Historical preface: 1638-40

1638–40

Civil war was now imminent, and both the king and the covenanters had for several months been anticipating and making preparations for it. So early as February, 1638, the covenanters projected the levying of a contribution to meet the expenses of resisting the royal authority; (fn. 1) and in the beginning of March six hundred and seventy dollars were subscribed by their leaders, in sums varying from ten to twenty-five dollars—the latter amount being the contribution of the earl of Montrose, whose name appears at the head of the list of contributors. At the same time arrangements were made for levying a tax, under the name of a voluntary contribution, over Scotland, at the rate of one dollar for each thousand merks of free rent. This tax was appointed to be levied by two instalments—the second instalment to be uplifted only when the first was exhausted. (fn. 2) The committee charged with the collection of the tax was afterwards known as the "War Committee." (fn. 3) The king, too, was pushing forward his warlike preparations, and on 26th January intimated his resolution to march against the Scots in person. On 11th June he wrote the marquis of Hamilton, then at Dalkeith, that he was preparing to establish his authority, and that the covenanters should not be proclaimed traitors till his fleet had sailed for Scotland. Nine days later he intimated that his train of artillery would be ready in six weeks; that he had taken steps to secure Carlisle and Berwick; that he had ordered supplies of arms from Holland for 14,000 foot and 2,000 horse; that he was in consultation with the chancellor of exchequer as to raising £200,000 to defray the cost of the expedition; and he desired Hamilton's advice as to whether he should send 6,000 soldiers with the fleet to the Firth of Forth. These communications were no doubt secret, but the fact that hostile preparations against them were being pushed forward was undoubtedly known to the covenanters, and they, too, hastened forward their measures for defence. On 1st July the king for the first time brought before the English privy council the state of affairs in Scotland, and in terms of studied moderation informed it of the necessity for strengthening the fortresses on the border, but no opinion was then asked from or given by the council on the subject. Some days later, however, he directed a committee of its members to be appointed to advise him as to the practicability of an armed interference in that country. But on that subject the committee were divided in opinion. It had been found impossible to raise the £200,000 which the chancellor of exchequer had promised; only £110,000 could be raised by borrowing, and the feeling throughout England in regard to the levying of shipmoney was ominous.

On 22nd December an act was passed by the town council in which, in consideration of the good order preserved during the time of the assembly by keeping the poor off the streets, and sustaining them in their own houses, it was ordered that the same arrangement should be continued, and that the inhabitants should be stented to make the necessary provision for them. (fn. 4) This order was followed on 12th January, 1639, by another appointing £600 to be advanced for the sustentation of the poor detained in their own houses; and to raise this sum an addition of one-fifth was made to the stent payable by each inhabitant. (fn. 5) The desirableness of keeping the streets free of middings and filth had also so commended itself to the town council as to induce them to enact that in future such filth should not be suffered to lie on any part of the streets longer than it could "be brought out of back syds and borne and led presently away." (fn. 6)

While the covenant was being generally signed with enthusiasm throughout the country, the great bulk of the inhabitants of the city of Aberdeen and the surrounding district refused to recognise it, and the covenanters determined to force its acceptance upon them. Before the Glasgow Assembly was held an effort had been made to secure the adhesion of the uncovenanted people of that district, and a committee of clergymen, headed by the earl of Montrose, had proceeded there to effect that object. But in this they were very unsuccessful, and the immediate result was a wordy warfare between the clerical champions, which evoked from the king an appreciative recognition of the services of the Aberdeen disputants. (fn. 7) As events developed, however, the covenanters recognised the importance of suppressing the "malignants" of the north, before having to deal with the forces which the king was organising. An army of 3,000 or 4,000 men was accordingly collected, and placed under the command of the earl of Montrose, for this purpose, and with him was associated, as his lieutenant, general Alexander Leslie, who had been trained under Gustavus Adolphus, and had come over from Sweden a few months previously. But before this force commenced its march Montrose learned that a few friends of the covenanting cause were to assemble at the market town of Turriff, on the border of Banffshire, about the middle of February, 1639, and that the Gordons, under lord Huntly, were to disperse them. Montrose immediately determined to protect his friends, and, with a small body of 200 men, hurried by unfrequented paths to the place of meeting. There he occupied the churchyard, and when Huntly arrived with, it is said, 2,000 men, the latter as a matter of policy withdrew. Meanwhile the citizens of Aberdeen pushed forward their preparations for defending the town against the covenanting force, which, as it advanced, received large accessions of strength, and by the time it approached the town numbered 10,000 or 11,000 men. Against so powerful a body resistance was hopeless; the invading army made a peaceful entry on 30th March, and, after passing through the town, encamped on the Queen's Links, where it was afterwards joined by five hundred highlandmen sent by Argyle. The episcopal and royalist inhabitants had to seek safety in flight, and a contribution of ten thousand merks was levied on the community. The army remained at Aberdeen till 12th April, when it returned to the south under the command of Leslie, leaving a garrison behind it. Previously, however, Montrose had arranged an accommodation with the marquis of Huntly, whom he took with him to Edinburgh, where he and his eldest son, lord Gordon, were imprisoned in the castle. The king then constituted Huntly's second son, lord Aboyne, his lieutenant in the north, and the royalists gained a small success at Turriff on 14th May. (fn. 8) This and the royalist movements in the north led to the return of Montrose with an army to Aberdeen on 25th May. After imposing upon it a fine of 10,000 merks he passed on to the Gordon country, where he laid siege to the tower of Gight, but on the receipt of information, which proved to be false, he broke up his camp and retreated southward. Emboldened by the retreat the royalists took possession of Aberdeen in the beginning of June, and Montrose was again despatched to the north in the middle of that month. On his way he was met by the royalists between Dunnottar and Muchalls, but they were there signally defeated. Pushing forward Montrose forced the bridge over the Dee, and took possession of Aberdeen on 19th June. (fn. 9)

