1711. juftices in the duke of Ormond's abfence, who returned to England the latter end of November. The friends of the pre openly in Scotland. by the duchefs of it ? Whilft the commons of Ireland were ftrenuously afferting tender fhow the revolution principles, the oppofite fpirit of jacobitism difthemselves covered itself in Scotland, encouraged very probably by the late numerous addreffes in England, afferting the whole hereHift. of Eur. ditary right. Upon this presumption, the duchefs of Gordon, Medal given a Roman catholic, fent about the latter end of June to Mr. Robert Bennet, dean of the faculty of advocates, a filver Gordon. medal, with a head on the right fide, and this legend, cujus *Whofe is eft ? and on the reverse the British Islands, with this motto, Reddite †, as a prefent to the faculty. This medal was firft left in the hands of one of their fervants, the dean being cautious either to accept it, or place it in the repofitory of rarities, before he had confulted fome of the members of the faculty, to whom he fhowed the medal, formally telling them, that her grace the duchess of Gordon fent, as a prefent to them, the medal of king James the Eighth, whom they and the English called the pretender; and he hoped, thanks were to be returned to her grace. Mr. Alexander Stevenfon anfwered, that the medal fhould be returned to her grace, for the receiving it was throwing dirt on the face of the government. He was feconded by Mr. Robert Alexander of Black-Houfe, who faid, That the receiving of fuch a ⚫ medal was owning a right contrary to her majefty's.' Mr.. Robert Frazer anfwered, that Oliver Cromwell's medal, • who deferved to be hanged, and the arms of the common• wealth of England, had been received; and why not this?”Upon this Mr. Duncan Forbes, faid, 'It was time enough to receive the medal, when the pretender was hanged:" To whom adhered Mr. Jofph Hume, of Ninchole; Mr. Hugh Dalrymple, fon to the prefident; Mr. James Fergufon, fon to Sir John Ferguson of Kirkennel; and Sir James Stuart of Goodtrees, the queen's follicitor. Then Mr. Dundafs of Armifton rose up, and made the following fpeech: Dean of Faculty, "Whatever these gentlemen may fay of their loyalty, I "think they affront the queen, whom they pretend to honour, in difgracing her brother, who is not only a prince of the blood, but the firft thereof; and, if blood can give 66 any right, he is our undoubted Sovereign. I think too 66 they call her majesty's title in queftion, which is not our "bufinefs to determine. Medals are the documents of "hiftory, to which all hiftorians refer; and therefore, "though I fhould give king William's ftamp, with the "devil at his right ear, I fee not how it could be refused, "seeing an hundred years hence it would prove, that such "a coin had been in England. But, dean of faculty, what "needs further fpeeches? none oppofe the receiving the "medal, and returning thanks to her grace, but a few pi"tiful fcoundrel vermin, and mushrooms, not worthy our "notice. Let us therefore proceed to name fome of our "number, to return our hearty thanks to the duchess of "Gordon." The dean of the faculty put it to the vote, and it was carried by a majority of fixty-three voices against twelve (there being feventy-five members prefent) that thanks fhould be returned to her grace by Mr. Dundass and Mr. Horne of, Wefthall. Dundafs afking, In what terms he fhould return thanks? the dean, in the name of the whole fociety, answered, That they would approve whatsoever Mr. Dundafs and Mr. Horne thought convenient.' Three days after Dundafs returned her the most hearty thanks of the faculty for all her favours, particularly in prefenting them with a medal of their fovereign lord the king; hoping, and being confident, that her grase would very foon have an opportunity to compliment the faculty ' with a fecond medal, ftruck upon the restoration of the king, and royal family, and the finifhing rebellion, ufurping tyranny, and whiggery.' It was obferved on this occafion, that the medal was not new; for the public had an account of its being dispersed in the Netherlands about a year before; and it was then the general opinion, that it was ftruck upon the hopes given by the jacobites in England to their correfpondents in France, that the British nation was ready to declare for the pretender; to which the diftractions occafioned by Dr. Sacheverel's fermon, and trial, and the afferting the doctrines of hereditary right, and of absolute paffive obedience, entirely oppofite both to the late re volution, 1711. 1711. ; volution, and proteftant fucceffion, gave fome air of probability. Nor was this medal fcarce, but rather common; and, as for its intrinfic value, it did not exceed half a crown; fo that it could not be worth either the duchefs's while to present it, or the faculty's to receive it, on the account of its being either new, or scarce, or valuable. And, if the advocates defigned it only as a curiofity, they might have eafily procured it, and placed it among their collection, without formality and noife. But the duchefs's prefenting it, and fome of the advocates receiving it with folemnity, and endeavouring to make it the act of the faculty, by returning thanks to the duchess in the name of the whole fociety, with fo much oftentation, was certainly a public and treafonable affront to her majefty, a tacit arraignment of her title, and a striking at the fettlement in the house of Hanover. Nor is it to be doubted, that the defign of the jacobites was to give reputation to their caufe, by engaging fo many gentlemen of the long robe to efpoufe it, as the readieft way to bring the common people into their measures for, as these are generally led by example, they would be apt to conclude, that there could be no danger in following the pattern fet them by thofe, who, of all men, ought beft to understand the laws and conftitution of their country. The timing of this tranfaction was likewife judged very remarkable; for it was foon after the affembly of the kirk of Scotland had publicly declared themselves