Paterson, recovered somewhat in health, was not put down in spirit. Of all things, recognising that Scotland would have none of him meantime, he decided that his vision might still be saved by convincing English opinion that there was vast wealth in the transportation and canal scheme. England's finances were scarcely prospering under Godolphin; and the Bank of England was veering this way and that without its founder's direction. And the King was always needing money for his foreign adventures. So south he went, promising that he would try to save the great Scots investment yet; and that the terms he would demand for English participation would produce financial compensation for the Scots loss. None believed him, and his going went unlamented.
Andrew, Belhaven, Tweeddale and their colleagues could not take this route out. They had to stay and suffer, in varying degrees, in disrepute, unpopularity and loss of office as well as in their pockets. Part of Andrew's price was the loss of his Haddingtonshire seat in that year's Parliament, voted down for the first time.
He was not alone in that, to be sure, many others falling in a wave of reaction. The peers, who sat by right of their title, remained, of course, but it was a sadly weakened legislature at a time when Scotland needed strength, with poverty, despair talk of war, the Jacobites rising again especially in the Highlands, and much reform undone.
Strangely, talk of union grew, at least amongst the aristocracy.
The eighteenth century had started badly.
20
On how small a matter may hang the fates of men and even nations. In March of 1702 William the First of the United Kingdom, the Third of England and the Second of Scotland, was thrown from a nervous horse, broke his collar-bone and died a few days later. And, as at a stroke, all was changed, dynastically, politically and, for many, personally. For he died childless. And whatever the Dutch situation, the accepted heir to his thrones of England and Scotland was Anne, his late wife's younger sister, and daughter of James, married to the ineffective Prince George of Denmark. Protestant Anne, therefore, almost automatically mounted both thrones -although admittedly she had the half-brother, whose birth had caused so much heart-burning in 1688, exiled in France. Their father had died the year before.
This situation had two important consequences, other than the inevitable ones relative to any change of monarch. First of all, it meantime took much of the heat out of the Jacobite cause, for of course Anne herself was a Stewart; so the Stewart-supporting Jacobites no longer had much of a case; only the Roman Catholics had anything to fight about. Secondly, however, the problems and controversies were only postponed, not solved. For Anne was now thirty-seven, unlikely to bear any more children - and the last of her numerous but sickly offspring had died in 1700. Which left the succession once again in major doubt. The nearest Protestant heir was distant indeed, the Princess Sophia, daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia, Charles the First's beautiful daughter, married to the late Elector of Hanover, her son George being the present Elector. This was a far cry from the ancient Stewart dynasty -but the alternative was Catholic James, now in his fourteenth year and in the care of the King of France. After Anne's last child died, the English Parliament, in typical fashion, had hastily passed an Act of Settlement, settling the crown on this Sophia and her son - the United Kingdom crown, not just the English one, with no consultation with Scotland. There had been, of course, vigorous protest by the Scots, notably by Andrew Fletcher, although being no longer in Parliament he had to make it privately and in pamphlet form.
Now, suddenly, much was altered, even if that situation was not. Anne was an Episcopalian, and although not a woman of any strong character or convictions, was under the influence of fervid Episcopalians of the Tory persuasion, and chose her ministers in England accordingly, shunning the more liberal Whigs. Unfortunately she did the same for Scotland, where the Episcopalians were an unpopular minority. So a new ministry, under the Douglas Duke of Queensberry and the Ogilvie Earl of Seafield, formerly Findlater, was appointed - and of all things, Stair created an Earl - much to the people's wrath. And this had the effect of making popular those who publicly opposed the new ministry. Since Andrew was prominent amongst these, he was a beneficiary. The blame for his share in the Darien disaster tended at last to be overlooked and he was able to take a more active part in politics again. With Belhaven, Marchmont, Tweeddale, Annandale and the new Duke of Hamilton - the old autocrat had died some years earlier -something that came to be called the Country or National Party began to form, in which Andrew took a leading part.
This process was expedited by a new development, a policy promoted by the English government for an incorporating union with Scotland. Hitherto many English politicians had mooted it, in a general way, as a means of silencing the troublesome Scots once and for all. Now it became an official objective and Queen Anne backed it, largely over the succession issue. Loud was the outcry, the people angry, the Country Party vociferous, even some Tories uneasy. Andrew's old theme of separating the crowns came much to the fore and he began to be cheered in the streets of Haddington and Edinburgh - a change from Darien boos.
In the election of May 1703 he was returned once more as commissioner for Haddingtonshire, in resounding fashion. None was happier over this than his sister-in-law, for she had found it galling indeed to watch him fretting and frustrated, month after month, having to hold himself in, his energies and abilities unwanted, his eloquence gagged. There were no fewer than four new works ready for the printer, but this was insufficient outlet for his vigorous spirit. He had more and more turned his mind to land improvement; but, although he was Laird of Saltoun again, the estate had been for so long Henry's responsibility and there were inevitable differences of opinion and priority.
