A Ministerial Crisis, and a Change of Government in Scotland—The Government is defeated—The Limitations again—Fletcher’s Duel with Roxburghe—The Act for a Treaty of Union passed.

The English Ministers had for some time suspected that Tweeddale and his party were not strong enough to carry on the Government of Scotland, and in February 1705 Argyll wrote to Leven, informing him that there was to be a change. Tweeddale was to be offered the place of President of the Council. Seafield was to be Lord Chancellor. Annandale was to be Secretary of State. ‘And I am to be Commissioner,’ he added. He had already been consulted as to the changes; but he had taken no one into his confidence except Queensberry and Annandale. They alone were in the secret; but ‘the Whigs here[7] are positive that Mr. Jonson must be out.’ Johnston, who had been Lord Clerk Register, was dismissed; and a few days after that event the new Commissioner started for the north.

The young Duke of Argyll, although not yet thirty, had already distinguished himself as a soldier, and was believed to possess the talents which were needed in the troublesome office of Commissioner to the Scottish Estates. But besides his personal qualifications there were other reasons for appointing him. His great-grandfather had been one of the first victims of the Restoration. His grandfather was that Earl of Argyll whose rash expedition to Scotland Fletcher had attempted in vain to prevent, but whose calmness on the eve of death had overwhelmed his enemies with shame, and made such an impression on his countrymen that ‘the last sleep of Argyll’ was, for long years afterwards, spoken of as a noble example of Christian and patriotic fortitude. His father, who had returned from exile at the Revolution, was the first Duke of Argyll. The fortunes of the family, ruined under the Stuart tyranny, were now mending. The young Duke was hereditary Justiciar of Scotland. It was said that three thousand clansmen were ready to draw the claymore at his call. He was trusted by the Presbyterians—an important matter, as Godolphin was well aware. Above all things, the Argylls were to be depended upon in an emergency such as the present. In office or out of office, whether their private characters were good or bad, they never swerved from their Whig principles. The place of Commissioner had therefore been offered to the Duke. He hesitated, and would have declined, if left to himself, but Queensberry persuaded him to accept the office; and on the 9th of April he started for Scotland, ‘attended,’ says Cunningham, ‘with a number of highlanders and swordsmen, in whom he took great delight.’

When the Commissioner reached Scotland the effects of the Alien Act were beginning to be felt. About thirty thousand head of cattle and great flocks of sheep had been annually exported from Scotland to England. But since the passing of the Act these had to remain on the north side of the Cheviots, and the breeders had no market for their stock, or had to sell at a ruinous loss in Scotland. Every branch of trade was paralysed; and no one knew what to propose as a remedy for the deplorable condition of the country.[8] It was a time when any scheme, however chimerical, was listened to; and amongst those who, full of projects for retrieving the finances of Scotland, awaited the arrival of the Commissioner were two well-known men, Hugh Chamberlen and John Law of Lauriston. Chamberlen’s proposal of a Land Bank, already tried and found wanting in England during the last reign, was now about to be propounded in Scotland. Law was on intimate terms with Argyll and with Tweeddale, both of whom were charmed by his high spirits and good breeding. He had just published his proposals for curing the ills of Scotland. His intimacy with the Commissioner was certain to gain at least a fair hearing for his plans; but, in the meantime, Argyll’s time was fully occupied with preparations for the meeting of Parliament.

In the intrigues of the next few weeks, which are now to be described, the political parties in Scotland took the form which they retained until the Parliament of Scotland came to an end. Argyll and Queensberry had already agreed privately that the Scottish Ministry was to be rearranged; and as soon as he reached Edinburgh Argyll came to the conclusion that the ‘New Party’ must be dismissed at once. He then took the advice of Glasgow and Annandale as to how the business of the session was to be managed, and their opinion was that Tweeddale, Roxburghe, and some of their friends must resign before Parliament met. It was agreed that letters expressing this opinion should be written to Godolphin. ‘If her Majesty,’ Glasgow wrote, ‘be pleased to make the Government all of a piece, thoroughly upon the Revolution bottom, it is the only means left to retrieve the mismanagement of the last Parliament, when the prerogative and the monarchy so extremely suffered, and to pull us out of the confusion we at present lie under.’ Seafield declined to advise Godolphin; but in his letter he gives an account of the general drift of opinion amongst the members of Parliament. ‘All,’ he says, ‘that I speak with of the Old Party are of one of these two opinions: First, that there be a treaty set on foot for an entire Union betwixt the two kingdoms, or for commerce and other advantages, leaving the nomination of the Commissioners to her Majesty; or second, that there be an Act of Succession, with conditions and limitations on the successor, and that we have free trade and commerce established with England as we had before the Act of Navigation.’ Annandale also wrote and expressed his approval of the proposal to change the Ministry.[9]

