about their answer to the petitioners, and there began debate. The
most found the matter high treason; the divesting the King of his
authority; the breaking of the treaty approven by kirk and state;
the slandering highly of the judicatories; and engaging of private
men to change the government. The deepness of these crimes troubled
the judges; the respect the most of them had to the persons guilty,
moving them to go far lower than the writ’s deserving, and all of
them being resolved to make no more of it than was in the committee’s
power to pardon; they went therefore no higher in the censure than
you have in the sentence; from which yet near fifteen dissented for
one or other word, though all professed their disallowance of the
writ. This dissent was in the King’s presence. If he had been absent,
as some would have persuaded him, the dissenting might have been
greater; for Wariston was very long and passionate in his exhortation
to wave it simply, which had been very unhandsome, since the parties
peremptorily refused to take it up. At the sentence, the gentlemen
stormed, but the ministers much more. It came next to the commission
of the church. The states had given in their sense to them, and
required the kirk’s judgement. Here came the vehement opposition. The
remonstrants petitioned to have the present consideration thereof
laid aside, lest the parties should be discouraged to act against
the enemy. Mr Rutherford pressed this with much more passion than
reason, and Mr Guthrie also. Here it was where I spoke but so much
as declared my sense against the thing. Much dealing was still to
take it up. Mess. Cant, Blair, Rutherford, and Durham, were sent
to persuade them; but Mr Patrick was peremptory to shew their
willingness to quit their life rather than their testimony. So when
there was no remedy, at last, by Mr Douglas and Mr James Wood’s
industry most, it came to that mild sentence which you see here
subscribed. With it the parties were highly offended, and entered
their loud protestation. Mr Blair came in the hinder end. He and you,
by your letters, had signified your judgement much averse from the
remonstrance; which in a scolding way was cried out by Mr John Nevo
in Mr Blair’s face: to which he replied nothing. Mr David Bennet and
Mr Hugh Peebles expressed themselves bitterly, and were answered
accordingly by others. Our Provost, George, spoke in his protestation
of something like sealing the remonstrance with his blood. All of
them went out of town highly discontent; though as little occasion
was given them as possibly could be, either by church, or state,
or any person. I thought the separation exceeding unhappy, both
to our west country and to the whole kingdom, but remediless, God
giving over the chief misleaders, who had oppressed, to my grief,
many others, to follow their own sense in that which the rest of us
thought a high and dangerous sin.
Mr Patrick and Mr James Guthrie, where-ever they came, uttered their
passion. I heard one who had married Mr Patrick’s sister’s daughter,
report to Mr Douglas, that Mr Hugh Binning, with Mr Patrick, in
Kirkaldy, had spoke like a distracted man, saying to Mr Douglas’s own
wife, and the young man himself, and his mother-in-law, Mr Patrick’s
sister, “That the commission of the kirk would approve nothing that
was right; that a hypocrite ought not to reign over us; that we ought
to treat with Cromwell, and give him security not to trouble England
with a King; and whoever marred this treaty, the blood of the slain
in this quarrel should be on their heads!” Strange words, if true.
Always behold the fearful consequence of that pride of stomach. The
state sent Col. Robert Montgomery west, to join the best part of the
horse they had with the western forces, or any part of them that
would join with him. For this end, he spoke with the commissioners
of the west, at Stirling, who had been at Perth; but they shewed
great averseness at any such junction. He wrote also to Ker for this
effect, and marched towards Glasgow. On the Sunday at night he came
to Campsie; but on the Saturday, Ker, with all his forces, lying
at Carmunock, resolves to prevent Col. Robert’s approach, and by
themselves to make an infall on the English before day.
Our intelligence was, that the English at Hamilton were but 1200;
but Lambert lay there, with above 3000 of their best horse. They
called ours above 1,500; but some double the number: for of all their
forces, there was not above four or five of Strachan’s troops away.
