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_The Early History of the Scottish Union Question_




SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON THE FIRST EDITION.


"With considerable literary skill he has compressed into a brief compass
a most readable and impartial account of the efforts which from the time
of Edward I. went on to weld the two countries into one."--_Edinburgh
Evening News._

"Mr. Omond tells his story brightly and with full
knowledge."--_Manchester Guardian._

"A genuine contribution to British history."--_Dumfries Courier._

"There is much to interest and inform in this volume."--_Liverpool
Mercury._

"The conciseness of the sketch, instead of detracting from the worth of
the work, rather enables the author to give a more vivid description of
the course and progress of events."--_Dundee Advertiser._

"Mr. Omond has laid students of British history under a debt of
gratitude to him for his work on the Scottish Union question."--_Leeds
Mercury._

"Mr. Omond is at home in the struggles which led up to the act of Union
in 1707."--_British Weekly._

"His book, modest and unpretentious as it is, is a careful contribution
to the study of one of the most important features of the history of the
two kingdoms, since 1707 united as Great Britain."--_Liverpool Daily
Post._

"A handy summary of the history of such international relations, written
with an orderly method and much clearness and good sense."--_The
Academy._

"A handy, well-written volume."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"A very interesting, as well as very instructive book."--_Literary
World._


[Illustration: JOHN HAMILTON, LORD BELHAVEN.]




    _The Early History
    of the
    Scottish Union Question_

    _By
    G. W. T. Omond_

    _Author of
    "Fletcher of Saltoun" in the "Famous Scots" Series_

    _Bi-Centenary Edition_

    _Edinburgh & London
    Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier
    1906_




    _Now Complete in 42 Volumes_

    _The Famous Scots Series_

    _Post 8vo, Art Canvas, 1s. 6d. net; and with gilt top and uncut
    edges, price 2s. net_


    THOMAS CARLYLE. By HECTOR C. MACPHERSON.
    ALLAN RAMSAY. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
    HUGH MILLER. By W. KEITH LEASK.
    JOHN KNOX. By A. TAYLOR INNES.
    ROBERT BURNS. By GABRIEL SETOUN.
    THE BALLADISTS. By JOHN GEDDIE.
    RICHARD CAMERON. By Professor HERKLESS.
    SIR JAMES Y. SIMPSON. By EVE BLANTYRE SIMPSON.
    THOMAS CHALMERS. By Professor W. GARDEN BLAIKIE.
    JAMES BOSWELL. By W. KEITH LEASK.
    TOBIAS SMOLLETT. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
    FLETCHER OF SALTOUN. By G. W. T. OMOND.
    THE BLACKWOOD GROUP. By Sir GEORGE DOUGLAS.
    NORMAN MACLEOD. By JOHN WELLWOOD.
    SIR WALTER SCOTT. By Professor SAINTSBURY.
    KIRKCALDY OF GRANGE. By LOUIS A. BARBE.
    ROBERT FERGUSSON. By A. B. GROSART.
    JAMES THOMSON. By WILLIAM BAYNE.
    MUNGO PARK. By T. BANKS MACLACHLAN.
    DAVID HUME. By Professor CALDERWOOD.
    WILLIAM DUNBAR. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
    SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. By Professor MURISON.
    ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. By MARGARET MOYES BLACK.
    THOMAS REID. By Professor CAMPBELL FRASER.
    POLLOK AND AYTOUN. By ROSALINE MASSON.
    ADAM SMITH. By HECTOR C. MACPHERSON.
    ANDREW MELVILLE. By WILLIAM MORISON.
    JAMES FREDERICK FERRIER. By E. S. HALDANE.
    KING ROBERT THE BRUCE. By A. F. MURISON.
    JAMES HOGG. By Sir GEORGE DOUGLAS.
    THOMAS CAMPBELL. By J. CUTHBERT HADDEN.
    GEORGE BUCHANAN. By ROBERT WALLACE. Completed by
            J. CAMPBELL SMITH.
    SIR DAVID WILKIE, AND THE SCOTS SCHOOL OF PAINTERS. By
            EDWARD PINNINGTON.
    THE ERSKINES, EBENEZER AND RALPH. By A. R. MACEWEN.
    THOMAS GUTHRIE. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
    DAVID LIVINGSTONE. By T. BANKS MACLACHLAN.
    THE ACADEMIC GREGORIES. By AGNES GRAINGER-STEWART.
    JOHNSTON OF WARRISTON. By WILLIAM MORISON.
    HENRY DRUMMOND. By JAMES Y. SIMPSON.
    PRINCIPAL CAIRNS. By JOHN CAIRNS.
    VISCOUNT DUNDEE. By LOUIS A. BARBE.
    JAMES WATT. By ANDREW CARNEGIE.




