CHAPTER XXVII.

A.D. 1716-1737.

BRITISH SOVEREIGNS:--George I., 1714-1727.--George II., 1727-1760.

Trial and execution of the prisoners taken in the

rebellion--Bills of attainder against the Earl of Mar and

others--Proceedings of General Cadogan in the Highlands--Trials

of the prisoners in Scotland--Act of grace--Removal of

the Chevalier from France--Duke of Argyle dismissed from

office--Continental affairs--Confederacy to restore the

Chevalier--Threatened Spanish invasion--Disarming of the

Highlanders--Means taken to prevent further disturbances by

building forts, making roads, &c.--Aversion of the Highlanders

to these innovations--The Chevalier appoints trustees to

manage his affairs in Scotland--Discovery of a new Jacobite

conspiracy--Habeas-corpus act suspended--Bolingbroke--Meeting

of Highland chiefs at Paris--The disarming act--Disgrace of the

Earl of Mar--His ambiguous conduct--Atterbury’s charges against

him--The Chevalier’s domestic affairs--Death of George I.--Views

of the Chevalier--Prospects of the Jacobites.

After the flight and dispersion of the insurgents, the Duke of

Argyle returned to Edinburgh about the end of February, where he was

magnificently entertained by the magistrates of the city, whence he

set off for London on the 1st of March. He had left instructions with

General Cadogan to keep up a communication with the Whig leaders in

the north, and to distribute the troops in quarters contiguous to the

adjoining Highlands, that they might be the more readily assembled to

repress any fresh insurrection which might break out. To keep some

of the disaffected districts in check, parties of Highlanders were

placed by Lord Lovat and Brigadier Grant, in Brahan castle, and in

Erchles and Borlum; the former the seat of the Chisholm, the latter

that of Brigadier Mackintosh.

The fate of the prisoners taken at Preston remains now to be

told. The first who were tried were Lord Charles Murray, Captain

Dalziel, brother to the earl of Carnwath, Major Nairne, Captain

Philip Lockhart, brother to Lockhart of Carnwath, Captain Shaftoe,

and Ensign Nairne. These six were tried before a court-martial at

Preston, and all, with the exception of Captain Dalziel, having been

proved to have been officers in the service of government, were

condemned to be shot. Lord Charles Murray received a pardon through

the interest of his friends. The remainder suffered on the 2d of

December.

The English parliament met on the 9th of January, 1716. The commons

agreed, on the motion of Mr. Lechmere, to impeach Lords Derwentwater,

Nithsdale, Wintoun, Carnwath, and Kenmure, of high treason. The

articles of impeachment were carried up to the lords the same night,

and on the next day these peers were brought to the bar of the house

of lords to hear the articles of impeachment read. They were brought

back from the Tower on the 19th, when they all pled guilty to the

charge of high treason, except the Earl of Wintoun, who petitioned

for a longer time to give in his answers. The rest received sentence

of death on the 9th of February, in Westminster-hall. The Countess

of Nithsdale and Lady Nairne surprised the king as he was passing

through his apartments at St. James’s, and throwing themselves at

his feet implored his mercy in behalf of their husbands; but he

turned away from them with contemptuous indifference. The Countess

of Derwentwater was equally unsuccessful, though introduced by the

Dukes of Richmond and St. Albans into the king’s bed-chamber, and

accompanied by the Duchesses of Cleveland and Bolton.

This refusal on the part of the king raised up a number of advocates

in both houses of parliament, in behalf of the unfortunate noblemen.

Availing themselves of this feeling, the ladies of the condemned

lords, accompanied by about twenty others of equal rank, waited in

the lobby of the house of peers, and at the door of the house of

commons, and solicited the intercession of both houses. Next day they

petitioned the houses. The commons rejected the application, and to

get quit of further importunity adjourned for six or seven days, by a

small majority; but the result was different in the house of lords.

Petitions, craving the intercession of that house, were presented

from the condemned peers, which being read, after considerable

opposition, a motion was made to address his majesty to grant them

a reprieve. This occasioned a warm debate; but before the vote was

taken, an amendment was proposed to the effect, that his majesty

should reprieve such of the peers as should seem to deserve his

mercy. It was contended by the supporters of the original address,

that the effect of this amendment would be to destroy the nature

of the address, as from the nature of the sentence which had been

passed, none of the condemned peers could _deserve_ mercy; but the

amendment was substituted, and on the vote being taken, whether the

address should be presented, it was carried _present_, by a majority

of five votes. It is said that on one of the peers afterwards

observing to the mover of the amendment, that it looked as if its

object was to defeat the vote, and make it of no use to the persons

for whose benefit it was intended, the proposer observed, that such

was his intention in moving it.[745]

The king was evidently chagrined at the conduct of the house, and

when the address was presented, he informed the deputation, that on

this as on all other occasions, he would do what he thought most

consistent with the dignity of the crown, and the safety of his

people. The Earl of Nottingham, president of the council, who had

supported the petitions of the condemned lords, together with Lord

Aylesford, his brother, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord

Finch, his son, one of the lords of the treasury, and Lord Guernsey,

master of the jewel office, were all removed from office; and to show

the determination of the king, orders were issued on the same day the

address was delivered, for executing the Earls of Derwentwater and

Nithsdale, and Viscount Kenmure the following day. The other three

peers were reprieved to the 7th of March. The Earl of Nithsdale, by

the assistance of his heroic wife, made his escape the night before

the execution, dressed in female attire. When the king heard of his

escape next morning, he observed, that “it was the best thing a man

in his condition could have done.”[746]

On the morning of the 24th of February the Earl of Derwentwater

and Viscount Kenmure were beheaded on Tower-hill. On ascending the

scaffold, Derwentwater knelt down, and having spent some time in

prayer, he got up, and drawing a paper out of his pocket, read a

short address. He hoped for forgiveness through the passion and death

of his Saviour; apologised to those who might have been scandalized

at his pleading guilty at his trial, excusing himself for doing

so on the ground that he was made to believe that it was only a

consequence of having submitted to mercy, acknowledged as his only

right and lawful sovereign, King James III., and earnestly hoped for

his speedy restoration; and died, as he had lived, a Roman Catholic.

He displayed the utmost coolness and perfect self-possession.

As soon as the remains of the Earl of Derwentwater were removed,

Viscount Kenmure was brought up to the scaffold. Like Derwentwater,

he expressed his regret for pleading guilty to the charge of high

treason, and prayed for “King James.” After praying a short time with

uplifted hands, he advanced to the fatal block, and laying down his

head, the executioner struck it off at two blows.

The Earl of Wintoun, on various frivolous pretences, got his trial

postponed till the 15th of March, when he was brought finally up,

and, after a trial which occupied two days, was found guilty, and

received sentence of death; but his lordship afterwards made his

escape from the Tower and fled to France.

On the 7th of April a commission for trying the other rebels met in

the court of Common Pleas, Westminster, when bills of high treason

were found against Mr. Forster, Brigadier Mackintosh, Colonel

Oxburgh, Mr. Menzies of Culdares, and seven of their associates, and

on the 10th bills were found against eleven more. Forster escaped

from Newgate, and so well had his friends concerted matters, that

he reached Calais in less than 24 hours. The trials of Brigadier

Mackintosh and others were fixed for the 4th of May, but about

eleven o’clock the preceding night, the brigadier and fifteen other

prisoners broke out of Newgate, after knocking down the keepers and

disarming the sentinels. Eight were retaken, but Mackintosh and

seven others escaped. The trials of the prisoners who remained

proceeded: many of them were found guilty; and five, among whom were

Colonel Oxburgh and Mr. Paul, a non-jurant clergyman of the Church of

England, were executed at Tyburn. Twenty-two prisoners were executed

in Lancashire. The remainder of the prisoners taken at Preston,

amounting to upwards of 700, submitted to the king’s mercy, and

having prayed for transportation, were sold as slaves to some West

India merchants; a cruel proceeding, when it is considered that the

greater part of these men were Highlanders, who had joined in the

insurrection in obedience to the commands of their chiefs.[747]

The severities exercised by the government, and the courage and

fortitude displayed by the unfortunate sufferers, wrought an

extraordinary change in the dispositions of the people, who began

to manifest great dissatisfaction at proceedings so revolting to

humanity. Though the rebellion was extinguished, the spirit which had

animated it still remained, being increased rather than diminished

by the proceedings of the government; and the Tories longed for an

opportunity of availing themselves of the universal dissatisfaction

to secure a majority favourable to their views at the next general

election. The Whigs, afraid of the result of an early election as

destructive to themselves as a party and to the liberties of the

country, had recourse to a bold measure, which nothing but the most

urgent necessity could justify. This was no other than a plan to

repeal the triennial act, and to prolong the duration of parliament.

It is said that at first they intended to suspend the triennial act

for one election only, but thinking that a temporary measure would

appear a greater violation of constitutional law than a permanent

one, they resolved to extend the duration of parliament to seven

years. A bill was accordingly brought into the house of lords on the

10th of April by the Duke of Devonshire, which, notwithstanding much

opposition, passed both houses, receiving the royal assent on the

7th of May. On the same day an act of attainder against the Earls

Marischal, Seaforth, Southesk, Panmure, and others, also received

his majesty’s sanction. An act of attainder against the Earl of Mar,

the Marquis of Tullibardine, the Earl of Linlithgow, Lord Drummond,

and other leaders of the insurrection, had received the royal assent

on the 17th of February preceding. Besides these bills, three others

were passed, one attainting Mr. Forster and Brigadier Mackintosh;

another for more effectually securing the peace of the Highlands; a

third appointing commissioners to inquire into the estates of those

persons who had been attainted or convicted.

While the parliament was thus engaged in devising measures for

maintaining the public tranquillity, General Cadogan was employed in

dispersing some hostile bands of the clans which still continued to

assemble with their chiefs in the remoter parts of the Highlands.

Hearing that the Earl of Seaforth had retired into the island of

Lewis, where he had collected a considerable body of his men under

the command of Brigadier Campbell of Ormundel, an officer who had

just arrived from Muscovy, where he had served in the army of the

Czar, he sent a detachment into the island under the command of

Colonel Cholmondely to reduce it. The earl, on the appearance of this

force, crossed into Ross-shire, whence he escaped to France; and

Campbell being abandoned by his men after he had formed them in order

of battle, was taken prisoner while standing in a charging posture.

Another detachment under Colonel Clayton, was sent into the isle

of Skye, where Sir Donald Macdonald was at the head of about 1,000

men; but the chief made no resistance, and having no assurance of

protection from the government in case of a surrender, retired into

one of the Uists, where he remained till he obtained a ship which

carried him to France. About this time three ships arrived among the

western islands from France with military supplies for the use of the

insurgents, but they came too late to be of any service. Two of them,

after taking 70 gentlemen on board, immediately returned to France,

and the third, which carried fifty chests of small arms, and one

hundred and fifty barrels of gunpowder, and other military stores,

was captured while at anchor near Uist by an English ship of war.

In consequence of instructions from government, General Cadogan

issued an order, which was intimated at the different parish churches

in the north, requiring the rebels to surrender themselves and to

deliver up their arms, assuring them, that such as complied should

have liberty granted to return home in safety, but threatening

to punish rigorously those who refused to comply. This order was

generally obeyed by the common people in the Lowlands, who had been

engaged in the insurrection; but few of the Highlanders seemed to

regard it. To enforce compliance, Cadogan despatched different

detachments through the Highlands, and took up his quarters at Blair

Athole, where he could more easily communicate with the disaffected

districts. He next removed to Ruthven in Badenoch, and afterwards

proceeded to Inverness, where he received Glengary’s submission.

Lochiel, Keppoch, and Clanranald, had resolved to oppose by force the

delivery of their arms; but on hearing that Clayton, who had returned

from Skye, had resolved to march from Fortwilliam to Lochiel’s house

to disarm the Camerons, these chiefs retired, and their men delivered

up their arms without resistance. Having succeeded in disarming the

Highlands, the general left Inverness on the 27th of April, leaving

General Sabine in command, and proceeded to London. The rebellion

being now considered completely extinguished, the Dutch auxiliaries

were withdrawn from Scotland, and in a short time thereafter were

embarked for Holland.

