.History. 

 A. D. 1592. 



606 



their favour. Thus was the presbyterian church, with 

 its discipline and judicatories, for the first time esta- 

 blished by law. 



The tranquillity was soon interrupted. Bothwell 

 suddenly appeared at Falkland, and unsuccessfully at- 

 tempted to seize the king's person. A more danger- 

 ous conspiracy was discovered soon after. The earls 

 of Angus, Errel, and Huntly, had entered into an 

 agreement with the king of Spain, for the re-establish- 

 ment of the Catholic worship in Scotland, and for ef- 

 fecting the same purpose subsequently in England. 

 George Ker was intimidated by the torture to make a 

 full disclosure of the conspiracy. Graham of Fintry, 

 and Barclay of Ladyland, whom he accused as accom- 

 plices, were taken into custody, and corroborated his 

 evidence. All ranks now stood forth for the liberty 

 and independence of their country. Angus was com- 

 mitted to the castle, Graham was tried and beheaded. 

 Errol and Huntly were summoned; but they fled to 

 the mountains. James marched into the north, placed 

 garrisons in the castles of the contumacious barons, 

 nd appointed the earls of Athol and Marischal to 

 maintain the public peace. 



The poverty of his finances was a subordinate cause 

 of the impotence of James's government. The court 

 was divided into two factions, under the queen and the 

 chancellor. To attain the ascendency, the queen's 

 party recalled Bothwell. He received a pardon ; but 

 parliament ivfused its sanction. He now fled to Eng- 

 land, where he was secretly protected by Elizabeth. 



Though the prosecution of the Catholic earls was sus- 

 pended, the parliament at length passed an act of attainder 

 ,A.D.. 1594. against them, and they agreed, upon certain conditions, 

 to leave the kingdom. Bothwell being detected as an 

 accomplice, forfeited the protection of Elizabeth, and 

 took shelter first in France, and then in Italy, where 

 he died. 



Discord now broke forth between the king and the 

 presbyterian clergy. The general assembly appointed 

 a day for public fasting, and settled a deputation, which 

 importuned the king to confiscate the forfeited estates of 



A. D.I 593. 



A. D.I 596. 



the exiled lords. But James dreaded the consequence of 

 exasperating a faction so powerful, and was therefore 

 inclined to mitigate their punishment, and permit them 

 to return home, to which the convention consented. 

 ,On this the assembly's committee remonstrated, and 

 their representation being disregarded, they wrote cir- 

 cular letters to all the presbyteries in Scotland, enjoin- 

 ing every clergyman to publish the anathema of the 

 church against the popish lords, and encouraging them 

 .to stir up the nation in defence of their religion. 



A convention met at Edinburgh, under the name of 

 the standing council of the church ; and the king 

 could not conceal his indignation at conduct which he 

 considered an invasion of his prerogative, and an ap- 

 proximation to rebellion. 



The intemperate zeal of a clergyman hastened the 

 crisis. Black, a minister, inveighed from the pulpit 

 against the recent measures of the government. The 

 English ambassador complained, and Black was sum- 

 .moned to answer before the .privy council. He re- 

 fused to obey ; appealed to the judicatories of the 

 church ; and, enraged at his contumacy, the king sen- 

 tenced him to be banished beyond the river Spey, and 

 avowed his determination to compel the clergy to sub- 

 mit to the jurisdiction of the civil courts for all offences 

 against the laws of the realm. 



The opposition which the king made to the proceed- 

 ings of his opponents, was represented as an evidence 



6 



SCOTLAND. 



of his apostasy. The king was led to believe that the 

 citizens of Edinburgh assembled clandestinely for mi- v 

 litary training. The ministers were alarmed by a re- 

 port, that the king was under the secret influence of 

 the catholic lords. Disorder and tumult succeeded. 

 The multitude voted a petition to the king, praying 

 for a redress of ecclesiastical grievances, and for the re- 

 moval of obnoxious counsellors. A deputation of noble- 

 men, ministers, and burgesses, presented it in the pre- 

 sence of the Court of Session. But the king declined 

 receiving the petition, and retired. The multitude gave 

 way to rage, called for arms, threatened the king and 

 his courtiers with instant death ; but the magistrates 

 succeeded in quelling the tumult. James withdrew to 

 Linlithgow. The courts of law were ordered to fol- 

 low, and the nobility and gentry were ordered to re- 

 turn home. The clergy used all their address to coun- 

 teract the royal mandate, inflamed the minds of the 

 people by violent invectives against the government, 

 and represented the necessity of an immediate associa- 

 tion for mutual defence. Lord Hamilton was solicited 

 to become the leader ; but he apprized the king of the 

 hostile design. A peremptory order was sent to Edin- 

 burgh to seize and imprison the ministers ; and the 

 clergy ab;>conded. 



The affair was laid before a convention of the estate?, 

 by whom the ministers and their coadjutors were pro- 

 nounced guilty of treason ; and it was enacted, that 

 every clergyman should be obliged to subscribe a de- 

 claration, acknowledging the royal authority as alone 

 competent to prosecute and punish all offences civil 

 and criminal. Magistrates were commanded to appre- 

 hend those ecclesiastics who should utter Li their ser- 

 mons indecent reflections upon the king's conduct. 

 Edinburgh was declared to be disfranchised ; but, 

 through the intercession of Elizabeth, he became re- 

 conciled to the delinquents, and absolved them from 

 the penalties of law. Though the king had gained an 

 undisputed ascendency, he pursued his advantage with 

 moderation, but address. The greater part of the re- 

 formed clergy were indigent, and, as their poverty gc- 



Hie'ory. 



nerated discontent and envy, he conceived the design 

 of exciting the jealousy of the unprovided clergy 

 against their beneficed and more dignified brethren. 



The proceedings of the General Assemblies convened 

 at Perth and Dundee, evince how effectually they were 

 brought under the king's control. Many points of 

 discipline were voluntarily abandoned, the licence of 

 declaiming on the measures of the government from 

 the pulpit was censured, and the patronage of the most 

 populous districts was vested in the crown. The exiled 

 lords were restored to the church, and were reinstated 

 in their honours and fortunes. James secretly pur- 

 sued the commission of the Assembly to petition par- 

 liament, that the presbyterian clergy might be there 

 represented, as in the time of the popish hierarchy, to 

 watch over the interests of the church. 



This excited violent debates between the Assembly 

 and the subordinate ecclesiastical courts ; but it wa 

 finally decided, and fifty- one ministers were nominated 

 by the king to the vacant benefices, which entitled the 

 incumbents to a seat in parliament, from lists presented 

 by the Assembly. 



The discontent occasioned by this innovation, was AD. 1COO. 

 aggravated by the appearance in Edinburgh of a com- 

 pany of players, and James, who had been formerly 

 suspected of popery, was now indirectly charged with 

 infidelity. An act was passed by the kirk-session f 

 Edinburgh, declaring it to be scandalous to resort to the 



