The Patriot

by Nigel Tranter

  A procession filed in from the left, but only a few inexperienced newcomers rose to their feet, for it could be seen, by the gorgeous robes and copes, that these were only the new Lords Spiritual, at present the most loathed men in the kingdom, the fourteen bishops, and almost all turncoats, led by James Sharpe, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Alexander Burnet, Archbishop of Glasgow, both former Presbyterian parish-ministers. They had been given seats in parliament, by royal decree, only since 1655, after clerical seats had been banned at the Reformation. These went to their places at the end of the lords' stalls, in a heavy silence.

  The silence did not last long for, as though to emphasise where the real importance lay, there was still a considerable wait, and chatter was resumed. Then, at last, a full hour late, the drumming resumed and the door at the head of the hall was thrown open to admit, first a file of the royal guard, very fine, who took up positions flanking the throne; then the Lord Lyon King of Arms leading his heralds; then the great officers of state, with the Honours of Scotland, the Earl of Erroll, High Constable, bearing the Sword, the Earl of Crawford bearing the Sceptre and the Earl of Argyll bearing the Crown - odd, when his father had been executed for highest treason. Finally, after a calculated pause, appeared the Chancellor of the Realm, John Leslie, Earl of Rothes, great wig askew and somewhat unsteady on his feet, followed by Lauderdale, the Lord High Commissioner, red of face, rocking of gait, hat crushed firmly down over wig as, deputising for the monarch, he alone could remain covered in that company.

  Somebody raised a cheer, tentatively, but it died away unsupported.

  Lauderdale went to sit on the throne, keeping his hat on, Rothes collapsed into the chair behind the Chancellor's table, clerks scurried in, with papers, to the two side-tables, the drummers beat a final roll, and all was set for proceedings to commence.

  "I declare that His Sacred and Glorious Majesty, Charles by the Grace of God, King of this Realm, has re-appointed me High Commissioner to this Convention of Parliament," Lauderdale intoned in song-song fashion. "Does any here require that such commission be read out in full?"

  Since the Duke had been High Commissioner on every occasion since 1670, eight years, none saw any point in further delay.

  "Very well. My lord Chancellor - proceed."

  Rothes sat forward. The Scots parliament was distinct from its English counterpart in more than the lords and commons sitting together. Here the monarch or his representative actually not only attended but presided in person, although the business was conducted by his Chancellor or chief minister.

  "I declare this Convention of the Estates of Parliament, duly called and authorised, to be in valid session." John Leslie, seventh Earl, bull-like, short-necked, stout, may have been drunk as Hamilton had averred, and all but illiterate - he could not spell, certainly - but he gave no impression of not knowing what he was about, even if his words slurred a little. "The business is simple and, God aiding us, should not detain us long ..."

  Thus early, the Duke of Hamilton was on his feet. "My lord Chancellor," he intervened, "you err, I think. Let us have the matter aright. You said this Convention of the Estates. I came to attend a parliament, not a convention. Let us begin aright, I say."

  "No, my lord Duke - I didna err," Rothes returned, grinning. "I said convention and I mean convention!"

  There was immediate uproar in the hall. Undoubtedly almost all present had believed that they were attending a full session of parliament. A convention was altogether a lesser thing, a meeting limited in scope and usually called only for a single purpose; indeed it formerly was the term used for an assembly of the Estates at which the monarch himself was not present.

  "A device!" Bruce declared to his nephew. "This is an outrage! But why?"

  "Hamilton said Lauderdale was cooking something! This is it, then. Not a parliament, at all."

  When he could make himself heard, Hamilton, still on his feet, pointed an accusatory finger. "I protest!" he exclaimed. It was at Lauderdale that he pointed. "This is insufferable! I have not travelled all the way from London to attend a convention. The summons was to attend the Estates of Parliament. In the King's royal name. I protest to . . . Your Grace!" That last sounded as though it hurt grievously to enunciate, In Scotland the honorific Grace was offered only to the monarch, not to dukes; but whilst acting as the King's representative and sitting on the throne, Lauderdale was entitled to it.

  "I maun put you to rights, I fear, my lord Duke," Lauderdale replied, with relish. "I hae the summons here before me. It is to '... attend a Convention o' the Estates o' Parliament'. Just that!"

