THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AT ST ANDREWS AND EDINBURGH, 1641.

In resuming our narrative of events connected with the Church of Scotland, we may state, that Wentworth, (created Earl of Strafford in the close of the preceding year,) was intrusted with the chief command of the King’s forces to be employed against the Scotch; the Earl of Northumberland, who was named General, being in a state of health which did not admit of his taking the active charge of it. Strafford had acquired the confidence of the King, by his zealous and energetic services in Ireland, and proved the sincerity of his devotion to his master’s cause, by subscribing £20,000 to the fund for carrying on the war. Before adverting to the military movements of the English army, it may be proper to notice those of the Scottish, who, on this occasion, took steps in advance of their antagonists.

Early in the year 1640, (25th February,) a reinforcement of 300 men had been sent into Edinburgh Castle, with large stores of munitions for its defence, under General Ruthven, created Lord Ettrick. In May, however, the Scottish Estates having mustered their forces in sufficient number, beleaguered the Castle, and, in June and July, bombarded it with such effect as ultimately to force its surrender. About the same time, Argyle took the Castle of Airlie, and plundered all the tenantry on the lands of Lord Ogilvie; scoured Athol, and apprehended the Earl, and other leading men, whom he sent to prison; and levied most severe contributions: and Monro carried terror into the north, by taking prisoners a great number of persons disaffected to the Covenant at Aberdeen, and by other severities; including, among the prisoners, the Bishop of Moray, whose Castle of Spynie he seized and garrisoned. He also took Strathbogie Castle, plundered the Marquis of Huntley’s lands fearfully, and, on the 2d of Aug., “he marches to Banffe,” says Balfour, “quher he playes the devill, and demolishes the Lord Banffes house, which wes both fair and staitly, and an ornament to that pairt of the Kingdome.”

Such were the preludes to the meeting of the General Assembly in the north, which sat from the 28th of July till the 6th of August 1640, in the midst of all these manifold desolations and ravages around them. Meanwhile, the main army of the Covenanters was mustering in Edinburgh, under old Leslie, as General; the Earl of Callander, Lieutenant-General; Baillie, Major-General; Sir Alexander Hamilton, General of Artillery; and Colonel John Leslie, Quartermaster-General. Under the guidance of these commanders, and above a dozen of the Nobility and their sons, and many experienced officers, the Scottish army moved towards the Border. They returned to their old quarters at Dunse Law, and, after about three weeks’ training and preparation, they crossed the Tweed on the 20th or 21st of August.257 thus deviating from their former tactics, and assuming the aggressive course. Balfour states it as consisting of 200 companies of foot, 4,000 cavalry, and 2,500 baggagers. We leave the pacific correspondence to be gleaned from the documents annexed, and follow briefly the military operations.

The van of the Covenanters was led by Montrose, who was the first to plunge into the river at Coldstream, at the head of his battalions—his secret alienation from the cause of the Covenant not having yet been discovered. In order to break the force of the current, and lessen its pressure on the infantry who waded it, Sir Thomas Hope, the King’s Lord Advocate, at the head of the College of Justice troop of cavalry, passed the river a little above them; and, having forded the river in two columns, (one of them a little below the other,) the Scottish army entered England as open enemies of their King. They encamped that night at Hirslaw, whence, next morning, they marched southwards, and encamped on Misfield Moor, and in the adjacent villages. On the 22d of August, they marched to Middleton Haugh, near Wooller, where they were attacked by some of the King’s troops from Berwick; but these were speedily repulsed, and some of them taken prisoners. Next day, (23d,) being a Sunday, they moved to Branton Field, after sermon; and, next day, encamped on a hill betwixt the new and old towns of Eglingham or Eglintown. On the 25th, they marched from thence, and encamped at Nether Wotten—on the 26th, at Criech—and, on the 27th, at Newburn-upon-Tyne, about four miles west from Newcastle. It may here be noticed, that, on entering England, the Covenanters published certain “Considerations,” in justification of their expedition.258

