dissolution, inight have been long since rectified, had those whom they most deeply concerned, shown any thing like zeal or cordiality in the matter. Upon the whole, though we neither approve of that bribery and corruption by which this union was established, nor dare pronounce it in all respects perfect, we admit that few treaties have been made in the world, that have been productive of so many blessings. The most deeply felt evils that attended it—and no great political change can be effected without encountering evils of considerable magnitude-were transient and local; its benefits have been permanent and universal. It has given competence to the cottage, elegance to the palace, and stability to the throne. It has imparted health to the body politic, and a resistless energy that has been felt and acknowledged in every quarter of the world; and it has been a principal mean of establishing that heaven-derived flame, whose vivifying heat, emanating from the shores of Britain, is already felt in many distant lands, and the light of which, we trust, shall at no distant period irradiate the utmost ends of the earth.

THE

HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.

BOOK I.

1707-1708.

National feelings consequent on the Union-Intrigues of the French court-Negotiations of colonel Hooke-Meeting of the first Union Parliament-Preparations for invading Scotland French fleet chased by admiral Byng—Dispersed, and partly destroyed, in a tempest-Dissolution of Parliament-New Parliament and its proceedingsRetrospect of ecclesiastical affairs-The old Dissenters-Mr. John Hepburn-The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

THE treaty of Union having been ratified by the legislature of both countries, the Scotish parliament was dissolved on the twenty-eighth day of April, and on the first day of May, one thousand, seven hundred, and seven years, the kingdoms of Scotland and England became one, henceforth to be designated the Kingdom of Great Britain. This, though an event that, properly modified, had long been desired by the wise and the good of both nations, was one that could not fail, in the nature of things, to excite painful reflections, if not tumultuary and angry feelings, in the bosoms of the less enlightened, especially among Scotishmen, who being of the weaker party, and most likely to be benefited by the measure, had, perhaps, according to the general constitution of our nature, the best right to be, or to pretend to be, very much offended. Scotland, though the poorer, was by much the more ancient of the two kingdoms, having subsisted, according to her best historians, as an independent nation, from a period prior to the Christian era. When her more opulent, but less spirited sister, bent beneath the power, and submitted to become the pupil of Rome, she, intrenched among her barren heaths, and behind her snow-clad mountains, bade defiance to the conquerors of the world, preferring wild, sometimes lawless, liberty and independence, to

submission, though accompanied with security and civilization. True, indeed, she had maintained this independence with extreme difficulty, and, through the imbecility and obstinacy of her last dynasty of kings, it had been reduced to a mere shadow; but still it bore the name, and with men in general, though we may lament, we cannot deny the fact, that names are all in all.

At the same time it must be admitted, that there was, in the circumstances of the case, much to excite regret in the most peaceably disposed, and to awaken suspicion among the best informed and most conscientious part of the community. Twenty years had yet scarcely elapsed since the abdication of James VII. put an end to a tyranny, civil and ecclesiastic, the most relentless that had ever afflicted a nation professing to be Christian, and on that occasion, the managers, both in church and state, had sat down upon a constitution far short of what had been previously attained, and of what, after so much bitter experience, might reasonably have been expected. Instead of being guided by those clear and determinate principles which had been unfolded by the Reformers and patriots of a former and a better day, and which had been sealed with the blood of the noble host of confessors and martyrs of the Scotish church, they had given themselves up to fancied maxims of interest and expediency, in consequence of which, while they duped themselves, they disappointed the just expectations of the people. Far from exploring the sources of so many evils, and purging out from among them, those who had been the abettors of such profligate apostasy, and the ministers of such wanton tyranny, every thing like inquiry was studiously avoided, and every incumbent, provided his morals were at all tolerable, who was willing to abide by, or, in other words, to receive his salary upon the footing of the new order of things, remained in his place; thus adding to the already enormous catalogue of public evils, the guilt of open falsehood and undisguised hypocrisy. The consequences, which had already become ap

* See declaration by the moderator, that this assembly would depose no incumbents, simply for their judgment anent the government of the church &c. Unprinted Acts of Assembly, 1690, Ses. 6th.

parent, were exactly such as might have been expected. Lukewarm indifferency was applauded as moderation and good sense, while intrepid honesty was stigmatized as bigotry, or at best, but ill timed and unnecessary scrupulosity. Alienations of the popular right were thus artfully placed under the protection of the popular voice; and, instead of showing any disposition to recover that which had been lost, every new leader gave proofs of his sordid servility, by the facility with which he could sacrifice more. This was the case especially with the church, nor was the state in a whit more promising condition.

Unfortunately for Scotland, English gold,, from a very early period of her history, possessed too much attraction for the patriotism and public spirit of many of her sons. This had often been mournfully experienced, even when the nation. was inflamed by the rivalry of ambition, and, from a sense of reiterated injuries, wrought up to a feeling of the bitterest animosity. That upon the union of the crowns, and the consequently increased intercourse between the two countries, this attraction should either have been weakened in itself, or have become less effectual upon those who were exposed to its influence, it would certainly have been foolish to expect. On the contrary, it appears to have been prodigiously increased. Brought into immediate contact with the English nobility, all that extortion could wring from their numerous, but naked, and indolent retainers, was insufficient to cover the poverty of the Scotish chieftains, while their ostentatious and haughty demeanour, at the same time that it manifested their pride, rendered it disgusting and contemptible. Places and pensions under the richer government, became, of course, the sole aim of the Scotish nobility, and rivalry in the pursuit of these objects, proved a source of accumulating misery to their unfortunate country. Every page of Scotish history, under the reigns of James VI., the two Charleses, and James VII., confirms this melancholy statement, and it was the dexterous management of this pitiful thirst for gold, by the English ministry, that at length accomplished an union, that had been so long desired, and so often attempted in vain.

It is impossible, however, for any government, be its administrators ever so profligate, and its means of corruption ever so