Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/538

Rh SCOTLAND [HISTORY. 647-1654. Charles II.'s ac- ceptance of Cove- nant. Crom- well's in- vasion of Scotland. fast acquiring supremacy. Their division afforded an opportunity for renewing the war, and Hamilton invaded England in the following year, but was routed at Preston (17th August 1648) by Cromwell. A party led by Argyll had opposed the compromise with Charles effected by Hamilton. They were chiefly strong in the south-west, and in the autumn of this year a band of them raised by Lord Eglinton marched to Edinburgh and were met by Argyll, who put himself at their head. Their numbers had risen to 6000, a sufficient force to give them supreme influence over the Government. It was from this the "Whiggamore" raid that the name of Whigs took its rise. The meeting of estates now resolved to renew the Solemn League and Covenant, and by an Act called the Act of Classes removed from the courts and all places of public trust those who had accepted the "late unlawful engagement." The English Parliament at this point took an exactly opposite course and showed signs of conciliation with the king; but the frustration of its action by the energetic policy of Cromwell was quickly followed by the trial and execution of the king. Hamilton, who had been taken after Preston, soon after shared the same fate. The death of Charles altered in a moment the relations between England and Scotland. In the former Cromwell became all powerful, while in the latter the moderate Presbyterians attached to the principle of monarchy and the hereditary line at once proclaimed Charles II. Charles II. had been brought up with different views of royalty from those of the Covenanters, and Scotland was not pre- pared to accept a king except on its own terms. A com- mission from the estates and from the assembly was at once sent (March 1649) to The Hague, where the young king was. Charles promised to maintain the government of Scotland in church and state as settled by law, and particu- larly the Covenant, Confession of Faith, and Presbyterian system, but declared that he could not impose the Solemn League and Covenant on England and Ireland without the consent of their parliaments. The commissioners returned dissatisfied with this answer and with the presence at court of Montrose, by whom it had probably been framed. But in October Ormonde's Irish expedition failed, and Crom- well, already master of England, had reduced Ireland by force of arms; both parties felt inclined to renew the treaty. At length it was agreed that Charles should be accepted as king on condition of his subscribing the Covenant, establishing Presbyterian church government and worship, sanctioning the Acts of Parliament passed in his absence, and putting in force the law against Catholics. In return he stipulated for the free exercise of his royal authority, the security of his person, and the aid of a Scottish army. The treaty was closed in these terms on 9th May 1650, and early in June Charles set sail for Scotland. On the voyage he was forced to consent to further conditions which the Scottish parliament ordered the commissioners to impose, in particular to exclude from his court all persons within the first and second classes of the Acts of 1646 and 1649, and to keep the duke of Hamilton, brother of the late duke, and certain other persons out of Scotland. On Sunday, 23d June, at the mouth of the Spey he subscribed the Covenant and landed. Whilst Charles was negotiating with the commissioners, the expedition of Montrose, which he had encouraged but afterwards disowned, had come to an end by the capture of its gallant leader in Caithness. He was executed in Edinburgh a month before Charles reached Scotland. Alarmed at the prospect of another Scottish invasion, Cromwell with wonderful rapidity transferred his forces from Ireland, and within a month after Charles landed crossed the Tweed and advanced to Edinburgh. Baffled in all attempts against the town by the tactics of David Leslie, the nephew of Leven, he was forced from want of supplies to retire. His retreat was nearly cut off, but he gained an unexpected victory at Dunbar (3d September 1650) over that able general, who had been induced by the over-confidence of the ministers in his camp to descend from the Doon Hill and attack the English on level ground. So complete was the defeat that the south of Scotland fell into Cromwell's hands. Meantime Charles had attempted to escape from the restraints of the Presbyterian camp by " the Start," as it was called, from Perth to Clova, where he hoped to raise the loyal Highlanders ; but, not getting the support expected, he returned. In the beginning of next year, after renewing his subscription to the Covenant and submitting to the imposition of a day of fasting and humiliation on account of the sins of his family, he was crowned at Scone on 1st January 1651. Argyll, still the leader of the Covenanters, placed the crown on his head, a circumstance which he recalled when he lost his own. The invasion of England was now determined on, 1 and, Cromwell having been unable to intercept the royal army, it advanced as far as Worcester. Here, after effecting a junction with Fleetwood, Cromwell with a much smaller force routed the king's army on the anniversary of Dun- bar. Charles had a hairbreadth escape from capture, and after many adventures crossed from Brighton to France. The last great battle of the Civil War placed England in the hands of the army and its general. Scotland offered more resistance ; but Monk, whom Monk's Cromwell had left in command, stormed Dundee and terri- adminis- fied the other towns into submission. Although a nominal tration - union was proclaimed and Scotland was allowed members in the English parliament, it was really governed as a conquered country. In 1653 the general assembly was summarily dissolved by Colonel Cotterel. Next year Monk was sent by the Protector to quell a Royalist rising, which, first under the earl of Glencairn and afterwards under Middleton, a soldier of fortune, began to show head in the Highlands. Monk, as usual, carried out effectually the work he was sent for and, partly by an indemnity which many leading Royalists accepted and partly by the defeat of Middleton at Lochgarry (25th July 1654), reduced the Highlands. He also dispersed the general assembly, which made another attempt to sit. Strong forts were built at Leith, Ayr, Inverness, and Glasgow, and Monk with an army of 10,000 men garrisoned the country. A Protect- council of state, containing only two Scottish members, was ra te of ;i appointed, but matters of importance were referred to Scotlam Cromwell and his English council. The administration of justice was committed to four English and three Scottish judges in place of the Court of Session, with the view of introducing English law. The use of Latin in legal writs was abolished. A sequestration court to deal with the forfeited estates sat at Leith. A separate commission was issued for the administration of criminal justice, and theft and highway robbery were stringently inquired into 1 With the view of procuring forces for the expedition, a reconcilia- tion was effected between the Royalists and the more moderate Cove- nanters by a resolution to the effect that all persons not excommunicated should be allowed to serve in the army. This new party, now called "Resolutioners," was practically the same as that formerly known as the " Engagers." A minority, on the other hand, became known as the "Protestors" or "Remonstrants" (compare vol. xix. p. 683). This division of the Covenanters into a moderate and an extreme section continued throughout the whole of the 17th century. The Engagers and Resolutioners were the ancestors of the Established Presbyterian Church ; the Protestors or Remonstrants of the Seceders or Dissenting churches, each of which maintained with unabated confidence, however small its numbers, that it was the true church of Scotland, the only church really faithful to the Covenant and Christ as the head of the church. Both parties for long regarded Episcopalians and Romanists alike as "malignants," standing without the pale of the church, with whom no compromise could be made.