  "But.. . God save us! That is the words always used. For a parliament. A Convention of the Estates of Parliament. Meaning...

  ".

  "Meaning, Hamilton, a convention!. In this instance. I should ken, who sent it out. Under His Majesty's signature, wi' His Majesty's agreement."

  "Then this is a scandal! We are brought here under false pretences." Hamilton look round over the gathering, assessing support. "My lord Chancellor - I move that this assembly, being a full and lawful gathering of the Three Estates of Parliament, herewith constitutes itself a full parliament and no mere convention."

  "Seconded," Belhaven called.

  "I must rule you out of order, my lords." It was Lauderdale who answered, not Rothes. "This gathering isna competent so to vote. A convention it has been declared by the Chancellor. Therefore it can only vote as a convention. I has nae authority to turn itself into a parliament."

  "The Chancellor can be over-ruled."

  "Only by myself. And I dinna choose to do so, my lord Duke."

  Hamilton drew a deep breath. "The Privy Council can overrule the Chancellor," he said.

  The tension and stir in the hall was palpable.

  "Ooh, aye," the High Commissioner acceded. "Maybe and maybe no'. I could contest that, Hamilton. But I'll no'. Na, na-we'll hae a vote o' the Privy Council, then. Them only, mind. My lord President o' the Council - will ye call a vote?"

  Hamilton must have known it to be a despairing gesture from the first. The President of the Scots Privy Council was Archbishop Sharpe of St. Andrews - and there by Lauderdale's influence. So were most of the other privy councillors. When Hamilton's motion was called, it attracted only three votes out of the fifteen councillors present - those of the Earl of Dumfries, Sir Alexander Bruce and the Duke himself. Belhaven was not a councillor.

  "Aye, weel -I jalouse we can now proceed to our business," Lauderdale said, sitting back. "Eh, my lord Chancellor?"

  The Duke of Hamilton sat down, set-faced.

  "So this is how Scotland is governed!" Fletcher said to his uncle.

  "Aye, lad, I fear that it is." The older man sighed.

  Rothes rapped on his table for quiet. "The duty laid upon this convention is simple but important, fell important," he announced thickly. "It is the matter of granting supply. Just that. Siller! There is uprising, unlawful assembly, riot all over the land. Especially amongst the Westland Whiggamores." He stumbled somewhat over that last. "The local militia, set up eight years ago, cannot maintain the King's peace. Therefore His Grace requires that a new, permanent and established force be set up. Permanent. Paid for by the realm. Not, as now, at the expense of individual lords and lairds. As is right and reasonable . . ."

  The acclaim from many of the lords and lairds was heartfelt.

  "The cost of recruiting, equipping and paying such force will not be small," Rothes went on. "It will require £6,000 monthly for twenty months. Aye." He wagged a finger. "Sterling that is, mind. They tell me that it comes to £1,800,000 Scots!"

  Into the consternation which struck the chamber at this enormous, unheard-of sum, Lord Belhaven's old voice rose strongly.

  "My lord Chancellor - would it not be wiser, a deal less costly, and more in accord with Scriptual injunction forby, to pacify our disaffected countrymen rather than assail them with armed soldiery? If we repeal the Act Against Conventicles, all this uprising will die away of itself
. That infamous Act alone provokes it . . ."

  Rothes rapped on his table. "We cannot discuss here Acts of an earlier parliament. In this convention," he interrupted. "We are here to authorise supply for the provision and upkeep of His Majesty's standing army here in Scotland. Only that."

  "I will not be muzzled, Chancellor! I have the right to speak," Belhaven asserted. "None here, I swear, is going to authorise raising, by cess or taxation, the sum of £1,800,000, unquestioning or in haste. When all know that there is no need. That all the unrest in the land is caused by the law against holding conventicles. If our fellow-countrymen wish to worship God in the open air, I say, let them! The ousted ministers do not endanger the peace of the realm, only the sensibilities of certain folk in high places! I say that we should not employ dragoons to regulate each other's consciences."

  "I rule you out-of-order, my lord . . ." Rothes began, when Lauderdale intervened.

