Volume 1 - Electric Scotland

TJIE CONFESSION OF THE KAEL, 1690. cclxvii
was theiafter proposed ho Sir J;uues to tlic lord lloss, ulio after miicli diflicidtic
ingadged therin."
The earl iu his confession stales that he and Lord Eoss had little to do
but say "Amen" to Sir James, who had drawn out already (1) a commission
for Annaudale to represent King James in parliament; (2) instructions to
his commissioner with thirty-two articles ; (3) a declaration for Scotland.
These were to be sent to the laic king to be signed. Visits were made to
the Fleet pirison to discourse the project with one Simpson and Neville
Payne ; and other meetings were hold, ending with one at Captain AVilliam-
son's house, near Hyde Park, where the papers to go with Simpson and his
credentials were signed. Annaudale explains that their project was to bring
home Xing James by a parliamentary majority; for tliough the}- durst not
insinuate as much to the dissenters, they " really abhorring that thought,"
yet reckoning that many of them would concur to force the king to yield to
demands he disliked, they hoped the country might thereby be put into con-
fusion, or a new parliament called, which they expected would be for King
James. To carry on the project they returned to Edinburgh, waited on Lord
An-an, and told him what they were to do to bring in his old master. The
Club, or those of them still under Sir James Moutgomerie's influence, now
joined with the Jacobites to obstruct the king's affairs. This continued till
the meeting of parliament. Meantime the king authorised Lord ilelvill to
publish his instructions to his commissioner, by which it was shown to the
country that the delay in establishing the presbyterian church in Scotland was
noways attributable to the king. One effect of this was that leading members
of the Club fell away—such as the Earl of Argyll and Sir Patrick Hume, and
the Laud of Culloden went on a mission to Scotland to counteract the efforts
of Sir James ^lontgomerie. The Earl of CrawfurJ, writing to Lord MelvUl,
says, "I am much delighted with his Slajestie's instructions to the Duke of
Hamilton, the printing of which lies allready remarkable effects on the
people, and throughly cured many of the members of parliament who