1685] JAMES'S POLICY 763 humble apology for not consulting his brother of France that James ventured to summon his Parliament. His mind however seems to have been made up. In spite of the presents he had received, he did not intend, if he could help it, to remain in a state of dependence on France, a position which throughout his reign was most odious to him. His conduct must depend upon circumstances. If his Parliament proved friendly, and would give him large supplies, which would enable him to carry out his projects at home, he would break with France, resume the policy of the Triple Alliance, and put himself at the head of the European confederation to check the aggressions of Louis. If, on the other hand, his Parliament proved distrustful and niggardly, he would not risk his domestic plans for any position, however great, abroad, but would accept the wretched place in foreign politics which his brother had held, and remain a French vassal, obtaining in exchange means to complete his home policy. It was with this determination that he met his Parliament on the 19th of May. But between February, when he ascended the throne, and the time when Parliament assembled, events had occurred which showed what the character of the Government was likely to be. Oates and Dangerfield had been tried and punished. Well as they deserved Cruei punishpunishment, the manner in which the trial was conducted ment of Oates, Dangerfield, by Jeffreys and the inhuman tortures inflicted upon them are beyond excuse. Twice within forty-eight hours Oates was flogged from Newgate to Tyburn. On the last occasion no less than 1700 lashes were inflicted on him ; it was certainly intended that he should die under the infliction of this terrible punishment, as his accomplice Dangerfield did. The conduct of the Court was bad enough even in the case of these detestable men, but became simply odious when exhibited against Baxter, a leading Nonconformist divine of great purity of life and unspotted reputation. He was charged with some words, occurring in his paraphrase of the New Testament, which complained of the persecution of Dissenters. Jeffreys refused to hear his defence, abused him in the scurrilous language of which he was master, browbeat and silenced his counsel, and procured a verdict of guilty against him, practically without trial. At the same time a Parliament, which, according to the laws then existing, could only consist of Episcopalians, and was elected entirely by Episcopalians, was held in Scotland, and was induced not only to grant such subsidies as it could afford, but also to pass a sanguinary law by which any one preaching in a conventicle under a roof, or being present at an open-air conventicle, was made guilty of a capital and Baxter. Persecution of crime. The persecution of the Covenanters, too, in the hands of Claverhouse, was carried out with extreme rigour. The the Covenanters King had himself led a cruel persecution against them, by Claverhouse. when in the last reign he had acted as vicegerent of Scotland. Under his directions now the Western counties, where the Covenanters were strongest, were given over to the hands of the army and the Episcopalian militia, and fearful stories are told of the cruelty with which they exercised their power. It is to this period that the well-known story of the drowning of Margaret Wilson, exposed to the rising of the tide at the Solway Firth, belongs. "Only say," cried her friends, "God save the King." "May God save him,” she replied as the waters closed round her, "if it be God's will." "Will she abjure the Covenant?" said the commanding officer. "Never," she replied; "I am Christ's, let me go," and the waves closed over her. First Parliament Tory. The The Parliament which assembled on the 22nd of May was such as might well gratify James. His two great objects of domestic policy were the removal of the Test Act and the consequent admission of Roman Catholics to office, and the destruction of the Habeas Corpus Act, and the consequent possession of arbitrary power. The Parliament was almost entirely Tory. failure of the Rye-House Plot had produced a reaction, which for a time entirely annihilated the Whig influence; while the charters of the towns which had been confiscated had been restored, so arranged as to throw the whole power into Tory hands. When Edward Seymour, member for Exeter, ventured to question the legality of a Parliament thus elected, no one was found to second him. The whole revenue of the late King was voted to James for life; and, in addition, duties were imposed on sugar and tobacco, which put the Crown altogether in possession of £1,900,000. The only clouds which yet appeared on the horizon were the resolutions of a Committee on Religion, calling on the King to put into execution the penal laws against those who were not members of the Church. Grants revenue for life. The apparent triumph of the King and the Tory party was com Insurrection of Monmouth and Argyle. pleted by the disastrous failure of the insurrection planned by their adversaries. A knot of exiled malcontents, some Scotch, some English, had collected in Holland. Among them was Monmouth and the Earl of Argyle, son of that Marquis of Argyle who had taken so prominent a part on the Presbyterian side in the Scotch troubles of Charles I.'s reign. Mon 1685] ARGYLE'S EXPEDITION 765 mouth had kept aloof from politics till, on the accession of James, he was induced to join the exiles at Amsterdam, whither Argyle, a strong Presbyterian, but a man of lofty and moderate views, also repaired. National jealousy prevented any union between the exiles, and two expeditions were determined on,-the one under Argyle, who hoped to find an army ready to his hand among his clansmen in the West of Scotland, the other under Monmouth in the West of England. Argyle's expedition set sail on the 2nd of May. The Prince of Orange was desirous of preventing it if possible, being Argyle's very anxious to secure the adhesion of James to his expedition. plans against France. But the awkward double government of the United Provinces allowed the local magistrates of Amsterdam to thwart the command of the central government, the States General, and both the expeditions got away in safety. Argyle's invasion was ruined by the limited authority intrusted to him, and by the jealousy and insubordination of his fellow leaders. He was anxious himself to secure the country of his own clansmen, and make that the basis of future operations. In this he was supported by Rumbold, an old soldier of Cromwell's, and the owner of that Rye-House from which the plot had taken its name. But Hume and Cochrane, two Lowland gentlemen, insisted upon the invasion being