establishment; and thereupon adopting such | "And further, the said ministers and elders, measures as may be competent to us, in in this their general assembly convened, humble dependence on God's grace and the while they refuse to acknowledge the su aid of the Holy Spirit, for the advancement preme ecclesiastical judicatory established of his glory, the extension of the gospel of by law in Scotland, and now holding its our Lord and Saviour, and the administra- sittings in Edinburgh, to be a free assembly tion of the affairs of Christ's house, ac- of the church of Scotland, or a lawful cording to his holy word: and we do now assembly of the said church, according to for the purpose foresaid withdraw accord- the true and original constitution thereof, ingly, humbly and solemnly acknowledging and disclaims its authority as to matters the hand of the Lord in the things which spiritual, yet in respect of the recognition have come upon us, because of our manifold given to it by the state, and the powers in sins and the sins of the church and nation; consequence of such recognition belonging but, at the same time, with an assured con- to it with reference to the temporalities of viction, that we are not responsible for any the establishment, and the rights derived consequences that may follow from this our thereto from the state, hereby appoint a enforced separation from an establishment duplicate of this act, to be subscribed by which we loved and prized-through inter- their moderator, and also by the several ference with conscience, the dishonour done ministers, members of this assembly, now to Christ's crown, and the rejection of His present in Edinburgh, for their individual sole and supreme authority as king in His interests, to be transmitted to the clerk of church." the said ecclesiastical judicatory, by law established, for the purpose of certiorating them, that the benefices held by such of the said ministers, or others, adhering to this assembly, as were incumbents of benefices, are now vacant, and the said parties consent that the said benefices shall be dealt with as such." This deed of demission was signed eventually by four hundred and seventy-four ministers.

When he had concluded the reading of this protest, Dr. Welsh laid it upon the table, and, after bowing respectfully to the queen's commissioner, walked solemnly out of the assembly. He was followed by Dr. Chalmers, and then by others of the leaders of his party in the church, and finally by all those who acted with them. They were received in the street by a numerous crowd, who congratulated them with loud cheers, and they proceeded to a large hall which had been taken in the suburb of Canonmills, at the northern extremity of Edinburgh, in which they again assembled, and Dr. Welsh, having taken the chair, opened the meeting with a solemn prayer. He then addressed the meeting, and proposed Dr. Chalmers as moderator of what he claimed to be the "free assembly." The choice was approved unanimously and enthusiastically, and the new moderator immediately assumed the chair. Dr. Chalmers then addressed the assembly on their prospects, and they proceeded to choose clerks. The protest was then read again, and was ordered to lie on the table for further signatures; and a committee was appointed to consider in what way those who had signed it should give in the renunciation of their livings. The "free assembly" continued its sittings until Tuesday, the 30th of May. A deed of demission, drawn up according to the forms of law, was laid upon the table on the 23rd of May, in which, after repeating the substance of the protest, those who had signed it made the following declaration :

To return to the general assembly in St. Andrew's church, when the protesters had withdrawn, the party called "the forty" stepped forward to occupy their places, and they, with the moderate party, now proceeded to constitute the assembly, and to proceed with the business which was to come before them in that capacity. One of their earliest acts was to reverse those of the late evangelical majority. On the morning of Monday, the 22nd of May, the question of the veto law was brought before the assembly, and Dr. Cook proposed to consider it as an act null and void in itself, and moved that "it be an instruction by the general assembly to all presbyteries, that they proceed henceforth in the settlement of parishes according to the practice which prevailed previously to the passing of that act." "The forty" opposed this way of proceeding, alleging that as the veto law was a bona fide act of the church, it ought to be repealed in a constitutional way, and it was moved as an amendment that an overture should be transmitted to the pres byteries for the repeal of this act in the old constitutional way. In the course of the