_Preface_


The history of the final union of England and Scotland, which took place
on the 1st of May 1707, commences with the accession of Queen Anne; and
with regard to that event, the best sources of information, apart from
original letters, diaries, and other contemporary documents, are Daniel
Defoe's _History of the Union_, published in 1709, Dr. Hill Burton's
_History of Scotland_, Mr. John Bruce's _Report on the Events and
Circumstances which produced the Union_, published, for the use of
Government, in 1799, and Dr. James Mackinnon's _Union of England and
Scotland_, published in 1896. In this volume I have endeavoured to
describe the _earlier_ attempts to unite the kingdoms. These commence,
practically, in the reign of Edward I. of England, and continue, taking
sometimes one form and sometimes another, down to the reign of William
III.

While giving an account of the various negotiations for union, and of
the union which was actually accomplished during the Commonwealth, I
have tried to depict the state of feeling between the two countries on
various points, and particularly in regard to the Church question, which
bulks more largely than any other in the international history of
England and Scotland.

It is a story, sometimes of mutual confidence and common aspirations, as
at the Reformation and the Revolution, but more frequently of
jealousies, recriminations, and misunderstandings, most of which are now
happily removed.

My authorities are sufficiently indicated in the footnotes.

                                                         G. W. T. O.




_Contents_


    CHAP.                                                        PAGE

      I. INTERNATIONAL POLITICS BEFORE THE UNION OF THE CROWNS      9

     II. THE UNION OF THE CROWNS                                   52

    III. THE UNION DURING THE COMMONWEALTH                         96

     IV. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION                   122

      V. THE REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT                                147




_The Early History of the Scottish Union Question_




CHAPTER I

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS BEFORE THE UNION OF THE CROWNS


The races which inhabited the northern parts of England and the southern
parts of Scotland were descended from a common stock, and spoke a common
language. But for centuries the problem of uniting them baffled the
best-laid plans of kings and statesmen; and neither force, nor policy,
nor treaties of marriage between the royal families, seemed capable of
destroying the inveterate rancour which the peoples felt towards each
other. The petition in response to which the papal sanction was given to
the intended marriage of Prince Edward to the Maid of Norway, pointed
out the wisdom of removing, or at least mitigating, the enmity of the
two nations; and it was the avowed policy of Edward the First to
combine the marriage of his son to the young Queen of Scotland with a
peaceful union of the kingdoms. The clergy, the nobles, and the people
of Scotland agreed to the proposed alliance, and were willing that their
queen should be educated at the English Court. The marriage-contract was
prepared; and the prospects of a lasting peace were bright, when the
death of the young princess on her journey from Norway suddenly changed
the whole course of events.

The competition for the Scottish Crown; the arbitration of Edward; his
claim to the title of Lord Superior; the invasion of Scotland; the
occupation of Scottish strongholds, and of large portions of Scottish
territory, by English garrisons; the homage paid to the English king by
the competitors for the Crown; the spectacle of Englishmen filling many
great offices of State;--all tended to exasperate the Scottish nation.
But Edward never seems to have doubted that he would succeed no matter
at what a cost of blood and treasure in joining the kingdoms. Indeed, it
appears that from the summer of 1291, when the competitors for the
Crown granted him possession of Scotland until his decision should be
made known, he regarded the two countries as practically one. Scotland
is described, in public documents, as "notre ditte terre d'Escose"; and
it was expressly declared that, as England and Scotland were now united,
the king's writ should run in both realms alike.[1]

During the inglorious reign of Baliol, and throughout the period of
anarchy and turmoil which followed its termination, Edward never lost
sight of his favourite policy of an union, which, though brought about
by conquest, and imposed by force of arms upon the people of Scotland,
would, nevertheless, in course of time, secure for him and his
successors the sovereignty of an undivided kingdom from the English
Channel to the Pentland Firth. In pursuance of his policy he resolved
to hold a Parliament in which Scotland should be represented, and by
which regulations should be framed for the future government of that
country. To this Parliament, which met at Westminster in September 1305,
ten representatives of Scotland were summoned.[2] All of them attended
except Patrick Earl of March; but his place was filled, at the king's
command, by Sir John Monteith, the betrayer of Wallace, whose execution
had taken place less than a month before.

With the Scotsmen twenty-two English members were conjoined; and to the
Council thus formed there was administered one of the elaborate oaths
which were then supposed to be peculiarly solemn and binding. They were
sworn on our Lord's Body, the Holy Relics, and the Holy Evangels, to
give good and lawful advice for maintaining the peace of the king's
dominions, especially in Scotland, and loyally to reveal any hindrances
they knew to good government in Scotland, and how these might be
overcome.