To try the prisoners confined in the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling,

Blackness, and other places in Scotland, a commission of Oyer and

Terminer was appointed to sit at Carlisle in December, 1716. There

were nearly seventy arraigned. Of twenty-nine who were brought to

trial, twenty-five pled guilty. Brigadier Campbell of Ormundel,

Tulloch of Tannachie, Stewart of Foss, and Stewart of Glenbuckie,

entered a plea of not guilty. The two last having satisfied the

solicitor-general of their innocence, he allowed a writ of _noli

prosequi_ to be entered in their behalf, and Campbell having escaped

from the castle of Carlisle, Tulloch alone stood his trial, but he

was acquitted. Sentence of death was passed upon the twenty-five who

had admitted their guilt, and thirty-six were discharged for want of

evidence; but the sentence of death was never put into execution. It

was wise in the government to pacify the national disaffection by

showing mercy.

Following up the same humane view, an act of grace was passed in

1717 by the king and both houses of parliament, granting a free and

general pardon to all persons who had committed any treasonable

offences, before the 6th of May of that year, with the exception of

those who, having committed such offences, had gone beyond the seas,

and who, before the said day, had returned into Great Britain or

Ireland without his majesty’s license, or who should on or after the

said day return into either of the kingdoms without such license.

All persons of the name and clan of Macgregor were also excepted,

as well as all such persons as should, on the 5th of May, 1717,

remain attainted for high treason. But all such persons so attainted,

unless specially named, and who had not escaped out of prison, were

freely pardoned and discharged. Under this act the Earl of Carnwath,

and Lords Widdrington and Nairne, were delivered from the Tower:

seventeen persons confined in Newgate, the prisoners still remaining

in the castles of Lancaster and Carlisle, and those in the castles of

Edinburgh and Stirling, and other places in Scotland, including Lords

Strathallan and Rollo, were likewise released.

While the Chevalier was preparing to embark for Scotland, the Earl

of Stair, (the ambassador at the court of France,) had used every

effort to prevent him. Duclos and others say that Stair not only

applied to the Duke of Orleans, the regent, to have the Chevalier

arrested, but that finding the regent insincere in his promises of

compliance, he sent persons to assassinate the Chevalier on the road

when crossing France to embark for Scotland. That Stair made such an

application, and that he employed spies to watch the progress of the

prince, are circumstances highly probable; but both Marshal Berwick

and the Earl of Mar discredited the last part of the story, as they

considered Stair incapable of ordering an action so atrocious as the

assassination of the prince.[748]

On the return of the Chevalier, Stair, afraid that he and his

partisans in France would intrigue with the court, presented a

memorial to the regent in name of his Britannic majesty, in which,

after notifying the flight of the Chevalier, and the dispersion of

his forces, he requested the regent to compel the prince to quit

France. He next insisted that such of the rebels as had retired to

France should be ordered forthwith to depart from that country. The

removal of the Jacobite exiles from the French court was all that

the earl could at that time obtain from the regent. By an agreement,

however, which was shortly thereafter entered into between France

and England, mutually guaranteeing the succession to the crown of

France, and the Hanover succession according to the provisions of

the treaty of Utrecht, it was stipulated that the Pretender should

be sent beyond the Alps, and should never be allowed to return again

to France or Lorraine on any pretence whatever, and that none of the

rebellious subjects of Great Britain should be allowed to reside in

France.

After the suppression of the insurrection, the leading supporters of

government in Scotland repaired to London to congratulate George I.

on the success of his arms, and to obtain the rewards they expected.

The Duke of Argyle, to whose exertions chiefly the king was indebted

for his peaceable accession to the throne, and the extinction of

the rebellion, was already so overloaded with favours that he could

scarcely expect any addition to be made to them, and would probably

have been contented with those he had obtained. The “squadron” party,

however, which had been long endeavouring to ruin him, now made every

exertion to get him disgraced; and being assisted by the Marlborough

faction, and a party which espoused the interests of Cadogan, they

succeeded with the king, who dismissed the duke and his brother,

the Earl of Islay, from all their employments, which were conferred

on others. General Carpenter, to whom the success at Preston was

entirely ascribed, succeeded Argyle in the chief command of the

forces in North Britain; and the Duke of Montrose was appointed

Lord-Register of Scotland in the room of the Earl of Islay.

The aspect of affairs in the north of Europe requiring the king’s

presence in his German dominions, an act was passed repealing the

clause in the act for the further limitation of the crown, which

restricted the sovereign from leaving his British dominions. He

closed the session on the 26th of June, and embarked at Gravesend

on the 7th of July for Holland, where he arrived on the 9th. He

proceeded to Loo incognito, and thence set out for Pyrmont.

For reasons which need not be stated here, Alberoni, the Spanish

prime minister, was eager that Great Britain should enter upon an

alliance with his country, and in his appeal to George I. he was

backed by the English minister at Madrid. George thus found himself

placed in a singular but fortunate situation. Equally courted by

France and Spain, he had only to choose between them, and to form

that connexion which might be most conducive to uphold the Protestant

succession and to maintain the peace of Europe, with which the

internal peace of Great Britain and the safety of the reigning family

were intimately connected. The alliance with France being considered

as more likely to secure these advantages than a connexion with

Spain, the English minister at Madrid was instructed by the cabinet

at home to decline the offers of Spain. “His majesty,” said secretary

Stanhope, in his letter to the minister, “is perfectly disposed to

enter into a new treaty with the Catholic king, to renew and confirm

the past; but the actual situation of affairs does not permit him to

form other engagements, which, far from contributing to preserve the

neutrality of Italy, would give rise to jealousies tending to disturb

it.”[749]

This was followed by the agreement with France, to which allusion

has been made, and in January, 1717, a triple alliance was entered

into between England, France, and Holland, by which the contracting

parties mutually guaranteed to one another the possession of all

places respectively held by them. The treaty also contained a

guaranty of the Protestant succession on the throne of England, as

well as that of the Duke of Orleans to the crown of France.

Baffled in all his attempts to draw England into an alliance against

the Emperor of Austria, Alberoni looked to the north, where he hoped

to find allies in the persons of the King of Sweden and the Czar of

Muscovy. Both Peter the Great and Charles XII. were highly incensed

against the Elector of Hanover, the former for resisting the attempts

of Russia to obtain a footing in the empire, the latter for having

joined the confederacy formed against him during his captivity, and

for having accepted from the King of Denmark the duchies of Bremen

and Verden, Swedish possessions, which had been conquered by Denmark

during the absence of Charles. Charles, to revenge himself, formed

the design of restoring the Stuarts, and by his instructions, Goertz,

his minister in England, began to cabal with the English Jacobites,

to whom, in name of his master, he promised to grant assistance in

any efforts they might make to rid themselves of the elector. It was

whispered among the Scottish Jacobites, that “the king,” as they

termed the Chevalier, had some hopes of prevailing on Charles to

espouse his cause, but the first notice on which they could place any

reliance was a letter from the Earl of Mar to one Captain Straiton,

which he directed to be communicated to the Bishop of Edinburgh, Lord

Balmerino, and Mr. Lockhart of Carnwath, and in which he suggested,

that as there was a great scarcity in Sweden, the friends of the

Chevalier should purchase and send 5,000 or 6,000 bolls of meal

to that country. Their poverty, however, and the impracticability

of collecting and sending such a large quantity of food out of

the kingdom, without exciting the suspicions of the government,

prevented the plan from being carried into execution.[750] Shortly

thereafter, Straiton received another letter from Mar, in which,

after stating that there was a design to attempt the restoration of

the prince by the aid of a certain foreign sovereign, and that it

would look strange if his friends at home did not put themselves in

a condition to assist him, he suggested, that as the want of money

had been hitherto a great impediment in the way of the Chevalier’s

success, the persons to whom this and his first letter were to be

communicated, should persuade their friends to have in readiness

such money as they could procure, to be employed when the proper

opportunity offered. Mr. Lockhart, who received a letter from the

Chevalier at the same time, undertook the task of acquainting the

Chevalier’s friends in Scotland with Mar’s wish, and obtained

assurances from several persons of rank that they would attend to the

prince’s request. Lord Eglinton in particular made an offer of 3,000

guineas.

The intrigues of Goertz, the Swedish minister, being discovered by

the government, he was arrested and his papers seized at the desire

of King George. This extraordinary proceeding, against which the

foreign ministers resident at the British court remonstrated, roused

the indignation of Charles to the highest pitch, and being now more

determined than ever to carry his project into effect, he, at the

instigation of Alberoni, reconciled himself to the Czar, who, in

resentment of an offer made by King George to Charles to join against

Russia, if the latter would ratify the cession of Bremen and Verden,

agreed to unite his forces with those of Sweden and Spain for placing

the Pretender on the throne of England. To strengthen the interest

of the Chevalier in the north, Alberoni sent the Duke of Ormond into

Russia to negotiate a marriage between the son of the Chevalier, and

Anne the daughter of Peter, but this project did not take effect.

The Chevalier himself, in the meantime, contracted a marriage with

the Princess Clementina Sobieski, but she was arrested at Inspruck

by order of the imperial government, when on her journey to meet her

betrothed husband, and sent to a convent.

King George returned to England towards the end of January, 1717.

The parliament met on the 20th of February, when he informed them

of the projected invasion, and mentioned that he had given orders

for laying copies of papers connected therewith before them. From

these documents it appeared, that the plan of invasion was ripe for

execution, but that it was not intended to attempt it till the Dutch

auxiliaries should be sent back to Holland.

In consequence of the conduct of his Swedish majesty, parliament

passed a bill prohibiting all intercourse with Sweden, and a fleet

was despatched to the Baltic under the command of Sir George Byng,

to observe the motions of the Swedes; but the death of Charles XII.

dissolved the confederacy between Sweden and Russia.

War was declared against Spain in December 1718; but a respectable

minority in parliament, and the nation at large, were opposed to it,

as hurtful to the commercial interests of Great Britain. France also

followed the same course.

The war with Spain revived the hopes of the Jacobites, and the

Duke of Ormond repaired to Madrid, where he held conferences with

Alberoni, and concerted an invasion of Great Britain. The Dutch,

alarmed at Ormond’s appearance at Madrid, remonstrated with Alberoni,

as they had guaranteed the Protestant succession, which might be

endangered if an insurrection in favour of the Chevalier de St.

George was encouraged by Spain; but the cardinal assured them that

the duke had no other design in coming into Spain but to consult

his personal safety. Meanwhile, under the pretence of sending

reinforcements into Sicily, preparations were made at Cadiz and in

the ports of Galicia for the projected invasion, and the Chevalier

himself proceeded to Madrid, where he was cordially received and

treated as King of Great Britain. On the 10th of March, 1719, a

fleet, consisting of ten men-of-war and twenty-one transports, having

on board 5,000 men, a great quantity of ammunition, and 30,000

muskets, sailed from Cadiz, with instructions to join the rest of the

expedition at Corunna, and to make a descent at once upon England and

Ireland. The Duke of Ormond was appointed commander of the fleet,

with the title of Captain-general of his most Catholic Majesty; and

he was provided with declarations in the name of the king, stating,

that for many good reasons he had sent forces into England and

Scotland to act as auxiliaries to King James.

To defeat this attempt the allied cabinets adopted the necessary

measures. His Britannic majesty having communicated to both houses

of parliament the advices he had received respecting the projected

invasion, they gave him every assurance of support, and requested

him to augment his forces by sea and land. He offered a reward of

£10,000 to any one who should apprehend the Duke of Ormond. Troops

were ordered to assemble in the north and west of England, and a

strong squadron, under Admiral Norris, was equipped and sent out to

sea to meet the Spanish fleet. The Dutch furnished 2,000 men, and six

battalions of Imperialists were sent from the Austrian Netherlands;

and the Duke of Orleans ordered ships to be prepared at Brest to join

the English fleet, and made an offer of twenty battalions for the

service of King George.

