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claimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." After the discourse was finished, the Preacher said, "Wherefore, up and be valiant for the City of our God!" The people instantly rose, and being joined by the populace in other towns, they armed themselves, and were soon formed into regiments of foot and horse; and having appointed officers, they burned the proposed articles of Union, and justified their conduct by a declaration; they then resolved to take the route to Edinburgh, and dissolve the Parliament. In the meantime, the Privy Council issued a proclamation against riots, and ordered the guard to fire on the discontented. Soon after this, the Ministry obtained a majority, and the articles were passed; on which, the Duke of Queensberry, who was a violent supporter of the measure, dissolved that ancient Assembly, and Scotland ceased to be a separate independent kingdom. From this period, the Island took the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. On the 1st of May 1708, the British Parliament, fifty against forty, dissolved the Scotch Privy Council; by which the last vestige of the ancient national government was destroyed. This measure also was subject to severe animadversions.

The ferment against the Union had not allayed, when the religious feelings of the Scotch were disturbed by an Act of Parliament, passed in 1712, by which the patronage of the Church was granted to certain public bodies, or individuals. This was considered in Scotland as an infringement on the religious liberties of the people; as, since the Scotch Act of Parliament in 1690, the heritors and elders of every Parish elected their own Ministers.

The Queen was not remarkable either for her learning or capacity; like all the rest of her family, she seemed rather fitted for the duties of a private life than a public station; and, to her honour it ought to be recorded, that, during her reign, none suffered on the scaffold for treason. In her ended the

line of the Stuarts, a family who never rewarded their friends, nor ever avenged themselves on their adversaries; a family whose misfortunes and misconducts are not to be paralleled in history.

On the death of the Queen, which happened on the 31st of July 1714, George, Elector of Hanover, the eldest son of his late most Serene Highness, Ernest Augustus, Duke and Elector of Brunswick and Lunenberg, by his consort the Princess Sophia, who was the fifth and youngest daughter of Frederick, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and King of Bohemia, and of Elizabeth of Great Britain, eldest daughter of King James I., niece to Charles II., sister to the famous Prince Rupert, and thereby cousin-german to King James II., was raised to the throne of these realms, under the title of George I.; he was at that time fifty-four years of age. His maxims were very different from the Stuart family, who were known, to a proverb, to desert their friends in extremity; his declared principles were, never to abandon his friends, to do justice to all the world, and to fear no man. Although this Monarch knew that he who ruled a faction governed only a part of his subjects, he was nevertheless partial to the Whigs, who were active in raising him to the throne, which naturally gave great offence to the other parties. At this period, the political distinctions were changed to those of Hanoverians and Jacobites; the former governed the Senate and the Court, and kept the Jacobites at a distance by vile distinctions, which ended in a rebellion. This event first took place in Scotland, under the Earl of Marr, who, assuming the title of Lieutenant-General of His Majesty's forces, assembled 300 of his vassals in the Highlands, and was soon reinforced from France, so that he marched for Stirling at the head of 10,000 men.

The Duke of Argyle, apprised of his intentions, and at any rate willing to prove his attachment to the present government, resolved to give him battle in the neighbourhood of Dumblain,

though his forcés did not amount to half the number of the enemy. In the morning, therefore, he drew up his army, which did not exceed 3,500 men, in order of battle, but he soon found himself greatly outflanked by the insurgents. The Duke, therefore, perceiving the Earl make attempts to surround him, was obliged to alter his disposition, which, on account of the scarcity of general officers, was not done so expeditiously, as to be finished before the Rebels began the attack. The left wing of the Duke's army received the centre of the enemy, and supported the first charge without shrinking. It seemed even for a while victorious, and the Earl of Clanronald

