though prorogued, they fat ftill in form, as if they had 1705-6. been a house, but they did not venture on paffing any vote. So factious were they, and fo implicitly led by those, who had got an ascendent over them, that, though they had formerly fubmitted the matters in debate to the queen, yet now, when the declared her pleasure, they could not acquiefce in it.

1705.6.

Account. of the

THE

H ISTORY

O F

ENGLAN D.

BOOK XXIX. CHA P. III.

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Account of the treaty of union between England and Scotland.Proceedings of the commiffioners.-Articles of the union.— Campaign in Flanders.-Battle of Ramillies --Confequences of it-Affairs of Spain and Portugal. —of Italy-Siege and battle of Turin. Project of a defcent in France. Account of the marquis Guifcard.-Affairs of Poland.-Propofals for a peace-they are refused. The French_apply to the Pope. The duke of Marlborough returns to England; his titles and honours fettled on his eldest daughter, with Woodstock manor, and a 5000l. penfion.-Affairs of Scotland. A frong party there against the union: Addresses and tumults against it.-Death of the earl of Stair.—Manner of electing the 16 peers.-The parliament of Scotland is adjourned.

A

N affair of the utmoft confequence was now in agi tation. The uniting of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland was ever thought of fuch inportance to the wealth, ftrength, and tranquillity of the treaty of land of Great-Britain, that feveral attempts were made Union be- towards it, both before and after the union of the two tween crowns, in the perfon of king James I. of England, and VI. and Scot- of Scotland; of which attempts it will not be improper to give here a fummary view.

England

land.

Loyer.

King Henry VIII. to bring the government of the island under one monarch, offered his daughter Mary to king James V. of Scotland; and, to prevent all difficulties, that might happen about the fucceffion after his death, he propold to make king James duke of York, and lord lieute

nant

nant or deputy-governor of England, immediately upon 1755the marriage. The king of Scotland was inclinable enough to fall in with that advantageous propofal; but the French court and the popifh clergy, who equally dreaded the effects of fuch a conjunétion, found means to prevent it. This engaged the Scots nation, againft their will, in a war against England, and occafioned the defeat at Solan Mofle; which brought their king to his grave, upon an apprehenfion, that his nobility had confpired against him.

King Edward VI. purfuing his father's defign of an amicable union of the two kingdoms, propofed a match betwixt himfelf and queen Mary of Scotland; which had been agreed on in the Scots parliament in king Henry VIII's time; but the French and popish faction broke that agreement, and brought upon the Scots another war with England, which ended in their defeat at the battle of Pinky, near Muffelburg. Notwithstanding this great victory, by which the English became poffeffed of moft of the fouth of Scotland, yet king Edward and his council were fo far from defigning a conqueft of Scotland, or the overthrowing of the conftitution of that kingdom, that his uncle, the duke of Somerfet, protector of the kingdom of England, published a declaration to invite the Scots to amity and equality: "We overcome in war (faid that declaration) and offer

peace: We win holds, and offer no conqueft: We get "in your land, and offer England. What can be more "offered than intercourfe of merchandizes, and interchange "of marriages; the abolifhing of all fuch our laws, as pro"hibit the fame, or might be an impediment to the mu"tual amity? We have offered not only to leave the au

66

thority, name, title, right, or challenge of conqueror; "but to receive that, which is the flame of men overcome; "to leave the name of the nation, and the glory of our

victory, and to take the indifferent old name of Britons; "becaufe nothing fhould be left on our part to be offered; "nothing on your part unrefufed, whereby ye might be " inexcutable. What face has this of Conqueft? We seek "not to difinherit your queen, but to make her heirs in"heritors alfo of England. We feck not to take from you "your laws nor cuftoms; but we feek to redrefs your op"preffion." This was a very generous propofal from a conqueror; but the popifh French faction till made it ineffectual, and brought Scotland under a yoke of French tyranny; which fo much incenfed the Scots, that, when they fet about the reformation, they deftroyed the hierarchy from the

P3

1705-6. the very foundations, and reduced the ecclefiaftics (who had then one third of the kingdom in their poffeffion) to their ancient dependence upon the ftate, as to their maintenance and benefices.