Not expecting, perhaps, such decisive courses as the Covenanters had now taken, the English levies were not yet fully prepared for the rencontre. In the month of July, the army was quartered chiefly in Yorkshire, on its route northward to Newcastle, where Lord Conway had his headquarters. On the 15th of August, that officer, who was General of the Cavalry, but at this time in the chief command, received intelligence of the intentions of the Scotch, and immediately wrote in great haste to Secretary Windebanke, warning the King of their certain approach.260 On the 20th, the King set out hurriedly from London, in consequence of this information, and issued a proclamation the very day the Scotch had entered England, declaring that “all those of Scotland who have already entred, or hereafter shall presume to enter in an hostile manner into any part of the kingdom of England, and their adherents, assistants, and others, who shall supply them with money, &c., shall be adjudged traitors against his Majesty, his crown and dignity, and incur the penalties of high treason;” but declaring that he would forgive them if they would return to obedience, “and professeth it before God and the world, as often formerly and in his late declaration he hath done, that he never did nor will hinder his subjects of Scotland from the enjoying of their religion and liberties, according to the ecclesiastical, civil, and municipal laws of that kingdom, and according to his promise and their desires, subscribed by themselves at the Pacification,”259 &c. This proclamation just left matters precisely as they stood, on a vague foundation, such as they were under the pacification of the last year, but gave no sanction, on the part of the King, to the sweeping enactments of the Estates in Scotland; and it had no effect.

On the 27th of August, the King, as well as Strafford, being then at York, exerting themselves to raise the requisite supplies of money, the latter dispatched a pacquet of instructions to Conway at Newcastle, the Scotch army being posted in its vicinity. Rushworth, the compiler of the Historical Collections, accompanied the courier who bore the pacquet, and he states that, on their arrival at Newcastle, they learnt that Conway had gone to the army near Newburn, whither they immediately went and found the General holding a Council of War with his Field Officers, about half a mile from the troops. On opening his dispatches, these contained orders to prepare the army for an engagement with the Scotch; and while the Council was in deliberation, a herald arrived “in all haste from the army, to acquaint the Lord Conway and Council of War, that the army was already engaged with the Scots, which seemed strange to them, because orders were given not to fight but upon the defence; but the Council of War suddenly broke up and hastened to the army.”260

When the Scotch army reached Newburn, on the 27th, a drummer had been sent to the English cantonments with certain despatches, but was driven back with them before reaching Newcastle; and the same evening the Scotch pitched their tents on Heddon-Law, above Newburn, from whence there was a declivity towards the river. During the night, they set fires all around their camp, which gave it the appearance of a vast extent; and, during the same night, a part of the King’s army, consisting of 3000 foot and 1500 horse, was drawn up in a meadow on the south side of the Tyne, called Newburn-Haugh, or Stella-Haugh, to oppose the Scotch passing the river during the night. There were two breastworks raised by the English, opposite to the two fords which the Scotch might pass at low water; and in each of these sconces were 400 men, with four field pieces. During all that night and the following day, the English troops were under arms, guarding the passage of the river, until an engagement commenced in the following manner:—the Scotch, having the vantage position, could see from their heights the whole force and disposition of the English army, they planted cannon in Newburn church steeple, and their infantry in the church, houses, lanes, and hedges.

While the opposing hosts were thus watching each other, and preparing for the fray, the horses from both armies were watered in the river during the forenoon of the 28th, without molestation on either side. But a Scotch officer, well mounted, with a feather in his hat, having gone to the river to water his horse, an English soldier, who had noticed that the officer eyed the sconces, fired upon and wounded him. He fell from his horse; on which the Scotch Musqueteers opened a fire on the English, and speedily the artillery on both sides, as well as the musketry, was brought into full play.

