1706. in our present Circumftances, when our All is at Stake? Anno 5 Annæ, Hannibal, my Lord, is at our Gates, Hannibal is come within our Gates, Hannibal is come the length of this Table, he is at the Foot of this Throne, he will demolish this Throne; if we take not notice, he'll feize upon these Regalia, he'll take them as our fpolia opima, and whip us out of this House, never to return again. 6 For the Love of God then, my Lord, for the Safety and Welfare of our ancient Kingdom, whofe fad Circumftances, I hope, we fhall yet convert into Profperity and Happiness! We want no Means, if we unite; God bleffed the Peace-makers; we want neither Men, nor fufficiency of all manner of things neceffary, to make a Nation happy; all depends upon Management, Concordia res parvæ crefcunt. I fear not thefe Articles, tho' they were ten times worse than they are, if we once cordially forgive one another, and that, according to our Proverb, Bygones be Bygones, and Fair. play for Time to come. For my Part, in the Sight of God, and in the Prefence of this honourable House, I heartily forgive every Man, and beg, that they may do the fame to me; and I do most humbly propofe, that his Grace my Lord Commiffioner may appoint an Agape, may order a Love-feast for this honourable Houfe, that we may lay afide all Self-defigns, and, after our Fafts and Humiliations, may have a Day of Rejoicing and Thankfulness, may eat our Meat with Gladness, and our Bread with a merry Heart; then shall we fit each Man under his own Fig-tree, and the Voice of the Turtle fhall be heard in our Land, a Bird famous for Conftancy and Fidelity. My Lord, I fhall make a Paufe here, and ftop going on farther in my Difcourfe, till I fee further, if his Grace, my Lord Commiffioner, receive any humble Propofals for removing Misunderstandings among us, and putting an end to our fatal Divifions: upon Honour, I have no other Defign, and I am content to beg the Favour upon my bended Knees. No Answer. 'My Lord Chancellor, I am forry that I muft pursue the Thread of my fad and melancholy Story: What remains, I am afraid may prove as afflicting as what I have faid; I fhall therefore confider the Motives which have engaged the two Nations to enter upon a Treaty of Union at this Time. In general, my Lord, I think both of them had in their View to better themselves by the Treaty ; but, before I enter upon the particular Motives of each Nation, I must inform this honourable Houfe, that, fince I can reTOME IV. member, B Aano 5 Annæ, member, the two Nations have altered their fentiments up1706. on that Affair, even almoft to down-right Contradiction, they have changed Head-bands, as we fay; for England, till of late, never thought it worth their Pains of treating with us; the good Bargain they made at the Beginning they refolve to keep, and that which we call an incorporating Union, was not fo much as in their Thoughts. The first Notice they seemed to take of us, was in our Affair of Caledonia, when they had most effectually broke off that Defign, in a Manner very well known to the World, and unneceffary to be repeated here; they kept themselves quiet during the Time of our Complaints upon that head. In which Time our Sovereign, to fatisfy the Nation, and allay their Heats, did condefcend to give us fome good Laws, and amongst others that of perfonal Liberties; but England having declared their Succeffion, and extended their Entail, without ever taking Notice of us, our gracious Sovereign Queen ANN, was graciously pleased to give the Royal Affent to our Act of Security, to that of Peace and War after the Decease of her Majefty, and the Heirs of her Body, and to give us a Hedge to all our facred and civil Interefts, by declaring it High Treason to endeavour the Alteration of them, as they were then established. Thereupon did follow the threatning and minatory Laws against us by the Parliament of England, and the unjust and unequal Character of what her Majefty had fo graciously condescended to in our Favours. Now, my Lord, whether the Defire they had to have us engaged in the fame Succeffion with them; or whether they found us, like a free and independent People, breathing after more Liberty than what formerly was looked after; or whether they were afraid of our A&t of Security, in cafe of her Majefty's Decease; Which of all these Motives has induced them to a Treaty, I leave it to themselves. This I muft fay only, they have made a good Bargain this Time alfo. For the particular Motives that iuduced us, I think they are obvious to be known; we found, by fad Experience, that every Man hath advanced in Power and Riches, as they have done in Trade; and at the fame time confidering, that no where through the World, Slaves are found to be rich, tho' they fhould be adorned with Chains of Gold; we thereupon changed our Notion of an incorporating Union, to that of a federal one; and, being refolved to take this Opportunity to make Demands upon them, before we enter into the Succeffion, we were content to empower her Majefty to authorize and appoint Commiffioners to treat with the Commiffioners of England, with as ample Powers as the Lords Commiffioners from England had from their Conftituents, that that we might not appear to have lefs Confidence in her Anno 5 Annæ, Majefty, nor more Narrow-heartedness in our Act, than our 1706 Neighbours of England: And thereupon laft Parliament, after her Majefty's gracious Letter was read, defiring us to declare the Succeffion in the firft Place, and afterwards to appoint Commiffioners to treat, we found it necessary to renew our former Refolve, which I shall read to this honourable House: Refolve presented by the Duke of Hamilton laft Seffion of "That this Parliament will not proceed to the Nomination of a Succeffor, till we have had a previous Treaty with England, in relation to our Commerce, and other Concerns with that Nation. And further it is Refolved, that this Parliament will proceed to make fuch Limitations