Early in 1639 a royalist army of upwards of 20,000 men and a powerful train of artillery, was collected at York, where the king arrived on 30th March. The army was under the command of the earl of Arundel, with the earl of Essex (afterwards leader of the parliamentary forces) as lieutenantgeneral, and the earl of Holland as general of the cavalry. A fleet of nineteen ships of war, under the command of the duke of Hamilton, entered the Firth of Forth on 1st May to threaten Leith and Edinburgh, and to cooperate with the marquis of Huntly in contemplated operations in the north. Nor were the covenanters less energetic. Emboldened by the support given to them throughout the country, and the defenceless condition into which the castles and strongholds had been allowed to fall, they, on 23rd March, captured the castle of Edinburgh, and on the following day the castle of Dumbarton. Dalkeith they took by assault; Stirling castle was in the hands of the earl of Mar, one of themselves, and Hamilton palace and Douglas castle were also secured. They were, moreover, says Burton, soon in posses sion of 30,000 stand of arms. They had 20,000 men embodied, and in the hands of an organisation for diligently drilling and training them. Prompt measures were also taken for the defence of the coast. Leith was strongly fortified, and the seaport towns of Fife were so fortified that no party could be landed from the fleet without a struggle. (fn. 10)

In these military preparations Glasgow took an active share, and, following up those already mentioned, (fn. 11) the town council, on 18th December, 1638, ordered the treasurer to buy, for the town's use, one hundred muskets, with "stalf and bandiliers, thirty picks, four hundredweight of powder," and a similar quantity of "match," (fn. 12) at a cost of £1,888 8s. 8d. (fn. 13) On 7th February, 1639, again, the town council, understanding that a large number of the inhabitants were not provided with arms, ordered every one, with all diligence, to be provided therewith, according to his rank and estate, under a penalty of £20. (fn. 14) Five weeks later, viz., on 12th March, the bailies were ordered to apply money collected as stent in the purchase of more muskets, powder, and match for the use of the town, and in paying for arms bought by the provost in Edinburgh. (fn. 15) On 1st April Gabriel Cunynghame and Colin Campbell, younger, were appointed by the town council to meet with the earl of Argyle, at his request, communicated by letter to the burgh. (fn. 16)

These preparations were followed, on 10th April, 1639, by a resolution of the town council to provide and pay a company of one hundred men for the army which was being raised to proceed to the borders and oppose the royal army then being prepared in England to invade Scotland. Proclamation by sound of drum was accordingly appointed to be made through the town, requiring all able-bodied men who were prepared to go on that service to enrol themselves. (fn. 17) On the 13th George Porterfield was appointed captain of this company, which was to join lord Montgomery's regiment, in accordance with a promise given by the magistrates and council to his lordship. It was, however, declared that so long as the captain and his company were in Glasgow, and after their return to it, they should be subject in all things to the magistrates of the city. (fn. 18) Three days later each townsman who intended to carry a musket was ordered, by public proclamation, to have in readiness two pounds of powder and lead respectively, and five fathoms of match, and to be prepared with his arms on twelve hours' warning." Failure to obey this order subjected the defaulter to a fine of £20, and further punishment at the discretion of the magistrates. (fn. 19) On 20th April the council, in view of the necessity for having the burgesses and inhabitants trained in the exercise of arms, divided the city into eight quarters, and appointed a captain and sergeant to each quarter; (fn. 20) and on the same day they resolved to add fifty men to the hundred formerly agreed upon. (fn. 21) On 18th May the council authorised payments to be made for muskets and other stores to the amount of £555 1s. (fn. 22)

On the 1st of May, 1639, the king had arrived at Durham, and on the 20th of that month the Scottish army, consisting of upwards of 20,000 men, effectively equipped, was paraded on the links of Leith under the command-in-chief of Alexander Leslie, afterwards earl of Leven; the articles of war under which it was to serve were read; and on the following day it began its march to the border, accompanied by several ministers as chaplains. Baillie, armed with sword and pistols, went as chaplain to the contingent from Ayrshire, and he remarks that the colonels of the several regiments were, for the most part, noblemen. "Rothes, Lindsay, and Sinclair had among them two full regiments, at least, from Fife. Balcarres had a horse troop. Loudon, Montgomery"—of whose regiment the Glasgow company formed part—"Boyd, Fleming, Kirkcudbright, Yester, Dalhousie, Eglinton, and others, either with whole or half regiments. Montrose's regiment numbered above 1,500 men." (fn. 23) On reaching Dunglas a proclamation by the king, dated at Newcastle on the 14th of the month, was placed in the hands of Leslie, disclaiming any intention on the part of his majesty to invade Scotland, if "civil and temporal obedience" were timeously shown; but intimating that if the Scots advanced to within ten miles of the border they would be treated "as rebels and invaders" of the kingdom of England, and be attacked as such by the English army. (fn. 24) A council of war resolved to obey the proclamation; advanced detachments were called in, and a permanent camp was established at Dunse. Meanwhile, towards the end of May, the English army had advanced to Berwick, and encamped in the neighbourhood of that town, where they were joined by the king on the 30th. Both armies were thus face to face with each other—the king's army being slightly superior in numbers to that of the Scots, who in training and equipment were, however, greatly superior. But on both sides there was disinclination to commence active hostilities, and the king's dignity was respected by the Scots sending him an "humble supplication" to appoint some persons well affected to true religion and the common peace to hear their humble desires, and make known to them his majesty's gracious pleasure. (fn. 25) In consequence of this overture, and after some previous negotiation, the king appointed six commissioners to receive those of Scotland at his camp. Accordingly, on 11th June, Rothes, Loudon, Douglas, sheriff of Teviotdale, Warriston, and Henderson went to the tent of the English commander, the earl of Arundel, where they were unexpectedly joined by the king, who took upon himself the principal part of the negotiation, and it resulted, on the 18th, in an arrangement that the matters in dispute should be submitted to a free assembly, to be held at Edinburgh on 6th August, and to a free meeting of the estates on the 20th of the same month; that both armies should be disbanded; that the "Tables" and all unlawful assemblies should be broken up; and that the royal fortresses which had been taken possession of by the covenanters should be restored to the king. (fn. 26)