King James I. foon after his acceffion to the English throne, in March 1604, moved the parliament of England for an union betwixt the two kingdoms; "That, as they "were made one in the head, fo among themselves they "might be infeparably conjoined, and all memory of by"paft divifions extinguifhed." The motion feemed at first to be generally well-relifhed by both nations, whose refpective parliaments appointed their commiffioners; the English forty-four in number, and the Scots thirty. They met accordingly at Westminster, and agreed upon fome articles about repealing all hoftile laws made either in England againft Scotland, or in Scotland againft England; and the mutual communication of trade and commerce; referving the king's prerogative in the preferment of men to offices and honours in either kingdom. The king recommended the profecution of that bulinefs to the parliament of England; but, of all the articles agreed upon by the commiffioners, only that was enacted, which concerned the abolishing of hoftile laws. The king was extremely grieved at this; and conceiving, that the work would more eafily be effected, if begun in Scotland, called a parliament there, The eftates, at the king's defire, readily allowed all the articles concluded in the treaty, with a provifo, that the fame fhould, in like manner, be ratified in the parliament of England; otherwife, the conclufions not to have the force of a law. And it was alfo declared, "That, if the union fhould

happen to take effect, the kingdom, notwithstanding, fhould remain an abfolute and free monarchy, and the "fundamental laws receive no alteration." But the English puritans being elated with the hopes they had conceived from an union of the two nations, the church-party grew jealous of them, and, inveighing againft the Scots in parliament, convocation, and pulpits, defeated all endeavours to accomplish that union. They foon difcovered king James's foible; and, knowing his inclinations to increale his power, they found out other employment for him, which was to advance his prerogative in Scotland, to the fubverfion of the liberties of that kingdom both in church and ftate, and concurred with him as heartily in that, as they oppofed

him in the union.

In

In the reign of king Charles I. we do not find an union 1705-6. to have been once mentioned; for, the prejudices againft the puritans ftill increafing, and the church party growing powerful at court, by the promotion of bifhop Laud to the fee of Canterbury, an ill-timed and mistaken zeal for the church of England had so great an ascendent over that unhappy prince, as to engage him with more eagerness than his father to overturn the conftitution, and endeavour a conqueft of Scotland; which was one of the fatal caufes of all his misfortunes.

Soon after the beginning of the civil wars, there was a league or confederacy between the two kingdoms, which continued with various interruptions for fome years, till it was intirely broke in 1650; when, a war breaking out between the two nations, Scotland was reduced to the obedience of the prevailing power of the house of commons, who ftiled themselves the parliament of England. But, though Scotland was reduced, it was thought it could not be fo well fecured, as by an union. Accordingly, after the battle of Worcester, the parliament appointed eight commiffioners to go down to Scotland, and treat with the eftates of that kingdom of an union. Twenty of thirty-two fhires, and thirty-five of the then fifty-feven boroughs, agreed to the union; and in their aflembly at Edinburgh, about two months after, the reft likewife concurred. Pursuant to this agreement, a bill was prepared; but, before it could be finished, the long parliament was turned out of doors by Cromwell, which put a stop to the union. In April 1653, Cromwell took the government upon him; and, in December following, figned an inftrument, whereby, among other things, the counties, cities, and boroughs of England, Scotland, and Ireland, were brought under a new regulation, with respect to their reprefentatives in parliament. By this fcheme England was to have four hundred reprefentatives, Scotland thirty, and Ireland thirty. When England was rated at seventy thousand pounds per month, Scotland was to pay fix thoufand pounds, and Ireland nine thousand pounds, and the fhare each county and borough was to pay of these affeffments in 1656, was fettled. These affeffments were supposed to be about two fhillings in the pound, confequently they valued the rents of England at eight millions and four hundred thousand pounds, of Scotland at feven hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and of Ireland at one million and eighty thousand pounds; which valuations are faid to have been above two-thirds of the real extended