Now Andrew could take the lead on the national scene, and that he did, with a will. He managed to gather a group of the most prominent and influential members of the Country Party, the evening prior to the opening of Parliament, at Holyroodhouse of all places, in the quarters of the new Duke of Hamilton, to thrash out with them a strategy. If it might seem extraordinary that such magnates as the Duke, the Marquis of Tweeddale and the Earls of Marchmont, Annan-dale, Leven and Southesk should acknowledge leadership by a mere East Lothian laird, all recognised that had not Andrew so consistently opposed and worked to reduce the powers of each monarch in turn since Charles the Second, he too undoubtedly would by this time have been amongst the ennobled. Offence towards the fount of honour was not the way to such promotion.
Andrew proposed both a strategy and tactics therefore. He listed no fewer than a dozen headings for which they should press, to be included in an Act of Security - to ensure the continued independence of Scotland, to limit the powers of the crown, to maintain freedom of religion and to improve the government of the realm. On three or four they might possibly be prepared to negotiate or even yield, meantime; but on the main principles they must stand united. The vital issue was that Parliament should be supreme, the will of the people the touchstone.
This went down reasonably well with his hearers. But when he went on to indicate the necessity of restricting the powers of the crown, he was less well received. He emphasised that all monarchs, being human, could do ill, especially those who ruled from a distance. And a woman monarch could be worst of all, since she was liable to be swayed and manipulated by unscrupulous men. Queen Anne was known to be weak. So the Scots Estates must rule and Anne reign. The crown must not be able to manipulate Parliament, as in the past; by failing to call it, by creating unlimited numbers of lords; by appointing to high office irrespective of parliamentary will; by refusing royal assent to acts passed; by declaring war or peace without consent; and so on. The alternative was to have their own separate monarch once more, here, where they could exert the required control.
Despite the coughs and raised eyebrows, Andrew did get general agreement on the strategy. Tactics were to press hard from the start, to put their requirements forward in the right order, and clause by clause so as to enlist the support, or at l
east the non-opposition, of the Whigs, the Jacobites, even the Catholics. It should be possible, with care, to get their Act of Security through. The burghs and shires, would, he believed, be preponderantly in favour. It was the lords who would present the difficulty, so many new-appointed peers with eyes firmly fixed on Whitehall.
Sundry new-appointed and promoted peers present pursed noble lips.
Next morning, as they were assembling in the palace forecourt and beyond for the ceremonial Riding of Parliament up through the city, the grooms bringing foward the hundreds of stamping, sidling, whinnying horses, Andrew gripped Johnnie Belhaven's arm.
"I have been asking who is that small, sharp-faced man in the large periwig yonder, talking to Queensberry. I knew that I had seen him before. He is, or was, Colonel John Churchill, now General, indeed Captain-General, and created Duke of Marlborough."
"Sakes - you mean the famous - or notorious - Churchill? Whose wife . . . ?"
"Aye - whose wife Sarah all but controls the Queen! The same. An able soldier indeed but a plotter. And no friend of Scotland."
"But what does he do here?"
"Anne has made him Duke and chief of all her military forces. But before that, Charles created him Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, in the peerage of Scotland, at the urging of the then James, Duke of York. Eyemouth in the Merse. So he can claim to be a Scots Lord of Parliament, like yourself. And vote!"
"Surely not? An Englishman, with no links with Scotland. Captain-General of England's army. Come to vote in the Scots Parliament?"
"Aye, and there are others, I believe. He will be here to spy, also. To guide and influence Queensberry. It bears out what I said last night."
"This is shameful ... !"
The Lord Lyon King of Arms' trumpeters blew their summons for the marshalling of the Riding procession, and for a while the crowded forecourt was a scene of utter confusion, men and horses milling everywhere. Gradually Lyon and his colourfully-tabarded heralds achieved some order. First a jingling troop of mounted Grenadiers formed up, to lead. Then the sixty-seven burgh representatives, riding two abreast, soberly-dressed and with the prescribed black horse-trappings, all provosts' and bailies' robes left behind. After them formed up the eighty-five shire commissioners, with rather more flourish, Andrew riding beside young Cockburn of Ormiston. There followed the officers of state and judiciary, in gorgeous official apparel; and then the lords, robed in scarlet, each splendid horse led by liveried footmen two for each baron and up to eight for a duke. The Lord Lyon himself, with his heralds, came next, leading three noblemen who carried the Honours Three, Crown, Sceptre and Sword-of-State, symbols of the royal authority, these riding immediately before the High Commissioner as representing the monarch. Behind Queensberry came his entourage, including today, the Duke of Marlborough. A second troop of cavalry, the Royal Horse Guards, brought up the rear as guard-of-honour, under the new MacCailean Mor, Argyll, promoted to duke. Over five hundred mounted men, apart from the servitors, were involved, and the marshalling a major task, with the resultant procession over half-a-mile long, so that the head of it was most of the way up to Parliament Square before the tail left Holyrood.