The fight continued till the tide had ebbed, and the river was left fordable; and, by this time, the Scotch cannon had made a breach in one of the breastworks, and many of the English were killed. Finally, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of the English officers, the men threw down their arms and fled, being exhausted with unintermitted service all the day and previous night, under arms and in the battle. The Scotch commander, seeing from his height, this discomfiture of his antagonists at one point, ordered a forlorn party of twenty-six, being gentlemen of the College of Justice troop, to pass the river, which they did rapidly, their orders being to discover the plight of the other breast-work not yet silenced. But a brisk fire was kept up on it; and at length the English were compelled to retreat from it also; on which more cavalry, commanded by Sir Thomas Hope, and two regiments of foot, commanded by Lords Crauford-Lindsey and Loudoun, waded through the river. Simultaneously with this movement, Leslie opened a battery on the English cavalry, exposed to the range of his guns; and speedily a retreat was sounded. A portion of the cavalry attempted to cover the retreat up Ritan and Stella Banks; but the Scotch having now passed the ford in sufficient numbers, overpowered and took them prisoners. The loss in this skirmish was inconsiderable—only about sixty of the English having been killed, although, doubtless, many were wounded. The accounts, however, on this point do not agree.

The English army effected its retreat to Newcastle; and at midnight a council of war was held, when it was resolved that the whole army should retreat to Durham, which it did next morning (29th) at five o’clock, leaving Newcastle unprotected and open to the Scotch troops. During the afternoon of that day, Douglas, Sheriff of Teviotdale, went with a trumpet and some troops of cavalry to the gates of Newcastle, demanding a surrender; and being threatened with some batteries of ordnance, the Mayor, after some parly, opened the gates. “Next day, being Sunday, fifteen [Scotch] Lords and Douglas came and dined with the Mayor—drank a health to the King—had their sermons that day by their own divines;” and on Monday, Leslie, pitched his camp on Gateside hill, in the vicinity of Newcastle.261

Having thus obtained decisive success in their first enterprise, and an advantageous position, the Scotch leaders availed themselves of their victory, but with moderation. They agreed for supplies, which they required, but gave money in part, and security for the balance. Their occupation of Newcastle, however, and the retreat of the King’s army, produced the greatest consternation. Of the ten thousand persons employed in the coal mines, not a man was to be seen. Four or five hundred vessels, employed in the coal trade, either sailed from the river, or refrained from entering it, when they discovered the state of matters; and for several days all the shops were shut, and many families fled, leaving their houses and property at the mercy of the Scotch. The panic spread to Durham, where the shops were all shut, and not one house in ten was occupied by its possessors, who had fled for safety. The English army continued its retreat from Durham towards York. The Bishop and clergy of Durham, too, all fled; among whom was Dr Balcanquell, who had no desire, it is to be presumed, to experience the tender mercies of the Sheriff of Teviotdale and Lord Kirkcudbright, or the spiritual consolations of “Master Andro Cant.”

The news of this defeat reached Strafford at Darlington the day after. He was on his way to join the army before any engagement should take place. But he now sent orders to the troops, in full retreat, to rally and concentrate in Yorkshire. The King had, at that time, reached Northallerton on his way to the army; but, on learning the unfortunate issue of the first conflict, he immediately returned to York; and next day Strafford issued an order to the soldiers to destroy all millstones on their retreat.

When the Royal army was mustered at York, it was found to amount to 17,383; and, on the 31st of August, the King issued a summons to all the Lords, spiritual and temporal, and other Nobles, to attend his Majesty at York, and, the same day, issued an order to the Earl of Craufurd to engage a hundred Scotch officers in his service.

On the 4th of September, his Majesty received a Petition from the Commissioners of the late Parliament in Scotland, in a letter to the Earl of Lanerick, to which an answer was next day returned;262 and, on the 7th, a writ was issued summoning a council of the Peers at York, upon, the 24th of the month.263 Upon the 8th, the Scotch Commissioners sent a second letter to Lanerick; and, on the 9th, they sent another to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, setting forth the objects and purposes of their expedition; and, about the same time, the Earl of Essex and other Noblemen, and the Citizens of London, also applied, by petition, to his Majesty to call a Parliament, which last the Privy Council endeavoured, in vain, to quash. The purport of all these documents, will be most satisfactorily seen in the writings themselves;264 and the result of the whole was, that the King appointed Commissioners to meet others from the Scotch at Rippon, to treat of peace, and called a Parliament for the 3d of November. The negotiations were afterwards transferred to London; and the combined movements of the English and Scottish malcontents ultimately ended in a great revolution throughout the British empire, of which it is difficult, even in later times, to predicate whether the evils or the benefits preponderated.