debate, principal Lee expressed doubts as to pronounced in regard to all other ministers tre assembly as it then stood exhibiting a who should adhere to the protest. "It will full representation of the church. He ob- be proper," Dr. Cook said in the course of jected that twenty presbyteries and various his speech, "that an examination of the burghs were not represented at all; and minutest kind should be made of this prosaid that he hesitated with regard to the test; that a formal answer to it should be degree of weight which might be given to drawn up, which should be widely circulated a house so inadequately representing the throughout the country. We are, I have no church. He would have no hesitation in doubt," he went on to say, "agreed upon agreeing to any motion suspending the the point, that the pleas put forth by the operation of this act till another general protesters are in a very great degree falla. assembly should meet; as that was a dif- cious pleas; that their views of acts of parferent thing from absolutely and in all time liament are erroneous views; and we are coming undoing what had been done by a perfectly as one in this, that their interpreformer assembly. This objection, however, tations of these acts are not interpretations was overruled, and Dr. Cook's motion was which, down to the last assembly, have ever agreed to without a division. The same been put upon the statutes, or were conday "the forty" made a still firmer stand sidered by the assembly to be legitimate against the proposal of Dr. Mearns that the interpretations. I therefore think it necessentences of suspension and deposition which sary, and it should be understood, that there had been pronounced against the seven is to be a committee appointed to prepare ministers should be considered as being ab such a minute answer as I have suggested, initio null and void, and that without more and that that will be done after the discusado those ministers were to be held and sion of this day." This motion was adopted recognised as having always been, and as unanimously, and the committee appointed being then, in full possession of all their accordingly. The report of this committee, ministerial and presbyterial rights and pri- which was brought up on the morning of vileges. Mr. Storie of Roseneath, who Monday, the 29th of May, the day when the appeared as the leader of "the forty," went assembly closed its session, was not conso far as to say that he feared, if this pro- sidered sufficiently explicit, and several posal were persevered in, it would lead to unsuccessful attempts were made to effect another secession; but, after some debate, the object by a series of resolutions. A Dr. Mearns's motion was carried by a ma-motion was at last made by Mr. Robertson iority of a hundred and forty-eight voices of Ellon, to the effect "that a paper so against thirty-three, and no further opposi- important as the protest under consideration was offered to it. Next day, the act of tion, requires to be answered with greater 1833, admitting the ministers of the parlia- care, and with fuller leisure for mature mentary churches to be office-bearers, that deliberation than it has been found possible of 1834, admitting the ministers of chapels to give it, during the pressure of business of ease to the same rights, and that of which the assembly have had to sustain; 1839, giving them to the ministers of the and also that, in questions involving imporassociate synod who had then returned to tant points of jurisdiction, the bearings of the communion of the established church, the various judgments which have been were expunged from the church records as recently pronounced by the civil courts in having been incompetently passed. From the numerous cases that have arisen from general acts, the assembly proceeded to the illegal maintenance, on the part of the persons, and Mr. Edwards and Mr. Mid-church, of the act on calls, and of the act dleton were cleared of censure and their with reference to parliamentary and quoad settlements confirmed, and his license was sacra churches, should be very carefully restored to Mr. Clark, the presentee to Lethendy.

and maturely considered, -the general assembly recommit the whole case for the On the 24th of May, the assembly took further consideration of their committee, under its consideration the protest and the and instruct them accordingly to report on act of disrupture. Dr. Cook moved that the whole case to the commission in Authe churches of those ministers who had gust." The report was duly given in to signed the protest should at once be de- the August commission when it met, and clared vacant, and that the necessary steps was appointed to be taken into consideration should be taken to have a similar declaration on the following day, but when that day

came the commission could not be consti- the opinion that no bill of any kind was now tuted for want of a quorum, and the answer to the protest seems to have dropped.

The queen's letter to this assembly contained the following passage:-"The church of Scotland, occupying its true position in friendly alliance with the state, is justly entitled to expect the aid of parliament in removing any doubts which may have arisen with respect to the right construction of the statutes relating to the admission of ministers. You may safely confide in the wisdom of parliament, and we shall readily give our assent to any measure which the legislature may pass, for the purpose of securing to the people the full privilege of objection, and to the church judicatories the exclusive right of judgment." The evangelical party looked upon this paragraph as a derisory offer of lord Aberdeen's bill, while the assembly which they had left having reduced things to the condition in which they stood previous to these disputes, was inclined strongly to

necessary. In deference, however, to lord Aberdeen, the assembly, after some discussion, agreed to a paragraph in their answer to the queen's letter, intimating their willingness to accept of an act of the nature which that letter implied. Accordingly, a bill to regulate the admission of ministers, similar in principle to that which had before been proposed by lord Aberdeen, was brought by him into the house of lords on the 13th of June, 1843, and, though it met with some obstinate opposition, was carried successfully through the legislature. Next year, a bill was brought in by sir James Graham, which also passed into law, excluding the ministers of the quoad sacra churches from the government or courts of the church, and making an endowment of a hundred and twenty pounds a-year, and the consent of a majority of the heritors of the parish and of the court of teinds, necessary to the establishment of a new congregation.

CHAPTER XIV.

HIGHLAND DESTITUTION; PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS; REFORM OF THE REPRESENTATION; EDUCATIONAL MEASURE; DEFENCES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH; CENTENARY ANNIVERSARY OF SIR WALTER SCOTT'S BIRTH; ELECTION OF LORD RECTORS FOR THE UNIVERSITIES; POOR-LAW BILL; ABOLITION OF LAY PATRONAGE.

