Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/206

192 were hundreds of cures that had not twenty pounds a year, and some thousands that had not thirty pounds, and asked what could the clergy be or do under such circumstances? Therefore, on the 7th of February, 1704, Sir Charles Hedges, the secretary of state, announced to the commons that her majesty had remitted the arrears of the tenths to the poor clergy, and had resolved to grant in future the whole of the first-fruits and tenths for the augmentation of small livings. The commons replied in an address, expressing their sense of her pious care for the church, and brought in a bill to enable her to alienate this branch of the revenue, and to create a corporation by charter, to apply the money according to the queen's intention, in increasing the wretched stipends of the poorer clergy. There was an attempt made to relieve the clergy altogether from the payment of first-fruits and tenths, and to devote some other fund to the relief of the poor clergy; but as Anne's intention was not to relieve the rich but to comfort the poor, she would not listen to it. The statute of mortmain was also relaxed by a provision of the bill, so far as to allow individuals to make augmentations to benefices by deed of gift or by bequest. The bishops were unanimous for the bill, and addresses of thanks from all the clergy of England were presented to Anne on the occasion of this noble gift of what has been ever since known as "Queen Anne's Bounty.' It is only due to an impartial judgment of Anne, that we are bound at the same time to say that she was far from being so generous to dissenters, or to any other church of the United Kingdoms. On the contrary, she had just before allowed the parliament of Ireland to stop the poor sum of twelve hundred pounds per annum, which had been paid by the late king to the indigent presbyterian ministers of Ulster, who had so manfully defended the north of Ireland against James.

On the 3rd of April the queen prorogued parliament till the 4th of July. The convocation had during this time kept up its bitter controversy, and had done nothing more except thank the queen for the grant of the first-fruits and tenths, and the commons for having espoused their cause.

The earl of Nottingham, having endeavoured in vain to get the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire dismissed from the ministry, resigned the seals. Other changes in the cabinet followed. The earl of Jersey and Sir Edward Seymour were dismissed, the earl of Kent being appointed chamberlain, and Harley secretary of state.

Meantime Simon Frazer had again reached St. Germains, and made a very fine report of his mission both in the Highlands and the Lowlands. According to his memorial to Mary of Modena, he had won over both the chiefs of clans and the ministers of the crown. But his impudence was not proof to the vigilance of Middleton, who had watched his proceedings, and pronounced him an arrant traitor. He said that Frazer had described to him Queensberry, Argyll, and Leven as the three worst enemies of the king, and yet these were the very first men to whom he had gone, and revealed the whole of his mission. Queensberry himself had furnished him with his passport to get back again to France, so that it was plain as daylight that he was employed as a spy by him. The consequence was, Simon Frazer was shut up in the Bastille. In England Lindsay was condemned to die for returning from France without a pass or license, and being therefore deemed to be engaged in treasonable designs. He was, however, offered pardon if he would make a full disclosure of the conspiracy; but he denied any knowledge of such a conspiracy as Frazer stated there was. He was drawn to Tyburn to frighten him into confession: he still continued firm, and was taken back to Newgate, where he remained a prisoner for some years. At length he was banished, and died of hunger in Holland.

The Scottish parliament was opened on the 6th of July. Ministers had exerted themselves to induce a sufficient number to vote for the supplies for the war, and to settle the succession, but they were doomed to be disappointed. The Scotch had objects of their own to gain, and they determined to make no compliances till they were yielded. A letter from the queen, instead of an opening speech, was read, in which she implored them to avoid all contentions, and to settle the succession in the protestant line, so that their enemies should have no further motives for sending their secret emissaries amongst them. On her part, she declared that she was ready to grant them anything that they could reasonably desire.

The duke of Hamilton replied to these promises by point-blank declaring that they would not name a successor to the crown until a good treaty concerning commerce and other things was agreed upon. This was plain enough, but Fletcher of Saltoun went much further, and made a very lamentable description of the many hardships and impositions which the Scotch had suffered since the union of the kingdoms under one crown, and he called upon the parliament to grant no concessions till they had secured their own rights. He had willing listeners, who were smarting under the recollection of their Panama enterprise. The earl of Rothes moved that the parliament should not even discuss the duke of Hamilton's proposal for a treaty of commerce till they had first taken all necessary precautions for the security of the nation's rights, liberties, and independence. Accordingly, on the motion of Sir James Falconer, it was resolved that they would not proceed to the nomination of a successor till they had previously settled the treaty with England, and that they would not name the successor till the necessary limitations on the crown had been made. This was immediately followed by a motion of the duke of Athol, who was at the bottom of all this violent policy, demanding that her majesty should be desired to send down all the papers relating to the late conspiracy, in order that all those unjustly accused might be able to clear themselves. The object of the duke, however, was less to clear himself than to condemn the duke of Queensberry, who had been notoriously in secret intercourse with Frazer, who had before done Athol the most mortal injury, and ought to have been seized as a traitor the moment he had presented himself, whereas, on the contrary, he had been permitted to aim a still more ominous blow at the duke's head. The marquis of Tweeddale replied that he had already written for these papers, and would write for them again. Nothing, however, came of it: the people out of doors continued to cry that many of their countrymen had been unjustly