Some speak of treachery; for Govan, for all his cashiering, was
re-admitted by Ker on fair promises. Strachan was not far off. It is
certain when, at four o’clock in the morning, December 1, our men
came to set on, the enemy were ready to receive them, having sounded
to horse half an hour before, as it were for a march to Glasgow. All
speak of a great rashness, as in an anger, or what else, to cast
away these forces. Lieut.-Col. Ralston, with a small party of horse,
entered Hamilton, and most gallantly carried all before him, killed
sundry; some spoke of hundreds, other are within scores; however,
he cleared the town of the enemy. Col. Ker, with fewer than 200,
seconded him well; but at the end of the town, where the body of the
English drew up again in the field at the back of a ditch, when Ker
saw it not easy to pass, he retired a little, which they behind took
for a flight, and all turned their backs; yea, the whole rest fled
apart; not one would stay. The English pursued as far as Paisley
and Kilmarnock that day; yet very few were killed. Some say, scarce
twenty; not above eighty prisoners, whereof Col. Ker made one; as
some say, deadly, as others, slightly wounded. Argyle said to me, he
might have escaped if he would. The next day, 200 or 300, who rallied
in Kyle, by Strachan’s persuasion disbanded; and himself, as fearing
to be taken by us, went in to Cromwell, with Swinton, whose first
work was, to agent the rendering the castle of Edinburgh, with their
dear comrade young Dundass, who most basely, and, as yet it is taken,
treacherously, gave over that most considerable strength of our
kingdom. But of this more certainly afterwards.
The miscarriage of affairs in the west by a few unhappy men, put
us all under the foot of the enemy. They presently ran over all
the country, without any stop, destroying cattle and corn, putting
Glasgow and all others under grievous contributions. This makes me
yet to stick at Perth, not daring to go where the enemy is master,
as now he is of all Scotland beyond Forth, [i. e. besouth Forth,] not
so much by his own virtue as our vices. The loss of the west, the
magazine of our best forces, put the state presently to new thoughts.
We had long many debates about employing malignants in our armies.
Some were of opinion that the acts of church and state were unjust,
and for particular ends, from the beginning. All agreed, that common
soldiers, after satisfaction to the church, might be taken in; but
as for officers, noblemen and gentlemen volunteers, that we were
not to take them in at all, at least not without an eminent degree
of evident repentance. The most thought they might be employed as
soldiers, on their admittance by the church to the sacrament and
covenant. As for places of counsell and trust, that this was to be
left to the state’s discretion. However, when the case was clearly
altered, and now there was no choice of men, the parliament wrote
to Mr Robert Douglas to call the commission extraordinary. A quorum
was got, most of these of Fife. The question was proponed, of the
lawfulness of employing such who before were excluded. The question
was alledged to be altered from that which Mr Gillespie writes of,
and that whereto Mr Guthrie had solemnly engaged, a defence of
our lives and country, in extreme necessity, against sectarians
and strangers, who had twice been victors. My heart was in great
perplexity for this question. I was much in prayer to God, and
in some action with men, for a concord in it. The parliament was
necessitated to employ more than before, or give over their defence.
Mr Samuel Rutherford and Mr James Guthrie wrote peremptory letters
to the old way, on all hazards. Mr Douglass and Mr D. Dick had of
a long time been in my sense, that in the war against invading
strangers, our former strictness had been unadvised and unjust. Mr
Blair and Mr Durham were a little ambiguous, which I much feared
should have divided the commission; and likely bad done so, if with
the loss of the west, the absence of all the brethren of the west had
not concurred. However, we carried unanimously at last the answer
herewith sent to you. My joy for this was soon tempered when I saw
the consequence, the lothing of sundry good people to see numbers
of grievous bloodshedders ready to come in, and so many malignant
noblemen as were not like to lay down arms till they were put into
some places of trust, and restored to their vote in parliament.