  "I'd remind Lord Belhaven that this United Kingdom is at war with the Dutch. Troops are required to repel possible foreign invasion. You'd no' have us invaded by Hollanders?"

  "Does Your Grace anticipate a Dutch descent upon Scotland? If so, I swear that you are the only man in this hall to do so!"

  That produced the first laughter of the session.

  "I but inform you that the raising of armed forces is for more than the putting down o' conventicles, man. The King's government has the whole peace and security o' the realm to consider."

  "Expensive consideration - at £1,800,000! End the Conventicles Act and no new troops will be required in Scotland. Accordingly I so move ..."

  "Not accepted," Rothes ruled. "This convention cannot repeal an Act."

  "It can strongly advise the King's Grace to have the Act repealed, at least - you cannot deny that? I so move."

  "And I second," Hamilton said. "I am told that troopers of Queensberry's Regiment have been quartered in my palace of Hamilton and in my town and shire of Lanark. This is an outrage! I am no Covenanter or conventicler! I demand the removal of these soldiers forthwith."

  "I support," Crichton, Earl of Dumfries announced. "The man Grierson of Lag and his troopers has occupied many of my properties and townships. It is not to be borne!"

  "If your lordships will sustain Westland Whiggamores, you'll need to abide the consequences!" the Chancellor said. "This is but self-seeking. No valid motion to put to the convention."

  Greatly daring, Andrew Fletcher stood up. "May I speak, my lord Chancellor?" he asked, his voice stronger probably than he intended. "I am no Westland Whig and there are no conventicles where I come from. Yet dragoons have been quartered in my house at Saltoun, without cause. This as threat and warning. I say that if we are to have military government it must be sanctioned by this house - not otherwise. To sanction more military first is out-of-order. I support the motion."

  All turned to stare - and none more pointedly, deliberately and offensively than the Lord Chancellor.

  "Who is this young man ?" he demanded. "Who presumes to tell me what is in order and what is not?"

  "I am Fletcher of Saltoun, my lord. A commissioner for the sheriffdom of Haddingtonshire. With as much right to speak as any here!"

  "On my acceptance and under my ruling, sirrah - only so! Mind it. You may sit down."

  "I have not finished, my lord Chancellor - with respect. I appeal to His Grace — who has already advised me on the matter of standing for this Convention of Parliament!"

  There were breaths indrawn all around. Everywhere men sat forward in their seats. This was almost an unheard of challenge from a new commissioner. Even Bruce of Broomhall laid a warning hand on his nephew's arm.

  Lauderdale leaned forward, not back, in his throne. "I advised this young man to let a few mair years pass before tangling wi' his elders," he observed, almost genially. "Let him have his say, or we'll suffer the mair, I vow!"

  Andrew frowned at this avuncular reaction, which brought a titter from the assembly. For a moment he hesitated. Then he bowed. "I thank Your Grace. My concern is to draw attention, before a vote is taken on this matter, to the dangers of letting loose the military on any countryside and the troubles and uprising this can provoke amongst otherwise law-abiding folk. I am reliably informed that a force, a horde rather, of highlanders, my lord of Argyll's men in the main, I understand, have been brought down to occupy the districts of Carrick, Kyle, Cunninghame and Renfrew. Eight thousand of them, no less, billeted on the folk without payment, despoiling, looting, and encouraged to do so by their leaders - I will not call them officers! As a result there is unrest, violence, near rebellion -which many claim to be the object of the Argyll invasion! Rebellion - so that there should be excuse for this military government we now hear of!"

  There was uproar in the hall, with, amongst the din, shouts of "Aye! Aye! The truth!" from West Country members.

  Rothes beat with his fist for order. When he could make himself heard, he strongly declared that he could not allow such seditious amd shameless talk. It was no speech of support for a motion but a disgraceful attack upon a noble and distinguished lord who was most generously providing of his manpower and substance to aid in the maintenance of the King's peace. That his lordship's Argyll militia were necessary in this situation was clear proof of the urgent need for the provision of regular forces of the Crown, for which this convention must make supply. He called upon the Earl of Argyll to reply, and refute this young man's unfounded allegation.