It is difficult to believe that the commissioners from Scotland were
free agents in this Parliament. But it suited the purposes of Edward
that the ordinance which was now to be framed for the future government
of Scotland should be promulgated as the result of deliberations in
which the people of Scotland had a voice. It was for this reason that
the Scotsmen had been summoned to Westminster; but the ordinance left
all real power in the hands of Edward. Sir John de Bretaigne, the king's
nephew, became Warden of Scotland, with a Chancellor and Controller
under him.[3] Eight justiciars were appointed. Six of them were to
administer law in the lowlands; and the dangerous duty of executing
justice "beyond the mountains" was entrusted to Sir Reynaud le Chien and
Sir John de Vaux of Northumberland. Sheriffs were appointed, most of
whom were Scotsmen; but the castles were left in the hands of English
commanders. The laws of King David of Scotland were to be read at public
meetings in various places, and such of these laws as appeared unjust
were to be amended.[4]

About this time Edward writes to the Sheriff of York, giving orders that
nobles, prelates, and other people of Scotland journeying to and from
England, were, in future, to be courteously treated, and that anyone who
used threats or bad language to them, or who refused to sell them food,
was to be punished. Similar orders regarding the treatment of Scotsmen
in England were sent to the Sheriffs of London, and many of the English
counties. Edward perhaps thought that by this semblance of an union,
founded on conquest and set forth on parchment, his long-cherished
schemes were at last accomplished. But his plans had hardly been
completed, when he found himself confronted by that combination of the
Scottish people which, during the reign of his son, triumphed under the
leadership of Robert Bruce, and finally secured the complete
independence of Scotland on the field of Bannockburn.

The marriage of the Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry the Seventh, to
James the Fourth of Scotland, stanched for a time--but only for a
time--the torrent of blood which was shed in the wars which raged, one
after another, for nearly two hundred years after the death of Bruce.
Another period of warfare followed, during which the disasters of
Flodden Field and Solway Moss left Scotland apparently at the mercy of
England. But when Henry the Eighth attempted to reconcile and unite the
nations by a treaty of marriage between the Prince of Wales and Mary,
the youthful Queen of Scots, the Scottish Estates, while agreeing to his
proposal, declared that, after the marriage, Scotland was to remain a
separate and independent kingdom; and it was soon found that to
propitiate the Scottish nation was a task beyond even the long
experience and the profound diplomatic ability of Sadler. Sadler argued
that England had a young prince, and Scotland had a young princess, and
that if they were betrothed, "these two realms being knit and conjoined
in one, the subjects of the same, which have always been infested with
the wars, might live together in wealth and perpetual peace." "I pray
you," said a Scottish statesman in reply, "give me leave to ask you a
question: If your lad were a lass, and our lass were a lad, would you
then be so earnest in this matter? Could you be content that our lad
should marry your lass, and so be King of England?" And when Sadler
answered that he would, the Scotsman shook his head. "I cannot believe,"
he said, "that your nation could agree to have a Scot to be King of
England. And likewise I assure you that our nation, being a stout
nation, will never agree to have an Englishman to be King of Scotland.
And though the whole nobility of the realm would consent to it, yet our
common people, and the stones in the street, would rise and rebel
against it."

Then, to enforce the treaty of marriage, came the invasion of Scotland,
when Edinburgh was burned to the ground, when the port of Leith and the
picturesque castles of Roslyn and Craigmillar were in flames, when the
abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh were laid in ruins, and when the villages
and farms of the lowlands were devastated by the English soldiery. But
the violence of Henry was in vain; and during his reign the Scottish
people hated England as they had never hated her before.[5]

The project of uniting the kingdoms by a royal marriage was not
abandoned on the death of Henry; and in the first year of Edward the
Sixth, the battle of Pinkie, the last great battle between England and
Scotland, was fought. But the Protector Somerset soon found that the
Scots, though defeated, were as determined as ever to resist the English
connection, and that the Scottish Parliament had at last resolved that
their young queen should be betrothed to the Dauphin, and sent forthwith
to France, to be educated at the French Court. This resolution, so
fateful to Mary Stuart, then a child of only six, altered the views and
policy of Somerset. In the name of the English Council he issued a
remarkable proclamation, in which he proposed that the Crowns should be
united, and that the kingdoms should become one. "We invite you," it was
said, "to amity and equality, because, as we inhabit in the same island,
there is no people so like one another in manners, customs, and
language." There was to be freedom and equality of trade between England
and Scotland. The subjects of both kingdoms were to be allowed to
intermarry. If the Scots wished it, the name of England would be
abolished, and "the indifferent old name of Britains" taken again. "If
we two," the proclamation declared, "being made one by amity, be most
able to defend us against all nations; and, having the sea for the wall,
mutual love for garrison, and God for defence, should make so noble and
well-agreeing a monarchy, that neither in peace we may be ashamed, nor
in war afraid of any worldly or foreign power; why should not you be as
desirous of the same, and have as much cause to rejoice at it as we?"[6]
But these overtures were too late; the Queen of Scots was sent to
France: and when, two years later, peace was proclaimed, Scotland
remained unconquered and independent.

The treaty of peace declared that the boundaries of the two countries
were to be the same as they had been before the outbreak of war between
Henry the Eighth and James the Fifth of Scotland. An attempt was made to
deal with that portion of waste land upon the western borders which had
been, for so long, a harbour of refuge for the outlaws of both kingdoms,
and which was known as the Debateable Ground.[7] It was to be divided by