Against this necessity for our very being, and hope that the guides
of our state would, by their wisdom and virtue, and adherence of
the church and good men, get kept what they had of authority, the
Chancellor oft remembering us, that in this there was a great
alteration of the case, that the King being now in covenant, the
most whose malignancy stood in their following the King against the
covenant, were no more to be counted malignants, the fountain of that
evil being stopped in them, there was just ground why that blot and
name of distinction in that respect should be now abolished. Another
inconvenience was like to trouble us, a seed of Hyper-Brounism, which
had been secretly sown in the minds of sundry of the soldiers, that
it was unlawful to join in arms with such and such men, and so that
they were necessitated to make a civil separation from such, for
fear of sin, and cursing of their enterprises. The main fomenters
of these doubts seemed not at all to be led by conscience, but by
interest; for the officers of our standing army, since the defeat at
Dunbar, being sent to recruit the regiments in the northern shires,
little increased that number, but taking large money for men, and yet
exacted quarters for men which were not; this vexed the country, and
disappointed the service. The officers, by the new levies, thought
it easy to be recruited at their pleasure; but an act passing, that
the new levies should not recruit the old regiments, they stormed,
and gladly would have blasted the new way for their own ends. Under
these evils we wrestle as yet, but hope for a good end of these
divisions also. In the mean time Cromwell is daily expected to march
towards Stirling to mar the coronation, which, sore against my heart,
was delayed to the first of January, on pretence of keeping a fast
for the sins of the King’s family on Thursday next. We mourned on
Monday last for the contempt of the gospel, according to Mr Dickson’s
motion, branched out by Mr Wood. Also you see in the printed papers,
upon other particulars the commission at Stirling, which appointed
these fasts, could not agree. The remonstrants pressed to have sundry
sins acknowledged which others denied, and would not now permit them
to set down as they would what causes of fast they liked. Surely
we had never more need of mourning, be the causes, what God knows,
visible or invisible, confessed or denied, seen or unseen, by all but
the most guilty. It cannot be denied but our miseries and dangers of
ruin are greater than for many ages have been; a potent victorious
enemy master of our seas, and for some good time of the best part of
our land; our standing forces against this his imminent invasion,
few, weak, inconsiderable; our kirk, state, army, full of divisions
and jealousies; the body of our people besouth Forth spoiled, and
near starving; the be-north Forth extremely ill-used by a handful of
our own; many inclining to treat and agree with Cromwell, without
care either of King or covenant; none of our neighbours called upon
by us, or willing to give us any help, though called. What the
end of all shall be, the Lord knows. Many are ready to faint with
discouragement and despair; yet divers are waiting on the Lord,
expecting he will help us in our great extremity against our most
unjust oppressors.
* * * * *
This day we have done that what I earnestly desired, and long
expected, crowned our noble King with all the solemnities at Scone,
so peaceably and magnificently as if no enemy had been among us. This
is of God: for it was Cromwell’s purpose, which I thought easily he
might have performed, to have marred by arms that action, at least
the solemnity of it. The remonstrants, with all their power, would
have opposed it: others prolonged it so long as they were able.
Always, blessed be God, it is this day celebrated with great joy
and contentment to all honest-hearted men here. Mr Douglas, from 2
Kings, xi. Joash’s coronation, had a very pertinent, wise, and good
sermon. The King sware the covenant, the league and covenant, the
coronation-oath. When Argyle put on the crown, Mr Douglas prayed
well; when the Chancellor set him on the throne, he exhorted well;
when all were ended, he, with great earnestness pressed sincerity
and constancy in the covenant on the King, delating at length King
James’s breach of the covenant, pursued yet against the family, from
Neh. v. 13. God’s casting the King out of his lap, and the 34th of
Jeremiah, many plagues on him if he did not sincerely keep the oaths
now taken. He closed all with a prayer, and the 20th psalm.
Dundas and Major Abernethy have most basely delivered the castle
of Edinburgh to Cromwell. All the ministers saw the treachery, and
protested against it. Wariston, Sir John Cheesly, and the Provost
of Edinburgh, who put them in that trust, contrary to the minds of
others, have little credit by it.
Now the parliament having, by the needless length of some, sat so
long, ended their session on Monday after twelve at night. None of
the remonstrants are on the committee of estates. Wariston, with
great difficulty, was got on. All dilligence will now be used to
get up an army. The Lord be with us. Our greatest danger will be
from famine. Now get victuals to starving Ireland. It were an happy
benefit if your Hollanders would bring us in victual for money.
The Spaniard, nor any other, could never, by their persuasion nor
force, hinder them to trade where-ever they find gain. Is not this
a strange slavery now, our love to the English murderers, that they
for their pleasure should give over all trade with us their brethren
and well-deserving friends? Though we should never be able to revenge
their ingratitude, yet there is a God who will see to it. Our case
will be exceeding hard if, before the summer, your Zealanders, on
piety and pity, be not moved to bring us victuals for all the money
we have resting; though it may be the Lord may be pleased to open
some other door which yet is not visible to us.
