392 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



tioned ; and also to secure them in all that they possess by 

 law, or were secured in by gifts from our Royal uncle, 

 King Charles, under the Great Seal of Scotland ; and so 

 indemnify them and every one of them who shall come in 

 and submit to us and our laws, in manner aforesaid, against 

 all accusations, punishments, and dangers, for all crimes 

 and deeds committed by them preceding their submission."* 

 Such a complete reversal of the policy of extermination, is 

 the clearest possible indication of the state of panic into 

 which the Government had been thrown, by the strong 

 feeling aroused by the butchery at Glencoe. From extreme 

 severity they now turned to unexampled leniency. " Bribe 

 these troublesome Highlanders into submission. Give them 

 anything they want : make them knights, peers, anything 

 short of an earldom, to get rid of them " ; such, in effect, 

 was their cry. And the choice of an agent fell upon the 

 right man. Had Lord Tarbat's counsel been followed 

 earlier, the insurgents would have long before given in 

 their submission ; great loss of life and vast sums of money 

 would have been saved ; and the massacre of Glencoe 

 would have been rendered impossible. The precise use 

 that Tarbat made of his authority is uncertain ; but we 

 know that the system of pensioning the Highland chiefs 

 was pursued by King William, and continued by his* 

 successor. 



In July, 1692, King William ordered the Privy Council 

 of Scotland to cause process of treason to be issued against 

 the Earl of Seaforth, " for his invasion with forces from 

 Ireland and his behaviour since."t The Earl appears to 

 have led an exciting life during the first six months of 1692, 

 a term of imprisonment alternating with an escape ; that, 

 in turn, being followed by a fresh surrender. Ultimately, 

 he was lodged in Inverness Castle, and the Government, 

 losing patience, decided to proclaim him a traitor. A 

 lengthened spell of imprisonment broke Seaforth's spirit, 

 and he threw himself upon the Royal clemency. On ist 



* Cal. of State Papers (Nov., i69i-Dec., 1692), p. 547. 

 t Idcm. t pp. 366-7. 



