SCOTLAND. 
843 
nical. The whole reign of James passed in peace with 
E ngland till within a month of his death, and it is certainly 
much to his honour, that he employed himself in promoting 
ci vilization, and establishing regular government among his 
subjects, rather than in wasting their lives and property in 
the pursuit of war. He nevertheless cultivated a close 
alliance with France, and entered into a treaty with that 
kingdom, by which it was agreed, that the dauphin should 
espouse the young princess of Scotland. Numerous statutes 
were passed during this period for the encouragement of 
trade and agriculture, and for regulating the proceedings 
in the administration of the law. All these measures were taken 
w ith the approbation of the States, and seem to have been 
approved by the nation at large. The seizure of the royal 
estates, however, had created James many virulent enemies, 
and at length proved the cause of his murder. He had further 
awakened the jealousy of his nobles by some attempts to curb 
their exorbitant powers; and they appear to have dreaded 
lest he should make still bolder and more decisive encroach¬ 
ments on their feudal rights. Such were the sentiments and 
feelings of parties when Sir Robert Graham called a meeting 
of the chief men to represent their grievances to the king. 
A remonstrance was accordingly resolved upon, and Graham 
was appointed to deliver it to James in the next parliament; 
but the violence of his conduct destroyed all the benefit 
which might otherwise have resulted to their cause from 
this step. Instead of urging his suit with the respect due 
to the sovereign, Graham rose with an enraged countenance, 
and seized the king, saying, “ I arrest you in the name of all 
the three states of your realm here assembled in parliament, 
for as your people have sworn to obey you, so you are con¬ 
strained by an equal oath to govern by law, and not to 
wrong your subjects, but in justice to maintain and protect 
them.” This project having failed, Graham resolved to 
accomplish the death of the king by a conspiracy, which he 
put in execution during the festival of Christmas, which 
James held at Perth. Here, in conjunction with Sir John 
Hall and his brother, they barbarously murdered the king, 
in the 44th year of his age, and the 13th of his active 
authority. He was a prince of superior abilities, and may 
justly be considered among the greatest of the Scottish 
monarchs. If his measures were sometimes severe, they are 
perfectly defensible upon the principles of sound policy. He 
had to deal with a set of men who regarded the, virtue of 
moderation as imbecility, and whose lawless habits could 
only be restrained by the most summary examples of justice. 
The frequent meetings of the states of the kingdom during 
"his reign, and his constant deference to their decision, 
shew that James was not a tyrant. His patronage of 
learning and of the useful arts, evinces that the grand object 
of his ambition was the improvement and benefit of his 
country. 
James II., who was only seven years of age at his father’s 
death, was crowned king at Edinburgh on the 25th of 
March, 1438. At the same time a parliament was assembled, 
and denounced the severest penalties of the law against all 
those concerned in the regicide. The first taken were Sir 
Robert Stuart and Sir Christopher Chambers, who were 
executed at Edinburgh. Athol was next seized, and be¬ 
headed at the same place; and Graham, with many others, 
soon after shared a similar fate at Stirling. Even at the 
moment when he was writhing under the agonies of the most 
cruel tortures, that daring chief of the assassins had the 
boldness to declare that his conduct was fully justified by 
the tyranny of the king, and that his judges and the people 
ought rather to applaud him as a patriot, than condemn him 
as a traitor. The minority of the new king having ren¬ 
dered a regency necessary, Archibald, earl of Douglas, 
assumed the direction of affairs with the consent of the par¬ 
liament ; but that nobleman unfortunately died within the 
year. The states of the kingdom afterwards divided the 
government between Sir William Crichton, as chancellor, 
and Sir Alexander Livingston, as keeper of the king’s 
person, with the title of governor. This proved a most 
unfortunate partition of power; for the chancellor and 
governor soon quarrelled; and the former seized the person 
of the sovereign, and counteracted all the edicts of his col¬ 
league by contrary proclamations. The queen-mother, 
however, who was inimical to Crichton, contrived to 
steal her son from his custody, and fled with him to the 
castle of Stirling. In this juncture the chancellor applied 
to the young earl of Douglas for his support; but he 
haughtily answered, that he was an enemy to all parties, and 
was determined to assume the government himself. Crichton 
was thus convinced of the necessity for a union to guard against 
these arrogant pretensions; and accordingly a compromise 
with Livingston took place in Edinburgh; by which it 
was agreed, that the king should remain in the custody of the 
latter. 
In the interim, the earl of Douglas continued to brave the 
power of the government in a manner amounting to open 
rebellion, which highly exasperated the chancellor in par¬ 
ticular ; and as he knew the earl was above the reach of the 
law, he resolved to get rid of him by summary means. With 
this view he invited him to attend a parliament then about 
to be held at Edinburgh, and having inveigled him and his 
brother into the castle, on the pretence of dining with the 
king, ordered both to be executed on the Castle-hill. The 
young monarch endeavoured to save them; but the chan¬ 
cellor was fixed in his purpose, and had already ventured too 
far to recede with safety. 
James, as soon as he attained his 14th year, declared him¬ 
self of age, and took the reins of government into his own 
hands. The numerous friends of the young earl of Douglas 
now strove to reconcile him to the prince; and an accident 
soon happened which led to the fulfilment of their wishes. 
That was the murder of Sir Robert Semple, of Fullwood, by 
one of the earl’s partizans, who was in consequence arrested. 
Douglas, anxious to save his life, repaired to Stirling, threw 
himself at the king’s feet, and implored his pardon, solemnly 
promising that he would ever afterwards conduct himself as a 
dutiful and loyal subject. His submission was joyfully 
received by James, and he was immediately admitted into 
the royal councils. 
Alarmed at this event, the chancellor resigned the great 
seal, and took possession of the castle of Edinburgh, the cus¬ 
tody of which he pretended had been committed to him by 
the late king, till his son should arrive at the age of 21 
years. Livingston also resigned all his posts, except the 
command of Stirling castle, which he retained upon the same 
pretence. 
James demanded the immediate surrender of both for¬ 
tresses, and the demand being refused, the estates of the 
offenders were confiscated. The result was a civil war, dur¬ 
ing which almost every corner of the country presented a 
scene of desolation and bloodshed. It terminated hy the 
reconciliation of Crichton to the king, and the sacrifice of 
Livingston to the vengeance of Douglas. 
The king, now in his 18th year, was married to Mary, the 
daughter of Arnold, duke of Gueldres; but this event pro¬ 
voked the hostility of England, and a war immediately 
ensued. An English army advanced into Scotland, as far as 
the river Sark, in Annandale, where it was totally defeated 
by Douglas, earl of Ormond. Next year a truce was con¬ 
cluded for an indefinite period, which bore this singular 
clause, that either party might violate it upon giving 180 
days’ notice. The royal bride having arrived in Scotland 
about this time, her marriage was solemnized with great 
pomp at Holyrood-House, an event which put an end to the 
influence of Douglas, who retired to his estates. James 
being thereby emancipated from thraldom, summoned a 
parliament, in which many salutary enactments were made, 
tending to curb the power of the aristocracy, and to ensure 
the tranquillity of the kingdom. One act of this parliament 
deserves particular attention. It ordained, that if any man 
should “ commit or do treason against the king’s person or 
his majesty, or rise in war against him, or lay hands upon 
his person violently, of whatever age the king be, young or 
old; or receive any that have committed treason, or that 
supply them with help or advice, or garrison the house of 
them 