_Perth, January 2, 1651._
P. S.—I think to-morrow we shall give order to excommunicate
Strachan, and relax Middleton the next sabbath. By the coming of
some, all engaging officers and noblemen were all purged out of
our army, but now I think all of them, without any considerable
exception, are received. On this necessary conclusion, some turbulent
men are like to be factious; but to-morrow a warning is to be put
out for their reclaiming if possible. By God’s blessing, our affairs
shortly may be in a better posture. Our great troublers, both in
church and state, have set themselves aside. If God give us over
to Cromwell, we expect little good from these men but a violent
executing of all in their remonstrance; but otherwise I think they
may be brought quickly to repent their needless quarrelling. However,
the Lord’s will be done, who has begun to comfort us with the
smallest appearance of better hopes.
* * * * *
_To Mr Calamy, Minister at London._
Glasgow, July 27, 1653.
At this time I have no more to add, but this one word, to let you
know, That on the 20th of July last, when our general assembly was
set in the ordinary time and place, Lieutenant-Colonel Cottrell beset
the church with some rattes of musqueteers and a troop of horse.
Himself (after our fast, wherein Mr Dickson and Mr Douglas had two
gracious sermons) entered the assembly house; and, immediately after
Mr Dickson the Moderator his prayer, required audience; wherein he
inquired, If we did sit there by the authority of the parliament of
the commonwealth of England? or of the commanders in chief of the
English forces? or of the English judges in Scotland? The Moderator
replied, That we were an ecclesiastick synod, an spiritual court
of Jesus Christ, which meddled not with any thing civil; that our
authority was from God, and established by the laws of the land yet
standing unrepealed; that by the Solemn League and Covenant, the most
of the English army stood obliged to defend our general assembly.
When some speeches of this kind had passed, the Lieutenant-Colonel
told us, his order was, to dissolve us. Whereupon he commanded all of
us to follow him; else he would drag us out of the room. When we had
entered a protestation of this unheard-of and unexampled violence,
we did rise, and follow him. He led us all through the whole streets
a mile out of the town, encompassing us with foot-companies of
musqueteers, and horsemen without; all the people gazing and mourning
as at the saddest spectacle they had ever seen. When he had led us
a mile without the town, he then declared what farther he had in
commission, That we should not dare to meet any more above three in
number; and that against eight o’clock to morrow, we should depart
the town, under pain of being guilty of breaking the public peace:
And the day following, by sound of trumpet, we were commanded off
the town, under the pain of present imprisonment. Thus our general
assembly, the glory and strength of our church upon earth, is by your
soldiery crushed and trod under foot, without the least provocation
from us, at this time, either in word or deed. For this our hearts
are sad, our eyes run down with water, we sigh to God against whom
we have sinned, and wait for the help of his hand; but from those
who oppressed us we deserved no evil. We hear a noise of further
orders, to discharge all our synods and presbyteries, and all prayer
for our King. Many the most moderate reckon such orders will make
havock of our church, and raise against many the best men we have, a
sore persecution; which, God willing, we purpose to endure with all
patience and faith, giving just offence to none.
I detain you no more. The Lord mind his Zion in these lands, and
bless you, who for the time stand in the most eminent pinnacle
thereof. Thus rests, your Brother to serve you,
ROBERT BAILLIE.
* * * * *
_To Mr William Spang._ July 19, 1654.
As for our church affairs, thus they stand. The parliament of
England had given to the English judges and sequestrators a very
ample commission to put out and in ministers as they saw cause, to
plant and displant our universities. According to this power, they
put Mr John Row in Aberdeen, Mr Robert Leighton in Edinburgh, Mr
Patrick Gillespie in Glasgow, and Mr Samuel Colvill they offered to
the Old College of St Andrew’s. This last is yet held off; but the
other three act as Principals. All our colleges are quickly like to
be undone. Our churches are in great confusion. No intrant gets any
stipend till he have petitioned and subscribed some acknowledgement
to the English. When a very few of the remonstrants and Independent
party will call a man, he gets the kirk and the stipend; but whom the
presbytery, and well near the whole congregation, calls and admits,
he must preach in the fields, or in a barn, without stipend. So a
sectary is planted in Kilbride, another in Lenzie, [or Kirkintilloch,]
and this guyse will grow rife, to the wrack of many a soul.
