Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/526

Rh 502 SCOTLAND [HISTORY. L559-1560. not to be called upon to answer for their recent conduct ; and all controversies were to be reserved for parliament. The Congregation, however, remained distrustful ; Knox openly preached that the treaty would only be kept till the regent and her Frenchmen became the stronger, and before leaving Perth the Lords of Congregation entered into a new bond for mutual defence. The regent entered Perth the day they left (29th May), accompanied by the duke of Chastelherault and a bodyguard of French as well as Scottish troops paid by French money. The deposition of the provost in favour of a Papist and the occupation of the town by these troops were deemed breaches of the agreement, and Argyll and Lord James now joined the Reformers and took the lead in their proceedings. Their numbers increasing, the regent felt unable to retain Perth, and quitting it marched south, followed by the army of the Congregation, to which she abandoned Stirling, Lin- lithgow, and Edinburgh, taking refuge at Dunbar. The only conflict was at the Muir of Cupar, where a small force sent to save St Andrews was quickly dispersed by the superior numbers of its opponents. It was made a condi- tion of a truce that no Frenchman should be left in Fife. The Reformers occupied Edinburgh for a few weeks, but were obliged to abandon it upon new terms of truce in- tended to preserve the status quo. Both parties were engaged in negotiations for active assistance, the one from France and the other from England. The regent had been daily expecting reinforcements, and a considerable number of troops about this time landed at Leith, which they began to fortify. Negotia- In the end of June Kirkaldy of Grange began a corre- tions of spondence, afterwards continued by Knox, with Cecil, Percy, Ref r 'th an( * *^ r Herbert Croft. Their scheme was far-reaching. England. The young earl of Arran, though brought up in France, had become Protestant, and if he, the heir-presumptive to the Scottish crown, were married to Elizabeth the union of the two countries would be secured along with the Reforma- tion. This would be a counter-stroke to the union of France and Scotland under a Catholic, which almost at the moment became for a brief time an accomplished fact, by the dauphin succeeding as Francis II. to the French crown on the death of his father. The policy of the Guises, who continued to control the Government under the new king, almost forced Elizabeth in this direction. Mary quartered the arms of England with those of Scot- land, implying denial of Elizabeth's right both as illegiti- mate and as a heretic. But Elizabeth knew the value both of her hand and of the state, which, thanks to the ability of her ministers, was daily becoming more loyal. She had special cause for hesitating to ally herself with the Lords of Congregation. Knox had offended her by his vehement Blasts against the Regiment of Women, which, though primarily aimed against the Catholic queens, ad- mitted no exception in favour of a Protestant. Nor could Knox even when supplicating aid adopt the courtier's language to which Elizabeth was accustomed. She was really afraid of the revolutionary principles of some of the Reformers, which seemed to threaten the throne as well as the altar. Moreover, Arran, who came secretly to the English court, did not please her, and there was an end of the matrimonial part of the scheme. The rest of it would probably also have miscarried but for the consummate statesmanship of Cecil, who saw where the interest of England lay. In August 1 559 Sadler was sent with 3000 to the assistance of the Scottish Protestants. Another supply followed, but was intercepted, and in January 1560 a treaty was agreed to at Berwick between Elizabeth and the Lords of Congregation, to whom the duke of Chastel- herault had now gone over. The Scots engaged not to enter into an alliance with France, and to defend the country against French aggression. Elizabeth was to support Scotland by an army, but no place of strength was to be left in English hands. If any were taken from the French they were to be razed or retained by the Scots. The Scots were to assist England if attacked by France, and to give hostages for fulfilment of the treaty. Next spring an English army under Lord Grey crossed the Tweed (28th March 1560), met the forces of the Congregation at Prestonpans, and invested Leith, in which the French were also blockaded by sea. The regent had taken refuge in Death of Edinburgh castle, and here on 10th June she died of dropsy. Ma. r y of She had been deserted gradually by almost all her Scottish adherents. The last to go was Maitland of Lethington, the most talented but also the most cunning of the Scottish statesmen. His desertion was the sign of a lost cause. Even some of the higher clergy now conformed. Lord Erskine almost alone remained faithful. The regent's own courage never failed, and, though she received a visit from the leaders of the Congregation and consented to see Willock, she died a firm Catholic. Her misfortunes and her conciliatory policy during her long struggles to main- tain the French connexion with Scotland have gained her a lenient judgment' even from Protestants, all save Knox, whose personal animosity is palpable, though his view of her policy is correct. Her death removed the chief obstacle to peace, which Treaty o the English and the French courts had for some time de- Etlin ' sired, and the treaty of Edinburgh was concluded on 8th g ' July 1560 upon terms favourable to Scotland. The mili- tary forces of both France and England were to evacuate Scotland, except a certain number of French, who were to remain in Inchkeith and Dunbar. Leith and Eyemouth were to be dismantled ; Mary and Francis were to abstain from using the arms of England. By separate articles certain concessions were granted to the nobility and people of Scotland showing the length to which the limitation of the monarchy was carried. No French or other soldiers were to be brought into the realm unless in the event of an invasion and only with the consent of the estates. Neither peace nor war was to be made without their con- sent. A council of twelve (seven chosen by the king and queen and five by the estates out of twenty-four selected by the estates) were to govern the kingdom during the absence of Mary and Francis. The chief officers of the crown were to be natives. An Act of oblivion was to be passed for all Acts since 6th March 1558. Neither the nobles nor any other persons were to assemble in arms ex- cept in cases provided by the law. The duke of Chastel- herault and his son, Arran, and all other Scots were to be restored to their French estates. With matters of religion the deputies refused to deal ; but envoys were to be sent to the king and queen to lay before them the state of affairs, particularly those last mentioned. Before parliament met an important step towards a new Reform- organization of the church was taken. Superintendents, atio some lay, others clerical, were appointed for Lothian, Glas- gow, Fife, Angus, Mearns, Argyll, and the Isles. The principal ministers of the Congregation were planted in the chief towns, Knox receiving Edinburgh as his charge. The convention parliament which assembled on 10th July and began its business on 1st August 1560 was the Reforma- tion parliament of Scotland. Like Henry VIII.'s famous parliament, its work was thorough. It not merely reformed abuses but changed the national creed and accomplished more in one than the English parliament did in three sessions. The parliament was the most numerous yet held in Scotland, being attended not only by nearly all the nobility but by some bishops and an unusually large num- ber of lesser barons or landed gentry, representatives of the burghs. Its statutes never received the royal assent,