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have been the consequences of the pretended union; that so the nation may be restored to that honour, liberty, and independency, which it formerly enjoyed.

"We likewise promise upon our royal word to protect, secure, and maintain all our Protestant subjects in the free exercise of their religion, and in the full enjoyment of all their rights, privileges, and immunities, and in the secure possession of all churches, universities, colleges, and schools, conform to the laws of the land.

"All this we shall be ready to confirm in our first parliament; in which we promise to pass any act or acts that shall be judged necessary to secure each private person in the full possession of his liberty and property, to advance trade, to relieve the poor, and establish the general welfare and tranquillity of the nation. In all such matters we are fully resolved to act always by the advice of our parliaments, and to value none of our titles so much as that of common father of our people, which we shall ever show ourselves to be by our constant endeavours to promote the quiet and happiness of all our subjects. And we shall be particularly solicitous to settle, encourage, and maintain the fishery and linen manufactures of the nation, which we are sensible may be of such advantage to it, and which we hope are works reserved for us to accomplish.

"As for those who shall appear more signally zealous for the recovery of our just rights and the prosperity of their country, we shall take effectual care to reward them according to their respective degrees and merits. And we particularly promise, as aforesaid, our full, free, and general pardon to all officers, soldiers, and sailors, now engaged in the service of the usurper, whether of the sea or land, provided that upon the publication hereof, and before they engage in any fight or battle against our forces, they quit the said unjust and unwarrantable service, and return to their duty, in which case we shall pay them all the arrears that shall be at that time due to them from the usurper; we shall grant to the officers the same commissions they shall then bear, if not higher; and to all soldiers and sailors a gratification of a whole year's pay for their forwardness in promoting our service.

"We farther promise and declare, that the vassals of such as shall without regard to our present declaration, obstinately persist in their rebellion, and thereby forfeit all pretensions to our royal clemency, shall be delivered from all servitude they were formerly bound to, and shall have grants and charters of their lands to be held immediately of the crown, provided they, upon the publication of this our royal declaration, declare openly for us, and join heartily in the cause of their country.

"And having thus declared our gracious intentions to our loving subjects, we do hereby require and command them to be assisting to us in the recovery of our rights, and of their own liberties; and that all our subjects from the age of sixteen to sixty, do, upon the setting up of our royal standard, immediately repair to it, or join themselves to such as

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shall first appear for us in their respective shires; and also to seize the horses and arms of all suspected persons, and all ammunition, forage, and whatever else may be necessary for the use of our forces.

"We also strictly command all receivers, collectors, or other persons who may be seized of any sum or sums of money levied in the name or for the use of the usurper, to retain such sum or sums of money in their own hands, till they can pay them to some person of distinction appearing publicly for us, and demanding the same for our use and service; whose receipt or receipts shall be a sufficient discharge for all such collectors, receivers, or other persons, their heirs, &c.

"Lastly, we do hereby require all sheriffs of shires, stewards of stewartries, and their respective deputies, magistrates of royal boroughs, and bailies of regalities, and all others to whom it may belong, to publish this our declaration, at the market crosses of their respective towns and boroughs, and there to proclaim us under the penalty of being proceeded against according to law, for their neglect of so necessary and im portant a duty."

After this manifesto had been read, the marquis of Tullibardine re turned to the prince's quarters with the standard under an escort of fifty Camerons. In about an hour after the conclusion of this ceremony, Macdonald of Keppoch joined the prince with three hundred of his men; and in the evening some gentlemen of the name of Macleod, displeased with the conduct of their chief, arrived at Glenfinnin, proffered their services to the prince, and offered to return to Skye, and raise all the men they could in support of his cause. On arriving at Glenfinnin, Macdonald of Tierndriech, presented the prince with an excellent horse which he had taken from Captain Scott. The animated appearance of the glen, which now resounded with the martial strains of the pibroch, contrasted strongly with the solitary gloom which pervaded when the prince entered it. Instead of the small party which joined him in the morning, Charles found himself within a few hours thereafter at the head of a body of about twelve hundred brave and resolute men, warmly attached to his person and cause, and ready and willing to hazard their lives in his service. Charles was exceedingly delighted at the appearance of his little army, and it has been observed that at no other time did he look more cheerful or display a greater buoyancy of spirits.*

Of the many singular circumstances attending this extraordinary insurrection, the utter ignorance in which the personage in whose name it was undertaken was kept, is not the least. Charles had indeed written his father on the eve of his departure from France, acquainting him with the resolution he had taken, but before his letter reached Rome, the prince was actually at the head of his army. The object of Charles in concealing his design from the Chevalier is obvious. He was aware that his father would have opposed such a rash attempt, and might pro

Jacobite Memoirs, p. 2k

bably have applied to the court of France to prevent his departure; and having taken his resolution, he was determined not to put it in jeopardy by too timely an announcement of his intentions. Whatever opinion may now be formed of the prudence of an undertaking, which, had it succeeded, would have been considered as one of the boldest strokes of political wisdom, there can be but one sentiment as to the conduct of the prince, in thus withholding from his parent all knowledge of the design he had formed for accomplishing the object of his daring ambition. Though under the corrupt influence of a few interested persons, whom he kept about his person, he still retained a sufficient portion of filial respect to prevent him from violating the declared injunctions of his father; and as no opposition short of actual violence could have induced him to forego his resolution of going to Scotland, he avoided the disagreeable alternative of disregarding the commands which his father would have laid upon him by taking the course he did.

