Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A24696
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An Account of the affairs of Scotland, in relation to their religious and civil rights
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1690
(1690)
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Wing A230; ESTC R11870
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30,717
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40
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the King had no mind to evade the desires of his People or to shift them off upon the Generality of their Desires But what they plainly desire He gives a distinct Instruction to it and when they point at any thing which they do not distinctly Express He remits the whole Affair to themselves and in this Case because there was no necessity of Adjusting Narratives but only to Rescind some Acts of that Parliament therefore the King doth not Require his Commissioner to Transmit the Proposals as in many other Articles but Authorizeth him to give the Royal Assent in this Matter and in the Settling of Church Government and in Redressing of Fines and restoring of Forfaultures which were the greatest Tokens of his Intire Confidence in the Parliament and that he did not Proceed Cautiously or narrowly with them Who could have expected such unsutable Returns that some Persons should press to proceed to Votes in Matters new not offered in their Grievances without Representing to His Majesty any thing of the Matter before they were previously engaged and put the King to the necessity of a Refusal as when His Majesty had opened the Signet by His Proclamation that Law and Justice might have its course that it should have been Countermanded and stopt by a Vote of Parliament which the World must have considered as the last Effects of the highest Jealousie and Difference to the Disreputation of His Affairs and the Endangering the Common Interest But that you may have a Snatch of the Acts of that Parliament and how far our Great Men did Outvey one another to Depress the Nation and Raise the Prerogative I have set down the Second Act of Parliament by which you will see that they have not rested in the Doctrine of Passive Obedience but for what I see we own Active Obedience without Reserve and yet I am told this Act passed with very few or no contrary Votes A Declaration and Offer of Duty by the Kingdom of Scotland with an Annexation of Excise to the Crown April 28 1685. THe Estates of Parliament now Conveened by His Majesties Soveraign Authority Taking into their Consideration how the Nation hath continued now upwards of 2000 years in the unaltered Form of our Monarchical Government and uninterrupted Line of 111 Kings whose Sacred Authority and Power hath been upon all Signal Occasions so Owned and Assisted by Almighty God that Our Kingdom hath been Protected from Conquest Our Possessions Defended from Strangers Our Civil Commotions brought into Wished Events Our Laws Vigorously Executed Our Properties Legally Fixed and Our Lives Securely Preserved so that We and Our Ancestors have Enjoyed those Securities and Tranquillities which the greater and more Flourishing Kingdoms have frequently wanted Those great Blessings We Owe in the first place to Divine Mercy and in Dependance on that to the Sacred Race of Our Glorious Kings and to the Solid Absolute Authority wherewith they were Invested by the First and Fundamental Laws of Our Monarchy Nor can either Our Records or Our Experience Instance Our being Deprived of those happy Effects But when a Rebellious Party did by Commotions and Seditions Invade the Kings Sacred Authority which was the Cause of Our Prosperity yet so far hath Our Primitive Constitution and Fundamental Laws Prevailed against the Innovations and Seditions of Turbulent Men as that these Interruptions never Terminated but either in the Ruine or at least the Suppression of those who at any time did Rebel or Rise in Opposition to Our Government And since so many Ages hath Assured to Us the great Advantages that flow down to all Ranks of People from the happy Constitution of Our Monarchy and that all Our Calamities hath ever arisen from Seditious Invasions upon these Sacred Rights Therefore the Estates of Parliament for Themselves and in Name of the whole Kingdom Judge Themselves Obliged to Declare and They Do Declare to the World That they Abhor and Detest not only the Authors and Actors of all preceeding Rebellions against the Soveraign but likewise all Principles and Positions which are Contrary or Derogatory to the Kings Sacred Supream Absolute Power and Authority which none whether Persons or Collective Bodies can Participate of any manner of Way or upon any Pretext but in Dependance on Him and Commission from Him and as Their Duty formerly did Bind them to Own and Assert the Just and Legal Succession of the Sacred Line as Unalterable by any Humane Jurisdiction so now they Hold Themselves on this Occasion Obliged for Themselves and the whole Nation Represented by Them in most Humble and Dutiful Manner to Renew the Hearty and Sincere Offer of their Lives and Fortunes to Assist Support Defend and Maintain King James the 7th their present Glorious Monarch and his Heirs and Lawful Successors in the Possessions of Their Crowns Soveraignty Prerogatives Authority Dignity Rights and Possessions against all Mortals And withall to Assure all His Enemies who shall Adventure on the Disloyalty of Disobeying His Laws or on the Impiety of Invading His Rights that such shall sooner be weary of their Wickedness than they of their Duty and they firmly Resolve to give their intire Obedience to His Majesty without Reserve and to Concur against all His Enemies Foreign or Intestine and they solemnly Declare that as they are bound by Law so they are voluntarly and firmly Resolved that all of this Nation betwixt Sixty and Sixteen Armed and Provided according to their Abilities shall be in Readiness for His Majesties Service where and as oft as it shall be His Royal Pleasure to Require them And since the Excise of In-land and Foreign Commodities Granted to King Charles II. of ever blessed Memory by the 14th Act of the Parliament 1661 during all the days of his Life-time and Prorogat by the 8th Act of the Parliament 1681 for five years thereafter will shortly Terminate And the Estates of Parliament Considering the Usefulness of this Grant to support the Interest of the Crown Do as the first evidence of their Sincerity in the aforesaid Tender of their Duty humbly and unanimously offer to His most Sacred Majesty King James the VII their present Monarch and to his lawful Heirs and Successors in the Imperial Crown of Scotland The said Excise of In-land and and Foreign Commodities exprest in the said 14th Act of Parliament 1661 to be Collected in the manner Prescribed by the said 8th Act of the Parliament 1681. for ever And His Majesty and Estates of Parliament by the force of this Act have United Annexed and Incorporated and Unites Annexes and Incorporates the same to the Crown of this Realm to Remain therewith in Annexed Property in all time coming And in respect that the Alteration in the method of Collecting the In-land Excise from what it was by the Act 1661. to that prescribed by the 8th Act of the Parliament 1681. will require some time to establish it in Collection Therefore His Majesty with Consent of the Estates continues the Collection