Argyll and Annandale had long been friends, and during the preceding winter and spring their friendship had increased. By the influence of Argyll, Annandale had been appointed to represent her Majesty at the General Assembly of the Scottish Church, which had just been held. It was on his advice that the letters to Godolphin had been written. But at this point differences arose between them, which ended in a complete separation. Argyll, having no doubt that the English Ministers would agree to the dismissal of the New Party, wished to settle at once how the vacant offices were to be filled, and, a few days after the letters to Godolphin had been despatched, he called a meeting of his friends to discuss the subject. At this meeting Annandale was for delay. It would be time enough, he said, to think about new appointments when they had received an answer from London. Argyll, however, said that he had promised to send a list of names ‘within two or three days’; and at the same time he suggested that Loudoun should be Secretary, in place of Roxburghe. Annandale muttered something to himself, and then said that Loudoun was well fitted for the place, but he was married to Stair’s daughter, and to appoint him would be to aggrandise the Stair family, and that would ‘raise a dust in the Parliament.’ On this Argyll gave way for the sake of peace, and nothing was arranged.

But in a few days Glasgow and Leven waited upon Annandale, and informed him that the Commissioner begged him to concur in recommending Loudoun as Secretary. Annandale was a most difficult man to deal with. ‘Even those of the Revolution Party,’ says Lockhart, ‘only employed him, as the Indians worship the devil, out of fear.’ He refused, point blank, to comply with Argyll’s request, and never after acted cordially with him. There can be no doubt that this episode was the real cause of Annandale’s opposition to the Union in the following year.

The next post from London brought a letter, from which it was evident that the Ministers wished to delay the change of Government in Scotland. Argyll instantly sent off an answer, in which he said that he would not act as Commissioner unless his advice was taken. This threat of resignation produced the desired effect, and Argyll received authority to construct an Administration as he thought best.

Forthwith Tweeddale, Rothes, Roxburghe, Selkirk, Belhaven, and Baillie of Jerviswoode were informed that their resignations would be accepted. They took their dismissal with a good grace, and formed themselves into the party which was thenceforth known as the Squadrone Volante—a name which perhaps Fletcher, the student of Italian, may have suggested. Led by Tweeddale, Montrose, Rothes, Roxburghe, and Marchmont among the peers, and by Baillie of Jerviswoode among the commons, the policy of the Squadrone was to hold the balance between the Government and the combined forces of the Jacobites and the Old Country Party, to which Fletcher and the irreconcilable nationalists adhered. They mustered about thirty votes. Belhaven, piqued at losing office, did not join them, but preferred to form schemes for breaking up the Parliament.

The arrangements for the new Administration were soon completed, and in the list which was sent up to London, Loudoun and Annandale were named as Secretaries, Glasgow became Treasurer-Depute, Queensberry was Lord Privy Seal, while Cockburn remained in office as Lord Justice-Clerk, and Seafield as Chancellor.

It was entirely a Whig Ministry, but there were differences of opinion as to what line they should take. It was soon found that Annandale and Cockburn were in favour of pressing the settlement of the Hanoverian Succession, and leaving the Union alone. Sir James Stewart, the Lord Advocate, whose great influence with the Presbyterians made it desirable that he should act cordially, refused to commit himself. Baillie, now a member of the Squadrone, had an interview of two hours with him at this time, when he first said he intended to support a Succession Act, and then that he was in favour of an Union; and at last Baillie came to the conclusion that he was ‘for no settlement whatsoever.’

