mechanic, the proper books of a student or man of reading, and the proper and absolutely necessary wearing clothes of any person), shall, in the most ready, easy, and absolute manner, be subjected to the just and equal satisfaction of debts; but the person of a free man shall not in any sort be liable to arrests, imprisonment, or any other restraints whatsoever, for or by reason of debt, unless there shall be fraud, or the design. thereof, or wilful or apparent breach of trust, misapplication or concealment, first proved upon him.

"28. In all cases, criminal and capital, no judgment or determination shall pass against any man in the justiciary court, without the consent and concurrence of a jury, consisting of fifteen fit persons, to be nominate and chosen by the said court in the ordinary and usual manner, out of such a number as they shall think fit.

the jury shall take a solemn oath, duly to administer justice according to these rules, ordinances, and probation taken, to the best of their understanding.

"Fort St. Andrew, April 24, 1699.

"All the said rules and ordinances were read and approven of, article by article, and afterwards passed all together.

"COLIN CAMPBELL, J.P.P.” At the time of the meeting of this parliament, disorder had already shown itself in the colony, and it was increased rather than otherwise by the self-legislative powers which were given to the colonists. One of the members of the council of government, writing home to the secretary of the company, told him-"We found the inconvenience of calling a parliament, and of telling the inhabitants that they were freemen, so soon; they had not the true notion of liberty; the thoughts of it made them insolent ano "29. Upon trials of persons or causes, the ruined command." Various causes, howjusticiary court shall proceed to examine ever, had combined to produce insubordinathe witnesses upon oath, and after having tion among the colonists, who were suffering heard the prisoner, the party accused or from the enmity of the English companies, the party concerned, whether for or against and the king had publicly disowned them, the witnesses. The judges shall afterwards and sent private instructions to the govergive their opinions one by one, beginning nors of the various plantations in America at the youngest in years, and proceeding to and the West Indies, in consequence of the eldest, and shall conclude by majority which the latter issued proclamations deof votes; but if the votes be equal, the pre-nouncing the settlement at Darien as unausident shall have a casting voice; and when judgment or sentence is to be given, the president shall pronounce it.

"30. No man shall presume to sit in court, much less to act as a judge, or be of the jury in the case, and during the time that any cause wherein his party, or any way interested or concerned, shall be under

thorised by the English government, and forbidding any of the dependencies of the English crown from holding any intercourse with them, and even furnishing them with provisions. This was the more cruel, as in consequence of the frauds of those who managed the buying and shipping of their stores, the provisions of the new colonists were few and unwholesome. Auother error "31. The justiciary court shall keep a had been committed in sending out no clerk or clerks, who shall be sworn to make women with the colonists, which could not true and faithful records of all the proceed-fail to be a cause of much disorder. ings of that court.

examination or trial.

"32. No man shall presume to use any braving words, signs, or gestures, in any place of council or judicature, whilst the council or court is sitting, upon pain of such punishment as shall be inflicted by

the court.

Two

ministers, Mr. James and Mr. Scott, accompanied the expedition, but one died during the voyage and the other soon after his arrival, so that the colony was without religious instructors. The gentlemen of the expedition were unaccustomed to labour, and the industrious portion of the colonists were not used to working under a tropical sun, and they proceeded so slowly that when the rainy season set in the ground was uncleared and scarcely a sufficient number of huts had been erected to afford them shelter. This state of things naturally pro"34. And lastly, every judge or member duced disease and distress. The Indians of the justiciary court, and every one of were invariably friendly to them, but they

"33. All things relating to trade and navigation, and not comprehended in or understood by these ordinances, shall be determined by the most known and practised laws and customs of merchants and of the sea.