While the Scottish army was advancing towards England, and before the negotiations between the leaders of the covenanters and the king had commenced at Berwick, military preparations in Glasgow continued to be pushed forward. On 25th May companies under the command of eight captains were ordered to be drilled weekly on specified days; (fn. 27) and, on 7th June, John Anderson, cordiner, a former bailie, was appointed captain of a company, which was ordered to be sent out in addition to that under captain Porterfield. Captain Anderson's company, like that of captain Porterfield, was also ordered to be subject to the magistrates previous to its departure and after its return. (fn. 28) In obedience to an order by the committee of supply in Edinburgh, the town council, on 13th June, required the inhabitants, by proclamation with sound of drum, to bring all their silver plate to persons appointed to receive it; (fn. 29) and on the 29th of the same month they ordered a dyke, with a port, to be built at the Stockwell head, another dyke from the Linthouse to the custom house, and a port within it, and a third dyke between the bridge and the house of the then deceased John Holmes. (fn. 30)

On the 24th of June the keys of the castle of Edinburgh were delivered to the marquis of Hamilton, who installed general Ruthven, a firm royalist, as its governor; but obstructions were subsequently interposed to the introduction of stores into the castle. The "Tables," too, were not dissolved; a regiment was still maintained; and the fortifications of Leith were not destroyed. The king, who remained at Berwick, accordingly summoned the covenanting leaders to explain this failure to implement the provisions of the treaty, and, after several interviews, a promise was given him that the regiment would be disbanded and the fortifications destroyed. The result of these intercommunications, however, was that both parties lost confidence in each other, and that the king abandoned his intention of appearing at the meetings of the assembly and parliament. (fn. 31) He accordingly returned to London on 3rd August, and on the following day a statement of the conditions of the treaty of Berwick, which had been prepared by the covenanters, and circulated by them both in Scotland and England, was considered by the English privy council. Its accuracy was, however, disavowed by the king and the English commissioners who attended the conferences at Berwick, and the privy council petitioned the king "that this false and scandalous paper might be publicly burnt by the hangman." (fn. 32) This indignity naturally created great irritation in Scotland, and still further disinclined the covenanters to put trust in the king. (fn. 33)

On 1st July a proclamation by the king having ordered the election of members of the general assembly (fn. 34) and its meeting at Edinburgh on 12th August, it was then held, and the earl of Traquair, lord treasurer, appeared as royal commissioner—the marquis of Hamilton having begged to be excused from undertaking that office. After a sermon by Henderson, David Dickson was elected moderator. "As in the assembly of 1638, care was taken," says Burton, "to exclude the uncovenanted, and the process had become far less troublesome since the spirit of opposition was dead." Compared, indeed, with the other, this assembly resembled a conclave of official persons who have to record and put in order the resolutions, over which a great battle has been fought, with debaters, musters of attendance, and anxious voting. It was conceded to the king that, although they were virtually met to confirm the acts of the assembly of 1638, it should not be referred to in the acts of the new assembly, however it might be mentioned in debate. Also, that in confirming the abolition of episcopacy, nothing should be said abusive of that form of church government as popish or otherwise, but that it should be simply condemned as "contrary to the constitution of the church of Scotland." The same negative courtesy was to be rendered to the court of high commission and to the abolished ceremonies. (fn. 35) In this spirit an act was passed rejecting the Service Book, Books of Canons and Ordination, and the High Commission; prohibiting the practice of the articles of Perth; declaring episcopal government and the civil places and power of churchmen to be unlawful in the church of Scotland; and the six assemblies, from 1606 to 1618, to be null; appointing general assemblies to be held yearly or oftener if required—the necessity for such assembly being first submitted to the king; and requiring kirk sessions and synodal assemblies to be observed as formerly. (fn. 36) The proceedings of a committee appointed by the Glasgow assembly in deposing ministers was also confirmed. (fn. 37) The Confession of Faith and Covenant were approved, and all persons were ordained to swear to it—the privy council being requested to superadd civil pains to ecclesiastical censures in the case of papists and others who refused. The assembly also condemned the king's "Large Declaration," (fn. 38) which had been written by Dr. Balcanquhal, dean of Durham, (fn. 39) a Scotsman, and petitioned the king to suppress the book, and visit its author with exemplary punishment. (fn. 40) On the 30th of August the assembly closed its sittings. (fn. 41)