The Commissioner, acting on the advice of Stair, used all his influence in favour of an Union. Queensberry had not yet left London. Lockhart goes so far as to say that he was so unpopular that he was afraid to face the Scottish Parliament, and that he had sent down Argyll, ‘using him as the monkey did the cat in pulling out the hot roasted chestnuts.’ The help of Queensberry was, however, urgently needed, and Glasgow was of opinion that the only way to settle the Succession question was for him to come down to assist Argyll. A combination of their friends would, he was certain, secure a majority.

Meantime the meeting of Parliament was close at hand, and it was necessary that the views of the Scottish Government should be laid before the Ministers in London, so that the Queen’s letter to the Estates might be prepared in time. On the night of the 30th of May Argyll consulted his colleagues. At this meeting (a ‘Cabinet Council’) Annandale insisted that the Succession should be earnestly pressed. Argyll pointed out that the support of Queensberry’s friends could not be counted on. In the last session they had supported Hamilton’s resolution postponing the settlement of the Crown until a commercial treaty with England had been adjusted. They would not, he feared, ‘make so short a turn.’ But if a Treaty of Union was proposed, they would probably support it, and also vote the supplies. Another proposal was that the Succession should be tried first, and if it failed, then they could fall back upon the Union. Cockburn was strongly in favour of a Succession Act. ‘In my opinion,’ he said, ‘the treaty is but a handle to throw off the Succession, for I don’t find ten men of the Parliament will go in for an entire and complete Union; so there is no prospect of a treaty taking effect.’

Of eight members of the Government who gave their opinions, six were in favour of a Treaty of Union, and two, Cockburn and Annandale, were for a Succession Act. But, in the end, two draughts of a royal letter were sent up to London. In one of these the Union was put foremost, and in the other the Succession. The responsibility of advising the Queen which she should sign was left to Godolphin and his colleagues. In due course the royal letter arrived, along with the Queen’s instructions to Argyll, and it was found that the preference had been given to the draught in which the Succession Act was put foremost. The instructions were to the effect that the Commissioner was to do his best to secure the passing of a Succession Act for Scotland, in terms similar to that by which the Crown of England had been settled on the house of Hanover. If the Estates would not agree to this, then an Act for the Union of England and Scotland was, if possible, to be carried, and it was to contain a clause leaving the appointment of Commissioners in the hands of the Queen. He was also expressly forbidden to allow the question of the Scots Plot to be opened up again.[10]

The result of the recent changes in the Ministry, and of the intrigues which have just been described, was that the various political parties in Scotland now took the shape which they retained until the Parliament of Scotland was abolished. There were the supporters of the Government, known as the Old or Court Party, or simply as the Whigs. There was the regular Opposition, consisting partly of Jacobites or Tories, and partly of Fletcher’s followers, the Old Country Party, who were determined to oppose the Union and the Succession also unless they could obtain good terms for Scotland. In the third place there was the Squadrone Volante, the party formed by the discarded Ministers out of what had been called the New Party when Tweeddale was in office. They declined to commit themselves; but it would be a great injustice to assert that the Squadrone acted, in any way, the part of dissatisfied placemen. They were certainly reserved in their attitude towards the Ministry, but they never behaved in a factious or discreditable manner. ‘They were in great credit,’ says Burnet, ‘because they had no visible bias on their minds.’

When the Parliament met on the 28th of June, the position of Argyll and the other Ministers was one of peculiar difficulty. In six months the Alien Act would come into full force, if they did not succeed in persuading the Estates to accept either the Hanoverian Succession or a Treaty of Union. Even now Scotland was suffering from those clauses of the Act which were already in force; but if the Estates were obdurate greater evils were in store, and the coming Christmas would bring to the people of this island a message, not of peace and goodwill, but of civil war and discord. And it was soon apparent that the members were not in a complacent mood; for on the 17th of July, Hamilton moved that the Parliament should refuse to name a successor to the throne until the commercial relations of the two countries were settled; and further, that before naming a successor they should fix such conditions of government as would secure the independence of Scotland. This motion was carried, through the help of Queensberry’s friends, who supported Hamilton to the number of thirty, by a majority of forty-three. Next day the Ministers met, and resolved that the Succession must be given up, and an Act for a Treaty of Union introduced.[11]

In the meantime the Government had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Queensberry; and now, news having come that he was on his way to the north, Mar, on behalf of the Ministers, introduced an Act for a Treaty of Union. This was on the 20th of July, and three days later Queensberry arrived. ‘He made,’ Boyer says, ‘a public entry with greater splendour and magnificence than the three times he had been Commissioner.’ On the following morning he took his seat as Lord Privy Seal.