Fortunately it was not raining and the Riding less of a trial than it might have been. The streets were thronged with the citizenry, who cheered and jeered and not infrequently threw things at unpopular figures. Children yelled, women skirled, dogs barked and got between horses' legs, and every window of the tall tenement 'lands' on either side of Canongate and High Street held outleaning spectators - who had to be eyed needfully, and it was not unusual for the contents of chamberpots and other unpleasantness to be hurled down upon offending legislators, not always with exact aim. If the people could not actually take part in the parliamentary procedures, at least they could make some of their attitudes known beforehand.
This occasion produced no such unseemly incidents, although there were not a few boos for the High Commissioner himself, as representing far-away London authority. All reached Parliament Hall safely, outward dignity exemplified, at least.
* *
The parliamentary session extended over many days, formalities, opening speeches, manoeuvrings for position by the various magnates, groups and parties, taking up a deal of time. Then there were the disputed elections, of which there were always 'a number; for with such limited electorates often decisions could be effected by one or two votes. Indeed on this occasion, Andrew's colleague, John Cockburn, had to defend his election, by only one vote, against allegations by Sir George Suttie of Balgone. All this delay irritated Andrew Fletcher, for one, eager to get down to the real meat of the session.
At last battle was joined and Andrew quickly took the floor, and held it. He was indeed at his most eloquent and shrewd, rapier-quick with his thrusts, repartee and asides, reasonable and logical in his arguments, retaining the attention of friend and foe alike. Margaret and Henry had come to listen, unchallenged this time. The woman sat entranced, recognising that this was Andrew at his peak, at long last, dominating, almost orchestrating the proceedings, playing on men's minds and emotions both as on a chosen instrument. She was proud, excited and thankful too.
He led off by expressing his personal loyalty to Anne, their undoubted Queen, and wishing her God's blessing, good guidance - in which they all held a responsibility - and a long life to reign over them. This last was important in more than in Her Grace's personal felicity; for after her, who was to be the next King or Queen of Scots would present problems indeed -which problems it was now their duty to try to solve, for the benefit of her ancient kingdom. Thus, without delay, he threw down the gauntlet. This Parliament had one task above all others - to decide upon the correct succession to the throne, as far as Scotland was concerned, in the interests of the right, good government, the independence of the beloved land and the maintenance of the Protestant faith, whilst securing religious freedom for all.
That evoked widespread cheers, if wary looks from chair and throne.
He went on to point out that the English Parliament, for its own purposes, had already chosen to nominate the Princess Sophia of Bohemia, widow of the late Elector of Hanover, as first heir; but since this lady was aunt to and older than Queen Anne, in effect the English succession was settled upon her son George, the present Elector. That was within their right, for the English throne. What was not within their right was to nominate this German prince, nor his mother, for the throne of the United Kingdom, as they had done, without reference to Scotland. It was a joint throne and one partner thereto could not dispose of it without the other. So, in effect, what the English parliamentarians had done was to imply the separation of the thrones after the present incumbent's demise. They had chosen their own successor. None could deny that. Would it be this German princeling?
For a while Andrew could not go on, so loud was the noise in the hall. Undoubtedly there were far more agreeing with him than disagreeing. A number of members were on their feet, but it was the Earl of Stair whom the Chancellor noticed and who declared that such talk was little short of treasonable, denying the monarch's own wishes as to her own heir, a limitation of the royal prerogative. He was supported by the Earl of Home, who demanded to know who were the possible alternatives? Dare any man name them?
That put the cat amongst the pigeons. Andrew perceived the dangers to his cause and was not to be drawn. There was, in fact, only a very limited choice, so short of heirs had become the royal Stewart line. Young James in France already calling himself King James the Third and Eighth; the Earl of Dalkeith, son of the Duchess of Buccleuch and the late Monmouth; and the far-out claim of the present Duke of Hamilton to a more remote royal ancestry. None there elected to nominate any of these at this juncture.
Andrew pointed out that it was not the monarch's prerogative which he wished to diminish but that of her English ministers over Scots affairs. He said that they should not seek here to appoint any successor to the Queen but to declare Parliament's right to choose one in due course. That choi
ce to be subject to certain proper limitations for the safeguarding of the realm's weal.
Stair was swift to pounce upon the word limitation. What limitations did Mr. Fletcher dare to impose upon the crown? Andrew could have announced the dozen clauses agreed that evening at Holyrood. Instead, as he had suggested then, he brought forward only one at a time. He put it that the crown should not grant any amnesty or pardon for any transgression against the public good, without the consent of Parliament. When Stair interrupted that a royal pardon could by no means be denied by any subject, even the present speaker, he was shrewdly silenced.
"It is not to be wondered at that his lordship is against this limitation. For had there been such a law, he would have been hanged long ago! For the advice he gave to King James and for the murder of Glencoe! Aye, and for his whole conduct since the Revolution."
That brought scores to their feet whilst the rest shouted, largely acclaim.
Although Seafield fumed, thumped and demanded apology - and got it, if but a smiling one — a vote was immediately pressed for on this first clause of an Act of Security. And won handsomely - Stair's unpopularity saw to that. And it all put the assembly in a mood to consider more, despite the frowns of High Commissioner, Chancellor and ministers.
The Patriot Page 34