On the following day, and after several adjournments, (fn. 42) the parliament met for the first time in what is still known as "the Parliament House." Traquair presided as commissioner, and Glasgow was represented by Gabriel Cunynghame, (fn. 43) but, in the absence of representatives of the ecclesiastical estates, a difficulty arose in regard to the selection of the Lords of the Articles. This was, however, got over by the commissioner nominating the eight nobles who, by law, should have been nominated by the bishops. A variety of matters then became the subject of keen dispute by the Lords of the Articles, (fn. 44) who resolved that a general taxation on royalists as well as covenanters should be levied to meet the expenses of the war, and that the command of the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton should be entrusted to Scottish subjects, appointed by the king, subject to the approval of the estates. The practical effect of this proposed legislation was obviously to transfer the administration of the country from the king to the parliament. On the 10th, in compliance with a supplication from the general assembly, the lords also prohibited the keeping in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dumfries, and Jedburgh of the markets held in each of these towns on Monday; but referred to the consideration of the convention of burghs the question whether this prohibition should be absolute, or should be limited to such special commodities as occasioned the breach of the Sabbath, or whether Monday markets should be tolerated for such articles as were brought thither by people who lived at such a distance as enabled them to come to the market from their own homes in the morning of Monday. On the afternoon of the same day the burghs gave in their report, and in conformity therewith the prohibition of the Monday market was limited to such articles as should be specified by John Smith and Patrick Bell, (fn. 45) and which were appointed to be sold on Wednesday. All markets and market trysts held on Sunday throughout the kingdom were also prohibited. The discharge of the Monday markets was, however, restricted till the meeting of the next assembly, in order that "the inconvenience redounding to the lieges through it might be represented and considered by that body, so that, if they thought it necessary, they might supplicate the next parliament to rescind the act." (fn. 46) On the following day Patrick Bell produced the particular note of the merchandise which was prohibited to be sold in Glasgow on Monday, and John Smith promised to produce a similar note applicable to Edinburgh. (fn. 47) On the same day Bell, on behalf of Glasgow, presented a supplication craving that "the estate of the church there might be represented to the king by the lord commissioner," and the supplication was recommended to the commissioner to be so represented to his majesty. (fn. 48) On 12th September Newark and Inchgreen were declared to be the two places from which Glasgow might transport herrings. (fn. 49) The action of the Lords of the Articles was such that the royal commissioner felt it to be necessary to apply to the king for instructions as to what he should do, and his report proved, as might have been expected, so distasteful to his majesty, that, on 24th October, he directed his commissioner to adjourn the parliament till 2nd June, 1640. (fn. 50) This, however, was so strongly opposed by the estates, that on 31st October, 1639, the prorogation was made only till the 14th of November. On the same day a number of honours were conferred on supporters of the crown. The duke of Hamilton's brother was made earl of Lanark, lord Ogilvie was created earl of Airlie, lord Dalziel was made earl of Carnwath, and colonel Ruthven, governor of Edinburgh Castle, was made lord Ruthven of Ettrick. (fn. 51)

On 1st October, 1639, the town council, being convened to elect the magistrates, before performing that duty, ratified its act of 19th August, 1637, (fn. 52) as to the form of election, and also its act of 30th September, 1634, as to the application of fines to the common use of the burgh, (fn. 53) and set forth their understanding that the king and his progenitors had long previously and in 1636 erected the burgh into a free royal burgh, with all the privileges, liberties, immunities, and jurisdictions which by law belonged to royal burghs. Upon that preamble the town council elected Gabriel Cunninghame to be provost for the following year. John Anderson and George Porterfield, of the merchant rank, and Richard Allan, of the craft rank, were elected bailies. (fn. 54) On the 4th thirteen merchants and twelve craftsmen were elected councillors; and on the 16th Walter Stirling was elected dean of guild; Ninian Gilhagie, deacon convener; William Coats, treasurer; Thomas Glen, water bailie; Peter Cumming, master of work; and Walter Neilson, visitor. (fn. 55)

On 26th October the town council, "for eschewing sindrie evillis and abussis lyklie to aryse," ordained that the visitor of maltmen and mealmen should hold office only for a year in future, and not for two years as heretofore, and should not be put on leet for a second year; (fn. 56) and on the same day, after referring to the advantages of keeping the poor from begging on the streets by providing for them in their own houses, they ordained the arrangements sanctioned on 22nd December to be continued for the following year, and a contribution to be collected according to the old rolls. Such persons as failed to pay their contributions at the ringing of a bell were appointed to be certified that they would be poinded for double the amount, and their names published in the kirks. (fn. 57)

On 7th November the two commissioners appointed by the Scottish parliament to obtain the royal confirmation of the proceedings of the lords of the articles as above indicated, arrived in London; but the king ordered them to return, and, in effect, declined to treat with the parliament as an independent body, (fn. 58) and it was again prorogued till 2nd June. (fn. 59) Recognising, however, the necessity of providing the funds necessary to coerce Scotland, the king, on the advice of Wentworth, consented in December to summon an English parliament for 13th April, and also intimated to the Scots his willingness to receive a deputation from them, if they desired to send one. In the beginning of January, 1640, however, arrangements were made by the king for raising an army of 23,000 men to operate against Scotland during the summer. The intelligence of the king's intentions and movements provoked the Scots; the citizens of Edinburgh refused to allow the governor of the castle to carry in materials for its repair; and a few days later the earl of Southesk and other royalists were seized and imprisoned. (fn. 60) In the beginning of February commissioners from Scotland arrived in London to submit their case to the king, and negotiations with him and his advisers took place, but the divergences between them were too great to admit of such a mode of adjustment, and even while the negotiations were proceeding both parties prosecuted their military preparations. (fn. 61)