The members of the Parliament were now canvassed by Seafield, Argyll, and Queensberry, and it was found that many of them were prepared to vote for an Union. But, when the question came before the Estates, it was evident that the Opposition were as determined as ever. Fletcher made a long speech, in which he argued that no treaty should even be considered until the hostile clauses of the Alien Act were repealed; and Hamilton moved that the Estates should discuss the questions of trade and limitations before that of Union. The discussion showed a formidable combination against the Government, who were defeated by a majority of four. It seemed as if Fletcher and Hamilton had brought all business to a deadlock, and as if neither the Succession nor the Union could be carried. In the opinion of Argyll, however, the division showed who were for the Government, and who aimed at ‘nothing but confusion.’ The Ministers, accordingly, resolved not to adjourn, but to sit, and see ‘if we could not retrieve the treaty.’

Trade and limitations on the next Sovereign of Scotland now engaged the attention of the Parliament. The rival schemes of Law and Chamberlen were brought forward—schemes for improving the financial condition of Scotland, by means of Land Banks and a wholesale issue of paper money. Preposterous as these plans were, they were fully debated; and there seems to have been a feeling in favour of Chamberlen’s proposal, because the English Parliament had rejected it. Argyll and Tweeddale gave some support to Law. Hamilton laughed at them both; and, in the end, a resolution was passed ‘that the forcing any paper credit by an Act of Parliament was unfit for this nation.’

During the discussions on this subject, Fletcher moved that the two financiers should be confronted with each other. Roxburghe said it would be unfair to Law to make him appear, without first finding out if he was willing. ‘Mr. Law,’ he said, ‘or any gentleman that has employed his time and thoughts for the good of his country, ought to be treated with good manners.’ ‘If any one,’ said Fletcher, ‘taxes me with bad manners, he is unmannerly, and not I.’

On this Roxburghe turned to the Chancellor, and said, ‘I did not mean to accuse any member of bad manners, but since that worthy member thinks himself struck at, he may, if he pleases, take it so.’ ‘I take it as I ought,’ retorted Fletcher. The Commissioner, seeing that a challenge was inevitable, gave orders that, as soon as the House rose, both should be arrested. Roxburghe was taken into custody at his own house, where he remained in charge of an officer.

Fletcher was found in a tavern. When the officer came to take him, he said there must be some mistake, as he had given no occasion for being arrested; and so adroit was he that the officer actually went away to ask the Commissioner for orders. Fletcher, who had already sent a challenge, by the hands of Lord Charles Kerr, to Roxburghe, at once left the tavern—probably Patrick Steel’s?—and drove down with Lord Charles to Leith, where he remained all next day waiting for his opponent.

Roxburghe, meanwhile, hearing that Fletcher was at liberty, induced his friends to persuade Argyll to remove the arrest; and, as soon as he was free, he and his second, Baillie of Jerviswoode, drove to Leith about six in the evening. There they found Fletcher waiting on the sands. The seconds tried to make up the quarrel, but Fletcher insisted in obtaining satisfaction for the affront which he considered himself to have received in Parliament House. Roxburghe was as ready, and they drew their swords. But Baillie ‘stept between ’em,’ and said that a duel with swords would be unfair, as Roxburghe had a weak right leg. At these words Fletcher sheathed his sword, and, producing two pairs of pistols, offered Roxburghe his choice. At that moment a party of the Horse-guards, who had been sent to look for them, appeared in sight, to the joy of the seconds, who persuaded their principals to fire two shots in the air; and then the whole party drove back to Edinburgh.[12]

[12] Add.mss. 28,055, fol. 248. This is a document endorsed, ‘To Mr. Harley.’ It is evidently the report of a spy, one of the many employed by Harley.