had to encounter the jealousy and utmost doned colony, who would set out the same hostility of the Spaniards, who marched to day and bring them further instruction attack them from Panama, but they were which would be rendered the more valuable met and defeated on the 5th of February by from his experience and knowledge of the a party of the settlers under the command locality. But the four individuals who comof captain James Montgomery. Symptoms posed the council of the expedition, major of mutiny soon made their appearance in Lindsay, captain Gibson, William Veitch, the colony, and a conspiracy was discovered, and James Byres, on the ground that the in which some of the members of the coun-order was informal in being signed only by cil were implicated, the object of which was three of the directors, set sail without waitto seize a vessel and desert. The original ing for Mackay, or troubling themselves to council was now broken up, and a new one ascertain the object of his message. The chosen, on which Paterson was elected, but council of four had full powers to act during it was too late to remedy all the evils which the voyage as circumstances might require, had arisen, though a temporary check was but on their arrival at Darien their commisput upon the discontents. The colony con- sion ceased, and they were to surrender tinued long without intelligence from home, their powers to the council of the colony. for a brig sent from Scotland on the 24th When they reached New Caledonia, howof February, with provisions and despatches ever, they were suprised to find the place from the directors, was lost on the way. abandoned, and no remains of the capital Not knowing the reason that delayed their except the ruins of the fortifications, which intelligence from home, the colonists sent a had been razed. As the huts had been ship with a messenger to the directors, re- burnt, there was not even protection from questing an immediate dispatch of provi- the elements, and in their great disappointsions, ammunition, and men, with an address ment the new comers became mutinous and to the king, complaining of their treatment proposed to retire immediately to England. from the English colonies and imploring his By the earnest expostulations of Veitch, the interposition. Some time after this, another council were induced at last to give orders of their vessels, the Dolphin, on its way to for landing the men, but from the first Barbadoes, was stranded on the coast of every wise and prudent plan was thwarted Carthagena, where it was seized by the by the obstinate and vexatious opposition of Spaniards, who condemned the cargo and Byres, who appears to have been a wrongsent the crew to Spain to be tried as pirates. headed and opiniative fellow. The settlers were so completely discouraged by this blow, that they resolved to give up the struggle, and, in spite of the earnest entreaties of Paterson, they embarked on the 23rd of June, and left the settlement.

While this last expedition was on its way, intelligence of it had reached New York, where some of the first colonists had taken refuge; and among them was a captain Thomas Drummond, one of the council of Long before this, two vessels had been the colony, a man of great courage and dispatched from Leith, with provisions and of an enterprising disposition, who immemilitary stores, and three hundred recruits, diately procured a small sloop, freighted it but on their arrival they found the settle- with working tools and provisions of differment newly abandoned, and as the best ent kinds, and went to meet the new comers course which presented itself to them, they in the bay, where he arrived eight days proceeded to Jamaica. The company re- before them. Veitch at once proposed that mained ignorant of these proceedings, and they should make Drummond a member of had prepared a new expedition, of thirteen the council of government, and he appears hundred men, who were embarked in four to have been elected, though he was afterships of the company, the Rising Sun, the wards excluded through the intrigues of Hope, the Duke of Hamilton, and the Hope Byres, who was from the first jealous of of Borrowstounness, which were ready to Drummond's talents, and opposed all his start in November; but as they were on the suggestions, whether good or bad. point of sailing, intelligence arrived in Scot-position of the new colony was more critical land of the abandonment of the colony. A than that of its predecessor, and it suffered despatch was immediately sent to them, directing them to remain at the Isle of Bute, where they lay at anchor, until the arrival of Mackay, one of the council of the aban

The

from the same causes, for the same frauds had been committed in the shipping of the provisions, and while, without great energy and foresight want would soon be felt, the

Spaniards were preparing to renew their slight knowledge of the Indian language, attack on the settlement on a more formi- and they spent some nights with the natives dable scale. Under these discouragements a in their cabins. It was here that they respirit of mutiny showed itself among the ceived intelligence of the approach of the colonists. Drummond proposed to antici- Spaniards, and they hurried back to compate the attack of the Spaniards, and at- municate it to the colonists. Byres immetempt Porto Bello, where, besides giving a diately hurried off to Jamaica, to try if he blow to the enemy which would teach him could not obtain some assistance, and during to respect their forces, they would obtain all his absence the colonists began to show the provisions they wanted; but this was courage and activity. This was partly opposed by Byres, and overruled, and the owing to the arrival in the colony of capanimosity was carried to such a degree, that tain Campbell of Fanal, who had served Drummond was placed under arrest. Drum- along with Drummond in Argyle's regimond then offered to go to New York, and ment, and who, joining with him and procure provisions upon a letter of credit; Veitch, gave them a superiority in the cobut this proposal also was rejected with deri-lony's councils. Campbell at the head of sion, and they attempted, not very success- two hundred men marched out to meet the fully, to obtain a scanty supply by smug- Spaniards, who advanced through the woods gling provisions in boats from the West India from Panama and Santa Anna, and the coislands. As this was by no means sufficient, lonists, having met them on the way, enit was resolved to send away all but five countered and defeated them. But valuable Lundred men to Jamaica. Drummond ex-time had now been lost in which the security postulated earnestly against this proposal, which was a virtual abandonment of the colony, and he proposed that a hundred and fifty men should he entrusted to him, with whom he offered to effect a lodgment in the interior, which would be an assistance and a protection to the colony, as they could there maintain themselves, and could divide the attention of the Spaniards at the same time that they co-operated with their comrades. But this proposal met with the same fate as the others; and so little spirit was there in the ruling faction, that they were not able even to carry out their own plan of sending a part of the settlers to Jamaica. With this last expedition, the company had sent out Mr. Alexander Shields and three other presbyterian ministers, with instructions to form themselves into a presbytery, to ordain elders and deacons, and to divide the colony into parishes; and they were further recommended to labour as they saw an opportunity for the instruction and conversion of the natives. The condition of the colony, however, rendered these instructions almost useless; the ministers preached both on land and on board ship, but the irreligion and licentiousness which prevailed among the settlers disgusted and discouraged them; and they ended by attempting the secondary part of their in- There was still far too much intrinsic merit structions, which enjoined the conversion in the Darien design to permit its abandonof the natives. Towards the beginning of ment without a further struggle; and when February, 1700, the ministers undertook a king William discovered at last, that the journey into the interior, in company with king of France had deceived him, and the lieutenant Turnbull, who possessed some crown of Spain fell to a Bourbon, the advo