The expedition under Ormond, with the exception of two frigates,

never reached its destination, having been dispersed and disabled,

off Cape Finisterre, by a violent storm which lasted twelve days.

These two ships reached the coast of Scotland, having on board the

Earls Marischal and Seaforth, the Marquis of Tullibardine, some field

officers, 300 Spaniards, and arms for 2,000 men. The expedition

entered Loch Alsh about the middle of May, and the small force landed

in the western Highlands, when it was joined by some Highlanders,

chiefly Seaforth’s men. The other Jacobite clans, with the

disappointment they formerly experienced from France still fresh in

their recollection, resolved not to move till the whole forces under

Ormond should arrive. A difference arose between the Earl Marischal

and the Marquis of Tullibardine about the command, but this dispute

was put an end to by the advance of General Wightman from Inverness,

with a body of regular troops. The Highlanders and their allies had

taken possession of the pass at Glenshiel; but on the approach of

the government forces they retired to the pass at Strachell, which

they resolved to defend. General Wightman attacked and drove them,

after a smart action of three hours’ duration, and after sustaining

some loss, from one eminence to another, when night put an end to

the combat. The Highlanders seeing no chance of making a successful

resistance, dispersed, during the night, among the mountains, and the

Spaniards, on the following day, surrendered themselves prisoners

of war. Marischal, Seaforth, and Tullibardine, with the other

officers, retired to the Western Isles, and managed to escape to the

continent.[751]

After government had succeeded in putting an end to the rebellion,

it felt the necessity of doing something, not only to allay the

consequent disorders in the Highlands, but also to render the

Highlanders less capable in future of entering into rebellion, and

make them more accessible to the strong arm of the law. The estates

of most of the chiefs and proprietors who had been engaged were

forfeited, although practically in some cases it was found difficult

to carry the forfeiture into effect; as in the case of the Earl of

Seaforth, one of whose retainers seized the office of receiver, and

transmitted the rents to the exiled earl.

Lord Lovat, who, on account of his loyal conduct, had risen high

in the royal favour, drew up, in 1721, a memorial to George I.

concerning the state of the Highlands, characterised by great insight

into the source of the existing evils, and recommending to government

the adoption of measures calculated to remedy these.

From this memorial we learn that King William, possibly in accordance

with the recommendation of Breadalbane, formerly referred to, had

organized a few independent Highland companies, which appear to have

been of some service in repressing the disorders so prevalent in the

north.[752] “The independent companies, raised by King William not

long after the revolution, reduced the Highlanders to better order

than at any time they had been in since the restoration. They were

composed of the natives of the country, inured to the fatigue of

travelling the mountains, lying on the hills, wore the same habit,

and spoke the same language; but for want of being put under proper

regulations, corruptions were introduced, and some, who commanded

them, instead of bringing criminals to justice, (as I am informed)

often compounded for the theft, and, for a sum of money set them at

liberty. They are said also to have defrauded the government by

keeping not above half their numbers in constant pay, which (as I

humbly conceive) might be the reason your majesty caused them to be

disbanded.”[753]

These companies being broken up in 1717, according to Lovat and Wade,

robberies went on “without any manner of fear or restraint, and have

ever since continued to infest the country in a public and open

manner.”[754]

Wade entered upon his investigation in 1724, and his report shows

he was competent to undertake such a task. He computed that of

the 22,000 Highlandmen able to bear arms, 10,000 were “vassals to

superiors,” well affected to government, and the remainder had been

engaged in rebellions, and were ready, when called upon by their

chiefs, “to create new troubles.” One of the greatest grievances was

the robberies referred to by Lovat, accompanied with the levying of

_black mail_. According to the general, “the clans, in the Highlands,

the most addicted to rapine and plunder, are the Camerons, on the

west of the shire of Inverness; the Mackenzies and others, in the

shire of Ross, who were vassals to the late Earl of Seaforth; the

M’Donalds of Keppoch; the Broadalbin men and the M’Gregors, on the

borders of Argileshire. They go out in parties from ten to thirty

men, traverse large tracks of mountains, till they arrive at the low

lands, where they design to commit their depredations, which they

choose to do in places distant from the glens which they inhabit.

They drive the stolen cattle in the night time, and in the day

remain on the tops of the mountains or in the woods, (with which the

Highlands abound), and take the first occasion to sell them at the

fairs or markets that are annually held in many parts of the country.

“Those who are robbed of their cattle (or persons employed by them),

follow them by the tract, and often recover them from the robbers, by

compounding for a certain sum of money agreed on; but if the pursuers

are in numbers superiour to the thieves, and happen to seize any of

them, they are seldom or never prosecuted, the poorer sort being

unable to support the charges of a prosecution. They are likewise

under the apprehension of becoming the object of their revenge,

by having their houses and stacks burnt, their cattle stolen, or

hocked, and their lives at the mercy of the tribe or clan to whom the

banditti belongs. The richer sort, to keep, as they call it, good

neighbourhood, generally compound with the chieftain of the tribe or

clan for double restitution, which he willingly pays to save one of

his clan from prosecution; and this is repaid him by a contribution

from the thieves of his clan, who never refuse the payment of their

proportion to save one of their own fraternity. This composition is

seldom paid in money, but in cattle stolen from the opposite side of

the country, to make reparation to the person injured.”[755]

To remedy these evils, an act for the disarming of the Highlanders

was passed in the year 1716, but it was so badly put into force

that the most disaffected clans remained better armed than ever. By

the act, the collectors of taxes were empowered to pay for the arms

delivered up; but none were given in except such as were broken and

unfit for use, which were valued at a price far beyond what they were

worth. Not only so, but a brisk trade appears to have been carried on

with Holland and other countries in broken and useless arms, which

were imported and delivered up to the commissioners at exorbitant

prices. Wade also found in the possession of the Highlanders a great

number of arms which they had obtained from the Spaniards engaged in

the affair at Glen Shiel. Altogether he computed that the Highlanders

hostile to his majesty were in possession of about five or six

thousand arms of various kinds. Wade further reports that to keep

the Highlanders in awe, “four barracks had been built in different

parts of the Highlands, and parties of regular troops, under the

command of Highland officers, with a company of 30, established to

conduct them through the mountains, was thought an effectual scheme,

as well to prevent the rising of the Highlanders disaffected to your

majesty’s government, as to hinder depredations on your faithful

subjects. It is to be wished that, during the reign of your majesty

and your successors, no insurrection may ever happen to experience

whether the barracks will effectually answer the end proposed;

yet I am humbly of opinion, that if the number of troops they are

built to contain were constantly quartered in them (whereas there

is now in some but 30 men, and proper provisions laid in for their

support during the winter season), they might be of some use to

prevent the insurrections of the Highlanders, though, as I humbly

conceive (having seen them all), that two of the four are not built

in as proper situations as they might have been. As to the Highland

parties, I have already presumed to represent to your majesty the

little use they were of in hindering depredations, and the great

sufferings of the soldiers employed in that service, upon which your

majesty was graciously pleased to countermand them.

“I must farther beg leave to report to your majesty, that another

great cause of disorders in the Highlands is the want of proper

persons to execute the several offices of civil magistrates,

especially in the shires of Inverness, Ross, and some other parts of

the Highlands.

“The party quarrels and violent animosities among the gentlemen

equally well affected to your majesty’s government, I humbly conceive

to be one great cause of this defect. Those here in arms for your

majesty, who raised a spirit in the shire of Inverness, and recovered

the town of that name from the rebels (their main body being then

at Perth), complain that the persons employed as magistrates over

them have little interest in the country, and that three of the

deputy sheriffs in those parts were persons actually in arms against

your majesty at the time of the rebellion, which (as I am credibly

informed) is true. They likewise complain that many are left out of

the commissions of lord lieutenants, deputy lieutenants, sheriffs,

&c., and I take the liberty to observe, that the want of acting

justices of the peace is a great encouragement to the disorders so

frequently committed in that part of the country, there being but one

now residing as an acting justice for the space of above an hundred

miles in compass.”[756]

He also complained that the regular troops laboured under great

disadvantages in endeavouring to penetrate in the Highland fastnesses

from the want of roads and bridges.

[Illustration: Fort Augustus.]

As a remedy for these evils he proposed “that companies of such

Highlanders as are well affected to his majesty’s government be

established under proper regulations, and commanded by officers

speaking the language of the country, subject to martial law, and

under the inspection and orders of the governors of Fort-William,

Inverness, and the officer commanding his majesty’s forces in those

parts;”[757] that a redoubt or barrack be erected at Inverness, and

an addition be made to the one already established at Killyhuimen

(Fort Augustus), at the south end of Loch Ness, and that a small

vessel, with oars and sails, be built on the loch, capable of holding

from sixty to eighty soldiers, which would be a means of keeping up

communication between Inverness and Fort Augustus, and of sending

parties to the county bordering on the lake. Further, that the

different garrisons and castles in North Britain, especially the

castle of Edinburgh, be put in such condition as to guard against

surprise, and that a regiment of dragoons be quartered in the

district between Perth and Inverness. As to the civil government

of the country, Wade recommended that proper persons be nominated

for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in the Highland counties, and

that justices of the peace and constables, with small salaries, be

established in proper places, and that quarter sessions be regularly

held at Killyhuimen, Ruthven in Badenoch, Fort William, and if

necessary, at Bernera, near the coast of the Isle of Skye.

By an act passed in 1725, Wade was empowered to proceed to the

Highlands and summon the clans to deliver up their arms, and to

carry most of his other recommendations into effect. After quelling

the malt-tax riots in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Wade set out for the

Highlands, and arrived in Inverness on the 10th of August 1725,

and immediately proceeded to business. As his report contains much

interesting and valuable information on the state of the Highlands

at this time, we shall give here a large extract from it.

“The laird of the M’Kenzies, and other chiefs of the clans and

tribes, tenants to the late Earl of Seaforth, came to me in a body,

to the number of about fifty, and assured me that both they and their

followers were ready to pay a dutiful obedience to your majesty’s

commands, by a peaceable surrender of their arms; that if your

majesty would be graciously pleased to procure them an indemnity for

the rents that had been misapplied for the time past, they would

for the future become faithful subjects to your majesty, and pay

them to your majesty’s receiver for the use of the public. I assured

them of your majesty’s gracious intentions towards them, and that

they might rely on your majesty’s bounty and clemency, provided they

would merit it by their future good conduct and peaceable behaviour;

that I had your majesty’s commands to send the first summons to the

country they inhabited; which would soon give them an opportunity of

showing the sincerity of their promises, and of having the merit to

set example to the rest of the Highlands, who in their turns were

to be summoned to deliver up their arms, pursuant to the disarming

act; that they might choose the place they themselves thought most

convenient to surrender their arms; and that I would answer, that

neither their persons nor their property should be molested by your

majesty’s troops.--They desired they might be permitted to deliver

up their arms at the castle of Brahan, the principal seat of their

late superior, who, they said, had promoted and encouraged them to

this their submission; but begged that none of the Highland companies

might be present; for, as they had always been reputed the bravest,

as well as the most numerous of the northern clans, they thought

it more consistent with their honour to resign their arms to your

majesty’s veteran troops;--to which I readily consented.

“Summonses were accordingly sent to the several clans and tribes,

the inhabitants of 18 parishes, who were vassals or tenants of the

late Earl of Seaforth, to bring or send in all their arms and warlike

weapons to the castle of Brahan, on or before the 28th of August.