On 16th December, 1639, George Hutcheson, of Lambhill, conveyed to the provost, bailies, dean of guild, and deacon-convener, with the ordinary ministers of the city, and their successors, a tenement on the north side of the High Street, and appointed it to be converted into an hospital for poor, aged, and decrepit men; and for their entertainment he assigned to his disponees, whom he constituted patrons of the hospital, 20,000 merks (£1,111 2s. 2d. sterling), the annual rent of which he appointed to be distributed among the inmates, giving to each four shillings Scots (fourpence sterling) daily, and a gown of convenient colour annually. The benefits of this "mortification" he appointed to be for old decrepit men, merchants and craftsmen of any trade, above fifty years of age, who had been honest in life and conversation, and were known to be destitute of all help and support at the time of their admission. The 20,000 merks, he estimated, would yield an annual rent of 1,600 merks (£88 17s. 9d. sterling), which would provide four shillings Scots to each of eleven aged men, and the remaining 400 merks (£22 4s. 5d. sterling) would be available for their clothes and "elding." He also recommended that one of the inmates of the hospital should read prayers morning and evening, and that all of them should resort to the common prayers and preaching in the Laigh Tron kirk. (fn. 62) George Hutcheson died on 26th December, 1639, and on 10th March, 1640, his mortification was produced to the council by James Stewart, to whom it had been entrusted by Hutcheson. (fn. 63) The trust thus created was accepted by the magistrates and council on 27th June, and the "mortification" was ratified by Thomas Hutcheson, the brother and heir-at-law of the testator. (fn. 64) On 22nd August Thomas Hutcheson applied to the council to have the titles of the mortification by his brother recorded in the council books, and this was ordered to be done; (fn. 65) and on 9th March, 1641, he mortified to the hospital so founded a barn immediately to the west, for enlarging the wall and building of the hospital. But he directed that the barn should be converted into a separate house for educating twelve boys, indigent orphans, or others of like condition and quality, and providing them with meat, drink, and clothes, "elding," and other necessaries, with a master to teach and oversee them, and women to prepare their meat, wash their clothes, and keep them and the house clean, and exercise all other service therein. All the boys were appointed to be entertained in the house, and furnished with necessary books, paper, pens, ink, and other things needful, at the discretion of the patrons, and others to be appointed to them. The master and women servants were appointed to be chosen by the patrons, and to have the fees specified in the deed. The sons were appointed to be all sons of burgesses of the burgh, whose parents were either dead or unable to sustain them, and boys of the name of Hutcheson or Herbertson were to be preferred. The age of the orphans at the time of their admission was to be seven years or thereabout, or less if they were capable of instruction in letters. The deed further prescribed the time during which the boys should be kept in the hospital, and how they should be afterwards disposed of, and assigned to the provost, baillies, and councillors, and their successors in office, the principal sums therein specified, amounting to 20,000 merks (£1,111 2s. 2d. sterling), mortified to the effect foresaid. (fn. 66) On the same day, also, he granted a deed of assignment relative to his mortification; (fn. 67) and on 3rd July added 10,000 merks (£555 11s. 1d. sterling) to it for additional help to these orphans, or others. (fn. 68) Four days later he obtained from the college of Glasgow, for the use of the hospital, a conveyance of three roods of land or thereabout; (fn. 69) on the 13th he assigned to the hospital and its patrons a yearly feu-duty of twenty merks, payable in respect of a tenement and yard on the south side of the high street, called St. Enoch's Gate (now known as the. Trongate); (fn. 70) and on 14th July he added 10,500 merks (£583 6s. 8d. sterling) to his brother's mortification, for the better help and supply of the eleven foundationers appointed under it. (fn. 71) Thomas Hutcheson died on 1st September, 1641, survived by his widow, but without issue, and his several mortifications to the hospital were ratified by Janet, Bessie, and Helen Hutcheson, his sisters and heirs portioners, on 15th October, 1641. (fn. 72)

In 1640 the threatening aspect of affairs induced the magistrates of Glasgow to renew the military preparations which the treaty of Berwick led them to suspend. On 14th March the citizens were warned by sound of drum to have their arms in readiness; (fn. 73) and on the 11th of the following month forty muskets and twenty picks were ordered to be added to the common magazine. (fn. 74) Seven days later a general muster was appointed to take place on 29th April, and such persons as failed to appear were subjected to a fine of £40. (fn. 75) On the 25th of the same month, also, £40 were ordered to be paid to Henry Gibson, younger, for drilling the town's people in the use of arms. (fn. 76)

On 13th April, the English parliament assembled, and in the lords the dislike to the bishops was speedily manifested, while, in the commons, immediate expression was given to the popular discontent; parliamentary privilege was asserted; ecclesiastical innovations were denounced; civil grievances were brought forward; and the long suspension of parliament was made the subject of complaint. A select committee was appointed to consider grievances, and among these the levying of ship-money and impositions. This was followed on 23rd April by a resolution to consider grievances before voting supplies. On the following day the king appealed to the lords in person, and they voted that supply should precede grievances. This vote the commons, however, declared to be a breach of privilege; and on the 1st of May intelligence arrived that blood had been shed in Edinburgh in a conflict between the citizens and the castle. This increased the king's impatience to secure a money grant, and the commons were asked to vote twelve subsidies, representing a sum of £840,000. They, however, proposed that the Scottish grievances should be first considered, and it appears that it was intended to petition the king to come to terms with the Scots. But this incensed him, and on 5th May he dissolved parliament, which, having sat only for three weeks, was afterwards known as the "Short Parliament." (fn. 77) Short as it was, however, it had demonstrated the universality of the dissatisfaction with which his administration was regarded throughout the country, and the hatred which the people entertained towards Laud was extended to Strafford. Various attempts which were afterwards adopted by the king to raise money failed, but, nevertheless, he resolved, on 20th May, to prosecute the war with Scotland.

In the beginning of the year a proposal to unite the shire of Lanark for military purposes seems to have been under consideration, and on the 16th of April the town council appointed Patrick Bell to attend a meeting of the estates at Edinburgh, and to concur in all things that might contribute to "the glory of God and the good of the common cause." He was also authorised, if his advice were asked as to the union of the whole shire, to state that if the whole body of the shire had consented to such union Glasgow would have been content, but seeing that the rest of the regality, which was very considerable, and various parishes nearest the city, and proper parts of the shire, had not so consented, Glasgow was not prepared to unite until farther advised, but was willing to leave the matter to the determination of the Tables. (fn. 78)