The negotiations at Rippon commenced on the 1st of October, and, on the 23d of that month, were transferred to London, that the English Noblemen might attend the Parliament summoned to meet there, in the beginning of November; and a cessation of hostilities was agreed on.265 It is needless here to enumerate all the points of treaty, which were necessarily very numerous and complicated. From that affair, therefore, we turn, for a brief space, to the proceedings in the Long Parliament of England, which was opened by the King on the 3d of November, and in which, the discontented party having a preponderance, proceeded at once to the most decisive courses.

Strafford, by his energy and decision of character, although he had governed Ireland for eight years with great advantage to the State, became peculiarly obnoxious to the malcontents, English, Scottish, and Irish, by reason of his devotion to the King’s service, and his high talents and vigour. Whenever, therefore, he appeared in London, a vehement and preconcerted attack was made upon him in the House of Commons, on the 11th of November. Pym led on the attack, imputing it to Strafford that he was one of the chief among those who had formed a deliberate plan for changing the form of Government, and subverting the ancient laws and liberties of the kingdom; and, after various elaborate invectives, it was moved that he should be immediately impeached for high treason. This motion was unanimously adopted, nor was even one man found who had the moral courage to utter a word in his defence. The impeachment was instantly voted and carried to the upper house, where Strafford, who had just entered, unaware of what had been secretly carried through in the other house, and who had come to London under a royal guarantee that the Parliament should not touch a hair of his head, was ordered into custody; and soon after Laud was similarly treated, and, with Strafford, sent to the Tower.

It belongs to the History of England to trace these and other proceedings of the Long Parliament to their issues; but one of the immediate effects was a close alliance betwixt the leaders of the Opposition and the Scottish Commissioners then in London, with whom they made common cause against the King and his supporters. Rothes, Loudoun, and other Scottish Statesmen, with an auxiliary force of clergymen, availed themselves of this alliance; and, while in London, busied themselves, not exclusively in effecting a favourable conclusion to the treaty, but in preaching and intriguing for the subversion of the English hierarchy and planting Presbytery in its stead; and they joined their moiety of accusations against Strafford and Laud, before the English Parliament, as incendiaries and prime causes of all their own grievances. They were not inattentive, however, to the business of their mission, and made various demands in the negotiations, of very considerable importance:—That the Acts of the late Parliament of Scotland should be ratified and published by the King; that public incendiaries, who had excited hostilities betwixt the two kingdoms, should be referred to the judgment of the respective Parliaments, and not afterwards exempted from the punishments which might be awarded; and these, with some subordinate matters about indemnification for losses, &c., constituted the particulars for which they contended. To these demands the King was, at length, (15th December,) constrained to yield by the necessity of his circumstances; and thus his favourite Episcopacy was not only overthrown in Scotland, but shaken to its foundation in England; the royal prerogatives were virtually relinquished; and the whole power of the State vested in the democratic oligarchies of both kingdoms, under the guidance of aristocratical leaders; and every man who had hazarded life and fortune, in what he deemed a loyal adherence to his Sovereign, was thus delivered over to the arbitrary power of these semi-republican Conventions. Among other boons conferred on the Scottish by the English Parliament, was the sum of £300,000 for “brotherly assistance”—a subsidy which was by many understood, not merely as an indemnification for the expense of their expeditions, but as a consideration, for similar instances of fraternal aid, should the malcontent party in England require it on some future occasion.266

The final pacification, however, was not concluded till the 7th of August, 1641, when both armies were immediately disbanded; but during the dependence of the treaty, the General Assembly, of the year 1641, met at St Andrew’s, on Tuesday the 20th of July—John Earl of Weymes being the King’s Commissioner. A deputation from the Parliament having craved that its sittings should be transferred to Edinburgh, their request was complied with; and an adjournment to that city, where its next sederunt was appointed to be held on the 27th, took place. At the adjourned meeting, Mr Alexander Henderson was once more chosen Moderator.

