Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/539

Rh LATER STUAKTS.] SCOTLAND 515 and punished. In the church the Presbyterian form of service and the system of presbyteries and synods were allowed to continue, but the stipends of ministers depended on their being approved by a commission appointed by Cromwell. Justices of the peace were introduced for local business. Free trade and an improved postal system be- tween the two countries were established. The universities were visited. In all departments of government there was vigour and the spirit of reform, so that it was admitted even by opponents that the eight years of Cromwell's usurpation were a period of peace and prosperity. There was undoubtedly one exception. The taxation was severe. A land-tax of 10,000 a month, afterwards reduced to 6000, and levied upon the valued rent under a valuation of Charles, far exceeded any subsidy before granted to the crown. Customs and also excise duties, recently intro- duced from England, were diligently levied ; so also were the rents of the crown and bishops' lands. Altogether it was estimated that a revenue of 143,000 was collected in Scotland. But this had to be supplemented by an equal sum from England to meet an expenditure of 286,000. As nearly the whole was spent in Scotland and the burden of taxation fell on the upper classes, the nation generally did not feel it so much as might have been expected. It was a maxim of Cromwell's policy to improve the condition of the commons, and in one of his last speeches he claimed in memorable words to have effected this in Scotland. In this respect the Commonwealth and protectorate continued the political effect of the Reformation. The commonalty for the first time since the War of Independence acquired a consciousness of its existence and hope for the future. Union of Cromwell, like former powerful rulers, aimed at uniting Scottish Scotland with England, but his proposals in this direction j? d r, were premature. To Barebones's Parliament (1653), which pariia- me ^ after the dissolution of the Long Parliament, five ments. Scottish members were summoned, there being 134 from England, "Wales, and Ireland. By the Instrument of Government and an ordinance following on it, Scotland was granted 30, while England had 400 members; but only 20 Scottish attended the parliament of 1654, and care was taken by Monk that they should be men attached to Cromwell's interest. When in his second parliament in 1656 he tried the experiment of a House of Lords, three Scotsmen were summoned, the quota of members to the Commons remaining as before. Cromwell's idea of a parliament was an assembly to ratify, not to discuss, his measures, and this, like his other parliaments, was speedily dissolved. Had it continued the Scottish representatives would have had little weight. Scotland continued to be governed by the council of state. On the death of the Protector his son Richard was proclaimed his successor in Scotland as well as in England, and 30 members were again returned to the new parliament, which, however, was almost immediately afterwards dissolved. The Re- storation soon followed, though in Scotland there was no need of it, for Charles II. was already king. However beneficial the rule of Cromwell may be deemed, it had a fatal defect in the eyes of a people proud of their freedom. It was imposed and maintained by force. His death and the restoration of the ancient line of kings were looked on as a deliverance from oppression. iestora- The hopes of the Scots from Charles II. were doomed to speedy disappointment. So far from being grateful for the support they had given him in adversity, he looked back with disgust, as his grandfather had done, on the time when he was under the yoke of the Presbyterian ministers. Cromwell had shown the possibility of govern- ing Scotland by military force and of raising a consider- able revenue from it, and Charles took advantage of both lessons. From this date rather than from the earlier or ion. later union Scottish history assumes a provincial character. 1654-1664. Scotland was governed without regard to its interest or wishes according to the royal pleasure or the advice of the nobles who for the time had the ear of the king. The power of the clergy had been broken by Cromwell's policy and their own divisions. The party of the Resolutioners or moderate Presbyterians, some of whom now leant to Episco- pacy, and the party of the Remonstrants were still irrecon- cilable, and their mutual hatred rendered the task of government easier. The burghs were not yet sufficiently organized to be a power in the state, and the nobles again resumed their old position as leaders with no rivals, for the bishops were shorn of their revenues and dependent on royal favour. For the first two years after the Restora- Govern- tion the government of Scotland was in the hands of m ? nt of Middleton, who had been created an earl. The measures j^ ( of retaliation were few but signal. Argyll was tried and beheaded on a charge of treason, which could not have been established but for the treachery of Monk, who gave up private letters written to him when they both were sup- porting the Commonwealth. Guthrie, a leading minister of the Remonstrants, was hanged. Johnston of Warriston, two years later, was brought back from France and exe- cuted. No hesitation was shown as to the mode of governing Scotland. Parliament, under the presidency of Middleton, passed the Rescissory Act, annulling the Acts of all parliaments since 1640, declaring the Covenant no longer binding, and imposing an oath on all persons in office, not only of allegiance but of acknowledgment of the royal prerogative restored in all its fulness over all persons and in all causes. In August Lauderdale, who Restore- acted as secretary for Scotland in London, wrote to the *j on of privy council announcing the royal intention to restore Episcopacy, and, regardless of his oath, Charles sanctioned this by the first Act of the parliament of 1662. James Sharp, minister of Crail, who had been sent on behalf of the Resolutioners to Charles before his return, allowed himself to be easily converted to Episcopacy and was re- warded by his appointment as archbishop of St Andrews ; his example was followed by other ministers of the same party. But the majority and all the Remonstrants stood firm ; 350 were deprived of their livings, each of which became a centre of disaffection towards the Government, while their attachment to the Covenant was every day strengthened by persecution. The Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant were declared unlawful oaths, and all persons speaking or writing against the royal supre- macy in matters ecclesiastical were incapacitated from office. Middleton had the immediate responsibility for these measures, and the condemnation and forfeiture of the new earl of Argyll, whose estates he coveted, under the old law against leasing-making increased the hatred with which he was regarded. His fall was due to an attempt to supplant his rival Lauderdale by the Act of Billeting, under which the Scottish parliament named by ballot twelve persons with Lauderdale at their head as incapable of holding public office. This and other Acts were carried out without the previous consent of Charles ; Lauderdale persuaded Charles that his personal authority was in danger, and Middleton was called to court and sent as governor to Tangier, where he soon after died. The earl of Rothes was now appointed commissioner, but the chief influence was in the hands of Lauderdale, who con- tinued to act as Scottish secretary in London. The change in its rulers brought no relief to Scotland. Severe The declaration that the Covenants were illegal oaths was treat " re-enacted and imposed on all persons in office who ha not yet taken it. The old mode of electing the Lords of na nters. the Articles, which placed the election in the hands of the bishops, the nominees of the king, was restored. Sharp,