WITHDRAWING attention from the affairs of lation numbered four thousand souls. The the church, and turning it upon social and half of this number were already in a state political events, it may be observed that, of destitution; and although lord Macwhile the people of Ireland succeeded in donald, the proprietor of the island, had compelling a large amount of sympathy to already made arrangements for relief, at an be attracted to their condition, a scene of expenditure greater than the entire rental as great destitution, but supported with of the island, still the suffering was great. more resignation, was, in 1846, widely pre- Measures to ameliorate the condition of the valent in some districts of Scotland. It highlanders were immediately adopted, and was, however, happily, mostly confined to intelligence having reached the governthe highlands. It appears, from a state- ment, efforts were at once set on foot to ment made by the lord provost at a meet- relieve the distressed districts. Several ing held in the capital, that the afflicted vessels laden with meal, rice, and other counties possessed a population of about kinds of food, were despatched to the points four hundred and thirty thousand. For where they were most urgently required; three-fourths of the year the half of these and as the comparative paucity of the depended for subsistence upon the potato- population brought them more readily crop; whilst, for the whole year, no fewer within the reach of local assistance, exthan one hundred thousand depended en-treme suffering was fortunately prevented. tirely upon it The whole of the island of The political events of Scotland are now Skye could not furnish twenty barrels of so closely interwoven with those of Engpotatoes free from disease; and the popu- land, that few events affecting the political

Having settled the representative point of the universities, the chancellor proposed to give three additional members to counties-one each to Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and Aberdeenshire; and as no county in Scotland possessed more than one member, he proposed to divide those counties.

With respect to the burghs, it was proposed to give one additional member to Glasgow, the city being divided into two parts, and North Glasgow having two members, and South Glasgow one. It was

would have one member. This arrangement made room for the seven additional members; but additions would likewise be made to the Ayr as well as to the Haddington burghs.

conditions of the one, do not, to some extent, influence those of the other. In 1867, the chancellor of the exchequer (Mr. Disraeli) brought in his bill for parliamentary | reform; and the outlines of the measure for Scotland were stated to the house of commons, and advanced a stage or two. On account of the large amount of time absorbed by the debates upon the English bill, it was deferred till the following year. On the 13th of May, while the committee on the English bill was proceeding with the clauses, the chancellor of the exchequer intended to dissolve the two groups of moved for leave to bring in the bill for burghs called the Falkirk district and the Scotland, and explained its leading features. Kilmarnock district, re-arranging them, He said it would include two branches; and adding other towns; the principle one regarding the franchise, the other, the being that, throughout Scotland, every distribution of seats. In reference to the town with six thousand inhabitants should proposed borough franchise, it was similar be a burgh; and one new group, called the to what had been proposed for England; Hamilton group, would be created, and making allowance for the different state of the law in Scotland. In so far as regarded the payment of rates, it was based on the same principle. In Scotland there was no compounding for rates; and, on that account, every householder would have a vote. As the government had accepted the decision at which the house had arrived in regard to the borough franchise in England, the chancellor expressed a hope that there would be no attempt to reverse that vote. He also expressed regret that he had found, from recent speeches which had been made elsewhere, by "spouters of stale sedition," and "obsolete incendiaries," that political agitation was to be removed from the country to London; but whether to obtain manhood suffrage, or a £5 rating franchise, he did not know. Turning from this confession of ignorance, he reverted to the bill, and proposed that the franchise in counties should be reduced, in Scotland, to the same scale exactly as was proposed for England; and the property franchise, untouched in England, would likewise be untouched in Scotland.

Some diversity of opinion was expressed by the Scotch members whilst commenting on the measure proposed. Mr. Moncrieff thought that the householders of England had cause to complain that they were not so liberally treated as those of Scotland; and also hoped that, in respect to the county franchise, residence would be required in order to prevent the manufacture of faggot-votes.-Mr. Bouverie thought that the house would hardly be prepared to support the proposition for eliminating from the counties all the towns of a population of six thousand. He also objected to the proposed grouping of the burghs, trusting the house would lower the proprietary franchise in the counties. Besides these dissenting opinions, Mr. Gladstone raised another point. He observed that the chancellor of the exchequer had not indicated whence the additional Scottish members were to be taken. The scheme for the representation of England was settled; and unless it were intended to take some from Ireland, he supposed the design was to increase the number of members of the house. The burgh franchise was a liberal enfranchisement without odious distinctions between man and man; but it depended on the parochial board to determine the amount at which the tenant should be rated, and it would, therefore, be better to fix the franchise at £4.