We thought at the general assembly to have got some course for this;
but Colonel Lilburn, the commander in chief, gave orders to soldiers
to break our assembly before it was constituted, to the exceeding
great grief of all, except the remonstrants, who insulted upon it;
the English violence having trysted with their protestation against
it. Since that time we have had no meeting for the whole church,
not so much as for counsel, though the remonstrants have met oft,
and are like to set up a commission and assembly of their own for
very ill purposes. They are most bitter against those who adhere
to their covenant in the matter of the King and assembly. They are
as bent as ever to purge the church. To punish men truly deserving
censure, we are as willing as they; but their purging is, for common,
a very injurious oppression. Sundry of them fall openly to the
English errors, both of church and state, and many more are near to
that evil; yet Lord Wariston, Mr James Guthrie, and others, still
profess their great aversion to the English way: however, their great
aversion of the King, and of the late assemblies, and their zeal to
make up the church and army, and places of trust, only of the godly
party, (that is, their own confidents,) make them dear and precious
men to the English, do or say what they will, and their opposites but
rascally malignants. This makes them exceeding bold, knowing of their
back; and were it not for a few more moderate men among them, they,
before this, would have played strange pranks. However, they are
going on pretty fast. Their wracking of the congregation of Lenzie,
and dividing of the presbytery of Glasgow, their doing the like in
the congregation and presbytery of Linlithgow, you heard long ago;
also what they have done in Bathgate, and sundry parts of the south.
I will only give some account of their last dealings.
From their meeting in Edinburgh they were instructed to have monthly
fasts and communions. They excluded more than the half of these who
were ordinarily admitted. Six or seven ministers, leaving their own
congregations desolate, were about the action. Numbers of strangers
flocked to these meetings. At their fasts, four or five ministers
of their best preachers in the bounds exercised from morning to
even. The great design of this was evidently but to increase their
party; whereof yet in most places they missed. Always the word
went, that they purposed to put up committees, for purging and
planting everywhere as they thought fit. I was so charitable as
not to suspect them of any such purpose, when the land was full of
confusion and danger; yet I found myself disappointed; for at our
synod, the moderator’s sermon ran on the necessity of taking up the
too-long neglected work of purging. The man’s vehemency in this, and
in his prayer, a strange kind of sighing, the like whereof I had
never heard, as a pythonising out of the belly of a second person,
made me amazed. To prevent this foolish and cruel enterprise, we
pressed, in the entry of the synod, that in these times of confusion
we might be assured of peace till the next synod, as we had been in
the three former synods. We intimated our great willingness to cast
out of the ministry all whom we conceived either unfit for weakness,
or scandalous: but a synod so divided in judgment as we were, we
conceived very unfit for any such work. When we found our desire
flatly refused, and perceived a clear design to set up presently
their tyrannous committees, we, as we had resolved beforehand, and
were advised by the ministry of Edinburgh, and others of our mind,
required them, that our synod might be rightly constitute; that
ministers censured by the general assembly, and elders notoriously
opposite to the last three general assemblies, might have no voice.
When this was flatly refused, we shewed we were necessitated to sit
by ourselves, and leave them in their separation from the general
assembly and church of Scotland. When, by all we could say, nothing
could be obtained, all of us who adhered to the general assembly
went to the Blackfriars, and there kept the synod, leaving our
protestation with them. Some brethren travelled all the next day
for an union. We offered it gladly, on condition that they would be
content for this time of the land’s trouble and danger, to leave all
meddling with things controverted, or else to constitute according to
the act of the general assembly. When neither could be obtained, (as
you may see in the paper of mediation,) we constituted ourselves in a
synod by an act; and when we had appointed a fast, we closed, to meet
at Irvine the next diet. To our absent brethren we sent a letter,
and an information of our proceedings to the neighbouring synods of
Lothian, Galloway, Argyle; also Fife, Perth, and the Merse.