John Welsh, the Irongray Covenanter. 193 



period. " Unparalleled villany was preached against the King'.s 

 Majesty's sacred Per.son hy ungodly and perfidious men (the 

 Sectaries) shall therefore the Cause and Covenant bare the blame 

 thereof? We cannot judge a cause by its events; let them be 

 accursed who had any hand in the Regicide, but let not the Cove- 

 nant be charged as the cause thereof." Cromwell and his 

 Sectaries were not popular in Scotland, though it must be con- 

 fessed the Kirk had peace under their rule, and Scotland had 

 ne\'er been so prosperous since the Reformation. 



In 1660 the rule of the Sectaries came to an end, His Sacred 

 Majesty, Charles II., the one Covenanted King of Scotland, 

 ascended the throne. Welsh was soon to experience that if the 

 Sectaries chastised Scotland with Whips, the Stuarts would 

 chastise her -with Scorpions. On January 1, 1661, Parliament 

 met, with the Earl of Middleton as Commissioner. It rescinded 

 the proceedings of every Parliament since 1633, it passed between 

 January 1 and July 12 three hundred and ninety-three Acts, and 

 declared the King " Supreme Governor of this Kingdom over all 

 persons and in all causes," besides voting him £40,000 sterling a 

 year. Welsh in his sermon described Middleton's Parliament " a 

 drunken Parliament " — a title by which it is still known in history. 

 One of his heritors, Da\id M'Brear of Newark, a member of this 

 Parliament, accused Welsh before the Privy Council ; and Max- 

 well of Munches, Steward-depute of Galloway, was sent to arrest 

 him. On a Sabbath night Maxwell arrived at the Manse, but 

 Welsh begged him to allow him to preach the next day at Holy- 

 wood, being the Monday after the Communion, " which liberty 

 Maxwell (though a papist) civilly granted." Next morning most 

 of the parish and some brother ministers assembled to convey 

 him a little on his ^\'ay. " There was great sorrow and outcrying' 

 of the poor multitude beside the water of Cluden, where he was 

 to take to horse. It was with great difificulty he got from among 

 them, who were almost distracted, and cried most ruefully with 

 tears. But he being resolute, would not be detained; and after 

 two or three ministers had knelt down and prayed, he got to horse, 

 the people still holding him. The ministers and he rode quickly 

 through the water to win from among them ; many, both men and 

 women, brake in on foot after him, and followed on the road a 

 good space, with bitter weeping and lamentation." (Black- 

 adder's Mem. 89-90, Kirkton's Hist. 268-9.) 