We may just remark, that, during the protracted negotiations now alluded to, the Scottish Commissioners and Ministers, in the moat indecent manner, exerted themselves to overthrow the Church of England. Henderson and Gillespie wrote and published tractates against it. They openly approved of what was called the “Root and Branch Petition” of the English nonconformists, and went the length of presenting to the King a paper, in which they demanded “unity of religion and uniformity of Church government”—in other words, the adoption of the Presbyterian Covenant, and the coercive edicts for its adoption; thus violating their duty as negotiators for the affairs of Scotland only, and invading the rights and privileges of an independent nation; fostering the spirit of intolerance and revolution; and propelling the movement in which the Throne and both the Protestant Churches were, for many sad years, involved in one common ruin.

This intrusion, by the Scotch Covenanters, into the internal affairs of England, and their zealous exertions for the overthrow of its ecclesiastical establishment, and the destruction of Strafford and Laud, is one part of their conduct of which we have never seen any tenable defence, and which, on every sound principle of international law, was altogether unwarrantable, and incapable of justification. Whatever be the relative merits of Episcopacy and Presbytery, whatever the misdemeanours of Strafford, of Laud, or of other English counsellors of the King—these were matters with which the Scottish Commissioners, in their diplomatic character as the ambassadors of Scotland, had no earthly warrant to intermeddle. Strafford and Laud were the sworn Privy Councillors of England; and whether the advice they gave in that capacity, or the services which they rendered to the King, were, in the opinion of these Scotchmen, right or wrong—they were responsible only to their Sovereign, and not amenable to the English Parliament at the instance of any knot of foreigners, who had no title, under any theory of the law of nations ever yet recognised, to impeach men in such circumstances. The whole proceedings against Strafford were an utter disgrace to the Parliament of England. He was not accused of any single offence which subjected him, under the well-defined law of England, to the penalties of high treason, wherewithal a bill of attainder charged him; and the first principles of all civilized jurisprudence were grossly outraged in the judgment by which, although each item of imputed offence was found insufficient, yet, by accumulating them all, they were construed to amount to that crime. But Strafford was a doomed man; the first victim of that reign of terror which thus commenced—consigning to the scaffold a brave, loyal, and splendid man, in violation of every principle of universe as well as of municipal law—robbing the monarch of his brightest attribute—and plunging the two kingdoms into the vortex of a fierce democracy, which henceforward filled the land with tyranny and hypocricy under the mask of Religion and Liberty. In the guilt of that foul judicial murder, the leaders of the Scotch Covenanters were deeply implicated; and we record the fact with shame and sorrow, upon grounds of historical evidence which we believe cannot be shaken.

Before reprinting the Acts of Assembly 1641, it may be proper to note, cursorily, the general proceedings of the previous year, which either do not appear at all, or but partially, in the printed Acts of that Assembly.

1. The greater part of the Assembly’s time was occupied in the transportation of ministers, about which the patrons, presbyteries, and parishes had many keen contests. Amongst others, Andro Cant was removed from Newbottle to Aberdeen, and Robert Ramsay to Glasgow.

2. Rigorous proceedings were adopted against the Aberdeen Doctors who had repudiated the Covenant. Dr Sibbald was deposed for alleged heterodoxy and contumacy, and was ordained to be further proceeded against, if he did not give speedy satisfaction. Doctors Forbes and Scroggie were found guilty of Arminianism, &c., but were allowed a year to repent; and a new Commission on the College was appointed.

3. Besides passing Acts against the profanation of the Sabbath, witches, and idolatrous monuments, the Elders and Magistrates of Burghs were directed to attend the Presbyteries of the Church, for the more effectual enforcement of their decrees by the concurrence of civil authority.

4. The controversy was agitated about Private Conventicles, of which Baillie gives a minute account.267