Rights in Electing their own Magistrates for the future and that the Burrows of Glasgow and St. Andrews shall have the Electing of their own Provosts Baillies and Town-Council as the other Royal Burrows of that Kingdom have The Royal Burrows have a peculiar Interest in the King for as Burghs of Barony and Regality are Incorporations belonging to Noblemen and Gentlemen so the Royal Burrows are in a particular manner the King 's own Burrows holding immediately and directly of the King and the Law doth not allow the interposition of any Nobleman or Baron to have interest in the Magistracy of Burrows but only such as are of their own Community Of late the Royal Burrows were extreamly incroached upon and in the last Reigns the Magistrates of Burghs were nominat by Letters from the King though by their Charters the Incorporation and Town-Council had Right to chuse their own Magistrates His Majesty then Prince of Orange in his Declaration for Scotland takes special notice of the Injury done to the Royal Burrows and therefore though the Grievance in relation to the Purrows be altogether general yet His Majesty hails an opportunity to redress and gratifie them and therefore he impowers his Commissioner to make a Law Ratifying all their Priviledges whereby the Commissioner was obliged to give the Royal Assent to any thing that the Parliament should determine to be the Right and Priviledge of the Burrows 2. His Majesty offers to secure to the Burrows that they shall never be invaded for the future and that they shall have the sole and free Choice of their own Magistrates 3. By the Abolishing of Episcopacy the King being come in the place of the Arch-Bishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow he had in their Right the Power of naming the Provost and Magistrates of these Burghs whereby Glasgow though it be the second Burgh in the Kingdom yet it hath not the ordinary Priviledges of the meanest Burgh-Royal and the King to signifie his Gracious Intentions to the Burrows in general he gives them all that is in his Power and allows these two Burrows to chuse their own Magistrates albeit some have represented this Concession to be prejudicial to the Crown and that it is fit for the Crown that the King retain in his own hand the chusing of the Magistrates of Glasgow as an Awe-band over that numerous people or that he commit this Power to some great Family about them who may keep that City in order 4. Trade being the great concern of the Burrows the King hath allowed his Commissioner to pass Acts one or more what the Parliament shall think fit for the Encouragement of Trade which give a sufficient Rise and Warrant for Repairing the Royal Burrows against any Invasions that had been made upon their Rights in the point of Trade so that they should not be obliged to pay for a Priviledge they did not enjoy Here is a notable Evidence how far the most gracious Concessions of a Prince may be mistaken and slighted The Royal Burrows were abused by the Industry of some persons and made believe that the King by his Instructions had given them no Relief and that he had not regarded the Grievance in relation to the Royal Burrows upon this Imposture they did combine in the Parliament to refuse a Supply to oppose any thing that was brought in in pursuance of the King's Instructions and to concur in all the Votes that was brought in against him which they did accordingly only a few Burgesses being excepted and certainly if they had understood the King's Gracious Intentions towards them they could never have been guilty of such Transports against both their Duty and their Interest and when they come to be informed it will oblige them for the future to be more cautious not to take up an ill Report rashly to doubt their Soveraign or destroy themselves and the Royal Burrows being further sham'd to send up these same persons who had abused them with an Address to His Majesty desiring an Answer to that Grievance which did concern them His Majesty pitying their Innocence gave an Answer in Writing that it might be sure to come to their Hands signifying That he had remembred their Concerns very particularly from the beginning and that they had no reason to doubt his Care desired them not to suffer themselves to be further abused to mistake their own Interest but that they might believe he would redress all the just Grievances of the Nation and specially of the Royal Burrows in whom he owned a peculiar Interest This Goodness and Forbearance in the King cannot fail to produce suitable effects of Duty and Gratitude and when the Burrows shall be sufficiently informed they will certainly take occasion to have a new Convention and return his Majesty an humble acknowledgment of their mistakes and a dutiful sense of his Favours as well as the Concessions in his Instructions Now you see that the King hath given a particular Gracious Answer to every one of the Grievances and besides these there is an Instruction for the Regulation of the Universities And after all the King concludes with a general Instruction If there be any thing else that may be necessary for the good of that Kingdom to be past into Laws You are to acquaint Us from time to time with such Overtures that you may be Authorised with particular Instructions thereanent This admits no Paraphrase it was impossible for a Prince to say more this was a Catholicon for curing all the Grievances that either were or could be represented and what a strange Return was it not to transmit their Overtures but to proceed to Votes straiten and manacle the Royal Authority in its most necessary and undoubted Powers Since I have given you the Grievances and Instructions together you are able to Judge and I do submit to your Judgment whether my Reflections be Genuine or no and I shall conclude That Nation lies under the pressure of most heavy and grievous Laws 2. The King hath done all upon his part that was possible to render that Nation happy and since he must be acquitted by all indifferent Judgments I will not give myself the trouble to tell you who are guilty since the Instructions are so full the Ministers of State must be innocent By this time I think you may be able to resolve your own Questions 1. If the King hath done his part and be not to blame how comes the Majority of the Parliament to be discontented 2. Why did not the Parliament accept these Concessions pro tanto and turn them into Laws and then ask what more they thought necessary 3. What is the meaning of so many Addresses and particularly the last which is Printed 4. Upon what grounds does these men build their hopes who do so pertinaciously oppose the King and what may be expected whether the Presbyterians will joyn with them or not I must confess your Doubts are highly reasonable but they may be Resolved