A convention of estates held in Edinburgh in April, 1640, constituted General, then Sir Alexander, Leslie general of all the Scottish forces; appointed the earl of Eglintoun to guard the west coast, from the Clyde to the borders, against the landing of a royalist army from Ireland; and committed the defence of the West Highlands to the earl of Argyle. (fn. 79) In anticipation, also, of the renewal of warlike operations, the town council of Glasgow, on 2nd May, continued Porterfield as captain of the first company which was appointed to join the Scottish army; and £95 9s. 1d. were ordered to be paid for outreiking "eleven soldiers to the common service." (fn. 80) On 5th May the earl marischal took possession of Aberdeen, and was joined there on the 28th by Monro—a rough soldier who had been trained in the German wars; a fine was again imposed upon it; the citizens were compelled to sign the covenant— those who refused being sent prisoners to Edinburgh; and one hundred and fifty of the strongest townsmen were impressed into the army. (fn. 81) In Edinburgh a conflict had for some time been going on between the citizens and the garrison of the castle; this still continued, and the hostile feeling of the country was farther increased by English cruisers capturing Scottish merchant ships. On 27th May Patrick Bell, former provost, was ordered to ride to Edinburgh to attend the meeting of parliament on 2nd July, to which day it had been prorogued by the king, and it was declared that, in the event of his majesty not authorising that parliament to continue and conclude, so that the estates, "in this exigence of time," might resolve and conclude on such things as were most conducible to the public good and the preservation of the liberties, lives, and estates of the people, then Bell should consent to such things as "be plurall or common consent" should be deemed necessary for the public good and the preservation of their religion, liberties, lives, and estates. (fn. 82) When the Scottish parliament reassembled on 2nd June, the king ordered it to be prorogued till the beginning of July, and no royal commissioner appeared. But no official intimation of the order for adjournment was made, and, after electing Robert, lord Burleigh, to be president, a declaration was made that the nobility, barons, and burgesses were entitled, as the true estates of the kingdom, to proceed and determine on all matters affecting the public good. (fn. 83) They also recorded a statement in vindication of their position, (fn. 84) and appointed a committee to revise the various acts and proceedings of the lords of the articles during the previous year. (fn. 85) On the 4th they (1) provided for the admission of ministers to kirks which had belonged to bishoprics; (fn. 86) (2) confirmed the deliverance of the general assembly against the Large Declaration; (fn. 87) and (3) ordered the castle of Edinburgh to be delivered up within twenty-four hours. (fn. 88) On the 6th they (1) ordained parliaments to be held triennially in future; (fn. 89) (2) ratified the covenant, the assembly's supplication of 12th August, 1639, the act of the privy council of 30th August, 1639, containing the council's answer to that supplication, and the general assembly's act ordaining the covenant to be subscribed by the lieges under heavy penalties; (fn. 90) (3) ratified the acts of the assembly, passed on 17th August, 1639, (fn. 91) relative to the service book, books of canons and ordination, &c. (fn. 92) On the 8th they ordered that out of the two previous years' rents of the bishoprics, which had not been uplifted, but had been restrained in the hands of the tenants and collectors, payments should be made to the procurator, clerk, and agent of the church; (fn. 93) and on the 9th they passed acts as to the custody of the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton, (fn. 94) and against the keepers of the castles of Dumbarton and Thrave. (fn. 95) On the 11th an act was passed continuing the parliament till the 19th of November, (fn. 96) and a permanent committee was appointed to conduct the government. It consisted of representatives of each of the three Estates, according to the new division, and was authorised to act in the camp as well as at the seat of government. (fn. 97) The effect of the proceedings of this parliament was, according to Balfour—himself an enthusiastic covenanter—not only to overturn in effect the ancient State government, but to fetter monarchy with chains, and set new limits and marks to the same beyond which it was not legally to proceed. (fn. 98)

It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the action of the Scottish parliament was, in the highest degree, repugnant to the king; but he was practically powerless to make his resentment operative. His efforts to enforce payment of ship-money had failed; the troops he had succeeded in raising, and which were in Newcastle, were in revolt; the city of London had turned a deaf ear to his appeals for men and money; and the Irish parliament were drawing back from giving him that support on which he was largely depending. His efforts to negotiate loans from France and Geneva had also failed, and to add to his otherwise overwhelming difficulties, the discontent which existed throughout England broke out into disorder in many districts. Such was the state of matters in England in the middle of July.

Under these circumstances the king opened fresh negotiations with Scotland, which was now practically under the control of the covenanters, but, inasmuch as the terms proposed on his behalf involved a repudiation of the right of the Scottish parliament to make laws without the sanction of the sovereign, the negotiations came to naught. The Scots, therefore, pushed forward their preparations for invading England.

Continuing their military preparations, the town council of Glasgow, on 9th June, ordered the rolls of the inhabitants to be revised, and a perfect catalogue to be prepared of the names of all persons able for war. (fn. 99) On 4th July the provost was elected commissioner to the general assembly to be held in Aberdeen, if his health permitted him to ride there, and John Anderson, elder, was elected to accompany him. (fn. 100) The provost, however, appears to have been unable to go, and Patrick Bell was substituted on 18th July. (fn. 101)

In the exercise of the powers conferred by the Scottish parliament, further measures of stern repression against the royalists in the north were adopted during the months of June and July. The Gordons in Strathbogie were heavily dealt with by general Monro. (fn. 102) A commission of fire and sword was issued to Argyle against the Highland clans on 12th June, and on the 18th he set out on his raid with 4,000 Highlanders, seized and imprisoned Athol, ravaged the lands of the earl of Airlie, burning his "bonnie house" which had previously been captured by Montrose, and subsequently ravaged Braemar and Badenoch. (fn. 103) The castle of Edinburgh, under lord Ruthven, thereafter, for a time, alone actively represented the cause of the king in Scotland.

While the supporters of the king in Scotland were thus being crushed, the covenanters were fully cognisant of the difficulties which were besetting him on every hand, and of the sympathy with which large sections of the English people were regarding their resistance to his arbitrary policy. This knowledge led them to believe that they had little to dread from carrying the war into England; and, indeed, the leaders of the malcontents there were in friendly communication with them. (fn. 104) Under these circumstances Leslie pushed forward his military preparations, and the town council of Glasgow responded readily to the call upon them. On 13th June they resolved "to send out to the common service a hundred and forty-four soldiers with their officers; the treasurer of the burgh was directed to pay the town's company £1,000 at its marching, and a similar sum within ten days; and captain Porterfield was authorised to distribute among the men £100 further at his discretion." (fn. 105) On the 22nd the treasurer was further appointed to have a warrant for £518 13s. disbursed by him for payment of the "soldiers of fortune" for February, March, April, May, and June. (fn. 106) On 8th July the town council—to meet "the great charges and expenses to which they had been put and had to meet in sending out soldiers during the previous and then current year, and the horsemen whom they were required to provide," and in view of a charge given them for "the twenty penny of all free rents" over and above "the tenth penny already paid, quhilk aught not to be payit or debursit be the treasurer vpoun the common purs, bot everie inhabitant aught and sould beir his awin pairt thairof"—ordained the whole inhabitants to be stented to defray the common burden, and to relieve the town of debt. Eight persons were accordingly appointed to prepare the necessary stent roll. (fn. 107) On 18th July the treasurer was appointed to have a warrant for £1,571 17s. 6d. disbursed by him in "outputting" thirteen horsemen to the common service, and £222 2s. 6d. expended in sending out a second company to captain Porterfield. (fn. 108) On 1st August intimation was made by sound of drum requiring all persons as warned to attend drill; (fn. 109) and on the 29th the treasurer was ordered to be paid £308 disbursed by him in sending out the last four horsemen to the common service. (fn. 110)