When the Chevalier de St George received the prince's letter, which informed him, that he was to proceed instantly to Scotland, he was greatly surprised and agitated ; but as the step had been taken, he became reconciled to it, and even could not help applauding the courage of the prince in entering upon the enterprise. Writing to the duke of Ormond, on the eleventh of August, the Chevalier says, “I have now by me your letters of the fourteenth July, and of the twentyseventh, which last came by the courier, which brought me an account of the resolution the prince had taken, and executed without consulting me, for he was very sure I would not have approved it, tho' I cannot but say, that the courage and sentiments he shows on this occasion, will always do him honor." Again in writing to his agent, Sempil, same day, he observes, "What takes me up wholly at present, is the resolution the prince has taken and executed, without my knowledge. . . . The question now is to look forward, and not to blame what is past. It is true, I never should have advised the prince to have taken such a step, but since it is taken it must be supported, and whatever be the event, it will certainly turn much to the prince's personal honor, nay, even something may be said to justify what he has done. The usage he met with in France, and the dread of a peace, were no doubt strong motives to push him on a rash undertaking, than to sit still; and who knows but what has happened, may, in some measure, force the court of France out of shame to support him, while otherwise perhaps they had continued to neglect him, and then have abandoned him at last. The prince's example will, I hope, animate our friends in England; he has ventured generously for them, and if they abandon him, they themselves, and indeed our country, will be ruined."§

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• See extract Letter from the Chevalier to O'Bryan, 16 August, 1745, in the Appendix. Writing to O'Bryan, he says, (11 August, 1745) "Je vous avoue que ma surprise et mon agitation étoient grandes en apprennant cette nouvelle."-Stuart Papers.

Stuart Papers.

Ibid.

It had always been the opinion of the Chevalier-an opinion which experience has shown was well founded-that no attempt on Scotland could possibly succeed, unless accompanied by a simultaneous landing in England, and he now saw the necessity of enforcing this consideration more strongly than ever upon the court of France. In the letter which Charles had sent him, he desired his father to write to the king of France, and Cardinal Tencin, to urge them for support. The Che valier, however, did not confine himself to the king and to the cardinal, but addressed himself also to the Marechal de Noailles, and the whole of the French ministers. Alluding to the necessity of supporting the prince by a descent on England, the Chevalier says in the letter to Ormond, from which a quotation has already been made; "Enfin, since the step is taken, it is certainly incumbent on all of us to do our best to support it, and I am very sure nothing will be wanting on your side for that effect. My darkness, my anxiety, and the multiplicity of my reflections on this occasion, are so great that I shall not pretend to enlarge on this subject at present. In the mean time, I now write to Lord Marischal by the way of Paris, and write also directly to the king of France, and all the ministers, for without a landing in Eng land is soon made, humanly speaking, it will be impossible for the prince to succeed." He repeats almost the same observations in his letter to Sempil, also referred to: "I know not particularly the grounds he (the prince) goes upon, but I am afraid there is little room to hope he will succeed, except he be vigorously supported by the court of France; and, therefore, we must all of us in our different spheres leave nothing undone for that effect. I now write myself to the king of France and all the ministers, and we must be all of us more than ever solely and wholly intent on the great object."

But the Chevalier, in his anxiety to procure early succours for the prince, did not confine himself to words. To pay off the debts which Charles had contracted before his departure, he immediately remitted a sum of two hundred thousand francs to O'Bryan, his chief agent at Paris, and placed another sum of fifty thousand francs in the hands of Waters, junior, his banker at Paris, at the disposal of O'Bryan, to meet instant contingencies. † He afterwards remitted to Waters, through Belloni, his banker at Rome, eighty thousand Roman crowns, and promised another remittance of eight-and-twenty thousand in a few weeks, which, he said, would exhaust his treasury.

See the letter to the king of France, Appendix, No. V. ber, all bear the date of 11th August, 1745.

Those letters, ten in num

"J'ai, (says the Chevalier to O'Bryan, 16th, Aug. 1745,) envoyé la semaine passée 200,000 Francs à Paris pour payer ce que le Prince avait emprunté avant que de partir, et j'espère en cas de besoin pouvoir lever quelque argent sur quelques petits fonds qui me restent icy, et sur les pierreries du Prince même, mais tout cela n'ira pas fort loin, et à moins que la France ne la secours largement, je ne sçai ce que arrivera."- Stuart Papers.

In his letter to the king of France, the Chevalier informed him that he had learned with great astonishment the departure of the prince for Scotland; that knowing well that he would never have approved of such a step, he had taken and put his resolution into effect without consulting him; but that being done, he was obliged in sincerity to confess that he could not but admire the conduct of the prince in entering upon the enterprise, which, he was certain, would make a great and favourable impression upon the minds of his adherents. He stated, however, his conviction, that without the aid of a foreign force it was utterly impossible for the prince to succeed, and he entreated his majesty to furnish the necessary assistance. He reminded him that the prince had been invited by him into France, and although a year and a half had since elapsed, that he certainly had not forgot the object which brought his son thither; and that a crisis had now arrived, when the smallest delay on the part of his majesty might be attended with danger to the success of the brave attempt which the prince had made, and that he might now, at little risk and at a small expense, finish the work which the prince was about to commence. As to himself personally, the Chevalier informed Louis that he had formerly intimated to him that he intended to resign his rights to the prince; and that his intentions were still the same, with this difference however, that while he formerly considered that such a step would be advantageous for his family, it had now become indispensably necessary for his own honour, on account of his infirmities, as he considered that he should act rashly, and be guilty of bad faith towards his subjects, if he pretended to take upon himself the cares of government, when he was incapable of any fatigue either of body or of mind, and consequently unable to discharge the duties of a sovereign. These sentiments, of the sincerity of which no doubt can be entertained, do great honour to James, who, if we may Judge by his letters, is entitled to stand in a higher station in the moral and intellectual scale than has been hitherto assigned him.

The proceedings of government to suppress the insurrection are now to engage the reader's attention.

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