“On the 25th of August I went to the castle of Brahan, with a

detachment of 200 of the regular troops, and was met there by the

chiefs of the several clans and tribes, who assured me they had used

their utmost diligence in collecting all the arms they were possessed

of, which should be brought thither on the Saturday following,

pursuant to the summons they had received; and telling me they were

apprehensive of insults or depredations from the neighbouring clans

of the Camerons, and others who still continued in possession of

their arms. Parties of the Highland companies were ordered to guard

the passes leading to their country; which parties continued there

for their protection, till the clans in that neighbourhood were

summoned, and had surrendered their arms.

“On the day appointed, the several clans and tribes assembled in the

adjacent villages, and marched in good order through the great avenue

that leads to the castle; and one after another laid down their arms

in the court-yard, in great quiet and decency, amounting to 784 of

the several species mentioned in the act of parliament.

“The solemnity with which this was performed, had undoubtedly a great

influence over the rest of the Highland clans; and disposed them

to pay that obedience to your majesty’s commands, by a peaceable

surrender of their arms, which they had never done to any of your

royal predecessors, or in compliance with any law either before or

since the Union.

“The next summons were sent to the clans and countries in the

neighbourhood of Killyhuimen and Fort William. The arms of the

several clans of the M’Donalds of Glengary, M’Leods of Glenelg,

Chisholms of Strathglass, and Grants of Glenmoriston, were

surrendered to me at the barrack of Killyhuimen, the 15th of

September; and those of the M’Donalds of Keppoch, Moidart, Aresaig,

and Glencoe; as also the Camerons, and Stewarts of Appin, were

delivered to the governor of Fort William. The M’Intoshes were

summoned, and brought in their arms to Inverness; and the followers

of the Duke of Gordon, with the clan of M’Phersons, to the barrack of

Ruthven in Badenoch.

“The inhabitants of the isles of Skye and Mull were also summoned;

the M’Donalds, M’Kinnons, and M’Leods delivered their arms at the

barrack of Bernera; and those of the Isle of Mull, to the officer

commanding at Castle Duart, both on the 1st day of October.

“The regiments remained till that time encamped at Inverness; and

this service was performed by sending detachments from the camp to

the several parts of the Highlands appointed for the surrender of

arms. Ammunition bread was regularly delivered to the soldiers, and

biscuits to the detachments that were sent into the mountains. The

camp was plentifully supplied with provisions, and an hospital in

the town provided for the sick men. This contributed to preserve the

soldiers in health; so that notwithstanding the excessive bad weather

and continued rains that fell during the campaign, there died of the

three regiments no more than ten soldiers:--but the weather growing

cold, and the snow falling in the mountains, obliged me to break up

the camp, and send the troops into winter quarters.

“The new-raised companies of Highlanders were for some time encamped

with the regular troops, performing the duty of the camp with the

rest of the soldiers. They mounted guard, went out upon parties, had

the articles of war read and explained to them, and were regularly

paid with the rest of the troops. When they had made some progress

in their exercise and discipline, they were sent to their respective

stations with proper orders; as well to prevent the Highlanders

from returning to the use of arms, as to hinder their committing

depredations on the low country.

“The Lord Lovat’s company was posted to guard all the passes in the

mountains, from the Isle of Skye eastward, as far as Inverness;

the company of Colonel Grant in the several passes from Inverness

southward to Dunkeld; Sir Duncan Campbell’s company, from Dunkeld

westward, as far as the country of Lorn. The three companies

commanded by lieutenants were posted, the first at Fort William; the

second at Killyhuimen; and the third at Ruthven in Badenoch; and may

in a short time be assembled in a body, to march to any part of the

Highlands as occasion may require.

“The clans of the northern Highlands having peaceably surrendered

their arms, pursuant to the several summonses sent them in your

majesty’s name, and consequently exposed to the inroads of their

neighbours, to prevent this inconvenience, (though the season of

the year was far advanced) I thought it both just and necessary to

proceed to disarm the southern clans, who had also joined in the

rebellion, and thereby to finish the campaign by summoning all the

clans and countries who had taken up arms against your majesty in the

year 1715.

“Summonses were accordingly sent to the inhabitants of the Brea of

Mar, Perth, Athol, Braidalbin, Menteth, and those parts of the shire

of Stirling and Dumbarton included in the disarming act. Parties of

the regular troops were ordered to march from the nearest garrisons

to several places appointed for the surrender of their arms, and

circular letters were sent to the principal gentlemen in those parts,

exciting them to follow the example of the northern Highlands. The

clans of these countries brought in their arms on the days and at the

places appointed by their respective summonses, but not in so great

a quantity as the northern clans had done. The gentlemen assured me

they had given strict orders to their tenants to bring in all the

arms they had in their possession; but that many of them, knowing

they were not to be paid for them, as stipulated by the former act,

several had been carried to the forges, and turned into working tools

and other peaceable instruments; there being no prohibition by the

act of parliament to hinder them from disposing of them in any manner

they thought most to their advantage, provided they had no arms in

their possession, after the day mentioned in the summons; and if

the informations I have received are true, the same thing has been

practised, more or less, by all the clans that have been summoned

pursuant to the present act of parliament, which makes no allowance

for arms delivered up, in order to prevent the notorious frauds and

abuses committed by those who had the execution of the former act,

whereby your majesty paid near £13,000 for broken and useless arms,

that were hardly worth the expense of carriage.

“The number of arms collected this year in the Highlands, of the

several species mentioned in the disarming act, amount in the whole

to 2,685. The greatest part of them are deposited in the Castle of

Edinburgh, and the rest at Fort William, and the barrack of Bernera.

At the time they were brought in by the clans, there was a mixture

of good and bad; but the damage they received in the carriage, and

growing rusty by being exposed to rain, they are of little more worth

than the value of the iron.

“In the execution of the power given me by your majesty, to grant

licences to such persons whose business or occupation required the

use of arms for their safety and defence, I have given out in the

whole 230 licences to the foresters, drovers, and dealers in cattle,

and other merchandise, belonging to the several clans who have

surrendered their arms, which are to remain in force for two years,

provided they behave themselves during that time as faithful subjects

to your majesty, and peaceably towards their neighbours. The names

of the persons empowered to wear arms by these licences are entered

in a book, as also the names of the gentlemen by whom they were

recommended, and who have promised to be answerable for their good

behaviour.

“The several summonses for the surrender of arms have been affixed

to the doors of 129 parish churches, on the market crosses of the

county towns; and copies of the same regularly entered in the

sheriff’s books in the method prescribed by the disarming act, by

which these Highlanders who shall presume to wear arms without a

legal qualification, are subject to the penalties of that law which

has already had so good an effect, that, instead of guns, swords,

durks, and pistols, they now travel to their churches, markets, and

fairs with only a staff in their hands. Since the Highland companies

have been posted at their respective stations, several of the most

notorious thieves have been seized on and committed to prison,

some of which are now under prosecution, but others, either by the

corruption or negligence of the jailers, have been set at liberty, or

suffered to make their escape.

“The imposition commonly called black-meal is now no longer paid

by the inhabitants bordering on the Highlands; and robberies and

depredations, formerly complained of, are less frequently attempted

than has been known for many years past, there having been but

one single instance where cattle have been stolen, without being

recovered and returned to their proper owners.

“At my first coming to the Highlands, I caused an exact survey to

be taken of the lakes, and that part of the country lying between

Inverness and Fort William, which extends from the east to the west

sea, in order to render the communication more practicable; and

materials were provided for the vessel which, by your majesty’s

commands, was to be built on the Lake Ness; which is now finished and

launched into the lake. It is made in the form of a gally, either

for rowing or sailing; is capable of carrying a party of 50 or 60

soldiers to any part of the country bordering on the said lake; and

will be of great use for transporting provisions and ammunition from

Inverness to the barrack of Killyhuimen, where four companies of foot

have been quartered since the beginning of last October.

“I presume also to acquaint your majesty, that parties of regular

troops have been constantly employed in making the roads of

communication between Killyhuimen and Fort William, who have already

made so good a progress in that work, that I hope, before the end of

next summer, they will be rendered both practicable and convenient

for the march of your majesty’s forces between those garrisons, and

facilitate their assembling in one body, if occasion should require.

“The fortifications and additional barracks, which, by your majesty’s

commands were to be erected at Inverness and Killyhuimen, are the

only part of your majesty’s instructions which I have not been able

to put in execution. There were no persons in that part of the

Highlands of sufficient credit or knowledge to contract for a work

of so extensive a nature. The stone must be cut out of the quarries;

nor could the timber be provided sooner than by sending to Norway to

purchase it; and, although the materials had been ready and at hand,

the excessive rains, that fell during the whole summer season, must

have rendered it impossible to have carried on the work. I have,

however, contracted for the necessary repairs of the old castle at

Inverness, which I am promised will be finished before next winter.

“I humbly beg leave to observe to your majesty, that nothing has

contributed more to the success of my endeavours in disarming the

Highlanders, and reducing the vassals of the late Earl of Seafield to

your obedience, than the power your majesty was pleased to grant me

of receiving the submissions of persons attainted of high treason.

They were dispersed in different parts of the Highlands, without the

least apprehension of being betrayed or molested by their countrymen,

and, for their safety and protection, must have contributed all they

were able to encourage the use of arms, and to infect the minds of

those people on whose protection they depended. In this situation,

they were proper instruments, and always ready to be employed in

promoting the interest of the Pretender, or any other foreign power

they thought capable of contributing to a change in that government

to which they had forfeited their lives, and from whom they expected

no favour. The greatest part of them were drawn into the rebellion

at the instigation of their superiors, and, in my humble opinion,

have continued their disaffection, rather from despair than any real

dislike to your majesty’s government; for it was no sooner known that

your majesty had empowered me to receive the submissions of those

who repented of their crimes, and were willing and desirous for the

future to live peaceably under your mild and moderate government,

but applications were made to me from several of them to intercede

with your majesty on their behalf, declaring their readiness to

abandon the Pretender’s party, and to pay a dutiful obedience to your

majesty; to which I answered, that I should be ready to intercede in

their favour, when I was farther convinced of the sincerity of their

promises; that it would soon come to their turn to be summoned to

bring in their arms; and, when they had paid that first mark of their

obedience, by peaceably surrendering them, I should thereby be better

justified in receiving their submissions, and in recommending them to

your majesty’s mercy and clemency.

“As soon as their respective clans had delivered up their arms,

several of these attainted persons came to me at different times and

places to render their submissions to your majesty. They laid down

their swords on the ground, expressed their sorrow and concern for

having made use of them in opposition to your majesty; and promised a

peaceful and dutiful obedience for the remaining part of their lives.

They afterwards sent me their several letters of submission, copies

of which I transmitted to your majesty’s principal secretary of state.

“I made use of the proper arguments to convince them of their past

folly and rashness, and gave them hopes of obtaining pardon from your

majesty’s gracious and merciful disposition; but, being a stranger

both to their persons and character, I required they would procure

gentlemen of unquestioned zeal to your majesty’s government, who

would write to me in their favour, and in some measure be answerable

for their future conduct--which was accordingly done.

“When the news came that your majesty was graciously pleased to

accept their submission, and had given the proper orders for

preparing their pardons, it was received with great joy and

satisfaction throughout the Highlands, which occasioned the Jacobites

at Edinburgh to say, (by way of reproach,) that I had not only

defrauded the Highlanders of their arms, but had also debauched them

from their loyalty and allegiance.”[758]

Barracks were built at Inverness, a fort erected at Fort-Augustus,

and at various places over the country small towers or forts, each

capable of containing a small number of soldiers.

Wade at the same time received letters of submission from a

considerable number of chiefs and other troublesome Highlanders who

were lying under the taint of high treason. These were expressed

in terms of excessive humility and contrition, and were full of

the strongest promises of future good behaviour. Wade seems, as

Burton[759] remarks, “to have known so little of the people as to

believe in their sincerity. Yet the contemporary correspondence of

the Jacobites indicates, what subsequent events confirmed, that the

Highlanders, with the inscrutable diplomatic cunning peculiar to

their race, had overreached the military negotiator, and committed

a quantity of effective arms to places of concealment.”[760]

One of the greatest services rendered by Wade to the government, and

that for which he is chiefly known to posterity, was the construction

of roads through the Highlands, in order to facilitate the march of

troops, and open up a communication between the various garrisons.