On 20th July, 1640, the covenanting army under Leslie left Edinburgh, (fn. 111) and advanced southward to near Dunse, where Leslie waited about four weeks till supplies arrived in such quantity as to enable him to concentrate his army. (fn. 112)

While there a manifesto was issued by the covenanters explaining that their preparations to invade England were dictated by no hostility to that country, but to obtain redress of grievances from the king, or rather, as they indicated, from an English parliament. (fn. 113) Copies of this manifesto and of a declaration by the council of war in the camp were largely circulated in England. (fn. 114) On the 16th of August the king intimated to the English privy council his intention to place himself at the head of the levies which were being collected at York. The trained bands of the counties were called out, all tenants in knights' service were required to attend the sovereign in the field, and Wentworth, lord-deputy of Ireland, who, on 12th January, had been created earl of Strafford, was appointed to the command, with the title of commander-in-chief. (fn. 115) On the 20th of August the king left London for the north, (fn. 116) and on the same day the Scottish army, numbering it is said by some 20,000, and by others 24,000 foot and 2,500 horse, crossed the Tweed at Coldstream, Montrose being the first to plunge into the river and lead the way. (fn. 117) The king, having reached York on the 23rd, was joined there by Strafford on the 27th, and through their exertions the English army was brought up to about the same number as that of the Scots, but was largely untrained and unprovided with arms. Meanwhile the Scots pressed southwards, and Strafford, prostrated by illness at York, ordered Conway to defend the passage of the Tyne at all costs. On the 28th the Scots arrived at the river, and,—notwithstanding an inefficient defence of the ford at Newburn by Conway, with a portion of the troops under his command,—crossed it, defeating the English troops, and pressed on to Newcastle, which was abandoned by Conway on the 29th, and occupied by the Scots on the 30th. (fn. 118) On the night of the 30th Conway joined Strafford at Darlington. (fn. 119) Pressing on to Durham, the Scots occupied the line of the Tees, and thence on 4th September sent to the king, who was still at York, an humble supplication asking him, with the advice of the English parliament, to redress their grievances. (fn. 120) Meanwhile the king's difficulties in England were being increased, not only by the growing sympathy of a large portion of its people with the cause of the Scots, but by the action of English peers and commoners, who were pressing to have a Parliament summoned, at which the king's advisers might be tried, and negotiations opened for a peace with Scotland. A petition to this effect by the peers was prepared on 28th August, and presented on 5th September. (fn. 121) But before it reached Charles he had asked the advice of his English privy council, and they, on the 3rd of September, had recommended him to summon a great council of the peers to advise as to the situation. This advice reached him while the Scottish supplication was under consideration, and, as compliance with it secured delay, he summoned the peers to meet at York on the 24th of September. Meanwhile, on 11th September, the demands of the Scots were considered by the English privy council, who had to learn that the invading army levied their means of support from the counties of Northumberland and Durham, at a cost of £850 a day. To the Scottish requirements the king replied by a reference to the great council, while he used those requirements as a spur to the other northern counties of England to strengthen his hands by additional levies and monetary contributions. Still, however, the complications thickened. News arrived of the surrender to the covenanters in Scotland of the castle of Dumbarton on 29th August, (fn. 122) of the castle of Edinburgh on 15th September, and of the castle of Caerlaverock a few days later; (fn. 123) and on 22nd September, when he learnt that the castle of Edinburgh had fallen, he also received a petition from the aldermen and citizens of London, in terms similar to that of the lords. (fn. 124) It became impossible for him, therefore, longer to ignore the necessity for summoning a parliament to obtain supplies. On the 24th the great council met and appointed sixteen commissioners to negotiate with the Scots. (fn. 125) They met with the Scottish commissioners (fn. 126) at Ripon, on 2nd October, and, after several conferences, the latter formulated a demand for £40,000 a month, to continue till the conclusion of a peace. This amount was subsequently, on 21st October, modified to £25,000 a month, and a cessation of arms was granted, the two northern counties remaining in the hands of the Scots till the conclusion of the treaty. Further negotiations were, thereupon, agreed to be transferred to London, (fn. 127) where the Scottish commissioners were hospitably received, and Henderson, Blair, and Baillie preached with great acceptance to the citizens. (fn. 128)

The parliament, afterwards known as the "Long Parliament," met on 3rd November at Westminster, and the king, leaving his army at York, proceeded there to meet it. It was largely composed of men who sympathised with the Scots, and regarded the presence of their army in England as a lever power by which to secure redress of English grievances. William Lenthal, a barrister, was chosen speaker, and on 7th November the house was engaged in considering these grievances, and a committee was appointed to report upon them. This was followed by the impeachment of Strafford as a traitor, and by the continuance of negotiations with the Scots. In those negotiations, however, the king was allowed to take no part. They were henceforth to be with the English parliament exclusively. Articles of impeachment against Strafford were adopted by the commons and carried to the lords, and he was committed to the tower on 25th November. On 10th December £140,000 was voted for the support of the two armies in the north; on the 18th Laud, who was specially obnoxious to the Scots, was also impeached for treason and committed to custody; (fn. 129) and on the 21st Finch, the lord keeper, was impeached and fled to Holland. The king's advisers being thus dealt with, the commons evinced a desire to conciliate him by providing for the royal necessities, but the influence of the queen and his own notions of royal privilege were all opposed to his accepting a position of subserviency to the parliament, and perceiving this the commons resolved to restrict their intended liberality. (fn. 130).