directed towards the Lowlands. Argyle was compelled to separate his forces. But experience proving that the Lowlanders had no intention of rising, the detachments again assembled in the Isle of Bute. The castle of Ealan Ghierig was captured and made a depôt for provisions, and Argyle at length yielded to the importunity of the other commanders and advanced towards the Lowlands. They had scarcely landed when they heard that their provisions had been captured by the English frigates. Thus deprived of supplies, in a hostile country, without the natural support of his clansmen, Argyle's attempt was hopeless. On crossing the river Leven he was met by the Royalist troops, and again thwarted in his desire for immediate action, was forced to begin a retreat, during which his army disbanded. He was himself taken in Renfrewshire, and after an exhibition of admirable con Execution June 30. stancy, was beheaded, not upon any charge for his present of Argyle. conduct, but for an old unrepealed charge of treason, notoriously supported on such weak evidence, that Halifax stated that in England it would not have been considered sufficient to hang a dog. A week before the final dispersion of Argyle's troops, Monmouth had landed in England. He was well received in the West. He had Monmouth's expedition. not been twenty-four hours in England before he found himself at the head of 1500 men; but though popular among the common people, he received no support from the upper classes. Even the strongest Whigs disbelieved the story of his legitimacy, and thought his attempt ill-timed and fraught with danger. The militia in the neighbourhood was collected by the Royalist LordLieutenant, and Parliament hastily passed an Act of Attainder against the Duke, authorized the King to raise extraordinary sums of money to be derived from new duties, and brought in a Bill declaring it high treason to utter words which should bring the person or government of the sovereign into contempt. This Act was however never completed; the necessary work was hurried through, and the House was adjourned, that all attention might be given to the insurrection. Meanwhile Monmouth had advanced to Taunton, had been there received with enthusiasm, and vainly thinking to attract the nobility, had assumed the title of King. Nor was his reception at Bridgewater less flattering. But difficulties already began to gather round him; he was in such want of arms, that, though rustic implements were converted into pikes, he was still obliged to send away many volunteers; the militia were closing in upon him in all directions; Bristol had been seized by the Duke of Beaufort, and the regular army under Feversham and Churchill were approaching. His first thought was to march up the right bank of the Severn into Cheshire; but this was pronounced impracticable. He then thought to take Bristol; but he wished to attack it on the weaker or northern side, and losing time in repairing the bridge of Keynsham, and in marching by that indirect course, he allowed the regular cavalry to come up; his vanguard was beaten on the bridge, and the attack on Bristol given up. He then pushed forward towards Wiltshire, where he expected to find reinforcements, followed on his march by Feversham, the royal commander. skirmish took place at Philip's Norton, which was favourable to the insurgents, and Monmouth marched to Frome, where he hoped to find both men and arms. But the Earl of Pembroke, with the Wiltshire militia, had already captured that town and carried off the arms. Bad news too was received on all sides. Argyle's expedition was a failure; Feversham's artillery had come up, and he was preparing for battle, and Monmouth losing heart, determined to return towards Bridgewater. A He reached that place in a much less triumphant condition than when he had last entered it. The Royalist army was close behind him, and on the 5th of July encamped about three miles from Bridgewater, 16851 BATTLE OF SEDGMOOR Battle of July 6. 767 on the plain of Sedgmoor. Feversham was no general, and although Churchill was with him, he was unable to interfere with the arrangements. The Royalist army was conse- Sedgmoor. quently encamped, without much care, in three distinct divisions, and Monmouth, though despairing of the fate of a pitched battle, thought it possible that by a night attack he might surprise and destroy them. The night was not unfitting for such an enterprise; for the mist was so thick that at a few paces nothing could be seen. Three great ditches by which the moor was drained lay between the armies; of the third of these, strangely enough, Monmouth knew nothing. Two of them were passed, but, in the passage of the second, delay was caused by the mist, and a pistol which was discharged by accident alarmed the Royalist scouts, who went off to collect the troops. Monmouth at once pushed forward his cavalry under Lord Grey, but inexperienced themselves, mounted upon unbroken horses, and under a commander whose courage under fire was questionable, these horsemen were astonished to find a third deep drain, called the Bussex Rhine, immediately between them and the enemy, who were already lining its banks. They at once broke and dispersed. The infantry in its turn advanced, and fought gallantly across the ditch. But the surprise had evidently failed. Alarmed by the fugitive horsemen, the ammunition waggons left the field. The royal troops under Churchill, for Feversham was only now rising from his bed, were well handled, and fell upon the insurgent infantry in all directions. Monmouth saw that the day was lost, and with the love of life which was one of the characteristics of his soft nature, he turned and fled. Even after his flight the battle was kept up bravely. At length the arrival of the King's artillery put an end to any further struggle. The defeat was followed by all the terrible scenes which mark a suppressed insurrection. The victorious soldiery spread riot and destruction in all directions, and military executions filled the country with bloodshed. Monmouth and Grey pursued their flight into the New Forest, and were there apprehended in the neighbourhood of Ringwood. They were brought to London, and the King, with strange cruelty, had a personal interview with the nephew he was determined not to pardon. Monmouth lowered himself to the most unmanly petitions for life, but in vain. The King listened to his prayers, but told him that his repentance Monmouth. was too late, and he was executed, leaving behind him a memory which was fondly cherished by the commonalty. Execution of July 15. The failure of this insurrection was followed by the most terrible cruelties. Feversham returned to London, to be flattered by the |