Previous to this the only substitutes for roads existing in the

Highlands were the rude tracts, sometimes scarcely distinguishable

from the surrounding waste, made by many generations of Highlanders

and their cattle over mountains, through bogs, across rapid rivers,

skirting giddy precipices, and perfectly bewildering and fraught

with danger to any but natives. Captain Burt, one of the engineers

engaged in Wade’s expedition, gives in his _Letters_ many graphic

descriptions of the difficulties and dangers attendant on travelling

in the Highlands before the making of these new roads. “The old

ways,” he says, “(for roads I shall not call them,) consisted chiefly

of stony moors, bogs, rugged, rapid fords, declivities of hills,

entangling woods, and giddy precipices.”[761] As a specimen of what

the traveller might expect in his progress among the mountains, we

give the following incident which occurred to Burt in one of his own

journeys.[762] “There was nothing remarkable afterwards, till I came

near the top of the hill; where there was a seeming plain, of about

150 yards, between me and the summit.

“No sooner was I upon the edge of it, but my guide desired me to

alight; and then I perceived it was a bog, or peat-moss, as they call

it.

“I had experience enough of these deceitful surfaces to order that

the horses should be led in separate parts, lest, if one broke the

turf, the other, treading in his steps, might sink.

“The horse I used to ride having little weight but his own, went on

pretty successfully; only now and then breaking the surface a little;

but the other, that carried my portmanteau, and being not quite so

nimble, was much in danger, till near the further end, and there he

sank. But it luckily happened to be in a part where his long legs

went to the bottom, which is generally hard gravel, or rock; but he

was in almost up to the back.

“By this time my own (for distinction) was quite free of the bog,

and being frighted, stood very tamely by himself; which he would not

have done at another time. In the mean while we were forced to wait

at a distance, while the other was flouncing and throwing the dirt

about him; for there was no means of coming near him to ease him of

the heavy burden he had upon his loins, by which he was sometimes

in danger to be turned upon his back, when he rose to break the bog

before him. But, in about a quarter of an hour, he got out, bedaubed

with the slough, shaking with fear, and his head and neck all over in

a foam.

“As for myself, I was harassed on this slough, by winding about

from place to place, to find such tufts as were within my stride or

leap, in my heavy boots with high heels; which, by my spring, when

the little hillocks were too far asunder, broke the turf, and then

I threw myself down toward the next protuberance; but to my guide

it seemed nothing; he was light of body, shod with flat _brogues_,

wide in the soles, and accustomed to a particular step, suited to the

occasion.

“This hill was about three quarters of a mile over, and had but a

short descent on the further side, rough, indeed, but not remarkable

in this country. I had now five computed miles to go before I came to

my first asylum,--that is, five Scots miles, which, as in the north

of England, are longer than yours as three is to two; and, if the

difficulty of the way were to be taken into account, it might well be

called fifteen. This, except about three quarters of a mile of heathy

ground, pretty free from stones and rocks, consisted of stony moors,

almost impracticable for a horse with his rider, and likewise of

rocky way, where we were obliged to dismount, and sometimes climb,

and otherwhile slide down. But what vexed me most of all, they called

it a road; and yet I must confess it was preferable to a boggy way.

The great difficulty was to wind about with the horses, and find such

places as they could possibly be got over.”

Wade went vigorously to work in the construction of his roads,

selecting from the regular troops and Highland companies 500

men, who were put on extra pay while at the work of road-making.

Notwithstanding the many difficulties to be encountered, the

inexperience of the workmen, and the inferior tools then at their

command for such a purpose, the undertaking was satisfactorily

accomplished in about ten years. A Scottish gentleman, who visited

the Highlands in 1737, found the roads completed, and was surprised

by the improvements which he found to have arisen from them, amongst

which he gratefully notes the existence of civilized places for

the entertainment of travellers. Formerly the only apologies for

hostelries in the Highlands were wretched huts, often with only one

apartment, swarming with lively insects, the atmosphere solid with

smoke, and the fragile walls pierced here and there with holes large

enough to admit a man’s head. Now, however, these were replaced by

small but substantial inns built of stone, located at distances of

about ten miles from each other along the new roads. The standard

breadth of the roads was sixteen feet, although where possible they

were made wider, and were carried on in straight lines, unless where

this was impracticable.

Wade’s main road, commencing at Perth, went by Dunkeld and

Blair-Athole to Dalnacardoch, where it was joined by another from

Stirling by Crieff, through Glenalmond, to Aberfeldy, where it

crossed the Tay, on what was then considered a magnificent bridge

of five arches. From Dalnacardoch the road goes on to Dalwhinny,

where it again branches into two, one branch proceeding towards the

north-west through Garva Moor, and over the Corryarrick mountain to

Fort-Augustus, the other striking almost due north to Ruthven in

Badenoch, and thence by Delmagary to Inverness. Another road, along

the shores of Lochs Ness and Lochy, joined the latter place with

the strongholds of Fort-Augustus and Fort-William. One of the most

difficult parts of the undertaking was the crossing of the lofty

Corryarrick, the road having to be carried up the south side of the

mountain by a series of about fifteen zigzags. The entire length of

road constructed measured about 250 miles.

[Illustration: Lieutenant General Wade, Commander-in-Chief of all

His Majesty’s Forces in Scotland. (From an old engraving in the

possession of D. Laing, Esq.)]

Although these roads were doubtless of considerable advantage in

a military point of view, they appear to have been of very little

use in developing the commercial resources of the country. “They

were indeed truly military roads--laid down by a practical soldier,

and destined for warlike purposes--with scarcely any view towards

the ends for which free and peaceful citizens open up a system of

internal transit.”[763] They appear to have been regarded with

suspicion and dislike by all classes of the Highlanders. The chiefs,

according to Burt,[764] complained that in time of peace they opened

up their country to strangers, who would be likely to weaken the

attachment of their vassals, and that in time of war they laid their

fastnesses open to the enemy. The bridges, especially, they said

would render the people effeminate, and less fit to ford the rivers

in other places where there were no such means of crossing. The

middle class again objected to them because, their horses being

unshod,--and necessarily so on account of the places where they had

to find pasture--the gravel would soon whet away their hoofs, and

thus render them unserviceable. “The lowest class, who, many of

them, at some times cannot compass a pair of shoes for themselves,

allege that the gravel is intolerable to their naked feet; and the

complaint has extended to their thin brogues.” For these reasons,

allied no doubt to obstinacy and hatred of innovation and government

interference, many of the Highlanders, despising the new roads,

continued to walk in the wretched ways of their fathers.

Although the Chevalier still had many adherents in the south of

Scotland, yet, as they were narrowly watched by the government, it

was considered inexpedient and unsafe to correspond with them on

the subject of the Spanish expedition. In the state of uncertainty

in which they were thus kept, they wisely abstained from committing

themselves, and when Marischal landed they were quite unprepared to

render him any assistance, and unanimously resolved not to move in

any shape till a rising should take place in England in favour of the

Chevalier.

As many inconveniences had arisen from a want of co-operation

among the friends of the Chevalier in the south of Scotland, Mr.

Lockhart, in concert with the Bishop of Edinburgh, proposed to James

that the Earls of Eglinton and Wigton, Lord Balmerino, the Bishop

of Edinburgh, (the head of the nonjuring clergy,) Mr. Paterson of

Preston-hall, and Captain Straiton, should be appointed commissioners

or trustees for transacting his affairs in Scotland. This proposal

on the whole was well received by the Chevalier, who, however,

probably influenced by the jealous schemers who surrounded him, did

not sanction the formation of a regularly organized authoritative

commission. Writing to Lockhart in February, 1721, he says, “to

appoint a certain number of persons for this effect by commission, is

by no means, at this time, advisable, because of the inconveniences

it might draw, sooner or later, upon the persons concern’d; since

it could not but be expected that the present government would, at

long run, be inform’d of such a paper which, by its nature, must be

known to a great number of people; besides, that many who might

be most fit to discharge such a trust might, with reason, not be

fond of having their names exposed in such a matter; while, on the

other hand, numbers might be disobliged for not having a share where

it is not possible all can be concerned; but I think all these

inconveniences may be obviated, the intent of the proposal comply’d

with, and equal advantages drawn from it if the persons named below,

or some of them, would meet and consult together for the intents

above-mention’d. The persons you propose I entirely approve, to

wit, the Earls of Eglinton and Wigton, Lord Balmerino, the Bishop

of Edinburgh, Mr. Paterson and Captain Straiton, to whom I would

have added Mr. Harry Maul, Sir John Erskine, Lord Dun, Pourie and

Glengary.”[765]

Mr. Lockhart acquainted the different persons, therein named, of its

contents, and all of them undertook to execute the trust reposed in

them; but as they judged it advisable to conceal the powers they had

received from their friends, they requested Mr. Lockhart, when their

advice was wanted, to communicate with them individually, and having

collected their sentiments, to give the necessary instructions with

due caution.

In June 1721, a treaty of peace was signed at Madrid between Great

Britain and Spain, and at the same time a defensive alliance was

entered into between Great Britain, France, and Spain. As the two

last were the only powers from whom the “Pretender” could expect any

effectual aid in support of his pretensions, his long-wished-for

restoration seemed now to be hopeless, and King George secure, as he

imagined, from foreign invasion and domestic plots, made preparations

for visiting his German dominions, and actually appointed a regency

to act in his absence. But early in the year 1722, a discovery

was made, on information received by the king from the regent of

France, that the Jacobites were busy in a new conspiracy against the

government. It appeared that the Chevalier de St. George, who was at

Rome, was to sail from Porto-Longone for Spain, under the protection

of three Spanish men-of-war, and there to wait the resolutions

of his friends.[766] In following the clue given by the Duke of

Orleans, it was ascertained that all the letters, in relation to the

conspiracy, were carried to Mr. George Kelly, an Irish clergyman, who

despatched them to their different destinations. The insurrection was

to have taken place during the king’s absence in Hanover; but his

majesty having deferred his journey in consequence of the discovery

of the plot, the conspirators resolved to postpone their attempt till

the dissolution of parliament.

The conspirators, finding they were watched by government, became

extremely cautious, and the ministers, desirous of getting hold of

the treasonable correspondence, ordered Kelly, the principal agent,

to be arrested. He was accordingly apprehended, but not until he had,

by keeping his assailants at bay with his sword, succeeded in burning

the greater part of his papers. Although the papers which were seized

from Kelly, and others which had been intercepted by government, bore

evident marks of a conspiracy, yet it became very difficult, from

the fictitious names used in them, to trace out the guilty persons.

“We are in trace of several things very material,” observes Robert

Walpole in a letter to his brother, in reference to this discovery,

“but we fox-hunters know that we do not always find every fox that we

cross upon.” Among other persons who were arrested on suspicion, were

the Duke of Norfolk, Lords North and Grey, Strafford, and Orrery,

Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Harry Goring.

To check the threatened insurrection, a camp was immediately formed

in Hyde-park, and all military officers were ordered to repair

to their respective regiments. Lieutenant-general Macartney was

despatched to Ireland to bring over some troops from that kingdom,

and the states of Holland were requested to have their auxiliary

troops in readiness for embarkation. These preparations, and the many

rumours which prevailed respecting the extent of the conspiracy,

affected public credit, and a run took place upon the bank, but the

panic soon subsided, and public confidence was restored.

Of all the persons seized of any note, the Bishop of Rochester

was the only individual against whom a charge could plausibly be

maintained. He was equally noted for his high literary attainments

and a warm attachment to the exploded dogma of passive obedience. He

had written Sacheverel’s defence _con amore_, and he had carried his

partisanship for the house of Stuart so far, that, according to Lord

Harcourt, he offered, upon the death of Queen Anne, to proclaim the

Chevalier de St. George at Charing-cross in his lawn sleeves, and

when his proposal was declined, he is said to have exclaimed, “Never

was a better cause lost for want of spirit.”