of the colony might have been established, for, in spite of all obstacles, it was gradually rising out of its ruins, and this victory came too late. A fleet of eleven Spanish ships, under the command of the governor of Carthagena, approached the colony by sea, at the same time that the Spanish troops advanced by land, and these blockaded the harbour and landed troops to invest the fort. On the 18th of March, 1700, the Scottish colonists, convinced that further resistance was useless, capitulated and obtained honourable terms. They were allowed to embark with their goods for Jamaica, but unfortunately many of them perished by the shipwrecks of the Hope and the Rising Sun, and most of the others were scattered through the English settlements. Of about three thousand men who embarked from Scotland in this ill-fated attempt to colonise, a very small number ever returned to their native land. The original and great difficulty with which the project had to contend, was the opposition of king William, arising out of temporary political motives; yet there is every reason to believe that, in spite of the king, the colony would have succeeded, if the company had begun by appointing Paterson its governor, instead of electing an inefficient council of seven.

cates of the Scottish company were encou- shall be seen in all the kingdom, and that raged to hope for its revival under the king's without an act of slavery. 5. To pay back patronage, as a means of contributing to the to any of the subscribers of the African general defence against that danger. Pater- stock his money if demanded, so that nobody son, only a few months before the king's can complain of loss that way." This acdecease, presented a memorial, which is said count was written by Mr. Stuart to Carto have made a deep impression upon him, stairs, on the 3rd of September, 1700: the proposing the formation of great settlements next letter on the 14th of September, adds,— in Darien, from Port Escoces to the Pacific," Mr. Paterson is very tenacious and stiff as and the seizure of a powerful port of trade in to his project; and, indeed, he has a good Cuba; and at the same time, in Scotland, genius. Some of his notions are very metahe urged the Darien company to persevere in a prudent maintenance of their adventure, and devised a plan of colonial government and trade, analogous to that which had produced the best results in England, under the advice of lord Clarendon, of Locke, and lord Somers. The duke of Queensberry, whom he had warmly supported in favour of the union, wrote of his proceedings at this period to Carstairs :-"The African company have appointed seven of their number to confer with Mr. Paterson; but he is against moving anything this session, and tells me he thinks he has gained some considerable men to his opinions. He acts with great diligence and affection to the king and the country. He has no bye-ends." At the same time Mr. John Stuart wrote thus to Carstairs :"The hearts of all good countrymen are bent upon an union with England... They have projectors now at work making plans of trade. The design is a national trade, so that all Scotland will become one entire company of merchants. It proposes to raise above three hundred thousand pounds in two years with this stock they are-1. To trade to both the Indies, and settle colonies in the terms of the act establishing their company. 2. To raise manufactories throughout all the kingdom. 3. To pursue their fishing to greater profit in the markets of Europe than any other fishing company in christendom can do. 4. To employ all the poor of the nation; so that in two years not a beggar

physical, though I am not fool enough to be persuaded that they are not true, but practicable. As to his council of trade, I know not how it is to be for the king to constitute such an office. It is true twelve angels might be well enough trusted with powers and privileges absolutely necessary, but they are too much for men; for while they act in concert with an African company, and it is impossible they can have different interests, they are too powerful even for the king; they are in a manner a committee of parliament constantly sitting; they have all the power, thought, and treasure of the kingdom in their hands. In short, nothing but time and experience can tell us what the consequences of such a constitution may be. So that I have no manner of hope that this project will take. But I think still that it is fit to encourage the projector, who indeed has a prodigious genius, and a vast extended thought; valeat quantum valere potest. It is possible the wisdom of parliament may cull out some things to be of use to the country; and a means to accommodate matters betwixt the king and his people." William's unexpected death, at the beginning of the next year, appears to have given the last blow to an undertaking which made a great noise at the time, and of which it has been thought best to give here a connected narrative, rather than taking its incidents as they lie scattered through several chapters of Scottish history.