for the proteftant fucceffion in the house of Hanover; and their sense being justly taken for that of the bulk of the proteftants in Scotland, whom they represent in an ecclefiaftical capacity, it seemed, the jacobite party there thought it neceffary to balance them by the fenfe of the minifters of law and juftice in that country. This happened alfo immediately after her majesty had declared in her speech at the close of the laft feffion of parliament," That it was needlefs for her to repeat the affurtr ances of her earnest concern for the fucceffion of the "houfe of Hanover." From whence it may be concluded, that, the jacobites being fenfible of the injury this declaration had done their caufe, they might think, that the only way to retrieve it was by procuring fo many lawyers to declare for them. And, in the last place, this was done at a time, when the armies were in the field, and the pretender reported to be gone from St. Germain's, in order to imbark in fome port of France on the ocean'; which might raise a well-grounded fufpicion, that this was defigned to favour a fecond invasion; the rather, because Dundafs, in his com pliment pliment to the duchess of Gordon, did not fcruple to infinuate a fpeedy restoration of the king, and the royal family.' 397 1711. owning the Sir David Dalrymple, the lord advocate, gave an account The faculof this proceeding to the duke of Queenfberry, who dying ty's act difabout this time, the information was laid before the queen proceedings. by one of the other secretaries; and the cafe was fo flagrant, that there was no avoiding to fend the lord advocate orders to enquire into it. Upon which the faculty thought fit to difown Dundass, Horne, and the other advocate in their address concerning the medal, as done by a party at an occafional meeting, and not by general confent, declaring by a folemn act their affection to the queen and her government, and the protestant succeffion, and their deteftation of all practices tending to give any incouragement to the pretender. It was for fome time matter of doubt, whether the governmeut would be fatisfied with this act of the faculty. But the court thought fit to make no further inquiry into that affair. This lenity imboldened Dundass to write a vindication more treasonable, if poffible, than their proceedings about the medal but, before the publication, the printer carried the copy of it to the lord provoft of Edinburgh, who communicated it to Sir James Stuart, and he took care, that the queen and council fhould be informed of it: upon which the paper was intirely fuppreffed: And monfieur de Kreyenberg, refident from the elector of Hanover, having, by exprefs orders, prefented a memorial, for the profecution of Dundafs and his affociates: the government thought proper to remove Sir David Dalrymple from his office of lord advocate, on pretence he had been too remifs in profecuting the Scots Medalists, and reinstated Sir James Stuart in that post, on account of his zeal in fuppreffing of Dundafs's vindication. Though this gave fome fatisfaction to the friends of Boyer, the proteftant fucceffion, yet it is obfervable, that Sir David Dalrymple was fo far from being an enemy to it, that, (as. his particular acquaintance affirmed) he would have prosecuted the Medalifts with greater feverity than any whatever, had he not received fecret inftructions from a great man at court not to ftir in the affair (m). (m) Nor were the jacobites lefs bufy in England; for while thefe things paffed in Scotland, All they were very induftrious in dif- • invader. 1711. promotions. All this while the ministers in England used all poffible means to ftrengthen themselves, and weaken their enemies, Titles and by advancing to honours and employments, fuch perfons as they thought inclined to carry on their new measures. The lord Raby was created viscount and earl of Strafford. He was the furviving head of the family of Wentworth-Woodhouse, in Yorkshire, but by a difpute between his father and the late earl of Strafford, cut off from the eftate. He was recalled from his long ambaffay in Pruffia, and fent ambas-. fador to Holland. The lord Dartmouth was made viscount Lewisham, and earl of Dartmouth; the lord Ferrers, earl Ferrers; Sir Simon Harcourt, baron of Stanton-Harcourt; the earl of Orrery, baron Boyle of Marfton; the duke of Hamilton, duke of Brandon, but, a caveat being entered against that patent, a ftop was put to it for the present. The earl of Winchelsea was placed at the head of the board of trade; earl Paulet was made fteward of the houshold, in the room of the duke of Buckingham, who was made prefident of the council upon the death of the earl of Rochefter. Sir George Byng was declared admiral of the white. Alderman Cafs, was elected one of the Sheriff's of invader, and abjuring the invaded, diffected and examined;' containing eleven queries, levelled against the revolution and the oath of abjuration, now administered in Great-Britain, which was printed at the end of that paper. About that time, likewife, a news-paper took notice of a paragraph inferted in a written postscript to the Poft-boy, of the 5th of July 1711, fent to Dick's coffee-houfe in Dublin, and (as may well be fuppofed) to many other places, which was as follows: "we are informed, "that Mr. White, alias Lefley, " is gone to Swifferland, in or der, if he can, to convert a certain young gentleman, and "bring him over from popery to proteftantifm. If he fucceed, it is hoped, that there will be no experiment tried hereafter to run the hazard of 66 errors, and, fince their con"verfion, have merited the "esteem of all honeft men." This paragraph was founded upon a report, that the pretender was, about that time, preparing to go for Swifferland; but he only went to the French army in Dauphiné, and having ftaid there a few days, and conferred with the duke of Berwick and the other generals, he took a journey through Provence, Languedoc, and Guienne, the three finest provinces of France, and fo returned to his refidence at St. Germain's. London, |