After an examination before the privy-council, the bishop was

committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. The committal of

the bishop was highly resented by the clergy, who considered it an

outrage upon the Church of England and the Episcopal order, and they

gave full vent to their feelings by offering up public prayers for

his health in all the churches and chapels of London and Westminster.

The new parliament met in the month of October, and the first thing

the king did was to announce, by a speech from the throne, the nature

of the conspiracy. A bill for suspending the _habeas corpus_ act for

a whole year was immediately brought into the house of lords, but as

the period of suspension was double of any suspension hitherto known,

it met with some opposition. In the commons, however, the opposition

was so violent, that Mr. Robert Walpole found himself necessitated to

invent a story of a design to seize the bank and the exchequer, and

to proclaim the “Pretender” on the royal exchange. This ridiculous

tale, uttered with the greatest confidence, alarmed the commons, and

they passed the bill.

As the Catholics were supposed to be chiefly concerned in the

conspiracy, a bill was introduced into the house of commons for

raising £100,000 upon the real and personal estates of all “papists,”

or persons educated in the Catholic religion, towards defraying the

expenses incurred by the late rebellion and disorders. This bill

being justly regarded as a species of persecution, was warmly opposed

by some members, but it was sent up to the house of lords along with

another bill, obliging all persons, being “papists,” in Scotland,

and all persons in Great Britain refusing or neglecting to take the

oaths appointed for the king’s person and government, to register

their names and real estates. As might have been anticipated, both

bills were passed without amendments, and received the royal assent.

Atterbury was brought up for trial on the 9th of May, 1723, and

sentenced to banishment under pain of death if he should ever return.

He quitted the kingdom in June, and after a short stay at Brussels,

finally settled in Paris. It is said that when crossing over to

Calais he met Lord Bolingbroke, then on his way to England, whom he

thus addressed with a smile, “My lord, you and I are exchanged!”

The return of this extraordinary person to England gave rise to much

speculation, and many conjectures were hazarded as to the reasons

which had induced Walpole to promote the return of a man whose

impeachment he had himself moved; but the mystery has been cleared up

by papers which have since met the public eye. From these it appears

that several years before his appearance in England, Bolingbroke had

completely broken with the Stuarts in consequence of his deprivation

of the seals. It seems that the Earl of Mar and the duke had a

violent difference with regard to the conduct of the expedition in

1715; and Mar, to revenge himself upon his rival, prevailed upon

the Duke of Ormond to report in presence of the Chevalier de St.

George certain abusive expressions which Bolingbroke, when in a state

of intoxication, had uttered in disparagement of his master. The

Chevalier, highly exasperated at Bolingbroke, sent for the seals,

at which his lordship was so incensed that when the queen mother

attempted to reconcile them, Bolingbroke said that he wished his arm

might rot off if ever he drew his sword or employed his pen in the

service of the Stuarts. He, thereupon, proffered his services to

King George, and offered to do any thing but betray the secrets of

his friends. This offer was followed by the celebrated letter to Sir

William Wyndham, in which he dissuaded the Tories from placing any

reliance on the Pretender, and exposed the exiled family to ridicule

and contempt; but his overtures were rejected by the government, and

when an act of indemnity was hinted at, Walpole expressed in the

strongest terms his indignation at the very idea of such a measure.

Bolingbroke, however, persevered; and Walpole having been softened

by the entreaties of the Duchess of Kendal, one of the mistresses of

the king, to whom Bolingbroke made a present of £11,000, he procured

a pardon. In April, 1725, a bill was brought into the house of lords

for restoring to Bolingbroke his family estate, which, after some

opposition, passed both houses.

Upon the passing of the disarming act, some of the Highland chiefs

held a meeting at Paris, at which they resolved to apply to the

Chevalier de St. George, to know whether, in his opinion, they should

submit to the new law. James returned an answer under cover to the

restless Atterbury, in which he advised the chiefs rather to submit

than run the risk of ruining their followers; but the bishop thought

proper to keep up the letter, and having sent off an express to Rome,

James was induced to write another letter altogether different from

the first, requiring them to resist, by force, the intended attempt

of the government to disarm the Highlanders. Meanwhile, the chiefs

were apprised of James’s original sentiments by a correspondent at

Rome, and of the letter which had been sent to Atterbury’s care.

Unaware of this circumstance, the bishop, on receipt of the second

letter, convened the chiefs, and communicated to them its contents;

but these being so completely at variance with the information of

their correspondent, they insisted upon seeing the first letter,

but Atterbury refused in the most positive terms to exhibit it,

and insisted upon compliance with the injunctions contained in the

second letter. They, thereupon, desired to know what support they

were to receive in men, money, and arms; but the bishop told them,

that unless they resolved to go to Scotland and take up arms, he

would give them no further information than this, that they would be

assisted by a certain foreign power, whose name he was not at liberty

to mention.[767] The chiefs, dissatisfied with the conduct of the

bishop, refused to pledge themselves as required, and retired.

The great preparations made to carry the disarming act into

effect, indicated a dread, on the part of the government, that the

Highlanders would not deliver up their arms without a struggle.

The Chevalier de St. George, deceived as it would appear by the

representations of Atterbury, resolved to support the Highlanders,

to the effect at least of enabling them to obtain favourable terms

from the government. “I find,” says James, in a letter[768] to Mr.

Lockhart, “they (the Highlanders) are of opinion that nothing less

than utter ruin is designed for them, and those on this side are

persuaded that the English government will meet with the greatest

difficulties in executing their projects, and that the clans will

unanimously agree to oppose them to the last, and if thereby

circumstances will allow them to do nothing for my service, that

they will still, by a capitulation, be able to procure better terms

to themselves than they can propose by leaving themselves at the

government’s mercy, and delivering up their arms; and, if so, I am

resolved, and I think I owe it to them, to do all in my power to

support them, and the distance I am at has obliged me to give my

orders accordingly; and nothing in my power shall be wanting to

enable them to keep their ground against the government, at least

till they can procure good terms for themselves, though, at the same

time, I must inform you that the opposition they propose to make

may prove of the greatest advantage to my interest, considering the

hopes I have of foreign assistance, which, perhaps, you may hear of

even before you receive this letter. I should not have ventured to

call the Highlanders together, without a certainty of their being

supported, but the great probability there is of it makes me not at

all sorry they should take the resolution of defending themselves,

and not delivering up their arms, which would have rendered them, in

a great measure, useless to their countrie; and as the designs of

the government are represented to me, the laying down of their arms

is only to be the forerunner of other methods, that are to be taken

to extirpate their race for ever. They are certainly in the right to

make the government buy their slavery at as dear a rate as they can.

The distance I am at (Rome), and the imperfect accounts I have had

of this law, (for disarming the Highlanders,) have been very unlucky;

however, the orders I have sent to France I hope will not come too

late, and I can answer for the diligence in the execution of them,

which is all I can say to you at present from hence.”

A few days after the receipt of this letter, Mr. Lockhart went

to Edinburgh, where he found the Duke of Hamilton and the Earl

of Kincardine, two of James’s “trustees,” to whom he showed the

letter, and requested their opinion as to the proposed attempt to

resist the contemplated measures of the government. These noblemen

considered that the attempt would be rash as well as fatal,--that

the idea of obtaining better terms by a temporary resistance, was

vain, unless the Highlanders succeed in defeating the government;

but that if they failed, the utter extirpation of their race would

certainly follow;--that the Highlanders being a body of men of such

high value, as well in relation to the interests of the exiled

family, as to those of the kingdom, it was by no means reasonable

to hazard them upon an uncertainty, for though they should give

up their arms, it would be easier to provide them afterwards with

others, when their services were required, than to repair the loss

of their persons;--that with regard to foreign assistance, as such

undertakings were liable to many accidents, and as the best formed

designs often turned out abortive, it was by no means advisable to

hazard the Highlanders, who were hated by the government, upon the

expectancy of such aid; and that if such foreign powers as could, and

were willing to assist, would inquire into the true state of affairs

in Scotland, they would find that wherever a feasible attempt should

be made by them to restore the exiled family, the Scots would be

ready to declare themselves.

This opinion was communicated by Mr. Lockhart to James,[769] and he

informed him at the same time that a person of distinction, who had

been sent by the Highland Jacobite chiefs to obtain intelligence

and advice, had arrived in Edinburgh _incognito_, and had informed

Kincardine that the Highlanders had resolved to make a show of

submission, by giving up part of their arms under the pretence of

delivering up the whole, while their intention was to retain and

conceal the best and greater part of them. Kincardine, without giving

any opinion on the subject, recommended to the gentleman in question,

as foreign assistance might be speedily expected, the expediency

of putting off the delivery as long as possible, and that as four

or five weeks would be consumed before the forms required by the

act could be complied with, they should retain their arms till the

expiration of that period.

The advice given by Hamilton and Eglinton coincided with the

view which James, upon being made acquainted with the resolution

of the chief at Paris, had adopted; and in a letter written to

Mr. Lockhart by Colonel Hay, whom he had appointed his secretary

of state, and raised to the peerage under the title of Earl of

Inverness, he signified his approbation of the advice given by his

friends, which he said was entirely agreeable to his own sentiments

from the beginning. He stated, moreover, that the orders he had

given to assist the Highlanders were only conditional, and in the

event only that they themselves should have resolved to oppose the

government, and that if the Bishop of Rochester had pressed any

of the chiefs at Paris to go to arms, it was more with a view to

discover a correspondence which he suspected one of them had carried

on independent of the others, than with any real design to induce

them to order their followers to make opposition, as that was to have

depended as much upon the chiefs at home as upon those abroad.[770]

When James ascertained that the Highlanders were resolved to

submit, he withdrew the orders he had given for assisting them, and

despatched a trusty messenger to the Highlands to acquaint them of

his readiness to support them when a proper occasion offered, and to

collect information as to the state of the country. Allan Cameron,

the messenger in question, arrived in the Highlands in August, and

visited the heads of the clans in the interest of James, to whom

he delivered the message with which he had been intrusted. It is

said that General Wade was aware of his arrival, but it does not

appear that any measures were taken to apprehend him. After four

months’ residence in the Highlands, Cameron ventured on a journey to

Edinburgh, where, in the beginning of the year 1726, he held frequent

conferences with the Duke of Hamilton, the Earl of Kincardine, and

Lockhart of Carnwath, on the subject of his mission and the state

of affairs, but nothing of importance was resolved upon at these

meetings, and Cameron departed for the continent early in February.

About this time an event occurred, which, while it tended to create

factions amongst the adherents of James, made many of them keep

either altogether aloof from any direct management in his affairs,

or abstain from entering into any plan of co-operation for his

restoration. This was the dismissal of Mar from his post as minister

of James at Paris, on the suspicion that he had betrayed the secrets

of his master to the British government. From his situation he was

intimately acquainted with all the Chevalier’s affairs, and knew the

name of every person of any note in the three kingdoms who had taken

an interest in the restoration of the exiled family, with many of

whom he himself had corresponded. The removal, therefore, of such a

person from the Jacobite councils could not fail to excite uneasy

apprehensions in the minds of those who had intrusted him with their

confidence, and to make them extremely cautious in again committing

themselves by any act, which, if discovered, would place them in

jeopardy. To this feeling may be ascribed the great reserve which for

several years subsequent to this occurrence the Jacobites observed in

their foreign relations, and the want of unity of action which formed

so remarkable a characteristic in their subsequent proceedings. As

this affair forms an important link in the historical chain which

connects the events of the year 1715 with those of 1745, a short

account of it is necessary.

