some time or other an ill use might have been made 1660. of these, would not suffer them to be shipped till' they were visited: nor would he take Primerose's promise of searching for these carefully, and sending them up to him. So he ordered a search to be made. None of the papers he looked for were found. But so much time was lost, that the summer was spent: so they were sent down in winter: and by some easterly gusts the ship was cast away near Berwick. So we lost all our records. And we have nothing now but some fragments in private hands to rely on, having made at that time so great a shipwreck of all our authentic writings. This heightened the displeasure the nation had at the designs then on foot.

proposed to

for Scotish

affairs.

The main thing, upon which all other matters de- A council pended, was the method in which the affairs of Scot-sit at court land were to be conducted. The earl of Clarendon moved, that there might be a council settled to sit regularly at Whitehall on Scotish affairs, to which 111 every one of the Scotch privy council that happened to be on the place should be admitted: but with this addition, that, as two Scotch lords were called to the English council, so six of the English were to be of the Scotch council. The effect of this would have been, that whereas the Scotch counsellors had no great force in English affairs, the English, as they were men of great credit with the king, and were always on the place, would have the government of the affairs of Scotland wholly in their hands. This probably would have saved that nation from much injustice and violence, when there was a certain method of laying their grievances before the king: complaints would have been heard, and matters well examined: Englishmen would not, and durst not,

1660. have given way to crying oppression and illegal proceedings: for though these matters did not fall under the cognizance of an English parliament, yet it would have very much blasted a man's credit, who should have concurred in such methods of government as were put in practice afterwards in that kingdom: therefore all people quickly saw how wise a project this was, and how happy it would have proved, if affairs had still gone in that channel. But the earl of Lauderdale opposed this with all his strength. He told the king, it would quite destroy the scheme he had laid before him, which must be managed secretly, and by men that were not in fear of the parliament of England, nor obnoxious to it. He said to all Scotchmen, this would make Scotland a province to England, and subject it to English counsellors, who knew neither the laws nor the interests of Scotland, and yet would determine every thing relating to it: and all the wealth of Scotland would be employed to bribe them, who, having no concern of their own in the affairs of that kingdom, must be supposed capable of being turned by private considerations. To the presbyterians he said, this would infallibly bring in, not only episcopacy, but every thing else from the English pattern. Men who had neither kindred nor estates in Scotland would be biased chiefly by that which was most in vogue in England, without any regard to the inclinations of the Scots. These things made great impressions on the Scotish nation. The king himself did not much like it. But the earl of Clarendon told him, Scotland, by a secret and ill management, had begun the embroilment in his father's affairs, which could never have happened, if the affairs of

that kingdom had been under a more equal inspec- 1660. " tion: if Scotland should again fall into new disorders, he must have the help of England to quiet them and that could not be expected, if the English had no share in the conduct of matters there.112 The king yielded to it: and this method was followed for two or three years; but was afterwards broke by the earl of Lauderdale, when he got into the chief management. He began early to observe some uneasiness in the king at the earl of Clarendon's positive way. He saw the mistress hated him: and he believed she would in time be too hard for him: therefore he made great applications to her. But his conversation was too coarse: and he had not money enough to support himself by presents to her: so he could not be admitted into that cabal which was held in her lodgings. He saw, that in a council, where men of weight, who had much at stake in England, bore the chief sway, he durst not have proposed those things, by which he intended to establish his own interest with the king, and to govern that kingdom which way his pride or passion might guide him. Among others, he took great pains to persuade me of the great service he had done his country by breaking that method of governing it; though we had many occasions afterwards to see. how fatal that proved, and how wicked his design in it was.

mittee of estates

I have thus opened with some copiousness the be- The comginnings of this reign; since, as they are little known, and I had them from the chief of both sides, meet in

so they may guide the reader to observe the progress of things better in the sequel than he could otherwise do. In August the earl of Glencairn was sent

Scotland.

ཀ

1660. down to Scotland, and had orders to call together the committee of estates. This was a practice begun in the late times: when the parliament made a recess, they appointed some of every state to sit, and to act as a council of state in their name till the next session; for which they were to prepare matters, and to which they gave an account of their proceedings. When the parliament of Stirling was adjourned, the king being present, a committee had been named: so, such of these as were yet alive were summoned to meet, and to see to the quiet of the nation, till the parliament should be brought together; which did not meet before January. On the day in which the committee met, ten or twelve of the protesting ministers met likewise at Edenburgh, and had before them a warm paper prepared by one Guthery, one of the violentest ministers of the whole party. In it, after some cold compliment to the king upon his restoration, they put him in mind of the covenant which he had so solemnly sworn while among them: they lamented that, instead of pursuing the ends of it in England, as he had sworn to do, he had set up the common prayer in his chapel, and the order of bishops: upon which 113 they made terrible denunciations of heavy judg ments from God on him, if he did not stand to the covenant, which they called the oath of God. The earl of Glencairn had notice of this meeting: and he sent and seized on them, together with this remonstrance. The paper was voted scandalous and seditious and the ministers were all clapt up in prison, and were threatened with great severities. Guthery was kept still in prison, who had brought the others together: but the rest, after a while's im

prisonment were let go. Guthry, being minister 1660. of Stirling while the king was there, had let fly at him in his sermons in a most indecent manner; which at last became so intolerable, that he was cited to appear before the king to answer for some passages in his sermons: he would not appear, but declined the king and his council, who, he said, were not proper judges of matters of doctrine, for which he was only accountable to the judicatories of the kirk. He also protested for remedy of law against the king, for thus disturbing him in the exercise of his ministry. This personal affront had irritated the king more against him, than against any other of the party. And it was resolved to strike a terror into them all, by making an example of him. He was a man of courage, and went through all his trouble with great firmness. But this way of proceeding struck the whole party with such a consternation, that it had all the effect which was designed by it for whereas the pulpits had, to the great scandal of religion, been places where the preachers had for many years vented their spleen and arraigned all proceedings, they became now more decent, and there was a general silence every where with relation to the affairs of state: only they could not hold from many sly and secret insinuations, as if the ark of God was shaking, and the glory departing. A great many offenders were summoned, at the king's suit, before the committee of estates, and required to give bail, that they should appear at the opening of the parliament, and answer to what should be then objected to them. Many saw the design of this was to fright them into a composition, and also into a concurrence with the mea