CHAPTER XI.

AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE REIGN OF KING WILLIAM; QUEEN ANNE; TREATY FOR A UNION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.

THE year 1696 was ushered in by a new tion, one object of which was the assassinaplot against the government of the revolu- tion of king William, which was to be

followed by a formidable invasion from upon Tullibardine and his particular friends, France. The timely discovery of this conspiracy frustrated the designs of France, and gave rise to an outburst of loyalty to king William in Scotland as well as in England, which caused various grievances to be passed over without any new complaints. In both countries associations were entered into for the defence of the king's person. In Scotland, however, the association met with more difficulties in the arrange- was refused in England, and gave other ments of form and character from the peculiar position of the various political parties. The marquis of Argyle's party, led by himself, Queensberry, and Melville, proposed to secure William's government by placing all its enemies under surveillance, while the strict presbyterians of the west, or, as they were now commonly called, the western whigs, asked for an association for the protection of the king's person, which was almost equivalent to a renewal of the covenant, and they offered, in case their proposal was accepted, to bring into the field an army of forty thousand men. The king's ministers were most inclined to the latter proposal, though they were afraid to propose anything like a renewal of the cove-year 1700, the company at home had renant, and in the end a simple association was agreed to, on the same plan as that which had been formed in England.

raised jealousies and divisions among the ministers of state, while his hostility to the Darien company excited the greatest discontent throughout Scotland. Yet in the year following, under the management of lord Polwarth, who was now created earl of Marchmont, and who was deservedly popular in the country, the Scottish parliament agreed to keep up a standing army, which

In the following September, the Scottish parliament met, the earl of Tullibardine acting as the king's commissioner, and he and sir Patrick Hume, now created lord Polwarth, managed it so well, that the requisite supplies were granted without hesitation, and the various subjects of discontent were allowed to pass almost unnoticed. In their zeal against the jacobites, whose recent plots had caused so much sensation, this parliament passed an act "that when it should please God to afflict the nation by the death of the king, no commission, civil or military, or any court whatsoever, should cease or become void for six months after his present majesty's decease, unless stopped or recalled by the next immediate successor to whom the imperial crown of the kingdom should descend, and that the parliament should not be dissolved, but by virtue of that present act be empowered and required to convene, sit, and act, notwithstanding of the said death, and that during the time of six months and no longer, unless sooner adjourned by the person who shall be next heir to the crown.' "" But at the same time the favours which the king showered

proofs of gratitude for their deliverance by king William from popery and arbitrary power. The great subject of discontent was still the question of the colony of Darien, or rather of the company who were attempting to establish it, which was commonly known as the African company, and the king found it necessary to excuse or disavow some of his proceedings in that matter, such as, especially, the conduct of his agent at Hamburgh. During some subsequent months, little occurred in Scotland to arrest the pen of the historian, and the discontent occasioned by the king's hostility to the colony of Darien did not show itself in any very violent form, until in the beginning of the

ceived certain intelligence of its disasters. As, however, it was supposed that the new expedition just sent out would retrieve the fortunes of the settlement, the general council or committee of the company only drew up an address to the king on the seizure of their ship the Dolphin by the Spaniards, and the imprisonment and cruel treatment of the crew. The duke of Hamilton, who had lately obtained the title in his mother's right, was deeply engaged in the Darien scheme, and his younger brother, the lord Basil, was chosen to present the address; but the king refused to admit him to his presence, on the ground of his jacobitism, and it was only with apparent reluctance that he promised to demand of Spain the release of their sailors, and to allow the Scots liberty of trade in the English plantations. This matter was rendered more embarrassing to the king by the conduct of the English parliament, which, having before taken up the matter with great warmth, had now cooled, and when in the parliament of 1700, the house of lords passed a vote against the Scottish project by a small majority, the commons refused to concur in it, and the king gave an answer to the address of the lords which seems to have pleased no party. In conclusion, however, the king took occasion to recommend his