and Conditions of Government, for the Rectification of our Constitution, as may fecure the Liberty, Religion, and Independency of this Kingdom, before they proceed to the faid Nomination." Now, my Lord, the laft Seffion of Parliament having, before they would enter into any Treaty with England, by a Vote of the House paffed both an Act for Limitations, and an Act for Rectification of our Conftitution, what mortal Man has Reason to doubt the Defign of this Treaty was only federal? My Lord Chancellor, It remains now, that we confider the Behaviour of the Lords Commiffioners at the opening of this Treaty: And, before I enter upon that, allow me to make this Meditation; that, if our Pofterity, after we are all dead and gone, fhall find themselves under an ill-made Bargain, and fhall have Recourfe unto our Records, and fee who have been the Managers of that Treaty, by which they have fuffered fo much: When they read the Names, they will certainly conclude, and fay, Ah! our Nation has been reduced to the laft Extremity, at the Time of this Treaty; all our great Chieftains, all our great Peers and confiderable Men, who used formerly to defend the Rights and Liberties of the Nation, have been all killed and dead in the Bed of Honour, before ever the Nation was neceffitate to condefcend to fuch mean and contemptible Terms: Where are the Names of the chief Men, of the noble Families of Stuarts, Hamiltons, Grahams, Campbels, Gordons, Johnstons, Humes, Murrays, Kers, &c? Where are the two great Officers of the Crown, the Conftables and Marthals of Scotland? They have Therefore, my Lord, though my particular Opinion be, though we had a Cart-blanch from England; yet the delivering up of our Sovereignty, gives back with one Hand, what we receive with the other, and that there can be no Security without the Guarantee of a diftinct Independency betwixt the Parties treating: Yet, my Lord, for further Sa tisfaction to this honourable House, that every Member may fully fatisfy himself, I humbly propose, that, paffing by the first three Articles, which appear to be much of a Piece, we begin the fourth Article of the Treaty; and if I be feconded in this, I defire it may be put to the Queftion. While this Struggle continued in the Scottish Parliament, the following Incident happened without Doors, An Account of the burning the Articles of the Union at Dumfries, These are to notify to all concerned, what are our Reasons for, and Defigns in, the burning of the printed Articles of the propofed Union with England, with the Names of the Scots Commiffioners, Subscribers thereof; together with the Minutes of the whole Treaty, betwixt them and the English Commiffioners thereanent. : We have herein no Defign against her Majesty, nor against England, nor any Englishman; neither against our prefent Parliament, in their Acts or Actings, for the Inte reit, Safety and Sovereignty of this our native and ancient Nation But to teftify our diffent from, difcontent with, and Proteftation against, the twenty-five Articles of the faid Union, fubfcribed by the forefaid Commiffioners, as being inconfiftent with, and altogether prejudicial to, and utterly deftructive of this Nation's Independency, Crown-rights, and our conftitute Laws, both facred and civil. We fhall not here condefcend to enlarge upon the particular Prejudices, that do, and will redound to this Nation, if the said Union fhould be carried on, according to the printed Articles: But refer the Reader to the Variety of Addreffes, given in to the present Parliament, by all Ranks, from almost all Corners of the Nation,against the faid Union: Only we muft fay,and profefs, that the Commiffioners for this Nation, have been either fimple, ignorant, or treacherous, if not all three; when the Minutes of the Treaty betwixt the Commiffioners of both Kingdoms are duly confidered; and when we compare their daftardly Yieldings unto the Demands and Proposals of the English Commiffioners; who, on the contrary, have valiantly acquitted themselves for the Intereft and Safety of their Nation. • We acknowledge it is in the Power of the prefent Parliament, to give Remiffions to the Subfcribers of the forefaid Articles: 1706. Articles; and we heartily with for a good Agreement a- Anno 5 Annie. mong all the Members of the Parliament, fo as it may tend to the Safety, and Prefervation of both Church and State, with all the Privileges belonging thereto, within the Kingdom of Scotland. But if the Subfcribers of the forefaid Treaty and Union, with their Affociates in Parliament, fhall presume to carry on the faid Union, by a fupream Power, over the Generality of this Nation: Then, and in that Cafe, as we judge, that the Confent of the Generality of the fame, can only diveft them of their facred and civil Liberties, purchased and maintained by our Ancestors with their Blood: So we proteft, whatever Ratification of the forefaid Union may pafs in Parliament, contrary to our fundamental Laws, Liberties, and Privileges, concerning Church and State, may not be binding upon the Nation, now nor at any Time to come: And particularly we proteft against the Approbation of the firft Article of the faid Union, before the Privileges of this Nation, contained in the other Articles, had been adjusted and secured: And fo we earnestly require,that the Representatives in Parliament, who are for our Nation's Privileges would give timeous Warning to all the Corners of the Kingdom; that we and our Posterity become not tributary and Bondflaves to our Neighbours, without acquitting our felves, as becomes Men and Chriftians: And we are confident, that the Soldiers now in martial Power, have fo much the Spirits of Scotsmen, that they are not ambitious to be difpofed of at the Pleafure of another Nation: And we hereby declare, that we have no Design against them in this Matter. This was publicly read from the Market-cross of be printed, and kept on Record, ad futuram rei me- But notwithstanding all The |