was killed. But Glengary, who was second in command, undertook to inspire his intimidated forces with courage, and waving his bonnet, cried out, several times," Revenge!" This animated the Rebel troops to such a degree, that they followed him close to the points of the enemy's bayonets, and got within their guard. A total rout began to ensue in that wing of the Royal army; and General Wetham, their Com mander, flying full speed to Stirling, gave out that the Rebels were completely victorious. In the meantime, the Duke of Argyle, who commanded in person on the right, attacked the left of the enemy, and drove them two miles before him, though they often faced about, and attempted to rally. Having thus entirely broken that wing, and driven them over the Allan, he returned back to the field of battle; where, to his great mortification, he found the enemy victorious, and patiently waiting for the assault; however, instead of renewing the engagement, both armies continued to gaze at each other, neither caring to begin the attack. In the evening, both parties drew off, and both claimed the victory; all the advantages of a victory, however, belonged to Argyle, he had interrupted the progress of the enemy; and, in their circumstances, delay was defeat. In fact, the Earl of Marr soon found his losses and disappointments increase; the Castle of Inverness, of which he was in possession, was delivered up by Lord Lovat, who had hitherto

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professed to act in the interest of the Pretender; the Marquis of Tulliburdine forsook the Earl, in order to defend his own part of the country; and many of the Clans seeing no likelihood of coming to a second engagement, returned quietly home.

The main body of the Rebels, however, having bent their course towards the south, had several encounters with the King's forces, with various success, till, at the battle of Preston, in Lancashire, they were completely defeated, and, having laid down their arms, they were put under a strong guard. All the noblemen and leaders were secured, and some of them were shot, by order of a Court-martial; the others were sent to London, and led through the streets pinioned and bound together, so as to intimidate their party; the common people were imprisoned in Chester and Liverpool. Although the Pretender might have easily predicted how matters would go, he left France in disguise, and arrived in Scotland, with only six gentlemen in his train; having met with Marr, and about thirty noblemen and gentlemen, he was proclaimed King, and proposed to have the ceremony of the coronation performed at Scoon; having ordered the Ministers to pray for him, and to offer up thanksgiving for his safe arrival, he called his grand court of thirty, and having harangued them, he said, “he was sorry to say that his want of money, arms, and ammunition, was such as made it necessary for him to leave them." He, accordingly, set sail from the harbour of Montrose, and in a few days arrived at Graveline, accompanied by several of his adherents. The rebellion being thus ended, the law was put in force, with all its terrors, and the prisons of London were crowded with persons whom the Ministry determined to punish; the Commons addressed the Crown in favour of punishment, and they did not address in vain, for the Earls of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, Carnwath, and Wigton, the Lords Wedrington, Kenmure, and Nairn, were impeached; and upon pleading guilty, all of them, but the Earl of Wigton, received sentence of death. No entreaties to save them could prevail;

the House of Lords presented an address for mercy, but without effect; the King said, "that in this he would act as he thought best suited for the dignity of the crown, and the safety of the people." Orders were accordingly despatched for the execution of Derwentwater and Nithsdale, immediately; the rest were respited till a future time. Nithsdale had the good fortune to escape in women's clothes, which had been brought to him by his mother the night before; the other underwent his punishment with calm intrepidity; five of the common men were hung, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn; twenty-two were executed at Manchester and Preston; and about a thousand were transported to North America. The King having, in 1727, a desire to visit his electoral possession in Hanover, appointed a Regency; having reached Osnaburgh, he was overtaken by disease, and almost instantly expired, in the 68th year of his age; his body was conveyed to Hanover, and interred among his ancestors.

On the accession of George II. the two great parties which had divided the nation, changed their names, and were now called Court and Country parties. During the beginning of this reign, the South Sea scheme was formed, and upwards of 500,000l. of its funds delapidated by certain members of Parliament, so that six of the members of the House of Commons were expelled for sordid acts of knavery; Sir Robert Walpole the Minister, procured his majority by bribery and corruption, so that it was ascertained that not one shilling of the forfeited estates was ever applied to the service of the public, but became the reward of venality. On this occasion, a strong attempt was made to repeal the septennial bill, and bring back the triennial Parliament, as settled at the Revolution; although the minority could not accomplish this, their opposition was so powerful, that the Ministers found it necessary to dissolve the Parliament. While the contention was carried high between the parties, Charles Edward, the son of the old Pretender to the British crown, resolved to recover what he called his right. Being

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