During a temporary confinement at Geneva, Mar had obtained a sum

of money, whether solicited or not does not appear, from the Earl

of Stair, the British ambassador at Paris, without the knowledge

of James. In a narrative afterwards drawn up by Mar in his own

justification, he states, that being in great straits he received

this money as a loan from the earl, who was his old friend; but

Colonel Hay, in a letter to Mr. Lockhart of the 8th of September,

1725, states that Mar had no occasion for such a loan, as “the king”

remitted him considerable supplies to Geneva, where his expense

would be trifling, as he was entertained by the town.[771] This

matter might have been overlooked, but he, soon thereafter, accepted

a pension of £2,000 from the government, over and above the sum of

£1,500 which his countess and daughter actually then received by way

of jointure and aliment out of the produce of his estate. Mar states

that before he agreed to receive this pension he took the advice of

General Dillon, a zealous supporter of the interests of the Stuarts,

whom he had been accustomed to consult in all matters of importance,

and that the general advised him to accept of the offer, as by

refusing it the government might stop his lady’s jointure, and that

his estate would be sold and lost for ever to his family; and that as

he had been released from his confinement at Geneva on condition that

he should not act or take any part against the government of Great

Britain during his abode in France, and should return when required

to Geneva, that government might insist on his being sent back to

Geneva, whence he had been allowed to go to the waters of Bourbon for

his health. Mar communicated the proposal also to James, who at once

sanctioned his acceptance of the pension, and assured him that his

sentiments in regard to him remained unaltered. Notwithstanding this

assurance, however, there is every reason to believe that James, not

without good grounds, had begun to suspect his fidelity; and as he

could clearly perceive that Mar had already taken his resolution to

close with the government, he might consider it his wisest policy to

conceal his displeasure, and not to break at once with a man who had

so much in his power to injure him and his friends.

Having thus succeeded in their advances to Mar, the government,

on receiving information of the conspiracy in which Atterbury was

concerned, sent a gentleman to Paris in May, 1722, with a letter to

Mar from Lord Carteret. This gentleman received instructions to

sound Mar as to his knowledge of the intended plot. On arriving at

Paris, the messenger, (who, it is understood, was Colonel Churchill,)

sent a letter to Mar requesting a private interview. Dillon was

present when this letter was delivered, and on reading it, Mar says

he showed it to Dillon, upon which it was arranged that Mar should

instantly call upon the person who had written the letter, and that

Dillon should remain in the house till Mar’s return, when the object

and nature of the interview would be communicated to him. On Mar’s

return he and Dillon consulted together, and they both thought that

the incident was a lucky one, as it afforded Mar an opportunity of

doing James’s affairs a good service by leading the government off

the true scent, and thereby prevent further inquiries. They thereupon

drew up a letter with that view, to be sent by Mar in answer to

Carteret’s communication, which being approved of by another person

in the confidence of the Chevalier, was sent by Mar to the bearer

of Carteret’s letter. Mar immediately sent an account of the affair

to James and the Duke of Ormond, and shortly received a letter from

the former, dated 8th June, 1722, in which he expressed himself

entirely satisfied with the course pursued by Mar on the occasion. To

justify himself still farther, Mar states, that among the vouchers

of his exculpation, there was the copy of another letter from James,

written by him to one of his agents at Paris, wherein he justifies

and approves of Mar’s conduct, and expresses his regret for the

aspersions which had been cast upon the earl about the plot.

Though James thus continued to profess his usual confidence in Mar’s

integrity, he had, ever since he became acquainted with his pecuniary

obligations to Stair, resolved to withdraw that confidence from him

by degrees, and in such a manner as might not be prejudicial to the

adherents of the exiled family in Great Britain. But Mar, who, as

James observed,[772] had put himself under such engagements that he

could not any longer serve him in a public manner, and who, from the

nature of these engagements, should have declined all knowledge of

James’s secrets, continued to meddle with his affairs as formerly,

by taking the direction and management of those intrusted to Dillon,

the confidential agent of James and the English Jacobites. In this

way was Mar enabled for several years, when distrusted by James,

to compel him in a manner to keep on good terms with him. From

the natural timidity of James, and his anxiety to avoid an open

breach with Mar, it is difficult to say how long matters might

have remained in this awkward state, had not the attention of the

Scottish Jacobites been drawn to Mar’s pension by the report of

the parliamentary committee concerning the conspiracy; and the

representations of the Bishop of Rochester respecting Mar’s conduct,

shortly after his arrival in France, brought matters to a crisis. In

the letter last referred to, James thus intimates to Mr. Lockhart the

final dismissal of Mar. “I have been always unwilling to mention Mar,

but I find myself indispensably engaged at present to let my Scots

friends know that I have withdrawn my confidence entirely from him,

as I shall be obliged to do from all who may be any ways influenced

by him. This conduct is founded on the strongest and most urgent

necessity in which my regard to my faithful subjects and servants

have the greatest share. What is here said of Mar is not with a

view of its being made public, there being no occasion for that,

since, many years ago, he put himself under such engagements that he

could not serve me in a public manner, neither has he been publicly

employ’d by me.”

The charges made by Atterbury against Mar were, _1mo_, That about the

time he, the bishop, was sent prisoner to the Tower, Mar had written

him a letter which was the cause of his banishment. _2do_, That

he had betrayed the secrets of the Chevalier de St. George to the

British government, and had entered into a correspondence with them.

_3tio_, That he had advised the Chevalier to resign his right to the

crown for a pension; and lastly, that without consulting James, he

drew up and presented a memorial to the Duke of Orleans, containing

a plan, which, under the pretence of restoring him, would, if acted

upon, have rendered his restoration for ever impracticable.

To understand the nature of the last charge against Mar, that he

laid the scheme before the Regent of France with a design to ruin

James, Mar refers to the plan itself for his justification. The

expulsion of the Stuarts from the British throne had been always

looked upon by the French court as an event which, by dividing the

nation into rival factions, would enable France to humble and weaken

an ancient and formidable rival. To encourage the Jacobites and

Tories in their opposition to the new dynasty, and to embroil the

nation in a civil war, the French ministry repeatedly promised to

aid them in any attempts they might make to overturn the government;

but true to the line of policy they had laid down for themselves, of

allowing the opposing parties in the state to weaken each other’s

strength in their contest for ascendency, they sided with the weaker

party only to prolong the struggle, in the hope that, by thus keeping

alive the spirit of discontent, France might be enabled to extend her

power, and carry into effect her designs of conquest.

[Illustration: JOHN ERSKINE, EARL OF MARR.]

To remove the objections which such a policy opposed to the

restoration of James, Mar proposed that, upon such event taking

place, Scotland and Ireland should be restored to their ancient state

of independence, and protected in their trade, and thereby enabled,

as they would be inclined, to support “the king in such a manner as

he’d be under no necessity of entering into measures contrary to

his inclinations to gratify the caprices, and allay the factions of

his English subjects.”[773] He also proposed that a certain number

of French forces should remain in Britain after James was restored,

till he had modelled and established the government on this footing,

and that 5,000 Scots and as many Irish troops should be lent to the

French king, to be kept by him in pay for a certain number of years.

Mar was fully aware that such a scheme would be highly unpopular in

England, on which account he says, that although he had long ago

formed it, he took no steps therein during the life of Cardinal

Dubois, whom he knew to be particularly attached to the existing

government of Britain; but that obstacle being removed, he laid it

before the regent of France, who, he says, he had reason to believe,

received it with approbation, as he sealed it up, and addressed it

to the Duke of Bourbon, and recommended it to his care. To excuse

himself for laying the scheme before the Duke of Orleans without the

Chevalier’s knowledge, he states that he did so to prevent James, in

case of the scheme being discovered, being blamed by those who, for

particular reasons, would be displeased at it; but that immediately

after the delivery he acquainted James thereof, and sent him a copy

of it, and at the same time represented to him the absolute necessity

of keeping it secret. Notwithstanding this injunction, Colonel Hay

sent a copy of it to the Bishop of Rochester, and Mar attributes the

bad feeling which Atterbury afterwards displayed towards him, to the

proposal he made for restoring Scotland to her independence.

The memorial was presented by Mar to the Duke of Orleans in

September, 1723; but so little secrecy was observed, that, in the

month of January following, a statement appeared in the public

newspapers, that a certain peer, then in Paris, had laid a plan

before the regent for restoring the exiled family. Though the

British government must have been aware, or at all events must have

suspected, after such a notification, that Mar was the author of the

scheme, his pension was still continued, and they even favoured him

still more by allowing the family estate, which was exposed to sale,

to fall again into the hands of the family on favourable terms.

On reviewing the whole circumstances of Mar’s conduct, evolved by

Atterbury’s charges, it must be admitted that his justification is

far from being complete. From the position in which he placed himself

as a debtor of Stair, and a pensioner of the British government, he

could no longer be trusted with safety by his Jacobite colleagues,

and as he had come under an obligation, as a condition of his

pension, not to act in behalf of the Stuarts, he was bound in honour

to have abstained from all farther interference in their affairs;

but for reasons only known to himself, he continued to act as if no

alteration of his relations with the exiled family had taken place

since he was first intrusted by them. Selfish in his disposition, and

regardless whether the Chevalier de St. George, or the Elector of

Hanover wore the crown, provided his ambition was gratified, it is

probable, that, without harbouring any intention to betray, he wished

to preserve an appearance of promoting the interests of the Stuarts,

in order that the compact which he had entered into with the British

government, might, in the event of a restoration of that family, form

no bar to his advancement under a new order of things; but whatever

were his views or motives, his design, if he entertained any such as

has been supposed, was frustrated by his disgrace in 1725.

The breach with Mar was looked upon by some of the Jacobites as a

rash act on the part of the Chevalier, and they considered that he

had been sacrificed to gratify Colonel Hay, between whom and Mar an

irreconcilable difference had for some time existed. This opinion had

a pernicious influence upon the councils of the Chevalier, and to the

rupture with Mar may be attributed the _denouement_ of an unhappy

difference between James and his consort, which, for a time, fixed

the attention of all the European courts.

In the year 1720 the Chevalier de St. George had espoused the

Princess Clementina, granddaughter of John Sobieski, king of Poland,

who had born him two sons, viz. Charles Edward, celebrated for his

exploits in 1745, and Henry Benedict, afterwards known as Cardinal

York.[774] Prince Charles was placed under the tuition of one Mrs.

Sheldon, who, it is said, obtained a complete ascendency over the

Princess Clementina. As alleged by the partisans of Colonel Hay, she

was entirely devoted to Mar, and served him as a spy in the family.

To counteract the rising influence of Hay, she is represented to

have incited the princess against him to such a degree, as to render

the whole household a scene of constant disturbance. But whatever

may have been the conduct of Mrs. Sheldon, there is good reason for

believing that the cause of irritation proceeded entirely from the

behaviour of Hay and his lady, who appear not to have treated the

princess with the respect due to her rank, and who, from the sway

they appear to have had over the mind of her husband, indulged in

liberties which did not become them.

To relieve herself from the indignities which she alleged she

suffered, the princess resolved to retire into a convent, of which

resolution the Chevalier first received notice from a confidante

of the princess, who also informed him that nothing but the

dismissal of Colonel Hay from his service would induce her to alter

her resolution. The princess afterwards personally notified her

determination to her husband, who remonstrated with her upon the

impropriety of a step which would prejudice them in the eyes of their

friends, and make their enemies triumph; but she remained inflexible.