While these events of momentous national interest were taking place, others of sufficient local importance to be noticed here are referred to in the records of the town council of Glasgow. In response to the requisitions of the war committee in Edinburgh extraordinary means were adopted by the citizens to provide funds to meet the expenses of the war. On 11th August, 1640, four persons were appointed to attend four hours daily in the Tolbooth to receive silver and gold work for help of the common cause, and to make a perfect note of the articles brought to them. All who would lend moneys or give voluntary contributions for the same object were also invited to do so. (fn. 131) On 5th September the council granted bonds for money lent "for the guid of the commoun cause in the cuntrie" to Mr. Thomas Hutchesoun, of Lambhill, for 3,000 merks; to Ninian Gilhagie, elder, for 3,000 merks; to Mr. James Smith for 1,000 merks; and to each of George Louk, Robert Allan, and Janet Dick for 500 merks; (fn. 132) and the provost, accompanied by two others, was appointed to go to Edinburgh with the silver and gold work, the lent moneys, and the contributions collected for the common cause, and to get security therefor. (fn. 133) On 16th September the council directed the provost to obtain a bond and security for the money so borrowed and delivered to the committee of the estates,—such bond to be subscribed "by the best and ablest persons" the provost could get. (fn. 134) On the 30th he reported his proceedings to the town council, and produced two acknowledgments subscribed by the committee for the money and silver work so lent. (fn. 135) On 17th October the town council passed an act, in which, after referring to these loans, they ordained the town clerk to give to every lender to the value of less than five hundred merks a note under his hand showing the date of the advance, and "the quantity and quality of the same;" and the note so given was declared to be as sufficient to the receivers, for their security, as if a bond had been granted by the magistrates and council. (fn. 136) On the 31st of the same month Gabriel Cunningham was appointed to go to the lords of the committee with a letter from the town council and another from lord Montgomerie as to getting back as much of the voluntary contribution and the tenth penny and twentieth penny as they had received for providing the army with clothes, hose, and shoes. (fn. 137) On 14th November a warrant was granted to the burgh treasurer for £239 12s. in respect of one hundred and sixty pairs of shoes sent to the town's company at the camp; (fn. 138) and on the same day Gabriel Cunningham produced two acts of the lords of committee and a discharge by Archibald Sydserf for the taxations of the twentieth and tenth pennies which had been sent to him in Edinburgh. He also produced the committee's letter to the town with a warrant to Cochrane of Cowdoun to furnish the soldiers' clothes out of the proceeds of the bishops' and non-covenanters' rents. (fn. 139) The advances thus made cannot be regarded as voluntary contributions. They were obtained under peremptory orders from the committee of estates, who, finding that previous requisitions had not met with the desired response, sent out, on 16th November, instructions to the committees of war in the several counties, and the magistrates of burghs, to do diligence in sending to Edinburgh all the silver work within their bounds; and to charge every person who was supposed to have such articles to deliver them up for the use of the public on receiving security for their value. Such persons as refused to comply with this order were to be required to appear before the committee of estates. Effect was appointed to be given to this order within a month after receipt of the instructions. (fn. 140)

In consequence of the abolition of episcopacy and the departure of the archbishop, the teind sheaves of the lands around the burgh, which had been previously uplifted by him, seem to have been collected by the magistrates and council, for on 1st August two barns were ordered to be taken for the storing of these sheaves, (fn. 141) and on the 29th the provost and two bailies rouped for £800 the right to levy the teind sheaves for the crop and year 1640, onehalf to be paid at Martinmas, and the other half at Candlemas following. (fn. 142) About this time, also, the king appointed Southark, Wemyss, Kinghorn, Giffen, Erskine of Dun, John Smith, and Patrick Leslie to enquire and report as to the estate of cathedral churches in places in which bishops had dwelt and served the cure, and they issued a writ in which they found that the archbishop of Glasgow had his residence in the castle of Glasgow, and served the cure in the great church as ordinary minister during the time of his residence, and that, under the altered conditions then existing, his place should be supplied, and the fabric of the church upheld as was most needful for the honour of the country and the accommodation of the people. They also reported that a minister should be provided for the burgh with a yearly stipend of £1,000, and that £1,000 should be annually applied in upholding the fabric. (fn. 143)

On 6th October the town council elected James Stewart to be provost, and Henry Glen, Colin Campbell, and William Neilsoun to be bailies, as had been done in relation to the election made on 1st October of the preceding year; and three days later thirteen merchants and twelve craftsmen were elected councillors. (fn. 144) On the 14th, James Bell was elected dean of guild; Ninian Gilhagie, deacon convener; Robert Paterson, visitor; James Train, treasurer; Archibald Foulis, water bailie; Patrick Park, master of work; and Colin Campbell, master of work to Hutcheson's Hospital. (fn. 145)

Pending the result of the negotiations in London between the Scottish commissioners and the English parliament, the citizens of Glasgow were not indifferent to the interests of those whom they had sent to the Scottish army in England. On 12th December the town council passed an act in which it is set forth that the merchants and crafts of the burgh had sent moneys to the camp for the supply of various members of the town's company there who were connected with them, and that other members of that company who were not related either to the merchants or crafts, might, if overlooked and neglected, be dissatisfied, and evil might result. To obviate this the council resolved to send £108 to captain Porterfield, to be distributed according to his discretion among such of his company as had received nothing from the merchants and crafts. A warrant was accordingly given to the treasurer for that amount. (fn. 146) On the 26th the dean of guild and seven others were appointed to make up an account of all the charges employed in the public service since the beginning of the troubles, to be reported to the town council, and afterwards sent to the committee of estates. (fn. 147)