HUNTLY AND THE NORTH ISLES. 231 



by the undertaking. It was with difficulty that he was 

 induced to improve upon his original offer, but, " to draw 

 him on," the Council offered him the islands Skye and 

 Lewis excepted for a rental of 10,000 pounds,, which 

 was considered to be about the equivalent of the amount 

 paid by the Lewis Adventurers. The Council were pre- 

 pared to reduce this offer no doubt very considerably 

 had Huntly shown any disposition to meet them, but he 

 refused to budge from his offer of 400 pounds Scots ;* 

 and there the matter rested. The report concluded with 

 an ominous reference to proceedings pending against 

 Huntly, touching his obedience to the Kirk. The dif- 

 ference between the Council's offer and that of Huntly 

 is, it will be noticed, so great as to be farcical. Either 

 the Council asked far too much, or Huntly offered far 

 too little. Obviously, the Marquis having considered the 

 expense and trouble of subjugating the islands, and 

 having weighed the chances of making the enterprise 

 ultimately a profitable one, deemed himself justified in 

 offering so small a sum ; whereas the Council based their 

 valuation on the revenues of the richer and comparatively 

 loyal islands south of Ardnamurchan Point. Huntly's 

 offer was doubtless well on the low side, but the Council's 

 demands were, under all the circumstances, preposterously 

 high. It is difficult to resist the conclusion, in view of 

 subsequent events, that the intention of the King and 

 the Council was to force an unfair bargain on the Marquis, 

 the alternative being, that if he failed to accede to their 

 terms, the storm which was then gathering about his head 

 would be allowed to burst. 



On 20th May, James sent his reply. After expressing 

 surprise that Huntly should have modified his terms so 

 considerably in such a short time, he protested that his 

 selection of the Marquis for the work was not dictated 

 by any personal preference for that nobleman, but by 



* Reg. of P.O., Vol. VII., pp. 523-4. Sir Walter Scott states that Huntly's 

 offer was 400 sterling, but the Privy Council records clearly state that the 

 amount was 400 pounds "Scottis." 



