+Source.+--_Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1691-92_:
[Pp. 101, 102.]
_Jan. 16, 1692._--Instructions, signed by the King, for Sir Thomas
Levingston:--
We allow you to receive the submissions of Glengarry, or those with him,
upon their taking the oath of allegiance and delivering up the house of
Invergarry; to be safe, as to their lives, but as to their estates they
must depend upon our mercy.
In case you find the house of Invergarry cannot probably be taken in
this season of the year, with the artillery and other provisions that
you can bring there, we leave it to your discretion to give Glengarry
the assurance of an entire indemnity for life and fortune, upon the
delivery of his house and arms, and taking the oath of allegiance. In
this you are allowed to act as you find the circumstances of the affair
requires. But it were much better that these who have not taken the
benefit of our indemnity, in the terms and with the "dyet" prefixed by
our proclamation, should be obliged to "render" upon mercy; and the
taking of the oath of allegiance is indispensable, others having already
taken it. "If McKean of Glencoe and that tribe can be well separated
from the rest, it will be a proper vindication of the public justice to
extirpate that set of thieves." The "double of these instructions are
only communicated to Col. Hill."
[Pp. 153, 154.]
_Feb. 28, 1692. Colonel Hill to the Earl of Portland._
My last gave you an account of the houses of Invergarry and Island Donan
being in my possession for the King, and of the ruin of Glencoe, the
latter named of which houses, I presume, were better destroyed than
kept, for it is situated in such a place that it is hard to relieve it
in winter, or at any time well, but by sea; it cannot contain a force to
awe those countries in case they should again prove rebellious, and
whilst my Lord Seaforth is come in, there is no doubt but his people may
be kept quiet, and young Sir Donald McDonald is "a peaceable inclined
man," and his relations in Skye mostly protestants, so there is no fear
from thence, and that house will be but a charge to little other
purpose, as is fit to be blown up.
Those men of Glencoe that (by help of the storm) escaped, would submit
to mercy if their lives may be granted them, upon giving security to
live peaceably under the government, and not to rob, steal, or receive
stolen goods hereafter, and I humbly conceive (since there are enough
killed for an example and to vindicate public justice) it were advisable
so to receive them, since it will be troublesome to take them, the
Highlanders being generally allied one to another, and they may join
with other broken men, and be hurtful to the country. Nevertheless, in
the meantime, it were necessary that the proclamation against them ...
were issued out. At the present they (the men of Glencoe) lie dormant in
caves and remote places.
The people now all seem resolved on settlement, and cry out for a
jurisdiction among them (and the country will never be right till it be
so) they flock in daily to submit to the King's mercy. Appin is a much
changed man for the better, professes to everyone he meets his sincerity
in keeping the oath of allegiance, and all those people of Appin have
good inclinations to quiet, being many of them intelligent men, of whom
I doubt not to make very good subjects. The Laird is a "pretty young
man" of about 21 years, and had taken the oath before the day, but that
he was tied to his bed by sickness at that time, and was carried in a
boat to me, to do it, sooner than he was well able.
It were meet that some things were left to the discretion of whoever
commands in so remote a place as this, otherwise sometimes advantages
are lost before orders can be obtained, and then (for want of true
intelligence of matters) the orders may happen to be wrongly conceived,
and when I was here before, the whole was left to me, and it succeeded
well. The more authority any(one) has here, the more the people observe
to obey.
* * * * *
The captain of Clanronald, "who is one of the prettiest handsome youths
I have seen," came in and brought all the chief of his friends, and made
his submission and took the oath with the greatest frankness imaginable,
as did also all his friends; he has gone to his uncle, the Laird of
McLeod, to settle his affairs and to get up some money; he then resolves
to wait on the King and Queen, and if he overtake the King at London, he
will beg his favour that he may attend him into Flanders. If the King be
gone, ere he reach London, he resolves to follow him, and to be wholly
governed by the King's pleasure; only he prays he may be so disposed of
as to better his education. It will be an act of great charity to
"breed" him. I have sent to McNeil of Bara (a remote island) who I doubt
not will come in as the rest; so all the work is now done but the
settlement of a civil jurisdiction.