  MacCailean Mor, Chief of Clan Campbell and 9th Earl of Argyll, was a somewhat nondescript individual, little more prepossessing than had been his executed father, the great Montrose's deadly foe, but lacking his snake-like and dangerous character. Not eloquent, he rose reluctantly, muttered briefly that his people were in the South-West for training in aid of the civil power and were entirely well-behaved. He sat down.

  That was scarcely well-received by the West Country members. As clamour rose and Hamilton got to his feet again, Lauderdale waved to catch the Chancellor's eye, and nodded briefly.

  "We have a motion, seconded and supported - however ill-advised. We shall vote of Lord Belhaven's motion and waste no more time." Rothes paused. "But I warn all to consider well how they vote! The motion is to advise the King's Grace to repeal the Act Against Conventicles. Those in favour, show."

  So they came to the test. Andrew, hand raised, looked round the crowded chamber - and his heart sank. Some few were eager, as was he; more were hesitant to declare themselves in favour, but the vast majority were obviously going to sit tight, do nothing, even many of the Westland lairds and burgesses.

  "Aye," Bruce sighed at his side. "There's the way of it! Lauderdale has sown his seed - and here's the harvest! Bribes, promises, threats and falsified elections, and we see the result!"

  There was no need to count. Less than one-third of the gathering voted for the repeal of one of the worst Acts ever to have stained the fame of this most ancient parliament, an Act of such intolerance, of Lauderdale's devising eight years before, that even King Charles had thought it extravagantly severe, with up to the death penalty for attending the outdoor religious services of the dismissed parish ministers who would not accept episcopacy and the rules of bishops.

  "The motion falls," Rothes declared. "We return to the business before this convention - the authorisation of supply for the King's forces."

  "No use opposing further," Bruce murmured. "We will be outvoted by the same majority."

  Andrew bit his lip in impotence.

  "I move that the sum required be authorised," the Archbishop of Glasgow said quickly.

  "I second," the Earl of Linlithgow added, as promptly.

  "I move against," a new voice spoke up, that of a grizzled, burly man of weather-beaten good looks, Sir William Scott of Harden. "I have call to, I say - for I have been fined £1,500 for my wife attending at a conventicle. £1,500, my lords and friends - which much moneys, I am assured, have been gifted to Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, yonder, the King's Advocate
..."

  Once more there was uproar.

  From a special side-bench a handsome, fine-featured man rose, one of the cleverest individuals in the kingdom. "As one of the Crown's officers, I request the protection of the Crown against such slander, Your Grace."

  "And you shall have it, by God!" Lauderdale cried. "Any further such-like attacks - aye, and any further ill meddling in matters no' before this convention - and I shall instruct the King's Advocate to proceed against such as attempt it, whosoever they be! I warn all. I will adjourn the session if this continues."

  Into the silence the Duke of Hamilton laughed, and waved his handkerchief. He was one whom even Sir George Mackenzie would not dare arrest.

  Rothes spoke. "We have a motion, seconded and supported. That the supply be granted. It has been moved against. So must be voted upon. I call . . ."

  Hamilton rose again. "I move a third and relevant motion."

  The Chancellor swallowed, looked at Lauderdale and shrugged. The Duke had every right so to move. Curtly he nodded. "So long as it is relevant."

  "It is. Before this great sum is authorised, this convention is entitled to hear more. How the sum was arrived at? By whom? And why? Might it be for other than the raising of troops? Before I left London I heard talk at Court that the Duke of Lauderdale was going to bring back from Scotland a notable gift for the King's Grace. Which would perhaps restore the King's favour towards him - for the said Duke has been losing place of late, you should know! This great sum of money, I suggest . . ."

  "Silence! Silence, I say!" This was a bellow from the throne. Lauderdale was on his feet, features more congested than ever, both fists raised and shaking, a dire sight. "This I will not hear, from any man! I . . . I . . ." He pointed a quivering finger at Rothes. "Enough! I adjourn this session. Adjourn, do you hear?" And leaving his seat he lurched unsteadily over to the nearby doorway, flung wide the closed door, and out, leaving the Chancellor, the officers of state with the Honours Three, the royal guard and the clerks to straggle off after him, as best they could.