Finding the Chevalier fully determined to retain Colonel Hay in his

service, the princess made preparations for carrying her resolution

into effect; and, accordingly, on the morning of Thursday, the 15th

of November, 1725, under the pretence of taking an airing in her

carriage, she drove off to the convent of St. Cecilia, at Rome, into

which she retired, without taking any notice of a long letter, by way

of remonstrance, which her husband had written her on the 11th.[775]

The Chevalier was anxious that his friends should form a favourable

opinion of the course he had adopted in resisting the demand of

his wife; and, accordingly, on the morning after her departure,

he assembled all his household, and explained to them fully the

different steps he had taken to prevent the extraordinary proceeding

of the princess. He also entered into a justification of his own

conduct, and concluded by assuring them that it should be his

principal care to educate his two sons in such a manner as might

contribute one day to the happiness of the people he expected to

govern. With the same view, he immediately despatched copies of

the memoir, and of the two letters he had written to the princess,

to Mr. Lockhart, to be shown to his friends in Scotland; but as

the memoir and letters had been made public, copies of them were

publicly hawked through the streets of London and Edinburgh, with a

scurrilous introduction, several weeks before Mr. Lockhart received

his communication. This was done apparently with the approbation of

the government, as the magistrates of Edinburgh compelled the porters

of the city to cry the papers through the streets.[776] At first,

the Jacobites imagined that these documents were forgeries got up

by the government, to make the Jacobite cause contemptible in the

eyes of the people; but they were soon undeceived, and great was

their consternation when they found that the papers in question were

genuine.

The court of Rome seemed to approve of the Chevalier’s conduct in

refusing to remove Hay; but when it was understood that the removal

of Murray, the young princes’ governor, was considered by their

mother even of more importance than the dismissal of Hay, the pope

sent a message to James, intimating that if Murray were removed

and Mrs. Sheldon restored to favour, a reconciliation might be

effected with the princess,--that, however, he would not insist on

Mrs. Sheldon being taken back, but that he could not approve of

nor consent to Murray being about the prince. The Chevalier did

not relish such interference, and returned for answer, that he had

no occasion for the pope’s advice, and that he did not consider

his consent necessary in an affair which related to the private

concerns of his family. As James was the pensioner of his holiness,

the answer may be considered rather uncourteous, but the Chevalier

looked upon such meddling as an insult which his dignity could not

brook. The pope, however, renewed his application to bring about

a reconciliation, and with such earnestness, that James became so

uneasy as to express a wish to retire from his dominions.[777] By

the efforts, however, it is believed, of the princess’s friends,

aided by the repeated remonstrances of a respectable portion of

the Jacobites, the Chevalier at length reluctantly dismissed Hay

from his service. According to Mr. Lockhart, Hay and his wife had

obtained such a complete ascendency over the Chevalier, that they

had the direction of all matters, whether public or domestic, and

taking advantage of the confidence which he reposed in them, they

instilled into his mind unfavourable impressions of his best

friends. By insinuating that the princess, and every person that did

not truckle to them, were factious, and that their complaints against

the colonel and his lady proceeded from a feeling of disrespect to

himself, his temper became by degrees soured towards his wife. To

escape from the insolence of these favourites, the princess, as has

been seen, embraced, for a time, a conventual life; and while some

of the Chevalier’s adherents, who had lost their estates in his

service, left his court in disgust, others were ordered away. It was

currently reported at the time that Mrs. Hay was the king’s mistress,

and that jealousy on the part of the Princess Clementina was the

cause of the rupture; the princess herself in her letters distinctly

speaks of Mrs. Hay as “the king’s mistress,” although persons who had

ample opportunities of observation could observe no impropriety. The

pertinacity with which James clung to his unworthy favourites tended

greatly to injure his affairs.[778]

The death of George I., which took place on Sunday, the 11th June,

1727, while on his journey to Hanover, raised anew the hopes of the

Chevalier. He was at Bologna when this intelligence reached him,

and so anxious was he to be nearer England to watch the progress

of events, and to be ready to avail himself of the services of his

friends in Britain to effect his restoration, that he left Bologna

privately for Lorraine, the day after the news was brought him,

although the princess, who had just left the convent, by the advice

of her friends, was at the time on her way from Rome to Bologna

to join him. The journey of the princess being publicly known,

the Chevalier availed himself of the circumstance to conceal his

real design, by giving out that he had left Bologna to meet her.

On arriving at Nancy, the Chevalier despatched couriers to Vienna,

Madrid, and Paris, announcing the object of his journey, and at

the same time sent a messenger with a letter to Mr. Lockhart, who,

in consequence of a warrant being issued by the British government

for his apprehension, had a few months before taken refuge on the

continent, and was then residing at Liege. Although he expected no

assistance from any foreign power, still, he says, “the present

conjuncture appears so favourable in all its circumstances that had

I only consulted my own inclinations, I should certainly out of hand

have crossed the seas, and seen at any rate what I could do for my

own and my subjects’ delivery; but as on this occasion I act for

them as well as myself, and cannot hope without their concurrence to

succeed in what I may undertake in our mutual behalf, I find myself

under the necessity of making no further steps without their advice.

“’Tis true the disadvantages I lie under are great and many; I have

but a small stock of money, scarce sufficient to transport what

few arms I have and what officers I may get to follow me on this

occasion. I’m sensible that it is next to impossible that a concert

should be established amongst my friends at home, such as would be

sufficient for a rising in arms in my favour before my arrival,

and by what is said before, the little hopes of foreign assistance

will be sufficiently seen; but with all this, many arguments may be

brought to authorise an undertaking which at first sight might appear

rash.... All put together it must be concluded that if the present

conjuncture is slip’d, it cannot be expected that we ever can have

so favorable a one for acting by ourselves, and that we run the

risk of allowing the general affairs of Europe to be less favorable

to us than they are at present; so that whatever is not absolutely

desperate ought certainly to be undertaken, and the sooner the better.

“I desire therefore you may think seriously on this matter, and

let me have your opinion as soon as possible, and if my going into

England be not adviseable, whether my going to the Highlands of

Scotland might not be found proper.” To this letter is appended the

following postscript in James’s own handwriting. “The contents of

this will show you the confidence I have in you, and I expect you

will let me know by the bearer, (Allan Cameron,) your advice and

opinion, particularly on this important occasion.”[779]

From Cameron Mr. Lockhart was surprised to learn that the Chevalier,

notwithstanding his certainty that he could look for no foreign

aid, and that his friends, both in Scotland and England, had made no

preparations to receive him, was not only inclined, but seemed even

resolved, to repair to the Highlands of Scotland, and there raise the

standard of insurrection, and that Colonel Hay, whom he had so lately

discarded, was one of his counsellors on the occasion. As Cameron,

who had visited the Highlands some time before, and was well aware

of the almost insuperable difficulties which opposed themselves to

the contemplated step, seemed to approve of the Chevalier’s design,

Mr. Lockhart expressed his wonder that one who knew the state of the

Highlands so well, and the determination generally of the Highlanders

not to take the field again till they saw England actually engaged,

could advise his master to risk his person, and expose the country

and his friends to certain destruction. He observed, that there were

indeed some persons who would venture their all in any attempt headed

by the Chevalier in person, but as matters then stood, the number of

such persons would be few, and that the great majority of those that

might be expected to join him would consist of idle persons, actuated

solely by the hopes of plunder, who would abandon him eventually to

the mercy of the government troops that would be poured into the

Highlands, and that, under the pretence of punishing the few who

had taken up arms, they would ravage the country and cut off the

inhabitants, for doing which the government only wanted such a handle.

In accordance with these sentiments, Mr. Lockhart represented in his

answer to the Chevalier’s letter, that the design he contemplated

was one of the greatest importance, and though it was very proper

for him to put himself in a condition to avail himself of any

favourable circumstances that might occur, yet that appearances did

not warrant such expectations,--that the people of England seemed to

have forgot all the grievances under which they had laboured during

the late reign, in hope of a better order of things, and that until

they found themselves disappointed, he could expect nothing from

them,--that with regard to such of the people of Scotland as were

favourably disposed, they could not possibly do any thing without

being previously provided with many material things they stood in

need of, and that before these could be supplied, many difficulties

had to be surmounted and much time would be lost, during which

preparations would be made on all hands to crush them,--that although

it would be of advantage to strike a blow before the government had

time to strengthen itself at home and abroad, yet the attempt was not

advisable without necessary precautions and provisions to insure its

success, as without these such an attempt would be desperate, and

might ruin the cause for ever,--that no man living would be happier

than he (Mr. Lockhart) to see the dawning of a fair day, but when

every point of the compass was black and cloudy, he could not but

dread very bad weather, and such as could give no encouragement to a

traveller to proceed on his voyage, and might prove the utter ruin

of himself and attendants.[780] This judicious advice was not thrown

away upon the Chevalier, who at once laid aside his design of going

to Scotland, and retired to Avignon, where he proposed to reside

under the protection of the pope; but his stay at Avignon was short,

being obliged to leave that place in consequence, it is believed, of

the representations of the French government to the court of Rome. He

returned to Italy.

FOOTNOTES:

[745] _Annals of the 2d year of George I._, p. 248.

[746] _State Trials_, vol. xv.

[747] “It is painful to see on the lists, the many Highland names

followed with the word ‘labourer,’ indicating that they belonged to

the humblest class. Too implicit obedience had been the weakness,

instead of rebellion being the crime, of these men; and in many

instances they had been forced into the service for which they were

punished, as absolutely as the French conscript or the British

pressed seaman.”--Burton’s _Scotland_ (1689-1747), vol. ii. p. 211.

[748] Mem. de Berwick, tome ii.

[749] Mr. Stanhope to Mr. Doddington, March 13th, 1716.

[750] _Lockhart Papers_, vol. ii. p. 7.

[751] Lockhart, vol. ii. p. 19.

[752] See for the information in these paragraphs the appendices to

Jamieson’s edition of Burt’s _Letters_.

[753] Burt’s _Letters_, vol. ii. pp. 277, 278.

[754] Lovat himself commanded one of these companies, and appears to

have felt pretty sore at the loss of it.

[755] Burt’s _Letters_, vol. ii. pp. 273, 274.

[756] Idem, pp. 278, 279.

[757] “The companies were six in number: three distinguished by the

name of large companies, consisted of 100 men each; and three smaller

companies, of 70 men each. The former were commanded by captains, and

the latter by captain-lieutenants, each commanding officer being, as

the name implies, independent of the others. To each company, great

and small, was attached the same number of subalterns, viz. two

lieutenants and one ensign.”

[758] Burt’s _Letters_, vol. ii. pp. 303-314.

[759] _Scotland_ (1689-1747), vol. ii. p. 247.

[760] Among Wade’s correspondents were Robert Stewart of Appin,

Alexander Macdonald of Glencoe, Grant, Laird of Glenmorison, the

Laird of Mackinnon, Robert Campbell, _alias_ Macgregor (the notorious

Rob Roy), Lord Ogilvy. “No doubt,” writes Lockhart to the Pretender,

“the government will be at pains to magnify and spread abroad their

success in disarming the Highlanders, but depend on’t, it’s all a

jest; for few or no swords or pistols are or will be surrendered, and

only such of their fire-arms as are of no value.”--Lockhart _Papers_,

vol. ii. p. 195.

[761] Letter xxvi., p. 191, vol. ii.

[762] Letter xvi.

[763] Burton (1689-1747), vol. ii. p. 256.

[764] _Letters_, vol. ii. p. 220.

[765] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 29.

[766] Robert Walpole to his brother Horace, May 1722. Coxe.

[767] Abstract of a letter from one of the Highland chiefs at Paris

to Mr. John Macleod, advocate, dated the end of June, 1725. Lockhart

_Papers_, vol. ii. pp. 192-3.

[768] Dated 23d June, 1725. Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 169.

[769] Letter from Mr. Lockhart to the Chevalier, 25th July, 1725.

Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 186.

[770] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 218.

[771] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 177-206.

[772] Letter to Mr. Lockhart, 31st August, 1724. Lockhart _Papers_,

vol. ii. p. 131.

[773] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 183.

[774] The Prince was born on 31st December 1720,--the Cardinal on 6th

March, 1725.

[775] This letter, and a previous one, dated 9th November, are

published among the Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 246.

[776] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. pp. 242-261, 360.

[777] Letters from the Chevalier to Mr. Lockhart, 3d Dec. 1725, and

19th Jan. 1726, vol. ii. pp. 253-256.

[778] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 339.

[779] Idem, p. 356.

[780] Lockhart _Papers_, vol. ii. p. 360.